"If you two wouldn't mind curtailing the reunion, I'd like a status report." Mace's voice was dry. It was clear that he wasn't very happy about having to disrupt his schedule to fly to Romin.

"First of all, the real Slam gang is on Romin," Obi-Wan said.

"I know," Mace replied. "Apparently they bribed the director of the prison."

"Teda and Zan Arbor are scheming to get off-planet," Siri said.

"They're going to try to use the Slams' ship. Joylin is still in power.

The first execution is scheduled to take place in. about fifteen minutes."

"Then I think our first task is to demonstrate to Great Leader Teda the necessity of his surrender," Mace said.

They caught Zan Arbor and Teda as Teda was attempting to start an airspeeder piled high with cases and boxes. Garen landed the transport directly in front of them.

"Do it!" Zan Arbor was shouting.

"I'm usually driven," Teda said. "I don't usually drive." "For galaxy's sake, let me drive!" Zan Arbor yelled. Mace Windu swept up and buried his lightsaber in the airspeeder's engine, effectively cutting off power in one stroke. "Don't worry. You can ride with us."

Zan Arbor's lips were white. Fury was evident in the strained muscles of her neck. Her veins protruded like ropes. "Jedi," she spat out.

"What did you do to my army?" Teda asked. "No one is answering my communications. You can't interfere with a sovereign power!"

"What's left of your army has been destroyed and your commander has surrendered," Mace said. "And I'm afraid I do have the authority to interfere. I am here on behalf of the Senate to negotiate the terms of your surrender."

"I will never surrender!" Teda cried.

Zan Arbor began to climb out of the airspeeder. "I'm not part of this, so I think I'll - "

Mace Windu held his blazing lightsaber centimeters from her face.

"I think," he said softly, "you'll do as you're told."

Zan Arbor backed up and sat on the edge of the air-speeder.

"Now," Mace Windu said, "where are the Slams?" "How should we know?" Zan Arbor said sulkily.

"My guess is that they've gone to get their ship," Siri said. "No doubt they have plans to meet and transport Zan Arbor and Teda off-planet."

"Here's what's going to happen," Mace Windu said.

"We're going to escort you to the headquarters of the new government of Romin."

"You mean bring me to my own palace?" Teda asked with a sneer. "So I can negotiate with thieves and murderers? Is that what the Senate sanctions these days?"

"The Senate is supporting this revolt on the basis of your many crimes against your own citizens," Mace thundered. "You are lucky the Jedi are here to ensure you won't be torn limb from limb. Now let's go."

Joylin was sitting with his closest allies eating a large meal in the dining area when the Jedi arrived with Teda and Zan Arbor in tow. He pushed away his food and stood.

"So, you came," he said, looking at Teda with hatred. "Not by choice, I see. Typical of your cowardice." Teda looked at the meal.

"That's my food!" "It is the food of the citizens of Romin."

Zan Arbor rolled her eyes. "Ah, democracy," she sneered.

"Here is what the Senate requires," Mace said. "No executions may take place. Trials must be held, evidence gathered. You cannot begin a new government using the tactics of the one you overthrew. Surely you can see that."

Joylin said nothing. He stared with hatred at Teda. "Give the order to stop the execution," Mace said. Joylin did not move.

"The Jedi have destroyed Teda's army," Mace said. "Would you like us to do the same to yours?"

Ferus spoke. "Senate support will be crucial in building your new world," he said to Joylin. "You have done so much. Your vision deserves the best chance to flourish."

Joylin turned. He blinked at Ferus, as though he had been disturbed out of a deep sleep. "Yes," he said. He picked up his comlink. "Stop the execution. Teda has surrendered."

"I hope you won't be putting me with the others," Teda said. "I wouldn't think they'd be very... pleased to see me."

"I think it's the perfect place for you," Joylin said. "Guards!"

The guards led Teda and Zan Arbor away. Joylin leaned over to speak to an aide on the other side of the room.

"I feel sorrow that lives were lost, but the outcome is good," Mace said to the Jedi. "This change on Romin will make a better world."

He turned to Ferus. "You spoke well just now. You allowed Joylin to make his decision and save face in front of his supporters."

"There is a bit of pride mixed in with his politics," Ferus said.

"Ferus showed a greater grasp of this situation than we did," Siri said lightly. "He predicted a chaotic takeover. He said that Joylin would surprise us, and he was right."

"Good, Ferus. We need to antic.i.p.ate problems," Mace said.

Obi-Wan noted that Anakin looked unhappy. Mace had singled Ferus out for praise. He moved closer to his Padawan.

"I am proud of you," he said. "You fought well, with compa.s.sion and precision."

But Anakin was not listening.

Something was wrong.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

Anakin hung back, watching Joylin carefully. He knew the Force was helping him, he knew that this sudden power was a new side of the Force that he hadn't yet tapped, and he was filled with a sudden sense of exultation. He had even more power than he knew. Suddenly, he saw into the heart of Joylin. He did not see just what Joylin wanted them to see, or didn't care if they saw, but the most secret part of him. Joylin suddenly looked so small. He was such easy prey.

I didn't know this, Anakin thought. The Force isn't just about manipulating objects. I can manipulate beings, too. I can use their fears and secrets.

