Only the revulsion that Zekk poured into the meld stayed Jaina's blade. She was still so filled with battle l.u.s.t that she had not even realized she was about to kill the two Chiss in cold blood. It was happening again. She was surrendering to the rage that had consumed her after Anakin died-giving herself to war, with no thought to anything but vengeance and victory.

Shuddering in disgust, Jaina deactivated her lightsaber and knelt next to the two soldiers. Her blade had cauterized their wounds, so they were not losing much blood. But they were both shivering and much too quiet. She rolled them onto their backs, then removed the first soldier's helmet. His blue skin was covered with perspiration, and his red eyes were distant and unfocused.

Jaina shook him by the chin, trying to bring him back to alertness. "Where's your medkit?"

The Chiss clamped a hand weakly over her arm. "Why?"

"You're going into shock," she explained. "You need a stim-shot, or you'll die."

"You?" the second soldier gasped inside his helmet. "Trying . . . to save us?"

"Isn't that what we just said?" Jaina demanded.

"No!"

The first soldier pushed her away, surprising her with his strength.

"Don't be afraid." Jaina poured soothing emotions into the Force, trying to calm and comfort the pair. "The Colony will take care of you. We'll even give-"

The second soldier snapped a vape charge off his utility belt and pulled the activation pin. "We know what you'll ... do."

"Hey!" Jaina did not dare use the Force to yank the canister from his hand-the charge would detonate the instant he released the trigger. "You're not getting this. The Colony is good to prisoners. You'll hardly know-"

"That your bugs are eating our insides?" The Chiss nodded to his companion, then said, "We'll be waiting on the other side, Jedi-"

Jaina sprang into a backward Force flip and tumbled away in a high arc, thumbing her lightsaber active again and batting aside a flurry of maser beams as she came down in the murky ribbon of a jungle stream.

The vape charge detonated as she splashed into the water, a dazzling flash of white that tore the air itself, stealing the breath from her lungs and leaving her half blind, shaking, and confused. She was not all that surprised the two soldiers had refused to surrender-but the reasons they had given distressed her. Could they really believe the Colony fed its prisoners to its larvae?

Jaina had no time to debate the question, for another cold shiver of danger sense was racing up her back. She brought her lightsaber up and spun around to block .. . and found the two Squib volunteers peering down the streambank at her, their dark heads and power blasters poking out from beneath the trunk of a fallen mogo.

"Take it easy, lady," the one on the left said. His muzzle was a little longer and sharper than that of his companion, who had a crooked streak of white fur tracing an old scar down one cheek. "We just came to see if you were still alive."

"Apparently so," Jaina said. She lowered her lightsaber, but did not deactivate the blade. "Be careful. I sensed something dangerous up there."

"You don't say?" Longnose exchanged glances with Scarcheek, then said, "Then I guess it's a good thing we came along."

"Yeah," Scarcheek agreed. "You're real lucky to have us looking out for you."

THIRTEEN.

Deep beneath the new Defense Force command compound on Coruscant-already known among military personnel as "the Dark Star"-there lay a dozen planning facilities so secret that Luke had never officially been informed of their existence. At the moment, he was in PaAR Five-PaAR being the acronym for "Planning and a.n.a.lysis Room." That Cal Omas had actually summoned him-and Mara and Jacen-into one of the secret rooms, he took as a good sign. Perhaps the Chief of State was ready to put the trouble between the Jedi and the government behind them.

Their escort led them along a dimly lit walkway past a projection pit displaying a three-meter hologram of the planet Thyferra. Around the edges of the pit were arrayed several banks of work stations where dozens of communications officers, intelligence a.n.a.lysts, and system operators labored to keep the information displayed on the hologram up to the minute. From what Luke could see, the situation wasn't good. The green swaths of continental rain forest were speckled with colored lettering that showed the dispositions of various villages, forces, and facilities. The planet's largest city, Zalxuc, and most of its villages had already turned red, indicating they were known to be under enemy control.

At the end of the walkway, the Skywalkers and Jacen were admitted onto a secure command platform where Chief Omas stood poring over holofeeds with Admiral Pellaeon. Han and Leia were already there as well, studying a second bank of holodisplays along with a Vratix-one of the mantiform insects who inhabited Thyferra. When the guards announced their arrival, Omas pretended to he engrossed in a holofeed of the Thyferran rain forest, leaving a surprised Pellaeon to wave them toward the holobank.

