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Jedi Ambassador I - In The Shadows
Chapter 2
By Sienn (2004)
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Night had long fallen when Mara Jade Skywalker pressed her palm onto the
sensor field that would grant her access to the suite that she and her
little family had been calling their home for a little more than a year now.
Shortly before Ben's birth, the couple had decided that a larger apartment
was called for. The redheaded beauty smiled as she remembered the evening
when her husband had first proposed the move to her. Although his arguments
had all been well-thought out and perfectly reasonable, his true motivation
had shown through clearly, shimmering just underneath the thin layer of
innocence that he had been so eager to project.
Luke Skywalker had taken a liking to being a father and although he had not
yet breached the subject openly, his wife knew that he was playing more
often than not with the thought of having another child. It wouldn't be long
before he would take her to the side, probably after they had spent the
afternoon playing with their son, and approach the matter with what he would
perceive to be subtle steps aimed at outmanoeuvring any argument she might
bring up against the enterprise.
Mara grinned and shook her head, lost in thought. He was so easy to read if
you knew what to look for. Easily startled, too, inside that private space
that so few people ever were granted access to. It was there that he had
retained the Tatooine farmboy, and so much of his warmth and devotion. Yes,
Luke would be appropriately astonished upon realising that Mara had long
since been aware of his dreams and that she had indeed already decided for
herself that there was nothing in her that didn't want another child with
him.
However, this was still a futuristic thought. As things lay, there might be
other things they would have to turn their attention to first.
Mara stepped into the small anteroom that separated their actual living
quarters and the door and stored her cloak into one of the built-in lockers
at the wall to her right. Proceeding onward, she let her eyes wander and
took in the familiar sights that still induced a small amount of disbelief
in her at times. The suite encompassed two floors in its totality, and the
lower one was not divided into single rooms, except for a guest room to the
left. Aside from this, there was just one single, wide room opening before
her, with a stairway leading up to the second floor and the wall opposite
the entry completely made of transparisteel.
A door gave to the garden, created on a wide terrace just big enough to
harbour a lawn, a place to sit and a small heaven of trees and flowers that
gave colour to the polished glass and steel world that was Coruscant.
On the right side seen from the entry, they had placed a group of stylish
black and brown nerf leather armchairs and couches and a low glass table
that turned from crystal clarity to opaque blackness with the play of the
sun's rays on its surface. Several artworks displaying stunning vistas of
Yavin IV's sunsets, Tatooine's deserts glistening during an early dawn and
Alderaan's wide plains adorned the otherwise plain walls. This was where
visitors were led to and many of them had looked upon these drawings with
wonder and appreciation.
Obviously not from the hand of one of the many renowned artists known all
over the galaxy, but still testimony to a certain talent and a love for
nature and its beauty they added atmosphere to a section of the suite that
would otherwise have seemed a bit too cold and formal for Luke's taste. An
added bonus to the Jedi Master was the irony of the fact that all the
dignitaries and diplomats that came seeking more personal knowledge about
Luke Skywalker never went away satisfied - never realizing that an aspect of
him that no one but his family knew about was put out in the open for them
to see.
Mara still sometimes couldn't believe that she had never known Luke liked to
draw until he had told her so on Chandrila, almost two years ago. During
their days there, she had made him promise to show her more of what he had
done over the years and when she had expressed her admiration, he had been
eager to decorate their home with his favourite sights of the planets that
had played so much of a role in his life.
Tearing her gaze away, Mara turned to the left, passed the stairway and the
huge dining table that gave room for up to twelve persons to enter the
kitchen and pour herself a glass of juice. She might have spent the past few
hours sitting in a pub, but drinking had been the last thing on her mind.
The very last thing.
Giving a silent sigh, she backtracked her steps and climbed the stairway,
soundless and light as a gust of wind.
The peace with the Yuuzhan Vong had brought an odd mix of stability and
stress into their life as a married couple. There were more constants than
ever, constants that gave them the strength to go on, and yet the work
seemed to be never-ending. Once more the galaxy had had to realize how much
easier and quicker it was to destroy than to rebuild and even though
everyone's efforts had been centred on clearing the mess the Yuuzhan Vong
had left in the wake of their sudden onslaught, there was still so much more
to be done.
