Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 07_ Conviction - Aaron Allston [89]
Leia nodded. She looked a little shell-shocked herself. “That was already likely. Possibly inevitable. But we won instantly. No waiting for the armed forces and Senate to come around.”
“So we can leave?”
“Soon, Han. Soon.” She frowned, clearly troubled.
“What is it, sweetie?”
Leia shook her head as if dismissing what was bothering her. “It just felt a little like fleeing the first Death Star. Where we’d gotten some help that made everything easier … help that meant more trouble in the future.”
“That was nearly forty-five years ago. No similarity.” Han leaned back and put his hands behind his head. “What do you suppose will happen if we order something to eat?”
“Your Bothan’s out in the hall. Ask him.”
News of the coup hit the holochannels the instant the Senate Building unsealed. It flashed to near and far parts of the Alliance, into Imperial Remnant space, into regions uncontrolled by those two political bodies, at hyperspace speeds.
News feeds exploded with noise and commentary. The recorded message queues of the comlinks of Han, Leia, Saba, Jag Fel, Treen, Bramsin, Rockbender, Jaxton, Thaal, Parova, Dorvan, and innumerable others filled up with desperate invitations to appear on holocam and explain what had just happened.
It was hours before the dust could even begin to settle, before all individuals in all corners of the Senate Building could be convinced that the situation was, for the moment, resolved, that blaster pistols and lightsabers were not about to flash into action once again. Ambulances removed the few individuals injured in the Jedi storming of crucial points in the building, plus the many who had fallen victim to riot gas attacks in the main security center and the dozens who had collapsed from stress. Some awoke still thinking that the Yuuzhan Vong had attacked.
As peace—a tense, charged peace—settled on the seat of government, Wynn Dorvan, effectively under house arrest in his office for the last several hours, was ushered into the Chief of State’s office by C-3PO. He looked at the damaged door into the inner office, propped open by a bookcase, and ducked to enter the office itself.
Inside, where Daala usually sat, stood Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne, her back to the door. She turned, careful not to let her tail sweep across the desktop or bookcases to the side as she did so. She gave Wynn a little nod. “This one appreciates your coming.”
“As though I had a choice.” He regretted saying that the instant the words left him. It might not be a good idea to irk the new, if temporary, masters of the Galactic Alliance. But he was tired, and his discretionary instincts had ebbed.
“You did have a choice. Would you care to sit?”
“Not if you’re to remain standing.”
“A practical necessity. This one failed to bring a chair suited to her structure.”
Wynn remained standing regardless. From a pocket, he withdrew a small, sealed envelope and placed it on the desktop before Saba.
She glanced at it but did not pick it up. “A protest?”
“My resignation.”
“Ah. Understandable. Honorable. But this one will ask you to retrieve it. And destroy it.”
Wynn shook his head. “Chief Daala’s political allies will not cooperate with me if I collaborate with you. Her enemies will not cooperate with me in any case—they’re too anxious to fill my job from within their own ranks. I’m useless here. And—let me be frank. Whatever you think of her, Natasi Daala is an honorable person. I’m not going to cooperate with a government that intends to hyperdrive her into a conviction and a prison term. I’m already hearing people talk about leveling charges of treason against her. I’m going to use my skills and my resources in her defense. That’s it.”
Saba regarded him steadily, long enough for her to take a few slow breaths. “This one commendz you and appreciates your candor. Now will you listen to what this one has to say?”
“Of course.”
“The Jedi Order does not intend to remain in control of the executive branch, of course. Conquest was not our aim. Until a new Chief of State can be duly selected, we will be appointing a