All things considered, Avan Beruss was surprised at how well the senate session was going.
It started out in bedlam, of course, because everyone knew that Senator Fey'lya would try to push through a vote that would authorize the NRDF to send a peacekeeping force to Bavinyar. Once Mif Kumas, the broad-winged Calibop sergeant-at-arms was able to quiet the crowd, Fey'lya himself went up to the speaker's central podium and began to read through his proposed legislation.
As he sat in the seat for Illodia's senior representative, listening carefully to Fey'lya, Avan got his first surprise of the day. The proposal was actually quite brief and surprisingly vague. The legislature authorized use of military force to pacify any civil unrest on Bavinyar, without specifying what kind of civil unrest or what level of force. It contained specific provisions leaving the dispensation of said force to the NRDF hierarchy, which Avan thought pretty generous given Fey'lya's long-standing poor relations with Admiral Ackbar. He supposed the Bothan was leaving himself political wriggle-room so that his old nemesis could take the blame if any intervention went bad.
After Fey'lya read the proposal, he stepped down so that the legislation could be discussed. With both Leia and Behn-Kihl-Nahm offworld, the session was being chaired by security minister Miatamia. Even though Miatamia was typically in Fey'lya's camp, the Diamalan ran the talks formally, giving no indication as to his biases. Avan wasn't sure whether to be encouraged by that or not.
As expected, one of Fey'lya's other allies spoke more firmly on the matter. Niuk Niuv began with a forceful condemnation of all violent on Bavinyar, reminded everyone how the crisis in the Farlax and Corellian sectors had been allowed to spiral out-of-control due to inaction, then laid subtle hints that the planet's humans were really to blame. Avan was a little frightened by how much applause Niuv got.
Celch Dravvad took the podium next, and all the hundreds of holo-cam droids floating around the senate hall inched a little closer to get better shots of the presidential candidate giving his long-awaited policy speech.
"I understand better than anyone what internal strife can do to the politics of a New Republic member system," Dravvad said, "But I must remind you that the situations here, in Koornacht, and in the Corellian system are all very different. The crisis in Koornacht was caused by a genocidal race armed with a fleet of Imperial warships. I must add, also, that the unrest on Corellia was not, in fact, instigated by Corellians, but the Saccorian Triad, who exploited dormant tensions for their own gain."
Avan had to smirk at that; Dravvad was clearly irked and Avan couldn't blame him. All the newsnets were comparing the Bavinyar Crisis (as they'd already started calling it) to the one on Corellia six years previously, and no representative liked to see his home sector held up as an example of dysfunction.
"Bavinyar is not Corellia," Dravvad went on, "And it is not Koornacht. It is an internal political crisis on a single lightly-populated planet. A small NRDF task force would contain enough firepower to obliterate the world entirely. This is not the Empire, gentlebeings. This is the Republic, and the Republic does not respond to small agitations with overwhelming force. Our best diplomats, including Princess Leia herself, are already handling the matter personally. A show of military force would only exacerbate tensions that could otherwise be defused easily. That is why we must all vote no on Senator Fey'lya's proposal."
Dravvad got a lot of applause too, but Avan wasn't sure if it beat Niuv's. As far as enthusiastic ovations went, neither was especially impressive. That wasn't surprising; the situation on Bavinyar was messy and most galactic citizens, to say nothing of their represen-tatives, were confused and wary of getting involved in conflicts on minor planets.
Avan was hoping the senators would pay heed to their electorate. Third to the podium was the lynchpin of it all. Avan and Cal Omas had talked it out beforehand; Avan himself was too young to command the whole senate's respect and Omas, as Alderaan's junior senator and de facto sole representative, was seen as too closely tied with Leia. Other senators could have also thrown their support behind Leia; Oolos' Tolik Yarr had already offered what Avan didn't doubt would be an aggressive full-throated rebutal of Fey'lya's proposal. However, Avan and Omas had decided a more subtle touch was preferable. They'd both agreed another senator should make their case to the galaxy. Thankfully, when they'd approached him about it, Senator Elegos A'kla of the Caamasi Remnant had been eager to help.
