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If she could concentrate.

“Do you think Leia is on top of this shipping problem?” she asked.

Luke’s voice spoke out of the darkness, from the floor beside her deep chair. “By now, she’s probably either solved it or sent Han to fix it. They’ve got to be in close contact.”

“But you’d like to ship over to Duro and check it out.”

“Stay out of my mind, Jade.”

Without even trying, she sensed his glee at having turned her customary rebuke back on her.

“I’d rather go myself than send somebody else into danger,” he said, “and I should talk with Jacen. I’ll take Anakin, if you don’t m—”

Mara glared into the darkness.

“Mm. You do mind.” Almost hidden by shadow, he ran a hand over his hair. “Mara, I don’t want to put you in danger right now. I—”

“Who’s got the better danger sense?” Mara touched a control, admitting more of the city’s night light through the window and illuminating her husband’s concerned face.

Luke uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “You can’t deliberately risk that child.” The intensity in his eyes reminded her of the worst days of her illness, and his despondency.

“Do you think,” she answered, “that I ever—ever—deliberately risk myself? Grab some reality, Skywalker. If the Yuuzhan Vong get near Coruscant, I’m on the evac ship—in fact, I’m driving. But this isn’t even close to that danger level.”

His lips firmed. She could almost feel him preparing to outflank her—to bury her objections under patriarchal affection, or pull rank. Mara cherished her farmboy’s sincerity, but she refused to be sheltered.

She wondered if arguing was simpler for women who couldn’t tell what their husbands would say next.

“My instincts are shifting,” she admitted, diverting his thrust before he could make it. “I’ve been running an inventory. I can already feel new hormones starting to kick in. I’m getting protective, too, Luke. Already.”

He leaned away from her, looking so wide-eyed hopeful that she hated to burst his bubble.

“But in me,” she explained, “ ‘protective’ is active. I’m going with you. In fact, maybe I should take Anakin and head out,” she suggested. “Then you could stay in touch with the Advisory Council. When they start using words like persecution, we have to pay attention.”

He arched his eyebrows. He didn’t want to be left behind, either! “We have Thrynni Vae missing, and four of our family in an area that’s fallen under suspicion.”

“What about the Advisory Council?”

“Kenth Hamner is an excellent strategist. He can handle an advisory role.”

“The admirals like having you around,” she said, pushing him just for the fun of it.

As if he’d caught a flicker of that thought—or more likely her amusement—he slumped back down in his chair. “Don’t do that,” he pleaded.

Mara laughed. “It’ll be good to get away from this place. I think we should take Anakin, too.”

“What do you think Tresina and Thrynni stumbled into?”

“That,” she said, “is what we’d better find out.”

CHAPTER TEN

Randa Besadii Diori stared hard at the Ryn who had been assigned to keep watch on the communications board—and him. The creature seemed to be asleep.

Silently, Randa activated a private frequency. Clicking the transmission switch did not activate his kajidic’s repeater network, because one of the Duros’ orbital cities was in the way.

He resolved to be patient.

With Jacen Solo self-righteously determined to do nothing, Randa had turned to the sister. Jaina was the more experienced pilot at any rate. Randa had been, he believed, more than polite—and solicitous. He’d praised her for her constant efforts to heal herself and regain her fighting trim. He’d hinted that he could get her back into action before Rogue Squadron could send another med runner, taking her back out to battle.

Today’s news out of Nal Hutta had been ghastly: unknown and unknowable creatures released in droves, his relatives lying slain in their palaces. Randa must find some other way to use self-righteous young Jacen, so obviously a son of