“The whole station is ambitious. And it’s just the first of many, right? The chancellor’s got a whole network of Beacons planned, I think. I read about it.”

“That’s what they told us at the conclave,” Bell answered.

“Lina Soh and her Great Works,” Porter Engle said. “I think she’s fantastic. If there was ever a time for Beacons and relay networks and outreach, it’s now. I remember when the galaxy was just pulling itself together, a few centuries back…we couldn’t think about anything but survival, really. We should use this time of prosperity to build something meaningful for the future.”

“Do you think the Order’s outpost network will close down once the Beacons all come online?” Bell asked.

“I hope not,” Porter said, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. “This sort of life suits me just fine. Every day’s a little different, seeing what comes, helping people however they need it…not so bad.”

He signaled a servitor droid, which trundled over and began clearing the breakfast dishes. They were sitting in the outpost’s dining chamber, a comfortable, low-ceilinged room, one of eight set just off the main chamber, a tall, circular area designed around a huge Jedi Order symbol inlaid on the floor. Sleeping chambers, the kitchen, storage, the hangar, a sparring room for lightsaber training…all of it was accessible from the central zone, just as the Force touched all things equally.

“Speaking of which,” Porter went on, “what do you all have on deck for the day?”

“I’m going to take one of the Vectors to a spot down in the southern hemisphere,” Indeera said. “Some miners think they found a vein of essurtanium. I’ve never actually seen it before—supposed to have really rare properties, maybe even a little Force-reactive. I was hoping to buy a sample, bring it back here so I could study it.”

“Take Bell with you,” Loden said.

“What, so she can throw me out of the cockpit?” Bell said.

“You are very wise, my Padawan,” Loden said.

“Well, I’m going to wash the dishes,” Porter said. “What about you, Loden?”

“A claim to the north is having trouble with a nest of chromants. I thought I’d go give them a hand.”

“Can’t they just bring in an extermination unit?” Indeera asked.

“Probably,” Loden said, “But maybe I want to fight a hundred chromants.”

Bell shook his head. He also wanted to fight a hundred chromants, but he knew better than to ask. He was jumping out of another Vector, and that was that.

A low whistle from the central chamber, and all four Jedi turned their heads toward the sound—the signal for an incoming transmission on the outpost’s emergency comm system. Loden reached out and tapped a control set into the tabletop, bringing the transmission into the room. A voice sounded, quiet, filled with tension.