11.

AFTER WHAT SEEMED like an eternity, Zekk fought his way back to consciousness. He felt as if a million volts had shot through his body, short-circuiting half of his nerves and leaving his muscles tingly and twitching. His head ached. The hard metal floor beneath his body oozed a cruel chill. The harsh white light hurt his eyes.

When he sat up, he had to blink away sparkling, colored spots. Waiting for his vision to focus, Zekk finally realized there was nothing to see-only blank, whitish-gray walls. He found a small speaker grille and the vent for an air-circulation system, but nothing else. He couldn't even find the door. Zekk knew he must be in some kind of cell.

He remembered struggling with the evil-looking people who had captured him in the lower city-a black-haired woman with violet eyes using a strange scanning device, and a dark young man who had stunned him....

"Hey!" he yelled. His voice sounded rough and hoa.r.s.e. "Hey! Where am I?"

He got to his feet, swaying from dizziness, and made his way to the nearest wall. He hammered on the metal plates, shouting for attention. He worked his way around the small room, but found no door crack. He stumbled to the speaker and shouted into it. "Somebody tell me what's going on. You have no right to take me prisoner!"

But in spite of his brave words, Zekk knew things that Jaina and Jacen, raised within the protective confines of the law and guarded by security forces all their lives, had never understood. Zekk knew that his "rights"

wouldn't be protected if someone had the power to take them away. No one would fight for him. No one would send military fleets to rescue him. If Zekk disappeared, there would be no public outcry. Few people would even notice.

"Hey!" he shouted again, kicking at the wall. "Why am I a prisoner? Why do you want me?"

He whirled as he heard a whishing sound on the opposite side of the room.

A smooth door slid aside to reveal a powerful-looking man flanked by stormtroopers. The man was tall and wore silvery robes. His hair was blond and neat, his face gentle and complacent. His exceedingly handsome features looked as finely made as a sculpture. The man's very presence exuded an aura of peace and calm.

"Aren't you over-reacting a bit?" the man said. His rich voice hummed with power and charisma. "We came as soon as we realized you were awake.

You could have hurt yourself by pounding so hard on the walls."

Zekk did not allow himself to relax. "I want to know why I'm here," he said. "Let me go. My friends will be looking for me."

"No they won't." The man shook his head. "We have enough information about you to know that. But don't worry."

"Don't worry?" Zekk sputtered. "How can you say-" He stopped short, as the man's words struck home. No, his friends wouldn't be looking for him, would they? He doubted Jaina and Jacen would want to be seen with him after the debacle of the diplomatic banquet. "What do you mean?" he asked in a subdued voice.

The man in the silvery robes gestured to the guards. The stormtroopers waited outside as the man entered the cell alone, sealing the door behind him. "I see they put you in our... least extravagant living quarters." He sighed. "We'll find you a more comfortable room as soon as possible."

"Who are you?" Zekk said, still not letting his guard down. "Why did you stun me?"

"My name is Brakiss, and I apologize for the... enthusiasm of my colleague Tamith Kai. But I do believe she authorized the use of force only because of your struggles. If you had cooperated, it could have been a much more pleasant experience."

"I didn't know being kidnapped was supposed to be 'pleasant,"' Zekk snarled.

"Kidnapped?" Brakiss said in feigned alarm. "Let's not jump to conclusions until we've got the full story."

"Then explain it to me," Zekk said.

"All right." Brakiss smiled. "Would you like any refreshments? Something warm to drink?"

"Just tell me what's going on," Zekk said.

Brakiss pressed his hands together. His silvery robes flickered around him like rippling water under a cloudy sky. "I have some news for you-good news, I hope you'll agree, although it may come as something of a shock."

"What?" Zekk asked, frowning skeptically.

"Are you aware that you have Jedi potential?"

Zekk's green eyes widened. "A Jedi-me? I think you've got the wrong person."

Brakiss grinned. "Fairly strong potential. We were surprised ourselves.

Didn't your friends Jacen and Jaina tell you? Weren't you aware?"

"I don't have any Jedi potential," Zekk mumbled. "I couldn't have anything like that."

"And why not?" Brakiss asked, raising his eyebrows. He seemed so reasonable. He waited for Zekk to answer, and finally the boy looked down at his hands.

