Star Wars_ Legacy of the Force 04_ Exile - Aaron Allston [29]
So he would have to adjust his thinking a bit if he was to work with the Jedi. But he was a bit unsettled to realize that he wasn’t sure the Jedi approach was the wrong one. Even with Alema Rar…Once he, Jag, had known a Jedi girl who had stepped off the right path, gone the wrong way for a while. She had found her own way back soon enough. But what if she hadn’t? If she had continued, might she not be a bit like Alema Rar, and would Jag be just as sanguine about hunting her down and killing her?
“I accept,” he said.
“Good. I’m actually heading up a similar unit, pursuing leads involving the Sith lady Lumiya. She may be dead now—or maybe not—but what’s clear is that she was in alliance with Alema as of a few days ago, when they ambushed me and Mara. Now that it’s clear that Lumiya was, or is, employing agents, and who some of them are, we stand an improved chance of finding her trail.”
“I don’t know much about her. I assume the term Sith lady doesn’t bode well.”
“Not well at all. I’ll get you the basic information on her.” Luke reached into a pocket and handed items over to Jag. “Identicard. It identifies you as Jagged Fel, a civilian specialist employed by the Jedi order. The second one’s a credcard. It gives you access to a drawing account set up for your task force. The third is a security card with what you need to assume control of”—he pointed—“that X-wing. Sorry I can’t provide you with a Chiss clawcraft.”
“That’s all right. I’m fond of X-wings, as well.”
“I also want to assign a couple of Jedi to you. You’re hunting a Dark Jedi; you’ll benefit from having Jedi with you.”
“I agree.”
Luke glanced toward a door leading into the hangar. “Speaking of which…”
He must have been alerted by an impulse in the Force, for when Jag followed his glance, the door was shut. But now it slid up and open, and a woman in brown Jedi robes walked into the hangar. “Uncle Luke, you wanted to see—oh.”
Jag refrained from stiffening. It was Jaina Solo. His mind clicked through a number of possibilities and arrived at one inescapable conclusion: that she was going to be—
“I’m putting together a small task force to find Alema Rar,” Luke said. “Colonel Fel here is in charge. I’m assigning you to it, and Zekk, when he’s fit to fly.”
Jaina came to a stop a few meters away, looking between the two men as if still expecting the punch line to a joke that already wasn’t funny. “That is not a good idea. I don’t think I can operate as this man’s subordinate.”
Luke gave her a quizzical look. “Back in the Yuuzhan Vong war, though he outranked you, he didn’t offer you any grief about being your subordinate.”
“Things are different now.”
Luke nodded. “Yes. You’re both older and wiser. And on top of that, the two of you have worked together before, know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and have complementary skills. Consider it settled.” He glanced between them. “I’ll leave you two to get caught up. Jag, please get me a plan of operation at your earliest opportunity.” He turned and headed toward the door.
Jag waited until Luke was out of hearing. “The problem with Jedi Masters,” he said, “is that they can’t be beaten with impunity.”
Jaina looked at him, suspicious. “Jag, did you just make a joke?”
“No.” He clamped down on the anger rising within him. “He knows why I wouldn’t want to work with you and has decided to disregard my wishes. I’ll have to assume that his reasoning is sound, whatever it is, until proven otherwise. All right, let’s do some strategic planning.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to?” Jaina was clearly confused and, so far as Jag could tell, possibly hurt as well. “Because of what happened with the Dark Nest?”
“It doesn’t matter. We have planning to do.” He gestured toward the door.
She stood her ground, glaring. “It does