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pSweat trickled down into the corner of Zekk's eye. He bit back the pain and concentrated on The Force- the living things around him in the dense jungle on Yavin 4. He looked at his own yellow-orange Lightsaber, then at his opponent, Tenel Ka. The one armed Warrior Princess of Dathomir and Hapes. iBlock!/i He thought. She was, again, beating him. But that's why he loved challenging her. He had joined Master Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy, or Praxeum as Master Skywalker liked to call it, much later than she had. But he had had Jedi training before the Praxeum; though he did regret that. He had been recruited for Brakiss's Shadow academy and become almost a full Dark Jedi. But luckily he was cared for enough, even after almost totally destroying the Jedi Academy, to be still excepted by his friends, Jaina and Jacen Solo, Lowbacca, the Wookie of Kashyyk, and Tenel Ka, the Warrior Princess.
iBlock again!/i Zekk concentrated on the Force harder. iAttack!/i She blocked again, then came from the left with enough power to knock the blade from his hand. As soon the handle left Zekk's body warmth the blade turned off. Then the hum of both lightsabers was silenced./p
p"Better luck next time, Zekk, my friend." Tenel Ka Said Without the slightest sign of happiness that she had just beat her opponent single-handedly, literally./p
p"Thanks," Zekk replied, "I'll need it if I'm planning on dueling with you." Zekk walked over to where his lightsaber had flown, still glad he had lasted longer than ever against Tenel Ka. "Do you know where Jaina and Jacen are?" Zekk changed the subject of his loss./p
p"I believe it is time to for Jacen's pets to be fed. Jaina is probably working on the Rock Dragon with Lowbacca." Tenel Ka replied, "I think I'll go help Jacen with his growing gort, Nicta." /p
p"Okay," Zekk replied, "I'll go see if Jaina wants to work on the Lightning Rod." They both walked through the jungle to the newly rebuilt Massasi temple./p
p"No!" Jacen yelled, "Not in there!" Jacen ran to the cage holding the Seventeen-toed Marf-mice. He grabbed the gort just before she had unlatched the cage and let all of the newly hatched, baby, Marf-mice out. He looked at his young gort straight in the three eyes, "Not for Nictas," he said as if he were talking to a little baby. Though Nicta was only about three months old; she was already about a foot tall. Though, that's still very small compared to a full-grown female gort. They could grow to be up to 7 feet tall.
Jacen stroked Nicta's new feathers, which had more purple than in her down. If you looked around Jacen's quarters you would assume he owned some sort of young bird. There was royal blue down everywhere. He had been trying to keep the mischievous gort out of trouble lately. But, she always found a way to get out of Jacen and Jaina's Double quarters. And Jaina hadn't been very pleased with finding blue fuzz in all of her components whenever she wanted to upgrade the Lightning Rod or tinker with a computer chip.
Nicta made a high pitched purring sound, a few squawks then jumped out of Jacen's arm to sleep on her roost./p
p"Jacen, am I late?" Tenel Ka suddenly appeared in the doorway of Jacen's room./p
p"Late for what?" Jacen asked even though he knew the answer. He just liked listening to sound of her voice./p
p"To help with caring for your menagerie of creatures." she answered./p
p"Well, I've fed just about everyone." Jacen replied, "I suppose you could feed the Piranha-beetles." Jacen joked/p.
