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galaxy.”
    Han whistled. “Brave guy.”
    “Foolish guy,” Saba corrected. “He believed he could deceive the Emperor?”
    Mara shrugged. “You’d be surprised how many people believed that,” she said. “And Daxar Ies was a strange man. All that money, and I found him living in a shabby twilight-level apartment on Coruscant. He never left the planet.”
    “Maybe he lost the list of accounts, or couldn’t get to it,” Leia suggested. “That would explain why you couldn’t find it.”
    “Maybe,” Mara said. “But the Emperor didn’t think so. Ies knew where one of the accounts was. He made a withdrawal, and that’s how I tracked him down.”
    Though Mara showed no outward sign of her feelings, Luke could sense how much she disliked talking about that part of her life, how angry she grew when she thought of how the Emperor had manipulated her trust—and how sad it made her to recall her victims. He took her in his arms,silently reminding her that that part of her life was long over, and kissed her.
    “Go back to the academy,” Luke said. “Cilghal will need you on Ossus, to tell her everything you can remember about the Fizz. Han and I will be fine.”
    Mara pulled herself back and forced a smile. “You’d better be telling the truth, Skywalker.”
    “This one will make sure of it.” Saba passed the stasis jar to Mara. “She is also staying.”
    “No way,” Han said. “You’ll make the bugs think we’re up to something. Raynar picked me to stay with Luke because he figured one Jedi Master would be more than enough to watch.”
    “And because he knowz you are disturbed by insectz,” Saba said. “This one does not like the way this feelz, Han. Raynar is showing a cruel streak.”
    “So it seems,” Luke said. He reached out with the Force, urging the Barabel to board the
Falcon
with the others. “But Han’s right—we don’t want to make the Killiks suspicious of us.”
    “If you wish, Master Skywalker,” Saba said. “You are the longfang here.”
    Saba took the stasis jar back from Mara, then turned and ascended the ramp with no further comment. In any other species, the abruptness might have indicated anger or hurt feelings. In a Barabel, it just meant she was ready to go.
    Luke kissed Mara again and watched her start up the ramp.
    Han hugged and kissed Leia, then stepped back with an overly casual air. “Be careful with my ship,” he said to Leia. “I’ve finally got that hyperdrive adjusted just right.”
    Leia rolled her eyes. “Sure you do.” She gave him a wistfulsmile, then said good-bye to Luke and started up the ramp. “I’ll send Cakhmaim out with your bags.”
    “And please don’t forget my cleaning kit,” C-3PO called after her. “This planet is unsanitary. I feel contaminated already.”
    “Who doesn’t?” Han asked.
    Being careful to do nothing that would make the Killiks think they intended to flee, Luke and Han waited at the foot of the ramp until Cakhmaim returned with their bags and C-3PO’s cleaning kit. Though Luke had not yet had a chance to outline his plan, he was fairly certain that Han had guessed it. He was going to search out the Dark Nest, determine how big a threat it posed to Mara and the Galactic Alliance, and find a way to destroy it for good.
    Once Cakhmaim had passed them their bags, Leia raised the ramp and sounded the departure alarm. Luke, Han, and the droids backed away to a safe distance, then watched in silence as the
Falcon
lifted off without them and glided over the bustling floor. When it reached the hangar mouth, it paused briefly and flashed its landing lights in a complicated sequence of flashes and blinks.
    R2-D2 let out an astonished whistle.
    “I don’t know why that should surprise you,” C-3PO said. “Of course they’re concerned about us.”
    “What did they say?” Luke asked.
    “Be careful,” C-3PO translated. “And don’t let anything drip on the droids.”
    “Drip on the …?” Han looked up. “Uh, maybe