Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 02_ Shadow Academy - Kevin J. Anderson [3]
"Take good care of them, Lando," Luke said. "No unnecessary risks, okay?"
Artoo added a few beeps and whistles of his own.
Lando looked at Luke, pretending to take of-fense. "Hey, you know I wouldn't let these kids do anything I didn't think was a safe bet."
Luke grinned and gave Lando's shoulder an affectionate slap. "That's what I'm afraid of."
"You're just worried that once they see my GemDiver Station they'll be so impressed they won't want to come back to your Jedi academy," Lando joked.
Then, with a flourish of his cape, Lando Calrissian motioned Lowie and Jacen up the ramp. He turned to Jaina. "And what can I do to make this field trip more interesting and rewarding for you, young lady?" he asked, offering her his arm to escort her into the ship.
"The first thing you can do," she said, accepting his arm with an enthusiastic smile, "is tell me all about the Lady Luck's engines. . . ."
2
The Lady Luck left the jewel-green jungle moon behind as Lando Calrissian and his trusted companion Lobot piloted them across space toward the gaseous ball of Yavin.
"You kids should enjoy this," Lando said. "I don't think you've seen anything quite like Cor-usca mining before."
As the Lady Luck approached the giant planet, the orbiting industrial station came into view. Lando's Corusca-mining facility, GemDiver Station, was a symphony of running lights and transmitting grids surrounded by dozens of automated defensive satellites. The security satellites homed in on the Lady Luck, powering up weapons as the ship approached. But when Lando keyed in an access authorization code, the satellites acknowledged his signal, then turned back to their robotic perimeter search for intruders and pirates.
"Can't have too much security," he said, "not when you're dealing with something as valuable as these Corusca gems."
Lobot, the bald, computer-enhanced human, continued his cool surveillance of the controls. Lights on the mechanical apparatus implanted on the back of Lobot's skull flashed and blinked as he studied the guidance grid and compass. Piloting smoothly, Lobot brought the Lady Luck into the main docking bay on GemDiver Station.
"I'm glad Luke let you come up here," Lando said, glancing back at Jacen, Jaina, and Lowie. "You can't learn everything about the universe just by sitting in the jungle and lifting rocks off the ground with your mind."
He flashed a grin. "You need to broaden your horizons-learn about the way commerce works in the New Republic. That'll give you some useful knowledge, in case your lightsabers ever fail."
"We don't have lightsabers yet," Jacen said dejectedly.
"Then you might as well learn something useful in the meantime," Lando answered. Seeing Jacen's frustration, he added, "You know, your uncle Luke is concerned about your safety. He can be pretty cautious, but I trust his judgment. Don't worry, you'll get that lightsaber eventually. I bet if you just relax and stop thinking about it, you'll be practicing with a lightsaber before you know it." That said, he helped Lobot finish the landing check as the Lady Luck settled down in the empty bay.
Stepping out of the ship, Lando beamed and showed off his station, making enthusiastic gestures. With Lobot trailing silently behind, Lando led the three young Jedi Knights to a transparisteel viewing window that looked out at the tempestuous orangish soup of the gas giant.
Jacen pressed close to the broad window, peering down at the knotted storm systems that chained through the clouds. From this distance Yavin looked deceptively gentle in pastel yellows and whites and oranges. But he knew that even in the upper atmosphere, the winds had crushing strength, and the pressure farther down enough to squash a ship down to a fistful of atoms.
Beside him, Jaina studied the weather patterns analytically. Lowie stood between the twins, his lanky form towering over them. He