But there had been no stopping the Council member when the first shot had been fired. Stellan ran for the edge of the roof, using the Force to leap farther than was humanly possible, rolling through the window to spring up, his own lightsaber already blazing.

The senator was on the floor, blaster in hand, a Tholothian with an ignited lightsaber looming over him. Stellan took in the others in the room: Toon’s hulking “secretary” slumped against a wall and a Kuranu woman shielding what he assumed was the recainium device.

“Drop the weapon,” he instructed the Tholothian.

She stood her ground, her blade buzzing menacingly.

“Only if you do the same.”

He almost laughed. Was she really calling him out?

“This is your last warning.”

For a second she looked as though she was going to comply before Elzar and Bell leapt in behind him, their hands going for their own sabers.

The Tholothian’s response was immediate. She swept up her free hand, the fallen Orzrelanso crying out as he was plucked from the floor and crashed into Elzar and Bell, Elzar’s lightsaber spinning from his grip. Then she went for Stellan, her purple blade sweeping in from the side. He parried the blow, going on the counterattack, but she was ready for him. Their blades clashed over and over, Stellan all too aware of their relatively cramped surroundings.

“Protect the senator,” he ordered Bell. Elzar dived between the flashing sabers, risking his head to scoop up his hilt and roll back up to his feet in front of the Kuranu woman who suddenly found herself facing a plasma blade of her own.

“What does that do?” Elzar demanded, pointing at the machine, but the woman actually chuckled.

“You’ll see.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

All the time, the Tholothian stayed on the offensive. Everything about her screamed Jedi, from the way she held her lightsaber to the raw talent of her form, although the snarl on her lips and frustration he felt at her core spoke of a life without discipline, far from the light. Was she dark side? No, they would have sensed that the moment they’d seen her, but if she had been trained, she had certainly veered from the path.

Nothing proved this more than the moment when they found themselves in deadlock, Stellan’s blade crossed against hers.

“Submit,” he demanded, glaring at her across the hissing plasma. In response she pulled back her head and clapped her metal skullcap hard across the bridge of his nose. He went down hard, dazed, only dimly aware of Bell coming to his aid.