No, he decided. Not yet. At best she would probably feel insulted or offended. At worst, she might refuse to go along with it at all. 'I think there's a good chance he will, yes,' he said instead.
'Knowing that it's you.'
Karrde nodded. 'Knowing that it's me.'
'Uh-huh,' Shada said. 'What did you do to this guy, anyway?' Karrde felt a muscle twitch in his jaw. 'I stole something from him,' he told her. 'Something he valued more than anything else in the universe. Probably more than he valued his own life.' They walked in silence for another few steps. 'Go on,' Shada prompted. Karrde forced a smile. 'I only promised you half the story today,' he reminded her, trying to put some lightness into his tone. 'That was it. Your turn.'
'What, why I left Mazzic?' Shada shrugged. 'There's not much to tell. I left because a bodyguard who becomes a target herself can't do much good for anyone else.'
So Shada had become a target. That was very interesting indeed. 'May I ask who's suicidal enough to be gunning for you?'
'Sure, go ahead and ask,' Shada said. 'You're not going to get an answer, though. Not until I get the rest of the Car'das story.'
'Somehow, I was expecting you to say that,' Karrde murmured.
'So when do I get it?'
Karrde looked up through the haze at the dim glow of Pembric's sun. 'Soon,' he promised. 'Very soon.'
CHAPTER
5
'The sixth sumptuous hour of the fifteenth glorious day of the yearly Kanchen Sector Conference now begins,' the herald intoned, his deep voice echoing across the bowl-shaped field where the various delegates sat, squatted, lay, or crouched, according to their species' particular physiological design. 'Let us all hail and magnify the Grandiose Elector of Pakrik Major, and bid him express his sublime and all-encompassing wisdom in his leading of this gathering.' The assembled beings called or growled their agreement with the herald's sentiment. All but Han; and lounging beside him on the feathery matgrass, Leia had to smile in private amusement. Coming out here had been Han's idea, after all: a temporary respite from the bitter dissension and the gnawing suspicions that had been churning through the New Republic government ever since that partially destroyed copy of the Caamas Document had come to light.
And it had been a good idea, too. In the half day since their arrival Leia had already begun to feel the tension draining out of her. Getting away from Coruscant was exactly what she'd needed, and she'd taken great pains to mention that to her husband at least twice now and to thank him for his thoughtfulness.
At the moment, unfortunately, all her reassurances were falling on deaf ears. Once again, Han had failed to take into account what Leia privately referred to as the Solo Embarrassment Factor.
'And let us similarly hail and magnify our glorious visitors from the New Republic,' the herald continued, waving his hand in an expansive gesture toward where Han and Leia were stretched out.
'May their sublime wisdom, awesome courage, and magnificent honor enlighten the sky above our gathering.'
'You forgot our uplifted eyebrows,' Han muttered under his breath as the assembly roared out their greetings.
'It's better than Coruscant,' Leia chided him gently as she half rose and waved. 'Come on, Han, be nice.'
'I'm waving, I'm waving,' Han grumbled, leaning up on one arm and waving reluctantly with the other. 'I don't know why they have to do this every hour.'
'Would you rather have people accusing us of helping cover up attempted genocide?' Leia countered.
'I'd rather they just left us alone,' Han said, giving one last wave and then dropping his hand back down. Leia lowered hers as well, and the approving roar of the delegates died away.
'Patience, dear,' Leia said as the herald bowed deeply and yielded the podium to the elaborately dressed Grandiose Elector. 'It's only for the rest of the day—you can put up with it that long. Tomorrow we'll head over to Pakrik Minor and get all that peace and quiet you promised me.'
'It just better be
'It will be,' Leia assured him, reaching over to squeeze his hand. 'They may be all pomp and pageantry here on Pakrik Major, but over there among the tallgrain farms we probably won't find anyone who even recognizes us.'
