JADESHADOW.
In Orbit Above Kessel Ben Skywalker shouldered his way through the nar-row hatch that gave access to his father"s cabin. A red-headed teen of less than average height, he was well muscled in a way that his anonymous black tunic and pants could not conceal.
On the cabin"s bed, under a brown blanket, lay Luke Skywalker. Similar in build to his son, he wore the evi-dence of many more years of hard living, including ancient, faded scars on his face and the exposed portions of his arms. Not obvious was the fact that his right hand, so ordinary in appearance, was a prosthetic.
Luke"s eyes were closed but he stirred. "What did you find out?"
"I reached Nien Nunb." Nunb, the Sull.u.s.tan co-owner and manager of one of Kessel"s most prominent mineworks, had been a friend of the Solos and Skywalkers for decades. "That yacht did make landfall.
The pilot gave her name as Captain Khai. She some-how scammed a port worker into thinking she"d paid for a complete refueling when she hadn"t-"
Luke smiled. "The Force can have a-"
"Yeah, so can a good- looking girl. Anyway, what"s interesting is that she got a galactic map update. Nunb looked at the transmission time on that to determine that it was pretty comprehensive. In other words, she didn"t concentrate on any one specific area or route.
No help there."
"But it suggests that she did need some of the newer information. New hypers.p.a.ce routes or planetary listings."
"Right."
"And she"s gone?"
"Headed out as soon as her yacht was refueled. By the way, its name is She"s a Chancer She"s a Chancer."
"Somehow appropriate." Finally Luke did open his eyes, and Ben was once again struck by how tired his father looked, tired to the bone and to the spirit. "I can still feel her path. I"ll be up in a minute to lay in a course."
"Right. Don"t push yourself." Ben backed out of the cabin and its door slid shut.
SEVERAL DAYS LATER.
Jade Shadow, In High Dathomir Orbit
Luke stared at the mottled, multicolored world of Dathomir through the forward viewport. He nodded, feeling slightly abashed. Of course course it was Dathomir.
Ben, seated to Luke"s left in the pilot"s seat, peered at him. "What is it, Dad?"
"I"m just feeling a little stupid. There"s no world better suited to be the home of this new Sith order than Dathomir. I should have realized it long before we were on our final leg here."
"How so?"
"There are a lot of Force- sensitives in the population, most of whom are trained in the so- called witchcraft of Dathomir. There"s not a lot of government oversight to detect a growing order within the population. There are lots of individual, secretive tribes." Luke paused to consider. "Jacen was here for a while on his five- year travels. I wonder what he learned and whether it relates to the Maw . . . And there are mentions in ancient records that there was a Sith academy here long, long ago."
Ben nodded. "Well, I"ll prep Mom"s Headhunter and get down there. I"ll be your eyes and ears on the ground."
Luke gave his son a confused look. "I"m not going down with you? I"m feeling much better. Much more rested."
"Yeah, but there"s a Jedi school down there. The terms of your exile say that you can"t-"
Luke grinned and held up a hand, cutting off his son"s words. "You"re a little bit behind the times, Ben.
Maybe you need your own galactic map updated.
More than two years ago, when the Jedi turned against Jacen at Kuat-"
"Yeah, and we set up shop on Endor for a while.
What about it?"
"We pulled everyone out of the Dathomir school at the time. Jacen"s government shut the school down. The Jedi have yet to reopen it."
Comprehension dawned on Ben"s face. "So there"s no school, and it"s legal for you to visit."
"Yes."
"That"s kind of getting by on a technicality, isn"t it?"
"All law is technicality, Ben. Get authorization for landing."
DATHOMIR.
Half an hour later, Luke had to admit that he was wrong. Most Most of law was technicality. The rest was special cases, and he, apparently, was a special case. of law was technicality. The rest was special cases, and he, apparently, was a special case.
He stood on the parking field of the Dathomiri s.p.a.ceport. Perhaps "s.p.a.ceport" was too generous a term. It was a broad, sunny field, gra.s.sy in some spots, muddy in others, with thruster scorch marks here and there. Dull gray permacrete domes, most of them clearly prefabricated, dotted the field; the largest was some sort of administrative building, the smaller ones hangars for vehicles no larger than shuttles and starfighters. A tall mesh durasteel fence surrounded the complex, elevated watchtowers dotting its length, and Luke could see the wiring leading to one of the permacrete domes that marked it as electrified. The s.p.a.ceport facilities offered little shade, so the Skywalkers stood in the darkness cast by Jade Shadow, Jade Shadow, but even without the heat of direct sunlight, the moist, windless air was still as oppressive as a blanket. but even without the heat of direct sunlight, the moist, windless air was still as oppressive as a blanket.
Luke poured thoughts of helpfulness and reasonability into the Force, but it was no use. The man before him, nearly two skinny meters of red- headed obstruc-tiveness, would not yield a centimeter.
The man, who had given his name as Tarth Vames, again waved his datapad beneath Luke"s nose. "It"s simple. That vehicle-" His wave indicated Jade Shadow Jade Shadow.
"Neither it, nor anything with an enclosed or enclos-able interior, can be inland under your control or your kid"s." He turned his attention to Ben, who stood, arms folded across his chest, beside his father. Ben glared but did not reply.
Luke sighed. "Is any other visitor to Dathomir oper-ating under that restriction?"
"Don"t think so, no."
"Then why us?"
Vames thumbed the datapad keyboard so that the message scrolled downward several screens. "Here, right here. An enclosed vehicle, according to these precedents-there"s about eight screens of legal precedents-can be interpreted as a mobile school, especially if you"re you"re in it, especially if its presence const.i.tutes a continuation of a school that"s been here in the past." in it, especially if its presence const.i.tutes a continuation of a school that"s been here in the past."
"This is hara.s.sment." Ben"s words were quiet, but loud enough for Vames to hear.
The tall man glowered at Ben. "Of course it"s not hara.s.sment. The order came specifically from Chief of State Daala"s office. Public officials at that level don"t hara.s.s."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Ben." Luke added a chiding tone to his voice. "No point in arguing. Vames, are you also prohibited from answering a few questions?"
"Always happy to help. So long as it"s within lati-tudes permitted by the regulations."
"Within the last couple of days, have you seen any sign of a dilapidated yacht called She"s a Chancer She"s a Chancer?"
Luke knew the yacht had to be here; he had run his blood trail to ground on Dathomir, and the girl had not departed this world. But anything this man could add to his meager store of knowledge might help.
Vames entered the ship name in his datapad, then shook his head. "No vehicle under that name made legal landfall."
"Ah."
"Dilapidated, you say? A yacht?"
"That"s right."
Vames keyed in some more information. "Last night, shortly after dusk, local time, a vehicle with the operational characteristics of a SoroSuub yacht made a sudden descent from orbit, overflew the s.p.a.ceport here, and headed north. There was some comm chatter from the pilot about engines on runaway, that she couldn"t cut them or bring her repulsors online for landing."
Ben frowned at that. "Last night? And you didn"t send out a rescue party?"
"Of course we did. As per regulation. Couldn"t find the crash site. No further communication from the vehicle. We still have searchers up there. But no luck."
"Actually, that is is helpful." Luke turned to his son. helpful." Luke turned to his son.
"Ben, no enclosed vehicles."
"Yeah?"
"Rent us a couple of speeder bikes, would you?"
Ben grinned. "Yes, sir."
STAR WARS:.
FATE OF THE JEDI: BACKLASH.
by Aaron Allston On Sale March 9, 2010
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