Taking another sip, she resealed the flask and settled herself comfortably against one of the corners of the crate. It was a long time since she'd dealt with an opponent of this caliber, and as long as she was stuck in here anyway she might as well start working out her next move.
* * *
'It's so good to hear your voice again, Han,' Leia's voice came over the
'Hey, hon, it was no big deal,' Han assured her, only fudging the truth a little. There would be plenty of time to tell her the whole story of their little trip to Bastion when he could hold her hand while he did it.
And besides, the last thing he wanted to put out on a HoloNet call, even an encrypted one, was the fact that Grand Admiral Thrawn was indeed still alive. 'The point is that we got in and out okay and we're heading home,' he went on.
'I'm glad you're safe,' she said, a cautious hope creeping into her voice. 'Did you—I mean—?'
'We got it,' Han told her. 'At least, I think we got it.' There was a short pause. 'What does that mean?'
'It means we got what we went for,' Han said. 'And it all looked all right to me. But... well, there were a couple of complications. Let's leave it at that for now, okay?'
'Okay,' she said reluctantly. Clearly not happy about letting it go like that, but as aware as he was of the limitations of HoloNet security. 'But don't go to Coruscant. I'm on my way to Bothawui.'
'Bothawui?'
'Yes,' she said. 'I was heading for Coruscant when I found out President Gavrisom was there trying to mediate this whole war fleet thing.'
'Ah,' Han said, frowning at the speaker. Considering he'd left her on Pakrik Minor ten days ago, she should have already
'The visitor arrived right on schedule,' she said. 'Only it wasn't exactly who I was expecting. And I then wound up taking a little side trip.'
Han felt his hands curl into fists. 'What kind of side trip?' he demanded. If someone had tried to hurt her again —'Are you all right?'
'No, no, I'm fine,' she hastened to assure him. 'Things just went differently than I was expecting, that's all. It's all tied in with why I have to talk to Gavrisom right away.' HoloNet security. 'Yeah, all right, we'll head for Bothawui,' Han said. 'It'll be another couple of days before we can get there.'
'That's fine,' she said. 'I won't be there until tomorrow myself.' Han grimaced. It would have been better if he could have gotten there ahead of her. From everything he was hearing, the sky over Bothawui was a flash point just begging to happen. 'Well, you be careful, Leia, all right?'
'I will,' she promised. 'I'm just glad
'And tell him I'm not going to give it to him unless he promises you some real vacation time when this is over,' Han warned.
'Absolutely,' she agreed.
'Okay. I love you, Leia.'
He could almost hear her smile. 'I know,' she said in their private joke. 'I'll see you soon.' With a sigh, Han cut off the comm. Another two days to Bothawui, with Leia getting there a day ahead of them. Maybe Lando could get a little more speed out of this crate. He swiveled his chair around—
'So how's Leia?' Lando said from the bridge doorway.
'She's fine,' Han assured him, studying his friend's face. There was something very unpleasant lurking there behind his eyes. 'Sounds like she had more than just a straight run home from Pakrik Minor, though, and we have to change course for Bothawui to meet her. What's up?'
'Trouble,' Lando said darkly, jerking his head over his shoulder. 'Come on back a minute.' Lobot and Moegid were waiting in the aft control room when he and Lando arrived, sitting on opposite sides of the computer table. Lobot just looked like Lobot, but Moegid's antennae were twitching in a way Han had never seen a Verpine do before.
And lying on the table between them was the datacard Thrawn had given them.
