Jedi Prince_ The Lost City Of The Jedi Part 4

A Path of Fire Trioculus remained still, blinking his three eyes. Within moments his vision came back to him and he could see clearly once again. Following on the heels of Grand Moff Hissa, he departed from the Chamber of Dark Visions. He acted as if nothing happened. It was a perfect act. He didn't tell anyone-not even his trusted droid, Emdee.

A short while later, as Trioculus stood in the control room of his Imperial strike cruiser and looked out at the vastness of s.p.a.ce, his thoughts were millions of miles away. He was thinking about Yavin Four and its vast rain forests. "How can I find the Lost City of the Jedi?" he wondered aloud.

"Someone on Yavin Four must know where the Lost City is," Grand Moff Hissa said. "The question is, who?"

"Perhaps Luke Skywalker or SPIN knows," replied Trioculus in an icy voice.

"Yes, SPIN, of course," said Grand Moff Hissa, referring to the Senate's Planetary Intelligence Network. His eyebrows shot upward as he suddenly got an idea. "I think you should send those Rebels an ultimatum-a warning so terrible that they won't be able to ignore it."

A few days later on Yavin Four, where the next meeting of SPIN was about to take place, Princess Leia and Han Solo were already seated in the conference room, waiting for Luke Skywalker. Han was so enjoying seeing Leia again that he'd put off his return to Bespin with Chewbacca.

"Han, I'm worried about Luke," Leia said. "He promised me he was going to show up on time for the SPIN meeting today."

"I'm worried too," Han said. "Have you noticed how strange he's been acting lately?"

"Luke has been acting different," Leia agreed. "The way he went off on his airspeeder the other day."

"Yeah," Han agreed. "Since when does he take mysterious journeys over the jungle, without any idea of where he's going?"

"He does things like that when he feels the pull of the Force," Princess Leia replied.

"And now he's obsessed with finding a boy he says is from the Lost City of the Jedi."

"I think he's gone off the deep end," Han said with concern. "Luke never used to believe in the Lost City of the Jedi. He told me that because Obi-Wan and Yoda never mentioned it, then it must be only a legend. But suddenly he's convinced that it does exist-and he thinks the Force is going to lead him to it."

At that moment, Luke hurried in to join the other SPIN members in the Senate conference room. "Sorry I'm late," he said, out of breath.

"Same excuse as usual?" Leia asked.

"Afraid so," Luke admitted. "I was on my airspeeder again, searching for Ken. Still no luck."

The SPIN meeting started with a report by Rebel Alliance leader Mon Mothma on the problem of Imperial probe droids. "There's a new danger to SPIN," she explained. "Several enemy probe droids have recently penetrated Yavin Four's Air Defense Network. They've been spotted hovering over the jungle, as if searching for something. But their purpose is still unknown."

EEEE-AAAAA-EEEEE-AAAAA .. .

An alarm siren sounded in the Senate. Security had been violated.

KCHOOOOING! KCHOOOOING!.

In the SPIN conference room the sound of laser blasts could be heard coming from the big defensive laser cannons on the domed roof of the building.

BRACHOOOOM!.

The laser cannons must have missed their target, because something crashed right through the roof. Luke looked up to see a very small, perfectly round, black Imperial device flying under its own power. It zoomed around the SPIN conference room like a tossed ball.

Then it hovered in front of everyone.

Han Solo raised his blaster and fired once .. . twice . . .

But the black Imperial device kept dodging his blasts with short, sudden movements, continuing to hover in midair.

From inside his Imperial strike cruiser orbiting Yavin Four, Trioculus watched what was taking place. The floating device was transmitting the scene inside the Senate, and Trioculus could see it on a screen from inside his navigation room.

He saw every SPIN member in the conference room. Above all he saw Luke Skywalker join Han Solo, in the attempt to destroy the floating Imperial probe device.

Then Trioculus saw the face of Princess Leia. "That face . . ." he said to Grand Moff Hissa. "That woman . . ."

"Princess Leia," the grand moff confirmed.

"A first-degree renegade and troublemaker," Trioculus said, nodding.

"Darth Vader blew up her home planet of Alderaan, so he could teach her the importance of cooperating with the Empire," Grand Moff Hissa commented. "But she never learned."

"She has a striking face," said Trioculus. "Strong features, but soft. Not at all unattractive, considering that she's a Rebel Alliance woman with only two eyes."

"She's very dangerous," Grand Moff Hissa continued. "She murdered Jabba the Hutt. Choked him to death with the chain that kept her prisoner."

"I never liked Jabba the Hutt," Trioculus said. "A disgusting, fat slug-and a common gangster."

