He laughed shortly. "Tsavong Lah would have directed the armada against a handful of upstarts with magic swords. It would be frankly laughable were it not so tragic." Again the warmaster scrutinized the blaze bug display.

"It intrigues me that they remain at Mon Calamari. By installing yammosks at Toong'l and Caluula, we have made clear as rainwater our intent to a.s.sault Mon Calamari. Sovv, Kre'fey, and the rest of the Alliance commanders must be blind not to see what is coming-But obviously I misconstrue them. My purpose was to persuade them to disband their battle groups, and thus subvert the possibility of a final battle of this nature, for I suspected that Shimrra was pursuing such thinking. And yet the enemy does nothing to suggest that they received our message. Either they have misconstrued me, or they have devised a way to counter us."

"Even so, Warmaster," the tactician said, "it makes little sense for them to make a stand at Mon Calamari. They are vastly outnumbered, and it is unlikely they would wish to visit destruction on the world they have chosen as their new capital."

Nas Choka considered it.

"Yes, I fear that, in the end, they will scatter."

The tactician was puzzled.

"Was that not your original wish, Warmaster?"

"To have them disband without our having to travel clear across the galaxy to prompt them. Now we are committed. We will arrive, they will disperse, and we will be left with no choice but to chase them into the galactic arms and back-because Shimrra will not have it otherwise."

"Such actions will require many years, and consume many resources."

"It is the pattern our ancestors faced time and again in the home galaxy," the seer interjected. "Wars that lingered for generations."

The tactician regarded the blaze bugs.

"What if the enemy should surprise us by electing to stand and fight?" Nas Choka smiled. "I will know then, with certainty, that Kre'fey and the rest have contrived a counterstrategy."

The seer was not pleased by the statement.

"Would the infidels dare strike at Yuuzhan'tar in your absence?"

"I have given careful thought to that," Nas Choka said. "I have calculated the amount of damage they can do, based on their bringing to bear three times the number of ships we know to exist in sectors other than Mon Calamari. I remain confident that they cannot inflict unacceptable damage. I have planned for that eventuality, nevertheless.

Should they jump their entire fleet here, so much the better for us."

"They could interpret the groundwork we've laid as an attempt to encourage them to attack Yuuzhan'tar," the tactician said. Nas Choka betrayed no concern. "Either way benefits us. But we're a long way from seeing all sides of this. We must bide what little time remains before Shimrra declares the omens favorable to launch the fleet."

The seer deliberately placed herself in the warmaster's gaze.

"I have spoken to the other seers regarding the omens. We have agreed to stretch the truth, in order to grant your forces additional time to prepare."

"Shimrra will see through you," Nas Choka cautioned. "Especially in light of the appeal I attempted today. Regardless, he will suffer your lies as an accommodation to me, just as he suffers you and your cohorts as an accommodation to the elite. Refrain from attempting to grant us too much delay." He paused, then said, "In the meantime, we should awaken our masqued spies and infiltrators on all occupied and contested worlds, and instruct them to report on any unusual activity involving the movements of ships, materiel, and couriers."

"Kre'fey will expect as much," the tactician thought to point out.

"Bear in mind, Warmaster, that enemy disinformation was at least partially responsible for drawing Tsavong Lah to his death."

Nas Choka touched him on the shoulder in appreciation.

"Trust nothing from our network of agents on Mon Calamari. They live only because the Alliance feels there may be some further use for them. Also dinstruct our masqued spies that while they should keep their noses lifted to the winds, they are to refrain from taking any actions or interfering in any way. I want nothing more than information. I will separate the truth from the deceptions. Above all, I want to give the Alliance just enough vine to hang itself."

PART TWO.

FORCE AND COUNTERFORCE.

NINETEEN.

Stars filled the sky. Head tipped back, eyes raised, Luke turned through a small circle, feeling infinitesimal under the giant boras, under the light-strewn expanse. The night was cold-made colder by a polar breeze-but there wasn't a cloud overhead. Beside him, R2-D2 zithered and twittered, then fluted in what approximated relief. Luke looked down at the readout on the droid's dome.

"You're sure about that, little fella?"

