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“Any combat damage?”

“Uh—we were hit by an Interdictor, and then we took a heavy ion salvo, maybe two, I don’t really know. Everything went out for almost five minutes.”

“Any operational gremlins or glitches afterward?”

“No, all the systems seemed to come back all right once the integrator was stabilized. It should all be in the flight logs.”

“Very well,” said the major. “Second Lieutenant Plat Mallar, I formally accept delivery of recon-X KE-four-oh-four-oh-nine, pending technical inspection, and release you from your responsibility for this vessel. Sergeant, escort this pilot to DD-eighteen and remain with him until the debriefing officer arrives.”

“Can I recharge my purifiers first?” Mallar asked, tapping the rectangular casing on his chest.

The major frowned. “I don’t know what that’s about, son. I just know if I were you, I wouldn’t be asking even for small favors right now.”

Chewbacca and Lumpawarrump stood together at the boundary of the Well of the Dead, where the Rryatt Trail turned away toward Kkkellerr.

[It is time,] Chewbacca said. [Tell me what you have learned. Tell me the things you must know to hunt the katarn.]

Lumpawarrump looked nervously at the green thicket. [Never show him your back, for the katarn will stalk you. Never flee, for the katarn will overtake you. Never hasten your hunt, for the katarn will vanish before your eyes.]

[Then how are you to conquer your adversary?]

[You must be patient, and you must be brave,] Lumpawarrump said, sounding not at all brave. [The katarn will allow you to follow it until it has taken your measure, and then it will turn and charge.]

[And then?]

[And then you must stand your ground until the katarn’s breath is in your face and the scent of its glands is in your nostrils. Your hand must be steady, and you must take it in the center of the chest with your first shot, because your second will find only empty air.]

[You have listened well, and remembered everything I have told you. Now we will see how much of it you have truly learned.]

Lumpawarrump unslung the bowcaster from his shoulder and rubbed the newly polished metal of the stock with his paw. [I will try to make you proud.]

[There is one more thing you must remember: Mind the light. Do not let night find you in the Well of the Dead. The katarn still owns the shadows and the darkness, and even the Wookiee must respect that.]

[How many katarn have you hunted, Father?]

[I have pursued the old prince five times,] Chewbacca said. [Once he escaped me. Three times he fell. And once he gave me this warning that I had been inattentive.] Taking his son by the wrist, Chewbacca made him touch the long double scar ridge hidden by the thick fur on the left side of Chewbacca’s chest. [Be attentive, my son.]

Lumpawarrump stared for a moment, then pulled his hand back and began to load the bowcaster. Chewbacca stopped him.

[Why? Am I to go in unarmed?]

[Wait until the moment. If you hunt katarn with your weapon drawn and ready, you will find it too easy to fire the quick shot, the long shot, the startled shot. And then you have given over the advantage. You will never see the old prince that takes you.]

Those words shattered the last of Lumpawarrump’s pretense. [Father—I am afraid.]

[Be afraid. But go forward, all the same.]

Lumpawarrump stared, then slowly shouldered the weapon. [Yes, Father.] Turning, his paws found a seam in the green growth and parted it noiselessly. After a moment’s hesitation, Lumpawarrump eased himself lightly through the opening and vanished from sight.

Chewbacca waited on the trail for a count of two hundred, then followed his son into the Well of the Dead.

The man who entered compartment DD18 wore a dark green uniform with markings wholly unlike those of Venture’s crew or the troops aboard her.

“My name is Colonel Trenn Gant, New Republic Intelligence,” he said as Plat Mallar jumped to his feet. “Sit.”

Mallar complied. “You must be here to ask me about the attack on the commodore