Free Halt's Peril by John Flanagan

Star Wars

    The New Jedi Order

    The Apprentice

    by Elaine Cunningham

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    Jaina Solo adjusted the restraints on the copilot chair and leaned forward, eager for her first glimpse of Gallinore. The small Hapan freighter glided smoothly out of hyperspace, and star lines compressed into brilliant points of light - - a heautiful sight, but one that could have marked nearly any destination. Then the ship banked sharply to starboard, and a soft green haze bloomed against the darkness of space.

    Mist clung to the deeply forested planet, and the slanting rays of the rising sun lent the humid atmosphere a luminous, verdant glow.
    Lowbacca let out a low, poignant moan that mingled appreciation and longing.

    "It does look a bit like Kashyyk," Jaina agreed, naming the Wookiees home world.

    She glanced back at her companions. Lowbacca had always been thin by Wookiee standards, but their recent captivity had left him positively gaunt, and his ginger-hued fur was dull and patchy. Tenel Ka was thinner, too, and her dark green flight suit clung to her too-slender form. Her long reddish hair was carefully plaited in the many-braided fashion of a Dathomiri warrior, but with one difference: Shed swept her hair over to one side to hide the raw patch left when a Yuuzhan Vong inquisitor had yanked out one of her braids. Jaina quickly averted her eyes from this reminder of their shared ordeal. Her own scars were of a different sort.

    Her gaze shifted to the man in the pilot seat. Kyp Durron could add about a dozen years to her eighteen. The long, careless waves of brown hair were threaded with silver, and faint lines collected at the corners of his green eyes - - lines that suggested easy smiles and shared laughter. Kyp had the sort of face that inspired camaraderie and confidence, and probably would have even without the added charisma of his formidable Jedi powers. One thing was certain: People followed Kyp.
    Jaina intended to figure out why.

    The mists of Gallinore swirled up to receive their ship. Jaina shifted impatiently in her seat. Her fingers itched for the feel of the controls, and she briskly scrubbed one hand against the leg of her flight suit as if that could erase the urge to take over. Kyp was a Jedi Master, however, and - - more importantly - - a Master whod asked Jaina to be his apprentice.

    For Jaina, sitting in the copilots chair was one way of taking this notion for a test flight.

    Part of her wanted to reject his offer out of hand. Kyp Durron had been a dubious figure before the war started, before he'd undertaken his rogue crusade against the Yuuzhan Vong invaders. His forays were highly controversial, and his passionate advocacy of aggressive tactics brought discord to every Jedi gathering, whether he attended or not.

    But at some level, Jaina sensed that she and Kyp were already flying on the same vector.

    She couldn't argue against either his philosophy or his methods.
    She just wasnt sure she wanted to hand over the controls.

    Kyp peered at the unbroken expanse of green rushing up toward their ship.

    "The navicomputer confirms our landing coordinates, but I don't see anything down there that looks like a city."

    Tenel Ka glanced up from the datapad she'd been studying throughout most of the trip.

    Dimitor is difficult to see from above. The city is constructed mostly of green marble and all the streets are lined with tall trees.
    Even the landing docks are paved with multicolored stone, making them indistinguishable from meadowland until you are almost upon them."

    "Makes you wonder what they've got to hide," Kyp observed, slinging a quick, pointed glance at Jaina.

    "Gallinore is a lawful world, closely affiliated with the government of Hapes," Tenel Ka returned gravely. Her gaze shifted to Jaina. "I'm more concerned about our purposes than theirs. We are landing shortly. Shouldn't you tell us why we've come?"

    Jaina conceded