A dark green, shot with glints the color of flames. Dooku's mind lurched.

The pirate made a half turn to the left and swung out in a wide arc.

Dooku moved in an instinct so old it was automatic. He stepped away to avoid a blow that did not come. Lorian.

Did he hear a chuckle from underneath the helmet? Dooku wasn't sure.

But Lorian took advantage of that split second of hesitation, as he always had been able to, and jumped backward into the ship. The ramp closed rapidly, spilling Dooku onto the floor. He landed next to Qui-Gon and together they watched the ship roar out of the bay doors.

I will not think of this now, Dooku told himself. If I think of Lorian, I will lose control.

The ship was dying. Eero could be dead. The first thing to do was check on him. They ran back to the safe room, where he was struggling to rise.

"Lay back," Qui-Gon said gently. He folded a cloak and placed it beneath Eero's head.

Eero's eyes fluttered. "The Senator?"

"Gone," Dooku said.

"We have to go after them," Eero said, trying to get to his feet.

"We have more immediate problems," Dooku said. "The ship is falling apart. And you don't look so well yourself."

"I'm fine," Eero said. He stood quickly, then immediately crashed to the floor.

"Obviously," Dooku said dryly. "We'll send someone for you. In the meantime, I have a feeling the pilot needs our help."

They could feel the cruiser shudder and list to one side as they ran to the cockpit. The pilot was feverishly flipping switches. "I've got the maintenance droid working on the electrical systems, but the sublight is going."

"Where's the nearest port?" Dooku asked, striding to stand behind the pilot's seat.

"I'll check," Qui-Gon offered, moving to the onboard computer. In only a few seconds, he called out, "Voltare spaceport." He read out the coordinates. "Master, I can try to work on the sublight mainframe control."

"Do it." Dooku had no patience for the details of technology. He had already recognized that his apprentice was better at repairs than he.

"What can I do?" the pilot asked, his eyes darting nervously to the controls.

"Just keep us flying," Dooku said.

Qui-Gon released a control panel in the floor and jumped down to work on the system controls. "I think I can fuse it," he called. "If we don't push the engines, we might be able to make it."

"Push them? I'll baby them," the pilot muttered.

Qui-Gon vaulted out of the chamber and switched places with the co-pilot. "I'll keep my eye on the warning lights. You just fly," he told the pilot.

With the white-knuckled pilot gripping the controls and the steady presence of Qui-Gon in the co-pilot's chair, the ship finally limped into the Voltare spaceport.

Eero was rushed to the med clinic. The other passengers and the pilot headed for the spaceport cantina.

Dooku and Qui-Gon sat in the cockpit. Qui-Gon kept a respectful silence, realizing that his Master needed time to think.

At last, Dooku had a chance to consider what he knew.

Lorian. How could he fall so low? Once a bright Padawan, now a space pirate, preying on Senators he had once been trained to protect.

Lorian still had Force abilities, which explained the split-second timing of his laser cannon attack. It wasn't as though Dooku could have guessed, but he should have been more alert.

Enough. Jedi did not waste time on what they should have done.

What now? A momentary flame of fury burst in Dooku as he thought of his old friend on his ship, laughing at how he'd outmaneuvered him.

He controlled it. Anger was a waste of time. Action was what he needed.

Because Lorian could not win.

"We should contact the Jedi Council," Qui-Gon said.

Of course they should contact the Council. That was standard procedure. But if they contacted the Council, Dooku would have to tell them that he had no doubt that Lorian Nod was now a space pirate, and had kidnapped Senator Blix Annon right under his nose. That was something that Dooku could not do.

The Council didn't have to know yet, anyway. What would they do?

Merely tell him to proceed. They wouldn't send another Jedi team at this stage. They would trust that Dooku and Qui-Gon could handle it.

"Master?"

"Yes, Padawan," Dooku said. "We will contact the Jedi Council. All in good time." What he needed to do was find the Senator before anyone knew he was missing. "But it would be better to contact them when we know where we are going. When it comes to a kidnapping, speed is the most important factor. We are in a position to find the Senator. We must act quickly."

Dooku remembered from the data file that the pirate usually waited twenty-four hours before releasing his ransom demands.

His comlink signaled, and he saw that Yoda was trying to contact him.

He placed the comlink back in his utility belt. "We should maintain comlink silence from now on," he told Qui-Gon. "All of our energies need to be focused on our search."

Qui-Gon nodded, his face showing nothing of what he felt. If he thought it was odd to maintain comlink silence, he wouldn't utter a word or even twitch an eyebrow.

"What's our first step, Master?" he asked. "Until we get a ransom demand, we don't have a place to start."

"There is always a place to start. Go over the battle in your mind, Qui-Gon. If you examine every detail, you will find at least one clue to follow. Try to remember anything that seemed out of order or doesn't make sense."

Dooku waited, watching his Padawan. Qui-Gon's gaze was remote. He could tell that his Padawan was looking out at the busy spaceport without seeing it. He was reliving the battle. Dooku already knew what his first step would be. But telling Qui-Gon would not help his Padawan learn. Qui-Gon had an excellent mind. He could analyze data rapidly and organize it to reach a conclusion.

Dooku had to wait less than a minute.

"The energy shield failed," Qui-Gon said. "And the armor plating peeled off. If the Senator really used the best security outfitters, that doesn't seem likely. The cannon fire wasn't prolonged enough to explain it."