He was right, of course. Even out here, far from the city, the atmosphere was electric, and Elzar, more so than any Jedi Stellan had ever met, was affected by his surroundings. Others saw it as a failing, but Stellan knew it as the way Mann connected to the Force, how he thought the way he did. They really weren’t that different, although Elzar seemed to have less of an issue with the cam droids that swarmed around them like bloat-bottles. Stellan had coped with Rhil Dairo’s cam on the Coruscant Dawn, gotten used to it even, but an army of the things was a different matter. Stellan glanced over to the media corps, who huddled behind barriers to the side of the chancellor’s party. Rhil was among them. She had clearance to be with the official welcoming committee but had chosen to join her fellow reporters. A diplomatic move? Maybe, although Stellan suspected the young woman was keeping her ear to the proverbial ground, on the lookout for new leads. She was a shrewd customer and belonged in this world, while Stellan was feeling surprisingly out of his depth. Everyone thought he was taking this all in his stride. He knew what the others thought of him—most of his close friends teased him often enough. Stellan Gios likes the sound of his own voice. Stellan Gios can’t get enough of the limelight. All of that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Elzar was right. Stellan had spent most of his career in temples. Teaching. Advising. Coaxing. Elzar and Avar—they were the pioneers, they were the explorers. He was a mentor, not used to the public gaze, no matter how the Order positioned him as the bright young thing on the Council, an example to all. He didn’t particularly like it, but if it was the will of the Force, who was he to argue or complain. Jedi were supposed to be an example, a guiding light. He should take this as the opportunity it was. The blessing.

As if to test his new resolve, a cam droid dropped down in front of his face, its lenses zooming in for a close-up. Rhil’s droid, T-9. Stellan forced a smile, hoping it looked genuine, and breathed out in relief as the droid darted away, distracted by the sudden whine of a descending shuttle.

“Don’t worry,” Elzar whispered as the party shuffled itself into the lines that Samera had preordained. “You’ll be out of the crosshairs soon enough.” Mann shielded his eyes to gaze up at the landing ship. “All eyes will be on her.”

The shuttle was certainly beautiful, its hull long and tapered, long wings swiveling up as the landing rig silently deployed. Its hull gleamed like polished bronzium, the engines all but silent as it gently touched down.

“Was all well at the hotel?” Stellan asked, adjusting his cloak.