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Back Light of the Jedi
Chapters (53)
  1. Cover
  2. Light of the Jedi
  3. Part One
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Interlude
  23. Part Two
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-one
  27. Chapter Twenty-two
  28. Chapter Twenty-three
  29. Chapter Twenty-four
  30. Chapter Twenty-five
  31. Chapter Twenty-six
  32. Chapter Twenty-seven
  33. Chapter Twenty-eight
  34. Chapter Twenty-nine
  35. Chapter Thirty
  36. Chapter Thirty-one
  37. Chapter Thirty-two
  38. Chapter Thirty-three
  39. Chapter Thirty-four
  40. Chapter Thirty-five
  41. Interlude
  42. Part Three
  43. Chapter Thirty-six
  44. Chapter Thirty-seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-one
  49. Chapter Forty-two
  50. Chapter Forty-three
  51. Chapter Forty-four
  52. Epilogue
  53. Acknowledgments

“The chancellor said we could use every resource, didn’t she?” Avar said.

“Yes, but tens of thousands of navidroids…that’s…hmm,” Secretary Lorillia said, pursing his lips, thinking through the problem. “Many of those models are built directly into the ships they work with. Those could get here fairly quickly, but some would have to be…hmm. The Republic doesn’t have that many, but perhaps we could acquire them from manufacturers…hmm.”

“You should get started,” Elzar said. “The sooner we begin, the sooner we might be able to get ahead of these Emergences. We can save lives and, ideally, find the flight recorder.”

Avar spoke.

“I’ve been thinking about something the chancellor said, too. There’s at least some chance this isn’t a onetime problem—that there’s something wrong with hyperspace on a larger scale. Do we have any idea how we might approach that? I’m not sure I even know where to begin.”

“If you want to know about hyperspace, I have the people you should talk to,” Senator Noor said. “They don’t live out here anymore—they moved to the Mid Rim when the family struck it rich—but I can make the introduction.”

“Who?” Elzar said.

“The San Tekka clan.”

“I know that name…the prospectors?”

“They prefer the term explorers. They’re an odd bunch, but no one knows more about hyperspace than they do. If there’s something wrong, they’ll probably be able to help.”

“All right,” Avar said. “Secretary Lorillia, will you work on the navidroid issue with Keven Tarr? Elzar and I will meet with the San Tekkas to see if we can learn anything. Let’s all stay in touch. As the senator pointed out…”

She looked again at what was once the Legacy Run.

“…we’re running out of time.”

Chapter Twenty-one

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE NO-SPACE.

“Who are we?” Pan Eyta roared, his already deep voice bellowing out of his huge chest, amplified and distorted by the mask he wore, which was itself a distorted version of his native Dowutin face, with massive, heavy brows and horns sprouting from its chin. His words crashed out across the sea of faces staring up at him and the others at his table. Most in the crowd wore masks of their own, of many designs but one purpose. A few thousand people, from many worlds across the galaxy, unified by a desire to take and kill and eat.

“THE NIHIL!” came the response, a thunderclap rolling back at him.