p"I was not aware that you kept such viscous animals of that sort." Tenel Ka said with the just slightest bit of confusion in her voice. "But, Oh well if that is the only-"/p
p"No, I don't have any piranha-beetles." Jacen cut Tenel Ka off quickly, "I was only kidding around, trying to fool you, ya'know?"/p
p"Ah, Aha!" Tenel Ka replied without any of confusion in her voice this time. "And, this trick of yours most certainly did work. But that does not answer my original question, are you done?"/p
p"Yeah. I'm done," Jacen answered, "In fact, I just put Nicta to sleep. She was just about to let the baby Marf-mice out. But I think you better keep your voice down, 'Cause if Nicta Hears you she'll get up and run to you. She likes you a lot, I think."/p
pTenel Ka thought about this and decided that she knew the reason "Could it be that there is an attraction to me because of," She held out the necklace that she always wore, "This necklace I received from you made of her egg shells?"/p
pJacen looked at the pinkish shards of the necklace on Tenel Ka's chest and suddenly became dazed. "Yeah, maybe." He said in a far off voice./p
p"Jacen," Tenel Ka said "Are you alright?"/p
p"What?" He asked snapping back into reality, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. But if Nicta keeps shedding like this," He gestured across the room with his hand, "not only am I gonna be knee high in blue fluff, but Jaina's probably gonna move in with you and stop speaking to me."/p
p"Then maybe I could help clean up?" Tenel ka offered, "We could use the force."/p
pJacen said nothing. He just nodded his head, smiled, and started concentrating./p
p* * */p
pJaina Solo loved tinkering. She could do it all day. Just let her upgrade The Rock Dragon or the Lightning Rod and you would never hear her complain all day. iNow, If I connect this new capacitattor to this coolent warp, I should be able to cut the time it takes to get to light speed in half/i She thought./p
p"Hey! Can I help?" a familiar voice called from behind./p
pImmediately Jaina felt happier than she had all day. She got out from under the Lightning Rod to make sure it was who she thought it was. And it was. "Hey Zekk!" Jaina said, "Did you beat Tenel Ka?" she knew the question was futile. She knew what kind of a challenge Tenel Ka was./p
p"No, not yet." He answered. "But if I keep on practicing with remotes it won't be long before I do."/p
p"So what's up?" Jaina asked. She could tell through the force that he was waiting for something, "you're anxious."/p
p"I have to work on controlling my emotions," Zekk said to himself, "But anyway,there was this contest I entered. And I think the odds were pretty good, though I'm not exactly sure what the prize is," Zekk Explained, "But the winner was supposed to be annouced today."/p
p"Oh yeah?" Jaina said, "Well I hope you win. When is the winner announced?"/p
p"Well about any time now I should be getting a message from someplace." He answered, "If I win, that is."/p
p"Win What?" before either Jaina or Zekk noticed, Jacen, Tenel Ka and Lowie appeared right behind Zekk. "Well, what could you win?" Jacen pursued further./p
p"Oh some contest I entered." Zekk replied, happy to see his other friends./p
p"Ah, and you are most confident I can see." Tenel Ka added./p
p" Ack! Leaking my emotions again. Well-" Zekk Began. When yet another figure stepped into view./p
pIt was Lusa, the centaur girl and Jedi learner. "I have a message for Zekk." She said, "You can take it the comm room."/p
p"Where's it from?" Zekk asked with a smile on his face and some idea of what it might be about./p
p"Some place called Naboo. You ever hear of it?" Lusa replied./p
p2/p
pMar Mar Binks, the Gungan ambassador to the new republic, waited nervously for the contest winner. "Mesa hopin' hesa show soon!" he said to himself in the broken Gungan basic. Mar Mar knew the winner was a Jedi Knight, and a rather famous one at that. He had never met a Jedi- or apprentice- before. But, his father, Jar Jar Binks, had been saved many times by them. The famous Jedis, at least on Naboo, Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, helped save the Gungans and the humans on Naboo from the invasion army of the extinct Trade Federation in the last years of the Old Republic.
Jar Jar had passed on about five years ago. He had died a wiser Gungan than when he had first met the Jedis. He was famous for bringing the Naboo and the Gungans closer together. After Boss Nass had died, The Gungan council chose Jar Jar as the next Boss. And though the Gungans didn't have their best years with Boss Binks, he was a better Boss than expected./p
p"Where in dee swamp could hesa be?" Mar Mar was getting very nervous about talking to a Jedi. His father had told him how powerful they were./p
p"Never bein messin wit a Bombad Jedi!" Mar Mar remembered his father's words./p
pThen at long last the Jedi trainee appeared. He had a pale, white face, emerald green eyes, and his hair was the darkest possible brown.
"Umm…hi." Said the boy, "Did I win?" The young Jedi Knight had an ear to ear smile./p
p"If yousa name Zekk," Mar Mar answered, "yousa win a Five-person stay at dee royal palace of Theed!"/p
pZekk did dance around whatever room he was in. "Five- People?! That's perfect!"/p
Zekk aid still trying to catch his breath, "Wow! That's- great! I just so happen to have four friends! Where's Theed anyways and how many nights? When can we leave? Does a small droid count as a person? Oh Hi! I won!"
