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It wasn’t.

He dived, tucked, and rolled to his feet behind a large piece of equipment as the energy bolt scorched the floor where he’d been standing.

The droid turned to fire again. Jax was momentarily safe behind the chunk of metal and circuitry, but for how long?

Once more he beseeched the Force, and once more he was denied. The droid stalked forward. It seized and hurled aside the shattered control bank behind which Jax was hiding—

And Jax lunged forward, one hand extended beneath the droid’s extended arm cannon. He rammed the small dagger he’d pulled from the sheath hidden between his shoulder blades into the gap between the thoracic and ventral plates.

Bug-Eyes staggered backward. Jax glimpsed sparks sizzling in the welter of wires and circuitry that constituted its innards. One foot struck a piece of debris, and the droid fell against the transparisteel window. The material, already shattered and weakened, gave way, and 10-4TO dropped through it, disappearing from sight. An instant later, a crash echoed from below.

Jax stood and turned, intending to go back and grab his lightsaber’s hilt; the blade had been extinguished, along with the cuffs. But the hilt was no longer lying on the floor. Desperately, Jax cast about for it.

“Looking for this?” The Falleen’s silky voice came from behind him. Jax turned, and saw that the lightsaber was in Xizor’s hand. As Jax watched, the blade again generated itself, with an ominous hum. Xizor, grinning, started toward the unarmed Jedi. His skin glowed on the cusp between green and orange. He evidently had recovered from the sound barrage’s effects much quicker than had Jax.

Jax snapped his right hand forward, palm-first, hoping to hurl the Force at Xizor. But there was only a yawning emptiness as the Force refused him yet again.

Xizor stopped warily when Jax pantomimed the blow; now he smiled and continued his advance. Before he had moved farther than a couple more steps, however, a laser struck near his feet, and another flashed just above his head. He turned with a startled shout, seeking the source of the new attack.

I-Five stood nearby, aiming both fingers at the prince. “Please shut off the lightsaber, Your Highness,” the droid said. “And toss those blasters aside as well.”

Xizor snarled, his skin flaming with anger. I-Five’s aim did not waver. “I’m sure you’re quite fast, Prince Xizor, but not as fast as light.” He shrugged. “Universal law and all that.”

The Falleen hesitated, then deactivated the energy weapon and divested himself of both blasters. Jax started forward, intending to claim his lightsaber from him—but then he saw Nick Rostu, sprawled on his back near one wall, with a bloody piece of transparisteel rising from his chest.

Nick was lying where Xizor’s blow had tossed him, his head propped up by debris. He could see the fragment of transparent metal protruding from just below his rib cage, and almost smiled, because under his shirt he knew the shard had bisected the old scar he’d gotten back on Haruun Kal. The fresh wound bisecting the previous one had no doubt marked an X across his midriff—not that he needed such an obvious sign to tell him he was done. He marveled that he wasn’t feeling any pain. There’s a lot to be said for shock.

He realized that someone was leaning over him. It was Jax.

Nick tried to tell him that he was sorry, that it hadn’t been him, that Vader had blackmailed him and Xizor had manipulated him. He wasn’t sure if he’d managed to say all that, or, indeed, any of it, but Jax looked as if he understood.

There was one more thing … what was it? Hard to remember, it was like his mind was leaking away with his blood. It seemed suddenly terribly important that he tell Jax something. Again, he wasn’t sure if he got it across or not, but Jax nodded, smiling through the crusted blood on his face. He also said something, but Nick’s hearing was about as useless as his legs after that vocal solo from I-Five. He could see Jax going through the pockets of his greatcoat, looking for what Nick had told him was there,