Shadow Academy

by Kevin J. Anderson

  squeeze. "So am I. Your parents belonged together."

  "I love my father, you know," Tenel Ka said, sobering, "and my mother."

  "And yet you've never told your friends who your real parents are," Luke

  said. "Why?"

  Tenel Ka squirmed uncomfortably in her crash restraints, which suddenly felt

  too confining. She bad often mulled this problem over, and had come to the

  same decision again and again. "It is difficult to explain," she said. "I am

  not ashamed of my parents, if that is what you think. I am proud that my

  mother is strong in the Force and that she, a warrior from Dathomir, now

  rules the entire Hapes Cluster. And I am proud of my father and what he

  managed to become, despite the way he was raised-despite the one who raised

  him."

  Luke nodded sagely. "Your grandmother?"

  "Yes," Tenel Ka gritted. "of that part of my family, I am not proud. My

  grandmother is power-hungry. She manipulates. I am not sure she even knows

  how to love." She felt a bleak bewilderment as she turned to look at Luke.

  "Yet my father is loving and wise. He is not like her."

  "No, he isn't," Luke said. "Long ago your father Isolder did something

  difficult and very brave. Realizing that your grandmother loved power so

  much she was willing to kill anyone who threatened her, he rejected her

  teaching. She is a strong, proud woman, but her lessons were poisonous. He

  chose instead to value and honor life wherever he found it. Your father's

  difficult decision was the right one."

  Tenel Ka nodded. Her thoughts were bitter. "My lineage is tainted by

  generations of bloodthirsty, power-hungry tyrants. I am not proud that I was

  born to the royal family of Hapes," she spat. "I do not wish my friends to

  know that I am their to the throne, because I have done nothing to earn it,

  choose it, or deserve it."

  Luke's face was thoughtful. "Jacen and Jaina would understand that. Their

  mother is one of the most powerful women in the galaxy."

  Tenel Ka shook her head violently. "Before I tell them, I must prove to

  myself that I am not like my ancestors. I choose to take pride only in what

  I accomplish, first through my own strength, and then through the

  Force-never through inherited political power. My parents are very proud

  that I have decided to become a Jedi."

  "I understand," Luke said. "You've chosen a difficult path." He smiled at

  her warmly. "It is a good start for a Jedi."

  * 10 *

  The next day, Jaina's joy at seeing her brother again was overshadowed by

  Tamith Kai's presence and the fact that they were each being shepherded down

  the corridor by a pair of well-armed stormtroopers.

  When Jacen broke away from his guards just long enough to give her a quick

  hug, she spoke her words in a whispered burst. "I've got a plan. I need your

  help."

  Rough, armored hands pulled the brother and sister apart. One of the

  armor-clad guards leveled his blaster pistol at the twins and motioned them

  to move on. Jaina smiled in wry amusement. Even with Tamith Kai present,

  Brakiss still wasn't certain of their cooperation. The stormtroopers were

  here to ensure that they caused no trouble.

  A slight nod of Jacen's head told Jaina that he understood her words. "Want

  to hear a joke?" he asked brightly, purposely changing the subject.

  "Sure," Jaina answered with feigned innocence.

  Jacen cleared his throat. "How many stormtroopers does it take to change a

  glowpanel?"

  Jaina cringed inwardly. Her brother certainly was brave-or perhaps

  foolhardy. Nonetheless, she took the bait. "I don't know, how many

  stormtroopers does it take to change a glowpanel?"

  One of the guards stepped ahead of Jaina and stopped at the door to a

  lecture room in which she could see dozens of people seated. She guessed

  they were probably the other Shadow Academy trainees. The guard with

  the blaster pistol gestured for them to enter.

  "It takes two stormtroopers to change a glowpanel," Jacen said in a voice

  loud enough for everyone to hear. "One stormtrooper to change it, and the

  other one to shoot him and take credit for all the work."

  Jaina tried unsuccessfully to suppress a snort of laughter. Tamith Kai

  glared violet daggers at Jacen.

  Jacen squirmed under her angry regard and muttered, "I can tell you're from

  Dathomir. Your people aren't exactly known for their sense of humor."

  As her two guards took her arms in a bruising grip, Jaina was forced to

  admit that her brother's small act of bravado had released something inside

  her, had shown her that her mind - at least for now - was still free, that

  she still had choices.

  She was dragged into the meeting room, where her guards shoved her into a

  sitting position at one end of a narrow, backless bench. Jacen's guards

  seated him on the opposite side of the room-no doubt to punish him for his

  joke. Jaina was delighted to see that Lowie sat less than a meter away from

  her, with only one student between them. He roared a greeting at her and

  Jacen.

  The other students were all human, clean-cut, and wearing dark uniforms.

