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"How do people find their way around?" Jacen asked.

"It looks challenging," Anakin said.

"Except for the Derby, Ord Mantell's no place for tourists," Han went on.

"People don't come just to hang around. You can get a lot of things done here if you happen to be willing to bend a few rules-but sightseeing isn't one of them. This planet's mainly for passing through, a place to pick up cargo or get a new assignment. Imperials used this system for fleet training maneuvers because the outer planetary orbits are so hazardous. The cometary cloud's pretty thick-that's where the course is for the Blockade Runners Derby."

While Han rambled on, Jaina sweated. She gripped the controls in preparation for landing the big Corellian ship. She didn't know why she suddenly felt so anxious, but her hands grew damp with perspiration as she brought the Falcon in. Maybe she just wanted her father to be proud of her. Gusty winds swirled around the tall blocky building in the center of her scope. Far below, red, blue, and green ground cars crawled along; illuminated skimmers soared between the buildings in skyward alleys.

"Just take it easy, Jaina. You're doing fine," Han said.

"Yeah, don't sweat it," Jacen said. "We trust you."

Jaina paused and let her confidence build, despite the warble of uneasiness she had heard in her twin brother's voice. She took a deep breath.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she muttered to herself, and brought the Falcon down toward the big flat rooftop outside the landing bay.

As she approached, running lights illuminated a rectangular slit that yawned open, wide and dark. "Those're the docking doors, Jaina. You have to float down below. Our berth is in the upper bay."

Jaina swallowed. She had thought just landing the light freighter on the rooftop would be challenge enough; now she had to slip through this narrow hole that, from this height, looked barely a meter wider than the Falcon's hull. She couldn't let anything happen to her dad's ship.

"May the Force be with you," she heard Jacen whisper. Then she remembered that her uncle Luke always told them to use their Jedi senses in addition to their training in any skill.

She was a good pilot. And she was a Jedi. She drew a deep breath, let her body relax into the seat.

The Millennium Falcon became part of Jaina, an extension of her mind, and she could sense the distance to the outer walls. She slipped the light freighter between the opening doors without so much as a wobble or a jitter.

Han looked at her in proud amazement. "That's very smooth, Jaina."

"Just tell me where to land," she said. Her fingers danced across the repulsor engine controls. Her calm voice betrayed none of her uneasiness.

"Over there." Han gestured, and she saw a broad docking bay where a group of people stood waiting to greet them. Amber lights flashed, and someone holding bright laser torches directed the Falcon to its landing place.

With a final hiss, the landing pads touched down on the deck plates.

Jaina felt a thrill of exhilaration. What had she been so worried about?

Han hugged her.

As they all unbuckled their crash restraints and stood up to head for the landing ramp, Han said, "Wonder who's in our welcoming committee."

"They could've hired musicians... maybe some kind of a band," Jacen said.

"You are an official representative of the New Republic."

"Not only that," Han said, brushing the front of his vest. "I'm Grand Marshal of the Blockade Runners Derby. That's a pretty big honor around these parts."

Han Solo, along with Anakin, Jacen, and Jaina, hurried to the landing ramp-only to find a group of armed soldiers blocking their exit.

Looming in front of them was a tall, broad-shouldered man who wore a cape and blasters at his hip. Close-cropped moss-green hair covered the top of his head. A band of metal, inset with lights and sensors, encircled his head like a ring around some pale-green planet. The front half of the silver metal band was a visor that completely covered his eyes. The rest of the metal band appeared to be permanently affixed