"That I can do," Han said, surrendering to his exasperation. "I can put you in and out of this chair for the rest of your life, if that"s what you want. What I can"t is make those braces comfortable, so you"ll just have to take the pain and keep going. When that task force of killers finally finds us*and they will find us*it might be nice if you could actually run for cover."
"That"s fine advice, coming from you," Leia said.
"What"s that supposed to mean?"
"You can figure it out," Leia said. "After Chewbacca died. you certainly ran. And you kept running farther and farther..." Leia stopped and looked away, and Han finally understood that they weren"t arguing about cybernietic braces, or how many circuits Leia made of the pool, or even how much she really wanted to walk again.
Leia shook her head. "This won"t get us anywhere. Let"s just drop it."
"No, go ahead," Han replied, "It"s time you said it."
Leia continued to look away. "I didn"t mean anything..."
"Yes, you did." Han spoke with a humility hard-earned over the last year. "The truth is, I might have a made a few mistakes in the way I handled things."
Now Leia looked at him, her eyes as round as sensor dishes. "I suppose you might have," she said cautiously. "But you needed to grieve."
"Yeah, and maybe I even needed to go help Droma finf his clan. What I didn"t need to do was concussion-bomb our family." Hail was quiet for a moment, then...forcing himself not to look away...he said, "Leia, I"m sony."
Leia"s eyes brightened with tears. She held his gaze for a moment, then clunked forward. Han reached for her hands, but she surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek against his chest.
"Me, too," she said. "I"m sorry, too. All these years, I"ve devoted myself to the New Republic and asked you and the chil dren to sacrifice so much."
"Hey, this is my apology." Han took her by shoulders. "And what you did for the New Republic Is important."
"It is but I had a part in letting this happen," Leia said.
"Without you around, it became very clear that I haven"t exactly been the glue that holds this family together."
"Your hands were pretty full try my to hold the galaxy together." Han did not like where this was going; blaming herself for their family problems was nut going to make Leia work harder in her braces. "I couldn"t have picked a worse time to leave you on your own."
"Haven"t my hands always been full? That"s the point. All these years, I think I"ve been trying to rebuild what I lost when Alderaan was destroyed." Leia placed her finger over his heart. "I couldn"t see that I already had it*here with you and the children."
Han was speechless. These days, even his apologies ricocheted.
"If we hadn"t found each other on Duro when we did," Leia continued, "I would have died alone...a stranger to my own family."
Han wanted to say that wasn"t true, or she couldn"t know what might have happened, or that the Force had brought them back to each other. But all that sounded somehow hollow and not what Leia needed to hear. He needed to give her a jolt, to make her see that they had come through it, if only she would open her heart and eyes and see it.
"You know who you remind me of?" he asked. "Borsk Fey"lya, claiming all the credit for himself."
Leia"s jaw dropped. "Borsk Fey"lya! How dare..." She must have seen the mischief in Han"s face, because she let the sentence trail off and scowled. A hint of the old spark returned to her eve, and she gave him a sideways look. "Borsk! Not really?"
Han half smiled. "Really. You"re taking way too much of this on yourself. You"d have had to chase me across half the galaxy* and drag me out of a thousand tapcaft."
Leia pondered this, then said, "You know, I am being too hard on myself." She seemed to shed two years of worry lines in as many seconds, then added, "As you say, you"re the one who shut me out. What was 1 supposed to do, slap a set of stun cuffs on you and borrow an interrogator droid from NRI?"
"Of course not," Han said, beginning to wonder who was toying with whom. "But like you said, we both played our parts*"
"No, when you"re right you"re right-.I"m not going to argue." Leia"s smile...not quite a victory smirk...turned as hard as durasteel. "But you"re never doing that again, Han. The next time you need help, you won"t escape."
Han felt like the spa"s supplemental gravity inducers had reset themselves He had flutters in his stomach and bells in his ears, and he even felt a little weak in the knees-This was the Leia he remembered. She took his shin collar and, unable to rise on her toes, began to pull him down so she could kiss him.
