Chapter 1
No one could pick the Ebon Hawk out of the armada of seven hundred thousand freighters, passenger transports, and other private vessels that touched down on the Smuggler's Moon every day. The tiny ship darted through the traffic, dodging the larger vessels and zipping in front of the smaller ones until resting on the landing pad by Docking Pylon 471-3.
Its two-man crew descended the boarding ramp, inhaling the smog and exhaust that blanketed Nar Shaddaa.
"What is that smell?"
Captain Vhek chuckled. "Our ship. And all the others like it."
Koro'fen draped his orange lekku around his neck and started towards the trading hub up ahead. When he noticed Vhek hadn't budged, he turned around. His partner was still leaning against the Hawk's hull. Koro nodded towards the door. "Maybe it'll get better once we're away from the docks."
Vhek laughed a bit more and ran to catch up.
"What's so funny?"
"Koro... this is one of the cleaner landing pads."
Koro frowned and shifted his lekku once more.
As Vhek haggled with a merchant for their supplies, Koro approached the edge of the pit, leaning against the guardrail. He looked down at the walkways and landings surrounding the bottomless abyss, counting each layer. He had barely reached twenty when it became too dark to discern one from another. Vhek joined Koro at the edge just as a holographic news report started playing on the other side of the pit, above the entrance to the Entertainment Promenade.
The news report caught Koro's attention; he had only recently left his homeworld, and never turned away a chance to learn more about the galaxy. As the neon green and pink text flashed across the screen, he strained his eyes to no avail, but recognized some of the images enough to tell it was a report about the war.
Even Koro knew about the Mandalorian War.
He tapped Vhek on the shoulder. "Any day now..."
"That's what you said three years ago."
"Nah, but it's different now."
"That's what you said six months ago."
Koro shook his head. He looked back at the news report. The style differed from most he'd seen on other worlds, but the content was essentially the same: reports of more worlds targeted by the Mandalorians, rumors of rogue Jedi joining the war effort, despite official statements by the Jedi Council opposing any official involvement, and a sound bite of the day from the average bystander or anyone official that bothered to say more than two words. Unsatisfied with the report, he turned back to Vhek.
"You see the latest holofeed from Taris? The Republic has a new guy."
"Karath? He's old news."
"Not him. These new Jedi defectors everyone's talking about." He pointed at the holographic screen as the image of Revan popped up. "Their leader is the real deal."
"Oh."
They both gazed out at nothing, once more.
"Well, the Mandies still have Fett."
"True."
Vhek arched an eyebrow. "But?"
"Nothing."
"Koro. Don't play games with me."
"Nothing, I swear."
He sighed. "This is the part where you ramble on about the Force, isn't it?"
"Yep."
"Any chance we could skip that part?"
"My friend... I've flown from one side of this galaxy to another... seen things even you wouldn't believe."
Vhek yawned.
"The universe is a chaotic and unpredictable beast," Koro added. "But if there's one thing I'm certain of... Mandalore's days are numbered."
"We done?"
"Yeah."
They returned to looking at the catwalks below.
"So when is this little rat supposed to show up?"
Koro couldn't help but feel a bit insulted. He wasn't exactly Human himself. "He's a Chadra-Fan," he said firmly.
"Rat as in snitch."
"Oh. Give him five more minutes."
Dodge Major smacked his hand on the metal door until it opened, at least partially. With his other arm he slid it open the rest of the way, before stepping over the threshold. His furry partner followed, bumping his head even as he ducked to avoid doing so.
"Look, I'm telling you it's an easy job."
His partner growled.
"I know that's what I said la-"
As they stepped through the next doorway, Frotharr cut him off again with a nearly incomprehensible string of grunts and snarls.
"Do you have to bring up Ord Mantell in every single conversation we have?"
Frotharr growled a confirmation.
Major scratched his beard, the curly hairs as dark as his full body armor. The look was meant to be intimidating, but he'd aged to the point where just about anyone could take him on. The eight foot tall Wookiee at his side helped, though. The two were an odd pair, but no stranger than anything else on the moon.
"Look, I know this guy. Runs spice from Ryloth."
They continued their way through the mass of out of work pilots and dock workers who lived in the various bulk cargo containers that cluttered the area between the nearby pylons. The crates created a maze of alleyways that only a local could navigate, great for anyone who wanted to travel the streets discreetly.
