Under A Black Sun Trilogy

by Kevin J. Anderson

  dear life. Fortunately, the group was so tightly packed that there was

  little room for jostling about.

  As soon as the doors whisked open again, a blaster bolt streaked into

  the turbolift. Jaina and Lowie ducked. A guard cried out as a

  scorching bolt singed the shoulder of his uniform.

  Jaina and Lowie dove out and rolled as they hit the floor. Keeping

  low, they crept around the equipment in the assembly line. They could

  see the polished black legs of the blind beetles that worked there.

  The sharp insectoid limbs were suddenly thrown into a frenzy as the

  unexpected violence disrupted their daily work.

  Czethros blasted one of the beetles. Its shell split open, and it fell

  dead beside one of the open vats of raw carbonite, cracking its jaws.

  Steaming green ooze poured from the smoking wound. Another wild bolt

  shattered vials of andris on the conveyor belt line, and the machinery

  groaned to a halt. Sparks and smoke filled the air. The Kessel guards

  took up defensive positions, laying siege to the lone fugitive.

  "Czethros, you can't get away now. Give yourself up," Jaina said.

  Lowie roared, adding his encouragement.

  Czethros did not surrender. Instead, more blaster fire rang out from

  where he had hidden himself between the bubbling vats of carbonite and

  their monitoring systems.

  "Dear me! It would appear that he doesn't wish to be taken alive," Em

  Teedee said.

  "I'd rather not kill him," Jaina said. "I'm hoping the New Republic'll

  find him a nice comfortable prison cell off on an asteroid somewhere.

  But first we have to capture him." She raised her voice. "We know all

  about your plan, Czethros! You can't send your signal. Black Sun has

  failed. It's over."

  "Maybe," Czethros bellowed back. "But we've still got a thousand

  traitors in a thousand important positions throughout the New

  Republic.

  You'll never figure out who they are. Someone else will pick up the

  plan."

  Jaina wondered if he wanted to bargain with them, but she didn't have

  that kind of authority, nor did anyone here. They would just have to

  capture him and let the New Republic deal with his crimes. "That's

  possible," she said, "but right now the entire plan is useless without

  your coordination. We'll ferret your people out sooner or later."

  One of the guards shouted, "Why don't you surrender, Czethros?

  It's the only way you'll come out alive."

  "Black Sun will kill me no matter what prison you choose. I don't have

  a chance anyway."

  "But we could try to protect you," the guard argued. Lowbacca roared,

  urging Czethros to come out.

  ,'All right then. I'll surrender." Czethros's answer came too easily;

  Jaina sensed a subtle devious intent in his voice. "I'm holding out my

  weapon. I'm coming out. Don't shoot."

  Czethros slowly eased from his sheltered position between equipment,

  moving around boxlike storage alcoves, cabinets, and engine housings.

  He held his blaster in front of him, carefully pointing it away from

  all the others. They watched uneasily as he crept forward, edging

  along the side of the carbonite vat where the dead beetle he had gunned

  down still sprawled.

  His face looked cloudy, uncertain, just the way a prisoner's should.

  The moment the majority of the guards had lowered their weapons by the

  merest fraction, Czethros rolled, swung up his blaster rifle, and

  stepped sideways, screaming, "You won't take me alive!"

  But as he let fly a full-power blast from the rifle, his foot came down

  in a pool of slick, oozing green blood from the beetle he had killed.

  He slipped and stumbled over the carcass. With a loud cry, his blaster

  rifle firing harmlessly toward the ceiling, Czethros lurched

  backward-and fell into the open vat. The carbonite enveloped him in

  its fog of absolute, penetrating cold.

  Tendrils of white vapor whirled up as the carbonite made quick work of

  the Black Sun lieutenant. In an instant, Czethros was frozen solid

  ...

  perfectly preserved by the frothing liquid.

  Grumbling, Lowie crept forward to stand carefully at the edge of the

  vat. Guards stood in shock. Nien Nunb chattered under his breath, not

  sure what to do.

  Lowie looked down into the swirling, metallic-gray currents and mumbled

  something. He felt the unrelenting cold wait up to freeze the fur on

  his face.

  Jaina agreed. "You're right, Lowie. This is one way to capture him.

  The minisub that sailed back into the artificial harbor at Crystal Reef

  was as battered as any starship Zekk had ever seen survive a space

  battle. Before the companions could even emerge from the Elfa, the

  treelike harbormaster was there on the dock beside it, making horrified

  exclamations. To Zekk's absolute amazement, however, the Yarin's

  expressions of concern were for the passengers, not his damaged ship.

  Still fussing and exclaiming, the Yarin ushered them past the queue of

  waiting customers and into his office. The look of dismay on the

  treelike alien's face was truly comical, and he waved and rustled his

  branched arms. Without asking for an explanation, the harbormaster

  ordered hot drinks and soft warm robes for each of the returned

  passengers.

