Star Wars_ Legacy of the Force 01_ Betrayal - Aaron Allston [91]
And Pellaeon, too, was Corellian.
Pellaeon smiled again, this time showing teeth. The obvious reply would have been, And what’s wrong with that? Instead, he said, “So what you’re arguing for, principally, is the preservation of a Corellian space navy above and beyond the Corellian Defense Force.”
“Of course.”
“That’s not necessarily impossible,” the admiral said. “But would Corellia still be able to provide resources to the GA military at a rate dictated by its gross system production, as other GA signatories do? That would seem to be a substantial drain on Corellia’s economy.”
“Well, obviously, our contribution to the GA military would have to be reduced by a value equivalent to our space navy. And that navy would be available to the GA for military activities when called upon.”
“Not acceptable. The Galactic Alliance military funding has to come first.”
It was at this point that Han’s attention wandered. He supposed that the two diplomats must be arguing their agendas with what, in political circles, would be considered blinding speed—otherwise the discussion wouldn’t have held his attention even that long. But verbiage had reached a toxic level and he could no longer concentrate on it.
Now he looked around the table, from face to face, trying to glean what information his experience as a sabacc player would grant him.
Saxan and Pellaeon were the most interesting studies. Each was alert, energetic, apparently unmovable in argument position. But they had to come to some sort of agreement here, or both sides would lose—war was an unacceptable result. So below the hard surfaces, each had some flexibility to offer. The question was when they would offer it, and in the face of what circumstances.
Leia was intent on the discussions, though Han noticed that each time a provocative statement was offered, she looked not at Saxan or Pellaeon but at the chief adviser of whichever politician was receiving the statement.
Luke was serene, almost in a meditative state. No—Han corrected himself. Luke was calm, but not serene. There was still the faint shadow of anxiety to his manner. This whole situation with the “man who didn’t exist” obviously continued to worry him.
It troubled Han, too. Luke could see things Han couldn’t. If there were things that Luke couldn’t see, it was likely that no living being in the galaxy could see them.
Except…Han’s attention fell on his son. Jacen was, like Leia, earnestly following the discussion, but he also occasionally turned away from the talk at hand to stare in some direction that always seemed random. Han supposed that Jacen, with his training in diverse and unusual aspects of the Force, was looking in directions no one else felt the need to.
Perhaps he could see things even Luke couldn’t.
Han resolved to talk to his son later.
This first meeting between Pellaeon and Saxan went on for four hours. Eventually, the two diplomats agreed to retire for the evening and resume their talks in the morning, station time.
The delegates and their advisers discovered that they were all quartered on a single passageway of Narsacc Habitat, where the rooms commanded the best view of stars and the moon Ronay. The passageway was named the Kallebarth Way. At each end of its 275-meter run, and at any point a cross-corridor intersected it, a security station had been installed.
The Galactic Alliance delegation was assigned the spinward end of the passageway, having won the right to the slightly more desirable quarters by virtue of the GA having paid for this conference. The Corellian delegation was quartered at the far end. The Jedi accommodations were in the middle. Numerous suites lay unoccupied in the areas between the delegation quarters. The passageways immediately above and below Kallebarth Way were sealed off, all the suites there locked down, in an effort to keep saboteurs from assaulting the delegations from either vertical direction.
Still