The agreement above the table no longer resembled the one Master Soon Bayts had first proposed.
Beacon and the Jedi Order would begin with a ninety-day trial. An encrypted channel would connect representatives from both groups, allowing them to exchange warnings concerning pirates, slavers, missing vessels, armed movements, and immediate threats to populated systems. Neither side would enter territory protected by the other without making contact first unless waiting placed lives in immediate danger. At the end of the trial, the agreement would continue for another ninety days unless either organization withdrew.
Republic involvement remained separate. Soon could present the arrangement to the Jedi Council and argue for its approval, but he could not promise recognition from the Senate or give Beacon any authority within Republic space. Vania had accepted those limits only after ensuring the agreement did not place Beacon beneath the Council's command.
Several smaller conditions remained unfinished.
Kit Fisto leaned toward the emergency procedures displayed above the table. "A distress signal should always receive an answer, even if neither side has anyone close enough to help. A settlement should not be left waiting while we decide whose responsibility it is."
"An answer saying no one is coming does not save anyone," Colby said.
"No," Kit replied. "It lets them stop waiting for help that will never arrive."
The Duros considered that before giving a slow nod. "Beacon can accept it."
Aayla Secura moved one of the proposed conditions into the center of the display. "Reports involving local disputes should require independent confirmation. A government may describe resistance as piracy. A corporation may describe workers protecting their settlement as theft."
The encrypted hologram representing Beacon's civilian settlements turned toward her. "Our network already requires more than one source before a long-term intervention."
"Then the Jedi should be held to the same requirement," Aayla said. "Neither side should ask the other to act upon information it would not trust itself."
Vania entered the condition. "Accepted."
Padmé looked toward the section concerning humanitarian emergencies. "Medical requests should be kept separate from military intelligence. If cooperation fails because of a security dispute, people should not lose access to medicine or evacuation because both requests passed through the same channel."
"Beacon does not bargain with relief supplies," Sion said.
"Then neither side should object to placing that principle in the agreement."
Sion glanced toward Vania, and she added the condition without further debate.
Soon studied the completed terms. The agreement was narrow, temporary, and surrounded by enough safeguards to show how little trust existed between the two organizations. It was also more than either side had possessed when the meeting began.
"This will require the approval of the Jedi Council," he said. "Until that approval is given, none of us should treat these conditions as permission to act."
"Beacon's remaining representatives must also approve the final wording," Vania replied.
"Then I believe we have accomplished what we came here to do."
The tension around the table eased. Sion leaned back, Colby lowered his hands from the brim of his hat, and one of the encrypted leaders began closing the records maintained throughout the meeting.
Soon remained seated.
"There is one matter left."
Vania's hand stopped above the controls.
Soon looked across Beacon's five representatives. "I do not wish to end a productive meeting by beginning another interrogation, but the Order is still searching for your founder."
Sion and Colby looked toward Vania. The two featureless holograms followed them.
Soon noticed. "My Knights informed me that only Vania knows his identity. I will not ask the rest of you for information you do not possess, and I will not repeat a demand she has already refused. I am asking for something I can bring before the Council besides another hidden name."
"He did not create Beacon to oppose the Jedi," Sion said.
"I believe you. The Council has not spoken with you." Soon rested his hands upon the table. "Master Unduli encountered a trained Force-user inside Count Ramil's residence. He concealed his face, refused to identify himself, and escaped after fighting an unknown Sith. Four years ago, the Order learned that a Sith Master was operating within the Republic. The Council will ask whether these events are connected, and whether the man concealing himself is hunting that threat or serving another purpose."
Aayla looked toward Beacon's leaders. "His identity is not the only concern. We do not know what he intended to take from Count Ramil, what brought the Sith there, or why both of them were willing to fight over those records."
Kit rested his arms against the table. "If the Council receives nothing except another refusal, the search will continue. More Jedi will be sent, more systems will be questioned, and eventually someone will stop treating this as a search."
"You believe it could become a hunt," Sion said.
"I want to prevent that."
Padmé turned toward Vania. "You told us he concealed himself for a reason. If you cannot share that reason, tell us what allowed you to trust it."
