Fully a third of the Massassi tree’s trunk had been hollowed out to form a sturdy, dry cave, tall enough for a man to stand in. A makeshift wooden chair stood beside a low mound of leaves that might have been a bed, partially covered by a ragged piece of cloth. A cache of equipment, vines, fruits, and dried berries lay piled against the back of the cave. Perched atop the pile was a nightmarish black helmet with triangular eyeplates and a breathing mask connected to a pair of rubber hoses that Jacen figured had once been linked with an air tank.
An Imperial TIE fighter pilot’s helmet.
Jacen stumbled backward, away from the shelter, his breath coming in shallow gasps. He tripped and fell, and found himself inside a ring of low stones and ashes. A fire pit. He scooped away some of the dirt that covered the pit and felt around with trembling fingers. The ground was still warm.
Jacen jumped to his feet and raced toward the little trail at full speed. He ran along the narrow path, heedless of the branches that slapped his face or the thorns that tore at his jumpsuit, oblivious to the animals he startled from their hiding places. He didn’t slow as he approached the bushes that surrounded the crashed TIE fighter.
He burst into the tiny clearing and ran up to the wreck, yelling, “Jaina! Tenel Ka! Lowie! He’s here. He’s alive. The TIE pilot isn’t dead!”
The three of them looked up in astonishment just as Jacen heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to see a haggard, grizzled-looking man step through the bushes. The stranger’s face was deeply lined, and he wore a tattered flight suit. His left arm was bent at an awkward angle, and was wrapped in an armored gauntlet of black leather. But in his glove he held an ugly, old-model blaster. And the weapon was leveled directly at the young Jedi Knights.
“Yes,” said the Imperial fighter pilot. “I am very much alive. And you are my prisoners.”
11
When the Imperial TIE pilot turned his eyes from her for a split second, Tenel Ka reacted with lightning speed, just as she had been taught by the warrior women on Dathomir.
“Run!” she shouted to the others, knowing exactly what to do. She turned and bolted for the nearest tangled undergrowth, dodging expected blaster fire.
Tenel Ka reacted so quickly and so smoothly that even her most rigid battle trainers would have been proud of her. Their tactics had been drilled into her:
Confuse the enemy.
Do the unexpected.
Take your opponent by surprise.
Don’t waste time hesitating.
Tenel Ka tore through the tangled thorns and blueleaf shrubs, clawing with her hands to clear a path that closed behind her as she moved through the thicket. She gasped and panted, bolting ahead, ignoring the scratches and stinging pain of the thorns against her bare arms and legs. The scaled armor protected her vital parts, but her red-gold hair flew around her, snagging loose leaves and twigs. Branches caught at her braids and yanked strands of her hair out by the roots. She hissed with pain, but clamped her teeth together, plunging ahead.
Why couldn’t she hear the others running?
“Get help!” It was Jacen shouting behind her, still in the clearing. Why didn’t they run?
Then an explosion of flames ripped into the underbrush just to her left. The TIE pilot was firing his blaster at her! The smell of singed leaves and burnt sap stung her nostrils. Tenel Ka dove to the ground, rolled sideways, then ran at full speed in a different direction. If she gave up now, he would kill her. She had no doubt of that—not anymore.
Intent only on distancing herself from the TIE pilot, she fled, changing directions at random to confuse the enemy. Branches cracked underfoot, and Tenel Ka paid no attention whatsoever to where she ran… deeper into the densest jungle of Yavin 4.
Lowbacca hesitated only a fraction of a second longer.
Tenel Ka seemed to evaporate as she shouted “Run!” and ducked into the thick forest.
The TIE pilot whirled and pointed his blaster at the place where Tenel Ka had disappeared, and Lowbacca used the instant of distraction. The young Wookiee let out a bellow of surprise and anger, then instinctively surged up the ancient bole of the nearest Massassi tree, climbing higher, up, where it was safe.
He grabbed branches and vines, hauling himself up toward the thick, spicy-smelling canopy. Behind him, the Imperial fighter began shooting wildly. Explosions and bright flames from burning foliage ballooned out from where the blaster bolts struck the branches under Lowie’s feet. He smelled the ozone of energy discharge, the steam of disintegrated vegetation.
With Wookiee strength, Lowbacca climbed higher and higher, finally reaching thick, flat branches that allowed him to make his way across the treetops toward where he had landed the T-23.
He had to get help. He had to rescue his friends. Tenel Ka had gotten to safety—or so he hoped—but Jacen and Jaina had not been able to react as quickly or move with such practiced wilderness skills.
“Oh my!” Em Teedee wailed from the clip on his waist, “Where are we going? That person was trying to kill us! Can you imagine that?”
Lowie continued to scramble across the thick branches, loping with great agility, moving farther away from the still-firing pilot.
“Master Lowbacca, answer me!” Em Teedee said, his tinny voice echoing from the speaker-patch. “You can’t simply leave me hanging here doing nothing at all, you know.”
Lowbacca grunted a reply and kept moving.
“But surely, that’s beside the point,” Em Teedee quibbled, “since I’m doing everything I can. Just because I have no functional arms or legs doesn’t mean I don’t want to assist you.”
The sounds of blaster fire from the clearing below had ceased, and Lowbacca feared that meant Jacen and Jaina were captured—or worse. His thoughts churned it in panic and turmoil. He knew he had to rescue them. But how? He had never done anything like this before. He didn’t think Tenel Ka could do it alone, so he had to offer whatever help he could manage.
The branches thinned up ahead, spreading out around the clearing where Lowbacca had settled the T-23. The small ship sat where he had landed it, and he scrambled back down the thick branches, clinging to vines until he reached ground level again. The T-23 was his best chance.
Lowbacca had been so proud of the small craft when his uncle Chewie had given it to him, but now it seemed so small and battered, all but useless against an armed Imperial pilot. He trudged across the weed-covered ground over to the little skyhopper. He would have to use it to make the rescue. He had no better options.
The low, simmering music of insects and jungle creatures filled the air. He could hear no sound of blaster fire, no shouts of chal lenge or pain. It was quiet. Too quiet. Lowbacca hurried.
“Oh, excellent idea!” Em Teedee said as they approached the T-23. “We’re going back to the Jedi academy to get reinforcements, aren’t we. That’s by far the wisest thing to do, I’m sure.”
But Lowie knew it would be too late for the twins by then. He had to do something now. He told Em Teedee what he intended to do, and the miniature translating droid squawked in dismay.
“But, Master Lowbacca! The T-23 has no weapons. How can you fly it against that Imperial pilot? He is a professional fighter—and he’s desperate!”
Lowie had the same fears as he powered up the T-23’s repulsorlift engines. He made an optimistic comment to the translating droid.
“Tricks? What tricks do you have up your sleeve?” Em Teedee said. “Besides, you don’t even have sleeves.”
The craft sounded strong and powerful, thrumming and roaring in the jungle stillness. Lowie smelled the acrid exhaust, and snuffled. His black pilot seat vibrated as the ship prepared to take off.