Jedi Prince_ The Lost City Of The Jedi Part 6

A screen in the room lit up and showed them what was happening on the surface of Yavin Four. Steam vents opened at locations all over the Yavin moon. The vents forced warm, moist air into the atmosphere. And with astonis.h.i.+ng speed, storm clouds began to form everywhere across the sky.

Watching the screen, they could see the rain begin to fall. Then there was lightning. A torrential storm sent sheets of water pouring down from the black clouds. Soon the rain began to put out the fires in the forest.

In the torrential rainstorm, Trioculus, Grand Moff Hissa, and Emdee made their way back to what was left of their Imperial base camp. Reluctantly Baji accompanied them. To his sorrow, with a blaster pointed at his head, he was drafted into the Imperial army to become a staff physician.

As they surveyed the scene of the destruction, Trioculus clutched his jar of kibo seeds and touched his withered right hand to his face. It was no longer the same handsome three-eyed face he'd had before.

In Trioculus's rush to get the kibo seeds from Baji's hut, his face had been horribly burned. Now his face was covered with welts and blisters, and his skin was scorched.

Trioculus recoiled in shock at seeing that his Imperial strike cruiser had been blasted apart. And every Imperial escort carrier had either been damaged or exploded.

All that is, but one. In their push to achieve victory, the Rebel Alliance had neglected to destroy a single escort carrier.

The glove of Darth Vader, which Trioculus had left in his Imperial strike cruiser, was now lying in the mud on the ground. The rain lashed at Trioculus as he knelt to pick it up.

He didn't put it back on, but he kept it.

"You're going to make me another glove, Emdee," he said. "One that looks just like the glove of Darth Vader. No one must know that I no longer wear the real glove!"

"It's regretful that we didn't find the Lost City of the Jedi, my Emperor," Grand Moff Hissa said. "But if we send enough spies to Yavin Four, they'll keep looking for it until they find it-and perhaps they'll find the Jedi Prince as well."

"SPIN must be destroyed for this attack," Trioculus said. "SPIN-and every member of the Rebel Alliance in their Senate! Except . . ."

"Except whom, Lord Trioculus?" Grand Moff Hissa asked reluctantly.

"We'll take Princess Leia alive," Trioculus replied firmly.

And then they climbed aboard the remaining escort carrier. Once inside, they activated the power and took off, leaving Yavin Four behind. Trioculus then laid his head back in his chair and closed his eyes.

With his face painfully burned, and his right hand crippled and withered, Trioculus escaped into a dream, a dream of the beautiful Princess Leia. He could see her striking face, her strong but soft features. And he dreamed of making her his queen-the Queen of the Empire!

The time had come for Ken to bid farewell to the Lost City of the Jedi, and to HC and Dee-Jay, the droids who had raised him with devotion. Chip was to remain with Ken, to help him when he went Topworld to join Luke Skywalker and become the youngest member of the Rebel Alliance.

Dee-Jay had always known that the day would arrive when he would have to allow Ken to leave the Lost City and go off into the galaxy to live his own life. However, he had expected to wait until Ken was at least twenty, not twelve.

But Dee-Jay understood that the time was right for Ken to depart. From now on, Luke would give Ken guidance and instruction in the ways of the Force. It was Ken's destiny.

Zeebo jumped into Ken's arms and licked his face, just like he had every single day, for years.

"I'm going to miss all you droids," Ken said. He thought about what he'd just said, and realized that he would probably even miss HC-100 every once in a while. "And I'll miss the Jedi Library," he continued, "and my dome-house, and I'll certainly miss you, Zeebo. Life won't be the same not having a mooka to wake me up every morning. But just think-I'm off to see the galaxy. My adventures with the Alliance have just begun!"

Luke hoped Ken would always remain enthusiastic, even after he learned more about the real world. And above all, Luke hoped that Ken would remain safe from the vengeance of the Empire. They may have stopped Trioculus from finding the Lost City of the Jedi, but Luke knew the cruel Imperial ruler would never rest until he got even-with each and every one of them!

Glossary Baji A Ho'Din alien, a healer and medicine man who lives in the rain forest on the fourth moon of Yavin. Baji is wise, peaceful, and speaks in rhyme. He collects plants, rare stems, roots, leaves, and vines that are good for making medicines and that he fears may become extinct. He then transports them to his home planet of Moltok, for other botanists to study.

Chip (short for Microchip) Chip is Ken's personal droid. His outer metal is silver. He is the size of a twelve-year-old boy and is programmed to look after Ken. As much as he tries, more often than not he is unable to talk Ken out of doing adventurous things.

Commodore Zuggs A bald, beady-eyed Imperial officer who pilots Trioculus's Imperial strike cruiser s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.

Dee-Jay (DJ-88) A powerful caretaker droid and teacher in the Lost City of the Jedi. He is white, with eyes like rubies. His face is distinguished, with a metal beard. He is like a father to Ken, having raised him from the time the young Jedi was a small child.

