CHAPTER ONE
To say that the air in the main chamber of the ancient Massassi temple was humid would have been a severe understatement. Imagine an old-style sauna, with water being turned into steam over a wood-burning fire. Now replace the wood with two hundred Jedi trainees of varied species, the wholesome smoky scent of the wood with the odor of two hundred bodies, and you approached the atmosphere present in the chamber. But in this case the steam was actually invisible vapor, a sticky addition to the air that could not be seen although it could be felt.
Jacen Solo, standing two rows from the front of the room, certainly felt the humidity. He reached up and loosened the traditional brown cloth robe that he was wearing for the meeting, fanning himself slightly as he did. A half-dozen unpleasant odors assaulted his nostrils, and he decided at that point to rank the smell of damp Wookiee up at the top of his list of unpleasant odors. Considering that Lowbacca, Chewbacca's two plus meter tall Jedi nephew, was standing directly in front of him it was no surprise at all.
On one side of him, he heard a quiet snort, and he turned to look. His sister Jaina turned her face away from him, attempting to cover her mouth in the process. Jacen sighed at the distraction; here he was, nineteen years old, and being laughed at by his sister as if he were only twelve. If there was anything he hated the most about having a Jedi-talented twin sister, that was it: the fact that they almost always knew what the other was thinking.
Pushing all thoughts of his sister aside, Jacen leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Immediately, everything that he hadn't noticed while his eyes were open snapped into focus: the plethora of aromas that wafted about the Grand Chamber, the sounds caused by several hundred trainees, various conversations taking place. Most of the conversations, he idly noted after about a minute, were merely the usual gossip that floated about the Academy. There were some people theorizing about what the meeting was going to be about-he listened to one of those with mild interest-and other conversations concerned the preceding day's assignments.
He sat up and looked toward the exit, wondering if he would see anyone coming in. A slight clatter from above his head distracted him, and Jacen looked up to see a woman, clad in a grey suit that seemed to be made of a type of reptilian hide, descending from one of the temple's skylights. Slowly, she rappelled down the rope, using only her feet and one hand, and finally landed in front of an empty seat next to Jacen. She quickly snapped the smartrope, which detached from the rock face a dozen meters above and landed (albeit somewhat disorganized) in her hand. Several students applauded.
"You always were one to make a grand entrance, Tenel Ka," Jacen commented with a smile on his face as the Dathomirian warrior and sometime Hapan princess coiled her smartrope.
"I decided that it would be easier than pushing through a smelly crowd," she replied nonchalantly after she'd clipped the cord to her belt. Running her hands through her red-gold braids to straighten them out, she continued. "Have I missed anything?"
Jacen shook his head. "No, they haven't even started yet. We're still waiting for Uncle Luke and Corran."
"Good." She sat down, releasing a heavy sigh. Jacen noticed that streams of sweat were pouring down her forehead.
"How hot is it out there?" he casually inquired.
Tenel Ka took a piece of cloth off her belt and wiped her face with it. "It's not as hot as it is humid. And it's definitely hotter in here."
"That's what I thought," Jacen replied. "I guess I'll have to ask Anakin to see about getting some condensers the next time he's offworld."
She nodded, but didn't say anything. For a few minutes, the only thing that Jacen heard from her was heavy breathing as she apparently tried to cool down.
"Looks like they've arrived," he finally said, looking toward the entrance. "You're right, Sis. Anakin's with them."
"And arguing with Kyp, it would seem," Jaina added. "I wonder why. They usually haven't had many disagreements."
Jacen shrugged, coming to his feet along with the rest of the trainees in the chamber as Master Skywalker confidently strode in. As Luke looked at the arrangement of the tables on the dais, however, Jacen thought for a moment that he could see a slight frown on his uncle's face. The frown quickly disappeared, leaving the younger trainee wondering what it was all about. He stood on his toes in an attempt to see over Lowbacca's shoulder, and noticed that the tables were arranged in a V-formation facing outward, which certainly was unusual. So maybe that was the problem, he decided.
Luke remained standing as the other Jedi Knights took their seats, and Anakin slipped through the rows of trainees to get to his brother and sister. Finally, when the tumult in the grand chamber had calmed down, he spoke.
