Wharn took two steps back and felt his shoulder-blades press into Jodram's back. He held his lightsaber in front of him in a horizontal position, clamped between two sweat-damp hands, and watched his opponent take three careful steps to the right.

He touched Jodram's mind in the Force and asked, Ready?

Ready, Jodram said, and they moved.

Jodram dropped low and Wharn let himself fall, rolling over his friend's back and using the Force to give him a tiny extra push that set him on his feet right in front of the two-meter-tall Wookiee Jodram had been fighting. Jodram, in turned, rolled over the ground and came up right in front of the one Wharn had sparred with.

It had been a good maneuver, one they'd practiced, but the Wookiees were accomplished duelists in their own rights. Karashchakkuk blocked Wharn's first tree blows with his bronze-colored blade, then thrust out with his long arm. Wharn jumped back and glanced over his shoulder to where Rollranarra was battling Jodram. The two Wookiees had age, size, and strength on the human and Chiss, but Wharn and Jodram weren't ready to give up yet. Wharn sent another thought to Jodram in the Force, telling him to fall away from Rollra and be ready to switch partners. As he felt Jodram skirt back he lunged for Karash, feinted two quick jabs with his saber, then threw himself into the air.

He came down behind Karash. The Wookiee spun and deflected the attack but Jodram lunged in from the side. With a deft jerk of the wrist, his blade shifted away from the Wookie's abdomen and skirted the fur of his waist. The three duelists froze in realization of what had happened; then Rollra's silver blade was sizzling at the base of Jodram's neck.

A third Wookiee roared from the sidelines. Wharn lowered his lightsaber and looked at the two masters who'd been watching the duel. "What did he say?"

The ginger-furred Wookie in brown Jedi robes roared something else, and the white-haired old man sitting cross-legged beside him said, "He said that was very bold. Also suicidal."

As Rollra withdrew her saber from his neck, Jodram shut off his own. "It was all we could think of. Rollra and Karash have us outclassed. They're just better fighters. We had to take any victory we could."

"So you sacrificed yourself?" asked Master Durron. "Good enough for a sparring match, but what about real life?"

Master Lowbacca roared something else, and his daughter grunted something back. Wharn knew that Arlen could understand the Wookiee language perfectly but it sounded nonsensical to him. Master Durron said, "He's right, you know. It's better to practice bravery first before you have to be brave for real. Just take time to mediate on how far you'd be going to go in a real fight."

It was a true and sobering lesson, but it didn't take away Wharn's adrenaline-high. For the first days after Jade had left for Zonama Sekot it had been hard to think of anything except her and Master Mjalu. He was doing better now; he and Jodram was practices sparring and mediation and other exercises and he was surprised to found how well he and the human were working together. He still found Jodram too reckless sometimes but he'd come to understand that he was driven not by overconfidence but by the deep inner need to succeed. It was just one of the things he'd found they had in common.

Karash roared something and went to his kit to fetch a canteen of water. The other duelists did the same, and as Wharn swallowed the first mouthful a white-garbed apprentice trotted into the practice chamber.

"Masters," she said with a bow to Lowbacca and Durron, "We've just received word that Jade Shadow has returned. They're entering the atmosphere now."

"Best to roll out the welcome mat," Durron said, and grabbing hold of his knobby walking stick he stiffly pushed himself off the bench. When Lowbacca lowered a paw to help him the old human shook it off. "I'm not dead yet. Now let's see if they got what they went for."

Wharn and Jodram followed the two Masters down the corridors to the hangar bay. They went as fast as Master Durron could shuffle along, which wasn't fast at all, and Wharn's whole body had become tense in anticipation. He'd found ways to make use of his time while Jade was away but now he couldn't wait to see her.

"Stang it," Jodram said under his breath, "I wish we'd had a little more warning."

"Warning for what?"

"You know, clean up." He wiped his sweat-damp face with the sleeve of his tunic.

"Oh. Well, we didn't know she was coming back."

"That's why I mean. They could have hailed a little further back, given us some warning so we don't look a couple of-"

Lowbacca canted his neck back and roared something at them. Wharn had no idea what it was, and neither did Jodram, but somehow they both felt embarrassed. They kept silent the rest of the walk, and when they arrived in the hangar, Jade Shadow had already set down and was lowering its landing ramp.

