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“You wouldn’t.”

Han scowled. “I miss being the bad guy.”

“Softie.”

“Those oversized pack rats will see just how soft I am if any of those guys gets near our granddaughter again.”

“That reminds me,” Leia said, glancing back over to the Squibs. Taryn and Zekk still stood nearby, but Allana had gone right up and was talking to them. She was, Leia noted with a pang familiar from three decades earlier, already taller than Emala. How quickly they grow …

Again something flitted across her mind, but she dismissed it. “When I was talking to Ashik, I described the uniforms to him and he was able to ID them for me. Guess who our attackers work for?”

“… Moff Getelles.”

“You get a prize.”

“That’s the same guy the Squibs were spying on. What the heck did they do to get him so ticked off at them? Some gloriously complicated scheme no doubt.”

“Or something as simple as getting caught,” Leia said. “Every covert operative runs that risk, Han. You should know that.”

“Then why are they acting so mysterious?” Han wanted to know. “Something’s going on they’re not telling us about.”

“I agree they’re hiding something, but … they’re Squibs. Think about their culture. It’s quite likely that they’re always hiding something,” Leia pointed out. “They’ve delivered on their end of the bargain. We need to do the same. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because they put their lives at risk in order to get this information to us. Knowing where Daala is and what her plans are is going to help both the GA and Jag.”

Han sighed. “I suppose you’re right. Do I have to like it?”

“No.”

“Good.”

ABOARD THE JADE SHADOW, EN ROUTE TO CORUSCANT

Luke supposed he should have been prepared for this. He wasn’t.

“A Jedi,” he repeated, dumbfounded. The two teenagers exchanged glances, then Vestara nodded.

“You’ve got to know I don’t believe you,” Luke said.

“Dad—”

Vestara laid a gentle hand on Ben’s arm as he spoke. The gesture looked … comfortable. Luke didn’t like it.

“Master Skywalker, I would be surprised if I received any other reaction from you,” she said. “There was a time when such a statement would indeed be a lie—a trick, a trap. But … you have exposed me to thoughts and ideals that I had never seen before. And if I had run across them before I met you, they would have been presented as vices. But I know how I feel about them. I … like them. It feels good to help someone, just because they need it. It feels good to—to be cared for”—she looked shyly at Ben—“and know there’s no hidden motive. Even as a child, I never had that.”

“So, a few months of exposure to a new way of thinking has completely contradicted everything else you knew since the time you were born.” Luke tried hard not to sound sarcastic, but he thought he wasn’t doing a good job.

“It’s more complicated than that,” Vestara continued. “I saw what the beliefs of my people really are. I saw a lot of them in Abeloth. And I saw who—what sort of man my father really was.” Her voice broke at this last and she cleared her throat. “I don’t expect you to believe me right away. But I hope that with time I will be able to prove myself to you. All I’m asking for is that chance.”

Luke leaned back in his chair, arms clasped behind his head, and regarded her intently. “All right. Drop your guard. I know you’re extremely strong in the Force, and I know that you’ve had walls around you probably since you could crawl. Drop them.”

She looked uncomfortable, but not surprised. Ben reached for her hand and pressed it briefly.

“It’s just Dad,” he said.

“Just the Jedi Grand Master,” she replied wryly.

“If you’re sincere, then you should have nothing to hide,” Luke said.

“If—if I do, then you’ll believe me?”

“It would be a good start, yes.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. He saw her visibly relax her jaw and shoulders. Then Vestara met Luke’s eyes and nodded.

He could have been harsh, rough. But that wasn’t the Jedi way. He reached for her in the Force gently, in an exploratory