[Legacy Of The Force] - 05(94)
“There are plenty of Corellians with reasons to want Gejjen dead,” he said. Where had Mara got to? He half expected her to stride through the doors of the chamber carrying Lumiya’s head in triumph. “But I’ll conduct my own investigations.”
Corran Horn looked up from his clasped hands, which he’d been studying with unnatural concentration. It couldn’t have been easy watching his homeworld plunge into recrimination and finger-pointing. “It’s less about who actually did it than who the various factions think did it, and that won’t be influenced by anything as irrelevant as hard facts.”
“Well, I need to know, and I don’t want HNE telling me,” Luke said. “Kyp, can you monitor the headlines while we’re meeting?”
“Time was,” said Kyp Durron, “when the government of the day used to keep the Jedi Council informed, and we didn’t have to rely on the media.”
Yes, Luke had noticed that the Council was no longer kept in the loop. He returned to the main issue. “So what if it is us?” So far everyone had managed to avoid mentioning Jacen.
Kyle Katarn joined in. “Is assassinating heads of state legal?”
“In a war, I believe it is.”
“Fine time for Omas to be away,” said Katarn. “If I were the paranoid type, I’d say it was spooky that he was out of town, location undisclosed, at the same time that Gejjen was shot. Better test him for ballistic residues when he gets back to the office.”
“This isn’t a joking matter,” said Kyp.
“Okay, sorry. But it’s lousy timing.”
Luke thought Niathal had done a commendable job of looking calm and reassuring for the media. It had been a few hours since the news had broken, and the news channels had wheeled out every analyst, politician, and air taxi pilot who had ever held an opinion on Dur Gejjen. Niathal, quite splendid in her white uniform, was impressive. She looked as if being Chief of State was just another job she did when everyone else was too busy. She’d scored a lot of points.
And Luke hadn’t had a chance to call Han or Leia. That was his next task, as soon as he got out of this meeting. They’d know what was really happeningif anyone did.
Come on, Mara. Where are you?
“So how does this change things?” Kyle asked. “Who’s going to be leading the Confederation now? Is it going to stay a Corellian thing?”
“If it’s the Bothans,” said Corran, “Force preserve us.”
Luke was still waiting for word from Niathal. The Jedi Council wasn’t part of government, and while Omas was away it wasn’t getting instant answers. Luke realized how fragile and informal the relationship between government and Council could be when different people were holding the reins.
“Just to spice up the mix, the Mandalorians are joining forces with the Verpine.” Kyp seemed to be listening to the news via an earpiece, judging by the glazed and defocused look in his eyes. “What does that sound like to you?”
Luke thought of Fett’s dead daughter, Jacen’s guilt, and Fett’s track record. He’d been awfully quiet; worryingly so.
“They’re rearming,” Luke said.
“They said they were staying neutral.” Durron said.
Kyle shook his head slowly, brushing specks from his lap in a distracted way. “Oh, yeah, if my long-lost daughter was tortured to death by the GA’s secret police, I’d be neutral. First thing I’d do. Walk away and be very, very neutral.”
“You don’t have to be on one of two sides to rearm, or even take part in a war,” Luke said.
Still nobody had said the J-word. But Luke could hear the name at the back of every mind.
“Well, we know a few facts.” Kyle counted off on his fingers. “One, Mandalorians aren’t exactly heavily represented in social services and the caring professions. Two, they have a brand-new supply of that iron of theirs for their war machine. Three, allying with the Verpine makes them the single most powerful producer of advanced weapons technology. Four, I hear they’re still sore about getting no help to rebuild postwar when they went out on a limb for the New Republic.”
“It’s not good, is it?” said Corran.
“I’m betting they’ll step up for Corellia in the next few days.”
“Fett’s said to have killed Sal-Solo, or at least one of his Mando thugs did. Where does that leave them?”
Luke had heard the real story from Han. Never had he missed the good old clear-cut days of Rebellion versus Empire, good against demonstrable evil, as much as he had right then. The trouble with taking away the certainty of evil was that its vacuum was filled by all kinds of more nebulous threats, rivalries, and feuds. It became increasingly hard to judge where the threat was coming from.