“The Nihil aren’t hooked up to the station itself yet,” Leox mused. “Just Hague and Nan. The ion trails indicate they’ve been here for a few hours at least. Right now, they’re just orbiting.”

“Why haven’t they docked?” Affie asked.

Leox shrugged. “My guess is they’ve seen readings like these.” He tapped the console. Only then did Affie spy the readings that suggested more gigantic solar flares might be coming. Not immediately…but too soon for comfort. Leox continued, “Most likely the Nihil want to stay flexible. Leave their options open in case they need to skedaddle.”

Cohmac Vitus folded his hands together. “That suggests the Nihil either do not have top-of-the-line sensors that would allow them to be more precise about solar flares, or that their docking procedure takes more time than most ships would. It would be excellent if we could discover which—though, of course, that is not our priority at this time.”

The Jedi had remained calm enough to think through the fuller implications of the Nihil’s actions. Affie was unwillingly impressed.

As the Nihil ship continued its slow arc around the Amaxine station, codes started rolling from the navigational station. Leox grinned. “Aw, yeah. I see what you’re thinking, Geode. Now that’s a plan.”

Affie got it, too, but she couldn’t be as enthusiastic. “This is insanely dangerous.”

“Yeah,” Leox said. “But it’s gonna be cool as hell.”

They wouldn’t be able to use their engines; if they powered them up enough to accelerate as fast as they’d need to, the Nihil would spot the energy surge in an instant. But if they expelled some spare fuel, that would push the ship forward to the Amaxine station. The speed would be adequate—if and only if they managed the maneuver with split-second timing.

With anyone else but Leox and Geode, Affie would’ve assumed this tactic was a death sentence. As it was, she strapped on her safety harness and got ready.

Once the Nihil ship orbited to the far side of the Amaxine station, both spacecraft were briefly invisible to each other. The Vessel dropped its tether, maneuvered at half power around the asteroid and—

“Light her up,” Leox said.

Affie hit the emergency fuel eject. Instantly the Vessel zoomed forward. Geode’s coordinates kept them aimed squarely at their target. Still, even knowing exactly what was happening, Affie couldn’t help holding her breath.

At the last instant before collision would’ve become inevitable, Leox fired the engines just enough to work against the remaining propulsion of their fuel dump. That brought the ship to a near standstill, turning the slightest bit until—

“There,” he murmured. “We’re in orbit, just like the Nihil. Same speed. We can’t see them, but they can’t see us, which is the main thing.”