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“Very well,” Xizor said. “You understand why I must be on guard.”

“Of course.”

“Where are these rogue Jedi? If they’re planning an ambush, then obviously we want to be there first.”

“I’ll take you to them,” Nick said, feeling relieved.

They started back down the dark corridor, Nick leading, Xizor directly behind him. Nick didn’t need to look to know that Xizor’s blaster was aimed at the small of his back.

So far, Nick thought, things weren’t going badly at all, considering that he was playing this totally by ear. A plan was beginning to percolate, however. If he could find his way back to Jax and the others, and alert Jax through the Force that danger was approaching, they might be able to get the drop on Xizor. They’d have the droid and its data, at least, and Jax would have fulfilled his obligation to Master Piell. Then, he felt, he could tell Jax how Vader had conscripted him with the threat of destroying his homeworld. Working together, they might be able to figure a way out of all this …

But as he walked down the dark hallway, Nick, somewhat to his surprise, began to find the idea of turning on Xizor less appealing. Instead, he found himself thinking, perhaps it made more sense for them to find a way to join forces with Xizor. After all, the Falleen prince could be a powerful ally—and it was all about making the strongest alliances, after all, wasn’t it?

The more he thought about it, the more Nick was amazed, and somewhat annoyed, that he hadn’t sussed all this out before now. It made perfect sense. It was in all of their best interests for him to bring Prince Xizor to the others—but not so they could subdue Xizor. The prince could protect both him and his ghôsh against Vader—a sunstruck Gungan could see that. And he could, no doubt, help Jax hide from Vader as well.

Nick felt a wave of relief as these revelations tumbled through his head. Thank goodness he’d figured this out in time to prevent himself from making a terrible blunder. He glanced back at Prince Xizor. He would make a good and powerful ally, no question about that. Just the thought of it made him feel safer. Even as the feeling surged through him, Nick noticed that the Falleen’s skin, previously as green as burning copper, had changed to a very pleasing shade of pink.

Three labor droids, of a design Jax wasn’t familiar with, stalked into the control room. They were about two meters tall, wide and heavy, with standard extensible arms ending in three-pronged pincers.

“Bee-Ex-Ell-Ninety-nines,” I-Five murmured. He didn’t sound thrilled.

The droids stalked forward. They were all clicking, beeping, and whistling in Binary. Jax had no idea what they were saying, but it sounded somehow wrong.

There was something else odd about them: although they were the same model, the three droids didn’t look the same. For one thing, they appeared to be covered with patches of rust. Then, as they came closer, Jax saw that they had been modified in bizarre ways. One had lengths of plasticene tubing snaking across its chest plate, through which circulated fluids of various colors. Another had blinking parity lights running up both arms in erratic patterns. The third sported two tall, thin terminal vanes on its head, with high-voltage electrical discharges climbing up between them. All three had various archaic pieces of electronic equipment, such as circuit boards and vacuum tubes, spot-welded to their heads and upper torsos, apparently at random.

All this registered in the space of only a few seconds. Then Jax Force-leapt, the threads catching him up in an invisible harness, manipulating him like a marionette, so that he executed a midair flip that landed him behind the droid with the discharge vanes. Before it could begin to turn, Jax swung his weapon at the no-neck junction between its head and shoulders.

But instead of decapitating it, the energy blade grew very bright for a moment, spat a sound like a hundred giant dynamos overloading, and vanished, leaving only the dead hilt and a stench of ozone. Jax stared in shock at his deactivated weapon, realizing