I don't own Star Wars or its characters, but only Nadia Aomori, Lisa Naberrie and my other OCs.

The New Jedi Order

Chapter 3: The Jedi Academy

In Yavin 4…

Jacen and Jaina were panting as they continued running in the jungle to get to their Uncle Luke's lesson on time.

The Solo Twins had stayed at Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy for about a month before they started a morning routine to go out to explore the jungle after having breakfast.

Within an ancient temple on the jungle moon of Yavin 4, the student quarters were dank and dim, cold every night.

But Jacen and his twin sister Jaina had spent days scrubbing the moss covered stone blocks of their adjoining rooms, adding glow panels and portable corner-warmers.

The children of Han Solo and Princess Leia stood now in the orangish morning light that spilled through the slit windows in the thick temple walls.

Outside in the jungle, large birds shrieked as they fought for their insect breakfasts.

Like every morning, Jacen and Jaina would go out to explore the unexplored places in the jungles of Yavin 4.

But today, they had little time to do their morning routine since their lesson was going to start earlier this time.

Together, the Solo twins raced back to their quarters so they could put on their own robes in time to hear Luke teach them how to become Jedi Knights.

Jaina ducked back into her quarters to change into fresh clothes as Jacen ran to stash the crystal snake in its cage.

She splashed cold water on her face from the new cistern in her bedroom wall. Her face still damp and tingling, she stepped out into the corridor.

"Hurry or we'll be late, Jacen."Jaina retorted.

"I know that!"Jacen scoffed.

Together, the Solo twins dashed to the turbolift, which took them to the upper levels of the pyramid-shaped temple.

They entered the echoing space of the grand audience chamber.

The air was a bustling hum of other Jedi candidates assembling in the huge room where Luke Skywalker spoke every day.

Shafts of morning light glinted off the polished stone surfaces. The light carried an orange cast reflected from the orange gas giant hanging in the sky-the planet Yavin, around which the small jungle moon orbited.

Dozens of other Jedi trainees of varying ages and species found their places in the rows of stone seats spread out across the long, sloped floor.

To Jaina, it looked as if someone had splashed a giant stone down on the stage, sending parallel waves of benches rippling toward the back of the chamber.

A mixture of languages and sounds came to Jaina's ears, along with the rich open-air smell that came from the uncharted jungles outside.

Jaina sniffed, but could not identify the different perfumes from flowers in bloom though Jacen probably knew them all by heart. Right now, she smelled the musty body odors of alien Jedi candidates; matted fur, sunbaked scales and sweet-sour pheromones.

Jacen followed his twin sister to a set of empty seats, past two stout, pink-furred beasts that spoke to each other in growls.

As she sat on the slick cool seat, Jaina looked up at the squared-off temple ceilings, at the many different shapes and colors mounted in mosaics of alien patterns.

"Every time we come in here."Jaina spoke up. "I think of those old videoclips of the ceremony where Mother and Aunt Lisa handed out medals to Uncle Luke and Dad. They both looked so pretty."

Jaina put a hand up to her straight unstyled hair.

"Yeah and Dad looked like such a...such a pirate."Jacen commented.

"Well, he was a smuggler in those days."Jaina answered.

Jaina thought of the Rebel soldiers who had survived the attack on the first Death Star, those who had fought against the Empire in the great space battle to destroy the terrible super-weapon.

Now, eleven years later, Luke and Lisa Skywalker had turned the abandoned base into a training center for Jedi hopefuls, rebuilding the Order of Jedi Knights.

Luke himself had begun training other Jedi back when the twins were barely two years old. Now he often left on his own missions or to be with his own family and spent only part of his time at the academy. But it remained open under the direction of other Jedi Knights Luke and Lisa had trained.

Some of the trainees had virtually no Force potential, content to be mere historians of Jedi lore.

Others had great talent, but had not yet begun their full training.

It was Luke's philosophy, though, that all potential Jedi could learn from each other. The strong could learn from the weak, the old could learn from the young and vice versa.

Jacen and Jaina had come to Yavin 4, sent by their mother Leia to be trained for part of the year. Their younger brother Anakin had remained at home back on the capital world of Coruscant, but he would be coming to join them soon.

