il;f],','-7-lli

Advenlure
Journal. Novembsr
1997
l!
d
I

Author'sNote:This storytakesplacebetweenmy
novels ./edi Seerch and Dark Apprentice. lt describesthe first encounterbetweenLuke Skywalkerandthe Jedihistorian/singerTionne,
who
will becomeone of his most importanttrainees.
The backgroundon ExisStationalsoties in with
my forthcomingTalesof the ./edi comic series
from DarkHorse,"TheRedemptionof Ulic,"and
RebeccaMoesta's
third JuniorJedinovel,KenoDi's
,Bldde.
Ofcourse.lhoDeit standsaloneasits own
srory,roo.

By KevinJ. Anderson
Illustrationsby DougShuler
The world of Ossus had once been the greatest center of Jedi
leaming--a magnificent library that contained knowledge of the
Forceand the history ol athousand generationsof defendersof the
Old Republic.Scrollsand dataplaquescontainedtheir legendsand
songs,their triumphs and tragedies.Ossus had been filled with
lountains and statues, beautiful pavilions of embroidered fabric,
Outed columns of milk-stone, courtyards with mosaics ol flagstonesand tile, wind chimes of crystal and gold. . . .

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scar' its
Now, though, it was merely a tomb, a blasted dark
bY fiery violence'
ob[terated
"-ii."^"

glory

.rritu.aiown therampof hership the'ore Seeker-an

obsolete.quirkvcrafl almostas old as the ruinsthemselves-ano

l. the absorbedall lhe echoingmemoriesaround
iiil.oaltirl
'rr..
eyeswidenedandher silveryhair blew
ii"it.,ft*-{-pearl
with.stories
lu"rii" ,r" a*a "i"C. Sh; let her imaginationswirl
Jedrwouro
that miqhthavebeenlold by ghostsepicballadsthe
ten stars
fruu" a'lne-lf Ossushad not been incineratedwhen
the
during
.""La"ain ttt" C.onOrift four thousandyearsbefore'
heishtol the SithWar'
'''6vertteaO
tittingtte sl"f likea brilliantstainwastheincandesgu" ot irtu c-ron Drift, now a funeralpyre lor this once_
""n1
macnilicent
'''T"titti"n informationcenter'
rt.- her vesselTionnesawglassyhardened
and pillars
"ta""
ouaJi"" ^tiuna irt" remainsol cycloPeanstalues
l hathadslruckthrsworlo ner
;lumDedfromthe ragingshockwave
elfin facein the deadwind Shecould
.irt"l' ft"iiur"*
alterelfectsthal still ctung lo the breezelike
ir'", "u"."iher
"."'fiiii"
shado\ts.
under
As she walked,the brokenstonesand rubblecrunched
at
the
tear
a
and
her
overwhelmed
her small feet. The sight
eyes'
quicksilver
her
of
edge
onthe
masnitudeolthelossh;vered
ahead,not knowingwhereto start
Sh;stumbled
"",li"tl-"ii-.""1tg,
fizard-like ;reatures skittered to sheltei So'
managedto
O"tu" **n't entirliy dead Small lilelorms often
has
millennia
Four
great
devastation
the
Jurui,r", no -.tte. ho*
belowimmediately
to
had
dropped
*aiution-levels
ol"."O,
"nO,nu althoughTionnemighlstill sullerillnessrI.sne
iethalamounts,
enougn(o
stavedhere long Shecertainlycouldnt remainlong
all the secretshiddenin the rubble'
un;over
where
i"t nr*"ri"g.v* *anned the debris'andshewalkedto
miraculously
had
that
e
arch
,*o oiriu.. n"riup ."inforced.ornal
"
Shewonderedhow many long-loslan't" holocaust.
about
"r#tfa
!r".t tinn, n. Uu.i"a here how muchmore information
Learning
stones
broken
the
luOi fti"ro".v .outa find beneath
"ft" rft" great JediKnightshad beenTionne'sdriving
hugetreasuretrove
"t"ryt-ttitgit""t
ouesi
'-itr" all of her life,and Ossuswasa
g.plt" had frowned on rememberingJedi legends'on
the
idolizincthe greatdefendersof the Old Republic on keeping
slaughtered
' all
been
iir-" i-r'it".elf.t".tt"tas born.theJedihad

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but wiped out. Tionne had lived on a drab lmperial world, Rindao, l
a training station and outpost near the Outer Rim. Though her 4
peopledid not supportthe Empire.they had nol resistedoutrighl ;
whenthe stormtroopers came to take over, and thus their clvilization had not been punished.
ln Tionne'suninterestingchildhood shehad soughtrefugein the
ancient stories. Her old grandmother had an archaic two-sided
stringed instrument, and she would sing legendsof theJedi, heroic
stories about Nomi Sunrider,her daughterVima, and other champions ofthe Forcewho had fought and perhaps perishedduringthe
Great Sith War.
Butonenightthelmperial commanderhadfound theoldwoman
tellingsuchstories.The stormtroopers had hauledTionne'sgrandmother out into the town square and executed her with their
blaster rifles, cutting her down for implying that the olden-days
were more heroic than the Empire's current glory.
Young Tionne had been devastated.Before the stormtroopers
could ransack her grandmother's house, she broke in through a
back window and took away the stringed musical instrument, the
only memento she wanted.
Quietly, as she wandered the spacelaneson her quest, Tionne
had taught her fingers the mysterles of the strings, stretching her
voicewiththe secretsongsthe old woman had playedforher. Now,
though,the Emperorwas dead,and his New Order had fallen more
than six years ago.Withthe Empireand its repressiverestrictions
gone, Tionne had let herself be swallowed by her search for Jedi
knowledgeand lore.
The New Republichad occupied Coruscant,andTionne hadjust
heard thewonderful news that Luke Skywalker-perhaps thesol
remainingJediKnight-had taken it upon himselftotrain the Jedl
again,to bring about a new brotherhood of protectors.
Bending down to the scorched rubble, Tionne moved aside a
iallen cluster ol flagstonesand found in the shadovr'sbeneath a
small statue ofwhat must have once been aJedi Master.The figure
was a short, unimposing alien with a sloping, rounded head and
exposedteeth, She wondered if it could have been the renowned
scholarJedi Master Odan-Urr,who had lought even earlier, in the
Creat H)?erspace War against the original Sith Empire, and had
then lived fora thousandyearsasthe keeperof the library on Ossus.
Smiling,feeling her heart swell with pride, Tionne cradled the
small statue, saw its carbonized and glassy surface layers where

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the heat ol an syplodingstar had crispedit. Shetook the Iigurp.

astonishedto be actuallytouchinga piecpof Jedihistory.
No doubt il she spent the rest of her life combing through the
debris on Ossus,Tionnecould lind more clues,more information,
more vital tidbils of hislory.The Empirehad declaredOssusofflimits, fearingother seekersmight discovertoo much knowledgeof
the Jedi-but now, perhaps, the New Republic could devote its
time to a real excavation.with crews of scientists and historians
who wanted to recreatethe golden age of the Jedi Knights.
Tionne turned backtoward her battered and creakingship. She
had found the statue of Odan-Urr; that would be enoughfor now.
But she would continue her quest until she knew all there was to
know about the Jedi Kniqhts.