"He's cautious. And I mean no blasters, crowded platform, broad daylight cautious."
"Hmmmmmmmmm..."
"Now, the thing about these cautious types - they're never prepared for anything. One tiny thing goes out of place and they panic." As they passed through the next doorway, the dim light reflected off Frotharr's unkempt fur. "So, we take him by surprise, steal us a ship, and fly somewhere far from here."
The Wookiee grumbled a bit at this idea - Nar Shaddaa was all he could call home.
"Nah, Nar Shaddaa's no good. Once all the trouble happens, all those cautious types panic and run here, where they know there's work all day, all night." After they exited the last box, Major looked up at the sky, which was as dark as the buildings that obscured it, save for the various pink, white, and gold lights that trimmed the towers, pylons, and landing pads. The impossibly tall skyscrapers, and the heavy pollution from all the freighter exhaust, kept Nar Shaddaa in eternal darkness. In fact, this was half the reason behind its shady reputation, the other being its proximity to the Hutt homeworld of Nal Hutta.
"Well, all night, anyway," Major concluded. He stepped over a brown oil stain and passed by a broken airspeeder, as he continued laying out the plan. "We need someplace... eh... away from the Hutts... outside the Republic..."
"Manaaaaaan?"
"Too wet."
"Tatooaaan?"
"Too dry."
"Kashyyyk?"
"Too many Wookiees." Frotharr frowned. "No offense."
The Wookiee nodded and they continued on. They needed someplace to lay low, and Major wouldn't blend in at all.
"We need someplace out of the way, but with enough action to last us until things settle down for a bit."
They climbed the ramp to the next set of doors in silence.
And then it hit them.
"Onderon!"
Across the pit, a small, furred creature nodded to the pair. "That's them over there."
Koro immediately turned, curious to get a better look at the man who had followed them here from Telos.
"Don't look, don't look," the Chadra-Fan chirped.
Vhek looked about the pit as if he were waiting for someone, making sure to get a good look at the two figures by the door. It was them - Dodge Major and his Wookiee companion.
"Guess I owe you a stiff drink, Koro. Didn't figure Major the shipjacking type, though."
"That's not all they're after." Koro looked over at Major again. "Well. Not all he's after." Something didn't feel right. Ever since Telos he had the inkling suspicion someone was following them. He got a good look when they stopped at Taris, nearly a month ago. When Koro described the stalker, he could tell Vhek knew the man, but the captain was rather evasive about it until now. Maybe the two had history.
"Keep an eye on him."
Koro nodded and headed towards a kiosk in the corner, where he could watch without being seen. "I'll even keep two," he whispered, more to himself.
As Koro slid into the shadows, Major and the tall Wookiee approached his partner. Vhek nodded in their general direction. "Ah, Captain Minor, is it?"
"Major."
"My mistake, Major Minor."
Major rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Vhek?"
"You came up to me."
"Only because you hired this rat to follow us around."
"He's a Chadra-Fan." Vhek turned to the tiny rodent. "Speaking of which, get the hell out of here!" The snitch scurried off towards the cantina. After he was sure no one else was close enough to listen in, other than Koro, Vhek turned back to the other two. "I heard you had a run-in with some Quarren. Word is you can't show your face in the Red Sector anymore."
"I appreciate your concern, Vhek, but actually I'm here on business."
Vhek eyed Major coldly. He didn't know what sort of con Major was playing, but he had no intention of finding out the hard way. "What sort of business?"
Frotharr roared baring all teeth.
"Damn right."
Vhek shrugged casually. "Come on, who am I gonna tell?"
"Well... hmm... you got a ship?"
"Fastest in Hutt Space, last I checked."
"All right, I guess one more share can't hurt us. Not like we can do the job on our own."
"What sort of job?"
This time it was Major's turn to check for eavesdroppers. He didn't see Koro. Frotharr grunted something Vhek couldn't make out, and Major whispered something about an easy job. The two continued to argue for a bit, mostly with their hands, before turning back to Vhek.
"I know this Hutt," Major said. "Pieced together a nice establishment for himself on Sleheyron, but he likes to keep his operations close to home."
"You mean Vogga? No one can touch Vogga."
