“Klerin, please,” the bearded one said, grabbing her arm to stop her.

The Kuranu shrugged him off. “No, Master Gios. The stakes are too high. If the Nihil realize what they have—”

“What we have is victory,” Amarant cackled. “Look at you, Master Gios. Your face bashed in, your precious robes covered in blood.”

That got a reaction. Not from Gios, but the one they’d called Mann. The Jedi looked like he was seething where he stood. Good, Amarant wanted him to squirm. Amarant wanted him to get angry. Angry people made mistakes. Angry people got dead.

“Silence,” Mann said, and Amarant knew he had him.

“Why should I? You lost, Jedi, you just don’t realize it yet. But you will, when you remember what we did. When you remember how many people died at the hands of the Storm.”

“Silence!”

Amarant cried out as he was thrown back into a column with such force that the stone cracked and the binders around his wrists snapped open. Not that he could escape. He couldn’t even breathe. It felt like a fist closing around his windpipe, throttling the life from him.

Mann stepped forward, a hand raised in front of him, the fingers curled into a claw.

“Take that back,” he spat. “Take it all back.”

All Amarant could do was choke.

“Elzar, please!” Gios shouted, running forward to grab the maniac’s arm. Mann’s other hand shot up and Gios was sent flying as if he’d been backhanded by a Gamorrean. Captain Snat raised his blaster, but it was yanked from his hands and tossed aside, the Tholothian’s lightsaber going the same way. The woman dived forward only for her head to snap violently to the right. She went down and never got up.

Only the Kuranu remained on her feet, a shaking hand raised to the furious Jedi.

“Please. Don’t kill him,” she begged. “We need to know where to find the Nihil.”

Behind them, Snat sneered. “She’s right, Mann. Do this and I’ll report you to the Jedi Council. You’ll never wear those robes agai—”

An invisible hand punched the Neimoidian in the chest, knocking him back.

“Not bad,” Amarant wheezed. “You’d make a good Nihil.”

The pressure on his throat increased.

“Tell me the location of the Nihil base,” Mann hissed, drool dropping from his bottom lip. “Tell me now or I’ll snap your neck.”

Finally the Kuranu moved, slamming her fists against the Jedi. “Stop it! If you kill him we’ll never be able to retrieve the weapon.” Mann raised a hand, not to push her back, but to protect his face.