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"We have to get out of here somehow," Jaina said.

Tenel Ka nodded grimly. "This is a fact."

Jacen turned to the matriarch. "Hey, if you know of any secret passages that lead out of here, now might be the time to tell us."

"There are none," Ta'a Chume said. "This tower room was designed as a protected chamber, with no secret ways for an assassin to gain entrance. Reef Fortress itself was built to be impregnable."

Jaina snorted. "Maybe you'd better fire your architect."

Tenel Ka felt at her utility belt and removed her grappling hook and the strong fibercord. "I see no better way. We must escape by the same route those creatures used to break into the fortress. Not only must we flee the fortress, we must flee the reef island itself."

"Where can we go, Tenel Ka?" Jacen said.

"We're stranded."

"I get it!" Jaina cried, seeing what her friend intended. "We take one of the fast wavespeeders and zoom out across the ocean. It's our best chance."

The stern matriarch went to the window and gazed at the sheer drop. "You mean climb down?"

"Yes, Grandmother," Tenel Ka said, setting the grappling hook firmly against the stone of the windowsill. "Unless you'd prefer using your diplomatic skills to negotiate a settlement with the Bartokks."

The matriarch's sharp eyes flashed with determination. "I've never allowed anyone but myself to control my fate-so I suppose falling to my death while escaping would be preferable to waiting around to be killed by giant insects in my own bedchamber. It's agreed, then. We'll try the climb, as you suggest."

Tenel Ka shook her head. "No, we shall do the climb. There is no try."

Jaina tugged on the cord. The grappling hook did not budge. "All right, let's get out of here."

Lowbacca blatted a comment and Em Teedee said, "Oh, dear-must IT' At the Wookiee's growled response, the little droid heaved an electronic sigh.

"Master Lowbacca believes he would be the most sensible choice to go first-and unfortunately I'm forced to admit that he is correct. Firstly, because he is an experienced climber, and secondly because he is strong and will be able to hold the rope steady for the rest of you once he reaches the bottom."

"Can't argue with your logic," Jaina agreed. "Go ahead."

While Em Teedee twittered about the impending danger, Lowie swung himself over the sill and supported his full weight on the glistening fibercord. Then, using his long arms, he lowered himself hand-over-hand down the vertical stone wall. Em Teedee's pitiful moans grew more and more faint until finally Lowie touched down on the rocks below, stood away from the wall, and gave the rope a yank.

"Good," Tenel Ka said.

Persistence finally paid off for the Bartokks, who had continued their relentless battering at the armored door. One of the hinges groaned and popped out of the wall. With a loud creak, a corner of the door bent inward. Chittering insect assassins thrust their sharp scythe claws through the gap.

"No more time," Tenel Ka said to the twins. "You two go now. The rope will hold both of you."

"We'd better be careful," Jacen said. The door rattled in its frame and the metal screeched, caving in further.

"Guess we can't afford that luxury," Jaina said in a terse voice. "What are we waiting for?" She slipped over the sill, grabbing the fibercord, and began rappelling down the slick dark stones.

Jacen came after her. The rope was thin, and the descent treacherous, but they used their Jedi skills to keep their balance and make themselves li hter.

At the bottom Lowbacca stood with his feet planted far apart on the rocky reef, holding the rope.

"Excellent climbing, Master Jacen, Mistress Jaina," Em Teedee encouraged. "You're almost here-you can make it!"

Even before they reached bottom, Jaina looked up to see Tenel Ka and her grandmother easing over the sill. The matriarch, unable to grasp the slender cord tightly enough in her old hands, steadied herself with an arm around Tenel Ka's waist. The young warrior girl had looped the rope