Wedge reduced power on his repulsors and began to descend. In moments he was surrounded by stone wall, so recently drilled that his repulsor wash constantly kicked dust and pebbles free. He activated his landing floods so he could lean to either side and see through the canopy into the depths below.

Over his comm board came the next exchange: "Mission control to Homegirl, report."

"Control, Homegirl." Inyri Forge sounded crisp and alert, not affecting the unconcerned drawl that so many retired pilots including Wedge, did. "Everything's in the green."

"Homegirl, start your descent."

It was a quick two kilometers down for Wedge; he spent it listening to the others reporting and being issued their go orders. There was no diminishment of comm signal strength, as Lando's crews had situated communications repeater units in the tunnels. Wedge had been warned that the farther away from the entry point he ventured, the more likely it became that signal strength would periodically wane or be lost; Lando's crews had not had the time or resources to saturate these tunnels with the repeaters.

At the bottom of the shaft, Wedge found himself in a broad, high-vaulted tunnel as straight as a proton torpedo's trajectory. He consulted his navigation screen, brought his X-wing around to starboard, and kicked in the thrusters.

Of course, in this environment, a starfighter would not ridiculously outcla.s.s an ordinary speeder in velocity. They couldn't afford full starfighter speed in a place where sudden turns, debris, and even dangerous life-forms might pop up every kilometer or two. But with high explosives and Han's anecdotal energy spiders around, he'd much prefer to be surrounded by composite armor and shields than a thin durasteel carapace.

He followed the route indicated on his nav board, a dotted line that led him far away from the entry point. Each pilot would be doing the same, heading off to a distant start point widely separated from the others. Then each would begin an even more complicated route back, dropping a lethal demolition package in each cavern he or she visited. Pilots would be making rearming stops, too; Wedge's X-wing could only carry a total of six missiles, so he'd be making one or two such stops.

Wedge felt the old familiar tightening of his gut and shoulders. This wasn't a combat mission, but people could die ... and if they failed, a world would perish.

Han and Leia, in the c.o.c.kpit of the Falcon Falcon, watched the last starfighter, Nrin Vakil's A-wing, begin its descent. The Falcon Falcon would be up next. Han turned to look over his shoulder at Allana, who was in the rear seat. "All strapped in, kid?" would be up next. Han turned to look over his shoulder at Allana, who was in the rear seat. "All strapped in, kid?"

Allana nodded, solemn.

"As am I," C-3PO a.s.sured him from beside Allana. "I a.s.sume your failure to ask the same of me means that you a.s.sumed I would be properly restrained."

Han turned forward again. "You should always be properly restrained, Goldenrod."

"I'm sorry, sir?"

Leia shot Han a reproachful look. "Han means you should always be safe, Threepio."

"Obviously what I meant." Han tapped a b.u.t.ton on his comm board. "You secure, Artoo?"

An affirmative whistle emerged from the speakers. R2-D2 was back in the engineering s.p.a.ce, ready to deal with any mechanical problems that might occur.

"Millennium Falcon, this is mission control. Report status."

"We're having a party here," Han reported, prompting a giggle from Allana. "How about you?"

"Wishing I were. You are cleared to go."

Han eased forward, then began a careful descent. The hole dug for this purpose, s.p.a.cious by starfighter standards, barely accommodated the Falcon Falcon or the two ships to follow. Han cautiously eyed the distance-to-obstacles readouts as he descended. or the two ships to follow. Han cautiously eyed the distance-to-obstacles readouts as he descended.

But soon enough he was at bottom level again and taking a route that would gradually lead the Falcon Falcon to the southeast. to the southeast.

The first several caverns went without incident for Wedge. He'd hovered in the entryway to a cavern, armed his proton torpedo system, taken careful aim at the explosives mound in the center, and fired. The missile, with its comparatively inexpensive thermal detonator warhead instead of an expensive, ship-crippling proton torpedo, had flashed across the intervening s.p.a.ce and buried itself in the ground a few meters from the mound. Within moments, sparkly b.a.l.l.s of light, bogeys, had arrived from floor or ceiling or distant banks of machinery. Wedge had turned away and kicked in his thrusters, and that was it.

Approaching his fifth cavern, Wedge saw its entrance tunnel alive with animals-centipedes especially, and one big crimson spider. They were fleeing, some of them attacking one another as they went. He nodded; one of the speeders with a sonic unit had recently been here and accomplished its mission. He approached this cavern cautiously; the speeder's presence might have stirred up bogeys here, and he'd hate to have one knock out his starfighter's systems, even temporarily. But as he reached the cavern entrance, there were no bogeys in sight, and only a couple showing up on the X-wing's sensors; they seemed to be at the cavern's far entrance.

Wedge hovered, fired his payload, and turned away.

