Star Wars: Coruscant Nights III: Patterns of Force by Michael Reaves Page B
Authors: Michael Reaves
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omniscient, but I-Five raised a hand.
“Trust, Den. This whole team that Jax has gathered around him is based on trust. If Jax thinks he can train this boy, then I have to trust that he can.”
Den snorted. “Trust? You think you can trust Rhinann or Dejah or Tuden Sal?”
“No. Not even as far as I could throw them—which would be a considerable distance, actually. But every one of us knows that we can trust Jax. He’s the core. The heart. All our threads connect to him. Of course, you also know that you can trust me; and I know that I can trust you. But in the final analysis, it’s our trust in Jax that holds us together.”
Den swung his legs off the bed and leaned closer tothe droid, his mind reaching for something he’d been trying to articulate for some time.
“But
can
we trust him, Five? Can we trust him when
she’s
working on him? Reading his emotions, playing to them, maybe manipulating him?”
“By
she
you mean Dejah Duare, of course.”
“Who else? She’s a
Zeltron
, Five. I’m not saying she’s got ulterior motives when it comes to our Jedi. Her motives are perfectly clear. She wants him. I just think she’s a distraction. And under the circumstances, Jax can’t afford a distraction like that.
We
can’t afford a distraction like that.”
I-Five’s metal face was as unreadable as it was supposed to be. “Jax has noted, as have I, that Dejah does not seem to be a ‘normal’ Zeltron. She seems capable of a longer emotional attention span, for one thing. And in Jax’s estimation, capable of a surprising amount of loyalty. Jax would remind you that she could be back on Zeltros or some other world far removed from the Empire’s dark heart. She has chosen to remain here with us instead. He would also remind you that she has been very useful both in our relations with Pol Haus and with the various informants—willing or otherwise—that we have occasion to use.”
“I know what Jax would remind me of, thank you. I’m just surprised that
you’re
reminding me, too.”
“Are you? Well, something I will assuredly remind you of is that Dejah Duare agrees with you about Tuden Sal and his plan to terminate Emperor Palpatine. I’m surprised you haven’t seized on that as a means to forge an alliance with her.”
On that note the droid turned on his metal heel and exited the room, leaving Den to ponder his last words: Forge an alliance with Dejah Duare?
Could be useful, he supposed. Might even occasionhim to undercut her obvious attempts to slip into a more intimate relationship with Jax.
He thought about it for a while, but contemplating a possible physical relationship between Jax Pavan and Dejah Duare only made him lonely for Eyar Marath. He got up from the bed and crossed to his workstation, more determined than ever to contact her. He had half a letter composed already and now he was certain he would send it—would find out if the beautiful Sullustan singer was still awaiting him on their homeworld.
Rhinann slouched in the formchair at his workstation, mulling over the last half hour’s worth of conversations he had eavesdropped on. Oh, he’d certainly not been in hiding. With as much notice as the others paid him, he could hide in plain sight.
What was that Kubaz expression? An insect on the wall? An arthropod on the ceiling? Something like that. At any rate, something that was right in front of everyone’s nose, yet went completely unnoticed.
Not that he was complaining. His social invisibility had given him an unprecedented opportunity to observe interactions that he might not have overheard if he had been a notable entity.
What had he observed? He cataloged the items carefully, ticking them off in his mind.
There was the growing antagonism between the Zeltron female and Den Dhur, of course—well, at least Den’s antagonism toward her. He had the feeling that Dejah Duare found the Sullustan more amusing than annoying. No accounting for taste.
There was the obvious
“Trust, Den. This whole team that Jax has gathered around him is based on trust. If Jax thinks he can train this boy, then I have to trust that he can.”
Den snorted. “Trust? You think you can trust Rhinann or Dejah or Tuden Sal?”
“No. Not even as far as I could throw them—which would be a considerable distance, actually. But every one of us knows that we can trust Jax. He’s the core. The heart. All our threads connect to him. Of course, you also know that you can trust me; and I know that I can trust you. But in the final analysis, it’s our trust in Jax that holds us together.”
Den swung his legs off the bed and leaned closer tothe droid, his mind reaching for something he’d been trying to articulate for some time.
“But
can
we trust him, Five? Can we trust him when
she’s
working on him? Reading his emotions, playing to them, maybe manipulating him?”
“By
she
you mean Dejah Duare, of course.”
“Who else? She’s a
Zeltron
, Five. I’m not saying she’s got ulterior motives when it comes to our Jedi. Her motives are perfectly clear. She wants him. I just think she’s a distraction. And under the circumstances, Jax can’t afford a distraction like that.
We
can’t afford a distraction like that.”
I-Five’s metal face was as unreadable as it was supposed to be. “Jax has noted, as have I, that Dejah does not seem to be a ‘normal’ Zeltron. She seems capable of a longer emotional attention span, for one thing. And in Jax’s estimation, capable of a surprising amount of loyalty. Jax would remind you that she could be back on Zeltros or some other world far removed from the Empire’s dark heart. She has chosen to remain here with us instead. He would also remind you that she has been very useful both in our relations with Pol Haus and with the various informants—willing or otherwise—that we have occasion to use.”
“I know what Jax would remind me of, thank you. I’m just surprised that
you’re
reminding me, too.”
“Are you? Well, something I will assuredly remind you of is that Dejah Duare agrees with you about Tuden Sal and his plan to terminate Emperor Palpatine. I’m surprised you haven’t seized on that as a means to forge an alliance with her.”
On that note the droid turned on his metal heel and exited the room, leaving Den to ponder his last words: Forge an alliance with Dejah Duare?
Could be useful, he supposed. Might even occasionhim to undercut her obvious attempts to slip into a more intimate relationship with Jax.
He thought about it for a while, but contemplating a possible physical relationship between Jax Pavan and Dejah Duare only made him lonely for Eyar Marath. He got up from the bed and crossed to his workstation, more determined than ever to contact her. He had half a letter composed already and now he was certain he would send it—would find out if the beautiful Sullustan singer was still awaiting him on their homeworld.
Rhinann slouched in the formchair at his workstation, mulling over the last half hour’s worth of conversations he had eavesdropped on. Oh, he’d certainly not been in hiding. With as much notice as the others paid him, he could hide in plain sight.
What was that Kubaz expression? An insect on the wall? An arthropod on the ceiling? Something like that. At any rate, something that was right in front of everyone’s nose, yet went completely unnoticed.
Not that he was complaining. His social invisibility had given him an unprecedented opportunity to observe interactions that he might not have overheard if he had been a notable entity.
What had he observed? He cataloged the items carefully, ticking them off in his mind.
There was the growing antagonism between the Zeltron female and Den Dhur, of course—well, at least Den’s antagonism toward her. He had the feeling that Dejah Duare found the Sullustan more amusing than annoying. No accounting for taste.
There was the obvious
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