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“What of the refugees?” someone asked in more subdued tones.

“Expendable,” Ta’a Chume stated flatly. “They may purchase us needed time.” She glanced pointedly toward Isolder. “A new queen will be named very soon.”

Another faint murmur rippled through the hall, rising in volume as two young women strode forward. The crowd fell back to let them pass.

Jaina noticed that Ta’a Chume’s eyes flickered from her to Tenel Ka, lingering on neither. The queen removed the crown she’d just donned and handed it to the prince. Through the Force, Jaina felt the woman’s faint, feline satisfaction.

Suddenly she understood. If Isolder offered Jaina the crown now, at a time of crisis and before a roomful of people, she could hardly refuse it. Ta’a Chume fully expected Jaina to eagerly seize the power. With stunning clarity, Jaina glimpsed herself through Ta’a Chume’s eyes. When the queen looked upon the Jedi pilot, she saw a younger version of herself.

But for all of Ta’a Chume’s machinations, it was not Jaina who ultimately would hold the throne. No doubt Jaina would soon have met the same fate as Teneniel Djo. Sooner or later, Tenel Ka would have had little choice but to assume the throne. She would not stand and see others die in her place.

They stopped at the front of the audience chamber. Tenel Ka turned to face Jaina. “There are times when personal inclinations must be put aside,” she said softly. “I will take up my mother’s crown, and I will defend it if I must. But for now, we have a common foe.”

The Jedi women regarded each other for a long, silent moment.

“Let’s go,” Jaina said.

A faint smile touched Tenel Ka’s lips. She strode over to her father and dropped to one knee. Without hesitation he placed the crown on her head.

Thunderous ovation swept through the room. The newly crowned queen rose and whirled toward the crowd, cutting off their applause with a swift, impatient gesture.

“I am a warrior, a daughter of warrior women. Teneniel Djo foresaw the Yuuzhan Vong threat and prepared. Shipyards hidden in the Transitory Mists have rebuilt much of the fleet lost at Fondor. These ships are on their way. Go, and fight, and know that Hapes is strong.”

She strode back toward Jaina, her pace quickening as she went. Jaina fell into step, and together the two Jedi women ran toward battle. The applause began again, with a fervor that swept them along like a gathering storm.

Jaina noted a familiar group of pilots at the back of the room, a disparate group—Hapans, Chiss, Republic, and rogue—who all chose to fly under Jag Fel’s command. She nodded to Jag and Kyp as she passed. “See you up there.”

Jag gave her a formal bow and then glanced to Shawnkyr. The Chiss pilots set off for the docking bay at a run, and Kyp fell into pace beside them.

Impulse struck, and Kyp acted on it at once. “Jaina never intended to marry the prince.”

Jag looked politely interested. “I see. He is not a Jedi.”

“True, but that’s not the issue,” Kyp said. “I’m guessing that the only man Jaina would ever take seriously is one who can outfly her.”

Jag ran along for several moments before answering. “There are not many who fit that description,” he observed neutrally.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that,” Kyp responded in kind.

They skidded to a stop beside their docked ships. Jag extended his hand to Kyp. They clasped hands briefly.

“Watch her back,” the Chiss commander said softly, and then he swung up into his clawcraft.

Kyp took his promise very seriously. He stormed over to the Yuuzhan Vong frigate and raced up the deck.

“Whatever you’re planning, forget it,” he said bluntly.

Jaina pulled off the cognition hood and stared at him.

“I get the feeling you’re about to toss your life away, sacrificing it as Anakin did. Not long ago, you told me that Anakin might have had the answers. We can’t let them just disappear into mist along with you.”

“Don’t put that on me,” Jaina said slowly. “You really think that I’m on a journey to discover what the Jedi should be?”

“It makes sense,” Kyp said. “You’ve got the talent,