  They seemed eager to learn, glad to be at the Shadow Academy ,

  genuine imperial youth. She had seen people like this before. She, Jacen,

  and Lowie might be the only ones resisting the training, she knew.

  Jaina frowned when she saw that Em Teedee was still not at Lowie's belt.

  That would make communication difficult. She wondered what her uncle Luke

  would do in such a situation. She sat up straight, cleared her mind, and

  sent a gentle thought probing in Lowie's direction. She did not feel any

  pain from him. He was unharmed-of that she was certain-but she did sense

  tension, confusion, and simmering frustration. She tried to send him

  soothing thoughts. She wasn't sure how much got through, but when Lowie

  briefly reached a furry hand around to touch her shoulder, she knew he

  understood.

  Jaina wondered if she dared speak openly to her Wookiee friend. She would

  have to find out what the student next to her was like first. He was about

  her age, and a little taller. Like all the willing students, he wore a

  tight, sleek-fitting charcoal jumpsuit beneath a flowing robe of purest

  black. He had blond hair and moss-green eyes, and he glanced at her without

  any particular recognition or interest. She sent her thought probe toward

  the young man, but caught nothing beyond elusive snatches that blared

  fleetingly in her mind, like disconnected notes from an orchestra tuning its

  instruments.

  "Why are we here?" Jaina asked in a voice just above a whisper.

  "Because we are here," he replied, aloof and a bit defensive. "Because

  Master Brakiss wishes us to be here." He looked at her with suspicion, as if

  she had proved herself mentally deficient. "Are we not all here to learn the

  ways of the Force from Master Brakiss?"

  Before Jaina could reply, Brakiss himself strode into the chamber. The

  silence in the room was instant and complete. Not a cough or a syllable

  challenged his compelling presence. Brakiss let his piercing eyes rove

  across the faces of the gathered students. When hi
s eyes met hers, Jaina

  felt an inexplicable chill creep down her spine.

  Without preamble, he began to teach.

  "The Force is an energy that surrounds all living things. It flows through

  us. It flows from us."

  As his voice streamed around the students, Jaina felt her mind begin to

  relax. This wasn't so bad after all. All of it was true. The power in

  Brakiss's voice urged action, demanded agreement. Jaina saw the heads of

  many of the students nodding. She nodded too. Jaina could not remember the

  words as Brakiss led them smoothly, logically from one concept to another

  All she remembered were the thoughts, the feelings, the rightness of it all.

  Then suddenly, for some reason-perhaps it was the light touch of a furry

  hand on her back-the words came into focus again, began to penetrate the

  complacent fog of unquestioning agreement that had blanketed her mind.

  "You each have the tools inside you to master yourselves, and to master the

  Force," the tranquil, confident voice said. "And to draw on the strength of

  the Force, you must learn to draw on what is strongest in you: strong

  emotions, deep desires, fear, aggression, hate, anger."

  A resounding _No! _rang through Jaina's mind, and she shook her head to

  clear it. "That . . .can't be true," she whispered. "It's not true."

  The student next to Jaina flicked his eyes at her with a look of disdain.

  "Of course it's true," he said, as if using indisputable logic. "Master

  Brakiss said it, so it must be true."

  "What makes you so sure?" Jaina hissed. "Can't you see that he has a hold on

  your mind? You should get away from this place and start thinking for

  yourself."

  "I don't wish to leave," he said, his expression implacable. "I wish to

  study with Master Brakiss and become a Jedi."

  Jaina seethed at his stubbornness. "Have you even thought about this? You

  can't just blindly accept whatever he says without bothering to think about

  it. What if he's wrong?"

  "He is the teacher." The student's moss-green eyes blinked at her as if her

  question made no sense. He stood abruptly, begging Brakiss's attention.

  Jaina took the opportunity to lean behind him and whisper to Lowie. "I've

  got a plan! In a couple of days, I'll need you to knock out all the

  station's power. Be ready." As she sat back up, her mind finally registered

  the fact that the stubborn blond student was addressing Brakiss.

  "-is trying to convince your other students that they should not believe

  you, that you do not have the true teachings of the Force. And therefore I

  suggest that this-this girl is not a worthy pupil for you, Master Brakiss."

  Brakiss's beautiful, piercing eyes narrowed and came to rest on Jaina. She

  felt the press of his powerful mind against hers. She tried to resist.

  "You are new here," he said. "You do not know our ways. Listen to my

  teachings, then make your judgment. Decide for yourself. But do not

  encourage others to disbelieve me ever again.'' In unison, the students

  murmured their agreement-with three exceptions. "At this academy we do not

  learn only one side of the Force," Brakiss went on, resuming his lecture,

  though his comments seemed directed primarily toward Jacen, Jaina, and

  Lowie. "This is not a school of darkness. I call this a Shadow Academy

  , for what does life create by its very nature, if not shadows? And it is

  only through using the full range of your emotions and desires the light and

  the dark-that you will become truly strong in the Force and fulfill your

  destiny. The light side by itself offers only limited power. But when the

  light is blended with the dark, and you work within the shadows then you

  achieve your full potential. Use the strength of the dark side."

