“The Republic is trying to figure out where the Emergences will happen, too, and they’ll be there right away after they happen, so use your best people,” he said. “You’ll want to get in and get out. Maybe you find a disaster site and loot it. Maybe you ransom off the information about where an Emergence will happen…but do it anonymously, with the funds going to our dark accounts. My point is, be subtle. If the Republic figures out that someone knows where the Emergences are happening, it could lead them right back to us. We don’t need that kind of heat.”

He leaned forward.

“That all make sense?”

The Tempest Runners nodded, and Marchion Ro cut the connection. He thought for a moment. It was all so clear now. So clear. He pressed a control on the armrest of his captain’s chair.

“Get the old lady her dinner,” he said.

Chapter Twenty-five

A clang, and the vehicle shuddered. Bell heard Indeera curse under her breath, but they didn’t slow down. If anything, they moved faster, the engine’s roar increasing in pitch.

Ember stirred at Bell’s side, anxious, and he stroked the hound’s pelt, feeling the temperature variations across the creature’s coloration.

“It’s all right, girl,” Bell said. “Indeera just bumped into something. We’re fine.”

They were riding in another vehicle custom-designed by Valkeri Enterprises for the Jedi—a Vanguard, the land-based equivalent to the Vector. It was also sometimes called a V-Wheel, even though the thing didn’t always use its wheels to get around. Every Jedi outpost had at least one as part of its standard kit, and the machine was engineered to operate in all of the many planetary environments in which those stations were situated. It could operate as a wheeled or tracked ground transport, or a repulsorlift speeder for ground too rugged for even tank treads. A Vanguard even had limited utility as an amphibious or even submersible vehicle, being able to seal itself off entirely as needed. It could do everything but fly, and that came in handy on Elphrona, where the planet’s strong magnetic fields made certain regions utterly inhospitable to flying craft.

The overall aesthetic was analogous to the Vectors—smooth, sleek lines, with curves and straight edges integrated into an appealingly geometric whole. Behind the seats in the driver’s cabin—currently occupied by Indeera Stokes and Loden Greatstorm—was a large, multipurpose passenger area, with space to store any gear that a mission might require. Vanguards were more rugged than Vectors, but were built with many of the same Jedi-related features as their flying cousins. The weapons systems required a lightsaber key, and many of the controls were mechanical in nature, so as to be operated—in an emergency—via an application of the Force rather than through electronics.