Lumiya had said the cost would be high. But this was the price of order and justice. This was the price of stability, and his was just one life out of many, a price he considered worth paying however much it hurt. Tahiri would discover that, too, and she had just taken her first step on that path, a small gray area of right or wrong to most beings, but one that a Sith apprentice had to be able to handle.
This is duty.
There was a bleep at the cabin door: Shevu. Caedus felt the man coming down the passage, heralded by a sense of wariness and…. distaste in the Force. Shevu was a former police officer, a Coruscant Security Force man, and he brought his culture with him. He didn’t like Caedus and he didn’t approve of his methods; that was as clear as day. But Caedus trusted him precisely because it was clear even to a non-Force-sensitive. A man who didn’t try to hide his feelings but did the job well anyway gave Caedus nothing to fear.
This is duty, too. Shevu understands what must be done.
“Sir, shall I leave these reports on your desk, or would you prefer to discuss them?” Shevu said.
“Leave them.” Whether the man liked him or not, there was nothing to be gained by alienating him further. He was very good at his job. “You look tired.”
“Sleepless nights, sir.”
Shevu was being brutally honest. Caedus could sense that: a little anger, a little fear, something worrying him, a yearning to see someone he cared for. Distractions like that could become corrosive.
“Problems?”
“Family stuff, sir.”
“You have a girlfriend, yes?”
“Not any longer, sir.”
“Ah.” Yes, Caedus understood abandonment by those who claimed to love and understand him. “I’m sorry. Isn’t it time you had a few days off?”
“I haven’t taken any leave, sir.”
“Burning out isn’t being a good officer, Shevu. I need you sharp. Take seventy-two hours and come back refreshed. I can’t do anything about the lady, other than say that I understand the toll that duty takes on relationships.”
Shevu’s surprise was palpable. “Thank you, sir.” His mood felt as if it had lifted a little. “Most generous.”
Caedus watched the doors close behind him and was reassured that he hadn’t turned into a monster, whatever Ben Skywalker might have thought. Different situations required different incentives, and Shevu-Shevu couldn’t be scared into compliance, or he would have been no good at an intelligence-based, dangerous job. He couldn’t be cajoled, for the same reasons. He had to be treated with hon-est respect.
The man was as straight as a die. There were few like that, and worth the keeping.
KELDABE. MANDALORE
Jaina dropped out of hyperspace in the X-wing and hoped that making herself slow and obvious would prevent a mis-understanding about her intentions in a Galactic Alliance fighter.
I must be out of my mind. I should have contacted Fett in advance. But if he’d said no… then I’d still be here. And I’d be in worse trouble. And it’s always harder to turn someone away when they show up in person. And Fett respects physical courage. And….
And she was a Jedi entering Mandalorian space. That was all there was to it. But she had to get past the gatekeeper to get to Fett to win him over with her straight talking, and this was no time to lose her nerve.
“Keldabe ATC, this is X-wing Amber Nine, requesting permission to enter Mandalorian airspace.” She checked again that every weapons system was powered down so that nothing, absolutely nothing, gave them the wrong impression about her intentions. Maybe a shuttle would have been a better idea, but she had no idea how she might be received, and being cannoned up made her feel better. The X-wing held its position. “Keldabe, this is Amber Nine. Are you receiving me?”
“Keldabe ATC to Nine Amber, “said a female voice that didn’t sound remotely ruffled by the intrusion of a GA fighter. Maybe they shot them down every day for practice. It was going to be a hard way to find out. “Pare sol. Wait one.”
Would they even recognize her? The X-wing was obvious enough, but she wasn’t a known face like Jacen or Mom. She was just a pilot, not even in GA orange, deliber-ately low-key in a somber flight suit with her hair tied back. All she needed to do, though, was to land and do the humble thing, to throw herself on the mercy of Boba Fett, and she was still gambling that saving the salient point about her real identity might get her a little farther. If she said right now that she was Jaina Solo, there was no telling if some Mandalorian patriot might fancy settling the family score on behalf of Fett.
If a bunch of Mandalorians had shown up asking for Dad…. I know how I’d react.