The Black Fleet Crisis_ Before The Storm Part 16

"I'm just trying to figure out why it matters so much to you to make something happen when this business with the viceroy is obviously going nowhere, " Han said defensively.

"Maybe that's why, " Leia said, looking down at her hands. "Maybe because I'm the only one in that room with him. No one else can do this but me. " She hesitated. "Maybe some little part of me is still trying to prove that I belong here. "

"No one questions that. "

"That's kind, Han, but it's not true. It'd be no trouble at all to make you a list of a hundred senators who'd be delighted to see me go. "

"Well-you can't please everyone. If everybody likes you, you're probably not doing your job. "

"It's not about being liked, " Leia said, then hesitated. "I guess I question whether I belong here. "

Han rolled toward her. "Now that's just crazy. "

"No, it isn't. I never realized how much Mon Mothma did, or how hard it was. This job is so overwhelming. Everyone always wants a piece of you. It takes someone special to deal with it all. "

"You are someone special, boss lady. "

"Some days I just don't feel up to it, " she said, shaking her head. "Behn-kihl-nahm, now, he'd be a terrific president. He's got the experience, the insight, the patience-he's been here more than thirty years, Han. Half the time I feel like an accident of history. What happens if you and Luke don't get it into your heads to rescue me? Poof. No Princess Leia. "

"I seem to remember a certain feisty young princess taking charge of her own rescue, " Han said dryly. "I don't know if any of us would have gotten out of there without all of us. "

"The point is, I could easily have died on the Death Star, " Leia said. "I don't doubt that my father was capable of killing me to get what Grand Moff Tarkin wanted. "

"You never have talked about that. "

"I don't like even thinking about it, " she said.

"He didn't know you were his daughter. "

She smiled sadly. "That says something, doesn't it? Oh, listen to me-I'm sounding more and more like Luke all the time. This is why I hate looking back. Nothing good comes from looking back. "

"So why are you doing it? "

"Because you asked me why these negotiations matter to me, " she said.

Then she quickly amended her answer, saying, "No-that's not fair to you. It's not your doing. I've been lying here for an hour afraid to go to sleep, and I can't think of anything else but. "

"Oh, " said Han. "Did you dream about Alderaan again? "

"Twice in the last week, " said Leia. "And that's another reason to question myself. "

"Because you have bad dreams? Anyone who was there would. "

"Tarkin said I had dictated the choice of targets for the Death Star's demonstration, " Leia said softly. "I haven't been able to make myself stop hearing that. I still see the explosion. " She looked away. "And sometimes I can't help feeling as though they died because of me. That I survived because I betrayed them. And what kind of qualification is that? "

"Nonsense. They died because of Tarkin, " Han said. "He only said that to manipulate you. I hate to see that it's still working. "

"Memories have a long reach, " she said, settling back against her pillows. "I just realized something else, Han. About why this matters. And it's a better answer to your question than my doubts about belonging where I am. " She shook her head slowly and closed her eyes. "My father did so much to divide the galaxy. I feel as though I have to do what I can to unite it. "

"You can't take all that on-"

"I can't not take it on. I have my demons, too-Luke's not the only one. That's why you can never ask me to walk away, " Leia said. "I don't know if I belong in this job, and it makes me bone-tired and half crazy sometimes, but I want to be here. Here, maybe I can make a difference. " She turned to her husband in the darkness. "That's all I'm trying to do in that room with Nil Spaar, Han-make a difference. Is that wrong? "

Han reached for her hand and squeezed it affectionately, forgivingly.