"Jedi Knights and trainees," the Jedi Master began, "I apologize for keeping all of you in suspense as to the topic of today's meeting. I also apologize for the suddenness of this meeting, but unfortunately events occur in the galaxy far faster than I can respond to them."
There was a slight murmur as he continued. "Since communications are obviously restricted here at the Academy, most of you likely have not heard the recent news."
Luke drew his breath in. "Two weeks ago, Dr. Joto Eckels of the Obroan Institute approached me as they had not heard from one of their student research teams on the planet Bimmiel. I sent Corran Horn and his apprentice, Ganner Rhysode, to the planet to investigate." Luke gestured toward Corran, who immediately came to his feet.
Jacen wondered briefly why he was heavily leaning on his left leg, but put the thought aside as Corran glanced about himself, looking toward Luke briefly for approval before proceeding.
"As Master Skywalker mentioned, I left for Bimmiel with Ganner last week. Now, before I go any further, I would like to briefly give you some information on the planet itself." He stepped back, limping slightly, and walked over toward a holoprojector that had been set up in the center of the dais. Sliding what Jacen assumed to be a datachip into the machine, he then turned it on.
"This is Bimmiel," Corran began. "Not much to look at, really. But, as I discovered in the notes of the scientific team, it has quite an interesting ecology."
Jacen perked up at that point. Perhaps this wouldn't be another boring, pointless meeting after all.
"The planet follows a highly elliptical orbit, and its rotational tilt is very pronounced. The result of these factors is that the planet's surface is somewhat inhospitable, being covered mostly in sand dunes. It has two small polar ice caps, which the archaeologists theorized were being slowly worn away by the recent dust storms that have been sweeping across the planet's surface. The southernmost one is already surrounded by a large ocean."
Jaina yawned, distracting Jacen momentarily, and Corran switched the image displayed by the holoprojector. It now showed a small debris cloud that orbited the planet.
"We recovered the data recorder of the Obroan Institute research ship Penga Rift in orbit. While the information on it was corrupted, as near as we can tell they were trying to escape to hyperspace when the ship was destroyed. We could find no sign of their attackers by the time we arrived."
He changed the view again, this time to show a wide, sweeping prarie on Bimmiel. While it seemed to be only grass, after looking at the large holo for several seconds Jacen thought he could make out some debris scattered across the plains.
"This was their campsite. Not much to look at, is it? We weren't sure who was aboard the Penga Rift, so we spent several days scouring the area but came up empty-handed. All the equipment was scattered around the campsite."
"So what did you find?" an overeager trainee inquired from the back of the chamber.
"We found signs that a group of them had sheltered in a nearby cave for a time. Most of the camp was smashed beyond recognition, but we found intact datachips in the computers. Corran reached for the holoprojector controls again.
Floating above him, a skull appeared. It was longer than a human skull, with a low cranial ridge. In addition to its odd appearance, it seemed to have many fracture lines and deformities. The cheekbones had been broken and reset in an odd fashion, resulting in the skull's face having a slope that went from left to right. The nose bones had also clearly been shattered, giving the skull an odd, leering appearance.
"What is that thing?" someone exclaimed.
Corran shrugged. "The scan labeled it as 'AR-312.' There were also scans of the entire corpse, and also a reproduction of the creature as it might have stood. I'll show that right now."
The hologram changed, now to display a full-size view of the humanoid. Human-style flesh had been added to give it somewhat of a more life-like appearance, but just from taking one look at it Jacen knew it wasn't even remotely human. It stood a half-meter taller than the typical human, and its shoulders were broad and powerfully built. Its face, which seemed to be painstakingly reconstructed from the skull, possessed the same leering, almost hideous quality that the skull had. The most disturbing feature were the numerous bony protrusions that extended through the skin all over the body.
"The scans identified this as being over fifty years old," Corran continued. "The coordinates on the chip showed it was discovered in the cave."
"What happened to the body?"
Corran shrugged. "If the camp had not been abandoned and ransacked, I would have said the students took it with them. But with the way that all of the scientific equipment was destroyed, and the fact that we could not find a single item identified on the scans, I believe that their attackers were specifically looking for this person's remains."
