il;f],','-7-lliAdvenlure Journal . Novembsr 1997

Author's Note: This story takes place between mynovels ./edi Seerch and Dark Apprentice. lt de-scribes the first encounter between Luke Sky-walker and the Jedi historian/singerTionne, whowill become one of his most important trainees.The background on Exis Station also ties in withmy forthcoming Tales of the ./edi comic seriesfrom Dark Horse, "The Redemption of Ulic," andRebeccaMoesta's third Junior Jedi novel, KenoDi's,Bldde. Of course.l hoDe it stands alone as its ownsrory, roo.

By Kevin J. AndersonIllustrations by Doug Shuler

The world of Ossus had once been the greatest center of Jedileaming--a magnificent library that contained knowledge of theForce and the history ol athousand generations of def enders of theOld Republic. Scrolls and dataplaques contained their legends andsongs, their triumphs and tragedies. Ossus had been filled withlountains and statues, beautiful pavilions of embroidered fabric,Outed columns of milk-stone, courtyards with mosaics ol flag-stones and tile, wind chimes of crystal and gold. . . .

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E Now, though, it was merely a tomb, a blasted dark scar' its glory

$ ob[terated bY fiery violence'!

"-ii."^" .rritu.aiown the ramp of her ship the 'ore Seeker-an

] obsolete. quirkv crafl almost as old as the ruins themselves-ano! iiil.oaltirl l. the absorbed all lhe echoing memories around9 'rr.. ii"it.,ft*-{-pearl eyes widened and her silvery hair blew

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let her imagination swirl with.storiesthat miqht have been lold by ghosts epic ballads the Jedr wourofruu" a'lne-lf Ossus had not been incinerated when ten stars.""La"ain ttt" C.on Orift four thousand years before' during theheisht ol the Sith War'' ' '6vertteaO

ti t t ing tte sl"f l ike a bri l l iant stain was the incandes-

""n1 gu" ot irtu c-ron Drift, now a funeral pyre lor this once_

macnilicent inf ormation center''''T"titti"n "ta""

rt.- her vessel Tionne saw glassy hardenedouaJi"" ^tiuna irt" remains ol cycloPean stalues and pillars;lumDed from the raging shockwave l hat had slruck thrs worlo ner.irt"l' ft"iiur"*

"u"."iher elfin face in the dead wind She could

"."'fiiii" ir'", alterelfects thal still ctung lo the breeze like

shado\ts.As she walked, the broken stones and rubble crunched under

her small feet. The sight overwhelmed her and a tear at themasnitudeolthe loss h;vered onthe edge of her quicksilver eyes'Sh;stumbled ahead, not knowing where to start"",li"tl-"ii-.""1tg, fizard-like ;reatures skittered to sheltei So'O"tu" **n't entirliy dead Small lilelorms often managed toJurui,r", no -.tte. ho* great the devastation Four millennia hasol"."O,

"nO,nu *aiution-levels had dropped to belowimmediately

iethal amounts, although Tionne mighl st i l l sul ler i l lness rI.snestaved here long She certainly couldn t remain long enougn (oun;over all the secrets hidden in the rubble'-

i"t nr*"ri"g.v* *anned the debris' and she walked to where,*o oiriu.. n"riup

"

."inforced. ornal e arch that had miraculously

"r#tfa 't" holocaust. She wondered how many long-losl an-

!r".t tinn, n. Uu.i"a here how much more information aboutluOi fti"ro".v

"ft" .outa find beneath the broken stones Learning

"t"ryt-ttitgit""t rft" great Jedi Knights had been Tionne's driving

ouesi all of her life, and Ossus was a huge treasure trove'-itr" g.plt" had frowned on remembering Jedi legends' onidolizinc the great defenders of the Old Republic on keeping theiir-" i-r'it". elf.t".tt"tas born.theJedihad been slaughtered ' all

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but wiped out. Tionne had lived on a drab lmperial world, Rindao, la training station and outpost near the Outer Rim. Though her 4people did not support the Empire. they had nol resisted outr ighl ;whenthe stormtroopers came to take over, and thus their clviliza-tion had not been punished.

ln Tionne's uninteresting childhood she had sought ref uge in theancient stories. Her old grandmother had an archaic two-sidedstringed instrument, and she would sing legends of theJedi, heroicstories about Nomi Sunrider, her daughterVima, and other cham-pions ofthe Forcewho had fought and perhaps perished duringtheGreat Sith War.

Butonenightthelmperial commanderhad found theoldwomantellingsuchstories. The stormtroopers had hauled Tionne's grand-mother out into the town square and executed her with theirblaster rifles, cutting her down for implying that the olden-dayswere more heroic than the Empire's current glory.

Young Tionne had been devastated. Before the stormtrooperscould ransack her grandmother's house, she broke in through aback window and took away the stringed musical instrument, theonly memento she wanted.

Quietly, as she wandered the spacelanes on her quest, Tionnehad taught her fingers the mysterles of the strings, stretching hervoicewiththe secret songs the old woman had playedforher. Now,though, the Emperorwas dead, and his New Order had fallen morethan six years ago. Withthe Empireand its repressive restrictionsgone, Tionne had let herself be swallowed by her search for Jediknowledge and lore.

The New Republic had occupied Coruscant, andTionne hadjustheard thewonderful news that Luke Skywalker-perhaps thesolremainingJedi Knight-had taken it upon himselftotrain the Jedlagain, to bring about a new brotherhood of protectors.

Bending down to the scorched rubble, Tionne moved aside aiallen cluster ol flagstones and found in the shadovr's beneath asmall statue ofwhat must have once been aJedi Master. The figurewas a short, unimposing alien with a sloping, rounded head andexposed teeth, She wondered if it could have been the renownedscholarJedi Master Odan-Urr,who had lought even earlier, in theCreat H)?erspace War against the original Sith Empire, and hadthen lived fora thousandyearsas the keeper of the library on Ossus.

Smiling, feeling her heart swell with pride, Tionne cradled thesmall statue, saw its carbonized and glassy surface layers where

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E the heat ol an syploding star had cr isped i t . She took the I igurp.! astonished to be actual ly touching a piecp of Jedi history.

No doubt il she spent the rest of her life combing through the- debris on Ossus, Tionnecould lind more clues, more information,; more vi tal t idbi ls of his lory. The Empire had declared Ossus off-Y limits, fearing other seekers might discover too much knowledge of

the Jedi-but now, perhaps, the New Republic could devote itstime to a real excavation. with crews of scientists and historianswho wanted to recreate the golden age of the Jedi Knights.

Tionne turned backtoward her battered and creaking ship. Shehad found the statue of Odan-Urr; that would be enough for now.But she would continue her quest until she knew all there was toknow about the Jedi Kniqhts.

Yavin 4was an emerald moon orbitinga huge, pastel gas giant-the site of one of the galaxy's greatest battles, home ol a formerRebel base. Soon, it would become a training center for new Jedi.

As he f ought his waythrough the tangled f oliage, Luke Sklrtalkerthought that the sheertenacityof the primevaljungle would provean even more dilficult loethantheEmpire itself. Beside him, Artoo-Detoo followed the path Luke chose, grinding his tractor wheelsthrough the underbrush.