"I'm not after Vogga - I'm after his stash." Vhek nodded, slightly curious. "See, his number one buyer was on some planet in the rim. Just got hit by Mandies." No surprise there. "Now Vogga's got no one to sell his spice to. There's a whole shipment of it just sitting in some vault here."
"Ha! That's your idea of a job? Ripping off a Hutt?"
"I didn't say it'd be easy. Fro and I can get to the stash, it's just the damn door we can't get open."
So it was that kind of game: the perfect job, all lined up, just missing one key player - the mark. Major would have Vhek go to the stash with him while the Wookiee planted a tracker on the Hawk and sabotaged the engines to give out after a few days, once Vhek thought he was free and clear.
Vhek wouldn't be had by a hack con man and his pet Wookiee.
"You gotta be joking. You're saying you can get rid of the guards, Vogga, and his two kath hounds, but you can't pick a damn lock?
"Look, we bought this security thing from some guy I know by the docks, but it got damaged during... um... transport."
Frotharr growled something along the lines of "It wasn't my fault!"
"I told you this side up, not this side first!"
Vhek might have cracked a smile if he hadn't known the bickering was just an act.
"Look, if you give us some security tunnelers, or if you know a guy who can crack the thing, we'll cut you in twenty percent."
It couldn't hurt to see if the spice was real. An entire shipment sounded mighty tempting, and he couldn't pass on a chance to make a fool out of Major. He had Koro with him. He'd be fine.
"Make it twenty-five and we have a deal."
"Done. Meet me at the cantina in an hour."
Koro pushed his way through the evening crowd along the Entertainment Promenade. Most had gathered for their chance to catch a few hands of the pazaak tournament. Some hotshot had come to Nar Shaddaa challenging the reigning champ's position. With almost an hour to spare until Vhek's meeting with this mysterious stalker, Koro wanted to see Nar Shaddaa from a local's point of view; the pazaak match was particularly intriguing, as they didn't have the game on Yanibar. The Pazaak Den seemed to be an exclusive club, and the bouncer wouldn't let him in, so he shoved through the crowd once more, to the cantina on the other end of the complex. He still had plenty of time until this Major character showed, so he gave himself a brief tour of the establishment.
There were only two walls, the one opposite the doorway curved; together they formed two thirds of a circle. Koro noticed this immediately, as the structure differed from the hundreds of blocky buildings he could see through the transparisteel windows. The wall by the doorway was mostly straight, though it broke off at an angle to meet the other in the corner. Both the ceiling and curved wall sloped just a bit to give the illusion of space. All in all, it was a roomy design.
The entire cantina rested on a ledge that jutted out from the rest of the tower, so as to maximize the view. Two glass tubes, filled with a gas that glowed red, lined the wall by the door. A dozen or so triangular lights on the ceiling, also red, blinked on and off in order. Potted plants, a rare commodity on Nar Shaddaa, were scattered about the room. He counted only seven tables, with plenty of space between each. A couple small barriers, which didn't reach the ceiling, separated the room into one main area, with two small, private sections. The only other decorations were a few of rugs thrown at the doorway, between some of the tables, and by the bar in the corner.
Across the room, several young women of various species auditioned in front of a Twi'lek domo. Most of the tables were full, though no one stood at the bar. Koro spoke both major trade languages, Basic and Huttese, but everyone remained silent. He decided this wasn't the friendliest bunch he'd ever seen. If they had any business to discuss, they wouldn't let anyone listen in. If they were looking to socialize, they would have gone to a better cantina, if not a bigger one.
The bartender was the only Human in the place. Koro approached the man. On the way, he noticed a sign that looked to be an advertisement for Czerka Coorporation. It seemed a bit out of place, but he ignored it and pulled a stool up to the bar. The bartender ignored him, so Koro took the time to enter his meditative trance. To the untrained observer, he appeared to be spacing out, staring at nothing in particular, like everyone else in the room.
The trance served to relax the body, while keeping his mind active. It was a common technique on his world, though everyone had their own style. Musicians would compose songs, and musical fanatics would silently hum their favorite tunes. Engineers would mentally deconstruct and reassemble starship components, blaster rifles, or droid chassis. He even had a friend who liked to recite the complete works of Sahn Zhejung, line for line. Koro preferred to test his memory and observation, recalling the faces of everyone he'd passed by that day, who they were with, where they were going, and, if they had been within earshot, whatever bits of their conversations he could pick out. But whatever the manner, the purpose was always the same: to focus all stray thoughts on a single matter while the body rested.