The spherical device was programmed by remote control, automatically dodging the weapons that were firing at it. As Trioculus watched the screen, he saw Luke Skywalker returning his blaster to his holster and drawing his lightsaber. Skywalker, the Jedi Knight whom Trioculus had vowed to destroy, would finally die at last, in just a few moments . . .

that is, unless Luke Skywalker knew where the Lost City of the Jedi could be found and was prepared to reveal the information at once. Then Trioculus would see fit to spare Skywalker's life, at least for the time being.

As Skywalker tried to strike the sphere with his blazing lightsaber, it continued to jump away. Then it projected a hologram.

The members of SPIN watched in astonishment as the image of Trioculus appeared before them.

"Attention, Luke Skywalker and members of SPIN," the image of Trioculus said, "if by any chance you deluded yourselves into thinking that I perished back on Calamari, I'm sorry to have to disappoint you. I've just sent you a little gift that has penetrated your weak security system-this Imperial Antisecurity Device. It is armed with an explosive of awesome power. In just twenty seconds I shall detonate it and destroy the entire Rebel Alliance Senate. However, to show my good will, I hereby agree to spare your lives if one of you announces at once the location of the entrance to the Lost City of the Jedi. The twenty seconds now begins. One . . . two . . ."

By remote control, Trioculus deactivated the hologram projector inside the device. From far away in s.p.a.ce he was still able to watch the scene inside the SPIN conference room-a scene of desperate attempts to destroy the floating black sphere.

"I doubt we'll get any information out of them," Grand Moff Hissa said. "It's obvious they're more interested in fighting than in talking."

"Commodore Zuggs, activate the heat mechanism in the Antisecurity Device," Trioculus ordered. "It will require ten seconds to reach detonation temperature."

"Heat mechanism activated, sir," Zuggs stated, wiping a thin line of sweat that was flowing from the top of his clean-shaven head.

The view on the screen turned bright red as the device began to overheat. Five seconds to zero ... four seconds to zero .. .

At two seconds to zero Luke's Jedi powers served him well. Directing his intense concentration at the black sphere, he forced it to stop darting back and forth in midair so it was no longer a moving target. As it remained steady and still, Luke sliced it in two with his lightsaber.

KECHUNKKK!.

The detonator was in shambles, unable to trigger the explosion.

Out in s.p.a.ce, inside Trioculus's strike cruiser, the Imperial ruler scowled when he saw that his first plan for finding the Lost City of the Jedi had failed.

"Proceed to Plan Number Two," Trioculus said. "The search and destroy mission!"

The sky over the rain forest turned deep purple with the onset of twilight. However, the beautiful sky was the last thing on Trioculus's mind as he landed on Yavin Four with a large fleet of escort carriers. The escort carriers were filled with enough TNTs to carry out his Plan Number Two.

TNT was short for Treaded Neutron Torch-a treaded, tanklike vehicle that could torch the rain forest by shooting neutron fireb.a.l.l.s. TNTs could ride right through the most intense, blazing fire, without any harm to the stormtroopers riding inside.

As soon as Trioculus gave the order, the TNTs began to go into action over a wide area.

They started to torch the rain forest on the biggest continent of Yavin Four, shooting neutron fireb.a.l.l.s everywhere. The TNTs filled the air with fire and smoke, and began to turn the forest into a heap of ash and charred timber!

"When the rain forests have all been destroyed, we'll find the entrance to the Lost City easily," Grand Moff Hissa explained. "We'll be able to locate the round wall of green marble from the air."

With Grand Moff Hissa following close behind him, Trioculus walked down the ramp of his Imperial strike cruiser. He wanted to see the action firsthand.

Looking around, he stared at the orange glow of flames and the billowing black clouds. And then the roar of a neutron fireball almost deafened him.

He gasped and pressed the glove of Darth Vader to his face. As he rubbed his eyes his right hand inside the glove ached. But the ache of his hand was the least of his worries.

When Trioculus opened his eyes he was now totally blind. He could no longer see even a dim haze or shadowy flicker of light. This was a darkness as pitch-black as a starless region of deep s.p.a.ce.

The droid, Emdee, examined the new Emperor's eyes in the seclusion of Trioculus's private cabin on board his s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. He was unable to find any sign that Trioculus's eyes had been scorched by the fire or damaged in any way. Emdee confessed that this case was beyond his medical knowledge.

"Figure out what's wrong with my eyes, Emdee," Trioculus said, gritting his teeth. "Or I will have you taken apart and sold for sc.r.a.p metal!"

"My Emperor," Grand Moff Hissa interrupted, "we have just received a report from a team of stormtroopers. Near one of the jungle pyramids they spotted an alien-a Ho'Din, to be precise. Almost all Ho'Din know how to work medical miracles using plants and herbs.

