"You are my business here." "Exactly. Exactly!" She snatched his wrist and yanked him down toward her with astonishing strength.",' was your business here. Those people had nothing to do with you. Nor you with them. But you can't stop being a Jedi," she said bitterly. "No matter what. With the existence of the whole Jedi Order at stake, you had to play HoloNet hero. Now your business here is ruined. Destroyed. Everything is wasted. It's too late. Too late for all of us. You have to leave here, Mace. You have to leave right now, or Kar will kill you." "I'm planning on it," Mace agreed. "And you're coming with me." "Oh," she said. The fire inside her dwindled, and her strength with it. Her hand went slack on Mace's arm. "Oh. you think-you think I can just leave." "You must leave, Depa. I don't know what you think is holding you here-" "You don't understand. How could you? You haven't seen-I haven't shown you-You can't possibly understand." Mace thought of his hallucination at the outpost. "I understand," he said slowly, "all there is to understand. And now I believe it." "Do you understand that,' am not in command here?" Mace shrugged. "Is anyone?" "Exactly," she said. "Exactly. Master Yoda-Master Yoda would say, You see, but you do not see." "Depa-" "You are alive right now because Kar doesn't want to upset me. That's the only reason.
Not because I can order him. To do anything. Because I ashed him. I asked to give you a chance to run away. Because Kar-because Kar likes me-" Mace turned and looked down at the people and akks in the jungle. Twilight was deepening, and glowvines were beginning to pulse to life. The akks stirred uneasily, muttering deep half growls down in their enormous chests. Nick sat on the ground, knees drawn up and wrapped by his arms. He kept his head down, studiously avoiding looking at Vaster. The lor pelek paced back and forth in front of the ankkox's head, stalking like a hungry vine cat, flicking glances up at Mace and Depa and away again, as though he did not want to be caught looking.
"Vaster commands the ULF-?" "There is no ULF!" Depa hissed. "The ULF is a name, that's all. I made it up! The Upland Liberation Front is a make-believe bogey on which to blame every raid and ambush and theft and petty sabotage and I don't know what all. The militia's going crazy looking for a pattern to our strikes. Trying to figure out our strategy. Because there is no pattern. No strategy. There is no ULF. There is just this clan, and that family, and one gang here and another there. That's all.
Ragged Korun bandits and murderers." "Your reports-" "Reports." She looked like she wanted to grab him and shake him, but was just too tired.
"What should I have told you? You've seen a little of Haruun Kal. What could I have said to make you understand?" "You don't have to make me understand. All you have to do is come with me." "Mace, listen to me: I can't." She sagged, and lowered her face into her hands. "Kar is willing to let you go only because I am staying. To keep you away from me. If I leave with you. Going through the jungle, Mace: think of it. On foot, on grassers. Even in a steam- crawler. All the way back to Pelek Baw? Haven't you seen enough of him today to know that nowhere in the jungle could you ever be safe?" The weight in Mace's chest lightened, just a bit. He swallowed, and found that his breath came more easily.
She was afraid for him. She had not fallen so far that she no longer cared.
That was his victory right there.
"We won't be going through the jungle," he said. "I have a ship on-station with a battalion of troopers. My comm's damaged, or we'd be on our way right now. Nick says you have subspace at the Lorshan Pass caverns. We can be out of the system less than a day after we get there." She lifted her head again, and there was still no hope in her eyes. "It'll take two days to get there. If you're still here in two hours, Kar will kill you. Two minutes." "Leave Vaster to me." Mace leaned forward, resting his forearms on the howdah's polished rail. "I am not leaving without you." "You have to." "Let me put it another way." Mace took a deep breath. "Master Depa Billaba: by my authority as a Senior Member of the Jedi Council, and general of the Grand Army of the Republic, you are hereby relieved of command of Republic forces on Haruun Kal, uniformed and irregular. You are relieved of all duties and responsibilities in the action on this planet. You are suspended from the Jedi Council, pending investigation of your actions on Haruun Kal, and you are ordered to proceed with all due speed to Coruscant, where you will present yourself to the Council for judgment." Depa shook her head. "You can't-you can't-" "Depa," Mace said sadly, "you are under arrest." "This is ridiculous-" "Yes. And absolutely serious. You know me, Depa. How many arrests did we make, all those years? You know I will deliver my prisoner, or die in the attempt." She nodded slowly, and she found a smile once more: a sad, quiet smile, edged with bitter knowledge. "Will you accept my parole? If I give my word not to. attempt escape?" "I will always trust you, Depa." Sudden tears sparkled again in her eyes, and she turned her face away. "How many times are you going to make me save your life?" "Just this once more," he said. "You can come with me, or you can watch me die. Your choice." Her shoulders twitched, and shook, and Mace for a moment thought she might be sobbing, but then her soft dry chuckle reached his ears.
"I have missed you, Mace." Her eyes sparkled with tears. "I can't tell you how I've missed you. Of course you knew exactly the spot where my defenses would crumble. But I'm not your real problem," she said tiredly. "What are you going to do about Kar?" "You're my only problem," Mace told her. "I found your shatter-point; do you think I'd miss his?" "I think he doesn't have one." "That," said Mace Windu, "remains to be seen." "You and your shatterpoints." Her sad smile was dazzling on her tear-stained face. "Who but Mace Windu would think to take him-^hostage?" Mace's head twitched to the right in a Korun shrug. "I was the only one available." Mace leapt lightly down from the ankkox. "Kar Vaster. We need to talk." We do not. Vaster did not meet his eyes. As you said: the next time we meet, there may be a fight.
"What I said was," Mace replied lazily, "the next time we're alone together, there may be a fight. But I gave you too much credit. I mean, that is why you brought all your puppies along, isn't it? You certainly didn't seem interested in standing up to me without them." Vastor's head turned like a steamcrawler's gun turret. What?
"You have a problem with me?" Mace spread his hands. "I'm right here." Tendons in Vastor's neck cranked his head down a centimeter at a time. She doesn't want you hurt.