Koro often lost himself among the memory of so many faces and voices; time itself froze, as he was able to call up any memory at will, no matter how faint. He only awoke when he heard Vhek's voice coming from the hall.
"All right, why did you want to meet here? Can't we just go to the vault?"
"You think I trust you enough to go to the vault without me?"
Major.
"Besides," he added, "I have to hire a dancer."
"A dancer?"
"Did I say dancer?"
His Wookiee partner muttered something.
"That's what I thought."
Their voices were less muffled now, and he could hear the faint thunk of their boots against the metal floor. Koro threw himself out of the trance and gestured to the bartender for a drink. The man still ignored him.
The door slid open. Koro restrained himself from looking, but he could tell from their footsteps that they stopped at one of the tables.
Major tried to keep his voice down, but Koro could still hear him - not that it mattered. "Watching them makes him sleepy."
"How can anyone get tired watching dancing?"
"This is Vogga - just the effort of following a dancer with his eyes is more exertion than he's used to."
So that was Major's angle. Koro couldn't think of an easier mark than a sleeping Hutt.
"Not a bad plan. There's still the guards and the kath hounds."
"Follow me."
He could hear them approaching the bar. Vhek had done his job; he'd tricked Major into revealing his plans, got a location out of him, and had Koro in place. Now it was his turn. Koro didn't know what that meant, just that he should "look mysterious and impressive." Vhek was loathe to share details with anyone, even his partner, so he had mentioned his plan to Koro only in passing; Koro was to surprise Major, throw him out of his comfort zone. Major wasn't an unreasonable man, so he'd call off the job - or at the very least it would throw him off enough for Vhek to get the better of him.
It wasn't a bad plan, either. But Koro knew it would never work.
The bartender beamed at the two new customers - two Human customers.
"So, you have the look of a seasoned spacer about you," he said to Major. "Honestly, there's not much for people like you and I to do around here." His eyes shifted to Koro for barely a second. "If you, uh, catch my meaning."
His lekku twitched. "Your subtlety reminds me of a rancor I once knew."
"So does your wit. Now buy a drink or get out."
"He's with me."
The bartender nodded to Vhek. "What backwash you looking for?"
Major eyed the shelf behind the bar - Corellian ale, juma juice, ingredients for ruby bliel, and a few other local favorites. Not the widest selection he'd seen, but it would do.
"Just enough juma juice to make some kath hounds take a nap."
"That so? Well, you're in luck - I got plenty of it. Cost you a hundred credits for a flask big enough for what you need, no more."
Koro didn't need any sign from Vhek to tell this was where he came in. He waved his left hand dramatically, as the captain had shown him. "The man's very thirsty. You shouldn't charge him."
The bartender blinked three or four times. Koro ignored him - he knew his trick had worked. He was far more interested in Major's reaction. Major, however, waited for the bartender's response - curious, if not surprised.
"You know what, you look thirsty. Here it is, free of charge." This time Major blinked. When he saw Koro staring at him, he pretended to wipe something off his face. "Aged to perfection - should be just what you need." The bartender handed the bottle over.
"How thoughtful of you."
Koro remained fixated on Major's face, waiting for his mind to process what he'd just seen. Major inspected the juma juice, trying to hide his reaction. But Koro saw it - a faint flicker in his eyes. Fear.
Koro had seen that look a thousand times, in different men of different species, backgrounds, and character. But the look was always the same.
He'd seen it in Vhek's eyes, when they first met nearly four years earlier. Unlike those other men, Vhek hadn't fled from Koro. He couldn't comprehend what Koro could do, but he could use it to his advantage. Vhek took him to various places across the galaxy - anywhere he wanted. And in exchange, Koro used his abilities to help out now and then. He considered it a fair trade; after all, Vhek's jobs tended to take him to those places anyway.
But of course some crazy stalker had to show up and ruin the fun of it.
Major and Vhek departed the bar, with Koro tagging behind. When they got to the door he saw the Wookiee had already hired the dancer, another Twi'lek, but her skin lighter than Koro's. She wore a brown leotard with matching leather straps wrapped around her lekku.
"So, he's with you." Major's eyes remained on Koro.
"Right."
"And he's a Jedi."
