For first, I want to thank you for those nice reviews. I appreciate that.
I think negotiation is sometimes not about trying to reach your goals, or to compromise. Sometimes it's simply about not letting the other reach his goal.
- Cricket the Dark Lord
….
The pick of the Phantom Rival's crew, all four Jedi, Norso, Bawan and both Mando commanders, was staring at the hologram in front of it.
It was a hologram of a man. It was about meter high, shining blue and it stood above a huge rectangular holotransmittor in the darkened command salon.
The man was willowy, approximately about Jaina's age, with shoulder-length sleek hair and narrow eyes. He was dressed in some heavy, elaborate robes with a frilly belt with a lightsaber decorated with gemstones resembling pearls in their smoothness.
"I am Lord Dalecus of the Circle of Lords," the man said, lisping a bit, "and my message is for the commanding officer of the Galactic Alliance ship… Phantom Rival only."
"Lord as in Sith lord, I suppose," Allana said below her breath.
No one answered.
"I am an emissary sent by the Circle of Kesh to negotiate with estimable members of the Galactic Alliance…"
Ben grinned when he noticed how much pain it took him to say this.
"…about the Keshiri captives you took. Please, respond immediately to this message. Our transmission codes are attached to the message. Thank you for listening to this message. Dalecus out."
The hologram flickered out and was replaced by a chart with transmission codes.
Norso snorted.
"They want us to release them?" Wandaq asked loudly.
"I am afraid they have the right for it," Norso answered, frowning. "We are not officially in a war with Kesh or Sith so we can't state that they are war prisoners."
"It doesn't mean a war when they attacked us?" Wandaq asked.
Norso shook his head. "Not officially. Besides, if they can claim them to be operating solo, without blessing of their government… no offence, Master Solo."
Jaina was scowling at the chart as if she could squeeze some information out of it. "None taken, Senator." She glanced at him. "But if they attacked us, as citizens of the GA, isn't the GA courthouse authorized to deliver a judgment on them?"
"They are still citizens of the Kesh, Master Solo," Bawan interposed, even grimmer than ever. "That means that if we fail to come to agreement with Keshiri, they will have to be tried for it by Keshiri court."
"So we have to negotiate with them so we can get them to court?"
"Yes. Or we can insist on the presence of some of our GA representatives during the court on Kesh."
Ben smiled. "That can play into our hands," he said.
"It surely can," Norso nodded, frowning. "If they will agree."
"We can't just let them go!" Wandaq shouted, slamming his fist into the transmittor's desk.
"We have to, Jedi Wandaq," Bawan retorted. "And I ask you to sit this one out."
"What?"
"I ask you to give up on your duties for today. You're dismissed, Jedi Wandaq."
Wandaq's face twisted into a mask of pure hatred. "I don't take orders from you, sir! I'm a Jedi!"
"Jedi Wandaq," Jaina said clearly, not even raising her voice, but everyone heard her with a crystalline pureness. "As a Master of the Jedi Council, I suggest you have a day out. Go have a caf and cool off."
Wandaq's expression was defiant, but he nodded and bowed. "Yes, Master Solo. Right away."
He strode from the room, hitting Ben's arm hardly as he walked past him.
Ben knew he expected him to stand up for him. Ben wanted, but he knew something about politicians and bureaucracy. You can't overplay them. They always win.
After a while of bright silence when everyone in the room were aware of themselves so clearly they could feel their muscles working as they were tampering with their hands nervously, Allana let go of her braid and crossed her arms.
"Are we going to call them?" she asked, the urging look of her attentive eyes mentally poking at everyone in the room.
Norso twitched and began to move again like a statue coming to life. "Yes. Of course we are," he said, leaning forward to the transmitter to call the communication center. "We have no other choice."
As Norso asked the CC to call the emissary ship, Ben glanced at Gev and Skirata, who stood aside from the others, watching the conversation without any sign of interest. Both their helmets were off, so he could see their faces as they continued to watch the chart, unmoving, unspeaking and uncaring about the results of the negotiation which was about to begin.
