Luke smiled. “Thank you. And you’re welcome to call me Luke. Before we continue, while I’ll be happy to answer your questions shortly, I need to tell you that I have chosen your show as a platform to make a very important announcement.”
Luke sensed through the Force that Perre was taken off-guard, but the elderly Chevin was such a professional that neither his body language nor his voice betrayed his surprise. “Why, I’m honored, Luke. I’m sure that with all that’s going on throughout the galaxy, you’ll have a lot of important things to share with us. By all means, please continue.”
Luke turned so he was facing the cam. “Over the last forty years, I have endeavored to build and manage the Jedi Order in accordance with our highest ideals: cooperation, peace, freedom, decent treatment for all beings. Recently, in my absence, the Jedi were faced with a terrible choice—disobey the Chief of State and risk having our very Temple attacked, or answer cries for help from beings struggling to free themselves from slavery. They chose to overthrow Daala’s government, and since that time the Jedi, including my sister, Leia Organa Solo—who was once Chief of State herself—have been working closely with Acting Chief of State Wynn Dorvan and the Senate. Our goal is to completely transition the Jedi out of the government of the GA. After much deep thought and meditation on the subject, I have come to a decision. I have reached the conclusion that the Jedi can best serve the beings of this galaxy by becoming an Order that is independent of any and all political ties—by going even further than removing ourselves from the direct act of governance. While we support the Galactic Alliance, we will no longer be an official branch of it. And to that end, the Jedi will be departing Couruscant as soon as the transition of power is complete.”
Perre Needmo had been right about the professionalism of his staff. There was a huge spike of surprise from them and from Needmo himself, but though there were several open jaws and wide eyes, no one uttered a sound.
Needmo leaned forward slightly. “Luke, it’s my understanding that the public never did think that the coup’s purpose was for the Jedi to gain power. Daala’s policies were becoming increasingly harsh and militaristic, and it’s safe to say that she won no friends by bringing in the Mandalorians to enforce those policies. Polls indicate that the populace is content with the Jedi’s current level of participation. Are you sure this isn’t an overreaction? It’s possible that beings will feel the Jedi have abandoned them.”
“Not abandoned them,” Luke emphasized. “Abandoned constrictions and restraints on our ability to help as we are called. Once the Jedi are autonomous, our ability to help those truly in need will actually be increased, not decreased.”
“Can you give me an example?”
“A perfect one is the recent slave revolts,” Luke said. “Daala met those uprisings with force. The Jedi have gone to help with negotiations—my sister Leia, for instance, has only recently returned from Klatooine. When the extremely peaceful Octusi were being ruthlessly suppressed, the Jedi stepped in to stop it.”
“Don’t you think that makes you a vigilante organization?” pressed Needmo. “Some would say, without constraints the Jedi would run amok.”
Luke smiled gently. “I think those who would say that are those who, like Daala, wanted the Jedi safely under their thumbs. The Order has been around for a long, long time. I think this new move is going to benefit everyone. Initial meetings with Wynn Dorvan and Senator Haydnat Treen are progressing very well. The Senate will move to elect an interim Chief of State, and I think we all know who that’s going to be.”
“If it is Wynn Dorvan, then certainly no one could ask for a more meticulous Chief of State,” said Needmo. “Though there was an incident not too long ago that showed a different side of the onetime chief of staff. Let’s take a look.”
The vidcams began to display the image, now engraved upon the mind of every Coruscanti citizen—and probably the vast majority of citizens of the entire Galactic Alliance—of Wynn Dorvan racing up the steps of the Temple.
And with that segue, Luke Skywalker knew that all would be well.
“Are you watching, my dear?” said Treen into her comlink. She was propped up in bed on nearly a dozen perfectly fluffed pillows. The heavy draping of the bed’s canopy was parted on the end to reveal a large vidscreen displaying Luke Skywalker’s lined yet still somehow boyish face several times larger than life. On the bed beside her was a tray of small, delicate pastries and a cup of hot cocoa.
