Book 9

The Fall of the Diversity Alliance

Delusions of Grandeur

by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta

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BOULEVARD BOOKS, NEW YORK

To our nieces and nephews whose pride in us is both flattering and energizing

Trinity Workman

Ashley Woehrle

Michael Woehrle

Shawn O'Donnell

Devin O'Donnell

Sarah Jones

Cary Jones

Daniel Jones

Spencer Jones

Amanda Moesta

Brandon Moesta

Wyatt Moesta

acknowledgments

Writing each volume of the Young Jedi Knights requires the help of many different people--Sue Rostoni, Allan Kausch, and Lucy Wilson at Lucas-film Licensing; Ginjet Buchanan and Jessica Faust at Boulevard Books; Dave Dorman, cover artist extraordinaire; Vonda Mclntrye (who created the character Lusa); Mike Stackpole for his help with Evir Derricote and the plague; A. C. Crispin for her help with Aryn Dro and Bornan Thul; Kaisa Wuo-rinen for her beautiful name and for being a faithful fan; Nick Peterson for the joke; Lillie E.

Mitchell, Catherine Ulatowski, and Angela Kato at WordFire, Inc.; and Jonathan Cowan, our first test-reader.

A special thanks to all of the fans and devoted readers whose enthusiasm and support gave us the energy and encouragement we needed to keep writing.

A KNOCK AT the wooden door startled Jaina Solo out of her reverie. She had to blink a few times to orient herself as she shook off memories of recent events.

Her gaze swept around her stone-walled room, across the sleeping pallet and the small work desk by the window slit. Against one wall, neatly stacked containers of spare cyberfuses, salvaged circuit loops, and miniature gears gave evidence of her love for electronics and tinkering.

When Jaina heard the second knock, she glanced toward the arched doorway.

"Oh--come in!" she called, and her twin brother pushed open the newly repaired door.

Jacen's eyes, the same brandy-brown color as her own, shone with barely contained excitement. "Hey, guess what? My gort egg is finally about to hatch! It's making weird noises and rocking around. Wanna come watch?"

It took a moment for Jacen's news to sink in.

"Sure," she said, proud to know that the incubator she had built for Jacen's gort egg--a gift from their father, Han Solo--had worked so well.

"I'll be right there. I'm just finishing up something. Give me five minutes."

Jacen gave her a curious look. The room held no obvious projects that could not wait until after the hatching. "Okay, but hurry--that egg could hatch anytime now. I'm going to get Tenel Ka." He raced out of the room.

Jaina smoothed her straight brown hair back behind her ears and turned to face the tiny holocam that sat in front of her on her desk almost hidden by a mound of spare parts. "Let's try this one more time, from the top,"

she muttered. Then, taking a deep breath, she switched on the holocam.

"Hello, Zekk. Things are pretty quiet here on Yavin 4. I really miss--

well, we all miss you. I wish you'd reconsider and come back to the Jedi academy. Uh-oh. That's no good." She flicked the tiny holocam off, erased her message, and flicked it on again. She cleared her throat and started over.

"How are you, Zekk? I realize you didn't stay here for very long, but things at the academy just haven't been the same since you left.

It seems like such a long time since we last saw you."

Jaina switched off the recorder again. "Oh, great.

That was cheery," she scolded herself. "Guaranteed to send him running to the Outer Rim Territories and beyond."

She closed her eyes and imagined Zekk was right here in front of her...

his emerald eyes alive with intelligence, his almost-black hair tied back at the nape of his neck....

Opening her eyes again, she reset the recorder to the beginning and readjusted her features to look more happy and relaxed. She actually felt calmer then, and switched the holocam back on. One more time. Forcing a twinkle into her eye, she flashed him the same lopsided grin that she and Jacen had inherited from their father.

"Hi, Zekk. Hope you get this hololetter soon. I recorded a few others and gave them to old Peck-hum.

He said he'd send the messages to you, but he couldn't guarantee when you would get them." She cleared her throat and kept talking.

"We're all busy as ever, still at work rebuilding the temples."

She winced at the memory of the Shadow Academy attack Zekk himself had helped to engineer, but plunged ahead and steered her thoughts toward safer topics. "Seems like each time we get settled in, something comes up and I'm off with Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowie on some new adventure.

Not as exciting as the life of a bounty hunter trainee, maybe, but it keeps us on our toes."

She bit her lower lip and thought for a second.

"By the way, nothing fresh to report about Bornan Thul's disappearance yet. In fact, things only seem to be getting worse. We went to a planet called Kuar to look for clues and wound up tangling with a batch of combat arachnids instead. You should're seen the battle! Anyway, Thul's brother Tyko showed up afterward to help us search. That night we were attacked by assassin droids led by IG-88!

We fought in the catacombs, but there were so many droids and combat arachnids! IG-88 snatched Tyko Thul right in front of our eyes--and there was nothing we could do to stop it. Now both Raynar's father and his uncle Tyko are missing."

Jaina shook her head. "I know you're looking for Bornan Thul, too. Have you caught any news on your end?" she added hopefully.

"Wish we could find something good to tell Raynar when we see him next.

Last we heard, he was still in hiding with the Bornaryn fleet--the trading ships his parents own. We tried to send messages, but we can't tell if word got through." She sighed. "Course, I have no idea if this letter'11 get through to you, either.

"Anyhow, if you run into the fleet or get any word about Bornan or Tyko Thul, we'd sure like to hear from you." Jaina stopped, blushed slightly.

"Well, we'd like to hear from you anyway, if you get the chance.

I'm rambling, so I guess I should sign off now. Peckhum will encrypt this message and send it out to all the bars, cantinas, smuggler's dens..."

She grinned. "You know, all those places where scoundrels and bounty hunters hang out. I'll send another hololetter when I have time.

Until then, may the Force be with you." She smiled one more time.

"Bye, Zekk."

Jaina stopped recording and nodded. "That ought to do it--not too gushy or emotional." She really hated having to walk on eggshells when she spoke to an old friend.

Eggshells. Egg.

She had completely forgotten about Jacen's gort egg hatching!

Slipping the hololetter into a pocket of her flight suit, she dashed for Jacen's room.

Only one room of the Great Temple boasted an entire wall of terrariums, incubators, cages, and aquariums on sturdy stone shelves: the room occupied by Jacen Solo. On most days at the Jedi academy, Jacen spent an hour, or sometimes two, feeding and caring for his various pets, using the Force to send them pleasant thoughts and to sense anything they needed.

Today, however, he was interested in only one creature--one he had never seen before.

"The shell appears... flawless," Tenel Ka said, holding her hand above the spheroid egg.

Under the light of the incubator, the pearly pink shell gleamed softly.

Jacen glanced at the warrior girl who crouched beside him watching the egg.

The egg made a sudden rocking movement, but Tenel Ka didn't flinch.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Jacen said.

"A beautiful color," she remarked.

"Uh-huh," Jacen said, though at the moment he was admiring the red-gold of Tenel Ka's hair, some of which was loose and flowing, the rest caught up in braids that fell forward over the shoulders of her green lizard-hide armor.

"May I touch your egg?" Tenel Ka asked. She nodded toward the object, which had once again begun to rock and emit clicking noises.

"Uh... sure," Jacen said.

"Did I miss it?" Jaina burst into the room. "Did it hatch yet?"

The pearly egg gave a soft thump-thump and rolled up against one wall of the incubator.

"Looks like you're right on time." Jacen moved a bit closer to Tenel Ka, ostensibly to give his sister a better view of the incubator's front panel.

Jaina glanced around the room before plopping herself on the floor beside him. "Where's Lowie?" she asked.

"He has not yet arrived," Tenel Ka said.

"I told him about the hatching," Jacen added. "He said he needed to stretch his legs, but he should be here any minute." The pearl-pink sphere in the incubator bounced a few times and made a louder ticking noise.

"Come on, little one," Jacen coaxed, leaning closer to the incubator.

"You can do it."

A moment later, a warbling bellow could be heard just outside the smashed window opening in Jacen's room. All three young Jedi turned just in time to see Lowie swing through the opening in an uncharacteristic display of swashbuckling bravado.

Part of the window area had been demolished during the Shadow Academy attack, but since there was no major structural damage, Jacen was in no hurry to get it repaired. He liked the fresh air.

Now the lanky, ginger-furred Lowbacca landed neatly on the flagstones, smoothed a large hand over the black streak of fur that ran up over his head above the left eye and down his back, and roared a Wookiee greeting.

Tenel Ka raised an eyebrow and glanced at Lowie. "A fine entrance, friend Lowbacca," she observed. "I will remember it."

"Dear me, I do hope we haven't arrived too late," Em Teedee said.

The little silver translating droid was clipped to his usual place on Lowie's syren-fiber belt. "I've never had the opportunity to witness a gort hatching before."

As if on cue, the gort egg made a sharp clacking noise. Lowie crossed the room in three long strides and crowded between Jacen and Jaina on the floor.

The gort egg knocked loudly, bounced, and rolled until it rested against the front panel of the incubator.

"Good," Jacen said softly. "That's it--you've almost got it. A few more times now."

Click-click. Thunk. Clack.

Jacen touched his fingers to the transparisteel.

"There's a warm, friendly place waiting for you," he whispered.

With one more click and another thunk, a tiny fissure appeared in the surface of the shell.

Lowie gave a thoughtful rumble. Jaina drew in a sharp breath and bit her lower lip. Tenel Ka reached out and placed her hand just next to Jacen's on the clear front panel, her fingers barely touching his.

Jacen felt soothing, welcoming thoughts join his own and flow toward the egg.

The egg tapped and bounced. Another crack appeared.

A loud noise at the doorway interrupted them as one of the New Republic soldiers stationed on the jungle moon during the reconstruction activities stuck his helmeted head into the room. He blinked, looking somewhat confused. "Excuse me, I was trying to find a refresher unit."

The soldier made a hasty retreat and continued urgently down the hall.

The young Jedi Knights turned their attention back to the hatching egg.

"Oh, I can scarcely bear the suspense!" Em Teedee said in a hushed voice.

"Master Lowbacca, if I might impose on you for just a moment? I should like to get a closer look."

Lowie unclipped the little droid from his belt and held him up to the incubator for an unobstructed view. The gott egg bounced and rocked, bumping itself repeatedly against the clear front panel.

"Come on, you can do it," Jacen whispered.

Crack. A piece of shell, perfectly triangular in shape, fell away from the side of the egg. Then the egg jumped and rolled until the triangular opening was on top. Suddenly a downy ball of blue fluff poked through the hole. The fluff parted, like two halves of a curtain pulling aside, to reveal an inquisitive sapphire-blue eye.

"Hey! Hello there," Jacen said gently.

The sapphire eye went wide, then nictated a few times, as if it could not believe what it saw. It swiveled on its down-covered eyestalk for a complete view of its surroundings. Another ball of fluff appeared through the hole in the egg, and a second sapphire-blue eye blinked furiously at them. The two fluffy eye-balls bobbed up and down on their stalks, looking first at each other, then around the incubator. When the two eye-balls were joined by a third puff of downy blue that blinked sleepily at them, Jaina giggled.

"Oh my!" Em Teedee said. "How many ocular appendages does this creature possess?"

Jacen shrugged. "Just three... I think." Tenel Ka's hand dropped away from the incubator, and she looked at Jacen in surprise.

The eye-balls bobbed wildly. A hollow tapping sound came from inside the remaining eggshell.

Finally the shell broke apart into a dozen pieces, revealing the tiny gort hatchling.

Blue fluff clothed every square centimeter of the creature, except for the wide, flat beak set a third of the way down its little body.

The rounded body, as large as Jacen's fist, perched atop a pair of short legs, supported by broad, flat feet. The three toes were splayed for balance, and the gort's thin prehensile tail curled into the air behind it. The tip of the tail reached forward to scratch one of the gort's eyestalks, as if it were confused.

"Hello, little girl," Jacen said. He turned to the others.

"Don't ask me how I know it's a girl. I just do."

Lowie gave an urf of laughter, and tapped one finger against the incubator's front panel. All three of the gort's eyestalks retracted into its body, and the eyes nictated shut, so that the creature looked like a lump of blue down.

"What is her name?" Tenel Ka asked.

All three eyestalks extended again and the sapphire eyes blinked open.

"She blinks a lot," Jacen said. "I think I'll call her Nicta."

Jacen slid open the feeding chute in the incubator; several insects and grubs he had collected cascaded into the feeding dish. "There you go, Nicta. Morning meal."

With a warbling sound, Artoo-Detoo entered Jacen's student quarters.

"Artoo, what brings you here?" Jaina said.

The silver, blue, and white barrel-shaped droid beeped and twittered a rather long explanation.

"Uh, Em Teedee?" Jacen said, still preoccupied with his new pet.

"Would you mind translating on this one?"

"Why, certainly, Master Jacen. How could I mind? After all, translating has always been my primary function, though it's seldom used these days.

