Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order 04_ Agents of Chaos 01_ Hero's Trial - James Luceno [24]
“I don’t think that’s the right approach to take with Han,” Luke said wryly.
“But it’s exactly the approach the Jedi are expected to take with the Yuuzhan Vong.”
“Yes. By the same people who fear us taking over the galaxy or succumbing to the dark side.”
Mara smiled wanly. “Things haven’t exactly turned out as planned, have they? Even after the peace accord, I never doubted that we’d face challenges and go through the usual ups and downs. But I truly believed we’d be able to send any enemies of the New Republic running for cover. Now I’m not so sure.”
Luke nodded, wondering if Mara was referring obliquely to her own enemy. If so, her words suggested that she was losing confidence in her ability to prevail.
“Mon Mothma once asked me if I thought my students would eventually set themselves up as an elite priesthood or as a band of champions. Would the Jedi choose to insulate themselves or act in the service of those in need? Would we be a part of the citizenry or outside it?” He narrowed his eyes in recollection. “She envisioned Jedi who would be willing to get their hands dirty, Jedi in all walks of life—medicine, law, politics, and the military. She saw it as my duty to set an example, to become a genuine leader rather than a mere figurehead.”
“And she’d be the first to admit that her concerns were unfounded.”
“Would she? Obi-Wan and Yoda never talked about what the distant future held for me. Maybe if I hadn’t spent the past few years trying to learn how to overcome ysalamiri and tune my lightsaber to cleave cortosis ore, I’d know what course the Jedi should take now. It’s the dark side that calls constantly for aggression and revenge—even against the Yuuzhan Vong. The stronger you become, the more you’re tempted.” Luke gazed at his wife. “Maybe Jacen’s right about there being alternatives to fighting.”
“He certainly didn’t get that from his father.”
“His coming to it on his own makes it all the more significant. He thinks I’ve paid too much attention to the Force as power, at the expense of understanding a more unifying Force.”
“Jacen is still a young man.”
“He’s young, but he’s a deep thinker. What’s more, he’s right. I’ve always been more concerned with events in the here and now than the future. I don’t have the long view, so I miss the big picture. I’ve had a harder time fighting myself than I had fighting my clone.”
Luke stood up and moved to the window. “The Jedi have always been peacemakers. They’ve never been mercenaries. That’s why I’ve tried to protect our independence and keep us from swearing allegiance to the New Republic. We aren’t an arm of their military, and we never will be.”
Mara waited until she was certain he was finished. “You’re starting to sound like that Fallanassi woman who took you on a wild yunax chase looking for your mother.”
“Akanah Norand Pell,” Luke supplied. “I wish I knew where her people went.”
Mara snorted. “Even if you found them, I don’t think the Yuuzhan Vong are going to be as susceptible to Fallanassi-created illusions as the Yevetha were.”
“Not judging by what we’ve seen.”
An ironic laugh escaped Mara. “Akanah. Akanah, Gaeriel Captison, Callista … Luke Skywalker’s lost loves. Not to mention that one on Folor …”
“Fondor,” Luke corrected. “And I was never in love with Tanith Shire.”
“Just the same, you met each of them during a time of crisis.”
“When haven’t we been in crisis?”
“That’s what I’m getting at. Should I be worried that someone new will cross your path this time?”
Luke went to her. “Our crisis is the one that concerns me most,” he said earnestly. “We need a victory.”
“You want to talk about irony? My father told me a story that happened right here in the Meridian sector, maybe twelve standard years ago.”
Captain Skent Graff—human and proud of it, with broad shoulders and a face that