Ania and her mother said little on the flight back to Concord Dawn. From the moment Marin had stepped foot inside Free Agent her expression had warded off inquiry. Once they were en route she'd quietly asked her cousin whether they'd gotten what they'd come for. Liem, normally supplier of confidence and optimism, had given a noncommittal reply.

After that she asked AG-37, who replied, "I'm sorry, Ania, but I was on guard outside the homestead the entire time."

"Of course you were," she said dryly. She hadn't expected her mother to allow AG-37 a glimpse of her business, but she'd hoped.

"You should know," the droid continued, "That approximately two a half minutes after they entered the home, my audio receptors picked up a series of four blaster shots inside the house." He paused long enough for her heart to pound before adding, "Stun shots, specifically."

"You're sure?"

"My audio receptors do not make that kind of mistake."

She felt a tiny bit relieved. "How much longer did they stay inside the house?"

"Nearly ten minutes. My infra-red scanners picked up activity in the upper levels of the house. I imagine inside the bedroom."

Ania envied him his fine-tuned mechanical organs. She also wondered whether his metal chest was immune to heartbreak. "So you don't think anyone was killed?"

"My sensors detected no cooling of bodies."

"Well, that's something."

It didn't explain what Marin didn't want her to know. She'd forced herself on the mission in the stupid hope it might crack open the wall between her and her mother. Instead it seemed to have mounted the wall higher. Marin and Liem hadn't brought any new cargo back from the Woxu homestead, so they hadn't been thieving either. She wondered if her mother had done something with the Force.

"Did your sensors pick up any… electric discharge?"

His lower photoreceptor pulsed thoughtfully. "Could you clarify?"

Ania lowered her voice, though they were alone in the cockpit. "You know… like Sith lightning?"

"I detected no such thing, Ania. I'm afraid the only way to get the truth behind those events is to ask your mother."

"Yeah, that'll work," she sighed.

When Free Agent returned to Concord Dawn their encampment was deep into the planet's nightside. Ania was therefore surprised to see the place so busy. Bodies were moving about in the open yard, some in armor. The camouflage nets had been halfway peeled off the other ships and their loading ramps were opened.

Ania had a bad feeling about this. She, Sauk, and AG-37 followed Liem and Marin out into the night. The two Mandalorians made a straight fast line for Hondo Karr and Tess Vevec, respectively in black and gold armor. They formed a tight huddle that disinvited visitors, but Marin spotted another familiar face and trotted after it.

"Hey," she called to Yangar Skirata. "What's going on? Are we striking camp?"

She didn't know how she was related to him more than anyone else with that surname, but her distant cousin was a dark tree of a man topped by bushy hair and beard. Unlike many others he wasn't in combat gear, but nearby glowlamps and harsh shadows made his face looked fierce.

"Hondo just gave the order," the tall man said, "We're going after Auchs."

"What does that mean?" Sauk asked from Ania's shoulder. "Are you trying to capture him?"

Or kill him, Ania thought. Yangar said, "Auchs had gone to the Outer Rim. He's brought a whole fleet of Mandos with him, thousands of warriors. This is the biggest thing he's ever done."

Given the news from Volgma they'd received that shouldn't have surprised, but the frenzy around the camp knocked Ania off-balance. AG-37, voice calm as ever, asked, "Does this have to do with the recent Nagai conquests in the Saijo and Setia sectors?"

"Give the droid a medal," Yangar said. "But this has gotten a lot bigger than the Nagai. Haven't you heard?"

"We must have missed it." Ania crossed her arms. "What's going on?"

He counted off fingers. "First Nagai shab stuff up. Then Auchs' barves join 'em. Then the Ssi-ruuk show up and wallop the Federation counter-strike back to Sluis Van."

"Ssi-ruuk?" Sauk echoed. "I thought they were…"

He trailed off. None of them knew anything about the reptilian aliens from the Unknown Regions who had, on several long-ago occasions, tried to muck up the charted galaxy. They'd seemed so irrelevant nobody had bothered to learn.

Nobody except AG-37, who said, "This is quite alarming. The last military Ssi-ruuvi incursion was over a century ago, during an abortive attempt to take the planet Bakura."

"Don't tell me you were there," Ania sighed.

"I was not, but I monitored the events from afar. Native Ssi-ruuvi technology utilizes a unique type of droid powered by energy derived from organic sources, so they were naturally of some interest to me."

"The point is," Yangar interrupted, "The fight's expanding fast. They're pushing up the Corellian Trade Spine and our sources say most of Auchs' people are gonna be used to take the Javin sector. We're gonna be there to meet 'em."

"With all due respect," said AG-37, "What good will a handful of renegade Mandalorians be against three combined battle fleets?"

Yangar's scowl suggested he had no damned clue. "We're not gonna do anybody good sitting on Concord Dawn. Hondo's got contacts in the Alliance. He's gonna see what we can coordinate with them."