  Jaina looked across at Jacen, who was slowly shaking his head. Close beside

  her, Lowie growled deep in his throat. Unable to contain herself any longer,

  Jaina stood. "That's not right," she said. "The dark side doesn't make you

  any stronger. It's faster, easier, more seductive. It's also more tenacious.

  Just as the light side brings freedom, the dark side brings only bondage.

  Once you enslave yourself to the dark side of the Force, you may never

  escape."

  A collective gasp went up, but no one said a word as Jaina and Brakiss faced

  each other over the students' heads. Brakiss was silent for a long moment,

  his mind pressing down on hers with suffocating weight.

  With a mental heave Jaina flung aside the influence of his mind on hers and

  challenged him, her eyes filled with pride, her thoughts free.

  At last, Brakiss shook his head sadly. "I did not wish to make an example of

  you. But you leave me no choice. You have chosen to pit your puny light-side

  powers against my own. I gave you one warning. You will not receive

  another."

  With that, Brakiss lifted one hand slightly, almost as if to wave a fond

  farewell. Blue fire danced from his fingertips and surrounded Jaina in a

  haze of bright agony. Brakiss's calm cruelty against Jaina launched Lowbacca

  into an unbridled rage. Unable to control himself, he leaped from his

  cramped seat, knocking over the blond student. He howled at the top of his

  lungs and bared long Wookiee fangs. Ginger-colored fur stuck out in all

  directions as he yanked up the bench he had been sitting on and raised it

  over his head.

  Alerted by the disturbance, the guards charged into the room, their stun

  pistols drawn, looking for the source of the chaos-and the enraged Wookiee

  was not difficult to find.

  Lowie threw the bench at the incoming stormtroopers. His blow knocked the

  first cluster of guards backward into each other, tumbling them down like

  children's blocks. Five more stormtroopers tripped over their fallen

  companions but still managed to wade into the room. The other Shadow

  Academy trainees added to the uproar, trying to shout Lowie down. The

  Wookiee just roared back at them. From the podium, Brakiss urged everyone to

  be calm, but no one listened. Another door whisked open, and a new

  contingent of stormtroopers rushed in from the far side of the room.

  Jacen dashed to his unconscious sister's side and cradled her head and

  shoulders in his lap. With relief, he sensed that she was not seriously

  injured from the Force blast. She groaned and blinked her brandy-brown eyes,

  trying to fight her way back to consciousness.

  "Jaina," he called. "Jaina, snap out of it!"

  "All right . . . I am," she said, struggling to sit up. Then she seemed

  suddenly to notice the brawl that Lowie had started on her behalf.

  The second set of stormtroopers drew their stun pistols as Lowie yanked a

  bench out from under another Shadow Academy student, sending her to

  the floor. The student squealed in outrage. Lowie ignored her and raised the

  bench to throw at the incoming stormtroopers.

  They pointed their stun pistols and fired, but the beam caught the front of

  the bench, doing no damage. Lowie tossed it, and the troopers scrambled out

  of the way as the bench crashed against the side wall.

  Lowbacca ducked to pick up something else to throw-and just as he did, the

  first set of stormtroopers on the other
side of the room, finally climbing

  back to their feet, fired their stun pistols. Glowing blue arcs shot over

  Lowie's back, missing him and striking full against three of the second set

  of troopers on the other side, stunning them. They sprawled senseless on the

  floor in a clattering tumble of white plasteel armor.

  "Cease this disturbance!" Brakiss shouted. His normally smooth features had

  lost their serene composure.

  One of the stormtroopers in the first group took two steps forward and aimed

  his stun pistol directly at Lowie's back as the Wookiee stood up, presenting

  an easy target.

  Jacen watched and - in the moment before the stormtrooper could fire - used

  his greatest strength with the Force to grasp the trooper's blaster and

  wrench it halfway around, twisting it in the white-gloved hand so that when

  the guard squeezed the firing button, the barrel was pointed toward his own

  chest. The stun beam splashed out, knocking the trooper to the ground,

  unconscious.

  "Lowie, I'm all right," Jaina called, picking herself up and climbing to her

  feet. "Look, I'm all right!"

  More stormtroopers rushed in from both sides of the room, weapons drawn.

  "Lowie, calm down," Jacen said.

  Lowbacca looked from side to side, fingers spread, arms ready to tear

  something apart, until he saw he was clearly outnumbered.

  Brakiss stood with his fingers outstretched. A shimmering power curled

  between them, ready to be unleashed. "We don't want to damage you," Brakiss