Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 06_ Vortex - Denning Troy [69]
When the silence in the chamber grew uncomfortable, Wuul said, “Look, my friends, my information is coming to me secondhand, through General Jaxton of Starfighter Command, so it’s quite possible I have some of the details wrong.”
“Maybe,” Han growled. “But the ones you have right explain a lot.”
Wuul dropped his gaze. “I see.” He reached out and absently began to spin his burtalle glass, then asked, “It seems the bill is just a stalling tactic—one aimed at you. Shall I still pursue it?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Leia answered. “The whole Council agreed to it. I doubt they’ll have a change of heart just because he’s been keeping things from them.”
“Besides, it would be the best solution to the problem—for everyone,” Lando pointed out. “Just because it’s a long shot doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take it.”
Wuul cocked his head to look up at Lando. “Yes, you do have a love for long shots, don’t you?” He thought for a moment, then said, “Very well. I’m going need some things from you.”
“Of course,” Leia said. “Whatever we can do to help.”
Wuul raised a hand and extended his thumb. “First, I need to know I won’t be endangering Alliance citizens. You’re sure the creature that has been spreading this illness is no longer a threat?”
Lando nodded. “We didn’t see the corpse ourselves, but Luke said over the comm she was dead.”
“They’re going to try to bring the body back for analysis,” Jaina added. “Plus, well, everybody’s sane again.”
“True.” Wuul smirked, no doubt recalling the image of Han forcing Daala’s own expert to certify that Sothais Saar and Turi Altamik were completely sane. “It certainly looked that way on the news.”
Even Jaina smiled at this. “Yeah, I wish I could have seen that.”
“No problem,” Han said proudly. “I’ve got the whole thing on vid.”
“Mine’s in full holo.” Wuul paused a moment, then turned to Jaina. “Second, we’re going to need a distraction to keep Daala’s mind on something aside from what we’re doing in the Senate.”
“Okay,” Jaina said. “What do you have in mind?”
“The integration of the Empire,” Wuul said.
Jaina’s expression grew confused, and she looked to Leia for clarification.
“The assassination attempts have had an upside for Jagged,” Leia explained. “He’s finally backed the Moffs into a corner. It looks like he’ll be able to bring the Empire into the Alliance after all.”
“Which will only strengthen Daala’s hand when it comes to the Jedi,” Wuul observed, continuing to watch Jaina. “So we need those negotiations to start unraveling, and keep unraveling until after the Senate passes my bill. The more time Daala has to spend tossing those beetles back into the pot, the longer it will take her to catch on to what I’m doing.”
“That makes sense,” Jaina said cautiously. “And you want me to … what? Steal their charter agreement?”
Wuul’s dewflaps sagged in disappointment. “I was thinking of something a little more difficult to repair,” he said. “New conditions, greedy holdouts, language quibbles … whatever hurdles you can convince Head of State Fel to throw Daala’s way.”
Jaina’s mouth tightened, and her Force aura began to draw in on itself. “I doubt I can convince him to do anything like that.”
A devious grin came to Wuul’s small mouth. “Don’t sell yourself short, Jedi Solo.” He extended his hand and laid it over hers. “You’re quite an attractive mating prospect, by human standards. I’m sure it will be easier than you think to convince Head of State Fel to help us.”
Jaina bit her lips, then dropped her gaze and did not reply.
Leia reached over and gently pulled Wuul’s hand away from her daughter’s. “It’s not public knowledge yet, Luew, but Jaina and Jag broke off their engagement a few weeks ago.”
“Yeah,” Han said. “Over the same kind