• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Luke looked skeptical. “Cilghal, that’s a very basic Jedi technique—anticipating your opponent. Knowing what they’re going to do.”

“Not like this,” Cilghal said earnestly. “This was beyond the ordinary. It was almost—choreographed. Too precise. The only thing that saved Bazel’s life was the fact that Jysella seemed so distressed, she was not thinking clearly.

“Also,” Cilghal added, “I felt something in the Force. Something involving time and space. I have not tried to sense when anyone is flow-walking before, but if I had to guess—that is what I would have assumed even without knowing what Jysella had done with the droids and in the fight.”

Ben’s eyes were enormous. Even his father was hard-put to conceal his shock. “Go on” was all Luke said.

“Unfortunately, as I said, Bazel and Yaqeel were unsuccessful in their attempt to capture her. The GA has her, and Chief of State Daala reports that she is going to be put in carbonite.”

“Without even an exam or trial,” Luke said. It was a statement, not a question, and Cilghal nodded.

“GA Security was on the scene immediately,” she continued, “and Daala wasn’t far behind them. And Master … there was at least one reporter who broadcast almost everything.”

Ben felt a knot in his gut. This couldn’t possibly have gone worse. Unless—

“Were there any casualties?” he asked.

“Thankfully, no. Many civilians received injuries, most minor, and Bazel was wounded. He will make a full recovery.”

Ben thought that the same could not necessarily be said for Valin or Jysella.

“Well, that’s something to be grateful for, at least,” Luke said. He rubbed his eyes. “You said the attack was recorded?”

“Yes. Transmitting the broadcast now.”

Luke and Ben watched in increasingly sickened silence as one Javis Tyrr, “Reporting live from just outside the Jedi Temple in Galactic City, Corsucant,” proceeded to interview passersby while feeding them transparently leading questions like, “How long do you think the Jedi have been hiding this issue?”

At one point, Ben actually snorted in disgust. His father might have been trying to smother a smile at the sound, but he quickly sobered as the footage continued.

It was damning. There was Jysella, in full Jedi robes and brandishing a lit lightsaber, shrieking at pedestrians and Force-hurling them out of her way. And the commentary as the cam zoomed around, always seeking out the perfect angle: “Another Jedi has gone crazy! She’s attacking people right and left!”

Jysella’s hair had come undone, and dark strands flew about her head. The cam zoomed in on her at one point and revealed brown eyes wide with terror.

“She does look crazy, Dad,” Ben said softly, the admission paining him. Luke said nothing, his expression sad as he stared at Corran Horn’s little girl.

“Even her fellow Jedi think she’s dangerous,” came Tyrr’s voice, still remarkably calm. “I can see one, no, no two Jedi heading to intercept the rampaging Jedi now. And it looks like several are emerging from the Temple as well.”

Ben stared raptly, thinking that this was like watching a speeder crash. He couldn’t tear his eyes away, even though the sight made him sick.

What he saw next he couldn’t believe. A Ramoan whom he recognized as a Jedi Knight charged forward. He was suddenly slammed into by a fleeing pedestrian and, apparently caught unawares by the impact, stumbled several steps to the side.

And that was precisely where Jysella leapt even before he’d begun moving. Her lightsaber came down in a blur of motion, and Jysella shrieked, “It’s not you!”

“Pause,” Luke said. The recording stopped obediently. “Replay.” Both Skywalkers watched the encounter again. Ben felt a shiver chase up and down his spine.

Flow-walking. This was more than Force anticipation.

The fight continued. Ben realized that Cilghal was right. At every turn, Jysella predicted exactly where Barv would be. Sometimes she seemed to be two steps ahead. Ben had never seen that kind of Force anticipation, not even from his father. His skin crawled. He paid no attention