“Indeed I am,” came Kameron Suldar’s pleasant voice. “I usually don’t like The Perre Needmo Newshour. Staring at a Chevin is not my idea of a pleasant way to get information.”
“Nor mine, but Master Skywalker’s news is nothing but good for all of us. The boy is sometimes wretchedly naïve.”
“You’re sure he doesn’t suspect?”
Treen took another sip of cocoa. “Suspect what? Dorvan would have loved it if I had relieved him of his burden, but that wasn’t what we wanted. I was quite serious when I said being Chief of State was too complicated, and I have far grander ambitions.”
“Let us hope Moff Lecersen can deliver as promised.”
“My dear boy, don’t you worry about Drikl Lecersen. I know how to handle my ride to power. Do you know how to handle yours?”
“Indeed I do, Senator. Indeed I do.”
CORUSCANT
“I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT YOUR FAMILY WOULD HAVE MOVED BACK into a regular apartment by now,” Jag said as they approached the safe house where Han, Leia, and Allana had been forced to live over the last few months.
“Are you kidding? When would we have had time to move? Even with droids to take care of most of it, moving is a pain. And we’ve been a bit busy, you know,” Jaina replied.
Jag smiled a little. “I suppose you’re right. I guess I just never liked the idea of the Solos having to live in a safe house at all.”
It still was technically a “safe house.” Jag and Jaina, having had a lot of experience recently with just this sort of thing, had swapped vehicles a few times and were fairly certain they had eluded detection. With the coup, or “transition of government,” depending on which term one preferred, there seemed to be no real risk anymore to Jaina’s famous—some would say infamous—family. Still, they were the Solos, and the current situation could change at any moment. One day, no doubt, they would find better and more public accommodations, but now, their home base needed to remain secret. It was just safer that way.
Jaina and Jag had had “the discussion” earlier—the one that, in months past, might have blown up into a real fight: the discussion about what each of them had to do to move forward. Now, however, although it was not what they ideally wanted, Jaina and Jag had found they could discuss the situation calmly.
“I’ll be departing with the Jedi—temporarily, at least,” Jaina had said. “With all the controversy around the coup and the Jedi’s new direction, the Jedi need to be seen as completely united behind Uncle Luke’s decision. I’m … Jag, I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone, nor what’s going to happen to the Jedi in the end.”
He had nodded. “I expected you would go with them,” he had said. “And I completely agree with your choice.”
“You do?”
“Absolutely. You’re needed there for now. Luke has made a bold move. It would undermine his authority if his niece chose to stay behind, no matter who she might be engaged to.”
She nodded. “I knew you would understand duty.”
“Oh, I do. I also know that it’s what you want.”
“Jag, don’t think for a minute I—”
He had taken her hand and pressed it to his heart, smiling at her. “I know you want to be with me. I want that, too. And we’ll have that eventually … or we won’t. You don’t just feel obligated to travel with the Jedi—you want to, just as much as you want to be with me. And all of that is okay.”
She regarded him searchingly as he continued. “And frankly, after your parents’ cryptic message, I am getting the di
stinct feeling I won’t be lingering around Coruscant much longer, either. After this meeting, I suspect I’ll be heading straight for Imperial Space. And I don’t know what’s waiting there for me any more than you know what’s waiting for you.”
“About that meeting,” Jaina said, tension leaving her posture. “I was told that you’re to join us for dinner tonight. They wanted to have sort of a going-away celebration for me. And it sounds like for you, too.”
“Leia’s staying behind then?”
“Just for a while. Dorvan asked her to and Luke agreed. Not so much because she’s a Jedi, but because there are few people in the galaxy who have the kind of diplomatic and governmental experience she has.”
“Dorvan is a wise man. I’m glad she’s staying, for however long. He and the GA can only benefit. And I’ll be there for dinner,” Jag assured her. “Wherever … there is. I never have learned where your family’s safe house is.”
“They won’t be using it after tonight, so I guess they figured it didn’t matter if you knew the location.” Jaina grinned.
“I feel so honored,” Jag said sarcastically, mitigating his tone with an answering smile.
