Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 02_ Shadow Academy - Kevin J. Anderson [7]
"I'd like to try my hand at it," Jaina said.
"Ill let you each have a turn at the controls, but I should warn you that Corusca gems are very rare, even down here. Don't expect to find anything."
Jacen asked, "If we're at the controls and we find a Corusca gem, can we keep it?"
Lando smiled indulgently. "Well, I suppose . . . but we can't spend a lot of time down here looking for gems."
"Oh, we won't," Jacen said. "But it's still good to have some incentive."
Lando laughed. "Just like your father," he said. Jacen smiled, thinking of all the times Lando Calrissian and Han Solo had worked with each other-or in competition against each other-over the years of their long friendship.
Lando looked at his controls again and opened up more window panels on the floor so they could see the murky gases beneath them, supercharged with energy.
"This is probably good enough," Lando said. "Let's start fishing." He glanced at the chronometer on his wrist. "We really need to head back up soon." He swallowed, and Jacen sensed just how nervous Lando really was to be down this far. Daredevil gem hunters willing to risk their lives for the fabulously expensive Corusca stones usually did all the deep dives.
The Fast Hand had gone so far into the planetary atmosphere that by now the winds were dark around them, so dense that even light from Yavin's sun could not penetrate. Lando clicked on the diving bell's spotlights, and cones of creamy light struggled against the battering storms and whirling gases.
"I'm going to deploy our trolling cables," Lando said. "They're electromagnetic ropes that dangle down to catch flying Corusca gems whipped up by the storms. You can each have only a few minutes, because we need to get back up to the station. These storm systems are getting worse."
The storms hadn't seemed to be getting worse at all to Jacen; they had been bad enough to begin with. But the tension apparent on Lando's face made Jacen want to end their expedition quickly as well.
"Lowbacca, why don't you try first?" Lando suggested. "Come up front and take the controls."
The young Wookiee crouched in a seat that was far too small for him and rested his hands on the multiple joysticks of the controls. He directed the dangling, sizzling energy cables that trailed out like magnetic tentacles through the stormy atmosphere.
Jacen unbuckled his crash webbing again and crawled along the floor to peer through the square portholes. He could see the yellow magnetic whips that extended from the Fast Hand raking through the gaseous clouds, but catching nothing.
After a few moments, Lowie groaned in frustration. Em Teedee said,
"Master Lowbacca wishes to offer someone else a turn." Lowie relinquished the controls to Jaina, who sat down with focused concentration, the tip of her tongue wedged between her lips at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes, golden-brown pools that stared into nothingness, fell half-closed as she worked the controls. Jacen watched the energy lines writhe below, sifting through the clouds, searching.
"Now, don't get disappointed," Lando said. "I told you it's still hard work to find even one gem. They're quite rare. If they weren't, they wouldn't be so valuable."
Jaina continued to search for a few minutes longer, then gave up. Jacen climbed to his feet and came forward, struggling to keep his balance in the gale-force winds. He caught the arm of the chair and pulled himself into it, letting his hands wrap around the controls.
As he tugged on the joysticks he could feel the response from the lashing energy cables, groping about like nimble fingers sifting through sand to find gold. He reached out with his mind, concentrating as Jaina had, using what he knew of Jedi powers to search for the precious gems. He didn't know what a Corusca stone would feel like, but he expected he would know if he encountered one. The whirling clouds seemed