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Suddenly, the vibroblade flew from the guard's hand, as if jerked by an invisible rope. Lusa twisted and rammed forward to gore his shoulder this time.

For a moment the Bothan loosed his grasp on her hair. At the same time, the other hand lowered to her throat, but it had dropped the vibroblade.

Jerking her head backward, Lusa managed to evade his grasp, but she still could not move her arms or legs. She felt herself begin to sink in the churning water.

The next moment she was raised high in the water by a firm arm beneath her forelegs. The guard dangled two meters above the water in front of her, thrashing furiously with his arms and legs and yelling something incomprehensible in a Bothan dialect.

When Lusa tried to struggle free of the encircling arm, Master Skywalker said close to her ear, "It's all right. I have you. You're with friends now."

At the same moment, the Bothan flew backward and plopped loudly into the shallow water at the edge of the pond. There, a strange young man with long dark hair and flashing emerald eyes slapped a pair of stun-cuffs onto his wrists.

Lusa stopped struggling. Her mouth fell open in surprise.

The young man raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. "Standard bounty hunter equipment. Just a sample of the many things I've learned in my travels." He pulled the bedraggled Bothan upright with a scowl, then looked back at Lusa and Master Skywalker. "This one won't be bothering you again. But when we get back to the Jedi academy, I think the three of us ought to have a private talk-about the Diversity Alliance."

Even using the Force, it took a standard hour for Zekk and Luke to get the injured prisoner and the stunned centaur girl back to the Jedi academy. After they arrived, Luke sent a brief message to his sister Leia about the incident while Zekk dried Lusa off and wrapped her in warm blankets. Master Skywalker entrusted the keeping of the murderous guard to a few New Republic soldiers whom he knew well.

Finally, Zekk, Lusa, and Master Skywalker gathered in Luke's private chambers around a fragrant bowl of steaming soup and a platter of freshly baked bread from the Jedi academy's kitchens. When Luke mentioned that Zekk was a bounty hunter, and Lusa a former member of the Diversity Alliance, the two were instantly wary of one another.

"I'm sorry to have to say this," Zekk said, 'qut how do we know she's not still working for the Diversity Alliance?"

"That Bothan was a Diversity Alliance spy, sent to kill me for leaving.

Anyway, how do I know you're not a bounty hunter hired to bring me back to Nolaa Tarkona?" Lusa retorted with considerable heat.

Luke intervened. "I think we need to establish some trust here." He looked at Zekk.. "I first met Lusa when she and Jacen and Jaina were about five years old. The Force has always been strong in her, and she has been honest with me."

Luke turned to the centaur girl. "And Zekk was once a Jedi Knight. A Dark Jedi, yes--but he came back from the dark side, and the Force is still strong in him. I've looked into both of your minds, and I would trust either of you with my life. Or Raynar's." Luke again fixed Zekk with his solemn blue gaze. "Or Tenel Ka's, or Jacen's--or Jaina's..."

Zekk felt himself flush at the gentle rebuke.

Shamefaced, Lusa looked at the floor.

"You're both strong enough in the Force that if you chose to," Luke continued, "you could sense if the other was lying."

Zekk flinched at the reminder. He avoided using the Force, because in the past he had found it so easy to drift to the dark side. But what Master Skywalker said was true: Zekk actually could sense that Lusa was an ally, not an enemy.

He had to trust her.

"I... apologize," Zekk said. "! know how hard it must have been for you to break away from the Diversity Alliance. I was once the enemy, too. At one point, I was prepared to fight and kill even the people who had been my best friends-just because I thought I'd found a place where I belonged, a cause to believe