Sirra grew restless for the meeting to start. Lowie began to worry that something had gone wrong or that Raaba had changed her mind. Maybe she had reconsidered her confession, and was ashamed after all to tell how she had staged her own death.
Then, just as the first few stars brightened in the sky, a shaft of blazing light stabbed upward from the center of the stage. In the center of the light stood a chocolate-furred female Wookiee—wearing her own dazzling belt made of syren fiber. Fresh syren fiber!
Sirra nearly fell backward off her branch in surprise, and Lowie fared no better. He had known Raaba set up this meeting, but the implications of her belt were enough to stun him as much as everyone else in the assembly. Surprised murmurs of recognition spread through the crowd, and Lowie heard Raaba’s name repeated over and over. Sirra glared at her brother accusingly. He had kept this a secret from her!
Before Lowie could explain why he had kept silent about her friend’s return, Raaba raised her arms to quiet the crowd. In a loud, clear voice she introduced herself, so that there could be no mistaking who she was.
Next, the beam of light in which Raaba stood split into a hundred smaller rays that opened and spread themselves flat on the stage, like the petals of some gigantic fiery flower with her at its center. She told everyone how she had been all but dead after attempting her rite of passage … and how the Diversity Alliance had given her back her life.
In much the same way, she said, the Empire’s enslavement of Wookiees had taken the life of Kashyyyk. To a great extent, Wookiees still slaved for humankind, in one way or another. Lowie sat listening uneasily. He had not known Raaba was going to make this a political speech. Sirra, though, seemed thoroughly enthralled.
Raaba continued. Aliens of all species had suffered similar treatment since before the rise of Emperor Palpatine—all at the hands of humans. And the most shameful part, she said, spreading her arms to the crowd, was that none of it would have been possible if the nonhuman peoples hadn’t allowed it to happen.
The Diversity Alliance and its visionary leader, Nolaa Tarkona, were ready to show the way. If Wookiees and Talz and Biths and Twi’leks and all other species would band together, unified under one leader, they would never need to fear the domination of humans again. She urged anyone who was willing to help to send a message to the Diversity Alliance, to go to Nolaa Tarkona herself on Ryloth, or to talk their friends into joining the cause as well.
Wookiee murmurs ran through the crowd again, this time sounds of approval. Raaba’s voice grew no louder, but her words became more persuasive. Each of the glowing rays around her shattered into a million tiny shards of light, surrounding her like a swarm of phosfleas.
Individually, Raaba explained, each of them was no more than one of these tiny specks. Alone, they could do nothing. But together—she raised her arms high over her head and the phosflea-specks of light coalesced into a hundred dazzling rays—they could change the galaxy!
The rays snapped together again into a single brilliant beacon that speared upward toward the stars.
Then the stage went completely dark.
Wookiees on every side shook the branches to show their approval. Swept along by the emotion, Lowie and Sirra joined in.
Suddenly and without warning, Raaba stood there with them, out in the amphitheater seats. With a roar of joy, Sirra hurled herself upon her friend, pounding Raaba on the back and growling happily. Raaba chuffed her own delight to see Sirra again as she showed off her glossy new belt.
Unable to restrain his curiosity any longer, Lowie asked Raaba when and how she had gotten her trophy. The chocolate-furred Wookiee flashed her fangs in a wide grin, pleased by his surprise.
She had gone down to the world below only that afternoon, just before returning home to visit her stunned parents. Raaba had been hiding for almost a year, running away—and she wanted to have her trophy before she showed herself again. Completing the fateful mission that had been interrupted so long ago had made her return even more dramatic.
But then her expression grew serious again. Raaba looked shrewdly at her two friends. She needed to return to Ryloth that very night, she said; she had to report in to Nolaa Tarkona and the Diversity Alliance. There was no time to waste. Her eyes burned with an intensity Lowie could not entirely understand.
Then Raaba eagerly clasped both of their shoulders. If Lowie and Sirra would accompany her to Ryloth, just for a few days, she would tell them all about her adventures in the lower levels and her battle with the syren plant.
Before Lowie could consider the question, Sirra enthusiastically agreed for both of them.
15
Sparks from the ruined targeting lasers continued to sputter into Tyko Thul’s administrative office. The young Jedi Knights stood frozen in shock after hearing Raynar’s uncle issue orders to the deadly assassin droid.
Perturbed, Tyko tried with little success to step around the metallic hulk of IG-88. “Out of the way, you big clod,” he said as he pushed against the assassin droid’s body core. The droid clanked dutifully sideways to give Raynar’s uncle room to pass.
Tyko strode to the nearest of the wrecked automatic weapons in his office, grimaced, then turned to face Raynar and his friends. “You didn’t need to destroy them all, did you? I specifically calibrated the targeters not to hit anybody,” he said with a huff. “Now the entire defense grid in this room is ruined, and I’ll have to have it replaced.” He heaved a long-suffering sigh. “As if I didn’t have enough to do already.”
“But,” Raynar spluttered, “Uncle Tyko, what’s going on?”
Tyko rolled his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious, my dear boy? I was trying to lure your irresponsible father out of hiding by making it look as if I were in incredible personal peril. I did it for all of us—so we can get everything back to normal working order again. But I see Bornan doesn’t care a whit about me after all.”
IG-88 stomped to the doorway and took up a position guarding the room’s entrance. He held out his powerful upper limbs, high-energy armaments fully extended. Tyko flashed the droid a sidelong glance. “Oh, deactivate your weapons, you halfwitted hunk of antiquated machinery! Can’t you see you’re not intimidating anyone anymore?” Tyko shook his head in disbelief. “Droids! No matter how sophisticated you make them, they still have no sense of propriety.”
“I beg your pardon?” Em Teedee said.
Jaina shushed the little translating droid and turned to Tyko. “We could use some explanations, sir. This whole situation is pretty complicated, and we only came here to help. This isn’t what we expected to find at all.”
Tenel Ka’s muscles tensed as she faced Tyko Thul, her voice gruff. “We believed you were in true danger. We risked much for you on Kuar—yet you say your entire abduction was a mere hoax?”
“I had to make the whole thing look believable, of course,” Raynar’s uncle said with a shrug. “But my droids were very careful.”
Standing by the desktop computer pad, he punched in commands that shut off power to the security systems and stopped the flow of sparks from the broken targeting lasers. “Well, we’ll have to fix that some other time. Come with me. I’m scheduled to check one of the assembly lines. We can discuss this as I go about my business.” With that, Tyko turned and bustled out of the room, his bright robes swirling around him.
The young Jedi Knights followed, still perplexed. The assassin droid stood motionless and threatening, guarding the empty room.
“Well?” Tyko called over his shoulder. “Don’t just stand there, IG-88. Come with us.”
The droid strode after them, metallic feet pounding on the floor.