Vania tapped one finger against the table.
A soft signal sounded beneath her coat.
It did not come from the communicator around her wrist. Two notes emerged from a smaller device hidden inside an inner pocket, separated by a brief pause.
Sion looked toward her. "That is not connected to Beacon's network."
"No."
Soon watched her hand remain inside the coat. "Would it be unreasonable to assume the person contacting you is the same person we have been discussing?"
Vania released a quiet breath. "No."
Colby straightened. "You have a channel to him?"
"I have a channel he can reach."
"How long?"
"Long enough that the answer will not fit into the time this signal will remain open."
Vania removed the device. Its narrow surface carried no markings, and the small light upon it vanished as soon as it touched her hand.
"I need to receive this elsewhere."
"Tell him I would like to speak with him," Soon said.
"I will tell him. What he does with the request will be his decision."
Vania left the meeting chamber and continued along the corridor until the asteroid's thick walls blocked the voices behind her. An unused equipment room stood beyond the next intersection. She entered, sealed the door, and activated the communicator without requesting an image.
"Your timing is almost precise," she said.
Khan's voice reached her through the dark device. "You said two days."
"I was in the middle of something."
"The archive?"
"People." Vania leaned against the abandoned control panel behind her. "The archive was opened yesterday."
"Then you found where the reports went."
"I found a destination."
A pause followed. "One of the worlds you sent me before Alzoc?"
"The remote mining world near the edge of the old trade lanes. Republic records describe it as nearly abandoned, but the transmissions from Alzoc did not end there by accident."
"Send me the coordinates."
"No."
The answer produced several seconds of silence.
"Why?"
"Because the route existed before the laboratory on Alzoc began sending reports through it. It also overlaps with some of the movements I showed you months ago—foundry equipment, droid components, medical chambers, ship parts, and agricultural orders too large for the populations receiving them."
"Then Plagueis has been using the network longer than we believed."
"Perhaps." Vania looked toward the dark communicator. "Or the network has more than one purpose."
"He hides one purpose inside another."
"That is possible."
"It is what he does."
"You found one of his laboratories and part of its archive," Vania said. "You did not find the beginning of everything moving through those routes."
Khan did not answer.
Vania continued before he could return to the coordinates. "I sent a reconnaissance probe."
His response came immediately. "Where?"
"To the mining world."
"How did you deliver it?"
"Travis carried it through the system aboard his freighter."
"Vania."
"The probe entered the atmosphere. Travis did not."
"You involved a Beacon ship after I told you to keep Beacon away from Plagueis."
"You have used my maps, relays, and information for months. Do not pretend Beacon became involved only when one of our pilots crossed a system."
"Information is not a person."
"No. It is something you are willing to accept because it lets you continue believing you are doing this alone."
"What happened to Travis?"
The question cut through his anger.
"Three unmarked ships emerged from behind one of the planet's moons and opened fire. They attempted to close his jump route before identifying his vessel. He escaped with damage to one shield emitter and scoring along the rear armor. No one was killed, and he was not followed."
Khan said nothing.
"The ships were waiting for unknown traffic," Vania continued. "Whatever is on that planet is protected well enough that sending you there with nothing except coordinates would have been irresponsible."
"That was not your choice to make."
"It became my choice when you asked me to open the archive."
"I asked for information."
"And I decided how much information I required before placing a world in front of you."
"Waiting gives him more time."
"Running into a guarded system gives him exactly what he expects."
"I can survey it when I arrive."
"If I send the coordinates now, will you wait outside the system until the probe completes its survey?"
Khan did not answer.
Vania already had the answer.
"The last time you decided preparation would only slow you down, Aria followed you into the rain," she said. "I will not help you make that choice twice."
The silence inside the communicator deepened.
"Her death was not—"
"I know whose hand killed my sister." Vania's voice remained level. "I have never placed that hand in yours. I am speaking about the choice you made before Plagueis reached her. That is the part still standing in front of me."
A quiet tone from R3-T9 entered the transmission and disappeared.