pThis seemed to be the most excited anyone had been in the history of the Naboo's annual easy win contest. "Umm... Well, Mesa 'spect all yousen question bein answered in dee "You Win" packet that will be coming some time today." Mar Mar had just noticed that four others had joined Zekk. Another young man, a Wookie, and two young women, one of which was missing an arm. Mar Mar Binks out and I hope to see you very soon."/p
p* * */p
pThe Duck-billed, amphibious creature's image faded away. "Wow! I can't believe I won!" Zekk yelled, "this is great! And, guess what, I can take all of you!"/p
p"You can take all of us?" Jaina asked excitedly, "But when do you leave and where in the Galaxy is Naba? That is it isn't it?"/p
p"Ya know, Jaina, I have most of the same questions." Zekk replied, "and it's Naboo. But what I really want to know is what in the name of the Force that Duck-Salamander thing was and why it talked so weird!"/p
p"It was probably one of the indigenous beings of 'Naboo'" Said Tenel Ka in her normal extra calm voice./p
p"Hey, I wonder what kind of animals there are on this place." Jacen wondered out loud, "I don't know, but 'Naboo' sounds strangely familiar to me. Maybe I should ask Uncle Luke…", He trailed off./p
p"Ask me what?" Luke Skywalker appeared, like many others had that day, out of nowhere./p
p"Oh! Hi Uncle Luke!" Jaina greeted her Uncle, "You surprised us!" Jaina ran immediately to see her uncle./p
p"Well, I heard about the commotion down here and I decided to see what was going on. Zekk, you're very excited about something."/p
p"Alright, you guys are just too good at looking at my emotions.Well," Zekk Began, "I won a trip to someplace called Naboo. For Five!"/p
p"Yeah, and Naboo sounds very familiar to me but I can't figure out why." Jacen added/p
p"I see." Luke said, "Well, if I remember correctly Naboo was the birthplace of Palpatine and before he declared himself Emperor he was the Senator of Naboo. You probably just heard that somewhere though, that's why it's familiar."/p
p"No, I don't think I ever heard that before," Jacen contemplated, "That one's new to me. But the name sounds like someplace I used to live…before I was born or something."/p
p"Yeah," Luke said, " it has always done the same to me too, and I can't figure out why. It's really weird."/p
p"Well I can't wait for that 'You Win' packet that Mo Mo guy talked about," Zekk said excitedly, "I wonder when its com-" The comm unit suddenly beeped, surprising them all. "Well I guess I'll get it." Zekk said. Then, with just a little hesitation, Zekk pushed the button.
The Comm unit made a hokey musical sound and showed a screen asking to load the file onto a Holopad. This time, without any hesitation, Zekk downloaded the file. After the file was done downloading, a picture of a nice-looking blue and green planet appeared.
Zekk looked like he was in deep thought "Hmm… must be Naboo," Zekk thought aloud, then a sudden change of face. With a huge smile he said, "Looks great! So let's find out when we leave."/p
pSuddenly, the planet started spinning around faster and faster. Then a bright red and orange banner appeared with "YOU WIN!" written on it in big, bright letters. A picture of the planet reappeared and a low, soothing, man's voice said, "Naboo, a beautiful planet rich with culture and fascinating history." Different pictures of scenic spots, such as a beautiful palace and an underwater city, appeared accompanied by the same voice, "From the ancient City of Theed to the splendor of mysterious Otoh Gunga, you will find every part of Naboo wonderful and magical."/p
p"Wow, you hit the jackpot, Zekk." Jacen said but was promptly hushed by Jaina/p.
pThe recording then stopped and offered two options to Zekk, "Information" or "End". Zekk chose end. "I think I'll go read the rest in my quarters." He said./p
p"Wow! Looks great! Well maybe when you guys go you can figure out why Jacen a I get such a strange feeling whenever Naboo is mentioned," Luke said, "Zekk, after you're done looking at that I'd like to take a peek also."/p
p"Sure Master Luke," Zekk replied, "Well I'm anxious to check this out. I'll be in my quarters for a while if anyone needs me." Zekk then ran up to his room./p
p"Well this is gonna be fun," Jaina said, "I wonder when we're leaving."/p
p"This was the will of the Force," Luke said, "something significant will happen. I have been feeling a disturbance in the Force lately."/p
p"Ah Aha," Tenel Ka said "I have felt it also, Master Luke. Something will happen while we are away."/p
p"So, be careful kids. I'll let your parents know when you're leaving. Why don't you guys go out to the forest and practice levitating?"/p
p"Okay Uncle Luke," Jacen replied, "Could you tell Zekk?"/p
p"Sure," Luke said, "Now go."/p
p"Bye!" the twins called as they departed to the forest with Tenel Ka and Lowbacca./p
pLuke still had an eerie feeling in the back of his mind about Naboo but didn't let it show and headed up to his office./p
p3/p
