Chapter 33: An Enigma

Minerva did not like the sound of this and quickly moved in between the Admiral and Rey, separating the two. Defensively, she glared at the mysterious man and snapped, “What are you up to?” She glanced back at Rey and added, “Dear, you should talk to me first before discussing business with this fox.”

Primidian laughed at this hartley and waved dismissively, “Minerva, you're such a mother hen.” His eyes grew playful, and he explained, “Ms. Skywalker and I have personal matters to discuss.” He then glanced at Rey and added, “Plus, she is far more capable than you think.”

The woman stamped her foot and growled, “She may be, but she is not nearly capable enough to deal with you.” She turned to the young Jedi's eyes worried and asked, “Come on dear, we can settle whatever it is here and now.”

Rey was torn between feeling she could trust Minerva with anything and not wanting to burden her. Even Laia, a far more experienced Jedi and politician, was ruined just by being related to Darth Vader. If people found out she had blood ties to the Emperor and was somehow involved with Snoke, things could go bad quickly.

After contemplating this, she decided it was best to protect her mentor by keeping this matter to herself until she knew more about it. At the moment, she had become too great of a liability, and if she was going to be attacked in the political arena, she didn't want it coming back to hurt Mknerva, who stood to become the next Chancellor. The Jedi put on a smile and responded, “It's really just a personal matter.” The woman grew more worried, though, Rey added, eyeing Primidian cautiously, “If it becomes more than that, you'll be the first person I turn to.”

The old woman wasn't one to give up that easily and huddled turned to Emi and ordered, “Tell me what's going on here.”

Surprisingly, the cyborg shook her head and responded, “The matter is of no political relevance. I can't violate Lady Skywalker's privacy.”

Minerva deflated, looking around at everyone and snapping, “This is a conspiracy, isn't it? To drive me mad with worry.”

Primidian laughed again and put an arm around her shoulders in a side hug, “Calm down; I promised not to scheme anything, didn't I.” His voice grew softer as he added, “You can't protect her forever. At least with me, there's no risk of any real harm.”

Having been slightly consoled by this, the Vice-Chancellor took in a breath and grumbled in a barely audible voice, “Real harm, my ass.” She sighed and pulled away from the man, looking at Rey, “If you're confident, my dear, then go ahead.” She glared at the Admiral like a predator just a hair away from attacking and added, “Just be careful.”

Rey nodded quickly, glad Minerva was willing to back down, and responded, “Of course, I know what I'm doing.”

The woman looked at the Jedi like she doubted her last words but then sighed again. Like a mother resigning herself to her child heading off into the world. In a worried voice, she mumbled, “I hope so.”

A silence before the cabin till Sveck called from the back, “If y'all are done quarreling, then I'd like to inform you that your transport has arrived.”

Minerva snorted and quickly turned towards the rear, calling, “Come on girls, we're leaving.”

Primidian Nodded to her respectfully but only got a glare in return. Emi was unphased by his gesture while Rey nodded back, her eyes full of caution. Like always, he was unreadable in the Force, though his smile and emotion seemed genuine.

Her greatest lurking fear was that the man was some Sith Cultist, which would help explain his closeness with Palpatine and Snoke as well as his agelessness. However, he didn't give off even the slightest traces of the Dark Side. She found it impossible that a Cultist or even a Sith could conceal such an aura so completely. There would be some sort of sign or at least traces left in their surroundings. At the same time, he seemed so dedicated to peace in such a selfless manner. If anything, he seemed more like a Jedi of old than a Dark Side user. It was impossible for her to come to a conclusion about this anytime soon, and she needed more information.

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Rey avoided meeting Minerva's eye as they jumped between vessels, but once in the Vice-Chancellor's transport, the Jedi found she was cornered. She retreated to a seat while the older woman sat across from her, silently glaring. Minerva did not speak, but the pressure soon became unbearable, and the Jedi blurted, “It's really not anything important.”

The woman crossed her arms, looking suspicious, and merely responded, “Oh really.”

Rey winced at this and added, “It's about my past, there's…” She didn't know how to quell the woman's worries without exposing everything and ended up summarizing everything, “Problems.”

