'So far, Fey'lya's been playing the sabacc cards close to the fur,' Han growled. 'He claims he's trying to be fair; I think he's just trying not to rock all the stabilizers at once.
Luke frowned at him. There was something else in his friend's face and sense ... 'And maybe something more?' he prompted. Han and Leia exchanged glances. 'Maybe,' Han said. 'You notice how quickly after the Sluis Van attack Fey'lya dropped the hammer on Ackbar. Either he's one of the great opportunists of all time-'
'Which we already know he is,' Leia put in.
'-or else,' Han continued grimly, 'he knew in advance what was going to happen.'
Luke looked at Leia. At the strain in her face and sense ... 'You realize what you're saying,' he said quietly. 'You're accusing a member of the Council of being an Imperial agent.'
Leia's sense seemed to flinch. Han's didn't even flicker. 'Yeah, I know,' Han said. 'Isn't that what he's accusing Ackbar of?'
'The problem is timing, Han,' Leia said, her tone one of strained patience. 'As I've already tried to explain. If we accuse Fey'lya of anything now, it'll just look like we're trying to take the pressure off Ackbar by turning Fey'lya's charges back against him. Even if it were true-and I don't think it is-it would still come across as a cheap and rather mindless trick.'
'Maybe that's why he was so quick to finger Ackbar in the first place,' Han countered. 'So that we couldn't turn it back on him. That ever occur to you?'
'Yes, it has,' Leia said. 'Unfortunately, it doesn't change the situation. Until we've cleared Ackbar, we can't go making accusations against Fey'lya.'
Han snorted. 'Come on, Leia. Political waddlefooting is fine in its place, but we're talking about the survival of the New Republic here.'
'Which could fall completely apart over this without anyone ever firing a shot,' Leia retorted hotly. 'Face it, Han-this whole thing is still being held together with hope and crating tape. You get a few wild accusations flying around, and half the races in the old Rebel Alliance might decide to pull out and go their separate ways.'
Luke cleared his throat. 'If I can say something ...?' They looked at him, the tension in the room fading a little. 'Sure, kid, what is it?' Han said.
'I think we all agree that, whatever his agenda or possible sponsors Fey'lya up to something,' Luke said. 'Maybe it would help to find out what that something is. Leia, what do we know about Fey'lya?' She shrugged. 'He's a Bothan, obviously, though he grew up on the Bothan colony world of Kothlis instead of on Bothawni proper. He joined the real Alliance right after the Battle of Yavin, bringing a good-sized group of his followers Bothans in with him. His people served mainly in support and reconnaissance, though they saw some occasional action, too. He was involved in a number of wideranging interstellar business activities before joining the Alliance-shipping, merchandising, some mining, assorted other ventures. I'm pretty sure he's kept up with some of them since then, but I don't know which ones.'
'Are they on file?' Luke asked.
She shook her head. 'I've been through his file five times, and I've checked every other reference to him I could find. Nothing.'
'That's where we want to start our backtrack, then,' Han decided.
'Quiet business stuff is always good for digging up dirt.' Leia threw him a patient look. 'It's a big galaxy, Han. We don't even know where to start looking.'
'I think we can figure it out,' Han assured her. 'You said the Bothans saw some action after Yavin. Where?'
'Any number of places,' Leia said, frowning. She swiveled the computer around to face her, tapped in a command. 'Let's see ...'
'You can skip any battle they were ordered into,' Han told her. 'Also any time there were only a few of them there as part of a big multispecies force. I just want the places where a bunch of Fey'lya's people really threw themselves into it.'
It was clear from Leia's face that she didn't see where Han was going with this, a sentiment Luke could readily identify with. But she fed in the parameters without comment. 'Well...I suppose the only one that really qualifies would be a short but violent battle off New Cov in the Churba sector. Four Bothan ships took on a Victory- class Star Destroyer that was snooping around, keeping it busy until a Star Cruiser could come to their assistance.'
'New Cov, huh?' Han repeated thoughtfully. 'That system get mentioned anywhere in Fey'lya's business stuff?'