Less than five years ago, 'Justice for Caamas' had been the rallying cry for both sides of a conflict that had nearly torn the galaxy apart. Unlike so many senators, Elegos A'kla had not gone frothing for vengeance over the destruction of his homeworld decades before. In promoting a peaceful resolution, both for that crisis and the war with the Empire, A'kla had emerged as a voice of moral authority that no one in the senate dared challenge openly. Though he knew the Caamasi would be horrified at the comparison, Avan couldn't help but think of him as a secret weapon.
"They call this senate a deliberative body," A'kla said, "But so often I've seen us dissolve into petty arguments fueled more by anger and ego than the desire to see justice. We came very close to tearing ourselves apart not five years ago, all in the name of Caamasi a half-century dead. In the end, we allowed ourselves to be manipulated by agents of chaos. We should not fall victim to the same haste again.
"Senator Niuv has said that we should act not because the situation may get far worse. I acknow-ledge his wisdom; if we'd acted sooner in Koornacht, millions would have been saved. Senator Dravvad says that we should trust our diplomats, because a Republic that rules by the gun is no Republic at all. He, too, is wise.
"The situation on Bavinyar is complicated. We've said it again and again, but I must repeat it. It is more complicated- politically, historically, and morally- than the crises over Koornacht, Corellia, or even Caamas. That is why, more than ever, we should not act in haste.
"I do not propose to turn down the motion. I do not propose to vote in its favor. What I promise is that we wait. As Senator Dravvad said, our three best diplomats are on Bavinyar now, doing what they do best. A vote to send military force to Bavinyar would be a flagrant disrespect of the decades of loyal service which Princess Leia, Gavrisom, and Behn-Kihl-Nahm have given the Republic. And yet, as Senator Niuv said, we must not shirk from intervention when it is truly warranted, and when it could truly save lives.
"But that time is not now. I propose a vote to table the proposal. If it passes this first vote, then let us consider it in more detail, preferably with input from the Security Council and NRDF leadership. But please, I urge you all to wait and give our best a chance to bring to Bavinyar, as they have to countless other worlds already."
When A'kla crossed his long forearms over his chest, signaling and end to his speech, Avan was the first on his feet to applaud; Cal Omas was about a quarter-second behind. He was hardly alone, and Avan's heart swelled when the Caamasi's speech got the loudest ovations of all.
Senator A'kla, though, betrayed nothing on his downy face as he took his seat and folded his hands calmly in his lap. And, when the motion to delay the vote passed a half-hour later, A'kla was the first to rise to his feet and leave the senate hall without a word.
Avan made his way over to the Alderaanian seat and gave Cal Omas a firm slap on the back.
"That went perfectly," the older man grinned. "Now Leia and company can do their jobs."
Avan smiled back. "For a moment there I was worried. Niuv came out attacking right away."
"Niuv is a probably hoping he can get a better cabinet position if Fey'lya's in charge. Say, State or Defense ministries."
"That could still happen," Avan warned. "Depending on what happens once Leia gets to Bavinyar."
"I know." Omas' smile wilted. "Still, we did what we had to. If we have more problems, we can deal with those as they come."
"I know," Avan exhaled. "I was just tense."
"Remind you of your days back in the cockpit?" Omas asked. Once upon a time, the Alderaanian, too, had flown X-wings.
"I guess there was a little of that excitement."
"A little? We're playing for higher stakes now."
The thought sobered Avan. He looked across the busy senate chamber until he spotted Fey'lya, huddled in close conversation with Miatamia and his junior senator, Mak Sezala. The younger Bothan's fur stood on end as though agitated, but Fey'lya himself looked quite calm. Avan wasn't the best at reading Bothan body language, so he wasn't positive, but that was how it seemed to him.
Omas, apparently, had followed his gaze. The man said, "Don't be surprised. I think Fey'lya got exactly what he wanted."
"What do you mean?"
"He made his stand and got lots of attention. If this ends peacefully he'll shrug it off and everybody will forget, if and it doesn't, well, he'll get to say, 'I told you so.'"
Avan's mouth went dry. Sometimes he forgot what a canny player the Bothan was.
"But we can't do anything about that now," Omas said as he put a hand on Avan's shoulder. "For now, we wait, and we trust Leia."
