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The tracking signal they had been following since departing the Maw had vanished from the Emiax’s navigational display. Ben was fairly certain that his father would not have sent the deactivation signal without telling him, so the Jade Shadow must have taken a berthing inside a cave, a bunker, or some other structure with a roof thick enough to block the signal. Given that their quarry would be looking for a place to hide while she nursed her wounds and rebuilt her strength, an empty, deserted moon seemed like a good candidate.

Ben rubbed his thumb across the touchpad on the Emiax’s piloting yoke. A waypoint designator appeared on the navigation display, drifting toward Auremesh.

“No, we’ll go to Pydyr,” Luke said from the copilot’s seat, two meters across the spacious flight deck from Ben. “That’s where she’ll be hiding.”

“Pydyr?”

This came from Vestara, sitting in one of the passenger’s seats at the back of the flight deck. Even after she had helped them steal the Emiax, and fled from her father and Sarasu Taalon back in the Maw, Luke had insisted that she remain in either his presence or Ben’s at all times. Given that she was more familiar with the shuttle’s systems than the two Jedi were, it was a probably a wise precaution—even though Ben feared it would give her the impression that Jedi were just as paranoid and dangerous as the Sith.

“How do you know?” Vestara asked. “Do you Jedi have the ability to track anyone you’ve ever met?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben glimpsed the hint of a smile coming to Luke’s face, and he knew what his father was thinking. After their first encounter on Sinkhole Station, Luke had used a Dathomiri blood trail to track Vestara halfway across the galaxy. Letting her believe that such feats were easy for Jedi would certainly give them an advantage in dealing with her. Ben glanced over as though seeking permission to answer and received a quick nod in reply. He glanced back at Vestara, whose many bruises had merely faded to pale purple even after a two-day healing trance, then raised his brow.

“You expect us to believe you can’t?” Ben scoffed. His own wound was almost completely healed, thanks to a combination of trance, steristrips, and bacta salve. “Lies like that are what makes it so hard for Dad to trust you.”

Vestara let her gaze drop, though not quickly enough to hide the surprise in her eyes. “Sorry,” she said. “I guess I’m still Sith at heart.”

“You see?” Luke asked, looking over to catch Ben’s eye. “You can’t change her, son.”

Ben shrugged. “At least she’s admitting it.” He felt bad for having spoken to her so harshly. But she was still probing for information on the Jedi, and he was not fool enough to assume that her questions were innocent. “That’s a start.”

The cabin remained silent for a moment, then Vestara asked, “Are you two enjoying this game?” There was just enough of a tremor in her voice to send a pang of guilt shooting through Ben. “Because if you are, we can continue all day. I was raised to be strong.”

Luke studied her for a moment, then nodded. “And smart,” he said. “I’ll give your Master that much credit. She may not have shown you much about handling a lightsaber, but she did train you to wield that beauty of yours.”

Vestara’s Force aura grew cold and raw, but her voice remained calm. “Why, thank you, Master Skywalker. It’s so good to hear that my training has been of some benefit.” The buckle on her crash harness clicked open. “And now, if you don’t mind, I need to make a trip to the refresher.”

Luke waved her toward the back of the flight deck. “Go ahead,” he said. “Ben and I need to prepare for our approach.”

The surprise that rippled through the Force was as much Ben’s as Vestara’s. His father hadn’t been insisting that they actually accompany her into the refresher when she needed to use it, but he had been adamant that one of them escort her to the compartment and wait outside.

Recovering from her own surprise, Vestara asked, “You’re tired of watching?”

Luke’s smile was bitter and tight. “We’ve got