“If I thought this was the end of our journey, rather than just the end of the beginning, I might feel the same way, ” said Akanah, and sipped at her flask of tart pawei juice.
“Do you think there’s any chance the Fallanassi may have come back, after the war? “
“No, ” said Akanah. “You see, the Empire feared us as well as coveted our power. They didn’t come down with weapons drawn to round us up, as they did with so many other populations they enslaved-“
“Yeah, I’ve seen how they work. But how did they even know you existed? I thought you were a secret sect. Or am I the only one who never heard of the Fallanassi? “
“You are right, there is a contradiction, ” said Akanah. “The explanation is simple, but an embarrassment. We were divided among ourselves about the coming war and what our moral duty was. One of our community, for reasons of her own, went to the Imperial governor and revealed herself. “
“You were betrayed. “
“No-no, that’s too strong a word. Even though her name is no longer spoken, she had a high purpose in what she did. She believed that by allying ourselves with the Empire, we could be the water that would quench the flame. ” Akanah’s eyes were touched by wistfulness. “But she was wrong. It was too late for that-the fire was already beyond control. “
“Well-I don’t know why you called it an embarrassment, ” said Luke. “The only communities that think with one mind are those that only have one mind. And I haven’t met anyone yet who hasn’t ever been passionately wrong about something, sometime. “
“You are generous, ” said Akanah, “more generous than the circle was able to be. “
“It’s easier for me, ” he said. “I wasn’t the one betrayed. “
She acknowledged him with a nod. “The Empire sent General Tagge to Wlalu-who held the wand of privilege then-to offer us the protection of the Emperor. He said it was important for us to show our loyalty-that that was the only way we could escape the fate of the Jedi. We knew what that meant. The Jedi were being hunted down as traitors and sorcerers, and no one dared openly favor or befriend them. “
“Forgive me-I don’t mean to sound suspicious. But how do you know all this? ” Luke asked. “You said you were just a child, and offplanet at the time. “
“No, I was still on Lucazec when General Tagge came there, ” said Akanah. “My mother-her name was Isela—was one of the women who met with Wialu in circle afterward, to decide what to do. And children are not protected from adult concerns in our community, as they are in so many places. Isela told me of the Empire’s invitation, and what it might mean to refuse it. “
“I guess I don’t understand, then, ” said Luke, trying to remember where he had heard the general’s name before. “How did you become separated from the others? I assume the Fallanassi let Lucazec rather than either refuse or accept. “
“No, that was months later, ” explained Akanah. “Wialu did refuse General Tagge. She told him that the loyalty of the Fallanassi was to the Light, and that we would not let ourselves be used to further the ambition of generals, kings, or emperors. “
“Tagge-I remember now, ” said Luke. “He was on the first Death Star when Leia was a prisoner. ” He paused, then added, “He was probably still on board when my proton torpedo blew it to bits. “
Luke didn ‘t know what possessed him to make that claim before Akanah, and her response made him feel even more foolish for having done so.
She stiffened as he spoke, and he could feel her withdrawing from him, though she barely moved.
“Do you seek honor from me for this? In time you will understand that the Fallanassi honor no heroes for killing, not even killing one who has been our tormentor, ” said Akanah.
“I’m sorry, ” Luke said, and wondered at his own words. Everything suddenly seemed upside down. It was strange and unsettling that the deed for which he had been so lionized now became touched with regret-regret over the killing of an enemy who had been his own sister’s tormentor. That moment had decided both his future and the galaxy’s, and he had never, in all the years since, questioned the rightness of what he had done.
Akanah nodded, and her face seemed to soften. “I will not speak of it again. “
Luke was happy to leave behind his ill-considered words, and the jumbled thoughts and alarming feelings that had followed them. “How did the Empire respond to Wialu? ” he asked. “Is that when you left Lucazec? “
“No, not until later, ” said Akanah. “Tagge tried to force us to come to him by destroying our relationship with our neighbors. Lucazec was an open-immigration world then, and tolerant-or so we thought. We shopped in villages nearest to ours and hired workers from them. Tagge placed agents in those villages, to kill house animals, and set fires, and turn the waters bitter, and make other strange things happen. “