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I need to leave before Kessel is-" He clamped his mouth shut.

His eyes darted from side to side as he fluttered his hands, spreading his webbed fingers. "I, uh, have to leave today. Is there any way I might persuade you to help me?"

"Why?" Jacen asked sourly. "So you can deliver some more weapons to desperate people in war zones?"

The former arms smuggler drew himself up haughtily. "I'm not in that line of business anymore." He blinked rapidly. "I - I'm completely legitimate now."

Tenel Ka raised an eyebrow. "Transporting spice, perhaps?"

Lilmit looked defensive. His nostrils flared. "Yes, a small, authorized shipment. And it's... urgently needed."

"Ah," Jacen said.

"Aha," Tenel Ka finished, nodding gravely.

"So you see," Lilmit said defensively, "you mustn't interfere with my business anymore. I'm on an errand of... mercy."

"Actually, we're not here to interfere with you at all," Zekk said, stepping forward a bit. "We're looking for some information about a friend of ours. You see, our friend... borrowed my ship, the Lightning Rod." Jacen could sense Zekk's struggle to come up with an explanation that would not involve lying. His emerald-green eyes clouded for a moment, then cleared. "We had planned to rendezvous at the first stop, but our friend obviously got here first and didn't wait."

The story was true, Jacen thought admiringly. The young Jedi had hoped to meet Anja here. Anja herself had not known this, though, and so of course had not waited for them.

I 11 don't know. I haven't seen her," Lilmit protested. "Or that hunk of junk she was flying."

Her, Jacen thought, and that hunk of junk. So Anja and the Lightning Rod had been here. It was fortunate for the young Jedi Knights that Lilmit was such a poor liar. The fellow was obviously desperate to get away.

There was no doubt left in Jacen's mind now that the former gunrunner had not only seen Anja, but had spoken to her as well. He could sense it strongly through the Force.

Jacen moved closer to Lilmit and spoke in a confidential tone.

"Look, we already know Anja was here in the Lightning Rod." He had only known this for a few seconds, but Lilmit didn't need to be told that.

"She desperately needs our help with something she's trying to do," he continued in a low voice. At least, Jacen thought Anja was trying to give up using spice. From everything Lando had told them and from what Jacen had seen so far, Anja would need her friends' help to get through this.

"We were sent here to help her," Jaina added in a persuasive tone.

She sighed with feigned resignation. "But if you don't know anything, you don't. It's a shame, too. The Chief Administrator of this facility owes us a favor and probably would have been more than happy to give us a few rather hard-to-find engine parts that you could have used to fix your ship."

Jacen shrugged, turning to go. "Well, good luck anyway, Lilmit.

I'm sure you'll understand we're in kind of a hurry." He took a stab in the dark. "We'll just have to hope we link up with her at the next rendezvous before it's too late."

Lilmit swallowed convulsively but did not speak.

"You do understand, do you not, that we were sent to assist Anja Gallandro with the spice?" Tenel Ka said, leaning close to Lilmit, a meaningful look in her cool gray eyes.

Lilmit's eyes went wide as comprehension dawned. Jacen was pretty sure Lilmit didn't know they'd been sent by Master Skywalker, and therefore he had no idea what sense Lilmit might have made out of Tenel Ka's cryptic comment, but he was aware that the warrior girl had an intricate understanding of deceptions, plots, and conspiracies.

Somehow, Jacen thought in admiration, she had known just what to say.

Jaina added a last little push. "Well, there's no time to lose. We may as well get going and just hope we can rendezvous with her at Ord Mantell...

Jacen saw no answering flicker of confirmation in Lilmit's eyes.

- "Or," Jaina went on, "Coruscant...?"

"No!" Lilmit practically yelped. "Calamari! She's gone to Mon Calamari."

He lowered his voice to