Reiko, Taz, and Yuzu moved carefully in the moon's microgravity, using their bounce frames' miniature thrusters to keep them from floating away. The Imperial shuttle's attack had destroyed the only docking ring that Reiko could see. The four hab domes on the facility had all been blasted into tortured skeletons of structural tubing, scraps of splintered transparisteel dangling from the moonbase's aluminum corpse. Clouds of freezing gasses jetted silently into the vacuum from ruptured supply lines. The three of them made painstaking progress through the wreckage.

Blinking furiously to keep the sweat out of his eyes, Taz consulted his hand scanner and made adjustments as they went. He'd confirmed life signs and movement somewhere in the facility, probably underground. But more than that, he could feel it in his body. From the moment they'd received the distress call he'd felt, first ill at ease, and then physically sick. The sensation had diminished during their time in hyperspace, but as soon as they'd emerged, it returned, worse than ever.

Enviro suits weren't the easiest things to move in at the best of times. In his current state, winded and sweating profusely, he had to fight hard to keep from vomiting. The nausea and unease only increased the closer he got to the life form. More than that, he had a nagging feeling that the Force was involved. Certainly, it was his sensitivity to the Force that had started them on this insane chase.

"Down there," Taz groaned, choking back a gag so hard that tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. He indicated a doorway at the other end of the blasted structure that had once been a lab of some sort, to judge from what few appliances remained intact. Beyond the open portal they could see a set of steps, but structural ribs and debris blocked the entrance almost completely.

Reiko laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Taz?" she asked, deep concern coming through his helmet's headphones.

"Just disoriented from the transit," Taz assured her, swallowing hard. "Scanner shows atmosphere and gravity, plus one life sign."

"You're a bad liar, sir," Reiko said, but she smiled from behind her helmet visor. "Yuzu, can you clear that blockage?"

"Of course, Mistress," the droid answered. He made quick work of the wreckage and they headed down the steps.

There was a short landing at the bottom. Rei examined the controls beside what looked very much like a pressure door. After a minute she pronounced, "We're in luck. It's an airlock."

"Great," said Taz, panting hard. Sweat stung his eyes and he leaned against the wall just to stay on his feet.

Reiko looked up at him in alarm. "We need to get you back to Allegra. You're about to pass out, sir!"

"I'll manage," Taz uttered. "Just get that door open, Miss Hudson." There were provisions for vomiting built into the enviro suits, but Taz hadn't bothered donning the required suction mask. If he didn't get somewhere with atmosphere soon, there was a real risk that he'd choke to death if he was sick inside his helmet.

Reiko worked the controls. The door opened to reveal a small, dark chamber. "Yuzu, wait here. Come in after we've cycled through."

"Of course, mistress Reiko-nagrasha. I'll be along presently."

Rei supported Taz as much as she could and they shuffled into the airlock. The door sealed and she keyed the pressurization sequence. Atmosphere hissed into the compact space. The indicator light over the door turned green and she pressed the release. The inner door sprang into the ceiling with a sharp hiss.

Beyond lay a spacious area, carved from moonrock and poorly lit by flickering panels. Storage crates and shelves of supplies sprawled in disarray. Beneath a heavy-looking shelf lay a being, approximately human-sized, clad in dark shimmering robes. It struggled weakly under the steel shelving but waved to them as they entered. Taz unlatched his helmet, fell to his knees, and vomited violently.

"Are you the ones?" said the deep-voiced being in heavily accented Basic. "Did you hear my cries upon the Life Wind?"

"The ones? Life wind?" Reiko asked, torn between who she should help, Taz or the trapped alien. Taz waved her toward the other being, and she approached cautiously under the refreshing pull of artificial gravity. Rei suddenly remembered to keep her hand close to her blaster. The alien had sent a distress call and been attacked by Imperial forces, but that didn't mean it was friendly. She realized this could all be some elaborate ruse, though what its object might be, she couldn't guess.

