Ghost of the Jedi

by John Whitman

circled most planets. This looked like the largest space station ever built.

  If some brilliant beings had wanted to build an artificial continent, or even

  a small planet, they could not have done better than this.

  By the decayed look of the metal, and the pockmarks left by years of

  asteroid collisions, the station must have been hundreds, maybe thousands of

  years old. Different areas of the station seemed to have been designed by

  different engineers as well. It looked as though it had been added to and

  expanded over the centuries. The station was a dozen kilometers high and its

  length was impossible to guess-it stretched on forever in every direction.

  And it was absolutely dark. Not a single running light, or landing

  beacon, or environmental glow panel burned anywhere along its length.

  "By the Maker," Deevee said softly. "That is Nespis 8.

  "Nespis 8?" Zak asked. "You know this place, Deevee?"

  "Only from my extensive historical files," Deevee replied sarcastically.

  "After all, I was a cultural research droid before I become your caretaker,

  and I was considered reasonably efficient at my job."

  Uncle Hoole seemed unconvinced. "Deevee, I thought Nespis 8 was just a

  legend. Recheck your memory banks."

  "What's Nespis 8?" Tash asked.

  The droid paused while his computer brain verified the information. "It

  is confirmed, Master Hoole. Based on its size, and its apparent age, that is

  indeed Nespis 8."

  "What's Nespis 8?" Tash repeated in exasperation.

  Deevee ignored her tone. "According to legend, the Jedi Knights built the

  space station Nespis 8 as a meeting place for scientists from across the

  galaxy. The station was devoted to knowledge and learning, and it was

  considered neutral territory. Even if two planets were involved in a brutal

  war, their scientists could come to Nespis to do research. As knowledge grew,

  so did the station, until it was supposed to have grown to the size of a small

  planet. The legends say that Nespis 8 contained all the knowledge in the

  galaxy. Including," Deevee added, casting a meaningful look in Tash's

  direction, "all the wisdom of the Jedi."

  "The Jedi," Tash breathed the word as if it were a wish.

  "That's correct," the droid affirmed. "It is said that the Jedi

  maintained a library on Nespis that contained all the writings of their

  ancient masters. But few dared to look for it. I have heard it said that the

  halls of Nespis 8 are haunted by the ghost of a Dark Jedi-"

  "A Dark Jedi?" Zak asked, half-joking. "Now there are dark Jedi too?"

  "Dark Jedi," Deevee explained, "were Jedi Knights who served the dark

  side of the Force. Now please let me finish." The droid paused. "They say

  Nespis 8 fell to the dark side, and the library was put under a curse

  forbidding anyone to enter. Only a true Jedi could enter the library and

  resist the dark-side curse. Of course, all of this is just a legend, and not a

  very convincing one, in my opinion."

  "Whooo!" Zak gave a mock shudder. "Dark Jedi curses-scary stuff."

  Hoole dismissed the story with a shrug. "The galaxy is full of rumors.

  This one is nothing more than an old spacer's story"

  "Even if it's not," Zak said, "it shouldn't bother Tash. Since she's our

  resident Jedi, she should be safe as a Wookiee in a tree!"

  "Shut up, Zak!" Tash snapped. She hadn't meant to react so sharply, but

  she didn't like Zak joking about her interest in the Jedi. Sometimes she felt

  strange sensations, almost like warnings-warnings she hoped were the beginning

  of the Force growing in her. But her dreams of becoming a Jedi Knight had

  seemed to fall apart recently. On their last adventure, Tash had had the

  chance to wield a Jedi lightsaber. She had failed miserably. "Besides," Tash

  grumbled finally, "everyone knows there's no such thing as ghosts."

  "Enough," Hoole said. "We have far more urgent concerns. This is where

  ForceFlow told us to meet him, but this station is enormous. I have no idea

  where we might find-"

  The Shi'ido was interrupted by the bleep of an indicator light.

  Zak checked the reading, then pointed toward a wide opening in the side

  of the space station. "Someone just activated a homing beacon. It's coming

  from that landing bay."

  Hoole looked sidelong at his niece. "Well, Tash, it appears your friend

  ForceFlow is extending his hand to welcome us."

  The Shroud banked toward the darkened landing bay and settled into a

  cavernous chamber. To everyone's surprise, as soon as the ship came to a halt,

  an energy field activated at the edge of the landing bay, blocking out the

  freezing cold of space. Seconds later, breathable air began to flood the space

  dock.

  "Someone is definitely expecting us," Zak muttered.

  "Of course," Tash said. "ForceFlow wouldn't let us down."

  "Opening the hatch," Hoole declared.

  The Shroud's hatch opened with a loud squeal that reverberated through

  the docking bay. Only the dim glow of the ship's landing lights cut through

  the darkness. As Tash passed in front of one of those lights, she cast a long,

  thin shadow that stretched out for thirty meters across the floor.

