Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 07_ Shards of Alderaan - Kevin J. Anderson [1]
But Zekk had much to atone for, and he seemed intent on accepting the blame for all that had happened....
Up on the scaffolding Jaina saw her Wookiee friend Lowbacca and Tenel Ka, the one-armed warrior girl from Dathomir, assisting each other in shoring up a high, unstable section of wall.
Near them, balanced precariously on a wooden shelf, worked Raynar Thul.
The son of a former noble from Alderaan, the boy traditionally wore garish and colorful costumes-though at the moment his robes were dusty and dirty. It seemed that his recent ordeal had begun a change in him for the better. He had been utterly humiliated in the struggle against the Shadow Academy, thrown into the river mud and discarded as an incompetent foe.
Since then, Raynar appeared more subdued and was doing his best to pitch in, as if he had become aware that perhaps he wasn't as important and talented as he had considered himself.
In the temple clearing a towering reptilian beast of burden moved about nervously.
The ronto had been donated by a trader from Tatooine to assist the Jedi academy in its reconstruction efforts. The massive creature was skittish and difficult to handle at times, but its brute strength proved useful.
Jaina watched the ronto tugging against ropes to move a huge block of stone into place beneath the main scaffolding supports.
She heard the shouts and calls of other Jedi trainees conferring as they bustled about. Their voices were clear in the misty air. The jungle itself seemed to watch in stunned silence as the Jedi academy tended its wounds and prepared to come back better than ever.
As the morning mist burned away and sunlight painted the forest floor, Jaina turned to see Luke Skywalker in his Jedi robe standing alone and motionless atop one of the tallest blocks. The sun shone directly into his clear blue eyes, but he didn't blink. The Jedi Master watched the complex activity intently as his trainees pulled together to rebuild.
The Jedi academy would be strong again; its future was wide open. Jaina knew that now, after the final defeat of its greatest enemy, the New Republic could at last enter a golden age of peace and prosperity.
The scaffolding creaked beneath Tenel Ka's bare feet, and she adjusted her balance, feeling her muscles ripple. Physical exercise always felt good, challenging, refreshing. 'Ibday she did not assume a fighting stance, but a careful acrobat's posture that allowed her to scramble along the narrow log platform to the wall's outermost stone blocks.
While some of the larger stones at the bottom of the rebuilt wall looked less stable, she knew her own layers of the reconstruction were solid.
She had learned to pay careful attention to details, lest her own actions strike back at her. The sloppy and hurried. construction of her first lightsaber caused it to explode during a practice session, and she had lost her arm. Now she knew mistakes could cost her life.
From above, Lowbacca grunted and reached down to haul up a pallet of stone adhesives that would cement the construction materials together.
Moving with an easy grace, the lanky, ginger-furred Wookiee swung down from a carved rock ledge onto the scaffolding. He parted his lips and bared his teeth at Tenel Ka in a broad smile.
"Master Lowbacca, I do believe you're showing off," said Em Teedee, the miniaturized translating droid attached to Lowie's fiber belt. The Wookiee chuffed in amusement and dangled from the scaffolding, smearing the thick adhesive into a crack between two large blocks lower on the wall.
Still hanging, Lowie turned about to find himself eye to eye with the towering ronto.
The giant beast blinked and snorted in surprise, then plodded away, leaving Lowie to wrinkle his black nose in distaste at its bad breath.
"Oh, my!" Em Teedee wailed. "If only my olfactory sensors could shut down! They must surely run the risk of overloading from that dreadful stench."
Tenel Ka offered Lowie her arm to