The being was humanoid, with smooth mottled salmon and brown skin, a narrow face, and a downturned slit of a mouth. Its prominent brow ridges swept up, following a skull that curved back into a peak. Long thin tendrils grew from the brow ridges and hung to the sides, swaying softly. Its cheeks were sunken as were its round, hazy green-gray eyes. "Yes, I called, upon the Life Wind. Allegra?" it asked.

Yuzu entered and turned immediately toward Taz, who stood with his hands on his knees, breathing hard. He waved the droid away. "Go help Reiko."

Reiko tried shifting the shelf, but debris locked it in place. Yuzu grabbed it and lifted. His artificial musculature made easy work of raising the square tubing and shelves. Reiko grabbed the creature's shoulders and helped it to scramble away. When it was clear, Yuzu released his burden with a loud clatter.

"I'm Reiko Hudson, from Allegra's Heart. What's a life wind? Do you mean the distress signal?"

The alien shook its tendrils. "Not you, him," it said, pointing a thin finger at Taz. "He wields the Life Wind. I call to him even now."

Taz looked up, ashen and clammy. His diaphragm spasmed, making him nearly vomit again. "Well stop!" he barked in a ragged voice. "Stop calling!"

The other being looked startled. "Very well," it said, sounding dubious.

Suddenly the dizzying nausea was gone. Taz let out a relieved sigh. His face relaxed and a blush of color returned to his cheeks. He straightened and took a few deep breaths through pursed lips. After a few seconds he approached the others, feeling better with each step, and knelt beside the being. "Who are you?"

"I am Nanvarr of Konlac, and you are Tazbarada Oktos of Filve, and you are Reiko Hudson of Filve, and you are Yuzu," said the being, looking at each of them in turn, but going back to Taz. "You have heard of my people, the Fereax, have you not?"

"Can't say I have," Taz answered. "What you call Life Wind is the Force?" His mouth was dry and burned with the acrid taste of bile. He really wanted something to wash out the sickness.

"Indeed, my boy," said the other. "You heard my plea?"

Taz shook his head. "I didn't exactly hear it, but we received your distress call." Nanvarr looked confused, but Taz continued. "We'll have time for questions later. We have to get out of here before more Imperials show up." He looked over the other being, and didn't note any bleeding or apparent injury. "Can you walk?"

Nanvarr patted himself through his robes. "I think so, Tazbarada Oktos."

"It's just Taz," said the former Alliance medtech, and helped Nanvarr to stand. He was short, barely coming up to Taz's shoulder, and very light. "Do you have an enviro suit?"

Nanvarr looked around and felt at his robes, as if he'd lost something. "No, I haven't any use for such a thing."

"Well you do today," Taz said, pointing. "There's nothing beyond that door but hard vacuum." He started rummaging in his utility bag. "What did you do to earn the Empire's displeasure?"

Nanvarr wriggled his fingers. In a harsh tone he said, "I was betrayed."

Taz made a rueful sound and unfurled a dusky parcel of ballistic fabric into a disk a meter across. There was a wedge of clear plastic for a window and a long zipper of the sort used to seal pressure suits. Taz unzipped it and pulled the halves aside.

"What is that, dear boy?"

"A rescue ball. Not the most comfortable thing, but it'll keep you safe until we get back to Allegra's Heart. Get in."

"I need my things. Fetch them for me."

"What things?" Rei asked. She looked worried; they were taking too long. To Taz she added, "There's no telling when the power's going to fail. We need to move, sir."

"My things, my research."

"Where?" Taz prodded.

"In my lab." He pointed overhead.

Taz shook his head. "The lab is gone. Destroyed."

"Oh," said Nanvarr. "Such a shame. So much work."

"Taz—"

"I know, Reiko," he answered with a scowl. "Sorry, Nanvarr, we have to go. Now."

With some reluctance, the Fereax stepped onto the fabric and hunched down. Taz sealed the rescue ball and activated a small pump that inflated it. He and Yuzu each grabbed a haul loop and picked their way back across the cluttered storage room. Taz put his helmet back on and entered the airlock with Nanvarr; the absence of artificial gravity made it simple to maneuver the rescue sphere.

When Yuzu and Reiko joined them on the other side, Taz made a dash toward Allegra, but Nanvarr scratched urgently at the ball. He pointed toward a twisted plastic and metal console. Taz shook his head. The rescue sphere had no communication equipment.