HC-100 (Homework Correction Droid-100) His appearance resembles See-Threepio, though he is silver in color, with blue eyes and a round mouth. HC-100 was designed by Dee-Jay for the purpose of correcting and grading Ken's homework. He walks in perfect step like a soldier on the march, and talks like a drill sergeant. He frequently pops into Ken's dome-house without any warning for surprise homework checks.

Ho'Din Gentle, ecologically aware aliens from the planet Moltok who have snakelike tresses growing on their heads. They are primarily botanists and prefer nature to technology. Baji is a Ho'Din healer. Ho'Din natural medicine is recognized throughout the galaxy.

Jedi Library A great library in the Lost City of the Jedi. The Jedi Library has records that date back thousands of years. Most of its records are in files in the Jedi master computer. Others are on ancient ma.n.u.scripts and old, yellowed books. Gathered in this library is all the knowledge of all civilizations and the history of all planets and moons that have intelligent life-forms.

Kadann A black-bearded dwarf, Kadann is the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side. The Prophets of the Dark Side are a group of Imperials who, while posing as being very mystical, are actually a sort of Imperial Bureau of Investigation with its own network of spies.

Leaders of the Empire seek Kadann's dark blessing to make their rule legitimate.

Kadann made the prophecy that the next Emperor would wear the glove of Darth Vader.

Kadann's prophecies are mysterious four-line, nonrhyming verses. They are carefully studied by the Rebel Alliance for clues about what the Empire might be planning.

Ken Ken's existence has been kept a secret, and so has the location of the Lost City of the jedi, the city in which he is growing up. His origins are mysterious and his parents are unknown to him. For some reason the droids of the Lost City have decided not to reveal this information to him until he is older. Ken has been given the impression that he may be a Jedi Prince. He doesn't know the significance of the birthstone he wears around his neck on a silver chain.

When Ken was a baby an unknown Jedi Knight in a brown robe took him to the Lost City and left him there for safekeeping. The chief caretaker droid of the Lost City, Dee-Jay was instructed to raise Ken and educate him.

Ken has certain Jedi abilities that have come to him naturally, such as the ability to cloud minds, to mind-read, and even the power to move small objects by concentrating on them.

Ken goes to school in the Jedi Library in the Lost City, where he is the only student.

There he is taught by Dee-Jay. Ken is not permitted by the caretaker droids to visit the surface of Yavin Four until he is old enough to defend himself against evil.

Kibo flower A type of very rare purple flower Baji collects. The seed from the kibo flower can restore sight to the blind.

Lost City of the Jedi An ancient, technologically advanced city built long ago by early Jedi Knights. The city is deep underground on the fourth moon of Yavin. The entrance is marked by a seven-foot wall of green marble in the shape of a circle. Inside the circle is a tubular transport that descends to the Lost City.

All the greatest secrets of the Jedi are recorded in the Lost City, stored within the master computer of the Jedi Library. For ages, droids have been in charge of taking care of the city. The only human there is twelve-year-old Ken. However, Ken does have a pet-a mooka named Zeebo.

The existence of the Lost City has long been one of the Jedi's greatest secrets. Though Kadann knows it exists, neither he nor any other Imperial knows its location.

Moltok The planet where the Ho'Din live. It is where Baji comes from and where he has his greenhouse.

Prophets of the Dark Side A sort of Imperial Bureau of Investigation run by black-bearded prophets with their own network of spies. The prophets have much power within the Empire. To retain their control, they make sure their prophecies come true-even if it takes force, bribery, or murder.

s.p.a.ce Station Scardia A cube-shaped s.p.a.ce station where the Prophets of the Dark Side live.

TNTs TNTs, or Treaded Neutron Torches, are tanklike vehicles that shoot fireb.a.l.l.s. They were originally designed for use in the spice mines of Kessel, blasting into rock to open up new mine shafts. However, they work just as well as jungle vehicles, plowing their way through rain forests.

Topworld An expression that refers to the surface of the fourth moon of Yavin. When the droids of the Lost City of the Jedi talk about going Topworld, they mean taking the tubular transport to the surface.

Triclops Though Triclops doesn't appear in this book, we have learned that he is the true son of the evil Emperor Palpatine. Triclops is a three-eyed mutant, with one eye in the back of his head.

He is shrouded in mystery. All that is known about him for certain is that the Empire considers him insane and fears disaster if he ever were to become Emperor. For some mysterious reason they still keep him alive, imprisoned in an Imperial insane asylum and a secret Imperial reprogramming inst.i.tute.

The Empire has always denied Triclops's existence, keeping him hidden away as a dark secret. But there have been so many rumors about the Emperor's three-eyed son that to put an end to the whispers and gossip, three-eyed Trioculus falsely announces he's really Emperor Palpatine's son and the new ruler of the Empire.

The rumors, however, still persist.

Zeebo Ken's four-eared alien pet mooka, he has both fur and feathers.