"I'm a Zeison Sha. We're from the planet Yanibar."
"You're a who from the what?"
Vhek smiled at Koro; they'd had this conversation before. "He's a Jedi," he said to Major.
Koro didn't feel like arguing the matter further. He waited for Major to decide whether one ship was worth trouble with a Jedi. Major looked back and forth between Koro and Vhek. Koro knew what he was thinking, and he didn't like it.
"Whatever, but his salary's coming out of your cut." He stabbed Vhek in the chest with two fingers on his way out of the cantina. "The vault's this way, by the docks. Frotharr'll wait by your ship to help load the spice."
They parted ways under the holoscreen. Koro knew the Wookiee's job did not involve loading spice. And he knew Vhek knew, which disturbed him even more. The entire plan rested in his hands, in his ability to trick Major as he'd tricked the bartender. Koro wished Vhek had less faith in his abilities. He could handle a simple-minded bartender, but Major was impulsive, unpredictable, and hard to read. He'd have more luck betting on the pazaak match.
Major's plan worked well; the dancer put Vogga to sleep within minutes, and she convinced the guards to let her hang around for a while, in case Vogga woke up and demanded more of her services. And of course Vhek, Major, and Koro had to stay, as her bodyguards. All three of them checked to make sure Vogga was still asleep as the dancer kept watch by the door. Hutts were notorious tricksters, in all forms. The overgrown slug's left eye twitched with every breath, but Koro was satisfied he wouldn't wake up for another few hours. Vhek seemed equally satisfied, and turned his attention to the vault. Koro eyed the two kath hounds carefully as Major paid the dancer and sent her on her way.
"All right, I've done my part."
Vhek nodded and pulled out a few security tunnelers from his pocket. The devices were a favorite among thieves, emitting a small electromagnetic pulse interfered with the lock's computer. With the security failsafe disabled, even an untrained slicer could hack into the system and unlock the door. The best tunnelers even had built-in computers to handle this part of the job. Major noticed Vhek had this kind.
"Got these things as payment from some slicer," he explained as he began keying in the code to activate one of the tunnelers. "Shouldn't take a minute." Major nodded and turned to Koro; he didn't want to let this "Jedi" out of his sight for too long.
It took Vhek a bit longer to work the device than he'd expected, but within minutes the door slid open, revealing two dozen small crates that lined the walls of Vogga's vault.
"There, just like I promised - one shipment of spice, for the taking." Major hopped over the threshold and began tossing the cylinders into a pile outside. "Come on, help me load it onto your ship."
He scooped up four of the containers, stacking them under his left arm as best he could. As soon as he saw Vhek and Koro enter the vault, he whipped out a device from his belt. When he pressed one of its two buttons, the vault door slid shut.
"Wh-what?"
"Oh, right." Major chuckled and approached the door, so Vhek could hear him clearly. "About that doohickey. Turns out it works just fine."
"Major, you double-crossing no-good son of a murglak!"
"Come now, Vhek, there's no need for shouting. You'll use up all your air."
Major swore he could hear him frowning on the other side. He waited for Vhek to try bashing the door open with one of the crates of spice before continuing.
"See, Frotharr told me about this vault. There's some device on the lock that scans anyone who tries to open it. Now, I got to thinking. The computer has to know who it's scanning for. So we just had it scan me, then sliced into the computer and replaced its files with its readings of me."
Vhek slapped himself on the head. The tunneler hadn't worked; Major had just used his device to unlock the door while he wasn't looking. Maybe Vogga's reputation had a bit of truth to it after all.
"Only'll open for me, now," Major continued. "Simple, really. Like ripping someone's fingerprint off a scanner."
Koro felt a tingle in his lekku. He could tell there was more to Major's plan than trapping them in the vault. "It won't take long for Vogga to get us out of here, Captain. We can track the Ebon Hawk using its I.D. signature. There's nowhere to run."
"Never was the running type. But you're right - it won't take Vogga long to find you." Major put down the four plasteel cylinders carefully and hung his device on his belt. "Not sure how you're gonna explain the situation, though. What with you being in there, with his spice. Can't say he'll be happy." He started for the door. "Oh well, you'll think of something."
He nearly bumped into Koro on his way out.
"Leaving so soon?"
"Wh-wha? I saw you go in the vault!"