  "I can't tell you how sorry I am that your undersea experience here at

  Crystal Reef was not everything that you had hoped." The Yarin eyed

  their injuries with some trepidation: Zekk's cut and blistered fingers

  from working in the engine compartment with insufficient tools, the

  lump on his forehead, the bruise on Tenel Ka's cheek from a chuck of

  floating ice ...

  "I assure you we'll attend to your medical needs immediately, but if

  there's anything else I can do to make it up-" "Please," Ambassador

  Cilghal broke in gently, "it is we who should apologize. In our

  enthusiasm to explore the polar ice cap, we neglected to take into

  account the ... appetites of some of the ocean's larger denizens."

  With a look of wonder, the Yarin leaned toward her. "Tell me.

  What happened?"

  Cilghal, with the help of Zekk, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Anja, told the

  story of their encounter with the mighty sea creature, strategically

  leaving out all information about the andris spice. After all, the

  Jedi did not know who at Crystal Reef might be working for Black Sun.

  The Yarin listened with rapt attention, asking a series of probing

  questions and delighting in their answers.

  "Then it's true," he said at last. "You actually saw a Great Arctic

  Skra'akan and survived to tell of it." His voice held a tone of awe.

  "Did you perhaps capture the event with a holocam?"

  "Not intentionally," Tenel Ka replied.

  "We were all kind of occupied at the time," Jacen added.

  "I guess we didn't realize what a big event it was," Anja admitted.

  Zekk thought for a moment. "I don't suppose the Elfa's equipped with

  one of those microholocams that makes a complete record of a trip in

  case some sort of disaster happens?"

  The Yarin's face lit with excitement. "Yes, of course! I use it as a

 
supplementary log. I cannot wait to review the recordings! It is good

  luck, you know, to see a Great Arctic Skra'akan."

  Anja gave him a wry smile. "Well, we're lucky to be alive. Does that

  count?"

  Cilghal looked at her battered companions. Jacen wondered if they

  would have to edit the images of destroying the spice stockpile, or if

  the Ambassador would classify the tapes.

  "Your ... Skra'akan, was it? ... got pretty violent there for a

  while," Jacen said.

  A look of apprehension dawned in the bulky harbormaster's eyes.

  "You didn't. . ."

  "Kill it?" Zekk said. "No. In fact the last time we saw the

  creature, I have no doubt he was still happily imagining us as his next

  meal."

  The Yarin gave a satisfied sigh. "Then all is well."

  Cilghal took a long drink from her mug and said, "There's still the

  matter of payment for the damage to your vessel."

  The harbormaster waved a branchlike arm. "Think nothing of it. If you

  truly brought back images of a Great Arctic Skra'akan, I believe that

  the Elfa and those holos may become a permanent tourist exhibit here at

  Crystal Reef.

  "Besides"-he dropped his voice to a tone of confidentiality"the

  administration of Crystal Reef has promised me that if Jedi Master

  Skywalker, the Chief of State and her husband, or the rulers of the

  Hapes cluster make an official visit to Crystal Reef thanks to your

  efforts here, I will be rewarded with two new minisubmersibles of my

  choice."

  Jacen grinned at him. "Great! We'll just have to see what we can do

  to arrange that."

  After Crystal Reef's medical droids had treated their injuries, the

  companions thanked the harbormaster again for his assistance.

  Promising to meet Jacen and Tenel Ka back on Kessel, Zekk and Anja said

  their thanks and good-byes to Cilghal and went to retrieve the

  Lightning Rod from the docking bay where Anja had left it. Zekk was

  glad to be back behind the controls of his own ship again.

  Cilghal took Tenel Ka and Jacen in the waveskimmer and headed back to

  her floating city, where the Rock Dragon waited for them.

  "Jacen, my friend. I have been meaning to ask you something," Tenel Ka

  said in a serious tone as the waveskimmer carried them across the

  ocean. "Would you consent to be my ... copilot?"

  Jacen's lopsided grin was instant and enthusiastic. "I thought you'd

  never ask."

  The journey back to Kessel passed much too quickly for both of them.

  Their conversation was constant and interesting, and Tenel Ka even

  encouraged Jacen to tell a few jokes. He teased her throughout the

  trip, and when he called her "Captain," a smile of amusement curved the

  corners of her mouth.

  "Remind me to give you something when we get back to Yavin 4," Jacen

  said as he and Tenel Ka brought the Rock Dragon down through Kessel's

  thin atmosphere toward the docking bay that ground control had just

  approved for them.

  She arched an eyebrow at him. "What shall I tell you to give me?"

  Jacen felt his face grow warm. "Just something I made for you.

  I've kind of been waiting for the right time."

