Under A Black Sun Trilogy

by Kevin J. Anderson

At the time, I still wouldn't let myself trust you. Even so, I had no

  idea he would try to have you murdered. Please believe me."

  "Sure, but why didn't you trust us? We've tried to be friends to you

  in every way," Jacen said, still surprised.

  "Yes, but you're also the son of Han Solo. I was hoping that you might

  still prove yourself to be as cowardly and untrustworthy as your

  father." Anja's eyes did not meet his. Despite the cold, perspiration

  ran in rivulets down her face and neck. Her hands shook.

  Jacen drew a deep breath to calm himself. So, Anja still blamed Han

  Solo for the death of her father, though Han denied the situation

  vehemently, insisting that she didn't have the correct story. But now

  that she had soured on Czethros, Jacen mused, perhaps she would listen

  to an explanation of events different from the one told by the man who

  had betrayed her.

  Cilghal stood up. Her watery green-blue robes flowed around her.

  "I wish to rid my world of this illegal spice that you say is stored

  under the ice caps. We will go with you, Anja Gallandro, and help you

  destroy it. If you are telling us the truth, we will assist you in

  every way."

  "If you are telling us the truth," Tenel Ka added.

  "I'm not a liar," Anja said. Her entire body trembled.

  "Well, you didn't exactly tell us the truth about yourself and who you

  worked for," Zekk pointed out. "And you did steal my ship."

  Tenel Ka arched an eyebrow at Anja. "You also said you were not

  addicted to spice. This was not a fact."

  "And how did you get the Lightning Rod on and off Kessel without any

  entry in the records-if you didn't lie to someone?" Jacen

  challenged.

  Anja flushed a deep crimson. "That was different." All business now,

  she stood up, brushing everyone's comments aside. "Okay, I lied.

  But that was before. Things have changed, and I'm not lying to you

  now. I want to destroy that spice. Are you going to help me or

  not?"

  They all nodded.

  "Good," Ania said. "I only wish I could be there when Czethros finds

  out what we've done."

  The cold, winding tunnels of the spice mines were almost completely

  devoid of light. Because glitterstim-the most common form of spice

  found on Kessel-was mined in total darkness, glowpanels were rarely

  used down here, and then only in areas where no mining was performed.

  Jaina shivered uncontrollably as she, Lowbacca, and Em Teedee made

  their way cautiously through the shafts, careful to avoid any contact

  with Czethros's henchmen.

  Lowie's thick ginger fur provided ample protection against the cold,

  but Jaina's comfortable brown flightsuit warmed her only a little.

  Lowie was also better equipped to see in the darkness, but since no

  light whatsoever was allowed to filter down into the tunnels, it was

  difficult for either of them to discernwhat lay ahead.

  At Lowie's suggestion, Em Teedee brightened his optical sensors just

  enough to allow the two Jedi to see a meter in front of them. They did

  not want to attract the attention of anyone who might turn them over to

  Czethros. With Lowie's permission, Jaina walked a step behind, her

  numb fingers threaded into the fur on his back for warmth. The

  processed air in the tunnels chilled her throat and lungs with each

  breath.

  When she exhaled, a white mist streamed from her nostrils, further

  obscuring her dim vision.

  A part of Jaina wished that Zekk, Jacen, and Tenel Ka were here to help

  them fight against the hostile takeover of Kessel. On the other hand,

  Jaina and Lowie were Jedi Knights themselves. They were resourceful,

  and she had no doubt that the two of them could find a way to seriously

  disrupt the plans Czethros had made.

  "Do you suppose we're anywhere close to that computer terminal we

  need?" Jaina asked through chattering teeth.

  "Yes, indeed, Mistress Jaina," Em Teedee replied in a modulated

  whisper. "I daresay we are now less than point-three kilometers from

  one of the emergency administrative terminals."

  Hope warmed Jaina, but only slightly. Lowie gave a questioning bark.

  "Oh, yes. Quite certain," Em Teedee replied, swiveling on his

  imcrorepulsorjets to look back at Lowie. "You see, I took the liberty

  of downloading not only the diagrams of the docking facilities on

  Kessel, but also a topographical map of all the major mining areas,

  along with a listing of landmarks and technical stations, before we

  left Master Nien Nunb's office."

  :'You what?" Jaina said. Lowie gave a surprised woof 'Oh, but I

  assure you I had his complete authorization to-" "We believe you, Em

  Teedee," Jaina said, laughing out loud with relief. "Why didn't you

  tell us that before? We could have used a more detailed map."

  "Well, you didn't inquire," Em Teedee said, continuing to lead the way

  with his dim illumination. "The subject simply never arose. I had no

  idea that information would be so useful. I certainly didn't

  anticipate an invasion force overthrowing the legal administrators and

  staging a complete takeover of the spice mines."

  Jaina shivered. "Neither did I. I certainly didn't dress for it."