"Masters Skywalker, Jedi Solo, please join us." Despite his aged face and bushy white mustache, Pellaeon-an ex-Imperial admiral-continued to look the part of the shrewd command officer he was. He gestured toward the insect at his side. "Do you know Senator Zalk't from Thyferra?"

"Only by reputation." Luke inclined his head to the Vratix. "I'm sorry the Jedi weren't able to prevent the coup on Thyferra, Senator Zalk't."

Zalk't scuttled over and greeted Luke by rubbing a ma.s.sive forearm across his shoulder. "The fault was not yours, Master Skywalker." His speech was filled with whistles and clicks. "Thyferra thanks the Jedi for their efforts on our behalf."

"As does the entire Galactic Alliance," Pellaeon added. "Had the Jedi not responded so quickly, we would have lost far more than the Thyferra system." He cast a meaningful glance in Omas's direction. "Isn't that correct, Chief Omas?"

Omas finally tore his attention away from the holo and met Luke's gaze. He looked even more careworn than usual, with ashen skin and bags beneath his eyes as deep as those of a Yuuzhan Vong.

"Yes, it was a relief to find the Jedi serving the Galactic Alliance for a change," Omas said.

"The Jedi have always served the Galactic Alliance, Chief Omas." As Luke spoke, he was pouring goodwill into the Force. He could sense the anger that Omas's comment had raised in Han and Leia and even in Jacen, and he could not allow this meeting to degenerate into a shouting match. "But the issues have not always been clear, and sometimes we have taken the long view without talking to you. I apologize for our mistakes."

Omas's jaw dropped, as did those of Han, Leia, and Jacen. Only Pellaeon and Mara did not seem surprised Pellaeon because the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi order clearly needed each other to deal with the Killiks, and Mara because she was the one who had suggested to Luke that it was the duty of the Jedi order to support the Galactic Alliance. Imperfect as it was, the Galactic Alliance remained the galaxy's best hope for achieving a lasting peace.

Omas finally recovered from his shock. "Thank you, Master Skywalker." There was more suspicion in his words than relief, and he quickly turned back to the bank of holofeeds. "I trust the Jedi won't find the issues too confusing today."

Almost all of the holofeeds showed a small squad of Killik commandos leading a few Vratix "tarheads"-insects addicted to black membrosia-into a village of graceful, multibalconied towers. The tarheads would enter one or two of the towers, then return with a few Vratix and present them to the Killiks, who did not even bother lining the prisoners up before spraying them with shatter gun pellets. Sometime during the process, the hobo would usually show a Killik approaching the holocam, and the signal would go to static.

"The traitorsss are bringing out the village anirs," Zalk't explained in his whistling Basic. "But the coup actually began in Zalxuc. Before we realized what was happening, tarhead traitors had slain our high canirs and their a.s.sistants, and the Killiksss were hunting down every non-insect in the city."

"Cutting off the head so they can control the body," Leia said. "Standard coup strategy."

"Yeah, but this one has a twist," Han added. "Black membrosia will be running in the streets. Half the population will be addicts-and the bugs will be their suppliers."

"It gets worse," Leia pointed out. "If the Killiks hold Thyferra long enough, the Vratix will become Joiners."

Luke nodded. "If the Killiks hold it long enough." He turned to Jacen. "How long would it take for the Vratix to start becoming Joiners?"

"It doesn't matter," Jacen said, shaking his head. "The Killiks are trying-"

"That's not what I asked," Luke snapped. He could feel in the Force that Omas remained too suspicious of the Jedi to take advice from Jacen. "Just answer my question."

Jacen scowled at the rebuke. "Cilghal would have a better idea than I do," he said. "Normally, an outsider has to spend several months in a nest to become a full Joiner, but it might go faster for insect species."

"In the meantime, our bacta supply is cut off," Omas said. "And if we launch a counteroffensive, the damage could be even worse."

"The fighting will be widespread, and the xoorzi crop will suffer," Zalk't said.

