When Jali hurried back to his office, Ayan was still there, reading a magazine at her desk. She gave Jali a worried look as he came in. He had just managed to talk to her before she left for the night. “You can go now, Ayan,” he told her. “I can lock up.” The Zabrak examined him cautiously. “Are you sure?” she asked. “I got your call and I told him—” “It’s all right,” he said, dismissing her doubts with a wave of his hand, “if Xhen is still here, you’ve done more than I expected you to.” Ayan still looked doubtful. “And I’ll be fine,” he added for good measure.” Xhen froze. “What do you mean?”