The Liberator/Part 26

Day 85 of the Occupation of Milagro – Election Night

Led by the example of its standard-bearer, Zemma Rufos, the Milagro Forward Party did not expend even private wealth for the importation of expensive luxuries or indulge in riotous celebrations while some regions of Milagro still struggled to restore power. Nevertheless, a festive air dominated the party's election-watching event, and beings shook hands and shared drinks bought from local breweries that had resumed production. Aldayr wore a darker Jedi uniform with a leather tabard, a black dress glove on his cybernetic hand rather than his usual thick combat glove, his double-bladed lightsaber polished to a reflective gleam. Several MFP members of parliament-elect shook his gloved hand, and Aldayr smiled for them in the banquet hall's bright lights.

Pressing his way through the throng of newly-elected beings and their campaign staffs, Aldayr glimpsed Raven Kaivalt and Renata Cul'Caritas in conversation with Nissi Enkolfo, who had been swept into office as part of Rufos's ticket. Raven had donned his Pelagia scarlet and purple, while Renata wore a dress; it was the first time Aldayr had ever seen her in anything but Jedi garb, and he wondered whether Raina or Raven had sprung for it. Renata caught his eye and waved; her cheeks dimpled as her bright smile lit up her face.

Smirking despite himself, Aldayr waved back, but he did not stop to chat, even though Baron Obveluus was apparently at another celebration. After a day of reported incidents at polling sites, including conflicts between supporters of different parties and at least one bombing, he was not taking chances in the headquarters of the winning party—especially not when that party could deliver Milagro to the Republic and finally put an end to the naysayers in the Republic hierarchy who were forcing Mali to split his attention and watch his own back.

Aldayr looked for the nearest monitor and saw Rufos's Milagro Forward Party still leading in seats for Parliament, followed by Tago Tafen's National Union Party, which Aldayr understood to be the only party restored from the pre-Karzded days. The two allied parties commanded an absolute majority between them—enough to vote Milagro into the Republic over the objections of the Free Milagro Party, which trailed in a distant third.

Mali was speaking to Zemma Rufos, Essely Kalliot, and several other beings Aldayr was given to understand would form part of Rufos's Cabinet. Commodore Kalliot was in her Corellian dress greens, but Mali had surprised a number of his fellows by going for the Corellian look too—not merely his green robe, but tunic and tabard in darker shades of green as well. He had even worn darker trousers so he could sport his second-class Corellian Bloodstripes; Aldayr could count the times he had seen Mali wear them on one hand, and he wasn't sure what to make of the decision, though they certainly added some pizazz to his outfit.

"Aldayr!" Mali called, and pulled him in with one arm.

Aldayr nodded, then said to Rufos, "Congratulations on your election, ma'am."

"Thank you, Padawan Nikodon," she replied. "We were just discussing your gallantry at Merkat."

Aldayr looked at Commodore Kalliot, who grinned. "He conquered the Dominatrix half by himself."

Pleased by her praise, Aldayr thought it would be churlish to remind her that she had been aboard the Soul Diamond at the time and only read about it after the fact. Instead, he said, "I had good Marines with me."

"An officer is only as good as his subordinates," Rufos agreed, "but soldiers can become a mob without an officer to lead them."

Aldayr had been at Mali's side long enough to get his share of praise from politicians for some battlefield action or other, and he usually let it go in one ear and out the other, as he did now when the soon-to-be Cabinet ministers added their own praise. But he recalled that Rufos had been a career officer herself, and he took her words to heart and bowed from the neck in appreciation.

"When will you have the Republic vote, ma'am?" he asked her.

"We need to swear in the new Parliament first. Tago will continue to serve as Speaker of Parliament, and he'll need to brief the new MPs on procedure."

"Hopefully it won't be too long," Kalliot suggested. "Milagro's in the spotlight—the whole galaxy is holding its breath!"

Aldayr sensed something more than mere interest there, and he wondered if the Diktat and the Corellian Council were growing weary supporting a campaign that hadn't actually produced anything yet. Of course, the Republic would be watching the result too, and Aldayr thought that was more to blame for the uptick in Rufos's mental tension.

"No longer than needed," the Prime Minister agreed. "We want the matter settled as much as you do, Commodore."

"Has there been any word from Commander Beethar?" asked one of the Cabinet designees.

Rufos shook her head.

"And Sergeant Sepzee?" Mali asked.

"Nothing."

Republic Intelligence believed—as far as Mali had let them become involved in Milagro's affairs, anyway—that Beethar and Sepzee spearheaded the Free Milagro Only movement, and Aldayr thought Beethar's election on the Free Milagro Party ticket certainly supported that conclusion. But Sepzee, despite co-leading a Resistance faction with Beethar, had not run for a seat in Parliament himself, and nobody seemed quite sure what to make of that.

Mali shrugged. "Well, if they don't reach out before the swearing-in, there's—"

He stopped as his comlink buzzed, drew it out, and bowed. "Sorry, gotta take this."

"Please," Rufos said, nodding. When he stepped away, she asked, "Padawan Nikodon, do you have any updates on the violent incidents today?"

Aldayr reached for his adjutant's datapad only to remember he hadn't worn it. "The last I was briefed, there have been a few conflicts, but only the one bombing, ma'am. I can ask, if you'd like?"

She frowned. "I've heard rumors about multiple other incidents, so maybe you'd better."

"Yes ma'am." Drawing out his comlink and resolving to chew out his reporting contacts if they had left him in the dark, he said, "I'll—"

"You WHAT?!"

Mali had stepped just out of the ballroom, but his voice carried back through the door, and every head nearby turned his way. He seemed to understand, for he lowered his voice to hiss at his comlink, but he never looked their way. As politicians and their staffers looked at one another uneasily, Aldayr excused himself and stepped out of the room.

He closed the ballroom doors and turned in time to catch Mali snap, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

Aldayr couldn't hear the response—Mali held the comlink to his ear—but he turned to Aldayr and whispered, "Do we have an RSF extraction team on the Jewel?"

Aldayr patted the hip where his datapad should've been, but even without it, this was something he knew he should have at his mental fingertips; the Republic Special Forces Division had only spared Mali so many units. "…not on the Jewel, but…I think Admiral Vaskolt has a group on her flagship."

"Get a—hang on." He took the comlink to his lips. "Where are you?"

He listened again, then told Aldayr, "Get a team together and get them out to Derresor, but keep it quiet. I'll send you the exact coordinates."

Aldayr nodded, but Mali spoke again into the comlink. "No, you stay there." He listened, and Aldayr saw real anger on his master's face. "No, I think you've done enough. Darakhan out."

"What the hell happened?" Aldayr asked, staring.

"It's Haleya and Trajan," Mali fumed. "A building collapsed on them, they're stuck. They had to rig a comms device just to reach me."

"A building collapsed? But what—"

"The Pastor. Jeh-Kro." Mali shook his head, and beneath his lingering fury Aldayr sensed both bewilderment and a hint of fear. "They killed him."