Part 31 (2/2)
”Help me, here,” she said, and Luke heaved the box open. Inside was a metal locker, corroded, with an ancient access control panel on it. The green run light on the box still shone. Luke studied the box, punched in the two glyphs that spelled Yoda's name. A hissing noise erupted from the locker as the lid popped and air seeped in. Luke opened it.
The box was filled with reader disks?hundreds of them, containing more volumes of information than any one person could hope to study in a lifetime.
At noon that day, a Hapan shuttle came to pick up Teneniel and Isolder.
Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia, and the droids went to see them off. Isolder found that he was hesitant to leave this planet. Leia hugged them both and wished them happiness, weeping openly until Teneniel reminded her that their paths would cross from time to time, now that Hapes had joined the New Republic.
Han shook Teneniel's hand, punched Isolder on the arm in a friendly sort of way, and said, ”See you around, Slime. Watch out for pirates.”
Isolder smiled back, held Han's eye. The witches and Luke had done their best to heal Han's broken leg and teeth, though he still wore a brace on his leg. Han looked like a pirate. He still had that c.o.c.ky air, the swagger to his walk. Even with a brace, Han could swagger. ”See you around, Oaf,” Isolder said, but he couldn't leave it at that. ”So where do you two think you'll take your honeymoon?”
Han shrugged. ”I had hoped to take it here on Dathomir, but things have quieted down so much in the past two days, I'm afraid it would get boring.”
”Perhaps you would like to tour the Hapan worlds,” Isolder suggested.
”I'm sure you would find this visit more hospitable than your last.”
”That's an easy promise to keep,” Han agreed, ”as long as they don't shoot me on sight.”
”We won't do that,” Isolder promised, ”though I might have my people check your bags for stolen goods before you leave.”
Han laughed, clapped him on the back. Chewbacca and Threepio said their good-byes, and then it was Luke's turn. The Jedi had hung back from the rest, watching them intently. He did not give them a tearful farewell.
Instead, he took Teneniel's hand, held it for a moment and looked into her eyes?no, looked beyond her eyes. ”You will give birth to a daughter first,” Luke said, ”and she will be strong and virtuous, like you. When you feel the time is right, perhaps you will send her to me for training.”
Teneniel smiled, hugged him. Luke took Isolder's hand, held it. ”Remember to serve the light side of the Force,” Luke said. ”Though you will never wield a lightsaber or heal the sick, you have some light within you. Be true to that light.”
”I will,” Isolder promised, and he wondered at how much his life had changed in the past few days. In a fraction of a second he had decided to follow Luke to this planet, and now he knew that he would be following Luke's path for the rest of his life. ”I will,” he said again, and he hugged the Jedi.
For a moment, they all stood staring at one another, and then Isolder looked around the valley once again, to the huts in the fields, the dark fortress above them, the rancors splas.h.i.+ng in the pond, the bright sun s.h.i.+ning over the southern valleys, the mountains and the deserts beyond.
Isolder inhaled the sweet, clean air, tasting the rich scent of Dathomir for one last time, and he felt his sinuses burn just a little. He realized that he must have been allergic to something on this planet.
He took Teneniel's hand, and headed aboard the shuttle with his betrothed, taking her to other worlds, other stars.
Six weeks later, under the blue skies of Coruscant, Luke had just finished bathing and had dressed in a fine gray robe. As best man at Leia's wedding, he'd planned to arrive early, but then the shuttle driver dropped him at the Aldereenian consulate by accident, a building occupied by some insect race Luke had never heard of and which happened to be nearly two hundred kilometers from the Alderaanian consulate.
So he found himself arriving at the consulate an hour later than he planned, and when he managed to get in the door, he raced down a long corridor paneled with great slabs of l.u.s.trous ancient uwa wood, toward the White Room. He turned a corner, and found See-Threepio running frantically just ahead.
Luke caught up with the droid and said, ”Hey, Threepio, what's wrong?”
”Oh, Master Luke,” Threepio said. ”I'm so relieved to see you. I'm afraid I've gotten us all into a terrible mess! It's all my fault! We must stop the wedding immediately!”
”What's wrong?” Luke asked. ”What are you talking about?”
”I just learned horrible news from the city computer. It was cross-verifying some files, and found that Han isn't royalty after all!”
”He's not?” Luke said.
”No! His great-grandfather, Korol Solo, was only a pretender to the throne?and got hanged for his crimes! We must warn everyone!”
”So that's why he got so embarra.s.sed and walked out on the Alderaanian Council when you announced his lineage,” Luke said. ”He knew that his great-grandfather was a pretender all along!”
”Indeed!” Threepio agreed. ”Stop the wedding!”
”All right! All right!” Luke said, placing his hand on Threepio's shoulder. ”Don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything.”
”Oh, that's so good of you, Master Lu?” Luke flipped the droid off, dragged him into an empty office, locked the door, then made his way to the White Room, opened one of its many doors.
The room had an enormous vaulted ceiling, ornately carved from one monolithic stone, and brilliant lights reflected from the dome, bathing everything in a soft, celestial glow. A thousand guests from a variety of planets sat to witness, and some of them turned to look at Luke. In the front row, Teneniel Djo and Prince Isolder sat together next to Artoo and Chew-bacca, who was immaculately shampooed and brushed. The prince held a plant on his lap, a purple, trumpet-shaped arallute flower.
Luke stood at the back, staring up at the marble altar where Han and Leia knelt across from one another, holding hands across the altar. The officiator stood in his emerald robes of office, leading Leia in her vows.
She turned and glanced at Luke, the diadems in her veil flas.h.i.+ng in the light, and Luke could feel that she was not angry at him for having arrived late, only grateful that he had made it. And at that moment Leia was more serene, more content, than she had ever been in her life. And perhaps she was as filled with joy as anyone could be.
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