Yavin 4was an emeraldmoon orbitinga huge,pastel gasgiantthe site of one of the galaxy's greatest battles, home ol a former
Rebelbase.Soon,it would become a training center for new Jedi.
As he fought his waythrough the tangledfoliage,LukeSklrtalker
thought that the sheertenacityof the primevaljungle would prove
an evenmore dilficult loethantheEmpire itself.Besidehim, ArtooDetoo followed the path Luke chose, grinding his tractor wheels
through the underbrush.
Finally,Lukestood at the ruins ofthe GreatMassassiTemple,its
stone steps ravaged by time and the forces of nature.,,as well as
Imperial bombardmentafterthe destruction of the first DeathStar.
Ifthis moon had been good enoughto shelter PrincssLeiaand her
freedom fighters, he thought, it would be good enoughfor a place
of Jedi learning.
Luke had already found two candidatesin his Jedi search, and
they had accompaniedhim here to Yavin 4. Streen,the eccentdc
old hermit who had lived on Bespin, was a gas prosPector who
sarched the skies for valuable upwellings ol tibanna gas. Streen
had an aflinityforthewinds, an abilitytosensewhena storm might
happen. Luke had tested him and found an untapped potential lor
usingthe Force--Streenwould be an ideal Jedi candidate,though
the old man had been reluctant to leavehis peaceluland quiet lifeAfter ar ving on the uninhabited jungle moon, he seemed much
more content that he could find solitude again.

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Luke's other new trainee. Gantoris.had wild black hair and a l!
beard, accentuating his liery eyes and grim temperament. His
personality had been forged by living on the hellish colonyworld 3
of Eol Sha,where a closemoon causedtidal chaos,seismicupheavals andvolcanic eruptions.With his untrained echoesol the Force,
Gantorishad experiencednightmaresabout a powerful, dark man
who meant to lead him down a road to destruction. Cantoris had
thought Luke fitthat premonitionand had tried to kill him. ButLuke
had survived. Eventually,Gantorishad comewith the Jedi Master
in order to be trained in the Force.
Clearingaway the overwhelmingtungleand repairing the crumbling temple ruins seemedaninsurmountabletask. Luke smiled as
the thought came to him. Yoda could probably have done it all
single-handedly.Luke and two hard-working trainees could accomplish it well enoughThe three men began the hard work of stripping out regrown
weeds-Luke ignited his lightsaber and began hacking avr'ayat the
underbrush while Gantoris and Streen cleared fallen rocks and
swept away dirt. Artoo helped where he could, extending his tiny
cuttingsaw and atlackrnglibrouscrecpers
''Glamorousworkfor aJedi Knight," Gantorismuttered, tossing
a 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
Lukestackedthe torn underbrush in aclearingoutside the main
r!ramid, while Artoo buzzed along, dragging a sledge filled with
ther forest debris. In the middle of the clearing, Luke used his
inlter to set the mound ol dead foliageon fire. The heapedpile of
--!rningbrands remindedhim ofhis father'sfuneral pyre on Endor,
:rw Luke had set the fearsomeblack uniform ablaze.
For months, he had been keepinghimself 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 enoughknowledgeabout
'. ancient warriors, what they had studied, who they had been.
r!-Wan Kenobi and Yoda had begunhis instruction, but thathad
-:n cut tragically short. Luke now had to discover his own way,
rd he also neededto find other students.
1e did have the Jedi Holocron. which Leia had taken from the
..-rrrected Emperorayear earlier,and he had the libraryfrom the

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the wreckedJedi ship he had found in the wilds on

Chudnrhot,
It
Dathomir. would be enough.Lukevowed to work as hard as he
could, to gain knowledgeevery chancehe could so that he might
enhancehis own training,
The JediKnightswoutdbe rebom, but lt would be a long and
hard struggle.

fr'
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-/
Tionnewent ftom spaceportbar to trading station to bacli'water
outpost,lMng by her wits and her skills. Shesecuredjobs in
cantinaswhereshecouldusethe stringedmusicalinstrumentshe
had takenfrom her grandmotheron Rindao.Shecould singJedi
balladsand disseminateher passionlor the dramaof hlstoryfolktalesof howGavandJoriDaragonhadsparkedtheHyperspace
or how the Twi'lek
War,or the earlytralningof VodoSiosk-Baas,
single-handedly
while
horribly
bumed
had
been
JediTott Doneeta
Ryloth
city
on
a
small
clilf
to
defend
fightinga heatstorm
plenty
lodging'so
in
food
and
paid
in
but
little credits,
Shewas
goal
at such
inhangingout
Hermain
shecouldcontlnuehersearch.

