THIS REALLY WAS A COURTROOM, A PLACE WHERE JUSTICE WAS DISPENSED, and, during regimes like Jacen Solo's, injustice as well. The walls were somber wood panel; the tables and the judge's elevated bench were a dark, beautiful caf-colored antique marble from Ithor.

Luke watched the proceedings from a slight state of detachment, brought on by his lack of sleep and the air of unreality his own decision had created.

The judge, a severe-looking Falleen woman, her pale green skin contrasting sharply with her dark judicial robes, sat at her bench, studying the doc.u.ments Nawara Ven and the government prosecutor had given her upon her arrival. The audience at the back of the chamber buzzed with a little conversation, and Luke could feel expectation from them far in excess of the level of noise. It was here, the first action in Luke Skywalker's trial, and they were on hand to see blood spilled-metaphorically speaking.

Finally, the judge looked up, glanced at Luke and the two attorneys, and spoke. "In Alliance case why-oh-oh-four-three-dash-seven-teen thousand fourteen, The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances versus Luke Skywalker The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances versus Luke Skywalker, we have a negotiated conclusion, agreed to this day by the prosecution, the defense, and myself."

A faint moan arose from portions of the audience. Luke could sense the source of their dismay. Weeks of court hearings, stories of Jacen Solo's murderous actions, embarra.s.sing revelations, were all about to be headed off before they could take place in all their exploitation-news glory-wiped away by a plea bargain.

It should have been funny. But Luke didn't feel in the least humorous.

"The defendant will stand."

Luke and Nawara got to their feet.

"On the revised list of charges, now consisting of one charge, reckless endangerment of a population, how do you plead?"

Luke cleared his throat. "Guilty, Your Honor."

"You are found guilty as charged. Please sit." Once Luke and Nawara were seated, she continued, "Thus ends the trial phase of these proceedings. We now move on to the sentencing phase.

"For a period of time, beginning tomorrow at one hour before midnight in the current time zone and continuing for not less than ten Coruscant years, you are exiled from Coruscant. You will maintain a distance of not less than five light-years from this world.

"During that same time period, you will not act as Grand Master of the Jedi Order, nor in any position of authority or consultation within the Order.

"During that same time, you will not visit or approach any closer than one light-year to any world upon which there exists a Jedi Order Temple, Jedi Order school, or any other Jedi Temple facility.

"During that same time, you will refrain from establishing any new Jedi Order Temple, Jedi Order school, or any other Jedi Temple facility, or any business that structurally or organizationally resembles those concerns and thus might readily be converted to such a concern after your sentence is fulfilled.

"You will appoint Jedi Master Kenth Hamner to perform the duties of leader of the Jedi Order, and will subsequently exercise no influence over him for the duration of your sentence.

"Any violation of the above restrictions incurs a more severe penalty: incarceration in an Alliance maximum-security prison facility for the remainder of the ten-year period.

"By the provisions of this arrangement, your sentence can be commuted or a pardon issued if you can convince a board of inquiry that you have determined the nature of the events and other causes that led to the aberrant and destructive behaviors of Colonel Jacen Solo leading up to and during the Second Galactic Civil War, the board of inquiry to be made up of one prominent member of each of the following: the Galactic Alliance Judiciary Branch, Galactic Alliance Medical a.s.sociation, and Galactic Alliance Armed Forces, each of these individual members to be chosen by the Office of the Galactic Alliance Chief of State.

"Do you understand these terms?"

Luke nodded. "Yes, Your Honor." He understood them very well. He and Daala had negotiated them, point for point, only hours before. But though he had played a part in selecting them, Luke still felt as though the situation were a dream that was sad and tiring.

"It is so ordered. The sentencing phase is complete, and, by my order, this case is concluded." The judge stood, and all others in the chamber did as well to watch her leave by her private exit behind the bench.

When she was gone, the courtroom erupted into conversation, shouts, pleas from the members of the press for Luke to spare them a few words.