And even if that had been arranged to everyone's satisfaction at this
point - a state that Mara suspected to arrive only a couple of years in the
future - the diplomatic relationships with the strange and exotic alien race
had barely begun to blossom. The so much craved exchange of knowledge and a
more profound understanding of their culture and religion could as well have
been called a dream as a work in progress.
The Yuuzhan Vong had followed the stipulations of the peace treaty
meticulously. They had withdrawn their soldiers from every occupied planet.
According to the assurances of the Supreme Overlord, his Master Shapers were
busy developing countermeasures for every single manipulation that had been
done at their hands. There were voices in the Senate that openly doubted the
truth behind Shimrra's words, but as long as the Yuuzhan Vong stayed on the
worlds that they had received in exchange for peace no one took the
discussion so far as to demand pressuring the aliens. Not yet, at least.
You didn't have to be a state-of-the-art diplomat to realize that this state
would not endure very long if the isolation the Yuuzhan Vong were obviously
eager to live in continued in this extreme a form.
At the very edge of the known galaxy, the New Republic had found a cluster
of stars with no indigenous sentient life forms. After much research and
probing by the Master Shapers of the Supreme Overlord, the worlds had been
deemed acceptable and the totality of the Yuuzhan Vong had moved in. Moved
in and closed the door behind them.
They might have given the cluster a name of their own, but if so, they had
never deigned informing Coruscant of it. To the New Republic, this region of
space - not that far away from Belkadan - was simply called the Yuuzhan Vong
cluster. On its frontier patrolled the living yorik coral crafts of the
aliens as well as the Star Destroyers and Mon Calamari cruisers of the New
Republic, maintaining a silence that was less the result of enmity than
incomprehension and insecurity.
Until the galaxy they all knew and cherished had returned to normal, no one
would pay much attention to the chosen silence between the Yuuzhan Vong and
the peoples of the New Republic. But once there was nothing else to keep the
politicians occupied, this course of ignoring each other with purpose and
determination would start to look suspicious and have to be changed.
To Mara's not so small annoyance, her husband was one of the most stout
supporters of the knowledge exchange and his fascination with everything
Yuuzhan Vong was unnerving her more than she dared admit. Ridiculous as it
might be, everything that had occurred around Mezhan Kwaad, Priestess Elan
and both their pet project Liin had left more of an impression on her than
on Luke. In that aspect, at least.
If she had her way, her husband would not come within visual range of
anything Yuuzhan Vong if it could be helped. Unfortunately, Luke was pretty
good at ignoring that particular wish of his wife and was eager to expand
his knowledge wherever he could.
It wasn't as if that surprised Mara. It just irked her, plain and simple.
Pushing these thoughts out of her head, knowing that they would lead to
another argument with her beloved that she would lose to his pragmatism and
his ability to switch off emotions like fear or caution if it suited his
purposes, she stepped into what was their true private sanctuary.
This was where Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker lived and were only
friends and family were allowed to trespass. She faced a room half as large
as the floor below. A window went out on the garden, but it didn't fill the
whole outer wall. It was an old-fashioned construct, in fact, below which a
wide, plush couch was situated. Dark green, it played beautifully with the
rest of the furniture - armchairs in the same shade and a crystalline glass
table that was manufactured in true Mon Calamari fashion without corners or
sharp ends.
The walls of their personal living room were not graced with Luke's
artworks. Instead, the one opposite the window was worked into shelves
filled with keepsakes of both Luke and Mara that they held dear and holos of
friends and family. The one opposite the entry was home to a chimney. In the
space between the group of armchairs and couch and the shelve stood a
smaller table that Luke and her normally occupied when they were eating at
home.
Breaking the row of the shelves was the vaulted entry to a corridor that
sported two doors left - Ben's room and a spare room -, two doors right -
Luke's private room and her private room - and one door at the end that led
to their bedroom.
Feeling joy and satisfaction settle deep into her heart upon letting her
gaze wander over the home she cherished so much, Mara smiled and spotted her
husband immediately.
Luke Skywalker sat on the couch beneath the window, a glow lamp pinned into
the corner of the room shedding soft, golden light over him and the ancient
book he was reading. With the more or less steady work hours peace brought
to them, he had found time to devote to his hobbies and had recently begun
to study as much of the old Jedi mythology as Tionne had been able to dig
up.
Right now, though, he was smiling at her and put the book away as she
crossed the room and sank next to him. They exchanged a soft kiss as a way
of greeting and Mara glanced over to the corridor.