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Nanvarr was animated, gesticulating. Taz was about to continue when he felt a hard shock behind his eyes, followed the next instant by a wave of nausea, and a thought, shouting in his head: DATA CORE.

"Okay," he grunted, nodding and waving at Nanvarr. As soon as he took a step toward the console the sick feeling disappeared and his head stopped feeling like he'd touched an uninsulated power conduit. The console wasn't much bigger than an astromech. The shuttle's laser fire had ripped it from its mounting. "Yuzu, grab that console and take it back to the ship."

"Understood, master Oktos-nagrasha."

They hurried back to Allegra's Heart, bounding up to the starboard airlock in the moon's microgravity.

----------------------------------------

Sera found Lyra sitting on her bunk, looking miserable and furious. The former special forces soldier leaned against the door jamb.

"Not interested in company, Rendix."

"I didn't ask if you were," Sera said evenly. "Want to tell me what happened up there?"

Lyra looked defiant. "They didn't have to die," she snapped.

"They?"

She waved impatiently. "Granthen, and whoever else was on that Nu-class."

"If it's a choice between them or us dying, I choose them," Rendix responded.

"Why does there have to be a choice?" Lyra protested, her voice rising.

Sera kept her tone neutral as she tucked a lock of red hair behind her ear. "They made the choice when they fired on us."

The other woman crossed her arms, unconvinced.

"Listen, I used the ion cannon because I wanted to disable their ship, not destroy it. They just caught a bad break. If we hadn't stopped them they'd have killed— whoever we came here for. Would that have been better?"

"No, but..." Lyra trailed off.

"It was a choice between bad choices, Nimor. Sometimes bad choices are all we have."

"I know that." Lyra, snipped, pounding the bunk with her fist. "But is it always going to be this way? Us shooting Imperials? That could have been me in that shuttle, not too long ago."

"Would you have fired on an unarmed, unshielded facility housing civilians?"

Lyra started to respond but closed her mouth.

"I didn't think so. Otherwise, you'd never have joined this crew."

"What if that had been an Alliance shuttle?" she challenged.

"I don't care if it's the Chancellor herself. If they fire on my ship, I'm shooting back. Period."

The two women stared at each other. Finally, Lyra let out a long breath. "I'm tired of seeing people get shot and die. I didn't sign on for that."

"I know, and I'm not unsympathetic. But you pleaded with Granthen and he cut the comm circuit. You knew he wasn't going to stop, right?"

Lyra uttered a sigh and looked down at her hands.

Sera waited a moment, then continued. "This isn't a military ship, but we do need some rules. You endangered Allegra and her crew, and you abandoned your station." She thumbed overhead toward the flight deck. "Doc had to cover for you to get us on the ground. You know that was wrong, right?"

Lyra said nothing, but she made a stiff nod after a couple of seconds.

Sera stood up straight. "You're a good pilot, Nimor, and I think you're a good person too, but that can't happen. Not any of it. Not ever. If you abandon your post or put this ship or her crew in danger again, I'll space you, then shoot you in the head, then grind you up for bantha feed. Not necessarily in that order." She turned to leave. In a less strident voice, she added, "I know sometimes it feels like the universe is heaping all of its injustices on you, but it's not. Take a few minutes to get your head straight. After that, I need you on the command deck. I have a feeling that Granthen got off a call to his friends, whoever they are, and I don't want to be here when they show up."

----------------------------------------

Being completely unfamiliar with Fereax physiology, Taz was reduced to the most basic of examinations. After some debate, Nanvarr agreed to let Taz remove his robes. Beneath the shimmering fabric, the being's body was as slight as Taz had expected, with spindly arms and legs that ended in extremities with four digits, the first opposable. His belly was unexpectedly round, and he had the stumps of four vestigial tails at the base of his spine. He wore a carefully folded and tied loincloth that Taz assumed had some cultural significance. His salmon skin was covered in subtle mottling. Nanvarr was touchy about the physiology of his species, and to judge by his tone and urgent hand motions, uncomfortable with anyone seeing him undressed.