Off and on during their childhood, Luke Skywalker had helped the children of Han Solo and Princess Leia to learn their powerful talent. Here on Yavin 4 they had nothing to do but study and practice and train and learn. And so far it had been much more interesting than the curriculum the stuffy educational droids had developed for them back on Coruscant.

Jaina scanned the crowd, noticing somebody was missing.

"Where's Tenel Ka?"Jaina asked.

"She should be here."Jacen said. "This morning I saw her go out to do her exercises in the jungle."

Tenel Ka was a girl around the Solo twins age, who worked hard to attain her dreams.

She had little interest in the bookish studies, the histories and the meditations; but she was an excellent athlete who preferred action to thinking.

Their friend was impatient, hard-driven, and practically humorless. The Solo twins had taken it as a challenge to see if they could make her laugh.

"She'd better hurry."Jacen suggested as the room began to quiet. "Uncle Luke is going to start soon."

Catching a movement out of the corner of her eye, Jaina looked up at one of the skylights high on a wall of the tall chamber.

The lean, supple silhouette of a young girl edged onto the narrow stone windowsill.

"Ah, there she is!"Jaina remarked.

"She must have climbed the temple from the back."Jacen suggested and became amused. "She was always talking about doing that, but I never thought she'd try."

"Plenty of vines over there."Jaina answered logically, as if scaling the enormous ancient monument something Jedi students did every day.

As they watched, Tenel Ka used a thin leather thong to tie her long auburn braided hair behind her shoulders to keep it out of her way.

Then the young girl flexed her arms.

She attached a silvery grappling hook to the edge of the stone sill and reeled out a thin fibercord from her utility belt.

Tenel Ka lowered herself like a spider on a web, walking precariously down the long smooth surface of the inner wall.

The other Jedi trainees watched her, some applauding, others just recognizing the girl's skill.

She could have used her Jedi powers to speed the descent, but Tenel Ka relied on her body whenever possible and used the Force only as a last resort. She thought it showed weakness to depend too heavily on her special powers.

Tenel Ka made an easy landing on the stone floor, her glistening, scaly boots clicking as she touched down.

The young girl flexed her arms again to loosen her muscles, then grasped the thin fibercord.

With a snap from the Force, Tenel Ka popped her grappling hook up and away from the stone above and neatly caught it in her hand as it fell.

The auburn haired girl reeled the fibercord into her belt and turned around with a serious expression on her face, then snapped the thong free from her hair and shook her head to let the reddish tresses fall loose around her shoulders.

Tenel Ka wore a brief athletic outfit made from scarlet and emerald skins of native reptiles. The flexible, lightly armored tunic and shorts left her arms and legs bare.

Jacen waved at the girl while grinning.

Tenel Ka acknowledged him with a nod, made her way over to where the Solo twins were sitting and slid onto the cool stone bench beside Jacen.

"Greetings."Tenel Ka said gruffly.

"Good morning."Jaina replied with a smile.

Jaina smiled at the Amazonian young girl, who looked back at her with large, cool grey eyes, but did not return her smile, not out of rudeness, but because it wasn't in her nature.

Tenel Ka rarely smiled.

Jacen nudged her with his elbow and dropped his voice.

"I've got a new one for you, Tenel Ka."Jacen stated. "I think you'll like it. What do you call the person who brings a rancor its dinner?"

Tenel Ka looked perplexed. "I don't understand."

"It's a joke!"Jacen sneered. "Come on, guess."

"Ah, a joke."Tenel Ka said, nodding. "You expect me to laugh?"

"You won't be able to stop yourself, once you hear it."Jacen chuckled. "Come on, what do you call the person who brings a rancor its dinner?"

"I don't know."Tenel Ka responded.

Jaina would have bet a hundred credits that the girl wouldn't even venture a guess.

"The appetizer!"Jacen chuckled.

Jaina groaned, but Tenel Ka's face remained serious.

"I will need you to explain why that's funny, but I see the lecture is about to start."Tenel Ka informed bluntly. "Tell me some other time."

Jacen rolled his eyes.

It was going to be quite a challenge to make a girl like Tenel Ka to smile or even laugh. But he would keep trying, none the less.

Luke Skywalker stood on the raised platform and looked out at his mismatched students. His bright blue eyes seemed to pierce the crowd. Everyone fell silent, as if a warm blanket had fluttered down over them.

