THE MILLENNIUM FALCON SAT SHUDDERING IN THE HANGAR, A MILKY drop of durasteel resting on a deck so dark and expansive it looked like a drift of open space. The vessel’s rear corner sagged over a collapsed strut, her white hull armor was pocked from cannon strikes, and the ion drives were jetting hot coolant. Yellow smoke kept billowing from the exhaust vents, and every few seconds the upper turret would shake as though the power core were about to blow. And still, the battered transport was the most beautiful thing Queen Mother Tenel Ka had seen in a long time. It was hissing, pinging, carbon-scorched proof that Han and Leia Solo had survived another close call, that they had cheated death yet again and escaped an ambush that should have left their atoms flying in the Ossan winds.

Emergency sleds and fire carts started to float out of the hangar’s dark corners, and passengers began to stream down the ramp beneath the Falcon’s hull. Several were limping or holding their arms, but no one seemed seriously injured or in a hurry. Finally, the Solos themselves emerged from the ship, Han turning to speak to the service crew and Leia bending down to say a few words to the Jedi younglings, and Tenel Ka finally began to breathe again.

“I don’t see why you were so afraid,” Allana said. She had not left Tenel Ka’s side since Aegel Squadron had reported damage to the Falcon. “You said it would be a mistake to underestimate Han and Leia Solo.”

“As it would.” Tenel Ka flashed her daughter a reassuring smile. “But of course I’m still concerned. You know how fond I am of the Solos.”

Before answering, Allana glanced across the salon toward the command center, where Trista Zel was helping Kam and Tionne Solusar assemble a report on the evacuation’s outcome. Tenel Ka was fairly certain that both Masters had deduced her daughter’s true identity long ago, but no one had said as much to Allana herself, and so Allana continued to play the Solos’ adopted daughter even in their presence.

Seeing that both Masters were busy taking reports over their headsets, she took Tenel Ka’s hand. “Grandma and Grandpa worry about you, too,” she whispered. “And so do I.”

A pang of loneliness shot through Tenel Ka’s heart, and she found herself wishing she had not been born the daughter of a Hapan prince, that she were free to raise her own daughter in her own modest apartment. But any attempt to abdicate her responsibility would only get them both killed. Anyone taking Tenel Ka’s place would not feel secure on the throne until her agents had eliminated every possible rival—especially the child of a former Queen Mother. So there was nothing to be done except what Tenel Ka was doing, and that meant continuing to pretend that her daughter was someone else’s child until Allana grew old enough to defend herself from the daggers—political and actual—that were so much a part of life in the Hapan court.

Tenel Ka squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Thank you,” she whispered. “But you don’t have to worry about me. I have a whole army of secret friends keeping watch over me.”

Allana cocked an eyebrow. “Like Trista and Taryn?”

Tenel Ka nodded. “That’s right.”

A soft swoosh sounded from the back of the salon, and Tenel Ka turned to see Han Solo stepping out of the lift tube. He paused just long enough to scan the room and locate Allana, then spread his arms and started across the salon.

“See?” There was a forced cheerfulness to Han’s voice that betrayed the concern Tenel Ka sensed in his presence. “I told you we’d be fine!”

Allana stepped into Han’s hug and squeezed him hard. “I knew you would. I was just afraid that without me to keep watch on things, the Falcon would get all banged up.” She released him, then put her hands on her hips and turned toward the viewport. “And it looks like I was right!”

“You certainly were,” Leia said, joining them. She leaned down and kissed Allana’s cheek. “The way Han wobbled in, we’re lucky we only broke one strut.”

Han flashed a scowl, but it was more of a forced grin than a true frown. “Hey, after you let all those blastboats potshot us, I was doing good just to land right-side up.” He turned back to Allana. “Isn’t that right?”

“Sure,” Allana said, smiling. “If you call bouncing across the hangar deck a landing.”

Han dropped his jaw in feigned dejection, then returned her smile. “You got me there, kid. We did come in a little rough.” He ruffled her hair, then turned to Tenel Ka and allowed his expression to show the concern she had already sensed. “So, how bad is it?”

“The Masters Solusar only arrived a few minutes ago, and they are still assembling reports,” Tenel Ka said, pointing toward the command center. “I’m sure they would be happy to give you a preview.”

