Apocalypse Read Online Free PDF Page B

met Kem’s gaze.
    “You’d move me out of this cell?” he asked. “And keep me away from Lady Korelei?”
    “Of course,” Kem assured him. “As long as you continue to serve me, you’ll be safe from Lady Korelei.”
    “I won’t be your mouthpiece,” Wynn warned. His demands, he knew, would mean nothing to her—but he had to make them, or she would grow suspicious of his true motives. “And I won’t feed you the names of beings who stand against you.”
    “I expect nothing of the sort,” Kem assured him, smiling broadly and warmly. “I have enough names to last a standard year.”
    Wynn allowed his discomfort at the assertion to show in his face, but asked, “Well then, what
do
you expect from me?”
    “Nothing but what you gave Chief Daala,” Kem said. “By all accounts, you’re an excellent administrator and a capable adviser.”
    “You want
my
advice?” Wynn began to think he was hallucinating—that he had finally broken under Korelei’s attentions and lost his mind. “You can’t be sincere.”
    “But I
am …
so very sincere.” Kem reached for the arm of the woman she had brought along, then pulled her forward to stand next to the cot. “I’m sure you remember Lieutenant Lydea Pagorski?”
    Pagorski
—of course. She was the Imperial intelligence officer who had perjured herself at Tahiri Veila’s murder trial. Wynn nodded and turned to the woman.
    “I do,” he said. “I’m sorry to see you here, too.”
    Pagorski’s face grew even paler, and she cast a nervous glance toward Kem.
    Kem merely rolled her eyes. “There’s no need to feel
sorry
for the lieutenant,” she said. “The Empire wants her returned, and I’d like to know whether to grant their request.”
    “You’re asking me to make the decision?” Wynn asked, more suspicious than ever.
    “To give me your opinion, yes,” Kem said. “You won’t be making any decisions yourself.”
    Wynn began to feel a little better about the arrangement. Kem and her Sith were, after all, practically strangers to the galaxy at large. It made sense that they might need someone like him to help sort through the thousands of diplomatic petitions that came through the Chief of State’s office every day.
    “What did the Empire offer in return for Lieutenant Pagorski’s release?” he asked.
    Kem frowned. “Nothing.”
    “Not even a task force port call?”
    “Nothing at
all
,” Kem said. “I’ll deny the request.”
    Wynn shook his head. “You should grant it.”
    “I should grant it, when they offer nothing?” Now that the possibility of payment had been raised, Kem seemed offended that nonehad been offered. “And if they
had
offered something, what should I have done? Taken only half?”
    “No,” Wynn replied. “You should have refused to return the lieutenant at all, then moved her into a military interrogation facility before they could assassinate her.”
    Kem looked truly confused. “Because the offer was an insult?”
    “Because it would have meant that Lieutenant Pagorski was valuable to them,” Wynn explained. “And before you even considered releasing her, you would want to know the nature of that value.”
    “And because they offer nothing, she has no value?”
    “That’s right—the request is merely routine.” Wynn turned to Pagorski. “You have family on Bastion, don’t you? Someone important?”
    Pagorski’s eyes widened. “My father is an admiral in Fleet Provisions,” she said. “How did you know?”
    “He’s putting pressure on the diplomatic corps,” Wynn replied. “They made the request so they could tell him they’re doing something.”
    “I can’t grant such a request,” Kem objected. “It will diminish my stature.”
    Wynn shook his head. “You’re forgetting your public persona,” he said, surprised that the leader of the Sith would make such a mistake. “You’re supposed to be Rokari Kem, a wise and compassionate leader from B’nish—not Rokari Kem, a greedy and