The Liberator/Part 8

Day 13 of the Liberation of Milagro

"It'll take a little while, I'm sure," Mali said. "But word is these are major factions. Bringing them to the table is a big deal."

"Because they'll bring others with them if they stay?" Aldayr asked.

"Some of them. I'm not sure whether these other groups are really as radical as we've heard, or if that's just propaganda.  If they are, we'll sort them out then."

"Sometimes, when people are in a bad situation, they have to do radical things."

They looked at each other, and Aldayr knew he was straying into risky territory; the sunshine was bright in the square in Sentriph, a suburb of the capital city Rogeum, but he felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cool autumn breeze. In his memory he heard the snap-hiss and the scream from that dingy bar on Skorrupon, and in Mali's eyes he saw the same mix of concern and anger he had seen on Coruscant. Before Mali could refute him, though, their comlinks buzzed and said in stereo, "Subjects approaching from the southeast. Four main vehicles, with scouts."

"Acknowledged," Mali replied, giving Aldayr a last, searching look before turning his eyes toward the southeast. "Stay clear unless there's a problem."

Sentriph had been largely depopulated when refugees fled the clash between the forces of Vedya Gasald and Zirist Lakalt a year before, and Halicon Karzded's stewardship of the world had done little to rebuild the population. So it was that a square fronting two office buildings, a luxury hotel, and the far end of a mall was completely deserted but for the two Jedi and a platoon of Marines scattered throughout. It was a good enough reason for the location, though Aldayr personally thought the small memorial to early explorers and colonists from Corellia might better explain his master's choice of venue. Mali paced on the cobblestones around the memorial, fallen leaves crunching under his boots; Aldayr sat atop a pile of rubble blown off the top of one of the office buildings by a stray laser blast in the space battle.

Two speeder bikes curved around past one side of the hotel; Aldayr sensed their tension, and when he focused hard on Force-enhancing his vision he could make out the shapes of holstered rifle carbines beside the pilots' controls. Mali turned toward them, keeping his hands at his sides; Aldayr kept his seat for its higher vantage point, while the Marines watched from around the square. The scouts flew a lap around the square, stopped and spoke into their comlinks, then waited until the speeders came up behind them before leading the way in. The speeders stopped at the edge of the little park, and one-by-one the rebels got out.

A year of hard living and hard fighting had toughened up the members of the Milagro Resistance. Aldayr knew they would have brought the best of the best to this meeting, but he still noticed the paranoia in the way the bodyguards moved and screened the speeders before the leaders emerged. Aldayr searched for faces he would recognize, but he spotted only the one.

Mali waited for them to approach, then smiled and bowed. "Major Rufos. It's good to see you again."

"And you, Master Jedi," Zemma Rufos said.

"Is this everybody?"

"Some groups weren't interested," Rufos answered. "Others were afraid. But we speak for our own cells, and many smaller ones have trusted us to represent their interests here too.  These are Nissi Enkolfo and Tago Tafen."

Mali shook hands with Nissi and Tago, another Human woman and a male Rodian, then gestured up at the statue. "My apprentice, Aldayr Nikodon."

Aldayr waved; Tago waved back while the women nodded.

Mali looked at the group of leaders and soldiers. "I was hoping to see Jossi Feld here."

Major Rufos's eyes tightened. "Jossi was in a temporary HQ we had set up—someone gave up the location. We lost a lot of good people and vital supplies in the raid.  Jossi didn't make it."

Mali bowed his head. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It was Bevrelles," Nissi Enkolfo fumed. "Tell me you have him, General."

"We do," Mali said. "He's in Republic custody for the moment."

"For the moment," said the Rodian, Tago Tafen. "Until when?"

"That's one of the things I hoped we could discuss," Mali hinted. As a brisk breeze blew his green robe around his knees, he gestured to the deserted hotel and said, "Shall we go inside?"

"We'd prefer to remain here, General," Nissi said. Her tone was level, but not generous.

Aldayr restrained the urge to role his eyes—as if they needed some elaborate setup to kill them all—but Mali shrugged. "No problem. How about over here?"

He led the way over to a cluster of benches to one side of the statue; the seats surrounded a table painted as a board for some game, though the pieces had been lost. Once Mali had sat, the Resistance leaders followed, scanning the area before they joined him. Aldayr hopped down and stood behind his master while a few of the bodyguards hovered.

