A SMALL LIGHT
Who else loved Tales of the Empire? At risk of spoilers, Nadura's final line reminded me of this beautiful quote by Miep Gies, which also happens to perfectly describe our heroes' efforts.
"But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room."
The life of a handler was a delicate balancing act. Riyo had to account for the amount of time she spent ferrying defectors, as well as her Senatorial duties and the occasional stolen moment with Echo. And so, with the knowledge that a single mistake could be fatal to herself and the innocents in her care, she fabricated a love of online shopping.
She signed up for several different subscription boxes so she would have packages regularly arriving at her apartment, and bought an item or two whenever she had a spare moment. She kept the things she wanted and donated the rest. She and Francesca were the same size, so she gave some to her. And the packages also created handy excuses for the people who came to her home.
"Hello ma'am," a young man holding a box said when she opened the door. "I'm looking for Senator Chuchi."
"Another delivery, Riyo?" Senator Tural joked as she walked to her own apartment down the hall.
"You know me, Nadea." Riyo smiled brightly and nodded to the young man. "I'm Senator Chuchi. Do you mind bringing it inside for me?"
"Of course, Senator."
The door locked behind them and Riyo dropped the act.
"Johan." She took the box from his hands and tossed it onto a side table while she led him deeper into the apartment. "Tell me exactly what happened. No detail is too small."
"I don't have details," Johan said. "My commander told me to report for transfer at 0500 tomorrow morning. He didn't say where I was going, just that I wouldn't have comms, but I heard a pilot talking about a transport to Virkoi."
The Viper's Nest. Riyo didn't know much about it, but Mollymauk had a bit to say about the ISB training site situated on the single rock spur which jutted out from Virkoi's boiling ocean, where the loyalty officers tore apart their victims like chew toys. It wasn't a place for anyone with a soul.
"You did the right thing," she assured Johan. "We couldn't arrange a transport for you tonight, so you'll have to stay here."
He nearly jumped out of his skin. "What if someone comes?"
In reply, Riyo flipped back a rug and pried up a section of floorboard. Underneath was a small, blanket-lined compartment. "Then you get in here."
"Have you done this before?"
"Only during emergencies. You need to be very quiet, and in the morning we'll smuggle you out with the dry cleaning." She took him by the shoulder. "You're not out of this yet, but you're with friends. We'll protect you."
Johan teared up. "Thank you."
"Enough of that. Let's get you something to eat."
…
Riyo offered a couch, but Johan opted to sleep in the hiding place with the lid ready to pull over him at a moment's notice. Instead she took the couch so she could be easily accessible and closer to the door.
And thank the goddess she did, because right as she'd finished brewing caf and was about to prepare breakfast for herself and Johan, there was a knock at the door.
Johan scrambled into the compartment and Riyo covered him up in the space of five seconds. Then she took a deep breath and went to answer the door.
"Good morning, Riyo." Nadea Tural stood on the other side of the threshold with a pan of sticky buns in her hand.
"Nadea, what a surprise. I didn't know you baked."
"I don't," Tural admitted and stepped inside. "But I can heat up frozen rolls. I thought you might like something sweet."
"I'll never say no to sugar," Riyo said even as she mentally urged Tural out the door. They sat at the table farthest away from Johan's compartment and pulled off a bun each to make idle chitchat.
"Shall we set one aside for your guest?" Tural asked following a conversation about the weather.
Riyo somehow kept from dropping the sticky bun. "What guest? Are you saying my apartment is haunted?"
"The young man from last night."
"The deliveryman?" She laughed.
"No, the young man who was delivering a Galactic Post package on Benduday."
Kriff. How could she have forgotten about Benduday?
"He looked an awful lot like the AWOL bulletin for a missing cadet on the news this morning."
Riyo had heard enough. She didn't think about herself in the split second between the realization that Tural had made her and her reaction, or how she would deal with the body she was about to create. Her only thought was for Johan hidden under the floor in the very next room.
She grabbed the knife from the sticky bun pan and swung it at Tural's throat.
"No!" Tural dodged at the last second and the blade only scratched her neck. She grabbed Riyo's knife hand with unexpected speed and strength, and slammed it into the table. Riyo's hand popped open on impact and the knife skittered out of reach.
Disarmed, Riyo could only glare at her opponent. "I didn't know you did that either."
"I've had practice as of late," Tural quipped. "Riyo, I'm not here to expose you or that young man."
"What do you want then?" If she thought she could blackmail Riyo into voting for that military spending bill, then she had another thing coming.
"I want in."
"Excuse me?"
"I want to help you help people."
Riyo let the shock spread over her face, and Tural sighed. "Recently I was involved in some legal trouble."
"I'm aware." Being charged with assault and treason was hard to miss. Riyo didn't know how Tural's lawyer got her off.
"The trouble came about because I crashed my starship on the way to Arkanis. Somehow I survived, and a crew of rebels picked up my distress beacon. They treated me with nothing but kindness, even when I didn't deserve it. So when an Imperial officer lined them up against the wall to execute them without a trial, I didn't hesitate."
She took a deep breath and released Riyo's hand. "Don't take my word for it. Ask Captain Syndulla, ask anyone. They'll all tell you the same thing."
