Borsk Fey’lya, Chief of State of the New Republic, offered an apologetic expression that looked as false to Luke as it was well-practiced. His words followed suit.
“I’m sorry,” he demurred, violet eyes unblinking. “I can be of no help in this matter, Master Skywalker.”
Luke fought down the urge to shout and sought the calm he so often implored of his students. “I beg you to reconsider, Chief Fey’lya. Lives are at stake.” Grief over Ikrit’s death was still raw.
The Bothan nodded. “I am painfully aware of that, Master Skywalker. However, whereas you are concerned with the lives of four—count them, four—Jedi, I must consider a great many more. I must consider the lives we will lose in an attempt to retake the Yavin system, a system with no tactical or strategic advantage. I must consider, further, that this action would quite effectively end the truce with the Yuuzhan Vong and cost even more lives in renewed warfare.”
“They’ve already broken the truce,” Luke replied, still trying to keep his voice even. “They promised not to take any more of our worlds if Jedi are turned over to them, something that the whole galaxy seems eager to do. And yet they’ve now taken Yavin Four.”
“Of course, neither I nor the senate sanction the purported purge of Jedi.”
“Purported?” Luke allowed the word to absorb all of the incredulity he felt at Fey’lya’s implication.
“And as for Yavin Four,” the chief continued evenly, “it is not one of ‘our worlds,’ not if by the use of the plural pronoun you mean the New Republic. Yavin Four is your pet project, Master Skywalker. You Jedi have made it clear that you are not bound by the laws and decisions of the senate. You fight unsanctioned battles and provoke needless dissent. And now, suddenly, after spurning our wishes, you desire our aid? Really, can’t you see the hypocrisy in that?”
“Chief, putting aside for the moment that you are confounding the action of a handful of Jedi with our order as a whole, these are children we’re talking about. They’ve done nothing, and they don’t deserve to suffer for the mistakes of others.”
“But you would ask me to jeopardize millions, perhaps billions for those same mistakes? Your mistakes? Listen to yourself.”
“That’s the most—” Jaina Solo exploded. Luke was surprised she had kept silent for so long.
“Quiet, Jaina,” he said.
“But he’s twisting—”
“Child, you have all of your mother’s fire and none of her common sense,” Fey’lya said. “Listen to your Master.”
“There’s no need to insult my niece,” Luke said. “Her brother is one of those missing.”
“Would this be Anakin Solo, who forged a fake departure authority in order to leave Coruscant surreptitiously?”
“Anakin is a little … overeager.”
“He did not proceed under your authority?”
“No, Chief Fey’lya, he did not, but he thought the students at the praxeum were in imminent danger. As it turns out, he was correct.”
“Another example, however, of what I’m talking about. Young Solo ran off against orders, breaking several laws in doing so, with no say-so from anyone. This, so far as I can tell, is the essence of what the Jedi have become.”
“I’m coming to you now, Chief Fey’lya.”
“Yes. Now that the matter is too large for you to handle on your own. And I note that you did not come here first. At the very least, you went to General Antilles—and, I suspect, to others. And they all sent you here.”
“I was inquiring into what was possible,” Luke said. “Not making requests.”
“How diplomatic. And where is your sister in all of this? She and her husband also seem to have disappeared.”
“That’s not relevant to this,” Luke said.
“Oh, isn’t it? Are they engaged in yet more unsanctioned covert activity? Are they a part of the little government you’re trying to run on the side, as if the elected officials of the New Republic are incompetent to do their jobs?”
“We’re following our Jedi mandate, Chief Fey’lya. We protect. We serve. I’m sorry if these goals are incompatible with yours.”
“The arrogance,” Fey’lya said. “The sheer arrogance. And you wonder why you are disliked.”
Luke felt matters rushing to a heated conclusion and knew part of it was his own fault. Perhaps the rage he felt pulsing from Jaina was partially responsible, but he was dangerously near losing his own head in the matter. He placed his palms together. “Chief Fey’lya, if you won’t consider military action, at least consider a diplomatic solution.”
The Bothan reclined in his chair. “The matter has already been brought to our attention. Negotiations have been and are occurring.”
“Brought by whom?”
“The Yuuzhan Vong, of course. The Yavin situation has already generated a good deal of tension.”
“What? You knew?”
“The Yuuzhan Vong assure us that their occupation of the system is temporary. They went there in search of raw materials, not captives. They knew nothing about your Jedi praxeum.”
Luke bore down on the chief of state with his gaze. “I ask again,” he said softly. “You knew the Yuuzhan Vong were going to Yavin, and didn’t see fit to warn me?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Fey’lya snorted. “Do you think I could keep that from your Jedi spies? No. The Yuuzhan Vong entered the Yavin system peacefully. There was already some sort of scuffle between smugglers going on when they got there, and some of those smugglers remain and continue to harass the Yuuzhan Vong water-mining activities on Stroiketcy. It took considerable diplomatic effort to convince them that these outlaws have nothing to do with the New Republic.” He cocked his head. “You know nothing of these pirates, do you, Master Skywalker? This wouldn’t be yet another example of unsanctioned Jedi activity, would it?”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “You sold my students out. I won’t forget that. Ever.”