"Where should we start?" Mali asked.

"Your forces have defeated the Sith and taken Milagro, General Darakhan," Nissi said. "Maybe we should be asking you."

Mali shook his head. "I told you I'd come back, and I have. I won't deny that freeing Milagro from Gasald is in the Republic's interests, but I'm not interested in overthrowing the puppet government just to put up one of my own.  We've held Milagro for over two weeks, Gasald has barely challenged our blockade, and Halicon Karzded is dead.  It's time to come in from the cold."

"To what end, General?" Zemma Rufos asked.

"Rebuilding Milagro's government. A legitimate government, not the puppet state Karzded and Bevrelles had going on."

"A legitimate government," Rufos pressed, "or a client state of the Republic?"

"The Republic has no intention of abandoning Milagro," Mali replied, although Aldayr noticed his master hadn't actually addressed the question that had been asked. "We're not going to help you rebuild only to leave you prey to Gasald all over again."

"Milagro was a free world before Gasald arrived, General," Tago Tafen noted.

"And a Republic world before that," Mali countered. "Centuries ago, before the New Sith Wars started, the Corellian Run from Coruscant to Ryloth was all part of the Republic."

"And now the Run is half Republic and half Sith—the pieces that don't belong to the Hutts, anyway," Nissi countered.

"You want us to support your new government of Milagro, General," Rufos added, "or else why reach out to those of us who've resisted the old one? But what do we gain?  Why ally with you?"

"We're not the Sith," Aldayr put in. "There are no forced disappearances in the Republic, no prisons for political dissidents, no holding families hostage against their loved ones' behavior. No slavery.  No Anzati prowling the streets at night."

Nissi and Tago flinched, though Zemma Rufos remained steady. Mali said, "We're not trying to suppress Milagro's culture, any more than the Republic suppresses Corellia's, or Duro's, or Alderaan's. Yes, Milagro the planet is important to the Republic, but so are Milagroans.  I didn't call you here just so I can plaster you up on holos as a PR stunt; I want your help in rebuilding Milagro so the Milagro we create is for Milagroans."

The Resistance leaders looked at one another, then Zemma Rufos asked, "What terms did you have in mind, General?"

They spoke for a good long while, discussing surrender of arms, recreation of government agencies, sharing of intelligence, elections, logistics… The edge of the sun's disc had vanished behind the mall and the autumn evening was growing colder when Nissi Enkolfo asked, "And Bevrelles?"

"I can try him in a military tribunal if you want, but his crimes were against the people of Milagro, not the Republic," Mali replied. "I had intended him to be tried by Milagroans as soon as we get the courts running."

"We've connected with civilian leaders—leaders from the old government, before Karzded," Rufos said. "Some of them have stayed in their offices by pretending to collaborate while supporting us; others have gone underground because they stood on their principles instead of kowtowing to a dictator. Either way, we have plenty of competent, qualified jurists and attorneys ready to try him and all his cronies."

Mali nodded. "Once the Resistance has laid down arms and joined the provisional government, we can get to work on plans."

The women and Tago looked at one another, then Rufos said, "We'd like to take some time to consider and confer with our friends and allies, General."

"Take the time you need," Mali said, waving a hand easily. "You won't be tracked or followed when you leave here. When you're ready to help me rebuild Milagro, you know how to find me."

Aldayr sensed the discontent that followed that particular turn of phrase, but the Resistance leaders rose, bundling their coats against the cold. Showing no sign of discomfort, Mali followed suit, walking them back to the statue before offering a bow. "May the Force be with you all."

Unsmiling, Zemma Rufos nodded. "And also with you."

They returned to their speeders, their bodyguards boxing them in, and Mali and Aldayr watched until the last escort bike had turned the corner.

"Are we going to track them?" Aldayr asked.

"Of course not. I told them we wouldn't, and it builds trust to follow through on my word.  Trust has been a hard thing for these people for a year now."

Aldayr considered it, then said, "And if they decide to keep…resisting?"

Mali grimaced, but said, "We'll plot that course when we come to it. For now, we'll remain optimistic."

Aldayr privately wondered if optimism might stray into naiveté, but he had to admit… "You handled the negotiations pretty well, Master."

"Thanks. It helps having a crowd that all really want the same thing." He smirked. "I've had enough practice lately that this was a cinch."