“And I’m a Sullustan.”
“Yes, the ears tipped me off.”
Zekk managed a brief grin. “I just wanted to say congratulations.”
“For what?”
“For getting through to her. She looked as shocked as if you’d clobbered her with a force pike. Now she’s thinking.”
“Good.” Jag pulled the other crushgaunt free and set it down. He looked at his palms, which were red and sweaty. “I didn’t like shouting at her.”
“Well, you don’t shout much.”
“That’s not it.” Jag’s eyes focused past the floor, to some distant place and time. “Years ago, I thought I could see my future in her eyes. My future, maybe even the future of my line, my name. Since then, she’s slipped away from me. I helped that happen. Out of anger. Out of pride.” He shook his head and met Zekk’s gaze again. “But I can’t let her slip away from what it is to be human.”
Zekk was silent for a long moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was unusually gentle. “Jag, I’m going to let you in on a secret. You’re an irritant, like itching powder in an enviro-suit.”
Jag glared at him.
“On top of that, you’ve got no sense of humor, you’re more Force-blind than a rock, you handle a lightsaber like a drunken Hutt, and you’re short. But after today, I’m ex-ceedingly proud to have you as a comrade-in-arms.” He extended his hand.
Jag looked at it as if expecting a final insult to be written on its palm, then shook it. “Thanks.”
“So do I have today off, too?”
Jag’s shoulders slumped. “Sure.”
“Go have a drink or something, Colonel.” Zekk spun and headed out through the hangar’s main entrance, walking toward the base crew quarters.
Jag sat where he was for long minutes, then collected his gear and left.
Leia, silent, stepped out from the shadows at the top of the boarding ramp and shook her head. She glanced back over her shoulder. “Han?”
“Yeah, sweetie.”
“How do you teach a man not to be a noble, long-suffering, self-sacrificing idiot?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. Mostly I shoot them.”
“I’ll consider that.”
Chapter 13
CORUSCANT
The war raged on.
Back in control of his portions of the Alliance military and no longer distracted by Allana’s absence-for, secretly, she accompanied him everywhere, smuggled between GA government buildings and the Anakin Solo in shuttles, guarded by only the most trusted officers and YVH-908- Caedus found himself stymied on some fronts, wildly successful on others.
First, there was the Hapes situation. Tenel Ka did not immediately turn over her fleets to his control. Instead she withdrew them to Hapes Consortium space and cut off all communication with the Galactic Alliance … and with the Confederation, with the world of Kashyyyk, and, as far as anyone could tell, with the Jedi. Caedus did not know quite what to make of this maneuver. Tenel Ka could have been killed by the explosion that allowed Caedus to escape her palace, or subsequently deposed, her successor choosing to return the Consortium to a neutral position. Or Tenel Ka could be taking what she must see as a terrible chance with the lire or her daughter. Either way, Caedus had still been able to turn the situation into a victory. By using his Intelligence resources to suggest to Confederation analysts that Tenel Ka’s nonaggression treaty with them was now void, Caedus ensured that the Confederation maintained resources to monitor and safeguard against possible Hapan attack, and that gave Caedus some breathing room. Soon enough, he could determine whether Tenel Ka still ruled the Consortium, get in touch with her… and persuade her that Allana’s life was forfeit if she did not cooperate fully.
While waiting to reach Tenel Ka, Caedus concentrated on other things.
Such as the Jedi. They had been quite successful at going underground after the battle at Kuat, so much so that the only sign he had seen of their activity had been the futile attack on him a few days before. He dispatched Tahiri in her StealthX to run down her own leads and sources, to find out where the Jedi had headquartered themselves. He had thought she could simply use her association with other Jedi to find out the information, but no, it appeared that Tenel Ka had managed to communicate her suspicions of Tahiri to the other Jedi at Kuat. Tahiri still had no answer for Caedus; it was a big galaxy and she was, in his eyes, a stupid girl-and a needy one, constantly importuning him for new chances to flow-walk into the past and reexperience the wonders of Anakin Solo in the days and hours before his death.
Caedus shook his head over that. He had seen so much of Anakin in recent months that he had come to despise the brat. The reasons why he had ever held the boy in any regard, why he had chosen to name his Star Destroyer for him, were now lost to Caedus.