Stellan stood aside to let the young man in. Kip Soh ran to his mother and threw his arms around her, Lina Soh hugging him back.

Stellan watched them as the doors slid back, looking away sharply as he realized that Elzar was studying him.

“Well, that was … intense,” his friend finally said.

“That’s one word for it.”

“You didn’t give her an answer.”

“No … I didn’t.”

Elzar crossed his arms. “So … what’s it to be? I mean, if the Supreme Huntress of the Togrutas can stand up against her own government for the safety of the galaxy …”

Stellan raised a single eyebrow. “Have you finished?”

“Probably. Possibly. Maybe not.”

Stellan turned and marched from the medical wing. “Well, maybe you should, because we have work to do.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Lonisa City Spaceport

It was fair to say that the job had not gone as expected. Ty Yorrick had spent the best part of a decade trying to avoid Jedi entanglement. The nearest she’d come to the Order in recent years had been that business on Blarrum three months ago, and yet in the space of a couple of days she’d survived a lightsaber duel with a member of the High Council, shared prison time with an errant Padawan, and ridden into battle with a Jedi Master on the back of a sanval, all three lizards now safely back in a temporary enclosure at the zoo. One thing was certain, KL-03 would never believe any of this, if Ty ever saw the fussy droid again. The problem was getting back to her and the ship. The original plan was for Mantessa to drop Ty back when the gig was over, but now Mantessa was dead and the inventor’s ship was in pieces, along with just about every other ship in Valo’s spaceport.

The Nihil had done a number on every cruiser and transport, raiding the majority and scuppering the rest. The Dynamo was no different.

“No, no, no, no,” Klerin moaned as they stood in the once-pristine ship. Ty had found Mantessa’s daughter picking through its wrecked hold, the terminals smashed, cables strewn everywhere. In all honesty, Ty was surprised that the reactor hadn’t blown. There was no way the ship would ever fly again.

“I guess we should get ourselves on a list.”

Klerin looked at her in puzzlement.

“List?”

“For those needing transport. The Republic is putting on a number of Longbeams, although I can’t see us jumping to the front of the queue anytime soon.”

“Can’t your friends help?”

“My friends?”

“The Jedi!”