Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 04_ Lightsabers - Kevin J. Anderson [29]
The boots went on first, stiff and sturdy. Then the greaves, the shin armor, the leg plates, body an-nor, arm plates, and finally the flexible but tough gloves.
He felt as if he had been transplanted into the body of an assassin droid, a fighting machine encased in an impenetrable shell.
Norys allowed himself a satisfied smile. This was much more impressive than anything his gang members had ever scrounged deep in the decaying alleys of Coruscant's underworld. He had been the toughest, meanest, angriest young brute of all the gang members. But being a stonntrooper was better... so much better.
All of his former companions were also soldier recruits undergoing training. Norys fully expected to be the best among the new troops, just as he had been toughest among the Lost Ones.
On the downside, he was no longer his own boss, free to do as he wished. He had to follow the orders of the Second Imperium. But with armor such as this and the military might of those who followed their Emperor, it was all worth it. Besides, if Norys proved himself valuable enough, his rank would increase, and he'd be placed in command of more soldiers, maybe even fly a TIE fighter. Without a doubt, he would have more power and cause much more damage than he'd ever imagined when he was just a gang leader.
Things were looking up.
The last piece of his stormtrooper outfit was the hard white helmet with black eye goggles and mouth speakers. He slipped the helmet over his head and locked it into place at the neck joint.
At last he stood totally encased, completely protected-no longer a disreputable bully with a grimy outfit and stolen scraps as his only possessions.
Now he was someone to be reckoned with: a stormtrooper.
Norys marched down the corridor, taking care to clomp loudly on the deck plates with his armored boots. They made such a satisfying sound.
He had memorized the layout of the Shadow Academy station and knew exactly how to get to the private training room where old Qorl, the former TIE pilot, had ordered him to report. Standing outside the sealed door, he keyed in the access code-he'd felt a private thrill when Qorl had given him the secret numbers-and waited for the computer to process his entry request.
With a hiss like an angry serpent, the door slid aside. Norys marched boldly into the shielded room, and the door sealed itself behind him.
Qorl stood inside the training chamber holding a wicked-looking spear in his black-wrapped left hand. His droid replacement arm gripped the gleaming shaft with enough force to dent the metal. The serrated head of the spear had a long central prong with two side spikes curving up like a dragon's barbed tail.
"You're late," Qorl said. He cocked his droid arm back-and hurled the deadly weapon at Norys with all the strength in his robotic servomotors!
Norys stood astonished as the deadly spearpoint hurtled toward his chest plate. He just had time to cry "Hey!" in a panicked voice amplified by his helmet speakers before the barbed tip impacted squarely with enough force to smash him backward.
Norys slammed into the wall, his helmet ringing against the hard metal bulkhead. His vision sparkled with impending unconsciousness. He expected to see a spear sprouting from his heart and waited for his nerves to send shouts of mortal pain. He wanted to scream that Qorl, his supposed teacher, had betrayed him, murdered himBut a split second later his thoughts cleared enough to hear the clatter as the spear shaft fell harmlessly to the floor. He looked down at his chest in amazement and saw only a nick in the white armor where the spear had struck.
"What did you do that for?" Norys shouted.
Qorl answered in a gruff but calm voice. "To teach you respect for your stormtrooper armor, Norys," he said, "but also to warn you not to become overconfident.