Koro couldn't help but let a sly smile creep across his face. "You saw what you wanted to see." Mysterious and impressive, indeed.
Major took six steps back. "Damn Jedi."
"Zeison Sha."
"Wizard."
"Thief."
"Fair enough." Major gestured towards the vault. "So, what now, you gonna throw me in there, teach me a lesson?"
"Even if that's a lesson I thought you could learn..." He nodded to the blaster Major had pulled from its holster. "...we seem to be at a standoff."
"True."
"There's been something I've been wondering since I saw you." Koro paused, trying to choose his words carefully. "Do you know what the difference is between a well executed plan and a perfectly improvised one?"
Major shrugged, but he didn't let his blaster lose sight of its target. "Nothing, if you do it right."
"No." Koro approached him slowly. "What if Vhek had told you about me earlier? Would you have taken a vibroblade instead, expecting me to carry a lightsaber?"
Major didn't know what the Zeison Sha were, but by this point he knew they didn't carry lightsabers - otherwise, Koro would have used one to disarm him. He nodded respectfully. "Fair point. Follow the wrong plan, and you're likely to get sliced to bits."
Koro was slightly impressed. "Or if you follow one at all. My people have a saying: 'Two plans triumph over one, but none triumphs over all.'"
"Never hurts to have a backup, but don't expect it to save your skin when you really need it."
"Precisely."
Koro knew Major understood this philosophy more than he let on; he'd already followed Vhek to Nar Shaddaa and improvised a plan to trap the poor captain as his partner stole the Ebon Hawk. He hadn't anticipated Koro's mind trick, but he still had the upper hand - Koro was unarmed and separated from his partner.
Koro knew he could only talk his way out of this one.
"Instead, you listened to your instinct, your experience, that voice echoing from the very core of your being.
"That is the Force."
Major said nothing. Koro had expected some crack about cheap parlor tricks, but perhaps he had underestimated this man.
"There is no defense against such a thing," he continued, "not when your will is strong enough. But the stronger your will, the easier it is for others to read."
"And what did you 'read' from me?"
"You can see the danger that is to come. The war is ending."
Koro remembered that look of fear in Major's eyes, and now he realized the man wasn't just afraid of him; he was afraid of losing Vhek's ship, his ticket to freedom. He didn't see that look now.
"Something inside you told you one thing. Run. So you decided to steal a ship, find someplace to hide out until the worst is over."
"You're putting a lot of faith in my weapon selection, Jedi."
"I don't care how you explain it to yourself. I sensed your motives, and here we are. The question is where we go from here."
"I was thinking Onderon."
Koro blinked. "What?"
"Force or no, you could have locked me in there with Vhek."
"And you could shoot me right now."
"Well, if I did that all I'd have is a new ship. Maybe I got a new partner too." He gripped his blaster. "'Course, we could always go back to Plan A."
"'Partner'?"
"I figure there was a reason you left your little Jedi temple."
"Actually we train outdoors."
"Let me guess, you got tired of that dust ball, wanted to see the galaxy. Your path was off that planet." He holstered his blaster and headed to the door. "So you came to Nar Shaddaa, the crime capital of the galaxy. What could be more different from a planet of monks and wizards?" He leaned against the door. He didn't doubt for a second Koro would take his offer. "Well, I got news for ya. If you wanna see the galaxy, you can't wait for it to come to you." For the first time his smile seemed genuine. "It's all about the journey, ya know?"
Koro rubbed his smooth chin. The man had a point.
"Sure, you could sit in some temple contemplating the meaning of life, but wouldn't you rather be out living it?"
Koro sighed. Before they left Taris, Koro had told Vhek about Major's plans to steal the Hawk. He had seen, through the Force, that Major would leave Nar Shaddaa on that ship. Major hadn't chosen the Ebon Hawk at random, just as Koro hadn't decided to travel with just anyone. Something was drawing the two together, for some reason he couldn't yet understand.
Who was he to argue with destiny?
Koro looked at Major's feet, slowly shifting his gaze upwards, studying the man. This was the new captain of the Ebon Hawk - his new partner.
"You know, I've never been to Onderon.
Major's smile widened.
"Koro, you double-crossing schutta! We had a deal!"
"Oh, please." The new captain turned back to the vault door. "Now you just sound pathetic."
Koro laid a hand on Major's shoulder. "So, Onderon?"