Outbound Flight

"Including the damage to this one?" Thrass asked pointedly.

Lorana made a face. "I know, but we have no choice. We need D-Three's hangar bay to stay above the surface if we're going to get the Delta-Twelve out. So we rotate D-Six to the bottom, as I say, then move the people out of the core to-"

"Hello?" a voice came suddenly from the bridge speakers. "Jedi Jinzler? You there somewhere? This is Chas Uliar. We got tired of waiting, so we all came up to D-Four. Jinzler?"

For a stretched-out second Lorana and Thrass stared at each other in horror. Then, snapping out of her paralysis, Lorana dived for the comm station. "This is Lorana Jinzler," she called urgently. "Uliar, get everyone back to the storage core right away. You hear me? Get everyone back to-"

"Jinzler, are you there?" Uliar's voice came again. "Jedi, if you've cut out on us I'm going to bereally upset with you."

"Uliar?" Lorana called again. "Uliar!"

But there was no reply. "He can't hear you," Thrass said grimly. "The comm isn't transmitting at this end."

Lorana twisted her neck to look out at the planetoid, her pulse throbbing violently against the agony in her head. D-4. Why did they have to have gone to D-4?

Because it was the one closest to the Jedi school where she'd left them, of course. And now there were fifty-seven people wandering around down there, completely oblivious as to what was about to happen to them.

Thrass was watching her, a tautness in his face. "We have no choice," she told him quietly. "We'll have to rotate and put D- Four on top."

His expression didn't even flicker. Clearly, he'd already come to the same conclusion. "Which will put D-One-this one-at the very bottom," he said.

Where it would take the full brunt of their crash landing. "We have no choice," Lorana said again. "It's only an assumption that the bottom Dreadnaught will take enough of the impact to leave the others intact. For all we know, they might all hit hard enough to be ripped open to vacuum. We have to try to keep D-Four as far out of the rock as possible."

"I understand." Thrass hesitated. "There's still time for you to leave, you know. You may at least be able to get to the core before we hit, perhaps even all the way to D-Four."

Lorana shook her head. "You can't handle the landing alone," she reminded him. "But I could do that whileyou go."

"And who would keep the remaining systems from self-destroying while you cleared a path through the pylons for me?" Thrass countered. "No, Jedi Jinzler. It appears we will both be giving our lives for your people."

Lorana felt her vision blurring with tears. Deep in the back crevices of her mind, she'd wondered why she'd felt so strongly about sending Car'das home with that message for her brother. Now she knew it had been the subtle prompting of the Force.

"This is hardly the temporary home I'd envisioned for them," Thrass went on, as if talking to himself "It's likely to be far more permanent than I had hoped, too."

"Your people will come here someday," Lorana assured him, wondering why she was saying that. Wishful thinking? Or more prompting from the Force? "Until then, they have enough food and supplies to last for generations. They'll survive. I know they will."

"Then let us prepare for the end." Thrass hesitated, then reached out his hand to her. "I've known you and your people only briefly, Jedi Lorana Jinzler. But in that time, I've learned to admire and respect you. I hope that someday humans and Chiss will be able to work side by side in peace."

"As do I, Syndic Mitth'ras'safis of the Eighth Ruling Family," Lorana said, taking his hand.

For a minute they stood silently, their hands clasped, each preparing for death. Then, taking a deep breath, Thrass released her hand. "Then let us bring this part of history to a close," he said briskly. "May warriors' fortune smile on our efforts."

"Yes," Lorana said. "And may the Force be with us." She gestured downward toward D-4. "And with them."

"As you can see, we have left your ship and equipment undisturbed," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, gesturing as he led Doriana and Kav through theDarkvenge 's bridge toward Kav's command office. "I know certain of you were concerned about that," he added, looking over his shoulder at Kav.

The Neimoidian didn't reply. "At any rate, I imagine you're looking forward to returning home," Mitth'raw'nuruodo continued as they walked into the office. "There are just one or two points I need to clear up before you leave."

"Of course," Doriana said, taking a hasty step to the side as Kav pushed past him, brushed by Mitth'raw'nuruodo, and circled the desk to drop rather defiantly into his ornate chair. "We'll do whatever's necessary," he added as he took a chair at one corner of the desk.

"Thank you," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, sitting down in a chair at the other corner and gazing across the edge of the desk at Doriana. "Basically, I believe we both wish to make certain that this one contact between our peoples remains the last."

"I don't understand," Doriana said, forcing puzzlement into his voice. "Our relationship thus far has proved mutually beneficial. Why wouldn't we want it to continue?"

"Come now, Commander," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said mildly. "Myside of the arrangement is already secure, of course. You have no idea where my base is, or where the worlds of the Chiss Ascendancy lie. We can remain hidden from you as long as we wish." He paused. "It therefore remains only for you to ensure to your own satisfaction that I will never bring news to the Republic of your betrayal of Outbound Flight."

Doriana stared at him, a cold hand closing around his heart. Did Mitth'raw'nuruodo know about his conversations with Kav?

Had he or one of the other Chiss seen Kav pass him that holdout blaster?

Or had he merely deduced that Doriana would decide to murder him?

Slowly, almost unwillingly, his hand crept toward the hidden blaster, the movement blocked from Mitth'raw'nuruodo's view by the edge of the desk. Certainly it made sense to cover his tracks this way, he reminded himself firmly. Loose ends could be fatal to someone living his kind of double life. Sidious would insist on it, as well, especially given that Mitth'raw'nuruodo had seen the Sith Lord and heard his name.

And after helping to bring about the deaths of fifty thousand people on Outbound Flight, one more death certainly couldn't matter.

Mitth'raw'nuruodo was still waiting, watching him silently. Doriana closed his hand around the grip of his blaster..

And paused. Mitth'raw'nuruodo, brilliant tactician. Equally brilliant strategist. A being who could take on Republic warships, nomadic pirates, and even Jedi, and win against them all.