Star Wars The New Jedi Order - Agents of Chaos II - Jedi Eclipse - Book 5

by James Luceno

  Fey'lya wasn't unprepared to defend his accusations. "Consider what the Jedi are said to have accomplished when their little retreat on Yavin 4 was threatened by Imperial admirals Pellaeon and Daala, and how Luke Sky-walker all but single-handedly turned the tide against the Yevetha with illusions. Then talk to me about their current contributions."

  He wagged his clawed forefinger at Omas. "Never underestimate what they are capable of, Councilor. Sky-walker's Jedi are not the Jedi Knights of old, but a surreptitious, ambitious new breed. With Bothawui occupied, they would be ready to make their move and take control of the senate."

  Chelch Dravvad of Corellia took on the fight. "The chief of state should learn to keep his private fears to himself. It is against the Jedi Code to spearhead an offensive, on the battlefield or in any other arena. In this the new Jedi are no different from the old. Skywalker and the rest are attempting to do what the Jedi have always done uphold peace and justice without turning themselves into full-fledged warriors. If there is a growing misunderstanding of them, it owes to a lack of information. Perhaps by isolating themselves on Yavin 4 they are to blame for some of that. Perhaps their time would have been better spent demonstrating what they stand for. Even so, they have all our best interests at heart, and they certainly haven't singled out the Bothans as their enemy."

  Fey'lya's voice became higher pitched. "You're wrong, Councilor. And I say again that, based on Commodore Brand's data, I will not grant the command staff's request that Corellia be reinforced."

  "Then I demand that the issue be put to a vote," Omas said.

  Fey'lya held up his hand to silence debate and looked pointedly at Brand. "What do your actual field agents tell you, Commodore? What do your analysts say? What are you hearing from the costly hyperspace probes you've sent out? Instead of relying on conjecture, we should be looking to hard data. We'd do just as well to seek the counsel of a fortune-teller as accept as truth what you've told us this afternoon."

  "Our findings are based on neither prophesy nor conjecture," Brand said firmly. "The data supporting our decision are of a highly sensitive nature, but they are available for your p erusal whenever you wish."

  Fey'lya sneered. "Oh, I'm certain you've concocted an airtight case, Commodore." He scanned the eight councilors. "For the record, then, who will begin the vote?"

  "I stand with the chief of state," Fyor Rodan of Com-menor declared. "I don't trust Karrde or the Jedi. With enough popular support Skywalker knows the senate will be constrained to yield to his demands. Then it will only be a matter of time before the Jedi are overseeing all decisions. I warn you, allow Bothawui to fall and we'll soon be headed for malevolent times-an empire disguised as a theocracy." He stopped to take a breath. "Commenor will be threatened should Corellia fall, but I am compelled to vote against the Jedi, and for Bothawui."

  "Thank you, Councilor," Fey'lya said.

  "Why not take the battle to the Yuuzhan Vong before they completely outflank us?" Councilor Triebakk asked Brand through his droid translator.

  Brand turned to the towering Wookiee. "That isn't possible without leaving the entire Core unprotected. If we could put the Imperial Remnant and the Hutts at their back, or have the Hapan Consortium open a new front in the Mid Rim, a counteroffensive could be considered. But now is not the time."

  "I agree that we can't afford to leave Coruscant or any of the Core Worlds open to attack," Dravvad said, "but do you actually expect us to sit here and debate which world-Bothawui or Corellia-is more important to the New Republic?"

  "Not more important, Councilor, more imperiled."

  "Stop wasting time," Fey'lya snapped. "Your vote will go to Corellia and we all know it."

  Dravvad nodded his head once. "Just as yours must go to Bothawui."

  Fey'lya swung to Cal Omas. "Your vote."

  "Corellia-but not for the reasons you imagine. It simply makes no sense for the Yuuzhan Vong to have struck at Gyndine and Tynna if Bothawui has been their goal all along. Furthermore, Corellia is essentially defenseless, where Bothawui is already sufficiently defended. How would we appear to our constituents if we allowed a helpless system to fall-a system we made helpless, no less? We might as well convince Corellia to surrender."

  "Spoken like a true Alderaanian," Fey'lya muttered. "Also, Councilor, you falsely assume that surrender to the Yuuzhan Vong guarantees survival. But that is another matter." He turned to the Sullustan, Niuk Niuv.

