Aaron Allston - Conviction

Luke Skywalker; Jedi Grand Master (human male)

Ben Skywalker; Jedi Knight (human male)

Vestara Khai; Sith apprentice (human female)

Leia Organa Solo; Jedi Knight (human female)

Han Solo; pilot (human male)

Allana Solo; child (human female)

Tahiri Veila; defendant (human female)

Natasi Daala; Chief of State, Galactic Alliance (human female)

Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (human female)

Wynn Dorvan; government aide (human male)

Valin Horn; Jedi Knight (human male)

Jysella Horn; Jedi Knight (human female)

Corran Horn; Jedi Master (human male)

Drikl Lecersen; Moff (human male)

Haydnat Treen; Senator (human female)

Seha Dorvald; Jedi Knight (human female)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away.

T HE MEDICAL READOUT BOARD ON THE CARBONITE POD FLICKERED , then went dark, announcing that the young man just being thawed from suspended animationValin Horn, Jedi Knightwas dead.

Master Cilghal, preeminent physician of the Jedi Order, felt a jolt of alarm ripple through the Force. It was not her own alarm. The emotion was the natural reaction of all those gathered to see Valin and his sister, Jysella, rescued from an unfair, unwarranted sentence imposed not by a court of justice, but by Galactic Alliance Chief of State Daala herself. Had they come to see these Jedi Knights freed and instead become witness to a tragedy?

But what Cilghal didnt feel in the Force was the winking out of a life. Valin was still there, a diminished but intact presence in the Force.

She waved at the assembly, a calming motion. Be still. She did not need to exert herself through the Force. Most of those present were Jedi Masters and Jedi Knights who respected her authority. Not one of them was easily panicked, not even the little girl beside Han and Leia.

Standing between Valins and Jysellas hovergurneys with her assistant Tekli, Cilghal concentrated on the young man lying to her right. His body gleamed with a trace of dark fluid: all that remained of the melted carbonite that had imprisoned him. He was as still as the dead. Cilghal pressed her huge, webbed hand against his throat to check his pulse. She found it, shallow but steady.

The readout board flickered again and the lights came up in all their colors, strong, the pulse monitor flickering with Valins heartbeat, the encephaloscan beginning to jitter with its measurements of Valins brain activity.

Tekli, a Chadra-Fan, her diminutive size and glossy fur coat giving her the aspect of a plush toy instead of an experienced Jedi Knight and physician, spun away from Valins gurney and toward the one beside it. On it lay Jysella Horn, slight of build, also gleaming a bit with un-evaporated carbonite residue. Tekli put one palm against Jysellas forehead and pressed the fingers of her other hand across Jysellas wrist.

Cilghal nodded. Computerized monitors might fail, but the Force sense of a trained Jedi would not, at least not under these conditions.

Tekli glanced back at Cilghal and gave a brisk nod. All was well.

The pulse under Cilghals hand began to strengthen and quicken. Also good, also normal.

Cilghal moved around the head of the gurney and stood on the far side, a step back from Valin. When he awoke, his vision would be clouded, and perhaps his judgment as well. It would not do for him to wake with a large form standing over him, gripping his throat. Violence might result.

She caught the attention of Corran and Mirax, parents of the two patients. That was merely an electronic glitch. Cilghal tried to make her tones reassuring, knowing her effort was not likely to succeedMon Calamari voices, suited to their larger-than-human frames, were resonant and even gravelly, an evolutionary adaptation that allowed them to be heard at greater distances in their native underwater environments. Unfortunately, they tended to sound harsh and even menacing to human ears. But she had to try. They are fine.