He meant to sign off, to let the Jedi go about their mission, but something in the millennia-old phrase made him pause. Us all.

Like everyone caught in the attack, the Jedi had been cut off from one another to fight alone, but not anymore.

“All Jedi,” he said quickly, before the others could call off. “Are you still there? I have an idea.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

The Unity Arc

Not for the first time, Stellan wished that Avar were here. Her unique talents would have helped so much. There would have been no need for comms at all. He dreaded to think how much bloodshed could’ve been avoided.

But what he did have was some of the finest Jedi he had ever served with, and others whom he knew were about to prove their mettle. He had faith in them. He had faith in the Force.

“We need to lift the cloud …” So far so blindingly obvious. “Each of us can push back the fog to a limited degree …”

“But together we can clear the smoke completely.”

Stellan smiled, even though his bruised face hurt like the blazes. Bell was already ahead of him. That Padawan was good.

“More unified meditation?” asked Stokes over the comm.

“Maybe not even that coordinated. My old Master used to tell me to keep things simple …”

“She was a wise woman,” Porter Engle grunted, the sound of his humming lightsaber buzzing over the connection. Was the Ikkrukki in the middle of a fight?

“If we call on the Force together, at exactly the same time …”

Buckets of Blood’s gruff voice came over the comm. “Yeah, yeah, we get it. What are we waiting for?”

“I need to know everyone is on board,” he told Buck, understanding the Chagrian’s impatience.

All at once the various Jedi signaled that they were.

“Good. On three, push toward the lake. One … Two …”

“Three,” they all said in unison.

Elzar pushed out with the Force, feeling his fellow Jedi doing the same, some near, some far. The sensation was dizzying, just as it had been when he’d joined Avar’s chorus above Hetzal Prime all those months ago. Together they could achieve anything. He had known it before, but it was confirmed again. The war-cloud rolled away as if blown by a great wind, and it didn’t stop, the other Jedi pushing out from where they stood, the fog lifting all across the park and out into the city. All at once they could see, as could the thousands of scared survivors.

As could the enemy.

“Lourna, what’s happening?”

Pan sat forward in his command lounger, peering at the screens. What was the damn woman doing down there? It was bad enough that communications on the planet had been restored, but now the war-cloud was dissipating in front of his eyes.

“Lourna,” he yelled into his comm. “Can you hear me? Are you there?”