Vision of the future

'Thank you, Admiral,' Leia said, nodding back. 'It's been a long time.' His forehead wrinkled. 'I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage,' he said. 'I wasn't aware we'd met.'

'It wasn't a formal introduction,' Leia told him. 'But I remember my father pointing you out to me as one of the Fleet's most promising officers during the annual Grand Alderaanian Gathering at the Royal Pavilion when I was ten.'

Pellaeon's lip twitched. 'I remember those days well,' he said quietly. 'In some ways, I'd prefer not to.'

His eyes shifted to Elegos, standing at Leia's left. 'Perhaps you'll introduce me to the rest of your delegation?'

'Certainly,' Leia said, passing over for the moment the distinctly unofficial status of the group.

'This is Elegos A'kla, Trustant for the Caamasi Remnant.'

Pellaeon smiled faintly as he nodded. 'Trustant A'kla.'

'Admiral Pellaeon,' Elegos said, lowering his head in a Caamasi bow.

'On my right is Sakhisakh clan Tlakh'sar,' Leia continued, gesturing to the Noghri beside her. Pellaeon's smile remained, but Leia could sense a new brittleness behind it. 'Of course,' the Admiral said. 'Alderaanian, Caamasi, and Noghri. Three beings with the most reason to hate the Empire.'

Sakhisakh stirred— 'We hold no anger toward you personally, Admiral,' Elegos said calmly before the Noghri could speak. 'Nor have we animosity toward the people of the Empire. Each of our worlds was destroyed by the hand of Emperor Palpatine, and he too is now dead. Continuing to nurture the fires of hatred would gain us nothing.'

'Thank you, Trustant,' Pellaeon said. 'I appreciate your generosity and your wisdom.' His eyes flicked briefly to Sakhisakh, then turned to Ghent, standing nervously at Elegos's other side. 'And what particular grievance do you represent, sir?'

'Me?' Ghent asked, starting. 'Oh, no, I'm not part of this group. I mean—I'm just the slicer who reconstructed Vermel's message for General Bel Iblis.'

The last hint of a smile vanished from Pellaeon's face. 'What do you mean, reconstructed?' he demanded. 'Didn't the colonel present his message in person?'

'I'm afraid he didn't get that far,' Leia said. 'According to General Bel Iblis, his Corvette was intercepted by a Star Destroyer while on approach to Morishim.'

Pellaeon's eyes had gone deadly. 'Intercepted and destroyed?'

'No, or at least not at that time,' Leia said. 'The Star Destroyer brought his ship into its hangar bay and then escaped.'

'I see.' For a long moment Pellaeon stood there, his eyes gazing at nothing, his face hard and almost cruel, his emotions edged with simmering anger. Leia stretched out to the Force, trying to read past the emotion and wondering if she should break the silence or wait for him to do so. Elegos took the decision out of her hands. 'I take it Colonel Vermel was a close friend,' he commented quietly.

Pellaeon's eyes and attention came back. 'I will hope that he still is,' he said. 'If not, someone will pay heavily for his death.'

He exhaled. 'But you came to talk peace, not vengeance. If you'll follow me, I have a room prepared for us off the hangar bay.'

'I'd prefer to hold our discussion aboard my ship, if you don't mind,' Leia said. 'I'm afraid my bodyguards insist on that.'

For a fraction of a second there was a flicker of uncertainty, even fear, in Pellaeon's emotions. But then the fear faded, and he again smiled. 'You have more Noghri aboard, of course,' he said, glancing up at the Falcon looming over them. 'No doubt watching even now with weapons at the ready.'

'There will be no danger to you, Admiral,' Elegos spoke up. 'Not unless you yourself bring it aboard.'

Pellaeon waved a hand at the ramp. 'In that case, Councilor, I accept. Please; lead the way.' A minute later Leia, Pellaeon, and Elegos were seated around the Falcon's game table—a distressingly informal place for such a momentous occasion, Leia thought with some embarrassment, but the only place on the ship where they could all sit comfortably together. Sakhisakh, without comment, had taken up a guard position where he could watch both their discussion and the entrance ramp. Ghent, also without comment, had gone over to the tech station and was busying himself with the Falcon's computer.

'I'll get right to the point, Councilor,' Pellaeon said, his eyes flicking briefly to Ghent and the Noghri. 'The war that began twenty-odd years ago is effectively over... and the Empire has lost.'