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She waved as if to indicate she didn’t know, but her gesture was oddly graceful. Her voice was low and mellow when she spoke. “You don’t need to scan my orders.”

“I don’t need to scan your orders.”

“I’m here on special assignment. If you delay me, the general will be angry.”

“The general will be angry.”

“In fact, it might be better if you forgot you ever saw me.”

He nodded, his eyes blank. “Better.”

Jysella passed him and breathed a sigh of relief. Waiting for days on Koval Station, gathering information on weapons-platform shift changes and security measures, had paid off. Now she was aboard the platform and, for the moment, undetected.

With luck and skill, she’d be able to accomplish her mission here and tip the balance of any engagement that might threaten the mistress of the true Jedi Order.

CRYSTAL VALLEY

Atop a crystal sand dune overlooking the outskirts of the township of Crystal Valley, Luke lay prone and studied the town through his macrobinoculars. The sun’s dim violet rays offered no comfort; the sand was far more successful at affecting him, leaching heat from his body despite his insulating layers of clothes.

He lowered the macrobinoculars. “Standard pump station access building about a third of the way in. Most of the accesses will be in its lower levels. There are supposed to be emergency exit hatches outside the building, but I can’t make them out.”

To Luke’s left, also prone, was Ben, and beyond him lay Kandra. She studied her datapad. “I can’t get into the municipal system. Comm waves are all fouled up. Part of the information blackout I told you about, I’ll bet.”

The Gamorrean lying to her left grunted at length.

Kandra stared at him. “No, we shouldn’t leave. I want to get recordings of this Abeloth.”

Luke shook his head. “They might be the last recordings you ever make. You should get back to Hweg Shul, edit your story, and prepare to file it when I give you the go-ahead … or when you’ve heard bad news about me.”

“But we don’t know this is where she is. If Beurth and I leave, you might not be able to tell us where you’re going next.”

Luke looked down at the town. “No, she’s here.”

Kandra gave him a dubious look. “How do you know? The Force?”

“Not exactly. The tsils don’t understand directions the same way we do, don’t understand locations or map coordinates, but they have a concept of proximity. When I communed with them this morning before dawn, the ones nearest here were uneasy, if that’s an applicable word. Almost mournful. I think she’s using her dark-side powers to create sorrow in those around her, and it’s spilling over to the spook-crystals.”

Kandra sighed. “Esoteric stuff like that is a very hard sell to the viewing public.”

Ben snorted. “Work an advertisement for droch spray into your story instead. Nam Chorios is the only planet where they need it, but I bet you can use scare tactics to sell it all over the galaxy.”

“Good idea … so what do we do next?”

To Luke’s right, Vestara lowered her own macrobinoculars but did not take her eyes off the town. “We wait for the next big dust flurry and sneak in. We patch directly into the city computer network’s land cables and find out where those hatches are. Then we go in. The Skywalkers and I, I mean. Not you, unless you’re determined to get killed.”

Kandra started to reply, but Luke interrupted. “You can have it both ways, Kandra. Get your recording of Abeloth, do us another big favor, and stay safe.”

She looked at him, suspicious. “How?”

“While we’re doing the network slicing, you and Beurth acquire us some extra comlinks and datapads. Plus, even more important, a few kilometers of shielded data cable. We’ll set up a series of data links to relay data out of the pumping station, and one on the surface, attached to a cable you run out beyond the comm jamming. We’ll get you some images of Abeloth; you stay outside the jamming range and leave with your prize.”

She thought about it. “Deal.”

* * *

An hour later one of the periodic dust storms rose, dropping visibility to a few meters. The five of them got up and headed into