Jaina exchanged an intrigued glance with Tenel Ka. “We are prepared to assist you,” Tenel Ka said. Lowie rumbled his agreement.
Lando grinned. “As it turns out, I already talked to all of your parents and got permission.”
“Hey, that’s great,” Jacen said.
“What is it you need from us?” Zekk asked.
“Some professional assistance. From professional young people like yourselves. But it’s not on GemDiver Station. I’ve got the corusca-gem mining operation running pretty well by itself. Right now, I’m on my way to Cloud City.”
“Bespin?” Jaina said. “You still own property there?”
Lando smiled. “At the moment, quite a lot. You know how I am—always looking for some new way to make credits. I decided I needed to diversify my holdings a bit more, so I talked to one of my old smuggler buddies who lives on Cloud City and we came up with the perfect investment.”
Tenel Ka’s eyebrows rose as Lando spoke.
“Old smuggler buddy?” Jaina asked.
“Oh, don’t worry, he’s completely legit now,” Lando said. “He has a wife, two little girls, and all his investments are strictly on the up-and-up.”
“What do you need us for?” Zekk asked again.
Lando went on. “Cojahn and I are starting a line of high-tech family entertainment and amusement centers. We’re putting the first one right in Cloud City. We’re calling it SkyCenter Galleria. Cloud City won’t be just for gambling anymore. This place is gonna have rides, restaurants, shopping, the neatest and slickest holomazes, experience chambers … every kind of thrill you can think of.
“I’ve been interested in this sort of thing for a long time. See, before you kids were even born, I looked into getting a place called Hologram Funworld as an investment. It didn’t work out, but that place was nothing compared to what we’re building now. SkyCenter Galleria will have something for people of all ages, something for every human or alien in the galaxy.”
Luke Skywalker, who had quietly joined them during Lando’s description, smiled. “That sounds like one of your best ideas yet, Lando. Do you have some thrill rides that only Jedi can test?” There was a twinkle of amusement in the Jedi Master’s eyes.
Lando chuckled. “Not exactly, but close. I was hoping to borrow this fine crew of young people to visit the place with me before I open it to the public. Give me their ideas and opinions, maybe even double-check things to make sure there aren’t any potential hazards our engineers have overlooked.
“See, my buddy Cojahn has two daughters, a twelve-year-old and a five-year-old, but I need someone a little older to let me know what works for them and what doesn’t. Your young Jedi Knights here could think of it as a vacation, and it’ll help me out as well.” He winked at Luke. “I promise not to let anyone get kidnapped this time.”
The Jedi Master narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and then nodded. “Yes. I think these students could benefit from an opportunity like that.”
Lowie gave an exultant bellow.
“Good. We’d love to!” Jaina said.
“We would be honored to assist.” Tenel Ka nodded; her red-gold warrior braids swung around her serious face. “It will be … fun.”
“Oh, indeed, Master Lando! I should be most gratified if you’d accept my services as well.”
Lando gave a small bow. “You bet, Em Teedee. You can never have enough competent droids around on a project like this. I wouldn’t think of leaving you behind.”
“Hey, speaking of being left behind,” Jacen said, “we’ve got a new friend staying here with us at the Jedi academy. Would you mind if she came along? She’s only been here for a few weeks—she’s a former smuggler—but she’s having kind of a rough time and I think she could use a change of scenery.”
“A former smuggler? Sure, bring her along,” Lando said with a bright smile. “She sounds like my kind of young lady.”
3
Anja Gallandro finished packing for the trip to Bespin in less than five minutes. Slinging her satchel of belongings over one shoulder—including the few special items she wanted no one to know about—she headed down the temple’s ancient stone corridor toward the adjoining quarters occupied by the Solo twins.
She reached up to tighten the leather headband that held her flowing hair in check, though just barely enough to keep it out of her face. Anja sighed as she thought of Jacen and Jaina. Everyone in the Solo family seemed to have an effect on her life, and she found it both irritating and unnerving.
First, Han Solo had murdered her father; then, when Anja had confronted him after a lifetime of planning the moment, he had denied it, and somehow thwarted all of her attempts to get revenge. Finally, telling herself it would be the easiest way to hurt Han Solo, she had followed his children to Yavin 4, pretending to be their friend. She had believed that as she got to know the twins better, their true characters would emerge, and she would find ample reason (and opportunity) to inflict some sort of punishment on them. But that hadn’t turned out as she’d expected either.
Instead of proving heartless, self-centered, and prideful as she had believed they would be, Jacen, Jaina, and their friends at the Jedi academy had shown themselves to be helpful, patient, and honorable—even in the face of her most withering sarcasm. To make matters worse, Jacen had turned out to have an endearing love for animals and a quirky, silly sense of humor that Anja had come to find more and more pleasant as the days passed.
She stamped her foot in annoyance outside the door to Jacen’s chambers. How could this be happening? She wanted to hate these young Jedi Knights, wanted to find them despicable in every way. Their talk about trusting in the Force was a bunch of nonsense. They were trying to change her with their talk of control and inner calm. So why didn’t she despise them?
Anja couldn’t allow herself to become fond of these “friends,” she reminded herself. She needed to get revenge for the death of her father, the great Gallandro. She could never allow herself to trust a … a Solo. They would probably show their true colors sometime soon.
Perhaps if she tried goading them a bit more …
Squaring her shoulders, Anja raised one fist to knock on Jacen’s door. But before she could do so, Jaina emerged from the next room over.
“All ready for Cloud City, I see,” Jaina observed. “Me too.” She patted the small duffel she carried. “How about Jacen?”
“I was about to check,” Anja replied in as cold a voice as she could muster. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Jaina’s brandy-brown eyes blinked at Anja’s rudeness, but then she shrugged it off and gave a hesitant smile. “Guess I should have figured that out, huh?” Then she stepped forward, tapped once lightly on the door, and poked her head in without waiting for an answer.
Anja could see past Jaina into the room to where the tousel-haired young man stood in front of a wall filled with cages and aquariums. A ball of bright blue fluff sat on his shoulder.
He turned around and waved his sister and Anja inside. His face lit with a quick smile. “Hey, I’m almost done here. I was just setting the timers on those new feeding and exercise monitors you designed, Jaina. Raynar said he’d look in on my menagerie, just in case, and Uncle Luke even offered to take care of Nicta,” he said, pointing to the feathery blue ball perched on his shoulder.
“We shouldn’t keep Calrissian waiting,” Anja said gruffly, impatiently, though she wasn’t the least bit eager to go.
A rich chuckle came from the doorway. “No, it doesn’t pay to keep me waiting—unless, of course, you’re a beautiful young lady.”
Anja turned to look at the speaker and saw in the arched doorway a dashingly handsome man with dark features and a dazzling white smile.
“Well, hello…. What have we here?” the man said, striding into the room. “Two beautiful young ladies?” He took Anja’s hand, bowed, and kissed it lightly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He held her hand in his and favored her with a brilliant smile.