"Pardon me, gentlemen," Leia said. "Your concern is touching, but I a.s.sure you, the Falcon remains under Han's command. Will you both activate Idol Smasher?"

Idol Smasher was an old encryption system the allies had used in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. Outdated though it was, it was almost a certainty that both fleets would still have the decoding hardware available in their code room archives. Military cryptographers were notorious pack rats.

After a short pause, Gray said, "We'll need two minutes."

"We'll need one." Fel's tone was superior. "Please notify us when you're ready, Dukat."

Han glanced back at C-3PO, who was already plugging the necessary module into the comm station, and smirked.

"The Falcon is ready now."

The transmission light went out, then Leia said, "Trouble, Han."

Han looked back to the tactical screen and immediately began to warm the ion drives. The moon Kr was fast vanishing behind a cloud of dartships. As he watched, the spectrograph identified their propulsion as hydrogen- based.

"Dark Nest," he said. "Anything from Luke and Mara?"

"A little anxiety-they're not calling for us, yet."

"Tell them not to push it," Han said. "They're too old to play hero."

"Han, they're younger than you were at the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar."

"Yeah, well. I've got my luck," Han said. "All they have is the Force. "

Fel's voice came over the comm. "Checking encryption."

"Well done, Commander!" C-3PO answered. "That took only thirty-three point seven seconds."

"Thirty-three point four-you neglected the transmission lag," Fel corrected. "I wanted to have a word with the Solos before Dukat Gray joined us."

"Jag, we're not going home." Han was keeping one eye on the tactical display and one on Leia, ready to start toward Kr the instant it looked like Luke and Mara were in trouble. "Jaina's in there, and-"

"Yes, I know," Fel said. "I think... actually, I'm convinced she saved our fleet."

Leia's jaw fell, but her voice betrayed no hint of her shock. "You find that surprising, Jag? The Jedi are here to stop a war, not choose sides."

"We've never doubted your intentions, Princess Leia," Fel said.

"Only your province in being here-and your ability to resist the Colony's Will."

"Then Jaina has changed your minds?"

"She has opened mine," Fel corrected. "But that is very different from convincing Defense Fleet Command that the Jedi can neutralize the Killik threat."

"We understand your concern," Leia said. "Perhaps Defense Fleet Command would believe us if the Colony withdrew from Qoribu?"

There was a moment of stunned silence. On the tactical display, Kr had vanished beneath a yellow swarm of dartship symbols. Han shook an inquiring finger in the moon's general direction, but Leia shook her head. Luke and Mara still did not want any help.

Finally, Fel asked, "The Jedi can arrange that?"

"Testing encryption," Gray's voice broke in. "You've been talking without me."

"Encryption confirmed." In a tone that mimicked Gray's peevishness, C- 3PO replied, "Though you are somewhat late."

"It was only two minutes twenty," Gray complained. "That's no excuse-"

"We were just catching up on old times," Leia said. "You may not be aware of it, but Commander Fel came very close to becoming our son-in-law."

As Leia spoke, her eyes grew wide, and she began to gesture frantically out the forward viewport. Han slammed the throttles forward, and the Falcon leapt toward Qoribu.

"Commander Fel, Dukat Gray, your tactical officers are about to tell you that the Falcon is accelerating toward the moon Kr at maximum power." Though Leia's face was pale, her voice remained calm. "I wanted to inform you both of the reason."

Leia briefed them on the Jedi discovery of the Dark Nest and their theory about the power it held over the rest of the Colony's collective mind. She even revealed the Order's fear that the nest was being controlled by the two Dark Jedi who had abducted Raynar Thul on Baanu Ra.s.s, keeping secret only the fact that the Dark Nest was also attempting to absorb Alema Rar.

"You're telling us that the Colony is ruled by a hidden nest?" Fel asked, incredulous.

"Only in the sense that any sentient mind is ruled by its own unconscious mind," Leia said. "Influenced might be a better term-though in the Killiks' case the influence is very heavy. We're fairly sure the Dark Nest is responsible for the Colony's decision to inhabit Qoribu."

"For what purpose?" Fel asked.

"To start a war," Han said. "And so far, you guys are playing right into their snappy little pincers."

"It would be foolish to a.s.sume you know our plans, Captain Solo."

"Your plans were clear enough when the Fleet of the Glorious Defender Queen arrived," Gray said. "You were maneuvering to attack."

