Shevu wasn’t the kind of officer who popped in for a chat. Niathal had almost expected him since Luke Skywalker had identified him to her as a potential ally, and he hadn’t wasted any time; considering he was the most senior officer in Jacen’s personal elite, 967 Commando of the Galactic Alliance Guard, he was taking a huge risk-and Jacen couldn’t have made a worse-placed enemy.
She gestured to him to take a seat and wondered who would say it first.
“It’s all right, “she said. “I sweep the office for surveillance devices every time I enter it.”
Shevu slid a small scanner out of his pocket and aimed it at various points around her office before looking a little more relaxed. “So do I.”
“So we understand each other.”
“I think so.”
“What can I do for you?”
“I need to carry out forensics tests on your colleague’s StealthX.” He didn’t say Jacen. This was a man used to giv-ing others very little to use against him. “Is there any way I can get access to it, uninterrupted, for a few hours?”
“He’s gone to brief his new minion for a mission to Bastion.” Niathal ran through all the routine procedures a StealthX would undergo and why. Jacen’s was one of the few that the Jedi pilots hadn’t taken when they withdrew. “How urgent is this?”
“We should have done it three months ago, “Shevu said. He mouthed Mara at her. “Might turn up nothing, of course.”
So it wasn’t just Ben who thought Jacen had been involved in Mara’s death, then. Even though Luke had told Niathal, the idea seemed far more shocking coming from an objective outsider-a professional investigator-like Shevu.
“If you do it, “Niathal said, “won’t he sense that you’ve been in the vessel?”
“That’s why I’m getting a droid to do it.”
“A GAG unit?”
“No, a CSF one. Leave me to worry about scamming the identichips.”
“Very well, Captain, I’ll arrange for the ground crew droids and personnel to be told it needs a special examination-checking for canopy seal integrity, fuel leaks into the cockpit, whatever I can think of. In fact, let’s do all the space-capable vessels the GAG has, too, to make it look convincing. You don’t have that many.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
“And we’d better come up with a good cover story in case anyone compliments the Guard on their extra attention to safety standards, and it reaches His Celestial High-ness’s ears…”
“A few months ago, “Shevu said, “I’d have expected him to know all about it right away. He was hands-on with his troops. But he’s taken his eye off the little people now, and just focuses on the big players. We’ll use that.”
“You know how dangerous it is to go after him, don’t you?” Niathal said, slightly ashamed that she wasn’t leading this quiet revolution against Jacen.
“Not half as dangerous as it’ll be if I don’t, “said Shevu.
OYU’BAAT TAPCAF, KELDABE
“What can I possibly teach you, Jedi?” Fett asked.
At any other time, Jaina Solo’s plea would have been amusing-no, satisfying. There was no humor to be had from this. A voice inside Fett still said that he should personally make that barve Jacen pay for what he had done to Ailyn, but he’d made up his mind when he saw his daughter’s body that his revenge would need to be more substantial, more complete, the kind he should have planned when his father was killed in front of him. Jedi had robbed him of what little family he had, and now they expected him to help them clean up their own mess.
“You’ve killed and captured more Jedi than anyone, “Jaina said, looking like the words were choking her.
“Oh, I don’t know…. some of my brothers racked up a pretty good score back in the day.”
She didn’t react. “Jacen and I are matched in terms of Force strengths. But he’s picked up training in Force techniques I don’t even understand, so my best chance of taking him is to use skills he doesn’t have. And I’m pretty sure you never gave him the top ten Mandalorian tips on Jedi busting.”
“Only if he paid me, “said Fett. “But what do you care about Ailyn?”
“It’s not only your daughter he’s killed.” Jaina was doing a good job of looking desperate, losing that steady gaze for just a moment. She was desperate. Fett could taste it. “He might even have been involved in Mara Skywalker’s death.”
“Ah, so that’s when you decide he needs stopping.” He was totally unsurprised by the idea, just taken aback that Jaina had come here. Families feuded; no shock there. “When it’s Jedi getting killed.”