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That dream shattered the moment Jag Fel looked up at his rescuers. He glanced at Jaina, and a shuttered, disinterested expression fell over his face. Kyp felt the young woman’s surge of pain, and her conviction that Jag Fel might admire her courage and talent, but he regarded her as a scruffy and undisciplined rogue.

The “Jedi princess” quickly swallowed her shock and reached into her pocket for a small multitool. With a few deft flicks she picked the complicated locks—a skill she had no doubt learned from her “scoundrel” father.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the halls. Kyp and Jaina glanced at each other, then looked to the ceiling. A tangle of pipes crossed it, some five meters overhead. They both leapt, catching hold of the pipes and waiting.

Jag had the presence of mind to push the door shut. One of the locks clicked, and he settled down.

His guards took several moments to figure out the locks. When they entered, grumbling, the two Jedi dropped from their perch.

Jaina stepped over a downed guard and into the corridor. “How did you get yourself down here?” she demanded.

Jag sent her a quick glance. “After the battle, Shawnkyr took me aside and warned me that in implying that I’d honor you as a commander, I was putting my pilots in the service of Hapes’ future queen. That I was taking sides in a coming coup.”

Jaina looked dismayed. “Your Chiss friend must have overheard some of Ta’a Chume’s people talking about it.”

“That’s right. Congratulations, Lieutenant. Or would ‘Your Majesty’ be more appropriate?”

“These days she prefers ‘Trickster,’ ” Kyp offered. “What’s a queen, next to a Yuuzhan Vong goddess?”

Jaina shot a quick glare in Kyp’s direction. “Don’t help me. This queen business is ridiculous. It wasn’t my idea.”

“The queen’s retainers were of the impression that you were another Ta’a Chume, an ambitious woman who would gladly seize this opportunity. They also spoke of eliminating obstacles, a job they were hired to do.”

Jaina stopped and seized his arm. “Does this have anything to do with my father?”

“That was my assumption, too. I sought out Han’s ‘assailants’; ambassadors who went to negotiate a marriage alliance between Prince Isolder and Jaina. I feel certain that Han was not attacked so much as subdued.”

“I know all this,” Jaina interrupted, “but I don’t understand why you were detained.”

His lips firmed into a grim line. “I was stopped on my way to find and warn Tenel Ka. You’re of legal age and don’t require your parents’ permission. If you wish to marry Isolder, no one can stop you. Logically speaking, what would this obstacle be but Queen Mother Teneniel Djo?”

Harrar watched as Khalee Lah paced the command center of the priestship. “Our fears have come to pass: the warriors under this command are beginning to voice questions and doubts. This is a more insidious danger than defeat in battle.”

“Some even question your fitness to command,” one of the guards observed. “Yun-Harla mocks us through her new chosen one …”

The warrior whirled toward the challenger, his face twisted in fury. “Challenge accepted,” he grated out.

The priest began to intervene, then decided against it. Khalee Lah required an outlet for his fervor. Better to send a warrior into battle than a zealot.

“You and you,” Khalee Lah said, pointing to two of the largest warriors. “The challenge will be three against one. We will see who has the favor of the gods!”

Mere moments later, Khalee Lah stood over the bodies of his challengers. He glanced up at the clanking footfall of the priest’s bodyguard.

The female strode in, dutifully ignoring the bodies of the slain warriors. “We recovered some debris from one of the ruined ships, Eminence. I thought you would wish to see this.”

Harrar claimed the small metal device with an expression of extreme distaste. “This is Yun-Harla’s mark! What blasphemy is this?”

“It was found affixed to a hull fragment—one of the ships sacrificed in the battle against the Trickster.”