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rough establishmentswas toaskherquestions, plythe traders and l!6
smugglersinto giving her clues about lost Jedi history.
6
Whenever she had completed her repertoire ol Jedi ballads, 3
Tionnewouldaskif anymembersof heraudiencehad otherstories
to tell. Many times this simply encouragedsome of the drunken
male customers to try to lure herto the private chambersin their
starships,but Tionne could sensewhentheyweretellingthe truth,
when to signal for the bar bouncers to 8et them away lrom her.
One night, after her show in an all-speciesrestaurant near one
ol Ord Mantell's manyspaceports,she receiveda messagefrom a
rodent-like aliennamedFonterrat,a down-on-his-luck scavenger,
:'lormally Tionne would have been suspicioust creatures of all
different species had attempted to take advantage ol her. She
sensedthough,that Fonterratsimplywished to makeadeal,and as
she sat down acrossthetable from him, shenoticed hewas eating
the cheapestitem on the menu and did not ofler to buy hera drink.
"This information about the old Jedi Knights-" Fonterratsaid in
a squeakingvoice.He had largeears and a pointed face,and closeset eyeslike black beadsunderafurrybrow ridge. "Howmuchisit
Eorth?"
Tionne regarded him calmly, her pale skin flushing slightly. "l
don't know. Howmuch is it worth?" she said. "l have some credits,
ixrt not enoughto makeyou rich." With one gestureof herdelicate,
'Would I be workFle hands,she indicated the seedyrestaurant.
nS here il I had that kind of money?"
Fonterrat fiddled with his hands, last-moving fingers playing
dth a napkin wipe. He sniffled."l'm a scavenger,"he said. "l ned
to make money for the things I find. Someday,I'll stumble across
just
soflethingthat'llmakemerichandlamous...butrightnowl'm
dting to get by."
Tionne could sensehis sincerity, could seethat hewasn'ttrying
scam
her. "Tell me what you found," she said. "l'll be lair.l'U pay
b
what
I can."
lur
'lt s an ancient city in space," he said. "Exis Station. lt's been
iardoned f or centuries."
_ExisStation!"Tionne leanedforward, widening her mother--oftErl eyes with sudden interest. "That was the site of one of the
tteatest Jedi convocationsin history!Nomi Sunriderherselfcalled
the Jedi Knights a decadeafter the Great Sith War."
-gher
footerrat did not appear interestedinthe details."So... is that
something to you? I could tell you its location. You can
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search the wreck yourself lor any artifacts, though bear in mind
that it's been empty for a long time. Damagedby solar flares."
"Yes,l'll pay." She scannedher own accounts,determiningjust
how much she could give to this man and still buy enoughluel to
get the ,ore .9eefterto Exis Station.The amount she came up with
was distressinglylow.
"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 not
to go?Why?'
"BecauseExisStationisat an unstablestar,"he said."Teedio.It s
enteredan active phase,with increasingllares. Over centuriesthe
drag from solar wind has pulled the city closer and closer to the
flares. Radiation levels on board have been lethal lor some time
now. You'll risk your own life if you go there. All of Exis Station is
going 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 seemto have any
choice either. "All right-l need the credits, even as lew as these."
He gaveher a chip with navicomputercoordinatesembeddedin it.
"Good luck.I thoughtthe inlormation wasworth morethatthat." He
stood up, hanging his head.
Tionne said, "Wait. If you go to the New Republic government
and give this information to Luke Skywalker, he may also be
interested.He'll payyou much morethan I can. He'stryingto found
a new order of Jedi Knights."
"New Republicl" Fonterrat squawked."l'm a smuggler.I have a
thousand arrest warrants lrom dilferent systems.I don't dare set
foot near the law,"
Tionne crossed her thin arms over her chest, "You're a scavenger and a smuggler-you must have some connections that you
could use to getthis information to him. Trust me, Luke Sk,-\^/alker
will make sure you get paid. From what I've heard of his exploits,
he's a man of his word,"
Fonterrat groaned,butalreadyshe could seehis darklittleeyes
f licking back and f orth, racingthrough possibilitiesol how he could
usehis smuggler'sknowledgeto surreptitiously send themessage
to Sklv'/alker.
Heleft.Tionnequicklygatheredherbelongingsandracedoffto her

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ship- II Fonterratwas right, and the solar flare storm was growing
worse each day, she didn't have much time to searchExisStation.

fr

tf'

-,/

The bonfirein theclearinghad burned out, leavingonly a broad

swath of ash in front ol the Creat Temple. It made a nice landing
area,andlheMillenniumFdlconset down with ahiss ofrepulsorjets
and a cloud of crunched charcoal.
Luke hurried outside the ancient pyramid with Streen and
Cantoris at his side. Han Solo extended the landing ramp of his
modified light freighter,and Chewbaccaroared loudlyas hestrode
down onto the blackenedclearing.Han stepped into the blackened
cinders and kicked them roughly with his boot.
"Cood to see you. Han!'Luke waved. "We need some extra
muscle for our work here,"
Chewiegroaned and looked down at his own hairy arms. Han
laughedand shookhis head, tugging down his darkvest- "Not me,
buddy. I just brought you some supplies.Your sisterwants me to
makesureyou get all the equipmentyou need."Han looked around

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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
you're
il
trying to convince new recruits to stay here, you should
roll out the red-carpet treatment, not warn them about how much
they'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 rescuedfrom the spice mines ofKessel He's so
talented I'm sure he's using the Force somehow, but he doesn't
knowwhat he's doing."
Luke laughed."Sure,Han.I'll test him anytime you want to bring
him here.l need new candidates.ln fact,I've also got to go back to
Dathomir where I can talk to Teneniel Djo and some of the other
Force-wieldingwitchesthere. Somebodymight be willing to come
here-red carpet or no red carPet,'
Han openedthe Fdlcon'scargo bays.Heand Chewieworkedwith
Luke. Cantoris and Streen to remove new power generators,air
circulation systems,and food-preparation units.
"Leiadoesn't knowthis, but I've got them programmedfor some
good, greasyCorelliansausages,"Han said, cracking open a crate
'But ilyou'd preler
to flash the control panel on afood-prep unit
somethingmore bland, you can program in plentyol otherdishes
using 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, Chewiewent
back to checking out the preflight systems on the Fdlcon, while
Artoo downloaded a summary of all the Holonet reports that had
backloggedsincetheirarrivalhere."Dutycalls,"Hansaid'Backto
Coruscant,'
But insteadofheadingbacklor his ship, Han Solohunkerednext
to Luke on the second level ol the Massassipyramid. He found a
reasonably comfortable spot on one ol the moss-<overed stone
blocks and dangled his boots over the side, rapping his heels
againstthe time-smoothed stone,
"l got a strange messagefrom another smuggler,"he said. "A
scavenger named Fonterrat. Strictly small-time, thinks he's in

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more trouble than he really is, keeps a low profile. But he passed l1
d
alonga messagethatyou might be interestedin some inlormation
he has.An ancientspacecity calledExisStation.He saysa greatJedi l
convention or something took place there "
"Aconvocation,"Lukesaid."Yes.ExisStation.l'veheard of it, but
I don't know much about the place."
"Well, he gaveme the coordinates,warned that thestation itsell
was in danger. He's heard you're a fair man and hopes you'll pay
him forthe information." Han raised his eyebrows."Me,Ithinkit's
a 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 people
likp lhal. Thereare more con artistsand"Payhim," Lukesaid. "lfit reallyis ExisStation,l needto go there.
Maybe it can help me with my quest."
"lt you say so, kid,' Han said, disbelieving.Chewiesignalledon
the comlink and roared that the Fdlconwas ready for departure.
Hanswunghimself
downoflthemossyblockandclimbeddownthe
crumbling stairs toward the Folcon.
"lf you need antthing, iust call me," Han said.
"l will. Han."
Luke watched the disc-like shape of the Millennium Falconlake
off from the burned landing clearing,then disappearinto the sky.
After a moment of concentration, he hurried to his newly estatF
lished quarters inside the dank pyramid. There, among his personalbelongings,he kept the pearlywhite cube ofthe glowingJedi
Holocron,an artifact filled with untappedknowledgeolthe old Jedi
Knights.
He took out the ancient object and held it in lront of him,
caressingitssides.This had once belongedto the Emperor Palpatine, but Luke had retrieved it after he had saved Leia.
In his linal conlrontation with the resurrected Emperor, Luke
had almost become lost to the dark side. But that terrible ordeal
had finallycast him through so much anguishand mental fire that
it had tempered him, taught him to ascend beyond a mere Jedi
Knight to the point where others called him a Master.
But Luke still feltso small, so untrained.Evenhere, alone in the
3ncientMassassitemples,he felt intimidated at his self-appointed
:ask of bringing back the Jedi Knights. Who was /ie to do such a
Jring? lt would take him a lifetime even to begin learning how to

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train others,but he knewit 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 Forceaffectedall things. Young
farmboy Luke had sensednothing backthen...but now that he had
more years of practice, more training, and more pain, he felt the
ancient Massassiruins somewhat oppressive. mysterious. They
seemedto hold secrets,a dark presenceburied deep in the cores
of the stones.A coldness he could not explain.
Buthecould not run from it. Yavin 4wasaplacethatwouldfoster
the rebirth of the Jedi.
Luke looked down at the Holocron, touched its side, and called
forththe holographic gatekeeper.The imageofBodo Baas,asmall
shrunken alien, arose belore him, wispy, shimmering. Luke said,
"Show me Exis Station.Tell me what I need to know."
TheHolocron grewbrighterandtheimageof agiantcityinspace
filled the air in front of him. Luke looked with awe upon the great
abandoned metropolis, its sprawling turrets and modules, its
starports, its domes, its cargo holds.
And he knew he had to go there.

