Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Force Heretic I - Remnant - Book 17

by Sean Williams

  "Welcome to Galantos!" one of the Fia cried, moving forward and waving its long arms in apparent agitation. Although not much larger than an Ewok, the alien's gesticulating startled Tahiri, making her take a cautious step back. Then she realized that the gestures were Only meant to convey excitement and delight.

  "I am Primate Persha." The Fia's voice was high-pitched, but musical rather than irritating. She spoke loudly to be heard over the muted squeaks of the other Fia around them. "On behalf of Councilor Jobath, I'd like to welcome you to Galantos, Leia Organa Solo, Han Solo, Tahiri Veila, Jagged Fel, and protocol droid See-Threepio. It is an unexpected honor and a privilege for us all!"

  Leia smiled and bowed courteously. "Councilor Jo-bath could not attend?"

  "Unfortunately, no," the Fia said, her eyes looking somehow even more melancholy than they already were. "He had a pressing engagement in Gal'fian'deprisi City. But he promises to be here as soon as physically possible, and wishes me to convey his warmest and most respectful greetings and hopes that your stay will be an enjoyable and fruitful one. We have made our finest diplomatic facilities available to you and will strive to fulfill your every request. Please don't hesitate to ask for anything you require or desire at any point in your stay, day or night. Either myself or my assistant, Thrum, will be only too happy to accommodate you."

  With one of her small, web-fingered hands, the Fia waved them to follow her as she led them from their ships, waddling away on her wide, bell-shaped legs. A

  path opened up for them through a disconcertingly ecstatic crowd. The Fia were a small, inoffensive people whose wild arm gesticulations belied their otherwise

  placid nature. As Primate Persha kept up a steady stream of detailed instructions on how she or her assistant could be contacted over the next two days, Tahiri felt herself

  begin to lose track of the words. All meaning seemed to fade from them as the rising and falling of Persha's voice became notes of a complicated melody. Tahiri doubted

  that she was missing much by hearing only one word in three.

  Persha led them into an ornate turbolift. C-3PO bumped into Tahiri's back as the doors slid shut.

  "Forgive me, Mistress Tahiri," the golden droid said. "This sort of fuss is all a bit overwhelming for the likes of a protocol droid like myself."

  "That's okay, Threepio," she whispered back so as not to interrupt the steady flow of Primate Persha's ongoing speech, which had now moved on to express the Fia's joy at having such visitors on their usually unnoticed worldespecially in such times of trouble and hardship that the galaxy was seeing. "I never thought I'd meet someone who talked as much as you, either."

  She knew the components of C-3PO's face never changed, but by the way he tilted his head at this comment Tahiri could tell that he hadn't really understood her little joke.

  The diplomatic quarters in Al'solib'minet'ri City were expansive and well appointed. For all their isolation and other drawbacks, the Fia didn't skimp when it came to fittings and hospitality. Tahiri's room was decorated with white, bonelike panels ornately carved in the likeness of local life-forms; the images were peculiar looking, as befitted their environment, but stunningly crafted. The furniture was fashioned from a local, broad-grained wood, with some of the items so seamless that they looked as if they'd been grown that way rather than artfully cobbled together from various pieces. All in all, the room was both comfortable and luxuriouseven if the bed was a little too short for her legs.

  After checking out their quarters, the visitors reconvened in the anteroom at the heart of the diplomatic residence. Primate Persha had left them alone for the time being, graciously accepting their pleas to relax and unwind for a whilealthough not before reiterating her instructions, again in meticulous detail, on how to ask for anything at all they might require.

  "I'll just be glad when we're off this rock," Anakin's father was saying when Tahiri walked in. He looked more flustered than Tahiri had ever seen him. She wasn't sure if it was because of the Fia or their proximity to the Koornacht Clusteror perhaps it was a little of both.

  "Don't tell me," Leia said with a half smile. "You're getting a bad feeling about this place, right?"

  He shot her a dirty look before turning beseechingly to Jag Fel. "Please tell me there's a reason we shouldn't stay, Jag. Please. Anything."