He kept his back to that portion of the chamber. Security troopers admitted members of the Jedi and Luke's family into the area of the chamber reserved for advocates and their clients, and suddenly Luke was being embraced by Leia, Han, Ben, and Jaina, while other Jedi positioned themselves as a living wall between Luke and the audience.

"Ten years, years," Ben said. He looked as though he'd been hit in the head by a speeder bike.

"We'll fight this," Leia told him.

"Kenth Hamner?" That was Han, looking confounded. "Was he chosen because he's the dullest Jedi ever? He says two sentences and it puts Kowakian monkey-lizards to sleep."

Luke addressed his sister's comment first. "We won't fight this. I negotiated it. I agreed to it."

"Without benefit of counsel." That was Nawara Ven, speaking under his breath, just loud enough for the Jedi to hear.

"And it won't be the full ten years," Luke told Ben. "You heard the conditions for commutation at the end."

Han shook his head. "Buddy boy, Daala gets to appoint your tribunal. If they were still alive, she'd pick Palpatine, Lumiya, and Shimrra Jamaane to be your judges."

Luke waved the objection away.

Captain Savar approached. He was in the GA Security dress uniform, his expression somber, perhaps even sad. "Judge Zudan left word that you could leave the courtroom by her door and the back corridors if you'd like to avoid the press."

Luke nodded. "Please."

"This way."

That evening, Luke called a conference of the Jedi Masters' Council.

"I'll keep this brief," he told them, "as I have a lot of preparations to make before tomorrow night, and in the interest of not drawing out an unpleasant event.

"First, I withdraw from my duties as Grand Master of the Jedi Order until such time as my sentence has been served, commuted, or struck down in the court. This is effective as of my departure from Coruscant."

Kyp Durron smiled. "For the first time in this whole mess, you've given me some hope."

Luke looked at him, curious. "How so?"

"You didn't resign resign as Grand Master. Clearly, you plan to come back and resume your position." as Grand Master. Clearly, you plan to come back and resume your position."

"I do. I hope hope to. So while I'm gone, there will be no wild parties in the Masters' Chamber." It felt good to be able to make a joke, even a stale one. "Second, I appoint Master Kenth Hamner as governing Master of the Order." to. So while I'm gone, there will be no wild parties in the Masters' Chamber." It felt good to be able to make a joke, even a stale one. "Second, I appoint Master Kenth Hamner as governing Master of the Order."

Hamner, a tall, fair-haired man with features that spoke of generations of family wealth and rule, his posture military-perfect, offered Luke a wan smile. "And I did not even have the opportunity to negotiate before sentence was pa.s.sed on me. me."

"Chief of State Daala and the military have faith in you." Luke gave him a sympathetic look. "Your own fault for leading a lifetime of military experience."

"I will serve as best I can, Grand Master."

Master Octa Ramis, recovered from the minor injuries she had sustained during Valin's rampage, asked, "What are you going to do while you're gone, Master Skywalker?"

"I plan to do what I negotiated with the Chief of State. To understand what brought Jacen to the dark side, and then set up protocols to antic.i.p.ate the same thing happening in other Jedi. If we're lucky, this may also have some bearing on what has happened to Valin and Seff. I'll start by retracing, as much as I can, the travels Jacen undertook prior to the Killik crisis. I'm hoping that the answer lies somewhere along his journey."

Master Hamner placed his hands together and peered over them at Luke. "Since that is distinctly to the Jedi Order's benefit-even though you can't advise us in any significant way until your sentence is concluded-and since the terms of your sentence do not come into effect for another day, I feel no guilt in offering you whatever resources you need to accomplish your mission. We just have to get them all transferred within a day."

"I'll be using Mara's yacht as my main transportation and home. So travel is not an issue. But operating funds are; I don't exactly have savings."

Hamner nodded. "I'll set up an account for you. Not a drawing account, as that would be proof of Jedi Order support after your sentence begins. A sum const.i.tuting forty-three standard years' of back pay, I think."

Luke smiled, amused. "And please, bank it out of some world that is not part of the Galactic Alliance, or likely to join it anytime soon."