"Obviously, I cannot discuss our plans with any of you," Fel said.

"I a.s.sume that the Jedi have located this Dark Nest on Kr and intend to break its hold over the Colony?"

"You could say that," Han said. Kr was visible to the naked eve now, a fuzzy blue nugget about the size of a thumb. "If blasting it to bug parts counts."

"With just the Falcon?" Gray asked.

"We have more than the Falcon," Leia said. "Luke and Mara have already found the entrance to the nest."

"That explains the activity on Kr," Fel concluded. "The dartships seem to be swarming something."

Though the Falcon's tactical display showed no indications of weapons activity, Han had no doubt that the Skywalkers were busy dodging dartships. He could see it in the tautness around Leia's eyes.

"Master Skywalker is under attack?" There was more excitement in Gray's voice than concern.

"There's no need for alarm, Dukat!" Leia commanded. "Luke and Mara can easily-"

A pair of Hapan Novas began to slip down the tactical display toward Kr. Han's heart rose into his throat.

"Uh, what are you doing there, Dukat?"

"Sending support," Gray said. "Queen Mother Tenel Ka would not be pleased if I allowed this Dark Nest to kill Master Skywalker and her husband-"

"Recall your vessels at once, Dukat," Fel said. "We cannot permit any Hapan capital ship to approach the orbital plane."

"It's a small force," Gray said. "Any fool can that see it poses no threat to-"

"Only a fool would allow his enemy to establish a forward position under the current circ.u.mstances," Fel replied. A Chiss Star Destroyer and half a dozen cruisers started upward to meet the Hapan trio. "And we Chiss are not fools."

"Oh, boy," Han said under his breath. "I've got a-"

"-bad feeling. I know," Leia finished. "Dukat Gray, leave this to us. We'll let you know if-"

A chain of tiny orange flashes suddenly flared along Kr's long axis as someone on the moon opened fire.

Two more Battle Dragons, accompanied by a dozen Novas, began to descend toward Qoribu's rings.

"The queen's fleet will not stand idly by while Master Skywalker is viciously attacked," Gray declared.

"Dukat Gray-"

That was as much as Leia could say before Fel started to talk over her.

"The Chiss have no wish to see Master Skywalker and his wife injured, either." A dozen Chiss cruisers joined the growing migration toward Kr. "But the Dark Nest is on our side of the rings. Allow us to support him."

"Out of the question!" Gray shot back. Han had known even before the reply that Fel's offer would never reach orbit. Gray cared more about being able to claim credit for rescuing Luke and Mara than whether they actually needed to be rescued. "The Chiss have made it clear they didn't want the Jedi here in the first place. We have no a.s.surance that you wouldn't kill them yourselves."

"Perhaps not," Fel returned coolly. "But if you don't recall those vessels, I can a.s.sure you-"

"Dukat Gray," Leia said. "Sparking a clash with the Chiss is not going to win the Queen Mother's favor. I suggest you recall your vessels and wait until your aid is truly needed."

Another string of explosions lit Kr's face. "It's apparent to me that our aid is needed," Gray said. "And if we must fight the Chiss to deliver it, we will."

He closed the channel.

"Stubborn rodder!" Leia cursed. "Jag, you understand-"

"I'm sorry, Princess Leia," Fel said. The Chiss fleet began to stream upward on all sides of the planet. "But my superiors refuse to take the chance that this isn't a ploy. I suggest you avoid getting caught in the crossfire."

THIRTY-FIVE.

A pillar of orange rocket exhaust arced out of Kr's frozen tangle of ethmane crystals, emerging from an ice-lined shaft more than a kilometer across. This column was far larger than any others Luke and Mara had seen, its heat raising a wall of steam as it bent toward the Skywalkers and streaked low over the moon's frozen surface.

Confident they had finally found what they were looking for, Luke and Mara banked away and began to accelerate, drawing the orange column after them. Luke would have liked to make a reconnaissance pa.s.s to be certain the huge shaft was the hangar opening he believed it to be, but Kr's tortured terrain and icy blue light neutralized the speed and camouflage of their StealthXs, and both of their starfighters had already taken too much of a beating to risk another confrontation.