"Not so fast." Han disengaged himself and retreated to the edge of the empty pool. "If you want to do that, you come over here."
Leia raised her brow "You"re going to make me work for this?" She looked him up and down, then finally clanked after him.
"It had better be good.""
Han gave. her his finest smirk. "Oh, it"ll be good." He waited until she was almost to him, then began to retreat along the pool"s edse toward C-3PO. "Just the way you remember."
"The way I remember?" Leia echoed-"Taking a lot for granted, aren"t you?"
They were interrupted by an excited cry from C-3PO. "I"ve found something!" He transferred an entry to one of the daiapads Han was using, then said, "CorDuro"s vice president of fleets is related to Roxi Barl by marriage, and he has a substantial equity interest in the Kuat Drive Yards corporation."
Han rushed toward the table*then heard Leia struggling to keep up and went back to walk with her.
"How substantial?" Leia asked.
"Almost a thousandth of a percent," C-3PO reported. "Current value well over a hundred million credits."
Han whistled and picked up the datapad, turning it so both he and Leia could see. They made it almost to the end of the first screen before the problem grew apparent. The vice president of fleets had died several months earlier under mysterious circ.u.mstances, shortly alter he pet.i.tioned to divorce Roxi"s sister.
"Oh dear," C-3PO said "I don"t see how it could be him "I don"t think it ever could have been," Leia said "We have an entire task force hunting us This guy didn"t have the resources to buy that kind of influence. We need somebody with government pull on a world that uses those Lancer-cla.s.s customs frigates...a lot of pull. You don"t send an anonymous task force after the Millenium Falcon on a flotilla commander"s say-so."
"Or maybe you need somebody in the government," Han said.
He sat down and began an a.s.sociates search. "Threepio, get every-thing you can on Viqi Shesh. I think we"ve been coming at this from the wrong end."
"Senator Viqi Shesh?" Leia didn"t sound all that surprised, just cautious. "What makes you think of her?"
"Lancer-cla.s.s frigates and A-9 Vigilances," Han said "They"re manufactured on Kuat, and that first frigate captain had a Kuati accent."
"Interesting," Leia said. "And we know she has ties to Cor-Duro.
But that doesn"t mean she"s the one."
"Maybe it doesn"t," Han said. "But I know what would."
He began to compose a message to Luke.
Leia stood behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder-"No, don"t ask if Viqi has been making inquiries about my whereabouts. Ask if anyone has."
Han finished the message, coded it, and transferred it to C-3PO for transmission. They received a reply three days later, informing them that there was an inquiry, but it didn"t come from Shesh. Her chief of staff had been trying to track down Leia"s whereabouts since the fall of Duro, haranguing New Republic Intelligence and SELCORE both on the pretense of being con cerned for her safety-He had even shown up at their apartment... where he had learned absolutely nothing from the two Noghri bodyguards who had arrived to replace the pair killed on Duro. It was not quite a smoking blaster, but close enough that both Solos felt sure they had identified the person behind the a.s.saults Given the evidence they had already recorded showing CorDuro"s treason, Han and C-3PO spent the next few days trying in vain to establish a solid link between Viqi Shesh and the corporation. The most they could prove, at least from the data banks acces sible over the HoloNet, was that she had had the bad judgement to a.s.sign all SELCORE shipping to a collaborationist corporation. Leia contributed what she could...mostly ideas...but spent her time either in bacta tanks or clanging around the empty pool in her cybernetic exercise braces. By the end of the week, she could do fifty circuits, but her legs ached constantly, and she was no closer to making them obey. When she sent a message to Cilghal reporting uncontrollable tremors, a reply came back telling Leia to find a nervesplicer as quickly as possible. The interruption in her bacta therapy had likely caused the nerves to regrow incorrectly, and every day she delayed in having the damage repaired increased the likelihood she would never walk properly again.
Leia and Han were in their quarters researching worlds with good nervesplicers*so far just Balmorra, Kuat, and Coruscant itself when the door chime rang. It took C-3PO a full half a stan dard minute to circle the gurgling fountain in the center of the room and open the door.