"No. There's nothing wrong with that. But you might think about throwing in a vacation here and there, when you start to feel the walls closing in. Let someone else mind the store for a while. "

"There isn't anyone else, " she said, with a hint of sadness. "They come here to see the president. So that's who I have to be. "

"Viceroy, before we recess for the day-I wonder if I could ask a favor of you. "

"What is that? "

"I wonder if you might be able to satisfy my curiosity on a historical matter. "

Nil Spaar bowed his head. "If I can, Princess. I am not a historian. "

"This is recent history, " Leia said, "well within your own lifetime. "

"That is no guarantee that I am acquainted with the answer, " the viceroy said with a smile. "But ask, and I shall see what I can tell you. "

"When the Empire occupied the League worlds, did they establish any s.h.i.+pyards there? "

"Oh, yes, " Nil Spaar said. "Several of them. This history I am well acquainted with. We Yevetha are skilled in matters of making. It is a gift of our very being. These hands"-he waggled six long, glove-covered fingers before his face-"are sure. These minds"-he tapped his thorax, just below his neck-"learn quickly. But the Empire made our gifts our curse. Thousands of my people were made to work as slaves to repair the very machines that were used to oppress us, and to wage war on your Rebellion. "

"When the Empire left Koornacht-"

"They took all that they could with them, and destroyed what they could not. The s.h.i.+pyards, the s.p.a.ce ports, the power stations that fed them, even our own few vessels killing more than six thousand Yevetha in the process. It was one final act of savagery to end a reign of cruelty, " said Nil Spaar.

"But, tell me, Princess-how is it that you ask this question? I know your face, and this is not idle curiosity. "

"No, " Leia admitted. "My defense advisers have become concerned about the possibility of old Imperial capital s.h.i.+ps in the patrol area of the Black Sword Command-Farlax and Hatawa. It's more a matter of bookkeeping than anything else, but I've had to give my permission for some further investigation. "

"Your advisers are only prudent to insist on it, " said Nil Spaar. "They serve you well to worry over such things. Tell me, how many s.h.i.+ps are they seeking? "

"Forty-four. Viceroy, I can't offer you anything but my goodwill. But you could be of great help to me in what should be a small matter, " she said. "If you could ask your historians to look at the list of missing s.h.i.+ps, and relay what you can about the fate of any that may have been in Koornacht-"

"You ask us to revisit old unpleasantries, " said Nil Spaar.

"I'm sorry. I was only hoping to keep the search vessels as far from Koornacht as possible-perhaps even make the search unnecessary. "

"I did not say you should not have asked. I would, in your position. "

"Thank you for understanding. "

"Nor did I say we would not help, " Nil Spaar went on. "My mission is to protect my people. If I can help put the fears of your advisers to rest, then I am serving that duty. Give me the list. I will transmit it to the proctor of records and antiquities, and we shall see what can be learned. "

"I want you to know, Admiral, that I do not plan to make a habit of idle exercise, " said Ackbar, wheezing as he walked along the cinder track beside Drayson.

"I thought you should know that Leia gave him the list. "

"What? "

"At the third session, this evening. "

"She should not have done that, " Ackbar said darkly. "What could she be thinking? "

"She asked the viceroy for a report on what the Yevetha know about the missing s.h.i.+ps, " said Drayson, his voice calm. "In effect, she asked him to search his own pockets, so the Fifth doesn't have to frisk him. "

"How foolish of her. "

"But logical, from a certain point of view. She trusts him. "

"Do you? "

"I'm not paid to be trusting, " said Drayson.

"And if the Yevetha are holding those s.h.i.+ps? "

"Then these conversations with Nil Spaar are every bit as important as the princess believes them to be. "

"I do not like the way he has separated her from her staff. She should have talked to us before doing this, " Ackbar said, shaking his head slowly.

"But she didn't, " said Drayson. "There's one bright spot to consider, though. When he transmits that list home, we should finally be able to break their encryption key. The list is more than long enough, with highly distinctive sequences. "

Ackbar did not seem to take much comfort from Drayson's words. "In the meantime, we may have tipped our hand-and the Fifth Fleet sails in two days. What am I to tell General A'baht? "

"Nothing, " Drayson said firmly. "There's nothing we can tell him yet. Let's see how the viceroy responds to Leia's request. That may tell us something useful. "

The list Leia had given Nil Spaar was now yellowed by disinfectant and sealed behind a heavy layer of transparent isophane. It was the first Republic artifact the viceroy had allowed into his quarters on theAramadia mand that only because he needed to think at length about what it meant.

For more than an hour he carefully reviewed the plan he had been following, considering whether the list before him altered any of its a.s.sumptions.

In the end he concluded that it did not. All would continue as before.

