Balance Point by Tyers Kathy

Author:Tyers, Kathy [Tyers, Kathy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The other Kubaz was Anakin.

From his uncle, he thought he sensed a nudge to get the Duros talking.

Straightening, he faced Vice-Director Brarun. What an opportunity!

He could show his uncle and his brother the direction his vision and conscience and experiences were taking him.

“Jedi Jacen Solo.” The vice-director, like other CorDuro employees, wore a red-trimmed brown flight suit. “This is unexpected.”

“Thank you for -” Jacen stepped toward the desk.

“Stop,” the Duros said. “That’s close enough.”

Jacen halted. Did Brarun want him standing on this exact spot?

Testing, he edged sideways. The vice-director didn’t object.

He deduced that the Duros wasn’t trying to stand him over or under a Greenie-trap, but was simply frightened of Jedi and trying to protect himself.

“Sir, I’m here on behalf of some very needy people. The refugees inside my mother’s dome -”

“She is Leia Organa Solo. Corrrect?”

Jacen’s ear for accents and languages had almost adjusted to the Duros’

tendency to gargle their Rs. “Yes, sir. Those refugees are living under unbelievably primitive conditions. They -”

“Where are your Jedi robes, Jacen Solo? Are you here as an infiltrator?”

“No.” Jacen spread his hands. “Not at all.”

The Duros pointed a long, knobby hand down at Jacen. “Your supply problems are not our concern. Perhaps SELCORE is shorting you.”

“Why would SELCORE do that?”

The Duros shrugged eloquently. “Why not? SELCORE decided for us that we wanted our planet reclaimed.” He raised a hand before Jacen could answer. “We were consulted, but only nominally.”

“Why is this a problem?” Jacen asked. “Don’t you want it habitable, down there?”

“We,” the vice-director said, “are content with our roots pulled free. That sphere of stone once anchored us. Its factories became places to send malcontents and gutter-grubbers. Now those citizens are returning to our well-run cities, upsetting our social balances.” He tilted his long head. “And if you restore a habitable planet, the Yuuzhan Vong could choose to move in. If they do, the blame will rest solely on SELCORE.” He shot a glance toward the Kubaz.

Jacen shifted his feet on a deep, soft carpet. “Sir, if our supply shuttles don’t get through, people will start to go hungry. We need your help. It’s urgent.”

The Duros reached for the edge of his counter. A high tone sounded.

The door behind Jacen swished open. Two armed Duros stalked in.

What was this? Jacen kept his hands lowered. “Sir, I’m just asking for the chemicals we need to grow food. I have no intention of threatening you.”

“No?” the vice-director asked. “Your enabling of Centerpoint Station, our near neighbor, changed the power balance in our region. Jedi make me nervous. Especially young ones who use words like urrrgent. Often they don’t have the maturity to know when to back down.”

Thank you, Kyp Durron, Jacen muttered to himself. He hoped Anakin was paying attention. “Sir, it was no Jedi who fired Centerpoint Station.”

“A new sentiment is spreading through the New Republic. Surely,”

Brarun said, “you have heard the Jedi philosophy challenged.”

“I have,” Jacen admitted. “Most recently, down at Port Duggan. When I arrived.”

“Ah,” he said. “You met my sister, Ducilla.

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