“I see. Instead of answering my question, you threaten me.” Fey’lya waved the back of his hand. “You’ve taken up enough of my time, Skywalker. Let me just leave you with a warning. I’m formally cautioning you that the Yavin system is off-limits to you and your followers. If the forces there are in any way connected with you, you will recall them. Under no circumstances are you to go there yourself or send Jedi in your stead. If you make any move in that direction, you will be placed under arrest. You are already, I rather needlessly point out, under close observation. Is that clear?”
“Oh, it’s clear all right,” Luke replied. “Suddenly, a lot of things are very clear indeed.” He felt Fey’lya’s mind snap down and vacuum seal. The interview was over. He turned to go—and stopped when he noticed that Jaina wasn’t moving, was standing stock-still, tears of anger streaming down her face.
“Chief Fey’lya,” she said in a quiet voice. “You are a poor excuse for a sentient being. I hope one day you really smell the stink in your heart and choke on the fumes.”
Fey’lya returned her gaze. “You’re very young,” he said. “When you’ve accomplished a fraction of what I have for the people of this galaxy, come back and we’ll talk again.”
“It makes a certain amount of sense from his perspective,” Jacen said later, when Luke and Jaina had returned to the Jedi Master’s quarters. Luke had just finished relating the substance of his talk with the chief of state to Shada D’ukal, Tionne, Mara, and Jacen.
“I do not believe you said that,” Jaina snapped. “This is Anakin we’re talking about. It’s the praxeum!”
“You don’t have to remind me who my brother is,” Jacen said. “But that’s the point, don’t you see? We can hardly be impartial in this case.”
“Vape impartiality!” Jaina replied. “Fey’lya’s not impartial.”
“No, he’s not. But his concerns are different.”
“Yeah. He’s more concerned about the Vong than he is about his own citizens.”
“That’s not true,” Luke said gently. “To be honest, I never thought he would send ships to the Yavin system. I had to ask, though, and we did learn some things.”
“Right. Like Fey’lya sent the Vong there in the first place.”
“I doubt that very much,” Luke said. “I think things happened pretty much as he said. When the Yuuzhan Vong showed up they found Karrde fighting the Peace Brigade, and when they took occupation, Karrde turned on them. They then contacted the New Republic. And Fey’lya’s right—I should have seen this coming, long ago. The Yavin system has been at risk for months now. Only the concentrated effort of the Jedi there even allowed us to think it was safe.”
“That’s perfect, Luke,” Mara said. “Blame yourself.”
Luke lifted his eyebrows, surprised at the brittle anger in her tone. “I’m not trying to allocate blame, Mara.”
“Then spare us your apologies for Fey’lya and the senate. What are we going to do?”
“What Anakin did,” Jaina said. “Talon Karrde is out there right now, fighting a holding action for help that will never come. He’ll stay there until they pick all of his ships off, one by one. Won’t he, Shada?”
“Yes.”
Luke fixed her with his gaze. “I understand your concern, Jaina, but what good will one more X-wing do Karrde or Anakin?”
“More good than sitting here. And we can contact Mom and Dad, have them bring the Millennium Falcon.”
“First of all, Han and Leia are still out of contact. More important, you heard what Fey’lya said.”
“Oh, please let them try arresting us,” Mara grunted.
“You think I care even faintly what that scruffy Bothan said?” Jaina chimed in. “Uncle Luke, we can’t do nothing.”
Luke placed his hand on Mara’s arm. “Listen to me, all of you. I’m not worried about arrest as such, and I think you all know that. But things aren’t good for the Jedi now. If we have any friends left in high places, we can’t afford to alienate them. We’re already considered rogues. We can’t allow ourselves to be cast as enemies of the state.”
“If they’re stupid enough to think that, let ’em,” Jaina snarled. “They’re hopeless.”
“Right,” Jacen said sardonically. “That’s really what we need right now, Jaina—a civil war within the New Republic, as if the war with the Yuuzhan Vong isn’t already enough. Besides, Uncle Luke is right. I don’t think the weight we could add to the battle would help, not considering the situation as Shada outlined it.”
“What, then?” Shada asked. “Karrde can’t do it alone.”
“What if we added a Star Destroyer to the equation?” Luke said.
Shada looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded slightly. “If the Yuuzhan Vong don’t get more reinforcements—maybe.”
“Terrik,” Mara said.
“Terrik,” Luke agreed.
“I thought you said you couldn’t find him?” Jacen asked.