Only the timetable might change.

"They know, " he signaled his lieutenant on N'zoth. "Make ready. It will not be long. "

Then he walked to the bulkhead and opened the night-womb where his nesting awaited him hopefully.

He sank back into its comforting softness and soothing scent, letting it enfold him in darkness, enclose him in shelter, embrace him in fond, tender concern. Bliss came on him, and he surrendered to the joy of reunion.

"I have good news for you, Princess, " said Nil Spaar as they met the next morning in the center of the Grand Hall. As he spoke he handed a copy of Leia's list back to her, and she scanned it quickly. The majority of the forty-four names had been marked, in one of two colors.

"I have consulted with those most knowledgeable in this matter, " he went on, "and they can account for all of the vessels I have indicated. The greater number were destroyed in the s.h.i.+pyards at N'zoth, Zhina, and Wakiza. The others are known to have taken part in the destruction and retreat. "

"Viceroy, I'm overwhelmed. This is most welcome news-more than I'd hoped for. And to have an answer so quickly makes me all the more grateful. "

Nil Spaar nodded. "No great difficulty was involved, Princess. It was simply a matter where we had knowledge that you did not. Shall we sit? "

"Of course, " she said, and they settled in their familiar places.

"Viceroy, I wish that I could repay this favor in kind. Is there no question that we could answer for you? A matter of science, of history-perhaps even your own history? The Republic has full access to the galactic libraries of Obra-skai. "

"No, " said Nil Spaar. "I'm sure your offer is well meant. But I do not think your libraries give importance to that which the Yevetha value. I feel I must tell you that those who gave me the information you asked for urged me to also bring you the names of the six thousand, four hundred and five Yevetha who died that day. I was told I should correct you, as parent corrects child, telling you that your interest in the fate of machines over the fate of living beings is unseemly. "

"But, Viceroy-"

"Now, I know you as they do not, and I know that your heart is not cold to our loss. But, you see, here is another way we are different your people and mine. And when the differences run so deep, it is easy to give offense. Perhaps inevitable. It is one of the dangers of closer contact. "

"I am so sorry, Viceroy, " Leia said. "I meant no insult to those who died. You know I only want to try to see that no one else need die. Please-will you accept my apology? "

"Your apology is unnecessary, " said Nil Spaar. "I do not judge you as I would judge Yevetha. It is enough. Let us speak of something else. "

"Good morning, Admiral, " the voice on the comlink said. "Are you alone? "

Ackbar was momentarily taken aback. "I-Yes, go ahead. "

"There's something you should know before you talk to the commander, " Drayson said. "Nil Spaar gave her his answer a little while ago, and it was what she wanted to hear-that most of them are gone. But he never transmitted the list home. "

"Are you sure? "

"Yes. I don't know what he did send, but it was far too short to have been the list. And there's been no reply. "

"Does this mean that he is lying-or that he already knew where they are? "

"It may only mean he had all the records he needed already at hand. It's impossible to say. "

"You should be telling Leia this, not me. "

"You know that's not possible. She's set on playing by the rules. "

"So what do I tell the general? " Ackbar said, his voice rising in exasperation. "The Fifth sails in less than forty hours. "

"You'll have a fight on your hands before that happens, " said Drayson. "But tell him to be very, very careful. "

"-So you see, we can go back to the original plans for the Fifth Fleet, " Leia said. "This needlessly provocative mission to Hatawa and Farlax isn't necessary. There's no Black Fleet hiding there. "

Admiral Ackbar scanned the list and handed it on to General A'baht, sitting to his right at the great conference table. "Princess, I do not believe this changes anything, " Ackbar said. "It is my intention that General A'baht carry out the search mission as planned. "

"I don't understand, Admiral, " Leia said, her face showing open surprise. "I went to the viceroy and got you the answers you wanted. Why won't you accept them? "

"This is meaningless, " General A'baht said, dropping the list on the table. "There's no doc.u.mentation, no proof. It's only their word. "

"I'm satisfied that the viceroy's word is good, " Leia said.

"Why? " challenged A'baht. "Because you like him? Have you led such a sheltered life that you've never been lied to by someone you liked before? "