"I am guessing," AG-37 pressed, "That you also have sources inside Auchs' fleet, feeding you intelligence?"

Yangar held in a suffering sigh. "Yeah, we've got friends there. Nobody super-close to Auchs, but people who can tell us where he'll go next."

Ania bet the Alliance, at least, would be glad for that intel. "So you're just packing up the whole camp and jumping halfway across the galaxy, without knowing what you'll do when you get there."

"That's the idea. If you want to know what you should, do, ask your buir."

With finality, Yangar turned and hurried toward one of the ships. Ania told her companions, "Wait by Free Agent. I'm going to have a chat with Mom."

Her timing was good. As she started across the clearing she spotted her mother pull away from conversation with Karr and Vevec. Ania jogged to intercept her before she got busy with something else.

"I heard what's going on," she said. "What do you think you can actually do out there?"

"We'll figure out something," Marin said with new severity in her voice. "Auchs has gone too far this time. He had to be stopped."

"So what, you'll stop him?" She put a hand on her mother's arm. "He's got three armies. You don't have osik."

The older woman smirked. "You're picking up some things after all."

"I'm serious. What are you going to do out there?"

"Stop Auchs and stop the Sith. They're working together. We know that. They're wreaking havoc again and I won't let them."

"You won't let them?"

"I did once. Not again."

"Hey, I thought you were putting up this big plan to expose Auchs' crimes and get him punished. What happened to that?"

"I've been trying to get evidence for years. It didn't work." Marin shook her head savagely. "I was stupid to think there'd be proof. The Sith cover their tracks too well. The only way to deal with them is to remove them."

"Okay, say you get Auchs. Say you kill him. Then what? It won't stop the Nagai or Ssi-ruuk or whatever Sith are running around."

"I'm doing what I can. You went after Darth Wredd. Did you stop and wonder what would happen once you got him?"

"No," she admitted.

"I'm going to stop Auchs and get the Mandos out of this fight. Period." Marin jerked her arm free. "You can do whatever you'd like."

Marin started away but Ania grabbed her arm again. "Whoa, hey, that's it? So long, thanks for nothing?"

Her mother sighed, exasperated. "Thank you, Ania. For all the ways you've tried to help us. I appreciate that. I do. But if you think chasing after Auchs is crazy, there's no reason you have to do it."

"It is crazy. But dammit, you're the one who had your guys kidnap me on Esseles. You dragged me back into your life. You're going to just drop me loose now?"

"I should have never done that. I'm sorry. I should have just let you think I was dead."

Ania felt so frustrated she could scream. "No. Not good enough. You can't undo what you've already done."

Marin went very still. "I've known that since I was fourteen and took off Gevern Auchs' head. I know you can't unring a bell. Things need to be set right. I've made mistakes with you, and I'm sorry, but right now I have an ever bigger one to fix." Her free hand took Ania's arm. "Live whatever life you want, Ania. Don't live mine."

The old woman released, pulled free, and walked away. Ania watched her back recede into the night. The rest of the clearing was still busy with people moving, and for a dizzy moment the whole dark world seemed to wheel around her. Then her vision found AG-37 and Sauk watching her from beneath Free Agent's nose. Their familiar faces stabilized the world and she hurried toward them.

"Looks like we're heading back out," she told them.

Gently AG-37 said, "What do you plan to do, Ania?"

She looked between the droid's small photoreceptors and the Mon Cal's bulbous eyes; one face unreadable, the other expectant. They were waiting on her to command them once again. She hated that weight but had quit trying to shirk it years ago.

"She told me to live whatever life I want," Ania said. "That was her way of saying goodbye."

"Then… we're not going with her?"

She couldn't tell if Sauk was hopeful or disappointed. She only knew she'd come too far and invested too much to walk away now.

"I'm doing what I want, and that's going to the Outer Rim with all these Mandos. A-gee, I don't even have to ask what you'll do. Sauk, if you want us to drop you off someplace on the way, maybe with some refugee cell-"

He shook his head. "I'm not walking away either."

Of course he wouldn't. She prayed they didn't get hurt because of this, and with a pang realized her mother felt the same way about her.

"Okay," Ania said. "Let's prep for turnaround."

-{}-

The next time disaster tore Shado from his sleep, it didn't even have to decency to wait until sunrise. He fumbled in the dark for his buzzing comlink and when he finally got it on, Storr insisted he come to the president's office immediately with no further explanation. Still half-asleep and dreading whatever came next, he stuffed himself into clothes and hurried to the meeting.

There was just a hint of predawn light through the office window and three figures silhouetted against it: Recado, Storr, and the Bakuran Defense Force's General Koregion. At the sight of the last Shado's heart fell further.

A holo-image projected over the president's desk, showing a building complex with a ring of lit-up markers on the surrounding terrain. It looked like a siege, and Koregion's words confirmed it.

