“YOU! I THOUGHT I’D gotten rid of you!”

Skelly stretched out his hands and smiled broadly at Kanan. “Hello to you, too,” he said, speaking loudly. “Don’t get up.”

Kanan did get up. He grabbed the startled fugitive by the back of the neck and forcibly shoved him down into the seat Zaluna had been occupying. “This is a room full of miners who think you tried to crush them to death!”

“That’s all wrong.” Skelly started to rise. “Look, I could tell them—”

“Sit down!” Kanan barked, shoving him downward. He looked around the room to see who had noticed. Thankfully, it was chaos as usual—a term that was quickly coming to describe his entire evening.

“Why did—” Hera started to say. “Our friend, the Sullustan. She ran out of here when she saw you. Why?”

“No idea,” Skelly said.

“She probably met him in an elevator once,” Kanan said.

Skelly pointed at Hera with his good hand. “You should be careful around this woman, Kanan. I don’t think she’s who she says she is.”

“Thanks for the advice. But she hasn’t said anything yet.”

Hera stood and glanced at Kanan. “I should see where she ran off to. I’ll be back.”

“No, wait.” He rose and touched her shoulder. “Sit with Skelly. Make sure he doesn’t do—well, anything. Anything at all.”

Kanan walked quickly back along the bar. Reaching the side door, he saw nothing outside but Okadiah’s aged hoverbus, parked in the moonlight.

He saw Skelly and Hera talking furtively when he returned. Did they really know each other?

“Couldn’t see her,” he announced.

Hera frowned. “She’d know Skelly was wanted,” she reasoned.

“Maybe she’ll come back when he’s gone.” Sitting down, Kanan faced Skelly. “What are you doing here in the first place? Who let you go?”

Skelly pointed. “She did!”

Kanan looked at Hera and gawked. “What?”

Hera simply nodded—and shrugged.

“When? Where?”

“At Moonglow,” she said. “He was being held prisoner. I set him free.”

“Why?”

“It seemed like the thing to do.”

“What, like activating a thermal detonator?” Kanan couldn’t believe it.

She seemed unconcerned. “It seemed safe. There weren’t any reports of casualties from the moon—”

“I was nearly one. He’s a biological weapon.” He clapped his hand on Skelly’s sleeve. “Now will you please get out of here?”

“I’ll go,” Skelly said, pulling his hand back. “But I came to see you because I need a favor.”

“This should be good.”

“Vidian’s coming to inspect Moonglow in a few hours,” Skelly said.

Hera’s interest was piqued. “That’s odd. I thought Moonglow was a small operation.”

“I overheard him telling Lal. The stormtroopers have already put up a security cordon around that part of Shaketown. So I’ll need your ID to get me onto the grounds, old buddy.”

Kanan took a large swallow of his drink, then asked, “My what?”

“You said you were going to quit anyway, right? Just let me borrow your badge. I’ll give it back after I’ve made my case to Vidian.”

“I won’t get it back, because they’re gonna shoot you in the head! And Vidian’ll have a ball watching.” Kanan shook his head. “That guy’s horrible.”

“He’s brilliant. He doesn’t take any guff from corporate types.”

“That’s for sure,” Hera said. “He kills them.”

“I know a few who deserve it. From what I hear, he does what needs doing.” With his left hand, he gestured to his motionless right hand. “And he’s not ashamed of his cybernetics. I think he talks my language. We’ll consult, like two professionals. I’ll save the moon. And then I’ll go.”

“This is the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard.” Kanan looked over at Hera in disbelief. “This is what you let loose.”

Hera sighed. “I saw someone with a grievance. I wanted to know what it was, before the Empire rubbed him out. I wanted to know if he was worth knowing.” She fixed her eyes on Kanan and spoke calmly. “You can’t always guess what role someone will play.”

“You can’t pick your friends, you mean?”

“Oh, I’m very selective.”

“I bet.”

“I have high standards,” Hera said. “Only very special people are going to be able to help me right now.”

“Like Skelly? Or her?” Kanan gestured with his thumb to the door Zaluna had left through.

“No, probably not.” She smiled charitably. “And not even you. I thank you for earlier, but you’re not going to be able to help me.”

“Help you do what?”

She smiled gently. “If you have to ask, you’re not ready to know.” She rose. “And now I really need to go. The Empire’s still looking for Skelly—and if they break Hetto, they could know about my rendezvous.”

Before Kanan could respond, he heard the front door being kicked open. Two stormtroopers appeared there. Turning, he saw two more coming in through the side door.

Hera saw them, too. She sighed. “Speak of the Empire, and it will appear.”

—

Crouching behind a garbage bin, Zaluna struggled to calm down. She’d been right to move when she did. Every Imperial on Gorse was looking for Skelly, and bounty had probably been offered. She didn’t know whether he was guilty of what he’d been accused of, but she wasn’t going to sit around possibly betraying the Empire while he was anywhere nearby.

Treason! That was what she’d just committed, she realized. Zaluna’s breaths came quickly as she looked down at the ground and her open bag. The data cube was there, glinting in the moonlight. By showing the object and its contents to Hera, Zaluna had just thrown away thirty-plus years of faithful service—and for what? To help a woman who might be in league with a mad bomber? Skelly had seemed to recognize Hera. Had his whole tussle with Kanan on the moon been a fraud, to trap her?

Entrapment had been a concern going in, and she’d taken a few steps to prepare for that. They hadn’t included an escape route on this side of the building, however. Hearing the clatter of armor as stormtroopers ran past, Zaluna looked furtively for someplace to hide the data cube or something to smash it with. There was nothing. Even the garbage bin was locked.

As the sound of another transport came from the street beyond, Zaluna saw her only possible sanctuary looming large and dark, up the alley. She picked up her bag and ran for it. Either those years in the Transcept exercise room would save her, or they wouldn’t.

—

The clamor inside The Asteroid Belt lessened only a little as the stormtroopers—one male and three female—made their way inside, blasters handy but not raised. Kanan saw Okadiah leave his sabacc game long enough to greet them. “Welcome, Officers, welcome! Happy hour all night!”

Kanan shot a concerned look at Hera. “Only two ways out of here,” he said.

“I know. I checked before I came in.”

Of course you did, Kanan thought.

Skelly stood up and reached for his hood. “I’ve had enough of this,” he said, beginning to remove his cowl. “I’m trying to see Vidian anyway. I’ll just go with them!”

“No!” Kanan and Hera said in unison, each grabbing an arm and jerking Skelly down. Kanan yanked the top of the hood forward so it was almost covering Skelly’s nose.

The stormtroopers began working their way through the room, speaking to individual patrons. The drunks weren’t cooperating, and the stormtroopers weren’t being gentle in return.

“Side door?” Hera asked.

Kanan shook his head. “Hear that sound?”

Hera concentrated for a moment. “Just the bar.”

“There’s a personnel carrier idling out there. Must be more stormtroopers.”

Hera glanced at the exit. “Couldn’t it be the hoverbus?”

“Different sound.” Only he and Okadiah had the activation code, anyway. Kanan looked around the bar, furtively—until his eyes fixed on the short hallway directly behind their table.

Kanan glanced back to make sure the stormtroopers weren’t looking his way. Seeing his moment, he stood, grasping Skelly’s arm tightly. “Quick,” he said, making for the corridor. “You, too!”

“But that doesn’t lead outside,” Hera said.

“Just follow—and do exactly what I say.”