I am fluent in over six forms of communication. Why, in my prime, I--"

"Em Teedee," Jaina cut in.

"Yes, Mistress Jaina?"

"The translation please?"

"Oh, yes. My associate, Artoo-Detoo, was sent by Master Luke to request that you report to the landing field to assist Master Peckhum in unloading supplies for the Jedi academy and for the New Republic defensive forces. He is due to arrive in just over four standard minutes."

"Old Peckhum's coming here?" Jaina asked.

"Hey, that's great," Jacen said. Lowie jumped to his feet.

"Perhaps Peckhum will bring news of Zekk," Tenel Ka said.

Jaina blushed slightly and looked away, and Jacen knew the same thought had occurred to hell "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked.

Jacen turned back to the incubator. He picked up the perfect, triangular shard of eggshell, put it in his pocket, and crooned to the little hatchling. "Don't worry, Nicta. We won't be away long." Then he and his companions raced together out to the landing field.

.Though they'd seen it twice before, Jacen found it hard to get used to Peckhum's new ship, the Thunderbolt. It still seemed strange to see the old spacer flying the modern midsized cargo hauler.

The gleaming entry ramp extended, and several more New Republic soldiers accompanied Peck-hum down to the ground.

"Hope you don't mind some company," Peckhum said as the guards headed for their briefing rooms.

"Had to drop off supplies with the ships up in orbit, and these five needed shore leave something' fierce.

I also brought someone else with me. Chief of State Organa Solo wanted to make sure he got here safely."

Jaina's eyes lit up. "Zekk?"

Peckhum sighed. "Naw--wish it were. I have been getting' messages from Zekk fairly regular, though. Doesn't say much, 'cept that he's learnin' a lot about bounty huntin'."

Jaina slipped the holorecording out of her pocket and pressed it into Peckhum's hand. "Will you get this message to Zekk for me?"

"Sure will," Peckhum said. "Least we know the people we love are safe,"

he added. "Which is more than my passenger can say."

"Raynar?" Jacen guessed.

Peckhum nodded. "I'm afraid that boy could use a good deal of cheerin' up right now."

Lowie rumbled his willingness to help and headed up the ramp.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of him," Jaina assured the old spacer.

"This is a fact," Tenel Ka said. "We will remain close to him while we unload supplies."

"We'll find a way to get his mind off his worries," Jacen said, following Lowie up the ramp.

'Tll even tell him some of my best jokes."

"Uh-oh," Jaina said as she and Tenel Ka hurried on board. "We're all in trouble now."

A SHOOTING STAR streaked across the velvety blackness of the night. From his safe perch in the treetops, Lowbacca looked up hopefully, wondering if it was a ship arriving unannounced. Perhaps a stranger, perhaps another addition to the New Republic defense fleet... perhaps his friend Raaba.

His golden eyes studied the trail of light--but it dwindled to a fiery sparkle. Just a small meteor. The complex gravitational paths in the Yavin system sent many fragments of rock and dust into the fourth moon's orbit.

It wasn't Raaba, then. Not yet.

With a grumbling sigh, Lowie leaned back against the cushioning branches of the Massassi tree. Another false alarm. Returning to his routine of scouting the night sky, he let his thoughts and his memories drift again...

He had come here alone after dark, disregarding the dangers of Yavin 4's wilderness. Lowbacca was a powerful Wookiee, and he could take care of himself. The jungle moon's predators couldn't hold a candle to the nightmares he'd already encountered in the lower forest levels on Kashyyyk.

Trying to hide his inner turmoil from his friends Jacen, Jaina, and Tenel Ka, Lowie had climbed out of the partially rebuilt Great Temple in the middle of the sleeping period. Lowie had hauled himself along the dew-slick stone blocks until he reached the place from which he could spring across to the wide boughs of the nearest Massassi tree.

From there, he climbed higher until he reached the treetop canopy.

He spread the shiny leaves and found himself a spot where he could sit back and look up into the vastness of stars. Where he could keep watch.

His friend Raaba was out there... somewhere.

Lowie touched his syren-fiber belt where Em Teedee normally hung.

He had left the little droid switched to recharge mode on a shelf in his quarters.

Em Teedee would have scolded him for going out alone at night, and undoubtedly would have talked too much when Lowbacca simply wanted peace and quiet.

Below, he heard a large animal crashing through vines and underbrush.

Plant-eating creatures chittered through the leaves, searching for tender night-blooming flowers. He heard the howls and snarls and snapping twigs of some violent struggle, but the commotion was far away. A nocturnal stalker had found its food for another day.

It seemed long ago that Lowie had undergone his ordeal, risking his life in the lower Wookiee forests.

It had been an important rite of passage to secure the gossamer fibers from the jaws of the carnivorous syren plant. And he had done it alone.

Lowie had been cocky, so foolishly brave, but he had come back a hero, earning new respect from his fellow Wookiees. That newfound standing had won him the freedom to choose what he wished to do with his life. More than anything else, Lowie had wanted to be a Jedi Knight....

He hadn't dreamed, though, that his bravado might prove deadly for his friend Raabakyysh, a chocolate-furred Wookiee female who was a close companion of Lowie's sister Sirrakuk.

Normally, comrades would accompany Wookiees during this coming-of-age ritual. But Raaba had been so impressed by Lowie's solo feat that she had attempted to duplicate it. If Lowbacca could do it alone, Raaba reasoned, then she needed no assistance either.

Raabakyysh had vanished that night, leaving behind only a bloodied backpack. Lowie and Sirra had mourned the loss of their friend.

Everyone had presumed her dead.

But on Kuar, while Lowie and the other young

Jedi Knights were searching for Bornan Thul in the ancient ruins, Rabba suddenly reappeared. She had been hiding all this time, trying to find her own way in life.

During her long absence, Raaba had joined the Diversity Alliance, a political movement she believed in fervently. Its leader, a Twi'lek woman named Nolaa Tarkona, demanded restitution for all the damage inflicted by humans upon alien species.

When Tyko Thul offhandedly insulted Tarkona in conversation, Raaba had taken offense and departed from Kuar.

Now Lowie feared his long-lost Wookiee friend might not come back--at least not anytime soon.

But he still held out hope.

From his perch in the trees he perked up again as he saw another flaming streak cross the sky. The burning white line sliced the night.

But it was just another shooting star.

He sighed again and settled back to wait. It would be a long night.

The next morning, his body aching from his long vigil, Lowie went to the comm center and requested permission to send a message to his family. The request was quickly granted. All Jedi trainees had the freedom to communicate home whenever they wished.

While Lowie secured a transmission link back to Kashyyyk, he checked the chronometers on the wall and calculated the time shift, hoping he wouldn't wake his family in the middle of the night. He saw that it was early morning back on the forest world; both of his parents would be at work in the high-tech computer fabrication facility.

Lowie's sister Sirra answered the call; her image glowed brightly before him. She stood back in surprise, opening her mouth in a wide grin as she recognized her brother. Thanks to her radical trimming and cutting, Sirra's fur stood up in bristly shocks. She shaved it in various patterns at the wrists, ankles, knees, and elbows to give herself a distinctive look, an individuality that many younger Wookiees preferred. They each designed their own fur patterns, trying to establish a new identity for the youth of their species in this time of prosperity after years of Imperial oppression.

No one else in the comm center had any idea what the two barking, growling Wookiees were saying to each other, so Lowie did not worry about eavesdroppers. He had wanted to let Raaba keep her secret, give her time to deliver the news herself, but he needed to talk to someone--someone who understood.

Warning Sirra to keep his words in strictest confidence, he told her he had good news and bad news. Lowie stumbled around at first, unsure of how to begin. Finally, he blurted out that Raaba was alive, then breathlessly summarized how the chocolate-furred Wookiee had shown up on Kuar.

Sirra was overjoyed to hear the news and voiced a yelp of ecstatic surprise. She followed with several minutes of joyous questions and demands for details, interspersed with low crooning and cries of delight.

When Lowie explained how Raaba had vanished again, though, Sirra gave a concerned growl. But even that sad note was not enough to diminish her joy at learning that Raaba still lived.

Lowie's own thoughts remained in turmoil. No matter how often he contemplated Raaba, he still couldn't make up his mind how he really felt about her, what he hoped might happen between them, or what he expected her to do.

After leaving appropriate greetings for his parents, Lowie signed off. He shuffled down winding stone corridors on the way back to his quarters.

With a long, throaty sigh, Lowie picked up the translating droid and switched it on, finally ready to face the day's training activities.

Em Teedee bubbled happily. "Ah, Master Low-bacca, good morning to you! I must say, I feel thoroughly recharged. How utterly restful it is when we're not out having dangerous adventures."

With a click, Lowie attached the little droid to the glossy fibers of his belt.

"I trust you slept well yourself, Master Lowbacca?" the droid asked.

Lowie gave a noncommittal grunt, which Em Teedee took as a yes.

INSIDE THE BUSTLING, hollow asteroid of Borgo Prime, signs along the walkway fluoresced and flickered, leading Zekk back to Shanko's Hive. The dark-haired young man had received his first bounty assignment inside that popular cantina--and he had come back empty-handed.

Zekk rehearsed various explanations. The blue-skinned bartender, Droq'l, had hired him to find a scavenger and his cargo, but Fonterrat, the missing scavenger, was dead and his cargo of precious ronik shells destroyed. He had no idea how his employer would react to the bad news.

How would Boba Fett have handled this situation?

Zekk asked himself. Fett, one of the most respected (and feared) bounty hunters in the galaxy, would waste no energy on lengthy explanations or excuses. Fett would come straight to the point. Zekk decided he would have to do the same.

Tossing his ponytail over his shoulder, Zekk stopped before the entrance to an enormous cone-shaped building with horizontal ridges like smooth circular waves up its sides. He took a brief moment to perform a Jedi relaxation technique, something Master Skywalker had taught him--not Brakiss of the Shadow Academy.

Then, projecting all of the confidence a professional bounty hunter ought to feel, Zekk strode into Shanko's Hive.

Air clouded with exotic scents and flavors enveloped him in a pale gray haze. Though the interior of the hive cantina had no flat edges, the contrasting islands of sound and silence, of light and dimness, gave the illusion of dozens of shadowy corners. A quick glance at the bar told Zekk that the insectoid proprietor Shanko had emerged from hibernation and was in no mood to humor fools.

Brief, confident, professional, Zekk reminded himself. His steps did not falter as he walked toward the bar and tossed a credit chit on it.

"Osskorn Stout," he said without preamble. "I have business with your bartender."

Dark, foamy ale sloshed onto the counter from the flagon Shanko thunked down in front of him. As Zekk scooped up the tankard to take a gulp, one of Shanko's many glossy arms roughly swept out to mop up the spill while another gave an abrupt jerk, indicating an area to Zekk's right.

Still drinking thirstily, he looked over to see Droq'l in conversation with a patron who stood just outside the circle of light cast by the bar's globe-lamps.

Zekk nodded his thanks, and with renewed confidence strode toward the three-armed bartender.

As if he had an extra eye in the back of his head--which he did, Zekk now recalled--Droq'l turned just as the young bounty hunter approached, tankard in hand.

"Did you find what I sent you for?" the bartender asked, his blue face eager.

"Fonterrat is dead. On Gammalin."

Droq'l grimaced, showing his shiny black teeth.

"Gammalin, huh?"

Zekk shrugged. "Fonterrat accidently exposed the colony to a plaque. He was imprisoned after the plague hit. The frightened colonists destroyed his ship and burned his cargo, but the sickness swept through the colony anyway. It killed every human."

"And Fonterrat wasn't human," the bartender mused, "so he starved alone in prison after those colonists ruined my shipment of shells." A glint of pleasure replaced the disappointment in his eyes.

"At least it was a slow, lingering death."

Zekk nodded warily. He reached into his vest pocket and produced the holocube that contained the scavenger's final message.

Droq'l watched the entire holomessage, sighed, and spread all three hands in a gesture of resigned acceptance. "Just as well. I might've been tempted to terminate Fonterrat myself for his incompetence."

Then, to Zekk's pleasant surprise, the bartender paid him in full.

"Glad to see a young trainee with some presence of mind," he said.

"You finished what I sent you to do, and you had the good sense to bring back proof of it. That's more than I could say for some bounty hunters two or three times your age."

A thoughtful look crept over the bartender's blue-skinned face, and he drummed the fingers of two hands on the bartop. "Come to think of it, I may have another job for you, if you're interested. Got a client who's looking for a bounty hunter. Wants someone resourceful and trustworthy--

but unknown. That might just be you."

"You seem to be a good enough judge of character," Zekk said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"After all, you've judged me correctly."

The bartender chuckled at his bravado. "You'll take the job, then?"

