Kess dropped the hydrospanner with an echoing clatter and gripped her chest.

The panic on the Force was a fast flash from nothing, and then blotted itself out again. Did she hear a voice? Something was wrong.

She pulled to her feet and held the bulkhead, trying to sense out. It was panic. Desperate, pleading, horrible panic. But it was gone now. She used the bulkhead to help her balance through to the main bay.

Han glanced— and glanced again, "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I just—" Why did it feel like she had water in her lungs? "I just need a minute." She stumbled down the ramp.

Outside the Falcon, Rogue Group was hard at work. Kess looked around for the source of the panic, for hints that someone nearby had just died, but everyone was still deep in their business. She needed to meditate.

Her boots rushed fast across the deck for the locker room and disappeared.

Han stepped down the ramp with knitted brows aimed at her back. Wedge and Ashten caught a glimpse of Kess rushing away to hide. They saw her move like that only once before. Kayla began to climb up from her project at the other end of the Pad.

Wedge looked back to find Han's uncertain worry, and he hopped fast down the ladder. He ordered Ashten, "Stay here."

Ashten watched with concern. "Aye, sir."

Wedge stepped quickly into the locker room and found Kess pacing the floor with tight arms knotted at her chest. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know. I don't know." She stuttered quickly, big eyes shaking her head at the floor. "Something. . . something happened. I-I don't know."

Wedge stepped to her, palms up in calming. "Hey. Stop. Look at me. What's the matter?"

Kess found his eyes but hers were wide with terror. "Someth— I-I." She covered her mouth with both palms and cussed in her own panic. "Nik!" Kess dove into Wedge's chest, with her palms still over her mouth, she cried. "I think they killed Nik."

Wedge put his arms loosely around her and tried to mutter her to hush and relax, but even as he did this, his head turned to look out the open door of the locker room. Han was already in the doorway, with Ashten and Kayla behind him.

"Luke," Wedge mouthed with no voice. "Now."

Han nodded and stepped back to the Pad only enough to pull his comlink out of earshot. Kayla rushed in and patted Kess's head from behind.

Wedge petted her upper arms. "It's gonna be okay. Luke's coming, alright? Calm down. It's gonna be okay."

Kess shuddered against his khakis. "It's not okay." She cried into his breast. "It's not okay!"

Wedge put his arms around her a little more but he tried to be respectful about it. He and Kayla eyed each other with concern, then Wedge closed his eyes and rested his mouth against Kess's hair. "Shh. I've got you."

They were still like that when Luke rushed in—

—and stopped short.

Wedge got whiplash at the new arrival and yanked his arms away from the woman. "She thinks they killed Nik."

Luke stepped over and took her arm, trying to get her to look at him. "Hey. What happened? Did you sense something?"

She was still shuddering and now tears leaked down her face. "Panic. It was panic." Her voice quivered. "And I think he . . . I think he tried to tell me something. But it's gone. He's not there."

Luke shot a hard glance at Wedge and took command of the woman. He wrapped his arms further around her for a tight hold and then ushered her to the nearest bench. "Come on, sit down."

He got her to sit down and squatted in front of her feet, ducking his head to try to get her to meet his eyes. His voice was gentle. "Tell me what you felt. Anything you heard."

She shook her head at the air. "Panic. Afraid to die. And then . . . resolved to die." Her eyes found Luke's and tears squirted. "They killed him."

Luke lowered to his knees and took her hands to place her palms together, holding them there with his own. "Calm down. Clear your head. Find your peace. You can't sense anything if your upset."

Wedge, Han, and Kayla still stood behind them in the locker room, and now Ashten and Seidrik and Rogan and Seth were at the door with concern too. Half the crew was out there wondering what had happened. They were all trying to catch glimpses through the angle of the doorway.

Her throat shook. "But what—

"But nothing," Luke said. "Find your peace."

Obedient, even in despair, Kess closed her eyes and reined in control of herself. All watched as she breathed hard and forced, grimacing behind pinched lips to raise her face and sit up with borrowed strength.

Luke let her hands slip from his but he stayed close anyway, putting a palm on her knee to keep her tethered, watching her every expression. "Reach out and find it again. Remember it. See if you can get the details of what happened."

Kess shuddered slower now, shaking in a deep breath and followed the command.

Luke closed his eyes and dropped his face to sense out too.

"Drowning." She said distantly. "He was drowning. And then. . . ."

Her eyes flashed open with a hard cough. She wrapped her forearm around her mouth and curled over in heaves for breath.

Luke opened his eyes. He put his hand on her shoulder to keep her steady. She hacked and coughed and held her head as she tried to sit up again. Her body swayed like she was dizzy. Her eyes were giant brown marbles. Her mouth opened with a stop of air . . . .

And she suddenly smiled, coughing a laugh as she began to breathe again. "Oh shit, he's pissed!"

"What?"

But she continued to cough like it was she who had been drowning, but wasn't now. Her eyes spun in their sockets, but a wry humor was growing on her face. "My brother is so pissed!" She held Luke's shoulder in front of her to keep her steady and began to breathe freely now. Her smile grew. She shook her head. "If they were trying to turn him, they just succeeded."

"What happened?"

