He looked as if he wanted to embrace her, but she knew he would not take the liberty without her giving him a sign that it was all right.

She gave him no such sign. She did not want relief from her grief, her pain. She simply wanted to pass it on to Malgus somehow.

“Keep a copy of that footage, Tee-seven,” she said. “Bring it with you.”

The droid beeped an affirmative.

They walked back through the Works and to the surface in silence. By the time they returned to their speeder, Aryn had rebuilt the walls around her emotions. She managed the grief, endured the pain, but put it within reach, so she could call on it when she needed it.

She and Zeerid lifted T7 onto the droid mount at the rear of the speeder.

“I need to get up to that cruiser,” she said.

Zeerid activated the magnetic clamp to hold T7 in place. “You can’t attack a cruiser, Aryn.”

“I don’t want to attack it. I just want to get aboard it.”

“And face him. Darth Malgus.”

“And face him,” she affirmed with a nod.

“And how do you think that plays out if you get aboard? Are you just going to walk through all those Imperial troops? Think he’ll just let you through and meet you in honorable combat?”

She did not like Zeerid’s tone. “I’ll bring the cruiser down. With him on it.”

“And you on it.”

She stuck out her chin. “If that’s what it takes.”

He slapped a hand in frustration on T7’s body. The droid beeped in irritation.

“Aryn, you’ve been watching the HoloNet too much. It won’t work like that. You’ll get captured, tortured, killed. He’s a Sith. They flew a ship into the Temple, killed dozens of Jedi, bombed Coruscant. Come on. Think!”

“I have. And I have to do this.”

He must have seen the resolve in her eyes. He swallowed, looked past her, as if gathering his thoughts, then back at her.

“You said you would help me get offplanet.”

“I know,” she said.

“I can’t follow you to the cruiser. I have a daughter, Aryn. I just want to get off the planet and get back to her before The Exchange or anyone else gets to her.”

The heat went out of her in a rush. “You’ve done more than enough, Zeerid. I wouldn’t let you come even if you volunteered.”

They both stared at each other a long time, something unsaid hanging in the air between them. T7’s head rotated from Zeerid to Aryn and back to Zeerid.

“You don’t need to face him,” he said to her.