Zekk didn't dare let his excitement show. "Of course. May I speak to him?" He felt a sense of exhilaration. He'd fully expected to come away in disgrace, without pay, after reporting his failure... but now, because of his sense of honor--something he'd feared the dark side had stolen from him forever--a new job had dropped right in his lap!

The bartender grinned. "He's pretty particular, even a little skittish--I think he'll want to talk to you himself before you're hired."

Zekk could learn nothing for certain about his prospective employer.

Sitting at a low table in the shadow of a staircase that spiraled up the inner wall of Shanko's Hive, Zekk stared at the... creature in front of him.

"My name is Zekk," he offered. "I hear you need a bounty hunter."

"Yes. You come well recommended," the creature replied. "Call me... Wary.

Master Wary.

Yes, that will do."

Zekk shrugged in amusement. "Whatever."

Wary's voice was masculine, but synthesized. His body and arms were engulfed in gray robes and furs that made it impossible even to guess the creature's species or probable shape. He wore a holographic mask set to randomize so that his features changed constantly. A reptilian tail coiled out from beneath the robes and furs, but this could have been part of a disguise. For all Zekk knew, he could have been talking to a female Wookiee, a Jawa on stilts, or even his friend Jaina Solo.

The thought of Jaina made him smile again, and he patted his vest pocket, in which rested two message packets--one from Jaina and one from old Peckhum; the bartender had found them for Zekk in the general-delivery message area behind the bar.

"And who exactly do you want me to find, Master Wary?" Zekk asked, deciding on a direct approach.

Wary looked around, as if to be sure no one was listening in.

Zekk glanced unobtrusively toward the nearby tables. A Devaronian played Sabacc with a pair of disreputable-looking spacers; a Ranat consulted a Hutt information broker; a furry white Talz and a hammerheaded Ithorian drank colorful intoxicants and sang duets to the accompaniment of a nine-stringed wrist harp. No one paid any particular attention to Wary.

"I want you to find a man who's been kidnapped," Wary said, though the mouth of his disguise mask did not move. "His name is Tyko Thul?" Zekk's entire attention snapped back to the creature in front of him.

"Did you say Tyko Thul?"

The holomask blurred and shifted. "Yes, Tyko Thul," Wary repeated. "He was recently abducted by several assassin droids. I want you to find him."

"Every other bounty hunter in the galaxy is out looking for Bornan Thul,"

Zekk pointed out. "Are you sure it's Tyko you want?"

Wary nodded. "The two are brothers. I have reason to believe the disappearances are... related--just as the two men are."

An interesting twist, Zekk thought. Finding one brother might lead to information about the other.

After failing to find Fonterrat, Zekk had intended just to strike out on his own, looking for clues to Bornan Thul, hoping to repair his reputation. But this direct commission was a much better prospect.

"I'll take the assignment," Zekk said. "How much are you paying?"

Wary quoted him a generous figure. "But only if you find him."

Zekk tried not to show his surprise at the high amount. But then, Wary stood to make a lot more credits than that if Zekk retrieved information that led him to Bornan Thul.

"But that is not all there is to the task," Master Wary cautioned.

"I also need you to send a message for me. I have other urgent business to attend to that prevents me from sending it myself. I will give you instructions on how to transmit it." He slid a hololetter packet across the table toward Zekk. "Do not try to listen to the message. It would mean nothing to you."

"That's it?" Zekk accepted the packet and slid it into his vest pocket.

"Not as simple as it would seem," Wary said.

"The message is for the Bornaryn fleet. All the ships went into hiding shortly after Boman Thul's disappearance, and they are impossible to locate."

"Then how do you expect me to get the message to them?" Zekk asked, instantly suspicious.

"I ask only that you broadcast the message to the following locations."

He listed several sites along major trading routes, many of which Zekk was already familiar with from his days with the old spacer Peckhum. "I-will meet you here again in ten days to learn of your progress--and to pay you if you have already achieved both of your goals."

Zekk relaxed again. He still wasn't sure why Wary would want to send a message to the Bomaryn fleet, though. Did he hope to flush them out of hiding? To question Thul's employees and family members in hopes of locating him?

Just as Zekk opened his mouth to ask, an explosion erupted at a nearby table. Zekk blinked, trying to see what had happened as a cloud of white smoke billowed outward from where the Talz and the Ithorian had been sitting.

Droq'l bustled up with a disgusted snort to sweep the broken and steaming glasses away. "I told you two not to let your drinks come into contact with each other," he growled in exasperation. "You should know they're chemically incompatible!"

With a big paw, the Talz batted at a smoldering patch of its white fur.

Amused, Zekk turned back to the conversation with his new employer--only to find Master Wary gone.

Apparently the assignment was made and the interview had ended.

Zekk shrugged. He had his commission, and he knew what to do. He might as well stay to view the new hololetters from Jaina and Peckhum.

Calling Droq'l over, Zekk ordered another Osskom Stout, drew one of the message packets from his pocket, and slid it into the reader slot on the table in front of him. He waited eagerly for the image of Jaina to appear--then blinked in disappointment.

ENCRYPTION PROPRIETARY MESSAGE UNREADABLE Why would Jaina or Peckhum have sent him a message in code that no standard reader could decipher? He realized his mistake as he pulled a second hololetter from the pocket of his vest and then a third.

He had accidentally tried to view the message from Master Wary.

But how could the disguised man expect an encrypted message to get through to the Bornaryn fleet? And how would the fleet read it unless they already knew the key?

Perhaps they did, Zekk mused. Maybe this was a code that belonged to the Bornaryn trading company.

Wary might be a former employee... or even Bornan Thul himself!

As the thought occurred to Zekk, he suddenly saw the truth of it.

He felt it in his bones, in the background music of the Force that sang through all things. Master Wary's synthesized voice had held an urgency when he spoke of the need to find Tyko Thul, and a tender quality when he spoke about the fleet.

Zekk shook his head to clear it. Bornan Thul had been here, right in front of him!

He jammed the message packets back into his pocket and jumped to his feet just as Droq'l approached carrying a fresh tankard of ale in his middle hand.

"Which way?" Zekk asked, breathless. "Where did he go?"

The bartender didn't pretend he had no idea what Zckk meant. He jerked his head toward a small door in the wall to the other side of the stairway.

Dashing out into a tiny alleyway, Zekk looked left and right, but saw no sign of his new employer.

His heart raced with the realization that he had been less than a meter away from the most sought after bounty in the galaxy! Although he knew Thul was probably far away by now, he kept looking.

Farther down the alley, Zekk was not surprised to find a pile of gray robes and furs along with a prosthetic reptilian tail. Bornan Thul had shed his disguise....

THE T-23 HAD never been so crowded, but Lowie was proud of the way his skyhopper handled the load.

While other engineers continued to repair the ancient pyramid, he and Jaina had fixed the damage the skyhopper had sustained in the Shadow Academy attack, then augmented the T-23's engines and stabilizers. Eager to test the improved craft, Lowie offered to take his friends out for a spin.

Because Raynar was so downcast about the disappearance of both his father and his uncle, none of the Jedi trainees had the heart to exclude him.

The young man had appeared in the hangar bay wearing a plain brown jumpsuit, instead of his usual robes of garish purple, scarlet, yellow, and orange.

Now, as they soared above the canopy of Mas-sassi trees, the skyhopper's performance was flawless, even with so many extra passengers. Lowie roared a question back to his friends.

"I think my foot's asleep," Jaina answered from the cargo well, where she had volunteered to sit.

"But other than that, I've probably got the most comfortable spot on board. "

"Hey, I'm fine," Jacen said. He and Tenel Ka were jammed together on the passenger seat.

"I am experiencing no discomfort," Tenel Ka reported.

"Uh, this is fun," Raynar said stoically. He was wedged sideways in the passenger footspace with his knees drawn up to his chest. One of his elbows rested on the few remaining square centimeters on the passenger seat.

"Indeed, Master Lowbacca, I am also quite comfortable.

Thank you for inquiring," Em Teedee answered last of all.

Once he'd traveled far enough from the Jedi academy's traffic of transport ships, construction crews, and military vessels, Lowie decided there was little danger in a bit of creative flying. With Raaba gone, he'd been feeling restless for days and needed a safe way to release his pent-up frustration.

Lowie woofed a warning for everyone to secure their crash webbing so he could test the T-23's maneuverability. He zigged and zagged across the treetops, eliciting squeals and laughter from his passengers, though he did detect one or two of them applying their Jedi relaxation techniques.

He brought the T-23 about in a tight curve above the trees, spiraling in until everyone on board was thoroughly dizzy. Then, amidst giggles and applause, he took the skyhopper into a steep climb.

After pausing in midair, he put the craft into a steep dive toward the Massassi trees. Lowie pulled up just before crashing, then leveled out to skim across the treetops.

Jacen whooped, and Jaina shrieked with the thrill. Raynar spoke in a rather timid voice. "I've never done that before. It was fun."

"This is a fact," Tenel Ka said.

"Quite exhilarating, I,d say," Em Teedee put in, "so long as the appropriate safety factors are applied."

"We'd better be getting back," Jaina yelled from the cargo well.

"Tionne asked us to help her out with lessons this morning."

"Yeah, it wouldn't be fair to leave her alone with all the new trainees, since Uncle Luke is off on an adventure again," Jacen said.

"Besides, I want to check on Nicta--I'm not sure how much care a baby gort needs."

Lowie turned the skyhopper back toward the Great Temple, feeling some of his tension relieved at last.

The Jedi instructor Tionne asked all students to gather in the practice courtyard just outside the temple. With Master Skywalker off on another mission for the New Republic, she had taken over the lessons. Above, workers continued to repair the roof platform on the damaged pyramid.

Joined by his friends, Lowie climbed up one of the courtyard's retaining walls. Though the afternoon was warm and humid, a light breeze rustled the jungle leaves, and Lowie could almost imagine he was alone in the treetops--or perhaps with Raaba--listening to the tales of heroes who fought to defend what they believed in.

Tionne sang an ancient ballad--one of her favorite methods of teaching--

about young Gay and Jori Daragon, a Force-talented brother and sister who had given up on their Jedi training. They'd tried to make their fortune by exploring the galaxy, but instead stumbled upon the ancient Sith Empire and sparked a war that nearly toppled the Old Republic.

Lowie closed his eyes and let the story grow like a secret garden around him. Tendrils of tale and melody twined together in his mind, blooming with ancient splendor. He wondered if Raaba would enjoy this tale, too.

He might tell it to her... if he ever saw her again.

Then, all too soon, the music ended. A murmur of appreciation rippled through the crowd of Jedi trainees and the few New Republic guards who had stopped to listen. Reluctantly, Lowie opened his eyes and looked up at the Jedi teacher and historian.

"Gay and Jori had meant to discover many things--but not what they actually found," Tionne said in her melodious voice. "Remember that what you look for and what you find may be two different things." Her fine silvery hair floated on the breeze, and her enormous mother-of-pearl eyes seemed to look directly at Lowie.

"As your Jedi training progresses, many causes will call for you to use your powers on their behalf.

But how can you know if the cause is one you should champion? You must learn to listen to the Force, and the Force will guide you. Hate and mistrust, domination, revenge--even glory--these are not the things a Jedi fights for.

"A Jedi defends justice, protects the weak from tyranny, and rescues those in harm's way--but always with the guidance of the Force.

If you do not believe this in your heart, you are not ready to become a full Jedi." Tionne's delicate face dimpled into a smile. "But do not despair: there is time. Time to learn. And that's why we are all here: to learn together. "

The Jedi instructor then dismissed them all to continue their independent lessons.

Jaina's mind was completely exhausted after hours of practice sessions with various Jedi techniques.

As always, she had made sure the subtle exercises strained her abilities to the limit--that was the best way to learn and grow in the Force.

Tenel Ka rolled both shoulders to stretch the kinks out of her muscles.

Perspiration from the late afternoon heat glistened on her face and neck.

"Very satisfying effort," she said, "but I believe I could use a swim in the river."

"Hey, great idea!" Jacen said. Raynar hesitated, then agreed.

Jaina nodded. The suggestion brought back memories of the last time she and Zekk had gone to the wide greenish-brown river that ran through the jungles.

"Sure, it'd be refreshing."

At the river's edge, Jacen, Jaina, and Raynar all stripped down to their minimal exercise gear. While Tenel Ka peeled off her boots and her lizard-hide armor, Lowie unfastened the syren-fiber belt from his waist, with Em Teedee still attached, and set it aside.

The little droid gave what sounded like an aggrieved sigh. "So, I'm simply to be left behind. Unwanted. Unneeded."

"We could try to float you on the water, Em Teedee," Jacen said with a roguish grin.

"Oh my, no, Master Jacen!" the little translator cried. "I'm certain I should sink and be lost forever."

Jaina cast the droid an apologetic glance. "If you want, I could figure out a way to waterproof you. A few gaskets, some aquasealant..."

"I should like that very much, Mistress Jaina!" Em Teedee said. "It's a wonder I hadn't thought of it before."