8t
When Tionne arrived at Exis Station,the sight took her breath
away.
Shetrimmedthe solar sailson herloreSeeAerandcruised closer
to the sprawling city in space,orbiting high and looking down on
the plane of the metal-walled settlement. The station had once
been a metropolis, a bustling spaceport, a rendezvous point for
traders, diplomats and Jedi Knights.
As the system's sun Teedio became unstable,Exis Station had
taken advantageof what could have beenviewed as a disaster:ion
miners and solar-flare skimmers operated in a boom-town during
the time when Teedio provided fast energy resourcesthat ambitious risk-takers in the Old Republic could exploit. But when
conditions grew too dangerous, the entire city had been abandond-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 numerousother pods and modules extendingIike
the spokes ol a wheel. The modules were of varying sizes and
shapes,tacked on as the station grew asymmetrically.The structure had kind of a beautiful chaos,sizesand shapesand materials
all spread out in a glisteningarray.
But Exis Station hung canted on its axis, knocked oll kilter by
centuries of pummeling by heated flares. Uneven temperature
shifts had graduallyworked their damageupon the station.
The sun itselflooked likean angryred eye,its surlace roiling and
bubbling. Flaresswept out like tidalwaves, prominencesgushing
upward in geysersofplasma,Sunspotsstood out likeopensoreson
the stellar surface.Teedio's healy radiation bathed Exis Station,
pounding through its shielding, blistering its hull plates. Obviously, the place wouldn't last long.
She had her work cut out for herDuring the evacuationof Ossus,the Jedi had had enough forethat theywhisked awayafew
warning ofthe supernovashocL:wave
oi the greatestartifacts,the most precioushistorytexts. Theywere
taken to Exis Station to lorm a temporary library, a place where
tbey would be safe. It was also here that Nomi Sunrider had
declaredher legendaryconvocation,where the survivingJedilrom
tbe Sith War had discussedthe reshapingof the Republic.
Tionne could not ignorethe potential ofsuch a place.Shehad to
seeit. had to set foot on board and walkthe corridors that had once
been a precious Jedi library-belore solar flares engulfedthe city
in spaceand obliterated it lor alltime.
ln Ihe Lorc Seeher,she transmitted a signal, hoping that the
automatedsystems onboard the station hadn't been shorted out
b],the blasting radiation or the effectsol time. Shewas pleasedto
receivean archaic recognitionsignalthat operated oneofthe main
dockingports currentlyon theshadowside of the rotating station.
Tionne folded several ol her solar sails to prevent them from
damagein the blasting force of the nearby solar wind. Shedrilted
:er ship around into the station's shadow.The docking baydoors
:reaked open automatically,as ifglad to welcome one ol their first
iisitors in a tbousand years.
Ol course. Tionne realized,the scavengerFonterrat had come
:ere, but she hoped hehadn'tknownwhatto lookfor. The informa'ion was what she valued, not jevr'elsor mundanetreasures,
TheLoreSeekerdrifled into ExisStationand landedas thedoors
i:aled behind her. As a precaution, she ingesteda dose of radia-

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tion-protection drugand wore shieldedclothing. Thatwould give

her a little extra time to explore.
Jumping down from her ship, Tionne set oll in a hurry. Exis
Station had very little time left.

ff,
With ArtocDetoo loadedinto his X-wing socket,Luke Sky'
walkertookofffromthejunglemoonof Yavin4,soaringabove
the
treetopsandleavingthestarktempleruinsbehind.Hemaneuvered
awayfromthe orangegasgiantinto interplanetary
space,heading
towardhis insertionpoint into hyperspace.
He had an important
placeto see."Setcourseforthe Teediosystem,,Artoo,'Lukesaid,
"We'reon our way to ExisStation."
Later,whentheyemergedfroma numbinglylongflightthrough
hyperspace,Lukesquintedthroughthe cockpitwindowsas the
star systemsnappedinto viewaroundhim.
At highspeed,they headedstraightinto a river of stellarfire.
Even as Luke reactedwith Jedi reflexes,Artoo squealedin
mechanicalalarm.Luke bankedand rolled, roaringthe X-wing
awayfrom the giantsolarflarethat slappedacrosstheir path like
the lickingtongueof a kraytdragon.Theg-forcessmashedhim to
theright,but hedidnot relentuntiltheX-winghad
followedasharp
hyperbolapatbto safety.
Lukefelta strange,twistingagonyin hisgutasanotherexplosion
occurreddeepin the unsettledsun,anda flamingbelchof ionized
gasesspewedout from the chromosphere
TheForcewasin allthings,Obi-WanKenobi
hadsaid,andLuke
couldfeelthe pain,the anguish,ol this prematurelydyingstar.
"Not a good way to start our visit," he said.Artoo shrilledin
agreement.
"Recalibrate
the instrumentsandwe'll proceedwith a
bit morecaution,"
ExisStationwashuge,glimmeringunderthe
boilingbathof solar
radiation.The wreckedstarportwas rotating,tryrngto maintain
somesemblanceof its originalartificialgravity,althoughit \,eas
cockeyedand off balance.Its precession,
like a g)'roscope's,
was
enoughto bringthestationerraticallycloserto the stellarinferno.
Lukestudiedit fromadistance,takingin everydetail."Findus a
dockingport, Artoo,"he saidas he racedtowardthe beleaquered

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Artoo transmitted to the ancient systems on Exis Station and

receiveda warning in response."l don't cate if the last functional
docking bay is about to rotate into the sunlight," Luke said. "Let's
land in there and get to protection before the bay heats up."
The X-wing swooped around in a tight maneuver,iust as if Luke
qere fighting lmperial ships again. On his approach he noticed
Engineports dotting the ring ol Lxis Station-orbital adjustment
'ets and all-axis thrusters used in times past to stabilizethe space
city. Once the danger had grown too severe,though, no one had
.emainedto keep Exis at a safe distance.
The docking bay doors opened sluggishly, and Luke easily
jlipped his X-wing between them, anxious to get inside. The
relentlesspatch ofsunlight crept like aflame across theouter hull
ri Llis Station,butLuke managedto land the X-wing and closethe
-oaning baydoors before the direct glare struckthat sectorolthe
:Dandonedstarport.
.\ salety levels rose to nominal, Luke swung out of the cockpit,
:ucking under the raised X-wing canopy. As he turned, using the
iorce 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 Exis

