“Come on, it’s about time we had a little fun,” Lando said. “Follow me, everybody.”
He grabbed Jaina’s arm and the two of them jumped into the hole. Instinctively she cried out. Before she knew it, Jacen and Tenel Ka had jumped in after them. Anja fought unsuccessfully when Zekk pushed the older girl into the pit, then jumped in with Lowie close behind.
As Jaina dropped, she could hear the miniaturized translating droid scolding as they all dropped down, down…. “Oh my! Master Lowbacca, are you absolutely certain that this is safe? It may not have been tested yet. We could be doomed….”
Jaina clamped her mouth shut and let herself fall, drifting down, confident that Lando would never have led them into danger, though she realized his stunned grief might have caused him to be more impetuous than he normally would have been.
One by one they dropped. First they descended through a blast of supercold mist that froze into frost on the tiny hairs on Jaina’s arms. Next they dropped through a warm, tropical steam. They kept falling, swirling, spinning around as cyclonic winds tugged them from level to level. Loud rushing sounds roared in their ears as they plunged past speakers embedded in the walls, no doubt intended to increase the sensation of speed and “danger” in their fall.
Finally, after they’d passed through a raft of semi-solid bubbles that slowed their descent, a blasting air cushion rocketed up from below. Suddenly buoyant, they drifted gently down to land on a thick pad at the bottom.
With a carefree laugh, Jaina reached up to catch her brother, while the big hairy mass of Lowbacca nearly bowled Lando over on the mat. They staggered off the padded landing platform into the holding area.
“Did you kids enjoy that?” Lando said, checking a bank of controls and overrides. All the lights registered green.
“We loved it,” Jaina said.
“Can we do it again?” Jacen asked.
“Dear me, no! Please feel free to enjoy the experience without me next time,” Em Teedee huffed.
“It was quite stimulating,” Tenel Ka agreed.
Without a word, Anja smoothed back her hair and adjusted her garments. She glared daggers at Zekk, but he didn’t seem to care.
“I’d call that a successful test run,” Lando said, then sighed. “Maybe this will work out after all.”
“I sure hope so,” Jaina said.
As he walked along between utility sheds and piles of supply crates, listening to the construction sounds and the movement of materials from the Port Town docks and the other levels on Cloud City, Lando placed his hands on his hips. He had begun to recover from his shock and now replaced it with a grim determination.
“The SkyCenter construction’s on track,” he said. “Cojahn took care of that much, at least, but I’ve still got about a thousand administrative details to take care of. That was my end of the bargain.” He heaved a heavy sigh and muttered to himself. “I sure could’ve used your help right now, old buddy. Whatever made you stumble off the edge of a city in the clouds?” He shook his head.
Jaina bit her lip and said out loud what she knew must have been on everyone else’s minds. “Maybe he didn’t. What if he was pushed?”
Lando looked at her sharply, his big brown eyes narrowing. “I’ve considered that.”
Anja crossed her arms over her chest and let out a snort. “Yeah, right,” she said. “Always look for something sinister.”
“It makes a whole lot more sense than to think that he jumped of his own free will,” Lando said, his nostrils flaring.
“We’ll never know unless we investigate,” Zekk said.
Lowie gave a Wookiee grumble, and the little droid translated. “Master Lowbacca says there can be no doubt that something very much out of the ordinary is going on here. Cloud City does not… smell right.”
Jacen clapped one hand on his sister’s shoulder and one on Tenel Ka’s. “And we’ll do our best to help you look into it, Lando. We’re Jedi Knights, after all. This is part of our job.”
“This is a fact,” Tenel Ka agreed.
“Well then, what’re we waiting for?” Jaina asked. Lowie took up the challenge with a roar.
Lando looked gratefully at the companions. “You know, kids, one of the things I’ve learned in my life is never to turn down a sincere offer of help—especially if the offer comes from a Jedi Knight.”
5
With a swirl of his colorful cape, Lando Calrissian went off to file a formal complaint and request an official investigation into Cojahn’s death from Cloud City Security. He still had a network of friends and political connections from his days as Baron-Administrator.
Meanwhile, the young Jedi Knights found their way to a high observation platform, an open atmospheric patio on the upper ring of Kerros Tower. Here at the top of the immense metropolis in the sky, they were buffeted by winds. The temperatures varied: cool and warm breezes swirled as updrafts caught around the structure, carrying snatches of vapors from the cloud depths below.
Off at a distance in the clouds, they could see steaming Tibanna gas refineries and drifting storage cylinders. Anja lounged back on a chair, propped up one knee, and studiously ignored both the sights and the glitz.
The Tourism Board of Cloud City had issued restrictions and setback limitations for the chemical processing and industrial facilities. Since rich patrons frequently came from halfway across the galaxy to relax and spend their vacations on Bespin, the Board required that all smelly and noisy activities remain far enough away so as not to spoil the view.
The sun stole below the far horizon as the planet’s rotation carried them toward nightfall. Far beneath the patio platform the soup of clouds turned pink and orange with the sheen of phosphorescent microorganisms.
Bespin spun so fast on its axis that each day was only twelve standard hours long. Jacen estimated that he would need to sleep only every other night, and a small part of the day. Visitors to Cloud City found that such a schedule kept the place bustling, frantic, and awake at all hours.
Jacen pointed down to the colorful clouds, nudging Tenel Ka beside him. “Those colors are caused by microspheres of airborne algae,” he said. “They live on the little droplets of water vapor and other trace chemicals that boil up from below. It’s like a forest of sky plankton down there.”
“Ah. Aha,” she said, but made no other comment.
“I thought you wanted to talk about this supposed foul play in Cojahn’s death,” Anja said. “As if we have any chance of solving it.”
“With such a negative attitude, why even start?” Zekk frowned at her. “I’m surprised you have so little faith in your own abilities, Anja.”
She scowled back at the dark-haired boy. “It’s not my abilities I doubt.” She turned away and stared off into the clouds.
Suddenly, light burst from all sides of Cloud City, colorful beacons that swirled and played out across the sky. Distant music hummed from speakers set into the hover-scaffolding at the edges of the metropolis.
“What’s going on?” Jaina asked.
“A show, I think,” Jacen said. Tenel Ka leaned forward to watch.
To the sounds of muffled cheers from all up and down the sides of the huge levitating city, a group of creatures arrowed out of one of the broad docking bays with a flutter of wings. The snub-nosed, bullet-shaped creatures flapped their broad wings like giant fish swimming gracefully under thick water. They had no feathers, only gray leathery skin, like sails stretched tight over flexible cartilage and a network of thin bones. Except for the rushing of air, the beasts made no sound in their flight.
“Hey, those are thrantas!” Jacen cried. He turned to Jaina. “We’ve seen holos of them. Remember some of the images Mom has? Thrantas were actually native to Alderaan, but someone brought them here many years ago to use as beasts of burden at the gas refineries and for constructing the floating cities.” He nodded toward the cluster of swooping batlike creatures that circled, dove, and flew in formation.