"He thought he was drowning." She swallowed hard and recovered. "But they must've pulled him out of it. There was nothing, and then there was . . . air, and then anger."

Luke stretched his neck to look over his shoulder at Han and Wedge.

"They're torturing him," Han murmured despondently.

Luke rose to his feet and pulled her up by the hands. "Come on. Let's get you somewhere quieter."

"What fo— why?"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders to lead her out, eyeing Wedge with warning once more as he left. "So you can meditate hard and try to reach out to him. Come on."

Without a glance at any of the collected crowd that watched them, Luke guided her out by the shoulders and waved down the nearest runner.

Nik vomited into the sky. Warm black syrup splattered all over his face. He coughed and found air. He choked out some more of the crap and sucked in a big breath. His naked body cooled in its wetness on flat metal. Arms were pinned away by the wrists. Legs pinned down at the ankles. He was splayed as spread eagle as this metal bed could afford. The ceiling was a white dome lit with blinding lights.

Brightness.

Nik raged a tremendous scream of wrath.

Jakobi strolled over just inside the stretch of his vision, but Nik didn't look at him. He stared back at those blinding lights above and yelled as loud as his taxed lungs and razor throat would allow. "MY NAME IS NIKOLAI LENDRAAAAAAA!" His voice echoed against the walls long after the growl was done.

Jakobi waited.

Nik heaved fast breath, but the breath was air. His skin was cold, but he could feel cold. He could wiggle his toes. He could flex his fingers. He could remember Gina, and Ben. . . and Grandpa. . . .

He turned his eyes to huff with stiff anger at Jakobi and repeated it again to the man's face. "Nikolai!. . . . Lendra!"

Jakobi seemed to grin a little to that. He turned away and ordered the droids as he walked out. "Clean and dress his lordship, if you please. And let us hope he'll think twice about countermanding my orders next time."

A hundred hands wiped his body with cloth and yanked him off the metal bed. Shuddering in the shock of his after-panic, Nik's muscles fell flat. His fortitude liquefied.

They dressed him in a simple robe and covered his head with the blind helmet, but this time, he didn't struggle when they dragged him back to the prison suite.

He flopped back into the chair in which they forced him to sit. Fingercaps slid onto his left hand and N4 grabbed his right. He waited for the

Z-Z-Z-Z-Zap!

Nik threw up again. He shook as cloths wiped his face. He shuddered until electricity left his fingertips, but he felt better when it was over.

"Say it."

Nik panted weakly at the floor. His hands dropped as soon as they let him go. He whispered in defeat. "My name is Darth Tovecus. Peace is a. . . ." He opened his eyes to the air.

. . . there is peace.

"Uh, a lie." He swallowed and opened his eyes wider. He muttered inconsistently. "There is only Passion." He saw the light of the sun angle a polygon shine against the dark blue tapestry on the wall.

There is no ignorance. . .

He blinked. "Through Passion I gain . . . Serenity."

"What?" Jakobi snapped.

. . . there is the Force.

He knew that voice! It was her voice! His eyes turned to the sunlight coming through the far balcony windows and he remembered twin suns. "Through death I. . . I gain the Force."

Jakobi barked. "N4, get him a glass of water."

Nik turned his face up to Jakobi, mouth open, eyes understanding. He spoke the mantra that leaked into his brain, telling to Jakobi like he was correcting the man. "My name is Nikolai Lendra. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there—

N4 offered over a tall cool glass of clear water. It looked delicious. Nik took it in his fist, stared at it for a beat, then looked at Jakobi.

And grimaced his face to an angry snarl and threw it at him!

Jakobi ducked but the water splashed all over his gray uniform.

Nik leapt to his feet and lunged at the body, slamming the Grand Moff against the wall until he coughed. Gloved hands already tried to grab him from behind, but Nik was moving too fast for them to get a grip. His forearm pressed Jakobi's neck and didn't care if he crushed the man's throat while his other arm slammed a fist into the man's face, over and over and over and over and—

A hand caught his wrist and held it back. Nik struggled to pound Jakobi more. He kneed the Grand Moff in the balls and pounded downward with another blow from his left hand as they dragged him away.

Jakobi curled over and spat blood from his mouth.

Nik stepped back into the restraining hands and watched the man go down. "You want me to turn to the dark side? Fine!" Nik shouted even as he saw the voice cap come around again, and shouted louder. "But I'm going to turn to the dark side ON YOU!"

Twin needles. Razors in his throat. No voice, only whispers. But he breathed air, and he grinned sickly at Jakobi's broken mouth.

"Fucker," he whispered harshly, eyes flaring with defiance.

Jakobi snatched a stunstaff from a Red Guard, wrapped it both palms, and swung at Nik's head like his head was a baseball.

Nik passed out so fast he never felt the blow.

Kess opened her eyes.

And Luke opened his too.

They sat side by side on her squeaky bunk, facing each other. Luke sensed Nik a little, but Kess sensed him so much more. "We gotta go," she whispered.

"I know. We're going."

"We gotta go now."

"We can't go until the fleet is ready."

"They turned him. Luke, we've gotta go!" She scrambled into his lap and buried her face in his shoulder.

Luke held tight and murmured into her neck. "Soon. We're going soon. He'll hold out until then. He's strong. Find your peace." And he whispered it with the attempt to find his own.