Star Wars: The Mask of Fear (Reign of the Empire) (Star Wars: Reign of the Empire Book 1)

by Alexander Freed

Who remembers any politician once they’ve retired?”

Saw’s gaze went to Bail, who returned the stare. Then Saw looked at Mon. “You’re the one Soujen almost killed?” “Yes,” Mon said. “You wanted to meet me?” Saw asked. “I did. I think the three of us have much to talk about.”

Bail waved a hand, and Mon took it as her cue to move on. “I believe we all agree the regime is dangerous and deeply entrenched,” she said. “Palpatine and his allies will not be removed by an act of the Senate or by an act of terror. If the solution was ever that simple, we’re past that point now. “It is also becoming clear that the worst excesses of his administration will not stop now that Palpatine has secured power. The death of the Jedi was a beginning. Now he plans mass arrests. He plans—”

trouble isn’t that Palpatine is a dictator or that he has total control of the military. Our trouble is that, by and large—all exceptions aside—the citizens of our nation are willing to believe his lies, ignore his purges, and accept his rule in return for stability. They may not want him, but they don’t want war. They want anything but war, and Palpatine has boxed us in so that war appears to be the only way out.

“So if we believe in democracy—if we believe the will and wisdom of the people is sacred and that they have a right to determine their destiny—how do we square that with what we’re trying to accomplish? The Emperor is a threat to democracy. Opposing him is also antidemocratic. That comes with implications. A friend tried to tell me that once.”

They came to no conclusions. They made no formal alliance. But by the end, they had an understanding of the scale and depth of the threat they faced—its malignant heart and its trillions of willing servants. They had an understanding of the impossibility of thwarting the Imperial project in a month or a year, and an appreciation of the fact that none of them could succeed alone. And if they had no binding plan, no promise of mutual aid, they at least recognized the possibility of something more.

Bail loved the Jedi. If he was haunted by them, it was because he cried out to their ghosts, because he strived to emulate their clarity and endurance—their faith that one brave soul, guided by the Force, could set the galaxy right. It was the wish of a child, carried with him since childhood, and it would shackle him forever if he didn’t act.

good. Maybe the flaws in the foundation had always been present, and the systems of democracy had never guaranteed justice. But she had believed, and belief had given her hope, and now…