  The next few minutes were occupied with landing procedures. Jacen, who

  hadn't often seen Tenel Ka pilot a ship, was surprised and pleased at

  how well she handled the Rock Dragon. The landing was smooth, clean,

  and uneventful.

  "Back to boring old Kessel," Jacen said. "I could use a bit of a

  rest."

  The Lightning Rod was berthed next to the Rock Dragon. Between the two

  ships, Jacen was amazed to see Jaina, Lowie, Zekk, and Anja exchanging

  warm hugs of greeting. Nien Nunb was there too, and Em Teedee hovered

  about, happily providing translations for anyone who needed them.

  As Jacen and Tenel Ka disembarked in the industrial-looking docking

  bay, Zekk looked up at Jacen and shrugged. "I've already apologized to

  Jaina for not coming to her rescue."

  "Why?" Jacen said. "Because she was so bored?"

  Lowie roared an objection. Jaina punched her brother on the arm.

  "Bored? While you all were off on your little pleasure cruise," she

  said, a teasing look in her brandy-brown eyes, "we were busy trying to

  save half the major businesses in the galaxy from a hostile takeover by

  Black Sun."

  Lowie gave a roar for emphasis. "Indeed," Em Teedee said. "You have

  absolutely no idea how much we have to tell you."

  With the crisis finally over, the return trip from Kessel to the Jedi

  academy was uneventful. The companions-Zekk, Jaina, and Anja in the

  Lightning Rod, and Tenel Ka, Jacen, Lowie, and Em Teedee aboard the

  Rock Dragon-spent the time exchanging stories of their adventures.

  When they all arrived at the landing field on Yavin 4, with its lush

  jungle surrounding the spectacular ancient pyramids, Master Skywalker

  himself was there to welcome them back.

  Wearing a mock-stern expression on his face, the Jedi Master looked

  around at the young Jedi Knights and Anja and Em Teedee. "I just

  received an enlightening message from a former student of mine on Mon

  Calamari, Ambassador Cilghal. I'm not sure I understand why the

  administration at Crystal Reef wants me and Han and Leia to take an

  all-expense-paid vacation there."

  Luke pursed his lips and gave a slow bemused shake of his head.

  "And I got a glowing message a few minutes ago from Nien Nunb on

  Kessel. He thanked me repeatedly for allowing you to stay long enough

  to help him fix his transmitter ... ?"

  He shook his head again, as if he could hardly believe what he had

  heard. "I thought I sent all of you out to find a friend who was in

  trouble-not to save the entire New Republic from a hostile financial

  takeover." The stern set of his lips softened into a proud smile. "I

  wonder if I'll ever stop being surprised by the things my students

  manage to accomplish when they work together."

  The companions looked at each other, somewhat embarrassed.

  "Anyway, now I have a surprise for you. The New Republic has decided

  to hold a celebration here in a few days-and it's about time, after all

  the work you've done. I think you're all going to receive some

  long-overdue appreciation, after defeating the Shadow Academy and

  thwarting the Diversity Alliance, and now Black Sun. Our first guests

  should be here by evening meal. But before they start arriving, I'd

  like the chance to speak with each of you alone. We have some

  important issues to discuss about your future. All of you."

  "Luke-Master Skywalker?" Anja spoke hesitantly. "If you wouldn't

  mind, sir, I'd like to be first."

  The Jedi Master looked into her large eyes for a long moment and then

  nodded. "I see you've come a long way."

  By twilight the entire Jedi academy was in a state of controlled

  pandemonium. Excitement and anticipation hung in the air like rich

  perfumes. Cooks and Jedi trainees and even New Republic security

  guards bustled back and forth in the kitchens, helping to serve the

  guests who were already beginning to fill the Great Temple.

  With a minimum of the usual
fanfare that accompanied the travels of the

  Chief of State, the Millennium Falcon showed up in time for evening

  meal, carrying Jacen and Jaina's parents, their younger brother Anakin,

  Chewbacca, and the golden protocol droid See-T'hreepio. Jacen made a

  point of sitting next to his father as the Solo family ate their first

  meal together in months. While Jaina was busy explaining how Czethros

  had schemed to trigger a revolution of sorts via transmitter, Jacen

  spoke quietly with Han.

  "I know I've been kind of a jerk, halfway believing you murdered Anja's

  father because of how she told the story, and I'm sorry. I guess she

  was just so hurt and angry all the time, I figured there had to be a

  reason." Han raised his eyebrows. "And I was that reason?"

  Jacen shrugged. "Well, Anja believed you were."

  "And you believed Anja." Han's face became more stern.

  "Not anymore," Jacen said. "I've known you all my life, and you've

  never lied to me. Well, maybe exaggerated sometimes-but only for

  dramatic effect. Anyhow, I should have known you were telling the

  truth."

  "A pretty girl with a pair of sad eyes can make it hard to see the

  truth sometimes," Han observed.