Star Wars
The New Jedi Order:
A Fallen Master
Chapter 2
Anakin Solo prepared to come out of hyperspace, waiting for his father to give the command. They flew together in the Millennium Eagle, the follower of the Falcon, on their way to Garqi', to rendez-vous with Luke at the specified coordinates. Anakin was the youngest in his family, and well on his way to becoming a Jedi Knight. His brother Jacen, had gone with Ganner Rhysode to the planet of Zarkalia to free a small rebel faction being held hostage by the Yuuzhan Vong. Jacen's twin sister, Jaina, was with her friend Danni Quee on Coruscant, organizing troops in case the Vong made it to the core of their territory.
'Drop from hyperspace,' said Han from the chair next to Anakin. 'Watch the converters, and make sure they don't act up again. This thing may be faster than the Falcon, but it's almost as old as it, to.'
Anakin punched in the commands and watched as the long lines of stars morphed into dots. He was still learning how to operate a vessel, and he was a better Jedi than a pilot. He began performing his usual scans.
'So Anakin, are you ready for your first crash course on landing?' asked Han.
'If I can wield a lightsaber, this will be a piece of cake.' He paused and looked at one of his status screens. One of his radars showed a purple blotch to the starboard of the Eagle. 'What's this?' he asked his father, pointing at the screen.
'Beta particles. They're pretty common, although it's unusual to see them bunched up like that.' He stopped, and he had a look of concentration on his face. He shrugged: 'It's probably nothing.'
'There is a ship approaching,' said Krog Vol, the Commander's subordinate. 'It is of the human class.'
'Charge the Ooglith Masker; I want to learn more about this infernal species,' ordered the Commander.
The Yuuzhan Vong commander, Shekid Mal, stood peering out the main viewing area of his Yorik Coral ship. The vessel had been grown only several days before. It sported two phase-converter cannons and an Ooglith Masker, a cloaking device. Before this ship, the Nesseka, Ooglith Maskers had only been for personal use. After years of long research, Vong botanists had discovered how to implement the cloaking system into small ships, the Nesseka being the first. This meant the start of a new Yuuzhan Vong fleet that would almost definitely spell doom for the rebels.
'Charging the Masker,' Krog Vol said in a serious tone. 'They are dropping out of hyperspace.' He read his control panel. 'Ooglith Masker is holding. All systems stable... what now?'
'We watch, and we wait,' sneered Shekid Mal. 'I want to know what their business here is. Perhaps they are looking for their jeedai comrade. If so, they are in for a surprise.' He stood gazing at the Eagle approaching the planet. He was very proud of his accomplishment, having killed the leader of the Jedi so easily. 'Without their leader, they are lost,' he thought to himself. 'Soon this galaxy will be ours, rid of the putrid filth that consumes it.'
Han Solo gave his son constant commands as he attempted to land the vessel. Anakin was fairly steady and was doing quite well for a beginner. He was handling the ship easily with little concentration. Jedi training had strengthened his mind and accuracy, and given him a better sense of reality.
'So, where are we supposed to meet Uncle Luke?' he asked.
'What are you doing?! Stay focussed on your landing! One false move and you could have the ship upside-down!'
'Don't worry dad. I've got it under control. This is a lot easier than I thought it would be.'
'Don't get cocky. When that happens, things start to fall apart,' he said in a stern tone. 'You're doing better than Chewie did when he started, I'll give you that.'
Both of them became silent. The mere mention of Chewie's name sparked mixed emotions from both of them. Chewie had been crushed underneath an avalanche on the planet of Hoth while he and Han were looking for traces of the Falcon. Most of the people who knew him accepted and mourned over his death: Jaina, Jacen, Anakin, Luke and Leia. But Han refused to acknowledge the fact that the Wookie was gone. He kept clinging to a thread of hope that Chewie might still be alive, living and breathing, babbling about some problem of no relevance. 'He's there. I know it,' thought Han. 'He's a fighter, and he wouldn't let some damned avalanche take him down. There's no way.'
An alarm sounded and defused Han's train of thought. A red light was blinking on the panel next to the landing information.
'What's wrong?' asked Anakin, now concentrating a lot more.
'The landing clamps and thrusters are jammed again. This isn't good. If we don't get those out, we'll smash into pieces if we try to land at this speed. I'm gonna go out back and try to fix the problem. Just stay steady and try to reduce our speed if you can.'
Han ran out of the bridge into the main engine room. The landing controls were on a wall adjacent to the entrance he came in. He ran over to them and inspected them. The levers for the thrusters and the clamps were broken. A perfect cut went right across them. 'Sabotage!' thought Han.
A hard blow from behind knocked him out.
Anakin held the landing stick as best he could, the force of the wind and gravity wreaking havoc on his control of the Eagle.
'Dad! I don't think I can do this much longer!' he called out to him. No answer. Anakin couldn't begin to think of what happened to his father and he didn't have the time. He knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what. He thought back to his Jedi training and all the advice that had been given to him by Master Luke. Suddenly, he got an idea. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He thought he felt the ship losing speed, but he wasn't sure. He focussed as much as was possible and reached out to the Force. He felt it, but it wasn't as strong as it usually was. The pressure of the situation prevented him from giving full attention to the Force, and the fact that he was only fourteen didn't help either. He tried to imagine a blanket of energy coming up beneath the eagle, wrapping it up and bringing it to a halt.
Before he could accomplish this, he sensed a bar flying toward his head. He leaped out of the pilot=s chair and dove to the ground. The projectile smashed the console and fell to the ground. Anakin got up and looked around. He could see nothing.
The Millennium Eagle hit Garqi= with a deafening cataclysm.
