“And then it’s circumstantial.”
“Take the droid, “Shevu said. “And let’s get you back to wherever it is you’re hanging out.” Ben opened his mouth to say Endor, but Shevu held up a hand for silence. “I don’t need to know. Okay?”
Ben pondered the nature of reasonable doubt. He was sure now. He didn’t know if Dad would be.
He really needed one more clincher. But he had no idea what else there could possibly be that would prove beyond any doubt that it wasn’t Alema Rar who had killed Mara Jade Skywalker, but Jacen Solo.
FLEET HQ, OPERATIONS CENTER, CORUSCANT
Niathal made sure she was a daily visitor to Fleet HQ, but this was her second trip today, made without notice.
Her arrival had thrown the center into a quiet, barely noticeable panic, but it was panic all the same. Personnel tidied consoles and emptied cups of caf discreetly, thinking she wouldn’t notice their attempt to bring the place up to captain’s walk-through standards by the time she looked up from the screen she was studying. They never seemed to realize how wide a field of vision a Mon Cal had.
It’s just caf. Forget it. We have much bigger problems.
“Admiral, is there anything I can do?” The Sullustan op center commander hovered, uneasy at having a full Admiral of the Fleet ensconced in the ops room at a terminal, let alone one who was also joint Chief of State. He had the air of someone who was waiting for the ax to fall, and to be told that he had failed a surprise inspection for reasons he would never grasp. “There’s always a private office available for you.”
Niathal could also have sat back in her own chair and watched Jacen’s progress on the repeater holochart in her suite at the Senate, but the big picture wasn’t what she was interested in. She wanted to see the detail. She wanted to see the way crews were prepped and briefed before Jacen jumped to hyperspace, and she wanted to see if he’d slipped in any little extras that he’d neglected to mention-like the way the timing of the assault had slipped his mind. It would take a month or more for the orbital yards to use up their supplies, and even then they had sufficient water recycling capacity to hold out for another month on half or quarter rations without resupply. Fondorian yards were staffed mainly by humans, who could live on very few calories for a long time as long as they were hydrated. A week was far too soon.
She couldn’t believe Jacen hadn’t learned the lesson of
Corellia. She was sure he had. And if he was half as sly and resourceful as she knew, he would have gone with the intention and enough troops and materiel to move to the assault phases-orbitals, then planetas soon as he could.
Did he already know she was slipping information to Luke? Was this part of his test?
Stop thinking that way, or he’s got you where he’s got everyone else. You’re a better tactician than that.
“Don’t you have oversight of Colonel Solo’s plans?” asked the commander. His name was Kenb but she could only see the K and the E on his tunic because his arms were folded tightly across his chest, creasing the fabric. “If there’s anything wrong…”
“If there is, then it’s my problem rather than yours, Commander, “she said kindly. Caf cups scraped faintly; flimsi rustled. When she turned her head, consoles were immaculate again. I’m not Jacen. You don’t have to be afraid of me. “I’ve been neglecting logistics, and I want to get up to speed again.”
“Certainly, Admiral.” Sullustan faces weren’t as obviously mobile and expressive as a human’s, but she knew disbelief when she saw it. “Call me if you need anything.”
Yes, in any normal government, the head of state and the defense secretary would discuss with the chiefs of staff how a major engagement was to be fought, and how it would be resourced. Yet here they were, a duumvirate combining all the roles of state and military, and still he was economical with information. It was rather like beings trying to pretend they were alone in a crowded turbolift; as long as eye contact could be avoided, the illusion of anonymous privacy held. Jacen made vague noises about strategy, grabbed an assortment of ships, and ambled off to play. And she let him, because she had no idea how to stop him with her first shot.
She’d only get one chance. Wounded, he’d be a terrible enemy.
And I want to see what you packed for your little trip.
Jacen always had the Anakin Solo, of course; and Fon-dor was a relatively small world, a speck compared with Coruscant. Its neighbor Nallastia was even smaller, and might not even try to ride to the rescue. Niathal called up the holochart from Jacen’s office node and tried to work out what was inappropriate for Fondor. Because something didn’t fit.