Han nodded and started across the salon, but Allana caught Leia by a handful of robe and held her back. “Can you find Master Sebatyne in the Force?”

Leia stopped and said, “I can certainly try. But you know she’s probably very busy right now.”

“This is important,” Allana said. “You need to warn her about something.”

“Then of course I’ll do my best,” Leia said. “What am I warning her about?”

“The Sith. They’re going to find Tesar and the others.”

Leia’s expression grew confused. “What makes you think that?”

“Because I saw it happen,” Allana said. “In a viewport.”

Leia glanced at Tenel Ka, clearly looking for a hint.

“Another Force vision,” Tenel Ka explained. “Apparently, she saw Tesar and the other Barabels being discovered inside the Temple.”

A flicker of understanding came to Leia’s eyes. “I see.” When she turned back to Allana, there was a calm acceptance in her expression that suggested some stray bit of information had just fallen into place for her. “But you know I can’t actually talk to Master Sebatyne through the Force, right?”

Allana nodded. “That’s okay, as long as you make sure she understands.”

“I’ll do my best,” Leia said. “But we’d have to use the HoloNet to be sure.”

“No, we can’t do that,” Allana said, shaking her head. “The Sith might intercept the message, and that would only make what I saw happen sooner. It would be like I made it happen.”

“Well then …” Leia glanced toward a pair of luxurious nerf-hide chairs flanking a low beverage table in the salon’s near corner. “I’d better see what I can do.”

“We’ll give you some quiet,” Tenel Ka said. Sensing a burst of joyful surprise in the Solusars’ Force aura, she took her daughter’s hand and started toward the command center. “Perhaps you and I should check the evacuation after-reports while Princess Leia reaches out to Master Sebatyne.”

“Okay,” Allana said, allowing herself to be drawn along. “But I already know the after-reports are good.”

“Because you felt it in the Force?” Tenel Ka asked.

“That,” Allana said, “and I haven’t heard any Corellian curse words.”

And good news it was. As they approached, Kam Solusar looked up from his station and touched a button on his headset. His face was as chiseled and ruggedly handsome as ever, but the wounds he had suffered defending the Jedi academy during the Second Civil War had left him a little thinner than before.

“We’re doing well,” Kam said, smiling. “We haven’t lost anyone so far.”

The news was even better than Tenel Ka had hoped—especially considering the difficult circumstances of the mission, and the enemy’s cleverness in attacking under cover of the Ossan fog.

“When you say anyone,” she asked, “do you mean transports or people?”

“Both,” Tionne clarified. With her silver hair and white eyes, she remained a woman of ethereal beauty—despite the subtle imperfections of the prosthetic arm and leg she wore in place of the limbs she had lost during the same incident that had wounded her husband. “Sharmok seven-eighteen took some heavy damage and has lost communications. But Volgh Squadron is escorting her in, and the leader is relaying visual now. It looks like seven-eighteen will make it, too.”

Tenel Ka smiled. “That is very good news.”

“It is.” Tionne’s face grew more somber. “Though I’m afraid your Miy’til pilots have taken some casualties, and two squadrons remain engaged.”

Tenel Ka felt her stomach knot, but nodded. “We expected that,” she said. “But this is more than a rescue mission, Master Solusar. It’s a chance for the Hapan Royal Navy to assess the enemy’s capabilities.”

“I’ll bet that wasn’t an easy sell with Lady Maluri and Ducha Luvalle in the room,” Han commented. “So thanks—and I mean for everything.”

“The Consortium appreciates your gratitude, Captain Solo,” Trista Zel said, looking up from her data display. “But I assure you, the Queen Mother has no need to sell anything.”

Han raised his hands as though to apologize, then scowled and suddenly turned back to Tionne. “Did you say seven-eighteen?”

She nodded. “That’s correct.”

“And we didn’t lose any other transports?” he asked. “You’re sure?”

“We’re sure, Han,” Kam said. “We’re Jedi Masters. We can count to twelve.”

“Yeah—but it shouldn’t have been this easy.” Han circled around to the back of the crescent-shaped console, then leaned over Trista’s shoulder to study the data display. “It was a mess down there, and seven-eighteen got jumped in front of us. She got jumped hard.”

Trista craned her neck to look up at him. “Captain Solo, are you suggesting—”

“I’m not suggesting anything. Seven-eighteen launched ahead of the Falcon. Now she’s the straggler.” Han stabbed a finger at the display. “And it looks like she’s making for the flagship. You figure it out.”