“Either that,” she said, draping her arms around his neck, “or they wanted to officially welcome you to the family. Maybe you finally got Dad’s approval.”
“Now, now,” he chided, “don’t shake my universe up too much.”
The door was opened, not unexpectedly, by C-3PO. “Goodness gracious, how pleasant to see you again, Head of State Fel!” the droid enthused. “If only Master Luke and Master Ben were here, the entire family would be gathered together. It’s been some time since that last occurred. I rather miss it.”
“Good to see you again, too, Threepio,” Jag said. R2-D2 toodled a happy-sounding welcome, as well. Jag started to reply when he was suddenly simultaneously charged by a madly purring young nexu and a beaming eight-year-old girl.
“Anji is happy to see you and so am I!” the little girl said. He mussed her black hair affectionately, then extended his hand to his future father-in-law.
“Glad you could join us tonight, kid,” Han said. “Family’s going to be going off in all kinds of directions tomorrow.”
Jag was surprised at how good it felt to be included in the Solos’ definition of family. “Indeed,” he said, “and about that …?” He let the question trail off and merely lifted his eyebrows in inquiry.
Han pressed a Corellian ale into Jag’s hand and went to pour a glass of red wine for Jaina. “After dinner,” he said. “In the meantime, I can’t take all of this with me, so drink up.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a safe house with such a well-stocked liquor cabinet,” Jag commented. He sipped the ale and nodded appreciatively.
Han shot him the familiar lopsided grin that had, forty years earlier, won the heart of a Princess. “There are some things you just don’t skimp on. For me, that means good alcohol, and good blasters.”
“Which go together so well,” said Jaina, rolling her eyes at her dad.
Leia came out of the kitchen and, with a smile and a quick kiss, accepted the glass of wine that Han had poured for her. “Dinner should be ready shortly. In the meantime,” she said, sobering, “there’s something very important you need to see.”
Jag was instantly alert and focused. “What?” he asked.
With great seriousness, Leia said, “Amelia has taught Anji four new commands.”
An hour later, after Anji had successfully stayed, savaged a stuffed eopie and then dropped it at a single word, and blocked Jag from getting up—all at a few hand signals from Allana—a pleasant visit ensued until it was the girl’s bedtime. She was clearly disappointed at having to leave, but obeyed cheerfully, giving Jag a hug and heading for her room with the devoted nexu at her heels.
Jag eyed the table, a little confused. It was set for five. “I thought Amelia would be eating with us,” he said.
“At this hour?” said Leia. “Oh, no. She’d be far too cranky in the morning. No”—she smiled a little—“someone else will be joining us.”
Three dark heads turned to the hallway expectantly, and Jag followed their gaze.
A young woman, slender and golden-haired, stepped into the living room and smiled a bit uncertainly. “Hello, Head of State Fel,” said Tahiri Veila.
Blinking at her, Jag wordlessly turned to the Solos for an explanation.
“Sorry to spring this on you, but we thought this was the best way for all involved,” Leia apologized. “She came to us for help.”
Tahiri remained standing. “I had a chance to escape,” she said. “Just disappear in the chaos of Daala’s breakout. For a while, I did just that. I thought about going to Eramuth, but I realized I would put him in a terrible position if I did.”
“So you went to the Solos,” Jag said, a touch of anger in his voice.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Tahiri continued quietly. “I was found guilty in a court of law. I was sentenced to execution. And I’m running away from it. And viewed in a certain light, that’s completely accurate. But … I want to make things right, Jag. My death won’t help anyone. It won’t bring Gilad Pellaeon back, it won’t repair any damage I’ve caused. It’s legal … but it’s not just. I have many debts to repay, many errors to correct. And I want to do that.”
“When she came to us with this, I had an idea,” Leia said. “Technically, the crime was against a former Imperial admiral. Justice would best be served by having Tahiri tried in an Imperial court. And until such a time as that can be arranged, Tahiri has offered to begin making reparations by assisting the Empire.”
“And these days,” Jaina said, “that’s you, honey.”
