"It's all right," Shalini said. "They've been sent by Typha-Dor." She tucked her blaster into her belt.

One man leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He looked weak and pale. "About time."

A tall, muscular woman slipped her blaster into a shoulder holster.

"Past time."

The welcome wasn't quite the friendly one Obi-Wan had imagined. Then a tall man in a thick pullover strode forward. "Don't mind us. It's been a long haul. We're very glad to see you."

"This is Mezdec," Shalini said. "He's our first officer. I am Shalini, the leader of the group. The others are Thik" — the weak-looking man nodded at them — "Rajana, and Olanz." The muscular woman nodded curtly at them, and the other man, bald and as tall as Mezdec, raised a hand in greeting.

"But where are the rest?" Obi-Wan asked. "There are supposed to be ten of you."

"Not anymore," Shalini said. "We had a saboteur in our midst. Samdew was the communications officer. We discovered that he was a spy for the Vanqors. He destroyed our comm system right after we were able to intercept the Vanqor invasion plans."

"He also disabled our transport," Mezdec said. "So we've been stuck here. We're almost out of food, so we're especially glad to see you."

"In that case, let's begin with a meal." Obi-Wan reached for his survival pack. "We brought extra rations in case."

He and Anakin doled out the protein packs. The group sat down and split up the food. While they ate, Obi-Wan scanned the equipment. He took a second look at the damaged comm control console. "What happened?"