"Khedryn Faal?" asked Himher.

He discarded his two high cards and decided to shoot low. Himher skimmed two cards across the table. Khedryn eyed them-Balance and the Evil One-and it took a few moments for their value to register. He did the math in his head again and again.

Negative twenty-three.

"Reegas," Himher said.

"Call it," Reegas said, and sat back in his seat.

Khedryn tried to answer Reegas's smugness with his own. He savored the moment, flipped his cards. "Negative twenty-three."

Gasps and applause broke out in the crowd. Only a positive twenty-three could beat him.

Reegas's face fell. He stared at Khedryn's cards a moment, his neck blotchy, before flipping his own.

"Twenty-three. To the right side of zero."

More applause.

"What?" Khedryn asked, staring at the cards, too stunned to say anything worthwhile. "What?"

Earsh's laughter was like a wood rasp on Khedryn's nerves. Flaygin just shook his head and started counting his remaining credits.

"The hand goes to Reegas," Himher said, and the room erupted into cheers, boos, and applause, all of which swallowed Khedryn's curses.

Reegas waited for the hubbub to quiet before collecting his winnings. Khedryn's mind raced. By the time the sausages of Reegas's fingers had pulled over his hoard, Khedryn had his angle.

To Reegas, he said, "I guess it'll take you a few days to hire a salvage crew and get them off to the site."

"I guess it will," Reegas said. "You need work?"

"From you? No. I was just thinking that that timetable means Marr and I will have to get out there quick. Don't worry, though. I'll leave you enough to at least pay for the fuel you burn getting there."

The room went completely silent. Reegas stared at him, face red, body tense. The Weequay put hands to blasters, waiting on the order from their boss. Jaden Korr loomed behind them, his face the only one in the room showing neither shock nor concern.

"Huh?" Earsh said, looking from Khedryn to Reegas and back again.

"Surely you did not think I was offering exclusive rights, did you?" Khedryn said to Reegas, waving a hand as if the very notion were absurd. "Himher, did I say exclusive?"

"Exclusivity was not mentioned in the accord," the droid said.

Reegas's mouth opened and closed a few times. Hate swam in the rage-filled pools of his eyes.

A few chuckles made their way through the audience, and Khedryn thought he might have pushed just enough for something to give. He had embarrassed Reegas badly.

The hate lingered for only a moment more in Reegas's face before he turned expressionless, as if a light had been turned off.

"Quite right. Exclusivity was not mentioned. Double or naught for exclusive rights, then?"

Khedryn did not hesitate. He leaned forward in his seat. "Deal, Himher."

The crowd shouted and cheered as the cards danced over the table, hand after hand, with neither one willing to call. Discard, deal anew. The press of bodies in the room made it hotter than usual. Khedryn took enormous satisfaction in watching Reegas daub his sweat-slicked face with a kerchief.

As Himher gathered the discards and distributed another, hand, Khedryn caught sight of Jaden Korr, his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep on his feet.

The cards hit the table. Khedryn examined them, saw twenty-three, and tried to keep it out of his eyes. It was Reegas's turn to call or pass.

Reegas eyed his own cards, sweated, eyed his cards again.

"Call or pass, Reegas," said Himher.

"Call," Reegas said, and flipped his cards. "Negative twenty-two."

Khedryn let him sit a moment with uncertainty, then flipped his own. "Twenty-three. To the good side of zero."

The crowd erupted and Earsh jumped from his chair, bumping the table, sending credits flying. "He cheated! You are a cheating nerf! That Cerean said something to him when he came over here. I saw it."

Khedryn stood, twitchy, his legs stiff from being so long in the chair. "A lie. I don't cheat, boy. And neither does Marr."

Marr appeared at his side, solid, reassuring.

Reegas stared ice at Khedryn. "Let's talk about this somewhere more private."

"I don't think so," Khedryn said, taking a step back.

"I am not asking," Reegas said, and signaled his bodyguards with a wave of his hand. They pulled their blasters and advanced.

Khedryn and Marr pulled theirs, and Khedryn kicked over the table as Earsh drew his weapon. Credits and the data crystal flew across the room. People started to scream, to surge toward the exit, and above the hullabaloo Khedryn heard a sound he had not heard in decades-the hum and sizzle of a lightsaber.

The Weequay spun around when they heard Jaden ignite his lightsaber, their eyes wide in the nest of their wrinkled, leathery skin. Jaden was on them before they could aim their blasters, and a downward slash, spin, and backslash left both of them holding only a smoking half of a weapon. The crowd milled in panic. Blasterfire from near the sabacc table sounded above the screams and shouts.

Jaden cursed, kicked one of the Weequay in the chest-he felt the armor underneath his clothing-and bounded through the churn for Khedryn and Marr.

Reegas shouted above the tumult, his voice as high pitched as a siren. "I want Khedryn Faal! Bring him to me!"

Jaden spotted Khedryn and Marr retreating toward the exit in a crouch. The sabacc player called Earsh fired his blaster at Khedryn. It missed wildly, but put a smoking black hole in the back of one of the dancing girls.

More screams, more panicked flight.

Neither Khedryn nor Marr returned Earsh's fire, though both held blasters. Perhaps they feared hitting an innocent.

Earsh fired again, nicked Marr's shoulder. The impact spun the Cerean around and knocked him to the floor. Khedryn grabbed him by his good arm and tried to heave him up. Earsh aimed another shot.

Jaden fell into the Force, used it to augment an upward leap, flipped, landed in front of Earsh, and drove his lightsaber right between Earsh's surprised eyes, putting a smoking tunnel through his skull.

Jaden was already crossing lines he had hoped not to approach.

One of the cowering females nearby screamed as Earsh's body hit the floor, the hole in his forehead a third eye staring accusations at Jaden. Even Reegas stopped and stared in wide-eyed wonder at Jaden and his lightsaber.

Jaden leapt into a Force-augmented backflip, nearly hit the ceiling, cleared half the room, and landed in front of Khedryn and Marr. Up close, he sensed a faint Force sensitivity in Marr. He wondered how he had missed it earlier.

"Stay behind me," he said.

"I think we will," Khedryn said, and finally got Marr to his feet.

The Weequay bodyguards must have carried extra weapons, for they appeared out of the churn near Reegas, each wielding a blaster in each hand. Their presence seemed to renew Reegas's confidence.

"Kill them all!" Reegas shouted, his fat jiggling with rage.

The Weequay fired again and again. Jaden's lightsaber was a humming blur of green, deflecting shot after shot. He angled the deflected shots to hit the ceiling and it soon looked like the cratered surface of a moon. He feared it might collapse before everyone cleared the room.

"This way," Jaden said, and maneuvered Khedryn and Marr toward the wall.

With most of the spectators out and presented at last with a clear field of fire, Khedryn and Marr both finally answered with their own blasters. Khedryn hit one of the Weequay in the chest but the bodyguard-as Jaden had suspected-wore blaster-resistant armor under his clothing. The impact staggered him but barely put a pause in his fire.