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Zekk’s face distorted with warring emotions. “Then stay away from the Jedi academy. If you ever get out of here, don’t go back. The Second Imperium will soon target Yavin 4—and I will fight as a loyal warrior for my Emperor.”

“Emperor? Zekk, you don’t know what you’re saying,” Jaina pleaded.

“Stop treating me like I’m an ignorant street kid!” he snarled back. “You’ve always underestimated my abilities, denied me opportunities. But Lord Brakiss doesn’t. He has shown me what I’m capable of.” He tilted his head to look up into the dark nest of branches overhead, as if he could see the daylight far above.

“I’ve already sent a signal for a fast ship to pick me up. I believe our raid has been quite successful. Time for me to return to the Shadow Academy.”

Zekk twitched his lightsaber from side to side as if shaking a finger in warning. “For the friendship we once had, I’ll spare you this time, Jaina. But don’t ever test my loyalties again.”

With a harsh laugh, Zekk swept his lightsaber upward, releasing a storm of leaves and twigs that showered down on Chewie and Jaina, knocking the phosflea light from her hand. Jaina ducked and covered her head. She couldn’t see.

A moment later Zekk was gone, his hollow laughter ringing behind him as he left them in darkness.

20

Left alone again, Jaina shouted once more through the Force as the deep forest sounds grew thicker, more threatening around her. Predators, hidden in the leafy branches, cautiously approached, attracted by Chewbacca’s muffled sounds of pain. They sensed helpless victims, easy prey.

“We need help!” she called. Her words quickly died to silence in the jungle gloom.

Then a blaze of rainbow light shattered the shadows: a flash of turquoise, a streak of emerald green, a slash of molten bronze. Lightsabers, like hot machetes, chopped the underbrush aside. Jacen, Lowie, and Tenel Ka pushed their way forward, with Sirrakuk following close behind, grinning so widely her fangs flashed in the vibrant light.

Chewbacca bellowed a greeting, and Lowie and Sirra clambered up to help their uncle.

“Hey, Jaina!” Jacen called. “Are you all right?”

She wiped grimy tear streaks from her cheeks, still shaken from the confrontation with her former friend. “I’ll survive,” she said, then drew a deep breath. “Zekk was here. He said the Second Imperium is going to wipe out the Jedi academy, and that he was going to fight along with them.”

Lowie growled, looking up from tending Chewbacca. Tenel Ka stood rigidly, holding her rancor-tooth lightsaber high. “Not if we can help it,” she said.

Jaina indicated the injured Wookiee. “We have to get Chewie up and out of here. I think his leg is broken—nothing a medical droid and a few hours in a bacta tank can’t fix. But if we don’t get back up to the treetops, we’re all going to be somebody’s lunch.”

Sirra growled in defiance. Now that she had succeeded in her dangerous quest against the syren plant, Lowie’s sister looked as if she could take on the whole jungle by herself.

As the two strong Wookiees carefully eased their uncle to a standing position, Jacen and Tenel Ka did what they could to help, using the Force and their hands. Jaina took the lead along with Sirra, blazing a trail with her lightsaber.

Together, the companions made their way back up to the light.

21

The camouflaged assault shuttle hovered in the void of space, waiting for confirmation, until the Shadow Academy shut down its cloaking shields. The ominous spined ring of the Imperial training station shimmered into view just long enough for Zekk to give the order to dock. He was tense as the shuttle approached, unsure of the reception Brakiss would give him.

Beside him, in the command cockpit, Tamith Kai seethed silently, her wine-dark lips pressed together in a cold line, but she said nothing. Zekk had lost not only the team of stormtroopers directly under his command in the treetop city, but also two of her greatest Nightsister allies. Both Vonnda Ra and Garowyn were presumed dead in the depths of Kashyyyk’s jungles.

Though Zekk had not been with either Nightsister when they had died or disappeared, Tamith Kai blamed him for the debacle, as she blamed him for the death of her prime student Vilas. Tamith Kai resented his presence—though presumably she and Zekk both worked toward the ultimate victory of the Second Imperium. All other losses, he felt, should simply be considered the price of their ultimate triumph.

But Tamith Kai was not pleased with how the young man had handled himself on Kashyyyk. And so, during their return from the fateful mission, Zekk kept to himself, avoiding direct contact with the Nightsister.

He brought the assault ship in, sitting in the command chair while other Imperial pilots handled the controls, guiding the craft into the Shadow Academy’s open docking bay. As they entered, he saw another armored shuttle—an impressive Imperial transport surrounded by deadly force fields—and wondered what had happened during his absence.

The battered assault craft, with its precious cargo of stolen computer components, settled into place with what sounded like a mechanical sigh of relief. “We have landed, Lord Zekk,” the pilot said.

The tactical officer studied the controls. “The Shadow Academy’s cloaking device has been reactivated. The station is once again undetectable by Rebel sensors.”

The hatches opened, and the crew began filing out. Stormtroopers marched up from the Shadow Academy’s interior to surround the battered shuttle, ready to unload the stolen cargo as soon as Zekk released it.

Tamith Kai stood beside him in the cockpit; with a flick of her shoulder, she tossed her spined black cape back. Her long-nailed fingers balled into fists as she struggled to contain the fury within her. The electric fire in her violet eyes boiled like lava.

Zekk closed his dark-ringed emerald eyes and drew a deep breath to focus his thoughts, center his concentration. He let her anger wash over his mind and drain away. His greatest concern was Master Brakiss and how he would face him. His teacher had such high hopes for him, and he might be even more displeased than Tamith Kai. Contemplating the probable disappointment of his mentor hurt Zekk more than any display of rage by the continually bothersome Nightsister from Dathomir.

Squaring his shoulders, he straightened his padded leather armor and adjusted his crimson-lined black cape. He tossed his long dark hair behind him and turned toward the assault craft’s hatch, making himself an imposing figure, ominous and menacing. He had learned such posturing from observing Tamith Kai herself, and it amused him to think he could use her own techniques of intimidation against her.

With the tall Nightsister following him, Zekk strode down the ramp like a conquering hero. Inside his heart, though, dread grew.

The sculpture-handsome teacher stood at the edge of the airlock bay, watching the proceedings. As Zekk emerged, Brakiss glided forward with smooth, even footsteps. His silvery robes clung around him like whispers.

Zekk held his chin high, looking into the open, clear gaze of Brakiss. The master of the Shadow Academy folded his hands in front of him. “Young Zekk, my Darkest Knight, you have returned from your first mission. Report. Were you successful?”

Zekk swallowed hard and gave his straightforward account. “Unfortunately, Master Brakiss, our mission did not come off as smoothly as we had planned. During our battles at the fortified Wookiee facilities, we lost fourteen TIE fighters and bombers, as well as eleven ground assault troops.

“It is also my duty to report that we lost two of our Nightsister companions: Vonnda Ra in the lower levels of the forest, and Garowyn, who was apparently murdered when she tried to reclaim our Shadow Chaser.”

Brakiss showed no reaction and waited. Finally he said, “But the computer components—the guidance and tactical systems? Did you succeed in obtaining the vital resources the Second Imperium requires?”