"What makes you think I can contact them?"
"If you have a defector, you can contact them."
She couldn't argue that. "You know I'll be watching."
"I would expect nothing less." Tural picked up her purse. "You know where to find me. If you need me, or when you contact Captain Syndulla, don't hesitate to knock." And then she walked away, leaving the sticky buns on the table and Riyo in the chair with her mind racing a mile a minute.
Riyo grabbed the edge of the table to steady her shaking hands. She had calls to make. She had to sweep her apartment for any bugs Tural might have planted. And most pressingly, she had to get Johan out of the building as fast as possible.
…
"She seemed sincere," Riyo told Dalla after she'd stashed Johan on a cargo ship. "And to the best of my knowledge, she didn't call the authorities. But I don't know what to make of her story."
"Captain Syndulla verified everything. I asked her if the accident or the boarding party could have been staged, and she denied it. Apparently the crash was so severe it was a miracle Tural survived."
"What about the court case?"
"Oh, that was definitely real. Commander Earll wanted her skin mounted on the wall, and the only reason Tural isn't rotting in prison right now is because she hired a bloodthirsty shark of a lawyer who ripped Earll's credibility to shreds. I'll have to remember the name if I ever get caught."
Riyo would too. "Echo hacked into her comlink network and found several secured calls to Thrad. They never lasted more than a few minutes and she deleted them from her call log moments after they were terminated. Whatever she was doing, she didn't want others to know."
"Who was she calling?"
"Mostly small businesses and community figures." Riyo listed them off and Dalla was silent for a long time. "Ma'am?"
"Those are the contacts my network uses to disseminate funds to the resistance."
"So she was trying to contact the Thradian underground."
"I'd lay money on it. You know her, right?"
"We're neighbors and political allies, but that's about it. Are you seriously thinking about this?"
"We need more handlers. There are more defectors every day and the empire's tightening their grip. At this rate we'll have to outsource interviews to the local cells, and you know as well as I do how that would go."
Riyo shuddered. "Fair point. She's anxious, but shrinking violets don't yank pistols from firing squads."
"Do you think she has the spine for this?"
"She had the spine to waltz into my apartment. It's worth a shot."
"Alright then. Bring her in."
"Understood." Riyo held her breath and texted Tural to come over to collect the sticky bun pan. While she waited, she swept the apartment for bugs a fifth time.
Tural knocked at the appointed time and Riyo greeted her with a scanner in her hand and a command of "arms up."
"I have nothing to hide." Tural raised her arms and submitted to the search. "Did you speak with Captain Syndulla?"
The scanner beeped an all-clear and Riyo put it away. "We did. It was quite the story she told."
"It was quite the experience." Tural's round eyes danced with nervousness, the first time she'd looked like her normal self since yesterday. "Are…are you going to let me help?"
Riyo faced her ally straight on. "You need to understand that by doing this, you're placing your life at risk. The punishment for harboring a defector is execution if you're lucky. You need to be willing to kill and die without hesitation in service to the cause."
Tural didn't flinch. "After what the Spectres did for me, it's the least I can do."
"The work isn't easy. Defectors have seen the worst of the Empire, and they'll tell you about it. All of them are desperate, and many of them are children. While you're handling their cases, their burdens become yours." She lowered her voice. "It changes you."
"I've already changed. I don't mind changing a little more."
That was exactly what Riyo needed to hear. She activated her holoprojector and a faceless image activated.
"Mollymauk," she gave the projector a little bow.
"That's Mollymauk?!" Tural squeaked. "The fence?"
"The one and only," Dalla said warmly. "I hear you're looking to join our ranks."
"Yes, ma'am. Senator Chuchi told me about it, and I want to help the defectors. I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you were a woman."
"You learn something new every day. Riyo is one of our best and if she thinks you're fit to be a handler, I don't see a reason why not." Dalla let Tural bask in the praise for a moment before she moved on to more serious matters. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I am."
"Then raise your right hand and repeat after me."
Riyo mirrored the action. She had written the handler's oath after the Emperor implemented his loyalty oath in the military and senate, mostly because she wanted to make one promise that didn't involve crossing her fingers behind her back. So when Tural spoke the words which would swear her in as a handler, Riyo whispered alongside her.
"I solemnly promise in the presence of the gods and this assembly, to consecrate my life to the defense of the vulnerable. I will do my work with conscience and dignity, and the safety of the defectors in my care will be my top priority.
"I will do everything in my power to preserve my defectors' lives. If they come at the cost of my own, I will pay that price without hesitation."
While they spoke she watched Senator Tural out of the corner of her eye, sure this would be the moment she wavered, but Tural shone with determination. Would she go the distance when the chips were down? Somehow, Riyo thought she would
"My colleagues will be my sisters and brothers.
"I will maintain the utmost respect for sentient life. I will take no action that might endanger my defectors, my colleagues, or their allies, even under threat.
"I make these promises solemnly, freely, and upon my honor."
"How do you feel?" Riyo asked when they were done with the oath.
"Honestly?" Tural took a deep breath. "Better than I've felt in a long time."
"Welcome to Defections," Dalla said.