Under A Black Sun Trilogy
Page 48
"Yeah," Jacen admitted, squirming a bit. "But hey, that's no excuse.
I'm sorry I doubted you."
Han put an arm around Jacen's shoulder and gave him a brief hug.
"Thanks, kid. You've got no idea how good it feels to hear you say
that. Really makes me feel like we're a family again."
Jacen felt as if a weight had been lifted from his mind. He grinned
around like an idiot at his father and mother, then at Jaina and
Anakin.
Anakin's ice-blue eyes were rolled to one side in that odd expression
he wore when solving a puzzle. Around them, the buzz of conversation
in the eating hall rose and fell in random patterns.
"Okay, I think I've got it," Anakin said. "Nothing simpler."
Jaina smiled and ruffled her younger brother's dark hair
affectionately. "All right, what does the master puzzle-solver of the
galaxy think the solution is?"
"Solution to what?" Jacen wanted to know, reaching over to take a hot
bread-puff. Two serving droids hustled in with trays of steaming
foods, recipes sure to please the palates of any number of species. He
thought briefly of the wild food fight they'd had just after they'd
first met Lowbacca-so much had changed in all that time.
Leia spread her hands on the polished table. "We still need to find
out who the Black Sun infiltrators and operatives were. I'm hoping to
thaw Czethros out from that block of carbonite he's in so that I can
question him."
"I'd like to be there when you do that," Han Solo said. Half of his
mouth quirked in a wry smile. "I have some experience with
carbonfreezing. And besides, Czethros was an old ... acquaintance of
mine."
Leia's dark eyes lit with amusement, and a dimple appeared in her
cheek. "Yes, you might be of some help. I seem to remember it wasn't
easy to get you unfrozen from carbonite and away from Jabba the Hutt.
But even if we work together to question Czethros, we don't know if
he'll cooperate and give us any names."
"Wait. I have another idea," Anakin said.
"All right, kid, shoot," Han said encouragingly.
Anakin brushed his straight dark bangs away from his piercing blue
eyes. "You haven't made any general announcement yet about capturing
Czethros, have you?"
Leia shook her head. "I've asked Nien Nunb to keep it quiet. We don't
want Black Sun putting out a bounty on Czethros before we have a chance
to interrogate him."
"Good." Anakin looked at his sister. "Did Czethros program in any
specific destinations for his message beacons?"
Jaina sighed. "Afraid not. He had the message programmed in, but it's
in some sort of unbreakable code. All we managed to learn for sure was
the frequency he planned to use."
Anakin clapped his hands. "That should be enough." He directed his
gaze back toward his parents. "This could be tricky. Here's what I
suggest. Pick a planet and alert the people there that something
important is about to happen and to watch for it."
"Go on," Jacen urged, interested in his brother's line of thinking.
' ' Then we send a message via direct beam only to that planet," Anakin
said. "Use the message Czethros programmed, and sent it on the
frequency he was planning to use." He shrugged. "Then sit back and
wait to see what happens."
Han and Leia exchanged hopeful glances.
"Just might work," Han said. "We can fight the little takeovers one at
a time, instead of all at once. Black Sun doesn't stand a chance that
way."
"I knew I had one brother who was a genius," Jaina said with a teasing
look at Jacen.
It was Anakin who blushed, though. He shrugged. "The biggest problem
with my plan is that you'd probably have to do this dozens of times,"
he said.
Leia leaned over to give her younger son a kiss on the cheek, then
stood briskly. "I guess I'd better get our people started on this
right away, in that case. Before word leaks out." She smiled down at
her husband. "I'll be in the comm center if you need me." Then she
swept out of the room.
That evening, while Leia made strategic arrangements, more visitors
poured into the Jedi academy-friends, family, dignitaries, and the
occasional HoloNet news reporter. During this time, Anja found a
moment to draw Han Solo aside and speak with him.
Han looked decidedly uncomfortable as they sat opposite each other on
wooden benches in a small alcove. A narrow window slit in the stone
wall let in moonlight that splashed on the floor like a dividing line
painted between them.
Anja took a deep breath, knowing that there was much she had to say.
She hardly knew where to begin. "I-I never thanked you," she stammered
at last.
Obviously surprised, Han Solo sat up straighter. This wasn't what he
had expected at all. "For what?" he asked with a hint of suspicion.
"For taking me in. For going to my planet and helping to stop the
civil war there. For keeping Lilmit from supplying more weapons to my
people. For putting in a good word with Master Skywalker for me, even
though I obviously despised you......
