Entry 93

The rest of the day I watched video feed from the various Vong Void Jumpers. I was astonished by the identity of those arrested. Two popular reporters, five mayors, twenty police officers, nine financial analysts, two members of the military and an assortment of others. The arrests did not escape public notice. Mokk Streke held a press conference stating the apprehensions were part of a worldwide sting operation. The people arrested were members of a terrorist organization whose goal was to overthrow the government. He also took the time to announce the agreement between Indupar and the Galactic Alliance to station Jedi Knights on Ec Pand to ensure the safety the cloaking device crystals. The Coruscant temple would be repurposed as a Jedi Museum and administration building, but no training would be conducted at that location (meaning Jedi wannabes need not travel to Coruscant). There was no mention of the release of the virus and I doubt there ever will. I am sure the public would be outraged to know a biological agent was dispersed through the WeatherNet.

After the excitement of the arrests died down I had time to think about what had transpired. Despite my best efforts to understand all that has happened, I still remain in a daze of confusion. I would ask my father questions in an effort to understand. He would answer to the best of his ability while Deke made fun of my inability to figure out this extremely complex plot much earlier.

The three of us were sitting in a private conference room off of the flight deck. They had taken off their armor in exchange for loose tunics and trousers and were now sipping on caf.

"In that mimetic suit vid you told Streke that your Master spent a lot of time and money getting him to the position of Chief-of-State," I said to my father. "Streke's climb up the political ladder took at least a decade. You were a Jedi a decade ago."

"True," my father said evenly. "I am not the only person to interact with the Chief-of-State. The Seers had a number of Indupar undercover officers that would act as intermediaries with Streke over the past decade. They manipulated situations so Streke was promoted to high office. It wasn't that difficult. Every politician has a secret they don't want revealed and the Seers knew those secrets. They expose various scandals to get Streke's competition out of the way."

"Why him? Streke isn't the brightest politician. They could have gotten a better leader."

My father chuckled. "That is exactly why they wanted him. He knows he's a rimworld yokel. He is a fish out of water on the City-World. His lack of self-esteem makes him easily manipulated. But the Seers want to be his sole manipulator. That is why I was tasked in the last few years to keep him on track. The secret meeting he had on Corellia went the way we wanted, but in other time streams he is persuaded to help the dishonored politician begging for assistance and it would come back to bite him in the ass. I was there to make sure it didn't happen. If he wanted to remain in office his benefactors demanded that he remain beyond reproach." My father paused to sip his drink. "Overall, he is surprisingly moral for a politician. We haven't had to yank on his leash much."

I looked over to Deke. "How did you get involved in this?"

It was my dad that answered. "I brought in Deke because he knew the location of the Vong Shamed Ones. If the virus didn't work, and in some times streams it didn't, they would be the idea fighters to go against Force-users."

I continued to gaze at my father's friend. "So they needed you to get the location of the Vong…but what are you getting out of this?"

"I'll give you a hint," Deke said with a roll of his eyes. "Who do you think I get my very accurate intelligence information from?"

"The Seers." I blew out a frustrated breath. "So they help you keep Tenel Ka and Jacen safe and in return you gave up the location of the Vong and I assume you are the amber lightsaber Void Jumper who trained them, right?"

"Yes."

My eyes narrowed not quite believing his story. "I am sure the seers, along with the King of Indupar, could have given you anything you wanted in exchange for your help…why ask for something that benefits Tenel Ka and Jacen? Why not ask for a million credits and retire?"

He gave a sarcastic snort. "I thought the Jedi believed in loyalty." He turned in his seat so he could face me fully. "I have been protecting the Queen and your dumbass cousin for well over a decade. I have watched their children grow. I have sworn to protect them…and in exchange the Queen has taken good care of my family and me. She has paid for my children to get the best education at the finest universities in the galaxy. I guess you can say…I like my employers…they're okay for spooks." He grinned mischievously. "Also, I like pissing off the Queen. I bet she was mad that I smuggled her off Hapes in an animal shipping container."

I sighed deeply. "She was talking about reopening the dungeon just for you."

He laughed out loud. "Ouch. Maybe I pushed her a little too far that time."

"Jacen said he can't fire you…you know too much," I said hoping to get a response out of the man.

He chuckled as he turned to my father. "I thought you did a memory rub on Jacen. He shouldn't remember what exactly I know too much of."