Finally, Lukestood at the ruins ofthe Great Massassi Temple, itsstone steps ravaged by time and the forces of nature.,, as well asImperial bombardment afterthe destruction of the first Death Star.Ifthis moon had been good enough to shelter Princss Leiaand herfreedom fighters, he thought, it would be good enough for a placeof Jedi learning.

Luke had already found two candidates in his Jedi search, andthey had accompanied him here to Yavin 4. Streen, the eccentdcold hermit who had lived on Bespin, was a gas prosPector whosarched the skies for valuable upwellings ol tibanna gas. Streenhad an aflinityforthewinds, an abilitytosensewhena storm mighthappen. Luke had tested him and found an untapped potential lorusingthe Force--Streen would be an ideal Jedi candidate, thoughthe old man had been reluctant to leave his peacelul and quiet life-After ar ving on the uninhabited jungle moon, he seemed muchmore content that he could find solitude again.

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Luke's other new trainee. Gantoris. had wild black hair and abeard, accentuating his liery eyes and grim temperament. Hispersonality had been forged by living on the hellish colonyworldof Eol Sha, where a close moon causedtidal chaos, seismic upheav-als andvolcanic eruptions.With his untrained echoes ol the Force,Gantoris had experienced nightmares about a powerful, dark manwho meant to lead him down a road to destruction. Cantoris hadthought Luke fitthat premonitionand had tried to kill him. ButLukehad survived. Eventually, Gantoris had comewith the Jedi Masterin order to be trained in the Force.

Clearing away the overwhelming tungle and repairing the crum-bling temple ruins seemedan insurmountable task. Luke smiled asthe thought came to him. Yoda could probably have done it allsingle-handedly. Luke and two hard-working trainees could ac-complish it well enough-

The three men began the hard work of stripping out regrownweeds- Luke ignited his lightsaber and began hacking avr'ay at theunderbrush while Gantoris and Streen cleared fallen rocks andswept away dirt. Artoo helped where he could, extending his tinycutt ing saw and at lackrng l ibrous crecpers

''Glamorous workfor aJedi Knight," Gantoris muttered, tossinga dusty load of stones aside. "l could get a better job as a mainte-

.You're not a Jedi Knight," Streen said. "You're iust a Jedi

Luke stacked the torn underbrush in aclearingoutside the mainr!ramid, while Artoo buzzed along, dragging a sledge filled withther forest debris. In the middle of the clearing, Luke used hisinlter to set the mound ol dead foliage on fire. The heaped pile of--!rningbrands reminded him ofhis father's funeral pyre on Endor,:rw Luke had set the fearsome black uniform ablaze.

For months, he had been keeping himself busy with the menial::sks ol setting up his Jedi academy-because it troubled him too-rch to deal with the larger issues. Luke Sklvalker didn't know-.1 to train Jedi Knights;he didn't have enough knowledge about

'. ancient warriors, what they had studied, who they had been.r!-Wan Kenobi and Yoda had begun his instruction, but thathad

-:n cut tragically short. Luke now had to discover his own way,rd he also needed to find other students.

1e did have the Jedi Holocron. which Leia had taken from the..-rrrected Emperor ayear earlier, and he had the libraryfrom the

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Chudnrhot, the wrecked Jedi ship he had found in the wilds onDathomir. It would be enough. Luke vowed to work as hard as hecould, to gain knowledge every chance he could so that he mightenhance his own training,

The Jedi Knights woutd be rebom, but lt would be a long andhard struggle.

fr'!F

-/Tionne went ftom spaceport bar to trading station to bacli'water

outpost, lMng by her wits and her skills. She secured jobs incantinas where she could use the stringed musical instrument shehad taken from her grandmother on Rindao. She could sing Jediballads and disseminate her passion lor the drama of hlstory-folktales of how GavandJori Daragon had sparkedthe HyperspaceWar, or the early tralning of Vodo Siosk-Baas, or how the Twi'lekJedi Tott Doneeta had been horribly bumed while single-handedlyfighting a heat storm to defend a small clilf city on Ryloth

Shewas paid little in credits, but plenty in food and lodging' soshecould contlnuehersearch. Hermain goal inhangingout at such

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rough establishments was toaskherquestions, plythe traders andsmugglers into giving her clues about lost Jedi history.

Whenever she had completed her repertoire ol Jedi ballads,Tionnewouldaskif anymembersof heraudiencehad otherstoriesto tell. Many times this simply encouraged some of the drunkenmale customers to try to lure herto the private chambers in theirstarships, but Tionne could sensewhen theyweretellingthe truth,when to signal for the bar bouncers to 8et them away lrom her.

One night, after her show in an all-species restaurant near oneol Ord Mantell's manyspaceports, she received a message from arodent-like alien named Fonterrat, a down-on-his-luck scavenger,:'lormally Tionne would have been suspicioust creatures of alldifferent species had attempted to take advantage ol her. Shesensed though, that Fonterratsimplywished to makeadeal, and asshe sat down acrossthetable from him, shenoticed hewas eatingthe cheapest item on the menu and did not ofler to buy hera drink.

"This inf ormation about the old Jedi Knights-" Fonterrat said ina squeakingvoice. He had large ears and a pointed face, and close-set eyes like black beads underafurrybrow ridge. "HowmuchisitEorth?"

Tionne regarded him calmly, her pale skin flushing slightly. "ldon't know. Howmuch is it worth?" she said. "l have some credits,ixrt not enoughto make you rich." With one gesture of herdelicate,Fle hands, she indicated the seedy restaurant.

'Would I be work-nS here il I had that kind of money?"

Fonterrat fiddled with his hands, last-moving fingers playingdth a napkin wipe. He sniffled. "l'm a scavenger," he said. "l nedto make money for the things I find. Someday, I'll stumble acrosssof lethingthat ' l lmakemerichandlamous.. .butr ightnowl 'm justdting to get by."

Tionne could sense his sincerity, could see that hewasn'ttryingb scam her. "Tell me what you found," she said. "l'll be lair.l'U paylur what I can."

'lt s an ancient city in space," he said. "Exis Station. lt's beeniardoned f or centuries."

_Exis Station!" Tionne leaned forward, widening her mother--of-tErl eyes with sudden interest. "That was the site of one of thetteatest Jedi convocations in history!Nomi Sunrider herselfcalled-gher the Jedi Knights a decade after the Great Sith War."

footerrat did not appear interested inthe details. "So... is that

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something to you? I could tell you its location. You can

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ii1l,';7ll}tAdventure Jolrnal . November 1997

search the wreck yourself lor any artifacts, though bear in mindthat it's been empty for a long time. Damaged by solar flares."

"Yes,l'll pay." She scanned her own accounts, determiningjusthow much she could give to this man and still buy enough luel toget the ,ore .9eefter to Exis Station. The amount she came up withwas distressingly low.

"But it might be better if you don't go there," Fonterrat said,twitching his nose.

Shesat up, alarmed- "You give me the location. then tell me notto go? Why?'

