Part XV
After four days, Jacen accepted the GAS interrogators' assertions that Varn Losek knew nothing about Leyla's whereabouts with a bitter disappointment. Offsetting that though, was a list of three contacts and a computer that Zakarisz Ghent was already slicing into and, assuming his hunch was correct that all of these events were intertwined, hopefully something, somewhere, would get him the information he so desperately wanted.
Anything to see his twin happy again and to bring her family back together.
Speaking of whom… he had finally managed to contact his family on Bastion, who assured him that they were all fine, but making little of their hoped-for progress. They were anxious to hear of the results of Ghent's search, however, and his father assured him that, if he got any substantial leads, they would blast their way through the attackers, sabotaging the planetary defense shield beforehand if need be in order to get off the planet, and get to wherever they needed to go.
Jag had, in turn, assured him that Han would not be starting another galactic civil war, and that his father was in charge of the CEDF fleet which had arrived a couple of days prior in-system, and would assist their endeavors whenever they needed to leave.
Jacen didn't understand why the attacking forces continued to hold out, when they clearly were not in a position to win. For now, he assumed that he would learn the answer in due course, and that the answer was likely to be as alarming as possible.
His thoughts were interrupted by the beep of his comlink. "Solo," he answered in a clipped tone.
"Jedi Solo, this is Lieutenant Shevu of CFS."
"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"
"Minister Losek is dead."
He froze, forgetting what he was doing at the console where he sat running names. "How?" he finally choked. "No one should have been allowed in his cell except…" he trailed off, shaking his head. Of course, the Coruscant Security Force would be compromised; everywhere else was. "Never mind," he stood. "I'll be at headquarters in fifteen minutes. Lieutenant, I want you to stay within five meters of Ghent until I get there. He'll be next."
"Copy. Shevu out."
Jacen grimaced and hurried to his speeder. If this Shevu character wasn't to be trusted either, than their best hope would be gone long before he arrived.
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Leyla sat on her bed, little arms crossed, bored. Without explanation, Wrynn had told Vulcor to return her to her room for the rest of the day, and the young man had done so with a mild amount of confusion. Leyla wondered if she was being punished for her questioning of Vulcor about leaving the safe house when she was older, but it had been a few days since, so she wasn't really sure. In either case, she didn't particularly mind, even though she was bored and lonely; Wrynn had mentioned Xela returning, and Leyla would be all the happier to not see the frightening woman.
Sighing, she contented herself with a game Wrynn had provided, where she was supposed to use the Force to maneuver pieces together, connecting them in specific ways to create shapes or images. It was tricky because she had to focus on rotating the pieces in very particular movements so that the magnetic strips would activate and hold them together.
Despite her vow to use the Force as little as possible for Wrynn, she supposed this was better than nothing, in the absence of anyone to talk to.
She was so focused, she almost missed the brief sensation an hour or so later, that some people were walking down the corridor past her room. When she did notice, she dropped her piece, abandoning the half-completed X-wing shape, and concentrated on seeing who was outside her room.
First, she noticed, cringing, that Xela was there. Her cold aura made Leyla shiver unconsciously, and she quickly moved on. Another familiar presence… one of the apprentices Leyla did not know so well, she thought; a smaller presence, not trained in the Force, angry and focused… that was the Moff, she was pretty sure.
But then, the fourth presence… confusion made her frown, but her heart started beating faster as she realized…
Kyp.
He was here. He had come for her.
She fought to keep her excitement from spilling over too wildly and alerting Vulcor or Wrynn. Instead, she calmed down and focused on the light, reassuring touch that Kyp gently brushed over her before he pulled back, and she thought she understood a warning, not to say anything, that he would come for her later…
Grinning from ear-to-ear, she settled back down on the floor and forced herself to continue with her silly game. Logically, she assumed that Kyp would take her away when everyone else was asleep, which meant she had several hours to wait. But that was fine.
She had been patient this long; she could wait just a bit more.
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Wedge Antilles sat in his most secure briefing room with his impromptu war council, consisting of Jedi Masters Kenth Hamner and Saba Sebatyne, the Jedi Knight Zekk, the Mon Mothma's commander, a Sullustan and nephew to Sien Sovv, Captain Luen Bimb, and his own personal aide, Lieutenant Drixl. In other words, people Wedge knew well and had worked with before; people with whom he'd trust his life- whatever that was worth after the attempt on Gilad Pellaeon's life a few weeks prior.