"Mistress Eelysa, what a pleasant surprise!" he said.
Leia turned her repulsor chair to see Eelysa"s slender figure emerging from the opulent foyer, her dark hair hanging loosely over the shoulders of her jumpsuit. In her hand, she held one of the saber-toothed rodents that seemed to have taken over the spa since its abandonment...at least judging by the number of the creatures the Solos kept finding outside their suite. Though both Leia and Han had seen Eelysa many times since she emerged from the bacta tank, this was the first time she had visited them in their quarters, and her green eyes roamed over the milkstone walls, magnificent archways, and soaring cupola above the fountain.
"And I thought my room was nice," Eelysa said.
"Apparently, Izal felt we would be more at home in the bridal suite," Leia explained-She gestured at the carca.s.s in Relysa"s hand.
"See-Threepio will dispose of that. We keep finding them in the hall."
C-3PO reached for the rodent, but Eelysa pulled it away and tried...unsuccessfully...to keep from smiling, as she used the Force to close the door.
"Actually, that"s one of the reasons I came." She went into the kitchen and, talking over her shoulder, called, "The Barabels are starring to complain about your ingrat.i.tude."
Han frowned. "Our ingrat.i.tude?"
Eelysa emerged from the kitchen drying her hands. "The car ca.s.ses are honor-gilts from Tesar and the Hara sisters," she ex plained. "But don"t thank them, or they"ll think you want more." She pulled a holocube from her pocket. "This message came in over the HoloNet. Saba asked me to give it to you before I go."
"You"re part of the advance team?" Leia asked. The misterious task force had begun to sniff around the adjacent system, so the Wild Knights would be changing bases as soon as she and Han departed. "Are you ready for that?"
Eelysa thumped her chest. "As good as new, but I"m not going to the new base. I"m on my way back to Corellia."
Han looked concerned*he looked that way a lot these days.
"Will you be safe?"
"As safe there as anyplace," Eelysa answered. "And somebody needs to keep an eye on the Centerpoint Party-If they find sub way to get the station going a gain, there"s no telling what Thrackan will blow up."
"Himself, if we"re lucky," Hail said. He stood and reached out to shake her hand. "Watch yourself."
Eelysa ignored the hand and embraced him. "Thanks again. I don"t know that Izal and the Barabels would have gotten me out of there without you."
"Without me, I don"t know that they would"ve needed to," Han said, sitting back down. "But it was good seeing you again." Eelysa bent down to hug Leia as well. "I"ll be thinking of you Get better."
"I already am," Leia said "Be careful. Don"t take foolish risks."
"Me?" Eelysa jerked a thumb at Han. "You"re the one flying with Han Solo."
Leia waited until C-3PO had shown Eelysa out, then activated the holocube. It played a brief vidnews item describing a new movment in the Senate pushing for an Appeas.e.m.e.nt Vote to outlaw the Jedi and accept the truce terms put forward by Warmaster Tsavong Lah. Though the sponsors were identified as a coalition of Senators from uncaptured Core Worlds, Luke"s image appeared after the report to say that the leader was Viqi Shesh. She had already struck a deal with Borsk Fey"lia to call a vote the fol lowing week, so Luke was asking them to send him any information they could about her dealings with CorDuro. He also warned them that Shesh"s chief of staff had quietly arranged to be notified the. instant NRI learned their location.
Luke was still signing off when Leia threw the cube into the wall. "That woman is poison. Killing me isn"t enough...now she has to go after all the Jedi!"
Han looked from Leia to the shattered cube. "She"s murder on holocubes, that"s for sure...not that we"ve got anything worth putting on one."
"She"s corrupt-We know it," Leia said. "The only question is how corrupt ."
"Does it matter?" Han asked. "We can"t prove it.- Short of a.s.sa.s.sination, there"s no way we"re going to stop her from calling the Appeas.e.m.e.nt Vote."
"a.s.sa.s.sinadon?" Leia leaned across the arm of her chair and kissed him. They had been doing a lot of that lately. "Han, you"re a genius."
