in two directions. One went back to Lyric's world, the other led up to the
portal of Sistra and the brown green tundra of the moon.
"We know the way from here," Anakin said softly. "Will you be safe? Or
do you want us to take you back to your people before we leave?" Anakin
asked.
"No," Sannah replied.
"No you won't be safe, or no you don't want us to go back with you?"
Tahiri asked the girl.
"No, I don't want to go back to my world," Sannah said in a quavering
voice, her yellow eyes fixed on the two Jedi candidates.
"What do you mean?" Anakin asked.
"I want to go with you," Sannah replied evenly. "I want to study at
the Jedi academy, learn about the Force, and develop the skills I need to
help protect my people."
"We can't take you with us," Anakin gently explained. "We're not Jedi
Knights; we don't have the authority to bring anyone to the academy. Only
Luke Skywalker and the other Jedi can do that."
"Why?" Sannah said.
"Yes, why?" Tahiri echoed, as she mulled over the idea.
"Tahiri," Anakin said in exasperation, "you know we can't just bring
Sannah back to Yavin 4!"
"But you saw the way she fought the raith," Tahiri replied. "She's
sensitive to the Force-I can feel it, Anakin!"
"You've seen what the predators on this planet do to my people,"
Sannah said as she met Anakin's ice blue eyes. "The children are
defenseless. For every avril we successfully fight off, there is another
that steals two of us away. For every raith we spear, five more devour our
eggs. And judging from the time it took you to leave the lower passage, and
the tears in your jumpsuit, you've seen the strength of the purella. We
cannot fight them at all!" Sannah cried. "It is not in anger that I ask you
to take me," Sannah said, steadying her voice. "Though controlling my fury
is something I will have to learn. Take me because I feel the thing you
call the Force. Take me because I will pledge myself to the peace and
knowledge of the Jedi, and to the use of the Force not in anger, but only
only in defense."
"Do the elders know that you want to leave with us and attend the
academy?" Tahiri asked. They couldn't take the girl with them without the
elder Melodies's permission.
"Yes," Sannah replied. "I leave with their blessing. Especially
Lyric's."
"If Luke Skywalker doesn't feel you are strong in the Force, you'll
probably be returned to Yavin 8," Anakin said slowly.
"I'll take that risk," Sannah replied. "I'm only nine years old. If I
am permitted to stay until my changing ceremony, I'll return with the
skills to help. And regardless of Luke Skywalker's decision, at least I
will have tried to help my people."
Anakin turned toward the portal.
"Come on, then," he called over his shoulder to Sannah.
Tahiri grinned at the girl and grabbed her hand. The three children
emerged from Sistra into the early-morning sunlight. They paused on the
purple rocks and breathed in the fresh air of hope. Tahiri, Anakin, and
Sannah climbed down Sistra quickly. Anakin hoped that Old Peckhum had
returned with the supply ship; he and Tahiri were too tired for another
battle. Moments later, his hopes were answered as the longhaired old
courier raced toward the children.
"I've been searching all night for you!" Peckhum cried, his hands
wrapped around an old-fashioned blaster rifle. "I couldn't find the portal
to Lyric's world in the mountains. Where have you been-I was so worried!"
He didn't pause to wait for an answer. "You look terrible," he said as he
studied Tahiri's and Anakin's torn, dirt-covered clothing. "Are you all
right? And who's this?" He gestured toward Sannah.
"We're fine," Anakin assured the frantic pilot.
"This is Sannah," Tahiri added. "She's coming back to Yavin 4 with us.
"
Peckhum was too relieved to argue with them. All he wanted to do was
get safely back to the Jedi academy. No more baby-sitting for him! The
children and the courier began walking toward the shuttle. They did not
encounter any raiths or reels as they traveled. And, when they heard the
distant shriek of an avril as they boarded, Anakin smiled at its fierce,
though strangely beautiful, cry.
Sannah had never been on a shuttle. She sat next to Peckhum and stared
out the window as her world shrank from view and the shuttle was engulfed
by the evening skies. Anakin could hear her questions drift back from the
front of the craft, and visions of Lyric, who had been in the same seat
only yesterday, swam through his mind. He wondered if he'd ever see her red
ringlets, glistening pink tail fin, and gentle yellow eyes again. He hoped
Lyric would be happy in the crystal waters of her world.
And what about Sannah?
Anakin hoped that Uncle Luke would allow the girl to study at the
academy. The young Melodie was sensitive to the Force. He had felt the
strength in her, and so had Tahiri.
"Do you think Master Luke will be angry at us for bringing her?"
Tahiri asked with a nervous nod toward Sannah.
"I'm not sure," Anakin replied. He, too, felt his stomach tying itself
in knots.