Station.But he sensedthat the cralt was warm, recently landed. .
another visitor,
"Somebodyelse is here,Artoo."
The little droid bleepedin affirmation,though he could provide
no information as to the make or ownership ol the strangevessel.
"Whoeverthey are,let's hope they're planning on gettingout ol
here soon," Luke said. "Come on, let's take a quick tour and see
what we can salvagebefore it's too late."
Artootrundled alter himas Lukestrode into thedarkand stuffy
chambers of the long-abandonedstation.

fr
tl
../
Smallandwiry, Tionneioggedalongthe metal passagewayswitb
a light step. She hurried down the corridors that curved off,
vanishing into the distance under the flickering light ol intermittently functioning glowpanels.Some of the electronics had been
rippedout, scavengedbypeoplesuch as Fonterrat.Sheduckedlow
to avoid a dangling ceiling plate, dodged around the hulk of a
broken old-model worker droid.
Theair smelledsour, old, dusty. Thesilence bung like a shroud,
interrupted only by distant clunks and groans as the station
trembled from Teedio's fiery onslaught. A background hiss like
static crackled against some ol the outer wall plates, the rain of
high--energyparticles showering out from the solar storm.
Shekept qxploring.Manychamberswere barricadedwith frozen
security systemsor piled debris. Severalof the locked habitation
modules for non-air-breathers had been blasted away into space,
leaving only sealedspace doors and the ripped connectors from
where they had been jettisoned. Tionne knew that each of these
modules had been added one at a time during the growth of the
station;shesupposedthatsomeof
themorevaluablemodulesmay
have been stolen wholesalefrom the hulk of Exis Station.
The corridors seemedto be leading her toward a central area,
and she followed her hunches, absorbing details with her eager
eyes, Finally, she came out into an airy promenade and stopped
short in astonishmentas herlast footstepsechoedseveraltimesin
the enclosedchamber.
The ceilingdome gleamedwith triangularand diamond shaped

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. November
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Adventure
Journal
transparasteelwindowplatesthat illuminated the broad open area t!
with glittering colors. Pulsationsol electric light sizzled through
Irom the llare star to dapple the deckplates.Faded emblems and 3
Iamily glyphs were etched onto the walls alongside archaic symbols.Theenclosedareaseemedlikeacathedral,ameetingplace.
possibly the site of a great convocation.
Tionne recognizedthe inset alcovesright away,repositoriesfol
thick crystalline memory plaques,an ancient information-storage
device. Unfortunately. few people could read data from such ancient technologyanymore,and so the scavengershad not bothered
to take the plaques.Leavingthem for herl
Tionne studied the Exis archives with absolute delight. She
picked up one plaque after another, studying the etched summa_
ries, ancient speeches,the philosophy of ancient Jedi Knights,
reminiscencesol dying masterswho had lived lor hundreds upon
hundreds ol years.She felt breathless,and her hands trembled. A
\realth of knowledgel She had been searching all her life lor a
ireasure such as this,
But nowExisStation rumbled beneathher, its deckplatesgroaning as the fu ous sun continued to pummel it with intensiveflares,
Coinglinal damage.Tionne could feel the station barely holding
lself together. She had to take these crystalline plaques,as many
:s shecouldcarry,and rushbackto hership.Shewouldstayuntil
:he last moment. but she had to rescueas much as she could She
:ouldn t bear lor this all to be destroyed.
She gathered plaque alter plaque, tucking the thick crystal
sheetsunder 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
: aquesand saw by the markingsthat it contained a recording of
i:e actualspeechbyNomi Sunrider,given at the greatconvocation
:: JediKnights.
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 sensedas much as heard someonecoming, and spun
:rout in timetoseeaman accompaniedbyan astromechdroid. She
:!iantly recognizedLuke Sk)'walker,heroofthe Rebellion,from all
::: imaqesshe had seen.Hehad come here at last, He had received

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1997
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her messagefrom 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. The
shockwave rocked the station, throwing Tionne off her fet. She
dropped the data plaques all around her. One ol the crystals
shattered, but the others remained intact. The astromech droid
squealedas it rolled across the deckplates.Tionnewas filled vtith
managedto keephis balance,
admiration when saw how Sk,'vvalker
using Jedi abilities to remain on his feet.
"Artoo,lind a data terminal!" he shouted."Jack in and figure out
whatthatwas, how greatthe damageis." Hehurried overtoTionne
and bent down. "Are you all right? What are you doing here?"
She scrambled on the floor trying to retrieve the data plaques she
had held in her arms. "l'm Tionne.I sent a messagefor you to come
here. I thought-" She gasped, trying to catch her breath as she
clutched the data plaques against her chest. "l thought, since you
were training Jedi,you'd want to come bere and find the Jedi history."
"But this whole station is breaking up," Luke said. "We'd better
qet off as soon as we can."

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AdventureJolrnal . November1997

"Thenhelpme carrysomeoftheseplaques.'Tionnehandedhim
several from her stack, then grabbed more from the archive. She
lookedsadlyat the shattereddata plaqueon thefloor, then held the
othersmoretightly.At leastshehadsavedNomi Sunrider's
speech.
Artoo hooted mournlully lrom the wall station as he tried to
adapt h;s circuits to the archaic electronics of Exis Station.Overhead, the ceiling thrummed, as if barely maintaining its integrity
againstthe scorching flares.Lukewent over to the little droid and
saw 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 anylvherenow-and neither is my X-wing.
One of the stabilizingenginesignitedin the firestorm,and the
explosion tore out the door circuitry. Our ships are trapped, and
becausethat section is now under the full solar radiation,wecan't
even go inside to begin repairs.We have to wait until Exis Station
' narpsIhp do.king bay ba.k inlo shadow.
Tionne steadied hersell as the adrenaline ol fear sped her
ienses, made all the colors brighter, the metal gleam.Shelistened
:o the groaningsound of one of the hull plates."lf the station lasts
ihat Iong,"she said.
Luke began to say something, then the ceiling gave a strange
-'reakingnoise.He lookedup, flashinghiseyes.With a hissingsnap,
ne of the triangular colored-transparasteelpanels 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 breezeas theages-old station
::r squealedout through the small opening.
''Quickl"Luke said, grabbingherarm and accidentallydropping
jEveral oi the data plaques."We'vegot to seal ourselvesbehind a
.rlkhead somewhere.'
\rtoo-Detoo bleeped and spun about on his wheels.Luke ges
: ired lorT'onneto followhimbackthewayhehadcome,acorridor
:re had not explored. He took charge immediately,but he didn't
iem to know exactly where he was going. As the escaping air
: ared behind her, she ran after him, cradlingthe precious crystal
aques,wishing she could go back and grab another handful, but
-. sudden changein stress points on the hull of Exis Station had
-nt and crackedanother ofthetransparisteelwindows.Soon,this
.iire chamber would be uninhabitable.exposedto space.
Sheracedafter the Jedi Master,herslender feetskittering on the
(;)

