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Jacen reached out with his mind... and with apush he pressed all three power studs. An emerald-green blade, an electric-violet one, and then a turquoise one sprang out like spears toward Nolaa Tarkona's feet.

She reacted with astonishing speed, leaping back. The lightsabers writhed as if they were alive, or possessed. The handles vibrated with power, but so far only the hem of Nolaa's black robe was slashed and singed.

The guards bellowed at each other, causing an uproar. The Gamorreans appeared confused by this new development. Hovrak bounced to his feet, dropping all of his medals again.

"Jedi powers," Nolaa said. "They're using Force tricks!"

The Trandoshan hammered Jaina to her knees.

One of the Abyssin knocked Tenel Ka aside.

Raynar shouted, "Leave them alone!"

Raaba hurried forward and carefully but frantically tried to grab the handles of the lightsabers to protect Nolaa Tarkona. One of the guards hurried forward, afraid of the Jedi blades, but knowing he had to do something.

"Kill the human Jedi," Hovrak snarled. All of them. It is the only way to prevent such incidents."

The alien guards brought up their blasters, targeting the young captives.

The Diversity Alliance soldiers were clearly ready to follow the Adjutant Advisor's orders without question.

Jacen stepped forward. "No, wait! We surrender."

He used the Force again, struggling hard to maintain sufficient concentrationMand switched all the lightsabers back off.

The guards looked down at the three handles as if they were Unpredictable poisonous snakes.

Raaba reached forward and gathered them up with a growl.

"Do not kill the humans yet," Nolaa Tarkona said, breathing heavily to control her anger.

"These four are too valuable, and we must plan accordingly." She fxed them each with an ice-pick stare. "However, I think it would be best if they were to disappear for now."

"Wait. Please let us talk to Lowie first," Jacen said. "Just for a few minutes."

Nolaa pursed her lips in mock regret. "Sadly, Lowbacca must never know of your presence here," she said. Raaba crossed her arms firmly over her chest and nodded vigorously. She seemed to understand that her present tenuous friendship with Lowie would be damaged if he knew his human friends had come t°rescue him-and that Raaba had prevented them from seeing him.

"Lowbacca remains with us," Nolaa said. "And you, too, will serve the Diversity Alliance. After all the pain and loss humans have visited upon alien species, it is only fitting that you now work to profit the Diversity Alliance. Consider it a form of atonement." She gestured toward one of the side corridors. "Take them down with the other slaves. They will work in the ryll caverns until we decide how best to use them... or until the work itself kills them."

The young Jedi Knights struggled as the guards dragged them away from the throne room, but Jacen knew there would be no escape from the spice mines of Ryloth.

NOWHERE.

For the moment, Zekk had decided to go nowhere.

After his brief encounter with Bornan Thul and the other two bounty hunters, Zekk had made a short hyperspace jump to the vicinity of a small and unremarkable star system. He let the Lightning Rod drift in the laser-sharp blackness of space. The dwarf star itself was the only bright spot of light anywhere near.

Zekk had no appointments, no known destination... and he needed time to think.

For now, this was the perfect spot. No distracting planets or spaceports, no ship traffic. No fields of asteroids littered the area about him.

No gaseous anomalies or nebulas lit the darkness with their multicolored glows.

Even the Lightning Rod seemed strangely silent in its operation, as if it were holding its breath to give Zekk time for peaceful introspection.

He welcomed the solitude, since he had a great deal to think through.

Nothing was clear at the moment.

Dimming the lights inside the cockpit, Zekk leaned back in the pilot's seat to organize his thoughts.

He was satisfied for now with what he had accomplished by planting a tracer