🛡️ This is the Way.
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"Lord Vizsla… this is absolutely impossible now." Orn Free Taa looked utterly dejected. "Aayla—Aayla, she… she's my sister! Brothers and sisters can't… do that kind of thing!"
"Senator Taa," Max scratched his head. "May I ask… what's your surname?"
"Huh?" The Senator scratched his head too. "Twi'leks on Ryloth put the given name first and the family name last—I'm Taa."
"And what's Aayla's surname?"
"Aayla Secura. Secura is her family name."
"And yours?"
"Taa. I—are you…?" Orn Free Taa was still confused for a beat, then it hit him mid-sentence. "Wait—right, I'm Taa, she's Secura—how could she be my sister?!"
"Senator Taa," Max said, and with the Force he floated over a glass of Aurodium Brandy, "this is the same thing. Aayla merely pulled a small Force trick—Jedi mind trick. This is Aayla testing you."
"Testing me?" Orn Free Taa accepted the glass, completely lost.
"A Jedi mind trick can't override a firm will. If your feelings for Aayla burn hot enough, it won't affect you. Go on—show the Jedi flower your blazing heart!"
"So that's what it is." Orn Free Taa's mood surged back up; his drooping lekku perked upright. He tipped his head back and downed the whole glass in one go. "Ah—Lord Vizsla… then I'll try again?"
"Go." Max clenched his fist in encouragement. "Keep at it—this is the Way."
…
"Lord Vizsla—Aayla is my long-lost biological sister! Brothers and sisters can't… do that kind of thing!"3
…
"Lord Vizsla—Aayla is my—my half-sister with different parents, but still my real sister! Brothers and sisters can't… do that kind of thing!"1
…
Galactic Standard Calendar Year 4, November 10, 08:00. Cloud City exited the Corellian Trade Spine hyperspace route and arrived near Corellia. After two days of rest and resupply there, Cloud City would jump into the Corellian Run hyperspace route and head toward its terminus—Max's destination this trip: Coruscant.
At noon, Max's group arrived at the Beskar Steel Security Company office building on Corellia. While everyone took their lunch break, Max slipped out and held a brief private meeting with old Senator Leif Galambi.
"Senator Galambi—because of certain reasons, Jango Fett had decided to retire. But when he heard it was the commission of the highly respected Mr. Leif Galambi, he happily agreed to come out one last time."
"Young man, save the flattery." Leif Galambi waved him off. "Whether Jango Fett is doing me, an old man, a favor—or doing the Thornflower heir a favor—I can tell the difference."
"No, no—you're far too modest."
"What's his price for the job?" Leif Galambi asked.
"He said…" Max drew a finger across his throat. "After Lom Pyke is dead, you can pay whatever you think is appropriate."
"Oh?" Leif Galambi raised an eyebrow. "When will he move?"
"Before year's end. Jango Fett guarantees Lom Pyke won't live into next year. Also, he asked me to consult you—how you want Lom Pyke to die."
"That part isn't important." Leif Galambi raised an index finger for emphasis. "Mr. Vizsla—tell Jango Fett this: I only want Lom Pyke dead. Public execution or a quiet assassination, either is fine. I only want Lom Pyke dead."
"Understood." Max Vizsla nodded hard.
…
Near midnight, Max and Senator Taa—who had an arm around a pair of twin Twi'lek girls—had just walked out of the auction venue when they ran into Aayla Secura, waiting at the berth in a landspeeder.
"Brother Taa, Lord Vizsla—please." The Jedi flower opened the door with a smile, inviting the four of them inside.
"Aayla… th-this, no, I…" Orn Free Taa's blue face turned purple again. He withdrew the hand resting in the twins' arms and began to stammer.
Max's mouth moved faster than his conscience: "Ms. Secura, please don't misunderstand—Senator Taa is doing an undercover investigation."
"Y-yes, yes, exactly!" Senator Taa nodded vigorously.
In Max Vizsla's version of reality, Senator Orn Free Taa was a visionary statesman—deeply devoted to his homeworld Ryloth—long dissatisfied with its poverty, and even more dissatisfied that Twi'leks had to support families by exporting their women as eye-candy. He'd resolved to do something about it.
During the Cloud City tour, when he heard Cloud City was short on workers, Senator Taa had thought: if Cloud City needed labor and poor Ryloth needed jobs, could they recruit young Twi'leks to work in Cloud City? Max had strongly supported the idea on the spot, declaring that future Cloud City recruitment would prioritize Twi'leks from Ryloth.
Tonight, Senator Taa was "undercover" investigating the Twi'lek dancer trade, trying to learn about the dancers' real living conditions.
"Yes, yes, that's exactly it!" Orn Free Taa patted Max's shoulder, adopting a stern, earnest tone. "Lord Vizsla—you must improve your factory benefits. You must make those naive Ryloth locals understand that working in Cloud City has a future—far more than selling their looks! When the Ryloth recruitment fair happens, I'll be there in person to endorse and promote you!"
"Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you—thank you." Max nodded repeatedly.
…
"Lord Vizsla, please wait." After Senator Taa and the twins got out, Aayla Secura stopped Max.
"Ms. Secura?"
"Lord Vizsla—are you not planning to restrict and reduce Bespin's tibanna gas exports?" Aayla asked.
"Why do you ask?"
"If Bespin restricts and reduces tibanna exports… would Cloud City still need large-scale recruitment?"
Max didn't answer directly.
"Ms. Secura, I promise you this: as long as the assistance policies and dedicated funding for Bespin are actually delivered, Bespin will restrict and reduce tibanna exports and carry out an economic transition."
"Lord Vizsla, I am a Jedi." Aayla stared into Max's eyes and spoke solemnly. "Bespin's tibanna exports affect the safety of the entire galaxy. Even if you help my people, I will not play favorites on this issue."2
"Of course. I understand." Max said as he opened the speeder door.
After he'd walked several meters away, Aayla Secura's voice called from behind him.
"Thank you, Lord Vizsla."
"This is the Way. Good night, Ms. Secura." Max Vizsla stopped and smiled.
…
PS: Exporting Twi'lek dancers is one of poor Ryloth's pillar industries. Because Twi'lek dancers are beloved by the powerful, the Republic's upper crust has always turned a blind eye—never passing explicit bills or laws to ban or crack down on Ryloth's population trade.7
PPS: In Legends continuity, Aayla Secura was once sold by her own uncle.
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