Sighing a wordless agreement, Burry turned to share the news of their assignment with Bell.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Coruscant

  Elzar tugged at the high collar of his formal temple robes, even though it was not too tight. It simply gave him something to do instead of obsessing over what Avar had said to him on Naboo. She was due back on Coruscant in the morning, and he was going to have to give her an answer. Even though it hadn’t been a question—he knew that. She’d simply held out a hand to him, and they both knew he’d take it. He just…had to decide exactly how.

  He waited with Chancellor Soh amid verdant greenery in a garden pavilion on the rooftop of a tower so tall none of the cityscape was visible, only the sky smeared with vivid-orange clouds thanks to the setting sun. It was a rare sight on Coruscant, to be without the constant motion of traffic and glint of light on windows. Elzar was having difficulty enjoying it, though not because of the company—not yet anyway.

  Lina Soh tilted her head, and the cascade of simple gems woven into her elaborate headdress tingled. One of her hands lifted toward her hidden ear, and she smiled. “They’re coming up,” she told Elzar.

  Elzar grimaced for her, and the chancellor smiled wryly. Together they walked across the soft lawn to position themselves before a table set with crystal dinnerware for three. The targons Matari and Voru got to their feet and arched their long furred backs in perfect sync before padding along after Soh. As Soh and Elzar stopped, the giant cats did as well, but they did not lie back down. They remained standing and, to Elzar’s surprise, incorporated him into their bookending of the chancellor.

  “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for including me,” Elzar said lightly. “I’m incredibly excited for this dinner. It’s going to be fun and carefree, and nothing dreadful could possibly come of it.”

  Laughing, Soh patted Elzar on the shoulder. “It relaxes me just enough to have someone along who hates this even more than I do.”

  “No wonder you didn’t want Master Yoda here—he doesn’t hate anything.”

  The truth was, when the chancellor had invited Elzar, as the representative of the Jedi Council, he’d sent word to the Council itself offering to step aside for one of them to take his place. Master Ki-Sakka had replied that they more than trusted Elzar for the job, not-so-subtly reminding him there was an open seat awaiting his rump if he’d only accept it. And soon.

  Soh gave a little smile, then let it drop off her mouth. With quiet gravity, she said, “After the way I provoked her in the immediacy of the battles for the Lightning Crash and Naboo, I expect Ghirra to make this evening difficult, to say the least.”

  At the far edge of the garden pavilion, the indicator lights on the elevator arch flashed, and the two Senate Guards standing to either side shifted their attention to the newcomers.

  Silently, the platform rose, revealing an intricate lacework enclosure and behind it three figures.

  “Here we go,” Elzar murmured.

  The enclosure slid gracefully open to reveal Ghirra Starros and two more Senate Guards.

  The former senator was alone otherwise, but from her bearing she might as well have an army behind her. Elzar’s stomach soured.

  Ghirra glided forward in a voluminous gown of Nihil blue with a tiny silver pauldron on each shoulder, attached across her collar by a chain that clasped with a wrought gold-and-copper sigil of the Nihil’s eye. The human’s long braids were wound into a crown and fell loose in the back, glinting with matching copper beads.

  It made Elzar glad to be in his own formal uniform and appreciate Chancellor Soh’s understated black-and-silver finery.

  The former senator paused several paces from them, and for a moment, all three were silent. Elzar knew better than to speak, though he generally preferred breaking this kind of tension with a quip or aggression.

  Chancellor Soh waited serenely, and one of the targons sighed, its ruff twitching with either boredom or irritation.

  The light shifted quickly as the sun set, and Ghirra Starros smiled. “Chancellor Soh. I’m relieved and delighted you’ve agreed to meet with me as a representative of a neighboring state, given the recent Republic-driven attempts to disrupt our border.”

  “A neighboring state, is it, Ghirra? You remember Jedi Master Elzar Mann, of course.”

  Ghirra blinked as slow as one of the targons. It wasn’t quite as effective with only two eyes. “Minister will do, Chancellor. And of course.”

