Read Online Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore - Free Book Online Page B

Tamaktis Breetha bowed and held his position.
    Nom Anor nodded to Shok Tinoktin, and the man moved out of the way, allowing Leia a clear path to Nom Anor.
    She sucked in her breath; Nom Anor saw the recognition, the surprise, even horror, upon her face. He looked like Darth Vader!
    “I bring greetings from the council of the New Republic,” Leia said in formal greeting, and the fact that she spoke so quickly, and with her voice controlled and even, offered Nom Anor a bit of insight into the strength of this woman. She was one to respect.
    “You bring interference where it is not wanted,” he countered. Tamaktis Breetha gasped, and even Shok Tinoktin was a bit taken aback at Nom Anor’s sudden surliness and brusque attitude.
    “We have come as arranged,” Leia said. “An agreement between you and Borsk Fey’lya, I believe.”
    “I agreed that an emissary could come,” Nom Anor admitted. “To what end, I do not know. What can you contribute, Leia Organa Solo, to the dispute between Rhommamool and Osarian? What flame of hope can you light within the Rhommamoolians that their desperate cry for independence shall not be ignored by the New Republic, who speak of freedom as the greatest of all virtues?”
    “Perhaps we should retire to more private chambers,” Leia suggested. Tamaktis Breetha seemed about to agree, but a look from Nom Anor cured him of that suicidal urge.
    “What have you to hide?” Nom Anor mocked her.
    “More comfortable quarters, then,” the woman persisted.
    “Will a chair make you more comfortable?” Nom Anor asked. “Physically, perhaps, but will it make you more comfortable with the truth?”
    Leia looked at him incredulously.
    “For that is all that I have to offer you,” Nom Anor rolled on. “The truth that Osarian has no claim over the people of Rhommamool. The truth of the frailties and failings of your New Republic. The truth of the false heroes, the Jedi Knights.”
    “Your
truth,” Mara interjected, and Leia glanced back at her.
    Glad of the confirmation that his little tirade was wearing thin on them, Nom Anor didn’t even try to hide his smile, though it was hardly visible through the black face screen.
    “There is only one truth,” he said calmly. “It is when one does not like to hear it that one concocts other, more palatable versions.”
    “If I may, Princess Leia,” C-3PO began, moving forward. “There is ample history of the Jedi Knights to show them as true—”
    “Silence!” Nom Anor growled at the droid, and the powerful being trembled visibly, as if he was about to explode into murderous action against poor C-3PO, who was also trembling, though hardly in a threatening manner.
    “Are we to discuss the situation between Osarian and Rhommamool?” Leia asked, her tone diplomatic and soothing. She moved as she spoke to gently push C-3PO back, and nodded to Jaina to collect the droid and to keep him quiet.
    “I thought we were doing just that,” Nom Anor said, under complete control once more, as Leia turned back to him.
    “This is not a meeting,” Leia countered. “It is a lecture in a hallway.”
    “And even that is more than Borsk Fey’lya deserves,” NomAnor was quick to answer. “Would you not agree, former Councilor Solo?”
    “This is not about Borsk Fey’lya,” Leia retorted, keeping her calm, though Nom Anor saw the fringes at the edge of that calm beginning to unravel. “This is about the fate of two worlds.”
    “Who need nothing from the hypocritical New Republic,” Nom Anor added. “The New Republic that speaks of peace and prosperity, when it means peace in terms of the lower classes having no power to gain wealth or power, and prosperity only for elite friends of the New Republic.”
    Leia shook her head and sputtered a few undecipherable words.
    “Order your battle cruiser to destroy the Osarians’ ability to attack Rhommamool,” Nom Anor said in all seriousness. “Shoot down their starfighters and cripple their missile