Vision of the future

jump to whatever point they wish to go to.' Karrde looked at Shada. 'You were on the spotter scopes,' he said. 'Was that what they were doing?'

She shrugged. 'It's as good an explanation as any,' she conceded. 'I know H'sishi scrubbed the data and she couldn't figure out what had happened, either.' She looked suspiciously at Car'das. 'So why can't they do this for us now?'

'Because I told them you wouldn't need the ship until morning,' Car'das said with a smile. 'Come now, indulge an old man's desire for company, won't you? I'm sure your crew could use a good night's rest, too, after all they've been through on this trip.'

Karrde shook his head in defeat. 'Still a master manipulator, aren't you, Jorj?' The smile widened. 'A man can change only so much,' he said genially. 'And while they're freshening up,' he added, shifting his eyes to Threepio, 'you can come help me cook while we have our talk.'

'Certainly, sir,' Threepio said brightly. 'Do you know, I have become quite a fair chef during my service to Princess Leia and her family.'

'Wonderful,' Car'das said. 'Perhaps you can teach me some of your culinary expertise. Why don't you call your ship, Talon, and tell them to settle down until morning. And then I'll show you and the lady to your rooms.'

CHAPTER

32

The starlines collapsed down into stars; and gazing out the Falcon's viewport, Leia inhaled sharply.

'Councilor?' Elegos asked, frowning at her from the copilot's seat. Leia pointed out at the planet Bothawui directly ahead. The planet, and the vast armada of warships swarming around it. 'It's worse than I thought it would be,' she said in a low voice. 'Look at them all.'

'Yes,' Elegos said softly. 'Ironic, isn't it? All those mighty ships of war, preparing to fight and kill and die. Widespread carnage arising from their deep respect for the Caamasi Remnant.' Leia looked across the cockpit at him. There was a profound sadness in his face as he stared out at the ships, a sadness tinged with an almost bitter acceptance of the inevitable. 'You've tried to talk to them,' she reminded him. 'You and the other Trustants. I'm afraid they're beyond listening to reason.'

'Reason and calm are always the first casualties of such confrontations.' Elegos gestured toward the gathered warships. 'All that's left is the thirst for vengeance and the righting of perceived wrongs. Whether those wrongs exist at all, or whether the object of the vengeance is responsible for them.' He craned his neck. 'Tell me, can we see the comet from here?'

'Comet?' Leia asked, glancing down at her midrange display. There was a comet there, all right, below and to portside, blocked by the Falcon's main hull. Rolling the ship a few degrees, she brought it up around and into view.

'Yes—there it is,' Elegos said. 'Magnificent, isn't it?'

'Yes,' Leia agreed. It wasn't as big as some comets she'd seen, nor was its tail much more than average. But its proximity to the planet more than made up for its modest size. Still on its way inward toward its loop around the sun, it had apparently just passed through Bothawui's orbit.

'We rarely saw comets from Caamas,' Elegos said, his voice sounding distant. 'There were few in our system, and none that came nearly so close to our world as these planet-skimmers do. There are, what, twenty of them in this group?'

'Something like that,' Leia said. 'I remember hearing once that whole branches of Bothan folklore had grown up around them.'

'Most identifying them as omens of momentous or terrifying occurrences, no doubt,' Elegos said.

'Having something like that blaze past overhead barely half a million kilometers away would tend to make you worry,' Leia agreed. 'Especially with them coming by once or twice a year.' She grimaced. 'Of course, with Bothan back-stab politics the way they are, momentous and terrifying events probably had a hard time keeping up with the comets.'

'I imagine so,' Elegos said. 'I pity them, Councilor. I really do. For all the strength and mental agility they claim their political techniques provide to their species, I see them as an essentially unhappy people. Their whole outlook on life breeds mistrust; and without trust, there can be no genuine peace. Neither in politics, nor in the quiet individuality of the heart and spirit.'

'I don't think I've ever thought of it quite that way before,' Leia said, rotating the Falcon back to its original attitude and putting the comet again out of sight. 'Did your people try to enlighten them to all that?'

'I'm sure some of us did,' Elegos said. 'But I don't think Bothan resentment toward us was the reason they sabotaged our shields, if that's what you were wondering.' Leia felt her face flush. 'You sure you don't have any Force sensitivity?' He smiled. 'None at all,' he assured her. 'But the Caamasi Remnant has thought long and hard