Wharn had been expecting to see Jade and Grand Master Skywalker, and perhaps Master Solo Fel. Instead the first beings down the ramp were a dozen Yuuzhan Vong. His hand went to his lightsaber on instinct but Lowbacca held up a shaggy hand, halting them before they could do anything. Wharn got a better look at the newcomers and saw that, while most of the Yuuzhan Vong wore organic outfits typical of their race, the one in the lead was dressed in a gray synthfiber jumpsuit. His face was totally bereft of scars, and the ones behind him had only elegantly whirling tattoos and no ritual scarring.

The Yuuzhan Vong stepped aside and Grand Master Skywalker was next. He seemed to glide down the ramp in his black robes. When his expression turned to Wharn the young Chiss couldn't help but flinch. He'd always been intimidated by Master Skywalker and since Varadan every encounter was also a reminder of Master Mjalu, and the horrible failure he still hadn't come close to atoning for. While Master Skywalker was gone, Wharn had done a good enough job of putting his guilt to the side, but it was going to be a lot more difficult now.

Jade came down last. Jodram went for her first and Wharn followed right after. The young human wrapped her in a tight hug that halfway lifted her off her feet, and Jodram only let go when Jade slapping his ribcage, laughing as she did so.

When he let her down she said with smiling eyes, "Oh, wow. You stink."

"We just finished sparring," Wharn explained.

"Against Master Lowbacca's kids," Jodram finished.

"Oh really?" she raised a brow. "Who won?"

Jodram and Wharn exchanged looks. The human said, "Let's just call it a draw."

Jade gave another laugh. When she'd left for Zonama Sekot, Wharn had been afraid she'd never laugh again. Wharn looked back to the ship, where three Jedi Masters talked under its nose with the Yuuzhan Vong in the synthfiber jumpsuit.

"What happened to your aunt?" asked Wharn.

"She's going back to Coruscant with Allana. There's a lot they need to take care of there."

"What are the Yuuzhan Vong for?" Jodram asked, a little warily.

"They're going to help us take out that worldship," said Jade. "The one in the jumpsuit was raised by humans. He used to be a pilot for the Alliance. The rest are all warriors from the Ganner sect."

"Why does that sound familiar?" asked Wharn.

"They're a group of warriors who worship a new god in their pantheon called the Ganner." She smiled tightly. "Ganner was a Jedi."

"Huh," Jodram said. "Well. I guess that means they're on our side."

"Apparently," muttered Wharn.

There was a moment of silence, awkward for the first time. Jodram said, in a low voice, "I get that they'll help us against the worldship. That's good. But what about her?"

"Darth Xoran," Jade whispered. Jodram nodded. Wharn felt himself tense inside. The girl took a deep breath and said, "We'll take care of her. She won't get away and cause more destruction, not again."

"But what does that mean?" Wharn asked, and hoped they couldn't feel his fear in the Force. It wasn't just fear of facing Darth Xoran again; it was fear of not facing her and never finding some way to atone for his getting Master Mjalu killed. He'd heard, from Grand Master Skywalker and others, over and over again, not to blame himself for what had happened on Varadan, but he knew he'd never believe it.

Jade must have felt some of his turmoil because she squeezed his arm tightly. "My Dad's taking the lead on this. And I trust him to see it through."

Wharn couldn't picture anyone else more fit to take down a Sith Lord, but that didn't do anything to calm him inside. Jade, though, released his arm, smiled again, and looked at them both. "We won't move right away. Now come on. I want to hear what you guys have been up to."

-{}-

"In the end, it doesn't really matter if they succeed on Coruscant," Kyp Durron said as the three Masters sat in the meditation chamber. "We'll do this mission with the Alliance's help or without it."

Lowbacca gave a series of mournful moans, and Ben said, "I agree. The Alliance can't afford to stand back and do nothing. This isn't just about helping us against Savyar. If they let her commit genocide in Senex-Juvex it will destroy the entire moral foundation of the Alliance. Nobody will take its talk of the rights of all being seriously."

Lowbacca moaned again, and once more he had a point, Ben thought. That might have been the Sith's goal all along. With their coup on Hapes they'd made the first crack in the Long Peace. With Senex-Juvex, they stood poised to break the whole thing down, and the worst part of it was that they'd done it with so little effort. Their greatest victory had been pushing so many beings across the galaxy toward the worst parts of their nature, from abused downtrodden in Senex-Juvex to ordinary Alliance citizens who simply wanted to avoid conflict. The Sith were turning righteous anger into bloodlust, prudence and pacifism into cowardice, and they were doing it so well it made Ben despair of the Jedi ever upholding greater virtues across the galaxy.