Vania waited.
At last, Khan spoke. "How long until the probe reports?"
"It must complete its survey and leave the planet before transmitting. Several hours if nothing interferes with it."
"And if it is discovered?"
"Then I will tell you what we learned before contact was lost."
Another pause followed.
"I will wait," Khan said.
"Good."
"You sound surprised."
"I have learned not to celebrate before seeing evidence."
R3 produced another series of tones.
"He agrees with you," Khan said.
"R3 usually does."
The mention of the astromech briefly softened the space between them, but Vania could still hear the question Khan had not asked.
"You said you were with people," he said.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Jedi."
Nothing came through the communicator for several seconds.
Vania continued. "Your encounter on Serenno reached the Council. Master Unduli reported an unidentified Force-wielder fighting a Sith inside Count Ramil's residence. The Order sent teams into the Outer Rim to search for you, and two of them reached Beacon."
"What did you tell them?"
"That the masked Jedi on Serenno and Beacon's founder were the same person."
"You gave them a path."
"They had already reached our door. I gave their search somewhere to stop before they began questioning every settlement connected to Beacon."
"Do they know my name?"
"No."
"My ship?"
"No."
"Plagueis?"
"No."
Khan remained quiet.
"I gave them enough to understand that you opposed the Sith," Vania said. "Nothing that would lead them to you."
"You should not have involved the Order."
"I did not summon them. Your silence did."
"If they begin moving openly, Plagueis will see them."
"Then tell them enough to keep them from searching blindly."
"I cannot tell them what I am doing."
"You do not need to."
"What do they want?"
"To decide whether you are a threat. Master Soon Bayts asked to speak with you."
"Master Bayts is there now?"
"He is on the other side of this wall."
Khan released a slow breath. "Then tell him no."
"He did not come alone."
"Who is with him?"
"Kit Fisto. Aayla Secura." Vania allowed a moment to pass. "Padmé Amidala."
The channel became still.
A low electronic sound from R3 confirmed the connection had not failed.
"Do they know?" Khan asked.
"No."
"Are they safe?"
"Yes."
"All of them?"
"Yes, Khan."
He did not respond.
Vania lowered her voice. "You can speak through the same encryption protecting our remote leaders. No image, no natural voice, and no direct connection between your ship and this station."
"They could trace the relays."
"Not before I separate the signal across five temporary channels. The final relay will erase itself when the call ends."
"You prepared this."
"I prepared the possibility."
"You assumed I would agree."
"No." Vania looked toward the sealed door. "I made certain the decision would belong to you."
The silence returned. Master Bayts alone would not have changed Khan's answer. Vania waited without reminding him who else sat inside the meeting chamber.
"Remove everything from the voice," Khan said at last.
"Everything."
"The connection ends when I close it."
"Yes."
"No recording."
"I will require everyone in the room to deactivate their devices."
Khan hesitated once more. "Connect me."
Vania returned carrying the black communicator in one hand.
Everyone watched her cross the chamber.
Sion spoke first. "Is he alive?"
"Yes."
"Is he safe?"
"For now."
Vania stopped beside the table and looked toward Soon. "Our founder has agreed to speak with you."
Kit became still. Aayla leaned slightly closer to the table, while Padmé's attention settled upon the unmarked device in Vania's hand.
"What conditions does he require?" Soon asked.
"No recording, no attempt to trace the connection, and no demand that he reveal his identity."
Soon removed his communicator and placed it upon the table before deactivating it. Kit and Aayla did the same. Padmé closed the datapad beside her and shut down its transmitter.
"I agree," Soon said.
Sion looked toward Vania. "We will discuss your private communications after this meeting."
"Yes."
"At length," Colby added.
Vania connected the device to the terminal. The two encrypted holograms remained above their emitters, but no third figure joined them. A dark waveform appeared in the center of the table as the signal divided across Beacon's relays.
The voice that entered the chamber carried nothing anyone could recognize. The distortion removed age, accent, pitch, and every natural rhythm beneath the words. To everyone except Vania, it belonged only to Beacon's founder.