"Xoorzi crop?" Han asked. "I thought bacta was made out of a couple of kinds of bacteria."

"It is," Zalk't replied. "Xoorzi fungus is the growth medium for the alazhi bacteria. It occurs only in the wild, in the deepest shade of the forest floor. The slightest disturbance will cause it to release its spores and shrivel."

"As you can see, a conventional battle would be devastating," Pellaeon said. "We were hoping the Jedi would be able to handle the situation a bit more delicately." He turned to Omas, his expression carrying an unspoken demand. "Weren't we?"

Omas swallowed hard, then said, "Yes. The Galactic Alliance would be very grateful for the Jedi's help." Luke kept a sober expression, but inwardly he was smiling. The Jedi's quick response to the coup attempts had regained some measure of respect from Chief Omas, and now he was asking for the Jedi's help-albeit reluctantly.

"Of course." Luke felt a bolt of alarm shoot through the Force as Han, Jacen, and even Leia grew worried that he was allowing political concerns to undermine his judgment. "The Jedi would be delighted to help."

"If you and Admiral Pellaeon think that's best," Mara added, obviously sensing the same objections from their companions.

Omas frowned at her. "We do."

"Then that's what we'll do." Luke noticed Pellaeon's brown eyes studying Mara with their usual shrewdness. He nudged the admiral through the Force, feeding Pellaeon's doubt and urging him to question the situation. Outwardly, he simply bowed to Chief Omas. "If you'll excuse me, then, I'll start recalling our Jedi Knights-"

"Not yet," Pellaeon said. His gaze flickered briefly between Luke and Mara, and Luke knew the admiral had figured out that he was being played. That did not prevent him from asking the right question. "You don't think sending the Jedi to Thyferra is a good idea, do you, Master Sky-walker?"

Luke kept his gaze fixed on Omas. "The Jedi are willing to go wherever Chief Omas feels we are needed."

"Blast it, Luke!" Pellaeon barked. "That's not what I asked. If you know something we don't-"

"It's not anything we know," Leia interrupted. "It's just experience."

"What experience?" Omas looked suspicious, but he was clearly unwilling to deny his Supreme Commander the leeway to pursue his own line of inquiry. "With the Killiks?"

"Precisely," Leia said. "I'm sure it hasn't appeared this way from your position as the Chief of State, but the Jedi are convinced that much of the Colony's aggression since Qoribu has actually been directed at the Jedi order."

"That wouldn't surprise me in the least," Omas said icily. "As I'm sure you recall, I didn't want the Jedi involved with the Colony in the first place."

"I don't see how that has any bearing on the current situation," Pellaeon said sharply. "And you feel these coups are directed at the Jedi how?"

"Not at us," Luke said. "They're diversions, to keep us on the defensive instead of destroying the Colony's strength at a crucial time."

"The Killiks are launching something major," Leia said. When Omas's brow rose, she raised a hand to forestall his question. "I can feel it through Jaina-there's a big battle going on, one she seems confident of winning."

This was news to Luke, who had not been able to get a clear Force reading on his niece since she became a Joiner, but Pellaeon nodded in agreement.

"Bwua'tu feels they're preparing another breakout attempt in the Utegetu," the admiral said. "And they certainly wouldn't want the Jedi interfering in that-not after the role you played in spoiling their first attempt."

Omas looked at Pellaeon with a dropped jaw. "You believe them?"

"I do. The Colony can't fight the Alliance and the Chiss at the same time. I never believed the coups were meant to be anything more than a diversion-and I'm certainly willing to consider the possibility that it wasn't the military they were trying to distract." Pellaeon turned to Luke. "Can the Jedi really destroy the Colony's strength?"

Luke nodded, using the Force to project more confidence than he felt. "We can."

"You'll forgive me if I want to know how," Omas said.

"Simple." It was Jacen who said this. "We take out Raynar Thul."

Pellaeon and Omas exchanged uneasy glances, then Omas asked, "By 'take out,' you mean-"

"We mean do whatever is necessary to remove him from power," Luke said. He was still not ready to commit to killing one of his own Jedi Knights-at least not publicly. "But to destroy the Colony, we can't stop there. I'll have to find and kill Lomi Plo."