  "Sorry," said the tall, handsome pilot. "Can't help you, I'm afraid." Shrugging off his backpack containing equipment he'd brought with him and placing it on the table in the middle of the room, Jag turned to Leia and said, "I've patched us into the planetary comm network and have opened a link to Selonia. I think we're safe in assuming that our encryption is light-years ahead of what these guys have here."

  "And the rooms?" Leia asked.

  "Bugged, of course," he said. "But it's okay; I've jammed them. We're clean." Jag glanced at Tahiri when he said that, then quickly looked away. "We should be

  safe here now."

  "You wouldn't think these people would have a need for listening devices," Han said. "They're so busy talking all the time."

  Leia ignored his griping. "The Fia are all right," she said. "Actually, it makes a nice change from people who don't talk enough. But then, that's not to say that I'm entirely happy with what I see here, either." She fixed her husband with a sober stare. "I'm getting a bad feeling about all of this, although I hate to say it." "About what?" Tahiri asked.

  Leia paused as if reaching out into the Force for an answer. "I'm not sure," she said shortly, shaking her head. "Everyone seems happy enough to see us, and Galantos is obviously a fairly peaceful place, but"

  "But it's almost too peaceful, right?" Han offered. "Maybe," Leia said. "And there's still the question of the communications blackout. Jag, will you contact Captain Mayn and ask her try to patch into the planetary transceiver? Galantos had one when it joined the New Republic; if it doesn't anymore, I want to know what happened to it. Failing that, have her attempt to contact the nearest intersector network and see if she can get a message to Mon Calamari directly. We might be able to fix the problem locally, if it's just a technical hitch, and move on elsewhere without wasting too much time." "I'll second that," Han muttered. "In the meantime, Tahiri and I are going for a walk." C-3PO instantly shuffled forward, only to be stopped by Leia putting a hand to his metal chest.

  "Alone, Threepio," she said.

  "I do not think that this is advisable, Mistress Leia," Threepio squawked in protest. "For just the two of you to be out there alone"

  "Someone has to talk to our hosts," she cut in gently but firmly. "Otherwise we shall appear rude." When he started to voice his objections again, Leia said, "I appreciate your concerns, Threepio, but they're not necessary. We'll be fine. And besides, Han and Jag will need you to talk to the planetary transceiverthat's if they can get it on-line."

  "But Mistress, I really must"

  "The Princess will be safe," rumbled Cakhmaim, one of the Noghri bodyguards who escorted Leia everywhere she went.

  "See?" Leia said, not just to C-3PO but also to Han, who was looking as dubious about his wife's plan as the droid sounded. "And anyway, I'll have Tahiri with me to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary." The Princess winked at her. "That's if the conversation doesn't put her to sleep, of course."

  Warmed by Leia's trust in her, Tahiri smiled. "I'll try extra hard to stay awake."

  "Just be careful," Jag said. "And call us if you need any assistance, okay?"

  "Stop worrying," Tahiri insisted, thinking Why does he keep looking at me like that? It was difficult, she found, to regain self-confidence when those around seemed to have their own doubts about her. "You just concentrate on the housekeeping while we get on with the serious work."

  She and Leia left the anteroom with the Noghri in tow, startling the small contingent of Fia who were huddled together outside in the hallway, whispering animatedly among one another.

  "Oh, Princess Leia," exclaimed a relatively broad-faced Fia with orange robes and pointy el
bows. They all took a step back as Leia stepped out into the hall. "You surprised us! I am Assistant Primate Thrum. I was discussing a matter of some minor importance with the diplomatic staff here. I apologize if we disturbed you in anyway."

  "Not at all," Leia said, stopping directly in front of Thrum. "May I ask the nature of the matter you were discussing?"

  "It is nothing," Thrum said, glancing awkwardly to the other Fia around him. "It is just that there appears to be an electrical fault in the quarters we have given you and we must ask"

  "Regretfully ask," put in one of the others leaning in close to Thrum.

  "Regretfully ask," Thrum corrected himself, "that you consider moving"

  "We have noticed no such faults," Leia said imperiously. "My husband is sleeping. When he wakes, though, I shall have him look more closely. Until then, I'd appreciate if he were left in peace. He is extremely tired after our long journey."