Avan did trust her, more than perhaps anyone he'd ever met. He wished that alone could get the heavy feeling out of his gut.
-{}-
The recent tumult in the New Republic Senate had been watched with unusual closeness by the people of far-off Bavinyar. The result was met with relief by the vast majority of the population, which, for once, left the humans and Cereans in actual agreement.
The agreement, however, was not total, as Detective Aryon Ven was surprised to discover when he took a day off the investigation to return to his family's island in the southern hemisphere.
Ven had enjoyed a brief spurt of celebrity after it had been announced on news-nets all over the galaxy that he was was a senior investigator into Pohl-Had-Narr's assassination. The mess created by the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Syne had immediately taken attention away from her predecessor's death, and while Ven and Sham-Vi-Diin continued to trudge through their investigation, they hadn't been making much progress; combined with the sudden dearth of public attention it was why Ven had been able to winnow a day to go down south.
The island on which he'd grown up was much as he remembered: the cool and damp weather was far less pleasant than sunny, tropical Cephalia, not to mention far smaller. His parents, who'd been born as farmers on one of the Cerean-occupied islands in the northern hemisphere, had settled down on this island to repeat the process.
Weather and soil were both a poor match for farming here, but they trudged on. Now that Ven was gone it was just the two of them, and they relied on droids to staff the rest of their land. Despite increasing age, though, both parents were quite hale, and on the morning of his return his mother and father took him down the trail leading to the rocky cliffsides that plunged down into crashing waves.
He'd gotten used to balmy Cephalia, and he tugged his jacket tight around him and they walked. His father noticed this, and said with a dry chuckle, "You're getting soft up north, aren't you?"
"No I'm not," Ven insisted. "I just forgot how cool it could get here."
"It's bound to happen," his mother said. "Well, you look much the same otherwise, so it's good to see Cephalia hasn't changed you too much."
"When I saw that broadcast," his father said, "I could hardly recognize you."
"You've seen me in my BSA uniform before."
"It wasn't that. I'm used to seeing you as a tough tall lad, but next to all those cone-heads you looked a positively puny. Not your fault, I suppose."
"Tell me, what's he like, the one you're working with?" his mother said. "Sham-Vi-Miin?"
"Sham-Vi-Diin," Ven corrected. "He's the head of the homicide department. He's been my boss for the past five years."
"Well, how are you and the boss getting along?"
Ven wasn't sure how to answer that. Generally, he and the chief hadn't gotten along either well or badly; the older Cerean was an aloof commander in general, and Ven had always felt insecure around him, unsure if he was being singled out to be ignored, if it was because he was young or because he was human.
He said, "Sham-Vi-Diin's very professional, Mom."
"What does that mean?" pried his father.
"Just what I said. He's career police."
"Does this mean he used to work for the Imps when they ran the planet?"
"I think so," Ven said softly. "But a lot of the Cereans did. It was the only option they had, with the Empire watching over Bavinyar then."
"There's always excuses," his father snorted.
"The Empire's long gone, you know," his mother said. "No use going on about a dead thing."
"Not so dead. Son, did you hear the rumor that the Imps are supplying guns to the terrorists?"
Like most humans on Bavinyar, his father used terrorist as a synonym for Palt-Ri-Gen's CPF extremists, or, more broadly, any Cerean he didn't like. He'd even used the term for Pohl-Had-Narr now and then, even though the dead prime minister had been as accom-modating to humans as anyone could expect a Cerean to act.
"I've heard the rumor," Ven acknowledged.
"Well? Is it true?"
It was, but he wasn't going to tell that to his father. It would get him going off on terrorists all the more, and besides, it wasn't the sort of police intelligence he should have been sharing with civilians, family or not.
"I'm not sure," he said vaguely. "I'm not investigating that part. I think the Republic is actually more involved there."
"The Republic," his father echoed noncommittally. "Well, I'll give them one thing. They know when not to get involved. So they're smarter than the Imps. Did you watch that senate session?"
"I missed it, sorry."
"It's all your dad's been talking about," his mother put in. "Never used to pay so much attention to politics."