Tenel Ka, already poised on a rock, dove into deep water, and Jacen immediately followed her.

Raynar waded through the shallows, while Lowie climbed a boulder and leapt into the water with a Wooldee bellow.

Taking up the challenge, Jaina plunged in after him. Soon all of them were splashing and enjoying themselves. Jaina, Lowie, and Tenel Ka took turns diving to the bottom of the river to bring back interesting water creatures for Jacen to examine.

Even Raynar seemed to release his worries. After the boy had been humiliated in the river during the battle with the Shadow Academy, Tionne had taken it upon herself to teach him how to swim better. Now he enjoyed spending time in the river.

While the Wooldee was on one of his dives, Jaina surfaced and heard the sound of a ship's engines.

Looking toward the landing field, she saw a small two-passenger star skimmer circle in front of the temple and then head straight for the river. Jaina recognized the Rising Star, Raaba's ship! Jaina gave a tentative wave as the skimmer sped toward them, no more than two meters above the water's surface.

Lowie burst up from the river bottom holding a six-clawed crustacean.

With a speed and precision that Jaina had to admire, the Rising Star spun once, zipped up the riverbank, and came to a neat landing just clear of the mud. Jaina stifled a giggle at her friend's roar of surprise and recognition.

Before Lowie could recover from his shock and make his way to shore, the chocolate-furred Wook-lee woman had climbed out of her skimmen Shedding unnecessary pieces of equipment with each running stride, she headed directly for Lowie.

"Oh, do be careful," Em Teedee exclaimed as Raaba's foot narrowly missed him on her way into the river. The two Wookiees swam toward each other, bellowing and growling and barking at each other like a pair of nek battle dogs.

Jaina chuckled as she picked out a few of the guttural phrases--things like "I thought I'd never see you again" and "I told you I'd find you"--

but most of the interchange was too fast for her to follow. Watching the two splash and frolic in the water, she felt a pang. Jaina couldn't help but wish that Zekk was here, too. She had so much to say to the young man who kept trying to find a way to erase his dark side past.

She realized that Raaba and Lowie must also have a lot of things they wanted to say to each other.

Chiding herself, she said, "Jacen, Raynar, Tenel Ka--I think we need to get back to the Great Temple now. Lowie can come back whenever he's ready?" Tenel Ka, treading water beside Jacen, caught on quickly.

"This is a fact," she said.

Jacen shrugged. "Okay." He swam with the warrior girl back to shore.

Raynar gave Jaina a questioning look, but did not argue.

Turning back toward the river, Jaina yelled, "Hey, Lowie, will you be needing Em Teedee for anything?"

He rumbled a negative and cocked his head, as if to inquire why two Wookiees would need a translating droid.

"Okay, I'll take him to my room, give him a tune-up, maybe figure out how to waterproof him."

But the two Wookiees didn't hear her. Lowie and Raaba were already splashing together toward the far side of the river....

For the next two days, the Wookiees were completely absorbed in each other as they went for climbs in the jungle and flew around the small moon in the Rising Star or in Lowie's T-23.

Jaina found it sweet to see Lowie so smitten, but disturbing as well.

Aside from perfunctory greetings, Raaba made no effort whatsoever to converse with anyone but Lowie and one or two alien Jedi trainees. She seemed to find humans not worth the bother.

Jaina knew, of course, that Raaba was angry at Tyko Thul for insulting Nolaa Tarkona and the Diversity Alliance just before she'd left Kuar, but Jaina had hoped the chocolate-furred Wookiee would want to get better acquainted with Lowie's friends.

That did not prove to be the case.

It came as an even greater shock, then, when Lowie announced that he was leaving the Jedi academy, at least for a while.

Raaba intended to return to Kashyyyk for a reunion with her best friend, Sirra, and to announce to her family that she was still alive.

She had invited Lowie to come along so that he could visit his own family and so that she could spend more time talking with him about the Diversity Alliance on the way there and back.

He would be gone with Raaba for no more than a few weeks, Lowie assured them all. Then, without ceremony, he packed a small satchel of belongings and necessities for the trip and clipped his lightsaber to the glossy, woven belt. Since he would have no need for a translator among Wookiees, he asked Jaina to take care of Em Teedee for him while he was gone.

"Do be careful, Master Lowbacca," Em Teedee called forlornly from Jaina's hand. "I shall await your return with great anticipation."

Lowie made his goodbyes and climbed into the Rising Star. Jaina, Jacen, Raynar, and Tenel Ka stood back, and Raaba's little skimmer took off.

Tucking the translating droid under one arm, Jaina watched the ship dwindle into the distance and vanish into the cloud-streaked skies.

Lowie was gone.

THE DAYS ON the jungle moon seemed longer and emptier.

Jacen missed Lowbacca. It wasn't as if the young Wookiee had never gone away before, but this was different--unplanned, an interruption of their normal Jedi training schedule. It also hurt that Lowie had so easily chosen other priorities and left his friends behind.

Jacen felt uncomfortable not knowing exactly when his friend would return to them. He had no logical reason to worry, but the situation was disquieting all the same. His sister had seemed upset as well.

She and Lowie had been planning some modifications to Tenel Ka's ship, the Rock Dragon. But without the ginger-furred Wookiee to assist her, Jaina made excuses to put off the project, even though Jacen, Tenel Ka, Raynar, and even Em Teedee had offered to help. Jacen hoped she would perk up soon and change her mind.

Luckily, the antics of his little gort hatchling often cheered Jacen.

"Here, Raynar. You hold her," he said, handing the long-tailed ball of blue fluff to the other boy.

Raynat pushed back the sleeves of his plain brown Jedi robe. A bit gingerly, but with obvious pleasure, the young man held Nicta in the palm of his hand and stroked her with a forefinger. The little creature wound her tail around the Alderaanian boy's forearm and trilled happily. Raynat was beginning to show a genuine, though timid, interest in Jacen's numerous pets.

Nicta chose that moment to leap from Raynat's palm with her tail still wrapped around his wrist.

She dangled upside down, clacking her wide, flat beak. Raynar laughed.

"She'll probably be a good tree climber like Lowie. Too bad he can't be here to see this. I think he'd enjoy it."

"Yeah," Jacen agreed. "I was just thinking the same thing."

A knock sounded at the door and, without waiting for a reply, his sister popped her head in.

"Hi, Jaina," Jacen said. "Need us to work on those sublight engines yet?"

She shook her head. "Comm center just received a message from Uncle Luke.

Said he's coming back with a surprise and wants the two of us to meet the Shadow Chaser out on the landing field. No idea what it's all about."

"Well, well, well," Raynar said, standing up and putting Nicta back in her terrarium. He had been careful not to intrude too much on the activities of the other young Jedi Knights. "I've got some studying to do back in my room. I'll catch up with you later."

Luke Skywalker's surprise, as it turned out, was a visitor.

"Lusa!" Jaina exclaimed. Her mouth opened and closed a few times in amazement as she looked at the beautiful alien girl who stood before her-

-a Centauriform, with the lower body and four legs of a horse and the upper torso of a humanoid.

Jaina reached out to hug the girl. Just seeing Lusa again brought back a flood of memories of when she, Jacen, their brother Anakin, and the Centaur girl had all been kidnapped by power-hungry Heth-rir, nearly ten years before. To increase his own power in the Force, Hethrir had hoped to sacrifice a Force-talented child to a being named Waru near the Crystal Star. Jaina and the centaur girl had formed a bond during their captivity and had helped each other resist Hethrir's attempts to control them.

Though all the children had been rescued, Jaina still had occasional nightmares about the ordeal.

As she pulled back to look at her old friend, though, she saw torment in Lusa's wide, round eyes.

She wondered if their past experience had scarred the Centaur girl more deeply than it had the Solo children.

A bit shyly, Jacen extended his arms to squeeze Lusa's hands in greeting.

"Hey, you've... urn, changed." He stumbled a bit over his words.

"What've you been doing all these yearsT' The red-gold Centaur child had grown into a beautiful young woman. The color of her mane and flanks had deepened from a coppery color that nearly matched Tenel Ka's hair to a rich reddish-brown like polished cinnamon. The dapple markings were gone from her flanks now, and her curly mane fell down her bare torso nearly to her waist.

Transparent horns with smooth ridges like carved ice grew through the cinnamon curls on Lusa's forehead.

"It's good to see you again," Jaina said. "Have you come to study at the Jedi academy?"

Luke Skywalker had been watching the reunion with sober interest.

Now he spoke up as the Centaur girl shifted uncomfortably from hoof to hoof and flicked her long tail. "Lusa has a lot she wants to tell you, but let's get her settled first."

Jaina invited her to join them for the midday meal, and Lusa accepted in a husky voice, her eyes not quite meeting Jaina's. Then she followed Master Skywalker quietly into the Great Temple, her hooves clopping on the flagstone floor.

At mealtime, Jaina was surprised to find that her uncle had arranged for the young Jedi Knights, as well as Raynar, to eat with him in his private quarters rather than in the large dining hall. She soon understood why.

"Lusa has a painful story to tell us. I felt it might be easier if She started with a very small group," Luke said. "A group of friends."

The meal was already on the table, and the companions seated themselves.

When Lusa folded her horselike legs beneath her and sat up at the table, her head rose to the same height as Luke's.

After introductions, Tenel Ka immediately offered a toast of friendship to the new arrival, while Raynar stared tongue-tied at the beautiful Centaur girl.

Luke scanned the tiny group for a moment, as if searching for Lowie.

Jaina watched her old friend Lusa glance nervously around the table, then look down for several seconds. "Master Skywalker thinks it's important that you all hear this," Lusa said. "And I agree." Her voice, though barely audible at first, carded a husky, mesmerizing quality.

"Ever since we were kidnapped... when we were children"--she looked at Jacen and Jaina--"I've had an angry place inside of me. Even when I returned to my family, they never understood that anger. Maybe I didn't either. As I grew up, I had a hard time making friends, a hard time trusting anyone... until two years ago.

"I met others who knew what it was like to have their lives disrupted, how it felt to be violated. They understood my anger--and shared it. They had dedicated themselves to making life better for the downtrodden of the galaxy. They offered me a place working for justice and fair treatment of nonhuman species. They were fervent and idealistic. And so was I. I admired what they stood for.

"For the first time in many years, I felt accepted and needed.

Not only did I have a place where I felt I belonged, but I was doing good for others. With each individual I helped, I saw a pattern emerging.

In one way or another, they all had been taken advantage of or harmed by humans... like Hethrir."

She spat the name.

Jaina blinked in surprise, leaving her food untouched.

She wasn't sure what she had expected of Lusa's story, but it hadn't been this. The tone reminded her of some of the things Raaba had told Lowie back on Kuar.

"My new friends showed me how human domination had caused our problems.

It was so clear, I wondered why I hadn't seen it before," Lusa continued.

She seemed distant, as if talking in a dream.

Jaina felt her stomach tie itself into a knot, and she exchanged glances with her brother: Certainly Hethrir had been human... but so was Jaina, and so were the people who had rescued the children from him. How could the Centaur girl have blindly accepted such a pernicious generalization about humans? With a sinking heart, Jaina waited to hear what Lusa would say next.

"The more I understood how humans had trampled my species and the other aliens I was helping, the greater responsibilities I was given in our group.

Our leader began sending me on covert missions. I saved alien lives, rescued slaves, helped to overthrow tyrants. I knew I was doing good work, and for a good reason.

"Then, about ten days ago, our leader gave me an assignment to wipe the navicomputers of a geological survey ship, Through carelessness and neglect, its crew had destroyed a forest on the planet Kaisa and had caused the extinction of the Buro, a species of ethereally beautiful sentient insects. My job was to make sure that the survey ship's navicomputer would never again guide its geologists to a new world they could destroy.

"I eagerly took the assignment. I had been so indoctrinated by the group that I cringed at the very sight of the humans whose computer I had been sent to sabotage. But for some reason--maybe because one of the geologists had a daughter who was the same age as you were when I knew you, Jaina... I--"

Lusa's voice broke, and she paused before going on. "As I watched the geologists boarding their craft, whose computer I had just sabotaged, I realized that after their very first hyperspace jump no one aboard would have any idea where they were.

When they emerged from hyperspace it was entirely possible that they would be lost in uncharted territory--or worse yet, that they might come out at the center of a star or at the edge of a black hole. I could be responsible for killing all of them."

Lusa's body went rigid, and she shuddered at the memory. "I had never stopped to think exactly what I was willing to do for the cause I believed in. Was I willing to kill? And if so, what must the victim's crime be to deserve that death? Should I judge each one, or could I trust my leader to judge them for me?" She shuddered again and tossed her mane of glossy cinnamon curls. Her crystal horns glinted in the light.

"I couldn't go through with it. I stopped the geologists and told them what I had done. I planned to surrender myself to the proper authorities.

