Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order_ Dark Tide 01_ Onslaught - Michael A. Stackpole [22]
Corran could feel the Force gathering in his son. He gave Valin’s shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t do it.”
The taller man opened his arms easily and let the hint of a smile twist his lips. “Please, Valin, show me what you can do. Project whatever vision you wish. I promise to be afraid.”
The boy lifted his chin as the Force drained out of him. “Scariest thing I can think of is you standing there.”
Ganner clapped slowly. “He has a lot of spirit, this is good.” He looked at Corran. “Our ship is ready to go.”
“I was just going to say good-bye to my son.”
“We have some time. Not much, but a little yet.”
Corran turned to Valin. “Go back to the Great Temple. Your mother and sister are there. Tell them I’ll be along presently to say farewell.”
The boy arched an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure?”
Ganner laughed. “I won’t hurt him.”
Valin turned his head and spitted Ganner on a hard stare. “As if you could . . .”
“Go, Valin. Your mother will get impatient, and you don’t want that any more than I do.” Corran ruffled the boy’s hair. “Your mother will be worried, so ease her fears, okay?”
The boy nodded, then started sprinting off toward the temple.
Corran watched him go, then slowly looked back at Ganner. “Okay, and now the real reason you wanted to meet me here, away from the others.”
“Perceptive, good.” Ganner’s arctic eyes narrowed. “You’re nominally in charge of our expedition—”
“Correction, I’m in charge of it.” Corran folded his arms across his chest. “You are my aide on this run.”
“In the data files, yes, that’s it. In reality . . .”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you’re an old-style Jedi, you and your dual-phase lightsaber. Meaning I’m a much more powerful Jedi than you are. Meaning I know that you don’t care for Kyp Durron’s philosophy—a philosophy that I think must be embraced if the Jedi order is to fulfill its destiny in the galaxy.” Ganner gestured easily, and the rock rose in the air as if lodged in some invisible turbolift. “I will do what must be done for us to complete our mission, but I will not brook interference from you.”
The rock shot straight at Corran. He dodged to the right. The rock veered wide to the left, then tumbled and crashed back through the underbrush.
Ganner smirked at him. “Do you understand what I am saying?”
“Sure.” Corran let his hands fall to his sides easily. “You’re saying that your philosophy is more important than the job we’re being sent to do.”
“That’s not it at all.”
“Sure it is, but I don’t expect you to understand that.” Corran shook his head. “You and Kyp and the others that believe the way you do—you’re working very hard to establish what the Jedi mean to this galaxy. You’re doing that by wearing sharp uniforms and taking strong stands. Much of the time you’re probably right in the stands you take—I can’t disagree with them. What I don’t like is how you make the stands, and how you work. You’re all saying, ‘Hey, we are Jedi. We deserve your respect.’ I happen to think we need to earn it.”
Ganner’s expression darkened. “We have earned it. The Jedi made order out of the chaos of the Empire.”
“No, a Jedi did that, the only Jedi there was at the time who was willing to stand up and fight the Empire. Luke Skywalker earned the galaxy’s respect, not the rest of us. Our fight has to be waged each and every day out there, and here’s a hologram you’d best study from all sides: People end up being inherently suspicious and resentful of anyone who sets himself up to sort right from wrong.” Corran gave him a half smile. “I saw it when I worked for CorSec, and I’ve seen it as a Jedi.”
The taller man threw his head back and laughed. “You, of all people, have the least call to criticize us for trying to establish an image that makes our jobs easier.”
“How do you plot that course?”
“What you did on Courkrus. You terrorized people. Made