Chapter 23

U.S.S. Titan, Captain's Cabin

The morning after the Force-meld, Jaina met the two Padawans over breakfast in the quarters Deanna shared with her husband, who was already on duty by that time.

Jaina said, "Great news! Just before I went to sleep last night, I called Corran Horn and my Uncle Luke with what we'd uncovered in the meld. Corran said he'd get started on it right away and when that man sets his mind to it, it's amazing what he can dig up thanks to his extensive background in Security work. Luke says that it took a personal call from him to get Shaznia an appointment with Kultan Vor'esk, the employer of our mystery Bothan who facilitated the attempted attack on Kenod Jayks in his home. My uncle doesn't like having to use the clout he's acquired in his years of service to the New Republic, but he'll do it when he needs to and it appears he needed to for this."

Michelle asked, "Why's that Master? Surely this Kultan Vor'esk would want to be of help, wouldn't he?"

Deanna answered, "Ordinarily Michelle, yes, but in my xenopsychology studies of the various nonhuman species that I squeeze in between my Jedi studies, I've found that Bothan's have historically placed both appearances of, and actual accumulation of, power and influence above just about everything else. During the Rebellion, this psychological drive, almost a cultural imperative really, was subsumed by the unification of the various rebel groups into a cohesive whole that formed the Rebel Alliance. After the Battle of Endor and the actual founding of the New Republic, this imperative resurfaced. Even during the brief reign of terror that the Reborn Emperor instigated, the imperative continued to operate and has done so through everything that's happened since then."

Michelle was visibly surprised, "Everything? Seriously?"

Jaina answered her Padawan, "Pretty much. The Krytos Plague and the Thrawn Crisis, though one of those was before my time, the other just as my brother Jacen and I were born, the Reborn Emperor like Deanna mentioned, the near resurgence of the Droch plague, the Black Fleet Crisis, the Shadow Academy and the Diversity Alliance. The Bothan's were always ready to provide the latest and greatest minds of the Bothan Spynet. Though they never openly charged a price for services rendered, my mom told me about some of the wheeling, dealing, bribing and threat making that was going on in the political field during each of those times. Even if I hadn't been born Force Sensitive, I'd of never gone into politics after hearing about that. Let me tell you, when my mom made the announcement that she wouldn't be seeking reelection as President of the Senate, my whole family practically threw a party."

"So what happens from here?" Michelle asked.

Jaina said, "Shaznia will speak to Vor'esk though to be honest, I don't think she'll get very much out of him. If Corran can narrow down our search for the Rodian or Rodians responsible for the attack on Admiral Picard, we'll probably get more information. In conjunction with what your cousin Ryu is trying to accomplish on his end, I think we just might be able to crack this nut right down the middle, but I suspect the core is going to be rotten through and through."

Michelle shivered and said, "With regards to my cousin and what he may face, I have a bad feeling."

Deanna spoke, "I spoke to my mother last night, and she'll be willing to render whatever assistance she can, and I've got an idea how to go about that too."

Jaina's tone was the question this time, "What do you have in mind Deanna? I've been told that your mother is a full empath and can communicate directly with you telepathically when you lower your shields but even if she does a direct scan, it won't be admissible in court."

Deanna said, "You're right about my mother but she won't have to do a direct scan which is unethical, unless consent has been given by the one to be scanned, but since she is an empath, all she has to do is be in the same room with anyone we question. Unless a species is evolutionally capable of blocking PSI abilities, when asked a direct question, the truth comes to the surface of their mind and is broadcast quite openly. So even if they verbally deny any knowledge, their mind gives them away. I think if we look, Master Horn can find a statute somewhere that allows for third party consultations. My mother will automatically pick up on the surface leakage of the person being questioned and act as a basic lie detector. Adding to that, my mother is a veritable force of nature, no pun intended, when something gets her ire up. Just a few minutes of 'good cop, bad cop' and we'll get information that is admissible in court."

Jaina was silent a moment then pointed at Deanna and said, "You, are bad."

