Under A Black Sun Trilogy

by Kevin J. Anderson

  Security was lax here on Yavin 4. With so many Jedi Knights around,

  Luke Skywalker seemed to believe they could drive back any military

  assault; a New Republic fleet in orbit also helped to protect the

  academy. But no one would stop her from the inside. She could take

  the little freighter, fly out, and dive into hyperspace before anyone

  reacted quickly enough to question her.

  When she powered up the repulsorjets, a sleepy guard came running to

  the distant door of the hangar bay and stared in surprise at the

  commandeered ship. He waved, signaling for her to wait, but Anja

  punched the engines, raised the craft off the field, and streaked out

  over the treetops.

  The Lightning Rod rapidly left the tall Massassi pyramid behind, flying

  low over the jungle canopy to foil any scanning attempts. The tangled

  foliage was like a lumpy carpet below her. After she had rounded the

  sharp curve of the small moon, Anja arced off into space.

  Determined to let nothing distract her from her goal, Anja ignored the

  comm chatter as alarms were raised. She would be gone well before the

  defensive fleet could intercept her.

  Anja set the coordinates in the Lightning Rod's navicomputer, filling

  them in from memory. Spice... she had to have spice. There was no

  time to weigh the many options: she would go directly to the source.

  Starlines unfolded around her and the Lightning Rod plunged into

  hyperspace... heading for Kessel.

  it was the start of as perfect a morning as Zekk could ever remember.

  Outside, bright sunshine poured down on the Jedi academy, and a fresh

  breeze carrying the scents of a thousand luscious jungle plants waited

  in through the thick stone window openings. The young Jedi Knights

  were used to getting up very early, and today they had special reason,

  since Peckhum was due to leave.

  At morning meal, Jaina greeted Zekk and Peckhum with a hug.

  There had been no mistaking the pride in her eyes when she saw the new

  lightsaber hanging at Zekk's belt. "Looks like a fine weapon, Zekk.

  If you want a sparring partner later on, come see me."

  "After I show Master Skywalker."

  "Hey," Jacen said as he sauntered in, grinning. "Two Gamoffean guards

  are walking down a narrow, deserted canyon when suddenly a rancor comes

  out and starts chasing them. One of the Gamoffeans stops to put on his

  best running shoes. "Don't waste time,' shouts the other one, 'you

  can't outrun a rancor with those!" 'I don't have to outrun a rancor,'

  says the first one as he finishes lacing his shoes, 'I just have to

  outrun you!"

  " A chorus of chuckles and groans rewarded him.

  With additional jokes, Jacen was in rare form during the meal, and they

  all laughed so hard it was difficult not to choke as they ate. Tenel

  Ka offered a rare toast of friendship to the entire group seated at

  their table. Lowie surprised them all by presenting a dramatic Wookiee

  speech while Em Teedee provided hilariously inaccurate translations,

  which the companions now recognized with their increasing grasp of

  Lowbacca's native language.

  Jaina, sparkling with good humor, teased old Peckhum fliroughout the

  meal and squeezed Zekk's hand under the table. The old spacer laughed

  and enjoyed the attention.

  Even when it was time for Peckhum to go, Zekk's mood could not be

  dampened. "I'm sorry you couldn't meet Ania," he told the spacer.

  "I knocked on the door to her quarters, but she didn't answer. Must be

  keeping to herself again. She's got ... a lot of things to work out in

  her head. Besides, her communication skills aren't always the

  greatest."

  As they left the temple and walked through the dim corridors leading

  out, old Peckhum gave Zekk a mock stern look. "Speaking of, uh,

  communication skills-if I hadn't switched schedules with another

  freighter pilot so that I could come to Yavin 4 and visit my favorite

  Jedi trainee, I might not've heard about your progress for another

  month.

  You didn't mention you were going to build a lightsaber last week when

  I talked to you."

  Zekk hunched his shoulders. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I guess

  maybe I was afraid I'd fail. There was always a chance that I might

  build a faulty weapon and I'd have to throw it away and start all

  over.

  Worse, I thought maybe the wrong kind of blade might try to draw me

  back toward the dark side."

  The old spacer gave a thoughtful nod. "I understand that, but don't

  forget that you can trust me. I'd like to know whenever something

  important is going on in your life. I'm always willing to rearrange my

  schedule so I can share a special occasion with you."

  Jaina snorted. "And you can put that nonsense about going over to the

  dark side behind you, Zekk."

  "Thanks for trusting me," Zekk said in a low voice as they all emerged

  into the sunlight in front of the Jedi academy. "That trust was what

  gave me the strength to leave the dark side for good."

  "The trust of friends is rare and important," Tenel Ka observed.