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' November
AdvenlureJouha
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deckplates.They turned down another side passagewhere the
corridor curved off from the main Jedi library and museumtoward
the e.xternalhabitation modules.Luke stopped short in front of a
double-sealed airlock door that bore several brilliant markings.
Tionnethought sbe recognizedthewriting, the languagelrom the
Old Republic,an archaic Jedi script.
Artoo-Detoo stopped at the intersection of a corridor and
twittered to himself as he edended his data connector and accessedanother control panel on the wall.
Luke Sle'walkerignored the droid and ran to the double doors.
"lf this mechanismstill operates,"he said, "We can seal ourselves
in here, wherever it goes." His fingers flew over the buttons as if
instinctively knowing how to operate the ancient machinery.
Tionne,though,felt asudden chill as shelabored totranslatethe
old writing.Droppingherload ol artifacts,shethrew herselfforward,
yelling,"No!'just as Lukesucceededin openingthe airlock.
Clawliketendrils ol high-pressuregreenish-yellowmistsprayed
from the crack as the door groaned open. Luke staggeredback,
coughing,unable to breathe.
Tionne knocked him out of the way and lunged lor the control
panel,pounding buttons. Shehad no idea how to workthe system,
but she needed to seal the door shut again. The poisonous gas
continued to escape.She held her breath, but her eyes burned,
blurring hervision. Tears shimmered across her mother--of-pearl
irises, but still Tionne fumbled with the system. Finally, with a
screech of poorly lubricated gears,the door slammedshut again.
Luke staggeredback againstthe wall and slumped down, coughing, trying to catch his breath from the fumes he had inhaledArtoo-Detoo squealedwith triumph, bleeped and flashed his
lights. At the corridor intersection,another set of bulkheadscame
down lromthe ceiling,closingoffthe passagefrom the decompressionon the otherside, Tionneand Luke were sale from the broken
windows inthe librarynow, and thestation's own air-recirculation
systems rapidly drained the poisonous gas Luke Sl$vralker had
inadvertently let into the corridors.
Lukeusedall his remainingstrengthto catch his breathagain.He
looked over where Artoo stood vr'obblingvictoriously. "Thanks,
Artoo. You thought faster than vre did."
Tionne looked at Luke angrily. "That was one ol the chlorinebreather'shabitation modules!High-pressurizedpoisonousgas.Il
we had run in there, we'd both be dead in an instant," she said,

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Advenlure
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shaking her head. "You're a Jedi Mastr-can't you read Old l!a
Republicscript?"
6
Luke shook his headsheepishly."l haven'tfinishedthosestudies 3
yet." He took a deep breath and controlled himself from coughing
again."ln fact,l haven'tfound a teacherwho could show me yet,"
Then Tionne heard rumbling, groaning alarms.Amber lights llashed
around the double airlock. With an explosive roar, the chlorinebreather'shabitationmoduleblastedfreeof its pinningsandlaunched
awayfrom ExisStation,ejectedin an emergencyrelease.
"Looks like I did more than just seal the dooragain," she said. "l
disengagedtheentiremodulefromthestation."Tionneblinkedher
eyes in astonishment."lt must have been prepped for removal,l
iust went through the final steps-"
The largehabitation modulethumped away,shoving itself from
the main ring directly toward the churning sun-and its doom.
Tionne could feel the station lurch and move off kilter and start to
spin 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, it
pushedagainstthe station, shoving us in the other direction. You
inay have bought us a little time."
"Not very much," Tionne said. She held the historical plaques
nextto her, wondering ifshewould get out of here alive so that she
:ouldwatch them, seethe entire speechNomiSunrider had made,
.nd contribute to the New Republic'sknowledgeol its most pre.ious history.
Luke Sl*ryvalkerstood up with an odd gleam in his eye. "What you
:id gavemean idea," he said."Let'sgetto the centralcontrol hub.Exis
liation may still be iust lunctionalenoughfor what we need to do."

&
F

..'/

The central control hub of Exis Stationwas dark and musty, all
: the glowpanelsshut down when the station had beenmothballed
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 coveringsscraped aside
: corroded tracks to reveal thefiltered dazzleof Teedio'scorona.
\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 their

circuits had been scrambled so much by stray radiation that their
sentientmemorybankswere eilhersenileor insane,
"Get to the controls and do what you can, Artoo," he said,
scanningthe panels."Tionne,you might need to help metranslate
some of this script." He gaveher a wry smile."l don'twant to make
another stupid mistake."
"That'll beafirststep,"the silvry-hairedwomansaid,flashingher
eeriequicksilvereyes
at him. Sheseemedto behavingtroubledealing
with him as a person.At first she had seemedin awe of him, a Jedi
about whom she had heard so much. Now she showed a bit of
disappointmentacceptinghim as asimple humanas well. "Oncewe
lglowwhatthecontrolsmean,weneedto getthem functioningagain."
Luke stood by her side as she analyzed the faded labels and
etched words on the control decks. He ran testing routines and
checkedthemechanisms.He hoped a fewofthe stabilizingrockets
could still sputter and provide enoughthrust to move ExisStation
awayfrom the firestormdangerzone...at leastuntil the dockingport
rotated into shadow again,where Luke could work on the inoperable
bay doors to free his X-wing and Tionne'ssolar-sailship.
Tionnemanagedto call up a diagramthat showedthe stationand
its position.Sheidentifiedthe habitationmodulesstuddedaroundits
expansionspokes.The docking module holding both of their ships
had passed beyond the high point ol the sun's flood, but it still had a
long way to go before it fell into the relative salety of shadow.
Now one of the larger alienhabitation modulesbroiled under the
heat. Il Luke correctly interpreted what the computer said, this
module was filled with water for sea-dwellingcreatures.
Luke looked up as he felt a wrench in his chest again,a sudden
violent outpouringfrom the sun. He looked up to seethe blistering
red giant smoldering, regurgitating, and spraying an enormous
prominence into space like a hose of fire. The dense plasma shot
towardthem in the largestinundationever
Tionne saw it too. "We can't survive that. Exis Stationis goingto
be incinerated."
Luke dove back to the sluggishcontrols, franticallytryingto get
the station rockets functioning again.Most ofthem remained offline, but he powered upthree on the sunward sideso he could give
the abandonedhulkanother push away.ExisStationwobbled,still
slowly drifting from when Tionnehad ejectedthe chlorine-gaspod.
But that small nudge had not been enough to give them sufficient

