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“I believe you, Master Hamner. As I intimated, that was the answer I was expecting. I take it then that the Jedi have another target. Are you aware of another enemy? A mutual one, perhaps?”

“I believe so, yes,” Hamner said. He knew that if anyone on the Council had heard the conversation, they’d be outraged. But all his senses, senses in the Force he had been trained to trust, as well as his rational mind, were telling him to be truthful at this moment.

“But I do not think that the Chief of State is prepared to listen to anything we have to say about this … potential mutual enemy.”

“She may not be. I am.”

Hamner considered for a long moment, then made his decision. “I can’t tell you anything more than that,” Hamner said finally. He could not divulge the details without feeling like he had betrayed the Jedi, even if doing so might get Bwau’tu firmly on his side. “I’m sorry.”

“I understand. Perhaps a bit later, you might feel differently. Here is what I am willing to propose. I would ask you to refrain from launching your flotilla of StealthXs until such time as I tell you that you may do so.”

“Absolutely not,” Hamner stated, bridling. This was going too far. “I know the nature of the situation, Admiral. You don’t. I’m not about to launch or refrain from launching according to your timetable.”

A sigh. “Well, then you should be aware that the Chief of State will absolutely and unhesitatingly fire on them the second they do launch. I wouldn’t be able to stop her from doing so unless there were better relations between her and the Jedi. However, I am in—shall we say—a unique position to lower tensions between the two parties.”

Hamner’s eyebrows lifted at the admission. So, Bwau’tu was confirming the rumors about him and Daala—a not-inconsiderable gesture of trust on his part.

“I see,” was all Hamner said.

“If you agree to stay your hand until such time as I tell you when, I will personally guarantee that, so long as these StealthXs are not involved in any activity that violate GA interests, the Jedi will have complete fleet cooperation with your operation.”

Surprise flickered through Kenth. Surprise—and hope. “I’m not sure you’re in a position to promise such things.”

“I’m Chief of the Navy, Hamner. They’re my ships. I will deploy them covertly if I must to keep to this bargain.”

It sounded too good to be true. “You wouldn’t come to me with such an offer if there wasn’t something in it for you,” he said.

“It would be a poor bargain indeed if I were to walk away empty-handed. The best negotiation, as I know you understand, is one that both parties feel satisfied with.”

Here we go, Hamner thought. Irritation made his tongue sharp. “What is it—handing over Sothais and Turi? Allowing Jedi to be searched every time they enter a tapcaf? Inserting transmitters so their every movement can be tracked?”

“Nothing so drastic. I want to do what is best for the GA. I have sworn a vow to uphold that. And Master Hamner—frankly, seeing the head of this organization I love so dearly at odds with the beings best suited to protect it is, in my opinion, most definitely not what is best for the GA. I do agree with some of Admiral Daala’s sentiments regarding your order and its place, but not all of them. Both the Chief of State and many of your Jedi are reacting, rather than acting, and that is not good for anyone. Soon no one will be able to scratch his nose without someone freezing him in carbonite or lopping off the arm doing the scratching. If you launch that flotilla, Daala will destroy you—not just the StealthXs, but the whole Jedi order, if she can. There will be no going back from it, and everyone walks away—if they can walk—the worse for it. I want exactly the opposite. I want a solution in which everyone benefits. And both you and I know they will.”

Hamner was silent for a while, his patrician brow creased in a furrow as he weighed the options.

Daala’s heavy hand was causing a great deal of harm. One innocent had already lost her life. For what seemed like the first time in too