Jaina’s eyes lit with confident enthusiasm. “If you can do that, Lowie, just leave my parents to me.”
Jacen half-closed his eyes, reached out with the Force, and listened for any sign of Zekk in the deserted building. But he heard only the hollow echo of their footsteps as he and Tenel Ka walked through the gloomy corridor.
He clicked on his comlink. “Hey Anakin—it’s Jacen.”
“Go ahead,” his younger brother answered, transmitting from another building.
“Heading into section seven on the map. Nothing to report so far.”
“Okay,” Anakin said. In the background, Jacen heard Threepio say in a dismayed voice, “I certainly hope we can locate Master Zekk soon. I’m sure I would much rather be at home than inspecting such … unsavory places!”
“I hope we find him soon, too,” Jacen said, then clicked off and followed Tenel Ka down the empty hall on the seventy-ninth level of the crumbling building.
The floor was littered with old cartons, canisters, bits of plasteel, and other items too broken-down to be scavenged. Some dry leaves were scattered about as well—though how leaves had come to be in this building, nearly a kilometer below the upper greenhouse levels, Jacen had no idea.
A thin, icy breeze whistled through a crack in the wall, skittering the dead leaves across the floor. The breeze did nothing to dispel the odors of mildew and decay that hung around the old structure, but it did send a chill of apprehension up Jacen’s spine. He let his eyes fall half closed again in concentration as he walked slowly along.
Suddenly, something light and warm touched his arm. Jacen’s eyes flew open. Tenel Ka’s hand rested on the sleeve of his jumpsuit. “I thought you might stumble,” she said, pointing at a small pile of rubble ahead of them, where part of the ceiling had given way. In these old buildings, nothing was repaired unless someone planned to use the space. Floors and ceilings were no exception. If she hadn’t stopped him, Jacen would have fallen on his face.
“Thanks,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Nice to know you really care.”
Tenel Ka blinked once. She stood still beside him, not rising to the bait—or perhaps not noticing it. “It is simpler to prevent an accident than to carry an injured companion.”
That wasn’t the response Jacen had been hoping for. “Well, hey, I’m glad you didn’t have to strain any muscles,” he said, kicking at the rocky debris with the toe of one boot and sending a cloud of dust into the air.
“It is not a question of strain.” Tenel Ka coughed, but her voice remained detached and gruff. “I could lift you easily, should the need arise.” She stepped around the rubble. “But I saw no need.”
Jacen followed her, wondering why he always managed to make an idiot of himself in front of the calmly competent Tenel Ka. He grimaced. At least if he had twisted an ankle, he might have had the compensating pleasure of Tenel Ka’s arm around him to help him out….
Jacen shoved the surprising mental image aside, realizing that Tenel Ka would probably be aghast if she knew the turn his thoughts had taken. Besides, the only thing he should be thinking about right now was finding Zekk.
Using a map on their datapad, they tried to be methodical in their search, concentrating on buildings where old Peckhum said Zekk most often did his scavenging. Walking from one end of the building to another, each of them would reach out with Jedi senses, trying to find their friend, looking for any sign that he had been there.
Once they were convinced Zekk was not close, Jacen and Tenel Ka would take the stairs, a turbolift, or a chute-slide a few floors down, and begin a search of the next level. If they again found no trace of Zekk, they would move to the next likely location, using the aerial catwalks that bridged the gaps between buildings. Many of these walkways had not been repaired for hundreds of years, and they creaked as the two young Jedi crossed them.
Anakin and Threepio were doing the same in other buildings. Jacen’s younger brother was absolutely delighted to have a break from the golden droid’s daily tutoring.
As the day wore on, Jacen grew tired. The longer they spent in the murky lower reaches, the more uncomfortable he grew. A sense of urgency stabbed like a needle at the back of his mind. Zekk had been missing for days, and they had to find him—soon. Before long, it would be too late for the dark-haired boy. He wasn’t really sure why, but he knew that it was true.
They searched dozens of buildings and crossed as many walkways, but found no clues. The deeper they descended, though, the more signs of life they found. Low life.
Creatures scuttled past them to hide in every shadowy corner. When corridors were too narrow for them to walk side by side, the two young Jedi took turns leading. Jacen watched Tenel Ka in the light of her glowrod as she headed down another cramped stairwell into the inky darkness. Her reddish-gold braids bounced slightly as she made her quiet descent.
At one point Tenel Ka faltered, then regained her footing and continued her smooth pace. “Broken stair,” she said, turning to point out the rough area. “Be careful.”
Just then a dark fluttering shape rose up behind Tenel Ka with a keening shriek. Instinctively, she whirled and lashed out at the thing, dropping her glowrod in the process—but the more Tenel Ka batted at the creature, the more frantically it shrieked and flapped about her head.
As soon as Jacen understood what was happening, he reacted. “Hold still!” he said, moving toward the squealing creature, which had managed to tangle itself in Tenel Ka’s long braids. “It’s probably scared of the light.”
Tenel Ka instantly held still, though he knew it must have gone against her instincts. Jacen’s thoughts reached out toward the struggling creature, sending soothing messages to it. Gradually, the winged rodent grew calmer and allowed Jacen to touch it. Careful not to make any startling movements, he gently disentangled its claws from Tenel Ka’s hair. Then, still crooning reassurances to the agitated beast, he set it behind himself in the stairwell and backed away.
He picked up the fallen glowrod and returned it to Tenel Ka. “Hey, are you all right?” She nodded curtly, and Jacen suspected that she was embarrassed at having been unable to handle a small flying rodent without his assistance.
As they resumed their search, he tried to get her mind off the incident. “So, do you know why the bantha crossed the Dune Sea?”
“No,” she said.
“To get to the other side!” He laughed out loud.
“Ah,” Tenel Ka said, without even stopping to look at him. “Aha.”
He had expected her to be more subdued after the encounter with the winged rodent, but she continued at her usual pace. Jacen began to wonder if anything could penetrate her cool confidence. Though part of him admired her fortitude, another part wished that she had been more impressed by the way he’d gallantly come to her rescue.
At the next walkway, it was Jacen’s turn to go first. The rickety bridgework was littered with the usual debris of rocks and plasteel. It creaked when he stepped out onto it, high above the ground.
“Be careful,” Tenel Ka said from behind him—completely unnecessarily, as far as he was concerned.
“I think we’re getting close to that old crashed shuttle,” he said, choosing to ignore her remark. “I’m pretty sure it’s just on the other—”
The walkway shuddered beneath him, and his heart gave a lurch as metal support struts sheared away with a shrieking noise. He grabbed the rusty rail.
“Hold still!” Tenel Ka called, but it was too late.
With a sound of popping bolts and twisting plasteel, the walkway sagged downward, split in the middle. As if in slow motion, Jacen watched large chunks fall away as the bridge floor beneath his feet tilted at a crazy angle.