“No, but I have some ideas about where to look. All I need is someone to look for him.”
Jaina stared. Jacen nodded. “Yes,” he said.
“No, now wait a minute,” Jaina said. “You want us to chase halfway around the galaxy for a Star Destroyer we might never find—”
“Jaina,” Jacen interrupted. “Do you think Anakin is dead?”
She hesitated fractionally. “No. I know he’s not.”
“Right. I don’t think he’s dead either. I don’t even think they’ve caught him. Anakin knows Yavin Four as well as we do, maybe better. The Yuuzhan Vong don’t know it at all. If they didn’t catch him when they landed, it would take a miracle for them to find him.”
“Unless he ran right up to their ships, lightsaber swinging, which is just what Anakin is likely to do,” Jaina said.
“He’s headstrong,” Jacen said, “but he isn’t stupid. He knows help is on the way. He probably knows Karrde is there already. The problem is, he can’t get to Karrde or Karrde to him because the Yuuzhan Vong are in the way. Uncle Luke is right—a couple more X-wings or even the Falcon won’t change that equation much. The Errant Venture would.”
Jaina’s nostrils flared. “Uncle Luke, you aren’t just trying to get us out of the way, are you?”
Luke shook his head. “How do you plot that course? No. Jacen’s laid out the situation perfectly. Let me add to that the fact that since Valin is Booster Terrik’s grandson, Booster will be more than happy to help.”
“And Terrik isn’t tied directly to the Jedi.”
“What are you talking about?” Mara interrupted. “Corran Horn is Valin’s father, and last I heard, he was with Booster.”
“Corran distanced himself from us after Ithor,” Luke replied. “Fey’lya might suspect something, but he won’t be able to prove it. Which reminds me—Shada got here without revealing she has most of the Jedi candidates with her. If they turn up here on Coruscant, with us, Fey’lya will know we’re behind Karrde being there. That may or may not be a situation I can control. But they aren’t safe here anyway. When you go to find Terrik, I want you to take the candidates with you.”
“What, in an X-wing?”
“We have Shada’s ships—” Jacen began.
“Oh, no,” Shada said. “They aren’t my ships, they’re Karrde’s, and he needs them. I’m returning to the Yavin system, and I’m doing it very soon, no matter what you work out here.”
“We’ll take the Jade Shadow,” Mara said. “I can convert some space. It may still be a little cramped, with all of the kids, but she’ll do the job.”
“You and I can’t leave Coruscant,” Luke said bluntly.
Mara’s eyes flashed. “Skywalker, if this is about my ‘delicate state,’ you can shove—”
“It’s not, Mara. We can’t attract suspicion. Fey’lya’s watching us. It’ll be hard enough to get Jacen and Jaina out without raising eyebrows, but that can be done.”
Mara seemed to roll that around in her mouth. I don’t like playing these games, she practically hurled at him.
I don’t either, he replied.
The room was silent for a score of heartbeats, during which time Luke realized that everyone else in the room was staring at them. Their mouths were admirably closed, but their read in the Force was purely gape-jawed.
No, not all of them are surprised, Luke suddenly knew.
It was typically Jaina who broke the silence. “Mara? You’re? …”
“Bright kid,” Mara said. Her eyes narrowed a little. “Jacen?”
Jacen seemed to be trying to see the individual atoms in the floor. His face was redshifting.
“You peeked,” Mara accused.
“I, uh, didn’t mean to,” he mumbled. “But when I started using the Force again at Duro …” He looked around helplessly for support.
“We were going to tell you soon, anyway,” Luke said.
“That’s wonderful!” Jaina exploded. “Mara, congratulations.” Her brows scrunched a bit. “I guess? I mean, I didn’t think—”
“What?” Mara said, nailing the younger woman with a pointed gaze. “Didn’t think what?”
“Oh, I—nothing,” Jaina replied, her face suddenly twinning her brother’s in hue.
“It’s just suprising,” Jacen said, for her. “You were sick for so long.”
Mara nodded. “Yeah. Well, the universe surprises you sometimes. And sometimes—on rare occasions—in a good way.”
“In the best way,” Jaina burbled. “Congratulations. To both of you.”
“Thank you,” Luke said.
“ ‘Cousin Jaina.’ I like the sound of it.”
“So do I,” Mara replied, lips twitching in a smile. “But that doesn’t solve the immediate problem. So, ‘Cousin Jaina’—why don’t you take the Jade Shadow and go find Booster, already?”
Jaina’s eyes widened. “You’re offering me your ship?”
“Loaning it for a good cause. Just don’t get her dinged up, understood?”
“Understood,” Jaina replied. “But if we don’t find Booster within a standard week—”
“We will find him,” Jacen interjected.
“Either way,” Jaina warned, “you won’t keep me away from Yavin Four. Not if I have to fly there on a repulsorsled.”