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"Since it's my fault that you're in this position," X-7 continued, "your having felt the need to… rescue me."

There was something off about the way he said the word, Luke thought. Rescue. As if it was an insult. But his face was placid, his voice pleasant; nothing to indicate that he was anything less than sincere. Nothing but Luke's vague misgivings.

"While I was a guest of Commander Soresh, I had a chance to learn a few things," X-7

said, keeping his eyes on Div. "One of particular interest to you, I believe. Tomorrow, at sixteen hundred hours, an Imperial delegation will be arriving on Belazura for a tour of the Imperial garrison. A delegation that includes Darth Vader."

It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.

"Vader?" Luke repeated. " Here? "

X-7 nodded.

Leia's face had gone pale. Luke knew she held Darth Vader responsible for the destruction of Alderaan. Responsible for the deaths of everyone she loved.

And it was Vader's lightsaber that had struck Ben to the ground.

Vader was the evil engine at the heart of the Empire, doing the Emperor's dark bidding. He was an enforcer, a last resort, the ultimate threat. And without him, the Empire might well begin to crumble.

This could be it. The beginning of the end. If they could pull off the attack. If X-7's intel could be trusted.

"We go forward," Leia said in a commanding tone. "Tomorrow, Belazura's Imperial garrison goes up in smoke."

Luke nodded, trying to suppress his doubts. "And Vader with it."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

It was time.

The Rebels gathered in the small Divinian compound. They inventoried their weapons, made one last survey of the garrison blueprints, rehearsed the plan one final time. And then they set out to destroy the Empire's seat of power on Belazura.

Or die trying.

X-7 suppressed a smile. He knew which it would be. He was just sorry he wouldn't be around to watch. "Div, wait," he said, pulling his so-called brother away from the others.

"I need to talk to you for a minute. In private."

Div looked indecisively back and forth between X-7 and the departing Rebels. "Can it wait?"

"It really can't," X-7 said. "Brother."

Div checked the time on his datapad and nodded. "Five minutes," he agreed. "Then we need to get into position."

X-7 didn't say anything.

"Well?" Div asked. "What is it?"

"Not here." X-7 led him upstairs, into the room that had once belonged to Trever. He shut the door.

He had considered letting Div go, showing some form of mercy to the man who might be his adopted brother. But that impulse was just a symptom of the sickness, the rot that had eaten away at his insides, turning his durasteel will to Sarkanian jelly. And Div was at the root of it all. These memories, these delusions, these repulsive feelings, they all revolved around Div and his stories of the past. He was the only link to Trever, the only thing tethering X-7 to humanity. With Div gone, Trever would die forever.

X-7 would be free.

"What's going on?" Div asked. X-7 could tell he was starting to get suspicious.

He should just do it. But he wasn't ready. Not yet.

"I couldn't let you go with them," he said. He turned his back to Div, picked up one of the old photo albums, and leafed through. Shot after shot of Trever and Lune, happy boys, happy together. But he wasn't looking at the images. The photo album shielded him as he drew the palm-sized laser blaster from his coat, readied himself to fire. At point-blank range, there would be no risk of error.

"What? Why not?"

"They're all going to die," X-7 said coldly. "The Empire is waiting for them to arrive.

As you should have been waiting for me." He whirled around, raised the blaster.

But he didn't pull the trigger.

Div froze. His eyes widened. "You sent them into an ambush?" he said.

"You're worried about your friends?" X-7 asked. " Now? "

It was the final straw. If this was what it meant to be human, X-7 wanted nothing to do with it. Ignoring the threat to one's own life because someone else was in danger?