Trista spoke into her throat-mike, then her face paled as she listened to the reply. A second later she began to snap orders.

“Have Volgh Leader signal seven-eighteen to veer off now,” she said. “And no excuses. Warn the pilot that if she’s still on this vector in sixty seconds, she will be vaped.”

“Vaped?” Allana looked up at Tenel Ka. “But she’s carrying academy students!”

“She’s supposed to be.” Tenel Ka extended her Force awareness in the transport’s direction, but there were fifteen Battle Dragons and close to a dozen clusters of Jedi students in the area, and it was impossible to tell whether the presences she sensed were aboard Sharmok 718. “But her behavior is suspicious. Something is very wrong.”

Tenel Ka stepped around behind the console, and her heart fell when she saw the display. One of the screens showed a close-up image of a Sharmok transport gliding through a starry drift of space. With a line of scorch holes angling up her stern quarter, a pair of jagged rings where the cannon turrets used to be, and a hull crumple behind her main hatch, the vessel had clearly seen some savage close-quarters combat.

A dot of white light appeared against the flight deck viewport and began to blink on and off in the staccato rhythm of the Hapan military’s flash code.

“Any sign they were boarded?” Tenel Ka asked.

“None reported,” Trista replied.

“There wouldn’t be,” Han said. “Sharmok air locks use a standard two-stage touch pad, right?”

Tenel Ka considered the hull-crumple behind the hatch and, realizing that it looked more like collision damage than a missile strike, saw what Han was saying.

“You’re suggesting the Sith used the Force to open the air lock?” She glanced at the identification strip at the bottom of the display and saw that the image was coming to them from the battle cam of Volgh Leader. “I must agree. Trista, instruct Volgh Leader to open fire on Sharmok seven-eighteen’s ion drives immediately.”

Tenel Ka felt the Force shudder with the shock of her companions, but the precision of the command left no opportunity to question its wisdom. Han gave her a quick, tight-lipped nod, and Trista spoke into her throat-mike, relaying the order. The Solusars merely exchanged a wide-eyed glance—no doubt checking with each other to see if either thought Tenel might be overreacting.

“But what if there are still academy students aboard?” Allana objected. “They could be killed!”

“That’s why Volgh Leader is targeting the ion drives.” Han took Allana by the shoulders and pulled her close. “If that Sharmok is being flown by Sith, no way can we let her get near the flagship. So we’re going to disable her and send a boarding party to take control.” He looked back to Tenel Ka. “Right, Your Majesty?”

“Correct.” Tenel Ka smiled a silent thanks to Han, then checked the tactical display to find the Battle Dragon closest to the transport. “Trista, have the Daphoros execute a tractor beam capture of Sharmok seven-eighteen as soon as the engines have been disabled, then send a boarding company to retake—”

“If I may, Your Majesty,” Kam said, interrupting as politely as possible. “Given the Sith involvement, it might be wise for me to take some Jedi along.”

“Excellent point, Master Solusar,” Tenel Ka said, feeling a pang of regret that she could not join the Jedi Knights going to fight the Sith. “Trista, inform the Daphoros that Master Solusar will be joining the boarding company as its commander. And suggest to the Lady Commander that she send her best assault team on this mission.”

As Tenel Ka spoke, she kept one eye on the tactical display, watching as Volgh Leader and her wingmate came in for their attack run. Rather than dropping back behind the target and risking an engine detonation by firing directly up the thrust nozzles, the Miy’tils were swinging in from the flank. For a moment, as the Sharmok continued toward the Dragon Queen II without altering her vector, Tenel Ka began to think Han might be wrong, that perhaps 718 had merely lost her Hapan crew and was now being piloted by some terrified Jedi apprentice.

But half a second before the Miy’tils opened fire, the transport’s designator symbol jerked left as the pilot took evasive action. The first Miy’til symbol flashed white as the starfighter opened fire, then shot past without a hit. The wingmate opened fire in the next heartbeat, and the Sharmok’s color changed to yellow, for “damaged.” Sighing in relief, Tenel Ka switched her attention to the visual display and saw only whirling stars as Volgh Leader wheeled back around toward the target.

“Report,” Tenel Ka ordered. “Did they disable the engines?”

