Qui-Gon leaned against the door frame. "How would you like to take an excursion to Centax 2?"

Obi-Wan sat up. His troubled look vanished."Really? I can see Garen! And those starfighters!"

"Yes, I thought you would like that. Tahl is investigating some problems there. I thought she might be able to use our help."

Obi-Wan gave a vigorous nod. He would do anything for Tahl. "When do we start?"

"Now, if you like," Qui-Gon said. "Get your gear together. We can take an air taxi there."

Obi-Wan grabbed his survival pack, and they headed for the landing platform. There, they boarded an air taxi. It was a short flight to the upper atmosphere, where Centax 2 was located. The satellite was a small, bluish moon with no vegetation or water. Its deep valleys and mountain ranges had been leveled in order to accommodate huge landing platforms and various tech support buildings and hangars.

The landing platforms were busy with traffic, and the air taxi joined a line waiting to dock. At last they were given clearance to land. They exited the air taxi, and Qui-Gon led the way to a covered moving walkway that had exits for different landing platforms. They got off at the very end, where the walkway looped around to return. Then they trudged along a windswept lane to a small, private landing area in the distance. Obi-Wan could see five starfighters lined up outside a tech dome.

As he got closer, he saw two starfighters zooming overhead, just silver streaks in the sky. He kept his eyes on them as they dove, screaming, toward the surface, then pulled up. They flew side by side in mirror formation, then broke apart.

"I wish I could learn to fly like that," Obi-Wan said admiringly.

After the two starfighters landed, Obi-Wan recognized a familiar figure jumping out of one of the cockpits. Garen Muln removed his helmet and shook out a head of thick, shoulder-length hair. To Obi-Wan's surprise, Garen no longer wore the short hair and long braid of a seniorTemplestudent. He saw that the other pilot had grown his hair as well.