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“True.” It was not the outcome Luke would have wished, but it was a threat that was now eliminated. He had been sensing some very intense emotions from both Ben and Vestara after the fight on Dromund Kaas, but had chosen not to interfere. He trusted his son not to do anything foolish, and who knew but that this tragic and brutal event might make Vestara take a hard look at her future.

And also—she deserved someone to be kind to her. Her father certainly never had been.

Still … “Don’t tell Ben or Vestara about this possible lead, either, not just yet,” he said. “It might be a dead end. And even if it isn’t, we have things to take care of on Coruscant first. There’ll be time for this once we know more.”

Jaina nodded. “They’ve got enough to deal with.”

“Choices between dark and light,” Luke mused. “Coming to grips with killing a parent. Knowing hopes might get raised only to be dashed.”

“Hormones.”

Luke shuddered. “And hormones,” he agreed. “I take it back. They’ve got more than enough to deal with.”

THIRD MOON OF VEXAR, CORPORATE SECTOR

“NOW,” HAN SAID, SMILING WITH FALSE CHEER AT THE THREE SQUIBS, “you are going to tell me what that was all about. And you are going to give me the information we agreed to pay for. And if I don’t like any of what I hear, this is going to be your new home. Got it?”

It had been two hours and forty-three minutes since the attack at the café. Zekk and Taryn had made it to Zekk’s ship and departed Roonadan with Allana and the Squibs aboard. Han and Leia had had a slightly more extensive adventure, their vessel being more recognizable, or perhaps simply more infamous, than Zekk’s nondescript shuttle. Eventually, though, they had shaken pursuit long enough to make an escape and had rendezvoused on an out-of-the-way rocky moon orbiting a gas giant. The gas giant, obviously, could not support human life; the rocky moon, just barely.

All of them had disembarked onto the moon’s surface. Currently Han, Leia, Zekk, and Taryn had subtly formed a circle around the three Squibs. Allana stood next to her grandmother, although she was frowning slightly.

“Is this any way to treat your partners?” Grees protested, gesticulating emphatically.

“Partners generally let someone know if they’re going to come under fire,” said Han.

“We didn’t know! Honest!” Emala protested.

Han and Leia exchanged glances that communicated without words how much they believed that.

“Oh come on,” said Grees. “You think we would have lingered for lunch if we’d known someone was after us?”

Han hesitated; they’d raised a good point. Squibs weren’t stupid, though they sometimes appeared to other species to be cheerfully reckless; nor were they Hutt-like gluttons.

“All right. Let’s say you didn’t know you were going to be attacked,” Leia said. “Do you know who was firing?”

“That’s got nothing to do with our deal,” said Emala earnestly. “That’s something else entirely.”

“That’s half truthful,” Leia said.

“You don’t have to be a Jedi to know when someone’s hiding something from you,” Taryn put in, folding her arms and looking archly at the Squibs.

“But it helps,” Zekk said.

“I seem to recall something in your first message along the lines of safety for your family guaranteed,” Han said. “Someone was taking shots at my daughter. That is not keeping with your deal.”

For the first time since the whole escapade began, the family of Squibs exchanged glances. “We didn’t know there would be a fuzzling coming along,” Sligh said. “And we did keep to the bargain. That comment was referring to the bounty on your heads. Which, by the way, was lifted when you agreed to meet us. Not that you’ve thanked us for it yet.”

“Aren’t you glad you don’t have to worry about that anymore?” asked Emala brightly.

Han rolled his eyes. “I haven’t worried about that for some time,” he said. “What I worry about is what happened in that café happening again.”

“You had something important to tell us,” said a small voice. “I made sure you got to safety. Don’t you think it’s time you told us something? That seems