Luke still had the boyish looks that Jaina recalled from the history tapes, but now he carried calm power in his lean form, a thunderstorm bottled up in a diamond-hard gentleness. Through many trials, Luke had somehow emerged bright and strong.

He had survived to form the cornerstone of the new Jedi Knights that would protect the New Republic from the last vestiges of evil in the galaxy.

"May the Force be with you."Luke commented in a soft voice that nevertheless carried the length of the grand audience chamber.

The words in the often-repeated phrase sent a tingle across Jaina's skin.

Beside her, Jacen flashed a smile.

"As I have told you many times."Luke stated. "I don't believe the training of a true Jedi comes from listening to lectures. I want to teach you how to learn action, how to do things, not just think about them. 'There is no try,' as Yoda, one of my own Jedi Masters, taught me."

From the front row, in a flash of bright colour, Raynar raised his hand, waggling his fingers in the air to get Luke's attention.

An audible groan rippled through the chamber; Jacen heaved a heavy sigh and Jaina waited, wondering what question Raynar would come up with this time.

Raynar wore fine garments of purple, gold, and scarlet cloth, the colours of his noble family's house. Despite Uncle Luke's gentle suggestions, Raynar rarely took off his fancy costume, never allowed himself to be seen in drab but comfortable Jedi training clothes.

"Master Skywalker."Raynar spoke up. "I don't understand what you mean by 'There is no try.' You must have tried and failed at some time. No one can always succeed in what they want to do."

Luke looked at the boy with an expression of patience and understanding.

Jaina never understood how her uncle could maintain his composure through Raynar's frequent interruptions. She supposed it must be the mark of a true Jedi Master.

"I didn't say that I never fail."Luke stated. "No Jedi ever becomes perfect. Sometimes, though, what we succeed in doing is not exactly what we intended to do. Focus on what you accomplished, rather than on what you merely hoped to do. Or what you failed to do. Yes, recognize what you have lost, but look in a different way to see what you have gained."

Luke folded his hands together and walked with gliding footsteps from one side of the speaking platform to the other.

His bright blue eyes never left Raynar's upraised face, but somehow Luke seemed to look at all of the students, speaking to every one of them.

"Let me give you an example."Luke insisted. "A few years ago I had a brilliant trainee named Brakiss. He was a talented student, a voracious learner. He had a great potential for the Force. He seemed kind and helpful, fascinated by everything I had to teach. He was also a great actor."

Luke took a deep breath, facing an unpleasant memory from his past.

"You see, once it became known that I had founded an academy to teach Jedi Knights, it's not surprising that the remnants of the Empire would have their own students infiltrate my academy. I managed to catch their first few attempts. They were clumsy and untalented."Luke exclaimed. "But Brakiss was different. I knew he was an Imperial spy from the moment he stepped off the shuttle and looked around at the jungles on Yavin 4. I could sense it in him, a deep shadow barely hidden by his mask of friendliness and enthusiasm. But in Brakiss I also saw a real talent for the Force. Part of him had been corrupted long ago. He had a deep flaw surrounded by a beautiful exterior."

Jacen and Jaina glanced at each other as their uncle continued talking.

"But rather than reject him outright, I decided to keep him here, to show him other ways. To heal him."Luke admitted. "Because if there could be good even in the heart of my father, Darth Vader, there must also be goodness in someone as fresh and new as Brakiss."

Luke gazed up at the ceiling, then returned his glance to the audience.

"He stayed here for many months, and I took special interest in teaching him, guiding him, nudging him toward the light side of the Force in every way."Luke admitted. "He seemed to be turning, softening…but Brakiss was colder and more deceptive than even I had suspected. During one part of his training, I sent him on an illusionary quest that would seem real to him, a test that made him face himself. Brakiss had to look inward. To see his very core in a way that no one else could ever see. I had hoped the test would heal him, but instead Brakiss lost that battle. Perhaps he was simply not prepared to confront what he saw inside himself. It broke him somehow. He fled from this jungle moon and I believe he went straight back to the Empire. Taking with him everything that I had taught him of the Jedi Way."

Many students in the grand audience chamber gasped at Luke's declaration.

Jaina sat up and looked at her twin brother in alarm.

She had never heard this story before.

