"Warrior prisoners," he said. "We have to keep the warriors unconscious after we capture them, because the second they wake they try to commit suicide. We infected a small number of these with the weapon. The weapon . . ." He took a breath. "The weapon works. I regretted extremely the necessity of having to do this, but a test was required, and their deaths were as painless and humane as we could make them." He put his hands on the table before him. "I a.s.sure everyone here that Alpha Red will work, and will do everything that is promised."

"This is unconscionable," Luke said. Never had he felt such cold rage. "This is something Palpatine might have done."

Dif Scaur gave him a furious glance. "No, this is not what Palpatine would have done," he said. "Palpatine would have tested the weapon on the population of an entire world, and used it as a terror weapon to keep other worlds in subjugation. I ask Master Sky-walker to avoid such odious comparisons."

There was a long moment of silence, broken by Cal.

"Perhaps we should vote, then," Cal said. "Those in favor?"

Dif Scaur's hand went up first. Then Nylykerka's. Then, with hesitation, the hand of Sien Sow.

Luke kept his hands on the table. So did all the Jedi. "I cast Saba Sebatyne's proxy against the motion," he said.

"And I cast Kyp Durron's," Cilghal echoed.

"The motion fails," Releqy A'Kla said.

Then Cal Omas turned to Luke. There was regret in his eyes. 'I'm sorry, Luke," he said, "but in a war that we're losing, we can't afford to throw away any weapons. Particularly one that will end so much suffering and heartache for our people." He turned to Dif Scaur. "This council is advisory, not legislative. As Chief of State, I order Dif Scaur to continue the Alpha Red project."

Luke sat stunned. Dif Scaur looked at his hands in order to hide the cold triumph in his eyes.

Sorrow dug deep furrows into Cal's brows. "This is a tragedy in every way," he said. "But our only choice is between one tragedy and another, and I prefer to make the Vong's story a tragedy and not ours."

He looked at Dif Scaur. "When can you have your weapon ready?"

"There is only a small sample of the material at present," Scaur said. "We'll need to produce much more-tons at least. The secure Alpha Red facility is unsuited for producing such quant.i.ties." He turned to Cal. "There's an old Nebulon-B frigate in orbit above Mon Calamari, used as a hospital ship. If we could shift the patients to the surface, Alpha Red could take advantage of the ship's isolation and sterile environment.

Once we get there, I antic.i.p.ate enough product can be made to begin distribution within two weeks."

Cal turned to the others. "In that case," he said, "we'll postpone implementation of Admiral Ackbar's offensive plans. We may as well stay on the defensive until Alpha Red wins the war." He looked at the others.

"Of course, no one is to speak of this matter until the end of the war.

If then."

He brought the council meeting to a swift end. He cast one regretful glance at Luke, then stood and made his rapid way out, followed with equal rapidity by Dif Scaur.

Feeling a hundred years old, Luke rose slowly from the table.

Triebakk and the Jedi came to stand beside him.

"What can we do?" Cilghal asked.

Luke forced a casual shrug. "Try to change Cal's mind. We have a couple of weeks at least."

[If there is more that you wish to do . . .] Triebakk left the thought unfinished.

Luke shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, but no."

If Luke did anything, he would do it himself, and take the responsibility on himself alone.

But he knew that if he did, he would throw away everything he'd worked for in the course of his long, exacting life.

Luke returned home after the meeting of the High Council with dread and anger warring in his mind. Nothing could be done as long as he was in this state, so he sat on the floor and began to apply relaxing techniques to get his thoughts and emotions under control.

He felt Mara in the Force before she entered the apartment. She paused for a moment in the doorway, her own force-awareness gently enfolding him, and then she closed the door, put down the briefcase she was carrying, and joined him on the floor. She sat behind him, her hands on his shoulders, and began working at the taut shoulder and neck muscles. Luke surrendered to the touch, let her fingers turn his muscles to liquid. His breath tell into rhythm with hers. Mara worked herself closer until she was pressed against his back. Her arms went around him, and she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"What's the bad news?" she said.

Luke hesitated, but he knew Mara could be trusted, and besides the horror was too vast to keep to himself. He told her about Alpha Red.

Mara drew back slightly as she considered the problem. "What can we do?"

"Try to change Cal's mind."

Her chin dropped onto his shoulder again. Her voice was a breath on his ear. "And if his mind doesn't change?"

Luke took a long breath. "I don't know. We could try to wreck the project, but unless we killed the scientists they'd be able to duplicate their work. And even if we killed the scientists, or managed to kidnap them and hold them somewhere, other scientists would be able to duplicate the project. The problem is that once this weapon is known to be possible, anyone with the proper facilities can create it."

He shook his head. "I've worked all my life to rebuild the Jedi.

Now we have a government that's willing to work with us, that we've helped into office, that's reestablished the council, and which we've sworn to uphold. How can I turn on the New Republic at the very first crisis?'' He took Mara's hand in his own. "That would finish the Jedi.