  “Minister,” Soh murmured. She stepped back a pace and gestured at the table. “Shall we?”

  “We shall.”

  The trio took their seats, and the targons padded over to sit at Lina Soh’s shoulders.

  At an unseen command, service droids appeared from entrances obscured by graceful pinkseed and evergreen topiary or archaic water features. They brought out wine and tea and chilled infused sparkling water, along with slender trays of delicate hors d’oeuvres meant to be eaten with equally delicate chopsticks. Elzar experienced a vivid memory of a young Stellan showing him how to tell what food required what type of utensil at a fine dinner like this, based on placement and orientation to the plate. It really should be Stellan here.

  But Elzar could manage. Stellan had made sure of it.

  As the droids set the service, Elzar said, “Minister…does this mean the Nihil are seeking recognition as a political entity, a nation, instead of remaining mere marauders and warlords?”

  Her calm expression didn’t alter in the slightest as Ghirra said, “We have ruled ourselves as such for months now. I’m glad the Republic is catching up.”

  “We’ve been busy protecting our people from a rather malicious and relentless enemy,” the chancellor said, nodding thanks to a glinting black droid as she lifted her cup of wine. “I do hope this conversation settles a few things and sets the agenda for a commitment to peace.”

  Ghirra took up her own cup and held it toward Chancellor Soh. “To commitments.”

  Elzar joined their toast, uncomfortable at the various connotations of the minister’s words.

  They drank, and Chancellor Soh said, “Well, Minister Starros. What do you have for us?”

  “I don’t see what perceived shift in power is making you arrogant, Chancellor,” Ghirra said, reaching with her chopsticks for the many-layered leafy urchin appetizer. “You attacked us, destroyed part of our border defense, invaded a world under our claim. We did not even retaliate, but merely reestablished a border.”

  The words were more direct than Elzar had anticipated for opening gambits at a dinner like this. It was difficult not to immediately argue with her.

  But Chancellor Soh ate her food and said nothing. Elzar struggled in the drawn-out silence, unable to do the same and eat. He was here to support the chancellor but also as a representative of the Jedi Order, and he wanted to tell Ghirra Starros to take her fancy dress and Nihil jewelry and run. That it didn’t matter if the Nihil pretended to act like a nation. Starlight Beacon was remembered. Valo was remembered. The Legacy Run was remembered. Even putting all that aside, as a Jedi, Elzar was determined not to stop until they’d made sure that the Nameless could never harm another Force user. That there could be no negotiation or compromise as long as the Nihil remained a threat to all beings in the galaxy.

  He held his tongue though. Threats weren’t the point of this, and they’d slide off Ghirra anyway, coming from him and being so direct. Still, the tension between the two politicians was enough to make Elzar feel out of his depth once again. As if his concerns about justice and the Force and freedom and hope were small compared with complex galactic politics. He had to remind himself he was here for a reason. That the Jedi had worked hand in hand with the Republic for centuries because their priorities aligned more often than not. And recently, they aligned consistently. Chancellor Lina Soh, with her “We are all the Republic” motto and Great Works outreach, with the vision of Starlight Beacon and the Republic Fair driving her…no matter how those things had turned out, been twisted by the Nihil, what mattered in this case was Soh’s faith and determination that mirrored the hope of the Jedi.

  Elzar put his utensils down and stopped pretending he was going to take a bite. “Minister, if the Nihil are becoming a nation, can you tell us what you represent? We know where we stand as the Galactic Republic and the Jedi. Do you?”

  Ghirra Starros pursed her lips. “Naturally I can answer such a question,” she said slowly, and Elzar felt a zing of triumph when he realized she was stalling to give herself time.

  “Oh?” the chancellor said.

  “Hmm, yes.” Ghirra sipped from her cup. “We are…” Here her smile turned sharp. “Balance. Options. Choice. The Republic may be great, and its morals and mottos are reflective of not only high standards but also unimpeachable ideals…yet there will always remain people who do not fit. There will always be cartels and organizations that chafe at the ways of the Republic and of the Jedi. People whose wants and needs cannot be met by the Republic. The Nihil provide an opportunity for such individuals, for such different and marginalized ideals to come together. To make their own path. Their own nation. Is it not better for a receptacle to exist to catch such dissenters? An alternative with which the Republic can coexist?”

