The sergeant prodded Jinart with his boot. “You tell me, then, shapeshifer.”
“I observe,” Jinart said. “I watch to see when you move troops to and from Qiilura and how much you send to the farmers by way of aid to keep them loyal. All the things you never tell us, but that show your true intentions. I spy on you.”
“Let me explain something,” Skirata said. “I’m not the Republic. The work I do for them is actually for my own people-these lads here. So if you’re not helping me keep my people alive, I’ll make certain that Qiilura gets reduced to molten slag. And that’s a promise. I’m not a Jedi and I’m not a politician, so I can do pretty well what I like. Your whole species is expendable. Understand?”
Jinart managed to get to her feet, or at least raise herself on her front legs.
“I will identify the people you want. But the Republic must agree to withdraw from Qiilura and remove the colonists within a year.”
“Okay, let’s get hold of Zey now,” Skirata said. “If he doesn’t agree, we move on and I’m not letting you melt back into the city.”
“Do you know how many of us there are, or where we are?”
“I don’t care. Zey might.”
“My people are here, on Coruscant itself. You’ll never track us down and we can be far more damaging than bombs.”
“Look, the logistics leaks are a sideshow right now. Save it for Zey.” Skirata opened his comlink. If the general was sleeping, then someone could go and wake him. War didn’t keep office hours. “Supervisor Wennen, why don’t you make us all some caf?”
He expected some complaint, but none came. She stood up, still clutching her ribs, and made her way unsteadily to the kitchen area.
“It’s Besany, Sergeant,” she said.
Yes, she’s on our side. Result. “Okay, I’m Kal.”
“Who likes it sweetened?”
“All of us,” Skirata said. “Two big spoonfuls. It’s going to be a long night.”
Operational house, Qibbu’s Hut, 0200 hours. 385 days after Geonosis
Darman sat cross-legged on the floor next to Jinart, hands clasped in his lap, as if he was watching her. Jinart watched him in return, orange eyes closing occasionally, her legs tucked under her.
Etain sometimes had to look closely to see if Darman was just thinking or actually asleep, because the impression he was making in the Force was so ambiguous. When she knelt beside him to check, though, his eyes were closed. For a brief moment she wondered if Jinart could make telepathic contact with him.
His eyes opened. He glanced behind Etain and then brushed his lips against her cheek.
“No word from Zey yet?”
Etain shook her head. There was nothing to hide any longer and she rested her forehead against his, not caring what anyone else thought: it was impossible to hide their relationship in a tight-knit group of soldiers living in one another’s pockets. “He’s got to consult people. Even Zey can’t make those decisions on his own.”
“You should have been a healer, you know. You’re good at it.”
“Well, let’s see if I’m any good at healing rifts. I need to clear something up with Kal.”
“Problem?”
“Nothing to worry about.”
Etain knelt back on her heels and stood up in one movement. Skirata was talking to Niner and Ordo by the flimsi sheets on the wall, cleaning his beloved Verpine gun with slow care while they discussed the concentration of Separatists in various locations on the brightly colored 3-D grid of the holochart.
She caught Skirata’s eye and beckoned him to follow her. He inclined his head in mute agreement and laid the dismantled Verpine parts on the table beside him, where they sat wrapped in distorted lines of colored light from the holochart projection.
They walked onto the landing platform. The strill was asleep on its stomach, all six legs spread out like an ill-shaped furry insect.
“I did something very foolish,” Etain said.
“Again?”
“Ordo.”
Skirata looked stunned then balanced on the brink of anger. “Ordo?”
“No, nothing like that … I used a command that I heard you use. It upset him. I called check to stop him from killing Jinart outright. He told me why I should never use it.”
Skirata blew out a long breath. “And you understand now?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. He … he said he’d shoot me if I ever did it again.”
“He would. Don’t ever doubt it.”
“I believe you!”
“I never taught the Nulls that Jedi were their betters, you see, and I never taught them to obey the Republic, and no Kaminoan engineered them to be more cooperative than Jango. But they obey me for some reason, and even then I encourage them to question everything.”