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“Oh. Well, this will take some explaining, then. A lot of explaining.”

“Will it explain the new ships I’ve seen? The strange ones?”

Anakin felt his chest constrict. “What ships?”

“They look like—growths of some kind. Ugly.”

“Oh, no,” Anakin whispered. “Okay, I’ll have to tell this as fast as I can, and then—” He remembered his vision, that future Tahiri, a dark Jedi with Yuuzhan Vong scarring and implants. “And then there’s something I have to do, no matter what.”

“I need to talk to you, Vehn.” Anakin settled down across from the man.

“So talk. Hey, who’s the old guy?”

“A hermit of sorts. I’m putting him in charge of you.”

“What do you mean?” Vehn asked suspiciously.

Anakin drew a deep breath and plunged into it. “Okay. Here’s the thing, Vehn. I need your help.”

“I’ve been telling you that for a while.”

“And you were right.”

“Yeah, well—too bad. You’ve treated me like Hutt slime. Why shouldn’t I return the favor?”

“The Yuuzhan Vong are here.”

That got his attention. Vehn’s face closed over his fear, but Anakin could still feel it.

“Qorl’s seen their ships.”

“They’ll find us,” Vehn said flatly.

“Why should they? They aren’t looking for us. Unless the Peace Brigade tells them about the crash—but I don’t think they will. It would only show their incompetence, right? So the Yuuzhan Vong see us only if they notice us on a random patrol, and the odds of that—”

“Depends on how many ships they have patrolling,” Vehn interrupted. “You don’t know the one, so you don’t know the other.”

“True. The thing is this—I’m going after my friend, back at the temple. I’m going now. I want you and Qorl to get Sannah and Valin off of this moon.”

“What? Have you got some kind of fever?”

“You can finish the repairs on your ship, can’t you?”

Vehn continued to stare at him as if he was crazy. “No. The sublight drive—”

“Is nearly repaired. I’ll show you.”

“Impossible.”

“Nope. You still need some parts, but Qorl knows where you can get them. And you have Fiver. I’ve programmed him with everything you’ll need.”

“And why should I do this again? I keep missing that part.”

“Because it’s your only chance, too. You think the Yuuzhan Vong are going to hail you as an ally when they find you? I doubt it very much. You say you were only in the Peace Brigade for the money, you say you don’t really share their cause—let’s say I’m going to take you on your word about that. Get these kids to safety, and I can guarantee you a profit.”

“How do you know I won’t just fly straight to the Vong and turn Valin and Sannah over to them?”

“A couple of reasons. The first is that Qorl will blast a very large hole in you if you try it. I don’t completely trust the man. He was an Empire stalwart twenty years after the death of the Emperor. By the same token, he would never turn humans over to the Yuuzhan Vong—or let you do it. He might take off for the Imperial Remnant the instant he gets the chance, but the way I see it, that’s parsecs better than staying here.

“The second is that I think you’ll do whatever gives you the best chance of getting out of this with a whole skin—and you’re smart enough not to gamble on the milk of Yuuzhan Vong kindness. The third—” He leaned close. “Third, if you bring any harm to Valin or Sannah, you’d better pray I’m dead. Because if I’m not, no matter what, I will find you. That I swear.”

“Ease up, Jedi. I’ll do it. Anything has to be better than hanging out in the jungle waiting to die of a lizard bite. But I don’t want you to threaten me again. I’m really sick of that.”

“I’ve said what I meant to say. I won’t say it again.” Anakin raised his voice. “Qorl. Could you come here, please?”

The old pilot shuffled over and treated Vehn to a thorough once over. He knelt on creaky joints and shook his finger in Vehn’s face. “I know you,” he muttered.

“You’re crazy,” Vehn said. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

“Oh, no. Even if you saw somebody like old Qorl, you wouldn’t recognize him. You don’t have the database. On the other hand, old Qorl has seen a hundred like you. You won’t give Qorl any