[Legacy Of The Force] - 08(17)

“I braked too hard, “she said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Remind me to ask Incom to fit a docking tube.” Luke grasped her hand as if he was grateful to see her. “Sorry, I just don’t take chances these days.”

“None of us do. Thank you for seeing me.”

“This is mutual, Admiral. I’ll have a favor to ask of you, too.”

“I’ll be brief, then. If you haven’t already heard, Jacen has taken to killing members of his wardroom in full view of others. Using Force methods.”

Luke shut his eyes for a moment. He looked older than Niathal recalled, with noticeable folds in his cheeks and a dull gray tone to his skin. She dared think something unthinkable about Jacen, that he might have been behind Mara’s death-no, that was an outrage too far, even for him-and waited for Luke to say something. He didn’t.

“I know he’s fairly cavalier about killing, “she said, “but I suspect I was right in assuming this would mark some threshold for you, too.”

“It does.”

“Depending on how you look at it, then, it could lead to some advantage, and poor Lieutenant Tebut’s life won’t have been spent in vain-Jacen may lose the loyalty of his troops. Or it could simply consolidate a reign of fear.”

Luke rubbed one hand across his face, brow to chin. “I think I recall how that morale-boosting technique played out in my father’s generation.”

“Well, I still have a duty to the Alliance and my personnel, and I’m still prepared to pass intelligence to you provided you can use it to remove him. I don’t care what you do with him-restraint-jacket therapy at some quiet monastic retreat, or shove him out the nearest air lock-but I want him gone.” That sounded harsh, but Niathal wasn’t sure how far humans would go to bring wayward relatives into line. “And out of office. Another coup is impossible at the moment, so the best I can achieve is to help neutralize his impact on the GA and hope I don’t lose the lives of too many good beings doing it.”

She wouldn’t have been the first officer faced with a terrible choice when her leader pursued a course of mutual destruction. Her loyalty was to the common good of the GA, not to Jacen Solo.

Hang on, I’m talking and thinking as if I’m his deputy, not his joint and equal colleague. What am I doing-absolving myself of responsibility? I helped put him in power.

“I have Jedi working hard to seize him, Admiral, “said Luke. “Do you think he’s insane?”

“No.” Niathal had no hesitation. “I’ve seen too many perfectly sane beings become utterly corrupted by power. Jacen’s not insane. He’s just had his own way once too often, and now he can’t see the world any other way.”

“Do you know what I mean by a Sith?”

“I’ve heard the term. But I know nothing about them.”

“They’re Force-users who prefer the dark side. Like Palpatine.”

“Oh… I see. Fallen Jedi.”

Luke pressed his lips into a little humorless smile and looked away for a moment. “Oddly, that’s just what the Mandalorians call them. Their word means ex-Jedi, although that’s not always the case.”

“And does this make any difference to how we approach him? Does he have different powers from regular Jedi?”

Luke looked strangely embarrassed. She wasn’t sure why. “Not really. He’s just very strong, and he has an ability to use a battle meditation technique that gives him a remarkable awareness of the battlefield.”

Ah, I noticed that. “He has a young woman called Tahiri Veila running his errands now.”

“Which brings me to Ben.” Luke moved closer to Niathal and looked into her face, which required some head tilting on Luke’s part because of the set of a Mon Cal’s eyes. He clasped her hand again as if he were searching for a pulse. “Apologies, Admiral, we’re all scared of our shadows these days. I might be putting a man’s life at risk, so I have to be certain. Ben has gone off again, and I believe he’s back on Coruscant. He thinks I don’t know, but he’s probably trying to build a case against Jacen for killing Mara.”

Niathal almost sighed with relief. So she wasn’t the only one who thought Jacen could kill his own relatives. “If I see him, I’ll make sure he gets every assistance to stay out of harm’s way. Especially if he goes after Jacen to take revenge.”

“He already tried that, after Jacen tortured him.”

“Just when I thought the man couldn’t get any worse…”

“Revenge isn’t the Jedi way, and Ben’s come to terms with that, but stubborn persistence is Ben’s way, and he may come to your attention. He might be with Captain Shevu. They were close.”