  Lowie began walking faster; knowing that they were close to their goal

  seemed to give him renewed energy. Jaina forced herself into a trot to

  keep up with the lanky Wookiee. Through the Force and her contact with

  her friend, Jaina could sense that a plan was beginning to form in

  Lowie's mind. Her spirits lifted.

  "Hey, Em Teedee?"

  :,Yes, Mistress Jaina?"

  'I'm glad you're on our team."

  Lowie groaned as the terminal rejected his request for access to the

  secure systems on the administrative level for the third time. Jaina

  bit her lower lip and tried to apply some creative thinking.

  "I sure wish we knew what Czethros was up to right now," she said.

  Lowie shrugged and pounded a hairy fist against the terminal in

  frustration.

  "Master Lowbacca, if I might be so bold ... ?" Em Teedee piped up.

  "Perhaps my circuits can be applied to overcome some of Kessel's

  security routines?"

  "It couldn't hurt," Jaina said.

  Lowie popped open Em Teedee's casing, pulled out a few leads, and

  connected them to the terminal's input port. Em Teedee proceeded to

  "Hmmm" and "Aha" for a few minutes, then said, "Oh, yes! Most

  gratifying. Even better than I might have hoped."

  A moment later, the image on the terminal screen split itself into five

  parts, with four small "windows" across the top and one large image

  taking up the lower two-thirds of the screen. To both Jaina and

  Lowie's surprise, each of the smaller images began changing rapidly,

  showing a different scene: the main cargo bay, various mining tunnels,

  the packaging chamber and conveyor belts, assorted refresher units.

  Suddenly Lowie howled in triumph.

  "Go back, go back!" Jaina said. In front of them appeared the image

  of the silver-visored Czethros seated in Nien Nunb's own administrative

  offices. He was speaking to his henchmen, who were gathered around

 
; him.

  "Can we get sound?" Jaina asked, her teeth chattering. Within

  seconds, the invasion leader's gruff voice came from the terminal

  speaker.

  "Now that we've consolidated our position on Kessel, we need to

  reconfigure the main transmitter. When that is finished, we send our

  signal. And then nothing will be able to stop us. That signal will

  launch a thousand different takeovers in key industries and businesses

  across the galaxy. Everything perfectly timed. My army may not be

  large, but I have the right people in the right places. Once they take

  control, my network will be too powerful for even the New Republic to

  fight against.

  "Only I could have brought this about." He smiled around at his

  confederates. "And you, my trusted colleagues, will be there to see it

  all happen. I've planned everything down to the last second. Nothing

  begins until we send our signal, because any resistance to our plan at

  any of the key points in my network could bring everything crashing

  down around us."

  His fiery cyber-eye glared around at his followers as he continued.

  "And anyone responsible for the slightest hitch in my plan will pay

  with his life."

  "Good work, Em Teedee." Jaina shivered as she grinned over at Lowie.

  "Well, we know where he is now."

  Lowie rumbled thoughtfully.

  "No, Master Lowbacca," Em Teedee said in a tiny voice. "I'm afraid

  Master Nien Nunb did not grant me authorization to access any of the

  primary security systems." The translator droid gave a mechanical

  sigh. "Of twenty possible clearance levels, I'm afraid I've been

  granted only two. These levels are designated for infrastructure

  operations."

  "And what does infrastructure operations include?" Jaina prompted.

  The little droid made an embarrassed sound, as if he was clearing his

  throat. "The er, janitorial functions, it would seem."

  Lowie's lips peeled back from his Wookiee fangs in a feral grin.

  Jaina's eyebrows raised, and she looked at her friend. Her imagination

  sparked with quite a few interesting ideas. "I think we can work with

  that. Don't you?"

  Lowie gave a gleeful bark and began issuing orders to Em Teedee at a

  rapid rate as he punched in commands at the terminal. "Ah, yes. I

  see." Em Teedee passed the commands on through the appropriate

  allthorization filters. "Oh my, that would be most unpleasant."

  Within minutes, an alarm shrieked through the administrative levels.

  In the tiny image onscreen, fire-retardant systems sprang to life all

  around Czethros, spewing protective foam from hidden valves in the

  walls and ceilings. The bubbly mixture squirted across his visor and

  into his moss-green hair.

  "Shut that thing off!" the tiny image of Czethros snapped.

  Half a dozen foam-covered lackeys sprang to do his bidding. Jaina

  chuckled. It took several minutes for the confusion to die down and

  the alarms to be turned off, but Jaina and Lowie were ready.

  Under Jaina's direction, Em Teedee methodically accessed each of the

  refresher units-and reversed the sewage containment systems. Jaina and

  Lowie did not have to wait long for results. In less than two minutes,

  Second Administrator Kymn, covered in disgusting glop, came running

  into the office where Czethros and his people were still cleaning up

  the fire-retardant mess. His eyes looked slightly wild, as if

  something had just happened to him that lay outside the scope of his

  imagination.

