Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 08_ Ascension - Christie Golden [169]
Thaal nodded. “I’ll watch you go,” he said, his voice as gentle as it could be made, hearing the unspoken question.
Jaxton pulled the trigger.
Leia couldn’t sleep. She hadn’t slept much since they’d placed her in this cell. The mattress was lumpy and old and uncomfortable. Still, she knew that wasn’t why she lay awake. She had slept on harder ground, softer hammocks, even in trees and in another, more antiseptic and evil prison.
She couldn’t turn off her brain. She kept going over what Eramuth had said about “Club Bwua’tu.” About how they thought there were conspiracies—plural—afoot. Eramuth said that both she and Han were now “members of the club,” and that she should not despair. “One way or another, my dear,” the old Bothan had rumbled, “we’re getting you out of here. Do not doubt that.”
She didn’t. But she doubted that they would uncover the conspirators in time. She doubted that Padnel Ovin would see what was right there in plain sight. She doubted—
Leia heard noises, and saw the darkness in the hall lighten slightly. Someone was coming—two someones, two sets of footsteps—and they had glow rods. She sat up, straining to listen.
“… highly unusual, sir,” said someone.
“So is the situation, guard,” came Padnel’s gruff voice. “And Jedi Solo is a highly unusual being. Now open the door and leave us alone, or you’ll be looking for new employment.”
They appeared at the door. The guard, an annoyed-looking Sullustan, shut down the force field, permitted Padnel to enter, reactivated the field, gave them both dirty looks, and departed.
“Rank hath its privileges,” said Leia. “What brings you here at this hour? Good news, I hope?”
Padnel, carrying the glow rod, began to pace. “Not at all, really, though it may be good news in the end. For you, at least.” He paused and looked at her solemnly. “You think I don’t listen. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I do. I thought about what you said, and all that has gone on recently. And I shared your concern with Dorvan. There’s apparently a sort of … club that’s sprung up around such concerns as you raised.”
Hope rose in Leia, warm and rich and fierce. “Club Bwua’tu,” she murmured.
He nodded. “I don’t know much about it; don’t need to know. Enough that Dorvan and the admiral are involved. Better that way. They share your opinion. About a conspiracy. They had discovered some kind of connection among Bramsin, Lecersen, and Jaxton—”
“The poisoning!” Leia remembered her conversation with Javon Thewles. “It was designed to discredit the GAS. And Parova—”
“Put her people in instead,” Padnel finished. “And now she’s dead, Bramsin is dead, and Treen and Lecersen have disappeared. That leaves only one.”
“General Jaxton,” breathed Leia.
Padnel nodded. “That was enough to convince me to plant a small listening device in Jaxton’s office. One sensitive enough to catch both ends of a comm conversation. And this afternoon, before Jaxton left for the evening, I recorded a very interesting conversation. I was only able to listen to it just a short while ago.”
“What did he say? Who did he talk to?”
“They spoke about Bramsin and Parova being dead, the ‘blasted Senators,’ and someone he called ‘good old Palpatine.’ They were going to get together tonight to discuss things. Unfortunately, the person Jaxton contacted was not named, and he used a droid voice to disguise his—or her—own.”
“It’s got to be Suldar,” said Leia. “With everything else that’s going on—”
“My thoughts exactly. There’s enough on here to bring Jaxton in for further questioning at least.”
Leia made a face. “If there was enough for me to be brought in, then yes, I agree.”
Padnel looked remorseful and put a hand on her shoulder. “I never doubted you, Leia,” he said, “I just thought you were mistaken about the conspiracy.”
“That’s doubting,” Leia said. At the look on his face, she softened. “I understand why you did, though. It sounded almost as ludicrous as