Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 08_ Ascension - Christie Golden [125]
Luke had been right, as Luke often was. The Sith had indeed come to Coruscant—but they’d come much faster, or had been here much sooner, than Luke possibly could have anticipated. She couldn’t think of any other reason for the Senate to act as it had—suddenly, maliciously, even precipitously—when the Jedi weren’t even here anymore. Someone wanted to make sure every Jedi was being watched, and someone also wanted to limit civil liberties as quickly as possible.
She wished she could tell Han what was going on, but she had understood Luke’s reasoning. As would Han himself, once he got over his initial angry reaction. Leia didn’t feel threatened.
Yet.
She looked up as she heard someone walking down the hallway, and her heart lifted when she saw who it was.
“Padnel!” Leia got to her feet.
Padnel’s scarred face turned even uglier in anger as he saw the shackles on her hands and feet. He turned to the GAS guard who had accompanied him. “Take those off her this instant!”
“Sir,” said the guard, “she is a Jedi. The subcommittee expressly said that—”
“I’m the Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance, and I say take them off her!”
“Sir,” said the guard, and Leia actually felt sorry for him, “I am not permitted to do that. It’s legally required that every Jedi held here be confined in such a manner. I’m sorry, sir.” And he was; Leia could sense it.
“It’s all right,” she said, smiling gently. “I’ve been in worse places than this. The manacles don’t hurt, Padnel.”
He frowned even more and waved the guard away. “Sir, I was instructed—”
“Is it legally required for you to stay?” bellowed Padnel.
“Er, no sir, I was just instructed—”
“Then I instruct you to leave me alone with Jedi Solo!”
The guard inclined his head and fairly scurried away. Padnel sighed and turned back to her.
“Leia, I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am about all this,” he said. “I didn’t even know it had happened until I was briefed on it this morning. I came as soon as I could. Are they mistreating you in any way?”
“No, not at all,” Leia assured him. The last thing she wanted was for the decent people who had no choice but to go along with this to be punished. “They’re just doing their jobs. I know you came as soon as you could. I don’t think I have to tell you that the charges are utterly false.”
He growled. “Of course they are! Somebody has made a terrible mistake. If we were back on Klatooine and this happened with the Panthers, I’d have it taken care of in three minutes.”
“Well, that is one of the drawbacks of a legal system,” Leia said, forcing a smile. “But Padnel … I don’t think this is a mistake.”
“Of course it is!”
She shook her head. “A mistake denotes someone doing something incorrectly. I think that my arrest is all unfolding according to someone’s plan. It’s not a ‘mistake’ at all.”
“Leia,” he said, “I’m well aware of why I was elected.” A touch of self-loathing crept into his voice. “I told that to Wynn Dorvan. But I know what’s going on. They’re not going to be able to get anything on you, because there’s nothing to get. They did indeed make a mistake, though it’s not the one you think. They shouldn’t have elected a so-called puppet, because not only will they have to deceive others, they’ll have to deceive me. I don’t know what kind of game they’re playing, but I know they are playing a game. I won’t let it go any farther than this, I promise you. If worse comes to worst, I can always give you a pardon.” His flews curled back in a sharp-toothed smile. “I’ll simply get in their way for the next couple of months until a proper election can be held. And then this will all be Dorvan’s problem. And he is far better equipped than I to handle it.”
Leia couldn’t argue that point. But she knew Padnel well enough to realize that he had made up his mind. If she started talking about Sith and conspiracies now, he would