  "The Corellians have long wanted independence," Niuv began. "We nearly went to war with them in recent memory over that very issue-a war that only strained relations to the breaking point. The New Republic is under no constraint to defend Corellia. But the fact of the matter is that Corellia's lack of defenses will be its salvation. The Yuuzhan Vong will strike against Bothawui."

  "Your sense of direction is astute, Councilor," Fey'lya remarked, "and I further applaud you for breaking ranks with Admiral Sow." He turned 180 degrees. "Councilor Triebakk. Do I even need ask?"

  "I accept Commodore Brand's data, and defer to the expertise of the command staff," the Wookiee said through the translator. "The Yuuzhan Vong plan to use Corellia as a staging area to penetrate the Core-"

  "There's no need to belabor the point," Fey'lya cut him off. He narrowed his eyes at Councilor Pwoe. "And you?"

  The Quarren's mask tentacles quivered and his baggy eyes narrowed in anger. "Corellia. As Councilor Omas said, Bothawui is adequately defended by some of the very Bothan Assault Cruisers it convinced the New Republic to finance some time ago."

  "And I can promise you that we will make use of all those cruisers, even if we have to withdraw them from the Core," Fey'lya barked.

  "Hasn't it always been Bothawui's aim to claim those ships as their own and prove itself mightier than Mon Calamari, Sullust, and Coruscant?"

  Fey'lya smirked. "So Pwoe-disconcerted by Mon Calamari's loss of the military prestige-votes not so much for Corellia as against Bothawui. Next!" He looked to Navik of Rodia.

  Navik's short snout bobbed. "Rodia's proximity to Bothawui leaves me little choice." He nodded affirmatively to Fey'lya.

  The chief of state nodded back and commenced a head count. "Pwoe, Omas, Triebakk, and Dravvad in favor of Corellia. Myself, Rodan, Niuv, and Navik in favor of Bothawui."

  Everyone looked at the council's ninth and newest member.

  "I'm afraid the decision falls to you," Fey'lya said.

  Commodore Brand waited, expectantly.

  "Even with the evidence of Tynna to support a possible threat to Corellia, an attack on the Core makes no sense strategically. If the Yuuzhan Vong were going to launch an offensive so far from their present stronghold in Hutt space, why would they waste valuable resources engaging a system we essentially stripped of defenses after the Centerpoint Station crisis rather than strike at a more appropriate target, like Kuat or Brentaal? No, I say all things point to an attack on Bothawui-from Hutt space and now from Tynna. I stand with Chief of State Fey'lya."

  Fey'lya breathed a long sigh of relief. "I commend your flawless reasoning, Senator Shesh." He smiled ruefully at Commodore Brand. "The matter is resolved. Assemble your task force, Commodore, but steer it to Bothawui."

  "We've beaten them at their own game," Commodore Brand announced as he hurried through the doors of the fleet office. "Senator Shesh kept her promise She threw the vote to Bothawui."

  Hoots of success filled the room.

  "Shesh also reports that her meeting with the Hutt consul general went well," Brand added. "We may yet get some help from the Hutts. Now we need to hear from Hapes."

  "The Consortium vote is set for tomorrow," his adjutant supplied.

  Brand couldn't restrain a smile. "It's all coming together. But now the real work begins." He strode to a holomap not unlike the one he had made use of only moments earlier in the Advisory Council chambers. "The Yuuzhan Vong have obviously been looking closely at both Corellia and Bothawui, assessing the value of each. By deploying the new task force in Bothan space, we
leave Corellia wide open for attack." He turned to his adjutant. "What news from Centerpoint Station?"

  "The Solo kids have arrived on Drall. Anakin Solo is the one who originally enabled the repulsor there, and the Centerpoint technicians have high confidence he'll be able to do the same with the station. At this point they're down to fine-tuning the thing anyway, making certain it

  will perform as expected, in lieu of running actual tests, for fear of alarming Corellia, Drall, Selonia, and the rest. Although that hardly matters, since rumors of all sorts have been circulating. Riots have broken out in Coronet, Meccha, and L'pwacc Den Port, and there's widespread talk of ousting Governor-General Marcha."

