Five minutes later, Car'das was pushed through a narrow doorway in the hull into a zero-g plastic bubble perhaps twice the size of a coffin. Set against the hull on one side of his head was what seemed to be a small air supply and filtering system, while on the other was a mesh bag containing a couple of water bottles and ration bars from the Chiss shuttle, along with a diamond-shaped device of unknown purpose.

And as the thick hull metal was sealed against his back he knew the chance cube had been thrown. From now on, everything that happened would be under the control of others.

He could only hope that the Miskara had been telling the truth about the size of the force he was sending.

Chapter 21

The fact that Mitth'raw'nuruodo was a near human this far from Republic space had been Lorana's first surprise. More surprising than that were the culture and refinement of his demeanor and speech as he spoke to her and C'baoth from the other side of the conference room table.

His reason for intercepting Outbound Flight was the biggest surprise of all. And the most chilling.

C'baoth, predictably, wasn't impressed by any of it. "Ridiculous," he said scornfully when Mitth'raw'nuruodo had finished. "A mysterious species of conquerors moving across the galaxy toward us? Please. That's the sort of story bad parents frighten their children with."

"You know everything there is to know about the universe, then?" Mitth'raw'nuruodo asked politely. "I was under the impression that this region of space was unknown to you."

"Yes, it is," C'baoth said. "But rumors and stories aren't limited by geographical and political boundaries. If a species so dangerous truly existed, we would surely have heard something about them by now."

"What about Vergere?" Lorana murmured from beside him. "Something like this might explain her disappearance."

"Or it might not," C'baoth countered. "It doesn't take a species of conquerors to silence a single Jedi." His eyes glittered. "To silence agroup of Jedi, of course, is a different matter entirely. And as to this Darth Sidious you cite, I put even less faith in his words than I do in idle rumors. Darth is the title of a Sith Lord, and the Sith have long since vanished from the galaxy. That makes him a liar right from the start."

"Perhaps," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "But I didn't come here for an open debate. The fact remains that I cannot and will not permit you to continue on through this region of space. You must turn back to the Republic and pledge to never return."

"Or?" C'baoth challenged.

Mitth'raw'nuruodo's glowing red eyes were steady on him. "Or I will be forced to destroy you."

Lorana braced herself for the inevitable explosion. But C'baoth merely smiled thinly. "So says the avian chick to the billinus dragon. Do you truly believe your twelve ships could survive ten minutes against the firepower I hold here in my hand?"

Mitth'raw'nuruodo lifted his eyebrows politely. "Yourpersonal hand?" he asked.

"My Jedi are even now standing by in the ComOps Center above us, as well as at the weapons stations of each individual Dreadnaught," C'baoth said. "I'll soon be joining them. . and if you've never before faced Jedi reflexes and insight, you'll find it a sobering experience."

Mitth'raw'nuruodo's expression didn't change. "Whatever their training, it will do them no good," he said. "Your only choices are to leave now and take your people home, or perish. What is your answer?"

"What if we promised to goaround this region?" Lorana asked.

C'baoth looked at her, and she sensed his surprise at her presumption quickly turning to anger. "Jedi Jinzler-"

"I meanall the way around it," Lorana continued, fighting against the weight of his displeasure pressing against her mind. "We could go to a different part of the Rim and jump off for the next galaxy from there."

"No," C'baoth said firmly. "That would take us thousands of light-years out of our way."

"That would be acceptable," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, looking at Lorana. "Provided you avoided the entire region lying along your current vector."

"No," C'baoth bit out, his eyes blazing. "Lorana, you will be silent. Commander, you donot dictate to us. Not you; not anyone else."

Abruptly, he shoved hack his chair and rose towering to his full height. "We are theJedi, the ultimate power in the universe," he declared, the words ringing through the conference room. "We will do as we choose. And we will destroy any who dare stand in our way."

Lorana stared up at him, her heart suddenly pounding in her throat. What was he saying? What was hedoing?

There is no emotion; there is peace..

"In that event, the conversation is over," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. His expression hadn't changed, but as Lorana tore her gaze from C'baoth and looked at the commander she could sense a hardening of his resolve that sent a fresh shiver up her back. "I will give you an hour to consider my offer."

"No, you will cease whatever you're doing to hold us in this system and move your ships out of our path," C'baoth countered.

"One hour," Mitth'raw'nuruodo repeated, sliding back his own chair and standing up. "Jedi Jinzler, perhaps you'll escort me back to my transport?"

"As you wish, Commander," Lorana said, not daring to look at C'baoth as she scrambled to her feet. "Follow me, please."

Captain Pakmillu had offered some of his security personnel to bring Mitth'raw'nuruodo aboard. Typically, C'baoth had refused, insisting he and Lorana needed no such show of force to keep the alien commander in line.

Which now left Lorana and Mitth'raw'nuruodo alone as they walked back toward the hangar. "Your Master C'baoth is both arrogant and stubborn," Mitth'raw'nuruodo commented as they walked. "A bad combination."

"He is all that," Lorana conceded. "But he's also a Jedi Master, and as such he has knowledge and power hidden from the rest of us. For your own sake, I beg you not to underestimate him."

"Yet if this knowledge is hidden, how can you be sure it is accurate?"

Lorana grimaced. That was, unfortunately, a good question. "I don't know," she said.

"Surely you don't stand alone," Mitth'raw'nuruodo pointed out. "There must be others aboard who oppose to Master C'baoth's tyranny."

Tyranny. It was a word Lorana hadn't dared use even in the privacy of her own mind. Now, suddenly, it could no longer be avoided. "Yes, there are," she murmured, frowning. Directly ahead down the corridor, shifting nervously back and forth between his feet, she could see Chas Uliar from D-4 loitering against the wall. Here to confront her with some new problem, no doubt.