They're a race of healers, your Excellency!"

"Then tell them to capture that Ho'Din," Trioculus said, pressing his gloved hand against his eyes. "He shall figure out how to restore my sight-or I shall have him blinded as well, so he too can share my fate!"

CHAPTER 6.

A Healer's Secret Ken risked Dee-jay's wrath to come Topworld again And this time he not only gave Dee-Jay the slip, he ducked away from HC and Chip, too, by convincing both droids to help him with the library research for his latest homework a.s.signment.

The a.s.signment was to write a report on five major planets that had been wiped out by asteroids in the last half million years. HC and Chip were still probably deep in the Jedi Library, walking up and down the aisles trying to find out where the file on destroyed planets had been misplaced, unaware that Ken had hidden it under his bed in his dome-house Retracing his steps from his last trip Topworld Ken soon spied Baji in the forest. The smell of smoke was in the air. And the distant forest fire was approaching.

Ken had never seen a forest fire before, except in holograms and pictures in the Jedi Library. His heart skipped a beat as he watched in horror. So much beauty was being destroyed in the fiery orange glow.

Ken cautiously approached Baji, not wanting to be seen. But perhaps the Ho'Din healer would know where Ken had left his computer notebook. Ken was determined to find it before the droids found out that he had lost it.

"Excuse me, sir," Ken said. "I met you once before, the day Luke Skywalker was here. Do you remember me?"

Baji jumped back, taken by surprise and somewhat startled. He smiled, nodded, and then without saying a word, he hurriedly collected more plants as fast as he could.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Ken continued. "I was just wondering, did you happen to come across my computer notebook? I think I dropped it somewhere around here."

Baji put a hand on Ken's shoulder and said: "Find it I did In my hut it is hid Come there with me And your notebook you shall see."

Picking up a sack that had flowers, plant stems, roots, and seeds, Baji led Ken to his thatch hut.

The little hut was bare. Baji had only a bed of soft leaves and a simple table and chairs.

However, everywhere he looked, Ken saw that the hut was piled high with bottles containing seedling plants. All the bottles and jars were labeled in a language Ken couldn't read.

Baji kneeled to pick up Ken's computer notebook. "Thanks, Baji," Ken said. "It was nice of you to save this for me. And the droid who corrects my homework, HC, will sure be happy it's not lost. HC would really give me a hard time if I told him I'd lost it.

Baji peered through the open door of his hut and looked out at the red glow of flames far away in the forest. He shook his head sadly and frowned. Then he sighed and glanced down, looking away.

Ken stared at the reddish glow s.h.i.+ning through the thick forest. There was no doubt about it, the fire was getting closer.

"I know what you're thinking," Ken said. "If the fire reaches your hut, then all your rare plants will be destroyed."

Baji nodded.

"I wonder how the fire started," Ken said. And the reply was: "The weapons of the Empire Did cause this big fire So now the end is near For a forest so dear."

"Come home with me," Ken said. "You'd be safer there, underground."

Baji shook his head no.

"My work here is done From this forest I shall run My people are on their way A s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p comes next day."

"I can see that you'll be sorry to leave," Ken said. "It's a shame we haven't had the time to get to know one another, but I understand. Your home is on another world."

Baji nodded and smiled.

"I've got to be going," Ken said, "before the fire gets any closer. May the Force be with you, Baji."

Ken waved good-bye and started walking back in the direction of the green marble wall, where the tubular transport would take him back to the Lost City of the Jedi right away.

Ken wanted to return before HC or Chip or Dee-Jay noticed that he was gone.

Ken glanced back to wave to Baji one more time. Suddenly Ken's heart thumped wildly. Three Imperial stormtroopers were approaching Baji's hut!

What was he going to do? Ken's first impulse was to dash toward them and shout, but he knew better than that. He was sadly outnumbered. And he had no way to defend himself or Baji.

Ken ducked, concealing himself in the foliage. He saw the stormtroopers point their blasters at Baji, capture the helpless Ho'Din healer, and lead him away.

Each of Baji's two hearts was beating rapidly as the stormtroopers forced him up the ramp of Trioculus's Imperial strike cruiser. His warm green blood became hot from fear as they led him past the maze of equipment in the control room, and into the private cabin of Emperor Trioculus.

The room was so dimly lit it was hard for Baji to see the face of the Emperor, who was seated on an ornate chair. Grand Moff Hissa smiled politely at Baji, and Emdee stared at Baji as if he were a curiosity.

"At last the Ho'Din is here," Grand Moff Hissa said to the new Emperor.

Trioculus slowly leaned forward. Baji could see the Imperial ruler's three half-opened eyes. His eyes looked gla.s.sy, and the pupils were clouded.