agony."
Mon Mothma's smile was full of affection and sympathy. "You would not
be human if you were not feeling both of those things right now."
"But I can't let either of those feelings guide what I do," Leia
said.
"And I don't know that I can keep them from doing so. I only watched
it once, but I can't stop seeing it."
"Leia, dear, surely you haven't told yourself that being President
means that you can't listen to what you feel, that all your decisions
must be guided solely by what you think. Leadership is more than
calculation, or we would hand the whole messy business over to droids,"
Mon Mothma said. "Kings and presidents, emperors and potentates--the
best of them are guided by honest passions as much as by a noble ethic
or cool, incisive reason."
"Passion and power have always seemed to me to be a dangerous
combination," said Leia.
"Without reason or ethics, they almost always are.
But reason needs a passion for truth, and ethics a passion for
justice.
Without that, neither is really alive," said Mon Mothma. "What is it
you're struggling with, Leia?"
"What to do," she Said simply. "What to do to-morrow--to fight or to
concede. What to do about Koornacht while I'm still here."
"What do you want?"
"Han, home safe," she said unhesitatingly. "The Yevetha held to
account. And I want to keep this job, because there's still work to
do."
"And if you cannot have them all, which of those would you surrender
last?"
The barbary birds had put in their appearance as predicted, and Leia's
eyes tracked the darting flight of a black and yellow male. "That's
exactly where I have trouble seeing the way," she said. "Do I answer
for principle? For myself and the children? For the good of the New
Republic?"
"But you've been at this very crossroads before," Mon Mothma said.
"When the enemy was Emperor
Palpatine, you were ready to risk all, and you sacrificed much, for
principle and posterity. What mattered most to you was what you
believed was right. So it was for all of us--both those who died for
the Rebellion, and those of us who sent them to die."
"I have more to lose now," Leia realized. "And I am less willing to
risk it than I was then."
"More proof that you are human, and still no reason for shame. The
young think they are immortal," Mon Mothma said with an understanding
smile.
"Those who do not survive that mistake teach a harsh lesson to the rest
of us. And twenty years of war provided enough harsh lessons for
all.
We cling more tightly to what we have--to life, and to love--knowing
its impermanence."
Leia stood and walked to the transparency separating her from the
darting barbary birds. "It is the same crossroads, isn't it? What
will you risk for what you believe--and what is your belief worth if
you will not risk anything in its defense?" She shook her head. "I
have part of the. answer to your question, at least."
"And what part is that?"
"I know which of those three things I want that I'm willing to give up
first," she said. "The moment we begin to think about staying in power
before we think of anything else, we betray the Rebellion. That's the
heart of what we were rebelling against."
"It was, at the end, the only idea Palpatine stood for," Mon Mothma
agreed.
Leia turned and looked back at her mentor. "But I still don't know how
to choose between the other two."
"I think you do," said Mon Mothma. "What you don't know is how to live
with the choice. And there I can be of no help to you. That secret
escaped you when the clarity left you."
"When did that happen?" Leia asked, returning to sit on the edge of
the stool at Mon Mothma's feet. "I didn't see it go--did you? Never
before in my life have I struggled with decisions, or with accepting
their consequences.
It's been so strange, watching myself from the inside, wondering why
this woman was speaking for me."
"Your clarity came from your certainty that our cause was just and our
purpose worthy," Mon Mothma said. "But there is little certainty of
that kind to be had in a place like the Senate, in a city like Imperial
City.
Certainty is eaten away by the thousand and one compromises that are
the currency of democracy. Causes fall victim to the building of
consensus. Accountability becomes so diffused that it vanishes, and
agreement becomes so rare that it startles."
"I would have said that I understood that--that none of that was a
surprise."
"Understanding it and dealing with it every day are separate problems,"
Mon Mothma said. "You have always drawn your map with straight lines,
Leia, and in that respect, you were ill prepared for the arcane
cartog-raphy of the Senate." She smiled gently, fondly. "You are
welcome to blame me for that--privately or publicly."
Leia shook her head. "There's no need for such talk. You have nothing
to apologize for." She stood and glanced over her shoulder toward the
door. "I have to be going, I don't want to leave the children alone
for too long."