I was shocked when, instead of hating me, they were grateful. After their navicomputer was repaired, the geologists offered to take me anywhere I needed to go. I went with them to Coruscant. I was afraid to contact the Chief of State of the New Republic--or you--directly, but I recalled that Master Skywalker had suggested that I consider studying at the Jedi academy someday. I sent him an urgent message, and he came to Coruscant to get me." Lusa fell silent.

Luke Skywalker nodded. "I think Yavin 4 will be a good place for you to recover and to get a sense of perspective, to let your mind heal."

"You are welcome among us," Tenel Ka said.

Jaina reached out to touch her friend's arm. "I'm glad you remembered we're your friends, Lusa," she said. "I'm happy you're here."

Raynar said in a bemused voice, "I never knew anyone could hate us so much.

.. just because we're humans."

Jaina bit her lower lip. A memory tickled at the edges of her mind and she asked, "This group that you were a part of, Lusa--did it have a name?"

The Centaur girl sighed. "A silly, idealistic name. One that sounds like it includes everyone. But that would be a false assumption." She shook her mane.

"We called ourselves the Diversity Alliance."

Jacen yelped. "Hey, Lowie's friend Raaba is part of the Diversity Alliance. "

Luke Skywalker looked at them in alarm.

Jaina swallowed hard. "And Lowie left here with her. Alone."

ZEKK BROUGHT THE Lightning Rod down through the atmosphere, confident that no one would disturb him... at least not here. This planet was the farthest place from anywhere he could possibly find.

The charts called the bleak world Ziost. Glaciers covered much of what had once been a towering outpost of the fallen Sith Empire, so that only a few broken turrets still protruded from the landscape of ice. Frozen tundra crackled blue under the shimmering auroras dancing above in the sky.

Ziost was too inhospitable to harbor any sort of colony and the Sith ruins too decayed to shelter pirates or other refugees who might seek to hide from the scrutiny of authorities.

It was, however, a good place for Zekk to do his work, undisturbed and alone. Without risk of detection.

The disguised man on Borgo Prime--whom Zekk was certain must be Boman Thul himself--had commissioned him to transmit a coded message to the Bornaryn merchant fleet. In the wake of Thul's disappearance and the kidnapping of his brother Tyko, the fleet had gone into hiding and now hopped at random through hyperspace to keep from being found.

Zekk had to communicate with them somehow.

His bounty depended on it. "Master Wary" had offered suggestions, places from which he might attempt to send his message--and Zekk intended to try them all. He would not give up easily.

The Lightning Rod headed toward a broad shelf of ice under a twilit sky.

Fissures ran across the frozen plain, and slushy water burst through the cracks, propelled by tidal pressure. Trusting his instincts, Zekk found a safe place to land and shut down all systems: he would leave no bright sensor traces for spying eyes, however unlikely their presence might be.

Working in silence, he rigged up his transmitter, fed in power from the engines to give his signal a spectacular boost--and began sending Boman Thul's message.

Zekk wasn't sure what the coded burst said, but now he could hazard a guess: Thul would most likely explain his disappearance, announce that he was still alive, or perhaps estimate when he expected to come home.

He first sent the signal to the Bornaryn headquarters on Coruscant, on the chance that Aryn Dro Thul might check in for urgent news. It only made sense that she would have made arrangements to learn if her missing husband reappeared.

Zekk didn't know why the man was so desperately hiding, but Thul was obviously frightened. He did understand why Thul might go to Shanko's Hive in disguise to hire a bounty hunter--a little known bounty hunter like Zekk. Since Thul had such a high price on his own head, he would be foolish to send the message himself. Any glory-seeking bounty hunter might spot the signal and race to its source fast enough to capture him.

Being a bounty hunter himself, Zekk was paid to assume such risks.

Even so, he did not intend to be easy prey for his competitors.

Everyone in the galaxy seemed to be looking for Bornan Thul--including Zekk... until he had unwittingly been hired by the very quarry he sought.

On the other hand, Thul had already set up another meeting with him, so perhaps when the time came, Zekk could capture the wanted man after all and take the whole bounty. Then he would prove himself a bounty hunter to be reckoned with.

The ethical question was a hindrance, of course.

Next he sent a duplicate message to other places 'where "Master Wary"

thought the merchant fleet might pick up transmissions. Zekk couldn't be certain exactly how Thul's scheme worked, but the merchant might well have made plans for such a contingency. Their business had boomed, and successful traders always lived with the threat of being held for ransom.

Leaning back in his creaking cockpit seat, Zekk transmitted the message to a fourth and final set of coordinates. He had fulfilled his obligation, everything "Master Wary" had asked him to do. Time to go.

As he reached forward to power up the Lightning Rod, he felt suddenly uneasy in the cockpit. Were his rarely used Jedi senses sending him a warning?

Or was his imagination just running away with him?

He decided to leave Ziost as quickly as the battered old ship could carry him. Repulsodifts blasted, melting a crater into the plain of ice. Zekk let the ship hover as he contemplated his course.

Next, he would begin his search for the abducted brother, Tyko Thul.

The ship's rear sensors sounded an alarm. Zekk's hand flew over the control panels and spotted another ship fast approaching--a souped-up hunting craft made from new and old components pieced together.

The intruder soared out of hyperspace without slowing, barreling directly toward the Lightning Rod. A warning tingle along Zekk's spine supplemented the flashing red lights on the control panels.

The newcomer had already powered up his weapons systems--and Zekk was in his sights.

A gruff, phlegmy voice came over the comm system. "I have my targeting computer locked in on you, Boman Thul. Surrender--or I'll simply destroy your ship and take your remains for the bounty."

The Lightning Rod protested as Zekk flew a rapid evasive maneuver.

He shouted into the voice transmitter.

"Wait, who is this? I'm not Thul, I'm a bounty hunter, just like you are!

My name is Zekk!"

After a pause, the bounty hunter's voice came over the speakers again.

"Never heard of you, Zekk... but you've no doubt heard of me. I am Dengar. Now surrender your ship. I must interrogate you regarding Bornan Thul."

Zekk streaked across the glacial plain, pushing the Lightning Rod's engines to greater speed. He certainly knew of Dengar, one of the most fearsome hunters in the galaxy.

Shadowy circles surrounded deep-set eyes on Dengar's pasty face, giving him a skull-like visage.

His head was wrapped in bandages to cover the scars and perpetually seeping wounds from a hideous injury long ago. Once a crack flier in a swoop gang, he had suffered a severe accident caused by a young Han Solo, and later his brain had been cybernetically enhanced by the Empire.

Dengar was also one of the elite hunters Darth Vader had hired to track down the Millennium Falcon after the battle of Hoth.

This was indeed a man Zekk did not want to cross--but neither did he want to surrender for a long and intense conversation with the bounty hunter.

"I can't tell you anything about Bornan Thul," Zelc, said, still flying at breakneck speed. "By the Creed you can't fire on another bounty hunter unless I am obstructing your own target."

Dengar replied, "I interpret your resistance as such an obstruction. You transmitted a coded communication for the Bornaryn fleet through relays to known rendezvous points. I planted numerous drone buoys to intercept any suspicious signals, then waited. You triggered my alarms; therefore, I intend to seize your data banks and study them for myself."

Any other person might have laughed, but Dengar simply let the pregnant silence extend for several seconds. At last he said, "I will have that information, whether you give it willingly--or force me to rip it from you."

Without waiting for a reply, the veteran bounty hunter fired a pulsed ion cannon, a disrupter that was as high-powered as it was illegal to own.

Zekk had not imagined the device could be made with such devastating output.

The ion blast brought down all of Zekk's shields.

Luckily, the Lightning Rod's life-support and engine systems ran off of a separate protected power array and survived. The Lightning Rod was now defenseless, however. One more shot would cripple it completely.

Zekk swerved upward from the base of a sheer cliff of ice that bristled with rock outcroppings.

Dengar's ship howled close behind, demonstrating the bounty hunter's cybernetic reflexes. Zekk leveled off at the top of another frozen plateau and streaked along, low to the ground.

Dengar launched a small concussion grenade, and Zekk braced himself for impact, knowing his disabled shields could offer no protection against the explosive. The detonation would destroy his rear engines and send him to crash and burn on this abandoned ice-age world.

The grenade struck his starboard hull... but no explosion followed. He heard only a dull metallic thud, as if a hammer had smacked his cruiser.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief at this incredible stroke of luck--

Dengar had fired a dud!

Master Skywalker at the Jedi academy had said there was no such thing as luck or coincidence.

There was only the Force, which moved in mysterious ways... and Zekk wondered if he could subconsciously have used a trace of]edi powers to deactivate the explosive.

Before the bandaged bounty hunter could launch another attack, though, Zelck gritted his teeth and threw every possible ounce of his piloting skills into getting away. Right then: Dengar fired laser cannons, but Zekk intuitively knew what to do, knew how to react. He jinked the Lightning Rod to the left, then curved up in a loop, elbowing back to the right, zooming in a serperitin maneuver that neatly avoided the bounty hunter's pattern of strikes.

Zekk felt the fluid instincts move through him, like a Jedi Knight using his lightsaber to deflect blaster bolts. The entire ship seemed a part of Zekk.

He dodged and hopped, ducked and swerved, perfectly avoiding the rapid-fire attack. Like a Jedi. It simultaneously frightened and exhilarated him.

"You may not have heard of me, Dengar," Zekk said, "but you will.

One of these days, I'll rival even Boba Fett."

In an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Dengar roared at him over the comm systems.

The ice-bound plain swept beneath him, reflecting the booms from his high-powered engines. Zekk got an inspiration--a desperate idea that just might allow him to escape....

He powered up his forward laser cannons and deployed them in a wide arc, firing low and directly ahead. Using all of his weapons without slowing for an instant, Zekk strafed the frozen glacier field.

His superhot lasers bombarded the snow and ice, slicing open a molten wound as he flew onward.

The meltwater flashed into steam that billowed up in huge evaporating clouds and froze again into icy mist crystals. Fog swelled to fill the air behind him like an ever-expanding smoke screen. The cloud slammed into Dengar's ship, blinding him.

Zekk pulled the Lightning Rod up, rocketing straight toward the edge of the atmosphere. Below, he left the befuddled bounty hunter's ship enveloped in condensing steam.

Knowing he had only a few seconds, he let the Force flow through him and punched numbers at random into the navicomputer. He'd have to trust in his inordinate "luck" to select a course by chance that wouldn't take him through the core of a star or down the gullet of a black hole.

As soon as he escaped the gravitational pull of the planet, the starlines of night elongated to welcome the Lightning Rod as it shot forward. The entire planet of Ziost shrank to a tiny pinprick behind him as the nothingness of hyperspace swallowed him up.

Dengar would never know what had hit him or where Zekk had gone.

ARYN DRO THUL stood on the busy bridge of the flagship Tradewyn, gazing out into space. She turned slowly to get the full 360-degree view of her fugitive fleet. A simple gown of midnight blue shot with silver draped around her like the star-dusted vista of space. Her fingers plucked absently at the material of her garment.

Even surrounded by the entire Bornaryn fleet,.she felt alone.

Her husband was missing, her brother-in-law kidnapped, her son Raynar returned to the Jedi academy.

The merchant fleet looked to her for guidance and reassurance, but Aryn had no one to rely on but herself. As the wife of Bornan Thul, she was their leader, and she could not let them--or herself--down.

She would not let them down.

Aryn forced herself to stop fiddling with her gown. She excused the communications Officer from his post. Sitting down at the station, she quickly calculated the coordinates for sending a routine message to her staff on Coruscant, composed a dispatch, and set the message pod's origin memory to scramble as soon as it left the Tradewyn.

Taking care of business details like these kept her busy, kept her mind off her own troubles.

Aryn sent a similar message pod every few days to corporate headquarters on Coruscant. The reports were encrypted with a proprietary code, based on a complex combination of music, light, and speech, which Aryn and Bornan had devised together while they were still students at the university on Alder-aan, a long time ago.

In this way, she managed to communicate with the fleet's administrative staff, who also sent out regular messages in encrypted scattershot packets, hoping that the fleet would intercept at least some of them. So far, Aryn had only obtained the messages numbered two, seven, and fifteen. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and launched the new packet with its instructions for the staff and a special note to her son Raynar.

Then Aryn scanned the hyperwave frequency bands in hopes of finding one of the message bursts sent from Coruscant. A minute later, her efforts were rewarded when she located a transmission packet carrying a Thul family identifier. Grateful to finally have some news from headquarters, Aryn quickly retrieved and decoded the message while her navigators and helmsmen calculated a new jump through hyperspace.

Staring off through the viewports while she waited for the usual audio message to begin, Aryn Dro Thul was astonished to see a tiny hologram appear in the air above the comm console.

Bornan Thul, himself.

It was her husband, alive and well! The image of his face seemed thinner, and he wore the rough-woven garb of a Random trader, but he seemed healthy.