  "Ah, yes, of course, Princess, of course." Thrum bowed low, sweeping his spindly arms in undulating movements that Tahiri suspected were meant to indicate abasement. "We would never dream of disturbing the great Han Solo during a rare moment of rest."

  Tahiri hid a smile. She had no doubt that the "minor electrical fault" they were talking about lay in the listening bugs that Jag had jammed. It must have frustrated the Fia no end that the only way they would find out what Leia and her entourage wanted was by good old-fashioned questions and answers.

  "Thank you," Leia said, casting a brief and conspiratorial smile in Tahiri's direction. "I know he will appreciate that. For now, though, I was hoping that if it wasn't inconvenient, perhaps my friend and I could have a tour of your city."

  Thrum straightened almost with a snap, his face beaming with pride. "Of course, Princess! We would like nothing more than to show off our magnificent home." He snapped his fingers twice and his fellow conspirators quickly scattered. "I shall arrange immediately for someone to notify Councilor"

  "That will take time," Leia said, sweeping forward and forcing the fussing Fia to half run just to keep up. "And I'm really not in the mood for waiting. Like I said, it's been a long journey, and I need to stretch my legs. Why don't you just take me around, Assistant Primate Thrum? It will make things so much easier."

  He nervously followed along, clearly agitated. "But what of Councilor Jobath and Primate Persha?" he babbled. "I shall need to inform them"

  "I'm sure they can catch up in their own time," Leia went on, not even slowing her pace. "You know, they say that travel broadens the mind, and after a few days cooped up in an old freighter, I can assure you that mine is in some serious need of broadening. Now," she said, turning a corner at random, "what do we have down here? I don't think we came this way before. I must say, I like the architecture. Simple yet elegant. Are these corridors deliberately reminiscent of the Old Republic style, or did that come about purely..."

  And so it went on, with Leia rarely giving the Fia a chance to speakor, indeed, to protest that he simply didn't have time to escort them at the moment. Tahiri let herself fall behind, enjoying the sight of Assistant Primate Thrum trying to get a word in edgewise. Glancing over the Fia's flat head, the Princess caught her eye and indicated for Tahiri to take another corridor. Tahiri hesitated, then inconspicuously slipped away, her bare feet padding silently along the stone floor.

  She felt slightly guilty going off on her own in this manner. And nervous. As Leia's voice slowly faded, Tahiri put her hand on the lightsaber at her hip and attuned her senses to the world around her. The diplomatic quarter of the city was extremely quiet, and for the most part deserted. This didn't overly surprise her, though. Galantos wouldn't receive many visitors, despite the mineral wealth of its soils, so she imagined that this section of the city was probably empty most of the time. Borsk Fey'lya's dismissal of Galantos many years ago had led to an avoidance of the place by New Republic officialdom. No other councilors had visited the planet and, following the Yeve-than crisis, it seemed that Galantos had, for all intents and purposes, fallen off the map.

  It was odd, then, Tahiri thought, that the Fia had invested so much money in opulent quarters for guests who never came. And it wasn't just that the buildings and rooms were well maintained; it was more that they were actually brand new. Why would they build them now? Tahiri wondered. In the middle of a war?

  Assuming she was being watched, Tahiri resisted her urge to break into some of the other guest rooms. She suspected that someone, recently, had stayed in the newly built quarters, and she would have loved for the chance to find out exactly who that had been. It was only a gut instinct, but she had learned to pay attention to her gut feelingsespecially those originating in the Force, as this one seemed to. Someone bad been here; she was sure of it. If not within the last few days, then certainly within the last month or two. Perhaps on her way back, she decided, when she had scoped out the rest of the place and getting caught wouldn't be so much of a problem, she would chance taking a closer look.

  Following her instincts, she wove her way through numerous corridors until she reached a guard station separating the rest of the city from the diplomats' quarters. Two guards were busy discussing the details of a recent regulation change. They didn't seem to have been alerted to her presence. She gently reached out with the Force and encouraged them to leave their post for a moment, chasing a suspicion that they had perhaps seen someone lurking around a corner. While they were gone, she walked through their post as nonchalantly as she could.