"BecauseExis Station isat an unstablestar," he said. "Teedio.It sentered an active phase, with increasing llares. Over centuries thedrag from solar wind has pulled the city closer and closer to theflares. Radiation levels on board have been lethal lor some timenow. You'll risk your own life if you go there. All of Exis Station isgoing to plunge into the sun before long."

"l don't care," she said- "l'm still going."She reached out her credit pad and punched up a number.

"That's all I have." she said. "Give me the location."Fonterrat looked at it in dismay, but he didn't seem to have any

choice either. "All right-l need the credits, even as lew as these."He gave her a chip with navicomputer coordinates embedded in it."Good luck.I thoughtthe inlormation was worth morethatthat." Hestood up, hanging his head.

Tionne said, "Wait. If you go to the New Republic governmentand give this information to Luke Skywalker, he may also beinterested. He'll payyou much morethan I can. He's tryingto founda new order of Jedi Knights."

"New Republicl" Fonterrat squawked. "l'm a smuggler. I have athousand arrest warrants lrom dilferent systems. I don't dare setfoot near the law,"

Tionne crossed her thin arms over her chest, "You're a scaven-ger and a smuggler-you must have some connections that youcould use to getthis information to him. Trust me, Luke Sk,-\^/alkerwill make sure you get paid. From what I've heard of his exploits,he's a man of his word,"

Fonterrat groaned, butalreadyshe could see his darklittleeyesf licking back and f orth, racing through possibilities ol how he couldusehis smuggler's knowledge to surreptitiously send themessageto Sklv'/alker.

He left. Tionnequicklygathered herbelongingsand raced offto her(;l)

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ship- II Fonterrat was right, and the solar flare storm was growingworse each day, she didn't have much time to search Exis Station.

frtf'

-,/The bonfirein theclearinghad burned out, leaving only a broad

swath of ash in front ol the Creat Temple. It made a nice landingarea,andlheMillennium Fdlcon set down with ahiss ofrepulsorjetsand a cloud of crunched charcoal.

Luke hurried outside the ancient pyramid with Streen andCantoris at his side. Han Solo extended the landing ramp of hismodified light freighter, and Chewbacca roared loudlyas hestrodedown onto the blackened clearing. Han stepped into the blackenedcinders and kicked them roughly with his boot.

"Cood to see you. Han!'Luke waved. "We need some extramuscle for our work here,"

Chewie groaned and looked down at his own hairy arms. Hanlaughed and shookhis head, tugging down his darkvest- "Not me,buddy. I just brought you some supplies. Your sisterwants me tomake sureyou get all the equipmentyou need." Han looked around

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AdvenlureJoumal ' Novmbor 1997

and snilfed the burnt air. "This is like awilderness outing.Luke shrugged. "AJedi Knight knows howto cope."Artoo rolled

up beside him and whistled.With alaugh, Han clapped Luke on the shoulder' "Sure, kid. But

il you're trying to convince new recruits to stay here, you shouldroll out the red-carpet treatment, not warn them about how muchthey'll have to sufler."

"l'll lind the new recruits, somehow," Luke said.Han pursed his lips. "You know, you should test that kid Kyp

Durron-the oneI rescued from the spice mines ofKessel He's sotalented I'm sure he's using the Force somehow, but he doesn'tknowwhat he's doing."

Luke laughed. "Sure, Han.I'll test him anytime you want to bringhim here.l need new candidates.ln fact,I've also got to go back toDathomir where I can talk to Teneniel Djo and some of the otherForce-wieldingwitches there. Somebody might be willing to comehere-red carpet or no red carPet,'

Han opened the Fdlcon's cargo bays. Heand ChewieworkedwithLuke. Cantoris and Streen to remove new power generators, aircirculation systems, and food-preparation units.

"Leiadoesn't knowthis, but I've got them programmed for somegood, greasy Corellian sausages," Han said, cracking open a crateto flash the control panel on afood-prep unit 'But ilyou'd prelersomethingmore bland, you can program in plentyol otherdishesusing raw materials from the jungles right here."

Luke smiled calmly. "We'll get by, Han."Han brushed a hand across his lorehead to smear perspiration

aside, "Don't you even sweat an,.rnore, kid?""Not unless I have to."Wben theywerefinished unloadingand setting up, Chewie went

back to checking out the preflight systems on the Fdlcon, whileArtoo downloaded a summary of all the Holonet reports that hadbackloggedsincetheirarr ivalhere."Dutycal ls,"Hansaid'BacktoCoruscant, '

But instead ofheadingbacklor his ship, Han Solo hunkered nextto Luke on the second level ol the Massassi pyramid. He found areasonably comfortable spot on one ol the moss-

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more trouble than he really is, keeps a low profile. But he passedalonga message thatyou might be interested in some inlormationhe has. An ancient space city called Exis Station. He says a great Jediconvention or something took place there "

"Aconvocation,"Lukesaid. "Yes. Exis Station.l've heard of it, butI don't know much about the place."

"Well, he gave me the coordinates, warned that thestation itsellwas in danger. He's heard you're a fair man and hopes you'll payhim forthe information." Han raised his eyebrows. "Me,Ithinkit'sa scam."

Lukeshookhis head. "No, it's real, ifthecoordinates arecorrect,Pay him what it's worth. Take it out of my credit accounts."

Han seemed alarmed. "Luke, you can't just go trusting peoplel ikp lhal . There are more con art ists and-

"Payhim," Luke said. "lfit reallyis Exis Station,l need to go there.Maybe it can help me with my quest."

"lt you say so, kid,' Han said, disbelieving. Chewie signalled onthe comlink and roared that the Fdlcon was ready for departure.Hanswunghimself downofl themossyblockandcl imbeddownthecrumbling stairs toward the Folcon.

"lf you need antthing, iust call me," Han said."l will. Han."Luke watched the disc-like shape of the Millen nium Falcon lake

off from the burned landing clearing, then disappear into the sky.After a moment of concentration, he hurried to his newly estatFlished quarters inside the dank pyramid. There, among his per-sonal belongings, he kept the pearlywhite cube ofthe glowingJediHolocron, an artifact filled with untapped knowledge olthe old JediKnights.

He took out the ancient object and held it in lront of him,caressingits sides. This had once belonged to the Emperor Palpa-tine, but Luke had retrieved it after he had saved Leia.

In his linal conlrontation with the resurrected Emperor, Lukehad almost become lost to the dark side. But that terrible ordealhad finallycast him through so much anguish and mental fire thatit had tempered him, taught him to ascend beyond a mere JediKnight to the point where others called him a Master.

But Luke still feltso small, so untrained. Even here, alone in the3ncient Massassi temples, he felt intimidated at his self-appointed:ask of bringing back the Jedi Knights. Who was /ie to do such aJring? lt would take him a lifetime even to begin learning how to

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train others, but he knew i t had to be done.As a young Rebel pilot, he had come earlier to these empty

temples.Atthe time he'd been barelytouched by Obi-Wan Kenobi,just started in his path along the Force. He had known little then,understood nothing about hovrthe Force affected all things. Youngfarmboy Luke had sensed nothing backthen... but now that he hadmore years of practice, more training, and more pain, he felt theancient Massassi ruins somewhat oppressive. mysterious. Theyseemed to hold secrets, a dark presence buried deep in the coresof the stones. A coldness he could not explain.