We'd be outlaws. We'd be everything that people like Fyor Rodan said we were."

She looked at him with sad concern. "What you're saying is that we really can't stop Alpha Red; at best we can only delay. But can we really stand by and let this thing happen?"

"We can protest. We can refuse to have anything to do with it.

That's all I can think of."

"Protest, yes. But how publicly?"

Again Luke shook his head. "Too public and the Yuuzhan Vong find out. Then they could hit us with bioweapons first, and it would be catastrophe."

"You say that Triebakk knows. And that Ta'laam Ranth voted with you."

"Yes."

"You need to contact them. See if they can change the minds of others on the High Council."

Luke nodded. "A quiet lobbying campaign, then. Dif Scaur caught me by surprise, and I didn't have my arguments in order." He nodded, and kissed Mara's cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She rose to her feet and helped him to rise. "Kam Solusar sent new holos of Ben. Would you like to see them?"

"Of course."

Seeing Ben speeding over the carpet on hands and knees gave Luke the usual mixture of sadness and joy, but served to shift his mood. He walked to the back of the apartment to change and wash before helping with dinner, and then froze as he saw a bundle of feathers in the spare room.

Vergere. She had been in the apartment all along. She was crouched in a meditation posture, her knees high, her head tucked in.

Horrified, Luke returned to Mara. "Vergere's in her room. I didn't sense her when I came in."

Mara's green eyes widened. "I didn't either. She was making herself invisible again."

"Do you think she heard us?"

Mara considered. "It isn't as if we were shouting. We were centimeters from each other, practically whispering. How could she have heard?"

"I wouldn't put anything past her."

Mara's look hardened. "Neither would I."

"We're going to have to watch her carefully. Unless-do you think we should have Nylykerka put her in detention again?"

"And give her a chance to stage a spectacular escape? And what if she doesn't want to go-do we fight her?"

"Watch, then," Luke decided. "And watch very carefully."

Chapter 23.

Vergere was a model of innocence for the next eight days, during which time Luke and Mara kept track of her when she wasn't with Cilghal or other Jedi. During that time Luke's lobbying efforts were nothing but frustration. Cal listened politely to his arguments, but didn't change his mind.

On the morning of the ninth day, New Republic security burst down the door and swept through the apartment. Dif Scaur had come in person, flinty eyes hard in his gaunt face. "The Chief of State wants to see you," he told Luke. His eyes flicked to Mara. "And Mara may come as well."

Cal Omas was in his office. He was unshaven and disheveled and had clearly just risen from bed. As Dif Scaur marched Luke and Mara into the office, Cal stared for a moment at a fragrant fruit-filled pastry that had been provided for his breakfast, and then with a look of disgust swept it from his desk. He looked at Luke with eyes of stone.

"Where's Vergere?"

"We saw her tonight, in her room," Luke said. "Just before bed."

"She's not in her room now," Cal said. "We don't know where she is."

Luke took a deep breath. "What has she done?"

"As if you didn't know," Dif Scaur breathed from behind Luke's shoulder.

"Vergere has sabotaged Alpha Red," Cal said.

Luke's mouth went dry. "Sabotaged it how?"

"The Alpha Red team was in the process of moving to the Nebulon-B cruiser in orbit. Somehow Vergere got on board in the confusion. She's wiped the records, and somehow she's . , . altered . . . the weapon."

"Altered?" Luke echoed.

"Rendered it ineffective. We don't know how."

Through her tears, Luke thought. She could modify the weapon at the molecular level.

"And she's rendered three of my security guards unconscious," Dif Scaur added.

Mara turned to him. "They're all right?"

"They will be."

Cal's eyes bored into Luke. "So where is she?"

"I don't know." Truthfully.

"Where would she run to?"

"Back to the Vong, of course," Dif Scaur said. "She's been working for them all along."

"I-I don't think so," Luke said. "I think Vergere is entirely on her own."

"She doesn't owe the Yuuzhan Vong her allegiance any more than we do," Mara added. "She's a servant of the Old Republic, not the New."

"So tell us why the Old Republic wants the Yuuzhan Vong to win the war!" Dif Scaur shouted.

"She doesn't," Luke said. "She just doesn't want an atrocity like Alpha Red to be unleashed."

"And who told her about the atrocity, then?" Cal's voice was cold.

"Who broke security?"

Luke gathered himself for the admission, but Mara forestalled him.

"We didn't tell her," she said. "If she found out, she found out on her own."

True enough, Luke decided.

"But how?" Scaur demanded. "You had no doc.u.ments to take home, no recordings . . . unless," his voice turned suspicious, "you surrept.i.tiously made one."

"I didn't," Luke said.

Cal looked at him for a long moment, then looked down at his desk.

"That's what Vergere herself confirmed." He scratched his bristly chin.

"She left a note saying that something a scientist said made her suspicious and that she followed up her suspicions. She specifically exonerated you."

"But then she would," Scaur said. "Especially if she did this under your orders."