“But they did, Republic Longbeams close behind.” Stellan’s tone was more forceful than he’d intended, but had the gratifying effect of shutting up Rosason, at least for a moment.

Pra-Tre Veter regarded him with concern over the holochannel.

“Master Gios, are you sure you shouldn’t rest? Your injuries—”

“Are not as bad as they look, thank you.” While that wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t exactly the whole truth, either. Torban Buck had wanted to plunge him into a bacta bath, but instead Stellan had pulled rank, opting for simple rejuv washes instead. A medical droid had closed the larger cuts with microsutures, Buck warning him that the stitches might leave scars. Stellan waved the concerns away, insisting that the already depleted bacta supplies be redirected to those who really needed them. As a Jedi, Stellan could look after himself, relying on the Force rather than stims that could dull his senses.

“What of the Nihil?” Grand Master Veter asked.

This was better. Stellan wanted to deal with facts, not recriminations.

“Most escaped,” he told the ancient Tarnab. “The Valon Security Force does have a small number of Nihil prisoners, but most are in critical condition. However, archivist OrbaLin did manage to subdue one raider, a Lamproid by the name of Quin Amarant. We have him in custody here in the outpost.”

Veter’s bushy eyebrows shot up. “You do?”

“At the request of Larep Reza who has assumed the position of acting chancellor while Lina Soh … recovers.”

The mention of her name took Stellan back to those dreadful moments after the bomb had detonated. He had been convinced that Soh was going to pass away in his arms. The explosion had reduced the REW to scrap, throwing Soh and the others to the ground. Most had survived with some odd broken bones, Madam Conserra suffering a deflated lung, but Soh had been caught in the wreckage, her injuries severe. True to form, though, the chancellor had proved stronger than she looked. Torban Buck had worked wonders maintaining her condition before Republic medics could arrive. Now she was in the outpost’s infirmary, in a clinical coma, ready to be transported back to Coruscant as soon as the doctors confirmed that she could be moved. Those same doctors weren’t happy with two targons lying permanently at her side, but there was little they could do about it.

“And the Lamproid is being questioned?” Veter asked.

“Yes,” Stellan confirmed, “although as yet he hasn’t revealed anything of note. However, we do have this …”

Stellan pressed a button on his cuff, activating footage of the fight between OrbaLin and the same Twi’lek who had attempted to storm the walker. He let it play for a moment before pausing it, the woman freezing mid-attack.