Star Wars.

Jedi Prince.

Mission From Mount Yoda.

by Paul Davids and Hollace Davids.

The Adventure Continues...

It was an era of darkness, a time when the evil Empire ruled the galaxy. Fear and terror spread across every planet and moon as the Empire tried to crush all who resisted-but still the Rebel Alliance survived.

The headquarters of the Alliance Senate are located in a cl.u.s.ter of ancient temples hidden within the rain forest on the fourth moon of Yavin. It was the Senate that now led the valiant fight to establish a new galactic government, and to restore freedom and justice to the galaxy. In pursuit of this quest, the Rebel Alliance leader, Mon Mothma, organized the Senate Planetary Intelligence Network, also known as SPIN.

SPIN conducts its perilous missions with the help of Luke Skywalker and his pair of droids known as See-Threepio (C-3P0) and Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2). Other members of SPIN include the beautiful Princess Leia; Han Solo, the das.h.i.+ng pilot of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p Millennium Falcon; Han's copilot, Chewbacca, a hairy alien Wookiee; and Lando Calrissian, the former governor of Cloud City on the planet Bespin.

Lando Calrissian had been forced to abandon his post in Cloud City after gambling away his position to Zorba the Hutt, a sluglike alien who is the father of the deceased gangster, Jabba the Hutt. Having learned about his son's death at the hands of Princess Leia, Zorba now seeks revenge against Leia and the Rebel Alliance. Aided by the Force, Leia and her brother Luke, the last of the Jedi Knights, have managed to elude the wrath of the Hutt-at least for the time being.

The Jedi Knights, an ancient society of brave and n.o.ble warriors, believed that victory comes not just from physical strength but from a mysterious power called the Force. The Force lies hidden deep within all things. It has two sides, one side that can be used for good, the other side a power of absolute evil.

Guided by the Force, and by the spirit of his first Jedi teacher, Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi, Luke Skywalker was led to the legendary Lost City of the Jedi. Deep underground on the fourth moon of Yavin, the Lost City proved to be the home of a boy named Ken, said to be a Jedi Prince. Ken had no human friends and had never before left the Lost City to journey above ground. He knew nothing of his origins and had been raised by a loyal group of caretaker droids who had served the ancient Jedi Knights. Ken has since left the underground city and joined Luke and the Rebel Alliance.

With the Empire's evil leaders, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, now destroyed, a new era has begun. Kadann, the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side, foretold that a new Emperor would arise, and on his hand he would wear an indestructible symbol of evil-the glove of Darth Vader! The prophecy was fulfilled when three-eyed Trioculus, the former Supreme Slavelord of Kessel, recovered the glove.

Upon taking command as leader of the Empire, Trioculus was warned by Kadann that he must first locate and destroy a certain Jedi Prince. This prince, Ken, had learned many dark and dangerous Imperial secrets from the droids of the Lost City. The information, if revealed, could threaten Trioculus's reign as Emperor, and bring it to a sudden and tragic end.

Trioculus failed in his mission, running up against Zorba the Hutt instead. Zorba imprisoned Trioculus in carbonite. He is now frozen in suspended animation, displayed in the Cloud City Museum as a living statue.

One of the more dangerous secrets known by Ken is that three-eyed Trioculus was an impostor who falsely claimed to be the son of Emperor Palpatine. Trioculus was aided in his rise to power by the grand moffs, in a plot they designed to share the rule of the Empire. The Emperor's real three-eyed son, Triclops, has been a prisoner in Imperial insane asylums for almost his entire life.. For some mysterious reason the Empire fears him, still keeping him alive, while denying his very existence.

Luke Skywalker and his ragtag group of Rebel freedom fighters battled armor-clad stormtroopers and mile-long star destroyers. They have even exploded two of the Empire's mightiest weapons: the Imperial Death Stars, which were as big as moons and powerful enough to explode entire planets. Now this band of Alliance heroes has fled from Cloud City in the Millennium Falcon and departed for one of the most scenic planets in the galaxy-Z'trop. There, they are taking in some much needed rest before returning to Alliance headquarters.

Meanwhile, Kadann has summoned his loyal fellow Prophets of the Dark Side. They gather within his Chamber of Dark Visions in the cube-shaped s.p.a.ce Station Scardia, located somewhere deep in the Null Zone of s.p.a.ce. Kadann's latest prophecies are about to bring forth a foreboding sense of doom for the Alliance, a threat that will give rise to a bold, new Alliance mission from a mountaintop on the planet Dagobah-a mission from Mount Yoda!

CHAPTER 1.

Dark Prophecies.

The men in glittering black robes marched single file down the long hallway inside s.p.a.ce Station Scardia.

It was a day of prophecy, a day when the mighty dwarf named Kadann, the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side, would tell his fellow prophets what the future held in store.

High Prophet Jedgar, who was seven feet tall and towered above the other prophets, glanced out of the huge rectangular window inside the corridor. His thoughts were far away.

