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Leaving the Shadow’s systems on READY-STANDBY, Luke rose and followed Taalon and Khai out into the square. Save for a briny hint of sea, the village smelled much the same as had Abeloth’s planet, musty and fetid. And it was not just the air that reeked. The Force was sour with anguish and fear. Luke could feel it swirling past, nettling his body all over as it flowed toward the large gathering hall.

“Blast!” Ben croaked, joining Luke and the others. “What is that?”

It was Vestara who answered. “Power.” Like Ben, she still appeared exhausted and sick. “Raw power.”

Ben looked at her, his brow cocked in doubt. “Power?”

“Yes, Ben.” A hungry smile came to her cracked lips. “You know how it works. Pain leads to fear. Fear leads to anger.”

“Anger leads to the dark side,” Luke finished.

He turned toward the gathering hall, wondering if the fear starting to gnaw at him could possibly have merit. Could Abeloth be feeding on the anguish and fear around her? Could she actually be turning those dark emotions into dark side power?

Luke’s musings came to an end when the Fallanassi began to emerge from their huts. Dressed in simple shifts belted at the waist, they were all female and mostly human, and in their haggard faces Luke saw the same anguish and fear he felt in the Force. Despite the deliberate menace being projected by the Sith, a gray-haired woman with worried eyes and a long, blade-thin nose set her gaze on Luke. She led forward half a dozen companions who looked to be of a similar age.

“Do you know her?” Taalon asked.

“No,” Luke said. “But that’s almost certainly their circle of elders. You should let them approach.”

Though Taalon issued no orders that Luke could hear, a pair of Sith stepped aside and allowed the Fallanassi inside their perimeter. The gray-haired woman came straight to Luke. Ignoring Taalon and Khai, she fixed him with an angry gaze.

“Akanah said you would betray us.”

“I haven’t betrayed you …” Luke paused, waiting for the woman’s name to rise to the top of her mind, then continued, “… Eliya. It’s obvious that your community here was already in trouble. But I doubt you understand the true nature of that danger. I’ve come to help you.”

“By bringing them into our home?” Eliya waved an angry hand at Taalon. “You expect us to heal Sith?”

“The danger you face now is far worse than … Sith,” Luke replied. He was so taken aback by the vehemence in her voice that he nearly missed the cue she had fed him—the Fallanassi already had a plan for dealing with the Sith. All he needed to do was keep Taalon from discovering it. “And I need them alive to help you.”

Eliya studied Luke for a moment, then shook her head in disgust. “Even you don’t believe they’re going to keep their promise.” She sighed heavily, then turned to Taalon. “But the Creed gives us no choice in whom we help. Take off those ridiculous suits, and we’ll see about saving you.”

“Saving us?” Taalon asked.

“From the White Plague,” one of Eliya’s companions supplied. She motioned to Ben and Vestara. “You two come with me. We need to get some jigog salve on those sores right away.”

Taalon’s hand rose. “Hold.”

He turned and studied Luke for a time, no doubt calling on whatever powers of insight had been bestowed on him by his dip in the Pool of Knowledge. It was a helpless feeling, knowing that an enemy could foretell his plans simply by looking at him—but it was also an important tidbit of information, indicating as it did that Taalon actually had to contemplate the situation to foresee what would happen.

After a moment, Taalon said to Luke, “You called it the Weeping Pox.”

It was Eliya who answered. “The White Plague is known by many—”

Taalon lashed out so quickly that Luke saw nothing but the back of his gloved hand striking Eliya’s face. She went down instantly, landing at his feet with blood pouring from a split cheek.

“There is no disease,” he announced. “The White Plague is a Fallanassi trick.”

Eliya’s eyes grew wide with surprise and disbelief,