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Ben shrugged and ate half the sweetcake in a single bite. With his mouth full, he said, “Maybe. But one thing we do know is that they are collecting artifacts.”

“Artifacts to offer to these beings, or artifacts from these beings?”

Again Ben shrugged. Luke was suddenly struck by how broad those shoulders had gotten over the last two years. Oh, Mara, you’d be so proud of him. He’s a fine young man. A ghost of a smile curved Luke’s lips as he imagined Mara rolling her eyes at both him and Ben. Yes, her presence was definitely here in this ship that had been so uniquely hers. He returned his attention to his son’s slightly crumb-enhanced discourse.

“One of the records said they utilized a human to retrieve an artifact for them. It was called the Codex. No one’s sure how they got him to cooperate. The best guess is that they brainwashed him, but they kinda messed up and he went insane from it.”

“It’s difficult enough for an experienced Jedi to do such things without causing damage,” Luke said. “I imagine it must be almost impossible to try something on a species you’re unfamiliar with.”

Ben paused in midchew for a second before resuming eating. His reddish brows drew together for a moment, and a shadow passed over his face. Luke knew without even having to sense his sudden disquiet in the Force what his son was thinking. Ben was recalling a moment three years ago when Jacen had inadvertently killed a prisoner while mentally torturing her for information. Ben hadn’t been present, hadn’t seen it happen with his own eyes—but he had been just outside the room, had heard and felt things through the Force that had forever and irrevocably altered his opinion of Jacen Solo.

“Well, sounds like you’re off to a good start,” Luke said lightly, reaching out to squeeze Ben’s shoulder. “Time for my report.”

He filled Ben in on the basics of the challenges addressing them. “I think that we may have an extra card to play, though. I’m wondering if the hassat-durr technique I learned could be useful here.”

Ben had the proper teenager’s dubious expression, but he also looked as if he wanted to be impressed. “Really?”

“Really. Think about it. Hassat-durr means ‘lightning rod’ in their language, right?”

“Right, you told me,” Ben said. “Because if you’re not perfect in your mastery of it and perform it during a storm, you’ll be repeatedly struck by lightning and killed.”

“It stands to reason therefore that if you are a master of it, you could use it to be a sort of anti-lightning rod. To deflect energies, at least to a small degree.”

“I guess,” Ben said. It sounded like the dubious part was winning.

Luke grinned. “Well, it’s worth a try anyway. I’m pretty sure I know enough to not be a lightning rod.”

“That’s good. I’d die horribly embarrassed.”

“Where’d you get that sarcastic sense of humor?”

“From Mom.”

“Ah, right. How do you like spiders?”

The change of topic caught Ben off-guard. “What do you mean?”

“Spiders. Giant glowing ones, or hundreds of small ones crawling on every centimeter of the ship.” Luke was enjoying this.

Ben shrugged. “Not pleasant, of course, but I don’t have any particular fear of them. Are you telling me that giant glowing spiders lurk in the Rift, too?”

“In your mind,” Luke said. “Apparently this part of space is known for causing hallucinations. Force-sensitives in particular are affected. Spiders—from the large and glowing to the small and plentiful—are one of the recurring hallucinations reported. So, too, are sightings of little hairless beings with large eyes, slit noses, and tiny mouths. Other side effects are nausea and severe headaches.”

“ … I don’t think I like the field trips the Mobile Chapter of the Jedi academy provides,” Ben said.

Luke grinned. He pointed at the last sweetcake. “You going to eat that?”

“I’ll split it with you.”

“Deal.”

JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT

MASTER KENTH HAMNER, ACTING GRAND MASTER OF THE JEDI ORDER, made sure he was the first to arrive in the High Council Chamber.

He needed the time to think.

Hamner went to one of the windows and looked through it. When the Temple