"Is he asleep?"
Luke nodded and stretched, using the opportunity to steal a glance at his
chrono that he had disposed on the glass table. "We tired him out pretty
good."
At his wife's cocked eyebrow, the Jedi Master grinned, "Hey, you should be
grateful. I don't think he'll wake up a single time tonight."
Mara smirked at him, thinking how much she hated it to disturb this peaceful
atmosphere with what she had learned today. Luke, ever the perceptive one,
frowned and sat up, noticing the seriousness that was pouring off her
underneath her relief and happiness to be home.
"What's the matter, Mara? Trouble?"
The redhead shook her head and tugged her legs in under her, gratefully
resting her head on her husband's shoulder as his left arm sneaked around
her. "I wouldn't call it trouble. I'd call it vermin that's getting too
cheeky for their own good."
They settled deeper into the welcoming furniture.
"Who have you met up with?"
"Shada D'ukal."
She sensed Luke coming on full alert, all traces of satiated tiredness and
laziness gone from his mind in the fracture of a second.
"Has Karrde found anything?"
"Yes and no."
The Jedi Master's enthusiasm ebbed a bit, "Oh. That means all he's got is
guesses."
"Talon's guesses are as good as hard facts, you know that."
"Sure do. The Senate doesn't, though. I can't go and claim Niuv and Pwoe are
associated with smugglers if I don't have hard proof of it and you know
that, Mara."
The beautiful woman in his arms snorted, "You could always try. If you morph
it into a popularity contest, you're going to come out the winner, proof or
not."
"Mara, I."
She laughed softly and craned her neck just enough to look into his
gorgeous, blue eyes. "It's okay, farmboy. I know you want to play fair. More
than six years of marriage and I still haven't managed to get that out of
you."
Luke made a face at her, but refused to take the bait. "So what DOES he
have? He wouldn't send Shada if there was nothing he could give us."
"True," Mara acknowledged. "He has been watching the market and he has
pinpointed a couple of smuggler groups that he thinks could be tied to
either Pwoe or Niuv. Indirectly, of course."
"Of course. They are self-centred and corrupt, but they are not stupid."
The former Emperor's Hand nodded, "Right. But Talon thinks he has narrowed
it down enough to give us a starting point from where investigations could
go. I've got the data with me. All you have to do is assign teams."
She felt him nod.
"That's not all there is, though."
Mara sighed, "No, it isn't. Karrde's people have caught some talks, rumours
only. Not enough to nail anyone down and prove they're having sources in the
Senate. Yet there's word that governing won't be very smooth in the weeks to
come."
She could practically see her husband frown. "What's THAT supposed to mean?
I can't believe anyone in this galaxy still thinks governing has EVER been
smooth. Leia'd probably get a laughing fit if you used that word in relation
to her job."
The redhead grinned, "Yeah. Still," the seriousness returned, "it means
there's going to be trouble. Trouble that someone will cause deliberately to
bog down the government and to divert its attention from themselves."
"And you think it'll be Senator Pwoe. Or Senator Niuv."
"Or both of them, yes."
Luke took his arm away and they changed position so that they were facing
each other. "Why should they want to do that? Their integrity in the Senate
has never been questioned. They don't have many supporters, but no outright
enemies either."
"True." Mara conceded.
The former farmboy was silent for a while, then inquired, "Did Karrde's
people catch any hints as to the nature of whatever is supposed to trouble
the government?"
"No."
"Then it could be everything. It could be one of those smuggler groups he
pinpointed overestimating their influence and thinking they could actually
cause enough mayhem to get the Senate's attention."
Mara frowned, "None of them is big enough to do that."
Luke smirked, "That doesn't mean they don't think they're big enough."
His wife grinned, "Point taken."
"I guess all we can do is tell Leia about this. So that she can watch out.
Not that she ever doesn't. And after the Senate session tomorrow, I'm going
to sit down and see about comprising groups to send out to investigate
Karrde's leads."
"Right." Mara nodded her approval, then shifted focus, "Speaking of
tomorrow's Senate session. Did Leia have any idea what you're wanted for?"
"None whatsoever."
"Too bad. It's never wrong to be prepared."