"Thank you for agreeing to speak with us," Soon said.
"I agreed to answer what I can."
"Will you tell us your name?"
"No."
Soon accepted the refusal without reacting. "Did you know the Sith you encountered inside Count Ramil's residence?"
"No."
"Were you expecting a Sith to be there?"
"No."
"Then why did you enter the residence?"
"For records."
"What records?"
The waveform remained quiet.
Soon waited.
"I cannot answer that in detail," the founder said.
"Four years ago, Jedi were killed on Naboo by a Sith Master who escaped before the Order could identify him. Do you believe the Sith on Serenno serves that same master?"
Another silence followed, longer than the first.
"I will not give the Council a conclusion it cannot act upon without revealing what it knows."
"That is not an answer."
"It is the only one I will give you."
"If these Sith are connected, concealing that information places lives at risk."
"Moving openly upon an incomplete conclusion would place different lives at risk."
"The Council cannot act upon silence."
"Then do not act yet."
Soon's expression tightened, but Aayla spoke before he could continue. "You said Count Ramil possessed records. Master Unduli reported that the Sith destroyed part of the archive during your fight. Were those records connected to the movements Beacon has been tracking?"
"Some of them."
"What kind of movements?"
The response did not come immediately. "Ships traveling without declared cargo. Credits passing through companies that exist only in Senate registries. Industrial equipment purchased in quantities its destinations cannot support."
"Weapons?"
"Not in the records I recovered."
"Droid components?"
"Yes."
"Ship parts?"
"Yes."
"Food and medical supplies?"
"Yes."
Aayla studied the shifting waveform. "Those purchases do not belong to one kind of operation."
"No."
"Could they support a military buildup?"
"They could support many things."
"Do you know which?"
"No."
"Then what made Count Ramil important?"
"Several routes crossed through accounts controlled by people close to him. The Sith destroyed those records rather than allow either of us to leave with them."
"You believe the records would have led somewhere."
"I know someone feared that they would."
Soon returned to the questioning. "What is your goal?"
"To find where the routes end."
"And when you do?"
"To stop what is being prepared."
"How?"
"That depends upon what I find."
"If you encounter the Sith Master responsible for Naboo, do you intend to bring him before the Council?"
The waveform shifted once.
"I do not believe that will be a possibility."
"And if it is?"
Khan gave no answer.
Soon allowed the silence to remain long enough for everyone at the table to understand it. "You ask the Council to believe you are not an enemy while refusing to say what you will do when you find the person you are hunting."
"I did not ask the Council to approve of me."
"You agreed to this conversation because you wanted the search to end."
"I agreed because the search reached Beacon."
Aayla leaned forward. "Sion told us you are a Jedi. Do you still consider yourself part of the Order?"
"I am a Jedi."
"Without the Council's knowledge or approval."
"The Council is free to disagree with me."
"That is not how belonging to the Order works."
"It is how living beyond it has worked."
"You concealed your identity from Master Unduli because you believed ignorance protected her."
"Yes."
"She was capable of deciding whether to accept the danger."
"She could not choose what someone might take from her."
"You decided that for her."
"Yes."
There was no apology in the distorted answer.
Kit had remained silent since the call began. He now looked toward the waveform as though the darkness inside it might reveal something the altered voice could not.
"Do you make that decision often?" he asked.
"Often enough."
"You decide what the people around you are allowed to know, then call it protection."
"I decide what cannot be taken from them if they are captured."
"That was not what I asked."
"No, but it was my answer."
Kit's expression did not change. "Did you leave the Temple to hunt this Sith?"
The question produced an immediate response.
"No."
"Then the hunt came later."
"Yes."
"Why did you leave?"
The waveform became still.
Soon glanced toward Kit, but Kit continued watching the signal.
"You do not need to answer as Beacon's founder," he said. "Answer as the Jedi you still claim to be."
For several seconds, only the machinery inside the asteroid could be heard.
"Staying had become another way of standing still," the founder said.
Kit waited. "That sounds like the answer you give when you do not want to provide the real one."
Another pause entered the connection.
"Too many rooms had become reminders of who was no longer inside them."
