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"It's temporarily blinded," he translated.

"We've got to get out of here before it recovers and attacks us again."

"No argument from me," Jaina said, picking herself up. Lowie, pressing a hairy paw to his injured side, staggered away from the battleground. His hand rapidly became covered with blood.

Jacen helped a stunned but otherwise uninjured Tenel Ka to stand, pulling her arm around his shoulder so that he could walk outside with her.

As they returned to the wan sunlight, Jacen got a good look at the tall chocolate-brown Wookiee, a female wearing a tattered weapons belt to which were clipped many sonic grenades and thermal detonators.

Lowbacca stopped and stared at her, absolutely stricken. He groaned.

Jacen could tell that Lowie had said no actual words: he had merely voiced an expression of amazement and disbelief.

The female Wookiee spoke again, and Em Teedee bleeped in surprise, recognizing the name. "Raabakyysh? Master Lowbacca are you saying that this is your deceased Wookiee friend from Kashyyyk--the one who disappeared in the deepest levels of the forest?"

Jacen gasped. "Blaster bolts! This is Raaba? You mean she's not dead after all? How did you escape?"

"Uh, can we talk about it later?" Jaina urged, throwing a glance over her shoulder.

With a noncommital grunt, the female Wookiee gestured for them to hurry.

They ran after her, knowing there would be time for questions, many questions, after they were safe.

Once the combat arachnid was a good distance behind them, Jacen let himself become engrossed in speculation about what had happened to Lowbacca's dear friend and where she had been for all this time.

IN HER PRIVATE chambers connected to the throne-room grotto, Nolaa Tarkona sat at a long polished table carved out of lava rock. Though the day outside was broiling hot in one direction and disastrously cold in the other, the Ryloth cave warrens remained at a pleasant, constant temperature.

Dimness was an ever-present companion.

Across from her, Adjutant Advisor How rak shuffled his paraphernalia, preparing for his daily presentation. The Shistavanen wolfman stared at the electronic datapad on which he kept the most secret records of the Diversity Alliance. With clawed fingers Hovrak punched buttons, calling up entries in his encyclopedia of alien species.

Nolaa watched with interest--the records had become an obsession with the wolf man. Holographic images gelled into focus from his catalog, and the Adjutant Advisor discussed their progress, referring to the new entries he had compiled.

The sharp image of a broad-shouldered, long-limbed cyclops rotated to show the brute's features from 360 degrees. "An Aby-ssin," said Hovrak.

"Not very smart, but violent and brutal. Once trained, they are great fighters. We have quite a few already in our ranks, and I believe that with a little effort we could get most of their species to join the Diversity Alliance."

Nolaa nodded, taking in the information as Hovrak called up the next entry. "Cha'a, a small reptilian species."

She saw a squat creature, its head mounted low on its shoulders as if its neck had retracted into its spine. The slitted eyes were set wide apart.

Delicate scales covered a sloping head that looked like a snake's.

"Wily, ambitious, untrustworthy--though the Cha'a can be counted on to look after their own interests."

Nolaa nodded, tapping a claw against her newly resharpened teeth.

"Then we must convince them that being loyal to the Diversity Alliance is in their best interests."

"My thoughts exactly," Hovrak said with a snarl. "Several Cha'a have been tricked into joining Luke Skywalkers Jedi training center, but I believe most have no great love for humans and their domination."

Nolaa stroked her one intact head-tail, feeling the tingle of sensations.

She had tattooed designs across the smooth, greenish flesh. The stuttering pain of the tattoo needles had been excruciating on the intensely sensitive skin of her brain appendage, every