Star Wars_ Legacy of the Force 01_ Betrayal - Aaron Allston [92]
“I think we have the exact center suite,” Han commented. “Accident or design?”
“Design,” Leia said. She was sitting in a chair two paces closer to the viewport than Han’s couch. “Even though Luke’s the Master of the order, the two of us are supposed to be the most neutral of all the parties present—except for Toryaz Station Security—because of our, um, unique circumstances. So we’re smack in the middle.”
Han shrugged. “Still, nice view.” He turned his attention to Jacen, seated at the other end of the couch. “So?”
His son looked thoughtful. “I don’t like this stuff about a ‘man who doesn’t exist.’”
“Neither do I,” Han said. “Neither does your mother.”
“Maybe, but I suspect we don’t like it for different reasons.” Jacen gave Leia an apologetic look. “Ever since Dad started talking about it, I’ve been looking. Sensing. Peering into the future and the past, to the extent I can.”
Leia nodded. “And?”
“And nothing. I don’t see, or feel, any trace of something like that.” He frowned. “There’s the faintest touch of a female presence that feels antagonistic, malevolent. It has some flavor of the Force with it. But it’s so faint that it doesn’t have to pertain to the here and now. It could be a leftover from years or decades ago. It could be pre-Imperial.”
“Could it be a Force-user who’s here now, and using arts to diminish her presence?” Leia asked.
Jacen nodded. “Maybe.”
“Then why couldn’t it be Luke’s ‘man who doesn’t exist,’ using those same arts to impart a different gender feeling, perhaps to throw Luke off?”
Jacen smiled. “Mom, that doesn’t make any sense. First, if I could detect the presence Uncle Luke is feeling, then I would probably detect it the same way, at least initially. If it’s a man to him, it should be a man to me. Second, and I think this is very important, why hasn’t Luke mentioned this female presence I noticed? Did he not detect it all, or has he dismissed it because it’s not as strong or as in-your-face as his ‘man who doesn’t exist’?” He took a deep breath. “Mom, I think Uncle Luke is dismissing a lot of information and premonitions he may be getting, simply because they don’t match with what he believes. He didn’t think much of my suggestion that the Corellians wouldn’t roll over as quickly as the GA said they would, and look what happened. Now he has a pet theory about some shadowy enemy, and nothing else seems to be getting through to him.”
“I know he hasn’t studied every esoteric Force discipline you have,” Leia said, “but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong. His opinions shouldn’t be disregarded.”
“Neither should mine.” Jacen’s tone was sharper than he intended. He softened it for his next words. “I didn’t mean to sound angry—”
“You are angry,” his mother said.
“Maybe. But my point is still worth listening to. Uncle Luke had to carry the burden of the survival of the entire Jedi order all by himself for years. He’s faced pressures that no Jedi in history has endured. After forty years of doing this, he may be burning out.”
“I doubt it,” Leia said. “Jacen, the way he’s lived his life, the way he’s learned about the Force, that’s one path to knowledge. Yours is a different one. Do you really think yours is better?”
“With apologies, Mom—yes, I do. I think Uncle Luke is closed off to some avenues of learning, and it may mean there are things he’ll never be able to see.”
“All the same,” Han said, “keep your eyes open for strangers. Ignoring warnings is a good way to get dead.”
Jacen grinned. “We agree on that.”
chapter nineteen
Two levels above Kallebarth Way