Chekkat sighed and hit a button on her remote. The hum dropped away and Stellan’s weapon crackled back to life, as did Elzar’s and Bell’s blades. Still pinned to the wall, the Tholothian raised a hand to call her own lightsaber to her, but it flew in the opposite direction, landing in Elzar’s hand instead.

“Hey, that’s mine!” she snapped.

“And definitely of Jedi design,” he responded, examining the hilt closely, “although it’s been modified over time.”

“Who are you?” Stellan asked.

“Ty Yorrick is my bodyguard,” Chekkat said, and Stellan felt a stab of annoyance from the young Tholothian. Perhaps she had wanted to keep her identity a secret. Stellan had certainly never heard of the name, but he would check with the registry back on Coruscant. The woman had obviously been trained by a Jedi at some point in her life, maybe even been a Padawan, but had never been Knighted, otherwise she would have been immortalized in the Corridor of the Lost in the Great Temple. Granted, she could have been expelled, but then he would have heard of her. Such removals were rare in the extreme, especially these days.

“And your name is Chekkat?” Bell asked, his lightsaber still burning.

“Mantessa Chekkat,” Toon supplied for her. “An inventor who approached my people with a device she said could be used by the Defense Force Program.”

“Which I have ably demonstrated,” Chekkat reminded him. “I thought you of all people would see its potential.”

Toon stepped up to the woman, his fists clenched. “I see something that is foolhardy and dangerous; a potential weapon that could be used against both Republic and Jedi forces.”

The confusion on Chekkat’s face deepened. “But what you said in the Senate … your speech about the Republic’s reliance on the Jedi—”

“Does not mean that I oppose the Jedi themselves,” Toon said, keeping his voice under control with a supreme effort. “The Jedi have long been our allies, and I pray that will continue for many generations to come.”

“Then why are you campaigning for the Defense Force?”

Stellan couldn’t help but wonder himself.

“Because I believe the Republic should be able to defend itself without relying on the Jedi alone. Because—stars forbid—if anything happened to the Jedi, where would we be?” He jabbed a finger at the nullifier. “But this is recainium. You have brought an illegal substance onto a Republic world, I’m assuming without the correct permits or permissions.”

Mantessa visibly swallowed. “I thought …”

“You thought that because you were meeting me, you were above the law. I’m afraid, Ms. Chekkat, that you are woefully mistaken.”

There was a clatter of footsteps from outside, followed immediately by the sudden arrival of armed Valo Security officers.

The lead officer took in the scene and turned instinctively toward Stellan. “We received a report of an incident.”