Raynar again had his hand up, but Luke looked at him with narrowed eyes so full of power that the arrogant student flinched and put his hand back down.

"I know what you're thinking."Luke declared. "That I tried to bring Brakiss back to the light side and that I failed. But, just as I told you a few moments ago, I was forced to look at how I had succeeded. I did show Brakiss my compassion. I did let him learn the secrets of the light side, uncorrupted by what he had already been taught. And I did make him look at himself and realize how broken he was. Once I accomplished that much, the task was no longer mine. The final choice belonged to Brakiss himself. And it still does."

Luke raised his eyes and looked across the gathered Jedi.

As his gaze passed over them, Jaina felt an electric thrill, as if an invisible hand had just brushed her.

"To become Jedi, you must face many choices. Some may be simple but troublesome, others may be terrible ordeals."Luke exclaimed. "Here at my Jedi academy I can give you tools to use when facing those choices. But I cannot make the choices for you. You must succeed in your own way."

Before Luke could continue, sudden screeching alarms rang out, sounding an emergency.

Artoo rushed into the grand audience chamber, emitting a loud series of unintelligible electronic whistles and beeps.

Luke seemed to understand them, though, and he leaped down from the stage.

"Trouble out on the landing pad!"Luke warned, sprinting for the turbolift and then ran, his robes flapping behind him. "Think about what I've told you and go practice your skills."

The students milled about in confusion, not knowing what to do.

Jacen and Jaina looked at each other before smirks sprung on their faces, knowing they shared the same thought.

They were going to follow their uncle and see what was going on.

In Coruscant…

Nadia, Gwen and Leia sat down together in Padmé's old apartment, having cups of tarine tea together.

Nadia wore an emerald green coloured gown with a golden brooch near her neck that has a green gem in it and a pale purple collar with extended purple sleeves. Her black hair was tied in a high ponytail.

Leia wore a light crimson low-cut dress with a dark brown overcoat. The slightly ruffled collar of this coat was stiff, high and fan-shaped in the back. Her hair was done in a twin bun hairstyle.

Gwen wore a sleek white dress with puffs on both of her shoulders with long fitted sleeves and her chestnut brown hair was styled in a partial ponytail.

"I heard from Luke that Jacen and Jaina are doing well in the academy, Leia."Gwen remarked.

Leia takes a sip from her cup of tea.

"I am very proud of Jacen and Jaina, Gwen."Leia complemented and stared at her reflection in her tea cup. "But I wonder if I am doing the right thing. I wish father was here...he would know what to do. He was always so wise."

Nadia looked at Leia, knowing she was talking about Bail.

"You looked troubled, Leia."Nadia said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Leia let out a sigh.

"It's just that...I still haven't decided to tell Luke or Lisa why I don't want to complete my Jedi training."Leia explained. "I've been elected Minister of State and there is always seemed to be imperial sympathizers popping out of no where, but I wanted us to get away from it all. Despite the hours of instruction, Luke and Lisa had convinced me to endure, none of us realized my full potential...nor why I could never allow myself to reach it."

"Because you are afraid you might end up following into Anakin's footsteps to the dark side?"Nadia assumed.

"Y-Yes. When I took out my lightsaber to confront the assassins that wanted to kill me, I looked into the face of the dark side."Leia admitted. "My dark side and I understood his corruption. It was then and there that I made the decision to avoid any possible temptation by the dark side and to make sure there was no chance of following Vader's footsteps. As a result, I threw myself head first to my political career and thus terminating any chance of becoming a Jedi."

Gwen places a comforting hand on Leia's free one as she gave her sister-in-law a warm smile.

"Leia. That is alright."Gwen assured. "Luke and Lisa maybe Jedi, but there is no problem if you want to remain a politician. You are still, Leia Organa. The Princess of Alderaan."

"You may have given up the possibility of becoming a Jedi, but it could never compare to what you already have, dear."Nadia stated and smirked a bit. "And know that both Anakin and Padme would be proud with all their three remarkable children."

Leia smiled, feeling much better.

"You are both right."Leia replied. "Thank you."

Then an airspeeder arrived in the apartment, revealing Zack to be the driver accompanied by Ben, Claire and Anakin.

