“Doing well,” Lina Soh said, her voice weaker than he had ever heard it, which was understandable considering what she had been through. The private chamber was devoid of medical droids, but only because Torban Buck had personally volunteered to care for the chancellor until she could be transferred onto the Coruscant Dawn—which had survived the assault, its crew fighting off a Nihil boarding party firsthand. Stellan looked over at Buckets of Blood, who was checking the chancellor’s vitals. Buck was an acquired taste, but his medical abilities were second to none. Soh looked better than Stellan had expected, another reason why Reza had no doubt allowed the interview, which would go through a rigorous vetting procedure before being broadcast. Sensors had been placed on Soh’s neck and temples, but she was free of breathing tubes, the scratches and cuts on her pale face either already treated or covered with bacta strips. Stellan fought the urge to look down at the bed, already having been briefed that Buck hadn’t been able to save Soh’s right leg. He wondered if that detail had made it into the interview.

He approached the medbed, Elzar waiting by the door. Rhil went to move aside, but Stellan made a point of smiling at her warmly. It was the first time he’d seen the young reporter since the opera house.

“We owe you a debt of thanks, Ms. Dairo.”

Rhil blushed, shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”

“I do,” Soh said from her bed. “From what archivist OrbaLin informed me, it was you who got the message offplanet.”

Rhil’s discomfort only increased. “I was just doing my duty, ma’am.”

Stellan was impressed by the woman’s humility. He knew reporters didn’t like to become the story, but this needed to be said. “Be that as it may, without your actions the Togrutas would never have known that we were in danger.”

“That their regasa was in danger, you mean,” Reza muttered, only to be reprimanded by Soh.

“They saved us, Larep.” Yes, the Longbeams came, but the Togrutas turned the tide. Weak or not, the chancellor was still a formidable presence. “I have placed Ms. Dairo’s bravery and resourcefulness on the record in our interview; an exclusive she more than deserves.”

“An interview I should edit,” Rhil said, waving for T-9 to follow her. “My producer will be waiting.”

She turned to leave, but Soh raised an arm, light glinting from the tube delivering painkillers to the back of her hand. “No. Please stay. Perhaps some shots of us talking would add a little color to your report, if the Council member doesn’t object.”

How could he? Not only was Lina Soh formidable, she was also a politician first and foremost, always looking for the perfect holo-opportunity, even now.