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The planet had to be protected in some fashion from the radiation of the Rift, or else the Aing-Tii would not have been able to evolve as highly as they had. So it would be in one of the “corridors” and not in the denser parts of the Rift itself.

And … that was about it.

The rest was up to them, their skills, the Force, and sheer luck.

Luke calculated their first jump. Ben raised an eyebrow at how short a distance it was. Luke glanced at Ben and smiled. “Ready?”

Ben shrugged. “I guess so.”

They jumped.

Ben was used to the sight of stars streaking past him, appearing as white lines. But when he couldn’t see the stars, it looked as though nothing at all had happened. The beautiful cloud that was the Rift looked exactly the same during their brief transit, and when they materialized in the first corridor, it looked just as if—

The Jade Shadow shook violently. Lights in all colors flashed wildly about them. Ben tried to stabilize the ship, but it was like trying to ride a spooked ronto—it was all he could do to hang on, let alone try to get it under control. He suddenly thought that Luke might have been right about his lunch.

Luke, however, seemed to sit as still as if he had been glued to his chair. In the back of his mind, Ben guessed that it was another way to use telekinesis—if you could hurl yourself across a room, it made sense that you could stay still even when your ship was tossing you about. And then he had no thought for how his father was managing this, because he suddenly jerked his hands back from the console, hissing in pain.

What looked like Force lightning danced across the console and then scurried across every surface of the Jade Shadow. Ben turned to his father to shout out that they were just short-circuited, but then he realized that his father was causing it. The blue, jagged, flashing lines were coming from Luke’s hands on the console. Ben suddenly understood what was going on.

Luke was utilizing the hassat-durr technique.

The Baran Do Sages had taught it to Jacen, and then they had taught it to Luke. The lightning-rod technique suffused the user’s body with a very low level of electromagnetic radiation; an inexperienced practitioner performing it in a storm would attract lightning. From what he could see, while trying to stay in his seat and still keep the ship steady, Ben guessed that Luke was turning the Jade Shadow into a reverse lightning rod.

And after a couple of moments that seemed like hours, he realized that the hassat-durr was working. The ship calmed down, and the crackling cloud that enveloped them no longer posed a danger.

“ … handy,” Ben gasped. He ran a hand through his hair and wondered how many bruises he’d gotten in the last few minutes.

Luke opened his eyes. “Very. That should last while we assess what damage we took and plot the next jump.”

“Great. Just—next time, let me know when you’re going to do that, okay?”

As they made their way from jump to jump, they developed a routine. It was immediately apparent that both could not sleep at the same time—not when their situation was constantly changing. But neither did they need a full eight hours of sleep apiece every twenty-four. Both of them were familiar with healing trances, which in a pinch could substitute for a good night’s sleep. Ben figured that the Kathol Rift definitely qualified as a pinch.

* * *

“SO,” BEN SAID, WITH EXAGGERATED NONCHALANCE. WE’RE GOING TO go see the Aing-Tii.”

“Yes … we are.” Luke’s voice held a question.

“We’re going because Jysella Horn flow-walked, and you suspect that Caedus might have used flow-walking to kick off the whole Jedi-going-crazy thing in the first place.”

“Right again. Perhaps you’ll tell me my name next, or who my sister is?” Luke’s voice held no irritation, just mild amusement. He was trying to figure out what Ben was getting at. Ben continued.

“So … I’m thinking that the best way to understand something is to learn about it.”

“Ah. Now I see where you’re going with this.”

“Well, you wanted to master the hassat-durr, even when the Baran Do Sages were