Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 06_ Vortex - Denning Troy [157]
Without awaiting a reply, she marched into the spectator area and out of the room.
When Tahiri turned forward again, it was to find Judge Zudan staring down at her in disbelief. “I hope the defendant fired the right counsel.”
“I think I did,” Tahiri replied. She fished the second datachip out of the box on the table and held it out for Bwua’tu. “And very soon, everyone else will think so, too.”
Bwua’tu smiled broadly, then retrieved the datachip, entered it properly into evidence, and presented it to the court’s media officers. Within a few minutes, the jury was watching a vid of Lieutenant Pagorski sitting at her duty station. Bwua’tu pointed out the time stamp in the corner, verifying that the vid had been recorded during the period Pagorski claimed to have intercepted the converstion regarding Admiral Pellaeon.
Then he allowed the vid to play without comment—the entire thirty-two minutes of it. Not once did any hint of alarm come to Pagorski’s face. And though she spoke to her superior twice, neither time did either of them show any concern or take any visible measures to warn Pellaeon’s staff or FinSec that the admiral might be in danger. In fact, the only thing it did show was Pagorski sitting at her duty station, not doing any of things she had claimed.
When the vid finally came to an end, Bwua’tu strolled up to the witness stand and laid the remote control on the rail. “Now, Lieutenant Pagorski, would you care to show the court exactly when it was that you intercepted this order to my client?”
Pagorski stared at the remote blankly for a moment, then reluctantly picked it up. “I—I can’t recall … exactly,” she said. “It might have been toward the beginning.”
To Tahiri’s surprise, it was Sul Dekkon who spoke next.
“I highly doubt that.” The Chagrian rose and bowed first to Tahiri, then to Bwua’tu, and finally to the judge. “Your Honor, I would like to apologize to the defendant and opposing counsel for my obvious error in judgment in presenting this witness.”
Bwua’tu tipped his head in acknowledgment. “Apology accepted, Counsel.”
“Thank you. That’s very gracious of you.” Dekkon inclined his head to show his sincerity, then turned to the bailiff. “And second, as an officer of this court, I request the immediate remand of the witness.”
“What?” Pagorski cried. “You can’t do that! I’m an Imperial officer!”
“Who bore false witness in a murder trial,” Dekkon replied, barely restraining his obvious anger. “In the Galactic Alliance, that is a serious crime, Lieutenant—and you can be sure that Tahiri Veila will be testifying at your trial.”
THE COUNCIL CHAMBER HOLOPROJECTOR WAS ORIENTED TOWARD THE chair at the head of the speaking circle. That chair now sat vacant; Saba remained in her customary seat, in the middle of one side. She had not done this because it forced Chief of State Daala to converse with a turned head—though that was the effect. Nor had she chosen this location to suggest to Daala that Kenth Hamner was merely absent instead of dead—though she intended to do just that. She had not even chosen this seat because it made it easier to hide her own injuries by presenting her profile to the holocams—though she hoped that would work.
No. Saba had chosen her customary seat because she was not worthy of the Grand Master’s chair. She had slain Kenth Hamner in a dominance fight, and good longtails did not make such mistakes. They knew how to control without killing, to lead without biting away the parts that made a pack strong. Now the Order was missing a worthy Master, the young ones had lost a wise teacher, and Saba would have no chance to repair a friendship that had meant much to her in the past. And all of that was her failure.
The hologram in the center of the circle flickered, then finally stabilized as Daala stopped searching for Kenth and fixed her gaze on Saba.
“I was expecting to speak with Grand Master Hamner,” Daala announced.