“Patience, Majesty,” Trista said. “They need time to evaluate.”

Taking her cousin’s gentle chide in stride—someone had to keep her humble, after all—Tenel Ka fixed her gaze on the visual display, hardly daring to breathe as stars whirled past. Finally, the Sharmok’s ion tail drifted into view, flickering and flashing as her sublight drives flamed out. By the time the entire stern appeared, the last engine had stopped, and the image showed only a trio of red-hot exhaust nozzles.

Tenel Ka let her breath out—and the screen went white with a detonation flash. She felt a terrible ripping in the Force and heard her Jedi companions gasping in shock—then she heard a small, frightened cry and knew her daughter had felt it, too, the searing pain of three hundred lives coming to a single end.

Tenel Ka pivoted around and knelt before Allana, folding her into her embrace. “Come here.”

Allana remained limp in her arms. “I felt them end,” she said. “I felt them—”

“I know, sweetheart.” Tenel Ka resisted the temptation to tell her daughter not to think about it, because she knew that was impossible. No one could feel the deaths of several hundred people and simply forget about it—especially not a nine-year-old girl. “The Sharmok’s ion drives must have taken a critical—”

“No way,” Han said from behind Tenel Ka. “That was no engine blast. Engine blasts don’t take out whole starfighter squadrons.”

“What?” Tenel Ka craned her neck, but did not rise to look. Allana needed to be held right now. “We lost Volgh Squadron? How much of it?”

“All of it,” Han reported. “The blast radius was three kilometers. They don’t make ion drives big enough to cause that kind of blast. Had to be baradium—a lot of it. That ship was rigged.”

Allana looked over Tenel Ka’s shoulder. “You mean the Sith did it?” she asked. “They blew everyone up because we wouldn’t let them aboard?”

Han’s face grew sad. “Yeah, sweetheart, that’s what I mean.” His gaze shifted from Allana to Tenel Ka. “That bomb was meant for the Queen Mother.”

Allana’s posture grew rigid. “They were trying to trick us?” She slipped free of Tenel Ka’s embrace and looked her in the eye. “Again?”

Tenel Ka nodded. “That’s what Sith do,” she said. “That’s why we need to be so careful around them.”

As Tenel Ka spoke, Leia approached from the corner of the salon. Her expression was calm, but the concern in her Force aura suggested that she had felt the deaths as clearly as the others. She took one look at the somber faces gathered around the console and dropped her gaze in sorrow.

“How bad is it?” she asked.

“They captured Sharmok seven-eighteen.” Tionne’s voice was filled with grief. “It appears they were trying to use it to sneak a baradium device aboard the flagship … to eliminate Queen Mother Tenel Ka.”

Leia’s eyes flashed, and she could not help glancing in Allana’s direction. Like Tenel Ka, the Solos had been warned by the Skywalkers about what had happened at the Pool of Knowledge, when a Sith High Lord had seen an image of a Jedi queen sitting on the Throne of Balance. Obsessed with preventing the vision, the Sith believed Tenel Ka to be that queen, and their mistake had resulted in a series of misguided assassination attempts. It was a burden she gladly carried in order to protect her daughter.

After a moment, Leia said, “We should certainly count ourselves fortunate they didn’t succeed.” She stepped around the console and began to study the tactical display. “But I can’t help thinking of the passengers—of all those students and their families. Do we know for sure they were aboard?”

“Yeah, we do,” Han said. “Seven-eighteen was just ahead of us when we launched, and it wasn’t far behind when we landed. The Sith didn’t have time to off-load three hundred prisoners—even if they had wanted to.”

Kam nodded. “My guess is the whole blastboat attack was designed to cut a transport out of the convoy and conceal a bomb on it,” he said. “Still, there were over two dozen students aboard who were old enough to put up a fight. The Sith would have needed a sizable force to capture their target so quickly, and we don’t actually know who died on that Sharmok.”

“Right. The bomb might have been Plan B.” Han paused and glanced in Allana’s direction, then apparently decided there was no need to spell out the possible alternative—that the Sith’s Plan A had been to land an elite boarding company and capture the Dragon Queen II for their navy. He turned to Tenel Ka and said, “It wouldn’t hurt to have someone check along seven-eighteen’s trajectory to see what they find.”

“Are you trying to be clever again?” Allana asked, looking at Han. “Because I know what you’re saying—that they might have dumped the passengers out an air lock.”