Jag stared at all of them, then back at Tahiri. She gazed levelly back at him.
“I’ll abide by whatever decision you make, Jag,” Tahiri said quietly. “If you want me to turn myself in, I will. I’ll sit in prison, and I’ll have factions using me to advance their own agendas, and it will be a holojournalist’s field day until the GA gets around to executing me. Or I can come with you, and serve you with my life. And when the dust settles, I’ll get a fair Imperial trial for what I’ve done.”
Despite the tension in the room, Han snorted. “Times sure have changed when Imperial trials are certain to be fairer than Galactic Alliance trials.”
Leia shushed him with a gentle hand on his arm, her brown eyes watching Jag.
“This isn’t a setup, Jag,” Jaina said. “We’ve all agreed to abide by whatever you choose to do.”
Jag leaned back against the sofa, thinking. There was a time when he’d have disbelieved Jaina, but he didn’t. The situation—the safe house, Tahiri on the run—all of this necessitated the secrecy.
“I think now would be a good time for you to tell me where you and Han went for a few days,” he said to Leia. “And elaborate just a tiny bit on the whole I’m-in-danger thing.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starving,” said Han. “Can we talk while we eat?”
“Just not with our mouths full,” said Jaina.
Over a delicious, though slightly cool, meal of fried endwa, the orange gravy congealing slightly, chaka noodles, and steamed Ferroan spinach, the story unfolded.
Leia filled Jag, Jaina, and Tahiri in on everything that happened, from the initial strange message to the discovery of the Squibs, to the attack and, finally, the revelations. Jag’s eating slowed and finally stopped altogether as he sat, food cooling and forgotten fork in hand, and listened.
“Squibs,” he said.
“Squibs,” Han confirmed.
“Who were working for me and the Imperial Remnant?”
“Ashik confirmed it,” Leia said. “We didn’t fill him in on the details. We wanted to tell you first.”
“Do we know why Getelles’s people were after him?” Jag asked. He seemed to notice the food for the first time in several minutes, and ate the bite on his fork. He didn’t taste it.
&
nbsp; “Unfortunately not,” Leia said. “They’re staying with us. Well, with some … friends. You can talk to them if you’d like.”
Jag raised an eyebrow, but Leia said nothing further. “Let me make certain I understand everything,” he said calmly, putting the fork down. “Some Squibs you met years ago contacted you out of the blue. They just happen to be working for me, although I was unaware of it. They have information on where Daala is going, what she plans—which is targeting my job—and who she’s working with and who she’s planning on betraying. Said Squibs have done something to warrant Getelles’s people trying to kill them, but we don’t know for sure what that is. Have I gotten it all correct?”
“That sounds right.” Han did not suffer from the lack of appetite that now plagued Jag. Beside Jag, Jaina ate steadily, staying silent.
“You’ve been back for a few days,” Jag said. “Assuming this is true—and I confess, I’m dubious—why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because we needed to make sure it was true before coming to you with rumors or misinformation,” Jaina said, unable to keep quiet any longer. “Mom and Dad wanted to check out their story. All parts of it. They needed to make sure the recording the Squibs gave them was genuine.”
“And it is,” Leia said.
“Don’t feel bad,” Han said. “I was surprised, too.”
Jag leaned back in his chair, thinking.
“So,” Jaina said, exchanging glances with Tahiri. “What are you going to do?”
“Have you told anyone else about this?” Jag asked Leia and Han.
“Not yet,” Leia said. “We wanted you to know first. Dorvan does know that I’ve been following up leads on Daala’s whereabouts, however.”
“Thank you,” Jag said. “Do you think he’ll act on the knowledge?”
Leia hesitated. “He might,” she said. “But frankly, it’s chaos there right now. Dorvan’s a cautious man. I think he would wait until there’s more stability with this current government before he did anything. He’d certainly want to know more before committing GA resources toward extracting her. Though she’s an escaped prisoner, she’s under the protection of Moffs. Which makes it your business more than his.”
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension Page 24
