Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 05_ Allies - Christie Golden [14]
The female before him seemed a fine representative of her gender. And an appealing one, too. Javis Tyrr would have killed for the charm and sincerity she radiated. Whereas Tyrr’s hair stylist and makeup artist probably got paid overtime, Madhi Vaandt’s hair was cut short and was rather wild, as if all she had done was run her fingers through it. She wore makeup to offset the brightness of the harsh cam lighting, but even through that he could see the dark ovals on her forehead peeping through wispy locks of white hair and smaller dots on her forehead that were freckles. Her clothing, too, was unremarkable and practical—tan-colored pants, a linen blouse with the sleeves rolled up under a vest with lots of pockets. She looked right into the cam, slanted green eyes intense and captivating, long pink ears swept back.
“Thank you, Perre,” Vaandt said. Her voice was captivating, musical and lilting with her native accent. “I’m coming to you live from one of the dark, dirty secrets of Coruscant—a place known variously as Lower Coruscant, the Coruscant Underworld, Undercity, or the Coruscant Underlevel. Oh, its origins are no secret.”
Vaandt began walking as she spoke. Behind her, Jag could see yorik coral covering railings and stairwells, and slashvines and other plant life growing wherever it had a chance to set hungry roots. Now and then, a figure darted past; it was almost impossible to tell what species it was. It didn’t matter. Jag knew that, in this place, all suffered. He found himself wincing in sympathy.
“This is an ancient place, filled with ruins and stories. And recently, it was given a new name—Yuuzhan’tar. While the rest of Coruscant has been reclaimed since the end of the war, this part of the planet never fully recovered.”
She paused, tilted her pink face upward. “Above me are towering buildings. Civilization. Order. Order the Galactic Alliance has established over the years. But in the midst of all the rebuilding, all the recovery, all the positive steps the GA has taken …”
She turned and gestured with a slender, white-furred, graceful arm. The cam panned over to a cluster of young human males dressed in pieces of plastoid armor and wearing white tabards. When the cam’s light hit them, they scattered like creatures one finds when a rock is overturned.
“… this place has been forgotten. There’s no order, no civilization here. There’s no health care for beings trying to eke out an existence. There’s no stopping the sale of illegal drugs, or halting illicit activities, or investigations of murders here. No interference with zap gangs, or protection from Cthons. Violent deaths are an everyday occurrence, and the bodies are looted before they become food for Ferals. This is a dark place, a frightening place, and it’s just easier to forget about it since we are not forced to see it every day.”
She raised disturbing points. Why, indeed, hadn’t more been done about this place? Jag found himself wondering.
Madhi Vaandt beckoned off cam, her pink, freckled face soft, a gentle smile on her lips, and a young human male came into view. He was thin, with the pinched face of the malnourished, dirty, and looked as skittish as a young animal. Madhi slipped an arm around him.
“We’ll be following young Tarynd here for the next few weeks. We’ll see what he has to endure on a daily basis, simply to survive, in the heart of this planet, the very seat of the Galactic Alliance. We’ll discover—”
“I’ve got a favor to ask,” Jaina Solo stated.
Jag hadn’t heard her come in, so focused had he been on Madhi Vaandt’s reporting, but he didn’t miss a beat.
“So do I,” he replied, gazing up at his fiancée as she stood in front of his desk, hands on her hips. “Announce yourself first when you come into my office.”
She pushed the stack of datapads to the side and perched on his desk. “Imperial Head