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velocityand the deadly blast ofsolar fire was hurtlingtoward them

with incredible speed.
"Theserockets arethe onlyones that work," he said.',I'rngonna
fire full thrusters. Maybe they'll give enough of a push to get
ourselves far enough away to survive." He swallowed hard. ..But
vou'd better hold on."
He pushed the buttons, waiting for the thrust. But the control
indicators went red as two engines failed. Then an explosion
shudderedthrough the station.
"Two more fuel pods just exploded." Tionne looked at the
readoutsand then at him. He expectedto seemorefear in her eyes,
but instead her face hardened. "We're dead in space, and there's
nothing we can do about it."
"l'mnotgiving up," Lukesaid. "We just have to understandhow
this place works,"
Hewent tothecontrolsagainand calledup the diagramshowing
the habitation module filled with water. It was now under the
harshest glare of the sun; the skin on its hull must be turnins
chcrry-red by now. Stability alarms flickered on. The diagnosti;
panels and the station integrity would never hold once the
Erslorms peakreachedthem.
,)\
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1997
Joumal' November
Adventu.e
"Artoo, find the emergencycargo doors on this water bayl" he
shouted.
"What for?" Tionne asked.
"We don't have timel" Luke said. The little droid was already
twittering, scanningthe controls, coaxingunreliablecomputers to
qive up one bit ol information. Finally' the codes appeared' and
tuke punched the emergencyoverride opening lhe double_laythe huge volume of
ered ;uter cargo doors to space----xposing
ocean to the blazing llare.
Thousands ol tons ol seawater evaporated in the incandes_
cent heat and deadly vacuum, blasting and blasting Luke
qrabbed one ol the nearby chairs as the entire station shudiered and then began to accelerate outward. The water continued to gush out like a rocket engine, pushinS Exis Station Iarther
and farther away from the sun.
"That's giving us enough velocity!' Tionne said.
"Let's just hope there's enoughwater," l-uke answered'
Exis Station picked up speed and continued to move The
incredible solar flare surged toward them, but it seemed to fall
behindastheydrewawayfrom it.Theabandoned citygroaned and
shuddered, barely holding itsell together.

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Luke continued punching the controls and linally managedto
get a single one of the station-keeping engines to function. The
small rocket added its thrust to the dwindling evaporatingroar of
the escapingocean.
Tionne said with weary sadness,"No doubt that module was
filled 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
beganto loop backwardtoward the sun, drawn byTeedio's gravity
and magneticfields, falling away lrom them.
"Now Exis Station should be sale," Tionne said, "for a few
hundred more years, at least."
Luke smiled at her. "That's plenty of time to come backand look
around all you want-"

Falleninto shadowonceagain,;hedockingbay rapidlycooled

enough that Luke, Tionne, and Artoo could safely reenter it.
Light-footed, Tionne hurried back to the Ior .teefrerto make
certainthat none of its ancintand delicatesystemshad been
damageo.
While Artoo went to run diagnostics on the X-wing with his
diagnostics,Luke inspected the automatic controls that opened
:he huge docking baydoors. The explosion that had ruptured the
st abilizingth rustershad also fusedthe computer guidanceconnec,
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 enclosedchamber.
_We'll just have
to do it manually," Luke said as he slashed
..jlroughthe computer control cables.The mechanism
sparkedand
lumped into dormancy. Nowit would be asimple effort to trigger
Denthe sealeddoors.
ljnable to stop herself,Tionne turned to stare at theJedi blade,
rarveling at it. Her mother--of-pearleyes 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?',
_Becauseyou're
a Jedi," she said. "l know you intend to train

41

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AdvenlLreJourna . November1997

other Jedi Knights,and I lelt you should know whateverknowledge

is stored here on the station."Sheheld up the data plaquesshe had

.a

"l couldn't agree more," Luke said. "My background in Jedi

history lacks quite a bit.'
Tionne inserted one ofthe data plaquesinto 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,flickeringholographic imageol a young,driven-looking
womanshimmered up lrom the player.Shewas slender,dressedin
archaic clothes: her hair was tucked back, serviceable but not
styled. She would have had a soft and lovely face, but tragedies
seemedto have hardened her, added lines to her expression
"Together,we have suffereda great disaster,and now comes a
time for healing,"she said.
"That is Nomi Sunrider,"Tionne whispered."One ofthe greatest
of all Jedi Knights. This is a speechshe gave here on Exis Station,
during the Jedi convocation."
Luke listened raptly as Nomi continued. "War has spannedthe
galaxy,but now it is over. We can never forget the dead-but we
mustalso not lorget the future. We must trust in the Force.As long
as there are Jedi Knights, there is hope "
Nomi continued,butLukelelthis mind reeling."Thosewords are
thousands of years old," he said, "but they still have a lot of
relevancetoday."
"Historyalways has relevanceto the present,"Tionnesaid. She
swallowedhard and looked up at him. "l understandthat you have
a Holocron which is also filled with stories.'
Luke nodded. "True. But that doesn't eYplainyoar 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 ol
thesongs,theballads,as much historyasl could gather,thoughthe
Empire has destroyed many ol the records."
Luke lookedat herwithdeeper interest."Doyouthinkyou could
sharesomeofit?WouldyoubewillingtocometoYavin4whilelset
up my Jedi academy?You can perhaps tell me where I m going
wrong, point me in directions that I should know. Otherwise,l'd
have to spend years gathering the same knowledge that you've
already found."
Tionne stood up straight, swelled with joy. Then she calmed

/'2\
ty

i?.\ -). ''l,\r

tt,t,

)
Adventure
Journa t November
1997
herself and stood with squared shoulders, her chin held high. "l
would be honored. Maslcr Luke S4,walker._
''Who
knows," Luke said, "you may even have a bit of Jedi

potentialyourself."
"That's too much to hope for," Tionne said. Her words were
quiet, awhisper barely mouthed. .,Butyou would never find amore
dedicated student."

l!
6

&)
When theyheard theships approach,Gantorisand Streencame
out oftheshaded temple,lookingup into thehazymiddaysLy.They
saw the silvery shapes of not only Luke Skywalker.sX-wing but
another strange craft as well.
The orangesphereofYavin dominated the horizon,shimmrins
oaslFIorangeslikethe calaract-lilledcye oi a giant.The incomins
rhips passedin front of thp planel.Streenmarveledat lhe silhouelted shapeofthe othership, an ancient craftwith largetriangular
''For
the wind, hesaid. Thesolarwrnd.'
Gantorislooked sidelongat him.',Master Sk',v/alker'sprobably
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 poppedopen the canopy ol his X-wing and climbed;ut,
looking toward Tionne s ship. The slender, silver-haired woman
stepped gracefully down the metal rungs ol the boarding ladder
and stared up at theweathered stone zigguratsin amazement.She
:hen looked at Streenand cantoris.
''This
is Tionne,'Luke said. "She'salreadystudiedmoreJedilore
ard history than anybody I've ever met, so I thought she'd better
_ls

she going to train with us as well?" Streenasked.

