The Padawan, Shigar, stiffened at her description of him as a child. "Not so weak, " he said, "that I didn't save your life at least once on Hutta. "

"You are mistaken, " she said, feeling heat rise up her neck.

"Am I? I'll try harder not to be, next time. "

"Enough, " said the Grand Master, and the Padawan obeyed her instantly. "We're all here now, Stryver. Get on with it. "

"I do not take your orders, Grand Master, " said the Mandalorian. "Nonetheless, you have a point. I have brought you here to show you something. "

The holoprojector between them flickered into life. Ax recognized the globe of Sebaddon, with its tiny, gem-like lakes scattered among irregular, continent-sized bulges of heat. Magma seams glowed orange, forming a tracery that on other worlds might have been rivers. Several blue circles at the intersections of such traceries indicated settlements or industrial centers. Ax recognized the one Darth Chratis had bombed when the Paramount was attacked, and many others. Some that she remembered weren't visible at all.

"This is how Sebaddon looked when I arrived six hours before you, " Stryver said. "This is how it looked when you arrived. "

There was a clear difference: many of the missing hot spots were now present; the brightest were brighter still.

"This is how it looks now. "

Ax didn't need to study what she already knew. "Your point?"

"They work fast, " said the Padawan. "That's what Jet said when we arrived. He thought the colony was about twenty years old. "

"It can't be more than fifteen, " said Ax, remembering how long it had been since Lema Xandret defected.

"It's actually much less than that, " Stryver said, resting his giant, gloved hands on the edge of the holoprojector and leaning over the image. "Study this sequence of images carefully and you'll see that the colony expanded five percent since I arrived. If you project that rate of growth backward in time, that gives a founding date of about three weeks ago. "

"Impossible, " she said.

"That's around when the Cinzia was intercepted, " said Ula.

"So what? It's still impossible. "

"Is it?" Stryver said. "Lema Xandret chose this colony partly because of its wealth of resources. With an army of willing workers and a means of making new ones, why couldn't she do whatever else she wanted?"

"If the colony could grow so quickly, why is it still so small?"

"That's a good question, Eldon Ax. You should know your mother better than anyone else here. What do you think?"

Instead of blushing, Ax felt her face grow cold and taut. "Start talking sense, man, or I'm leaving. "

Both of Stryver's index fingers tapped heavily, just once, and for the first time Ax noted that he had only four fingers on each hand.

Not exactly a man, then, she thought. But who cares about that?

"I've been watching all of you, " he said, "while you blunder about getting yourselves killed. That's the advantage of being first on the field of battle. Instead of testing Sebaddon's defenses myself, I sat back and watched you do it. It has been an interesting experiment, one that confirmed my previous observations. The inhabitants of Sebaddon are unwilling even to talk about opening their borders to outsiders-particularly the Empire-and they are capable of defending themselves when pushed. "

"We were taken by surprise, " said Ax. "That won't happen, next time. "

"If you wait too long, surprise won't be the only thing you have to worry about. "

"What do you mean?" asked Satele Shan.

"How long will it take you to call for reinforcements? You can't call, so it's a two-way trip to send a messenger. Then a fleet has to be a.s.sembled. The larger the fleet, the more time you'll need. And with each hour, Sebaddon is converting more of its precious metals to machines of war. More than thirty ships tailed today. How long until fifty ships isn't enough? A hundred? A thousand?"

Ax sneered. "No single planet could withstand the might of the Imperial war machine. "

"I might agree, if the Imperial war machine was available. But it's currently stretched across all the galaxy, thin and vulnerable, and the same can be said for the Republic's. Furthermore, we all know that neither would come if we called. They would think your concerns exaggerated. They are more interested in fighting each other than this single, isolated threat. "

"Is it a threat?" asked Shigar. "Xandret won't talk to us, but at least she's stopped firing now we've moved away. Why don't we give her what she wants and leave her alone?"

"Do you really think that's possible, now?" said the female near-human.

"Why not?" Shigar looked at his Master for support, but she wasn't giving it to him.

"You are naive" said Ax. "This world is too valuable. The Emperor will have it, or no one will. "

"And your mother must be made an example of, " said Stryver, "otherwise the power of the Sith will be eroded. "

"Stop calling her my mother. Lema Xandret is a criminal and a fugitive. There is no possibility that she will escape justice. "

"Would you strike her down yourself, if you could?"

