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Having vented her fury, Tenel Ka's voice was now quite calm. "And I meant no."

THE BUZZING VIBRATION of the T-23 skyhopper both soothed and unsettled Jacen for some reason he could not define.

Up in the cockpit with Lowie, Em Teedee amplified his speaker volume to be heard above the whine of the engines. "Really, Master Lowbacca, I don't see what the point of all this flying about could be, without even so much as a destination in mind."

At Lowie's soft growl, the little droid replied, "Therapeutic? For what? And in any case, I should think that performing some sort of physical exercise would be far more beneficial than flying aimlessly over the treetops."

Jaina sat pensively beside Jacen in the skyhopper's cramped passenger seat, toying with her lightsaber. "We actually tried that, Em Teedee, but lately it seems like any exercise we do only reminds us of the things we were trying to get our minds off of in the first place."

Jacen was surprised to hear Jaina answering the pesky little droid just as Lowie had addressed it a moment earlier-without annoyance, and as a friend.

In fact, a full day had passed since any of them had had the heart to switch Em Teedee off. It was as if they hoped the little translator's chatter might fill the void that none of them wished to think about.

But something was missing, Jacen thought. Different. Under normal circumstances he probably would have been crowded into the tiny cargo well behind the passenger seat... and he would have happily endured that discomfort, if it meant that Tenel Ka could have been with them, sitting where he now sat.

"Oh, dear me!" Em Teedee said in a much subdued voice. "How terribly insensitive my processor can be. You've all been thinking of Mistress Tenel Ka, haven't you? I am dreadfully sorry."

Jacen saw Lowie reach down to give the little droid what looked like a comforting pat. Now that Em Teedee had brought up the subject the friends had been avoiding, Jacen felt Tenel Ka's absence all the more keenly.

"It's okay, Em Teedee," Jaina said. "We all miss her."

Jacen sighed. "I wish I could just talk to her."

Jacen, Lowie, and Em Teedee voiced agreement.

Then, as though they had discussed it and come to a unanimous decision, Lowie turned the T-23 about and headed back to the Jedi academy.

Master Luke Skywalker looked down at his small barrel-shaped astromech droid as they entered the hangar bay at the base of the Great Temple. "I'm fine, Artoo," he said, answering the droid's questioning whistle. "I just have an important decision to make."

Luke frowned and thought back on the direct communication he had just sent to the Fountain Palace on Hapes. He had been unable to get hold of Prince Isolder and Teneniel Djo, Tenel Ka's parents.

Instead, Ta'a Chume, the matriarch of the Royal House, had come onscreen and told him in no uncertain terms that Tenel Ka's parents were traveling outside the Hapes Cluster and could not be reached, and that the princess herself had already endured enough trauma because of her Jedi training.

Under no circumstances would the young woman be allowed to speak with Master Skywalker. With that, the former queen had abruptly terminated the connection, leaving Luke with an entirely new set of concerns.

Tenel Ka's grandmother had never approved of the direction the girl had chosen for her own life.

The harsh old woman had always wanted to mold her granddaughter into a scheming politician of whom she could be proud-someone just like herself.

What if, Luke wondered, instead of supporting LIGHTSA ER

^ and comforting Tenel Ka during this time of turbulence, her grandmother chose to use Tenel Ka's weakness to her own advantage? Without Isolder and Teneniel Djo to support their daughter emotionally, Tenel Ka might be too despondent or confused to make her own choices. It was possible she would blindly accept any decision the matriarch might make on her behalf.

Luke shook his head. Political considerations aside, Tenel Ka would not find the comfort she needed from her grandmother. He thought of the close bond the