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As Kenth contemplated which, Thul’s scarified head suddenly tipped to one side, as though he were listening to something on his shoulder, and he slowly turned toward the doorway. Kenth retreated into the shadows and drew his Force aura in tight, but Thul’s gaze slid in his direction and lingered on the area for a moment. Finally, a tight little smile creased the Jedi Knight’s burn-scarred lips, then he dipped his chin in recognition and turned back to his inspection. Heart pounding, Kenth forced himself to remain still until Thul seemed completely occupied, then slipped along the wall searching for Saba and the other Masters.

He found them—most of them—on a large observation balcony twenty meters above. They were gathered along the safety rail, watching the preparations below, pointing and gesturing at the StealthXs as they discussed last-minute strategies. To Kenth’s surprise, only four Masters—Kyp Durron, Kyle Katarn, Octa Ramis, and Barratk’l—had donned the distinctive StealthX flight suits. Absent were Corran Horn and both Solusars, the latter no doubt because they were on Ossus with their students.

Everyone else, including Saba, continued to wear their customary robes … which could only mean that after the launch, they intended to remain on Coruscant to defend the Temple. With Saba in charge, Kenth had no doubt what form the defense would take. It would be aggressive and cunning, designed to keep Daala and her allies off-balance until they could be incapacitated and rendered forever harmless, as the Barabels liked to say.

In other words, killed.

Half expecting a hundred Jedi Knights to turn toward him with every breath he took, Kenth remained in the shadows, slipping along the edge of the hangar until he reached a series of vertical conveyance pipes. He tested each pipe until he found one cool enough to grasp, then braced his feet on the wall and began to ascend. The back side was slick with dust and mold, but he did not use the Force to make the climb easier. With so many Jedi nearby, there was a danger of even a small disturbance being noticed, and his nerves had already been set on edge. Though Kenth felt certain he had been spotted by Thul, he had no idea what to make of it. Did Thul’s silence indicate that Kenth had an ally among the Jedi? Or had it been a simple decision to avoid becoming involved in the Masters’ power struggle?

There was just no way to know. Thul was a strange man, a Jedi Knight who seemed to see farther than most—but who kept his own counsel and usually appeared to be more amused by the affairs of the Jedi than involved with them.

Kenth reached the support level of the hangar, where a network of supply lines, ventilation ducts, and service cranes hung thirty meters above the maintenance decks. He worked his way out toward the balcony that Saba and the Masters were on, his heart pounding in his ears despite the Jedi breathing techniques he was using to keep himself calm. What he would do when he reached the balcony, he did not know. On the one hand, his best chance of disrupting the launch and preventing the entire Jedi Order from committing a terrible treason lay in taking Saba by surprise and rendering her forever harmless before she or anyone else realized what was happening. But he was not sure how the other Masters would react to such a cold-blooded attack, whether they would make allowances for the necessity of taking a ferocious warrior like Saba by surprise, or whether they would consider it a ruthless assassination and turn on him themselves.

After a couple of minutes of very careful, very quiet creeping, Kenth found himself about a meter behind Saba and seven meters above her head. He couldn’t make out what she was saying, just that she was hissing commands and questions, and the Masters were answering in subservient tones. If he had had any doubts before, it was clear now who was leading the mutiny … and whom he needed to remove if he wished to resume command and prevent the tragedy he saw unfolding in front of