Star Wars_ Legacy of the Force 01_ Betrayal - Aaron Allston [83]
“But the occupation of Tralus,” Niathal said, “has made them angry. Fighting mad, I believe the expression is.”
“Corellia continues to arm herself,” Pellaeon said. “Other planets are expressing outrage about the way Roundabout was conducted. Commenor. Fondor. Bespin. Coalitions within the Corporate Sector. More every hour. Some of them are simply playing political games, of course, but others could conceivably join Corellia in a military alliance.”
“I know.” Luke’s voice was rueful. “Maybe those other planets would ease off if we showed them the evidence you’ve gathered about Corellia’s secret assault fleet.”
“We can’t,” Omas said. “Our evidence isn’t incontrovertible, and some of those worlds would ally with Corellia even if it were. We’d be tipping our hand for nothing.”
“And we still wouldn’t know the location of the fleet,” Pellaeon said. “But we can still manage this through diplomacy. Prime Minister Saxan has indicated that she would be willing to meet with us in a mission of peace—even travel from Corellia for the meeting. But not here. Not to Coruscant.”
“Where, then?” Luke asked.
“Not yet determined,” Pellaeon said. “That’s not important. It will have to be a system that both sides consider neutral on this issue. Now, Chief of State Omas cannot represent the Galactic Alliance, since his rank is substantially higher than Saxan’s—for the leader of hundreds of worlds to travel to meet the leader of five would be too great a sign of weakness.”
“Of course,” Luke said. He breathed deeply, willing away the sudden stab of nausea he felt. This was the type of politics he hated most—niggling details based on perceptions of relative merit or importance.
“So it will be me,” Pellaeon continued. “Each side will have a security detail in place. But Prime Minister Saxan has made an interesting concession. She’s willing to stipulate the neutrality of Jedi on this issue, and to have as many Jedi present as you, Luke Skywalker, wish. To defend the diplomatic mission.”
Luke nodded. “Give me the details and I’ll assemble a team. But I don’t understand why she’d do that. The Jedi order is specifically an organization defending the Galactic Alliance. We’re not entirely impartial.”
Chief Omas said, “I can only give you a guess. A guess based on decades of political dealings. I think Saxan wants peace—not even necessarily for its own sake, but because war will allow Chief Sal-Solo to assume emergency power and control resources she can’t regulate or restrain. But she has to find a way to preserve the peace that allows the Corellians to save face. Which means, so do we.”
“We could withdraw the units occupying Tralus,” Luke said.
Chief Omas nodded. “Correct. But we’ll let that be one of Saxan’s negotiating points. She’ll certainly insist on it, and we’ll agree to it.”
“We shouldn’t.” That was Niathal, and, if anything, there seemed to be even more grumble to her voice than before. “We should massively reinforce it now, begin a forced relocation of the civilian population. We’ll need it as a jumping-off point if the Corellians don’t comply and we have to conquer the system. Not having it available to us could cost us immeasurably.”
Chief Omas fixed her with an admonishing look. “We’ll agree to it,” he continued, and returned his attention to Luke. “It is a political, rather than a military, tactic. If we just withdraw now, the Corellians become more belligerent, seeing our action as weakness. If we agree to Saxan’s negotiations on that point, we don’t look weak, and Saxan’s position is strengthened.”
“I see.”
Pellaeon said, “Please assemble a list of prospects for your Jedi security team. We’ll let you know as things develop.”
Luke stood. “May the Force be with you, Admiral.”
Pellaeon grinned. “Once upon a time, I was certain