Light of the Jedi(45)
Each of the Tempests reflected its Runner—Pan’s people were precise…planners. Kassav’s group was chaotic and impulsive, all of his Strikes and Clouds and Storms chasing the next score, the next insane story they could brag about while so high on smash they could barely talk. Lourna Dee’s group was subtle, introverted, keeping their intentions close until the result was achieved. Also, in general, her people were the cruelest among all the Nihil.
“It’s not just the Starlight Beacon, it’s that Legacy Run thing in Hetzal,” Marchion said. “These Emergences are causing disasters all over the Rim. My people in the Republic tell me they’re digging in hard. They’ve set up an investigation—even pulled in the Jedi.”
“Jedi,” Kassav said, baring his sharp little teeth. “I’ve always wanted to kill one. That’d be a story to tell.”
Marchion knew Kassav had never faced a Jedi. Neither had Marchion Ro, but his family had a history with them, and he had grown up hearing stories. Even a few could destabilize or destroy the grandest aspiration. They could…tap into something. It wasn’t just the Force. It was their Order itself. It gave them a confidence, a structure, a willingness to make choices to serve the larger purpose of spreading light in the galaxy. It made them bold, and made them strong. He was not afraid of the Jedi—but only a fool wouldn’t consider them a serious threat.
“You’re welcome to try to kill as many Jedi as you want, Kassav,” Marchion said. “Just give us the name of the Storm you think should take your place as Tempest Runner after you’re dead.”
He waited before speaking again, letting his gaze shift to each of them in turn, letting his cold, dark eyes do most of the work. The silence turned to tension, and Marchion just kept watching, daring any of them to challenge him again. They didn’t. They wouldn’t. Not openly, anyway. He knew any one of these three would cut off his head in an instant if they knew how to access the Paths directly, but he kept that secret close.
“Here’s what I’m worried about,” Marchion said. “All three of you run your operations pretty independently, and you have crews doing raids all over the Outer Rim. Chancellor Soh put a hyperspace blockade in place, and it gets bigger with every Emergence. The Nihil are just about the only ships that can travel these days, because we have the Paths. What if the Republic comes across a Nihil crew and figures out we can do what we do? Or the Jedi? We don’t want the Order on us, or the Republic Defense Coalition.”
He shook his head.
“I know the Republic doesn’t have a standing military. Doesn’t matter. We aren’t big enough to take them on, even if it’s just an RDC task force. They’d wipe us out. I say we need to lie low. No new operations for the time being. No more Paths. If your people give you grief, tell them the Eye sees something special in the future, something big. A new initiative.”
“Does the Eye, in fact, see that?” Lourna Dee asked. “A new initiative, I mean.”
“I’m always thinking of the next thing, Lourna,” he said. “You know that.”
Kassav and Pan Eyta exchanged a glance.
“Just doesn’t sound like us,” Kassav said.
“I call the vote,” Marchion said.
“Then I vote this is a big pile of bantha droppings,” Kassav said. “The Nihil don’t stop. We need to keep riding that storm.”
“You know,” Pan Eyta said. “I think I agree with Marchion. I say we take a little break. Just for a while. Maybe we should take a little time to plan, strategize—figure out how we operate if the Republic’s gonna be poking around in our territory.”
“Pff,” said Kassav. “Of course. You and your people just got fat off that job in Ab Dalis, so you don’t need to eat for a while. What about the rest of us?”
“Maybe you should’ve given me more of your people to help, Kassav,” Pan said. “One little Cloud worth of crew was all you could spare? Please. Anyway, I don’t mind a little break. Maybe I’ll take a vacation. Get tickets to the opera on Cato Neimoidia.”
Kassav made a disgusted noise, deep in his throat.
The rest of the vote was moot. In any decision related to the Paths, ties went to the Eye, a long-standing rule. With Pan’s vote, it was at least a two-against-two decision for putting a hold on new Nihil activity, at least until the heat from the Legacy Run died down. Lourna Dee hadn’t spoken, but her decision was irrelevant—and it wasn’t surprising she had waited to make her views known. She seemed to prefer that people knew as little as possible about what she was thinking. Whether that was pathological or tactical, Marchion didn’t know. Probably some of both.
“I guess that’s that,” Lourna Dee said. “But I still want to pitch you on a job.”
“Oh?” Marchion said, his voice thin.
Pan Eyta and Kassav didn’t seem particularly thrilled, either. Tempest Runners could authorize raids within their own crews without asking any of the others, but anything that would require Paths needed a full-on vote. Usually, that meant Marchion was the deciding factor, because most of the time the two Tempest Runners who didn’t have a stake in a given job voted against it. Not a bad system, really. As Eye, Marchion was the custodian of the Paths, and so he should have the loudest voice in deciding how they were used.