Vision of the future

of the Qom Jha and Qom Qae than she'd been when she first arrived on the planet.

And it was starting to bug her. It was starting to really bug her. What did she have to do to break through this invisible barrier to full Jedi powers, anyway?

She didn't have an answer. Luke might, but she didn't. And there was no way in the galaxy she was going to ask him. Not anytime soon, anyway.

Disgustedly, she let go of his hand. 'Well, come on,' she growled. 'If we're going to do this, let's do it.'

'Right,' Luke said. If he'd picked up on her sudden sour mood, he didn't comment on it. 'Okay, Splitter Of Stones, let's go. And warn your people to be especially quiet from this point on.' They resumed their climb, Mara followed along behind Luke, putting one foot in front of the other strictly on autopilot, her full attention turned outward as she stretched out to the alien presences growing steadily closer. None seemed to be very close, but from past experience she knew that with unfamiliar alien minds apparent distances could be misleading.

Two and a third flights of stairs later, as promised, they reached Splitter Of Stones's observation post.

'That's an exit, all right,' Mara muttered, peering into the alcove that opened off to the side of the stairway. Roughly three meters wide and one deep, it ended in a door-shaped panel made of black stone equipped with a locking wheel and a pair of hand-grip releases. In the center of the panel was a tiny hole through which an equally tiny ray of reddish light shone through. 'Looks like it swings outward.'

'Yes,' Luke murmured back, stepping into the alcove for a closer look. 'Interesting, this locking wheel. Why lock it from this side?'

'Maybe it was for the exclusive use of certain high-ranking parties who wanted everyone else kept out,' Mara said, stretching out with the Force. The alien presence was still pervasive, but still muted. 'If you want to give it a try, this is probably as good a time as any.'

'Right.' For a moment Luke held his face against the door, peering through the peephole. Then, gripping the wheel, he turned it to the left.

Mara winced in anticipation, but the screech of rusted metal she'd expected didn't happen. In fact, the muted sound struck her as more like pieces of polished stone sliding smoothly against each other. Luke finished turning the wheel, then took hold of the two grip releases. 'Here we go,' he muttered, and squeezed.

Whoever had designed the self-lubrication for the locking wheel had apparently also designed the hinges. Again with only the faint rumble of stone against stone, the door swung open. Mara was through the opening before the door had finished its swing, blaster in hand, her senses stretched fully alert.

They were at the end of a fairly wide corridor, she saw, that stretched for perhaps twenty meters before opening into an open, atriumlike area with a wide central pillar running vertically through it from which pale reddish light was streaming. Spaced along each side of the corridor were five recessed doors, each flanked by two of the wall sconces that they'd seen in the underground room below. Unlike those, though, the upper sections of these sconces were glowing with a muted white light, the illumination adding to the dimmer red coming from the pillar in the atrium. The corridor's floor and ceiling were covered in an intricate pattern of tiny interlocked tiles, while the walls were a contrasting plain silvery metal.

From the entryway behind her came a soft twitter. 'Artoo says the red light is the same spectrum as the sun,' Luke said from her side. 'Either we're near the top or they're piping the light down here.'

'I'd guess the latter,' Mara said. 'The decor's a surprise—the Hijarna fortress is nothing but plain black stone. Feel like a little reconnoiter?'

'Sure,' Luke said. 'Splitter Of Stones, if you or the others know anything about the High Tower you haven't told us, this is the time to do it.'

There were more of the Qom Jha chirps and almost-speech; and abruptly all eight of them flapped past Mara and headed down the corridor. Reaching the end, they split up and vanished off in different directions. 'He said they don't know anything more,' Luke told Mara, 'but that they're eager to learn.'

'As long as they don't bring the locals down on us,' Mara said, flicking off her glow rod and sliding it away into a pocket. 'You'd probably better leave the droid here.'

'I was planning to,' Luke said. 'Artoo, get back in the alcove out of sight and close the door. Child Of Winds—no, you stay here with Artoo.'

There was an obvious complaint from the young Qom Qae. 'Not now,' Luke said firmly. 'Later, maybe, but not now. Come on, Mara.'

They headed out along the corridor, Child Of Winds still fussing behind them. 'Looks like a residential area,' Luke commented, nodding toward the doors they were passing.

'Yes,' Mara said, frowning at the central pillar they were approaching. As they neared it she could see that it was shaped like a giant circular stairway, except with a smooth ramp instead of a staircase spiraling around it. And the edge—'Is that ramp moving?'