"Don't," Kyp warned him.

"What?" Ben glanced sideways at the hunched old man who still had fire in his eyes.

"You give up hope and you give up everything. And believe it or not, the galaxy's seen worse crises than this."

"I know," Ben sighed. The Yuuzhan Vong War. Palpatine's Empire. But this was happening on his watch as Grand Master, and he could never rationalize that burden away. "Think you're fit to go with us to the worldship?"

Kyp snorted. "Don't flatter me, young man. I'll keep watching over Ossus while you're away. Keep Jaina and Allana safe."

"I will. Count on it."

Lowbacca roared an offer, one Ben had to admit was hard to refuse. He couldn't think of a fight where he wouldn't want a trio of Wookiees at his side. "Do you think Rollra and Karash are up for it?"

He got a strong affirmative in reply, which wasn't surprising. That heartened him, but inevitably sent his thoughts falling back to Jade. She hadn't explicitly asked to come with him when they found the worldship, but he knew the question was coming soon.

By the time he finished his meeting with Kyp and Lowbacca, the sun was starting to go down over Ossus. He reached out with the Force and gently called for Jade. To his mild surprise, she responded, and beckoned him to the balcony near the top of the palace.

He found her sitting on the railing edge, watching the sky turn shades of scarlet and gold. She was alone, and dry wind blew across the open deck and furled her hair.

"So," Ben asked as jauntily as he could, "How are Jodram and Wharn?"

"Better," she said as he sat down beside her. "They seem like they actually like each other now."

Ben smirked. "Will the wonders never cease?"

"It's good, though. They complement each other, I think. Wharn balances out Jodram's recklessness and Jodram gives Wharn a kick when he's frozen and doesn't know what to do."

"Sounds like a good partnership," Ben said. He knew well enough where Jade fit. The way Jodram was looking at his daughter was getting pretty unmistakable, though with everything else going on he'd hardly had time to worry about it. As for Wharn, he seemed like he'd finally found in Jade a bridge between the Chiss upbringing of his youth and the Jedi Order he'd joined. What kind of bridge that would be remained to be seen, but it was clearly a bridge.

Jade looked at the sky and breathed out. "I wish I could have seen Mom on Zonama Sekot too."

"I do too." He put an arm around her. "But she never visited the planet. It wasn't able to form a strong connection."

"I know." Jade rested her heard against his shoulder with an easy trust they should have shared before. "But she's still…. Somewhere, isn't she?"

"You know what we say. There is no death, only the Force."

"Does that…. Help you?"

He closed his eyes and thought of all the people's he'd loved and lost. "Sometimes. When I think of Katia or my mother it hurts. It always will hurt, but you'll learn to stop fearing it, and the fear is really what holds you back. You have to believe that tenant, Jade. The Force does transcend time and space, life and death. What's part of the Force can never pass away."

He let her think on that in silence for a long time. Then he decided to say what he'd come here to say. "Jade, I don't know when we'll make a move on the worldship, but we have to be ready."

"I want to be there, Dad."

"I know." He squeezed her tighter. "And you can come. But please, trust me to do what's right. If I tell you to do something, do it. If I tell you to run, you run. Promise me, Jade."

It wasn't a request. She swallowed and said, "I promise, Dad."

"Thank you. That means a lot."

She breathed deep, in and out, and asked, "What about Wharn and Jodram?"

He should have expected that. "Did they ask to come?"

"No, but you can tell they want to. Wharn especially. He needed some resolution, Dad. He blames himself for Master Mjalu's death and it's tearing him up inside."

Ben sighed. Until his last conversation with Tenel Ka, he'd considering himself the Jedi Order's master of misplaced guilt. "If he doesn't learn to let go of it, it's going to do him more harm than good. If his guilt is making him hate himself it will be fatal if he has to face a Sith."

"Do you think there'll be more than Darth Xoran?"

"I just got an update from Arlen. It's a long story, but he grappled with another Sith and killed it."

"Isn't that good? There's supposed to be two Sith at a time."

"Until there's more. That's the thing about beings who think the Force gives them license to dominate everything around them. They like to make up rules as they go."

