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what they believe in: no passion, no emotion. Sounds like they want to turn us all into droids.”
    Another round of cards was dealt out to the remaining players.
    “The Jedi are guided by wisdom,” the commander explained. “They don’t let things like desire or anger cloud their judgment.”
    “Anger has its uses,” Des pointed out. “It’s gotten me out of some nasty spots.”
    “I think the trick is not to get into those spots in the first place,” the lieutenant countered in her gentle voice.
    The hand ended a few turns later. The young woman who had bought the ensign his drink came up on twenty-not a great hand, but not a bad one, either. She looked over at the commander as he flipped up his cards, and smiled when he had only nineteen. Her smile faded when the drunken ensign showed his twenty-one. When he scooped up the pot, she cut his laugh short with a friendly elbow to his ribs.
    Everyone anted and the dealer flicked out another pair of cards to each player.
    “The Jedi are the defenders of the Republic,” the lieutenant went on earnestly. “Their ways can seem strange to ordinary citizens, but they’re on our side. All they want is peace.”
    “Really?” Des said, glancing at his cards and pushing in his chips. “I thought they wanted to wipe out the Sith.”
    “The Sith are an illegal organization,” the lieutenant explained. She folded her cards after a moment of careful deliberation. “The Senate passed a bill outlawing them nearly three thousand years ago, shortly after Revan and Malak brought destruction to the entire galaxy.”
    “I always heard Revan saved the Republic,” he said.
    The commander jumped back into the conversation. “Revan’s story is complicated,” he said. “But the fact remains, the Sith and their teachings were banned by the Senate. Their very existence is a violation of Republic law-and with good reason. The Jedi understand the threat the Sith represent. That’s why they’ve joined the fleet. For the good of the galaxy, the Sith must be wiped out once and for all.”
    The drunken ensign won the hand again, his second in a row. Sometimes it was better to be lucky than good.
    “So the Republic says the Sith must be wiped out,” Des said as he anted up for the next hand. “If the Sith were the ones in charge, I bet they’d say the same thing about the Jedi.”
    “You wouldn’t say that if you knew what the Sith were really like,” one of the other soldiers said. “I’ve fought against them: they’re bloodthirsty killers!”
    Des laughed. “Yeah, how dare they try to kill you in the middle of a war? Don’t they know you’re busy trying to kill them? How rude!”
    “You bloody Kath-mutt!” the soldier snapped, rising up from his seat.
    “Sit down, deckman!” the commander barked. The soldier did as he was told, but Des could feel the tension in the air. Everyone else at the table-with the possible exception of the two officers-was glaring at him.
    Good. The last thing on their minds now was cards. Angry people didn’t make good sabacc players.
    The commander sensed things were bad, too. He did his best to defuse the situation.
    “The Sith follow the teachings of the dark side, son,” he said to Des. “If you saw the kinds of things they’ve done during this war … and not just to other soldiers. They don’t care if innocent civilians suffer.”
    Only half listening, Des glanced at his cards and placed a wager.
    “I’m not stupid, Commander,” he said then. “Whether the Republic officially acknowledges it or not, you’re at war with the Brotherhood of Darkness. And bad things happen during a war, on both sides. So don’t try to convince me the Sith are monsters. They’re people, just like you and me.”
    Of all the players at the table, only the commander folded his cards. Des knew that at least a few of the soldiers were playing bad hands simply for the chance to take him down.
    The commander sighed. “You’re right, to a point. The