DARK APPRENTICE The Jedi Academy Trilogy Volume 2 by Kevin J. Anderson Copyright 1994 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. THE BLOCKBUSTER SAGA CONTINUES STAR WARS As the New Republic takes devastating losses in the ongoing war with the scattered remnants of the Empire, the galaxy's future depends on three small children--among them the Jedi twins--butorn to incredible powers and perils, as an extraordinary new Star Wars R saga unfolds.... While the New Republic struggles to decide what to do with the deadly Sun Crusher--a new doomsday weapon stolen from the Empire by Han Solo--the renegade imperial Admiral Daala uses her fleet of Star Destroyers to conduct guerrilla warfare on peaceful planets. And now she threatens the watery homeworld of Admiral Ackbar. But as the battle for a planet rages, an even greater danger emerges at Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy. A brilliant student delves dangerously into the dark side of the Force and unleashes the spirit of an ancient master of the evil order that warped Darth Vader himself. Working together, they may become an enemy greater than any the New Republic has ever fought... more powerful than even a Jedi Master can face. About the Author For the past ten years Kevin J. Anderson has worked as a technical editor and writer at the large government weapons research lab, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory... which he insists has nothing to do with the large Imperial weapons research lab, Maw Installation, in Jedi Search. He is also the author of 18 science fiction or fantasy books, including three co-written with Doug Beason for Bantam--Lifeline, The Trinity Paradox, and Assemblers of Infinity. His works have appeared on numerous Best of the Year lists, as well as preliminary or final ballots for the Nebula and Bram Stoker Awards. In addition to the three novels in the "Jedi Academy" trilogy, he is also at work on various other Star Wars projects, including The Illustrated Star Wars Universe, an art book featuring many new paintings by artist Ralph McQuarrie showing daily life on the planets in the Star Wars universe. He is also editing three anthologies of short stories, the first of which--Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina - comtells the stories of all the bizarre characters from the famous Star Wars Cantina scene. OTHER BOOKS BY KEVIN J. ANDERSON Resurrection, Inc. Gamearth Gameplay Game's End Star Wars: Jedi Search Star Wars: Dark Apprentice Star Wars: Champions of the Force [Forthcoming] by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason Lifeline The Trinity Paradox Assemblers of Infinity by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Kevin J. Anderson Afterimage Acknowledgments I'd like to shower thanks upon: Lillie Mitchell for transcribing piles of my microcassettes with lightning speed; my wife Rebecca Moesta Anderson for just about everything, from brainstorming to copyediting to personal support to helping dialogue make sense; the exhaustive Star Wars expertise of Bill Smith at West End Games (not to mention all the wonderful source material available from West End); Tom Veitch for helping me create the entire history of Exar Kun (so much, in fact, that we are writing his story and the Great Sith War in twelve issues of Dark Lords of the Sith to be published by Dark Horse Comics); Ralph McQuarrie, whose imagination and original painting inspired the temple of Exar Kun; my editor Betsy Mitchell, who helped develop this story, and her successor Tom Dupree, who came aboard the starship when we were already leaping into hyperspace; Heather McConnell, who helps keep all systems under control; Karen Anderson for custom-designing the word "praxeum"; Sue Rostoni at Lucasfilm for helping things run smoothly; Rose Guilbert for the sentient mollusks; Dave Wolverton and Timothy Zahn for their invaluable assistance and cooperation; David Brin for the Startide; my agent Richard Curtis; Rita Anderson; Chuck Beason; and of course, George Lucas, for creating such a marvelous universe in the first place. Dedication To Lucy Autrey Wilson, of Lucasfilm Licensing... who gets thrilled just to see her name in the acknowledgments of a book; no telling what she'll do when she sees a dedication! Lucy has always been enthusiastic, willing to listen to ideas and offer her own, and a pleasure to work with on all my Star Wars projects. DARK APPRENTICE The huge orange sphere of the gas planet Yavin heaved itself over the horizon of its fourth mood. Soft, misty light shone across the ever-stirring jungles and the ancient stone temples. Luke