He moved to them with no real purpose, following some unconscious bidding.
"Commander Gev," he said respectfully.
Her eyes shifted to him, but her face didn't. "Can I help you somehow, Skywalker?"
"I want to know what you two think about this."
Gev glanced at the tall Mandalorian. "We think it's none of our concern what you auretiise do with your prisoners," he answered.
"But you do not agree."
Gev shrugged. "You Alliancers were always bound by your own laws and principles."
"We need laws. Otherwise a perfect chaos would break out in the galaxy," Ben objected automatically, but he understood Gev's and Skirata's point.
"I don't try do depreciate laws, Jedi," Gev said coldly. "I know that one needs a code to keep his honor. But your laws should not be made up in a way that prevents you from doing the necessary stuff in the right time."
"I know what you're talking about," Ben said, then something else caught his attention.
A shiny blue hologram had lightened up the dark salon again. It was the same man, this Lord Dalecus, but this time he was accompanied by a willowy woman few inches taller than he, who was dressed in similar luxurious robes.
Dalecus pursed his lips in a childish expression of aversion, but bowed a bit, hands clasped behind his back. "Lord Dalecus of the Circle of Lords." He waved his hand toward the woman. "Master Gardia." She bowed as well.
"Pleased to meet you, Lord Dalecus, Master Gardia," Norso replied and returned their bows. "I am Senator Wan Norso of Onderon. Diplomatic ship Phantom Rival is under my command."
"The Phantom Rival is a battle cruiser, if I heard well," Dalecus objected.
"It was. But it was provided to me by the Galactic Alliance Forces as a diplomatic ship. We cannot risk venturing to the borders unprotected."
Dalecus nodded. "I understand caution, Senator Norso."
"But that's not the main point of the discussion now," Norso changed the subject abruptly before he could tell more than was wise. "We are supposed to negotiate about the captives if I am not mistaken."
"In fact, I wanted to arrange a meeting with you. Face to face. I mean real face to real face. No holograms."
Norso raised his brows and his eyes flashed for a split of a second to Jaina. She shrugged.
"Is there some reason for this?" he asked carefully.
"I do not know how you feel about these impersonal holo-meetings, but I myself prefer the old way."
"As if someone's going to rise to this bait," Skirata whispered to Gev.
"Well," Norso said slowly, now having an eye-contact-and-subtle-gestures conversation with Jaina and Bawan. "Well…"
After a while of silence where Jaina's expression switched from quandary to assent and to indignation, she halted the argument with a single sentence she mouthed toward Norso.
We can handle Sith.
"I think we would be glad to meet you at person, Lord Dalecus," Norso ended the sentence finally.
"Very well," Dalecus nodded with a smug smile. "Now we just have to agree on the place."
"Our ship is fully available," Norso said, copying Dalecus' smile.
Ben grinned when he saw the challenge in Norso's eyes. My ship or your ship? My playground or your playground?
"The Tuwiik is available as well," Dalecus said.
"Then this seems to be a stalemate."
Jaina had calculated the risk of having Sith on the Rival as well as the risk of being on a Sith ship, which resulted in her saying, "I have another idea," in the same time Ben was saying "If I may…" Just a short while after they two started speaking, Allana interposed with a polite There is another way…
The pause between their speak and Allana's was there not because it took Allana more time to reach the same opinion as her Jedi colleagues, but because she was the only one that considered if it's proper for her to speak up.
The three of them looked at each other, then Jaina beckoned Allana to join Norso in the holounit's scanning area. She made first two steps toward the table, when Ben shook his head resolutely, mouthing later at his confused associates.
"I have my own proposal," Ben said when he stepped to Norso's side, smoothing hair on the back of his neck.
Dalecus frowned. "And you are…?"
Norso put on an affable look. "Oh, this is my Jedi advisor and guardian, Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker."