pThe Ruby glow of a lightsaber filled a dark cavern. The person holding the lightsaber had a tall, thin, muscular build. He had blond hair, striking blue eyes, and was wearing a black robe that hid his feet. He was young, probably twenty-five./p
pHe walked further, lightsaber in attack position. He stopped; it was a dead end. A cave opening had fallen in. This would be easy, a lightsaber could cut through anything in the universe. The red glow flickered once, twice, then went out altogether. That was bad, he had left the saber on for too long; no power source lasted forever. The saber had been the only light source for the man. He cursed under his breath. Now what to do; how to get out. "Am I a Sith Lord or am I a Sith Lord?" he said to himself. He concentrated on the anger inside of carelessly leaving his lightsaber on too long and harnessed it. The hate of the rocks blocking him strengthened him. He pointed at the pile of rocks in his way and, with a force that seemed to have come from nowhere, the boulders were blasted away./p
pHe walked through the opening and the rocky scenery flickered away suddenly, showing an empty auditorium. A slow, evil cackle boomed from all around, then concentrated in one spot on the wall of the auditorium. A yellow glow panel came on in that spot, revealing a black robed figure sitting in a throne./p
p"Good, good," the figure said in an old, evil voice, "You have completed your task well, Vadeer"/p
p"Thank you, my lord." The Sith, named Vadeer, replied. He kneeled on one knee./p
p"You used your anger to remove your obstacle," the hooded figure said, "if you always do this you will be as great as your original was. Go! Your training has moved up a step higher. You must now go to Naboo for your next task."/p
pVadeer smiled, this is what he had been waiting for, for a long, long time.p4/p
pToday was the day to leave, and everything was a imess/i. "Nicta," Jacen yelled, "No! Please, don't go in there. not there, not there." Jacen was very distressed due to the fact that he had waited until the very last minute (now) to start packing. On top of that, Nicta was in a very troublesome mood that afternoon. "Ahh, c'mon not in the food stores, you know we're not allowed to go in there." Jacen noticeably moaned, causing a few heads to turn in his direction./p
pTenel Ka sensed his distress through the force and hurried over quickly. "Friend Jacen, what is the problem?" she asked./p
p"What? Oh. Hey, Tenel Ka." Jacen said absent mindedly, "Nicta's just giving me trouble, again."/p
p"Ah Aha." Tenel Ka used her ever-so-famous interjection, "I see. Well, since I have completed my packing and have loaded it into the Rock Dragon, I shall retrieve your youthfully mischievous gort, while you complete your own packing."/p
pJacen Looked relieved, "Thanks, you're a lifesaver." he said and,after giving Tenel Ka a small hug, ran off./p
pTenel Ka rubbed her hands together and turned her attention to the food stores, "Ah, the hunt." she said quietly, her voice full of anticipation./p
p"Mistress Jaina, I have studied the hyperdrive cooler and found yet another error in the super-cooled steam producer," Emteedee said in his prissy protocol droid voice. Just then, a small geyser of steam erupted from the hyperdrive performance panel, "Make that a rather large error," the small droid added./p
p"What!? I just recalibrated that thing!" Jaina called back. She ran up into the main part of the ship and promptly gave the correct command to shut off the geyser.p
p"I'm sorry, Mistress Jaina, but the hyper drive radiation system just hasn't been working properly ever since we engaged Boba Fett at Alderaan. This is no star fighter, you know," Emteedee had to add his last two bits./p
p" I realize, Emteedee," Jaina replied, "but this is a Hapan ship and- Oh never mind, it's no use talking to you about what a ship should and shouldn't be able to do." Jaina new that Emteedee was right. But what else would they've done, get caught by the galaxy's best bounty hunter? "Hey Lowie?" Jaina called down to her Wookie friend down underneath the ship, "Could you tighten the cooling tube up a bit please while I recalibrate the hyperdrive's radiation system, again?" She waited for the short bark of acknowledgement, "thanks."/p
p"Mistress Jaina, might I add that doing that will only bring the cooling system back up to seventy-five percent," Emteedee said, "And seventy-five percent safety is nowhere near enough for the ex-chief-of-state's children and their friends well being."/p
p"Look Quicksilver, the only way I could get that number higher is if we installed a new steam-mechanism which would take an entire day to do and week to get here," Jaina said in an exasperated way, "We have to go today, or we don't go at all!"/p
p"Well," Emteedee shot back, "I'm going to see if Master Jacen still needs help packing since I'm not appreciated here." He then made a "Hmph!" and proceeded to putter off toward the temple on his tiny repulsor lifts./p
pJaina just rolled her eyes and finished the rest of the preflight checks./p