• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

"Well, no, not exactly...... Jaina said, her voice trailing off. "But there is something-"

"Of course, it never hurts to look your best," Jacen interrupted, jumping down beside his sister and Zekk.

"This is a fact," Tenel Ka said. The warrior girl leapt down to join them.

Lowie looked up at the jungle moon's horizon above the Massassi treetops and gave an inquiring bark. Then, with a joyful bellow, he grabbed the oval translating droid, tucked Em Teedee under one arm, and dove off the side of the Lightning Rod. He somersaulted on the short grass and bounded to a standing position beside his friends.

"Well, really, Master Lowbacca!" Em Teedee scolded as he was being clipped back at his accustomed place on the Wookiee's syrenfiber belt.

"Such grandstanding could result in permanent damage to my circuits.

Do be careful!"

Zekk ignored the little droid and looked at Lowie. "What did you mean when you said, "There he is' just before you jumped down here?"

Jaina grinned. "Right on time."

"Who's right on time?" Zekk asked in confusion. "Certainly not Anja Gallandro. I haven't seen her all morning."

"Oh," Jacen said, "I forgot to tell you. I checked in on her 'cause she missed morning meal. I asked her to join us, but she said she wasn't feeling well. I believe her. She was shaking all over."

Zekk frowned. "Spice withdrawal?"

Jacen shrugged a shoulder. "That was my guess. Funny thing is, when I asked her why she was shivering, she tried to make it into a joke.

Said she'd just been thinking about what the weather must be like on Kessel this time of year."

"Ah. Aha," Tenel Ka said, placing her single hand on her hip.

"Definitely spice, then. The spice mines of Kessel are the main source for the drug."

"Anyway, we weren't talking about Anja being on time," Jaina said, getting them back on track. "Look up."

Zekk's face broke into a broad smile as he recognized the enormous modern freighter descending toward the landing field: the Thunderbolt.

"It's Peckhum!" he yelled. Zekk ran out onto the flattened grass and began to wave frantically.

"He wanted to surprise you," Jaina said above the whine of the repulsor engines as the ship descended.

"So that's why you wanted the Lightning Rod looking her best."

Zekk laughed.

"And we got you out onto the landing field without making you suspicious,

" Jacen added, his brown hair blowing wildly as the Thunderbolt approached.

By the time the modern freighter touched down, Zekk was already running toward it, yelling incomprehensible words of greeting. The moment the hatch opened, the old spacer with lanky hair and gray beard stubble started down the ramp. At the same time, Zekk jumped onto the Thunderbolt's still-lowering ramp, bounded up, and met him halfway.

Old Peckhum caught him up in a gleeful bear hug as the companions gathered beside the ship to watch.

"So, we surprised him after all, did we?" old Peckhum asked.

"This is a fact," Tenel Ka confirmed.

Peckhum laughed. "I knew I could count on you. Now where's this new young lady you've been talking about in all your messages recently?" he asked, turning to Zekk. "Anja, is it?"

Zekk gave a guilty start, then glanced at Jaina to see if she had noticed. She seemed to be studying something in the grass at her feet.

Zekk turned back to the old spacer. "Urn, she's not feeling very well.

You'll meet her later, Peckhum. But meanwhile, come on into the Jedi academy. I've got a lot to tell you."

Anja Gallandro prowled around the interior of her guest quarters inside the Great Temple. Her agitation would not allow her to sit or stand still for even a moment. Twice already this morning she had ransacked every corner of her room, every pocket of her clothing, every crevice in the cupboards, every fold of her travel bags. It was time she faced the truth.

She had run out of andris spice and there was no more to be found.

Still, her huge dark eyes darted around the room searching for inspiration, never resting on any object for more than a second.

Think,