Zack had black hair streaked pulled back into a ponytail, a mustache and a goatee. He wore a sleeveless green tailcoat over a long-sleeved white shirt, dark grey pants, black boots, a bright green sash with a single pouch and an archer's glove on his left hand.

Ben Skywalker was a nine year old boy with brownish blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a white long-sleeve shirt and baggy matching pants. On top of that, he had a slip-on-head cloth that looks like a tank top and stretches down to his waist, hanging all the way down to the knees without covering the sides of his legs. He fastens that cloth with a black, belt-like band of cloth around his waist and dons a normal, blue-gray scarf wrapped around his neck and long, skinny black crew boots.

Claire was an adorable seven year old girl with short blonde hair that was wavy at the ends and ruby red eyes. She had a dark pink headband with white ruffled outline with a pink ribbon on both sides of her head. She wore a pink puff-shouldered mini cardigan which had a lacy collar and hem. Her dress was in two parts; a top that was a lighter pink than her cardigan and a whiter skirt that has a frilly hem. She wore pink flats resembling ballerina shoes with pink ribbons laced up to her mid calf.

Anakin Solo was a six year old boy with sandy brown and ice blue eyes. He wore a turtleneck dark blue long sleeved shirt with a white t-shirt, short black trousers and purple blue trainers.

Ben, Claire and Anakin greeted Nadia, Gwen and Leia.

"Hi, mum!"Ben and Claire greeted in unison. "Hi, Grandma Nadia!"

"We are back, mummy!"Anakin remarked.

Anakin gives a hug and kiss on the cheek to Leia as his cousins did the same with their mother and grandmother.

"Did you all have fun?"Leia asked.

"Yes, mother."Anakin replied, smiling excitedly. "We ate sundaes, we went to the park and Uncle Zack bought all the toys that me and Ben wanted."

"You don't say."Nadia sneered.

Zack came out of the airspeeder, carrying a bunch of bags that contained various items that he bought when he was out with his nephews and niece.

Gwen smirked at her older twin brother.

"You seemed to have enjoyed your day out."Gwen said smugly.

Zack frowned. "Don't ask."

Back in Yavin 4…

Jacen saw that other Jedi students, who now rushed to the winding internal staircases or crowded into the turbolifts, had the same idea.

Tenel Ka, though, leaped to her feet and grabbed Jacen's arm, yanking him off the stone bench.

"We can do it faster my way."Tenel Ka insisted. "Jaina, follow!"

Tenel Ka raced back to the stone wall below the skylights, weaving between two short lizardlike students who seemed baffled by the commotion and cheeped to each other in high-pitched voices.

Already the auburn haired girl had unreeled the lightweight fibercord from her belt and removed the sturdy grappling hook.

"We'll go up the wall, out the skylights and down the outside."Tenel Ka stated, twirling the grappling hook in her hand.

The muscles in her arm rippled.

At precisely the right moment she released the hook.

Jacen and Jaina helped it with the Force, guiding the hook so that it seated properly in the moss-covered sill. Its sharp durasteel points dug into a crack in the stone blocks and held there.

Tenel Ka grasped the fibercord in both hands, tugged backward and began to climb up the rope. She dug the toes of her scaled boots against the wall, hauling herself up, somehow finding footing on the polished stone blocks.

Jacen grabbed the rope next, holding it steady as Tenel Ka ascended like a lizard up a sunbaked cliff face.

As he climbed, Jacen felt his arms ached. He used the Force when he needed to, raising his body up, catching himself when his feet slipped.

The Solo boy would have preferred to show off his physical prowess, especially with Tenel Ka watching.

At last he pulled his wiry body to the top of the Great Temple, squirming out the windowsill to stand on the broad rough-hewn platform left by the ancient builders.

Jacen reached behind him to grab his sister's arm and pulled her up.

The humid air of the jungle clung to the top of the pyramid, making it hot and sticky, unlike the cool mustiness of the temple interior.

Before they could catch their breath, Tenel Ka had retrieved the fibercord and was picking her way rapidly along the narrow stone walkway. Pebbles crumbled under her feet, but she didn't seem the least bit concerned about falling.

"Around to the side."Tenel Ka said, not even panting. "We can get down faster that way."

