'Thanks,' Navett said. 'I'll pass for now.'
'Entirely up to you,' she said. 'Go ahead and keep the comlink—I've got plenty of spares. Good night, and happy digging.'
The transmission clicked off. 'And restless and unpleasant dreams to you, too,' Navett murmured, dropping the comlink into the disintegrator.
He looked back at Klif. 'This,' he said darkly, 'is just exactly what we needed.'
'Oh, exactly,' Klif ground out. 'So what are we going to do about her?'
'For now, nothing,' Navett said, picking up the disintegrator and lugging it over to the drop cloth.
'For all her fishing and accusations, she doesn't really know anything.'
'Like blazes she doesn't,' Klif retorted. 'She knows we're digging over one of the shield building's power conduits. What more does she need?'
'My point exactly,' Navett said. 'She's spotted our digging, but hasn't called Security down on us.' He squatted down and eased his shovel blade under the edge of their trapdoor. 'Why not?'
'How should I know?' Klif grumbled, getting his shovel into place under the other side. 'Maybe she figures she'll pick up a bounty if she can deliver everything in a neat package.'
'Could be,' Navett said, lifting carefully. The block came up, and he got his fingers under the edge. 'I think it's more likely she's got some trouble of her own with the Bothans that means she can't go to them with any accusations.'
'That wouldn't stop her from calling in an anonymous tip,' Klif grunted as they eased the trapdoor off the hole. 'The mood they're in out there, they're probably jumping at every cracked twig.'
'No,' Navett said, gazing into the hole. 'No, she's not the type for anonymous tips. I think that for whatever reason, she's decided to take this whole thing personally. Professional pride, maybe—I don't know. The point is that she's turned this into a private duel between her and us.' Klif grunted. 'Pretty stupid.'
'Stupid for her,' Navett agreed. 'Useful for us.'
'Maybe,' Klif said. 'So what now?'
'We get back to work,' Navett said, dropping into the hole. 'And when we're done,' he added, digging his shovel into the packed dirt at his feet, 'I'll go retrieve the Xerrol. Maybe tomorrow night we'll take her up on her invitation to come out and play.'
* * *
Gavrisom looked up from Leia's datapad, his prehensile wing tips flicking restlessly across the desk beside it. 'And you truly believe he is sincere about this?' he said.
'Very sincere,' Leia said, feeling a frown creasing her forehead. She had expected a considerably more positive reaction to Pellaeon's peace proposal. 'And I examined the credentials he brought from the Imperial Moffs. Everything was in order.'
'Or so it appeared,' Gavrisom said, shaking his mane. 'So it appeared.' He looked back down at the datapad, touched the control to scroll back. Leia watched him, trying to understand this strange and unexpected emotional conflict she could sense in him. An end to the long war might finally be at hand. Surely this was news for at least cautious excitement. So why wasn't he cautiously excited?
Gavrisom looked up at her again. 'There's no mention of Thrawn anywhere in here,' he pointed out. 'Did you ask Pellaeon about that?'
'We discussed it briefly,' Leia said. 'At that time he'd received no word from Bastion that Thrawn had assumed supreme command. Nor had he had any indication that the Moffs had rescinded his authorization to begin peace talks.'
'Neither of which means anything at all,' Gavrisom said, his tone suddenly and uncharacteristically harsh. 'With Thrawn on the scene, officially or otherwise, this is utterly meaningless.' He slapped a wing tip across the datapad.
'I understand your concerns,' Leia said, choosing her words carefully. 'But if it's not a trick, this may be our chance to finally end this long war—'
'It is most certainly a trick, Councilor,' Gavrisom ground out. 'That much we can all be sure of. The only question is what exactly Thrawn hopes to gain from it.'