"Consider it done. You'll have all the details in hand by breakfast."

"That's all I have to say." Luke looked among the Masters. Sadness threatened to descend on him, to constrict his heart, but he kept it at bay by an act of will. "Any issues I need to address as Grand Master, you need to bring to me as soon as possible."

Kyp Durron nodded. "We'll sort it out."

Cilghal was the first to rise. As she approached Luke, her action acted as a signal to the others, who all got to their feet. She enfolded Luke for a brief moment in her rubbery arms. "We will keep your home for your return," she told him. "May the Force be with you, always and everywhere."

Walking with Luke back to their quarters, Ben said, "I'm going with you."

Luke managed another smile. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Well, first, you're not a convicted felon and don't need to serve the sentence of one. Second, no teenager I ever knew, myself included, could survive being in the constant company of a parent for ten years."

"I have you on a point of logic." Ben raised a finger, looking ridiculously like a Jedi Master addressing a roomful of younglings. "No teenager can remain one for ten years."

"Conceded. Still, Ben, I think you should stay here."

Ben's jaw set. Now, as was often the case whenever his tendency toward stubbornness. .h.i.t him, he truly resembled his mother. "You're my Master, I'm your student."

"You're a full Jedi Knight now, even if there are plenty of places in the galaxy where you can't legally vote or drink. Surely you didn't forget your promotion. You only talked about it for two years."

"I wasn't that that bad. And you're a rank above Master, so you should have a student a rank above apprentice." bad. And you're a rank above Master, so you should have a student a rank above apprentice."

"Interesting logic."

"Dad, this is my mission, too." Ben's voice was suddenly no longer that of a wheedling teen. "I was Jacen's apprentice. In the end, he tortured me, tried to make me a Sith. He killed Mom. Do you think I'm going to be able to rest, ever ever, without understanding why?"

Luke fell silent as he considered Ben's words. Not speaking, they rode the turbolift down to the upper residential level. As they reached their door, Luke came to a decision. "You're right. Pack up and make your farewells."

Ben sagged in relief. "Thank you, Dad."

The next morning, Luke reflected that one of the virtues of living as a Jedi was that packing was really easy. A lightsaber, a bag for a few changes of clothes, his kit of tools, parts, and meters for maintaining his artificial hand, a datapad stuffed with data and popular literature, and not only was he packed but his quarters were almost empty as well. He looked around his bedchamber and found it nearly bare; all that remained were shelf items, holos of his life with Mara, knick-knacks acquired during his years of travel or sent to him by admirers, a few articles of clothing he had decided to leave behind.

The thought that the room might remain empty, unchanged, for the entirety of his sentence-or that the room might be needed and rea.s.signed, with the remainder of his things swept into a small bag and stored, scrubbing his presence out of the Temple like one last stain-was depressing. He had to go, and soon, and that fact alone was enough to make him want to stay.

His door chimed. He called, "Enter," and moved into the small living chamber.

The main door slid open, revealing Cilghal. The Mon Cal Master nodded her respects. She entered, allowing the door to shut behind her. "When not studying Valin's test results, I have spent time in the last few days looking for references to odd behavior matching Valin's or Seff's. And I have found something." She tilted her head as if recollecting, and her next words were in a different tone of voice; Luke suspected she was quoting. "Though I have lived among humans for many years, some of the differences between our ways choose not to fade into irrelevance. The electroencephaloscan, for example, would be considered a grave and very personal intrusion by my kind. Fortunately, my order knows of a means to keep even it at bay. Unfortunately, when utilizing it, we cannot demonstrate that we have functioning brains."

Luke snorted, amused. "Who were you quoting?"

"Jedi Master Plo Koon."

Luke considered. Plo Koon had been a Jedi in the last years of the Old Republic-had died, in fact, about the time Luke was being born, one of the many victims of Emperor Palpatine's Order 66. He was a Kel Dor, a member of a species that was not often seen out in the galaxy at large; they were not oxygen breathers and had to wear special breathing masks when visiting most other inhabited worlds. "Why was that quotation so difficult to find?" With anyone else, he'd be worried that his question sounded like a criticism, but Cilghal had no human neuroses that made her p.r.o.ne to interpret offhand remarks as complaint.

