Tags:
Fiction,
General,
Science-Fiction,
Fantasy,
Action & Adventure,
Juvenile Fiction,
Fantasy & Magic,
Space Opera,
Life on other planets,
Interstellar Travel,
Leia; Princess (Fictitious character),
Skywalker; Luke (Fictitious character),
Solo; Han (Fictitious character)
Master, you will go blind once again," Emdee said. "This time probably forever."
Once more Baji spoke:
"In my hut I have seeds in store
Enough for all your needs and more
But my hut soon shall burn
Tell me, why does the Empire never learn?"
Panicked, Trioculus ordered Baji to lead them back to his hut at once. The fire Trioculus had caused was about to destroy the last of the rare plants that were the only cure for his blindness!
Quickly they walked down the ramp of the Imperial strike cruiser and climbed aboard a mobile jungle transport vehicle. Baji gave directions. As they neared his hut, the flames were rapidly approaching, threatening to destroy the entire area.
Trioculus got out of the vehicle and hurried on foot toward Baji’s hut. Suddenly one of the dozens of TNTs came roaring through the forest on its fast moving treads, firing its neutron torches.
"No, stop!" Trioculus shouted, as it aimed its front gun right at Baji’s hut. "Stop, I command you!"
But the stormtroopers inside the TNT couldn’t hear the Emperor. The TNT fired again, and Baji’s dry, thatch hut started crackling as it burned.
A very desperate Trioculus went running into the fiery hut to save the kibo plants and seeds. But as he clutched them in his hands and tried to escape the hut, the doorway was blocked by a wall of flame.
CHAPTER 7
The Secret Code of Obi-Wan Kenobi
"If the fires in the rain forest are not contained," Princess Leia said to the members of SPIN, "then this moon of Yavin will face disaster. The rain forests are the source of our oxygen essential for the air we breathe. And thousands of medicines used throughout the galaxy are made from the rare species of plants that can only be found in these forests.
There has been an invasion by a ruthless mutant-a three-eyed slavelord named Trioculus who calls himself the new Imperial Emperor. He is destroying our forests because he is on some insane mission to find the entrance to the Lost City of the Jedi. This evil madman must be stopped!"
With those words, the Rebel Alliance sprang into action. While Alliance fire fighters tried to put out the raging forest blaze, the Millennium Falcon, with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca aboard, searched for Trioculus’s jungle base.
"I should be putting the finishing touches on my sky house right now, but instead, I’m stuck piloting the Falcon on another crazy mission for the Alliance," Han complained.
Not far behind them was a group of Alliance Y-wing starfighters. Their job: To destroy Trioculus’s encampment and spaceships, giving the tyrannical dictator no hope of escape from Yavin Four.
The Millennium Falcon soared over the path of the spreading fire and followed it to its source. Soon Luke Skywalker located a clearing. Trioculus had taken over a Bantha grazing pasture that had been cut out of the jungle. His Imperial strike cruiser was on the ground, surrounded by a group of Imperial escort carriers. The tread marks of dozens of TNTs led away from the escort carriers in all directions.
"There’s his base!" Luke said, communicating with the pilots of the Y-wings. "Go to it!"
As the Y-wings started destroying the grounded Imperial spaceships, the Millennium Falcon fired well-aimed laserblasts at a group of TNTs, taking them out one at a time.
The TNTs didn’t just sit around waiting to be destroyed. They started firing back a barrage of neutron fireballs, blasting away at the low-flying Millennium Falcon. Han and Chewie had no choice but to guide the Falcon to an emergency landing in the forest below.
It was the worst landing of Han’s career. The Falcon was unstable and shaking. It ripped through a maze of tall trees and thick vines, bouncing and sliding as it cut a gouge in the forest floor. "Arrrrroowgh!" Chewie moaned, knowing that the Falcon was now in desperate need of repair.
"Tough break, Chewie," Han agreed after the ship came to a stop. "The Falcon’s in trouble."
Luke, Han, and Chewie made a quick
Michael Cunningham
Janet Eckford
Jackie Ivie
Cynthia Hickey
Anne Perry
A. D. Elliott
Author's Note
Leslie Gilbert Elman
Becky Riker
Roxanne Rustand