“It’s certainly worth checking,” Tenel Ka said. She nodded to her cousin. “Trista will see to it.”

Trista acknowledged the order with a quick nod and began to speak into her throat-mike. When Tenel Ka turned back to her daughter, she found Allana looking more worried than ever.

“There’s nothing to fear,” Tenel Ka said. “That Sharmok was never going to come aboard. That’s why we have Royal Protocol.”

“I’m not worrying about us,” Allana said. “It’s the Barabels. The Sith just killed almost thirty Jedi and their families, and pretty soon they’re going to kill Tesar and his—”

Her eyes went wide, and she ended the sentence without finishing the thought. Instead, she turned toward Leia. “Does Master Sebatyne understand about my vision?”

Leia’s expression grew apologetic, and she shook her head. “I don’t think so. She seemed to be, well, hunting, and when I tried to make her think of Tesar, she just withdrew. I was trying to reach her again when …” She finished with a glance toward the console, then added, “I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“It doesn’t sound like it,” Allana agreed. Her face grew serious, then she said, “I guess I have to do this myself.”

Leia’s brow rose. “Do what yourself?”

“Go to Coruscant,” Allana said simply. She turned to Han. “How soon can you have the Falcon repaired?”

Han scowled. “Never, if you’re expecting to fly to Coruscant in it,” he said. “Haven’t you heard? The place is crawling with Sith.”

“We won’t be there long,” Allana said. “All I need to do is find Barv. He can warn Tesar.”

Han looked relieved. “Why didn’t you say so? I can find Barv. What’s the message?”

“That I need to speak to him,” Allana said. “Aboard the Falcon.”

Han shook his head. “No way,” he said. “You’re wasting your breath, kid. The message or nothing.”

Allana scowled at Han for a moment, then exhaled sharply and turned to Leia. “He doesn’t understand,” she said. “This is about the Force. I have to warn Tesar myself.”

“Isn’t Tesar hiding inside the Temple?” Leia asked.

Allana looked more worried than ever. “I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to,” Leia said. “It’s rather obvious, now that I’ve had a chance to put everything together.”

Allana looked crestfallen. “You mean I let their secret out?”

“Not at all,” Tionne said. Her voice was warm and comforting, and Tenel Ka could tell she was using the Force to help calm Allana. “The Masters have suspected there’s a nest for quite some time.”

“And that has nothing to do with you,” Kam assured her. “Tesar and the other young Barabels disappeared months ago, and Master Sebatyne has been very touchy about the subject. We’d have to be fools not to figure it out.”

“But only you and Barv know where to find the nest, right?” Tenel Ka asked. “So you haven’t betrayed the Barabels’ trust at all.”

“She’s right, Allana,” Leia said. “And we’ll make sure Barv explains that when we sneak him into the Temple to warn the Barabels. No one will be angry with you, I promise.”

Allana frowned. “What if you can’t find Barv?”

“We’ll find him,” Han said. “We’re good at that sort of thing, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“What if Barv is dead?” Allana countered. “The place is crawling with Sith, and he’s fighting them—probably a lot of them, as big as he is.”

Han’s face went blank, and Leia looked at him with a she’s-got-you-there expression.

“You see?” Allana insisted. “Bringing me is the only way to be sure.”

Han’s expression only hardened. “Then we’re just gonna have to gamble,” he said. “Because you’re not coming. That’s final.”

Allana rolled her eyes, then turned to Tenel Ka. “Tell him,” she said. “It’s my Force vision, and that means I have to decide what to do about it.”

“Perhaps, but it’s Captain Solo’s ship, and that means only he decides who flies on it,” Tenel Ka said. “Why don’t we give your guardians a chance to handle this? I really do think it’s for the best.”

Allana gave Tenel Ka such a look of betrayal that it made her heart ache, and then the little girl turned to Leia with beseeching eyes.

Leia merely shrugged. “Han said final. You know what that means.”

“Yes, I do.” Allana fixed an exasperated glare on Han, then said, “It means he’s being a ronto-head.”

“Fine,” Han retorted. “I’m a ronto-head. And you’re still not coming.”

“Fine.” She spun away from him and started for the chairs in the corner. “But don’t blame me if Tesar bites your arm off. He doesn’t like ronto-heads, either.”