From a distance, the worldship over Myrkr looked like almost like a miniature galaxy; its central disc was broad and flat and yorik coral superstructure trailed off in steady curves like spiral arms.

As Wayward Soldier got closer, Zekk could see from his place on its bridge that the worldship had indeed changed since he'd last seen it. Two of the spiral arms had broken off entirely and probably fallen toward the planet. A long, wide crack ran from its edge almost to the center of the disc, surely opening a huge chunk of the craft's insides to the vacuum. Zekk hoped the whole thing had emptied into space. It would mean the worldship wouldn't have any more nasty surprises left.

Besides, of course, the bioweapon that had brought him here.

"Bring back any memories?" Praelyx asked, suddenly on Zekk's shoulder.

He scowled and looked at the masquered face. "I was about to ask you the same question."

He was expecting another glib throw-off reply, but instead the Yuuzhan Vong's human eyes narrowed in thought. In a low voice he said, "I haven't seen one of those in… Oh, probably longer than you have."

"I haven't missed it."

"Hmm. Neither have I."

He looked sidelong at the Vong, still uncertain whether to believe him. "Looks like the hull took a bad breach. For all we know the whole thing's been spilled into space."

"If that's so, then the Imperials wouldn't be after their bioweapon, would they?"

"This could all be a misfire. Somebody jumping the gun after getting bad or out-of-date intel."

Praelyx snorted. "Try to believe that if you want, Jedi."

The captain then turned to his crew and asked for status updates. Reports rang out from different bridge stations, far more raucous and disorganized than any of the military or Jedi ships Zekk had ever served on, but they gave the full picture in the end. Sure enough, most, if not all, of the worldship had been opened to space. No active defenses could be detected. There was a hint of fusial thrust residue around the worldship but there was no sign of any mechanical spacecraft in the vicinity.

According to telemetry readings, the worldship's orbit around Myrkr was in a state of slow decay and had been for about a decade. Within another decade it would fall into the planet's gravity well and either burn up in orbit or smash into the surface and devastate whatever continent it landed on.

Zekk wished they had a tractor beam strong enough to pull this thing away from Mykr entirely and send it spinning endlessly in the void, but in the end, they were just one gunship.

"Okay," Praelyx called once the reports were over, "We hold position here. Chazdrul, tell Harkum to get his boarding team ready."

"Yes, sir," the Baragwin said.

Zekk saw rare indecision flicker on Praelyx's face. Then the Vong said, "Tell him we'll be joining him."

Harn blinked his beady eyes. "We, sir?"

Praelyx clapped Zekk on the shoulder. "My Jedi friend and me. Just as soon as our clients arrive."

"Your clients?" Zekk stared. "They're coming here?"

"My clients like to be hands-on."

Zekk's heart thudded in his chest. He still had no idea who had hired Praelyx- some scheming Hapan Ducha, maybe, or another Imperial Moff, or even Natasi Daala herself. The galaxy was full of beings who wanted to do the Jedi harm.

"I guess," he said, mouth dry, "I won't be getting my lightsaber back any time soon."

"Probably not."

"Will your clients care you've been leading a Jedi around by the leash?"

"I imagine they'll be amused, if anything."

"Do they know about me?"

"I mentioned you briefly. But I won't tell them who you are right away. A big man like you can masquerade as dumb muscle easily enough."

"I guess you'd know a lot about masquerades."

"How right you are."

"So is that what we're going to do now? Just wait on your clients?"

"They'll be here soon. They have a fast ship."

"Oh, how comforting." Zekk looked down at his empty hands and squeezed them into fists.

"Whatever role you'll be having on this mission, I want to make one thing clear," Praelyx said. "I'm sending you ahead first."

Zekk blinked. It almost sounded like the Vong was handing him and opportunity to get to the bioweapon first.

"I need someone to set off traps," Praelyx explained.

Zekk's face twisted in a scowl. It was impossible to tell without the Force, but he was pretty sure Praelyx had been getting a kick of taunting him for a while.

Then, as if on cue, Harn announced, "Another vessel has just dropped out of hyperspace. It's a Barloz-class freighter."

Praelyx snapped his fingers. "How timely. Tell them they're welcome to couple with our port airlock. Jedi, you're with me. I want to introduce them to our designated trap-springer."

