Feesa didn't answer. "I see," Mara said, eyeing Formbi closely. "So I was wrong. It wasn't the Aristocra running this scam at all. It was Feesa."
The Aristocra's closed eyelids twitched. "And since she's obviously too young to be a senior member of a Ruling Family or anything else," Mara went on, "I guess it's perfectly all right for me to make such accusations against—"
"Enough," Formbi said quietly.
"Please, Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano," Feesa said, an edge of urgency in her voice. "It's all right. I'm not afraid to admit my part in this."
"Your loyalty honors me, second niece," Formbi said, reaching over to touch her hand. "But it was my plan, and my decision. I cannot and will not allow others to take the responsibility for my actions."
He turned his head slightly. "Jedi Skywalker: approach where I may see you, and ask what you will."
Mara stepped up beside Feesa. "You knew they were Vagaari, didn't you?" she said, determined not to let his drawn face or the oozing blood on his arm influence her. "You knew it right from the start."
Formbi nodded. "Yes."
"But you told me you'd never seen one before," Jinzler objected.
"That was true," Formbi acknowledged. "But I had received a detailed description from one who had seen them." He smiled at Jinzler. "You, of all of us, should understand."
Mara stared at Formbi as it suddenly hit her. "You mean... Car'das?"
Again, the Aristocra nodded. "He and I spoke briefly when he brought the ambassador to the Chaf Envoy" he said. "When the Vagaari then appeared, I knew it was indeed them."
"Car'das gets around more than I'd realized," Mara commented. "Is he also the one who clued the Vagaari in on this in the first place?"
"No," Formbi said. "When I sent the message to Admiral Parck requesting Master Skywalker's presence, I made sure the transmission had enough edge leakage to be intercepted in the regions where we suspected the Vagaari were gathering their strength."
"And even knowing who they were, you let them aboard your ship?" Jinzler demanded, sounding more surprised than angry.
Formbi closed his eyes again. "The Vagaari are a violent people, Ambassador," he said wearily. "They have killed many, enslaved many others, and driven all who know them to terror and despair. Worse, they may already have made alliances with powers even more dangerous than they are. If Bearsh succeeds in escaping with even a partial route into the Redoubt, I have no doubt that knowledge will be used against us to terrible advantage."
"So the Vagaari need to be slapped down hard," Mara said, frowning. "So what's the problem?"
Formbi smiled wanly. "The problem is Chiss military doctrine, Jedi Skywalker," he said. "Specifically, the decree that no potential adversaries may be attacked until and unless they first act against Chiss interests within Chiss space."
Mara stared at him. "You wanted them to make a move against you," she said, not quite sure she believed it. "You invited them aboard one of your ships and into your most critical military base, hoping they'd pull this exact stunt."
Drask snorted. "This exact stunt? That had better not be the case."
"Of course I didn't expect what actually occurred," Formbi assured him. "My expectation was that the five Vagaari we permitted aboard would attempt to take control of the Chaf Envoy at some point after we reached Outbound Flight. That would have been sufficient provocation for us to act."
"Especially when you add in the slaughter of a few unarmed crewers?" Fel put in.
"Loss of life was neither necessary nor expected," Formbi insisted, some heat seeping through the fatigue into his voice. "My ship had been specially prepared for this mission. All crewers had been provided with hidden areas near their duty stations where they could protect themselves from attack as they watched for the Vagaari to betray themselves. With a squad of warriors in the Dreadnaught docking bay, I also expected there to be ample warning if Bearsh and the others attempted to return to the vessel. We expected to merely catch them in the act of attempted theft or sabotage, which would have satisfied the rules of engagement."
He closed his eyes. "I did not expect such a massive attack to come from the other direction," he said, the heat fading away. "The warriors whom I stationed in the Dreadnaught are certainly dead. So perhaps are all who we left aboard. Their blood now lies on my hands."
"It's hardly your fault that you didn't know about the Vagaari suspended animation trick," Jinzler pointed out. "Car'das must have missed that one."
"He merely met them," Formbi said. "He wasn't given a tour of their technical facilities."
"He'll have to do better next time," Mara said. "What about the others? Feesa and General Drask and your other aides?"
"Feesa knew the entire plan," Formbi said. "That was why I insisted she come along, so that if anything happened to me she could direct the operation. No one else knew more than you yourself were told."
He smiled slightly. "Though I believe General Drask was able to deduce much of the truth."
"Much, but not all," Drask rumbled. "It would have been better if you had taken me into your full confidence."
"If I had, you would have been as guilty as I of manipulating events to bring about this end." Formbi shook his head. "No. On my hands, and mine alone, must this rest."
"You can sort all that out when you get home," Mara said. "Can we assume the rules of engagement have been satisfied?"
"They have been more than satisfied, Jedi Skywalker," Drask said darkly. "We have been attacked without justification or mercy. A state of war now exists between the Chiss Ascendancy and the Vagaari."
"Good," Mara said. "I'd hate to have to go through this again just because we'd missed something in the fine print. In that case, there's just one little loose end left. That falling cable that nearly knocked Luke across the room when we first came aboard the Chaf Envoy. I trust you're not going to try to blame that one on the Vagaari?"
Drask cleared his throat self-consciously. "I am afraid I am to blame for that incident, Jedi Skywalker," he confessed. "When Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano asked Admiral Parck who of the New Republic would be the best warriors to have at hand against possible trouble, he recommended you and Master Skywalker."
"He seemed to have firsthand knowledge of your fighting skill," Formbi murmured.
"Yes," Drask said. "However, I did not entirely trust his tales of Jedi abilities."
"So you arranged a demonstration," Mara said. "Did we meet with your approval?"
"Let us simply say that you did not disappoint." Drask smiled slightly. "The demonstration arranged today by the Vagaari gave you a far better opportunity to prove yourselves."
"Yes," Mara murmured. "I should hope so."
Behind her, the door slid open and Evlyn and Rosemari stepped in, Pressor close behind them. "There you are," Mara said. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm all right," the girl said, looking around at the others as the door slid shut again. Possibly comparing bandage counts, Mara thought with a brief flicker of amusement. "Is Luke all right?" she asked. "I mean, Master Skywalker? He saved my life, pulling me down and protecting me when the pylon exploded."
"He's fine," Mara assured her as her mother steered her to one of the other recovery tables. "And as far as saving lives goes, I think the two of you come out pretty even on that scoring."
"What do you mean?" Rosemari asked, an odd edge to her voice. "Evlyn didn't do anything."
"She most certainly did," Mara insisted. "Evlyn reactivated that turbolift trap at exactly the right moment to shoot the car down the tube and into the eddy rotation just before the explosives detonated. If she hadn't done that, it would have been the fractured ceiling that took the brunt of the explosion instead of the wall, and a lot more high-speed debris would have gotten through. That kind of prescient timing can only come from the Force."