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“We will not be convinced until we have Abeloth’s body in our hands again,” Taalon said, turning to Ben. “But go ahead. I’m sure it will make an interesting story.”

Ben’s eyes flashed, but he nodded. “You know what happened at Sinkhole Station, right?”

“You mean the explosion that destroyed my frigate?” Taalon demanded.

“Yeah, that,” Ben replied, completely unintimidated by Taalon’s sour tone. “Well, we think that Sinkhole Station may have been built to keep this planet locked inside a shell of black holes.”

“To what end?” Khai demanded. “Are you saying this planet was Abeloth’s prison?”

“We’re saying it might have been,” Luke clarified. “There’s a lot we don’t know, but our trouble didn’t start until after, well, a crack developed in the shell.”

“A crack?” Taalon asked. “What kind of crack?”

“The kind that we all came through,” Luke replied. “When Ben and I discovered Sinkhole Station, it was already malfunctioning, and a gap had opened in the shell. We don’t understand the technology any better than you do, but it was clear enough that something was going wrong.”

“And given that it was floating around in a million pieces the last time we passed by, it sounds like maybe Abeloth has been trying to shake her way free,” Ben said. He waved his arm around at the planet in general. “So we’re thinking this place was probably a prison, not a fortress.”

Taalon considered this for a moment, then said, “A very plausible story.”

“It’s more than a story,” Luke said, growing frustrated. “It’s a theory that fits the facts—which is about all we have to go on right now.”

“Not entirely.” Taalon’s voice grew cold. “Because we Sith also have a theory to fit the facts—which is that you are hiding Abeloth’s body from us because you wish to keep to yourselves all knowledge of her nature.”

Luke rolled his eyes in exasperation. The trouble with Taalon’s theory was that it was half accurate. He had no more intention of sharing with the Sith any true knowledge about Abeloth’s nature than they did of allowing him and Ben to leave the planet alive. But first things first—they had to find their quarry and finish the job.

“Look, we’ve been over this. Abeloth is alive, and I have no idea where she’s hiding.” Luke started down the bank toward the raft. If Abeloth remained alive, then Callista—or whatever Callista had become—probably remained with her. Given a chance to concentrate in peace, he might be able to focus on her Force presence and locate their quarry that way. “Unless you have a better idea, I’m going back to the Shadow to meditate on it.”

“To meditate?” Taalon said, remaining on the bank behind Luke. “I have a better idea than that, I think.”

Luke half expected his spine to start bristling with danger sense. Instead he saw Ship wobble aloft and wheel around toward them. He glanced back and saw Taalon looking in the vessel’s direction, his eyes half closed in concentration.

“You think Ship is going to help us?” Luke asked.

“You’re the one who noted that it had been under Abeloth’s control,” Khai reminded him. “Perhaps the High Lord can learn something useful from it.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” Ben grumbled. “Ship has probably been spying for her since it got back.”

Taalon shot Ben a smirk. “I can handle Ship, young Skywalker. You’re talking to a Sith High Lord now, not an adolescent apprentice girl.”

Angry disbelief flared in Vestara’s eyes, suggesting that she believed the same thing Luke did—that Taalon was badly overestimating his control of the vessel. Ship passed overhead and dropped onto its struts atop the bank, its eye-like viewport facing the High Lord. From Luke’s position a little behind and below the vessel, it was possible to see that the long, triangular hull breach caused by the power-plant explosion was already half mended, with edges that were now smooth and puckered inward instead of jagged and flared outward. Even the craters left by Jaina’s cannon hits were starting to close, and the scorch blossoms had faded from a deep, sooty black to more of a charcoal gray. How Ship was repairing