"We never used to be so important the whole damned galaxy's watching our every move." His father shook his head. "This isn't what I thought I'd get when we moved back here, son."
"What did you think we'd get?"
"My grandfather took us out to Bavinyar because he wanted to get away from the Republic. He and the other settlers wanted to live peacefully and be left alone. That's all he wanted and it's all I want too."
Ven looked out at the gray cliffs and the vast sea beyond. "You seem pretty alone here."
"To a city boy, maybe," his father chuckled. "Well, I'm just glad the senate made the right vote. I can't imagine what a mess this would be if that furry fellow was calling the shots."
"Well, he's not. The actual Chief of State is coming to Cephalia tomorrow. I'll have to be there. I'll catch a jumper back north in the morning."
"I'm glad she's coming and not the furball," his father said. "She'd never press some crazy intervention scheme. She has a good head on her shoulders."
"How do people feel up in Cephalia?" asked his mother. "Do they want the Republic to get involved?"
"No more than it already is," Ven said.
"Even the people you work for?" asked his father.
"Definitely. If the Republic has to intervene in Bavinaryi affairs it hurts the legitimacy of everyone- the BSA, the BDF, the prime minister." He added with an ironic smile, "We're all stuck in the same speeder now."
"Well, that's good to hear." His father sounded relieved. "This way we might even solve our own problems."
Ven's mother made a noncommittal humming sound. He asked, "What is it, Mom?"
"Oh, your mother's developed a sudden love for the Republic," his father said.
"Really, Mom?" Ven stopped walking to look at her. "I mean, did you want Fey'lya to send in peacekeepers?"
"I don't know about that," he said, hugging herself against a cold breeze. "It's just that…. This situation is ugly. No side in this- the BSA, the BDF, Syne, the terrorist groups- want to back down but they all want to get what they want. Everyone has a special interest here."
"And the Republic doesn't?" Ven's father asked. "You can be sure Fey'lya wants to blame all the problems here on us evil humans, and let the terrorists get away with everything."
"Fey'lya, maybe, but Behn-Kihl-Nahm's never gone in for that kind of rhetoric. You know he could have if he wanted to."
"Maybe," Ven admitted, "But what Dad says is true. The Republic's not a neutral party in this. There are no neutral parties."
"Not even the BSA?" she asked.
He felt like he'd walked into a trap. He sighed and said, "I've never been into politics either. I just want to find whoever killed Pohl-Had-Narr. That's my job. That's it. Everything else… It's just not my business."
"Not your business?" his father echoed thoughtfully. "Hmmm. You sound like the one true neutral being on Bavinyar."
"Nobody's netural. I just worry about what I can change and let other people worry about what they think they can change."
His mother smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "That's good, son. If there were more like you, we probably wouldn't be in this mess."
Ven wanted to believe that. He hoped it was true, but in the end, it didn't matter, because most people weren't like him.
"Maybe it's a good thing they aren't," he said, tryng to sound cheery. "Otherwise, I'd be out of a job."
His parents nodded, like that was some consolation, but they all knew it wasn't close to enough.
-{}-
The Millennium Falcon landed at the spaceport south of Cephalia to a grand welcome totally inappropriate for an ancient cobbled-together tramp freighter. It should have felt incongruous, but by now Leia was used to it, even if the show always made Han shift a little uncomfortably in his seat.
Along with Kenth Hamner and Tresk Im'nel, they were met by Minister Gavrisom as well as a set of representatives from the Bavinyari government, an equal mix of humans and Cereans. Gavrisom filled them in on the ride into the capital, so Leia felt almost prepared when her escorts led her into the white-stone government tower at the center of the city.
Once they reached the floor with the prime minister's office, Gavrisom, Han, and the two Jedi stayed behind in the vestibule, leaving Leia to speak with Syne alone. Gavrisom confessed that he'd only spoken to the woman briefly and had not been able to make a firm judgment on her character. Leia was left with intuition and her half-developed Force powers; she hoped they would be enough.
When she stepped into the prime minister's office, the escorts did not follow. She found herself in a small circular chamber with white walls and a red carpeted floor. A quarter of the circle was a rounded window that looked out on Cephalia's stone-and-glass skyline as it gleamed in the midday sun. And, standing in front of that window with her back turned, was a human woman with long black hair pulled behind her neck, hands clasped at the small of her back. She didn't react to Leia's entrance, didn't say a word.