Mon Mothma rose to her feet as well. "There is something your father
told me a long time ago, when I was new to Coruscant and its ways were
a mystery. It was valuable to me--perhaps you will find something in
it as well. He said, do not expect to be applauded when you do the
right thing, and do not expect to be forgiven when you err. But even
your enemies will respect commitment-and a conscience at peace is worth
more than a thousand tainted victories."
By the time the recitation was over, Leia's eyes had misted. "That
sounds like Bail, all right."
Mon Mothma gathered the younger woman into a fond, comforting embrace
that lasted fully half a minute.
"Draw a straight line, Leia," she whispered as they separated. "You
will see where it leads."
It was still an hour before the Senate was to dissolve into the New
Republic Assembly to consider the petition of recall against Leia, and
the session itself promised to last many hours under a rule of
unrestricted debate. But both the media and public levels of the
Senate gallery were already filled, and the corridors outside were
choked with the overflow.
Some of those crowding the public areas held a color-coded gallery pass
for a later three-hour block.
Others had managed to wangle only a site pass and a place in one of the
overflow auditoriums. With demand exceeding supply, the going price
for a gallery pass had already topped ten thousand credits--if you
could find someone willing to sell.
And despite the efforts of Palace security to discourage it, there was
a brisk and animated swap meet under way among those already holding
passes, driven by a series of contradictory rumors about when key
events might take place--most especially when Leia would appear at the
podium. Session Three passes, covering the period f
rom seven to ten
that evening, were presently commanding a three-thousand-credit premium
over Session Two and a five-thousand-credit premium over Four and
later.
Both the commotion and anticipation were more muted in the private back
corridors and chambers, but only by comparison to the public ones. The
recall was the signal event of the Third Electoral, and no one with a
claim to a seat in the great chamber meant to miss it.
Crowds and unfamiliar faces were everywhere, and the normally tranquil
Council caucus room was hosting a heated shouting match between half a
dozen senators who couldn't wait for the session to begin.
In such an atmosphere, Leia's unheralded arrival in the Senate anteroom
went unnoticed at first. And the first to spot Leia were among the
last she wanted to see--Engh's image analysts.
She had never troubled to learn or remember their names-she called them
the Ventriloquist and the COs tumer. The Ventriloquist, who called her
President Solo, was forever trying to put words in Leia's mouth, then
critiquing the words that had come Out of Leia's mouth.
The Costumer, who called her Princess Leia, treated Leia like a
dress-up doll, endlessly worrying about whether her clothes sent the
right image for a particular public appearance.
They came rushing up to her together and greeted her with a rush of
words.
"Princess! Where have you been?--" "President Solo! I haven't seen
your speech yet--" "--I have your clothing in the diplomatic lounge.
There's no immediate urgency, but I need to talk to you about your
jewelry choices--" "--thank goodness you won't be the first to the
podium. Let's find a room where we can go over what you expect to
say--" "--I've opted for a very plain look, not quite widow-in-mourning
but moving in that direction, and anything too gaudy would just be
jarring--" "--I've scheduled you for interviews with Global, Prime, and
ING right after the session--" "Stop," Leia said sharply. "Both of
you--just stop."
Both stared at her with the same flavor of we're-just-trying-to-help
surprise.
"Is there something wrong, President Solo--" "I didn't mean to be
insensitive, Princess Leia--" "Not another word," she said,
interrupting. "Not one more. As of this moment, you're both fired."
With two quick movements, she collected their area passes from their
clothing. "Report back to the ministry and resume doing whatever it is
you used to do--which I can only hope is something more useful than
what you've done here."
By then, everyone within ten meters was aware of her presence, and a
curious crowd had begun to gather around her. Ignoring them, Leia
brushed past the Ventriloquist and continued on through the anteroom
until she found Behn-Kihl-Nahm. The chairman was with
Doman Beruss, huddled over what looked like a chalice of dark brew and
a schedule of speakers at a table near the courtesy bar.
"Bennie," she said, turning her shoulder to Beruss and ignoring him
completely. "Let's go upstairs. We need to talk."
There was a sudden murmur--a collective gasp, more truly--from the
thousands packed into the Senate chamber when Behn-Kihl-Nahm and Leia
entered together and ascended to the upper tier of the podium.