The New Jedi Order:
A Fallen Master
Chapter 2
Anakin Solo prepared to come out of hyperspace, waiting for his father to give the command. They flew together in the Millennium Eagle, the follower of the Falcon, on their way to Garqi', to rendez-vous with Luke at the specified coordinates. Anakin was the youngest in his family, and well on his way to becoming a Jedi Knight. His brother Jacen, had gone with Ganner Rhysode to the planet of Zarkalia to free a small rebel faction being held hostage by the Yuuzhan Vong. Jacen's twin sister, Jaina, was with her friend Danni Quee on Coruscant, organizing troops in case the Vong made it to the core of their territory.
'Drop from hyperspace,' said Han from the chair next to Anakin. 'Watch the converters, and make sure they don't act up again. This thing may be faster than the Falcon, but it's almost as old as it, to.'
Anakin punched in the commands and watched as the long lines of stars morphed into dots. He was still learning how to operate a vessel, and he was a better Jedi than a pilot. He began performing his usual scans.
'So Anakin, are you ready for your first crash course on landing?' asked Han.
'If I can wield a lightsaber, this will be a piece of cake.' He paused and looked at one of his status screens. One of his radars showed a purple blotch to the starboard of the Eagle. 'What's this?' he asked his father, pointing at the screen.
'Beta particles. They're pretty common, although it's unusual to see them bunched up like that.' He stopped, and he had a look of concentration on his face. He shrugged: 'It's probably nothing.'
'There is a ship approaching,' said Krog Vol, the Commander's subordinate. 'It is of the human class.'
'Charge the Ooglith Masker; I want to learn more about this infernal species,' ordered the Commander.
The Yuuzhan Vong commander, Shekid Mal, stood peering out the main viewing area of his Yorik Coral ship. The vessel had been grown only several days before. It sported two phase-converter cannons and an Ooglith Masker, a cloaking device. Before this ship, the Nesseka, Ooglith Maskers had only been for personal use. After years of long research, Vong botanists had discovered how to implement the cloaking system into small ships, the Nesseka being the first. This meant the start of a new Yuuzhan Vong fleet that would almost definitely spell doom for the rebels.
'Charging the Masker,' Krog Vol said in a serious tone. 'They are dropping out of hyperspace.' He read his control panel. 'Ooglith Masker is holding. All systems stable... what now?'
'We watch, and we wait,' sneered Shekid Mal. 'I want to know what their business here is. Perhaps they are looking for their jeedai comrade. If so, they are in for a surprise.' He stood gazing at the Eagle approaching the planet. He was very proud of his accomplishment, having killed the leader of the Jedi so easily. 'Without their leader, they are lost,' he thought to himself. 'Soon this galaxy will be ours, rid of the putrid filth that consumes it.'
Han Solo gave his son constant commands as he attempted to land the vessel. Anakin was fairly steady and was doing quite well for a beginner. He was handling the ship easily with little concentration. Jedi training had strengthened his mind and accuracy, and given him a better sense of reality.
'So, where are we supposed to meet Uncle Luke?' he asked.
'What are you doing?! Stay focussed on your landing! One false move and you could have the ship upside-down!'
'Don't worry dad. I've got it under control. This is a lot easier than I thought it would be.'
'Don't get cocky. When that happens, things start to fall apart,' he said in a stern tone. 'You're doing better than Chewie did when he started, I'll give you that.'
Both of them became silent. The mere mention of Chewie's name sparked mixed emotions from both of them. Chewie had been crushed underneath an avalanche on the planet of Hoth while he and Han were looking for traces of the Falcon. Most of the people who knew him accepted and mourned over his death: Jaina, Jacen, Anakin, Luke and Leia. But Han refused to acknowledge the fact that the Wookie was gone. He kept clinging to a thread of hope that Chewie might still be alive, living and breathing, babbling about some problem of no relevance. 'He's there. I know it,' thought Han. 'He's a fighter, and he wouldn't let some damned avalanche take him down. There's no way.'
An alarm sounded and defused Han's train of thought. A red light was blinking on the panel next to the landing information.
'What's wrong?' asked Anakin, now concentrating a lot more.
'The landing clamps and thrusters are jammed again. This isn't good. If we don't get those out, we'll smash into pieces if we try to land at this speed. I'm gonna go out back and try to fix the problem. Just stay steady and try to reduce our speed if you can.'
Han ran out of the bridge into the main engine room. The landing controls were on a wall adjacent to the entrance he came in. He ran over to them and inspected them. The levers for the thrusters and the clamps were broken. A perfect cut went right across them. 'Sabotage!' thought Han.
A hard blow from behind knocked him out.
Anakin held the landing stick as best he could, the force of the wind and gravity wreaking havoc on his control of the Eagle.
'Dad! I don't think I can do this much longer!' he called out to him. No answer. Anakin couldn't begin to think of what happened to his father and he didn't have the time. He knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what. He thought back to his Jedi training and all the advice that had been given to him by Master Luke. Suddenly, he got an idea. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He thought he felt the ship losing speed, but he wasn't sure. He focussed as much as was possible and reached out to the Force. He felt it, but it wasn't as strong as it usually was. The pressure of the situation prevented him from giving full attention to the Force, and the fact that he was only fourteen didn't help either. He tried to imagine a blanket of energy coming up beneath the eagle, wrapping it up and bringing it to a halt.
Before he could accomplish this, he sensed a bar flying toward his head. He leaped out of the pilot=s chair and dove to the ground. The projectile smashed the console and fell to the ground. Anakin got up and looked around. He could see nothing.
The Millennium Eagle hit Garqi= with a deafening cataclysm.