Anja's voice caught in her throat, and she swallowed back a sob of
emotion. She remembered how Jacen often tried to lighten the mood when
things got tense. "And thanks for not throwing me out the Millennium
Falcon's airlock when you had the chance."
Han Solo seemed to relax a bit. "Hey, no one's perfect. I'm glad I
was able to help."
"Your children helped me too."
"They're great kids, Jacen and Jaina," Han said with no small amount of
fatherly pride.
"Did you know I tried to turn them against you?"
"It worked a little," Han admitted. "At least with Jacen. But the
truth is stronger than hatred."
"I got close to your kids because I wanted to hurt you, because I
believed you murdered my father and ruined my life. But once I got to
know Jacen and Jaina, I started to understand that if anyone had ruined
my life, it was me. I chose the wrong person to trust. I was always
looking for someone to blame. I believed Czethros and his lies about
you, because I wanted my problems to be somebody else's fault."
"And now?" Han asked.
"I don't want to hurt you anymore," Anja said. "My father was
responsible for his own life-and probably for his own death-just like
I'm responsible for my life and the way I've decided to live it so
far.
I judged you before I ever got to know you. Can you ... forgive me?"
Han nodded. "I had my scoundrel days, too, you know. Did plenty of
things I'm not proud of Even though I didn't kill your father, I have a
lot of other things I could feel guilty about. But that's long in my
past now-put it all behind me and made a new life. It's possible, you
know."
"Yes, I know. Even so, if my friends hadn't trusted me, I wouldn't
have believed in myself." Anja felt a sense of relief But where did
she go from here? "I'll have to find a job, I guess. A legal one,
that is. I know I'm not cut out to be a Jedi Knight," Anja admitted.
>
"I never used to believe in all that Force mumbo jumbo, but I see now
that it's real. It's just not me. I can't stay here at the Jedi
academy. Know anyone who needs a good pilot?"
Han put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "I just might
have a few ideas, at that."
Over the next two days, preparations continued for the great ceremony
to honor the young Jedi Knights. Arrivals continued on the jungle moon
as well, until nearly everyone at the Jedi academy had welcomed some
visitor or other.
Zekk spent considerable time with old Peckhum, who had returned in the
Thunderbolt. Tenel Ka's parents-Teneniel Djo and Isoldercame to see
her, followed by Ta'a Chume, Tenel Ka's grandmother from Hapes, and
Augwynne Djo, her great-grandmother from Dathomir.
In addition to Chewbacca, Lowie was surprised when his entire family
showed up on Yavin 4. His parents, Mahraccor and Kallabow, had taken a
brief leave from their jobs at the computer fabrication facility on
Kashyyyk. His sister Sima had also managed to break away from her
duties as a New Republic emergency pilot to come see her ginger-furred
brother honored in the ceremony. Raynar's mother, Aryn Dro Thul, and
his uncle Tyko-who were assisting the Chief of State in her
investigation into Black Sun activities-were also very much in
evidence, dressed in formal Alderaan colors as well as the insignias of
the Bomaryn trading fleet.
Han and Leia spent as much time with their children as possible between
planning sessions for the grand awards ceremony or conducting the Black
Sun investigation. Anakin's best friend and fellow student Tahiri had
the full attention of the Jedi historian Tionne whenever the
silver-haired instructor was not teaching classes. When they were
offduty, even See-Threepio, A-rtoo-Detoo, and Em Teedee enjoyed long
droid conversations together, discussing the merits of various
lubricants or the superiority of one type of motivator over another.
Master Skywalker himself welcomed many of his former students who had
returned for the festivities. Looking unruffled and serene, he split
his time, sometimes visiting with Leia and her family, sometimes
catching up on news with former students, sometimes greeting visiting
dignitaries, and sometimes encouraging his students and trainees.
On the day of the actual ceremony, in the midst of all the furor, the
companions managed to steal away to the platform on the top of the
Great Temple and find some quiet time together. Anakin and Tahiri sat
at one side of the platform, dangling their bare feet over the edge,
while the fluffy creature lkrit, their frequent companion, basked in
the sun beside them.
At one corner of the platform, Raynar and the cinnamon-maned centaur
girl, Lusa, sparred with stunsticks. Lowie, Em Teedee, Jaina, Zekk,
and Anja arranged themselves along another side of the platform to
watch the busy landing field. Having just finished taking care of his
menagerie of animals, Jacen now joined his friends, his fluffy blue pet
gort riding on his shoulder. Tenel Ka, just finished with her
morning's calisthenics, dashed up one of the staircases at the four
corners of the Great Temple to meet them.