"It was not transcribed as searchable data in our archives. It was a recording of an interview between Plo Koon and a Jedi Knight who was a.s.sembling a doc.u.mentary project on the species represented within the Order. He, too, was a victim of the purge, his project unfinished. I have been using automated vocal translation software against holorecorded materials, searching for a list of keywords related to Valin's situation, and this morning's pa.s.s flagged the word electro-encephaloscan electro-encephaloscan in this entry." in this entry."

"Good work. Was there anything else useful in that interview?"

Cilghal twisted her body from side to side, a Mon Cal simulation of a human shaking of the head. "That appears to have been, for Plo Koon, a humorous aside, and the subject was not further explored."

"He said, 'My order knows of a means.' Who was he referring to? It couldn't have been the Jedi Order, since we've found no other reference to the technique, and since he was talking to another Jedi ..."

"He would have said our Order. our Order." Cilghal tilted her head. Familiar with her ways, Luke took it as a gesture of self-appreciation. Some human nuances of speech were still difficult for her, even after all her years among them.

"Yes." Luke pulled his datapad from his belt pouch and flipped it open. As he used it to access the Temple computer archives, he realized, with a pang, that this might be the last time he would do so-for many years, or perhaps ever.

He scanned Plo Koon's service file. He knew many of its details already. His own studies had made him very familiar with the career of his own first Master, Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi, and Obi-Wan's teachers and confidants; Obi-Wan's Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had been a close friend of Plo Koon. But Plo Koon's record offered few leads. It mentioned no other order to which the long-dead Master might have belonged, though Luke knew there was one prospect more likely than any other.

Luke snapped the datapad shut. "I'm guessing he was referring to the Baran Do Sages. He might have studied with them before joining the Order, which means that's a trail eighty or a hundred years cold. I might as well make the sages the first stop on my grand tour." He frowned. "There's no record of Jacen visiting them, but his travels are badly doc.u.mented. I'm going to hope for the best. I just wish I had time to trace all of Valin's movements to see if he's had any contact with the sages."

"I have time. And I have access to the full Order archives."

"I couldn't ask you to do that. And as an exile, I'm not supposed to have access to Order resources."

"You did not ask. I I decide for whom decide for whom I I am a resource. And your sentence said you cannot advise, not that you cannot be advised." am a resource. And your sentence said you cannot advise, not that you cannot be advised."

Thrown off for a moment by Cilghal's resolute tone, her unhesitating rejection of Galactic Alliance government wishes, Luke stepped forward and took one of Cilghal's broad hands between his own. "I sometimes forget, with our very orderly system of ranks and duties, that I have friends."

"You established this Order with logic, and you made your friends with your heart. The Order acts according to your commands. Your friends act according to your needs."

The door slid open, revealing Ben, dressed in his customary black, a cylindrical bag in dark green on a strap over his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Luke shook his head. "You didn't. We were just finishing up some business. Is the speeder ready?"

"It's ready."

"Then let's head down."

"Up."

Luke raised an eyebrow at his son. "I thought I said to get us a speeder and have it ready in the lower hangar."

"You did, but I got new orders in the meantime."

"From whom?"

"Master Hamner."

Luke sighed. Kenth could have waited until Luke was out of the building before beginning to countermand his orders. "Let's go, then."

The turbolift took them up, and to Luke's surprise-for, engaged again in conversation with Cilghal, he had not paid attention to what Ben said into the turbolift's controller-opened at the Great Hall level.

The three of them stepped out into a crowded hall, and conversation, which had been expectant in tone, died.

It looked as though every Jedi on Coruscant, and perhaps some currently stationed in nearby star systems, was present, as well as many non-Jedi. Some faces were sad, a few even tear-streaked, and even among those maintaining a proper Jedi calm there was an atmosphere of sadness, of resignation.