The figure seemed to stare directly at her as it spoke. "My dear wife and son, I've been hiding for so long now that you may have feared me dead.

But I am very much alive--for the moment at least. In my tradings I learned of a conspiracy so powerful, so... evil, that the fate of all humanity may depend on its prevention. I can tell you no more without placing your lives in great danger. I will not contact you again until I'm certain this threat is no longer to be feared. I hope I can survive long enough to do it. My thoughts are, as always, only with you."

The tiny figure raised its hand as if to turn off a recording device, then seemed to think better of it.

In a low voice, Bornan Thul added, "Perhaps I have too rarely told you in the past, but I love you both."

The image dissolved into static.

Silent tears of relief, joy, and loneliness ran in rivulets down Aryn Dro Thul's face. She reset the holomessage and played it again from the beginning.

Lifting a finger to touch the tiny image in front of her, she listened.

Again. And again.

FOR THE TENTH time Lowie adjusted his crash webbing and rearranged his limbs in the Rising Star's cramped copilot area--but his fidgeting was due more to nervousness than discomfort. In contrast, Raaba's movements were spare and confident, like a well-rehearsed dance." Her deft fingers punched in coordinates and flicked switches, preparing for the skimmer's jump to hyperspace.

Away from Yavin 4, away from his friends at the Jedi academy.

Lowie's fingers tapped restlessly against one hairy knee, until Raaba told him to relax. He tried folding his hands and leaning back in the seat, but that felt too stiff and awkward. He reached down to check Em Teedee, only to remember that he had left the little droid behind with Jaina on the jungle moon. The tension inside Lowie just had to get out.

He jiggled one leg but decided it might irritate Raaba, and so he stopped. He settled for simply crossing his arms over his chest.

It was ironic that Lowie should feel so self-conscious alone with Raaba.

She had been his sister Sirra's friend, but Raaba had always admired him when they were growing up--had even attempted her rite of passage alone because that was the way Lowie had done it.

But now... the chocolate-furred 'Wookiee seemed different.

Poised, independent, self-assured.

He was not sure what to make of her anymore. Even the freshly washed strip of red cloth she wore cinched above her ears as a headband made him wonder how well he knew her--or had ever known her. She carried an energy and a sense of direction that he couldn't help but admire. 'Lowie supposed anyone would find those qualities attractive.

A tunnel lined with star streaks dilated in front of them as Raaba launched the Rising Star into hyperspace.

Lowie shifted his weight and began to assess his agitation and restlessness with detached interest.

He had always been confident, too, priding himself on being a deep thinker; he knew he could figure this out. Reason and logic came naturally to him--and he had no rational cause to be nervous, just because Raaba had changed.

In the past, however, deep thought and discussion had not really been something that he and Raaba had shared. Lowie wondered if she had changed in that respect, too. Well, they were going to be in hyperspace for quite a while, so there was no better time to find out. He started the conversation by telling Raaba that it seemed she had done a lot of growing up since they'd known each other on Kashyyyk.

The Wookiee woman found grim amusement in his observation and answered with a bitter growl of laughter. It would have been hard not to grow up after the atrocities she had heard of and witnessed firsthand. She and Lowie had both led sheltered lives in their beautiful tree city on Kashyyyk, she explained. Even the dangers of the lowest forest levels were nothing compared to the barbarous cruelties the alien species of the galaxy had suffered.

This was what the Diversity Alliance had taught her. And most of those atrocities had been committed by humans.

That was why the Diversity Alliance was so important as a political force for change, Raaba went on, the passion in her voice rising. The Alliance accepted and championed the rights of all the species who had suffered indignities at human hands. For example, the Empire had never been punished for its enslavement of Wookiees. The Diversity Alliance vowed never to allow such a thing to happen again.

All species had been affected by the human-loving Empire's repression and prejudice, in fact.

Raaba spoke with fire in her voice. Her eyes flashed, and Lowie couldn't help but realize how large and beautiful those eyes were--or how the shaved patches at her wrists, elbows, and neck contrasted with her luxurious dark fur.

Clearly, Raaba had given some thought to the Diversity Alliance and what it stood for. Lowie was impressed by her spirit and enthusiasm... but also disturbed by the conclusions she drew.

Humans were not the only species that had ever mistreated another, he pointed out. Surely she couldn't believe that all of the ills of the galaxy were the sole responsibility of human beings?

Raaba pondered for a moment. No, she admitted that other species had also mistreated one another.

The Diversity Alliance abhorred any abuse of alien species--even by each other.

Lowie rumbled thoughtfully, then asked if the Diversity Alliance also abhorred the mistreatment of humans by other species.

Raaba looked uncomfortable at the turnabout.

From now, the Diversity Alliance did not have the resources to concern itself. with the treatment humans received. The subject simply did not come up. Raaba shrugged. Besides, such situations were anomalies, a minor swing of the pendulum. It was the alien species who needed protection from abuse; humans could take care of themselves.

With the Diversity Alliance, Nolaa Tarkona was searching for the answer to all of their problems, and as soon as they found the long-awaited solution, the galaxy would be free again.

In a consoling tone, Raaba asked Lowie not to make up his mind in advance. She wanted him to meet her friends and listen to what they had to say.

The Diversity Alliance was a place where she felt she belonged.

If Lowie kept an open mind, he might find that he belonged there, too.

It would be so nice to have him with her.

The Diversity Alliance could very much use the help of someone special like a Force-talented Wook-lee.

Perhaps his sister Sirra would want to join, as well. Even if Sirra wasn't interested, though, Raaba asked Lowie to think about how much time the two of them could spend together if they were both part of the Diversity Alliance....

Lowie thought about it. A lot.

"YES, I DO have a plan," Nolaa Tarkona said.

"And I don't think the humans will enjoy it very much." When she smiled, her sharply filed teeth glinted like daggers in the dim light.

"All the better then," remarked Adjutant Advisor Hovrak, a bristly faced wolfman who growled under his breath. He used a long claw to pick shreds of meat from along his gumline. A few fresh blood spatters on his otherwise neat uniform indicated that Hovrak must have eaten recently.

Nolaa glided past the long black table in her private chambers.

"Are the other representatives here in the caves? The three Diversity Alliance soldiers who have recruited the greatest number of new members?"

"Yes, they just arrived on Ryloth." The wolfman shuffled his feet, uncertain. "I agree they deserve induction into our inner circle as a reward for their efforts. But are you sure that it's wise to use our last sample of the plague for so small a demonstration?"

"It isn't a small demonstration, Adjutant Advisor," she said. Her remaining head-tail twitched with agitation, making her tattoos ripple.

From the folds of her black robes she withdrew a vial that contained the deadly solution. "This spark will ignite the fire of utter loyalty we require."

Two decades earlier a rebellious nonhuman group, the Alien Combine, had attempted to accomplish goals similar to Nolaa Tarkona's.

But the Alien Combine had been unwilling to take sufficiently extreme actions. Nolaa knew how to learn from mistakes, though, and she vowed that her Diversity Alliance would succeed... no matter what it took.

With the wolfman beside her, she walked into the echoing main grotto to receive her newly promoted followers. The chamber was cool and dim, just the way she liked it. The light was a deep red, as if filtered through panes of bloodstained glass.

Three important Diversity Alliance soldiers stood waiting for her, puffed with pride. Out of all the thousands of members in her political movement, Nolaa had chosen them for this private meeting.

She studied Rullak first, a tentacle-faced Quarren from the ocean world of Calamari. Decades ago, the amphibious Quarren species had collaborated with the Empire to protect their underwater cities, while the more peaceful Mon Calamari were enslaved, their floating cities blasted to rains. Now, Rullak stood basking in the shadows, robbing his clammy hands together to distribute the bodily excretions that prevented his skin from drying out.

In the middle, a reptilian Trandoshan named Corrsk loomed silent and ominous, sluggish but powerful. His breath came out in a rasping gargle.

The Trandoshans had a long-standing blood feud against Wookiees, and their bounty hunters made a habit of collecting Wookiee pelts. But in uniting alien species to fight the common enemy--humans--Nolaa had managed to secure concessions even from the vicious reptiles. Corrsk had sworn to ignore his natural bloodlust for any Wook-lee who adopted the cause of the Diversity Alliance.

All others were, of course, fair game.

Finally, on the right stood a wily Devaronian female, Kambrea, whose curving horns, hooded eyes, and pointed fangs gave her narrow face the appearance of a she-devil.

"You three have heard me speak before great crowds, but this demonstration is for your eyes alone," Nolaa said, and sat down easily in the massive stone chair. On a low pedestal at her left she kept a rough file for sharpening her teeth during idle moments. She toyed with the tool now, running its pointed end under her tingemails.

"This is a private ceremony--a reward for your unwavering service." Her breath came out in a hiss of anticipation. "What I am about to show you will convince you more than any words I can say."

"You don't need to convince us, Esteemed Tarkona," said Kambrea.

The Devaronian female's bright eyes darted from side to side, as if probing for assassins in the shadows. "We know our cause is just. The weight of human domination has crushed the galaxy for too long. We will follow you wherever the fight may take us."

"Kill humans!" said Corrsk in a rough voice.

Even with this brief statement, the towering reptilian seemed to feel he had said too much.

"I wish to see this demonstration," the Quarren countered, the tentacles around his mouth quivering.

Rullak's voice bubbled up like words spoken through a drinking tube into polluted water. "I harbor no doubts, Honored Tarkona... but I am certain it will be entertaining."

Nolaa laughed. "Yes, it will be very entertaining."

She held up the glimmering vial so that reddish light twinkled from its crystal sides. "This vial contains more destructive power than the Death Starmthan even the Sun Crusher. Selective destruction."

The Quarren and the Devaronian sat in anticipation.

Nolaa did not know how to interpret Corrsk's breathy snort.

"You see, the Emperor did more than just create weapons of mass destruction. He had an entire cadre of his finest scientists--humans, but talented nonetheless--working on more insidious schemes.

The great biological engineer Evir Derricote created numerous diseases that spread like wildfire through some species, particular species.

Recall how non-human peoples suffered during the unleashing of the Krytos plague on Coruscant during the Rebel takeover."

The three representatives all nodded gravely, remembering the death and terror shortly after the fall of the Emperor.

"I have learned that Derricote also developed an organism more deadly than Krytos, perhaps even as bad as the Death Seed plague. A virus so horrible that Emperor Palpatine himself feared to use it."

She held the vial out toward them. "This contains a sample of that plague."

The three Diversity Alliance soldiers shifted uneasily and took an instinctive step backward.

Nolaa restrained her smile of self-satisfaction.

Good, she had impressed them--but not nearly enough. Her slick robes draped themselves regally around her as she stood, then she took two steps down to the floor of the grotto. The three representatives flicked nervous glances at each other.

Clutching the vial, Nolaa snapped at her Adjutant Advisor.

"Hovrak, bring out the prisoner." Her tattooed head-tail thrashed in anticipation, while the optical sensor implanted in her other tentacle stump gleamed, recording all the details around her.

The wolfman barked a command, and two lumbering Gamorrean guards strode in from a side tunnel, bearing between them the cloaked form of an Imperial guard. Limp scarlet robes hung around him. His bullet-shaped helmet was an impenetrable red mask with only a black vee-slit over his eyes.

"An Imperial guard!" Rullak said, raising his moist hands. "I thought they had all been destroyed."

"This one had schemes of his own," Nolaa said.

"He and several partners concocted a fake Emperor in hopes that they could rule a Second Imperium in his name, like a gang of thugs--but their plans fell apart when the new Jedi Knight defeated the Shadow Academy. He was the only one to escape."

The captive struggled, but the piglike Gamorrean security escorts held firm, paying no heed to the Red Guard's resistance.

Kambrea, the Devaronian, leaned forward and cackled. "Yes, I remember how powerful the Red Guards were. They used to bully us."

"Kill humans," Corrsk growled, as if the comment were somehow relevant.

Nolaa stood in front of the scarlet-robed man.

"This Red Guard continued to wear this uniform, this mask, to bank on his intimate connections with the former Empire. He went to the fringes of the underworld, hoping to ingratiate himself with certain... criminal elements." Her head-tail twitched. "For some reason he apparently considered the Diversity Alliance a 'criminal element." He didn't realize just how much hatred alien species still hold against the Empire. And now the tables have turned on him."

Nolaa leaned closer to the guard, who stood rigidly at attention.

"We can still make use of his Imperial knowledge, however."

"But what about the plague?" the Quarren asked.

"When will we see the demonstration you promised?"

Nolaa wrinkled her brow. "Though the Emperor had no intention of ever unleashing it, he could not bring himself to destroy such an efficient, useful tool. So he ordered it stored in a hidden weapons depot on a small asteroid station. Then he erased the depot's coordinates from Imperial archives, so that no one knew where the stockpile of his terrible virus lay hidden.

