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Luke clicked off and leaned back in the chair, and wondered what sort of mischief his teenage son and the teenage Sith girl had gotten themselves into.

TREEMA, CAPITAL OF KLATOOINE

DYON STAD, WHO HAD SERVED AS A GUIDE FOR HAN, LEIA, AND ALLANA during their time on Dathomir, was a pleasant, cheerful fellow who seemed to harbor no resentment at all toward Luke, Ben, or even Vestara for their superior ability to use the Force. Ben had taken an instant liking to him. His time on Dathomir had caused him to be a lot more relaxed about things than Luke was, and he was closer to Ben’s age than anyone in his immediate family.

So Ben was rather pleased that if he had to have an “escort” because his dad didn’t trust him to shepherd Vestara properly on his own, it was Dyon rather than Luke. Ben had traveled enough and seen enough that Treema, the capital of this arid world, was not all that impressive to him. No doubt it showcased the finest Klatooine had to offer, but truth be told, that wasn’t much. At least, not from what he had been able to glean as the Jade Shadow had come in for docking.

Luke had told Ben that the Klatooinian species was an ancient one, and Treema was the oldest city that had not fallen into ruins, most likely because of its proximity to the Fountain of Hutt Ancients. The city seemed to like to build on top of itself, and the end result was something that looked to Ben’s eye like an extremely tall stack of hotcakes. Ships were permitted to dock in the center of each level. The most expensive docking bays were on the top level, with the price falling the closer one was willing to be to the ground. The reasoning was simple: the upper levels offered better protection from sandstorms, greater security, and simply were newer. Luke and Ben had opted for something in the mid range, on Level 34.

As Ben, Vestara, and Dyon emerged from the Shadow and walked toward the turbolifts, Ben said, “So … what are your orders?”

Dyon grinned cheerily down at the two adolescents. “To keep you two in my sight and out of trouble.”

Vestara looked at him intently. “Did Master Luke really instruct you to say that?”

“No,” Dyon said, his grin widening. “He just said to keep an eye on you two.”

“So, no stipulations on where we can go or what we can do?” Ben pressed.

Dyon shrugged, glancing down at the datapad in his hand. “I think as long as we get everything on this list and return with all our limbs intact, we’re pretty free to do whatever we like.”

Ben gave Vestara a quick grin, and her own curved in an answering, if slightly sardonic, return smile.

Next to each of the turbolifts were two large maps. One identified the main purpose of each level, the other was a map of Level 34. Ben suspected they’d find something identical on each level. Vestara paused and began analyzing the main map.

Ben rolled his eyes. “Let’s just jump into the turbolift, pick a floor, and be surprised.”

She frowned. “That is not very efficient.” She glanced at Dyon for support. “Surely you agree. Your profession is tracking things down.”

Dyon nodded. “It is,” he agreed. “But we’ve got plenty of time to explore. And it’s by exploring that you learn the lay of the land.”

During the height of the Hutt control in the galaxy, this place must have been impressive. While Klatooine had not fallen to the Yuuzhan Vong, the war had crippled their masters the Hutts, and as such the world clearly did not receive the attention or the traffic it once had. The docking bays on Level 34 were adequate, but not much more, and a good two decades out of date. The turbolifts that connected the levels varied from efficient to erratic to let’s-not-get-on-this-one.

Their exploration took them to random places all over the city. Some levels were living areas, again with the most expensive and attractive dwellings near the top levels, and what essentially amounted to hovels down at ground level, and in some cases lower than that. Others were devoted to trade: repair shops, stores, markets, and so on. Still others seemed to exclusively feature