The silver dome of the droid's head revolved, taking his primary photoreceptor through a second survey of the stars and cl.u.s.ters. After comparing the results of his scans to the charts he had downloaded from Widowmaker's data banks, R2-D2 mewled, chirped, then twittered some more.

Luke smiled and placed his hand on the droid's dome.

"At least we're closer to known s.p.a.ce. I guess we'll just have to wait to see were Sekot's next hypers.p.a.ce jump lands us."

Rocking side to side on his treads, R2-D2 tootled and fluted. Luke had been one of the first to emerge from the shelter scooped into the notched cliff face that was home to hundreds of Ferroan families. Similar to other shelters in the Middle Distance, it was a vast vaulted s.p.a.ce, excavated sometime during the Crossings that had taken Zonama Sekot from its original orbit in the Gardaji Rift, through several star systems, and finally into the Unknown Regions, where Sekot had selected Kla.s.se Ephemora as the planet's new home and sanctuary. Following the discussion in the cave, Sekot had said that it wanted to perform several short trial voyages to a.s.sess whether the jump to lightspeed inadvertently engineered by Nom Anor had done lasting damage to the hypers.p.a.ce cores and whatever planetary mechanisms Sekot employed to augment the powerful engines.

Of greater concern was the very real possibility of encountering uncharted ma.s.s shadows along the route back to known s.p.a.ce. Whether ship or planet, any traveler that entered hypers.p.a.ce without taking a greater or lesser hyperlane risked catastrophe-and no a.n.a.logs to the Perlemian Trade Route or the Hydian Way existed in the Unknown Regions.

Worse, the entire territory was known to be rife with hypers.p.a.ce anomalies, particularly along the Coreward frontier. Luke and the other Jedi had to trust that Sekot knew what it was doing. So instead of dwelling on the prospects of being yanked from lightspeed by a gravity well of some sort, Luke had pa.s.sed the days in the shelter grappling with Sekot's revelations that the aboriginal Yuuzhan Vong had been stripped of the Force. Sekot had refused to elaborate; and since then Sekot-speaking through Jabitha-had said only that it was imperative that Zonama be returned to known s.p.a.ce, despite the grave risks the planet would face during the Crossings and on arrival. The revelation-Luke didn't know what else to call it-had had a profound effect on Harrar, and on Luke, as well.

Was it possible, Luke wondered, that the would-be Jedi who had originally settled on Zonama Sekot hadn't taught Sekot about the Force but merely reawakened it?

A few steps away from Luke in the boras-enclosed clearing sat Jade Shadow. Designed for speed and stealth, the craft was sharply tapered forward and painted a uniform nonreflective gray. The hyperdrive rating was equal to that of the Millennium Falcon, and she had the added ability to be operated remotely by slave circuitry. The aft cabin s.p.a.ce alone was large enough to accommodate an X-wing. Even Sekot was impressed by the ship, and Luke suspected that it was Sekot that had kept Jade Shadow from being crushed by the several boras that had toppled during the recent storms, narrowly missing it. However, the ship was buried almost to her triangular c.o.c.kpit in sand, leaves, and other forest detritus.

"Did she weather the jump all right?" Mara asked. Glow stick in hand, she emerged from the dark shadows of the giant trees and came alongside him to regard Jade Shadow. "No visible damage." Mara tossed her hair over her right shoulder and gazed at the circle of brilliant stars overhead. "Any idea where we are?"

"According to Artoo, we might be somewhere in the Mid Rim."

The droid cheeped. Mara looked at R2-D2.

"Is that good?"

"It's a start." Luke glanced at the path Mara had taken. "Where is everyone?"

"Jacen, Corran, and Danni are trying to convince the Ferroans that it's safe to come out of hiding. The last I saw Tekli, Saba, and Tahiri, they were with Harrar, who keeps finding similarities between Yuuzhan Vong biots and what he sees here."

She approached Jade Shadow, then turned to Luke.

"Do you think we're close enough to contact Esfandia Station?"

"Only one way to find out."