"Most of the surviving Imperials have been scattered by now, but this one ranked high, close to Palpatine himself. I presume he knows the location of the plague storehouse. I have asked him to direct me there so that the Diversity Alliance may commandeer these valuable resources.... "Nolaa ran her clawed hand along the polished plasteel of the Red Guard's helmet. He flinched. "But he has declined our offer." She flicked a glance back at the three spectators.

"So far."

She held up the tiny vial in front of the Red Guard's eye slit.

"Tell me where the rest is stored. This is your final chance."

The Red Guard's helmet swung from side to side in mute defiance.

Nolaa heaved a sigh. "Very well, then, face the consequences."

She dropped the crystalline vial to the stone floor of the cave. With barely disguised relish, Nolaa stamped down and crushed it with her booted foot, exposing the viral solution to the open air.

The three spectators staggered backward. Gasping in horror, they scrambled to cover their mouths and nostrils and tried--unsuccessfully--

not to breathe. Confused, the Gamorrean guards blinked stupidly down at the broken vial, wondering if they should clean it up.

Nolaa Tarkona merely watched.

The Red 'Guard lunged and writhed in a violent attempt to escape the Gamorreans' grasp--but the seizure rapidly became something else entirely. His body trembled. He bucked convulsively.

"You may release him," Nolaa said. "There's no longer any danger." The piglike guards looked at each Other, shrugged, then stomped away.

The captive sank to his knees, shaking. His gloved hands pawed at his chest, his stomach. The three honored Diversity Alliance soldiers stood back against the wall of the grotto, staring in fascinated horror.

The Imperial guard's chest heaved. Gurgling sounds came from beneath the scarlet helmet, as if he were trying to suck in lungfuls of air but only managed to inhale viscous saliva.

His gloved hands reached up to grasp his smooth helmet, fumbled with the hidden catch. His arms shook and his feet tapped against the floor as the plague flowed like molten lead through every nerve in his body.

Above the noise of his rasping and retching for breath, Nolaa could hear the clasp of the helmet come loose. The Red Guard's hands clutched the glossy plasteel and pulled. His body arched. The helmet lifted just a little, not quite revealing the guard's face--then he sagged into a limp pile of scarlet cloth.

"Impressive," Hovrak said with a growl, his long tongue licking the points of his canine teeth.

"Even better than I had hoped." Nolaa turned to the three still-frightened Diversity Alliance observers.

"You see, the plague was developed to be DNA-specific. It affects only victims with a human genetic structure. Aliens are immune. All of us here are breathing the same air, moving in the same room--yet the disease struck down only this pitiful

Red Guard, while the rest of us went about our business unaffected."

"But," Kambrea said, gradually inching forward, "why would the Emperor develop such a thing?

Human were his subjects."

"True," Nolaa answered, "but many were also Rebels. Palpatine intended to unleash this plague to quash insurrections on colony worlds--until he realized how easily it could spread. One carrier from world to world might break a quarantine--and within weeks this disease could have made his Empire a galaxy-wide charnel house."

At Nolaa's gesture of dismissal the Gamorreans came forward, grabbed the Red Guard's body, and dragged him by his scarlet sleeves across the stone floor. Once they turned down a side passage and out of sight, Nolaa heard the Red Guard's helmet clatter to the flagstones.

The Gamorreans grumbled and snorted, blaming each other for the accident, then one apparently snatched up the helmet again. They continued dragging their victim away to where he could be disposed of.

"You mean to spread this plague?" Corrsk asked.

"Kill all the humans?"

Nolaa crossed her arms over her chest. "Wouldn't that be the proper work of the Diversity Alliance?"

Rullak leaned forward, facial tentacles quivering.

"How did you obtain this sample, Esteemed Tarkona? And where may we get more?"

She stepped up onto the dais, where she slumped back into her stone chair. Hovrak stood quietly beside her, letting Nolaa do the talking.

"A scavenger named Fonterrat stumbled upon the secret depot where this plague is stored. He stole two small samples, not entirely realizing what he had found, and brought the vials to me, along with a description of the facility. But Fonterrat was suspicious and greedy. He cited an outrageous price. I quibbled with him."

"Because only Fonterrat knew the location of the depot, he was afraid I might torture him for the information. Of course, the Diversity Alliance would never harm a fellow alien." She smiled sweetly.

"Humans are our only targets."

"Fonterrat requested that I send an emissary to a neutral location.

There, my emissary would hand him a time-locked container holding his enormous fee. He, in turn, would deliver his entire navicomputer module, the only repository of the plague depot's coordinates."

She tapped her long fingernails on the arm of her chair. "It seemed a safe enough arrangement for all concerned. It amused me to enlist a human emissary to do my dirty work. Such delicious irony. I chose Bornan Thul, an arrogant merchant, who seemed to think he owned the galaxy.

"Thul met with Fonterrat on the ancient world of Kuar. They presumably made the exchange and went their separate ways--but Bornan Thul never delivered the navicomputer to me. He must have figured out what he had been given, what the module contained, and so he chose to disappear.

Thul never arrived at the Shumavar trade conference where we were to have consummated our deal."

Nolaa folded her hands together, wearing a perplexed expression.

"Oddly, he hasn't gone to the New Republic either. Perhaps he assumes that the Diversity Alliance has infiltrated the government on Coruscant.

And of course we have."

She tapped her other fingers on the opposite arm of her chain

"Unfortunately, since Fonterrat didn't trust me enough to make the deal directly, and since my human go-between betrayed me, I still haven't retrieved the information I paid for. I had my joke on Fonterrat, though.

In the sealed locker containing his fee, I placed one of his plague samples. As soon as he unsealed the time-locked box to study his reward, a device secretly cracked open the vial.

Since Fonterrat was immune to the disease, he didn't even know that his ship was full of the plague organism when he landed on the isolated human colony of Gammalin."

Nolaa smiled, looking up at Hovrak with her rose-quartz eyes.

"Everyone on Gammalin is now dead. Unfortunately, no one managed to leave the colony to spread the virus. The plague organism doesn't survive long in open air without a host, and so Gammalin did not prove to be a proper flash point for the plague. Regrettable..."

The three spectators now came forward, eyes gleaming. The Trandoshan scooped up a few broken shards from the plague vial. He brought them to his blunt nose and sniffed with great interest.

"So how are we to obtain an adequate stockpile of this weapon to aid us in our fight against oppression?" Kambrea asked, brushing a hand across her smooth horns. "This was your last sample, and Bornan Thul has disappeared with the knowledge of where the rest is stored."

"It is merely a setback," Nolaa said. "I have offered a large enough reward that every bounty hunter in the galaxy is trying to bring Thul to me.

He won't be able to move anywhere without someone capturing him."

She stroked her tattooed head-tail, feeling the tingle of response from her sensitive nerve endings.

"It's only a matter of time."

IN FLIGHT, ZEKK spent days studying the Bounty Hunter's Creed, memorizing its rules and practices as he wrestled with conflicting thoughts. He had so many questions, and so much to learn.

It seemed impossible to reconcile the desire to capture Bornan Thul with the fact that he had accepted an assignment from him, regardless of the fact that Thul had been disguised at the time. Zekk also remembered that in the rubble field of Alderaan he had promised to give Jaina any news of the missing man who was Raynar's father....

Of all the hunters in the galaxy mDengar and Boba Fett and a thousand others who were scouring the starlanes--he alone knew where Bornan Thul could be found. He had a meeting scheduled with his mysterious employer in less than a week, to tell him of his progress.

At that rendezvous, Zekk could easily set a trap, deliver Thul to Nolaa Tarkona, and reap the fame and extravagant reward. How could he pass up such an opportunity?

But betraying his own employer would forever blacklist Zekk among bounty hunters. No one would trust him for the rest of his life.

Jaina and Jacen would be angry with him, too. His situation seemed untenable.

He pondered the question while mulling over where to begin searching for Tyko Thul, the other half of the assignment he had accepted. Could he somehow take both bounty hunting assignments--find and bring back both brothers? Or would he have to make a choice? No matter how long he drifted in the Lightning Rod, he wouldn't resolve his dilemma by himself.

He remembered hearing that Boba Fett had recently turned up on Tatooine in his own relentless search for Bornan Thul, and came to a decision.

Since he was in the same sector, Zekk would go to meet the fearsome hunter who had proved an uneasy ally on the plague-ridden colony of Gammalin....

Fighting thermal updrafts, Zekk cruised under the harsh double suns down to the broiling city of Mos Eisley, the hub of civilization (such as it was) on this backwater world. Below him, the space-port's towers and low adobe structures shimmered in the afternoon haze.

Zekk requested clearance and transferred credits for a temporary berth in one of the low-rent docking stalls in the busy traders' district. After he landed, he shut down his ship's systems and activated the theft-prevention devices old Peckhum had installed... though the best deterrent had always been the Lightning Rod's own battered appearance, which did not speak well for the fortunes of its owner.

Zekk stepped out of the dock only to slam into a wall of heat rising from the dusty streets. He tied his dark hair back in a sweaty ponytail and kept to the shadows of low buildings, seeking relief from the harsh sunlight as he staggered along. He breathed through his sleeve to filter out the worst dust as he looked for the infamous cantina.

The other creatures stirring in Mos Eisley's afternoon seemed either stunned and lethargic or hurried and anxious to get into the shaded coolness indoors. Zekk, his green eyes stinging, wanted to do the same.

After making his way down narrow back alleys, he entered the noise and smells and blessed air-conditioning of the spaceport bar. The Mos Eisley cantina had a long history and quite a reputation, but little cleanliness or fresh air. In this dark and seedy bar, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi had first hired Han Solo and Chewbacca for their legendary run to Alderaan.

Boba Fett himself had come here in search of clues to help him ferret out Bornan Thul.

Behind the bar stood a grizzled old Wooldee named Chalmun, who owned the cantina. Other bartenders often took care of the actual work so that Chalmun would not have to mingle with his own disreputable clientele.

Zekk strode up to the bar, trying to look surly and tough, just like everyone else in the place. The old Wooldee snorted, seeing right through the young man's act, as if he had witnessed these shows of bravado so many times that they no longer impressed him.

Zekk ordered a cold fizzy drink, then lowered his voice. "I'm looking for Boba Fett."

The furry bartender chuffed with surly laughter.

Zekk didn't understand the Wooldee language very well, and Chalmun gestured toward a small hairy creature propped up on one of the stools.

The creature blinked its huge black eyes and spoke in a squeaking voice.

"He laughs at your request," the creature said. "Boba Fett always looks for other people. No one looks for him."

"He and I have met before. I need to speak with him, and in return"--Zekk swallowed hard--"I can provide information that may assist him in his current assignment."

"Boba Fett will be here," the furry creature said.

"Just drink and wait." The creature took a long snort from a foaming green beaker, swallowed noisily, and said,:'But you'd better keep drinking or Chalmun may throw you out into the streets. Hot out there."

Eavesdropping, the Wooldee laughed and went off to serve other customers...

.

Zekk waited. The hours passed at a crawl, and he drank as slowly as he could get away with, ordering another beverage only when he saw the old Wookiee scowling at him.

On the bandstand a group of soft-skinned amphibious musicians with multicolored neck frills auditioned for a job. The song sounded like echoing belches made into a sensitive microphone, while "musicians"

jangled high-pitched bells at random.

On the cramped and dirty dance floor, two aliens that looked like sea urchins with far too many eyes rolled around locked in an embrace--

whether dancing or brawling, Zekk couldn't decide.

He continued waiting. Another hour dragged by.

Boba Fett did not enter the cantina until the light had begun to fade during the first of Tatooine's twin sunsets.

The band stopped playing, and most of the background noise in the bar dwindled to murmurs.

The masked bounty hunter paused in the dimness, swiveling his head back and forth, exuding confidence.

Zekk could feel Fett's gaze burning through the black slit in his Mandalorian helmet.

The bounty hunter saw Zekk and froze, suspicious.

The moment of silence ended, and the band began playing again.

Through his peripheral vision Zekk noticed several patrons wince at the resumption of the noise. The two sea-urChin aliens on the dance floor continued tumbling about; they had not stopped even during the brief silence.

The bounty hunter strode up to the bar beside Zekk. Zekk momentarily wondered if the Wookiee bartender would require Fett to buy a drink as well, but Chalmun pointedly remained at the other side of the bar, serving customers who watched the masked hunter with unconcealed anxiety.

Zekk could feel the power, the spring-tight rage and dark energy in this man. Fett had killed an uncounted number of enemies, served no cause, and had at one time worn Wookiee scalps at his belt.

Zekk could imagine no glimmer of friendship from this vicious man--but Boba Fett was one of the best bounty hunters in existence.

And Zekk needed to learn from him.

Zekk turned, but the bounty hunter spoke first.

"What do you want from me? And what do you offer in exchange?"