Deanna smiled and said, "Thank you."

Coruscant

Shaznia sat back in the driver's seat of one of the family speeders on her way to her meeting with Kultan Vor'esk thinking about the strange call she'd received on her way out the door. The caller had identified herself simply as 'Nirri'. She was a Falleen girl of indeterminate age, at least over a communication image. All she'd said was for Shaznia to come to the Demon's Battle Cave by 1200 hours the next day and bring some friends she could trust as that it might get ugly, and hung up. Shaznia had been uncomfortable with being left behind when Ryu went to the Demon's Battle Cave in the first place, and when Ryu had left his lightsaber behind as well, she almost ran after him, but she had to trust that he knew what he was doing. That first night he was away, Shaznia's meditation indicated that she was doing the right thing and so she focused on her end of the investigation and started to consolidate her resources. Between Corran Horn's contacts in the NRPOC, his barely legal contacts through his father in law, Booster Terrik, and Starfleet Security, she'd put in some late hours sorting the good leads from the junk ones. Add to that the information that Ryu had uncovered so far, and a pattern was definitely beginning to emerge. With Master Luke's help, she'd finally gotten the appointment with Vor'esk, but wasn't expecting much. Arriving at the megaplex that held the Vor'esk residence, Shaznia left her speeder with the parking attendant, took her receipt and entered the lobby where she was questioned by building security as to her purpose. While the guard called up to the Vor'esk residence to verify the appointment, Shaznia took the time to observe her surroundings.

This particular megaplex was more upscale than hers and Ryu's home which wasn't considered 'low-income' housing by any means. The most obvious differences being the staffed parking area, the entrance lobby and the security guards inside the lobby. Shaznia also observed several holocameras scattered about covering all angles into and out of the lobby and speculated that there was a decent sized security force working here since the building housed several hundred different people and their families. The two things that they all had in common were that they were the same type of functionary as Vor'esk, just working for different representatives of the Senate, and they were all nonhuman, although, like her husband, she didn't give it much thought since they were all sentient beings like herself.

Today, she was wearing a basic all weather cloak over a pair of crème colored pants, matching shirt and low top boots. Other than a general purpose utility belt that carried her lightsaber, a portable comlink and a pouch with her ID and general purpose credit datacard, Shaznia traveled almost as lightly as her husband for day to day activities. The security guard waved her through to the turbolifts, of which there were several, just as one came to the ground floor. Getting in and pressing the button for the appropriate floor, Shaznia noticed at least two more holocameras, one covering the door and the other just above the door to get a clear view of any and all occupants. Mentally shaking her head in dismay at the scope and number of the security measures in place, she was a little curious as to why they hadn't asked for her lightsaber but thought no more of it as the car arrived on the floor and the door opened directly into the foyer of the Vor'esk home.

Kultan Vor'esk met her himself. He was an older Bothan, with visible streaks of gray through the black and brown fur on his head and across his snout. When he spoke, his voice was well modulated, almost soft-spoken as he said, "Master Jedi, I am so sorry for the delays in meeting with you. I'd received your previous requests but I've been so busy. The Bothan delegation to the Senate is up to its neck in election results for the latest representatives of the clans."

Shaznia bowed at the waist in greeting and said, "Thank you for taking the time to speak with me."

Vor'esk's fur rippled slightly as he said, "Please join me in the main room."

After both had taken a seat, Vor'esk spoke, "As I understand it, you were looking for information on my former ward Eoth Kohm; such an unexpected tragedy, his allergy to bacta. I was personally very fond of him and proud of the service he was rendering to my family. What would you like to know?"

Shaznia said, "While there was not a lot of detail put out over the holonet, this was by intent, I was hoping you might give me some insight into what kind of person Eoth was. Did Eoth ever speak openly of a dislike or even outright hatred of humans or Jedi? Did he ever give any sign that he might act against another person or try to do them harm?"

