She looked around the miserable lair with fresh eyes. Before, she’d only been searching for a means of escape (none) or the weapons that would likely be used for her execution (blasters). This time, Thandeka looked for communications equipment. Nothing in there would broadcast a signal offworld, or even to the surface. But if the Jedi had come close enough to their location, then maybe she could reach them.

One of the handheld comm devices used by the Lasat’s guards sat atop a nearby crate. Thandeka nodded toward it. Cassel stared at her in consternation, but then his jaw dropped as he caught on.

She glanced back at their captor. Isamer was still gulping down his food, oblivious to anything else. They had a brief chance.

Together she and Cassel wriggled a few centimeters to the left, just far enough for her toes to touch that crate. Thandeka thumped it as hard as she could. The comlink tumbled down, landing on the soft edge of her robe, which muffled the sound of its fall. (Not that Isamer was likely to hear it over his growling and smacking.) Using her foot, she pulled the comm unit back toward them.

Cassel and Thandeka’s eyes met in shared glee. Still, getting the comm unit was one thing—effectively using it was another.

The cuffs on her hands made it difficult to grab the comm unit, but she managed it. There was no question of bringing it to her mouth so she might whisper a message; anything she could say loudly enough to be heard at that distance would immediately alert Isamer.

Different kinds of messages could be sent over comms, though, not just voices. Various codes and signals—none of which Thandeka knew—but her message didn’t need to make sense. She only needed the Jedi to detect something, anything, coming from their location.

With her thumb, Thandeka hit a switch, closed her eyes, and thought, They say the Jedi can do anything.

We shall see.

Orla’s comlink began to vibrate against her hip. Confused, she picked it up and saw no message, heard no words. Signal bursts were sometimes used to send codes, but this was just one long burst—static, basically.

Still, it was being sent from very close by, closer than any ship could possibly be.

The kidnappers would communicate with each other intelligibly, Orla reasoned. So this is either a malfunction, or a botched attempt at reaching us.

Either way, it had given her a means of tracing the signal’s location.

Relief washed through Orla. She hated nothing so much as the feeling of being trapped, and wandering around in that maze had felt too much like imprisonment.

But now they could escape.

Chapter Twenty-One

Keeping both lightsabers crossed in front of him, Reath began backing toward the transport pod. With his shoulder he was able to nudge Dez along, but not quickly.