"Never wrong, but not always absolutely necessary." Luke said, stifling a
yawn. It became harder to suppress his fatigue with every minute. Midnight
had almost come and he HAD had a hard day. Satisfying, but hard.
"You had? I wasn't aware babysitting your son was so hard on you,
Skywalker?" Jade eyes twinkled and concentrated on his face and Luke hardly
managed not to grimace. So much for not telling her about his morning
practice. Or rather, the exact nature of it.
"What was so special about your morning practice?" Now her voice was
dripping with curiosity and Luke glared darkly at her, "Stop that, will you?
I haven't done the effort of quenching the urge to pick up on all your
thoughts just so that you can turn the tables and pick up all of mine!"
"Hey, I NEED to do that, farmboy. If I don't, you'll get into trouble."
Luke snorted.
His wife's eyes narrowed slightly, "In fact, I think you already are. Why
don't you want to tell me about what you did this morning?"
Azure orbs clouded over in stubbornness, "Who says I don't want to tell
you?"
All she did was stare him dead in the face, waiting. Luke met her gaze for a
few seconds, then rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Okay, okay. You win. But
don't blame me afterwards. I simply wanted to prevent you from worrying."
"Sweet of you." She smiled.
Luke pursed his lips in a gesture of sarcasm, then took a deep breath. "I
was practicing with the amphistaff."
Mara's smiled died as quickly as it had bloomed on her face. Instead, an
expression of utter bafflement and disbelief settled on her gorgeous
features. "You did WHAT?"
"Calm down, love. It was just a test, you know. I wanted to make sure that."
"A test?? A test of WHAT?" Her voice had gone dangerously low and there was
just a hint of worry sounding through her anger. Still, that was better than
nothing.
Luke, for his part, looked defeated and gave a sigh, "See? I knew you'd
react like that. All that unnecessary stress.."
"Luke Skywalker, what are you NOT telling me? After more than one year and a
half, you decide you need a test? You better have a good explanation for
that, Jedi, or I'm going to."
"You're going to what?" The Jedi Master challenged and rose. "Mara, we've
been through this a lot of times. And that even longer ago than one and a
half years. I don't want to be babied, I don't need to be babied. Period.
And if I want to practice with my amphistaff, then I practice with my
amphistaff."
"So, now it's YOUR amphistaff." She stated, obviously fuming while she
continued glaring up at him.
Luke scowled, "It's always been my amphistaff. And there's nothing that
needs worry you, Mara, because there is nothing of Liin left in me. Nothing.
All I can do is take advantage of his skills."
"Skills as in plural?"
Her husband sighed again, "Yes. I understand Yuuzhan Vong."
"By all the dark moons of."
"That's EXACTLY why I didn't want to tell you before this morning. You're
always so jittery about all that."
"JITTERY?"
Luke fell silent and looked down at her. Her green eyes were widened and
there was more than rage and annoyance in them. There was sorrow and worry.
And even fear. Shaking his head, he sat down again and took her hands into
his. "Don't freak, please. Everything's okay. I promise, everything is
okay."
He tugged at her, softly at first, then with more determination, and finally
Mara yielded and merged against his chest. "You promise that you just didn't
want this fight and that you didn't keep it from me because he's. he's back?
Somehow?"
Luke kissed the crown of her head and opened up to her, utterly, so that she
could see everything and nothing was hidden from her. "I promise. I was
thinking strategically."
"I see." The edge had vanished from her voice and he felt her calming down.
Then something else crept into her thoughts and he felt her grin more than
he actually saw it.
"Did you deplete all your energies or have you left some to make up for
this?"
Luke cocked an eyebrow, "We're even. You didn't bring exactly good news, did
you?"
"Yours were worse. We almost woke up Ben."
The farmboy slowly nodded his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his
mouth, "Okay, I see your point. So, what can I do to make up for it?"
"A kiss would be a good start. We'll see where we can go from there." She
pecked the tip of his nose and chuckled as he eagerly claimed her lips,
saving himself the trouble of voicing his agreement out loud.
*~~
The sun was pouring its rays into the spacious office, warming the occupants
therein. The finely wrought strands of silver tied into Leia Organa Solo's
hair in elaborate patterns and holding the dark brown tresses in place on
her aristocratic head glittered and sent sparkling highlights over the
walls.
The Princess' still beautiful face was disgraced by a frown as her hazel
eyes travelled over the letters on the datapad that lay before her on the
desk.
