[Dark Nest] - 3(9)
Jacen laughed and rolled his eyes. “Mother, your feelings betray you.”
“I suppose so.” Leia grew more serious, then asked, “What has Tenel Ka told you about her daughter?”
“Allana?” Jacen’s presence suddenly seemed to disappear from the Force, and his tone grew guarded. “What about her?”
“We mean, what is Tenel Ka hiding?” Han demanded. “Mention the kid, and she closes up like a rabclab in ice water.”
“What makes you think Tenel Ka would tell me anything?” Jacen asked.
“She obviously has,” Leia said. “Or you wouldn’t be trying to dodge our questions.”
Jacen stared at the floor. Leia had the sense that he wanted to tell them, but was struggling with whether he had the right. Finally, he met Leia’s gaze.
“If Tenel Ka finds it necessary to keep her daughter out of the hololight, I think we should trust that she has good reason.”
Han looked past Jacen to Leia and nodded. “Luke was right.”
Jacen’s eyes widened. “About what?”
“About Allana,” Leia said. “If she were, uh, afflicted in some way, Tenel Ka would need to keep the child hidden. The Hapans’ obsession with beauty goes beyond the neurotic. I can’t imagine what they might do if the heir to their throne was blemished.”
The alarm in Jacen’s expression began to fade. “Don’t bother asking for details. I don’t know them.”
Leia could tell by the way Jacen avoided her eyes that he was lying, but she decided to let it go. He clearly felt that they were already asking him to betray a confidence, and pressing him any harder would only make him less forthcoming.
“We know all that we need to,” Leia said. “I only hope Tenel Ka realizes we’re here to help.”
“Mom, Tenel Ka has more money than Lando, and dozens of Jedi friends,” Jacen said. “I’m pretty sure she knows she can get all the help she needs.”
“Hey, we’re just worried about her,” Han said. “Poor kid-whatever’s wrong, I’ll bet the problem came from the father.”
Jacen frowned and was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m sure you’re right, Dad. And if this is your way of asking if I know who the father is, it’s not going to work.”
Han pretended to be hurt. “You think I’d snoop?”
“I know you would,” Jacen said. “That’s the Zeltron Lead you just tried. You taught it to me when I was ten.”
Han shrugged. “And I didn’t think you were listening.”
Leia’s attention was drawn to the gathering of Masters by a sudden lull in their conversation. She looked up to find Luke seated on the edge of the dais, motioning everyone forward. As they all approached, she sensed a certain hopefulness in her brother’s presence.
“The Masters have agreed that the order’s first responsibility during any crisis is to respond in a coherent and united fashion,” he said. “Now the question is, what are we going to do about the Killiks?”
“That’s why we asked all of you to stay,” Tresina Lobi said, turning to Leia and the others. “You know more about the Killiks than any of us, so your insights will guide our decision.”
Luke nodded his agreement. “I’d like to ask Jacen to share his vision with the rest of us.”
“Vision?” Corran asked.
“It’s why I organized the attack on Supply Depot Thrago,” Jacen explained, going to stand between the Masters and the dais. “I saw the Chiss launch a massive surprise attack against the Killiks.”
Kenth frowned. “Surely, you didn’t think that you could prevent-“
“Let him finish,” Luke said, raising his hand to silence the Master. “Jacen’s plan was desperate, but not unreasonable given the circumstances at the time-especially our own disarray.”
Jacen continued, “What really frightened me about the vision was that the Chiss failed to destroy the Colony. Instead, I saw the Killiks mount a counterattack, and the war spread to the Galactic Alliance.”
“Let me see if I understand this,” Corran said, frowning in confusion. “You saw the war spreading to the Galactic Alliance, so you attacked the Chiss to keep that from happening? That sounds crazy, Jacen.”
Jacen nodded. “It’s convoluted, I know. But I felt we had to change the dynamic. Obviously, the Chiss are still attacking-“
“And the Galactic Alliance is still being dragged into the war.” Kenth’s tone was sharp. “Not only are we fighting in the Utegetu Nebula now we have the Chiss mobilizing against us because they think we gave the Ackbar to the Killiks. I don’t see that your attack accomplished anything except to hasten the war-and make everything vastly more complicated.”