Vision of the future

'Oh, they're the right ones,' Luke assured her. 'I had two of them escort me in, then try to shoot me down.'

Mara grimaced. 'I guess that says whose side they're on.'

'Not necessarily,' Luke cautioned. 'Or at least, not permanently. We might be able to persuade them—wait a second. The Bargainer's here.'

Mara nodded; she'd already sensed the anticipation flowing ahead of the new arrival. 'You're going to have to translate for me,' she told him. 'I wish I could hear them myself.'

'It would sure make things easier,' Luke agreed, forehead wrinkling with thought. 'I wonder if—here, give me your hand.'

'My hand?' Mara echoed, frowning, as she extended her left hand toward him.

'I can sense them,' he explained, taking her hand with his right and gripping it firmly, 'and we can sense each other. If we can make that link strong enough...'

'Worth a try,' Mara agreed, stretching out to the Force. The aliens' communications were indeed clearer now, like whispered words beneath the chirping just a little too soft to hear. She stretched out harder, frowning with concentration.

'Let's try this,' Luke said, stepping close to her side and turning to face the same direction she was. Shifting her hand from his right to his left, he slipped his right arm around her waist and leaned over to touch the side of his head against hers.

And in that moment, like a faulty display whose self-tuning had just come on-line, the vague sounds and sensations she'd been picking up for the past two weeks abruptly coalesced into words.

— the Bargainer for this nesting of the Qom Jha, the words flowed through her mind. I am known as Eater Of Fire Creepers. The Qom Jha rejoice that you have come to us at last.

'We're glad to be here,' Luke said gravely. 'I'm Luke Skywalker, as you seem to already know. This is my friend and ally, Mara Jade.'

A wave of emotion swept the chamber. Why do you bring her here to us, Master Walker Of Sky? Eater Of Fire Creepers demanded, an odd sort of caution in his tone. Luke frowned. 'I didn't bring her; she came of her own volition. Is there a problem?' Did you not heed our message regarding this Jaded Of Mara? Eater Of Fire Creepers asked. You surely must have received it by now.

'I've received no messages from you,' Luke said. 'When and where was it sent?' I do not understand, Eater Of Fire Creepers said, sounding wary now. What do you mean by no messages?

'I mean no messages,' Luke said. 'I'd never heard of you or this world until I was told by Mara's friends about her capture.'

But the messages have been delivered, Eater Of Fire Creepers insisted. It was so promised by the Bargainer of the Qom Qae—

He broke off, his wings fluttering ominously. You— Qom Qae, he bit out. Stand forward and speak in your nesting's defense.

There was a sudden commotion by the section of wall where Child Of Winds had been perched. Mara flicked her glow rod that direction, just in time to see the small Qom Qae drop toward the floor to avoid three Qom Jha attempting to pounce on him. They altered direction toward him; changing direction himself, Child Of Winds curved up and over toward a wide crack in the opposite wall near the ceiling. 'Leave him alone!' Luke called sharply. 'He's just a child.' He is a Qom Qae, the Bargainer spat as Child Of Winds dived headfirst into the crack. He bears the responsibility for his nesting's treacheries.

Luke let go of Mara's hand and took a long step away from her. 'You will not harm or harass him,' he said in a tone of command, his words punctuated by the snap-hiss and brilliant green blade of his lightsaber. 'Leave him alone, and I will question him.' A Jedi with ignited lightsaber, in Mara's experience, was a sight that normally caused sentient beings to pause for a moment or two of sober reflection. The Qom Jha either didn't understand, didn't care, or else assumed that five meters of vertical space would be adequate protection from the glowing weapon beneath them. In the green light Mara could see Child Of Winds trying to wedge himself more tightly into the limited protection of the crack, his claws slashing ineffectually toward the three Qom Jha fluttering around him. A half-felt command from the Bargainer, no longer understandable now that Luke had moved away from her, and another group of Qom Jha detached themselves from the ceiling and moved in toward the confrontation.

And it was time, she decided, to remind the aliens exactly who it was they were dealing with here. Tossing her glow rod over to her left hand, she snatched her backup blaster from its forearm holster with her right and fired three precisely placed shots into the wall around Child Of Winds's hiding place.