"You did it," he said to Joylin. "You let him go." The Jedi turned to look at him, surprised.

"Those guards aren't taking Teda to prison. You never wanted him to surrender," Anakin said. "You knew he was too much of a coward to do so.

You just gave him the ultimatum so you would have an excuse to execute all his loyal followers. You were afraid if they survived they would build a power base and ultimately destroy you. You knew that Teda was nothing without them, that he wasn't capable of running a government.

He's just a figurehead. You don't fear him, so you don't need him dead.

You just need him gone. So if someone like Zan Arbor pays you enough, you'll allow him to escape. She made the deal with you at the beginning of the revolt, didn't she?"

The Jedi turned back to Joylin. His angry silence told them everything.

"Where are they?" Mace asked.

"I'd guess Teda and Zan Arbor are heading for the Slams' ship,"

Anakin said. "And I would also guess that the Slams have permission to leave Romin, no matter what Joylin has told us. He has kept the permission order for the Slams to leave in place despite the lock-down."

"Withdraw that permission," Mace ordered. "It is too late," Joylin replied.

With a withering look of contempt at Joylin, Mace led the Jedi out of the room.

They rushed to the landing platform, zooming up in one of the turbolifts. When they reached the top, the Jedi quickly hid behind a gravsled stacked with equipment. They could see the Slams readying the ship for departure. Through a windscreen, Anakin saw a blond head.

"They are still here," Mace said. "Excellent work, Anakin. Let's go."

"Wait." Obi-Wan's tone was sharp, and Mace turned, surprised. He was rarely told to wait.

"We should let them go," Obi-Wan said. "This is our chance. They are on their way to Granta Omega. It's the only way we can find him. If we can get a tracking device aboard, we'll have him."

"Obi-Wan, we have Zan Arbor here, now," Mace said. "She is capable of doing great harm to many. Are you willing to risk letting her go for the sake of Granta Omega?"

"I feel strongly that we must," Obi-Wan said. "Omega is the bigger threat."

Ferus bit his lip, looking from Obi-Wan to Mace. Anakin waited, his hand on his lightsaber.

Siri's eyes blazed in agreement. "Obi-Wan is right. Ferus and I are ready to join them on this mission," she told Mace.

"I do not know that you're correct," Mace said. "A position I find myself in all too often these days. If you feel strongly, Obi-Wan, I support your decision. But everything depends on getting that tracking device on the ship without being seen."

Obi-Wan turned to Anakin with such confidence, such a.s.surance, that Anakin felt he would never forget this moment. Trust lay between them, unbreakable.

"Anakin?"

"I will do it, Master."

He took a tracking device out of his utility belt and stood.

Keeping behind the supplies, the gravsleds, and fueling trucks, he slid in as close as he dared. He would have to choose his moment. A moment when no one aboard would be looking.

The Force. He could use it. He wasn't sure how. But he reached out for it and gathered it, formed it to his pleasure, to what he needed.

The engines fired. He was close enough to feel their heat. Now.

The ship rose, just a meter above the ground, hovering for the few crucial seconds needed to input coordinates and information. With the help of the Force, those seconds spun out into more time, enough time for him.

Anakin used the Force to jump straight toward the exhaust, where no viewscreens could see him. The temperature was blazing hot, too hot for a living being to stand, yet he stood it and it did not burn him. He was close to the edge of the landing platform here. He timed the move as the ship rose. With a grunt and a call to the Force for help, he tossed the tracking device as the ship lifted. He saw it catch on the underside.

When the ship rotated, Anakin was already back behind the fuel pump, jumping down perfectly with not a millimeter to spare.

The Slams' ship shot out of sight.

Anakin rose. His legs felt slightly shaky at the dangerous maneuver. His skin felt hot, but he knew he wasn't burned. Mace and the others walked toward him.

Mace looked at him, his dark eyes raking him. "Impressive."

"Are you hurt?" Obi-Wan asked him. "I didn't mean for you to jump into the ship's exhaust funnels." "I'm not hurt."

Mace looked up at the vapor trail the ship had left. "I hope we made the right decision," he said. "Are you ready to track them?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "Granta has always been one step ahead of us.

He has always planned our meetings. Now I will decide how we next meet."

"May the Force be with you." Mace started away.

"Uh, Master Windu?" Obi-Wan said. Mace turned and gave him an impatient look.

"Just one more thing," Obi-Wan continued. "We need your ship."

Siri sat at the controls. They had been traveling for days now, following the pulse of the tracking device. The Slams' ship was heading into the vast empty s.p.a.ce of the Outer Rim.

Ferus had stretched out on his sleep couch. He would take the next piloting shift. Obi-Wan sat at the table in the eating area. He had spread out a number of holofiles, information about Granta Omega gathered by Archivist Jocasta Nu at the Temple. Obi-Wan knew the information by heart, but he still didn't believe it was possible to study it too deeply.

Anakin sat, staring out the viewscreen at the stars. He was in a place of deep quiet, not meditation, exactly, but open to the galaxy, to the energy that boiled from stars and worlds, satellites, matter and nonmatter, gravity, inertia, living beings.

Suddenly, he sat erect. Every muscle tensed. Obi-Wan looked up.

"What is it?"

Anakin turned to him.

"Omega. He knows we are coming.