  Her footsteps echoed mournfully. She stopped. As the echoes died, she

  thought she heard something else. It sounded like cloth brushing against skin,

  or a soft breath.

  "Hello?" she called out.

  "Hello? Hello? Hello? " the walls of the empty space station replied.

  "Creepy," Zak whispered. "It doesn't look like there's anyone here."

  "I suppose the systems could have been automated," Deevee suggested.

  Zak looked at his sister, who was staring off into the darkness. "Tash,

  do you sense anything?"

  She shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. I'm not a Jedi, anyway."

  Uncle Hoole considered. "Perhaps we should have a look around. Stay

  close..."

  Tash wasn't listening. Despite what she had said, she did feel something.

  She just couldn't tell what. In the past, when she sensed danger, it was like

  a pit opening in her stomach. But this was... different. It was like someone

  was out there, in the darkness, staring at her. She felt like the Ranat in

  Jabba the Hutt's palace-blind and deaf, trying to touch someone she couldn't

  see or hear. Before she knew it, she had wandered away from the others, deep

  into the darkness of the space station. The ship's lights were now only a

  distant gray blur, almost lost in the thick blackness. Tash waved her hand

  before her face, but couldn't see it.

  She still felt someone's presence.

  She groped blindly forward, afraid of stumbling over anything in the

  dark. She was sure at any moment that she would find something. Something was

  there, she was sure.

  Her hand touched cold metal. She had reached the wall of the docking bay.

  She felt around for a moment-nothing there. It was just a wall. Confused and

  frustrated, Tash turned to head back to the others.

  As she did, she felt a cold breath on her back, and a heavy hand fell on

  her shoulder.

  CHAPTER 5

  The grip on Tash's shoulder tightened and she let out a yelp of surprise.

  Her cry bounced back and forth on the walls
until it sounded like an army of

  frightened voices.

  "Be silent," said a deep voice. The strong hand on her shoulder turned

  her around slowly. There was a soft click, and a small glow rod ignited and

  slowly grew in power, illuminating the air around it. Tash winced, expecting

  to see someone-or something-horrible.

  Instead, she found herself looking up at the most handsome man she had

  ever seen. His hair was as dark as a midnight sky. His blue eyes twinkled as

  brightly as stars. His face was creased as if from years of care, and softened

  only by a dark moustache. He carried himself confidently. He reminded Tash of

  the gambler Lando Calrissian, but he lacked the roguish air of a con man.

  "I will not hurt you," said the man. His voice was smooth and comforting.

  "You are Searcher 1?" he asked, using Tash's HoloNet code name.

  "Y-Yes," she managed to say. "You can call me Tash."

  The man nodded. "Greetings, Tash. I am ForceFlow."

  "ForceFlow," she repeated, hardly believing it. She had met him at last.

  The man who had first introduced her to the legends of the Jedi Knights. The

  man who risked his life to make others aware of the evil acts of the Empire.

  He looked exactly as she had imagined.

  "I did not mean to frighten you," he said.

  "You didn't - I mean, I just thought there was nothing behind me but a

  wall. And then I felt this cold breath, and..."

  ForceFlow pointed his small glow rod toward the wall. A small door had

  slid open, revealing a passageway beyond. "I came through there. You must have

  felt the air shift."

  His words were drowned out by the clanging echoes of approaching

  footsteps. Hoole, Zak, and Deevee had heard Tash cry out. A beam of light

  swept across the wall and settled on them both.

  "Tash, are you all right?" Hoole demanded.

  Tash blinked in the bright light. "I'm fine, Uncle Hoole."

  By this time she had regained her composure. She introduced the others to

  ForceFlow, who shook Hoole's and Zak's hands. He even gave Deevee a slight

  bow.

  "And what should we call you?" Hoole asked. "ForceFlow is only your

  HoloNet code name, isn't it?"

  The man hesitated. "ForceFlow will do. Now, if you'll follow me, I can

  take you to a comfortable place, where we can talk."

  They waited while Deevee secured the ship in dry dock, then they all

  followed ForceFlow down the passageway he had opened. The corridor led to

  several intersections, all of them dark. But ForceFlow seemed to know his way,

  lighting their path with his glow rod.

  "Pardon me, sir," Deevee asked as they walked. "But am I right in

  assuming that this, in fact, is Nespis 8?"

  ForceFlow glanced over his shoulder. "It is. Unless you believe the fools

  who say Nespis is only a legend."

  Hoole said, "But it is hard to believe that such a large and famous space

  station could remain undiscovered for so long."

  ForceFlow shook his head. "Nespis is not 'undiscovered.' I have known

  about it for years. Scavengers and looters come by every now and then to pick

  over the ruins. And lately, there have been fortune hunters. We'll probably

  run into a few of them here. Don't worry, they're mostly bored professors who

  have retired from teaching to try something more exciting."