Dalecus stiffened for almost imperceptible while. Ben expected so much. His history with the Lost Tribe was long and unpleasant. Well, longer than he would like it to be.
"It's an honor to… see you at last, Jedi Skywalker. I've expected you to be much more… appalling."
Ben offered him an urbane smile. "You cannot trust rumors, Lord Dalecus. I would expect a Sith lord to know that."
Dalecus showed his teeth. "I do know that, Jedi Skywalker. I know it very well. But I also know the capability of our warriors."
"You've expected someone who eliminated so much of your troopers to be a bit mightier didn't you?" Ben sighed. "Lots of people do."
"If I may," Norso interposed gently. "We should get back on the business."
Ben shook his head. "Of course. I'm sorry."
"Let's listen to your idea, Jedi," Dalecus said and managed not to say the word Jedi with much spite.
"It's simple. Let's choose some neutral area. I heard Duke Onnye saying that there has been some effort to colonize the adjacent sector. There is a colony on one of its moons. Let's meet there."
Dalecus looked at his female fellow, Master Gardia, and held her look for a moment. Then he looked back at Ben and Norso. "Very well, then," he said slowly. "Let's meet on the moon. But we will need coordinates. And some time for a setup."
"Agreed," Norso nodded. "We will send the coordinates to you immediately. If anything happens, I will let you know."
Dalecus made another stiff bow of head, low enough to make Norso sure it was intended for someone equally ranked, not superior. "That's generous of you. Let's meet in… ten orbital periods?"
"Of Gwallish?"
"Yes."
Norso smiled. "Okay, then. See you later, Lord Dalecus. And ma'am Gardia as well, of course."
Gardia bowed her head, but still haven't spoken up.
"See you later, gentlemen," Dalecus said.
The hologram flashed off.
Norso stretched out his arms and meshed his fingers, moving his head side to side to ease his neck muscles.
"So we have an agreement," Bawan said listlessly.
"Yes, we have," Norso nodded enthusiastically. The encounter with Sith seemed to have a stirring effect on him, like a dose of adrenalin. He seemed to be about to fly off the handle, his energetic motions and intense expression creating an air of mania.
Ben had to smile. He knew what had just happened; Senator Norso was too young not to get bored bickering with some fozy and old bashaws. Now he had a chance to see some real action and that was the best pick-me-up for him.
"Now we have to set a team to meet the Sith." He turned to his Togorian fellow. "I suggest one of us, Diplomat Bawan, would stay here in case something bad happened."
"Or if the Sith just tried to lure us out while they attacked Gwallish again," Jaina said.
Norso nodded vigorously. "Yes. That's true. They may use this situation for some dirty tricks of theirs. We should try to minimize the likelihood of their success."
"We have four Jedi. We can leave two there and send two with the negotiating unit," Ben said.
"Good idea, son," Norso nodded.
"I can stay here with Allana and you two with Wandaq can go with the unit," Jaina proposed.
"I do not think it's wise to let Jedi Wandaq to get into direct contat with the Sith, Master Solo," Bawan snarled. "Having the Snivvian and Sith in one room means no agreement."
Ben caught Jaina's eye. "Wandaq's father died in the Second Civil War and his mom and younger sister died during the Abeloth's subjugation of Coruscant. If someone hates Sith, it's Wandaq."
Jaina gave a hiss. "Okay."
"I can go with Ben instead of Wandaq, aunt Jaina," Allana said hopefully.
Jaina sighed. "I guess I have no choice, then. Take my apprentice with you, Ben. And take care of her. Good care."
Ben gave her a tight, worried smile. "Of course I will, Jaina. I don't want Tenel Ka and the whole Consortium in my back."
Allana rose her arched eyebrows. "I don't think the whole Consotrium would be after you, Ben," she said. "I think that there may even be people who would applaud to you."
"Good," Ben nodded with a grin. "I need applause. That's really the thing I missed there."