Minerva raised an eyebrow and repeated, “Problem.”

Rey shrunk back, her hand clasped in her lap like a nervous child, “Politically, damming problems.”

The woman let out a sigh and grumbled, “Fine then, I see where you're coming from.” Her eyes grew surprisingly serious as she continued, “But be careful. The Admiral is by no means a saint. We may very well be the most dangerous man at the peace talks. If you become a liability to the peace effort…” The woman's complexion grew dark, and she shivered before finishing, “Luckily, he seems to already have an idea of what's going on.”

Rey was now a bit worried by how frightened her mentor seemed and couldn't help but ask, “Is he that dangerous.”

Minerva sighed again and rubbed her forehead before explaining, “After the fall of the Empire before the First Order gained, the Galaxy was engulfed in chaos. War Lords sprouted up everywhere.” She looked at Rey and asked, “What do you think happened to them?”

The Jedi considered her history classes and answered, “The old New Republic and later the First Order destroyed them.”

Minerva shook her head, “To a degree, yes, but most of them seemed to simply sputter out on their own. Infighting, assassinations, lack of funds, there were many ways they died off.” Her gaze then grew weary as she arrived at her point, “This is a strict secret, but the collapse of a majority of those organizations can be traced to an unknown influencer.” Making intense eye contact with Rey, she concluded, “At the time, the only person that had the political, military, and economic power as well as the motive to orchestrate such a feat was Admiral Primidian.”

Rey was shocked by this and blurted, “Then how did the First Order gain power if he was fighting them.”

Minerva looked depressed at this and responded glumly, “It took a number of factors. The old New Republic had to start from almost nothing. The current Republic was built on the foundation they left for us.” She grew forlorn and added, “At that time, corruption and bureaucracy were even more rampant as people vied for power in the new social order. After Laya was removed from power, things only got worse. By the time the Republic was getting ready to take action against the First Order, Star Killer Base was operational, and everyone panicked; only the Resistance had the courage to stand up to them.”

The Jedi considered this and came to a grim realization; she asked, “Then couldn't it be possible he was just clearing the way for the First Order. To help the Emperor regain power through Snoke.”

The woman looked conflicted and melancholy at this, with pain and worry in her eyes that Rey had never seen before. Minerva answered, “I certainly hope not, but I honestly don't know..” Rey felt a shiver go up her spine as the Vice-Chancellor finished, “For all the years I've known the Admiral, I still can't say I know the slightest thing about his true intentions. All I know is our goals are currently aligned.”

Rey suddenly felt lost and even a little frightened. In her eyes, Minerva had always been the pinnacle of political knowledge and wisdom. She was both wise and kind, an ideal politician fighting for the sake of the people. Minerva seemed to always know how to resolve any problem and remained confident no matter how difficult the situation became. But for the briefest of moments, her mask had slipped, revealing just how worried she really was. Worried that she was on the wrong side of history and playing into the hands of a fiend beyond her ability to see through.

The woman recovered. He composed in a moment and let out a sigh as the steely resolve returned to her eyes. Looking at Rey, she smiled and spoke dismissively, “But that's just politics as usual; you can never really be sure of anything.” She breathed out, looking a bit refreshed, and continued, “We just need to do our best; that's all we can do.”

The Jedi nodded slowly, letting this all sink in; quietly, she responded, “Yeah, you're right.”

The rest of the trip back to the hotel was silent. Minerva was brought out a holoboard and began going through papers while Emi sat with her eyes closed as though in sleep mode. Rey was left with much to think about. Unlike many, she knew the Snoke was more than a front to Palpatine; it was a clone and, eventually, a vessel. The fact that Minerva believed the Admiral had cleared up all the minor warlords was also concerning. She could not believe the man's actions and the rise of the First Order were unrelated.

The picture these seemingly unrelated facts drew in her mind was grim. A trace of rare fear appeared in the Jedi's heart as she realized, without a doubt, that Admiral Primidian was not only a follower of Emperor Palpatine but a henchman to Darth Sidious. Despite knowing this in her heart, she still had no idea what his end goal was. He spoke of peace so easily, but despite all her training, Rey could not see through his true intentions at all.

The man was simply an enigma.