“Because you were the one who found the Caamas Document in the first place,” Gavrisom said, flicking his tail in a Calibop shrug. “Because like the Caamasi you’ve had a world destroyed from underneath you and can therefore understand their plight better than most. Because as a revered hero of the battle for freedom, you still have a great deal of influence with the members of the Senate.”
“I can’t match the influence of these signatures,” Leia warned, gesturing toward her datapad. “Besides”-she hesitated, looking again at Fey’lya-“I’m not sure I don’t agree with them that this is a reasonable compromise.”
“A compromise?” Fey’lya asked, his voice dead. “This is not a compromise, Councilor Organa Solo. This is a sentence of ruin for the Bothan people.”
“The three of us are alone in this room, Councilor Fey’lya,” Gavrisom reminded him mildly. “There’s no need for rhetorical hyperbole.”
Fey’lya looked at the Calibop, his eyes as dead as his voice. “I speak neither rhetoric nor hyperbole, President Gavrisom,” he said. “Perhaps you do not comprehend how much time and effort would be involved in even merely locating an uninhabited world that would be suitable for the remaining Caamasi.” His fur rippled. “But then to further insist that we bear the costs of reforming that world to Caamas’s original specifications? We cannot possibly afford such an undertaking.”
“I’m familiar with the likely costs of such a project,” Gavrisom countered, his tone still patient. “It was done at least five times during the Old Republic-“
“By peoples arrogant in their power and their wealth,” Fey’lya snapped, suddenly seething to life. “The Bothan people have neither such power nor such wealth.”
Gavrisom shook his mane. “Come now, Councilor, let us be honest here. The current state of overall Bothan assets is quite adequate to cover such a project. Certainly it would be a serious sacrifice, but not a ruinous one. I would further suggest that it represents your best chance of resolving this matter quickly and peaceably.”
Fey’lya’s fur rippled stiffly across his body. “You do not understand,” he said quietly. “The assets you speak of do not exist.”
Leia frowned. “What are you talking about? I’ve seen the market reports. There are whole pages of listings of Bothan holdings.”
Fey’lya looked her in the eye. “They are lies,” he said. “It is nothing more than a cleverly contrived datapad illusion.”
Leia looked at Gavrisom. The other’s restless wings had suddenly stopped moving. “Are you saying,” the Calibop asked carefully, “that the leaders of the Combined Bothan Clans are engaged in fraud?”
The Bothan’s rippling fur became even stiffer. “It was to be only a temporary deception,” he said, his voice dark with pleading. “As our financial troubles themselves are only temporary. A gripful of bad business decisions has drained the Combined Clans of their resources and left us deeply in debt And then this controversy arrived, causing even more uncertainty. New investors and contacts were needed, and so . .
He trailed off. “I see,” Gavrisom said. His voice was still calm, but there was an expression on that long face that Leia had never seen there before. “You put me in a most awkward position, Councilor Fey’lya. How exactly do you suggest I proceed?”
Fey’lya’s violet eyes met the Calibop’s pale blue ones. “We can recover, President Gavrisom,” he said. “It will just take a little time. Premature revelation of this information would be devastating, not only for the Bothan people but also for those who have invested with us.”
“Who have trusted you,” Gavrisom corrected coldly.
Fey’lya’s eyes slipped away from that accusing glare. “Yes,” he murmured. Who have trusted us.”
For a long minute the room was silent. Then, rustling his mane again, Gavrisom looked at Leia. “You are a Jedi Knight, Councilor Organa Solo,” he said. “As such, you have the wisdom of the ages and the guidance of the Force. I would ask your recommendation.”
Leia sighed. “I wish I had one to give,” she said.
“Have you made any progress in the search for the names of the Bothans involved with Caamas?”
“Not yet,” Leia said. “Our Intelligence people are still working on the original datacard, but Crypt Chief Ghent tells me we already have everything we’re going to get from it. We’re also searching through the old Imperial archives at Kamparas, Boddolayz, and Obroa-skai, but so far we haven’t found anything.”