"Fyor Rodan? When did he petition for floor time?"
Her aid, Alole, a slender, tall woman that seemed to never lose her calm and
had learned well from her predecessor, Leia's long-time friend Winter,
shrugged her delicate shoulders.
"Late yesterday evening. There was no reason to deny him. I'm sorry, Your
Excellency."
Leia waved the other's apology away, "No. No, it's okay, Alole. I can't keep
him from speaking up on the floor just because I don't like him. Or his
political agenda, for that matter. It's just. the guy makes me wonder
whether democracy truly is the best way to govern a galaxy."
A chuckle sounded from opposite her and the Princess lifted her head to meet
the broad grin on her twin's face. Luke Skywalker had settled into one of
the bodyform reserved for visitors and was shaking his head at her. "You
should ask me to go out before you break your own rules. You spent too much
time drilling them into me to jeopardize your pedagogic success."
"Very funny, Master Skywalker." She stressed his title on purpose. It just
prompted him to chuckle some more.
"As if you actually liked him." She finally said and thumbed off the
datapad.
Luke shrugged, "Of course I don't. But at least he's easy to predict. His
ravings never change. He just alternates between the insults he flings
towards the Jedi. We have countered him enough times."
His sister nodded and rose slowly, "It's still no fun. And besides.. He
usually doesn't petition for floor time this late. He likes having time to
arrange his supporters accordingly and instruct them when to howl and clap."
"And?"
Leia shrugged, "I don't know. He's been pretty quiet lately. Makes me wonder
why he wants to speak up now. And why he doesn't want me to have time to
prepare myself. Alole, is there any significant news from Commenor? Anything
I should know about?"
"No, Your Highness."
"Maybe you're interpreting too much." Luke had risen and walked around the
table to lay an arm around her shoulders. "Use the minutes we've left to
tell me whether that other Senator has let slip anything about his address
to me."
The petite woman in his arms shot him a meaningful glance, "He hasn't. And
you're the last person I ever expected to tell me I should ignore a hunch."
Her brother frowned, "You didn't say you were having a hunch. Don't confuse
your antipathy for Rodan with a true feeling of foreboding."
Leia made herself free and strode into the middle of the room to muster
herself a last time in the full-length mirror that was worked into one of
the walls. She was wearing a creamy white bodice that hugged her close and
was perfected by a robe was slung around one of her shoulders and fastened
around her hips with another, broader strand of silver. She had never been a
friend of pompous appearances before the Senate, but protocol demanded she
underlined her status as President of the New Republic in some way.
"I'm not confusing anything," she insisted, gracing her brother with another
pointed look.
It wasn't until they were standing in front of the huge double doors that
would give them access to the Senate Hall that Luke said something again, "I
guess we should look out, then."
Leia nodded at him and together they entered.
*~~
Several hours later, the voice of the representative sent by the New
Republic Defence Force fell silent, finishing the report that had updated
everyone on the deployment of the fleet groups across the galaxy and the
recent skirmishes with Yuuzhan Vong border patrols - which were thankfully
nonexistent.
The faces of Senators all over the hall showed relief and satisfaction -
peace had not reigned long enough to have lulled them back into the state of
ignorance and laziness that had possessed them at the beginning of the
Yuuzhan Vong crisis and that had ultimately cost so many beings' lives. If
anything, some of them seemed all too eager to prove their superiority to
the aliens and there had been several heated discussions in the past that
had only been quietened as Leia had pointed out the specifics of the peace
treaty and the assurances that had been given to the Yuuzhan Vong in
exchange for the halt of their conquest.
Forgiveness was a lot to ask and she knew it might be too early to do so,
but honour was an entirely different matter. As long as she had any say in
the matter, the New Republic would not breach the truce and turn into an
aggressor. Mindless genocide as retribution for the victims of the war would
bring no one back to life and certainly not help speed the restoration of
worlds that had been devastated.
Concentrating on the present moment again, she nodded at the officer and
looked down at the datapad that contained the list of speakers for today.
She felt her brother's presence in the Force go on full alert and saw him
straighten almost imperceptibly at her side. The Jedi were having the place
next to the Chief of State as had been agreed in the very first session that
had seen the presence of the Jedi Ambassador Luke Skywalker.
Leia rose from her seat and let her eyes wander over the rows and rows of
differently designed booths that harboured hundreds of beings that stood for
billions of others.