The fourteen Jedi left with the Second Fleet has divided again, eight of them returning to Coruscant in light of the bombing which Jacen Solo had thwarted. Of the six remaining, Wedge knew only three personally, and he wasn't taking any chances. With a half dozen Moffs in open rebellion, Pellaeon's personal guards attacking him, and the Minister of Finance attempting to blow up the entire high government of the Galactic Alliance… and there was still one more disturbing development…
"Fill me in on the Kyp Durron situation," Wedge sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Hamner shrugged, sighing heavily. "We really only know what you probably know by now. Kyp attacked a Jedi in the temple and fled; we think he confronted and memory-rubbed Mara Jade Skywalker several days beforehand. He disappeared, completely fell off of our radar for days, and then turns up here." He paused. "There's been… I'm sorry, it's not a view that was generally supported by the Masters. But Corran Horn put forth a theory that he may have taken part in your great-niece's kidnapping."
Wedge's eyes flashed, but Zekk beat him to the punch. "I don't believe that," he murmured lowly. "At least I won't until I have any proof of it. Durron is many things, but…" he looked uncomfortable. "He truly cared for Jaina once; I just don't see him putting her through this."
"He lost the girl though," Wedge pointed out stiffly. "Resentment can be a lasting and dangerous thing. And I don't know that I'd say he 'truly cared' about her. I was there, I watched him manipulate her until she was eating out of the palm of his hand, until she snapped and smacked him across the face for lying to her. He was protective and possessive, not a man in love. And then she married someone else, had their child, and maybe for him, Leyla represents what he didn't get."
"It was years ago though," Zekk countered. "And he changed."
"Not enough, apparently," Wedge responded hotly.
"Either way," Hamner stepped in, "he seems to be involved in whatever this is, and given the impressive execution of recent events, they seem to have been a long time in planning. Now Kyp has been put on a military watch-list, and as far as I see it, the best we can hope is that someone spots him and he leads us to uncovering more of the plot and its conspirators."
Wedge sighed resignedly. "I guess that's the best we can hope for, for now. But let me say this- if I do learn that Kyp Durron had anything to do with Leyla's abduction, I will stake the rest of my career on seeing him convicted of high treason against the GA government and its military."
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Jag Fel trekked wearily back to the suite the palace had offered them. It was late by local standard times, but it hardly mattered; his entire sense of time was so completely skewed by spending more than a week in space, and now by being up practically around the clock while the renegade fleets held up doggedly against the planet's defense force. Their numbers had proven daunting at first, until the Chiss arrived and evened the score.
The arrival of the Fourth Fleet just a couple of hours prior, however, had finally driven the attackers back. The CEDF and GA forces were taking the lead in the mop-up and, by morning, would hopefully have prisoners who could provide some further information on the origin of the attack. And of course, the relationship between this attack and that against the Fourth Fleet… and the bombing on Coruscant… the bomb on the Right to Rule… and, if they were lucky… Leyla.
He slipped quietly inside the living room, only to find that Han and Leia were still awake, sitting there watching the HoloNet News.
"Hey," Leia said softly. "Is it over?"
"Yes," he sat stiffly on a chair opposite them. "Admiral Pellaeon routed them."
"Prisoners?" Han asked gruffly.
He nodded. "They managed to disable a few ships just before the retreat, the bigger carriers didn't have time to set up tows. We'll know more by morning, but I'm ready to fall asleep standing at this point."
Leia smiled. "Of course. Don't let us keep you. Jaina turned in a couple of hours ago," she nodded back towards one of the bedroom doors.
"How…" he hesitated. "How is she? I haven't been around enough in the last few days…"
"She understands; she's fine," Leia assured him. Nodding his thanks, he dragged himself back to his feet and disappeared into the darkened bedroom.
Quietly as possible, he undressed, gently laying his folded garments over the back of a chair; Jaina would make fun of him later, but he didn't want to wake her by rummaging around in the small closet. Down to his sleep shorts, he slid into the bed behind Jaina and threw an arm around her bare midriff, nuzzling against her neck and pulling her tight against him.
