Sheekla is injured," Shappa told him. "The medics are seeing to her. Gann is in shock."

Obi-Wan quickly stripped off the ceremonial robe. Underneath he had worn his more familiar tunic. The large chip of rock had punched him hard, bruising a nerve center and scrambling his bodily control, but had not penetrated deeply. The pain was intense but no problem for a Jedi Knight. He removed the tunic, took a long bandage from Shappa, and wrapped it around his midriff. Then he slipped back into the tunic. The architect held up the lightsaber, and Obi-Wan lifted it from his hand.

Gann stumbled across the platform, face racked with confu sion. "What are we to do? The Magister must rule on this. Who will order activation of the defenses? Perhaps it is time. We must flee!"

Shappa pushed him gently aside. "The leadership seems to devolve upon me, now," Shappa told Obi-Wan. "How may I help you, Jedi?"

"I need a transport. A spacecraft, if possible," Obi-Wan said. "To follow them."

"You shall have my ship," Shappa said. "I flew her here from Middle Distance. I will fly you myself."

"What about the defense of the planet?" Gann insisted, fingers wrenching at the sky.

"That is the Magister's concern," Shappa shot back. "You've worked with his group for so long. . Everything is in place, is it not?"

"They brought the invaders here!" Gann shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Obi-Wan.

"They're Jedi," Shappa said. "They would do no such thing. Would you?" He glanced at Obi-Wan.

"Never knowingly," Obi-Wan said.

Shappa's face was dark with angry blood. "Not the first time we've fended off invaders. And probably not the last. We'll get your boy back. . and then, who knows what will be done?"

Shappa whistled sharply. His Sekotan ship rose beyond the edge of the platform, wheeled about gracefully, and dropped her landing gear. Shappa went aboard first, and Obi-Wan followed.

Shappa laid his hand on the instrument panel. The panel's living surface closed around his remaining fingers. "They've flown south," he said. The ship began to rise, and the hatch closed silently. "They're already a hundred kilometers away. We'll have a difficult time catching up with them, especially if they go into space. But first, they'll have to find fuel, or they'll never make it to orbit."

"Where else can they get fuel?" Obi-Wan asked impatiently.

"Middle Distance. But I doubt they will go there. . it's very well defended and on alert. They will have to return to Far Distance, or fly even farther north, to the polar plateau. Or to the Magister's mountain in the south." Shappa glanced at Obi-Wan. "Perhaps it's time we were completely open with each other.There is something special about the boy. Can you tell me what it is?"

Obi-Wan trusted Shappa. The architect seemed more sensible than any of the other Ferroans, and perhaps more in tune with the ways of the Force.

We need another ally.

Obi-Wan understood the inner voice now. As he had suspected, though not as he had hoped, it was not Qui-Gon. It was his Master's teachings that lingered, the memory of countless days and weeks of patient training, the voice of so many years together.

There was no spirit. Qui-Gon had not vanished upon dying. He was truly dead.

"First, I'll ask our ship in the north to join us. Charza Kwinn can help."

"And I'll instruct our people to let it go. Now. . tell me, please. Why are you here?"

"A year ago, our Temple sent a Jedi Knight named Vergere to Zonama Sekot."

"Yes. I was going to design her ship."

"What happened to her?"

"You tell first."

"We came here to buy a ship from you, and to find out what happened to Vergere."

Shappa chuckled grimly. "It's all tangled, isn't it? She's gone."

"Where did she go?"

"She left with the Far Outsiders."

"Who are they?"

"We still do not know for sure. They arrived two years before Vergere. They lurked outside our system, sending in exploratory ships. We thought they might be customers who stumbled upon us without a guide or factor. But they were very strange. . They knew nothing of our politics, our economics, not to mention simple manners.

"And very curious they were about what we had done on Zonama Sekot. They, too, seemed to build all their ships and goods from living matter. We managed to communicate, a little. The Magister spoke with their ambassadors, and quickly learned that they wanted all of our secrets. They wanted complete control of Zonama Sekot. We were naive at first, but in time, we realized they were a threat, and began our defensive preparations. When we refused to submit, they were, shall we say, offended.

"Vergere arrived with money for a ship-old Republic aurodiums in ingot form, just like you. When the situation became tense, she volunteered her expertise. She acted on behalf of the Magister and tried to reason with the Far Outsiders. At first, they refused to listen to reason. Did you see the scars around the equator?"

Obi-Wan nodded.

"Their weapons were powerful." Shappa listened to his ship for a moment, then said, "The boy is alive. He is talking with the being who hijacked your ship."

Obi-Wan felt a sudden shudder of relief. He would have known if Anakin had died or been injured, but even so… "You can hear them?"

"Of course. We install trackers on all of our ships. I shouldn't tell anyone this. . But I have a feeling it isn't going to matter much now. I have no idea how the Magister will react to this second attack."

"What can he do?" Obi-Wan asked. "Your planet is almost defenseless."

Shappa smiled. "And you a Jedi! How little you know. Did the boy suspect more?"

"He said the planet's living things form a symbiotic unity. I could feel that myself."

Shappa smiled. "That is just the beginning. Believe me, Jedi, we are not weak. We defended ourselves very ably. We drove off the Far Outsiders. Perhaps Vergere did some convincing of her own, I do not know. But we sent them packing."

Obi-Wan could hardly believe this. "With what?"

"That would be telling, wouldn't it?" Shappa said. He cocked his head to one side, listening. "There are large ships dropping from deep space. I think Zonama Sekot is about to be invaded. . again. And I cannot predict how the Magister will react. We are so much stronger now than we were a year ago."