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“No,” Anakin murmured.

“Anakin!” Jaina snapped.

“It’s true,” Anakin replied. “I’m glad he did it, and I’m glad he hurt the warmaster, even if he did call for the heads of all the Jedi, but Kyp’s right. If you and Mom hadn’t been there …”

“Jacen was going through a hard time,” Jaina said.

“Like the rest of us aren’t,” Anakin returned.

“I’ve got to go,” Kyp told them. “Any time either of you wants to fly with me, find me. Other than that, I sincerely hope Master Skywalker comes around. I just can’t wait for it. May the Force be with you.”

They watched him go.

“I wish I didn’t more than half think he was right,” Jaina whispered. “I feel like I’m somehow betraying Uncle Luke.”

Anakin nodded. “I know what you mean. But Kyp is right, about one thing anyway. Whatever else we do, we’re going to have to look out for our own.”

“Jedi for Jedi?” Jaina snorted. “Uncle Luke knows that. I’m not sure where he sent Mom, Dad, Threepio, and Artoo, but it’s got something to do with setting up a network to help Jedi escape before being turned over to the Yuuzhan Vong.”

Anakin shook his head. “Fine, but that’s what Kyp meant by only defending. We’ll never win this war by being reactive. We have to be proactive. We need intelligence. We need to know which Jedi are at risk before they come for us.”

“How can we know that?”

“Think logically. Any planet already taken by the Yuuzhan Vong is obviously dangerous. The planets near occupied space are the next most dangerous, because they’re desperate to strike a deal.”

“The warmaster said he would spare the rest of the galaxy, but only if they turn all of us over to them. That sort of spreads the desperation out, at least for people dumb enough to believe him. We saw what Yuuzhan Vong promises meant on Duro. Don’t cooperate with them and they mow you down. If you do cooperate with them, they mow you down, laughing about how stupid you’ve been.”

Anakin shrugged. “Obviously a lot of people would rather believe Yuuzhan Vong lies than take their chances. The point is—”

“The point is, what are you two doing out here rather than in the meeting?” Jacen Solo asked from the end of the corridor.

“We were trying to talk Kyp into staying,” Anakin told his older brother.

“It’d be easier talking a siringana into a box.”

“True,” Jaina said, “but we had to try. I guess we ought to go back in now.”

“Don’t bother. A few minutes after Kyp walked out, Uncle Luke called a recess. Too much angst and confusion.”

“It’s not going well,” Jaina said.

“No. Too many people think Kyp is right.”

“What do you think?” Anakin asked.

“He’s wrong,” Jacen said without hesitation. “Answering naked aggression with naked aggression can’t be the solution.”

“No? If you hadn’t used that particular solution, you, Mom, and Jaina would be dead right now. Would the universe be better off?”

“Anakin, I’m not proud of—” Jacen began.

Jaina cut him off. “Don’t you two start again. Anakin and I were talking about something constructive when you joined us. Let’s not degenerate into bickering, like the others. We’re siblings, after all. If we can’t talk through this without losing it, how can we expect anyone else to?”

Jacen held his gaze on Anakin for another few heartbeats, waiting to see who would flinch first.

It was Jacen.

“What were you discussing?” he asked softly.

Jaina looked relieved. “How to figure out where the worst hot spots are, which Jedi are in the most immediate danger,” she said.

Jacen quirked his mouth as if tasting a Hutt appetizer. “With the Peace Brigade out there, that’s an open question. They aren’t tied to the interests of a single system. They’ll hunt us from the Rim to the Core if they think it’ll appease the Yuuzhan Vong.”

“The Peace Brigade can’t be everywhere at once. They can’t follow every rumor they’ve heard about Jedi.”

“The Peace Brigade has plenty of allies, and good intelligence,” Jacen countered. “Given what they’ve managed already, they must have more than a few insiders, maybe even in the senate. They don’t have to chase rumors. More often than not, from what I can tell, they don’t