Taz worked as quickly and clinically as he could. After a few minutes he'd verified that apart from some minor lacerations, Nanvarr had escaped injury. "You're very fortunate to have come through that attack pretty much unscathed."

"The Life Wind guided me, as it has most of my life," Nanvarr said, pulling his robes back on. "I had a vision of impending danger and retreated below ground before my benefactors arrived."

Taz looked askance. "Benefactors? Are you sure that's the right word?"

"Indeed my boy. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Benefactors don't usually try to kill you."

Nanvarr rocked his pointed skull from side to side. "I suppose that's true. But until quite recently, the Empire was my patron."

"What were you doing for them?"

"Research. I am a researcher. Can you not see any of this my boy? I know you wield the Life Wind. These things should be clear to you."

"Look, I'm sensitive to the Force, but using it is, well... I don't really have much experience."

"Have you not received instruction in the Life Wind?" Nanvarr asked, splaying his four fingers in disbelief.

"No— I mean yes. I mean, not formal training. I have a journal, from a Jedi Master. I've been studying it, trying to learn as much as I can, but…" Taz wore a crooked scowl. "I'm mostly just flailing in the dark."

"I see. Mm hmm. Yes, I see my boy," replied the Fereax.

"Can you...?" Taz asked slowly.

"Train you?" Nanvarr shook his head. "Perhaps in a few basic skills, but I have seen enough years to know that I am a poor teacher."

"How do you know how to use the Force?"

"Ancient sages brought knowledge of the Life Wind to Konlac some millennia ago. We carried on their teachings, but our leaders corrupted the Life Wind and most of my kind perished, or fled. It is quite possible that I am all that remain of the Fereax now. I have not felt the presence of another in many years. I do know of the Jedi Order though, and of their age-old enemies the Sith, and other users of the Life Wind that came many thousands of years before those sects."

"How did you learn so much, if you aren't a Jedi?"

"I am a researcher, my boy. It was my job to compile information about the Life Wind, its users, and the myriad ways in which it interacts with everything in the universe." Nanvarr's voice held a note of pride as he wiggled his thumb, but he also looked distraught. At least Taz thought he did; the Fereax's face moved very little, his eyes not at all.

He was about to ask more questions, but the intercom pinged. "Doc, we're clear of the planet's gravity. If you've looked over our guest, bring him to the command deck."

Taz keyed the comm on the wall. "On our way."

In the cockpit, Sera, Lyra, and Reiko had been joined by Kallista. Her blue recording indicator blinked to life. Nanvarr bowed to Reiko and sat next to her in the gunnery seat. Taz made introductions.

"I'm very happy to meet all of you, and most grateful for your timely arrival," began the Fereax in an upbeat but nervous tone. With his right hand he tapped his thumb against his third finger. The fingers of his left hand curled with his thumb extended. He looked from face to face.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Nanvarr, but why are you on my ship?"

"Captain Rendix, as you saw, I was being assaulted."

"You sent your distress call long before that attack began," she countered. "While you're at it, maybe you can explain why you didn't just use a standard emergency frequency."

"Perhaps, my girl, some explanation is in order. You see, my benefactors—"

"He means the Imperials who set him up in that research facility," Taz interjected.

"Yes, quite," Nanvarr said, rubbing his middle finger against his thumb to show his annoyance. "They monitored all of my communications, so my cry for aid had to be made by occult means."

"I'd be interested to know how you did that," Taz mentioned.

"The information is in my mind, my boy. I offer it to you freely."

Taz screwed up his mouth. "I told you, I don't really know how to do that. Can you just tell us, please?"

"We'll get the technical details later," Sera suggested. "Why were they attacking you, and what were you doing there?"

"Well, my dear girl Serasana Rendix of Corellia, captain of Allegra's Heart, I was doing research for the Empire. In particular, for the Inquisitorius Program."

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"Inquisitorius is the group that Emperor Palpatine used to hunt down the Jedi who remained after the Republic's clone armies had killed most of them."

"Wait," Taz said, his eyes flashing, "you helped them hunt down Jedi?"