Two seconds later, Luke's R9 astromech unit-sitting in for an operationally challenged R2-D2-sounded an attack alarm. Luke felt a start from Mara as an explosion rocked her StealthX; then his own starfighter gave a sharp double buck. The R9 pointedly informed Luke they were being ambushed by Gorog dartships, and the tactical display showed half a dozen of the little craft behind them, rising from the sensor-blocking depths of the frozen ethmane jungle.

Luke continued toward the Falcon, flying low over Kr's feathery jungle of ethmane crystals. Ideally, he would have climbed for open s.p.a.ce where their StealthXs would have full advantage, but the tactical display showed a second swarm of dartships flying top cover, in perfect position to stop them.

The Skywalkers had traveled barely a kilometer when another column of dartships rose out of the ethmane jungle ahead.

Luke sensed Mara's alarm almost before his own. They had stayed a little too long, and now Gorog was boxing them in. The swarm spread out before them, creating an orange wall of rocket exhaust. The Skywalkers began to pour cannon fire into the swirling ma.s.s, trying to clear a lane for their StealthXs.

It was like trying to blast a tunnel through a cloud. Every time they created a hole, it filled instantly.

As the Skywalkers drew closer, the orange wall resolved itself into a pattern of fiery whirling disks, each with the black dot of a dartship at its heart. Mara continued to fire, and Luke followed her lead. The tactic clearly had no chance of success, but Mara had a plan. Luke was almost sure of it.

Finally, when the swarm was so close that the dartships had grown into tiny cylinders, glowing streaks of missile propellant began to reach out toward the Skywalkers. Mara took the lead and pulled up, a loose wing stabilizer shuddering under the strain. The two nearest swarms-the one blocking their escape and the one pursuing from behind-nosed up to give chase.

Stick close, she warned.

Suddenly Mara dropped the nose of her StealthX. Luke followed so quickly that he almost beat her, but the Dark Nest was not fooled. The dartships simply leveled off and continued to close on the Skywalkers.

Luke expected Mara to pull up again and outclimb their pursuers, gambling that the StealthXs could withstand a barrage of Killik chemical explosives long enough to fight through the top-cover swarm. Instead, she continued to dive. The ice jungle's feathery canopy came up rapidly. Luke began to wonder when she intended to pull up.

She did not.

A flurry of cannon bolts lanced out from Mara's StealthX, instantly superheating the ice crystals in front of her and filling Luke's forward view with brown steam. He switched to instrument flying and followed her through the cloud into the snarled depths of the ice jungle. Flash-frozen spires of ethmane stood at all angles, glowing translucent blue with Gyuel's distant light, reaching out to embrace each other with delicate arms of h.o.a.rfrost.

Mara flipped her StealthX up on edge and slipped between two ethmane pillars, then crashed through a curtain of frost and sent up a glittering cloud of ice particles. Luke ducked under a frozen arch, then shot ahead of Mara into the lead.

He offered his apologies through their Force-bond, along with an image of the loose stabilizer he had seen on her wing.

Whatever, she answered.

Luke felt a sudden compulsion to swing back toward the nest and wondered if his wife had gone crazy.

Mara urged him to think. Gorog expected them to run for the Falcon.

Luke quickly brought them around. It would be safer to go in the opposite direction... and sneak a look at the nest. He focused all his attention on the frozen jungle ahead and began a Jedi breathing exercise, allowing his mind to race forward through the ethmane spires, to find its own route down the twining pa.s.sages and rolling channels. Time seemed to slow. He surrendered his steering arm to the Force, and his hand began to move of its own accord, guiding the StealthX into one shimmering gap after another, bobbing over blue curtains, ducking beneath long fronds of frost, blasting holes through impa.s.sable walls of ice.

Mara stayed close on his tail, almost joining her hand to his through their Force-bond, and thirty seconds later they shot through a small icy portal into an irregular blue shaft barely broad enough for Luke to bank the StealthX into a tight inside spiral.

Stang!

Luke felt Mara's fear through the Force, and his heart jumped into his throat. Then, as he continued his own spiral around the small shaft, he saw the jagged hole where her StealthX had bounced off the icy wall.

His tactical display showed her still on his tail, but weaving badly.

Mara?

Fine! she answered.

Luke continued to bank, setting the StealthX up on one wing so that he could look up out one side of the c.o.c.kpit and down out the other. He estimated they were about two kilometers deep, though that was impossible to confirm with instruments. This far down inside the frozen moon, the StealthX's sensor range extended only as far as the walls of frozen ethmane.