Buthecould not run from it. Yavin 4wasaplacethatwouldfosterthe rebirth of the Jedi.

Luke looked down at the Holocron, touched its side, and calledforththe holographic gatekeeper. The image ofBodo Baas, asmallshrunken alien, arose belore him, wispy, shimmering. Luke said,"Show me Exis Station. Tell me what I need to know."

TheHolocron grewbrighterandtheimageof agiantcityinspacefilled the air in front of him. Luke looked with awe upon the greatabandoned metropolis, its sprawling turrets and modules, itsstarports, its domes, its cargo holds.

And he knew he had to go there.

8tWhen Tionne arrived at Exis Station, the sight took her breath

away.Shetrimmed the solar sails on herloreSeeAerand cruised closer

to the sprawling city in space, orbiting high and looking down onthe plane of the metal-walled settlement. The station had oncebeen a metropolis, a bustling spaceport, a rendezvous point fortraders, diplomats and Jedi Knights.

As the system's sun Teedio became unstable, Exis Station hadtaken advantage of what could have beenviewed as a disaster:ionminers and solar-flare skimmers operated in a boom-town duringthe time when Teedio provided fast energy resources that ambi-tious risk-takers in the Old Republic could exploit. But whenconditions grew too dangerous, the entire city had been aban-dond-left to hang empty in space for centuries.

But Tionne hoped it wasn't entirely empty.As she looped above the north pole of the llattened central hub,

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she studied the numerous other pods and modules extending Iikethe spokes ol a wheel. The modules were of varying sizes andshapes, tacked on as the station grew asymmetrically. The struc-ture had kind of a beautiful chaos, sizes and shapes and materialsall spread out in a glistening array.

But Exis Station hung canted on its axis, knocked oll kilter bycenturies of pummeling by heated flares. Uneven temperatureshifts had gradually worked their damage upon the station.

The sun itselflooked likean angryred eye, its surlace roiling andbubbling. Flares swept out like tidalwaves, prominences gushingupward in geysers ofplasma, Sunspots stood out likeopensores onthe stellar surface. Teedio's healy radiation bathed Exis Station,pounding through its shielding, blistering its hull plates. Obvi-ously, the place wouldn't last long.

She had her work cut out for her-During the evacuation of Ossus, the Jedi had had enough fore-

warning ofthe supernova shocL:wave that theywhisked awayafewoi the greatest artifacts, the most precious historytexts. Theyweretaken to Exis Station to lorm a temporary library, a place wheretbey would be safe. It was also here that Nomi Sunrider haddeclared her legendaryconvocation, where the survivingJedi lromtbe Sith War had discussed the reshaping of the Republic.

Tionne could not ignore the potential ofsuch a place. She had tosee it. had to set foot on board and walkthe corridors that had oncebeen a precious Jedi library-belore solar flares engulfed the cityin space and obliterated it lor alltime.

ln Ihe Lorc Seeher, she transmitted a signal, hoping that theautomated systems onboard the station hadn't been shorted outb],the blasting radiation or the effects ol time. She was pleased toreceive an archaic recognition signal that operated oneofthe maindocking ports currentlyon theshadowside of the rotating station.

Tionne folded several ol her solar sails to prevent them fromdamage in the blasting force of the nearby solar wind. She drilted:er ship around into the station's shadow. The docking baydoors:reaked open automatically, as ifglad to welcome one ol their firstiisitors in a tbousand years.

Ol course. Tionne realized, the scavenger Fonterrat had come:ere, but she hoped hehadn'tknownwhatto lookfor. The informa-'ion was what she valued, not jevr'els or mundane treasures,

The Lore Seeker drifled into Exis Station and landed as thedoorsi:aled behind her. As a precaution, she ingested a dose of radia-

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tion-protection drugand wore shielded clothing. Thatwould giveher a little extra time to explore.

Jumping down from her ship, Tionne set oll in a hurry. ExisStation had very little time left.

ff,into his X-wing socket, Luke Sky'With ArtocDetoo loaded

walkertookoff from thejungle moon of Yavin 4, soaringabove thetreetops and leavingthe starktemple ruins behind. He maneuveredaway from the orange gas giant into interplanetary space, headingtoward his insertion point into hyperspace. He had an importantplace to see. "Set course forthe Teedio system, ,Artoo,' Luke said,"We're on our way to Exis Station."

Later, when theyemerged from a numbingly long flight throughhyperspace, Luke squinted through the cockpit windows as thestar system snapped into view around him.

At high speed, they headed straight into a river of stellar fire.Even as Luke reacted with Jedi reflexes, Artoo squealed in

mechanical alarm. Luke banked and rolled, roaring the X-wingaway from the giant solar flare that slapped across their path likethe licking tongue of a krayt dragon. The g-forces smashed him totheright, but hedid not relentuntiltheX-winghad followed asharphyperbola patb to safety.

Luke felt a strange, twisting agony in his gut as another explosionoccurred deep in the unsettled sun, and a flaming belch of ionizedgases spewed out from the chromosphere

The Force was in allthings, Obi-WanKenobi had said, and Lukecould feel the pain, the anguish, ol this prematurely dying star.

"Not a good way to start our visit," he said. Artoo shrilled inagreement. "Recalibrate the instruments and we'll proceed with abit more caution,"

Exis Station was huge, glimmeringunderthe boilingbath of solarradiation. The wrecked starport was rotating, tryrng to maintainsome semblance of its original artificial gravity, although it \,eascockeyed and off balance. Its precession, like a g)'roscope's, wasenough to bringthe station erratically closer to the stellar inferno.

Luke studied it from adistance, taking in every detail. "Find us adocking port, Artoo," he said as he raced toward the beleaquered

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jAdvenrure Journal . November 1997

Artoo transmitted to the ancient systems on Exis Station andreceived a warning in response. "l don't cate if the last functionaldocking bay is about to rotate into the sunlight," Luke said. "Let'sland in there and get to protection before the bay heats up."

The X-wing swooped around in a tight maneuver, iust as if Lukeqere fighting lmperial ships again. On his approach he noticedEngine ports dotting the ring ol Lxis Station-orbital adjustment'ets and all-axis thrusters used in times past to stabilize the spacecity. Once the danger had grown too severe, though, no one had.emained to keep Exis at a safe distance.

The docking bay doors opened sluggishly, and Luke easilyjlipped his X-wing between them, anxious to get inside. Therelentless patch ofsunlight crept like aflame across theouter hullri Llis Station, butLuke managed to land the X-wing and closethe-oaning baydoors before the direct glare struckthat sectorolthe:Dandoned starport.

.\ salety levels rose to nominal, Luke swung out of the cockpit,:ucking under the raised X-wing canopy. As he turned, using theiorce to levitateArtoo up and out of his socket, Luke saw another:iip aeep inside the cargo bay: an antique vessel with an exotic:rniiguration that used hyperdrives, in-system jets, as well as:jangular rellective solar sail panels for slow cruising in-system.