  Lowie crooned his agreement.

  They walked down the temple steps toward the landing field. Several

  New Republic soldiers milled about taking readings at a freshly

  scorched spot on the ground. A group of assorted investigators stood

  inside the small craft bay on the pyramid's lowest level, talking in

  urgent tones with the night-shift guard who had been on duty the

  evening before.

  Preoccupied with the old man's departure, the companions began walking

  across the grass with Peckhum toward the Thunderbolt. Suddenly, Zekk

  stopped and turned back to the burned, empty spot on the landing

  field.

  His mouth fell open. He blinked in confusion. "You didn't have to

  move my ship inside, Jaina. I would have done it myself. Of course, I

  know that flying a ship is never hard work for you, but-" "No," Jaina

  said. "I haven't been anywhere near the Lightning Rod this morning."

  "Something's wrong," Jacen said.

  Old Peckhum looked curiously at the spot where his tonner ship had been

  when he arrived the day before. But the Lightning Rod was nowhere to

  be seen.

  "Ah," Tenel Ka said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Aha."

  Jacen drew a deep breath, let it out slowly. "I've got a bad feeling

  about this."

  Inside the shadows of the small craft bay, Luke Skywalker left the

  other members of the investigative team and marched purposefully toward

  Zekk. The dark-haired young man felt a cold twist in his stomach as

  his suspicions grew. Master Skywalker looked directly into his green

  eyes.

  "Zekk, I'm afraid Anja has taken your ship."

  Later, after Peckhum's tight schedule had forced him to leave, the

  young Jedi gathered in Luke Skywalker's office. Jaina squirmed as she

  watched a storm of emotions cross Zekk's face. "Anja stole the

  Lightning Rod!" he said through gritted teeth. "She ran away from the

  Jedi academy."

  Luke nodded patiently. "She caught the hangar guard by surprise and

  took off before any of the orbital fo
rces could stop her."

  Zekk went on, fuming. "Anja is a thief, and I want my ship back.

  What are we going to do about it? We've got to find her."

  Jaina cleared her throat. "We could, urn, ask Mom and Dad to send out

  some security forces. Maybe they can track down the Lightning Rod,

  wherever Anja's taken it?"

  "Or they could probably issue some bulletins to the authorities on

  various planets...... Jacen's voice trailed off.

  Luke raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips, waiting for a full minute

  of silence before he spoke. "As for Anja leaving the Jedi academy,

  that is her choice. Not only is she an adult, she's not exactly a

  Jedi. We can't stop her from leaving if she wants to."

  "But she can't take my ship to do it," Zekk said.

  "No. That's true enough. But first-" he spread his hands and gazed

  around at his assembled students "-you tell me. Is she a criminal or a

  friend? Would you like to have her arrested?"

  Zekk squirmed at the Jedi Master's question. "Too bad we can't still

  send people to the spice mines of Kessel," he grumbled.

  Each of the young Jedi shook their heads in turn.

  Incarceration would serve no purpose," Tenel Ka said. "T believe she

  must have been desperate."

  Jaina looked down at her hands in her lap. "And I think we all know

  why she was desperate." , Lowie woofed an observation. Jacen nodded

  and in a low voice said, "Spice."

  "She was going through withdrawal," Zekk said, meeting Master

  Skywalker's eyes.

  "Do you believe she intends to keep your ship-or even sell it?"

  Luke asked. "In order to get credits to buy spice?"

  Jaina was surprised when they all reacted instantly. Lowie bellowed a

  protest. "Indeed not!" Em Teedee added.

  "She wouldn't do that. I think she's planning to bring it back," Jacen

  said in a confident voice.

  Jaina bit her lower lip. "I have a feeling she's in more trouble than

  we know."

  Luke stood. "Then I'd say this isn't exactly a job for New Republic

  security. Don't you think this is a situation that her friends, five

  Jedi Knights-not to mention one extremely talented droid-could handle

  on their own?"

  They all agreed, and the Jedi Master left them alone to discuss the

  details.

  "At least we've got the Rock Dragon," Jaina said. "She's a good fast

  ship."

  "But how do we find her? We can hardly go running from system to

  system with a large holograph asking,"Have you seen this girl?"

  Jacen pointed out.

  Lowie gave a long grumble. "Master Lowbacca suggests that perhaps we

  could consult with some of the guardian forces stationed in orbit

  around this moon."

  "They might have tracked the Lightning Rod's initial vector," Jaina

  agreed.

  Zekk shrugged. "I'll take any lead we can get."

  Within five minutes the companions all stood in the comm center.

  On half of the screen, a weary-eyed officer who was obviously off-duty

  rubbed a hand over his eyes. The other half of the screen displayed a

  starmap.