  Elzar felt his stomach turn over again at the impressive politicking that turned the oppression and viciousness of the Nihil into such a benevolent entity. It was a lie. It was a trap. But it still sounded like an argument some people would believe—even some senators.

  “I see,” Chancellor Soh said thoughtfully. “What remains to be seen is whether the Nihil are not only willing but also able to coexist with us.”

  “And what must I say or promise to convince you we can?”

  Lina Soh leaned forward. The only hint of the shift in her composure was that one of her targons’ hackles rose, and both their tufted tails whipped with anxiety.

  “To begin, you can return my son to me immediately, unharmed.”

  “Oh, my,” Ghirra said, sitting back. “I didn’t realize your son was missing.”

  “Since the Stormwall activated well over a year ago,” the chancellor said tightly.

  Ghirra, instead of faking any sympathetic moue or pretending shock, said, “I believe, Chancellor, that you are aware of my own daughter’s whereabouts.”

  Elzar did his best not to wince. He also knew exactly where Avon Starros was, and it was not too far from here. Soh could use her. Could easily relent and give up Avon’s special status to turn her over to her mother for some leverage.

  The chancellor said, “I am, Minister. But because of the great service your daughter has provided and because I respect her autonomy, I will not betray her to you.”

  Not even for my son, rang the underlying declaration. Elzar watched Chancellor Soh. He had long admired her passion and integrity, but this was a whole new level. Everything he knew about her crystallized, and he realized her decision was born from a place of great altruism, the kind Jedi had tried to teach and to reach themselves, for years and years.

  Lina Soh loved her son so much that it made her a better person.

  Clarity reverberated through Elzar, echoing what Avar had said to him. That love was limitless, that it expanded the galaxy. It was how this chancellor led. Toward Light and Life, always. Even when she’d been taught repeatedly that it didn’t always mean she’d be successful. That she was likely to lose. She kept trying.

  Elzar smiled. He felt as though a little bit of the chancellor’s light brightened in him.

  No matter what happened for the rest of this negotiation, he believed eventually Lina Soh would win.

  Ghirra must have felt it as well because she inclined her head. “I will look into the whereabouts of your son. I do not know where he is, if he is in Nihil custody or simply lost as so many have been, but I promise I will do my best to find him.”

  “Thank you,” Soh said.

  “I hope,” Ghirra continued, “that these assurances are enough to press forward and discuss what we need to discuss in order to set an agenda for negotiations.”

  “I believe so. Let us have the next course.”

  This time Chancellor Soh made her gesture to the service droids more pronounced, and they came with bowls of milky soup dotted with glistening pearls of some sweet violet salt bubbles.

  Soh sipped from the soup and then said, “The first thing we must consider is that if the Nihil are to be recognized as a sovereign nation, the border must be clear and stationary.”

  Ghirra laughed. “We aren’t the ones treating our border as permeable.”

  “It should be permeable, especially to the so-called citizens of Nihil space,” Elzar said. “People have been trapped against their will in the Occlusion Zone, and their freedom has to be taken into consideration.”

  “The Nihil are hardly the first to establish themselves through violence,” Ghirra chided. “Yes, there are people who did not enthusiastically consent to our governance, but can you even pretend to say that the Jedi—much less the Republic itself—have never pressed their rule onto anyone?”

  Chancellor Soh said coldly, “You’re asking the Republic to forgive not the violence of a government legitimately establishing itself, but absolute atrocities. Atrocities targeting us and our ideals, and specifically meant to instill fear and chaos and death. Marchion Ro gruesomely and despicably executed one of our great leaders in a live broadcast, Ghirra Starros.” Soh set down her utensil and stared coldly at the former senator. “To even consider treating your proposals or sovereignty in good faith, I will have assurances that the Nihil intend to act like a neighbor, not a malicious enemy. If you cannot even convince me there will be a sustained and recognized border, one that will not expand into unwilling systems, I won’t ever bother to open the subject of anything like trade tariffs or prisoner exchanges with the Senate.”