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At first he thought it was an antique, abandoned along with ExisStation. But he sensed that the cralt was warm, recently landed. .another visitor,

"Somebody else is here, Artoo."The little droid bleeped in affirmation, though he could provide

no information as to the make or ownership ol the strangevessel."Whoever they are,let's hope they're planning on gettingout ol

here soon," Luke said. "Come on, let's take a quick tour and seewhat we can salvage before it's too late."

Artootrundled alter himas Lukestrode into thedarkand stuffychambers of the long-abandoned station.

frtl

../Small andwiry, Tionneiogged alongthe metal passageways witb

a light step. She hurried down the corridors that curved off,vanishing into the distance under the flickering light ol intermit-tently functioning glowpanels. Some of the electronics had beenrippedout, scavenged bypeoplesuch as Fonterrat. She ducked lowto avoid a dangling ceiling plate, dodged around the hulk of abroken old-model worker droid.

Theair smelled sour, old, dusty. Thesilence bung like a shroud,interrupted only by distant clunks and groans as the stationtrembled from Teedio's fiery onslaught. A background hiss likestatic crackled against some ol the outer wall plates, the rain ofhigh--energy particles showering out from the solar storm.

She kept qxploring. Manychambers were barricaded with f rozensecurity systems or piled debris. Several of the locked habitationmodules for non-air-breathers had been blasted away into space,leaving only sealed space doors and the ripped connectors fromwhere they had been jettisoned. Tionne knew that each of thesemodules had been added one at a time during the growth of thestat ion;shesupposedthatsomeof themorevaluablemodulesmayhave been stolen wholesale from the hulk of Exis Station.

The corridors seemed to be leading her toward a central area,and she followed her hunches, absorbing details with her eagereyes, Finally, she came out into an airy promenade and stoppedshort in astonishment as herlast footsteps echoed severaltimes inthe enclosed chamber.

The ceilingdome gleamed with triangularand diamond shaped('t)?r,/

' " - )J) l ; \ , ' r , l ; \ , 'Adventure Journal . November 1997

transparasteel windowplates that illuminated the broad open areawith glittering colors. Pulsations ol electric light sizzled throughIrom the llare star to dapple the deckplates. Faded emblems andIamily glyphs were etched onto the walls alongside archaic sym-bols.Theenclosedareaseemedl ikeacathedral ,ameetingplace.possibly the site of a great convocation.

Tionne recognized the inset alcoves right away, repositories folthick crystalline memory plaques, an ancient inf ormation-storagedevice. Unfortunately. few people could read data from such an-cient technology anymore, and so the scavengers had not botheredto take the plaques. Leaving them for herl

Tionne studied the Exis archives with absolute delight. Shepicked up one plaque after another, studying the etched summa_ries, ancient speeches, the philosophy of ancient Jedi Knights,reminiscences ol dying masters who had lived lor hundreds uponhundreds ol years. She felt breathless, and her hands trembled. A\realth of knowledgel She had been searching all her life lor aireasure such as this,

But nowExisStation rumbled beneath her, its deckplates groan-ing as the fu ous sun continued to pummel it with intensive flares,Coing linal damage. Tionne could feel the station barely holdinglself together. She had to take these crystalline plaques, as many:s she could carry, and rush backto hership. Shewould stayunt i l:he last moment. but she had to rescue as much as she could She:ouldn t bear lor this all to be destroyed.

She gathered plaque alter plaque, tucking the thick crystalsheets under her arms, wishing she had brought something more-iiicient to carrythem. Her throat was dry, and she breathed fast

Tionne stopped dead cold, though, as she pulled out one of the: aques and saw by the markings that it contained a recording ofi:e actual speech byNomi Sunrider, given at the great convocation:: Jedi Knights.

Tionne's fingers went numb as she gripped the plaque. Nomi::nridr herselfl She held in her hands the actual words, the:agesl She could see how the legendary Jedi hero moved and.:oke and gestured. Her heart felt huge in her chest.

Then she sensed as much as heard someone coming, and spun:rout in timetoseeaman accompanied byan astromech droid. She:!iantly recognized Luke Sk)'walker, heroofthe Rebellion, from all

::: imaqes she had seen. Hehad come here at last, He had received

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her message from Fonterrat a{ter all!"Who are you? What are you doing here?' Luke said- "Don't you

know it's dangerous? This station is breaking up."Before she could answer him, though, an explosion ripped

through Exis Station, ringing against the hull like a gong. Theshockwave rocked the station, throwing Tionne off her fet. Shedropped the data plaques all around her. One ol the crystalsshattered, but the others remained intact. The astromech droidsquealed as it rolled across the deckplates. Tionnewas filled vtithadmiration when saw how Sk,'vvalker managed to keep his balance,using Jedi abilities to remain on his feet.

"Artoo,lind a data terminal!" he shouted. "Jack in and figure outwhatthatwas, how great the damage is." Hehurried overtoTionneand bent down. "Are you all right? What are you doing here?"

She scrambled on the floor trying to retrieve the data plaques shehad held in her arms. "l'm Tionne.I sent a message for you to comehere. I thought-" She gasped, trying to catch her breath as sheclutched the data plaques against her chest. "l thought, since youwere training Jedi, you'd want to come bere and find the Jedi history."

"But this whole station is breaking up," Luke said. "We'd betterqet off as soon as we can."('t\

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;7L-), ', '/;\;) .rlAdventure Jolrnal . November 1997

"Then help me carrysome ofthese plaques. 'Tionnehanded himseveral from her stack, then grabbed more from the archive. Shelooked sadlyat the shattered data plaque on thefloor, then held theothers moret ight ly. At leastshe had saved Nom i Sunrider 's speec h.

Artoo hooted mournlully lrom the wall station as he tried toadapt h;s circuits to the archaic electronics of Exis Station. Over-head, the ceiling thrummed, as if barely maintaining its integrityagainst the scorching flares. Lukewent over to the little droid andsaw the readout. "l take it that was your ship in the docking bay,"he said over his shoulder.

''Yes," Tionne answered. I named it the l.ore SeAr".Well, it's not going anylvhere now-and neither is my X-wing.

One of the stabi l iz ing engines igni ted in the f i restorm, and theexplosion tore out the door circuitry. Our ships are trapped, andbecause that section is now under the full solar radiation, wecan'teven go inside to begin repairs. We have to wait until Exis Station' narps Ihp do.king bay ba.k inlo shadow.

Tionne steadied hersell as the adrenaline ol fear sped herienses, made all the colors brighter, the metal gleam. She listened:o the groaning sound of one of the hull plates. "lf the station lastsihat Iong," she said.

Luke began to say something, then the ceiling gave a strange-'reaking noise. He looked up, flashinghis eyes. With a hissing snap,ne of the triangular colored-transparasteel panels split lrom its

:roldings after thousands ol years of strain.In the explosive decompression, Tionne's ears popped. Her

::ivery hair f lew about herhead in a breeze as theages-old station::r squealed out through the small opening.