"I would, and I will. She means nothing to me. "

"Good. I believed once that I might reason with her. I believed that I could broker an agreement that would keep her and her creations in check. Now I fear that it is too late for any kind of negotiation. No reasoning or agreement is possible. "

"Has she gone mad?" asked the trooper to Shigar's right. "If so, there are other options. We could take her out and talk to someone else, for instance. "

"This plan suffers from one small but fatal flaw. "

"That is?" asked the Republic envoy.

"Lema Xandret is already dead. She has been for some time. "

An icy splinter snapped in Ax's heart at those words, leaving her unable to tell if she felt triumph or grief, or both.

"I think it's time you told us everything you know, " said Master Satele.

"I agree, " said Larin. "Since when do Mandalorians negotiate with anyone?"

Ula remembered Jet telling him, They don't believe they have any equals.

"You were the person Xandret's emissaries were hoping to meet, " Ula said. "You came looking for them when they didn't show up. "

The giant, domed helmet inclined in his direction. "Correct. "

"Was Xandret herself supposed to be aboard the Cinzia?" asked Shigar. "Is that why you think she's dead?"

"No. She sent another. I believe she was here when she died. "

"So you don't know for sure?" asked the Sith. Her face had a white, pinched look under her bloodred dreadlocks.

"I am certain of it. "

"Did you kill her? Did you see her body?"

"No. "

"So how can you be certain?"

Stryver tapped his helmet with one gloved finger. Ula couldn't see the Mandalorian's face, but was positive he was smiling.

"She means nothing to me, " the young Sith said firmly, as though rea.s.suring herself of the truth of it. "I just want to be certain. "

"Be certain of this, Eldon Ax: when those droids your mother created leave this world, they will consume the entire galaxy in less than a generation. "

Ula blinked. The claim was preposterous, but if Stryver truly believed it, that did explain another puzzling piece of the story.

"So that's why you were willing to talk to her, " Ula said. "Lema Xandret was a threat or a possible ally - just like the Empire. "

"A force to be reckoned with, potentially, " said Master Satele. "A force we clearly underestimated. But you wouldn't have taken her word on it. You must have received some kind of proof. "

"A demonstration factory, " said Stryver. "In two days, it manufactured seventeen droids and two duplicates of itself using nothing but the materials around it. The duplicate factories went immediately to work, making another four factories and even more droids. Their rate of reproduction was limited only by the energy available to them; later we discovered how they send out roots to tap into the local supply, ensuring they never run out. Curious, we put the droids in the pit and they prevailed against all but the current champion. Then the droids and factories self-destructed, leaving insufficient remains for us to probe the secrets of their manufacture or function. The message was clear. The Mandalore sent me to pursue the conversation. "

"Why did he send just you?" asked Larin. "You're not much use to us on your own. "

"I can confirm several hypotheses that you might already be forming. This will save you time so you can begin to act. " Stryver raised his right hand and began ticking off points. "One. Lema Xandret and her fellow refugees arrived on Sebaddon determined to cast off the hierarchy they had left behind. Fifteen years later, hiding was no longer sufficient: Xandret wanted revenge on the people who had stolen her daughter. So she sought out Mandalore to help her. She approached him because my culture eschews the Force. That, after all, was where all this started, with militarized religious cults turning children into monsters. "

Ula didn't dare look at the young Sith's face. He didn't know exactly how the Sith trained their acolytes, but this sounded plausible. He wondered if his Jedi "masters" had a similar system.

"Two. " Stryver's count continued. "During her self-imposed exile, Xandret and her fellow artisans advanced robotics in directions no one has ever seen before. Finding inspiration and materials in human biology itself, they sought to make droids that would neither age nor grow inflexible and hidebound, so their small colony could last forever. The technical challenges were immense, of course, but they made some progress in unexpected directions. The droids you've seen are advanced prototypes called fast breeders. Given enough metal and raw energy, they grow from seeds into fully formed combat versions in a matter of days. The nest on Hutta could have produced dozens of such killers if left undisturbed, and the same is true of the nests on Sebaddon. The hot spots you've been observing from above, the ones that look like cities, are in fact droid-building factories. They are churning out fast breeders by the thousand now that the planet's defenses have been tripped. And not just fast breeders: new factories as well. That is where the true threat lies. This was the weapon she intended to use against the Empire.