"Because I... I'm just a street kid. I'm a n.o.body. Jedi Knights are great protectors of the New Republic. They're powerful and-"

Brakiss nodded impatiently. "Yes they are, but the potential to be a Jedi has nothing to do with where you live or how you were raised. The Force knows no economic boundaries. Luke Skywalker himself was just the foster son of a moisture farmer."

"Why shouldn't a poor kid like you have just as much Jedi ability as, for instance, a politician's twin children who live in luxury with all their needs cared for? In fact," Brakiss said in a lower voice, "it could be that because your life has been so tough, your true potential as a Jedi has been honed even sharper than the potential of those pampered little brats."

"They're not brats," Zekk retorted. "They're my friends."

Brakiss dismissed his comment with a casual wave. "Whatever."

"How come I never knew about this? How come I never... felt anything?"

Zekk asked. He realized suddenly what Tamith Kai had been scanning for with her strange electronic device.

Brakiss rocked back on his heels. "You might not know you had any Force talent if no one ever trained you. It's a simple enough thing to measure, though. If Jacen and Jaina were such close friends, I'm shocked to think that they never bothered to test you. Isn't it true that Master Skywalker is desperately on the lookout for more Jedi Knights?"

Zekk nodded uncomfortably.

"Well, if that's so," Brakiss continued, "why didn't they test everyone around them? Why would they just dismiss you out of hand, Zekk? I think they've shortchanged you; they probably never even imagined that a street kid, a lowborn scamp, would be worthy of Jedi training, no matter what his innate potential."

"That isn't it," Zekk muttered, but his words carried no strength.

"Have it your way." Brakiss shrugged.

Zekk looked away, though the featureless walls of the cell gave him nothing else to stare at. He waved a hand around to indicate the cold, close cell. "What is this place?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"This place is the Shadow Academy," Brakiss said, and Zekk was startled to recognize the name of the hidden station where Jaina and Jacen had been held against their will. "I am in charge of training new Jedi for the Second Imperium. I use different methods than Master Skywalker follows at his Yavin 4 training center."

Brakiss frowned sympathetically. "But then you wouldn't know, would you?

Your friends never took you there." His voice turned up in a question.

"Did they? Even for a visit?"

Zekk shook his head.

"Well, I am training new Jedi, powerful warriors to help bring back the glory and order of a new Empire. The Rebel Alliance is a criminal movement. You wouldn't understand that, because you're too young to remember what it was like under Emperor Palpatine."

"I hate the Empire!" Zekk said.

"No you don't," Brakiss a.s.sured him. "Your friends have told you to hate the Empire, but you never witnessed any of it firsthand. You've only seen their version of history. You realize, of course, that whichever government is in charge always makes the defeated enemy look like a monster. I will tell you the truth. The Empire had very little political chaos. Every person had opportunities. There were no gangs running wild through the streets of Coruscant. Everyone had a task to do, and they did it willingly."

"Besides, what does galactic politics have to do with you, young Zekk?

You've never been concerned with such things. Would your life really change if the Chief of State were replaced by a different politician in a different Empire? If you work with us, on the other hand, your life could be much improved."

Zekk shook his head, clamping his teeth together. "I won't betray my friends," he growled.

"Your friends," Brakiss said. "Oh, yes... the ones who never tested you for Jedi potential, the ones who only come to visit you when it fits into their social schedule. They're going to leave you behind, you know, as they find more 'important' work to do. They'll forget about you so fast you won't have time to blink."

"No," Zekk whispered. "No they won't."

"Tell me, what does the future hold for you?" Brakiss continued, his voice persuasive. "Certainly, you've made friends that move in rich and important circles-but will you ever be a part of that? Be honest with yourself."

Zekk didn't answer, though he knew the truth deep in his heart.

"You'll be scavenging for the rest of your years, selling trinkets to earn enough credits for your next meal. Do you really have any chance for power or glory or importance of your own?"

Again, Zekk refused to answer. Brakiss leaned forward, his beautifully chiseled features radiating kindness and concern. "I'm offering you that chance, boy. Are you brave enough to take it?"

Zekk searched for the strength to resist, focused on a thread of anger.

"The same chance you offered to Jaina and Jacen? They told me how you kidnapped them, brought them to the Shadow Academy, and tortured them."

"Tortured them?" Brakiss laughed and shook his blond head. "I suppose after being pampered all their lives, a bit of hard work might seem like torture. I offered to train them to become powerful Jedi-I admit it was a mistake. We wanted young Jedi Knights to train, but the candidates we invited were too high-profile. The risk was greater than we had antic.i.p.ated, and it called too much attention to our academy."