Tenel Ka ran with light footsteps around the perimeter until she stopped, looking down at the cleared landing field where all ships arrived and departed. She stood stock still, like a warrior confronted with an awesome opponent.

Jacen and Jaina came up behind her and stared in amazement and horror at what they saw down in front of the temple.

A battered supply ship, the Lightning Rod, had landed in the jungle clearing.

Their normal supply courier and message runner long-haired old Peckhum stood transfixed beside the open jaws of his cargo bay. His eyes were wide and white. He looked as if he had screamed himself hoarse, and could now make no sound.

He stared at a huge, unnatural-looking monstrosity that loomed out of the jungle as if ready to attack, snarling at him...waiting for Peckhum to make the next move.

"What is that thing?"Jaina asked, looking to her brother as if he would know.

Jacen squinted at the behemoth.

As enormous as a shuttlecraft, its huge squarish body was covered with shaggy, matted hair tangled with primordial mos's. It stood on six cylindrical legs that were like the boles of ancient trees.

Its massive triangular head sat like a Star Destroyer on its shoulders, but instead of eyes inset in its skull, it had a cluster of twelve thick, writhing tentacles, each one glistening with a round, unblinking eye. Curved tusks sprouted from its mouth, long and sharp and wicked enough to tear a hole through a sandcrawler.

"It's not like anything I've ever seen in my life."Jacen stated.

Tenel Ka glared down at the monster with a grim expression.

"Working together, we can fight it."Tenel Ka informed. "Follow!"

The auburn haired girl dashed down the wide-cut stone steps outside the tall temple.

The monster let out a bellow of challenge so loud and so horrendous that it seemed to make the ancient stone blocks tremble.

The three young Jedi Knights hurried to the ground level, careful not to slip and fall from the steep steps.

"Help me!"Peckhum cried out in fright.

At the jungle's edge, the hideous monster turned, as if distracted by something.

Jacen felt his heart leap, thinking at first that perhaps the wild creature had seen the three of them approaching.

But he saw that its attention was fixed instead on another figure walking alone, emerging from the lower levels of the temple pyramid, confidently gliding over the clipped grasses and weeds.

Luke Skywalker wore only his Jedi robe.

Jacen expected to see his uncle holding his lightsaber, but both of Luke's hands were empty.

Luke stared at the creature and the creature stared back with a dozen eyes waving at the ends of tentacles covering its face.

The Jedi Master continued to walk forward, directly toward the monster, as if he were in some sort of trance. He took one step, then another.

The beast bristled, but held its ground, bellowing loudly enough to make the trees swish. Jungle birds and creatures fled from the horrifying sound.

While the beast was momentarily distracted, old Peckhum dove to the ground, scuttling on all fours through the open cargo doors of his battered shuttle.

Jacen was glad to see the supply runner safe inside the shielded metal walls.

The monster roared upon losing its prey.

But Luke spoke in an oddly calm and clear voice that was not at all muffled by the distance.

"No, here!"Luke informed. "Look at me."

Tenel Ka reached the ground by leaping down the last four steps and landing in a crouch.

Puffing and red-faced, Jacen and Jaina dashed down beside her, then all the three young kids stood rigid, watching Luke face the jungle beast. They had no weapons of their own.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, old Peckhum charged back out of the open bay doors of the Lightning Rod. In his hands he held an old-fashioned blaster rifle.

"I'll get him, Master Skywalker!"Peckhum commented. "Just stay there."

Peckhum ducked down and aimed his weapon at the creature.

"No."Luke answered, motioning with his hand.

The blaster rifle went flying out of Peckhum's grip.

The old supply runner stared in astonishment as Luke continued to stroll toward the monster, seemingly without a care in the world.

"This creature means no harm."Luke stated, his voice quiet but firm and never took his eyes off the beast. "It's just frightened and confused. It doesn't know where it is, or why we are here. There's no need for killing."

Jacen's stomach knotted with unbearable tension as Luke approached the monster.

The thing's long eyestalks waved at him, and its six tree-trunk legs took ponderous steps like an Imperial walker.

The beast lowered its triangular head, shaking it from side to side so that the pointed tusks seemed to scratch holes in the air. It let out a strange, soft blat of puzzlement.

Jacen hissed with fear and Jaina's entire body clenched.