There was a clunk clunk from immediately above and Wedge jumped as a green centipede, a meter long, suddenly appeared on the canopy over his face. The creature coiled and struck, its tail-end stinger hammering the transparisteel. from immediately above and Wedge jumped as a green centipede, a meter long, suddenly appeared on the canopy over his face. The creature coiled and struck, its tail-end stinger hammering the transparisteel.

It did not penetrate. Several cubic centimeters of black liquid that had to be venom oozed out over the canopy. The centipede struck again and again, the successive strikes accompanied by decreasing amounts of venom.

"Sorry, little guy." Wedge eased his starfighter forward. "Nothing for you to eat here."

Wedge's astromech tweetled at him from behind, barely audible through the canopy but easy to hear through the X-wing's comm system. Wedge checked the comm board translation output to make sure he'd understood. "That's right, Roll-On. One more missile and we have to rearm."

The centipede, responding to either the R2 unit's noise or the rotation of its head, scrabbled its way aft over the canopy toward the droid. Dividing his attention between tunnel ahead and what was transpiring behind, Wedge watched its progress.

The creature came within half a meter of Roll-On and stopped there, raising its tail to strike.

A small panel on the astromech's front opened. A probe extended and touched the centipede. There was a faint zatt zatt noise and a flash of blue as an electrical charge hit the insect. The centipede spasmed and, stunned, fell off the X-wing. Roll-On retracted its lead and shut the panel. noise and a flash of blue as an electrical charge hit the insect. The centipede spasmed and, stunned, fell off the X-wing. Roll-On retracted its lead and shut the panel.

Wedge grinned. With luck, that would be the most dangerous enemy action he'd have to face today.

Later, at a tunnel intersection broad enough to be considered a cavern itself, Wedge set his X-wing down beside two other vehicles.

One was a cargo speeder with a long bed loaded with plastic crating. In his career, Wedge had seen more of those crates than he could possibly remember. Each held six or eight proton torpedoes. Unloading one crate were a sandy-haired young man, who spared a smile and a wave for Wedge, and a loader droid half again the height of its human partner, its bulky frame designed for lifting strength and slow movement.

Nearby sat the operation's sole Eta-5 interceptor. Its body was similar to that of an A-wing, sleek and wedge-shaped, but extending port and starboard from the fuselage were struts to which inwardly curved solar wing arrays, like those of the old Eta-2, were attached. The starfighter was painted a deep blue but carried no planetary or other service markings.

Leaning against it was its pilot, Rhysati Ynr, a lean, blond woman dressed in a black variation on the A-wing pilot's uniform. She pushed herself away from the hull and walked to the X-wing as soon as Wedge popped his canopy. "Awake yet, General?"

"Reluctantly."

"This'll wake you up." Rhysati turned back toward the young man handling her missile rearmament. "Hey, kid, come over here and introduce yourself."

Obliging, the teenager trotted over. He was compact of frame and wore a tan jumpsuit. He extended a hand up to Wedge. "Good morning, sir. I'm Drathan Forge."

Wedge shook his head and raised an eyebrow. "Forge "Forge. Inyri's nephew?"

"Great-nephew, actually."

"And you work for Lando?"

"For now. Mostly as a mechanic. But I'm a good flier. I've put in an application to the academy. I have provisional acceptance. I have to keep my grades up for the next year."

"Good luck with that."

The loader droid straightened from the Eta-5 and turned its inverted-triangle head toward Drathan. "Twelve missiles loaded and reporting online." Its voice rang metallically.

"All right." The young man gestured at the X-wing. "Let's prep six proton formats for this one." With a half salute for Wedge, he headed back to resume his work.

Wedge returned his attention to Rhysati. "How's Nawara?"

"Wishing he were here with me. If he weren't trying to dig the Jedi out of a legal hole, he'd be flying something something on this operation." on this operation."

Wedge gestured at her interceptor. "Looks fast."

"You've never flown one?"

He shook his head. "I've done some simulator work, but never actually been in one. My daughter Syal flew them."

"You want to trade for the rest of the operation?"

Wedge blinked. "What, in the middle of a mission?"

"Sure. This isn't the armed forces, Wedge. It's more like a heavily armed bachelor party. What's Lando going to do to us if we trade?"

Wedge scrambled out of his c.o.c.kpit. He knew it was an unseemly spectacle for a retired officer. On the other hand, it was no longer his job to set a good example.

JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT.

TAHIRI AND MIRAX CARRIED SEFF BETWEEN THEM, HIS ARMS OVER HIS ARMS OVER their shoulders as though he were a drunk comrade; he was not heavily built and they were strong women, so it was his awkwardness rather than his weight that posed the greatest problem. Tekli preceded them, and Winter followed behind. their shoulders as though he were a drunk comrade; he was not heavily built and they were strong women, so it was his awkwardness rather than his weight that posed the greatest problem. Tekli preceded them, and Winter followed behind.

