“Major Espara, I find this odd.” Jacen was addressing Major Moreem Espara of the Hapan royal guard, whom Tenel Ka had assigned to serve as his adviser and command liaison. Along with a handful of aides, they were standing together on the observation balcony overlooking the Anakin’s busy bridge, “Wouldn’t Ducha AlGray be deploying her fleet by now?”
“She would if it were here.” A ta!) woman with silky black hair and alabaster skin, Espara was dressed in a pale blue uniform that managed to look both military and stylish. “Even if she were innocent, she’d be troubled enough by our arrival to make a show of force.”
Jacen remained silent, concentrating on what he was feeling through the Force. He could not sense the source of the danger, but the prickle along his spine felt as if it was about to erupt into hives.
“We’re too late,” Espara continued, as though Jacen were not astute enough to understand what she had said. “The coup must be moving faster than the Queen Mother realized. The usurpers are going into open revolt.”
Jacen began to expand his Force-awareness rapidly, but the population of the Relephon Moons was too scattered to glean anything useful. The planet was ringed by at least thirty major population centers and hundreds of smaller concentrations, and none of them felt particularly hostile.
“Colonel Solo?” Espara asked. “Did you hear what I just said? The AlGray fleet is probably on its way to Hapes!”
“Your aides,” Jacen asked, still troubled by his premonitions. “How many did you bring?”
“You think someone betrayed our mission?” Espara glanced toward the two female officers behind her. “I assure you, Beyele and Roh are above suspicion…”
“How many?” This time, Jacen put the power of the Force behind his words.
Espara shrank back. “Just Beyele and Roh.”
“What about your pilots?” Jacen demanded. “Were they personal staff?”
Espara shook her head. “They were from the Royal Transportation Pool.”
The empty feeling in Jacen’s stomach turned to a cold void. Whatever had gone wrong, it had started with the pilots.
“But I don’t see how they could have betrayed us,” Espara continued. “Even if they were traitors, ail they did was ferry me into orbit. They might have noticed the Anakin making preparations to get under way, but they wouldn’t have known to where.”
“That might have been enough,” Jacen said. He turned to his aide, a Jenet named Orlopp. “Ask Commander Twizzl for a threat report.”
“I’ve been monitoring that continuously.” With a pink snout, wet nostrils, and smirking upper lip that did not quite cover his yellow fangs, Orlopp cut a menacing figure in his black GAG uniform. “There don’t seem to be any threats. A junior garrison commander is demanding to know our intentions, though she hasn’t deployed her defenses yet.”
“She wants to avoid giving us an excuse to attack,” Espara surmised. “That confirms the main fleet has departed. Colonel Solo, we must return to Hapes at once. If the Queen Mother is not under attack already …”
Jacen did not hear the rest of Espara’s complaint, for he had turned away and was rushing off the observation balcony. The threat seemed more immediate than ever-and if it was not coming from outside the Anakin, then it had to be coming from inside.
“Colonel Solo?” Espara called, following behind. “We’re in the middle of an action here!”
Espara’s confusion was understandable. Even she did not know that Tenel Ka had left Allana aboard the Anakin, and she certainly didn’t know that Jacen’s parents had provided intelligence suggesting that Aurra Sing’s primary target would be the child.
As he raced for the lift tube, Jacen’s comlink chimed for attention. He pulled it off his belt and opened the channel.
“You know who this is?” asked a wispy voice.
“Double-Ex,” Jacen replied. “What is it?”
“You ordered me to report if anyone attempted to enter the girl’s cabin,” the security droid replied. “I’m reporting.”
Jacen’s stomach sank. “I was afraid of that.”
“What are my orders?” SD-XX asked. “Evaporate them?”
“No,” Jacen said. His briefing on Aurra Sing had suggested that “evaporating” her would be beyond the security droid’s capabilities. “Stay out of sight and frustrate her attempts to enter. I’m on my way.”
Jacen opened a channel to Bridge Security. “Execute a Level One lockdown.” He did not bother identifying himself, as his name would already be displayed on the duty officer’s datascreen. “This is not a drill.”