"There's the landing area," the pilot said.

She directed Qui-Gon's attention to a large plaza at the center of the ruins, as wide as the hangar arm of a Trade Federation freighter and twice as long. Bordered on all four sides by flat - faced pyramids, the plaza was large enough to accommodate a flotilla of cruisers.

"Prominence, this is Ecliptic" the same female voice said in haste over the c.o.c.kpit speakers. "Our scanners have detected five unidentified vessels emerging from Asmeru's dark side. House Vandron's Tikiars and Dreadnaughts are leaving orbit." Qui-Gon glanced sharply at the pilot.

"It's a trap, Captain. Order the Ecliptic to get clear."

"Ecliptic," the pilot started to say, when a long burst of static issued from the c.o.c.kpit speakers. Then the female voice returned, her words shot through with alarm.

"'Prominence, they're detonating the mines! We can't maneuver!

Unidentified ships closing. Four starfighters and a Tempest - cla.s.s gunship." Obi-Wan shot Qui-Gon a wide-eyed look.

"The Hawk-Bat!"

"We'll know soon enough." A prolonged screech erupted from the speakers.

At the same time, the Prominence began to shudder violently.

"We're being pulled in," the pilot said in astonishment.

She and the copilot began to struggle with the controls.

Qui - Gon pressed his face to the cool transparisteel viewport. A rec tangular opening had appeared in the inclined face of one of the plaza pyramids, revealing the telltale grid of a tractor beam.

"It's a commercial array," Qui-Gon said. "Can we break away?"

"We can try," the pilot said.

"We could also end up blowing out the sublight drives," Obi-Wan thought to point out.

The copilot opened a channel to the communications station. "Send a burst transmission to Coruscant, alerting them to our situation." Below, the flat roof of a sprawling building was parting like a curtain. The barrel of a weapon elevated into view.

"Ion cannon," the pilot said through gritted teeth.

Qui-Gon squatted down next to her. "Our visit was clearly antic.i.p.ated, Captain." Abruptly, she pivoted to the controls that ena4 the salon pod ejection system. "Master, tell your comrades to exit the salon pod. There may yet be a way out of this." Qui-Gon glanced out the viewport. One of the escort Cloak - Shapes had altered vector to move in front of the cruiser. The landing area was directly ahead, only a few kilometers distant. "There are ways, Captain. But not the one you have in mind."

"Do as I say," she snapped.

Qui-Gon hesitated, then leaned toward the intercom pickup. "Master Tiin, evacuate the salon pod immediately."

"Why, Qui-Gon?"

"There's no time to explain. Hurry." The pilot waited for confirmation that the pod was empty. Then she triggered the pod's separator charges.

The cruiser's bow tipped up as the magnoclamps below the c.o.c.kpit blew, and the pod broke away from the fuselage.

All but immune to the effects of the tractor beam because of its small size, the pod rocketed ahead of the decelerating cruiser, its self-contained jets flaring, but its course dictated by the Prominence's captain.

The pilot of the CloakShape flying point couldn't have known what hit him.

Rammed forcefully in the tail by the pod, the fighter lurched forward, then veered violently to one side.

The pilot tried to correct, but the repulsorlift engine had been fatally damaged, and the small craft was out of control. Belching intermittent puffs of white smoke and a stream of viscous fluids, the CloakShape tipped up onto its right stabilizer, then began a corks.c.r.e.w.i.n.g plummet toward the city's central plaza.

The pilot leaned forward to track the fighter, her right hand clenched.

"Stay on target," she urged the fighter. "Stay on target..." The CloakShape slammed nose first into the sloping face of the pyramid that housed the tractor beam, and blew to pieces. Narrowly missed, the grid held for a moment, then sparks began to gambol across the invisible perimeter of its deflector shield.

"That's all we needed!" the pilot said.

She fed full power to the tri-thrusters, and was just starting her climb when the cruiser jerked to a halt, then was released, only to be jerked motionless once more.

"You damaged it, Captain," Qui-Gon said, "but you didn't kill it." The pilot's continued efforts to pull away succeeded only in throwing the cruiser into a dizzying horizontal spin. Still half in the grip of the dazed grid, the Prominence slued sharply to starboard, flying over the plaza and headed straight for the city's northernmost pyramid.

Qui-Gon was certain that they were go ing to hit the structure head-on, but at the last moment, the cruiser surged upward. Even so, the tail struck the pyramid's upper platform, shearing off the central and starboard thrusters.

At the same instant, the ion cannon opened fire.

Energy pulsed from the weapon's reciprocating barrels, finding soft spots in the belly of the ship.

Charges leapt about the deflector shield, forking like lightning, then encasing the ship in a scintillating web of blue light.

All shipboard systems failed.

Silence reigned for a split second, then sporadic power returned. The cruiser commenced a rapid, diagonal glide, held aloft by its sole remaining engine.

Lambent with late sunlight, the black lake expanded below.

"And I thought you were just being figurative about getting wet, Master,"

Obi-Wan said as he looked around for something to hold on to.