Leia cleared her throat and said, "You have a beautiful city, Prime Minister Syne."
The other woman turned around. She had dark narrow eyes in a round face. She looked about the same age as Leia, perhaps slightly younger.
Leia put on a diplomat's smile. Syne didn't return it, but she did walk around from behind her white desk and offer a hand. Syne's grip was hard, and so was Leia's.
"I'm glad we could finally meet in person," Leia with-drew her hand. "I want you to know that resolving the current crisis on Bavinyar is of the utmost concern to us."
"I know it is," said Syne. "I'm sorry you had to come here yourself, Madam President. Or is it Princess?"
"Leia is perfectly fine."
Sye still didn't smile. "I see. I've heard there was a motion in your senate to send peacekeepers here."
Leia noted the your senate with quiet disappointment. "The vote was delayed, pending further developments."
"I'm glad for that," Syne admitted. "No one on Bavinyar wants to see Republic troops in our streets. No one."
"The Bavinyari have a long history of independence and self-reliance," Leia complimented. "Humans and Cereans both."
"I know. It's part of the reason why both sides keep butting heads. Everyone is used to getting their way."
That was something that had already occurred to Leia as an outsider. She was encouraged that Syne had realized it too. "The Republic will do anything it can to help you stop this terrorist violence."
"Yes, your NRI agent has already been meeting with our BSA investigators," Syne added, a little darkly, "Although so far, they've only been investigating the BIL."
"I understand agents for the Cerean separatists claimed responsibility for the attack on the memorial service."
"Something the BIL has yet to do for Pohl-Had-Narr's assassination," Syne said, then added, "I am not a defender of either organization, Princess. I assure you of that. I know that the only way for Bavinyar to move forward is to have a unity government of both humans and Cereans."
"You share a vision with Pol-Had-Narr."
"Most Bavinyari do. I truly believe that. The issue is hardliners on both sides. With acts of violence they drive more and more citizens away from the center. Even people who'd never condone violence find themselves more affected by one tragedy or another, more under-standing of the BIL or CDF depending on their race."
Leia knew not to ask Syne if she had any sympathy with the BIL. Instead she said, "I understand that before you returned to Bavinyar, you were part of the NRDF."
"I was originally part of a group of Bavinyari exiles fighting with the Dorneans, yes, but eventually we joined the Republic."
"Do you have any experience, personally, with these kinds of conflicts?"
"You mean terrorism?" Syne scowled. "No. I was a crewman, and later a captain on a warship commanded by your General A'baht."
"I know. I've spoken to Etahn. He speaks highly of you."
Leia was rewarded with a tiny softening in Syne's hard face. "He was a good commander. I learned much about leadership from him."
"I'm curious. Had you ever seen Bavinyar before you resigned from the NRDF?"
Syne shook her head. "I grew up in Dornean space, half of the time on refugee ships."
"But you always yearned to come here."
Syne nodded. He eyes went distant. "I suppose you must understand some of this, Princess. The desire to return to a home you've lost."
"Very well," Leia said softly. "You actually got a chance to go home. I'm very envious."
Syne's gaze focused on hers. "I understand that you never knew your mother."
"No," Leia admitted. "To be honest, I'm still not sure who she was."
To her relief, Syne didn't seem keen to ask about her father. She said, "I never knew mine. The woman who raised me, and her husband… They were very protective. They wanted me not to follow my parents' path."
Leia thought of her brother, kept in ignorance on Tatooine. "They wanted to protect you. There's nothing wrong with that."
"I know." She gave a tiny sigh. "Still, the revelation was a shock. I'd heard about Jereveth Syne. Every Bavinyar refugee had. She was a martyr, an icon, and an ideal."
"I heard you changed your name when you found out."
"I was Jadesei Kaeori before that. Sometimes it seems like another person's name now."
"It's a heavy responsibility," Leia said, "Knowing what your parents accomplished."
Syne looked at her again. More softly than Leia's heard her speak before, she said, "I think we have something else in common, Princess."