  "Fortune hunters?" Zak asked excitedly.

  ForceFlow nodded. "Nespis is full of undiscovered treasures-valuable

  gems, cargo holds filled with spice, things like that. Treasure hunters come

  looking for anything valuable."

  Hoole had been studying ForceFlow closely. Now he asked, "Why did you

  want us to meet you here?"

  ForceFlow answered without hesitation. "Tash said you were on the run

  from the Empire." ForceFlow opened his arms. "Look around. This is as far from

  the Empire as you'll get. The life support systems still function on most

  areas of the station, and you can even run equipment if you find a live power

  cable. This is where I hide out from the Empire when things get too dangerous.

  "

  "Is that why you sometimes take so long to answer my HoloNet messages?"

  Tash asked.

  ForceFlow nodded. "Besides, there's something here that may help you

  defeat your enemies, if you can find it."

  "What?" Tash asked.

  ForceFlow turned and looked her right in the eye. "The Jedi library."

  "You mean it really exists?" she asked. "I thought it was just a legend."

  "It is a legend," Hoole said firmly.

  ForceFlow shrugged. "Nespis is supposed to be a legend too, but you're

  walking in it right now."

  Hoole frowned. "But the Emperor and Darth Vader hunted down all the Jedi

  and destroyed any mention of them. It is hardly likely that they would have

  left behind such a valuable thing as a Jedi library."

  "Unless they couldn't find it," ForceFlow responded as he made one final

  turn and entered a wide chamber. "They say it's very well hidden."

  "Who says?" Zak asked.

  "They do."

  He pointed into the chamber. Like the rest of Nespis, the chamber was

  cast in deep darkness, but unlike the docking bay, this darkness was softened

  by the dim light of a half dozen glow panels. At one time, the room must have

  been a large cargo hold, but now it served as the base camp for a small group

  of interstellar travelers. There were five or six of these little camps, each

  separated from the others, and each containing the equipment and supplies of

  one or two fortune seekers. High above, the ceiling had been replaced by a

  wide bubble of transparasteel. Beyond it, a bright field of stars twinkled,

  creating a breathtaking scene that equaled the view of any planet's night sky.

  "This place is called the solarium," ForceFlow explained. "From here, you

  can take passageways to almost any part of Nespis 8. Also, what little power

  is left in Nespis runs through cables in this room. That's why most of the

  fortune hunters make their camps here."

  "Are they friendly?" Tash asked as they approached the fortune hunters'

  camp.

  "Hey, loves!" called out a gray-haired human woman cheerfully, as if

  answering Tash's question. "Newcomers! Welcome to Nespis 8. What are your

  names? Where are you from? Say, any chance you passed through Corellia?

  That's where I'm from. Name's Domisari of Corellia, but I haven't been

  back there in months. Haven't even had any news in weeks, and I'd love to hear

  what's zipping about in the old space lanes. You know what it's like on the

  treasure trail, never a moment to stop and stare at the stars. So, have you

  been there?"

  Tash and the others just stared at her blankly, not knowing which of her

  questions to answer first. Domisari burst out laughing. "Can't keep up with

  old Domisari, eh?" She winked. "Don't worry, no one can."

  "Um, have you been here long?" Tash asked.

  "No, no, dears," Domisari laughed. "Only just arrived. I was hunting fire

  crystals in the No-ad system before this. But I got tired of the heat there,

  and thought I'd try my hand at hunting up a few antiquities here. Well,

  anyway, welcome, welcome!" Still chuckling to herself, Domisari wandered back

  among the piles of storage con
tainers, scanning equipment, and food bins that

  made up her small camp.

  ForceFlow introduced them to a few other fortune hunters. Unlike

  Domisari, these had been on Nespis for weeks, and even months. They seemed

  friendly enough, until Zak asked one of them the wrong question.

  "So can you tell us how to get to the Jedi library?"

  A grizzled, gray-bearded treasure hunter squinted at him. "We don't ask

  questions like that, lad. My hunt is my hunt, and I don't give clues. If you

  want to be the one to find the library, go out and look for it yourself." His

  eyes glittered mischievously. "But do you think you've got the stomach for the

  search, lad?"

  The warning in the old man's voice put Tash on edge. "What do you mean?"

  The graybeard cackled. "You mean to tell me you've not heard of the

  curse? The library's a forbidden place. Meant only for the Jedi, they say.

  Anyone else who takes a single book, a single leaf of a book, a single word

  off a page of a single book, is doomed!"

  "Really, sir," Deevee stepped in, "I must insist that you not try to

  frighten my charges."

  "It's not me that'll put a fright in 'em," the treasure hunter replied.