Peering into the emptiness of s.p.a.ce, Jedgar tried to see beyond the Null Zone, to the star system of the planet Bespin. It was there that the official ruler of the Empire, three-eyed Trioculus, had been frozen alive inside a block of carbonite. Jedgar scowled, embarra.s.sed by the disaster the Empire was experiencing. How could Trioculus have been so easily defeated and taken captive by the sluglike creature, Zorba the Hutt?

But if ever there was a man who knew how to turn disaster for the Empire to his own advantage, it was the aged and mysterious Kadann, Jedgar's evil master.

Slowly Jedgar and the other prophets approached the Chamber of Dark Visions, where Kadann was awaiting their arrival. As they walked through the huge doorway, Jedgar clutched the large black handwritten volume, Secrets of the Dark Side, that he held under his arm.

Facing a glowing red curtain, the prophets bowed, letting their beards touch the cold metal floor. Then they began to mumble a chant: Dark power to Kadann and the Empire . . .

Dark power to Kadann and the Empire. . . .

The prophets then sat up and raised their eyes to watch as the red curtain in front of them slowly lifted. Behind the curtain sat Kadann, master of darkness and leader of a vast network of interplanetary spies. If Kadann's prophecies of the future ever failed to come true on their own, his spies would use any means possible, including blackmail and murder, to make them come true. In that way they a.s.sured that Kadann appeared incapable of ever making an error in his predictions.

Beside Kadann's chair rested a ball made of a black chalky substance. Kadann picked up the ball and crushed it in his hand, casting a dark powdery cloud throughout the chamber.

Inhaling the chalky mist, High Prophet Jedgar was reminded that black was a symbol of victory for the Empire.

Kadann cleared his throat and began to speak. As always when he prophesied, Kadann spoke in short verses that didn't rhyme-verses called quatrains-each one exactly four lines long.

Tormented and frozen alive The three-eyed ruler commands no more.

Never again shall he receive The dark blessing of the Supreme Prophet.

For a moment there was silence.

Then Jedgar spoke in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. "Who then shall command the Empire now, Master?" he asked.

Kadann continued his prophecy: Eyes cannot behold the new ruler, For the ruler is the Dark One of ancient times.

But from this day forth he speaks through me, And I shall speak his commands to you.

Using a laser pen, High Prophet Jedgar burned Kadann's words into a blank page in the book of secrets. Jedgar's heart pounded as he realized that, with those few words, Kadann had just declared himself to be the true spokesman for the source of all darkness in the galaxy.

Spellbound, Jedgar looked up from the book and gazed at Kadann. The Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side continued speaking, with eyes half-closed, as if in a deep trance: Ancient relics of Duro shall you bring To place at my feet and praise me.

In this chamber I will then destroy All that is good in the Force.

Then Kadann's voice became so soft that every ear in the Chamber of Dark Visions had to strain to hear him: When the Dragon Pack, Perched upon Yoda's stony back, Receives a visitor pierced by gold, Then come the last days of the Rebel Alliance.

CHAPTER 2.

The Dragon Pack on Yoda's Back "I have a bad feeling about this," said Han Solo, as he and Princess Leia spotted-a strange creature in the tidewater pool where they were swimming.

"Oh, Han, it's just a septapus," Princess Leia replied calmly, swimming over to Han. "They never hurt anybody."

Leia and Han, along with Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Ken, and their droids, were taking a vacation on the planet Z'trop, one of the most scenic planets in the galaxy. They were on a tropical, volcanic island, where the septapus, with its seven tentacles and five glowing eyes, had approached them in the shallow water along the bright blue sh.o.r.eline. Now it was swimming away as fast as it could go.

"A septapus once picked a fight with me, and he lived to regret it," said Han. "They can get really nasty when they're hungry."

"That's unusual, Han," Leia said, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "I've always heard that the septapus is a gentle species. I've never known one to pick a fight with anyone."

"Tell that to the one that tried to eat me," Han shot back.

"Eat you?" Leia exclaimed in disbelief. "Han, they're vegetarians. They never eat anything but seaweed."

"Oh yeah?" Han challenged.

"Yeah," Leia insisted.

Han and Leia were due to report for a meeting on Mount Yoda, the secret Alliance base on the planet Dagobah. Han had hoped that he would have a chance first to share a few romantic days with Princess Leia. But somehow things weren't going as he had planned. He had a bad habit of turning every conversation with Leia into an argument. Han found it hard to believe that just a few days ago he had been seriously considering marriage.

He glanced toward the sh.o.r.e, where Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca were teaching Ken, the twelve-year-old Jedi Prince, a technique of self-defense.

Leia climbed out of the tidewater pool and walked over to the Millennium Falcon, which was parked on the beach nearby. Just then Artoo-Detoo, the barrel-shaped droid, rolled down the entrance ramp of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.

"Tzzz-bnoooch! Bzeeeee-tzoooop!" Artoo tooted.

See-Threepio, the golden droid, walked over from a grove of trileaf trees. He and the two other droids, Chip and Kate, had been standing there in the shade to prevent their metal circuits from baking in the midday heat. "Oh dear, oh my," Threepio fretted. "Artoo says that he's detected an Imperial vehicle. Look, up on that bluff!"

