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“That risk is mine,” Harrar said, “and that of the others if they choose to take it. I feel that you would do the same in my place, Corran Horn.”

“Probably.”

Harrar searched about with his gaze. “Where do we look for this communications device of yours?”

“I don’t know. I figure there must be some sort of maintenance access to the hyperdrive core. I’m hoping we’ll find something—or someone—there. If not, I’m fresh out of ideas.”

“Where should we look? Down one of those pits?”

Corran chuckled wryly. “Climb down the exhaust vent of an engine big enough to move a planet? No, thanks. It should be someplace obvious, say at the base of one of these vanes.”

They found that access with relatively little trouble—a large metallic dome was half buried in rock about twenty meters from the northernmost tower. Corran could see that the top was built to open so that large parts and equipment could be shuttled in and out. A more modest ground-level entrance wouldn’t open for them, but Corran was able to solve that little problem after a few minutes with his lightsaber. He hoped the Ferroans would go easy on vandals, if they had good cause.

Within, they found an enormous shaft plunging straight down toward the planet’s core. Faint track lights illuminated the floor as they entered.

“The maintenance area will be down there,” Corran said, gesturing down the shaft. “This could take a while, if it’s as big as it looks.”

“I suggest we begin, in that case,” Harrar said.

Nom Anor watched the entrance to the huge hyperdrive for a long while before starting down. It was clear that the Jedi and Harrar had gained entrance using the Jedi’s weapon. What wasn’t clear was where they were exactly, and what they were doing. Still, it was convenient for him that they had opened the way.

He entered and listened carefully, but heard only the wretched hum of machinery. Perhaps they were not within, after all, but had moved on, or were returning to camp by a different route. Darkness was falling, and a storm coming. He could not wait forever.

He’d replaced the masquer on his face. If he met them, he would simply say he had followed out of curiosity.

So determined, he entered the building and began searching for a way down, where logic dictated he might find what he sought.

He found a series of lifts not very different from those he had encountered on a dozen infidel worlds. He stepped in, found the control that would send it down, and reached for it.

At that moment, he heard another lift arrive, coming up from below. He froze, wishing he had a cloak of Nuun to make him invisible.

The door to his lift closed just as the other opened, and he heard the voices of Harrar and Corran. He quickly stabbed his finger at the control to pause his descent.

“I might be able to piece something together with this stuff,” Corran was saying. “But it will take a while.”

“Perhaps we should fire the engines,” Harrar said. “That should get their attention.”

A chill went up Nom Anor’s spine. From his tone, Harrar was clearly joking, but that was insane for two reasons. The first was that Harrar never joked. The second was that no Yuuzhan Vong would casually jest about using machine technology. There was no possible humor in that.

Which meant that what he’d told Nen Yim was true—the planet was driving Harrar mad. No wonder Shimrra feared it.

When the voices had faded beyond hearing, he touched the descent control and the lift began to whir down its shaft. It took what seemed a long time, so long that the air actually seemed to get thicker. He was beginning to wonder if he would simply continue on to the other side of the planet when the car finally arrived in an immense room. Banks of machines and control panels gleamed in the faint light from the floor.

He called all the lifts down, wedged them open with some crates he found stacked nearby, and began his search.

He had very little technical knowledge concerning hyperdrive cores, but he didn’t really need any. What he was looking for was an interface, something where the biosphere of