"The chair recognizes Senator Anandan Kele of Ord Radama."
Way up in the rows where the booths were occupied by smaller worlds of
lesser importance - be it strategically or economically - a tall man of
bronze complexion rose to his feet. Pointed ears perked out of white hair
flecked with grey strands and slanted eyes the colour of obsidian met the
President's gaze. The humanoid bowed slightly to acknowledge her and Leia
returned it gracefully.
"Senator Kele, you requested the presence of Jedi Master Skywalker outside
of the regular schedule. If you still wish to make your case, this is your
opportunity."
"Thank you, Your Excellency. Master Skywalker." He bowed in Luke's direction
as the Jedi rose from his chair and stepped onto the podium Leia had
vacated. When the protocol for his appearances in front of the Senate had
been decided upon, it had appealed to everyone involved that just as the
Chief of State, the Jedi Ambassador should occupy the pedestal that set him
apart of the others and illustrated the importance of his position as well
as the fact that he placed himself so that everyone could see him, a
practical embodiment of the figurative duty to lay bare the motives and the
truth before the assembled representatives of the galaxy's peoples.
Luke reciprocated the bow, "What can I do for you, Senator?"
The deep baritone of Kele sounded once again through the hall, "Allow me to
offer you my apologies for requesting your presence out of schedule, Master
Skywalker, but I'm afraid the problem my world is facing requires immediate
attention."
The hall fell silent. Ord Radama was a small world, close to what was now
the Yuuzhan Vong cluster and had then been the entry point of their
invasion. Not rich on resources, economically unimportant and sparsely
populated, the aliens had pretty much ignored it. As had the New Republic
and the Empire for the past decades. The implication of the fact that a
planet as small and insignificant as Ord Radama would petition to the leader
of the Jedi Order either meant someone was trying to make points without
regard for his own status or there was a problem brewing in the Outer Rim
none of them was aware of. Neither of these possibilities sat well with the
politicians that were both proud and insecure after what had last come out
of the Outer Rim regions to trouble them.
"Go on, Senator," Luke said gently.
Kele nodded, "I'm sure none of you are informed about the economic situation
of Ord Radama and therefore none of you will be aware of the dire situation
my people find themselves in. Interstellar trade has been sparse and due to
the lack of natural resources of our planet, we face a problem of
overpopulation and poverty that is starting to disrupt the peace on our
world."
He paused for effect and, as it seemed, to gather the courage he needed to
continue. Luke found himself intrigued. Less by the nature of what he had
heard so far - he knew that many small Outer Rim worlds were fighting the
same problems - than by the way it was brought before him and the Senate.
Though Anandan Kele seemed sincere enough in his sorrow, there was something
strange about him. Something that Luke could not yet pinpoint.
The Senator continued, "You will understand that if a possibility to do
interstellar trade with a considerably richer world presents itself, we need
to take it to ensure the stability of our society and the survival of our
people."
Nods were multiple and Luke found himself agreeing, felt his sister agree,
too. Yet, there was also wariness, because it seemed obvious that there
would be quite some obstacle coming. Soon.
"Said possibility has now come, but we face a hindrance that seems
impossible to overcome without help. Therefore, I, for the people of Ord
Radama, ask for the help of the Jedi as mediators."
Luke frowned at that, "Senator Kele, I sympathize with your situation, but
the Jedi don't have the expertise in matters of business to."
"With all due respect, Master Skywalker, you misunderstand me. We don't need
your help mediating terms of the contract with our trading partner. We need
your help mediating with those that govern the space through which our ships
would have to travel."
Luke felt an unwelcome weight settle in his stomach and from the corner of
his eyes saw Leia frown. He felt that she was thinking along the same lines
his thoughts were going, too.
Anandan Kele cleared his throat and when he spoke again, his voice sounded
as strong as it was weak. Luke's puzzlement heightened. The Senator's
sincerity, plainly to feel through the Force, didn't fit his behaviour. This
was most odd.
"I hereby ask you, Master Skywalker, and the Jedi, to help us open
negotiations with the Yuuzhan Vong to obtain permission to travel through
their cluster."
The whole Senate gasped and Luke felt the urge to do so, too. He managed to
not shake his head in wonderment, though. He had suspected this was going to
be what Kele would ask of him, but hearing it spoken out loud was another
matter entirely.