When the murmur subsided, all that could be heard were the faint voices
of newsgrid commentators echoing through a dozen or more active
coralinks scattered across the floor of the chamber.
"--was not expected to appear until much later, until called on to make
her own presentation. Her unexpected-" "--ueling immediate speculation
here of a surprise resignation--" "--was considered unlikely that she
would choose to be present during what promises to be a long and
intense debate--" But the Senate's protocol officers quickly hunted
down the offending devices, and there was barely a rustle as
Behn-Kihl-Nahm walked to the podium.
"Fellow senators," he said, then cleared his throat twice. "Fellow
senators, there will be a change in the published schedule for today's
session."
Innocuous as they were, his words caused an immediate stir in the
audience. He ignored the stir and went on, leaning in toward the.
podium's audio scanner. "As provided for under the Senate rules of
order, and in respect of the provisions of Article Five of the Common
Charter, I yield the gavel to the President of the Senate, Leia Organa
Solo, hereditary Princess of House Organa of Alderaan and elect senator
of the restored Republic of Alderaan."
As Leia rose from the bench where she had been waiting, something
unexpected happened--a slow-growing, defiant-sounding ovation. In
scattered twos and threes, then pockets of ten and twenty, seated
senators rose to their feet clapping and calling out the traditional
affirmation of Ho, nuzzan. By the time Leia reached the podium, half
of the left aisle and nearly all of the right had joined the impromptu
demonstration.
There was less enthusiasm from the center aisle, where representatives
from most of the human worlds were seated, but even there nearly half
were on their feet, with stragglers still swelling that number.
Noisiest of all was the public gallery, the occupants of which were
ignoring the warnings of the. protocol officers and the architects
both and stamping in unison. Taken aback, Leia looked to
Behn-Kihl-Nahm for a cue or an explanation, only to find him applauding
her as well, with equal measures of determination and dignity.
Leia turned back to the chamber and raised her right hand, asking for
silence. "Please," she said." Please. I m grateful for your support,
so spontaneously and genuinely offered. I accept it as a deeply felt
expression of your concern for Han--mirroring the concern that so many
people from all over the New Republic 'have taken the trouble to share
with our family. I am gratified to learn that his welfare matters to
so many of you. We love him dearly, and it's unimaginably hard for us
to see him suffering.
"But I did not come here today to speak of Han, or to presume on your
sympathy," Leia said. "I have come here to make an announcement in a
matter of great gravity. I'm glad that so many of you are here to hear
it firsthand.
"At thirteen-thirty today, in the presence of the chairman of the
Defense Council, the first administrator, the minister of state, the
admiral of the fleet, and the director of the Intelligence Ministry, I
invoked the emergency-powers provisions of Article Five with respect to
the crisis in Farlax Sector."
A startled gasp from thousands of throats tore the silence. "That is
the formal language required by the
Charter," Leia went on. "But it can be said more simply-we have
declared war on the Duskhan League.
"I have taken this step for one reason, and one reason only--because it
is the right thing to do.
"This is not a personal crusade or a political maneuver.
It is a campaign for justice--justice for the victims, and justice for
the crimina
ls.
"The crimes of the Yevetha are not as well known to you as they should
be, nor as they will be. You have seen the faces of two of Nil Spaar's
victims: Han and Plat Mallar. But what the Yevetha have done to these
two--as much as it hurts those who love them--is among the least of
their offenses.
"The Duskhan League is led by an absolute dictator whose bloody
amorality is the equal of any enemy the Republics have known. They
have exterminated, without the slightest provocation, the populations
of more than a dozen peaceful worlds. They have murdered innocents by
the tens of thousands, without the slightest justification.
"Humans, Morath, H'kig, Kubaz, Brigians--no one who stood in their way
was spared. Not the women. Not even the children. Their bodies were
incinerated.
Their homes were leveled. Their cities were bombed back to atoms.
"And the last memories of those children, those cities, are now held by
the few who the Yevetha spared--spared so that the Yevetha could use
their living bodies as shields in battle.
"The possibility that the Yevetha may not be finished with their
murderous expansion, the prospect that they might next fall on Wehttam
or Galantos or another more familiar world, is unnecessary to our
response.
"If these horrors do not demand our answer, then shame on us. If these
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