Part 8 (1/2)
There was a brief pause during which nothing happened. They simply stood awkwardly by the air lock, waiting.
”You know, I expected the Chiss to be more punctual,” Luke said.
Jacen caught the wink that his uncle sent Mara. ”Perhaps we caught them with their pants down,” he put in.
At that moment the formation of guards dissolved. Two people walked through the entrance behind them and up the ramp to where Jade Shadow had settled. One of them was Commander Irolia, her expression as steely as her hair was black.
The other was a human-a solid, muscular man of about Luke's height.
Completely bald, he had a thin mouth, deep-set eyes, and a nose large enough to rival a Toydarian's. When he spoke, he made no pretense of welcome.
”I am Chief Navigator Peita Aabe,” he said, his voice as sharp as the creases in his uniform. He came to a halt before them, his cold gaze touching each of them in turn. ”We have made arrangements for you to meet with the necessary authorities.”
”Wouldn't you like to know who we are?” Luke asked.
Aabe's attention settled on the Jedi Master with an expression that suggested he was making the best of a bad situation. ”That isn't necessary. Commander Irolia has ensured that we have the relevant information. If you will come this way.” Aabe turned to lead them across the docking bay.
”Wait a second,” Mara said. ”I'd like to know more about you, first. You're human.” He didn't attempt to hide his annoyance as he swung around. ”And that troubles you?”
”No, of course not. It's just that apart from Admiral Parck and Soontir Fel, I wasn't aware that any others had joined the Chiss.”
”Many would have, but few were accepted.” Aabe's frosty facade melted for a moment, allowing a glimpse of burning pride beneath. ”I serve a.s.sistant Syndic Fel in his absence. My origins are not important.”
He turned and continued down the ramp. Irolia waited to ensure that they followed, then did the same.
a.s.sistant Syndic Fel? Jacen thought as they followed the Chiss officer. The Baron must have been promoted. Whether that was a good thing, though, he couldn't decide.
”A cheery lot, aren't they?” Danni mumbled as they walked.
”Be that as it may,” Jacen replied, ”I'd sooner deal with them than the Krizlaws, any day.” As they pa.s.sed through the exit from the docking area, the seven guards standing there fell in line behind them.
”Where are we going?” Mara asked.
”I have already told you,” Aabe said gruffly.
”You told us that we were going to meet the 'necessary authorities,' but you haven't told us who they are or where we're being taken to meet with them. ” Aabe strode a few more paces before speaking again. ”Is that really important at this time?” Mara rolled her eyes at Luke, clearly annoyed with the evasive responses. ”You tell me: is it?”
Surprisingly, it was Irolia who answered Mara's initial question.
”You are being taken to meet representatives of the Four Families and Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet.” Mara half turned to face the woman as they walked.
”There we will discuss the role the Chiss will play in your mission.”
”You work for the Nuruodo family,” Mara said. ”That's military and foreign affairs, right?” Irolia didn't answer. She didn't need to. The Chiss didn't give anything away, but the broad structure of their government was common knowledge. Jacen knew that four families dominated public affairs: Nuruodo, Csapla, Inrokini, and Sabosen. The Csapla oversaw resource distribution, agriculture, and other colonial affairs; industry, science, and communications were the concern of the Inrokini; the Sabosen ensured that justice, health, and education services were maintained equitably across the colonies.
”Which of the families do you work for, Chief Navigator Aabe?”Jacen asked.
”I work for none of them,” their stiff-backed guide said without so much as a glance in Jacen's direction. ”I am employed by the CEDE The fleet is always in need of those with experience outside the inhabited territories.”
”Incursions from the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium and the Yuu-zhan Vong,”
Irolia explained, ”plus our experience with Grand Admiral Thrawn, taught us that insularity could be a weakness as well as a strength. It's not enough to be strong; a truly successful culture needs to be flexible as well. And in order to be flexible, we must look beyond what we consider familiar; we must come to know our neighbors as well as we know ourselves.”
”Most governments would open diplomatic ties,” Mara said. ”Either that or just send in spies.”
”Those are methods we have certainly tried, and indeed to an extent still employ. After all, we are talking to you now, are we not?” Her smile flickered briefly. ”However, sometimes we find that integration is the optimal way to achieve our goals. Your former Emperor accepted Thrawn as an ally because he was a brilliant strategist, despite his nonhuman origins; so, too, are we prepared to accept non-Chiss into our fold.”
”Would you accept a Ssi-ruu into the fold? Or perhaps a Yuuzhan Vong?” Irolia didn't miss a step. She regarded Luke, who had offered the challenge, with not the slightest change in expression.