  “Be glad we aren’t demanding the total destruction of the Stormwall,” Elzar said.

  Ghirra smiled tightly. “Even you must know there are things the Eye of the Nihil will not give up.”

  Like his Nameless creatures, Elzar assumed, pressing back a shudder at the thought.

  “Why have we not heard from Ro?” Elzar asked. Grand Master Ki-Sakka had told Elzar that Council members were turning their attention more and more toward Ro himself in the wake of the recent battles. They’d had the Stormwall defeated until Marchion Ro changed the game on them again.

  The chancellor added, “Yes, Minister. Your ‘Eye’ certainly likes to send us devastating messages. Where is his personal message of friendship? If he is so willing to allow these negotiations.”

  “I am the message of friendship,” Ghirra said smoothly. “I have come through official channels as his Minister of Information. There is no one more highly ranked among the Nihil than myself.”

  It wasn’t anything a person should brag about. Elzar didn’t bother to hide the disgusted curl of his lips.

  The chancellor answered more smoothly. “You understand politics, Minister. You must understand how symbolic a message from the mouth of Marchion Ro himself would be. With his penchant for dramatic galaxy-wide declarations, I know he does.”

  “You hardly expect to do direct business with the regasa of the Togruta,” Ghirra snorted.

  “And yet sometimes that queen visits us in friendship,” Soh said, a fire in her dark gaze—it had been a mistake to remind her of the Togruta queen, who had been at the Republic Fair so brutalized by the Nihil, where Lina Soh had lost part of her leg and where Stellan had become the face of the Jedi.

  Elzar opened his feelings to the Force, aware of the delicate nature of this moment. Chancellor Soh projected fierce determination, and Ghirra Starros controlled her emotions tightly.

  Soh added almost casually, “A word from Ro himself would go a long way toward convincing us of his offer of friendship. As long as he hides, he behaves like an enemy.”

  “He is hardly hiding,” Ghirra scoffed.

  “Then where is he? We’ve heard nothing from him after our defeat of his Stormwall and his general. His past suggests retaliation, not reaching out via a peaceful representative.”

  “Marchion Ro is at his stronghold on Hetzal, naturally.”

  Ghirra said it easily, but Elzar could feel she was lying. Neither Soh nor himself could admit aloud that not having proof of Ro’s location, or some word from him directly, only added to the lingering fear of his next action throughout the galaxy. For all his presence promised violence, not knowing where he was let all their imaginations run wild. The longer he hid himself, the worse his reappearance would be.

  “For now,” Ghirra said, “you’ll have to rely on me. We can surely discuss some other things, in addition to your demand regarding our border. Reparations, perhaps, to certain worlds and people,” the minister offered so silkily.

  “Oh, certainly, Ghirra.” Chancellor Soh smiled, and Elzar almost imagined sharp teeth behind her lips. “I’m so glad to know we can rely on you.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Near Wild Space

  The badlands spread before Marchion Ro. Orange and red striated rock pillars thrust up here and there beside blue-green cacti sprouting neon-orange flowers and spindly bushes with long tentacle-like arms that reminded him of the cephalosaurs he’d hunted on Regnio III in his youth. If he’d come to this unnamed world to hunt, he’d be focused on the fat-bottomed succulents for water and possibly for edible fibers, or the shimmer in the distance that suggested humidity on the horizon. Prey would congregate at any watering holes, no matter the planet or moon. Especially a world with an atmosphere Ro could breathe.

  This was not that kind of hunt.

  He’d come here on a hunch after abandoning the chaos on Hetzal, where his entire so-called government was arguing among themselves while two of his ministers ruled from a distance. A very great distance, he thought wryly. What the third minister, Boolan, did could rarely be called anything close to governing anyway. But Ro had one of the new creatures Boolan had engineered with him.