"What's that?"
"My father," Syne said, "was a Jedi."
Leia's jaw dropped. She put a hand to cover it and whispered, "How did you know?"
"The same way I learned about my mother. They were both killed, I understand, shortly after the Clone Wars."
"Do you… know the name of this Jedi?"
Syne shook her head. "I never learned it. But when she told me… It made sense."
"In what way?"
"It explained things. How I tended to sense other beings' intentions without them having to say it. How sometimes I would dream of things before they occurred, though that happened more when I was younger. Tell me, Princess, do Jedi skills wane with age?"
"I'm not sure. I don't believe so." Leia blinked. "You said you learned about your mother and father at the same time. Then you changed your name and came to Bavinyar. That was… how long ago?"
"About twelve years."
"My brother had already established his Jedi Academy then. You must have heard of it."
Syne nodded.
"Did you ever consider following your father's path instead of your mother's?"
"No. Not for a moment."
Leia felt strangely disappointed. She'd followed her father Bail into politics long before she learned of her Jedi heritage, and while she'd never seriously considered changing life paths she'd often found herself wondering, longingly, what it would be like to train on Yavin 4 with her brother instead of shouldering the burdens of the New Republic. She still wondered if it would have been a better, more fulfilling life.
Syne sensed it, or saw it on Leia's face. She said, "Everything in my life has been about Bavinyar, since I was a child. The Jedi were just stories half-remembered, but I was raised by people who remembered Bavinyar, who told me about the white buildings of Cephalia and the deep blue of the sea." Her voice became grim, her expression fierce. "They told me what the Empire did to our world, how they ravaged it and expelled us. I knew we had to retake what was ours. I never doubted my place belonged here. Never."
That determination, that ferocity, also fueled all the human separatists in the BIL. Leia had dealt with countless fanatic soldiers, including those who served the Rebellion, but this felt different, coming from a woman with whom she had so much in common.
Syne sensed her discomfort and added, "Image in you had a chance to reclaim Alderaan. Just imagine. I think if you can… Well, I think you'll understand all you need to about Bavinyar."
Leia nodded, and felt a shiver down her spine. "I'll do that. I promise."
"Good," Syne's expression relaxed into a joyless smile. "That's all I ask."
-{}-
When Leia Organa Solo left, she took her husband, her minister, and her two Jedi with her. Jadesei Syne waited until they'd left the building to summon Harbin Kaice to her office.
The general had spent time in a bacta tank after being wounded at the memorial service, and even now his right arm rested in a sling that looked incongruous against his pressed brown BDF uniform. A few thin white bandages marked the places where the tan skin of his face was held together by stitches.
"Thank you for calling me, Madam," Kaice said as he came in. "Is Organa Solo gone?"
Syne nodded and turned back to the broad view of Cephalia. "She's on her way to the consulate now."
"How was your conversation?"
Syne smirked but didn't look back at him. "You can be so transparent, General. You know she and I have certain… similarities, don't you?"
Kaice circled her desk. "I do. Does she know too?"
"She does now."
"Do you think this will help us?"
He hid his alarm well, but Syne could feel it emanating from him. For so long she's thought it was just an instinct she had, some special intuition.
"There people aren't our enemy, General."
Kaice blew breath out through his nose, betraying a little frustration. The general was a good fifteen standard years older than her, and he'd remembered Bavinyar from his childhood. He'd spent his life with a small group of exiles that had always been on the run. He'd never served with the New Republic military in any capacity and because of all that he'd always been skeptical of Bavinyar's place in that vast confederation of worlds.
Syne had never been a Republican patriot either, but she'd spent enough time in its service to know that it was nothing like the old Empire, as the Bavinyar Independence League liked to claim.
"I don't doubt their ability to help, Madam," Kaice said at last, "But there are other factors here. We aren't just dealing with Organa Solo or Behn-Kihl-Nahm. We're dealing with a government that's about to have a critical election. That means all our problems are part of somebody else's political calculus. It's probably why Pohl-Had-Narr was assassinated when he was."
"I'm aware of that."
"That means we don't matter. When the Republic comes here or angsts over what to do with us back on Coruscant, it isn't about us. It's about Behn-Kihl-Nahm versus Borsk Fey'lya."