Murmurs were filling the hall, hundreds of separate conversations. Hushed
words travelled and the disquiet was obvious.
Luke waited until he felt that he could speak without his voice being
drowned out, then sought eye contact with Anandan Kele.
"I will consider your plea, Senator."
"Thank you, Master Skywalker. We have all the data available. You can look
into it whenever you want. I understand that this decision needs time and
cannot be taken lightly, but I urge you in the name of my people to do what
you deem right as quickly as possible."
Again this odd mix of sincerity and.. Was it regret?
Luke nodded again, "I assure you I will do my best as soon as you give me
the necessary information. You realize, though, that the government of the
New Republic will have to be included in the decision."
Yet more regret poured from Kele. If Luke had not known better, he would
have thought the Senator didn't even WANT to help his own planet.
"I am aware of this, Master Skywalker."
Luke remained standing for a moment, allowing the full meaning of what had
just happened to sink in. When he was returning to his seat, he was already
wondering whether this was not truly impossible to accomplish.
The Jedi Master passed his sister as she was returning to the pedestal in
order to call the next Senator on the list and he felt her irritation and
discomfiture plainly through the Force. A plea like the one of Ord Radama
could not be ignored - even if doing so might be the best course of action,
in fact.
This would have to be thought through with care - by the Jedi just as much
as by the Advisory Council of the New Republic. After the present session
had adjourned, however. Clearing her throat as a mild call for order, she
spoke.
"The chair recognizes Senator Fyor Rodan of Commenor. Your turn, Senator."
Displaying his usual air of arrogance and haughtiness, Fyor Rodan rose and
sent a contemptuous sneer into the general direction of Anandan Kele's
booth.
"As sorry as I am for Ord Radama, I still fear that the matter I'm bringing
before you today, Gentlebeings, is of a greater importance."
Snorts and looks filled with dislike met the Commenorian Senator, aimed at
him from a multitude of representatives of Outer Rim planets. The disdain
Fyor Rodan held for any world outside the Core was known to all of them, yet
he mostly refrained from displaying it that obviously in a Senate session.
As he continued, the reaction of the Outer Rim Senators hadn't done much
more than heighten his arrogance, "Information has reached me, from an
anonymous source, that I could not believe. Yet I let it be checked by my
own people and I'm afraid that it seems to be correct. Correct enough to
warrant bringing it before this body."
He paused, his eyes wandered and focused on an elegant, distinguished man.
The contemptuous sneer returned. "It is almost too terrible to bring before
you, but I have been given proof that one of us was substantially involved
in the war that only recently wrecked the planets Rhommamool and Osarian.
Driven by selfish greed, this "Senator" helped provoke the animosities
between the peoples of both planets, helped support Nom Anor's warmongering
government, and is ultimately just as much to blame for what has happened as
is Nom Anor himself."
"Certainly you're aware of the gravity of your accusations, Senator Rodan,
and are confident that what you call proof will withstand investigation by
our own Intelligence division," Leia's eyes had gone as cold as glaciers.
She had been on Rhommamool before the war between the two planets had
erupted. Back then, shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong had made their first
moves, the former Princess had been trying to reach the leader of the
Rhommamoolians on a diplomatic level, to prevent bloodshed and enable
diplomacy to solve the dispute peacefully.
At this point, neither Leia nor her sister-in-law Mara who had accompanied
her had known Nom Anor to be a Yuuzhan Vong, sent to their galaxy to stir
trouble and distract the government on Coruscant from the invasion force
that was starting to form at the edges of the only galaxy known to them.
They had met him thinking he was just another deluded human politician whose
ideals had gone extreme. Extreme enough to slaughter droids and provoke war,
knowing that his planet would be hopelessly undefended and ill-equipped to
win against richer, stronger Osarian.
The thought that a New Republic Senator had not only cashed in on this
conflict, but had even outright supported an extremist government the likes
of Anor's Red Knights of Life seemed outrageous and let her blood go cold.
Treachery was the worst enemy of peace - and it seemed so dreadfully
abundant among sentient beings.
Fyor Rodan's smile seemed to be frozen on his face, as unnatural as his
whole faked attitude of honest outrage was.
"Of course I'm aware of this, Your Excellency. New Republic Intelligence
will just confirm what I'm telling you today. And let me say beforehand,
Leia, that I'm truly sorry to have to bring this to your attention."