"We're bringing in speeders to secure the airspace," the general was saying. "They should be on-site within twenty standard minutes."

"I don't expect them to be going anywhere," said Recado.

"I agree. But when the time comes to send troops in, we'll have people standing by for aerial insertion."

The president winced at those words. "If the time comes."

"Frankly, Mister President, I don't see any other option. I suggest a fast strike now, before they have time to entrench."

Shado cleared his throat, drawing their attention for the first time. "Can someone explain the situation?"

Storr said, "The P'w'eck have seized control of the repulsorlift coil manufacturing plants."

He noted the plural and thought back on the reports he'd read. "All six of them?"

"Five, including the largest one outside Salis D'aar," said Koregion. "This was a pre-planned, concentrated attack."

"Vlothaw?"

"He's inside the Salis D'aar plant," Recado said.

"I don't understand. What happened? They were going to wait for the tribunal, and Federation oversight."

"There was another round of attacks on P'w'eck settlements. They blame local security for failing to stop it," Storr sighed. "And unfortunately, the Federation has yet to act on any of its guarantees."

"This isn't just impatience, this is treason," Koregion insisted. "They're holding our entire economy hostage."

Shado looked at Recado. "Did they release a statement?"

The president nodded. "They've rejected the previous plan for settlement. They insist the heads of security be sacked and want criminal punishment for all humans who attacked their homes."

It sounded reasonable enough to Shado, but he knew it would be virtually impossible to identify which humans had attacked the P'w'eck settlements, just like it was impossible to tell which P'w'eck had collaborated with the Ssi-ruuk. Recriminations would fly back and forth between sides until P'w'eck and human assumed eachother to be enemies, if they didn't already.

He looked to Storr. "Request emergency assistance from Coruscant. Get arbitrators out here."

"Vlothaw's already rejected Federation help."

"Get them out here anyway. We have to try."

Koregion shook his head fiercely. "Vlothaw and the P'w'eck have committed an act of insurrection in favor the Ssi-ruuk. The only response is a military one."

"What about all the P'w'eck settlements across Bakura?"

"Put them under lockdown. No one goes in or out."

"How long is that going to last? There are millions of P'w'eck on Bakura. They've been here for over a century. Do you think you can just turn their settlements in prison camps? The Federation won't stand for that."

"The Federation has bigger problems than Bakura right now," Recado said bitterly. "They've made that abundantly clear."

Storr flinched from his glare. "That isn't necessarily true. The seizure of the repulsorlift plants threatens vital supplies in wartime."

"All the more reason we should act now instead of waiting for Coruscant to notice us," Koregion pressed.

Shado said, "If the P'w'eck made an ultimatum there must still be ways to communicate with them. To negotiate."

"They're not interested in negotiation, only sabotage."

Shado leaned toward the president. "If you send in troops it'll be bloody, and it will ruin the last change the humans and P'w'eck have of sharing Bakura peacefully. There's a good chance the factories will be wrecked too. There'll be no balance then. Everyone will lose."

"If you have an actual suggestion, Master Jedi, I'd like to hear it."

Shado knew in an instant what had to be done. It was a perfect solution, the only solution, and as soon as the idea came he embraced it without hesitation. This was something only he could do; it was why he'd come to Bakura in the first place.

He knew it was clearly as if the Force was speaking to him. Maybe it was.

Breathless, Shado said, "I'll go into the factory to negotiate."

"Out of the question," Storr snapped.

He'd expected that, and told the ambassador, "Think. Someone needs to keep a dialogue open. P'w'eck respect Jedi, which is more than I can say for Imperials. I'm also not Bakuran, or human. I can get Vlothaw to listen to me so long as you get help from Coruscant. Like you said, this standoff threatens vital resources when the Federation needs it most. Even with everything else going on, they have to act."

"You can't trust the P'w'eck," said Koregion. "They've been working with the Ssi-ruuk from the start. They'll kill you."

"I don't think so," Shado said. He found the prospect of being wrong didn't scare him.

Recado sighed. "At the very least, Master Jedi, you'll be giving them leverage over the Federation and can't expect to walk out of that factory freely. You're volunteering to become a hostage."

"I know. I'm prepared for that. I'm a Jedi."

The last word brought reactions from every face. Koregion's twisted in skepticism, and Storr's revealed mild distaste he'd kept well-hidden thus far. Recado's expression softened, and he said, "You're either very brave or very foolish. I wish I could tell which."

If the Force was with him- and he believed it was- then Shado was neither. "Let me go to the factory. I'll offer myself to the P'w'eck. I can resolve this, Mister President. You need to let me try. Frankly, you have nothing to lose."

Recado's eyes darted to Storr and Korregion, both disapproving, then back to Shado. "All right. You can go the factory, but there's no guarantee they'll even speak to you."

"There's only one way to find out."

The president nodded. "I hope your Force is with us, Master Jedi."

"Not as much as I do," Shado said, and tried for a smile.