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Luke set the ball on the slanted, burned trunk; miraculously, it did not roll down the slope, but remained exactly where he had placed it. He withdrew another of the scarlet spheres, and another, and another.

"Remotes!" Jaina cried, guessing what they were.

"Those are remotes, aren't they, Uncle Luke? What are they for?"

"Target practice," he said. All four remotes sat balanced on the burned Massassi trunk, refusing to roll, as if they could ignore gravity.

Lowbacca grunted with surprise, and Tenel Ka straightened. "We are going to shoot at them?"

"No," Luke said. "They're going to shoot at you."

"And we deflect the shots with our lightsabers?"

Jacen asked.

"Yes," Luke said, "but it's not as easy as you might think."

"I never said I thought it would be easy," Jacen muttered.

Tenel Ka nodded. "A lesson to sharpen our reflexes and concentration. We must react quickly to intercept each burst from the remotes."

"Ah, but it gets harder," Luke said. He reached into the sack again, removed a flexible helmet with a transparisteel visor tinted a deep red, and handed it to Tenel Ka. "You'll each wear these." He withdrew another pair of helmets for the twins, but the last one consisted of only a red visor fastened with crude tie-straps. "Sorry, Lowbacca, but I couldn't find a helmet big enough for your head.

This will have to do."

Jacen slipped the helmet over his perpetually tousled brown hair and suddenly saw the jungle through a scarlet filter. The thick forest held a more primeval quality now, as if backlit with smoldering fires. The details were duller, darker, and Jacen wondered what the helmet and visor were supposed to do-protect them against stray shots from the remotes? He looked over at where the bright red remotes had rested on the burned tree trunk... or rather where they should have been.

Jacen blinked. "Hey, they're gone!"

"Not gone," Luke said. "Just invisible. When you look at the remotes through the red filters, you can't see them anymore." Luke smiled. "That's the point.

When Obi-Wan Kenobi taught me, he made me fight using a helmet with the blast shield down. I couldn't see a thing. You'll at least be able to see your surroundings... but not the remotes."

Jacen wanted to ask how he was supposed to fight what he couldn't see, but he knew what Uncle Luke would say.

"I didn't want you totally blind," Luke continued, "because all four of you will be training here in the clearing with different remotes. This way you'll be able to see each other. I don't want anyone getting too enthusiastic and causing injuries instead of just deflecting laser bolts."

This brought a small chuckle from Jacen and Jaina, but Master Skywalker looked at all of the trainees sternly. "I wasn't kidding," he said. "A lightsaber can cut through practically any substance known-and that includes people. Remember this warning: lightsabers are not toys. They are dangerous weapons. Treat them with the utmost care and respect. I hope that the time you each spent building your lightsaber has taught you more about its power and its risks."

Luk-- picked up a set of controls. "Now let's see how well you work with the Force and your own energy blades."

He flipped a switch, and Jacen heard a hissing, whiffing sound. But he saw nothing until he pushed up the scarlet visor. The four remotes drifted into the air, spinning around and scanning the vicinity.

"These lasers are low power," Luke said, "but don't think they won't sting if you get hit by one."

Jacen muttered to his sister, "At least he's not throwing rocks or knives at us, like at the Shadow Academy."

"Visors down," Luke said. "Take your positions."

The companions spread out in the clearing, tramping down the weedy underbrush.

"Ignite your lightsabers," Luke said, then sat back. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

As one, the four Jedi trainees held out the handles of their new weapons and depressed the power studs. Brilliant beams sprang out in the red dimness, bright slashes the length of a sword blade burning