Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 03_ The Lost Ones - Kevin J. Anderson [53]
Jaina bit her lower lip.
Lowie sat in thoughtful silence beside her. Only the deep indentations left by his hairy fingers in the foam padding of the arm cushions told Jaina that the young Wookiee felt a tension similar to hers. As they reentered the atmosphere, Jaina forced her eyes shut and practiced one of Uncle Luke's Jedi relaxation techniques. But it didn't seem to work.
Finally, a gentle thump and the diminishing whine of the Lightning Rod's engines told her they had arrived at one of the landing pads in Imperial City.
Jaina jumped down onto the landing pad without waiting for the exit ramp to extend fully; she couldn't even remember having unfastened her crash webbing or opening the exit hatch. She immediately caught sight of her parents, brothers, and Tenel Ka, who were standing near another New Republic ship that had obviously just landed. The message pod from the Shadow Academy was already being unloaded. Jaina ran toward her family.
"Any sign of explosives or weapons?" Leia was asking Admiral Ackbar as he stood watching his troops perform their duties.
"Absolutely none. We scanned it," he said. "It's clean. No booby traps."
"What about biologicals?" Han asked. The admiral shook his fishlike head.
"Can't be anything dangerous in there," Jaina said, skidding to a stop beside her parents. "It's from Zekk-I can feel it."
Admiral Ackbar looked skeptical, but three young voices spoke up at once.
"Hey, she's right."
"I feel it too."
"This is a fact."
"Even so," the Calamarian admiral said, "in the interest of safety, perhaps we should-"
Unable to bear the suspense any longer, Jaina pushed past the two guards who stood between her and the capsule, and activated the message retrieval mechanism. With a small whoosh of depressurization, the double panels slid aside to reveal the contents-a device of some sort, a complicated jumble of knobby plasteel parts and cabling.
"What is that?" Leia asked in surprise.
"Stand back!" Ackbar shouted. The guards tensed, as if expecting an explosion.
Han glanced into the capsule and then looked over at Chewbacca and Peckhum, who had come to join them. "What do you think, Chewie?"
Chewbacca scratched his head and gave a couple of short, surprised-sounding barks.
"Yeah, looks like that to me, too," Han agreed.
"So what is it?" Jacen asked, exasperated at being unable to follow the interchange.
"A central multitasking unit, of course," Jaina whispered in amazement and delight. "From Zekk." Jaina heard a satisfied grunt from behind her.
Old Peckhum muttered, "Kid's never broken a promise to me yet."
Then, as if conjured by Peckhum's words, a holoprojector hummed to life.
A tiny image of Zekk resolved itself in the air just above the message pod. Jaina bit down hard on her lip again as the tiny glowing form began to speak.
"I'm doing this against the better judgment of my teachers here," Zekk said, "so I'll make this message brief."
"Peckhum, my friend, here's the central multitasking unit I promised you.
You always expected only the best from me, and I always gave it. This must be hard for you, but I want you to know that no one has kidnapped me or brainwashed me."
"To Jacen and"-the tiny holographic image hesitated-"and Jaina, it turns out I do have Jedi potential after all. I'm going to make more out of myself than anyone imagined I could be. We were good friends, and I'd never want to hurt you. Sorry I messed up your mother's diplomatic banquet-but that's one reason I'm doing this. I have the chance to become something better-a chance that I was never given by anyone in the New Republic."
Jaina groaned and shut her eyes, but the image continued to speak.
"I know this is something you wouldn't approve of, but I'm doing it for myself. If I ever come back, I'll be someone you can all be proud of."
"Don't worry, Peckhum, I'll never let you down. You've been my