"Did you return this information to the Obroan Institute?" yet another voice asked. Jacen identified it as belonging to that of Raynar Thul, a marginally-talented student coming from one of the few remaining royal Alderaanian houses. He'd known Raynar since he had first joined the Academy, and was somewhat glad that he didn't have to see him given the rather garish robes, made of interweaved and often clashing colors, that the man often wore.
Corran shook his head. "Although the Obroan Institute sponsored the trip, it was organized by the University of Agamar. But to answer your question, yes, we did stop by Agamar on our way back and return the information that the scientists had collected before they vanished."
"Did you ever find the students?" another trainee asked. Jacen sighed; the interruptions were getting more than a little annoying.
"No," the Corellian answered. "When we returned the data to the University of Agamar, the researchers couldn't find anything like it in the databases. Based on the remains, they concluded that the group that attacked the students has been on or near Bimmiel for at least fifty years."
Raynar spoke up again. "How could a group that's been in this galaxy for at least fifty years have escaped our notice for that long?"
"I really can't answer that," Corran replied with a shrug. "There just isn't enough information, although I suppose that if the group's small enough, they could easily evade notice for years. Remember, we still haven't mapped out the entire galaxy; there are still thousands of unexplored stars in Wild Space."
The discussion dragged on for several more minutes, but Jacen found his thoughts drifting off to the figure in the hologram. Who are they? he wondered. And what do they want?
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the twittering of an astromech droid. Jacen quickly looked toward the entrance to the auditorium, just in time to see several people, all dressed in flight suits, come running in.
"That's Miko Reglia in the front," Jaina whispered into his ear. "Looks like Kyp's Dozen just arrived."
"Wonderful," he replied, still keeping his eyes fixed on the new arrivals. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the Jedi on the dais were also looking at the assorted pilots that had just arrived. It was then that he realized that the chamber had gone silent.
Jacen watched Miko climb the steps of the dais, give a slight bow toward Luke, and continue to Kyp. He then watched him hand-what, a datapad?- to the older Jedi. Kyp's face paled slightly as he read the datapad, which made Jacen even more curious. The Jedi then walked over towards Skywalker, and spoke with him for several seconds before stepping up to the podium as Corran sat back down.
"My apprentice Miko just told me about some new information that I have decided is relevant to this meeting," Kyp said. "With Master Skywalker's permission, we will begin."
He pushed some buttons on the datapad, then walked over to the holoprojector and did something-Jacen assumed he was inserting a datachip-before walking back to the podium. "This information was recorded by a sensor buoy that my squadron had placed in the outer areas of the Tingel Arm, perhaps about fifty light-years from Bimmiel." Kyp momentarily closed his eyes, and the holoprojector switched back on. A long list of coordinates and numbers were now projected into the air beside the podium. "Miko reports that there were some rather unusual findings. Miko?"
Kyp's apprentice stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat nervously.
"The beacon picked up a distress signal from a shipping convoy at about the same time that Corran and Ganner were on Bimmiel. Whoever made the transmission evidently thought it important enough to include a holofeed of their attackers."
Miko waved a hand at the holoprojector. The numbers morphed into what appeared to be an asteroid surrounded by the spinning, mangled wreckage of ships. Smaller rocks orbited around the larger asteroid, although Jacen couldn't help but notice after a few seconds that they seemed to be moving of their own accord.
Corran turned to Kyp with an intrigued expression. "Actually, that's very interesting," he remarked. "The data from the Penga Rift showed some asteroids near the ship before it was destroyed. Now that I think about it, there were no asteroids near Bimmiel when we got there."
The auditorium erupted in conversation, and Jacen noticed that Kyp had a somewhat surprised expression on his face when Corran had spoken.
"Do you think this is connected with Bimmiel?" Jacen asked after almost half a minute had passed.
The older Jedi contemplated the question. "I can't say for sure," he finally stated, "although Miko is all for investigating both matters. I can't say I disagree."
Even more discussion erupted in the auditorium. Finally, Raynar raised his hand. "I don't think that we, as Jedi, should investigate this. I've heard reports of what your squadron had done, Durron. You've given us a bad reputation with the government, which is why they haven't been willing to give us the supplies we need anymore. I don't care what you want to do, because we will not support you."