The words left the communicator before the silence returned. When the founder spoke again, the distance had returned with him.
"That is all I will say."
Kit's gaze remained upon the waveform. "Did leaving help?"
"For a time."
"Was Beacon the reason you left?"
"No. Beacon came later."
"What came before it?"
The founder did not answer.
Padmé's hand moved beneath the edge of her sleeve. Her fingers closed around the bracelet resting against her wrist as she looked toward the featureless signal.
"Worlds," she said.
The waveform shifted.
Kit looked toward her.
Padmé kept her attention upon the communicator. "You left the Temple and traveled through the Outer Rim. Beacon came afterward. What did you find on those worlds that made you create it?"
Khan remained quiet long enough that Soon appeared ready to move on.
Then the distorted voice returned.
"I found places where ending one danger did not prevent the next. Pirates would be driven away, but the settlement they controlled would lose the only ships carrying food. A syndicate would fall, and every route it owned would disappear with it. People would survive long enough for me to leave, then face the same problem beneath another name."
"You returned to those worlds," Padmé said.
"Some of them."
"And discovered that winning had not changed enough."
"Yes."
"Is that why you created Beacon?"
"It is why I stopped believing one person arriving with a lightsaber was an answer."
The room became quiet.
Padmé's fingers remained around the bracelet. "Did you build Beacon alone?"
"No. The people who became Beacon had already survived without me. They needed routes, ships, training, and enough time to keep what they saved. I gave them a place to begin connecting those things."
"Then why did you leave them?"
"Because remaining placed them too close to what followed me."
"The Sith?"
"I will not answer that."
Padmé accepted the refusal without looking away. "Why did you agree to speak with us?"
"Your search was drawing attention toward Beacon."
"Only because of Beacon?"
The answer did not come as quickly as Khan likely intended.
"No," he said. "Some of you deserved more than silence."
Padmé's fingers tightened once around the bracelet.
She released it a moment later. "Do you believe Beacon made a mistake by meeting us?"
"No."
"The agreement may eventually draw the attention of the Republic."
"I know."
"Does that concern you?"
"Yes."
"Then why not tell Beacon to refuse it?"
"Because Beacon does not belong to me."
Sion shifted in his chair.
The founder continued. "I helped create its beginning. The people at this table decided what it became. They do not require my permission to choose who they trust."
Colby leaned forward. "You expect us to stay away from your investigation."
"Yes."
"Yet you continue asking Vania for help."
"I ask her for information."
"You separate people from what they provide when it is convenient."
Khan did not answer.
Padmé looked toward the waveform. "Do you believe staying away keeps them safe?"
"It removes one path leading back to them."
"That was not the question."
"It is the answer I have."
"Do you trust them?"
"Yes."
"Enough to let them decide what risks they are willing to accept?"
The signal remained quiet.
Padmé waited.
"No," the founder said.
The honesty settled more heavily than another careful refusal would have.
"Are you in danger?" Padmé asked.
"That is not relevant to the agreement."
"It is relevant to the people offering to help you."
"I did not ask them to."
"You did not answer."
Another pause followed.
"Yes."
Sion's jaw tightened. Colby's hands became still upon the table, while the two encrypted leaders remained turned toward the waveform.
"Then let Beacon help," Padmé said.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I know what this enemy does with anyone close enough to reach me."
"You are keeping them close enough to worry and too far away to act."
"I know."
"And if this kills you?"
"Then I die."
Sion leaned toward the table. "You do not get to turn yourself into an acceptable loss."
"Beacon was built so no one person could destroy it by dying."
"That is not what I said."
"No. It is the part that matters."
Sion looked at the waveform for several seconds. "Do you intend to return?"
"Beacon does not need me."
"That was not the question."
"It is my answer."
"We continued without you because we had to," Sion said. "Do not mistake that for proof that your absence costs nothing."
Khan did not respond.
Colby rested both hands upon the table. "If Beacon does need you, what then?"
"Call me."
"And you will do what?"
"I will help."
"From another hidden channel?"
"If that is enough. If it is not, I will come."
