Inferno by Troy Denning Page A

whether Luke was strong enough to hear the truth.
    Luke turned to Kenth. “You said you had a lot to tell me,” he reminded. “Start telling.”
    “We didn’t want to upset you during the funeral,” Kenth replied. “But a unit of GAG troopers tried to arrest Han and Leia. That’s why they didn’t make the funeral.”
    “They let GAG catch sight of them?” Luke was incredulous. “The Solos ?”
    “It happened inside the Temple,” Kenth explained. “Less than an hour ago.”
    This time, Luke was stunned. “A GAG squad, in here?”
    “On level six,” Kyp said. “The Solos were coming in from the Ministry of Justice mezzanine.”
    “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”
    Even as Luke demanded this, he could see by the troubled expressions on the faces of the Masters that they had doubts about whether they should have told him now —and he had only himself to blame. Given the way he had drawn in on himself, what were they to think? Awash in doubt—about himself, about the Force, even about the Order itself—he had shut himself off from everyone except Ben. And he had been playing straight into his nephew’s hands, practically inviting Jacen to step in and take control of the Order.
    When no one answered his question, Luke said, “Forget I asked. Where are they now?”
    All eyes turned to Corran, who was monitoring the Temple security channels over an ear comm.
    “We don’t know,” he said. “They escaped into Fellowship Plaza, and Leia’s been Force-flashing the security cams.”
    “Not the Solos,” Luke said. “I mean the GAG squad.”
    Corran frowned. “They’re gone, chasing Han and Leia.”
    “Can we be sure?” Luke asked. “If we don’t know where Han and Leia are—”
    “How do we know the GAG unit iz still chasing them?” Saba finished. “You think the arrest attempt was a diversion?”
    “I think it’s a possibility,” Luke said. “The way I’ve been hiding from responsibilities—”
    “You haven’t been hiding from anything,” Kenth said. “Your grief is more than understandable.”
    “Thanks,” Luke said. “But the fact is, I’ve left us vulnerable. With everyone focused on finding Mara’s killer and worrying about me, there’ll never be a better time to cripple the Jedi.”
    “Then we’d better find that unit fast,” Kyp said. He turned toward a turbolift on the far side of the lobby. “If we don’t hurry, there’ll be a whole battalion—”
    “It’s okay,” Corran said, catching Kyp by the arm. “Temple security spotted them. They’re outside, escorting Jacen across Fellowship Plaza.”
    Saba gnashed her fangs in confusion—or perhaps it was disappointment. “Jacen changed his mind about seizing the Temple?”
    Corran shrugged. “Who knows? We have reports of a lot of heavy hoversleds moving away from the Temple—but that doesn’t mean they were carrying GAG troopers.”
    A sudden silence fell over the gathering, and the Masters stood looking at one another in a fragile blend of relief and trepidation. Luke could sense how worried they all were that they had just come very close to letting Jacen take control of the Temple—or worse.
    It was Ben who broke the silence. “So what are we going to do about it? We can’t let him get away with trying to arrest us.”
    Luke looked down in surprise. “ We, Ben? I thought you wanted Jacen to be your Master.”
    Ben’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment. “I might have made a mistake,” he said. “I’m entitled. I’m fourteen.”
    In another time, on another day, Luke might have laughed. Instead, he said, “You don’t have to be fourteen to make mistakes. I’ve been making plenty.”
    “If you say so,” Ben said, shrugging. “And that’s not an answer to my question. You’re not going to let him get away with this, are you?”
    Luke thought for a moment, then said, “Actually, I think we will.”
    “What?” The question came from three Masters at once, and Saba added in all