  The city outside the security perimeter was noisier than the guests' section. The corridors were plainer here, but had numerous skylights or light-tubes allowing natural daylight to filter throughout. She noticed species other than the Fia about the place, tooa couple of mournful Gran and a group of Sullustans chattering among themselves. She presumed this area of the city contained government offices of some kind, since most of the Fia she passed wore similar clothes not uniforms, but more the conservative kind of garb one might find in an office anywhere. They noticed her, too, but did nothing to stop her. In fact, some even went out of their way to avoid her, almost as if alarmed to see her walking these corridors.

  This troubled her as much as the newness of the diplomatic quarters. Why should they be so frightened of her? Perhaps it wasn't of her as such, she thought, but of a human loose in the city. But still, what had they seen to encourage such ill feeling? A Yevetha she could understand, but Gran and Sullustans?

  Tahiri set aside the thought for now; she would address it later, with the others in the security of their quarters. For now she concentrated on looking both lost and

  curious, choosing routes with the least pedestrian traffic, and constantly checking over her shoulder for a sign of the guards she felt sure would by now be coming after

  her . . .

  Her comlink bleeped. Without breaking stride, she raised her wrist and said, "Hello?"

  "This is Leia. Where are you, Tahiri? Assistant Pri-mate Thrum pointed out that we seem to have lost you To be honest, I hadn't noticed. I was so wrapped up in

  the tour.

  Tahiri smiled to herself. "Sorry," she said, playing along with the charade. "I should have called you before now I went to go back to my room to get something and must have taken a wrong turn along the way. "Would you like us to send someone to fetch you?" "No, that's all right. I can find my way back." "Are you sure?" Tahiri could hear Thrum babbling something behind Leia's words, but couldn't quite make

  "I'll call you if I can't retrace my steps. Until then, I'm sure I'll be perfectly safe."

  There was no good argument to that. It wasn't as if she was out on the streets where a criminal element might threaten her; she was inside a government building populated by clerks. And Thrum could hardly insist that she return because they were nervous about her.

  "That's fine, Tahiri," Leia said. "Come back when you're ready. Have fun while you're young, that's what I say. And I'm sure Assistant Primate Thrum would agree, The line went dead. Tahiri smiled even wider
, imagining the frustration Thrum must have been feeling in the face of Leia's incessant chattering.

  The thought of the talkative locals brought something home to her then. The Fia around here were conversing with none of the driven intensity of Primate Persha or her assistant. They were discussing the everyday occurrences of their lives in some detail, yes, but nothing more than that. She couldn't help wonder if the endless chattering of the Fia she had been formally introduced to was the nervous prattle of someone hoping to avoid awkward questions.

  She continued through the building for a while longer before coming to the realization that she wasn't about to learn anything new this way. The corridors were remarkable only in that they all appeared almost exactly the same, and the only doors she found to be open led to nothing more interesting than storerooms or offices, often occupied by gossiping bureaucrats. Because she didn't know what exactly to look for, beyond anything that might explain the communications blackout to Galantos, she didn't have any clear objectives. And besides which, after an hour or more, she was starting to get a little bored with the game.

  Deciding to make her way back to the others, she found a turbolift and dropped ten floors; she walked around briefly before going back up the same shaft to the floor she had started on. Then, figuring that if she had any pursuers on her tail, this would set them back a little, she wound her way back to the security post she had snuck through earlier. The same guards were there when she returned, both looking tremendously relieved to see her.

  "Mistress Veila! You have returned!"

  "Please forgive our lack of courtesy when you came by earlier," said one, approaching her. "It was remiss of us not to be here to give you directions."

  "It's really nothing," she said breezily. "I had a nice stroll."

  "Please allow me to escort you back to your rooms," he said obsequiously. "We would hate for you to become lost."

  "That won't be necessary," Tahiri said, with a small wave of her hand. "I can find my own way back."

  "I'm sure that won't be necessary," the second guard said, stepping up beside the first.