Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens the Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure Read Online Free PDF Page A

too far away or tightly controlled by the Empire.
    “That’s enough, Artoo,” he said. “We’re going back to Devaron.”
    Artoo whistled an objection.
    “But, Master Luke, our mission—” Threepio began.
    “Send an encrypted message to the fleet,” he said. “Tell them I’ll resumethe retrieval mission after we repair our fighter.”
    Artoo started to hoot at him, but Luke shook his head.
    “No, my mind’s made up—take us to Devaron.”
    That’s where the Force was telling me to go,
Luke thought.
This time I’m going to listen
.

T HE Y-WING FLEW LOW over the thick jungles of Devaron, a ribbon of smoke trailing from its damaged engine. Luke had shushed the droids and sought
to clear his mind of doubts and questions, letting the Force direct the fighter’s flight. It had guided him into the atmosphere on the far side of the planet from the capital and its Imperial
garrison, then across the outback. Below him, thejungle was broken by outcroppings of stone that rose high above the surrounding trees, crowned with enormous vines and creepers. The light of the
late-afternoon sun turned the rivers into threads of brilliant orange and pink.
    Luke turned the Y-wing to starboard. Ahead was another pair of rocky pillars.…No, that wasn’t correct, Luke saw now. This was something different. The rocky pillarswere artificial
structures—towers made by intelligent hands.
    Luke eased up on the throttle, and something began banging inside the battered engine. The tops of the towers were jagged, stabbing into the sky, and their sides were pocked with craters.
    That’s blast damage,
Luke thought.
From heavy weapons. They really took a beating
.
    “Artoo, look for a place to set down near those towers,”Luke said. “This is where we’re supposed to go. I know it is.”
    Artoo hooted urgently. Luke glanced at the screen and frowned.
    “I understand you can barely keep the fighter in the air,” he said. “But this is important.”
    “Master Luke, are you sure that’s the wisest choice?” Threepio asked. “Artoo says he can land our ship, but doubts he can get it airborne again. We must find a placefor
repairs.”
    Luke sighed. Threepio had a point. Surely the Force wasn’t telling him to maroon himself in the middle of the jungle.
    “You’re right—it will have to wait,” he said. “Scan the area for signs of settlement—and listen for activity on Imperial communications channels.”

    The town was little more than a cluster of buildings atop a plateau in the jungle, with a landingfield whose single beacon winked in the gloom of dusk. A massive spire of bare
gray stone rose a hundred meters into the air on one side of the town, crowning a steep, forested slope. On the other side of the plateau the trees had been cleared and the hill carved into
terraced farmers’ fields.
    Luke flew low over the town—his fighter’s data file said it was called Tikaroo—and peered downat the landing field.
    “I mostly see atmosphere fliers down there,” he said. “No sign of any Imperial ships. But there are a couple of star yachts parked off to the side. That one looks like a
SoroSuub 3000. That’s a pretty fancy ship to find near a farm town in the middle of nowhere.”
    “Perhaps the last harvest was particularly rewarding,” said Threepio.
    Luke shook his head.
    “Farmers don’t spend their credits on star yachts,” he said. “They save their money so they don’t starve when they have a bad year.”
    Artoo hooted.
    “Oh, switch off,” Threepio said. “Like you know anything about agriculture, you oversize screwdriver.”
    Luke decided that solving this particular mystery would have to wait—his choice was to set down in Tikaroo or crash in the jungle. He activatedthe retrorockets and set the Y-wing down
with a jolt, followed by a hiss of coolant venting from some punctured reservoir.
    The air was wet and ripe with vegetation. Light spilled from the open doorway of a squat building at the end