''Quickl" Luke said, grabbingherarm and accidentally droppingjEveral oi the data plaques. "We've got to seal ourselves behind a.r lkhead somewhere. '

\rtoo-Detoo bleeped and spun about on his wheels. Luke ges: i red lorT'onne to fol lowhim backthewayhehad come, acorr idor:re had not explored. He took charge immediately, but he didn'tiem to know exactly where he was going. As the escaping air

: ared behind her, she ran after him, cradlingthe precious crystalaques, wishing she could go back and grab another handful, but

-. sudden change in stress points on the hull of Exis Station had-nt and cracked another ofthetransparisteelwindows. Soon, this.iire chamber would be uninhabitable. exposed to space.

She raced after the Jedi Master, herslender feet skittering on the

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if-r..l.,ll}tAdvenlureJouha ' November 1997

deckplates. They turned down another side passage where thecorridor curved off from the main Jedi library and museum towardthe e.xternal habitation modules. Luke stopped short in front of adouble-sealed airlock door that bore several brilliant markings.Tionnethought sbe recognized thewriting, the language lrom theOld Republic, an archaic Jedi script.

Artoo-Detoo stopped at the intersection of a corridor andtwittered to himself as he edended his data connector and ac-cessed another control panel on the wall.

Luke Sle'walker ignored the droid and ran to the double doors."lf this mechanism still operates," he said, "We can seal ourselvesin here, wherever it goes." His fingers flew over the buttons as ifinstinctively knowing how to operate the ancient machinery.

Tionne, though, felt asudden chill as shelabored totranslatetheold writing. Droppingher load ol artifacts, she threw herself forward,yelling, "No!'just as Lukesucceeded in openingthe airlock.

Clawlike tendrils ol high-pressure greenish-yellowmist sprayedfrom the crack as the door groaned open. Luke staggered back,coughing, unable to breathe.

Tionne knocked him out of the way and lunged lor the controlpanel, pounding buttons. She had no idea how to workthe system,but she needed to seal the door shut again. The poisonous gascontinued to escape. She held her breath, but her eyes burned,blurring hervision. Tears shimmered across her mother--of-pearlirises, but still Tionne fumbled with the system. Finally, with ascreech of poorly lubricated gears, the door slammed shut again.

Luke staggered back against the wall and slumped down, cough-ing, trying to catch his breath from the fumes he had inhaled-

Artoo-Detoo squealed with triumph, bleeped and flashed hislights. At the corridor intersection, another set of bulkheads camedown lromthe ceiling, closingoffthe passage from the decompres-sionon the otherside, Tionneand Luke were sale from the brokenwindows inthe librarynow, and thestation's own air-recirculationsystems rapidly drained the poisonous gas Luke Sl$vralker hadinadvertently let into the corridors.

Luke used all his remainingstrengthto catch his breathagain. Helooked over where Artoo stood vr'obbling victoriously. "Thanks,Artoo. You thought faster than vre did."

Tionne looked at Luke angrily. "That was one ol the chlorine-breather's habitation modules! High-pressurized poisonous gas. Ilwe had run in there, we'd both be dead in an instant," she said,('t)

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shaking her head. "You're a Jedi Mastr-can't you read OldRepublic script?"

Luke shook his head sheepishly. "l haven't finished thosestudiesyet." He took a deep breath and controlled himself from coughingagain. "ln fact,l haven't found a teacher who could show me yet,"

Then Tionne heard rumbling, groaning alarms. Amber lights llashedaround the double airlock. With an explosive roar, the chlorine-breather's habitation module blastedfree of its pinnings and launchedaway from Exis Station, ejected in an emergency release.

"Looks like I did more than just seal the dooragain," she said. "ldisengagedtheent iremodulefromthestat ion."Tionnebl inkedhereyes in astonishment. "lt must have been prepped for removal,liust went through the final steps-"

The largehabitation modulethumped away, shoving itself fromthe main ring directly toward the churning sun-and its doom.Tionne could feel the station lurch and move off kilter and start tospin away from Teedio and its flares.

''I think you helped," Luke said, standing up, his eyes bright.-Simple physics. When you pushed that large module away, itpushed against the station, shoving us in the other direction. Youinay have bought us a little time."

"Not very much," Tionne said. She held the historical plaquesnext to her, wondering ifshewould get out of here alive so that she:ouldwatch them, see the entire speech NomiSunrider had made,.nd contribute to the New Republic's knowledge ol its most pre-.ious history.

Luke Sl*ryvalker stood up with an odd gleam in his eye. "What you:id gave me an idea, " he said. "Let's get to the central control hub. Exisliation may still be iust lunctional enough for what we need to do."

l!a63

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The central control hub of Exis Station was dark and musty, all: the glowpanels shut down when the station had been mothballed

r.d evacuated. But Luke Iound the automated systems to slide-ide the thick window coverings that shielded the viewing ports:': around the control station. The heavy coverings scraped aside: corroded tracks to reveal thefiltered dazzle of Teedio's corona.

\rtoo trundled up to the main stations and let out a mournful-:istle as he inspected the old computers. After checking, Luker

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lound that manyolthe antique computers had shut down, or theircircuits had been scrambled so much by stray radiation that theirsent ient memory banks were ei lher seni le or insane,

"Get to the controls and do what you can, Artoo," he said,scanning the panels. "Tionne,you might need to help metranslatesome of this script." He gave her a wry smile. "l don'twant to makeanother stupid mistake."

"That'll beaf irststep," the silvry-hairedwoman said, fl ashinghereeriequicksilvereyes at him. Sheseemed to behavingtroubledealingwith him as a person. At first she had seemed in awe of him, a Jediabout whom she had heard so much. Now she showed a bit ofdisappointment accepting him as asimple human as well. "Once welglowwhatthecontrols mean,weneed to get them f unctioningagain."

Luke stood by her side as she analyzed the faded labels andetched words on the control decks. He ran testing routines andchecked themechanisms. He hoped a fewofthe stabilizingrocketscould still sputter and provide enough thrust to move Exis Stationaway from the firestorm danger zone... at leastuntil the docking portrotated into shadow again, where Luke could work on the inoperablebay doors to free his X-wing and Tionne's solar-sail ship.

Tionne managed to call up a diagram that showed the station andits position. She identified the habitation modules studded around itsexpansion spokes. The docking module holding both of their shipshad passed beyond the high point ol the sun's flood, but it still had along way to go before it fell into the relative salety of shadow.

Now one of the larger alien habitation modules broiled under theheat. Il Luke correctly interpreted what the computer said, thismodule was filled with water for sea-dwelling creatures.

Luke looked up as he felt a wrench in his chest again, a suddenviolent outpouringfrom the sun. He looked up to see the blisteringred giant smoldering, regurgitating, and spraying an enormousprominence into space like a hose of fire. The dense plasma shottoward them in the largest inundat ion ever

Tionne saw it too. "We can't survive that. Exis Station is going tobe incinerated."

Luke dove back to the sluggish controls, franticallytryingto getthe station rockets functioning again. Most ofthem remained off-line, but he powered upthree on the sunward sideso he could givethe abandoned hulkanother push away. Exis Station wobbled, stillslowly drifting from when Tionne had ejected the chlorine-gas pod.But that small nudge had not been enough to give them sufficient

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velocityand the deadly blast ofsolar fire was hurtlingtoward themwith incredible speed.