  Brand nodded glumly. "Well, if this works, Corellia will be seen as the galaxy's savior, and any hard feelings should disappear." He turned back to the slowly gyrating 3-D map. "Alert Core Command on a need-to-know basis that elements of the Third Fleet should be prepared to jump for Kuat on my order. Likewise, that elements of the Second Fleet should be prepared to jump for Ralltiir." He inserted his hand into the holo-projector's cone of light. "Furthermore, I want the hy-perspace routes linking Corellia to Kuat, Ralltiir, and Bothawui swept for the Yuuzhan Vong equivalent of mines or mass-shadow weapons."

  Brand turned and glanced around the room. "With Centerpoint's interdiction field holding them fast and a full fleet at their back, the Yuuzhan Vong will regret the day they entered this galaxy."

  Archon Thane's words could barely be heard for all the outcries of shame and disapproval. Regardless, he stood tall before his sixty-two peers, most of whom were female, proudly displaying the bruises he had earned in the honor duel with Isolder and convincingly unapolo-getic for having gambled away Vergill's vote on the outcome of that contest. Thane's audacity was not surprising, but where Leia had expected bitterness and sarcasm, his words in support of the New Republic sounded almost sincere.

  Many in the vast hall were certain that Vergill's vote would provide Teneniel Djo with the majority she needed to mandate military action against the Yuuzhan Vong, but Leia no longer had a clear sense of her own objectives. While the Consortium's entry into the war might turn out to be pivotal, allegations of personal interest and conspiracy threatened to undermine not only the political process, but also the long-standing alliance between the Consortium and the New Republic.

  To the exasperation of C-3PO, who insisted on trying to match her long strides and divine her sudden about-faces, Leia paced nervously behind the scenes in a small chamber that looked out on the speaker's rostrum. If nothing else, she told herself, the vote would at least conclude her visit to Hapes, which had become more trying as the days had worn on, both at Reef Fortress and the Fountain Palace. She felt hopelessly removed from the activities that had become most important to her. Hapes had begun to seem a place of exile, and an imaginary one at that-a land of dragons and rainbow gems, of trees of wisdom and Guns of Command-and the brawl between Isolder and Thane had been one thing too much.

  She had yet to spend any private time with the prince, and if she had her way, she wouldn't. From the start she had feared that Isolder had misconstrued the nature of her mission to Hapes, and Ta'a Chume's telling her that she would have been an ideal wife for him had only made things more awkward and complicated. The fate of the galaxy no longer turned on courtly intrigues, and Leia wanted no part of the Hapans' enslavement to them.

  Marooned in the past, in a swirl of distant memories, she longed more than anything to hear from Han. She knew that Jaina was with Rogue Squadron, and that Anakin and Jacen were bound for the Corellian system- if they weren't there already-but she had no idea where Han was. Countless times each day, he would come swaggering into her thoughts, quick to bring disarray. Although it wasn't the Han of the past several months she saw, but the scoundrel she had gradually fallen in love with. The Han who had thrown her a wink on being decorated for his unexpected actions during the Battle of Yavin; the Han who had acknowledged her first confession of love with a reply that managed to be both heartfelt and smug; the Han she had rendered speechless with the disclosure that Luke was her brother.

  Despite the damage to his roguish reputation a demonstration of real concern might inflict, there was no excusing his continued silence, and Leia was as angry at him as she was worried.

  A new uproar filled the hall.

  Leia saw that it was Isolder who now stood before the delegates. Like Thane, the prince was all but basking in the contentious mix of esteem and condemnation that greeted him, his face puffy with contusions, and one arm bandaged.

  No bacta treatments for the real men of Hapes, Leia thought.

  "Everyone who has wished to be heard on the issue of the Consortium pledging support to the New Republic has been heard," Isolder began when the commotion in the hall had settled. "It's clear that we have no consensus on this issue, and the vote is certain to be close. The decision to go to war is never an easy one, and our decision this day is made all the more difficult because we appear to be safely distanced from that war. But bear in mind the counsel of Ambassador Organa Solo This quiet will not endure. The light that shines on the Consortium today could very well be eclipsed tomorrow, and any battles avoided will ultimately have to be fought, perhaps by us alone. I won't stand here and reiterate the many arguments that have been presented, denigrating one stance or bolstering another. I ask only that each of you eschew politics and vote the will of the people you represent. That is our commitment, and by doing so we vote our conscience."