Sion's expression remained hard. "Then you still believe you have a place here."
"You have already proven Beacon can stand without me. Do not leave an empty place waiting for my return." The waveform moved slowly above the table. "But if Beacon needs me—or if any of you do—I will always answer."
"That sounds like another way of leaving," Colby said.
"It may be."
Soon allowed the exchange to end before bringing the conversation back to the Council. "Your reasons for remaining hidden do not give me anything the Order can verify. If you will not provide your identity, give me the name of a Jedi who can confirm you are what you claim."
The dark waveform remained silent.
"A Master who knew you," Soon continued. "A mission only the Council would recognize. Something that can establish a connection without revealing the investigation you refuse to discuss."
When the founder answered, his voice remained hidden beneath the distortion.
"Tell Grand Master Plo Koon that R3 has been a great companion."
Soon's expression changed by a fraction. "He will understand that message?"
"Yes."
Aayla looked toward the signal. "Will it identify you to him?"
"It will tell him enough."
"Why Grand Master Plo?"
The pause was brief, but it was there.
"Because he knew when to let me leave."
Kit's attention sharpened. "Do you trust him with your identity?"
"Yes."
"And if he decides the rest of the Council should know?"
"Then ask him why."
Soon inclined his head. "I will deliver the message exactly."
"Thank you."
"That does not mean the search will end."
"Then keep it away from Beacon. The Sith on Serenno may believe I possess information that could threaten their plan. I'm sure that if they discover someone is following that trail openly, they may eliminate them too."
"You expect us to remain still while you continue alone."
"I expect you to decide for yourselves. I am telling you what your movement may cost."
Soon held his gaze upon the waveform, though no face existed within it. "The Council will make that decision after Grand Master Plo receives your message."
"That is all I can give you."
The signal began to weaken.
"Vania," the founder said, "send the probe's survey when it is complete."
"I intended to, and you won't receive the coordinates before then."
"I know, I already agreed to wait."
"I am making certain you remember."
The waveform collapsed before anyone could speak again.
The ordinary light of the meeting chamber returned above the table. For several moments, no one moved. Padmé's hand lowered from her wrist, while Kit continued looking at the empty space where the signal had been.
Sion turned toward Vania. "How long?"
"Long enough."
"You told us he had not contacted Beacon."
"He did not contact Beacon. He contacted me."
Colby's eyes narrowed. "That distinction is becoming tiresome."
"It is one I intend to keep."
"How much has he told you?" Sion asked.
"Enough for me to help him. Not enough for me to explain his plans."
"And the Jedi?" Colby asked. "How much did you give them?"
"They were already searching. I gave them enough to reach this room and nothing that could take them beyond it."
Kit finally looked toward her. "You arranged this conversation."
"I left the opportunity open." Vania disconnected the black communicator from the terminal. "Master Bayts asked to speak with him. He told me to refuse. Then I gave him the names of everyone else in this room."
Aayla glanced toward Kit and Padmé. "He changed his mind?"
"Yes."
"You used us," Kit said.
Vania did not deny it.
Sion watched her. "For Beacon?"
"No." She slipped the communicator into her coat. "Beacon has received enough from him. This was for him."
Sion watched her before looking toward Soon. "Does any of this change the agreement?"
"No," Soon said. "Beacon did not use this meeting to recover command for its founder, and he did not attempt to influence the terms. I will report what occurred and deliver his message to Grand Master Plo. Until Plo confirms what he knows, the founder remains unidentified."
Kit finally looked away from the empty space above the table. "He admitted he left the Temple."
"He admitted many Jedi would find it difficult to remain after losing people," Aayla replied.
"He answered me more directly than he answered Master Bayts."
"That does not mean you know him."
"No." Kit's gaze returned briefly to the inactive terminal. "It does not."
Vania removed a second device from her belt. The short metal cylinder carried a narrow golden light through its center. She placed it before Soon.
"This is the channel we agreed upon."
Soon lifted the device. "Does it reach you directly?"
"It reaches a rotating Beacon relay. The officer holding intelligence watch will receive the signal and contact one of our five leaders. An urgent warning will reach all of us."
