Star Wars: The Last of the Jedi, Volume 9 by Jude Watson Read Free Book Online

but you’d never know it. There’s no protocol here. The Queen has been here in the kitchen, kneading bread with me, many times. Leia, too. They want to bring her up right, you
know. Strong and sure, but knowing that she’s blessed to have so much. You have to start early. When she came to them, it was a stroke of good fortune. We knew how sad the Queen had
been.”
    Ferus nodded, but he wasn’t sure what Memily meant. “It must have been hard, to see her that way,” he said. Sometimes a neutral comment would bring you information you
wouldn’t get with a question.
    “She wanted her own children. It wasn’t meant to be. But a newborn comes and it becomes the child you’re meant to have. Leia has been a great gift to the household.”
    Leia was adopted.
The news surprised Ferus. And Leia had been a newborn when she came here, which meant she’d been adopted at the end of the Clone Wars. That made sense. The war
had created many orphans.
    Ferus stood. “Thank you for the bread.”
    Memily smiled her good-bye and he left the kitchen.
    Ferus headed toward the public wing of the house, where Bail had received him earlier. He found himself in a broad hallway and heard the murmur of voices. He drew closer, trying to focus on the
sounds. Normally they would be undetectable, but he reached out with the Force.
    “…I declined because I think it’s too soon,” Bail said. “Breha agrees with me.”
    “I see your thinking. Alderaan can always join a united resistance movement once it’s firmly established. There’s no need to place us in danger.”
    “That’s not my reason, Deara.” Breha spoke now. “We would share the risk if we felt the moment was right. That’s not the issue. If you disagree, please tell us. We
value your opinion.”
    “I agree with you and Bail, Breha. But there is something else. Something disturbing I’ve heard. There are many in Aldera who feel they should form a resistance movement. And prepare
for invasion, should that come. They feel we should reexamine our weapons policy in light of what’s happening on other planets. What if Alderaan is invaded?”
    “If Alderaan is invaded we can hardly hope to defeat the Empire’s forces,” Bail said. “We have no weapons, no attack ships.”
    “But the people feel they would want to defend themselves.”
    “If we got through the Clone Wars without arming ourselves, we can outlast the Empire,” Breha said, her tone sharp.
    “Of course. I’m just repeating what I’ve heard.”
    Ferus heard the sound of boots hurrying along the hallway. He faded back and concealed himself around a corner.
    “Raymus Antilles!” It was the Queen’s voice. “We started the meeting without you, but we can—”
    “I have news.”
    The doors shut behind Raymus. Suddenly Ferus couldn’t hear a thing. He walked closer, making no sound. His breathing slowed; his movements were quick but completely noiseless. Not a rustle
of cloth, not a brush against a wall, not even a disturbance of air. Ferus closed his eyes. He let the Force guide him. The noises of the palace came to him, sounds he hadn’t even registered,
sounds he hadn’t heard. Conversation outside in the garden. Memily closing the oven door. An insect was scratching behind a wall….
    The door was wood, and there was a new barrier behind it…something to muffle sound. Durasteel most likely. But even durasteel was slightly porous. It was made up of particles, like anything
else, like fabric, like wood. And through those spaces he could slip, all attention, everything focused on sound.
    Raymus: He has landed at the spaceport. He’ll be here in moments.
    Bail: This is not unexpected. Palpatine was bound to send his enforcer sooner or later. The question is, what does he want?
    Queen Breha: What should we do?
    Raymus: You must receive him, of course. But Bail, if you have a message for Mon Mothma, give it to me now. I can still slip away and get to the
Tantive
. If he is authorized by the