"These rockets arethe onlyones that work," he said.',I'rn gonnafire full thrusters. Maybe they'll give enough of a push to getourselves far enough away to survive." He swallowed hard. ..Butvou'd better hold on."

He pushed the buttons, waiting for the thrust. But the controlindicators went red as two engines failed. Then an explosionshuddered through the station.

"Two more fuel pods just exploded." Tionne looked at thereadouts and then at him. He expected to seemorefear in her eyes,but instead her face hardened. "We're dead in space, and there'snothing we can do about it."

"l'mnotgiving up," Lukesaid. "We just have to understand howthis place works,"

Hewent tothecontrolsagainand called up the diagram showingthe habitation module filled with water. It was now under theharshest glare of the sun; the skin on its hull must be turninschcrry-red by now. Stability alarms flickered on. The diagnosti;panels and the station integrity would never hold once theErslorm s peak reached them.

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"Artoo, find the emergency cargo doors on this water bayl" heshouted.

"What for?" Tionne asked."We don't have timel" Luke said. The little droid was already

twittering, scanningthe controls, coaxing unreliable computers toqive up one bit ol information. Finally' the codes appeared' andtuke punched the emergency override opening lhe double_lay-ered ;uter cargo doors to space----xposing the huge volume ofocean to the blazing llare.

Thousands ol tons ol seawater evaporated in the incandes_cent heat and deadly vacuum, blasting and blasting Lukeqrabbed one ol the nearby chairs as the entire station shud-iered and then began to accelerate outward. The water contin-ued to gush out like a rocket engine, pushinS Exis Station Iartherand farther away from the sun.

"That's giving us enough velocity!' Tionne said."Let's just hope there's enough water," l-uke answered'Exis Station picked up speed and continued to move The

incredible solar flare surged toward them, but it seemed to fallbehindastheydrewawayfrom it.Theabandoned citygroaned andshuddered, barely holding itsell together.

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Luke continued punching the controls and linally managed toget a single one of the station-keeping engines to function. Thesmall rocket added its thrust to the dwindling evaporating roar ofthe escaping ocean.

Tionne said with weary sadness, "No doubt that module wasfilled with well-presewed artilacts."

"At least we're well preserved now," Luke said.The snake-like tongue of the solar flare reacbed its peak and

began to loop backward toward the sun, drawn byTeedio's gravityand magnetic fields, falling away lrom them.

"Now Exis Station should be sale," Tionne said, "for a fewhundred more years, at least."

Luke smiled at her. "That's plenty of time to come backand lookaround all you want-"

Fal len into shadow once again,;he docking bay rapidlycooledenough that Luke, Tionne, and Artoo could safely reenter i t .Light-footed, Tionne hurried back to the Ior .teefrer to makecertain that none of i ts ancint and del icate systems had beendamageo.

While Artoo went to run diagnostics on the X-wing with hisdiagnostics, Luke inspected the automatic controls that opened:he huge docking baydoors. The explosion that had ruptured thes t abilizing th rusters had also fused the computer guidance connec,iions. With a grim look on his face, he drew his lightsaber and:$itched it on. The pulsing yellow-green energy blade sizzled in:he enclosed chamber.

_We'll just have to do it manually," Luke said as he slashed..jlrough the computer control cables. The mechanism sparked andlumped into dormancy. Nowit would be asimple effort to triggerDen the sealed doors.

ljnable to stop herself, Tionne turned to stare at theJedi blade,rarveling at it. Her mother--of-pearl eyes widened, and her small=outh hung open in astonishment.

\lrhen he saw her fascination, Luke held up his lightsaber in-lute. "You never told me why you came here, Tionne," he said,',ihy did you send that message that I was to come here?',

_Because you're a Jedi," she said. "l know you intend to

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other Jedi Knights, and I lelt you should know whatever knowledgeis stored here on the station." She held up the data plaques she had

"l couldn't agree more," Luke said. "My background in Jedihistory lacks quite a bit.'

Tionne inserted one ofthe data plaques into her antique reader..Watch this, for instance. II you intend to teach new Jedi Knights,you must know their history, what other Jedi did."

A small, f lickering holographic image ol a young, driven-lookingwomanshimmered up lrom the player. She was slender, dressed inarchaic clothes: her hair was tucked back, serviceable but notstyled. She would have had a soft and lovely face, but tragediesseemed to have hardened her, added lines to her expression

"Together, we have suffered a great disaster, and now comes atime for healing," she said.

"That is Nomi Sunrider," Tionne whispered. "One ofthe greatestof all Jedi Knights. This is a speech she gave here on Exis Station,during the Jedi convocation."

Luke listened raptly as Nomi continued. "War has spanned thegalaxy, but now it is over. We can never forget the dead-but wemustalso not lorget the future. We must trust in the Force. As longas there are Jedi Knights, there is hope "

Nomi continued, butLukelelthis mind reeling. "Thosewords arethousands of years old," he said, "but they still have a lot ofrelevance today."

"Historyalways has relevance to the present," Tionnesaid. Sheswallowed hard and looked up at him. "l understand that you havea Holocron which is also filled with stories.'

Luke nodded. "True. But that doesn't eYplain yoar interest.""l've always been fascinated by the Jedi," she said with an

uncomfortable shrug. "The stories, the legends, I've been collect_ing them all my life. It was like a compulsion for me. I know many olthesongs,theballads, as much historyasl could gather, thoughtheEmpire has destroyed many ol the records."

Luke looked at herwithdeeper interest. "Doyouthinkyou couldsharesomeof i t?Wouldyoubewil l ingtocometoYavin4whi lelsetup my Jedi academy? You can perhaps tell me where I m goingwrong, point me in directions that I should know. Otherwise, l'dhave to spend years gathering the same knowledge that you'vealready found."

Tionne stood up straight, swelled with joy. Then she calmed/ '2\

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herself and stood with squared shoulders, her chin heldwould be honored. Maslcr Luke S4,walker ._

''Who knows," Luke said, "you may even have a bitpotent ialyourself ."

"That's too much to hope for," Tionne said. Her words werequiet, awhisper barely mouthed. .,But you would never find amorededicated student."

high. " l

of Jedi

l!6

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&)When theyheard theships approach, Gantoris and Streen came

out oftheshaded temple,looking up into thehazymiddaysLy. Theysaw the silvery shapes of not only Luke Skywalker.s X-wing butanother strange craft as well.

The orange sphere ofYavin dominated the horizon, shimmrinsoaslFI oranges l ike the calaract- l i l led cye oi a giant. The incominsrhips passed in front of thp planel. Streen marveled at lhe si lhou-elted shapeofthe othership, an ancient craftwith largetriangular

' 'For the wind, hesaid. Thesolarwrnd. 'Gantoris looked sidelong at him.',Master Sk',v/alker's probably

iound another student,"They went to meet the two craft as they touched down on the

bonlire-scorched landing clearing in lront of the creat TemDle.Lukc popped open the canopy ol his X-wing and cl imbed;ut,looking toward Tionne s ship. The slender, silver-haired womanstepped gracefully down the metal rungs ol the boarding ladderand stared up at theweathered stone ziggurats in amazement. She:hen looked at Streen and cantoris.