"Three. If left unchecked, Xandret's breeder technology will inevitably outgrow its homeworld and spill out into the galaxy. The math of geometric progression is undeniable: one world this year, two worlds the next; then four, then eight; within a decade it's two hundred and fifty worlds, then another decade later it's a quarter of a million. One human generation is all they would need to take over the entire galaxy-along with Sith, Jedi, and Mandalorians alike.

"Four. Negotiation is no longer an option. Xandret put all her prejudices into her droids. You've heard their voices. You know what drives them. The only solution is to crush Sebaddon completely. We must be ruthless, decisive, and thorough, in order to ensure that Lema Xandret's legacy is completely eradicated. Just one nest would be enough to allow all this to start over again. "

Stryver had run out of fingers on his right hand.

"Are you finished?" asked the Sith.

"I will be if this threat isn't neutralized. "

Stryver's fists descended to take his weight, knuckle-first, on the side of the holoprojector.

The sphere of Sebaddon turned unstoppably between them. Glowing red lights appeared and spread like a plague in fast motion. Soon the whole planet was red, and streams of tiny, malignant dots began to leap off the surface and escape into unseen s.p.a.ces.

"You said 'we. ' " Satele Shan's voice made Ula jump. "We must be ruthless. I presume that was deliberate. "

"It was. Everything I have seen, on Hutta and Sebaddon, confirms my worst fears. Sebaddon is responding to the threat you all represent by ramping up production. It must be stopped before the contagion spreads. Since neither Empire nor Republic can single-handedly destroy this menace with the resources available right now, you must work together to see it done. "

"With you in charge, I suppose, " said Larin.

"The end justifies the means. "

"I will never take orders from a Mandalorian, " said the Sith in mocking tones. "And I will never fight alongside a Jedi. You are insane even to suggest it. "

"There must be an alternative, " Master Satele said. "Another attempt at negotiation, perhaps..."

"The planetary defense system is automated, " Stryver said. "The only voices coming from the planet originate with the fast breeders. That's how I know that Lema Xandret is dead. Everyone down there is dead. It's just the droids now, and you can't negotiate with them. "

"Well, we can't trust one another, " said Shigar. "That's some choice you've given us. "

"Could I make it any other way, I would. Believe me. "

Jedi and Sith glowered at one another over the hologram, and suddenly Ula knew exactly what he had to do. Once again, Jet had been absolutely right. Ula could see both sides at once, and save himself into the bargain.

"Are you the leader of the Imperial fleet?" he asked the young Sith. He already knew the answer. The Emperor would never trust such wealth to someone so young, no matter how powerful she might be. But he had to ask, for appearance's sake.

"No, " she admitted.

"Whoever that person is, then, I want to speak to them, face-to-face, " he said. "I believe I can bring the Empire to the table. "

"You? My Master would gut a worm like you just to watch you die. "

Ula's stomach roiled. Her Master. He had hoped for a non-Sith commander, but would have to settle for what he got. "Take me to your command vessel and let me try. If I tail, by the sound of things, I might as well be dead. "

"Your death is closer than you think. He's in the shuttle. "

"Well, then. All the better. It'll be over quickly. "

"Envoy Vii, " said Satele Shan, "be very careful. You must be absolutely sure of yourself. "

"I am. " He straightened and puffed out his chest. "If the Empire agrees to Stryver's suggestion, will you?"

The Grand Master showed no sign of uncertainty. "Of course. We're not at war, after all, and the threat is severe. "

"Good. " Ula turned back to the Sith girl. She was tight-lipped with rage, as though she couldn't believe his audacity. "This isn't a trick. I'll go with you now, if you'll take me. Please. "

"Just you, " she finally said. "No one else. "

"That's out of the question, " said Larin.

"No, " he said, although his heart warmed at her concern. "I'm happy to go on my own. If I can't convince them with words, what difference would a rifle or two make?"

She reluctantly backed down. "Just be careful. We want you back in one piece. "

"Not several?" said the Sith. She was grinning now, perhaps antic.i.p.ating the sport her Master would have with him. "I refuse to guarantee anything. "

Ula wondered if he looked as faint as he felt. What if she killed him the moment they were on the other side of the air lock, before he had a chance to speak? That would be the most awful irony of all.