"Can the path be traced to Rishi Moon?"
"No. The encryption changes with every transmission, and the relays do not remain inside one system. Opening the casing or attempting to copy its internal key will erase it."
Kit looked toward the cylinder. "You prepared that before knowing whether the meeting would succeed."
"I prepared it before knowing whether you would arrive," Vania said.
Soon placed the communicator inside his robe. "I will keep it until the Council appoints someone else to maintain contact."
"Beacon will recognize transmissions from you. Anyone else using it must identify themselves."
"Agreed."
Padmé removed a small data cylinder from her side and placed it near Vania. "This contains secure contacts for several medical and relief organizations. Some are connected to Naboo. Others operate independently and can respond without waiting for a full Senate vote."
"The Republic has not approved an agreement with Beacon," Vania said.
"This is not an agreement. They are organizations that already answer requests beyond Republic space." Padmé withdrew her hand. "Beacon can decide whether any of those doors are worth opening."
The encrypted hologram representing Beacon's supply network turned toward the cylinder. "Do those organizations know you are providing their channels?"
"They know I may refer emergencies to them. I included what each can offer and the limits they have placed upon that help."
Vania collected the cylinder. "We will examine it."
The two remote leaders disconnected first. Their forms dissolved above the emitters, leaving the three Beacon representatives across from the Republic delegation.
Sion rose. "The trial begins after both councils approve the wording. Until then, our patrols continue operating as they have."
"We would expect nothing else," Soon said as he stood.
Colby rose more slowly. "If this agreement brings either of you into one of our ground operations, listen to the people living there before deciding who requires protection."
Aayla inclined her head. "I will."
Kit gave the Duros a faint smile. "And if the listening ends with someone shooting at us?"
"Then you may reconsider."
Sion extended one armored hand toward Soon. "We will judge this partnership by the first time using it becomes difficult."
Soon accepted the offered hand. "As will the Council."
Vania looked toward Padmé. "You promised your report would show more than our ships."
"It will."
"I intend to discover whether that promise survives Coruscant."
"If the report becomes public, you will be able to read every word attached to my name."
Vania inclined her head. It was not trust, but neither woman treated it as one.
The delegations left the chamber together and separated at the first corridor. Sion, Colby, and Vania followed the route toward Beacon's shuttle, while Soon, Kit, Aayla, and Padmé continued toward the opposite hangar.
Aayla waited until Beacon's leaders disappeared around the turn. "Why did you ask him about the Temple?"
Kit walked beside her. "Because everything else he said sounded prepared."
"And that answer did not?"
"No." Kit looked toward the passage ahead. "Nothing about the voice was familiar. The answer was."
"Grief is familiar to many Jedi."
"I know."
Padmé walked several steps behind them. Her sleeve shifted as she entered the hangar, exposing part of the bracelet around her wrist. She drew the fabric over it and continued toward the shuttle without speaking.
Soon said nothing. The six words inside his memory belonged to Grand Master Plo Koon, while the communicator hidden within his robes represented a trust no one upon Coruscant had yet approved.
Beacon's shuttle departed first. Aayla raised the Republic vessel several minutes later, and both ships moved through the asteroid field before turning toward opposite edges of the system. The mining station darkened behind them.
Several systems away, a commercial relay accepted new passage orders from a company removed from Republic registries three years earlier. Six freighters crossed beneath its identification codes. Their manifests listed agricultural machinery, but no inspection records accompanied the cargo. The relay approved them without question. The freighters continued toward Serenno.
A/N: Hello everyone, this is a quick update. As some of you may have noticed I have not released the daily chapters as I had been. The main reason is because I can't keep up. I want to make sure that what is being posted is good. I know I still have a lot of work to do, and the last thing I want is to set a deadline that will increase mistakes and bad story telling. So while I'll try my best to give you guys as many chapters as I can, I can not promise daily chapters anymore. Also please if you can, leave feedback, the only way to improve the story is by getting your thoughts. I want you to enjoy this as much as i enjoy writting this.