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It was not the sort of thing the GA should be doing, in Dorvan’s opinion. Spies were one thing. Dorvan completely accepted the necessity of espionage, but this was something else entirely. This was betrayal and backstabbing on the part of someone who had been attempting to move her life away from that sort of direction. He had found himself quietly admiring Tahiri for refusing both the deal and the advocate who had brought it. It was not good for the GA, but he could respect it.

A fair trial would, on the other hand, be quite good for the GA. And that was a point Dorvan planned to press today. Again.

“Who did she get?” Daala continued.

“One Eramuth Bwua’tu, uncle to Admiral Nek Bwua’tu. He has quite a reputation as a lively and fierce defender of his clients, but he has been retired for some time. He currently is a professor.”

Daala paused in mid-sip. “You’re teasing me.”

Dorvan looked up and blinked at her. “Ma’am, I’m offended. I would not joke about something of this nature.” Dorvan seldom joked about anything, but when he did it was dry, acerbic humor usually about something of no real importance. Pocket sensed his annoyance and shifted position, a warm, soft weight against his hip.

“Quite true. That makes this even more amusing. Admiral Bwua’tu and I are pretty close.”

“Eramuth Bwua’tu has a reputation for being incorruptible,” Dorvan continued. “Admittedly, that is an unusual characteristic for a Bothan, but it is in the rather exhaustive notes that Desha has compiled for me.”

Desha Lor was the overly ebullient young Twi’lek that Daala herself had assigned to him. She was impossibly naïve and quite idealistic, and Daala was not at all surprised that she had seen fit to include such a comment in her notes.

“Not really a cold, hard fact about the man, is it?” Daala was no longer amused.

“No, ma’am. But perhaps you might have thought about Desha Lor’s predilections prior to hiring her as my assistant. Now we both must learn to live with the consequences of such a decision.”

The smile returned for a moment. Few could be as blunt with the Chief of State as Dorvan. She had a vast tolerance for his honesty, choosing to value it rather than let it rattle her. He never abused the privilege, but it was a tool in his arsenal in order to get done what he believed was best for the GA.

“Point taken. Still, moral attorney or no, Veila’s got about as much chance of being found not guilty as an eopie has of surviving being dropped into a rancor pit.”

Daala seemed absolutely sure of the fact, and Dorvan was inclined to agree. While one might feel a certain amount of sympathy for the girl, one didn’t pardon someone simply because one felt sorry for her. Tahiri had coasted for the last year because Daala hadn’t wanted to pursue the matter. She had spent the time stabilizing the Galactic Alliance after what Jacen Solo had done to it. Dorvan had approved of her decision to focus on healing. The GA had benefited greatly. But now Daala was going after those she perceived as enemies both of herself and of the GA. First Luke Skywalker, and now Tahiri Veila.

Daala had appointed Sul Dekkon, a famous—some would say infamous—Chagrian lawyer who had a reputation for going after a case the way a Kowakian monkey-lizard went after a bad joke. Known for being a stickler for doing things by the book and adhering to the letter of the law, Dekkon was a good choice as far as Dorvan was concerned. Tahiri would need someone equally powerful in order for the trial to do what a trial should do—look at the evidence impartially, and make a decision not based on anyone’s need for a particular outcome.

Not even Natasi Daala’s.

And fortuitously enough, it was Daala herself who had given Dorvan the perfect opening.

“The case against her is quite strong, and Dekkon will do a fine job,” Dorvan said. “That being so, ma’am, I wonder if you see the real opportunity here.”

Her red brows came together in a frown. “Explain.”

Dorvan leaned back in his chair, folding his hands across the datapad,