''This is Tionne,'Luke said. "She's alreadystudied moreJediloreard history than anybody I've ever met, so I thought she'd better

_ls she going to train with us as well?" Streen asked.Luke gave a secretive smile and glanced sidelong at Tionne.

_\ es,I thinkso.ltested her on theilight toyavin. She has an affinitv:or lhc Force. and I could use plenty of help in my own teachingj

Tionnesmiled,breathlessinherownexcitement. . ,soon,Master:kvlvalker,l hope there will be plentyofother newJedi Knights who:an start making new history for all of us to tell.,'

Together, theywalked into the cool shade of the Great Temple./ '2\\ \ |

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spaceiransportpilotingskilltodes. be 4hr abifity ro pilo( ships may do so. ot lrlthymayopt tousethetu(hal .s tdship r f /p i lo t ingski l ladded tohersk i l l l is l ln rhh l t { ,iir,itiiJi[ir"Ja"a'.t'*.r.rriir"ir"t'i ifdscript'on. CIh,s modilicanon is olli- llciar erraia.) lCaFule: Tionn is a young y' lscholar whose princ ipal passion h )is lor knowledge, part'cxtany l[ .

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that concrning the Jedi.She learned much ol whatsheknowsfromhergland-mother, who passed herknowledge to T ionnethrough stories ratherthan in wr i t tn form.Tionne s talent as a stGryte l ler and music ianhaveenabldhrtocon'

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Roleplaying Game Statistics

Thb chMctcr b FoEe6dddve

EqulDnrt Blaster pisiol (4D), doubleviol, datapad, ihe Lore SeekerNote:Tlonne sskjU lnpilotingarchaicsta.-sbips was not reflected in thegamelnlormationand decriptionoihe.inThe Je.li Acaden! Sourcebooh. Aamemas-ters who wish to continue lo use the

TionneDDoERITY 2D+2Blaste.3D'1, dodge 4D, pick pocket 3D+2, running4DXNOWLEDGE 4DAlien specl6 5D, business 4D+1, cultures 4D.1,langua86 4Drl, pldetarysvstems 4D+2. scholari tolklore 5D.2, s.holar: Holooon 5D, scholarr Jedih'story 6D, st.eetwise 5D.1, suNlval4D'2, valueSDMECIIANICAI- 3D+tA.chaic starship plbnng 4D+ I, beast riding4D, musical instrument operation:double nol 6D, .epulsorllft operation 4D+2, sensors 4D, spacet.ansports 4D+1,

PERCEPTION 4DBargain 5D*1, con 5D, ganbllng 4Dr2, prsuasion 5D, pe.suasion: storyteUlng6D. search 4D.2. sneal 5DSTRf,NGTH 2DBrawling 3D, climbing/jumping 3D+ I, swimming 4DITCHNICAL 2DBlaster repair 3D, conputer programningAepair 3D, droid p.og.anming 3D,lirst a'd 4D, musicat inst.unent repair: strlngd instruments 4D.2

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tinue her grandmother's traditionas she passs on herdiscoverjes to rothers lhrough story and song, keeping ajive the hjstories ot a nobter dt imc. Cha.ming. gra.e lu l . and l igh l ot sp j r i r , T ionne br jnss a smi le to the q-faces ol all but the most hardened of beincs. 3She wanders the galaxy in her ship, the ror See&ea a remnant oflessdangerous times, seeking information on theJediof the Old Rpublicand sharingwhatshe learns inirontier cantinas and tradestations_ Sheavoids sysrems stillunder the influence o, Impriat aut horit ies, whichkpeps her from rhemore populous wo.lds. burshe makes enough in thesmaller sysrems to keep hFr ship running propFrty and conr;ue hersearch lor the hisrories o, a bygone ra.She considers what sh has found on Exis Station to b the greatestcollection ofJedllore she has ever seen, particularlythe dat;phquecontaining Noni Sunrider's speech to th Convocation. But even thatdiscovery rnay dim in comparison ro what she has discovered aboutherselfwhen she met theJedi MasterLuke Sl$v,alker.

The Lore SeekerCEfi: Hyrotil Jenlaor{lass in-s}stem sail yachtTl?: Modilied sall yachr

Stlll: Archaic starship piloting

Crew SLIt See Tlorne

Ca4o Capaclty: 20 metric tonsCodluEabla: 2 nonthsHyp.ddve Mtrldplle. x3H}?erdrlve Bac&up: xls

SDa.e: 4 (sublisbt engines)i 2-3 (saits)AtDGphere: 280; 800 kmhHull:3DSlrleldlilD

stan:20/tD

.tkil: Starship gunnery

Space Range: 1-3/12/25A t tu o sp h e re R o nge : 1 00300 n / 1.2km | 2 _svn

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J-| ,U5 , l ) \ ; ,Advenlure Journal . Novembr 1997

Capsule: Th Lore Seker re{lects hercurrent captain well. The agingship combines nodern practicality \rith the romance and grace of abygon era. When the Lore Seeker arrives in port, old trader captainssigh wistfullyas they rmmbe. the days of their youth, and even busyport authorities take a moment to admire theslek ship nestled amongthe squat, blocky freightrs.

The origlnal ship was designed by Hyrotil Engineering as an in-systempleasure yacht.lt had sublightngines capable ol a slow manuver incass ol mrgency, but its principal means of propulsion came from itsmaneuverable solar salls- These sails could rotate relative to theposition ol the nearest stellar mass, and the sails' sensitive radiationcollectors enabld captains to pilot the ship in all but the outermostreaches of a system. Particularly adept pilots could thread thir waythrough systems in which several stars wer locatd, trimming theirsailslustsoto maximize the thrust provided byonestarwhile minimiz-iog that of another. Hyrotil even produced a sails-only variant of theJemloar for the sailship race circuit, but, sadly, th sport has nearly diedin the wak of the dissolution of the Old ReDublic and the rise of theEmDire.

Tionne's Lore Seeker has beenmodernized from its originaldesign. Atthe expense of cargo area and crew and passengr quaners. th shiphas a smail hyperdrive engine and an up$aded sublight ngine. Inaddition, Tionne has placed a single laser cannon in the nose of the shipto give the ship some defense against pirates and protection againstastero'ds. Thesensors have also beenmodernized, but not upgraded.Theshield generator will notworkwhilethe sails are extended, as theybreal up shield integrity. It takes about one minute to retract the sails,and about halt that to enend them.

Tionne has taken steps to ensurethatthe ship maintains as much ot itsoriginal appearance as possible. With theexception of the laser cannon,a regrettabl necssity, the modifications she has made to the loreSeehel have not apprectably altered the look the original ships had.Collectors have olf ered Tionne a handsonesum f or rhe Lorc Seehe \ b'utshe views the gracelul old ship as her home now, and sh could not bear

Game infomation created by Duane MaxuelL based on mateia[by Keqin J. Anderson ond Paul Sudlou.

( 'ir!6)