Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 04_ Backlash - Aaron Allston [117]
Daala tapped a fingernail against her desktop as if nervous. “Aren’t the Jedi worried about recourse?”
Leia looked professionally curious. “I don’t understand.”
“I’ll spell it out. They give me their mad Chev Jedi for study. We don’t freeze him. We unfreeze the Horns. We study them. We exchange data with the Jedi. Perhaps even allow one of their scientists to be present during our tests and scientific meetings.”
Leia nodded. “Right.”
“But I know that I’m the pragmatic, unfeeling opponent who might at any moment say, Well, we’re done cooperating. Freeze the lot of them. The Jedi seem to have built in no recourse against a sudden reversal of opinion on my part.”
“Well, this is only the first exchange of many through which we intend to build a greater relationship of trust between you and the Order. If it goes as planned, we proceed to the next set of concessions, compromises, and agreements. We …” A sudden thought occurred to Leia. She narrowed her eyes. “You’re stalling. Why are you stalling?”
Beside her, Han looked over his shoulder at the door. Leia knew her husband didn’t have a blaster on him, not even a hold-out, in the Chief of State’s office; it was a significiant sign of trust on Daala’s part that the Solos could be in here without bodyguards being present. But Han was doubtless figuring out what to do if the door opened and security agents swept in to arrest them. Which one he’d hit, how he’d take the agent’s blaster away, whom to shoot first.
Now it was Daala’s turn to seem surprised. “When do I get that power?”
“Which power?”
“The power to read the minds of Chiefs of State. Did you get yours when you left the office, or is it a Jedi thing?”
“I’ll bet you my husband’s Bloodstripes that I’m right.”
Han shot her a dirty look. “Hey.”
“Well, you are right. I’m stalling.” Daala gave Leia an apologetic look. “But I’m not springing some trap. While we’ve been talking, Wynn here has been putting a poll into the field. Wynn?”
Dorvan looked up from his datapad. “‘Should Chief of State Natasi Daala release the insane Jedi from carbonite imprisonment?’ In different polls, it’s phrased different ways. For instance, in one it’s ‘the Jedi who went on a violent rampage and attempted to kill fellow Jedi and GA citizens.’ Another poll narrows it to ‘Jedi who have not been convicted of a crime.’ We’re charting public opinion and measuring variations in response based on things such as former Alliance or Confederation loyalty, planet of origin, species, age, gender, the variant forms of description of the Jedi I mentioned, what they had for their last meal, political party affiliation, occupation, and what news broadcast they usually watch.”
“And you were waiting for early results to your poll before saying yes or no?” Han sounded outraged. “Whatever happened to doing what feels right?”
The smile Daala turned on Han was not a friendly one. “What feels right is banning the Jedi altogether and setting up an order of Force-users loyal to the government. Should I proceed with that approach?”
“Well, I meant what feels right and what’s also not monumentally stupid.”
Daala’s smile faded. “You’re insolent, General. And insubordinate.”
“Yeah, the truth has a way of sounding that way.”
“Han, please.” Leia caught his eye, shot him what to Daala and Dorvan would have looked like a warning expression. Only Leia and Han knew they were playing good-guard, bad-guard. She returned her attention to Daala. “Now you know why Han never pursued a career in public office. He’s much better at shooting