He had used his own talents with the Force to confront many strange animals out in the jungle, but never anything as powerful as this monster, never such a boiling mass of anger and confusion.

But Luke stepped right up to the shaggy, angry thing, within touching distance. The Jedi Master looked incredibly small, yet unafraid.

Beside the battered freighter, Peckhum fell to his knees. The discarded blaster rifle was at hand, but he didn't dare pick up the weapon again. He looked from the monster to Luke, then to the three watching teens-then off into the jungle, as if terrified that another one of the creatures might appear.

Luke stood in front of the nightmarish beast and took a deep breath. He didn't move. The monster held its ground and snorted. Its eyestalks waved unblinking, pointing slitted pupils down at him.

The Jedi Monster raised his hand, palm out.

The monster snuffled and waited, motionless, its wicked tusks less than a meter away from Luke Skywalker.

The jungle fell silent.

The breeze died away.

Jacen held his breath while Jaina gripped his hand.

Tenel Ka narrowed her cool grey eyes.

The silence seemed so overwhelming that when Luke at last broke the frozen moment, his whisper sounded as loud as a shout.

"Go."Luke instructed, looking at the creature. "There is nothing you need here."

The monster reared up on its hind set of piston legs, its eye tentacles thrashing in a frenzy.

Then it let out another high-pitched trumpet before it spun around and crashed off into the thick undergrowth.

Branches cracked, trees bent to one side as it plowed a wide path back to the mysterious jungle depths from which it had come.

Like a snapped string, Luke's shoulders slumped with exhaustion. He seemed barely able to keep himself from trembling as Jacen, Jaina, and Tenel Ka rushed toward him, calling his name.

"Uncle Luke!"Jacen and Jaina called out.

Luke turned and looked at the three friends with a smile.

Old Peckhum stumbled up, clutching the antiquated blaster rifle.

"I can't believe you did that, Master Skywalker!"Peckhum remarked, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. "I thought I was dead for sure, but you faced that monster with no weapons at all."

"I had enough weapons."Luke commented with calm conviction. "I had the Force."

"I wish I could do that, Uncle Luke."Jacen said with a hint of admiration. "That was really something."

Luke smiled at his nephew.

"You will be able to do anything you want, Jacen."Luke stated. "You have the potential. As long as you have the discipline."

Luke gazed off into the jungle, where they could still hear trees crashing and shrubs snapping as the monster continued to blunder its way through the forest.

"There are many mysterious things in the jungles."Luke exclaimed, smiling at the twins and Tenel Ka.

He nodded toward Peckhum's ship, the Lightning Rod, which still sat open, filled with crates and boxes of supplies and equipment.

"I think our friend Mr. Peckhum is having a rough day."Luke replied. "He's got a lot more to unload, and he's probably eager to get back up into orbit, where it's safe."

Luke flashed a smile at the old supply runner, who nodded vigorously.

"Why don't you three consider it a Jedi training exercise to help him."Luke insisted. "Besides, we need to get ready because tomorrow-"

The Jedi Master looked at Jacen and Jaina, eyes sparkling.

"Your father and Chewbacca are bringing us another Jedi trainee."Luke admitted.

"Dad's coming here?"Jaina said with a yelp.

"Hey, why didn't you tell us before?"Jacen questioned.

His heart leaped at the thought of seeing his father again after a full month.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."Luke chuckled. "He's flying in on the Millennium Falcon, but he had to stop at Chewbacca's planet first. They've already left Kashyyyk, and they're on their way here."

Filled with excitement, the young Jedi Knights eagerly helped unload Peckhum's supply ship.

It was hard work, demanding more concentration and control of their Jedi lifting abilities than they were used to, but they finished in less than an hour.

Jaina and Jacen chattered to Tenel Ka about all the adventures Han Solo had experienced.

Jaina groaned about how much work it would be to clean up their quarters in time, so they could impress their father.

Finally, the battered old freighter flew off into the misty skies toward the orangish gas-giant planet of Yavin.

Jacen smiled and looked wistfully at the trampled clearing.

The next ship to arrive on the landing pad would be the Millennium Falcon.

The famous ship that their father and Chewbacca drove to help the Rebellion fight against the Empire.

Han and Chewbacca are going to visit Jacen and Jaina in Yavin 4, what will happen next? See you all in the next chapter:)