The Crystal Star by Vonda McIntyre Page B

children.
    Now, every time anybody told Anakin "no," he would argue by saying, "No krakana!" Jaina did not want
    to scare him. She did not know if there was anything to be scared of yet. She wished she knew how they
    had gotten here. Something bad must have happened, but maybe getting taken away like this was how
    they got rescued.
    She wished Mama and Papa and Uncle Luke and Winter and Chewie and Mr. Threepio were here. Or
    even just one of them.
    Jacen whimpered. Jaina grabbed Anakin's hand and pulled him across the little patch of grass to her
    twin's side.
    "Hold Jasa's hand," Jaina said. Anakin grabbed Jacen's hand in both his little fists.
    Jaina took Jacen's other hand.
    "Jasa, Jasa, wake up," Anakin said.
    "Sleepybones!" Jacen opened his eyes. "Ouch!" he said, just as Jaina said, "Ouch!" She could feel what
    he felt. He could feel what she felt. Jaina's head hurt, like somebody was screaming in her ear.
    Their eyes were filled with tears. Jaina's lower lip trembled. She pressed her lips together to keep from
    crying. Her front tooth wiggled.
    She made the scream and the hurt go away. From her and from Jacen, before he was all awake.
    She was not supposed to use her Jedi abilities unless Uncle Luke was with them.
    Jacen was not supposed to. Anakin especially was not supposed to. Uncle Luke was teaching them what
    to do. How to do it right.
    But sometimes it was hard not to do something. Like now.
    Jacen sat up. Bits of grass stuck to his homespun shirt. Some were stuck in his curly dark brown hair.
    Jaina brushed her hands against her own hair, but she did not find any grass blades. Her light brown hair
    was very straight, so hardly anything ever got tangled in it. Jacen roughed his fingers through his hair,
    leaving it rumpled as usual. The grass fell out.
    "Okay now?" she said.
    "Okay now," Jacen said. He looked around.
    "Where are we?" "Remember what happened?" "We were playing with Chewie--" his--and he jumped
    up--" his--and then he fell down--" his--and then I went to sleep." "Me too." "Skiff!" Anakin said. "Jaya
    forgot the skiff!" "What skiff?" "I saw it!" Anakin insisted.
    "This isn't a skiff!" Jacen said.
    He was right. The room they were in could hold a whole skiff.
    "Maybe the skiff brought us here." "Where?" Jacen said.
    Jaina shrugged. They might be on a spaceship. They might be in a great big building. They might even still
    be on Munto Codru, underground. Jaina and Jacen had explored under the castle. They had found halls
    and caves and tunnels. But they had never found any place that looked like this.
    "Are you okay, wyrwulf?" Jacen bent over Mr. Chamberlain's wyrwulf and stroked its fur. The black
    undercoat shone beneath the rougher, duller black guard hairs. The wyrwulf's eyelids flickered. It
    whimpered and sat up, panting.
    "Good woof," Anakin said.
    Jacen looked around. "Maybe Chewie is here someplace, maybe he's still asleep too." He jumped to his
    feet and walked right off the edge of the grass.
    Nothing happened.
    "See, Jaya?" Anakin said, pleased with himself. "No krakana!" He ran after Jacen.
    The wyrwulf trotted after them.
    Jaina took one step after Jacen and Anakin.
    She stopped. She was sure that if they stayed on the grass, nothing could hurt them. But she did not want
    her brothers to go off alone. She was the oldest, after all.
    She ran back to the center of the safe patch.
    She stooped and pushed aside fronds of feather grass. She was looking for her multitool. She knew it
    was here. She had brought it to the field to look at things with. When Chewie fell down, she had jumped
    up. Then she had fallen asleep. She must have dropped it.
    There!
    Jaina snatched up the tool. She shoved it deep into her pocket to keep it hidden. With her multitool she
    would be safe.
    She ran after her brothers.
    Her feet clanged on the metal floor.
    She caught up to Jacen. He was looking at the wall. Anakin did not bother to look. He kicked it.
    "Bad wall!" "Don't do that, you'll hurt yourself," Jacen