They hauled the unconscious Jedi through the darkened speeder hangar, trying to keep themselves as calm and centered as possible; other Jedi, especially the Masters whose hangar this was, were more likely to sense distress. But no one met them in the corridor outside the hangar, and no one approached them as they made their way to the nearest turbolift.

As they neared the lift, it hummed with the sound of an arriving car. Tahiri and Mirax got Seff spun around and made it with Winter and Tekli to a darkened nook before the turbolift door opened.

Tekli peered into the hall and breathed a sigh of relief. She motioned the others forward. They stepped out again and saw that it was Jaina awaiting them at the lift.

"Any problems with your observer?" Tahiri asked. They moved into the lift car.

"No. He sympathized with me for not catching any petty criminals tonight." Jaina blinked, affecting an expression of innocence. "It looks like my night's outing was a complete failure."

Tekli addressed the turbolift controls: "Second medical level."

The lower medical level was a solemn, quiet area of bare walls and windowless doors-not too different, Tahiri reflected, from the prison she'd just visited.

At the back of one medical supplies storage chamber was a door marked RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS. AUTHORIZED ACCESS ONLY AUTHORIZED ACCESS ONLY. The door had a security pad beside it. Tekli tapped in the access code. "Master Cilghal and I are the only ones authorized to enter. Even Master Hamner must come to us. This is the lesser of two radiation storage chambers. I've moved all the materials that belong here into the primary chamber." The door slid open, and they moved through into a small outer chamber; inset in the right wall was a swing-out door as thick as a blast door. Through it was another chamber, this one set up with a heavy patient bed and a bank of monitoring equipment.

In minutes, they had Seff strapped down to the bed and hooked up to the monitors. Finally Jaina could breathe a sigh of relief; this mission was done, and now the Jedi could begin to benefit from the knowledge Seff might provide. She turned to Tekli. "You're all right here?"

"Fine, fine."

"Everybody, come on up to the main level. You can get cleaned up-plenty of extra clothes around-and grab a cup of caf. Rest for a few minutes."

Mirax shook her head. "Have to get back to our quarters. There's no telling when Corran will be back."

Winter looked regretful, too. "I wish I could."

Jaina sighed. "I'll get you back out through the same hangar you came in by. No worries. Tahiri?"

Tahiri appeared dubious. "I don't know. There are plenty of Jedi who don't remember me fondly-"

"And they should know that you and I are on good terms. It'll make them think about things." Jaina's tone was firm. "Come on."

"All right."

Fresh from a sanisteam and in clean garments, Jaina and Tahiri nursed fresh cups of caf and talked, their voices low. At this hour of night, the common dining hall was all but unoccupied, with the banks of overhead glow rods along the walls switched off, leaving only those in the center of the ceiling still shining. It was a restful place, particularly after the events of less than an hour earlier. Tahiri looked around, her expression wistful.

"You miss it?"

Tahiri nodded.

"Then come back."

Tahiri shook her head. "No. Not yet, anyway ... Have you suddenly acquired the Luke Skywalker urge to save everybody, one person at a time?"

"Better than the Darth Vader urge to make the galaxy a better place by destroying everything that doesn't behave."

"True. Jacen had enough of that for both of you."

A man entering the dining hall paused in the shadows by the main doorway, then headed their way. As he emerged from the darkness, Jaina saw that it was Dab.

He waved as he approached. "Jedi Solo. You couldn't sleep, either?"

"That's it. Dab, you remember Tahiri Veila."

"Do I ever." Reaching their table, he extended a hand toward Tahiri. "Good to see you again. You probably don't remember me. From Borleias. Dab Hantaq."

From the corner of her eye, Jaina caught Tahiri's sudden stillness. She turned to see Tahiri frozen in place, her caf cup halfway to her lip. Her eyes were wide, her expression as stunned as if she'd just shot herself while cleaning her blaster.

And then Jaina realized why. Inwardly, she cringed. She made her voice very gentle. "Tahiri, you knew him as Tarc. Remember little Tarc?"

"Tarc," Tahiri repeated. "Little Tarc. Yes, of course." Her voice was almost mechanical.

Dab dropped his hand to his side. "Would you two care for company?"

Jaina shook her head. "Girl talk. Sorry."

"Understood. Good night, ladies." Dab turned and headed off in search of the caf cart.

Slowly, Tahiri set her cup down. "He's ... he's Anakin. Anakin."

Jaina nodded. "Remember, that's why Senator Shesh chose him all those years ago. A distraction because of the way he looked."

"You could have told told me." me."

"I had gotten used to it. I wasn't even thinking about it when I put the Darkmeld team together. I forgot. I'm sorry."

"Forgot. I spent months getting myself addicted to seeing him, Anakin, and then a couple of years trying to get over it. And, boom, he's here." Tahiri was pale and she shook as if with cold. "And you want me to come back? With him here every day?"