Vision of the future

'Does that mean you can't guarantee his safety?' Pellaeon asked, frowning.

'No one's safety is ever guaranteed, Admiral,' Elegos said. 'Not even by a Jedi.' He smiled faintly, an oddly melancholy expression. 'Though, of course, most of us travel through our entire lives without any assurance at all that the path we are on is the correct one. No assurance except that of our own spirits within us.'

'Elegos has been spouting that sort of stuff ever since we left Coruscant,' Ghent said with a weak attempt at a grin. 'I guess some of this nobleness stuff must have rubbed off on me.' Unsteadily, he got to his feet. 'This is the right path. And I'm ready. When do we leave?'

'At once,' Pellaeon said, sliding around the end of the table and standing up. 'I'll put together a letter of introduction for General Hestiv and detail one of my most trusted pilots to fly you to Yaga Minor.' His eyes flicked across Ghent's outfit. 'I think we'll also put you in an Imperial uniform. Disra may have informers on Yaga Minor, and there's no point in drawing unnecessary attention by bringing an obvious civilian onto a military base.'

'You won't be taking him there yourself in the Chimaera?' Leia asked. Pellaeon shook his head. 'Once you and I have finished our discussions, I'll be heading directly to Bastion. There are some rather pointed questions Moff Disra owes me answers for.' Leia swallowed. 'I see.'

'With your permission, then, I'll go arrange for Crypt Chief Ghent's transport.' Pellaeon smiled faintly at Ghent. 'I mean Imperial Lieutenant Ghent's transport. Come with me, Lieutenant.' Stepping past Sakhisakh, he headed for the Falcon's exit. 'Sure,' Ghent said, starting after him.

'So long, Elegos. You too, Councilor.'

'Go in wisdom and courage,' Elegos said gravely.

'May the Force be with you,' Leia added. 'And thank you.'

* * *

Captain Ardiff was waiting in the aft bridge when Pellaeon emerged from the turbolift. 'The Millennium Falcon has cleared the sentry perimeter and jumped to lightspeed,' he reported.

'Good,' Pellaeon said, looking past him to the viewport. In the distance, he could see the faint flickers of reflected sunlight from the solar panels of the TIE fighter escort as they headed back to the Chimaera. 'And Lieutenant Mavron?'

'He and his passenger left half an hour ago.' Ardiff lifted his eyebrows slightly. 'May I ask...?'

'How the talks went?' Pellaeon shrugged. 'As well as preliminary talks ever go, I suppose. Organa Solo isn't about to commit the New Republic to a course of action based on my word alone, and I made it similarly clear that I can't accept her word as guaranteeing Coruscant's future actions. So there's a great deal of careful verbal dancing yet to be done.'

'But she's willing to talk.'

'She's very willing to talk.' Pellaeon hesitated. 'At least, about most things.' Ardiff frowned. 'What do you mean?'

Pellaeon gazed out at the stars again. 'There's something she wasn't telling me,' he said.

'Something important—that much I'm sure of. But what exactly it was...' He shook his head. 'I don't know.'

'Private information having to do with the Bothans, perhaps?' Ardiff suggested. 'Or something more personal? She's been in political trouble on Coruscant before—could it be that she's about to lose her influence there entirely?'

'I hope not,' Pellaeon said. 'Political problems between her and Coruscant would make this process far more difficult than it already is. They might reject any proposal simply because she was involved with it.'

'Or might support it because she was involved,' Ardiff pointed out. 'The polarization we're already seeing over the Caamas issue could easily bleed over into something like this.'

'That's one of my biggest concerns,' Pellaeon agreed grimly. 'That peace will be rejected by some for no better reason than that their political enemies are for it.' He stepped past Ardiff onto the command walkway. 'But all of us have only the cards the universe has dealt us,' he said. 'If Organa Solo refuses to show us some of her cards, we'll just have to play the game that way.

'And in the meantime,' he added, 'we have other matters to attend to. Set course for Bastion, Captain. It's time Moff Disra and I had a long, serious talk.'

* * *