Jacen could hear a chant taken up by thousands of voices.
“The-Empire’s-back! The-Empire’s-back! The-Empire’s -back!”
It was hard to tell, but Jacen assumed it was a taunt from the dissidents, and not Coruscanti enjoying the prospect of firm government. But his exploits had gone down very well in the Alliance’s heartland. He kept an eye on HNE and the news holozines.
“Pity I couldn’t stay in the front line,” said Niathal. “That’s the worst thing about command. Anchors you to a desk.”
“I’ll remain hands-on for as long as I can,” Jacen said. “I’d like to show my face on the blockade line. Good for morale.”
“You have an office in mind, then…”
“Don’t worry. Not yours.”
“And I note that you haven’t gone back to wearing Jedi robes.”
Jacen dusted a speck of lint from his black GAG uniform. “I don’t see any point in provoking Uncle Luke or the Jedi council. I know they don’t enjoy being identified with my actions.”
“Ironic, seeing as the Public Affairs Office says polls indicate the popularity of the Jedi council has increased a little.”
“Jedi are supposed to be beyond populism, Admiral.”
As Niathal’s staff airspeeder slowed to skirt the crowd, Jacen glanced out of the window and noted the new mix of species and allegiances forming the army of protesters. “Well, we rounded up the Corellians, and now their places are being filled by others.” He identified various nationalities by clothing, hairstyles, snatches of language. “Look, isn’t that a couple of Rodians?”
“As long as you don’t see any Mandalorians …”
The closer to the lobby that the speeder edged, the uglier the mood of the crowd appeared to become. A group of CSF officers drove back the crowd with none-too-gentle shoves emphasized with batons to let the speeder through. Jacen and Niathal got out, and he took the precaution of throwing up a Force-shield around them.
Jacen almost didn’t feel danger now, not in the sense he always had. He merely took account of circumstances and reacted accordingly. As they stepped out of the speeder, a hail of stones, old food containers, bottles, and other debris flew at them. All of it bounced back from the Force-barrier, some of it hitting the upturned riot shields.
Jacen turned and stepped forward into the crowd: he didn’t enjoy displaying his Force powers in such a vulgar way, but there were times when they could make a point. He held his hands a little way from his sides, closed his eyes, and pressed outward with his mind as if lifting his arms.
Nothing violent. Mustn’t cause a crush, or a stampede. Innocent people will be hurt.
The crowd closest to him fell back a few paces, some of them looking around frantically to see what was pushing them back. More missiles rained from farther back in the press of bodies, accompanied by shouting and shoving, but they simply bounced off the Force-shield, and Jacen stood calmly staring back into the mass of people. A breathless silence spread from the line nearest to him like a fast tide engulfing a shore. Even some of the CSF officers seemed frozen to the spot.
Everyone knew about Jedi, but very few ever saw them in action-or felt them.
“Go home,” said Jacen. “Just break it up and go home before I have to do something about it.”
They didn’t run, of course, but he had made his point; the respite gave the CSF line a chance to push the rival groups apart again, and Jacen followed Niathal into the Senate Building and up to the Chief of State’s office.
Luke Skywalker was already there, Mara sitting beside him, and he didn’t look pleased to see Jacen.
“We are still not at war,” Omas insisted, staring out the window at the crowds. “Does the council still support the blockade?”
“As the only alternative to full-scale war or backing down on disarmament, yes.” Luke wasn’t looking at Omas. His gaze was on Jacen. “How much impact is the blockade having?”
Niathal looked up from her datapad. Jacen wasn’t sure how she regarded Luke; his uncle didn’t feature in their conversations. “We’ve intercepted or turned back around seventy percent of vessels trying to enter or leave the two exclusion rings, but in terms of volume of cargo and personnel, that’s nearer ninety percent. We’re stopping the big vessels but losing some of the small ones. All in all-it’s biting already.”
“Should we revise our policy on stopping traffic movements around the shipyards?”
“Nonviolent way of leaning on the civilian population,” said Jacen. “When dad doesn’t come home when he’s due back from the yards, it focuses families, and families lean on governments.”