  The process was infuriatingly meticulous. With Tene-niel Djo and her attendants looking on from a balcony, voting was done by hand rather than electronically, with representatives bringing forth their finest heirloom quills and employing their most baroque calligraphy. The votes-sometimes missives-were read and tallied by a panel of senescent judges; then the results were hand-delivered to the royal balcony in the form of a natural-fiber scroll resting on an outsize shimmersilk pillow.

  The queen mother herself made the announcement.

  "By a vote of thirty-two in favor to thirty-one opposed, the Consortium avows to support the New Republic in its just and decisive actions against the Yuuzhan Vong."

  Isolder's champions cheered and his detractors railed. It was a long while before Teneniel Djo could restore order.

  "The vote is concluded," she said at last. "I ask now that personal differences be set aside and the word of law accepted, so that we may enter into this momentous resolution in a spirit of union."

  The grumbling gradually subsided, and delegates shook hands or embraced one another ceremoniously. The sudden fellowship struck Leia as counterfeit as an arranged marriage.

  "Mistress," C-3PO said with a touch of alarm, "the prince approaches."

  Turning, Leia saw a beaming Isolder marching toward her, throwing his richly embroidered cloak over one shoulder. For a moment she feared that he was actually going to scoop her up and twirl her around, but he came to a halt just out of arm's reach.

  "We won the day, Leia. In spite of everything, we won the day." He scanned the crowded hall until he located Archon Thane, then motioned at him with his chin. "Look how Thane sulks. If he'd had his way, the vote would have been reversed." He swung to Leia. "You realize it was his plan all along to insult you, then best me in combat after I had agreed to his wager. But we prevailed."

  Leia stared at him with mounting disquiet. "The last

  thing I wanted was for this decision to hinge on the outcome of a grudge match, Isolder."

  His gleaming, hero's smile held. "Perhaps not, but that is often the way on Hapes-and besides, you know that I wouldn't have done any less for you."

  "But I don't want you doing this for me-any more than I wanted you fighting to protect my honor."

  Isolder regarded her quizzically. "Who was I fighting for if not you? Why did you come to me?"

  "I came to Hapes, Isolder-as an envoy of the New Republic. That's the truth of it."

  "Of course you did. And you were right to come her
e." He eased the moment with an understanding smile. "All that aside, you have your wish. We stand side by side in battle."

  Leia's attempt to emulate his expression failed, as something that had been at the edge of her consciousness all week long suddenly rushed to mind.

  Scarcely eight years earlier, with many of the warships of the New Republic fleet undergoing repairs and upgrades, Luke had been asked by the senate to appeal to the Bakurans for help in putting an end to a rebellion in the Corellian sector. More to the point, Luke had been asked to appeal to his close friend Gaeriel Captison, even though she had retired from public service after the death of her husband, former Imperial Pter Thanas. Gaeriel had pledged her support, and with the aid of several Bakuran naval vessels, the crisis had been resolved. But at a terrible cost. Gaeriel, Bakuran Admiral Ossilege, and thousands more had been killed. Luke still spoke of his guilt, especially after visits with Gaeriel's young daughter Malinza, whom he had pledged to keep safe.

  In the wake of recollection, something even more terrible began to blossom in Leia's mind. Her heart pounded and her forehead beaded with sweat. Her sight blurred at

  the edges, sounds grew faint, and she reached out for Isolder's arm to steady herself. She shut her eyes briefly, and into the darkness raced a ferocious vision of warships speared by brilliant light; of expanding explosions and the cries of dying thousands; of starfighters vaporized, blinding eruptions of fire, bodies floating still in the void, a world ablaze-

  "Leia, what is it?" Isolder asked, holding her upright. "Leia?"

  Coming back to herself almost as quickly as she had become lost, she took a calming breath and eased out of his hold. Then she gaped at him, wide-eyed. "You can't do this, Isolder. You mustn't join us."

  His brow furrowed. "What are you talking about? The vote has been taken. The matter is already decided."

  "Then call for a revote. Tell everyone you've rethought Hapes's position."

  "Are you mad? Do you know what you're asking of me?"

  "Isolder, you must listen to me-"