The Alderaanian beauty frowned. The pure hypocrisy in the other's voice
didn't surprise her. The fact that he seemed to think his revelations would
affect her personally did, however. Carefully keeping her contempt for the
man out of her voice, she levelled him with a cool stare, "It is time then,
Fyor, to give us facts instead of flowery words."
Rodan gave a short bow and turned his attention back to the whole of the
assembled, "Honoured Senators, Your Excellency, I hereby demand an
investigation of Senator Cal Omas of Alderaan."
The silence was complete. There were no gasps and whispers this time.
Instead, hundreds of faces were gaping and staring in stunned awe, trying to
comprehend what they had heard. In politics, everyone was willing to suspect
his competitors of the worst of atrocities and seemed to have a low opinion
of about anyone but himself. But Cal Omas was the last man anyone would have
ever accused of supporting warmongering tendencies on any planet.
Until now, at least.
Leia sank back into her chair, feeling as if someone had just sent a
high-energy stun bolt right into her head. Luke behind her was fixing the
Alderaanian Senator with a gaze of disbelief full of questions and sent her
a gentle nudge in the Force, trying to ease her shock. Cal Omas was a friend
to her, her brother knew as much, and hearing him accused like this hurt.
Leia's first instinct was to call Rodan a liar and be done with these
charges. Ridiculous didn't even come close to describe them. But she didn't.
She didn't because she knew someone of Fyor's reputation would not
jeopardize his position by bringing up unfounded accusations. On the
contrary, if she reached out with the Force, she could feel that the
Commenorian was absolutely sure that what he was saying was nothing but the
truth.
She sent a helpless gaze towards the Alderaanian booth, waiting for her
long-time friend to step up and defend himself. It hurt her physically and
she felt Luke's shock as Cal Omas kept sitting in his seat, his face pale
and stony. His eyes met both the President's and the Jedi Master's, but
there was no message in them.
Feeling as if her blood had turned to ice and willingly accepting Luke's
support as he was wrapping her into his Force presence, Leia stood once
again. She didn't know how she managed to keep the tremble from her voice,
but she was grateful for it. Impartiality was her duty. No matter how much
it sickened her.
"Senator Omas, do you want to defend yourself against Senator Rodan's
accusations?"
"Not at present, no, Your Excellency."
Now the gasps and discussions erupted all over the rows as if a bubble had
burst. A refusal to defend yourself was admitting guilt, was it not? In the
minds of most of the Senators, this was definitely the case.
Leia's heart still refused to accept what reason was telling her. As things
were, though, she could not listen to her heart. Not yet.
"You are aware that if you refuse to defend yourself, it is my duty to have
you placed under arrest for the time being and sanction a full investigation
into your life and business matters. This very moment."
Fyor Rodan was looking on with a gleeful twinkle in his eyes that made Leia
want to strangle him then and there, but she quickly looked away. For once,
his intrigues didn't seem to be aimed at her, but that didn't mean he would
not jump at the chance of seeing her dissolve and claim she was playing
favourites.
"I know this, Your Excellency."
It took Leia a moment to find a voice strong enough to continue, "So be it,
then."
*~~
"Senator Kele has some nerve." Niuk Niuv of Sullust said hours later, when
night had engulfed the city planet and he and his peers had retreated to
Fyor Rodan's suite.
Their host grinned and nipped at his exquisite green wine. Ironically, it
was an old Alderaanian vintage and he would have lied had he claimed not to
thrive on the irony of it all.
"We don't need to bother about this Senator and his petty little planet. His
ridiculous petition will be nothing but advantageous for us."
The Quarren Senator Pwoe nodded, "That is true. However, accusing Cal Omas
is a dangerous game, Fyor. Leia Organa Solo is befriended with him and she
will do her utmost to clear his name. And if she does, Skywalker will, too."
Rodan waved the objection away, "The information I've got is reliable. Omas
is guilty. I trust my source without question. And you should, too."
"It would be easier," the Sullustan said, "if you told us the name."
The Senator of Commenor smiled a little broader, "When the time has come,
Niuk, you will learn. And you will realize why I never doubted him. Until
then, let's enjoy the downfall of one of our worst adversaries on the floor
of galactic politics."
---------------------------
To Be Continued
---------------------------