“Do I really have to fight Lowie, Uncle—uh, Master Skywalker?” Jaina asked.
Luke Skywalker stood. “You’re not fighting him, Jaina. You’re fencing with him. Test your opponent. Gauge each other’s skills. Learn to judge reactions. Explore strategies. But be careful.”
Jaina thought of her training at the Shadow Academy and how she and Jacen had dueled with lightsabers, not realizing that they had fought each other in holographic disguise.
“Remember,” Luke cautioned, “a Jedi fights only as a last resort. If you are forced to draw your lightsaber, you have already forfeited much of your advantage. A Jedi trusts the Force and at first seeks other ways to resolve problems: patience, logic, tolerance, attentive listening, negotiation, persuasion, calming techniques.
“But there are times when a Jedi must fight. Knowing that the Shadow Academy is out there, I fear those times will come all too often for us. And so you must learn how to wield your lightsabers.”
He stepped back and motioned to Jacen and Tenel Ka, who waited on the edge of the clearing, sitting next to each other on the burned tree trunk. “You two will be next. Jaina, don’t worry about Lowie being so much bigger and stronger than you are. Dueling with a lightsaber is primarily skill, and I think you’re equally matched in that. Your one true disadvantage is that his reach is much longer than yours. Unfortunately,” Luke said with a sigh, “circumstances don’t always pit us against equal opponents. As for you, Lowie, be careful not to underestimate Jaina.”
He dropped back to watch. “Now, show me what you can do.”
“Well?” Jaina stepped forward, keeping her gaze locked with Lowie’s. “What are we waiting for?”
The Wookiee shifted his lightsaber, bringing its molten-bronze blade into position. Jaina moved hers up to meet it, crossing her blade against his. She felt the pressure, the sizzling of sparks, and the discharge as the powerful beams drove against each other. She saw the muscles bulging in Lowie’s long arms as he strained against her—but Jaina held her own.
“All right, let’s try something else.” Jaina withdrew her lightsaber, then swung it at her Wookiee friend slowly, cautiously—and Lowbacca met it with another crackle of released energy.
Swinging to strike again, she said, “This isn’t so bad.”
Lowie defended himself. He seemed reluctant to do battle.
Knowing that Lowie had endured horrifying struggles at the Shadow Academy—and remembering again that she had been forced to fight her own brother—Jaina realized that Brakiss and the violet-eyed Tamith Kai would stop at nothing to bring down the New Republic. She and Lowie would both be needed to defend against the Dark Jedi. She decided now that the best way to rid Lowie of his reservations would be to go on the offensive.
And this time she did not feel strangled by darkness. Today Jaina fought with full willingness, learning to be a defender of the light side, a champion of the Force. Uncle Luke had been correct in his speech in front of the Jedi trainees. She knew in her heart that the Shadow Academy had only begun to cause trouble, and she would have to fight to get her friend Zekk freed.
But first she had to learn how.
Lowbacca responded with greater strength, a better show of his abilities, as he parried her blows and struck back with his own. She had to move quickly to cross blades with him again. They clashed and struck. Sparks flew.
Lowie spun and chopped down, but she met his lightsaber with hers, smiling, intently focused. She heard Jacen cheering from the side.
“Excellent, Master Lowbacca!” Em Teedee said. “Now do be careful—you wouldn’t want a flying spark to damage me.”
Jaina felt the Force flowing through her; Lowbacca wore an expression of exhilaration on his furry face. He opened his mouth, showing fangs and letting out a bellow of challenge—not mean or angry, simply an outpouring of excitement.
Lowie grasped the handle of his large lightsaber with both hands and swept sideways, attempting to catch Jaina by surprise—but she turned the tables on him. Summoning a burst of energy, she astonished the Wookiee by leaping high into the air up to the level of Lowie’s head. His lightsaber swept harmlessly beneath her, and she landed lightly on the weed-covered ground behind him, laughing and panting.
“Oh my! That was most unexpected,” Em Teedee said. “Splendid work, Mistress Jaina.”
“Hey, that was great, Jaina!” her twin brother called.
Lowie raised his lightsaber in salute. Jaina grinned, her eyes gleaming.
“Most impressive,” Luke said, turning to Jacen and Tenel Ka. “Next, let’s see how well our spectators can do.”
5
Tenel Ka hesitated, rubbing her fingers along the ivory surface of the rancor-tooth lightsaber handle. She held the deactivated weapon in front of her, drawing deep breaths. Intent on her body, her surroundings, she tightened her muscles and brought them to full readiness. Jungle sounds filled the clearing: the whisper of breezes ruffling leaves, the song of insects, the flutter of birds in the canopy.
She centered her thoughts, making sure her reflexes were primed and ready for action. Tenel Ka relied on her body and pressed it to its limits, but she always knew how far she could take it. So far, her muscles had never let her down.
Slowly, she opened her cool, granite-gray eyes and looked at the young man who stood in front of her, ready for the next duel.
He grinned at her. “Good against remotes is one thing, Tenel Ka,” Jacen said, “but good against a real opponent? That’s something else.”
“This is a fact.”
Depressing a button, Jacen switched on his lightsaber. The emerald-green blade sprang forth, snapping and glittering with power. “Hey, I’ll try not to be too hard on you.”
Tenel Ka’s fingers found the recessed power button on the rancor-tooth handle. A shimmering gray-white blade extended like crackling electric fog shot through with golden sparks. The light-saber’s color reminded her of the hazy crystals she had taken from the lava tube.
“And I will try not to be too hard on you, my friend Jacen,” she said. Tenel Ka tested the weapon by turning her wrist, flicking the blade from side to side. The beam sparked and sizzled as it encountered moisture in the air.
“Be careful,” Master Skywalker said from his vantage point on the burned tree trunk. “Don’t get cocky. You both have a great deal to learn.”
“Don’t worry, Uncle Luke,” Jacen said. “I know it was a bad time for me, but I did have some training at the Shadow Academy.” He grinned. “Fighting Tenel Ka will be more of a challenge than battling holographic monsters, though.”
Jaina cleared her throat and spoke from where she sat, sweating and worn out after her session with Lowbacca. “And better than fighting your own sister in disguise?”
“That too,” Jacen said.
Tenel Ka flicked her lightsaber back and forth again, taking a step closer to Jacen. She squared her shoulders, knowing that she stood taller than her good-humored friend. The lightsaber thrummed with power in her hand. “Are we going to talk all day, Jacen?” she said. “Or will you leave time for me to defeat you before the morning is over?”
Jacen laughed. “Hey, we’re not supposed to be enemies, Tenel Ka. It’s just a practice session.”
She nodded. “This is a fact. Even so, we are opponents.”
She swung her lightsaber slowly enough that he wouldn’t perceive it as a real attack, but instinctively Jacen brought up his own weapon. Their blades intersected with sizzling force.