Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance by Sean Williams Page A
Authors: Sean Williams
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someone else better
qualified who can do this for you. "
"Are
you telling me you don't want to go, Shigar? That you're not ready?"
He
bowed his head to hide his mingled pride and uncertainty. "I
trust your judgment, Master, better than my own. "
"Good,
because I believe my reasoning is sound. Your face is unknown on
Hutta; you will therefore find it easier to pass unnoticed. And I
have faith in you. Remember that. I am certain that this is the path
laid down for you. "
"So
you have seen something!"
He
tried to read her expression in the flickering lights of the city.
She could have been amused, concerned, or completely blank. It was
hard to tell. Perhaps all three.
He
swore to himself that he would make her proud. "What about the
situation here-the gangs, the poverty?"
"That's
the responsibility of the local authorities, " she said, fixing
him with a firm stare. "They are doing their best. "
He
heard the warning in her voice. The Jedi's role in the galaxy led
them outward, to Tython; he had been told many times before that the
Republic's many social problems should not be his, even if this time
Mandalorians were involved. Until Mandalore declared himself a
particular enemy of someone, he could be considered more or less
neutral. "Yes, Master. "
"Go
now. There's a shuttle waiting for you. "
Shigar
bowed and went to walk away.
"Be
kind, Shigar, " his Master added. "Some roads are harder
than yours have been. "
When
he turned back, Satele Shan was gone, vanished into the night as
though she had never been there at all.
*
* *
With
relief, Larin saw Shigar striding along the thoroughfare toward her.
He had been gone less than half an hour, but it felt much longer than
that. After the encounter with the Senate Security Officers, she had
spoken to no one and avoided catching anyone's eyes, feeling more out
of place than ever. When he returned, she promised herself, and when
he had finished assuring her that he had spoken to his Master about
the situation down below and she would do something about it, Larin
could vanish back down her hole again, just as the Zabrak had advised
her to.
It
wasn't that she thought the Zabrak was right. On the contrary.
She
just didn't know where to fit in anymore, up here. At least she had
something to do in the old districts. Ever since her discharge, she
had committed herself to protecting the weak and disenfranchised,
those whom even the justicars ignored, to the extent her meager
resources allowed. Unlike the justicars, she was interested in
something more important than territory, and if that meant working
alone, so be it.
"How
did it go?" she asked Shigar when he reached her.
"Well.
I think. "
"Are
you sure about that?"
She
didn't know him well enough to be able to tell what troubled him, but
he didn't seem remotely content. His brow was knuckled, and the blue
chevrons on his cheeks were twisted out of shape by the clenched
muscles beneath. Perhaps the reassurance she'd been hoping for wasn't
coming after all.
"I
have to go somewhere, " he said. "Will you walk with me,
part of the way?"
"Sure.
Where are we going?"
"Eastport.
"
"I
thought you only just got to Coruscant. "
"That's
right. " He glanced at her, as though surprised that she had
remembered. "I've been traveling all my life-since Master Satele
took me on, anyway. "
They
walked at an easy pace through the temperate night. A light breeze
ran its fingers through her short hair, and she was reminded of one
good thing about life topside: weather. The last time anything had
rained on her was when a sewage line had burst two levels up.
"I
haven't seen another Kiffar for years, " she said to break the
silence. "Were you on Kiffu during the Annexation?"
"No.
Master Tengrove, the Jedi Watchman of that sector, found me the year
before. I was on Dantooine when it happened, helping my Master dig
through some ruins. "
"Find
anything interesting?"
"I
don't remember" He glanced at her again. "What
qualified who can do this for you. "
"Are
you telling me you don't want to go, Shigar? That you're not ready?"
He
bowed his head to hide his mingled pride and uncertainty. "I
trust your judgment, Master, better than my own. "
"Good,
because I believe my reasoning is sound. Your face is unknown on
Hutta; you will therefore find it easier to pass unnoticed. And I
have faith in you. Remember that. I am certain that this is the path
laid down for you. "
"So
you have seen something!"
He
tried to read her expression in the flickering lights of the city.
She could have been amused, concerned, or completely blank. It was
hard to tell. Perhaps all three.
He
swore to himself that he would make her proud. "What about the
situation here-the gangs, the poverty?"
"That's
the responsibility of the local authorities, " she said, fixing
him with a firm stare. "They are doing their best. "
He
heard the warning in her voice. The Jedi's role in the galaxy led
them outward, to Tython; he had been told many times before that the
Republic's many social problems should not be his, even if this time
Mandalorians were involved. Until Mandalore declared himself a
particular enemy of someone, he could be considered more or less
neutral. "Yes, Master. "
"Go
now. There's a shuttle waiting for you. "
Shigar
bowed and went to walk away.
"Be
kind, Shigar, " his Master added. "Some roads are harder
than yours have been. "
When
he turned back, Satele Shan was gone, vanished into the night as
though she had never been there at all.
*
* *
With
relief, Larin saw Shigar striding along the thoroughfare toward her.
He had been gone less than half an hour, but it felt much longer than
that. After the encounter with the Senate Security Officers, she had
spoken to no one and avoided catching anyone's eyes, feeling more out
of place than ever. When he returned, she promised herself, and when
he had finished assuring her that he had spoken to his Master about
the situation down below and she would do something about it, Larin
could vanish back down her hole again, just as the Zabrak had advised
her to.
It
wasn't that she thought the Zabrak was right. On the contrary.
She
just didn't know where to fit in anymore, up here. At least she had
something to do in the old districts. Ever since her discharge, she
had committed herself to protecting the weak and disenfranchised,
those whom even the justicars ignored, to the extent her meager
resources allowed. Unlike the justicars, she was interested in
something more important than territory, and if that meant working
alone, so be it.
"How
did it go?" she asked Shigar when he reached her.
"Well.
I think. "
"Are
you sure about that?"
She
didn't know him well enough to be able to tell what troubled him, but
he didn't seem remotely content. His brow was knuckled, and the blue
chevrons on his cheeks were twisted out of shape by the clenched
muscles beneath. Perhaps the reassurance she'd been hoping for wasn't
coming after all.
"I
have to go somewhere, " he said. "Will you walk with me,
part of the way?"
"Sure.
Where are we going?"
"Eastport.
"
"I
thought you only just got to Coruscant. "
"That's
right. " He glanced at her, as though surprised that she had
remembered. "I've been traveling all my life-since Master Satele
took me on, anyway. "
They
walked at an easy pace through the temperate night. A light breeze
ran its fingers through her short hair, and she was reminded of one
good thing about life topside: weather. The last time anything had
rained on her was when a sewage line had burst two levels up.
"I
haven't seen another Kiffar for years, " she said to break the
silence. "Were you on Kiffu during the Annexation?"
"No.
Master Tengrove, the Jedi Watchman of that sector, found me the year
before. I was on Dantooine when it happened, helping my Master dig
through some ruins. "
"Find
anything interesting?"
"I
don't remember" He glanced at her again. "What
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