Pellaeon's eyes narrowed. "And you can do that? I thought she was invisible."

"She won't be invisible this time," Luke said. "And we have a backup plan."

"We do?" Han asked, raising his brow.

Luke nodded. "Something Cilghal developed while you and Leia were scouting Lizil."

Luke avoided any reference to the mission being unauthorized. Despite Leia's misgivings about him a.s.suming sole leadership of the Jedi, she was obviously still dedicated to the Alliance and the order-she had proved that when she and Han returned to sound the warning about the coups instead of continuing after Jaina and Zekk.

When Luke did not elaborate, Pellaeon grew impatient. "Master Skywalker, you obviously have a plan to end this entire crisis. Would you please stop wasting the Chief's time and tell us?"

Luke smiled. "Of course."

He laid out the basics of the plan that he and Mara had been developing for some time, outlining what he would need from the Defense Forces, how the Alliance's Jedi would be used, and what they would need from Chief Omas. By the time he finished, there had been a clear shift in the mood on the command platform.

"Just so I'm sure I understand," Omas said. "This will destroy the Colony, but not the Killiks?"

"That's right," Luke said. "And even if the Colony does somehow form again, it won't be able to expand."

Omas nodded, then caught Luke's eye and held it. "And you really said 'the Alliance's Jedi'?"

Luke laughed, trying to keep hidden the sense of loss he felt inside. "I did," he said. "The Jedi serve the Force-but we can't serve it in a vacuum. We need the Galactic Alliance as much as it needs us."

"Well, then!" Omas's face brightened, and he turned to Pellaeon. "What do you think of our Jedi's plan?"

Pellaeon grew thoughtful, absentmindedly twisting the ends of his mustache, then frowned in approval. "It's sneaky," he said. "I like it."

FOURTEEN.

A terrible ripping noise growled down out of the clouds, and Jaina looked up to see another flight of Chiss missiles arcing through the downpour. It had been days-more than a week-since the Great Swarm had boiled out of the ground beneath the enemy's drop ships, and the missiles had not stopped. They came day and night, painting streaks of white fire across the sky and trailing green plumes of insecticide, grating nerves raw with their endless growling.

Jaina made a sweeping motion with her hand, using the Force to hurl three missiles hack toward their launchers. The other two dropped into the defoliated jungle behind her and detonated in a blinding pulse, hurling trunks in every direction and flashing killer radiation through the naked trees for a hundred meters.

Killiks died by the hundreds in an instant, and they would die by the thousands as the plumes of poisonous vapor settled to the jungle floor and began to take their toll. It did not matter. UnuThul was urging the Great Swarm onward, filling every thorax with the same irresistible compulsion to attack, attack, attack that Jaina felt hammering inside her own chest. The Killiks had to overrun the Chiss lines; they had to do it now.

There was just one problem.

Already, the jungle floor lay buried so deeply beneath dead Killiks and pieces of dead Killiks that Jaina could barely walk. In places, she was literally wading through pools of insect gore or scrambling over mounds of broken chitin, and the enemy lines remained as unattainable as ever. For every hundred meters the Great Swarm advanced, the Chiss pulled back a hundred and one. Eventually, of course, they would run out of room to retreat-but Jaina was beginning to worry that the Colony would run out of Killiks first.

Jaina slipped behind the trunk of a giant mogo and dropped to her knees, keeping one eye on the flickering battle ahead as she uncapped her canteen. The problem was not that the Killiks were failing to kill the enemy. Jaina could see half a dozen panicked Chiss ripping at their armor to get at the Jooj underneath, and every few moments, a Rekker would spring over a breastwork and send a Chiss soldier bouncing off the trees-often in pieces.

The problem was that-with UnuThul's Will compelling them to attack almost mindlessly-the Killiks were a lot less efficient than the Chiss. They were running headlong into walls of charric fire, while the enemy remained concealed and protected behind their temporary fortifications, exposing themselves to attack only when there were so many Killik bodies piled in front of them that they had to withdraw to a clear position.

Jaina turned, looking for her newest communications a.s.sistant-she lost at least one Wuluw a day-and found only the two black-furred Squibs who had a.s.signed themselves to watch her back.