Luke gave a secretive smile and glanced sidelong at Tionne.
_\ es,I thinkso.ltested
her on theilight toyavin. Shehasan affinitv
:or lhc Force.and I could use plentyof help in my own teachingj
Tionnesmiled,breathlessinherownexcitement..,soon,Master
:kvlvalker,l hope there will be plentyofother newJediKnightswho
:an start making new history for all of us to tell.,'
Together,theywalked into the cool shade of the GreatTemple.

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43 ,/

,.,ra\;-I);\-}}

1997
Advenlure
Joumal. November

Roleplaying Game Statistics

Pr
.E

Tionne
DDoERITY 2D+2
Blaste.3D'1,dodge4D,pick pocket3D+2,running4D
4D
XNOWLEDGE
Alienspecl6 5D,business
4D+1,cultures4D.1,langua864Drl, pldetary
svstems4D+2.scholaritolklore5D.2,s.holar:Holooon5D,scholarrJedi
h'story6D,st.eetwise5D.1,suNlval4D'2,valueSD
MECIIANICAI-3D+t
operation:
A.chaicstarshipplbnng 4D+I, beastriding4D,musicalinstrument
4D+1,
sensors4D,spacet.ansports
doublenol 6D,.epulsorllftoperation4D+2,
PERCEPTION
4D
storyteUlng
5D,pe.suasion:
Bargain5D*1,con 5D,ganbllng4Dr2,prsuasion
6D.search4D.2.sneal5D
STRf,NGTH2D
Brawling3D,climbing/jumping
3D+I, swimming4D
ITCHNICAL2D
3D,droid p.og.anming3D,
Blasterrepair3D,conputerprogramningAepair
4D.2
lirst a'd 4D,musicatinst.unentrepair:strlngdinstruments
Thb chMctcr

b FoEe6dddve

EqulDnrt Blaster pisiol (4D), double

viol, datapad,ihe Lore Seeker
Note:TlonnesskjUlnpilotingarchaicsta.sbips was not reflectedin the
gamelnlormationanddecriptionoihe.in
TheJe.li Acaden! Sourcebooh.Aamemasters who wish to continue lo use the

be 4
spaceiransportpilotingskilltodes.
hr abifityro pilo( shipsmaydo so.ot lrl
t h y m a y o p t t o u s e t h e t u ( h a l . s t d srhf /i p
p
i l o t i n g s k i l l a d dt oehde r s k il ils l l nr h h if
lt {,
iir,itiiJi[ir"Ja"a'.t'*.r.rriir"ir"t'i
dscript'on. CIh,s modilicanon is olli- ll

ciarerraia.)
l
CaFule: Tionn is a young y'l
scholarwhoseprincipalpassion h )
is lor knowledge,part'cxtany l[ .
that concrning the Jedi.
She learnedmuch ol what
sheknowsfromherglandmother, who passedher (
knowledge to Tionne
through stories rather
than in writtn form.
Tionne s talent as a stG
ryteller and musician
haveenabldhrtocon'

('t)
4t/

\4

-_riL-\ ','/llt
Adventure
Jounat , Novmber
1997
tinue her grandmother'straditionas she passson herdiscoverjes to
others lhrough story and song, keepingajive the hjstories ot a nobter
t i m c .C h a . m i n gg. r a . e l u l a
. n dl i g h lo t s p j r i r ,T i o n n eb r j n s sa s m i l et o t h e
facesol all but the most hardenedof beincs.
She wanders the galaxyin her ship, the ror See&eaa remnant ofless
dangeroustimes, seekinginformation on theJediof the Old Rpublic
and sharingwhatshe learnsinirontier cantinasand tradestations_She
avoids sysremsstillunder the influenceo, Impriatauthorit ies, which
kpepsher from rhemore populouswo.lds. burshe makesenoughin the
smaller sysremsto keep hFr ship running propFrty and conr;ue her
search lor the hisrories o, a bygonera.
She considers what sh has found on Exis Station to b the greatest
collection ofJedllore she has ever seen,particularlythe dat;phque
containingNoni Sunrider'sspeechto th Convocation.But even that
discovery rnay dim in comparison ro what she has discovered about
herselfwhen she met theJedi MasterLuke Sl$v,alker.

r
d
q3

The Lore Seeker

CEfi: Hyrotil Jenlaor{lass in-s}stemsail yacht
Tl?: Modilied sall yachr
Stlll: Archaicstarshippiloting
Crew SLIt SeeTlorne
Ca4o Capaclty:20metric tons
CodluEabla: 2 nonths
Hyp.ddve Mtrldplle. x3
H}?erdrlve Bac&up:xls
SDa.e:4 (sublisbtengines)i
2-3 (saits)
AtDGphere: 280;800kmh
Hull:3D
SlrleldlilD
stan:20/tD

.tkil: Starshipgunnery
SpaceRange:1-3/12/25
Attuosphere Ronge: 100300n / 1.2km| 2_svn

ct)
45,//

J-|,U5

,l)\;,

Advenlure
Journal. Novembr
1997

Capsule:Th Lore Sekerre{lectshercurrent captain well. The aging

ship combines nodern practicality \rith the romance and grace of a
bygonera. When the Lore Seekerarrives in port, old trader captains
sigh wistfullyas they rmmbe. the days of their youth, and evenbusy
port authorities takea moment to admire theslek ship nestledamong
the squat, blocky freightrs.

,!

The origlnal ship was designedby Hyrotil Engineeringas an in-system

pleasureyacht.lt had sublightngines capableol a slow manuverin
cassol mrgency,but its principal meansof propulsion camefrom its
maneuverable solar salls- These sails could rotate relative to the
position ol the neareststellar mass, and the sails' sensitiveradiation
collectors enabld captains to pilot the ship in all but the outermost
reachesof a system.Particularly adept pilots could thread thir way
through systems in which several stars wer locatd, trimming their
sailslustsoto maximizethe thrust provided byonestarwhile minimiziog that of another. Hyrotil even produced a sails-only variant of the
Jemloarfor the sailshipracecircuit, but, sadly,th sport hasnearly died
in the wak of the dissolution of the Old ReDublicand the rise of the
EmDire.
Tionne's Lore Seekerhas beenmodernizedfrom its originaldesign.At
the expenseof cargo area and crew and passengrquaners. th ship
has a smail hyperdrive engine and an up$aded sublight ngine. In
addition,Tionne has placeda singlelasercannonin the noseof the ship
to give the ship some defenseagainst pirates and protection against
astero'ds.Thesensors have also beenmodernized,but not upgraded.
Theshield generatorwill notworkwhilethe sailsare extended,as they
breal 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 maintainsas much ot its
originalappearanceaspossible.With theexceptionof the lasercannon,
a regrettabl necssity,the modifications she has made to the lore
Seehel have not apprectably altered the look the original ships had.
CollectorshaveolferedTionne a handsonesum f or rhe LorcSeehe\ b'ut
sheviews the gracelulold 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)