“The Force is my ally, Brakiss,” Luke said. “And you have learned to use it to your own ends. You are never unarmed, any more than I am.”
“All right, have it your way,” Brakiss said. He brushed the fabric of his shimmering robe and made ready to step forward. His eyes blazed now, as if he held the fury of the universe within him, ready to unleash it from his fingertips.
Just then, an explosion of hot energy streaked past Luke’s head from behind and melted the door controls. With a second blast from the Shadow Chaser’s laser cannon, the controls were completely fried. The heavy metal plates slammed back into place, sealing Brakiss and Luke apart from each other.
“Uncle Luke, come on!” Jaina yelled from the ship. “We have to go.”
Luke shuddered with stunned relief, turned, and sprinted back toward the shuttle. He knew it wasn’t over between him and Brakiss; but that would have to wait for another time.
Jaina and Lowie and Em Teedee linked into the Shadow Chasers computers, trying to open the station’s huge space door from within. While they worked, Tenel Ka raced around the docking bay, sealing all of the red doorways, making sure that none would open. The ominous man in the silvery robes had stalled Luke, and they couldn’t afford another skirmish like that. Tenel Ka had to seal the doors, just in case a contingent of stormtroopers made its way to the docking bay.
Luke climbed into the shuttle. Tenel Ka sealed another metal door, then ran to the last one. Just as her fingers touched the controls, though, the door slid open. A tall, dark woman loomed in front of Tenel Ka, crackling with angry energy and ready to attack.
Tenel Ka looked up and instantly knew what this person was. “A Nightsister!” she hissed.
The dark woman glared down at her with a similar flash of recognition. “And you are from Dathomir, girl! I claim you. You are a fitting replacement for the three I am about to destroy.”
Tenel Ka stood in front of the Nightsister, her arms and legs spread like a barrier. “You will have to get through me first.”
The dark woman laughed. “If you insist.” She struck with the Force, an invisible blow that nearly knocked Tenel Ka sideways—but the young woman deflected it and stood strong, lips clamping together in determination.
The Nightsister drew herself taller in surprise, looking like a black bird of prey. “Ah, so you are already familiar with the Force. That will make it easier for me to train you, to turn you.”
Tenel Ka remained tense and rigid, glaring at her opponent. “This is not a fact. And I will not let you harm my friends.”
The Nightsister seemed to snap as her anger came free of its delicate cage. “Then I won’t hesitate to destroy you as well!” Her black robes rippled like a thunderstorm. Locking her violet gaze on Tenel Ka, she raised her clawed hands, fingers outspread, glossy dark hair crackling with static as her body charged with electrical power.
Tenel Ka stood directly in front of her, unflinching, as the dark Force built to a climax within the Nightsister.
Without warning, Tenel Ka lashed out with her foot, putting all of the strength of her muscular, athletic legs behind the kick. The sharp toe of her hard, scaled boot struck the Nightsister’s unarmored kneecap. Tenel Ka distinctly heard the crunch of a breaking bone and tearing muscles as her blow struck home. The Nightsister shrieked and fell to the ground, writhing in agony.
Calm and self-satisfied, Tenel Ka stared down at her with cool gray eyes. “I never use the Force unless I have to,” she said. “Sometimes old-fashioned methods are just as effective.”
Leaving the Nightsister moaning on the floor, Tenel Ka jogged back toward the Shadow Chaser, where Luke was gesturing for her to hurry. She climbed aboard, and the ship doors sealed.
Alarms continued to sound, their clamor muffled inside the cockpit of the Shadow Chaser. Luke piloted the vehicle, raising it off the floor on its repulsorfields. Jaina and Lowie still worked desperately to open the heavy space doors.
With a loud crrummp, two sets of the red metal doors blasted open. Smoke from detonators curled out, and white-armored stormtroopers charged in, blasting at the shuttle.
“You’d better get that space door open,” Luke said. “Soon.”
Lowie yowled. “We’re trying!” Jaina said, keying in a new command string, working even more furiously.
More stormtroopers came through. Blaster fire sprayed across the room. They could hear the splatter and boom of impacts. But the Shadow Chasers armor held.
“We’ve got company,” Luke said, staring at the sealed bay doors. “We’re out of time.”
“I can’t get the—,” Jaina began, and suddenly the heavy doors cracked open, spreading wide for the Shadow Chaser. The atmosphere-containment field shimmered in front of the star-strewn blackness, but now the shuttle could launch into open space.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Jaina said, trying to cover her confusion.
“Let’s go!” Luke shouted, and punched the accelerators.
Everyone grabbed the arms of their seats as the launch threw them back. The Shadow Chaser roared away from the Imperial station, leaving the huge, spiked structure uncloaked in space behind them.
Luke heaved a loud sigh of relief as he punched the escape coordinates into the navicomputer. “Let’s get back to Yavin 4,” he said.
None of the young Jedi Knights objected, and they surged into hyperspace.
“Good work, Jaina and Lowie,” Luke finally said. “I didn’t think you’d ever get that docking-bay door open.”
Lowbacca mumbled something unintelligible, and Jaina fidgeted. “Uh, Uncle Luke,” she said, “I kind of hate to mention this, but—we didn’t get the door open.”
Luke shrugged, not wanting to quibble. “Well, we owe our thanks to whoever did it.”
Qorl stood by the docking-bay controls, watching the Shadow Chaser disappear. The escape left absolute turmoil in its wake as the Shadow Academy scrambled to regroup. Qorl touched the space door controls, smiled faintly to himself, and then closed the doors. He would, of course, never tell Brakiss or Tamith Kai.
Brakiss came into the control room next to Qorl, exhausted and troubled. “Is our cloaking shield up yet? We must get it working. The Rebels will no doubt send attack fleets in search of us. We’ll have to relocate. That’s why this station was designed to be mobile.”
Brakiss drummed his fingertips on one of the control panels. “I don’t know what I’m going to say to our great Imperial leader. He can trigger this station’s self-destruct sequence at any time, if he’s displeased.”
Qorl nodded grimly. “Perhaps he won’t be quite that displeased … this time.”
Brakiss looked at him. “We can only hope.”
Tamith Kai limped into the control chamber, utterly outraged. Her eyes still glowed with violet fire, and her hands were set in clawed curves, as if she wanted to shred hull plates with her fingernails. “So they’ve escaped! You let them get away?”
Brakiss looked at her mildly. “I didn’t let them do anything, Tamith Kai. I don’t see what more we could have done. Our duty now is to get away and plan our next step—because you can be sure there will be another opportunity”
Qorl powered up the station engines, and they began moving the Shadow Academy to a new hiding place.
22
Jacen and Jaina crowded together, pushing closer to the transmission area in the Jedi academy’s Comm Center as the image of Han and Leia came into focus. The twins cried out their greetings.
Han Solo laughed in delight. “Looks like I didn’t have to come after you kids in the Falcon after all!”