Han looked worried. "Maybe ... do you really think we could pull it off?"
"Not physical a.s.sa.s.sination," Leia said. "Political a.s.sa.s.sination. We"re going to attack her character."
Now Han merely looked confused. "Leia, she"s from Kuat, n.o.body expects her to have any character."
"Which is why this will work," Leia said. "And it"s time we carried the hunt to Viqi Sheah for a change. It"s the only way we"re going to win this thing."
"I"m all for winning," Han agreed "But with what we"re got so far, I don"t see it happening anytime soon."
"Then, my dear, you need to broaden your definition of winning." Leia patted his cheek, then turned to C-3PO, who was already approaching the shattered cube with a sweeper, and said, "Bring me a daiapad. And get me the transceiver address for Sena tor Kvarm Jia. I need him to convene a corruption panel."
"Without good evidence?" A knavish smile came to Han"s lips.
"I didn"t think you played dirty."
"I"ll make an exception," Leia said. "This woman"s trying to outlaw my children."
Chapter 7.
The black drop of a battered CEC YT-1300 light freighter swung into view outside the viewport, the efflux from its dilapidated ion drives flickering uncertainly against the dazzle of Coruscant"s night side. Though hardly the steady blue blast of his own ship"s overpowered sublight engines, Han doubted the wavering, would give them away. The Falcon"s temperamental nature was too well known*and the possibility that she had taken battle damage on the journey home too high...for the contrast to draw more than a pa.s.sing curiosity about what was wrong this time.
The cannon turrets were another story, fabricated on the Cinnabar Moon from a pair of abandoned escape pods, they were not going to fool anyone who took a good look...especially if that person expected the support posts serving, as cannon barrels to swivel around and start firing.
Han looked toward the front of the folly Man"s s.p.a.cious crew deck, where Izal Waz sat at a communications station using a slave unit to fly the Sureshot onto Coruscant. "You"re sure you want to do this?"
"You suddenly think of a better way to spring their trap?" the Arcona asked.
Han shook his head-"There isn"t one."
"Then stop asking." Izal kept his attention focused on the sys tems display ahead of him, relying on computer keys and a pressure pad to control his battered ship. "She"s a piece of Jawa bait anyway."
The faint scent of ammonia permeated the air, and one of the milky bubbles that served Areona as tears appeared in the corner of lzal"s eye. Leia, magnoclamped to the deck next to Han"s seat, c.o.c.ked a brow and thumbed her fingers as though activating a credit chip. Han shook his head no. A wreck like the Sureshot wasn"t worth much, but there were some things no amount of money could replace.
"Thanks, Izal," Han said. "If you ever need anything from us, let us know."
"You"re doing it," Izal said-"Just stop this Shesh woman and her Appeas.e.m.e.nt Vote."
A pair of Rendili light cruisers...on-station in Coruscant"s innermost patrol perimeter...drifted past the viewport, then the Jolly Man entered a controlled-access area and had to slow as inbound vessels were herded into narrow approach bands. Above and below these bands, dozens of New Republic frigates were lacing the darkness with rocket fire as they set a sh.e.l.l of orbiting s.p.a.ce mines.
As the traffic flow coagulated, Han and the three Barabels* crouched on the edges of their seats rasping in awe at Coruscant"s scintillating brightness....kept a close watch. If Shesh"s a.s.sa.s.sins were going to take the bait, this would be the logical place to stage an accident, but the Sureshot...flying under the Falcon alias Shadow Bird...pa.s.sed through the mine sh.e.l.l unmolested. A few minutes later, crescents of sunlight started to reflect off the bottoms of orbital gun platforms. The traffic began to disperse as vessels fanned out toward their docking facilities.
The Sureshot and Jolly Man descended into descended into low orbit. The Sureshot began to drift across Han"s viewport as it tumed toward the Eastport Docking facility, where the Solos kept a berth under an a.s.sumed name.
Finally, a collision alarm sounded from Izal Waz"s slave controls.