They made a brief stop to deliver Peckhum's supplies to another cargo
ship that circled Yavin, waiting for the Lightning Rod. Then, the pilot
headed their shuttle back to Yavin 4. It was all Anakin could do to make
himself stand up and move toward the door when the ship had landed. A jolt
of terror ran through him. If Sannah told Uncle Luke about the carvings he
and Tahiri had risked their lives to find in the lower tunnel of Sistra,
his uncle would want to know why. And there was no way he could lie to Luke
Skywalker. Anakin would be forced to tell him about the messages the
Massassi had left, and the golden globe in the Palace of the Woolamander.
If that happened, the prophesy that the Jedi Master Ikrit had foretold
would occur: the globe would shatter into a thousand pieces of crystal and
the children trapped within its glittering sands would be lost.
"Sannah," Anakin called urgently. The Melodie walked back to him and
Tahiri. "I need to ask you a favor."
"Anything," Sannah instantly replied.
Anakin steadied his voice.
"Sannah, I need you to promise not to mention the strange carvings in
the rocks of Sistra to Luke Skywalker," Anakin said. "Please don't tell him
that Tahiri and I risked our lives to read the carvings in the lower
tunnel. If you do, countless beings will be in grave danger."
"I would never want to get you into any trouble," Sannah said softly.
"I promise."
"Thank you, Sannah," Anakin said with relief. "Now please wait inside
the shuttle until we tell Uncle Luke that we brought you." Anakin didn't
want to spring Sannah on his uncle without an explanation.
Sannah nodded and shrank back from the shuttle door as it hissed open.
As he watched the door open, Luke Skywalker was not pleased. He was
dismayed to see his nephew and Tahiri emerge bruised and battered. Both
students were covered with streaks of purple dirt, and thei
r orange academy
jumpsuits were torn. In addition, thick strands of what looked like spider
webbing hung from the leg of Anakin's jumpsuit, and blue-green algae was
dried to the tops of Tahiri's bare feet.
"Hi, Uncle Luke," Anakin said with a little smile.
"Welcome home," Luke Skywalker said in a voice ringing with concern.
"You are both a mess. What happened to you on Yavin 8?"
"We ran into some pretty nasty creatures," Tahiri said with a nervous
grin. "But Lyric's changing was a success."
"I want both of you to see the medical droid about your wounds," Luke
Skywalker solemnly instructed as he wrapped his arms around Anakin's and
Tahiri's shoulders and drew them away from the shuttle. "We'll discuss your
adventures after I'm sure you're all right. And I may have a word with
Peckhum."
"Er, Uncle Luke, there's something we need to talk about before we go
to see the medical droid," Anakin said nervously.
Luke Skywalker turned to face his nephew.
"Can't it wait?" he inquired.
"Well, it's not exactly an it," Anakin began. "It's a she. Her name is
Sannah. She's a Melodie we met on Yavin 8.... I think she's sensitive to
the Force," Anakin continued weakly, embarrassed to even suggest to his
uncle that he thought he could recognize strength in the Force when he was
only a Jedi candidate.
"Tell me about her," Luke Skywalker said.
"She fought a raith," Tahiri began. "That's a giant black, hairy
rodent with jagged teeth. She did it using the Force-I know she did because
I felt it. She wants to study at the academy so she can learn to protect
the Melodie children from the predators on her moon," Tahiri went on
without taking a breath.
"There's so many of them - avrils, raiths, and reels, and enormous
red-bristled spiders named purellas which, believe me, are vicious." Then
Tahiri, too, faltered before Luke's silence and the calm of his pale blue
eyes.
"She's in the shuttle," she finally murmured.
Sannah appeared in the doorway of the shiny craft, then slowly came
down the ramp. The rustling of her light green tunic was the only sound
that broke the silence of Luke Skywalker's stare. She approached the Jedi
Master, her large yellow eyes never leaving his face.
"Welcome to the Jedi academy, Sannah," Luke said when the young
Melodie reached him. "We have a lot to discuss. Anakin, Tahiri, please go
see the medic. I'll take care of your friend," Luke instructed.
Tahiri and Anakin didn't want to leave Sannah. But there was no
disobeying the stern note in Luke's voice. They both turned and left the
hangar.
"Do you think Master Luke will let her stay?" Tahiri whispered as they
headed to the turbolift that would take them to the upper levels of the
Great Temple.
"I hope so, Tahiri," Anakin replied. "But I just don't know."
Anakin and Tahiri hunched over several sheets of paper on the stone
floor of Anakin's room. They'd returned from the academy medical droid only
a short while before. She'd cleaned their cuts and bandaged Tahiri's ribs.