  "Sir, we have a problem," he announced. Around him, other henchmen's

  noses began wrinkling in distaste. Kymn lowered his voice, leaned

  toward Czethros, and began whispering, his arms gesticulating to

  emphasize his point. Czethros grabbed the five men closest to him,

  rattled off a string of orders, and propelled them bodily from the room

  along with Administrator Kymn.

  Jaina and Lowie shook with laughter. At the moment, Jaina hardly

  noticed the chill.

  By the time Kymn and two of Czethros's mercenaries entered the

  maintenance turbolift, Em Teedee was ready again. The turbolift moved

  just a few meters before Em Teedee froze it in place with an urgent

  clean-and-refurbish authorization code. Despite the gravity of their

  situation, tears of mirth trickled from the corners of Jaina's eyes.

  She and Lowie exchanged a happy hug.

  "I think we've made a good start," Jaina said.

  Lowie growled a sobering comment.

  "You're right, of course," she agreed. "If we're going to stop this

  coup, we'll have to do everything in our power to bring Czethros

  down."

  Zekk walked beside Ambassador Cilghal as she returned to the long line

  of vacationers hoping to rent oceangoing vehicles. The Calamarian Jedi

  did not push herself forward, but waited patiently until the Yarin had

  finished dealing with his current customer. When the transaction was

  complete, the Yarin gave Cilghal a small deferential bow.

  "And how may I make your stay at Crystal Reef more enjoyable?" the

  treelike creature asked ponderously, reaching for Cilghal's flippered

  hand. The Jedi ambassador accepted the question graciously.

  At the corner of his vision, Zekk saw Anja roll her eyes; she'd been

  through this tedious routine herself With her free hand, Cilghal

  gestured to Jacen. "Please allow me to introduce Jacen Solo ... son of

  the New Republic Chief of State. I'm guiding him as a special favor to

  his uncle ... Master Luke Skywalker." Zekk noticed an instant change

  of expression on the Yarin's woody face. "And these are his friends,

  Tenel Ka-princess of the Hapes system-as well as Anja and Zekk. They

  are all from the Jedi academy," Cilghal continued. "Naturally, I take

  my duties as special ambassador for Mon Calamari seriously, and I'm

  afraid my young friend here, Jacen Solo, has his heart set on showing

  his friends the beauties of the Calamarian oceans."

  Zekk admired the older Jedi's melodious voice as she spoke soothingly,

  persuasively to the Yarin. "I'm sure you can understand how important

  this could be for the public image of Crystal Reef: Jedi extolling the

  virtues and beauties of our resorts, the gratitude of the Royal House

  of Hapes ... perhaps even a visit from Han Solo and Chief of State Leia

  Organa Solo herself."

  As if blown by a light breeze, the Yarin began to sway back and forth

  to the singsong rhythm of Cilghal's words. "Hmmm. Ah yes, I see.

  Unfortunately, I have no submersibles left for rent." At Cilghal's

  expression of disappointment, he hurried on. "But if you would allow

  me, Ambassador, being harbormaster at Crystal Reef does have its

  privileges. I have my own private submersible nearby. I use it mainly

  for fixing small underwater problems, and for a bit of pottering about,

  but I would be honored if you would consent to it. It may be a tight

  fit for five people, but I'm sure-" "Hey, that's great!" Jacen said.

  "It'll do just fine."

  "Why, thank you. We'd be delighted," Cilghal assured the tree

  creature.

  The Yarin beamed at the small group. His kindly eyes lit on Anja. />
  "I'm sorry, young lady, that I almost disappointed you. You should

  have let me know you were in such distinguished company."

  Zekk saw Anja blink, as if surprised that the Yarin now believed her to

  be in "distinguished company." Her cheeks reddened, as if it had not

  occurred to her until now that running around with Jedi Knights,

  royalty, ambassadors, and the children of war heroes and the Chief of

  State might actually impress some people.

  "This way, this way," the Yarin said, motioning them toward his private

  dock. He gave Zekk a shrewd glance. "And you, young Jedi, have the

  look of a fine pilot about you, if I'm not mistaken. I believe I could

  entrust my minisubmersible to your capable hands." Zekk looked at the

  Yarin in surprise.

  "Hey, I'm a pretty fine pilot myself," Anja objected as they reached

  the dock where the minisub was tethered.

  "Zekk is an excellent choice," Tenel Ka interrupted. "I believe he is

  the finest pilot among us."

  "Besides," Zekk muttered to Anja, "you're not going to pilot anything

  until I get my ship back." She clamped her lips shut and folded her

  arms across her chest. "I'm sure Cilghal will help me pilot the sub,

  since I'm in unfamiliar waters."

  The treelike harbormaster opened the hatch with one branchy hand and