The young man gathered his courage. "I need advice. If I'm going to be the best bounty hunter, I had better ask questions of the best."

"Advice?" Fett said dubiously, scornfully. "Nothing is free."

Zekk sat up straighter. "I have information that may help you find Bornan Thul." He certainly wouldn't give away the knowledge of his scheduled rendezvous on Borgo Prime... but he had less-important details to offer.

He let the words hang in the air, then added, "I know where another bounty hunter was searching for him. It may give you a clue."

Boba Fett said, "Many are searching for Thul. Most of them are fools. The value of your information depends on how much I can trust this lead."

"It's Dengar," Zekk said, then squared his shoulders.

"I know where Dengar went looking for Bornan Thul."

Fett paused, as silent as a statue. "Dengar is... not a fool." The bandage-wrapped hunter had rescued a grievously injured Boba Fett after he blasted his way free from the sarlacc in the Pit of Carkoon.

"What do you need?"

"Listen to this problem," Zekk said. "I'm new to being a bounty hunter, and this is a hypothetical situation that any of us might run into."

Fett waited. The alien musicians croaked an announcement that they were taking a break but would be back with more music before long.

Only a few inebriated patrons clapped.

"Suppose I accept an assignment--say, to find a lost treasure or a missing document--and in the course of my hunt I stumble upon completely unrelated information that reveals the location of a much larger bounty."

Fett said, "Then secure both. Keep your honor and make a greater profit."

Zekk arched his eyebrows. "But what if chasing after the second bounty puts my first employer at risk? In fact, if I find the larger bounty, my original employer will certainly come to great harm." He paused, hoping he wasn't giving too much away.

The bounty hunter pondered in silence. "You must not betray your employer. That is one of the worst crimes a bounty hunter can commit."

"So I just have to give up the second bounty?"

Zekk said, somewhat disheartened, though a bit relieved.

"No," Fett said. "Deliver the first bounty, take payment, and terminate your service with that employer. Then pursue the second bounty with a clear conscience, since you no longer work for the employer who might be harmed."

Zekk mulled over this answer. He had already discharged half of his assignment by sending the coded message to the Bornaryn merchant fleet.

Now, if he could just find Tyko Thul, he would be under no further obligation." From that point on, Zekk would be free to do as he pleased.

Zekk had no idea what Thul had done to warrant such a manhunt or why Nolaa Tarkona wanted him so desperately--but it was clear she primarily wanted his cargo, some mysterious navicomputer module.

Zekk smiled. He could do it. He could do both.

"Now," Boba Fett said, "tell me where you saw Dengar."

Zekk told him about Ziost, but gave few other details. Then the two of them hurried away from the Mos Eisley cantina, parting without any word of farewell to return to their respective ships.

TWO CRACKLING STUN-RODS crashed against each other in a shower of sparks.

Jacen descended a few steps on the temple's rugged stairway and went on the attack. Below him, Raynar backed down two stairs as he deflected the next several blows with his own stun-rod.

With the sleeve of his jumpsuit, Jacen blotted away the sweat running into his eyes, then swept the training weapon in a counterstrike. The sun that beat down outside the Great Temple already seemed unbearably hot for this time of morning.

He pressed downward another step, raising his glowing pewter-colored staff. Raynar spun out of the way and danced along the wide stone ledge, dodging some scaffolding that had been erected by the repair crew, then rapped the stun-rod against Jacen's wrist.

Jacen howled at the sudden tingling zap. "Ow!" he said, then, "Nice move, Raynat!" He hopped down to the ledge and continued the sparring match, bringing up his own staff. The pewter rods clashed again. "Pretty soon you'll be ready to fight against a real lightsaber."

Raynat's sweat-soaked training robe clung to him but did not hamper his movements. "Thanks," he said, catching the next blow against his stun-rod.

"That's why I asked for your help during practice. You're one of the best here at the academy."

Jacen fell back a step. "Jaina's as good as I am."

Raynar swung low, and Jacen blocked again.

"She takes it too easy on me," Raynat panted.

"Feels sorry for me, I guess."

Jacen gave a wicked grin. "How about Tenel Ka, then?" He nodded toward the base of the ancient pyramid to where the warrior girl and Lusa were setting out for a morning run. The two exercised together because no one else could keep up with them.

Raynat shook his head, and droplets of sweat flew from side to side.

"Just the opposite--no mercy whatsoever." He turned to stare at the two runners with great interest. "Can we take a breather for a minute?"

"Sure," Jacen said, ready for a break himself.

Powering down the stun-rod, Raynat. sank to the ledge and dangled his feet over the side. Jacen followed suit, and the two watched Lusa and Tenel Ka race each other across the landing field, cinnamon mane and red-gold braids streaming out behind them.

"Amazing, isn't she?" Raynar said, still breathless from their workout.

Jacen watched Tenel Ka's easy long-legged strides with admiration.

He felt a brief flash of jealousy at Raynar's comment, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "I've always thought so," he said. "You mean you just noticed her?"

"I, uh... not exactly." Raynar blushed a deep red. "I thought so from the moment we met, but I've only known her for a few days."

Jacen suddenly realized that Raynar was talking about the sleek Centaur girl, not Tenel Ka. A slow smile spread across his face.

"Yeah," he said. "I know just what you mean."

Holding a pair of delicate wires with two fingers, Jaina stuck her other hand out from beneath the Rock Dragon's sensor array panel.

"Could you hand me that circuit fuser please?"

An electronic sigh answered her. "I should very much like to accommodate your request, Mistress Jaina," Em Teedee said morosely, "but I'm afraid I'm completely useless to you in that respect--useless in almost every respect at the moment, I should say. I can't move about on my own, I am no longer needed for my translation functions--" Jaina groaned and dropped the wires. For a second she had forgotten that Lowie was not here working beside her, and now she had hurt the miniaturized translating droid's feelings. She scrambled out from under the control panel and grabbed the circuit fuser herself. "Sorry, Em Teedee, I didn't mean--"

"Oh, it's quite all right, Mistress]aina," the little droid said. "I'm resigned to the possibility that being wired to a diagnostic panel may be my only beneficial purpose. And even that is nonessential, since you have such an excellent ability to diagnose malfunctions on your own." He gave an electronic moan. "Why, I shouldn't be at all surprised if one morning I reactivated from my shutdown cycle only to find myself in one of those electronics bins in your chambers, ready to be disassembled for Spare parts."

Now it was Jaina's turn to sigh. She closed the access panel under the sensor array she'd been adjusting and then heaved herself up into the copilot's seat. Lowbacca's former seat. "I miss Lowie, too, you know."

"I'm certain Master Lowbacca misses all of his friends here at the academy as well." Em Teedee's electronic voice quavered. "I'm the only one he hasn't any use for anymore."

Jaina reached out and disconnected the silvery droid's leads from the Rock Dragon's diagnostic panels and tucked them back into his case.

Carrying Em Teedee under one arm, Jaina went to the rear compartment where she stored maintenance supplies.

"You know, Em Teedee," she said, "you'll feel much better after a lubricant bath. Then I'm going to do that waterproofing I promised you."

She placed a small bucket on the floor and opened the valve above it, letting an iridescent blue liquid flow into the pail.

"But, Mistress Jaina," Em Teedee protested, "unlike my predecessor, See-Threepio, I have almost no moving parts. My continuous function does not rely on lubricant baths. Why, I've never even experienced one--"

"There's a first time for everything," Jaina said, shutting off the lubricant valve. She held Em Teedee above the full bucket and gave him a little pat.

"Enjoy it. You'd be surprised what a good bath can do to change your outlook on things." She lowered the little droid into the iridescent fluid.

Em Teedee had just enough time to say, "Indeed?" before his speaker grille was completely submerged.

Walking along beside Lusa after the midday meal, Raynar clasped his hands behind his back to keep himself from fidgeting. He had hardly expected the Centaur girl to agree when he'd offered to show her his favorite waterfall.

Well, she hadn't actually agreed. Upon overhearing Lusa shyly turn down Raynar's invitation, Master Skywalker had stepped in and encouraged her to reconsider. The Jedi teacher quietly reminded Lusa that as part of her healing she needed to learn to make new human friends. With obvious trepidation, Lusa had relented.

Now, alone with the cinnamon-maned Centaur girl, Raynar came to a belated realization. He had never really learned to make conversation with people whom he did not know, since people usually came to him to talk. Raynar had begun to learn negotiation techniques from his father--Bornan Thul could wield words much as Master Skywalker wielded his lightsaber--but he had unfortunately learned most of his conversational skills from his uncle Tyko's proud boasts and blunt observations.

Though his mother possessed grace and social skills in abundance, she had not yet managed to pass them on to her son.

Frantically trying to remember what Aryn had taught him about polite conversation, RaYnar walked faster along the jungle path. A multicolored swarm of button beetles buzzed up from a nebula orchid where they had been feeding. Lusa let out a small gasp of delight at the shower of colon Raynar held aside a branch that had grown across the path so that Lusa could pass without being scratched. He wondered whether his action would be seen as kind or merely insulting.

She edged past him, nodding to Raynar in silent thanks. The tips of her crystal horns sparkled, and the tense rippling muscles in her cinnamon flanks seemed to relax a bit.

Encouraged, Raynar asked her a question. "What do you admire in..." He searched for a suitably neutral word. "I mean--what is it you look for in a friend, exactly?" He hoped that her answer would not be something simple and abrupt like, "I look for nonhumans as friends."

He didn't want to remind her of the Diversity Alliance. Then again, he thought, perhaps he should consider it progress if she answered him at all.

At first Lusa said nothing. They continued in silence through a thicket of blueleaf until they emerged beside a chattering stream in a small clearing. Raynar turned and headed upstream.

Lusa finally answered him. "Loyalty. Commitment.

Deep beliefs and a willingness to act on those beliefs. I look for an openness to finding new solutions to old problems." She paused.

"I guess those are some of the things that drew me to the Diversity Alliance."

Raynar tensed at her mention of the political group. Before Lusa, he'd never been aware that he could be hated--not because he was proud and boastful, or because of the tough trading deals his family negotiated...

but for no other reason than his species.

"Um, the waterfall's just a little farther that way."

He raised his arm to point higher along their route and accidentally brushed against Lusa. She instinctively recoiled from him and took off at a gallop upstream.

Startled, Raynar ran after her. He caught up with the Centaur girl beside the sparkling green pool at the base of the waterfall. She stood on the bank with her front hooves in the water, staring at her own reflection and shuddering.

"I... I'm really sorry," Raynar blurted. "I didn't mean to--"

"No," she answered. "You did nothing wrong.

Master Skywalker was correct: I let the Diversity Alliance poison my mind against humans, and now I must unlearn the hate they taught."

She tossed her head and sent him an apologetic smile. "Please be patient.

It may take me a while." She looked longingly at the waterfall, then back at Raynar.

"Would you mind if I went in?"

Feeling humiliated that a brush of his arm had been so revolting to the beautiful girl, Raynar decided they could both use time to collect themselves.

He climbed up onto a round boulder beside the stream. "Go ahead," he said. 'Tll wait for you here."

Lusa plunged into the pool and made straight for the deeper water beneath the surging waterfall.

Watching the silvery liquid cascade over her, Ray-nat wondered if she would ever consider him her friend. Loyalty, she had said. Deep beliefs....

She looked for these things in her friends.

What exactly did he believe in, though? He believed in his training as a Jedi, he supposed. And when he finished that training he would go out on an assignment to defend the New Republic before taking his place as heir to the Bornaryn fleet.

But what about now? He believed in his family.

How had he acted on that belief?

Raynat could go out to search for his father and his uncle, he mused, but as only one of many, many searchers. He would probably make no difference to the final outcome.

He could do nothing to protect his mother that she could not do for herself.

Bornaryn Trading headquarters on Coruscant did not need him.

So what could he do?

Lusa submerged herself completely in the water and then surfaced again, letting the rushing stream beat down on her head and shoulders, as if its flow could cleanse her inside and out.

Raynar smiled. He loved waterfalls. They reminded him of fountains like the ones used in the Alderaanian ceremony of waters. He and his mother and Uncle Tyko shared a love for that ceremony....

Raynar sat up straight. Uncle Tyko. There was something he could do for his uncle. With Tyko kidnapped, all the systems on Mechis III would be running unsupervised. He could go to the droid world and see that the manufacturing facilities there did not fall into disrepair while his uncle was absent.

Raynar's excitement grew as the idea caught hold in his mind.

When Lusa cantered up onto the soft riverbank, he jumped down from the boulder to share his news. Before he could approach, she stretched luxuriously and then shook herself dry, sending glistening droplets of water in every direction.

Raynar didn't mind getting wet. He waited to make sure Lusa saw him and would not get spooked.

She met his eyes tentatively, smiling. This time she did not recoil as he came closer.

Eyes bright, Raynar told Lusa of his new plan to go to Mechis III.

"It's the least I can do for my family."