The Prominence skimmed the surface of the lake, then bellied into the water and began to hydroplane toward the center. The cruiser was on a collision course with one of the rocky islands, until its blunt bow dropped, and the lake robbed it of forward momentum. It came to a shuddering stop in turbulent water, then listed to its damaged side and slowly began to sink.

By then the seven Jedi and the few judicials aboard had gathered at the starboard docking ring airlock.

Blowing the hatch, they eased down into the frigid water and started to swim for the nearest island, which rose in a jumble of wind - and water - smoothed boulders to a height of one hundred or so meters.

First to reach sh.o.r.e, Qui-Gon launched himself to dry land, landing on his feet on a narrow stretch of rocky beach. Waves generated by the cruiser's plunge crashed around his ankles. He used his hands to sluice some of the water out of his long hair and beard. Then he emptied his boots, plucked his soaked tunic away from his chest, and slipped into the cloak he had held above the waves while swimming. Unclipping his lightsaber, he acti vated the blade and swept it in front of him.

Satisfied that the weapon hadn't been damaged, he switched it off and reclipped it to his broad leather belt.

He inhaled deeply, but didn't come close to filling his lungs with oxygen. The high-alt.i.tude air was thin; the sky, an inverted bowl of the deepest blue, was seemingly supported on the ice - white shoulders of mountain ranges that ringed the horizon.

As - meru's sun was a huge red smear on the western horizon. The temperature was falling fast, and certainly would be below freezing by sunset.

To the south, the sky was streaked with the contrails of ships rocketing down the planet's gravity well, no doubt headed for the landing area.

Qui-Gon wondered briefly which one of them might be the Hawk-Bat.

He turned his back to the lake and let his gaze wander up over the lifeless rocks. a.s.sembled by hand rather than nature, the island was itself a pyramid, with the ruins of ancient structures surmounting it.

To both sides of Qui-Gon, Jedi and judicials were beginning to climb from the lake, their waterlogged tunics and uniforms weighing them down.

Following Qui-Gon's lead, Obi-Wan sprang from the water, landing atop one of the smaller rocks. Vergere floated in like a water fowl until she reached the stony beach, then she called on her powerful reverse-articulated legs to catapult her ash.o.r.e. Saesee Tiin's big hands cut through the waves like flippers. Yaddle rode in atop Ki-Adi-Mundi's broad shoulders, her short arms wrapped around his tall head, and her topknot of golden-brown hair plastered to her green skull.

Close by, Depa Billaba stepped gracefully to the beach, as if emerging from a warm bath.

Three hundred meters away, the dorsal hull of the Prominence was still visible above the waterline. Giant air bubbles broke the surface of the lake and popped loudly.

Everyone was a bit stunned. With a fractured arm, the cruiser's pilot was the most seriously injured. In obvious pain, she made her way over to Qui-Gon, breathless when she reached him.

"I thought we could break free," she said, by way of apology.

"Don't condemn your actions just yet," Qui-Gon replied. "Nothing happens by chance." The pilot nodded and looked at Saesee Tiin.

"Was it House Vandron that betrayed us?" The Iktotchi folded his arms across his ma.s.sive chest. "That has little bearing on our present situation." He glanced at Yaddle. "The question is, what do we do next?"

"An immediate answer, that question begs," the small Jedi replied, "as company we're about to have." Qui-Gon followed her gaze. Several vessels were approaching from the lake's south sh.o.r.e.

Obi-Wan reached to unclip his lightsaber, but Qui-Gon restrained him with a look. "There's always time for that. Just now we need to a.s.sess where we stand." Obi-Wan glanced around. "On an island, in the middle of a lake, with adversaries on the approach, Master."

"Wasn't it you who said that things are not always what they appear to be?" Obi-Wan frowned. "I stand corrected." Qui-Gon touched him on the shoulder and nodded his chin to the others. "There's no sense making ourselves easy targets." Drawing on the Force, and taking the judicials with them, the Jedi vaulted and bounded up into the boulders.

From higher up, they had a better vantage from which to see just what was approaching. Driven by repulsorlifts, the vessels were as gruesomely fanciful as the s.p.a.ceships of House Vandron. Some had upturned animistic prows and ribcage gunwales; others had elaborately raised sterns, carved with ghastly visages. All were equipped with mounted repeating blasters.

The b.e.s.t.i.a.l flotilla came to a hovering halt just short of the island, weapons traversing the sh.o.r.e. Each vessel carried a crew of humans, Weequays, Rodians, Bith, Sull.u.s.tans, and others, many of them layered in heavy garments, gloves, and headpieces that covered noses and mouths.

Standing in the bow of the lead craft, a tall human unwound the colorful scarf that masked his lower face and cupped his hands to his mouth.

"For what it's worth, Jedi, we had planned on providing you with a warmer, and certainly drier, welcome." Saesee Tiin, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Qui-Gon showed themselves. "The same warm welcome you provided our other cruiser?" Tiin said.

The human had the boat brought about to face Tiin.

"In attempting to flee, your other cruiser struck several mines and was destroyed. We had no intentions of firing on it."

