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FEMALE: I reach to make you pride.

MALE: Dathomir was fine. Dark women taken ranked by skill and strength in the Force.

FEMALE: Pleased, go they?

MALE: Yes and no. Go they will, obey or pain caused. Pain caused makes second consideration. Learning will make us powerful and widespread.

Luke frowned just for an instant. Dark women—Nightsisters. He’d known Vestara was responsible for the abduction of the Nightsisters. They’d obviously been evaluated according to their skills and ability to use the Force. Those who didn’t obey quickly enough were tortured.

FEMALE: Happy I useful they. Learners status?

MALE: Learners?

FEMALE: Abeloth mind harm.

MALE: Nothing wrong with learners, but that physical violence will improve.

FEMALE: (untranslatable word for interrupting)

MALE: Aware I of what Taalon told Skywalker. Is untruth. You share idea. Skywalker we needed, so we say what hurts their learners hurts ours also.

Luke smiled bitterly. He’d suspected as much. There was nothing wrong with the Sith apprentices. The entire story had been a lie to convince Luke to ally with them. He gave a mental shrug.

He tensed slightly as Vestara inquired about the real reason the Sith were allying with him, and frowned in disappointment as Gavar Khai dodged the question.

The next few sentences yielded nothing of interest to Luke. And then, what he was expecting came.

FEMALE: Negative. Ben mostly speaks.

MALE: You are drawn to Skywalker boy.

FEMALE: Affirmative, I am. Appealing he is. I regret. I will attempt—

MALE: Negative. Useful is this. Fall not in love, but fear not to reveal the attraction. The Force will convey its reality. Defenses will be lowered. Speak more, trust more. Use this. Possibility of redirecting.

FEMALE: To the Shadow Side?

A chill went through Luke, and a shiver of revulsion as well. Khai was urging his own child, a girl of sixteen, to attempt to seduce Ben—in all ways. Khai continued, excited at the prospect of a Sith Ben Skywalker, but reminding his daughter that if she failed to turn Ben to the dark side, she would be allowed to play with him … only as long as he was useful.

Ben needed to see this.

At that moment, he sensed his son’s presence and turned around. Ben poked his auburn head in, glowering. “I’ve been outside for fifteen minutes, Dad.”

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” Luke said sincerely. He waved Ben forward. “Close the door.”

Ben snorted. He was still agitated. “Dyon’s out cold and Vestara’s locked in her room. I debated telling her I was sending her to bed without supper.”

“There’s something you need to see,” Luke said, letting his son’s anger wash over him. “You remember, of course, when Gavar Khai came on board, and I told you I was recording their conversation.”

Ben nodded, blue eyes narrowing. “Yeah … you said we couldn’t understand Keshiri, but you knew someone who—oh. Threepio?”

Luke nodded. “I think you’ll find it very interesting.”

Ben went very still. Luke sent the transmission to the copilot monitor, leaned back, and closed his eyes to allow Ben to read in private.

There was the occasional snort of amusement, and then Ben fell silent. When he heard the sound of Ben sinking back in his chair, Luke opened his eyes.

“So she’s planning on seducing me,” Ben said, his voice carefully devoid of emotion. “Trying to pull me over to the dark side. I guess I kind of figured that was her plan.”

“She is Sith, Ben,” Luke said quietly. “Born and raised. It’s in her blood. You couldn’t really expect anything else from her. In a way, it’s almost not her fault. But you needed to know.”

“So that I can pretend to go along with it?” Ben snapped. “So that we can use her, get information from her, just like she’s trying to do with me?”

“No,” Luke said, still gently. “So that you don’t get hurt.”

“I’m not going to go over to the dark side, Dad.”

Ben was angry, and directing it at Luke. Luke didn’t rise to the bait. “I know that. I know better than to think that you’re in danger of that happening. If Caedus couldn’t get you to join him, with the connection you two had, Vestara