Star Wars_ Legacy of the Force 01_ Betrayal - Aaron Allston [129]
Syal tightened the muscles of her face, struggling to hold back new tears that wanted to stream forth, and started to rise.
“Sit,” the woman said. She turned to Leader. “You. Be a good boy and go away.”
Leader gaped at her. “You—”
The woman smiled at him, showing teeth. “The correct response is Yes, ma’am. Now go.”
Leader evaluated her expression, then hurriedly rose. “Yes, ma’am.”
The woman waited until he was out of the interrogation room. She returned her attention to Syal. “Yes, we’ll verify the details of your story. If they check out, you’ll be returned to active service. But I doubt you’ll be returned to VibroSword Squadron. I suspect that it can be considered a hostile environment for you now.”
“I think you’re right.”
“Your leg is going again.” The woman turned her attention to the datapad in front of her. “It says here that you were offered the chance to join a new squadron handling the first deployment of the Aleph-class fighters. Is that correct?”
Syal nodded. “I didn’t want to, though. I’ve played around with Aleph simulators. They’ve got plenty of speed, but they maneuver like big plugs of duracrete.”
“And if your only options are to fly Alephs or work as a communications officer aboard a sensor ship?”
“Alephs sound great, ma’am.”
“Spoken like a true Antilles.” The woman closed her datapad.
“You’re from Intelligence, aren’t you? I would have thought that my own squadron leader would have been the sympathetic one and you would have been a plasteel nek about the whole thing.”
The woman nodded. “Never can tell how the past is going to affect things, can you?” She rose. “I don’t know what your squadron leader’s problem is. Jealousy, or maybe he needs to be in complete control, and the fact that you didn’t divulge about your famous father constitutes a betrayal. As for me…” She offered Syal a slight smile. “Once upon a time, not long after the New Republic won Coruscant that first time, I flew with your father for a few months. I’ve known some of his pilots considerably longer. I know what sort of children he’ll have raised. If you’re really Syal Antilles, I suspect you’re in the clear.”
On her way out the door, she added, “And you might as well legally change your name back. Your secret’s out.”
chapter twenty-five
LORRD CITY, LORRD
She was willowy-tall, with long black hair in a flowing ponytail. Ben saw her first from the cockpit of Jacen’s shuttle as the vehicle drifted down on repulsorlifts. The woman was neither distinct nor interesting at that time, merely a shadowy figure leaning, arms crossed, against the hangar pit wall.
But once they were grounded, cleared to emerge, and descending the shuttle’s boarding ramp, she strode forward out of the shadows, and Ben suddenly found her very interesting indeed. Her robes—a green and tan-yellow combination not commonly seen on Jedi—were tailored to her, flattering her figure, and her widemouthed smile was a celebration that invited all who saw it to join in.
Sadly, Ben’s sudden interest was one-sided. She walked quickly to the ramp’s base, her attention fixed on Jacen, her hand extended toward the adult Jedi. “Jacen!” she said. “It’s good to see you.”
Jacen reached the bottom of the ramp and took her hand, but did not draw her into an embrace, not even the cordial embrace of old friends—though her body language, even to Ben’s inexperienced eye, suggested that this was what she expected. “Nelani,” Jacen said. “When I heard that you were the Jedi assigned to the Lorrd station, that you’d be the one meeting us, I was glad—”
“Really?”
“Glad to realize that you’d passed your trials and were fully vested as a Jedi Knight,” he continued. “Congratulations.”
Her smile faltered slightly. “Thank you.” She released her grip on his hand, and her attention