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I-Five projected what Den knew constituted one of his rare smiles. “One isn’t nearly enough in your case, Den.”

It wasn’t the most comforting battlefield farewell he’d ever heard of, but there was no time for anything further. Something smashed against the door, hard enough to shake the room. Then came another, harder crash, and the door flew apart in a shower of fragments—

While it wasn’t exactly a big shock to run into Prince Xizor and the droid—and the bird man, who’d been unconscious the last time Nick had seen him—it was still a surprise, and not a particularly pleasant one. Nick kept both his eyes and the Force focused on Xizor. The droid wouldn’t do anything unless told, he figured, and the bird man was an unknown quantity—although, given that he was cuffed and gagged, probably not much of a threat. The Falleen was, by far, the most dangerous of the three. It was rumored that he was affiliated with Black Sun. More to the immediate point, he held a blaster in his hand, and was also, from what Nick had heard, a master of various forms of unarmed combat. Not only that, but he controlled the droid—that much had been obvious back at the Ugnaught nest. All things considered, Prince Xizor was definitely someone to tread lightly around.

Of course, Nick knew the control phrase that would put Bug-Eyes on his team, but he also knew that by the time he’d barked it out and added some kind of instruction such as “Disarm him!” Xizor could have yanked his large intestine out and strangled him with it. Better, by far, to just play it cool.

“Who are you?” Xizor growled. “How do you know who I am? This place is deserted—how did you—?”

“I’m not from around here—same as you,” Nick said, affecting what he hoped was an air of nonchalance while his brain lashed about frantically within his skull, trying to figure out a way to keep from being killed long enough to come up with a plan. He hadn’t activated the beacon that would summon Vader yet. Might Xizor somehow be used as an ally against the Dark Lord? A way to save Jax’s life—and his own—by distracting Vader? Unlikely; and even if it was possible, if it ended anywhere short of Vader’s death, there was still the danger of part of Haruun Kal being decimated.

Nick figured he had about ten seconds before Xizor lost patience and shot him. He opened his mouth with no idea what he was going to say—only that he had to say something. What came out was: “I’m here to warn you. Lord Vader has sent a posse after you. They’re tracking you, and they’ll find you very soon.”

Prince Xizor looked wary. “Are you referring to those fools who ran headlong into my droid’s fusillade? I didn’t think they could still stand, much less pursue me halfway around the world.”

“Don’t dismiss them,” Nick said. “Two of them are rogue Jedi, and they’re using the Force to track you.”

“Again—why? What does Darth Vader want with—” Xizor glanced at 10-4TO and fell silent.

“Yes,” Nick said. “He wants the data that the droid is carrying.”

“And you came to warn me.” The Falleen’s tone was, to say the least, skeptical. “What’s in it for you?”

Nick didn’t need the Force to tell him that Xizor wasn’t buying it. Still, there was no way he could back out now. “Black Sun sent me.” It sounded absurd, even to his own ears, but it was all he could think of.

“Ah,” Xizor said, his voice almost a purr. “Then you will, no doubt, be able to tell me the recognition phrase.”

Nick felt various parts of his anatomy grow cold and shrink. If there was such a phrase, he had no way to guess it. There was only one slim chance now—he put everything he had into a Force probe, trying to read Xizor’s emotional state and extrapolate from there. It wasn’t easy; the prince kept his feelings and reactions closely guarded. Still, Nick could sense enough of his mood to feel reasonably confident in his reply.

“Phrase? What phrase?”

There was a long moment of silence; then, to his immeasurable relief, Nick felt the suspicion lessen slightly on Xizor’s part.