"It's an Imperial Single Trooper Compact a.s.sault Vehicle," said Luke, his eyes narrowing in the direction Threepio was pointing. "C'mon, Chewie. We'd better check this out."

"Hey, wait for me!" Ken exclaimed, as Luke and Chewbacca cautiously started up the trail that led to the top of the bluff.

"And me too!" shouted Han.

As they approached the Imperial vehicle, Luke noticed no sign of movement. The hatch behind the laser-cannon turret was wide open.

"Roooor-woooof," Chewbacca barked.

"You're right, Chewie," said Luke. "n.o.body's here to operate it. Look, its treads have been split by the sharp volcanic rocks on this bluff."

"Maybe whoever was operating it deserted his post," Ken offered.

There was no laserfire, and they soon determined that the vehicle was indeed empty.

"A Compact a.s.sault Vehicle doesn't necessarily signal the presence of an Imperial base,"

Luke explained. "It probably means just the opposite. The Empire uses these one-trooper vehicles on undeveloped worlds that aren't occupied territory. One trooper in a CAV can control a lot of territory."

Luke crawled inside, lowering himself through the hatch. Then he poked his head out. "I wonder if the missing Imperial trooper is dead," he mused. "Maybe he took a swim past the reefs and drowned in the rough current."

"Or maybe he was eaten by a septapus," Han Solo offered, having caught up with his companions on the bluff. "The type that isn't vegetarian."

Inspecting the interior of the well-armored combat vehicle, Luke found a small pouch filled with what seemed to be the personal possessions of an Imperial trooper: identification, a combat service medal, a personal hygiene kit, and a small gold knife.

Luke also found several data discs. One of them was labeled with a triple "S."

Luke recognized the symbol immediately. "It stands for s.p.a.ce Station Scardia," he said with certainty.

"Scardia!" Ken exclaimed. He knew all about the s.p.a.ce station from a master computer file in the library of the Lost City of the Jedi. "I wonder what kind of trouble Kadann and his Prophets of the Dark Side are up to now."

Luke and Han deactivated the vehicle's weapons; then they took the pouch and data discs with them as they headed back to Princess Leia and the droids. With the discovery of the Imperial Compact a.s.sault Vehicle, their time for relaxing on the beach had come to an abrupt end.

Together they blasted off as Han piloted the Millennium Falcon into hypers.p.a.ce.

Luke glanced over at Ken, who was sitting next to him in the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p's navigation room.

The previous morning, Luke had broken the news to Ken that he would have to start going to school. That meant that very soon Ken would no longer be free to fly from planet to planet with Luke and the others, helping the Alliance. Luke could tell the Jedi Prince was depressed, because the boy was unusually quiet.

Luke turned his attention to the information on the captured data disc. He quickly discovered that the disc contained recent Imperial propaganda, dispatched from s.p.a.ce Station Scardia to the Imperial troops in the field. And the most significant propaganda, as far as Luke was concerned, was the list of the latest prophecies of Supreme Imperial Prophet Kadann.

"What does Kadann predict is going to happen to the Alliance in our war against the Empire?" Ken asked curiously, as he glimpsed the information on the data disc.

"No Imperial prophet has ever predicted that the Alliance would survive even this long,"

Luke explained, "so I certainly don't accept anything that Kadann has to say about the future. Besides, Yoda taught me that even though you may be able to glimpse the future through the Force, the future can change before it arrives. He said, 'Always in motion is the future.'"

"Still," Han commented, "lots of Imperials believe every word Kadann speaks-and some of them will do almost anything to try to make his prophecies come true. He can't be dismissed so easily."

Returning from lightspeed, the Falcon finally slowed and banked, soaring through Dagobah's misty atmosphere. Pilot Han Solo flew the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p toward the very peak of Mount Yoda, the highest point on the swamp-covered planet.

From afar, Luke could make out lights at the mountaintop. They were the lights from the Rebel Alliance military center-a metallic fortress with more than a dozen levels, and hundreds of beaming, glowing signals to guide friendly s.p.a.cecraft through the ever-present clouds.

The fortress was DRAPAC, short for the Defense Research and Planetary a.s.sistance Center.

DRAPAC was also the site of Dagobah Tech, the Rebel Alliance school where Ken was about to begin cla.s.ses.

As the Millennium Falcon surged through the mist of Dagobah, Han Solo and his copilot, Chewbacca, steered an even course toward Mount Yoda's peak.

"How did Mount Yoda get its name, anyway?" Ken asked.

"We used to call it Mount Dagger," Luke explained, "but after Yoda died, it seemed appropriate to rename it in his memory, since this is the planet where he lived."

Luke sighed, feeling a lump in his throat. Every time he returned to Dagobah, memories of Yoda and the swamps where Yoda had trained him to become a Jedi Knight flashed through his mind.

Yoda may have been small in size, but he was mighty in wisdom. Although Luke felt that Yoda was always nearby in spirit, the galaxy was just not the same anymore without him.

The Millennium Falcon gently touched down on its docking bay. Moments later, the ragtag troop of the Alliance departed the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.