Oh, Bail, Breha, what a precious child,” Mon Mothma said while she rocked Leia in her arms. “And such a feisty one!” she added a moment later as Leia worked one arm, then the other, out from under her swaddlings, curled her hands into tiny fists, and let out a wail that echoed in the palace’s great room. “Ah, you want your mom and dad, don’t you, Princess Leia?”
Queen Breha was already hurrying over to relieve Mon Mothma of a now gesticulating and kicking Leia.
“That’s her feed-me cry,” Breha said. “If you’ll excuse me, Senator …”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” Mon Mothma said, rising to her feet. She watched Breha leave the room, then swung to Bail, who was seated by the room’s gaping fireplace. “I’m so happy for the two of you.”
“We couldn’t be happier ourselves,” Bail said.
He wished he could tell Mon Mothma the truth about the child she had just held in her arms, but he couldn’t risk it; not yet, perhaps never. Particularly with “Darth Vader” on the loose.
Picking up on Bail’s moment of introspection, Mon Mothma returned to her chair and adopted a more serious look.
“I hope you understand why I couldn’t trust this conversation to the usual means, Bail,” she said. “Are we secure here?”
“Of course, I understand. And yes, we can speak freely here.”
Mon Mothma closed her eyes briefly and shook her head in dismay. “Most of the Senate is actually willing to accept that Fang Zar was under suspicion for committing acts of sedition on Coruscant, and that he came to Alderaan only to rally anti-Imperial sentiment.”
Bail nodded. “I’ve heard the reports. There’s no truth to any of them. He was fleeing for his life.”
“Has Palpatine remarked on the fact that you granted him refuge?”
“I honestly didn’t know that he’d been questioned by Internal Security and ordered to remain on Coruscant. When Palpatine’s … agents told me as much, I said I would grant him diplomatic immunity if he asked for it—though I doubt he would have asked, knowing that Alderaan would suffer the repercussions.”
“Even so, Palpatine’s silence is curious.” She looked hard at Bail. “Perhaps he’s trusting that you won’t reveal the truth about what went on here.”
Bail nodded in agreement. “Something like that. Although it could work to our long-term advantage to have him believe that I’m willing to support even his lies.”
Mon Mothma compressed her lips in doubt. “That’s probably true. But I’m concerned about the message your silence sends to our allies in the Senate. Sern Prime is in an uproar over this incident. The president-elect has threatened to recall the entire delegation from Coruscant. This could provide just the impetus we need.”
Bail stood up and paced away from his chair. “Palpatine wanted to make an example of Fang Zar. He won’t hesitate to make an example of Sern Prime itself, if the president-elect isn’t careful.”
“How did Zar die?” Mon Mothma said, watching him pace.
“Vader,” Bail said sharply.
Mon Mothma shook her head in ignorance. “Who is Vader? One of Armand Isard’s agents?”
Bail finally sat down, resting his elbows on his knees. “Worse, far worse. He’s Palpatine’s right hand.”
Mon Mothma’s expression of uncertainty intensified. “Closer to him than Pestage?”
Bail nodded. “Closer to Palpatine than any of them.”
“Out of the blue? I mean, how is it that none of us encountered Vader before now?”
Bail grasped for words that would reveal enough, without revealing too much. “He … came to prominence during the war. He wields a lightsaber.”
Mon Mothma’s eyes widened in surprise.
“No, he’s not a Jedi,” Bail said, before she could ask. “His blade is crimson.”
“What does the color have to do with anything?”
“He’s a Sith. A member of the same ancient order to which Dooku swore allegiance.”
Mon Mothma loosed a fatigued exhalation. “I’ve never understood any of this, about the Siths’ involvement in the war.”
“You only need to understand that Vader is Palpatine’s executioner. He’s powerful almost beyond belief.” Bail studied his hands. “Fang Zar was not the first person to feel the wrath of Vader’s blade.”
“Then Vader is all the more reason for us to act while there’s still time,” Mon Mothma said in a forceful voice. “Palpatine’s plan to kill a few to instill fear in the rest is already working. Half the signatories of the Petition of the Two Thousand are all but recanting the demands we issued. I understand that you want to honor Padmé Amidala’s advice to you about biding our time. But what did she know, really? She supported Palpatine almost to the very end.
“Bail, he’s assembling a vast navy. Half the budget is going to the production of these enormous new Star Destroyers. He’s having new stormtroopers grown. And that’s not the worst of it. The Finance Committee can’t even account for some of the spending. Rumor has it that Palpatine has some secret project in the works.”
She fell silent, then continued in a quieter tone. “Think back to what happened three years ago. If it wasn’t for the secret army the Jedi created, the Republic wouldn’t have had a hope of defending itself against Dooku’s Confederacy. Granted, Palpatine took advantage of the situation to crown himself Emperor. But consider what’s happening now. We don’t have an army of insurgents waiting in the wings, and we’ll never have one if we don’t begin to marshal support. Palpatine’s military will rule by the sword. He’ll do as he wishes, whatever he wishes, in the name of keeping the Empire intact. Don’t you see?”
The question hung in the air, but only for a moment.
Raymus Antilles appeared in the wide doorway to say: “Senators, there’s something the two of you need to see.”
Antilles hastened to the HoloNet receiver and switched it on.
“… At this moment, details remain sketchy,” a celebrated commentator was saying, “but reliable sources have stated that the Wookiees were allowing a band of rogue Jedi to use Kashyyyk as a base for rebel strikes against the Empire. The police action is believed to have begun with a demand that the Jedi be surrendered. Instead, the Wookiees resisted, and the result was a battle that left tens of thousands dead, including the Jedi insurgents, and perhaps hundreds of thousands imprisoned.”
Bail and Mon Mothma traded looks of astonishment.
“On Coruscant,” the commentator continued, “Kashyyyk Senator Yarua and the members of his delegation were placed under house arrest before any statements could be issued. But, on the minds of many just now is the identity of this person, captured by holocam on a landing platform normally reserved for the Emperor himself.”
“Vader,” Bail said, on seeing the tall figure in black, leading a cadre of stormtroopers into the Emperor’s building.
“HoloNet News has learned that he is known in the highest circles as Lord Vader,” the commentator said. “Beyond that, almost nothing is known, save for the fact that he led the action on Kashyyyk.
“Is he human? Clone? The Emperor’s own General Grievous? No one seems to know, but everyone wants to—”
“Switch it off,” Bail said to Antilles.
“Kashyyyk,” Mon Mothma said in incredulity. She ran her hands down her face and stared at Bail. “We’re too late. A dark time has begun.”
Bail didn’t respond immediately. Into the silence stepped Breha, holding Leia against her shoulder, and into Bail’s rattled mind came thoughts of Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Leia’s twin brother, Luke.
“All the more reason to keep hope hidden,” he said softly.