"Good point. But about Wharn… Can I talk to him about this first?"

"You mean before I do?"

"Right." She paused. "He's terrified of you. But don't tell him I told you."

Ben had to laugh. "Don't worry. His secret's safe with me."

-{}-

Admiral Syal Antilles sighed, placed the datapad on her desk, and rubbed her temple. "Frankly, this is a little underwhelming."

"It's a start," Arlen told her. "We've already given a copy of Krux's data to the judicial department. They can try and trace those accounts Krux routed his payments to Savyar into."

"Yes, but we don't have proof that these payments were made to Savyar, except your word about that apparently came from the mouth of a dead criminal." Syal leaned back in her chair and let her eyes shift to Arlen's father. "Well, Jag? Comments?"

"As Arlen said, it's a start."

"Well, it's not my start. When did you say Jaina and Allana are supposed to arrive? I have a closed-door meeting with the defense council and Fenk Noral in thirty-five minutes."

"They should be arriving soon," Jagged said. "What's this about Fenk Noral? Is he the representative from Varadan?"

"Heard about him, did you?" Syal raised a gray brow.

"You're not my only connection on Coruscant. I also know the defense council's reserved a full afternoon session in the Senate tomorrow."

Syal sunk even deeper into her chair. "If that's what you know you can probably guess the rest."

"What's this about Fenk Noral?" Arlen asked. "I've never heard of him."

"Trusted second to Moran Gnoll, apparently," Jagged said. "Rumor is that he's upset with Savyar's actions. He's afraid that after all she's done to the loyalists planets she'll turn on dissenters next."

"Of course she would," Arlen said grimly. "She's a Sith."

"A Sith?" Syal's eyes went wide. "Oh, damn. Not again. Does Sevash know?"

"No," Arlen shook his head. "We don't have proof, nothing he'd accept. The closest we have is some video from my ship's external cams of the one who tried to kill me at Broken Moon."

"That won't be good enough for the Senate, Arlen."

"I know. That's why we won't even try to convince them. But again, what does Fenk Noral want?"

"He's already met with Sevash and Senator Dre'lye behind closed doors. I'll found out in a half hour, but I can guess. He'll want Alliance intervention to protect Varadan and other Free Worlds that she could threaten."

"A plea like that would have gotten a lot more sympathy before Karfeddion," Jagged said.

"I know. But sooner or later, the Senate was going to have to deal with Senex-Juvex. This is just what brings it to a head."

"What about Sevash?" asked Arlen. "He's Chief of State. He should be the one spearheading a push to intervene, a peacekeeping mission."

"A peacekeeping mission in systems that just seceded from the Alliance a month ago? That's going to look like an invasion to a lot of people."

"Or an errand of mercy, especially if Fenk Noral requests it."

Syal looked grimly at Jagged. "Are all Jedi this naive?"

"I'm not naive," Arlen answered. "This is about doing what's right and saving lives."

"No, this is all about Savyar and that Vong superweapon that already killed millions of people."

"Trust me, Syal, we won't forget, ever," Jag said hoarsely. It was still hard to speak when he thought of Davek.

"I know. I'm sorry, of course you won't," Syal sighed and rubbed her temple again.

"The Jedi are going to take action no matter what," Arlen said firmly. "Allana's going to go up in front of the Senate and tell them that. We'll take whatever help the Alliance gives us."

Syal sighed yet again. It was pretty clear how she thought this would end. She looked back to Jag and said with bitter sarcasm, "Any hope for Imperial help?"

"We all know it's up to the Alliance now."

Arlen sucked in breath, then let a tight smile tug his lips. "Not just the Alliance."

"If your mother here?" Jag asked.

"I think they're landing now. Feels like…. Senate landing complex."

Jag looked to his cousin. "In that case, we'll leave you to your meeting. We'll be in touch before the senate session tomorrow."

From Syal's office at naval headquarters it was a fifteen-minute airspeeder ride to the massive government airbase. Jag was pleasantly surprised to see that both his and Arlen's names had been cleared for entry; Allana or Jaina must have called ahead. When they arrived on the proper landing pad, Allana's elegant Hapan shuttle had already set down and its passengers stood in a cluster on the landing pad. There were over a dozen figures, all in dark cloaks, at the base of the landing ramp, while four women stood out in the sun. Jag recognized his wife instantly among three taller, red-haired Hapans. Jag's steps faltered in surprise; Allana he'd been expecting, and Zekk's daughter, but not the former Queen Mother. As Arlen kept walking ahead, and Jaina broke off to hug her son, Jag met Tenel Ka's grey eyes across the distance. She looked so much older than he remembered, more worn, but her lined face softened with a tiny smile.

