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"Ah. Aha," Tenel Ka said. "you may tell Tionne this: my grandmother arrived with disturbing news of a conspiracy. The four of us have gone to investigate. This is a fact."

Lusa nodded. 'res I can tell her that... and she will probably assume that you are on Hapes.

I don't like it, though. Are you certain you understand the plan we discussed?"

Relief flooded through Raynar. "Thanks for understanding, Lusa. We've got the codes you provided--I think this is going to work."

"Already input the coordinates you gave us," Jaina added.

"Em Teedee's hooked up to the navigational panel and ready to go," Jacen said.

Raynar smiled with more confidence than he felt. "We'll be there and back before you know it."

Lusa shook her cinnamon mane and crossed her arms over her bare midriff.

"I doubt that. Do not underestimate the Diversity Alliance."

"Promise me you won't start to worry for at least three days," Raynat said.

Lusa made a noise that was somewhere between a whinny and a snort.

"You ask the impossible," she said. "I won't lie. But I will not betray your trust, and I will help you in any way I can."$

Raynat reached out impulsively and gave Lusa's hand a grateful squeeze.

"I knew we could count on you."

For a moment, Raynar thought the centaur girl would give him a farewell hug; instead, she squeezed his hand in return. Then she reared up, tossing her mane wildly and looking around at the companions. "The plan is a dangerous one," Lusa said. "May the Force protect you."' With a swish of her tail, she turned and galloped back toward th. "Great Temple.

By the time the Rock Dragon rose and launched itself into the misty night sky, the landing field was completely deserted.

ZEKK TRAVELED ALONE in the Lightning Rod--as usual--searching half the galaxy for Bornan Thul. As usual.

Through a subspace announcement, the Diversity Alliance had recently increased the bounty offered for the human merchant, who had been on the run for months now. Despite the efforts of the best trackers in the galaxy, Bornan Thul still eluded capture.

And Nolaa Tarkona was getting quite desperate for the information he carried.

Zekk himself had been face-to-face with the hunted man. On Borgo Prime, Bornan had hired him to send a secret message to his family and also to find his brother Tyko, who had supposedly been kidnapped by the assassin droid IG-88.

But Zekk had discovered that Tyko Thul was in no danger and had merely concocted a hoax to lure his brother into the open. But Bornan had outwitted Tyko and even Zekk.

Zekk still wanted to be the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, yet he could not trust Nolaa Tarkona's motives.

Bornan Thul had told him some disturbing things, enough that Zekk knew he could never stomach the consequences of delivering him into the clutches of the Diversity Alliance--no matter how huge a reward she offered.

But few other bounty hunters felt the same moral compunctions.

Now Zekk drifted out in an empty galactic desert between star systems.

He had come here following his instincts, not knowing why. As a streetscamp back on Coruscant, Zekk had always been good at finding things... and he used those skills now.

The Lightning Rod's sensors were fully alert, tuned in such a way that his entire ship became a listening device, scanning for clues. His computer filtered out trivial hyperwave transmissions, searching for something that would require his attention among the drone of all the other subspace chatter. All directions around him were quiet and still.

He had newly installed scanners and voice identification correlators in his ship, sifters and subject classifiers--the best tracking equipment he could afford. He found it ironic that Bornan Thul himself had made it possible for him to pay for many of the Lightning Rod's upgrades.

After leaving the droid manufacturing world and exposing Tyko Thul's ruse for what it was, Zekk had found an unmarked deposit in his credit accountwpayment in full for his services as a bounty hunter. Bornan Thul had been true to his