Star Wars_ The Jedi Academy Trilogy 02_ Dark Apprentice - Kevin J. Anderson [111]
Though her scalding anger seemed to have cooled somewhat, Mara still showed a rough-edged hardness that made Han wonder why Lando would get so excited about the woman who had once called herself “The Emperor’s Hand.” With a flash of insight Han realized that Leia herself had come across as a mixture of fiery temper and icy coolness when he had first met her—and look at how that had turned out!
Mara Jade’s slender figure emerged from the half-open hangar doors at the base of the blocky stone ziggurat. She carried a satchel slung over her shoulder.
Lando hurried down the ramp and cursorily clapped Luke on the back. “How you doing, Luke?” He practically tripped over himself as he trotted across the landing pad to meet Mara. “We hear you need a lift,” he said, offering to take her satchel. “What happened to your own ship?”
“Don’t ask,” she said, then smiled wryly at him before handing over her heavy bag. “So you finally found something you’re qualified to do, Calrissian. Baggage handler.”
He carried her satchel over his shoulder and gestured to the Falcon. “Right this way to the VIP shuttle, madam.”
Han stepped back from Luke and looked around at the steaming jungles and the vine-covered Great Temple. “So, where’s Kyp?” he asked.
Luke looked down at his feet, and then, as if gathering courage through some kind of Jedi exercise, he looked up to meet Han’s gaze. “I’ve got bad news for you, Kyp … disagreed with me about how fast he should learn dangerous new skills and how best to develop his ability with the Force.”
“What do you mean?” Han asked. He grabbed one of the piston supports of the entry ramp to keep himself upright. “Was he hurt? Why didn’t you call me?”
Luke shook his head. “I don’t know what happened to him. He’s been practicing certain techniques that I fear may lead him to the dark side. I’m very concerned, Han. He’s the most powerful of all the students I’ve had here. He stole Mara Jade’s ship and left Yavin 4. I have no idea where he is now or what he’s doing.”
Han forced his mouth into a thin line, but Luke continued. “Kyp has a great deal of power, and a great deal of anger and ambition—but little understanding or patience. That’s a dangerous combination.”
Han felt helpless. He barely noticed as Lando escorted Mara Jade up the ramp into the Falcon. “I don’t know what to do, Luke,” Han said.
Luke nodded grimly. “Neither do I.”
The Millennium Falcon cruised through hyperspace with a vibrating hum of hyperdrive engines. Lando tried to keep his voice down as he leaned close to Han in the cockpit.
“Just let me tinker with the food-processing units, Han. Please? I’ve memorized some programming from the finest Cloud City casinos, and I can generate recipes that would make Mara Jade float with pleasure.”
“No.” Han scanned the chronometer that counted down how much time remained on the journey back to Coruscant. “I like the food processors the way they are.”
Exasperated, Lando slumped into the copilot’s chair and sighed. “They’re all programmed for greasy, heavy Corellian recipes. Someone like Mara needs exotic food, special preparation. Not nerf sausage and dumplings with soggy charbote roots.”
“Lando, that’s the food I was brought up on—and on my ship, I want the food-prep units to make dishes that I like. I already wasted the whole journey to Yavin helping you scrub the living compartments in the back, polishing the holochess table, and perfuming the whole ship with disinfectant.”
“Han,” Lando said, “the ship was filthy, and it stank.”
“Well, I liked it that way,” Han insisted. “It was my dirt, and my stink, on my ship.”
“Only because you got lucky in sabacc.” Lando stood up, straightened his cape, and smoothed his purplish jumpsuit. “I let you win. You could never do it again.”
Han and Lando glared at each other across the hastily cleared game board. Lando kept flicking glances toward Mara Jade as he randomized the rectangles of