When they were all together, Anja said, "I guess this is about as good
a time as any to say good-bye. I'll be leaving after the ceremony."
"Why?" Jacen asked, sounding the slightest bit disappointed.
"Because I don't belong here," Anja said. "I've got to do something
with my life, but being trained in the Force just isn't it."
"So, where are you going?" Zekk asked.
Anja shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I can't stay at the Jedi academy.
I'm not a Jedi. But you all are-you belong together."
"We will not always be together, however," Tenel Ka said. Lowie woofed
his agreement.
"Right," Jaina added. "We all just had that long talk with Uncle
Luke.
You know, the one that goes, 'Now that you're more or less a full Jedi,
you have to think about what you want to do in life."
" Anja gave a wry smile as she threw her silky dark hair behind her
shoulder. "That's not exactly the talk I had with him, but it's close
enough."
"Well, hello...... A voice from behind startled them all. "Han told me
I might be able to find you here."
"Lando!" Jaina jumped up and greeted their visitor with a hug.
Lando Calrissian's smile was as brilliant as his flowing cape in the
morning sun. "I'd like to thank you all personally for what you did to
stop Czethros. Cloud City is perfectly normal again." He gave a
slight bow, swirling his colorful cape. "Just like me, there are a lot
of lucky business owners in the galaxy whose companies are intact
because of what you did. They just don't know it. But I do, so I
wanted to thank you." I They all assured Lando that he was very
welcome.
"Now, since that piece of business is taken care of," Lando went on
smoothly, "there's another reason I came up here this morning."
His flashing eyes fixed on Anja Gallandro. "My buddy Han tells me you
might be in the market for a brand-new job. And I just happen to be in
the market for a good pilot."
Anja jumped to her feet. Her face looked hopeful, and at the same time
slightly suspicious. "I do need a job, but. . ." Her voice trailed
off.
"But ... ?" Lando prompted.
"I was pretty rude to you the last few times we met. I can't believe
you'd want to hire me."
Lando flashed his white teeth. "I try not to hold a grudge. Besides,
I know what it's like trying to find honest work when you know all you
need is a chance." He held out a hand to Anja. "Would you mind being
... respectable for a while? It's all I've got to offer."
"I'll take it," she said, shaking his hand.
Instead of letting her hand go, Lando smoothly tucked it under his arm
and began walking with her toward the stone steps, spilling details of
the position. "Now, you understand it doesn't pay much at first, but
there's plenty of room to advance in my businesses."
Anja's attention focused completely on Lando. "Fair enough,
Calrissian. I can handle that. What about benefits? Do you use
incentives?
Profit sharing?"
Lando threw back his head and laughed. "Young lady, I can see that we
speak the same language."
As they approached the entrance to go down into the Great Temple, Anja
looked back at her friends and waved. "I'll see you at the ceremony,"
she said, then returned her attention to Lando.
As the two disappeared, arm in arm, Jacen heard Anja say, "If you're
really interested in giving people a chance to reform, I know this guy
named Lilmit. I think he could really use a job, too......
Jacen grinned. Anja really had come a long way.
"Jacen, my friend?" It was Tenel Ka. "Would now be an appropriate
time to ask about the item you intended to give me?"
"Sure. I brought it with me," Jacen said, reaching into the pocket of
his rumpled brown jumpsuit. He held the object out to her. Irregular
>
shards of translucent pearly pink dangled from a knotted cord of fine
leather. "It's a necklace," he explained unnecessarily. "I made it
from the shards of Nicta's gort egg. Many cultures consider it to be
very precious-the egg, I mean." The gort sat angelically on his
shoulder.
Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Jacen could have sworn that
some sort of liquid shimmered in Tenel Ka's gray eyes when she said,
"It is beautiful, Jacen, my friend. Would you please assist me in
putting it on?"
Jacen reached both arms beneath her red-gold warrior braids to tie the
theng at the back of her neck.
Before he could finish, Tenel Ka pulled him into a strong embrace and
said, "I will treasure your gift more than all the rainbow gems of
Gallinore." Zekk put an arm around Jaina. "I don't have a necklace
for you, but you can be my copilot-or my pilot-anytime you want."
Resting her head on his shoulder, Jaina chuckled. "Don't think I won't
take you up on that. Besides, necklaces aren't exactly my style."
Lowie looked thoughtfully, longingly up at the sky. He rumbled a
mellow comment. "Indeed?" Em Teedee replied. "Well, I'm afraid I,
for one, shall never understand these humans."