[Legacy Of The Force] - 04(3)

Luke shrugged. “I don’t know what I’m suggesting. Maybe through the Force my brain developed a familiarity with the old hand that exceeded what’s normal. Regardless, this one doesn’t feel right yet.”

“Meaning,” Mara said, “that he’s dropped from being the most accomplished lightsaber artist in the galaxy to, well, still being the most accomplished, just a little less so for the time being.”

“Aunt Mara? Oops. Hello, Kyp. Master Durron.” The voice was Jaina Solo’s, and Kyp looked up to see the diminutive Jedi at the top of the boarding ramp.

“Jaina.” Kyp gave her a friendly nod. He steered his thoughts away from the time, years ago, when he had fixated on her, when she was still a teenager, when he was a younger, more self-centered man who hadn’t recognized that his interest in her was more about loneliness and selfappreciation than it was about anything else.

Here today, he pretended that she had never meant anything more to him than the daughter of his oldest surviving friend should. She, perhaps, didn’t have to pretend. Giving Kyp a brief smile, she returned her attention to Mara. “So can I take Zekk and Ben to the Temple now?”

Mara nodded. “I think so. Kyp, any reason to delay?”

“No.” He glanced to the left, where the nearby Jedi Temple was clearly visible just past the Jade Shadow’s stern. “Unless you’d like to save your engines-I can just pick you up and set you down over there.” He reached out with his hand, palm up, an overly dramatic gesture, and the Jade Shadow vibrated for a moment, moving under the pressure he exerted with the Force.

Jaina gave him a reproving look. She turned around, and the boarding ramp lifted into place, concealing her.

“How is Zekk?” Kyp asked.

Mara looked unconcerned. “He’ll make a full recovery. The surgeons on Hapes were very proficient. But he’ll be out of action for a while.” Her expression became concerned. “How many people know how it happened?”

“Just me, for the moment.” Kyp gestured to the far side of the platform, adjacent to the depot. “My speeder’s over here.” Once they were all moving toward his vehicle, he continued, “I was assigned the investigation on this one.” All lightsaber accidents that caused any harm to a living being had to be looked into, and any Master on duty at the Temple might be randomly assigned the duty of investigation.

Mara’s face set. “Everybody who witnessed it said it w an accident.”

Kyp nodded. “Of course, and Luke’s report makes pretty clear what happened. So I should dispense with our customs, not investigate at all, take the day off?” The reached the platform edge and Kyp’s airspeeder, a Ion narrow yellow vehicle with comfortable seats in front an a backseat that looked as though it were scaled for children. Kyp hopped into the pilot’s seat and extended a gallant hand for Mara.

She gave him an admonishing look and leapt past him into the front passenger’s seat. “No, of course not.” She sat. “I’m just a little touchy about it, I suppose. My son ha a lightsaber accident. Suddenly I feel the eyes of all the Jed in the galaxy on me.”

Luke stepped into the backseat and settled behind Kyp “So what is this all about?”

Kyp sank into the pilot’s seat, activated the speeder, an pulled straight back in a speedy reverse that put the within meters of the nearest cross-traffic stream. “You don’t want to sit right behind me. Trust me.” He swerved so he was pointed in the direction of the traffic stream’ travel and accelerated, as though he were playing a Millennium Falcon simulator, to merge with the stream.

“Why not… oh.”

Caught by the wind, Kyp’s hair was pulled from where it lay within the hood of his Jedi cloak. Stretched to full length, its tips whipped mere centimeters in front of Luke’s eyes and occasionally tickled his nose.

Luke slid sideways to the center of the seat. “You’ve grown it out.”

Kyp reached up to give his hair an indulgent stroke, then grinned at his simulated display of vanity. “I’ve been seeing a lady who likes it long. And doesn’t mind all the gray in

“Congratulations. So again, what is this all about?”

“Chief Omas and Admiral Niathal wanted to see you on your return from Hapes. They asked me to bring you. You can opt out if the timing isn’t good.”

Mara gave him a puzzled frown. “Is this about what happened on Hapes? “sort of.”

Kyp gave her a broad, trouble-loving smile. ” This time, they want Luke to make Jacen a Jedi Master.”

OUTSIDE THE CORELIIAN SYSTEM