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Gunray made his face long and stuck out his already prominent lower jaw. “Can’t this wait until after the summit concludes?”

The page shook his head. “I apologize, Viceroy, but this is a security matter. I assure you, it will require only a moment of your time.”

The Kuati chair, who had been monitoring the conversation, swung to face Gunray. “Go attend to the matter. If luck is with you, you won’t have to endure Supreme Chancellor Valorum’s opening remarks.”

Lott Dod came to his feet as Gunray was preparing to leave. “Should I remain in your absence, Viceroy?”

Gunray thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “Come with me. You are better at dealing with procedures and legalities than I am. But let us be quick about it, Senator, I don’t wish to miss any more of the summit than I have to.”

One hundred meters above the floor of the summit hall, Qui-Gon and Boiny hurried through the network of walkways, gantries, and trusses that spanned the upper reaches of the building from wall to wall. The martial bellowing of the trumpets resounded off the curved walls, playing tricks with the sound. Sunlight, colored by the enormous ocular window in the center of the dome, poured in.

Suspended by brackets from the ceiling, or cantilevered from the walls, the walkways had openwork floors and tubular handrails and were just wide enough for a human of normal size to pass through. At regular intervals, especially where walkways intersected, were balconies that permitted maintenance to be performed on speaker arrays or banks of spotlights.

There were innumerable places where a lone shooter, armed with a remote or a blaster, might conceal himself.

Qui-Gon and Boiny hadn’t gone far before they encountered the first security agent, who raised a hand weapon as they approached and demanded to know what business they had there.

Qui-Gon explained in as few words as possible, at the same time regarding the agent through the Force to determine if his demeanor of righteous authority was genuine.

Disconcerted by Qui-Gon’s revelations, the agent activated his comlink and notified every agent in the vicinity to recheck the documents of anyone in the walkways, whether their badges identified them as fellow agents or technicians. In the same breath, he ordered that all exits leading to the periphery corridor behind the media booths be sealed off.

Within moments, Qui-Gon, Boiny, and the agent were joined by additional security personnel. Forming up into three groups, they fanned out into the walkways.

Qui-Gon and Boiny angled away from the perimeter and out over the floor of the hall. Directly below them stood the two lines of trumpeters and drummers.

They reached another intersection and split up.

Stretching out with his feelings, Qui-Gon moved warily toward the next balcony.

A security agent rushed into view, a blaster rifle cradled in his arms.

“I received word over the comlink,” he said. “There are two technicians on the next balcony. I suggest we start with them.”

The agent stepped aside to let Qui-Gon pass. Qui-Gon sprinted forward. But the Force drew him up short.

He began to turn.

Someone shouted, “Jedi!”

Qui-Gon spun and saw Boiny running full-out toward him. The security agent was between them, the blaster rifle still angled across his chest.

Boiny pointed to the agent. “That’s—”

The agent glanced at Qui-Gon.

“He’s with me,” Qui-Gon started to say.

The agent crouched and fired, hitting Boiny square in the chest and hurling him backwards on the walkway. Then he whirled on Qui-Gon, firing steadily.

Qui-Gon unleashed his lightsaber. But the blaster bolts were delivered with such speed and precision that he was hard-pressed to deflect all of them. Two whizzed past his blade, grazing his left arm and right leg.

He stumbled slightly.

Drawn by the sounds of the blasterfire, a trio of agents raced into view from the same direction Boiny had come. Havac’s shooter drew a second weapon from a shoulder holster and unloaded on the agents, wounding two of them.

Qui-Gon