Their relationship had been… distant, since Leyla had gone missing. He wasn't bitter, he understood, but sometimes, he felt like he was missing both of them while Jaina remained cold, focused alternately on researching possible leads and retreating into her own mind to touch her connection to Leyla, a connection that Jag would never have with either of them, regardless how much he loved them.
He was slowly drifting to sleep when a movement from Jaina caught his attention and jolted him back into alertness. She pulled away slightly and her breath hitched. Jag propped himself up on an elbow and reached out a hand to rub her back. "You alright?" he murmured tiredly.
"I… yes." She was surprisingly awake all of a sudden. "Yes. Leyla's… happy."
He stared at her. And then he understood what she was saying without actually speaking the words, and he grinned, leaned down, and kissed her full on the mouth.
And for the first time in some two months, she responded whole-heartedly.
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"I'll be honest with you, Master Durron, it was quite the pleasant surprise learning that you had been our information source among the Jedi all this time. Someone of your standing and knowledge… I confess that there must be a great many things that you can teach me, as well as my apprentices."
He forced a smile. "You're too modest, Lord Wrynn."
"No, no," the dark man waved his comment aside. "It is true that my ascension to power was due to my superior strength and cunning, but my only true master was the emperor, and his training was… minimalist." He paused and looked at Kyp curiously. "But you knew Niwali?"
He nodded. "Only briefly. We met while I was traveling the Wild Regions, years before the latest war. She recruited me then, shortly before she died."
"She was a good woman, a good friend," Wrynn acknowledged, and Kyp smiled, hoping that the man didn't feel the need to talk about her at length- there was only so much he had learned from Brionia's memories. "But for now, more serious business. Xela, Tahlia- tell me about the attack?"
While the two women spoke, Kyp took the time to probe his surroundings. Aside from the two women, the Moff, and Wrynn, he sensed two other presences besides Leyla. That wasn't to say that more wouldn't come and go, but for now, he thought grimly, it shouldn't be too terribly hard to sneak the girl away. He hadn't yet ascertained whether she had anyone else with her personally, but the place was secure enough that they probably were confident that a seven-year-old girl couldn't get away on her own.
He looked up at Croyel when he responded to Xela and Tahlia. "Despite our setbacks, we are by no means to be discouraged. We just received word that my fellow Moffs, the fools that they are, have withdrawn from Bastion following the arrival of Pellaeon's fleet. They will join the armada, augment their numbers, provide extra materiel to speed repairs for the damaged ships… within a month, the joint force should have enough firepower to launch a successful attack."
"Against what?" Kyp couldn't stop himself from asking.
Croyel frowned. "Against Coruscant, of course." He read the incredulity in the younger man's face. "It may seem presumptuous, given the failures you have just witnessed," he said coldly, "but rest assured, we have already accomplished much towards our ends of shaking the foundations of this heathen alliance. When the time is right, we will activate the rest of our agents and watch the galaxy rent itself open, and we will be there to recover the pieces and set it straight again, as it was intended. And you, Master Durron," his smile was thin, eyes sharp, "are going to prove most instrumental to our future efforts."
Kyp quirked a brow.
"What he means," Wrynn said almost apologetically, shooting Croyel a look, "is that your expertise on the matters of the Jedi are unparalleled amongst us, and they are likely to prove the largest hindrance to our cause. Now ideally," he looked wistful, "we could harness their strengths for the good of our new empire, but I imagine that some might be expected to be difficult…"
"A reasonable expectation," Kyp replied wryly.
"Yes, well, some of them will have to be eliminated, clearly," Croyel put in off-handedly. "The Solos and their extended family are proving too dangerous. We should have killed Jaina and Jagged Fel when we had the chance."
Wrynn held up a hand. "Now now, my dear Moff, don't forget- we still hold the ultimate bargaining chip against them. Besides," he smiled, "perhaps they will see things differently when they understand the child's destiny."
Kyp just stared, confused, not daring to seek clarification on the matter. Regardless, it became clear that he needed to act quickly and get Leyla out of there- tonight. Otherwise, the fate of the Galactic Alliance could very well rest on his shoulders if they didn't uncover this plot on their own, and soon.
End Part XV