"It's good to see you, Your Majesty," Jag said with a little bow when he got close.

"Likewise, Jagged." Tenel Ka came close to a firm one-armed hug, then turned to his son. "And you, Arlen. I'm so sorry about Davek."

"We all are." Arlen's smile fell. "That's why we need to make sure what happens to him doesn't happen to any more people. You've all heard how Savyar's been attacking loyalists planets in Senex-Juvex with the worldship?"

"I've been getting all the senate intelligence dossiers," Allana nodded. "After Cyimarra, the loyalists started fleeing the Sectors as fast as they could, but the death toll is still unconscionable."

"The leader of Varadan is meeting with the Defense Council now," Jagged said. "He wants the Alliance to intervene and protect the Free Worlds from Savyar now."

"Now they realize her true colors," Jaina sniffed.

"Legally, they're not part of the Alliance, are they?" asked Tanith Zel.

"Legally they seceded a month ago," said Allana. "But it doesn't matter. The Alliance has a moral duty to protect threatened sentients all over the galaxy."

"Is that what you're going to argue to the senate tomorrow?" asked Arlen.

"It is," said Tenel Ka. "So we had best prepare."

"Fair enough," Jag said, and gestured to the figures in dark cloaks by the ramp. "Who are you friends?"

For some reason they all looked surprised at the question. Then Jaina said, "Kodra Val? Can you come here please?"

One figure stepped out from the group and gave Jag his answer. She didn't pull of her hood but she tilted it back enough to the unmistakable face of a Yuuzhan Vong, a shaper from the bush of tendrils atop her head.

"This is our master shaper from Zonama Sekot," Jaina said, "And she has a plan to disable the worldship. Half her team came here, the rest went back to Ossus with Ben and Jade."

Jag fumbled for a response. It had been a very long since he'd seen a Yuuzhan Vong face-to-face. Kodra Val snapped a short bow and said, "It's an honor to meet you at last."

He blinked. "Should we have?"

"She helped Tahiri and me thirty years ago," Jaina explained. "But you were a little busy back then."

Busy with Syal up in space while Jaina, Tahiri, and Ben had been on Zonama Sekot, dealing with the Sith. Yes, Jag remembered that quite well. He summoned his inner diplomat and said, "It's an honor to meet you too, Master Shaper. I'm interested to hear how you plan to disable the weapon. The others, are they-"

"They are not shapers," she shook her head. "They are warriors who will protect us. Forgive them for being… reticent. None of them have ever left Zonama Sekot before and they find this world… overwhelming. Frankly, so do I. I'd like to get us all indoors soon."

"You can all stay in my suite," Allana volunteered. "Come with me. My personal airspeeder's waiting."

The group fell out, walking quickly cross the pad for the exit. Jag naturally fell in beside his wife, while Arlen took his other flank. It was the first time the three of them had been together since Davek's death; a part of him wished they had a private moment to mourn, but the rest of him was almost glad to have a crisis to deal with. Business keep the grief at bay.

Jaina reached out and squeezed his hand tight. "Just hang in there," she whispered.

Jag squeezed back and didn't let go.

-{}-

Allana had spent too many hours to count in the senate arena, but this time she felt different. She sat as usual in the booth representing the Hapan exiles, watching Fenk Noral give his speech from the platform. The Nosaurian reminded her eerily of Moran Gnoll, in appearance and intonation, but that wasn't the strange part. The strange part was sitting in this seat with her mother beside her. It was the one thing that had never happened in her twelve years as a senator.

Fenk Noral gave his speech after being introduced by Senator Dre'lye, who'd also dispassionately explained that the senate was now being asked to vote on a bill from the Defense Council authorizing Alliance military intervention on behalf of Fenk Noral and the other twenty Free Worlds he claimed to represent, all of whom apparently wished to be partners and future members of the Alliance.

Allana could sense the skepticism of the senators, in the Force and on their myriad faces. When the Nosaurian finished his speech the first floor opened to questions, and the senator from Columus was first to pounce.

