Part 12 (1/2)

Before they arrived, Jaina and the others had to expose the Shadow Academy.

Lowie groaned a question, which Em Teedee translated. ”Master Lowbacca wishes to inquire if the focusing apparatus has condensed the beam of reflected sunlight to its full-power configuration.”

”That's for sure,” Peckhum said. ”Once we get this thing turned, we'll really make them hot under the collar.”

Hanging in orbit over Coruscant, the big mirrors finally swung into position, focusing their bright beam of condensed sunlight into the empty void. The mirror beam cut a swath through s.p.a.ce like a searchlight.

The light should have kept flying across the solar system, but when it struck the empty coordinates, s.p.a.ce itself seemed to s.h.i.+mmer like golden smoke. The high-intensity flood of sunlight continued to bombard the cloaked area, finally overwhelming the invisibility s.h.i.+elds around the Shadow Academy.

”There!” Jaina cried triumphantly.

The Imperial station rippled into view and then snapped into perfect focus, a large circular ring bristling with spiked gun emplacements and observation towers.

Lowie and Chewbacca roared in unison, and Jaina shook her head. ”They were hiding right on our doorstep all along. That's why they could use short-range fighters to attack the Adamant. That's how Tamith Kai and her companions could slip down to the city and steal Zekk away!”

”Zekk must be aboard the station then,” Peckhum whispered. ”That's where they've taken him.”

”And the Lost Ones,” Jaina added.

Chewbacca snarled, then pointed as the exposed Shadow Academy began to move. Thrusters along the equator of its donut shape burned blue-white on one side, nudging it away from the bright beam of concentrated sunlight.

”Turn the mirrors,” Jaina said. ”We can't let them get away before the s.h.i.+ps arrive.”

”Oh dear,” Em Teedee said. ”I do hope our fighters manage to apprehend that Shadow Academy. I'm still exceedingly vexed with them for reprogramming me when we were all taken prisoner there.”

Peckhum punched new coordinates into the mirror directional systems, but the sudden acceleration and the change in direction proved too much for the already-stressed silvery sheeting. The long webs of cables that held the great mirror in position tore free, and a wide gash began to open up, spilling a seam of stars and black night through the glittering reflector.

”We can't hold it,” Peckhum shouted. ”It's too much!” He shook his head.

”We could never target a moving object anyway.” Then he looked up and moaned. ”My mirrors!”

The Shadow Academy continued to accelerate, and Jaina watched the approach of Admiral Ackbar's vengeful fleet, silently urging them to greater speed. But she could see they would not arrive in time.

”The Shadow Academy must already have been preparing to leave,” she said.

”Of course. They've got Zekk and some other recruits. They've stolen a s.h.i.+pment of hyperdrive cores and turbolaser batteries. They were only increasing their danger by staying here.”

Though its ringed shape made it appear unwieldy, the Shadow Academy picked up speed as it headed toward its appropriate hypers.p.a.ce jump point.

The first of the New Republic s.h.i.+ps soared ahead, firing laser bursts at the Shadow Academy. Several shots struck home, leaving dark blaster scoring on the outer hull; the intensity of the solar mirror must have burned out some s.h.i.+elds.

Jaina reached out with her mind, searching for Zekk, still marveling at the thought that the handsome, dark-haired street boy might have the potential to be a Jedi Knight. Or a Dark Jedi. She muttered to herself, feeling guilty, ”He was our friend, and we never even imagined he might become a Jedi, too. Now it's too late.”

As the New Republic s.h.i.+ps arrowed toward their target, firing numerous laser bursts, the Shadow Academy suddenly shot forward with a bright flash of light. Its acceleration stretched s.p.a.ce and bent starlines, then it vanished to its unknown hiding place deep in Imperial territory.

The Shadow Academy was gone. Again.

Jaina swallowed a lump in her throat. And this time the Imperials had taken a friend with them.

21.

AT THE OBSERVATION windows of the mirror station, Jaina stood next to Lowie, her hands outstretched, as if she were trying to pull back the vanished Shadow Academy - and Zekk with it. But, with the exception of a few New Republic s.h.i.+ps, the area where the Imperial s.p.a.ce station had disappeared remained stubbornly empty.

She let her arms fall back to her sides. Her eyes squeezed shut against the un-Jaina-like tears that had suddenly welled up, and her mind sent out a silent cry. Don't go, Zekk! Come back.

In stunned silence, Peckhum leaned against the station wall next to her.

His mirrors were damaged, and Zekk had joined the fragments of the Empire. ”He's gone,” the old man whispered.

When Lowie placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, Jaina felt strength and optimism flow back into her, as soothing as cool water to her burning sorrow. Drawing a deep breath, she searched the observation window again for any sign of hope.

A new movement caught her eye. ”There!” she said, turning to grab Lowie's hairy arm.

”Did you see that?” Peckhum squinted, and the young Wookiee gave an interrogative growl.

”What do you mean, 'See what?”' Jaina said. ”Look-something else is out there, right where the Shadow Academy was.”

Lowie's rumbled reply sounded hesitant, but Em Teedee piped up to translate. ”Master Lowbacca is loath even to suggest the possibility, but might that not simply be a New Republic s.h.i.+p, or one of the pieces of debris you've been tracking?”

”Absolutely not,” Jaina said stubbornly. ”Besides, any debris with a path that intersected the Shadow Academy would have been destroyed already-just like that shuttle, the Moon Dash.”

Peckhum hunched over the comm system. ”Strange. That object seems to be transmitting a pickup signal-if I read this correctly, that is.”

Lowie's triumphant roar brought Chewbacca from the main stabilizer unit, where he had been attempting manual repairs to the mirror adjustment systems-to no avail.

”Not very big,” Jaina said, studying the mirror station's crude scanners.

”Small enough to be an escape pod, don't you think?”

Lowie looked up at his uncle, who rumbled a negative.

”Looks more like a message canister to me,” Peckhum said. ”Speaking of which, the transmitters are working now, so why don't we send a message to the New Republic fleet? They'll pick it up, whatever it is.”

”Well then,” Jaina said, ”what are we waiting for? Let's raise Admiral Ackbar.”

Lowie transmitted the message while Jaina stared at the screen, still hoping.

”Years ago, Uncle Luke told me about one of his first students, a young man named Kyp Durron, who managed to stow away in a message pod.” Jaina sent her mind out toward the object, trying to gather tiny bits of information with the Force. But she felt nothing, sensed no presence of her dark-haired friend. She heard Lowie croon a sad note beside her, but even without his confirmation, she knew that they wouldn't find Zekk inside the message pod.

At least not alive.

Jaina bit her lip and tried to look over Peckhum's shoulder as he piloted his old s.h.i.+p, the Lightning Rod, back toward Coruscant. Her view was all but obscured by the hairy form of Chewbacca, who took up the copilot's seat and much of the area around it. Thinking about the retrieved message pod from the Shadow Academy - - still sealed against the vacuum of s.p.a.ce and possibly containing a message from Zekk-filled her with a sense of urgency.

She wished she could tell Chewie and Peckhum to hurry up, that they had to get back immediately so they could be on hand when the message pod was opened. But that would have been foolish, not to mention rude. The two of them seemed to understand her anxiety and had already pushed the Lightning Rod to the highest speed its safety limits would allow. In the compartment behind them, the engines made disconcerting clunking sounds.