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She sharpened her gaze. “I know it can sound insane, dwelling on such things, but someone has to. Without accepting responsibility and resolving to atone for what I did, I would leave myself open to believe that things weren’t really so bad. I would do what you suggest, I would create only silence. Death would be preferable to that.”

Mara blinked hard. “Philosophically I understand pacifism, but to adopt that as a stance in the face of an overwhelming evil, I just . . .” Her fists opened and closed slowly.

Luke rested a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “It is better she has made a principled stand and would defend it with her life, than it is for her to become the tool of those who would use her work for ill.”

“But, Luke, what if there is no other way to stop the Yuuzhan Vong?”

“Then, my dear, we must question whether they are meant to be stopped, or if we have missed the other solution.” Luke gave his wife a confident smile. “I don’t like having options eliminated, but neither do I like having weapons that can destroy planets and stars being made available. I have a question for you, since you knew the Emperor. Would he have had only one ship named Eye of Palpatine, or would the Emperor have had two eyes?”

As Mara thought, a stiff wind coaxed a high keening from the Cathedral. “If he had a second and it was employed at the same time, perhaps the same problem would have resulted in its loss.”

Luke smiled. “That problem was a pair of Jedi.”

“And there were plenty of pairs of Jedi to go around back then.” Mara shrugged. “It’s possible there’s another Eye out there.”

Qwi brought her slender-fingered hands together. “It’s my hope that if there is another Eye out there, you find it before it is employed. Giving a voice to the dead is a noble pursuit, but it is one that I hope, someday, will no longer be necessary.”

“That’s my wish, too, Qwi.” Luke sighed and set his shoulders. “I have a feeling, though, that particular day is a long way off.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Anakin watched his uncle, Mara, and Mirax race off in the landspeeder. He didn’t like being left behind, but he fought against his discomfort. Being angry is childish, and I don’t need to be childish. He was about to drop into the copilot seat and look over the Skate’s controls when the scuff of a boot on the floor turned him around.

Just for a moment, Chalco froze like an animal trapped in a spotlight. Then he grinned and straightened up, projecting an air of confidence that almost completely masked his shock at being discovered. “I was just going out. To look around.”

“Master Luke told us to stay here.”

“He’s your master, kid, not mine.” Chalco rested his thick-fingered hand on the landing ramp control switch. “You stay here, like he told you to.”

Anakin folded his arms across his chest. “You aren’t supposed to go out there.”

“You think you can stop me?”

“You think I can’t?”

Chalco’s dark eyes narrowed, thick flesh bunching up around them. “You sure you want to try?”

“Master Yoda told my Master that there was no try, ‘only do or do not.’ “ Anakin suppressed the immediate desire to use the Force to pin the man against a bulkhead. Mara had gotten after him about using the Force for tasks that didn’t require it. Since he’d been able to keep Chalco in his seat during the atmospheric entry, Anakin knew he could easily stop the man from moving.

And because I know I can do that, I don’t need to do it. There has to be another solution. Anakin shrugged easily and let his hands hang loose at his sides. “You know, if you’re not on the ship when we go to leave, you’ll be stuck here. This isn’t exactly Coruscant when it comes to ships and traveling and making a living. The Vors are a bit uneasy about foreigners, so you’ll be put on a manual labor detail. But you can do what you want to do.”

Chalco’s expression eased into a mask of puzzlement. “You really think you could stop me?”

“Does it matter? If you want to go out there and spend your time pulping grasses, pulling fibers, weaving them into cloth, why would I want to stop you?” He recalled