"Master Noral," he said, "All the Free Worlds you claim to represent petitioned to leave the Alliance just a month ago. That was after the slaughter at Karfeddion. Were you one of the signatories of that petition?"

"I was," Noral admitted. "We all had misgivings even before Karfeddion, but Savyar and her Mandalorians offered strength none of us possessed individually."

"Strength to slaughter!" shouted the senator from Fondor. "Strength to murder over a million Alliance soldiers!"

"Strength was necessary to free us from our oppressors," Noral battled back, which brought a chorus of angry shouts. "The Alliance would not give us strength so we had to take it. I wish things had been different in every way-"

The shouting got to be too much. Allana, sitting stoically at her seat, glanced sidelong at her mother. Tenel Ka's eyes were narrowed, her face set in a furrowed frown. Neither of them expected this to get better.

Lannik Sevash called for quiet, and when the senate settled down the next question was from the Bimmisaari representative. "Master Noral, you took a great risk speaking to us today. Can you explain what kind of reprisals you expect from Savyar?"

The Nosaurian nodded gravely. "I've already moved my family and close allies into hiding. If Savyar wishes to meet with me and peacefully address our discontent I will do so, but I expect her to fall back on force. It could fall on any of the twenty-one planets I speak for today. Frankly, I do not expect it to fall on Varadan, simply because our mines are too valuable to blast with that Vong monstrosity and the mines are the only valuable thing on Varadan. But she may choose another target to focus her ire on. The leaders of the twenty-one worlds are prepared for that because at least we spread the risk out among all twenty-one of us. Savyar cannot attack us all at once."

"Are you certain of that?" asked the senator from Denon. "Doesn't she also have the entire Mandalorian fleet at her disposal?"

"Yes and no. Since Karfeddion, attrition has reduced the Mandalorian fleet by about one-third."

That sent more ripples through the arena. Senator Dre'lye, still at the podium, cleared his throat. "Perhaps you'd like to expand on that, Master Noral."

"I wish I could," the Nosaurian shrugged. "I only know that the Mandalorians have been doing battle with some hidden enemy in Thull's Shroud, one neither I nor my associates know of. From the rumors, their enemy seems to be winning."

Tenel Ka leaned close. "Have you heard of this?"

"Not a thing." Allana shook her head.

"What's happened to the Mandalorians doesn't matter!" snapped the Fondorian senator. "As long as Savyar still commands that Vong abomination, intervention is pointless!" His head swiveled until he found Allana. "Unless the Jedi senator has any words for us?"

The plan had been for her to take the floor after Noral anyway, but more senators were echoing the Fondorian's call. Sevash caught her eyes from the podium and nodded his small head, beckoning her up.

Allana rose from her seat and Tenel Ka rose beside her. Most of the senate seemed to spot the Queen Mother for the first time and a hush settled over the hall. Both of them walked up to the podium and joined Sevash, Dre'lye, and Noral.

Allana looked out on the great arena, the thousands of beings looking down at her. She'd faced this sight before too, but it was also different now. She breathed deep, let it out, and said, "I had words planned for this session, but I'd like to begin by reminding the honorable senator from Fondor that I am elected representative of the Hapan people, not the Jedi Order."

She said it with a wry smile, and it even got a few awkward chuckles, which was probably all she could have hoped for. "I'd like to thank Master Noral for his bravery in coming here today, and I'd like to offer a personal condolence for the death of his mentor, Moran Gnoll. I only knew him briefly but I respected him very much." Noral bowed his head in acceptance and she went on. "Master Noral's presence here asks us to consider a very simple question. When billions of innocent lives are in danger, what is the Alliance to do? Will we use all our resources to save lives, or will we step back and pretend it's not our problem, in the process ceding both our moral and political authority as the reigning galactic government? That is the core issue, fellow senators, and nothing else."

That brought lots of murmurs but no outcry. She waited for them to simmer down and said, "A long time ago, my grandmother, Chief of State Leia Organa Solo, was faced with a crisis in the Koornacht Cluster. Billions of lives were being taken by the Yevetha. Many members of this senate believed it was not our place to intervene, but at risk to her political career and the life of her husband, my grandmother led the intervention that broke the Yevetha's engine of genocide.

"We face that same moral test now. We have all seen Savyar's face and we know how she treats her enemies. Great crimes have been committed by all sides in Senex-Juvex, and there will be an accounting, but only once those sectors are freed from Savyar's terror. Only then can justice begin.

