Chapter #11

"Grand Master?"

Ben looked up from his datapad and fingered the comm unit in front of him. "Yes, Nia?"

"You have a visitor, sir." Ben smiled, pushing back from his desk. "Send my father in, please."

"It's not your father, sir. It's a…gentleman who prefers not to give his name."

Ben could hear the uneasiness in his assistant's voice. "I'll be right out, Nia." Signing off, he crossed to the door and strode down the long hallway leading to the main reception area of the Temple. The steady bustling of Jedi and non-Jedi alike echoed off the cathedral ceilings as the Force pulsed with early morning energy. Ben slowed his gait as he approached the receptionist's desk and noticed a cloaked figure standing off to the side. Nia's large brown eyes softened as Ben drew near. He could feel her relief and reached out with the Force towards the figure who preferred to remain nameless. "May I help you?"

"The better question is…may I help you?" He turned, this man cloaked not unlike a Jedi, approaching Ben. "I would like to speak to you Grand Master, but not here. Too many ears to hear and eyes to see…"

Ben felt no danger from him, but for some reason was uncomfortable in his presence. He understood Nia's apprehension and walking away from the desk, he drew this stranger further from her. "And what would be the nature of our discussion?"

The stranger leaned forward slightly; his face nestled in the hood of his cloak. "Your brother."

Ben bit back a curse. "I have nothing to say to you or whomever you represent. Good day." He turned and stormed back toward the hallway leaving the stranger standing in the middle of the courtyard.

"Not even if what I have to say could save your brother's life?" The stranger's words rang out through the temple as traffic slowed and heads turned in the direction of the two men.

Ben looked around, taking in the curious stares and walked slowly back to the man. "Who are you?"

"Not here," he said softly. "I promise you, I mean you no harm. On the contrary…I think you will be pleased with what I have to tell you."

Ben glanced at his chrono and sighed. "Where then?"

"Coruscant Park—twenty minutes."

"Fine. I'll meet you there in twenty minutes."

The stranger turned to leave—

"Wait—aren't you at least going to tell me something?" Ben called.

The man looked over his shoulder without stopping. "In twenty minutes you will know everything."

Ben sat on the white permacrete bench, his patience wearing thin. The park was sparsely populated this morning, he supposed that was all part of the anonymous man's plan when he selected their meeting place. Five more minutes…he thought to himself, looking at his chrono again. He felt him before he saw him; a man in business attire approached with a determined presence in the Force. Ben knew immediately that this was the man he was supposed to meet with and not the one who had appeared at the temple.

"Grand Master Skywalker," said the middle aged man extending his right hand. "Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me, sir."

Ben hesitated, reaching out with the Force and then his hand. "And you are?"

He smiled. "Please forgive the dramatics, but over the years I've come to realize that in my line of work, perception is everything." He sat down next to Ben and unbuttoned his jacket, then laid his case next to him. "My Name is Jin Mooher."

"And what line of work are you in?" Jin cocked his head.

"Politics. I represent the man running against the current interim Chief of State."

"Drall C'eeve?"

"Yes." Mooher looked at Ben closely. "There are quite a few sentients in this galaxy who are tired of the current political party and their dominance over the last twenty-five years or so."

Ben stood and turned to face Mooher. "What does any of this have to do with my brother?"

"I am getting to that, sir. Please…" He indicated the empty bench with his hand. "If you'll just be seated."

"Fine," Ben snapped. "But get to the point."

Mooher nodded and took a breath. "For some time now the people I represent have questioned your brother's actions and why a Jedi of his standing would throw his life away to end the life of a man most people thought was his friend."

Ben bit his lip.

"We watched the investigation and the trial hoping the answers would be forthcoming…as you know, nothing has come to light. Until now…"

"Has there been a new development that I'm unaware of?"

"Indeed there has, Master Skywalker." He leaned over and pulled out a datapad and several flimsies. "We have conducted our own investigation and have found evidence that Cal Omas was involved in a conspiracy against the Gallactic Alliance."

Ben stared at the information before him. His heart beat faster as the political aide continued.

"If you'll look right here…" He pointed to the missive clipped to the folder on Ben's lap. "Omas was in negotiations to deliver Commenor over to the Corellians. But in order to do that he entered into an agreement to have the current Commenor Prime Minister assassinated."

Ben gasped. "Why would Omas do something like that?"

"In return for handing Commenor and their numerous trade negotiations over to the Corellians, the Five Worlds would then support Omas in his re-election campaign, both visibly and monetarily. As I said earlier, there are many who are tired of Omas' dynasty. Conventional wisdom held that he might very well lose the election this time."

"Somehow Jaryn must have found out about this and confronted Omas. Why hasn't this information come to light before now?"

"Why indeed." Mooher punched a few buttons on his datapad, calling up a holo-recording of a meeting between Omas and the head of his political party.

"Where did you get this?" Ben felt his face flush as he gritted his teeth. "Cal Omas' own private recordings. I wish I could tell you we acquired them legally, but we did not."

"If I'm interpreting this correctly, this conspiracy runs deeper than the Chief of State. It's basically his entire cabinet and the current Corellian government, too."

Mooher nodded. "We have the evidence against Omas, but not Corellia, at least, not yet. In time, we're hoping that will fall into place. There is even some evidence that suggests that Omas wanted Jaryn to carry out the assassination. He refused, of course."

"We have to get this to the authorities right away."

"That," said the aide, "is the worst thing we could do. Don't you see? We have no idea how deep the corruption is. How else do you think they've covered this up for so long?"

Ben ran a hand through his hair. "Then what do we do?"

"This is where you will be forced to face some hard truths, Master Skywalker. With the current political system in place there is no hope of this information getting into the proper hands. Your brother will face a life in prison or execution."

Oh, Stars! Here it comes…thought Ben, fighting the nausea that roiled against his stomach.

"Yes, Jaryn murdered Cal Omas, but he did so to protect the Galactic Alliance. Your brother is a hero; he did what he had to do at great cost to himself. But I believe that even he didn't know how deep the corruption runs.

"And my part in all this?" Ben whispered.

"You already know what I'm going to ask you. The massive cover up going on right now against your brother by the current administration will continue unless—"

"Your candidate is elected to office."

"With the support of the Jedi Grand Master, Drall C'eeve has a good chance of winning this election and bringing your brother's conspirators up for prosecution. But more importantly, the Galactic Alliance will be the kind of government the sentients of this galaxy needs it to be."

Ben laughed mirthlessly. "My father warned me about this kind of thing."

"Ben! We're asking you to do the right thing here. The politicians who are plotting against their own government are still in charge."

Ben stood, drawing his Jedi robes around him. "I will—need some time to think about all this."

Mooher stood also, snapping his case shut. "Just don't take too long. There is a lot at stake…for everyone."

"You hardly need to remind me of that."

"All we're asking, Ben, is that you stand on the side of truth and support the candidate that will best serve the needs of the Galactic Alliance."

"I'll be in touch." Ben turned, refusing to look back and stalked away from the park bench. His father should have finished his meeting with Jaryn by now and was probably waiting in his office.

If ever there was a time when he needed the wisdom of Luke Skywalker, it was now.