Tahiri had been right: the reel that had tried to crush her had cracked one
of them. The medical droid had also taken a sample of their blood to make
sure the purella's venom had left their systems. It had. And, except for
the cuts and a few bruises, she said the two Jedi candidates were fine.
It was late afternoon, and after a shower and a change of clothing
Tahiri had gone to Anakin's room. Now both candidates sat hard at work,
trying to decipher the symbols left by the Massassi.
"Anakin, are you done writing down the message from the lower tunnel
of Sistra?" Tahiri asked impatiently.
"Almost," Anakin said, his eyes closed as he recalled the carvings and
scribbled them down. Tahiri studied the symbols from the Palace of the
Woolamander. She desperately hoped that they'd be able to decipher them
from the translation Aragon had recalled of the carvings on Yavin 8. To do
so would mean breaking down the carvings from the lower tunnel of Sistra
and matching each symbol to the words Aragon had remembered. Tahiri
fervently hoped that the elder Melodie's memory hadn't been faulty. If it
had, they wouldn't be able to translate the carvings in the palace. And
they would not be able to help the children trapped within the golden
globe.
Tahiri looked at another sheet of paper. On it were the words Aragon
had spoken. Words that Anakin had written down moments ago, as if Aragon 's
voice still echoed in his head.
"Peace to all. We are the Massassi. We beg the ones who read this
message to travel to the fourth moon. Break the curse that the evil Jedi
Knight Exar Kun made to enslave the Massassi and imprison our children. We
cannot break the curse ourselves, but will leave a message in our palace to
help those who can."
Tahiri had just finished reading when there was a soft knock on
Anakin's door.
"Just a minute," Anakin called as he scrambled to hide the sheets of
paper he and Tahiri were working on. "Come," he called.
The door opened and Luke Skywalker stood looking at the two
candidates.
"The medical droid told me that your wounds have been treated," Master
Luke said as he moved to sit on a stone chair. "Anakin, it is lucky that
you weren't badly hurt, or your mother would have had my head," Luke said
sternly. "I'm very glad that you both are safe and back at the academy."
Anakin heard the note of concern in his uncle's voice. Leia Organa
Solo was Uncle Luke's sister, and his mother had entrusted her youngest son
to Luke Skywalker's care. There was no way Uncle Luke would accept any
unnecessary actions on his or Tahiri's part that would have put them in
danger. If he learned that either had been foolhardy on Yavin 8, Luke
Skywalker would not only be displeased, but they might be sent home. Anakin
desperately hoped that Sannah hadn't mentioned the carvings.
"I've heard from Sannah that you fought bravely to protect the
Melodies from predators," Luke Skywalker continued. "That you used the
Force to protect your friend, her people, and yourselves."
Luke Skywalker studied Anakin's young face. He hoped his nephew
understood the gravity of the situation he'd survived. "I'm pleased that
Lyric survived the changing and is now an elder," Master Luke continued.
"However, we must discuss Sannah."
Anakin's heart sank. Sannah was being sent home.
"We're sorry, Uncle Luke," he began. "It's just that we couldn't deny
her the chance to help her people-"
"Don't apologize," Luke Skywalker interrupted. "It's true that the
Melodies on Yavin 8 are unable to protect themselves well from the
predators that roam their moon. That's one of the reasons that Tionne
brought Lyric to the academy. Even though Lyric was close to the time of
changing, Tionne recognized that she was strong in the Force. We both hoped
to teach Lyric enough so that she could return to her moon and help the
Melodies. And I think we were successful. Lyric will begin to seek those of
her people
who are sensitive to the Force, and to help them understand the
Force. She herself understands it deeply, even though her time here was
short. Sannah's time with us will be longer."
"Did you just say what I think you said?" Tahiri cried.
Before Luke Skywalker could answer, Sannah appeared in the doorway in
an orange academy jumpsuit. Tahiri leapt toward her new friend and enfolded
her in a hug.
"You were right-she is strong in the Force," Luke Skywalker said. He
embraced the three Jedi candidates before he strode from the room and left
them alone. Anakin turned toward Sannah.
"Welcome to the academy," he said softly.
"Thank you," Sannah replied with an enormous smile. "Thank you for
bringing me here. I've got to go see the Jedi Knight Tionne now," she
explained. "She's going to show me where my room is and tell me more about
the academy."
Sannah turned to leave Anakin's room.
"By the way," she said over her shoulder. "I didn't mention the
carvings in the lower tunnel to Master Luke. Your secret is safe with me."
Anakin and Tahiri exchanged a relieved look.
"Let's get back to work," Anakin said when Sannah had left. He pulled
out the papers and started writing symbols down in the place he'd left off.
A few more lines and he'd be finished. Then he and Tahiri could begin
matching symbols to letters. Once they knew what letter each symbol stood
Lyric's World Page 7