Sullenly, Zekk followed Praelyx through Wayward Soldier's hallways, down the lift to the airlock portal, where two of the Rodians were waiting with their pistols drawn at their sides.

"At least put them in your holsters, gentlemen," Praelyx said. "We don't want to scare our clients."

A bit reluctantly, both Rodians holstered their weapons. Zekk glanced through the small airlock portal to see the metal hull of the freighter pressing close to their ship as it prepared to couple ports.

Awkwardly, Zekk hooked his hands on his belt and asked Praelyx, "Why am I here?"

"I just told you. I want them to meet the man who will take the first amphistaff bite on their behalf."

Zekk scowled and asked no more questions. He still wasn't sure when Praelyx was baiting him and when he was actually trying to hide something.

As the airlock groaned with metal scraping metal he realized what he should have realized all along: He was being presented with the perfect opportunity to get out of here. When Praelyx's clients- whoever they were- came through the airlock he could knock them down with a blast of Force energy, run into their ship, and use it to escape.

Obstacles were numerous, but not insurmountable. He could grab a weapon in the initial fracas, He could seal the airlock from the freighter side. If there were other crew still inside he could disarm them somehow.

Assuming Praelyx didn't shoot him in the back the second he tried something, it just might work.

Zekk braced himself to act, while trying to look like he wasn't. He lowered his hands to his side and kept his open eyes squarely focused on the airlock as the freighter's hatch on rolled open and Wayward Soldier's followed suit. There was the pop of air seals breaking and the hiss of pressure equalizing. Then, finally, the second airlock portal swung open.

Zekk heard footsteps approaching and readied him-self to act.

Two women stepped through the portal, and he forgot about it all. They looked almost identical, and he knew them to be twins: both red-haired, with strong facial features, green eyes, and red hair like their cousin Tenel Ka. He'd met them only briefly before the battle of Shedu Maad, but he could never forget how the one named Taryn had smiled and squeezed his arm and made her intention very clear. It had been so simple and straightforward- and she'd been so frankly attractive- that it had felt like an electric jolt after months of quietly agonizing over Jaina.

Right then Taryn's eyes met his and went wide, but it was the other sister, Trista, who said, "Captain, how did you acquire this Jedi for your crew?"

Praelyx, for once, looked surprised, and it was extremely gratifying to see. "You know this shaved Wookiee?"

"Not nearly as well as we'd like, but yes," Taryn looked Zekk up and down and said, "You seem hale for a dead man."

"I was pulled from the Transitory Mists after I went EV," Zekk said. He felt like it would be somehow appropriate to thank Praelyx at that point, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Taryn, though, stepped right up to him, gave him another look-over, squeezed his bicep like she'd done that time on Uroro Station, and said to Praelyx, "If we live through this, you're getting a bonus."

"I can live with that." The Yuuzhan Vong glanced at Zekk with a new and sudden respect in his eyes. "If I'd known you were this valuable I'd have tried selling you for ransom."

"I'm sure you'd have gotten around to it eventually." Taryn patted Zekk's arm. "Now, let's get down to business."

"I have a briefing room," Praelyx waved toward the hall.

"Lead the way," Trista said, and let the Yuuzhan Vong go first.

As they walked down the corridor Taryn didn't unhook her arm from Zekk's. His mind was already reeling from one huge surprise but he had enough sense to lean close to her and say, "The Captain… You've worked with him before?"

"The Hapans are descended from pirates, you know," she said smoothly, all her shock gone. "They're still useful to employ, especially when we need work done outside Consortium boundaries."

"But Praelyx… What do you know about him?" Zekk whispered.

Taryn raised an eyebrow, faintly curious.

Of course she wouldn't know. Zekk tried to figure how to tell her- whether he should tell her- when Praelyx cleared his throat and said, "After you, ladies and gentleman."

A door slid open, revealing the small conference room within. Trista went first, then Taryn hooked Zekk along. As he passed Praelyx leaned a little closer and said, quiet but firm, "Let's stick to the business at hand, shall we?"

Then the Yuuzhan Vong followed them into the chamber. The door slid shut, sealing them inside. To Zekk, it felt like a signal that the four of them would be stuck together for whatever lay ahead.