My dad shrugged. "He could get his memories back. Especially if Tenel Ka helps him remember."

Deke turned back to me. "I do know too much. Tenel Ka can't risk firing me. She would have to kill me to keep Jacen's nasty little secret safe." His smile slipped off his face for a moment. "That's why when you suggested that Tenel Ka staged the attack on the Hapan palace that I briefly wondered if you were right. Did she have the palace attacked to kill the royals and hopefully get me mortally wounded? But then I remembered something." He pointed to my father. "She would have to kill your dad also." He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the conference table. "Not that I would betray her trust even if she did give me walking papers. If I take down Jacen I also hurt the Jedi order…and that would piss off your dad and he would tell your mom not to send me anymore homemade chocolates during Winter Fete…and I can't have that."

"Of course not," I said cynically. "Lets get back to the Vong. You give up the location of the aliens and what then, you go out there to recruit them?"

He nodded. "They were slaves who, during their entire lives, were told they would never be warriors. I offered them the opportunity. They were more than happy to leave their internment in the Maw and a life of farming for a chance for adventure."

"So, you leaked a video of you training the Vong to yourself and then made a big deal about giving it to my father in front of Ben and me. My dad pretends he didn't know about it. He hands the vid over to Ben to gives it to Uncle Luke so the Jedi would get nervous about staying on Coruscant."

"Obviously," Deke muttered mockingly.

I blew out a frustrated breath. "What about the sniper rifle assassination attempt on Streke?"

Deke raised his hand. "Entirely choreographed by me. Streke was really reluctant to order the Jedi off planet. He thought the public would balk and his chances for reelection would fade. He needed to demonstrate that the Jedi were attracting dangerous Force-users to the area. We thought a fake assassination attempt would help bring the issue to a head. Also, it would help justify to his scientists the making and distributing of the Force-killing virus. I had one of my snipers do the deed because I knew you had those spooky post-cognitive powers that may recognize my Force signature if the Chief-of-State wasn't successful in keeping Jedi out of the crime scene."

I nodded slowly, my head hurt from thinking so much. "How about the short Void Jumper that dumped the Slavers off on Dathomir?"

Deke and my dad looked to each other nervously. "Umm… that was somebody else."

It took me a while to figure out why my father would be exuding nervousness thought the Force. "My…the King?" I was about to say, 'My son', but I wasn't sure how much Deke knew about the situation.

"That was supposed to be me," Deke said. "But King Marcus is financing this venture…so I was overruled and the King took the men out in their first combat mission. I was there though."

I looked to my Dad angrily. "He's just a boy."

"Talon, I didn't know about it until later."

I blew out a breath as I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. "Why did he strip the men naked?"

"I can explain that," Deke said. "The King and I tackled and captured a handful of men personally. Afterwards King Marcus remembered you could probably sense us through any inanimate object we handled. Since we didn't enter the ship we just needed to get rid of the slaver's clothing that we touched. We figured it would be odd to only strip a handful of men…so we stripped them all."

"And the permanent stylus markings written on their bodies saying, 'We enslave women'?"

Deke grinned broadly. "That was my idea. I also thought it would be funny to drop them off on Dathomir. Let them get a taste of their own medicine."

"And why are you doing the slaving operations at all?"

"The Vong needed combat experience before they deployed to Coruscant or Kesh," Deke explained. "They were once slaves so we thought what better way to let them get Void Jumper and fighting experience than by attacking slavers."

"What are you doing with the slaves? They were never returned to their families."

"They're fine," my father assured me. "Most were taken as children and don't remember their families. A lot of them were sold into slavery by their relatives. Others were so mentally and emotionally damaged that they are going to be in therapy for years. The ones that were mutilated are undergoing operations to return them back to their old selves…if possible. Marcus is paying for their rehabilitation. Some of the slaves are working in the palace, some on the ship and others are in classes to learn a trade. You already met one…the lady chauffer on Ec Pand is a recently liberated slave."

I massaged the temples of my head where a raging headache was beginning to form. "How long have the seers been planning all of this?"

My father reached forward and grabbed a cup of caf off the conference table. "After Palpatine they swore they would never standby and let evil take over the galaxy again. They have been planning and scheming to alter the future since before I was created."

"So they weren't just trying to influence things for Indupar."

"No, for the galaxy as a whole."