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Then, as Han brought the ship down through the atmosphere of Anobis toward the war-scarred inhabited areas, something happened to fire up Anja's temper all over again.

She pointed to a wrinkled ridge of mountains in a temperate zone.

"My mining village is down there. The leader of the town, Elis, holds great power in the loose federation of mountain villages. We should talk to him. He'll confirm everything I've said."

"But aren't they the Imperial sympathizers?" Zekk said.

Anja bristled. "That's what the original debate was about, over twenty years ago. Now the war has become... something more."

But instead of heading for the mountains, Han arced the Falcon away toward the flat fertile ground embroidered with rivers and green forests, square patches that had once been fields, and small clusters of homes.

The farmland, now brown and abandoned, was dotted with small craters.

"I want to try talking to the people of a farm village first," Han said.

"We've already heard Anja's side of the story. Let's get a little perspective. " Anja fumed. She jutted her chin forward. "You don't believe me?

You think I lied to you?"

"I didn't say that at all," Han said.

"He just wants to get a different point of view now," Jacen said.

"Don't worry. We'll talk to both sides."

Anja lowered her voice. "Right. More than twenty years of war and a former spice smuggler is supposed to trot in, talk to a few people, and put an end to the fighting."

Tenel Ka's voice became gruff, matching Lowie's deep growl.

"Perhaps it is time someone did something to prevent your people from continuing their fighting."

"You're asking for trouble," Anja said bitterly. "Those farmers down there can't be trusted. They'll probably try to blast you out of the skies as you come in for a landing."

"Good thing we just upgraded the Falcon's shields, then," Han said.

Jaina grimaced. "If we can't even land safely, how did you expect us to survive in the midst of a whole civil war?"

Anja narrowed her eyes as if this exact question had occurred to her already. Somewhat unsettled, Jaina turned back to the copilot controls and scanned the ravaged landscape that rolled past beneath them.

Anobis had been an agricultural and mining colony world, never heavily populated and somewhat off the beaten path, despite its easy access to Ord Mantell. It seemed that the colonists managed to survive well enough to build their homes and live their lives, but no one ever became rich here. Except maybe the gun runners, Jaina thought, since the war had continued for so many years.

Even before the days of the Empire, the miners and the farmers had traditionally been separate groups with different needs and distinctly different outlooks. From the sketchy background files her mother had sent, Jaina knew that the miners and farmers had once cooperated with each other, exchanging metals and raw materials for produce.

But the two groups had been divided by their political leanings during the Rebellion. The miners, more dependent on offworld trade, worked to maintain the status quo of the Empire. The farmers had wanted freedom instead-the ability to succeed or fail on their own merits without the angry yellow eyes of the Emperor watching them.

As galactic struggles had raged and resolved themselves independently around Anobis, the colonists had battered each other, continuing to fight long after the New Republic had won its victory.

As Jaina looked out the Falcon's cockpit windows, she saw a world with the potential for beauty, but with so many scars that a long time of peace would be needed for complete healing. A large forest fire burned in the hills, far from the nearest farming village. It might even have been a natural fire.

"Jacen," Han said, "try the comm system; see if you can talk to anybody down there. Let them know we're here to help, not to fight."

Anja rolled her eyes and sat back, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jacen sent out repeated calls on the comm system, but