Vor'esk was thoughtful for a moment then said, "There was one time when he was nearing the age of his legal majority and I overheard him say something about 'stinking human controlled government' or some such. I took him to task immediately and told him that as part of the Bothan Spynet during the Civil War, I had worked, fought, bled and been friends with many humans and that I would not tolerate him openly disparaging humanity as a species. Yes the Emperor was human and the Empire was run by humans, but as balance to the human-run Empire, I also told him that it was largely humans that had started the Rebellion to begin with. He countered with the argument that if there was a Bothan president of the Senate, things would be better for nonhumans in general and Bothans in particular. That was the only time he ever spoke openly of it but I suspect he never really got over the loss of his family on Bothawui when the Reborn Emperor sent his World Devastators there. As I understand it, your Master Skywalker was secretly working for the New Republic by pretending to be the new apprentice of the clone emperor and dispatching the World Devastators only after sending a hidden signal to evacuate those areas of the worlds those terrible weapons were about to ravage, thus greatly reducing the overall loss of life. Am I correct in this?"

Shaznia said, "Yes sir, you are; though Master Skywalker rarely speaks about those experiences. I won't bore you with the sundry details except to say that Master Skywalker almost lost his soul to the clone but with the help of his family, he was able to come away from the abyss but one can't look into the abyss for too long before the abyss looks back at you."

Vor'esk said, "Too true, Master Jedi, too true. I wish I could be of more help to you but really, Eoth wasn't really prone to outbursts of any kind after he came to stay with my family. His schooling was fairly standard and his grade point average was well into the upper percentile for his age group. Now that I think about it, he was very much a loner when he first came to us. For a Bothan that is unusual but I wrote it off to his grief over the loss of his family. He attended some grief counseling for the first two years he was with us and seemed to heal because he soon became like other Bothans and found his calling to service. First to my family, as that we finished raising him and had he survived, I daresay he would've gone into the political service and maybe even won election to the Senate someday. As to the other part of your earlier question, did Eoth have any particular issues with Jedi? Not that I'm aware of. I don't even think he asked why there aren't more Bothan Jedi. Would you happen to know?"

Shaznia said, "I don't know, I'm sorry. On the surface, it seems as though being Force Sensitive is completely random. I do recall reading about some Bothan Jedi long ago, perhaps three or four centuries, and I know of one Bothan youngling at the Temple. More than that, I'm sorry, I don't know. One more thing before I go sir. According to records, you claimed Eoth's body before an autopsy could be done. Would you please tell me why?"

Vor'esk's fur rippled rapidly and unexpectedly at the question. He asked, "Why would that be of any concern? Eoth was something of a future thinker and it was in his Will that his body be cremated upon his death and returned to Bothawui if at all possible."

Shaznia said, "I'm sorry to cause you any distress but an autopsy would have been able to prove or disprove the theory that Eoth may have been under some kind of control, either chemical or physical which may have helped explain why a person with no criminal history, not even a parking ticket would suddenly try and recruit people and try to attack my son in his home."

Vor'esk's fur rippled again as he suddenly looked over at the chronometer on the wall and said, "My apologies Master Jedi, but I have somewhere I must be right now. For what it's worth, since Eoth was a ward of my family, on behalf of my family, I humbly apologize for his attack on your child. I hope he wasn't injured."

Shaznia got up to leave and said, "No, he wasn't injured, thank the Force and on behalf of my family, I accept your apology. Thank you for your time sir. Good day."

After Shaznia got her speeder from the parking attendant, she left the megaplex, merged with the traffic flow and headed back to the Temple to tell Corran what she'd just found out. Thinking on the interview, she knew that Vor'esk was surprised to find out that Eoth had recruited the thugs that had tried to hurt Kenod, but the sense she got from him through the Force as well as the rapid ripple of his fur told him that a nerve had been touched. Perhaps there was someone pulling on Vor'esk's strings from the shadows and told him to claim the body and cremate it before an autopsy could be done. Shaznia couldn't help but think to herself, 'The plot thickens.'