The ship had a cosmetic external hatch release, but the actual release was concealed inside the starboard bulkhead, and could be operated by the Force. Mara entered first, and called on the illuminators. As filthy as the ship was outside, the interior was undisturbed. Slipping into the forward chairs, she and Luke activated the ship's HoloNet and subs.p.a.ce transceivers. At the same time, R2-D2 inserted his slender computer interface arm into an access port and rotated the dial to an appropriate setting.

"Esfandia Station, this is Jade Shadow..." Mara said, repeating the comm call several times. The annunciator's only response was static. "At Kla.s.se Ephemora we were even farther from Esfandia, and we still managed to reach the station," Mara said, after continued attempts at contact.

R2-D2 buzzed in exasperation.

"He says he can't find any functioning HoloNet transceivers," Luke said.

"Try again," Mara urged.

She and Luke pondered possible explanations while R2-D2 rotated the interface dial this way and that.

"Nothing," Luke said, breaking their long silence.

Mara's lightly freckled brow furrowed.

"Could the Yuuzhan Vong have destroyed Esfandia?"

Luke leaned away from the console.

"Corran said that something big had been planned for Bilbringi. But even if the Alliance failed to retake the shipyards there, that wouldn't account for our not being able to contact any of the HoloNet relay stations."

Mara shook her head back and forth.

"Something terrible has happened." She looked at him. "Could Cal Omas have given the okay to using Alpha Red?"

A Yuuzhan Vong-specific toxin, Alpha Red had been developed in secret by Alliance Intelligence, working in conjunction with Chiss scientists. But the only prototype sample of the bioweapon had been stolen by Vergere and transformed into something harmless.

"We've been gone long enough for Dif Scaur's Intelligence bunch to have cooked up a whole new batch," Mara added.

Luke shook his head.

"Cal promised me that Alpha Red would be used only as a last resort."

"Maybe it's come down to that. And maybe the Yuuzhan Vong retaliated with a poison of their own."

"Cal knows better. Evil can't simply be stamped out. It's as much a part of life as good is."

Mara looked at him dubiously.

"You're thinking like a Jedi instead of an admiral or an elected official." She blew out her breath. "All right. What's your solution to ending this war?"

"I don't know yet. I just know that Alpha Red isn't the solution."

Mara smiled at him and took his hand.

"I happen to agree. But you are starting to sound a little like Vergere and Jacen."

"Guilty as charged. But is that wrong?"

"Not in principle. Except that you're probably more attuned to the Force than either of them." Luke made his lips a thin line. "I feel like I'm still in training for the trials. Every second of every day. It never ends, and I wouldn't have it otherwise. My understanding of the Force continues to grow. I know I'm a Jedi Master, but I may not feel like a true Master until my dying breath. Besides, Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, Ben...

They're the future of the Jedi. Everything we do now must be for them-to ensure that they carry on what began a thousand generations ago."

Luke took his eyes from Mara, and glanced around the c.o.c.kpit.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, after a moment. "And I think it's time we tried."

He smiled faintly.

"If you'd stayed in my thoughts a little longer, you'd know why we can't leave."

Mara looked disappointed.

"You're not going to tell me you're worried about running us into a ma.s.s shadow. Because Artoo can plot a safe route-even if it takes us twenty microjumps to get back to known s.p.a.ce."

"That isn't it." Luke regarded her again. "Mara, I'm as concerned about Ben as you are. Something terrible has happened, but it's momentary. We have to stay focused on the greater picture."

Mara rose and paced away from the control console, crossing her arms when she swung back to Luke.

"The future's exactly what I'm thinking about. Ben's future. You said yourself that everything we do should be for him and the other young Jedi." She sat down again and took her husband's hands in hers.

"Luke, Ben was almost killed on Coruscant by that witch Viqi Shesh.

If something should happen to us..."

Luke pictured their red-golden-haired infant.

"By leaving, we could destroy everything we've accomplished here.

And then we won't be a help to anyone-Ben included."

Mara studied him.

"You're basing this on personal experience-on some mistake you once made."

"I am."

"Luke, there are times when action is the best course."

"Actions have consequences."

"What are the consequences here? Jacen and Corran can stay behind.

We can leave them Jade Shadow, if you want. We'll ask Sekot to grow us a ship. "