"What are your intentions here?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"First, to declare that we are dismayed that the Jedi would oppose free trade in the outlying systems, by choosing to side with the Trade Federation."

"We have taken no sides," Tiin said gruffly. "Our sole aim is to resolve this crisis before it intensifies into open warfare. That, too, is the goal of Supreme Chancellor Valorum, who is anything but your enemy is this matter."

"We had nothing to do with the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt," someone in one of the other boats shouted.

The terrorists" spokesman whirled angrily to the source of the outburst, then regained his composure. "If Valorum is not our enemy, why was the Nebula Front excluded from the Eriadu summit?"

"If you will agree to meet with the Supreme Chancellor, he will explain his reasons." The human shook his head at Tiin. "That's not good enough.

The conference will unite the Trade Federation and the Commerce Guild against us. We demand that Valorum cancel the summit."

"Is that what this is about?" Qui-Gon asked, gesturing broadly. "You intend to hold us hostage while you issue your demands?" The human spread his gloved hands. "What are the chances of Valorum listening to us otherwise, Jedi?" Tiin responded to it. "And should the supreme chancellor refuse to listen to you now?"

"Then the blood of however many of you die here will be on Valorum's hands," the man said after a long moment.

He continued before any of the Jedi could respond.

"All of us are aware of your abilities. We're not yet desperate enough to attempt to take you by force.

We know that you can probably survive on this pile of rocks for as long as you wish, even without adequate food and water. But that is also acceptable to us. For the moment, the fact that you are stranded here is all that matters. It is our hope, however, that you will come to your senses and allow us to imprison you in a style more in keeping with that which you are accustomed." Night pa.s.sed slowly.

Warming themselves through the Force, the Jedi huddled on the stone floor of the island's ruined summit temple, with the judicials pressed in among them. Glow sticks provided light when they needed it, and food tablets provided some sustenance. But there was no water, even from the lake, because of its dangerously high salinity.

Vergere tucked her legs beneath her and sat as if roosting. Yaddle pulled her delicate robes around her and slipped easily into a trance state.

Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Depa Billaba, KiAdiMundi, and Saesee Tiin took turns at guard duty.

Lifeless as the island was, the Force was strong there, in the lingering presence of the ancients who had a.s.sembled it.

Through trapezoidal windows in the temple walls, dawn cast long red shadows into the room. When everyone was awake, Yaddle and Depa Billaba got right down to business.

"By now, Coruscant has learned of our predicament," Billaba said. "I'm certain that the Supreme Chancellor will not delay the Eriadu summit. But he may dispatch more judicials to Asmeru."

"A conflict that guarantees," Yaddle said.

"Lost already is the Ecliptic, presumably with all hands. Now, additional deaths in the offing are. A better way to resolve this there is." It was not the first time in her 476 years that the tiny Jedi had been imprisoned. According to legend, she had ascended to the rank of Master as a result of having spent more than a hundred years in an underground prison on Koba.

"The Nebula Front can't hope to gain anything by holding us here," Qui-Gon said with patent suspicion. "Surely they know that we were able to communicate with Coruscant before we crashed."

"Perhaps they don't think that way," Ki-Adi-Mundi suggested. "Perhaps strategy of that sort doesn't come into play." Qui-Gon looked at him.

"But it does. I've already seen it in action."

"Explain it to you Cohl will, when finally you confront him," Yaddle said. "Until that time, resolve to yield or fight we must." Vergere's willowy ears p.r.i.c.ked up. She glanced knowingly at Qui-Gon, then cut her oblique eyes to the doorless portal that led to the temple's adjoining room. Qui-Gon listened intently for a moment, then he and Ki-Adi-Mundi stood up and moved silently to either side of the gaping opening.

Yaddle, Depa, and Vergere began to converse again, as if nothing were amiss. Suddenly, Qui-Gon and KiAdiMundi reached into the doorway, tugging into the scant sunlight a humanoid who looked as if he, or perhaps she, had risen from the ground itself. The being's thick skin was certainly impervious to wind, snow, or high-alt.i.tude solar radiation. Its four hands and bare feet were configured for digging and scooping, and its back was built for carrying loads. Eyes clearly capable of seeing in the dark were prominent in a mere suggestion of a face, lacking ears or nose, with a mouth barely suited to speech.

Held in the grip of the two Jedi, the biped began to babble nervously in an unknown tongue.

Depa got to her feet. "He speaks the traders tongue of the Senex sector Houses," she said.

Yaddle nodded. "One of their allegedly flawed bioengineered slaves, he is." The slave continued to speak, his gaze riveted on Depa.

She listened, then smiled gently and touched his shoulder. "It seems there's an alternative we hadn't considered," she told everyone. "This one is offering to help us escape." Qui-Gon spoke to the slave. "By what method?" Depa translated the reply. "By taking the route he took to reach us." The slave motioned to the adjoining room. Qui-Gon and Obi - Wan lighted two glow sticks and ducked through the doorway. In the room's rear wall, a hinged stone door, a meter thick, was ajar.

"Explored this place during the night, did you not?" Yaddle asked from behind them.