Skywalker used a Jedi refreshing technique to remove weariness from his body. He had slept soundly--but the future of the New Republic and the fate of the galaxy weighed heavily upon him. Luke stood atop the squared pyramid of the Great Temple that had been abandoned millennia before by the lost Massassi race. During the Alliance's early struggles against the Empire, they had built a secret base in the ruins, from which they had launched their desperate attack against the first Death Star. Now, eleven years after the Rebels' departure, Luke had returned to the fourth moon of Yavin. Now he was a Jedi. A Jedi Master. He would be the first of a new generation, like those who had protected the Republic for a thousand generations. The old Jedi Knights had been respected and powerful, until Darth Vader and the Emperor had hunted and slaughtered virtually all of them. Luke had received support from Mon Mothma, the New Republic's Chief of State, to seek others who had a potential to use the Force--trainees who might become part of a new order of Jedi. Luke had managed to bring a dozen students to his "academy" on Yavin 4, but he felt uncertain about the best way to train them. His own instruction by Obi-Wan and Yoda had been abbreviated, and Luke had since discovered facets of Jedi lore that made him realize just how much he still did not know. Even a great Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi had failed with his student and had let Anakin Skywalker become a monster named Darth Vader. Now Luke was expected to instruct others and make no mistakes. Do or do not, Yoda had said, there is no try. Luke stood on the smooth, cool stones of the rooftop and looked out across the awakening jungle, smelling the myriad sharp and sweet scents as the air warmed in the morning light. The spicy tang of blueleaf shrub and the perfume of lush orchids drifted up to him. Luke closed his eyes and let his hands hang at his side, his fingers spread. He let his mind open and relax; he drew strength from the Force, touching ripples made by the life-forms crowding the jungles below. With heightened senses he could hear the rustle of millions of leaves, twigs scraping, small animals scurrying through the underbrush. Letting out a yelp of pain and terror, a rodent thrashed and died as a predator crushed it in its jaws. Flying creatures sang mating songs to each other through the dense treetops. Large grazing mammals fed on leaves, tearing tender shoots from high branches or grubbing for fungi in the forest debris. A wide warm river, sapphire-blue overlaid with muddy swirls of brown, flowed past the Great Temple, barely visible under the thick trees. The river bifurcated to send a tributary past the old Rebel power-generating station, which Luke and Artoo-Detoo had repaired during their preparation for the Jedi academy. Where the river sloshed around a submerged, half-rotted tree, Luke could sense a large aquatic predator lurking in the shadows, waiting for smaller fishlike creatures to swim by. The plants grew. The animals flourished. The moon awakened to a new day. Yavin 4 was alive--and Luke Skywalker felt energized. Listening intently, he heard two people approaching from far off in the dense foliage. They moved quietly, without speaking, but he could sense the change in the jungle as two of his Jedi candidates made a path through the undergrowth. Luke's introspective moment had ended. He smiled and decided to go down and meet them. As he turned to go back into the echoing stone halls of the temple, Luke looked up at the sky to see the streaking trails of a shuttlecraft descending through the humid atmosphere. He realized with a start that they were due for another delivery of supplies. Luke had been so focused on training new Jedi that he had lost touch with galactic politics. Upon seeing the shuttle, he felt a deep longing to know about Leia and Han and their children. He hoped the pilot would bring news. He shrugged down the hood of his brown Jedi cloak. The garment was too warm for the jungle humidity, but Luke had stopped noticing minor physical discomfort. He had walked across fire on Eol Sha and gone to the spice mines of Kessel, and he could not be bothered by a little perspiration. When the Rebels had first set up their hidden base in the Massassi temple, they had scoured the thick plant life from the chambers. Across the river stood another prominent temple, and according to orbital surveys, more structures lay buried under the implacable vegetation. But the Alliance had been far too wrapped up in its war against the Empire to bother with detailed archaeological ...
seamuss