”If they were exceptionally talented and trustworthy,” she said, ”then yes, of course.” Jacen was unsettled by the response, and he sensed the others were, too. It wasn't hard to understand. The pain of loss was still fresh in the hearts and minds of everyone around him. Lieutenant Stalgis had lost many troopers and friends on Bastion; Danni had seen her colleagues die on Belkadan, right at the start of the war, and had probably seen more death and mayhem as a result of the Yuuzhan Vong than anyone Jacen knew; Mara had almost lost her infant son Ben on Coruscant; and Jacen himself still felt the terrible absence of his brother Anakin in his heart.
His uncle's feelings were kept carefully hidden, and Jacen wondered what he was thinking. Intellectually he knew that at some point loss had to be put aside to make room for hope. Clinging to the past only made the future that much harder to achieve; and it was only in the future, ultimately, that peace lay.
With Irolia's comment having effectively killed any further discussion, the party continued along in gloomy silence. In the absence of any conversation, Jacen studied their surroundings, his curiosity piqued by the strange translucent substance that made up the walls. It appeared to be ice, but when he reached out to touch it he found it warm and dry. Visible in the substance every meter or so was a frame of silver metal that seemed to define the boxlike corridors, each possessing a green light that flickered on as they approached and then switched off after they had pa.s.sed. At first glance he could see no discernible reason for the frames' existence, although he had no doubt that they performed some function. The Chiss didn't seem the types to enjoy decoration for its own sake.
Danni noticed his interest. ”Field generators,” she whispered.
He frowned, momentarily puzzled. Field generators? Why should they need field generators to hold their corridors together? Surely the power drain would outweigh any possible security benefit.
Then it hit him: the walls really were made of ice. The field generators provided a boundary between the bubble of warm air in which they walked and the slippery surface beneath their feet. They also kept the cold at bay, and stopped the ice from melting. The generators switched on as they approached then switched off as they pa.s.sed, meaning that the power drain on each unit was minimized. Overall, the cost would be much less than sealing and heating every single cubic meter of the tunnels-especially when the cost of manufacturing and laying insulated materials around the tunnels was factored in.
It was an elegant solution to a tricky problem-particularly in areas that weren't frequently traveled. Jacen was impressed.
Eventually they came to an area that was insulated and sealed with more conventional materials. His ears popped as they pa.s.sed the last of the field generators and the heated bubble dissolved around him. A smell of flowers struck him, and he found himself in a wide, tiered s.p.a.ce that was thick with vegetation. The ceiling hung at least twenty meters above, with a bright tube that ran its length, lighting the area. The atmosphere was peaceful and serene, and Jacen's first impression was that it was a residential s.p.a.ce-perhaps an underground park for the public. However, he soon dismissed the idea when he realized that, apart from themselves, there was no one else present. For that matter, he hadn't seen anyone other than their escort since they'd arrived at Ac'siel. All the corridors they'd walked down had been empty.
Whatever the reason for this was, he didn't have time to ponder it.
Chief Navigator Aabe had led them to one of three doors on the far side of the gardenlike area and was now impatiently trying to hurry them through. Jacen and the others complied, filing into a relatively small and circular room containing a dozen black chairs set around an equally circular table. The walls, floor, and ceiling were black also, while tiny globes floating high above stabbed beams of light through the room's shadows to give prominence to the chairs around the table below. On the far side of the chamber, opposite where they'd entered, was another door.
Taking the seat nearest to him, Aabe indicated for the others to sit also.
They did so, occupying a semicircle of chairs opposite him-all except Stalgis, that is, who opted to remain at the door with Irolia.
Guarding the guard, perhaps, Jacen thought.
The door behind Aabe slid open without a sound, and four figures entered the room. Their faces were hidden by hoods, and each of their head-to-foot robes was a different color-bronze, rust-red, silver-gray, and copper-green. Without a word, they took seats at seemingly random positions around the circle, spreading themselves out on either side of Aabe.
An awkward silence followed, only broken when Mara asked, ”So, do we find but now who we're talking to?”
”No,” said the hooded figure in bronze-a woman with a rich contralto voice.
”Just as our families are defined by their function in society, so are we defined by our roles as representatives of those families. We are here before you not as people, but as the beginning and end points of a decision-making process.”
”No names?” Mara asked, not attempting to hide her annoyance.
”No names,” agreed the green-robed figure. This one was a male-and young by the sound of his voice.
”But you know who we are.”
”As is our right,” Bronze said. ”After all, it is you who come to us for help.