Syne sighed. Kaice was an upright, stoic, professional soldier in public, but in private he could be painfully blunt. It was why she'd made him her chief advisor, but it could still be frustrating.
"I don't disagree, General," Syne said at last. "But we're not going to turn down the Republic's help. Is that understood? If they can help us dismantle both the BIL and the CPF, then I'll take anything they want. Is that clear?"
Kaice nodded, formal again. "Very much so, Madam."
"Good." Syne looked out the window at that white city gleaming in the sun. It was so disarmingly serene. "I'm going to do everything I can to keep the peace on Bavinyar. For everyone."
Kaice nodded wordlessly, but she could sense his doubt. She would remand him for it, if only she could calm her own doubts. When her foster-mother had finally revealed the identity of her true mother, Jadesei Syne's first reaction had been shock, then denial, then a sense of crushing destiny.
She wondered if Leia Organa Solo felt like this, constantly pressured by the shadow of her dead.
-{}-
The New Republic contingent was housed in a well-appointed and well-guarded villa in one of Cephalia's uphill districts. From its main gathering room, one could easily see the land undulate downward toward the ocean and the capital's trademark mix of stone and glass buildings in all their splendor. It was an especially good panorama during the day, when you could make out blue water gleaming on the horizon, but even by evening it afforded a wonderful view of the skyline.
Behn-Kihl-Nahm wished he could have appreciated it. As it was, he felt as tense as everyone else in the room. Leia had brought a pair of Jedi with her, a human and a Bothan, one ex-NRDF and the other ex-diplomatic corps. Those three had come to join Behn-Kihl-Nahm, Gavrisom, and Pakpekkatt and discuss the current state of Bavinyar.
"I understand you had some time to talk to Prime Minister Syne today," Behn-Kihl-Nahm told her.
Leia nodded. "I did. It was an enlightening conver-sation."
Something about Leia's tone indicated she wasn't going to give away more than that. Instead she looked Pakkpekatt and asked, "What's the status of the investigation?"
"Which investigation?" the crest on the back of the Hortek's long neck rose. "I've been working with the BSA investigators looking into Pohl-Had-Narr's assass-ination."
"What about the attack at the memorial ceremony?" asked the human Jedi, Hamner.
"The local authorities were able to work together and respond quickly to that attack. The BSA was able to round up a number of the actors fleeing the scene, though some have escaped and gone to ground."
"Cerean separatists?"
Pakkpekatt nodded. "The ones apprehended seem to be low-ranking members of the CPF. The BSA has been conducting interrogations and raiding supposed CPF storehouses in Cephalia but found nothing of interest."
"For public attack, in broad daylight, they must have been expecting a crackdown," Leia said. "It's a wonder they went through with it at all."
"It shows how angry many are at Pohl-Had-Narr's death," Behn-Kihl-Nahm said gravely. "He'd be enraged himself, seeing how they use his name as an excuse for violence. The CPF hated Pohl-Had-Narr when he was alive. They called him a traitor to the cause for accepting Syne and his vice minister. Now he's a precious martyr."
"We can only hope that after this attack their network on Cephalia will be too scuttled to manage any more," said Gavrison.
"Here, maybe," Behn-Kihl-Nahm said. "But Bavinyar has many islands, and many places to hide people and supplies."
"Yes, supplies." Pakkpekatt hissed and took a datacard out of his pocket. He laid it on the table they'd gathered around and tapped it with a claw. "The CPF members that were apprehended all tried to ditch their weapons after fleeing the scene, but BSA was able to gather most of them afterward. The information on them is right here. It may be quite important."
He flicked the datacard across the table to Leia. She cupped it with her palm and asked, "What kind of information?"
"All of the weapons used in the attack were military-grade weapons. All were Imperial."
"Imperial?" Leia gasped.
"Indeed," the Hortek nodded. "That is an inventory of the weapons by type and serial number."
"Every Imperial weapon is marked with one," Hamner supplied, "Of course, there are millions of E-11 and T-21 blaster rifles throughout the galaxy. Many have been sold and re-sold on the black market. There's no reason to assume these came from the Bastion government."
