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Kell said, “Another thing you have to understand. Wedge Antilles would never let an inferior pilot into a squadron he commanded.”

“He’s probably anticipating that I can learn more control of the Force. He’s investing in that. He hasn’t yet figured out it’s never going to happen. In the meantime, Ton here gets my X-wing.”

Phanan said, “I’m sorry.”

“Which means,” Kell said, “that whenever Falynn is asleep or something, you should be training in the TIE fighter simulator. You might get some time in one of the TIEs. And also do some shuttle training. I’ll drop a word in Cubber’s ear and see if I can get him to give you some instruction there.”

“All right,” she said.

“So,” Phanan said, “are you going to hold me to my deal?”

She looked confused. “What deal?”

“You did talk to us. Must I now abandon my pursuit of you? That would sadden me beyond measure—”

Tyria’s pillow bounced off his face.

“Ah. Well, I’ll just put it on hold, then.”

“Tell me about these Rangers,” Kell said.

She gave him a curious look. “Why?”

“Because I’d like to know.”

“All right.” She turned on her back and stared up at the featureless ceiling. “It’s an old order, the Antarian Rangers. Founded centuries ago to aid Jedi Knights. A few of them, anyway; most of the Jedi tended to be pretty solitary. But some of them appreciated having loyal, reliable warriors to help them. Freedom’s Sons were one such order, and the Rangers were another.

“To be a Ranger meant knowing how to move in any environment. To blend in with the forest or grassland, to sail, to swim, to dive, to pilot. To be masters of our surroundings. We were good spies, good warriors, very adept at intrusion and escape.

“In the old days, there were communities of the Rangers on several worlds, including Toprawa. There was some intermarrying between the Jedi and the Rangers, which may be where I inherited my own nearly useless talent with the Force. Gradually, there were fewer and fewer Rangers around. The Clone Wars killed off whole clans, and then most of the rest were purged with the Jedi. The rest went underground. My family stayed hidden for decades, and then before we could emerge, Toprawa was bombed into barbarism by the Empire. That’s when the last of the Antarian Rangers on Toprawa died.”

“Except you,” Phanan said.

“I’m not sure it’s a matter of ‘except me.’ I expect that I will die in this service, without continuing my line. The Sarkins are gone. I’m just a living reminder, hoping to make something of myself before I join them. That’s why I make few plans for the future.” She turned toward Kell as he opened his mouth. “Don’t say it. Don’t tell me that I may doom myself by being fatalistic. I’ve heard it before.”

“Then why haven’t you listened?” he asked.

Instead of being offended, she smiled. “Kell, I’ve failed at everything I wanted to do in life so far. I failed to keep my family alive. I failed to learn the ways of the Force and uphold my family tradition. I failed to enter the fighter corps on my own merits. But I got in anyway, by way of a cheat I shouldn’t have accepted. Now all I want to do is find some sort of grace, something that will make up for my failures. Just once before I die. Can’t you understand that?”

Kell thought back to his family’s last days on Alderaan, the meticulous scrubbing of their true family name from every aspect of their lives, the way his mother cursed and mourned her husband at the same time. “Believe me, I can.”

“Then you don’t need to preach to me that what I’m doing is the wrong path.” She motioned as though to shoo them away. “Go on, you two. Let me get some rest.” As they rose, she added, “And, Ton?”

“Yes?”

“Take care of my snubfighter. I want it back.”

15

“Captain Darillian and the warlord will be very pleased,” Face said.

This time, he was not wearing a disguise cobbled together in a matter of seconds.

His entire face was covered in a sheath of flesh tone polymer that allowed his skin to breathe yet concealed his true features and scars. The polymer took makeup