"Savyar's weapon is still a great threat. I won't argue that. As many of you know, I've recently returned from the rogue world Zonama Sekot. The best shapers of the Yuuzhan Vong are even now meeting with the leaders of the Jedi Order to draw up a plan to destroy Savyar's weapon. You'll understand that I can say no more in this setting, but rest assured we've been working the past month toward that single goal."

The Fondorian senator interrupted her. "Are you saying that the Yuuzhan Vong had nothing to do with that superweapon?"

"We believe Savyar may have recruited rogue shapers to repair a worldship abandoned forty-five years ago. As I'm sure you know, Senator, there were dozens such ships and not all were accounted for after the war. You have my absolute promise that the Yuuzhan Vong on Zonama Sekot have nothing to do with Savyar."

That yielded more skeptical grumbles, as she'd expected. She'd briefly considered bringing Kodra Val herself up onto this podium and quickly thought better. Resentment against the Yuuzhan Vong still ran very deep, and the Jedi's association with them had done the Order no favors in the public eye.

"Senator Djo," asked the Woostrid senator, "Are you saying the Jedi Order intends to act against this worldship, no matter how the senate votes?"

"The Jedi Order has always respected Alliance law, but has not been bound to it for decades. The Jedi Order's law is saving lives and keeping the peace. If the Alliance will not fulfill that goal, the Jedi will."

That brought another big uproar. It was hard to gather anything from the shouting but through the Force she felt a brew of doubt beneath all the noise, doubt, guilt, and yes, support.

She felt her mother's hand on her arm, the signal she'd been waiting for. When it got quiet enough Allana said, "I'd like to yield the floor to Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo, rightful ruler of the Hapes Consortium."

Silence dropped as Allana switched places with her mother. In preparation for the ceremony Tenel Ka had braided her hair down her back and put on a robe of elegant white shimmersilk. She looked just as regal as she had before the fall, the way she'd been preserved in the memory of the assembled senators. Even Allana found it hard to match the woman before her with the one she'd found on the mountaintop camp half a galaxy away.

When Tenel Ka spoke her voice was strong. "It has been twelve years since the withdrawal of Hapes from the Galactic Alliance. As you may know, I left galactic affairs at that time. I believed that after the disaster that had befallen my world- the disaster that claimed the lives of many people I loved- there was nothing more I could do. I was wrong. I was a coward." Her voice shook; she paused for a moment, then went on. "I cannot be a coward any more. As a Jedi Knight and a leader in the Galactic Alliance I cannot stand by while Savyar's evil spreads across this galaxy. And make no mistake, even if her Yuuzhan Vong monstrosity goes no farther than Senex-Juvex, her evil will spread. She has already broken the bonds among allies. She has cowed us into abandoning our core values and turned the valued Alderaan Convention against superweapons into a slap on the wrist.

"Her attack was never against the antiquated aristocracies in Senex-Juvex. It was against the Long Peace itself. If we allow her to go unpunished then all talk of justice in this arena will be forever hollow. More of the vaunted treaties and agreements that hold our galaxy together will crumble, and violence will spread. The Alliance faces a choice. It can either stand as one behind its core principles, or it can fall apart into a thousand pieces. One or the other will happen here today. Make no mistake."

Tenel Ka stepped away from the podium, and though her face was stoic Allana could feel her relief and exhaustion in the Force. Someone started clapping, and more joined in. The whole arena thundered with applause and Allana felt her heart lift.

As she and her mother stepped off the podium she glanced sideways at Sevash and Dre'lye. Their expressions were painfully guarded and it brought her back to earth. After the two Hapans returned to their seats the talks went on for another hour, until Sevash finally called for the vote to be held. Allana cast her ballot and waited for the computerized tally. When it came she felt too empty to move.

"The result is clear," Sevash announced to the senate. "Though it was a very close vote, the senate has made its voice heard. There will be no authorization of military force inside Senex-Juvex." Against the rising voices, so many in protest, he added, "Retaining the authority invested in me by this body, I hereby state my intention to keep the Third Fleet stationed as Asmeru until further notice. They will protect our borders from inside those borders and make sure violence does not spread to Alliance space."

It was all for nothing, then. Not just the speeches today. Everything Allana had done, everything she'd been for the past twelve years. Her colleagues had wiped it all away.

Tenel Ka squeezed her daughter's hand. "We are on our own now."