After all those conversations — at least an hour and a half had passed — I was completelyexhausted. But I had to keep my promise, so after giving instructions to the local suppliers, I headed to the Isaribi, which was still parked at landing pad number three.
Eh, it's hard to describe the size of that field, but at a glance, it could easily accommodate two dozen Acclamators. By that time, my two ships hadalready finished unloading: one had departed for the repair dock, and the other — apparently the Shinano— was slowly rising into orbit. The Marat was still unloading; our self-propelled vehicles were moving slowly and majesticallydown the landing ramps on both sides of the ship. In one corner of the pad, a makeshift warehouseof unneeded equipment had formed, where tiny figures of people bustled about beside the massive combat machines.
Climbing the ladder onto the corvette — a pair of clone sentries saluted silently — I paused.
Where could she be?
Sliding into the Force, I tried to locate Ahsoka. A comlink is useful, but you still need to train your senses — it's a kind of exercise. The presence I sought was found in a cabin near the bow of the ship. Proceeding there, I found the girl on one of the sofas (well, sofa is just the first word that comes to mind when looking at that piece offurniture — well, a sofa is a sofa). She was sitting with her legs tucked under her, her head resting on her knees. Hmm, what's up with her? I sat down quietly beside her.
"Ahsoka, did you want to talk?"
"Master." The Togruta, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "Why do you think the Councilis wrong to send us to Jabiim?"
Bingo! I looked at Ahsoka in surprise. She raised her head and met my gaze intently.
Sliding into the Force again, I reached out toward her. The girl was torn by conflicting emotions. On the one hand, she had always believed the Council was infallible simply because it consisted of the wisest and most worthy of the entire Jedi Order — Yoda, Shaak Ti, Plo Koon — that their decisionswere always correct. On the other hand, she... yes, she respected me as her Master and mentor (which was nice), and she understood that I didn't say anything just like that, without reason.
Ahsoka was beginning to think. Excellent. The best news in days.
"To make it clearer, I'll start from the beginning. Jabiim.. has been part of the Republic for a long time — more than five thousand years. The inhabitants followed its laws, and the planet paid all the taxes it owed..."
"But, Master, why then did they join the Separatists?"
"It's complicated. At first, everything was fine, but in recent decades... the Republic lost interest in Jabiim. No — more precisely, it lost interest in all such unremarkable worlds."
"But why?"
"What could they offer the Republic in return?"
"But... taxes? Laws?"
"Taxes were meager — impossible to raise — and as for laws… they can be twisted any way you like. So Jabiim's problems became only their problems. First there was an epidemic that killed severalhundred thousand intelligent beings, then famine, and then an invasion by Trandoshan slave traders."
"But why didn't anyone help? If not the Republic, then why not the Jedi Order?"
"What could we do? Besides, the Republic is the Senate. And it wasn't in the Senate's interest. You've seen the influence the Senate has on the Order."
"But that's not right!"
"Yes," I nodded in agreement.
"But then... what... how?!"
"You know, that's a difficult question. I don't think you can fully understand it yet. Yes, you're a Padawan, but at the same time, you're only thirteen years old. You shouldn't be worryingabout such things at your age."
"Um..."
"Okay, let's get back to Jabiim. A few years ago, someone appeared who was deeply dissatisfied with the state of the planet — Alto Stratus." I leaned back on the sofa and clasped my hands behind my head. "He was born on Jabiim and truly cared about his homeland. It became his cause, especially after his relatives suffered during the epidemic. He spoke many times in the JabiimCongress, advocating for any action that could help the people, but his words fell on deaf ears."
"And then he led a rebellion. He killed almost all the congressmen and became the sole ruler of the planet. Soon after, Jabiim joined the Separatists. They, in turn, supported Stratus with supplies, medicine, battle droids, and weapons."
"However, not everyone agreed with him. Some of the congress members who were thought dead turned out to be alive. They started an armedresistance against Stratus, though they had little support. A civil war began."
"Master, what's so bad about that that you don't want to get involved?"
"You see, Ahsoka, there's a difference between war and civil war. War always has many causes — personal animosity between rulers, greed, religion, racial prejudice, territorial expansion. It's simple: there's us and there's them." I spread my arms wide. "Enemies. There's our army and the enemy's army."
"But civil war... that's a terrible thing. A single people divides into two camps — equal or not, it doesn't matter. It splits cities, streets, families. Brother fights brother, son fights father. In such wars, people fight for an illusion, for an idea that doesn't truly exist. And the saddest thing is thatvictory in such a war is always a defeat for the people."
"But, Master... if this Stratus — is there any chance of negotiating with him?"
"Not anymore, Ahsoka. The time for negotiation is long gone. To him, we are enemies. The Jedi are enemies. The Republic is an enemy. We have only one option left: to fight."
"Master, why is everything like this?" The Togruta shrugged helplessly. "Wrong?"
"How so?"
"Well... it's unfair!" Ahsoka finally found her voice.
"That's life, Ahsoka. Not everything in it is as we want it to be. And often, what we want is beyondour reach."
"But why?" she asked, bewildered.
"No one will care why we acted one way or another. No one will listen to our reasoning. Because, in essence, we are almost nobody. Our words aren't backed by power, and even the laws aren't on our side — they're written by those who benefit from them."
"What should we do then? What should I do?"
"Do what you must, and let the chips fall where they may. An old saying. We'll try to carry out the order — as best we can. Will you help me?"
"Yes, Master," the Togruta answered my question in the affirmative.
The comlink beeped.
"Sir," Ensign Mirro's voice came through. "The transport convoy has arrived."
"Where are they landing?"
"I'm not sure, sir."
"Ensign, I know you've already hacked into the local network, so just tell me — where are those transports landing?" I let a hint of sternness slip into my tone.
"Uh, sir — at the third pad. The far side," the midshipman quickly recovered from my outburst.
"Ha." I smiled, having guessed correctly. "You can do it when you want to."
Then I turned to my Padawan.
"Are you coming?"
"Master, I..."
"Come on. Let's go see our new toys." I smiled and ruffled the girl's head.