"Someone might be trying to make us think they did," the Bothan Jedi Im'nel suggested.
Behn-Kihl-Nahm gave a deep sigh. "I've become very tired of outside forces meddling in our affairs for their own benefit."
"Perhaps smugglers simply found an abandoned garrison on a backwater planet," Gavrisom suggested. "We shouldn't assume anything from this."
"The fact that they were all Imperial worried me," Leia said. "I know the galaxy is full of Imperial hardware lying around, so I'm not going to hurry to place blame on Bastion or anyplace else. Still, it means there might be even worse weapons stashed away in another CPF storehouse somewhere."
"You got this all from BSA?" Im'nel asked. Pakkpekatt nodded. "Well, at least they're really willing to cooperate with us."
"They have been quite helpful so far," Pakkpekatt said. "Unfortunately, this does not mean we're any closer to success on the investigation we were originally sent here for."
"What's the issue there?" asked Hamner. "Have we been able to get a trace on the BIL?"
"There's no indication the BIL is responsible, though they're still the most likely culprit. They've gone to ground. All we know for certain is that some being or beings tunneled beneath the walls surrounding the prime minister's compound with a tripod-mounted surface-to-surface missile launcher."
Leia must have sensed some hesitation from the Hortek. She asked, "What else?"
Pakkpekatt blew out another hiss through his flaring nostrils. "The BSA has gathered forensic material from the site and come to some tentative suppositions, though they're nothing more than that. At the moment, they remain classified."
"What kind of suppositions?" asked Hamner.
Cautiously, Pakkpekatt said, "It seems possible, that the weapon was a New Republic device."
"The Republic?" Leia gaped.
"The placement of the tripod, chemical trace analyses, and examination of what appear to be shell fragments amidst the debris indicate that the weapon used might, I say might, have been a MerrSonn VT-35 launcher."
Hamner leaned forward. "The VT-35 is a very new model. And an advanced one. Lightweight, with soph-isticated tracking systems. I didn't think any had fallen into the second-hard market yet."
"Maybe it hasn't," Im'nel said softly.
"Meaning what?" Behn-Kihl-Nahm asked, not wanting the answer.
The Bothan held up both paws. "Who can say? But it needs investigation."
"If we could locate other BIL storehouses and see what other weapons they have, it would be very useful," said Hamner. "The same for the CPF."
"At the moment, we still don't know the BIL was responsible for Pohl-Had-Narr's death," Leia reminded everyone.
"Then who else did it?" asked Im'nel plainly. "The cPF might have wanted him dead too, but we already know the they're using Imperial weapons."
"We're not certain a VT-35 really was used," Pakkpekatt reminded them, "All we know for certain is what's on the datacard I presented."
Leia looked down at the metal chip in her hand. "I think we have to take this to someone who can make use of its data."
"You mean the Empire?" Hamner said with faint disapproval.
"I mean Admiral Pellaeon. I trust him, Kenth. For something like this, I do. He wouldn't be trying to destabilize this election, not when it might jeopardize the peace treaty he put together."
"It could be one of the moffs, or some rogue officer."
"Exactly. If anyone can help us track these weapons, it's him. I know it's a long shot, but I think we have to do this."
Gavrisom made a whinnying noise and asked, "Would you like me to send the communication, Madam President?"
She shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but no. I think I need to have this conversation with Pellaeon, one head-of-state to another."
"Are the comm lines secure here?" asked Im'nel.
"We brought some of our own equipment," Behn-Kihl-Nahm said. "Its as secure as can be."
"Good. I'd hate to have to run back to the Falcon just to call Bastion." Leia slumped back in her chair. "I'll get to the bottom of this. As for the first investigation..." She paused; her face settled slowly into a deeper frown. "We'll wait and see where it leads."
"You don't want to begin an internal review?" Im'nel asked.
"Into what?" She shook her head. "We don't have enough information to start anything. We're going to have to wait for more information on that, or on the BIL."
"Very well," Gavrisom shrugged his wings and rustled his feathers. "We wait. It is good we've gained more time in the senate."
Leia smiled a very tight smile and said, "It's a good thing we've still got our secret weapon back home."