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Abeloth was surrounded by five powerful Force-users: Luke Skywalker, High Lord Taalon, Saber Gavar Khai, and two others Ben didn’t know. It was almost like a dance, with the combatants leaping, somersaulting in midair, tumbling aside. The cries of curses in the musical Keshiri tongue, the unique sound of the sizzle of lightsabers batting back Force lightning, the smell of sulfur all combined to unsettle Ben.

And even as he watched, Abeloth suddenly was not there.

The ring of five enemies was now inadvertently battling one another. Gavar Khai grunted in annoyance as his red blade sliced cleanly through not the monstrous Abeloth, but one of his fellow Sith. Luke had to Force-leap straight up to avoid the blade’s follow-through, landing lightly on his feet and looking about for their escaped enemy. Mocking laughter seemed to echo from all directions. They sprang apart, and then there she was again, at the far end of the courtyard, laughing as the four raced toward her. Their comrade lay dead and ignored, and as Ben watched, the vines reached to latch on to the corpse and started to pull away the pieces.

Again, the three Sith and Luke encircled Abeloth, and this time they seemed to be wearing her down. Ben ached to help them, but Vestara—

Gavar Khai surged forward, bringing his lightsaber down on the whirling, dancing figure that was the laughing Abeloth. At the last moment, he diverted the blade, and Ben watched in horror as it swung, not to the agreed-upon common enemy, but at his father. At the same moment, he felt the net being woven high above them tighten.

The Sith had betrayed them.

Ship was good. It had taken Jaina two tries before she was able to prevent Ship from redirecting the shadow bombs she fired at it. In the meantime, she contented herself with laser cannons, smiling grimly as she simultaneously saw and felt the blasts strike the Sith vessel.

Its self-created weapons fired in return, steady and rapid. Jaina pulled back on the stick hard and was slammed back against her seat. Rowdy toodled in distress.

WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

Jaina didn’t have breath to answer, taking the StealthX into a roll that brought it underneath the spherical vessel, where it didn’t have suddenly sprouted cannons, and launching a volley of torpedos.

Except now it did have suddenly sprouted cannons there, and they were firing. Jaina’s blast tinting darkened instantly and she hung on as her ship spiraled out of control, struggling to bring it back in line before it was too late.

“Dad!” Ben screamed. Luke heard him, and just in time got his own blade up. Red and green clashed, sizzling.

“Ben, please, I need—”

Ben shook off the clinging hand and gave Vestara a single scorching look of naked loathing before leaping into the fray to help his betrayed father. He Force-launched himself on Gavar Khai from behind, knocking the Sith off balance and then leaping free as Khai got to his feet.

Vestara had played him. And the bitter knowledge, the righteous fury of it all, lent Ben strength. Surprise and admiration flickered in Gavar Khai’s dark eyes as Ben pressed the attack.

“You’re good for a whelp,” Khai said.

“Should have done this the first time I saw you,” Ben snarled. He leaped backward, not quite in time, the red blade cutting a horizontal slash in his black tunic. He winced as it grazed the flesh beneath it. Khai feinted and then came at him again. Luke had returned his attention to Abeloth, and Ben was glad of it. He wanted Khai all to himself. He wanted to kill this piece of Sith spit, to cut him into sizzling chunks, for what he had made of Vestara.

In his anger he grew reckless, overextending his reach and having to again leap clear of Khai’s return stroke. He landed on one knee, catching the blade with his own, then executing a roundhouse kick that almost caught Khai unaware.

“Better,” Khai said. “Let the anger flow. Hate me all you like. It is what feeds the dark side within you.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Ben had heard this