"Not precisely, no," Nanvarr responded uncomfortably. "I provided information about places in the galaxy where the Life Wind blew strongly, or suddenly appeared. They— the Inquisitors and their henchmen— investigated, based upon my research." He looked at each of them, his fingers curling into the somatic expression for discomfort.

"Why would you do that?" Taz pressed him with an intense glare.

"A choice, cowardly made, between collaboration or death. And a promise that they would return me to my home from which I've been estranged. You see, I've longed to go back to Konlac for many years.

"My people, or nearly all of them, fled after the last of our Priest-Elders brought our race to ruin. Those who remained were driven from their homes when the Empire came, looking for me. They had discovered my previous cataloging work, and they informed me that I would be 'redirecting' my efforts in the service of the Emperor. When I refused to cooperate they began killing the few Fereax left in my village. I relented then. What else could I do?" He looked from face to face, ashamed.

"For some years they let me stay on Konlac, guarded by fearsome machines. But four years ago they brought me here without a word of explanation. I was given little choice, but the Inquisitors' commander, a terrifying half-machine Sith Lord called Vader, said I might return when I'd finished my work." The Fereax went quiet, tapping his fingers together. "Still, I regret what terror my work unleashed. The death of worlds! Uncounted innocents." He pressed his thumbs hard against the middle fingers of each hand and seemed terribly distraught. Quietly he added, "I would return to my ravaged planet and atone, if such a thing is possible."

"Where is Konlac?" Sera asked.

"Far from the Core, and even farther from here." He looked at Taz. "You have my data?"

Taz looked at Reiko. The engineer took a stubby silvery rod from her sleeve pocket. "The data core was damaged and fragmented, but I managed to retrieve most of it."

Nanvarr looked happy to see it, touching his last finger to his thumb and even managing something that approached a smile on his lipless mouth.

"What's on it?" Sera asked.

"The way home, a small fraction of my research, and some data that my Imperial minders thought might be useful for my cataloging work."

"A small fraction?" Rei said, handing the cylinder to Lyra. She plugged it into the nav computer's scomp port.

"Most of my work was stored in a data vault at the lab, but it was destroyed when my benefactors attacked and betrayed me."

"I'm not surprised they'd renege," Sera said. "You were dealing with the Empire, after all." She looked over at Lyra. "No offense."

"Whatever," Lyra grumbled. "I'm sure the Alliance never betrayed anybody, right?"

Taz stared at the two women with his 'can we not do this right now?' look. "Nanvarr, you told me that you had a vision of the attack. Do you mean something like precognition?"

"The Life Wind often blows back to us with glimpses of events that may come to pass. I foresaw my domes in ruins and the agents of Imperial will who caused it to be. So I fled, as deep as I could go, hoping the vision was false. But alas, my boy, it was as you saw."

An indicator light on Lyra's panel blinked, accompanied by an alert beep. "Sensor contact." She consulted the display. "Something just came out of hyperspace, and there's comm traffic on the Imperial military bands."

"Looks like we just wore out our welcome in this system," Sera said. "Do you have the route to Konlac?"

"Navcomp's finishing the calculations now." Lyra switched her display to review the data.

"Where are we going?"

"Pretty much the other side of the galaxy. Galactic grid Qek-eighteen. Somewhere in the Dail sector."

"Transit time?"

"Seven days if we stick to the Corellian Run and Llanic Spice routes."

Sera nodded. "Lock in a long-range approach, just in case there are more of Mr. Nanvarr's benefactors waiting at Konlac." She turned back to their guest. "This is a charter ship. Hyperfuel isn't cheap, and we're gonna burn a lot of it."

Nanvarr's hand motions indicated his anxiety. "I've had no need of money for decades. As for items of value—" He patted his robes nervously.

"I'll cover the fuel and consumables," Taz spoke up, then fixed the Fereax with a stare. "In return, you're going to show me everything you know about the For— the Life Wind."

Nanvarr made a move that approximated a bow. "Then you are my new benefactor, Tazbarada Oktos of Filve."

Sera put on her decision face. "Get us to Konlac, Nimor."

Lyra scowled and threw the levers.