Next to Jacen, Tenel Ka quickly came to her feet. "Raynar Thul," she began, "this is not the usual brush conflict. Innocent people have died, and we don't even know why. Or did you forget what Jedi Horn said about the students?"
Someone else a few rows back replied. "We're peacekeepers, as Master Skywalker keeps reminding us. Why, then, are we so eager to get into conflict? We should bring this to the attention of the Republic, and let them do the investigation-and get the blame if they make mistakes."
"The mandate of the Jedi is to preserve life in all forms," Tenel Ka sharply retorted, "and you would let people die without raising an eyebrow? What sense of morals do you have? We are already involved. We should find out what this means and then report to the Republic once there is enough information for them to make a decision."
"That's not what I was implying," the same voice said.
On the dais, Kyp raised his hand to cut the arguing students off. "If we inform the Republic of this," he pointed out, "nothing will be done until many more have died. Tenel Ka is right."
"Not the way you do things." Raynar was now on his feet, but Jacen didn't bother to look at him. "You act as if you're the government, making decisions best left to those who are supposed to be in charge."
Kyp's gaze on the Alderaanian was unrelenting. "So what do you propose doing, then?"
Raynar was obviously flustered. He opened his mouth several times as if to speak, but nothing came out the first few times. Finally, he seemed able to collect his wits. "We bring it to the Republic's attention and let them decide on the course of action, but no more than that."
Jacen shook his head as the room erupted in shouting. He would have expected this from Raynar, considering the problems they'd had with the Senate after they had taken it upon themselves to investigate the headquarters of the Diversity Alliance on Ryloth.
"Enough," Luke finally exclaimed in a strong voice that seemed to fill the chamber as he came to his feet. "This conflict is getting us nowhere. As one of you pointed out, we are peacemakers, not warlords." His voice softened somewhat. "We do not dominate the people; instead, we serve them. As such, I feel that we should investigate the situation, then report our findings to the Republic if it proves worthwhile.
"But," he added as he turned toward Kyp, "we should also not take an offensive stance unless we are given the authority to do so by the Republic. Our actions will be in self-defense, and self-defense only; if we are attacked, we will defend ourselves. Do I make myself clear?"
Kyp had a somewhat disappointed expression on his face, but he nodded. "Then we will do so, Master Skywalker. When should we leave?"
"I'll leave that up to you, Kyp," Skywalker replied.
The younger Jedi nodded, turning back toward the assembled Jedi. "Does anyone here want to come with my group?"
After a long period of silence had passed, Tenel Ka stood up, much to Jacen's surprise. "I will come," she offered.
"Good," Kyp said. "Anyone else?"
As the rest of the Jedi discussed the matter in hushed tones, Jacen leaned over toward Tenel Ka with an inquiring expression on his face. "Why?" he whispered.
"I have been planning on visiting my great-grandmother on Dathomir for some time now," Tenel Ka replied quietly. "It will be on the way, so I do not view it as much of an inconvenience."
Jacen considered what she had said for several moments, somewhat confused about the issues. "Would you mind if I came with you?" he finally asked.
"Not at all." She looked at him as if to say, Thank you.
Jacen immediately stood up, raising his hand. "I'll come."
"And so will I," Jaina said a moment later as she came to her feet.
Kyp nodded. "That makes three. Anyone else?"
A low, throaty roar broke the hushed atmosphere. Moments later, a somewhat tinny voice piped up, sounding absurdly weak in comparison. Jacen promptly identified the voice as belonging to the miniature translation droid Em Teedee. "Master Lowbacca expresses his strong desire to come as well," the droid said.
Lowie growled softly at Em Teedee, which jetted backwards on its repulsors. "What do you mean, I could have said it more plainly?"
Jacen shook his head, a wan smile on his face. It was kind of surprising that Lowie hadn't reprogrammed the little thing yet. See-Threepio had put a lot of his own personality into the droid when Chewbacca had first built it, and the results often showed.
"I think you're making a mistake," Raynar began to say, before Luke cut him off as he stepped up to the podium.
