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“Let me put it this way. With the need for so much rebuilding—of worlds, governments, trading routes—and new markets opening in the Imperial Remnant, Chiss space, even parts of the Unknown Regions, there’ll be no shortage of opportunities for people motivated more by philanthropy than profit.”

“To our noble selves,” Tycho said, toasting with the final sip. “Few of us left.”

Finishing the drinks, the seven of them slammed the tumblers on the table.

“More by philanthropy than profit,” Han repeated. Taking a deep breath, he leaned his crude chair away from the table and gazed about him. “I swear, this crazy place is having an effect on everyone.”

“I already know that Tahiri and Tekli want to return to the Unknown Regions with Zonama Sekot,” Jaina told Jacen as they were returning from the meeting. Most of the Jedi were proceeding directly to the canyon, but the twins were taking the long way back to their temporary shelter on the cliffside. “Tekli believes she can learn a lot from the Yuuzhan Vong shapers—assuming they’re willing to teach her. And Tahiri, well, I think she just wants to explore more of the Yuuzhan Vong side of her nature—of Riina.”

“I know someone else who plans to remain here,” Jacen said.

“Danni,” Jaina said.

Jacen nodded. “Before the war, all that interested her was the search for an extragalactic species. But the one she practically discovered single-handedly she knows only as an enemy. She told me she has as much to unlearn, as learn.”

“Is that going to be hard for you—saying good-bye to her?”

“I’m happy for her.” He glanced at his sister. “Anyway, I’ll always know where to find her.”

“I didn’t think of that.” Jaina became thoughtful for a moment, then said, “Corran, Mirax, and the kids are going to Corellia for a while.”

“You think Mom and Dad will go there?”

Jaina shook her head in uncertainty. “I’ve no idea what those two have up their sleeves. But what about you, Jacen?”

“I know what I don’t want to do—I don’t want to be part of an order or a select group. I don’t want to be looked to as the guiding light of the new fealty, and I don’t want to be surrounded by students who’ll ask more of me that I can explain. Most of all, I don’t want to be an object of fascination or admiration, because that’ll only distract me from what I really need to learn. I don’t have dreams of being a lightsaber master or an ace starfighter pilot, and I’m not on a campaign to change anyone or anything, except myself, maybe, just to clear away some of the confusion that’s built up.”

“You sound like Sekot,” Jaina said. She gestured broadly to the giant trees. “You wouldn’t want to stay here? Among all this?”

“I can’t—because every part of me is desperate to stay, and I’m worried that I’d never leave.”

“So you’re going to wander the galaxy or something?”

“If that’s where the Force leads me. But right now I think I’d like to spend time among some of the other Force-users—the Jensaari, the Theran Listeners, the Sunesi … maybe even try to find out where the Fallanassi disappeared to.”

Jacen laughed, clearly at himself.

“Anakin’s probably ridiculing me for even thinking of going on a quest for answers. He’d probably say that I’d do better just to plant myself under one of these boras and wait for the answers to find me, instead of roving around trying to find them.” His voice took on a note of sadness. “I wish I could see him, Jaina. But I can perceive him. I carry him around with me, the way some people do a hololocket. I regret so many of the arguments we had, and so many of the wrongheaded decisions I made. But they were the best I could manage at the time. It’d be easy to say I wished we’d never gone to Myrkr. But if we hadn’t gone, then none of us might have survived the voxyn. There would have been no one to find Zonama Sekot, no chance for the Alliance or the Yuuzhan Vong. It would have been a battle to the death, with no winners.”

Jaina kept silent until she was certain he was through. “Anakin was such a special person that even now it doesn’t seem fair that he should have been the one