"So I decided to change my plan. As I told you, the Force moves as strongly within the less-fortunate as in those who are rich and powerful.

Your social status doesn't concern me in the least, Zekk-only your talent and your willingness to develop it. Tamith Kai and I have decided to search among the lower levels of society for people whose potential is just as great as in those among the higher levels, and yet whose disappearance won't cause such a stir. People with the incentive to work with us."

Zekk scowled, but Brakiss's eyes blazed. "If you join us, I guarantee you the name of Zekk will never be ignored or forgotten."

The cell door opened again, and a stormtrooper held out a tray with steaming beverages and delicious-looking pastries. "Let's have a snack while we keep talking," Brakiss said. "I trust most of your questions have been answered, but feel free to ask anything else you wish."

Zekk realized that he was voraciously hungry, and he took three of the pastries, licking his lips as he ate them. He had never tasted anything so wonderful in his life.

The implications of Brakiss's words terrified him, but the questions about his future bubbled to the surface again and again in his mind.

Although Zekk didn't want to admit it, he could not shake the feeling that Brakiss and his promises made a lot of sense.

As Brakiss sealed the door behind him on his way out, he turned to the stormtrooper guards in the hall. "See that the boy gets a nicer room, he said. "I don't think we'll have much trouble with him."

The master of the Shadow Academy glided down the corridor as the old TIE pilot marched up to report. Qorl was still in his black armored suit and cradled his skull-like helmet in his powerful droid arm. "The captured Rebel cruiser Adamant is now enclosed within our shields, Lord Brakiss,"

he said. "Its weaponry is being off-loaded even as we speak."

Brakiss smiled broadly. "Excellent. Was it as big a shipment as we expected?"

Qorl nodded. "Affirmative, sir. The hyperdrive cores and turbolaser batteries will enable us to virtually double the Second Imperium's military strength. It was a wise move to strike now."

Brakiss folded his hands together, letting his flowing silvery sleeves swallow them up. "Most excellent. Everything is proceeding as planned. I will report to our Great Leader and tell him the good news. Before long, the Empire will shine again-and these Rebels can do nothing to prevent it."

12.

"SHUTTLE MOON DASH, this is Coruscant Control Tower One. You are cleared to leave s.p.a.cedock. Bay doors opening in Gamma Section."

Captain Narek-Ag opened her main comm channel. "Thank you, Tower One.

This is shuttle Moon Dash, heading for Gamma bay doors with a full load of cargo." She switched off the comm unit and grinned conspiratorially at her copilot, Trebor. "A few more good payloads like this," she said, "and I may just ask you to marry me." Her hazel eyes held a teasing look.

Trebor grinned back, accustomed to his captain's sense of humor. "Keep making good business deals like this one, and I may just accept."

With the ease born of long practice, Narek guided her shuttle out of its docking bay in one of Coruscant's...o...b..ting s.p.a.ce stations. "Coordinates locked in?" she asked.

"Locked in and confirmed," her copilot answered the moment she finished speaking.

Narek chuckled as her shuttle streaked away from the s.p.a.cedock.

Accelerating through the inner Coruscant system, she calibrated their hypers.p.a.ce path for Bespin, the next planet on their run. "You know, for a small-time operation-"-we're not half bad," Trebor finished for her.

"Not half bad," she echoed with a satisfied nod. "Calculating hypers.p.a.ce path."

"Almost ready," Trebor said. "If we hurry, there might be enough time to deliver this cargo to Cloud City and still arrange for a second payload on the return trip. That would double our profit for this run."

A pleased smile spread across Narek's face. She flicked her auburn hair to one side. "I love it when you think like a businessman."

"Businessperson," Trebor corrected. "Approaching top acceleration.

Prepare for jump to lightspeed."

Suddenly the Moon Dash lurched as if it had slammed into an impenetrable barrier. The tiny craft ricocheted, spinning uncontrollably. Alarms whooped and bright warning lights flashed across the control console.

"What was that?" Narek demanded, her head to clear the blurry spots from her vision. She stared out the viewport at empty s.p.a.ce.

"I don't know!" Trebor said. "Nothing showed up on the sensors. Nothing showed up on the sensors! It's supposed to be clear s.p.a.ce!"