  "I'm sorry," the shift officer said, "we tried to scan the ship's

  navicomputer before it went into hyperspace, but the most we were able

  to determine was that the Lightning Rod was heading for one of the

  systems in this sector. It still covers hundreds of planets,

  though."

  Glowing white lines appeared around a segment of space in the

  starmap.

  "I've got a team on it."

  "Hey, thanks," Jacen said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "You've been

  a big help." The portion of the screen that held the officer's face

  went blank, leaving only the starmap.

  Tenel Ka's cool gray eyes narrowed suddenly, as if something important

  had just occurred to her. "Jacen, my friend, what joke did Anja

  attempt to make yesterday when you sensed she was going through

  withdrawal?"

  He shrugged. "I can't remember her exact words. Something about

  Kessel, but I don't see what that has to do-oh! " Jaina said, "Under

  stress, it's not unusual for people to joke about what's really on

  their minds."

  "Zekk also mentioned the spice mines," Tenel Ka pointed out.

  "Perhaps because of Anja's addiction, or because of her joke."

  A slow grin spread across Zekk's face. He pointed toward the starmap

  still covering half the screen. "And Kessel just happens to be right

  in the middle of that sector."

  After years of running the spice mines of Kessel, Chief Administrator

  Nien Nunb finally thought that the place felt like the warrens of

  home.

  The dim winding tunnels with their cool rock walls seemed much like the

  crowded burrows that honeycombed the crust of Sullust, where

  mousy-faced, large-eyed Sullustan families preferred to live

  together.

  Nien Nunb often went back home to visit his family, whenever he could

  spare himself here.

  The spice mines had once been a feared place, an Imperial prison planet

  and work camp. But over a decade ago Lando Calrissian had purchased

  the mines, setting up his friend and copilot Nien Nunb as their

  administrator. Together, they had turned the once-dreaded mines into a

  productive industrial facility that held few of the grim connotations

  that Kessel formerly had. They'd found a way to turn it into a true

  credit-making enterprise.

  By choosing alien species who were comfortable underground, who

  preferred living in tunnels and in darkness, Nien Nunb had made the

  place an efficient working environment. Spice production had increased

  greatly in the past ten years. Nien Nunb and his old friend Lando

  liked to joke that the mines were one of Calrissian's few ventures that

  actually turned a profit, although the initial investment for extensive

  revamping and new equipment had cost an emperor's ransom.

  In his younger years, Nien Nunb had led a life of adventure, tagging

  along with Lando on smuggling runs, breaking through Imperial blockades

  and delivering much-needed supplies to restricted planets. In the

  Millennium Falcon, borrowed from Han Solo, Nien Nunb had served as

  copilot when Lando made his desperate run to destroy the second Death

  Star. Nervous by nature, Nien Nunb had been certain they would die in

  the attempt ... but somehow the Falcon had survived, and Lando had gone

  on to become a hero of the New Republic.

  But the Sullustan copilot had had enough excitement in his life, and

  now he was content just to work here in the calming twisted tunnels

  beneath the cold surface of Kessel. He liked running a business. He

  thought it much better than getting shot at every other day.

  Kessel was a small, low-gravity world, roughly potato-shaped, with a

  very thin atmosphere. Like Sullust, the planet was habitable only

  belowground, behind the sealed entrances to the dark tunnels. Large

  cities and giant atmospheric generation plants had been established to

  stabilize the amount of air clinging to the surface, but Kessel's

  gravity was simply not strong enough to keep all of the atmosphere from

  escaping into space.

  When
ever he looked through the panoramic viewing ports up into the sky,

  the Chief Administrator could see a ring of broken meteors strewn out

  about the planet, shards from Kessel's companion moon.

  They orbited, glittering with reflected light, and even during dim

  daylight, a sparkling show of meteors rained down to pound the surface

  of the mining planet. Fortunately, no one lived out there in the

  hazardous zone.

  The Death Star prototype had destroyed Kessel's moon during the

  resurgence of Imperial activity many years before. Since that time,

  though, Kessel had been a quiet place, as if the whole planet had

  decided to take a deep breath and regather its energy.

  Because of the spice's desirable effects-a burst of energy or

  telepathic enhancement-many black-market entrepreneurs sold spice

  illicitly. Spies, smugglers, and information brokers used it, as did

  thrill seekers. As a result, the substance became rare and too little

  was left for the legitimate users throughout the New Republic. Spice

  was vital for many medical treatments: to save weakened patients, to

  restore the memories of amnesia victims, to enhance communication in

  deeply impaired individuals, and so on.

  Because of the long and well-established tradition of illegal spice