"We are all entitled to our own opinions, and I respect that," Skywalker began. "But this kind of dissention will not get us anywhere. As some of you may know, in several days I will be leaving for Coruscant to speak to the government about re-establishing the Jedi Council to handle just this kind of dispute."
"Who will be on the Council?" another trainee asked.
"That will be decided later," Luke replied. "As for now, this meeting is dismissed."
Jacen watched as the people on the dais filed down, some of them-most notably a Twi'lek, Daeshara'cor-with disappointed looks on their faces. He started to leave, but a hand held him back; he turned to see Tenel Ka grasping his shoulder.
"Not yet," she said, pointing toward the dais, where several of the Jedi remained. "I need to talk with Kyp first."
"No problem," he replied with a slight twang of jealousy-but just as quickly pushed the feeling aside, hoping that Tenel Ka hadn't noticed. He knew that there was absolutely no reason for such irrational feelings, but it happened all the same.
When the auditorium had all but emptied, the group walked toward Kyp, who extended his hand toward Jacen. "Thanks for your support," he said, a smile spread across his face. "I really appreciated it."
Jacen half-shrugged. "It wasn't really me," he admitted, wondering where this was going. Kyp's checkered past was fairly well-known to most of the Jedi. Some avoided him because of it; others were constantly asking him for advice. Jacen wasn't sure which group he fit into.
"Well, yes." Kyp turned toward Tenel Ka. "Thank you especially. I take it you're going to be flying your transport?"
"That is a fact," she replied. "Was there something else you had in mind?"
"No, no, of course not," the older Jedi replied as he ran a hand through his hair. "In fact, I was hoping you would be taking your ship. We can use its firepower if we run into trouble."
Tenel Ka nodded in reply, and Kyp turned toward Jaina. "And I hear you've become quite a pilot."
Jaina blushed slightly. "Maybe exaggerating a little, but I suppose so."
Kyp continued without pause. "We have a couple of new X-wings that'll be arriving from Incom in a few days. They're of the XJ variant... have you ever heard of them?"
Jaina nodded, her curiosity piqued. The XJ was a model designed, amid much publicity, to extend the life of the X-wing series and keep it competitive with newer starfighters. She had read the review of it in a Fighting Machines quarterly as soon as it had been published. "I've heard a lot about them, actually."
"I was wondering if you'd like to fly one."
"I..." For a moment, the excitement flashed across her face. Then she remembered who was asking her the question, and closed her mouth. "I don't have any combat experience in X-wings."
"That's not a problem," Kyp replied. "There are a lot of ex-Navy pilots in the Dozen. I'm sure they'd be glad to help."
Jaina considered his offer for some time, her eyes turned toward the ground. "No," she finally said, jerking her thumb in Tenel Ka's direction. "No, I'd rather not-I think she could use my help as a copilot."
If Kyp was disappointed, his face didn't show it. "Whatever you want is fine with me. But if you ever want to reconsider, just remember that there'll be a pilot's seat open for you."
"Well, I'll keep that in mind," Jaina replied.
Another throaty bellow interrupted the conversation. "Master Lowbacca wishes to inquire as to how soon we will be leaving," Em Teedee translated for the Wookiee.
Kyp frowned. "We won't be able to leave for about a week. I want to make sure that the XJs are working right before we field-test them."
"Perhaps we can rendezvous on Dathomir, then?" Tenel Ka asked. "It would be nice to visit my great-grandmother."
"Sounds good to me." Durron looked up at the towering Wookiee. "And you, Lowbacca. I take it you'll be going with them as well?"
Lowie bleated a reply that Jacen took to be a yes.
"Good," Kyp finally said. "I'll tell my squadron that we'll meet you on Dathomir." He turned to Tenel Ka again. "Was there any specific place that you wanted us to meet you?"
"The Singing Mountain Clan fortress will do," the redheaded warrior replied. "I will let them know that you're coming."
"Thanks." The older Jedi stopped to shake everyone's hand-and paw-before turning to leave. "Dathomir it is. I'll see all of you there in couple weeks."
Jacen watched Kyp leave, a confused expression on his face. What have I gotten myself into? he wondered.