Vision of the future

Admiral Thrawn and the Empire.'

Han's forehead wrinkled. 'So, what, you're surrendering?'

'Not exactly.' Carib seemed to brace himself. 'What we want—all that we want—is your word that we'll be left alone here.'

Han and Leia exchanged glances. 'You want what?' Leia asked.

'What, is that too high a price to pay for saving your lives?' Sabmin demanded. 'Considering what you owe us —'

'Wait a minute,' Han said, holding up a hand. 'Let me get this straight. You were created by Thrawn?'

A muscle in Carib's cheek twitched, but he nodded. 'Correct.'

'This is Grand Admiral Thrawn we're talking about, right?' Han persisted. 'The guy who wants to bring the Empire back? The guy who picked the best and most loyal TIE pilots, AT-AT drivers, and whatever to run through his clone tanks?'

Carib shook his head again. 'You still don't understand. Certainly Baron Fel was loyal to the Empire, or at least what the Empire was before insane butchers like Isard took over. In his era, the Empire stood for stability and order.'

'Which you in the New Republic could use a little more of at the moment,' Sabmin put in pointedly.

'Let's leave the politics out of this,' Leia put in quickly before Han could come up with a good retort. 'I'm still confused. If Baron Fel was loyal to the Empire, and if you see the need to reestablish that kind of order—'

'And if Thrawn's really back,' Han muttered.

'And if Thrawn's really back,' Leia agreed, 'then why would you want to sit this one out?' Carib smiled sadly. 'Because for once, the great Grand Admiral Thrawn miscalculated,' he said.

'There was one thing Fel cherished more than personal glory or even galactic stability.' He waved a hand around him, the gesture taking in the fields surrounding them. 'He loved the soil,' he said quietly. 'And so do we.'

And finally Leia understood.

She looked at Han. 'He's kidding, right?' her husband asked, his expression and thoughts clearly not believing any of it. 'I mean—look, Luke couldn't wait to get off that farm on Tatooine.'

'Luke was on a moisture farm in the middle of a desert,' Leia reminded him, letting her gaze sweep slowly across the neat rows of tallgrain, her own memories of the rich vegetation of Alderaan tugging at her. 'It was nothing like this.'

'You feel it, too, don't you?' Carib said softly. 'Then you understand.' He looked around the fields. 'This is our life now, Councilor. Our land and our families are what matter to us. Politics, war, even flying—that's all in the past.' He brought his gaze back. 'Do you believe us?'

'I'd like to,' Leia said. 'How far are you willing to go to prove it?' Carib braced himself. 'As far as necessary.'

Leia nodded and stepped up to him, sensing Han's flicker of uneasiness as she left his side, and locked eyes with the young clone. Calming her mind, she stretched out to his mind with the Force. He stood impassively, allowing the probe without flinching... and by the time she stepped back again, she had no more doubts. 'He means it, Han,' she confirmed. 'They all do.'

'So that's it, huh?' Han said. 'We're just going to head off and leave them here?'

'We'll repair your ship first, of course,' Carib said. 'The MX droids that handle maintenance on our fighters can probably have it running in a day or two.'

To Leia's surprise, Han shook his head. 'Not good enough,' he said firmly. 'You're asking us to protect an Imperial sabotage group. That's a pretty big risk for us, you know.' The group off to the side stirred. 'What are you trying —?' someone began. Carib silenced him with a gesture, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 'You always were an operator, Solo,' he said dryly. 'What do you want?'

'You don't want to fight anymore,' Han said. 'That's fine; neither do we. But if we don't get this Caamas thing resolved fast, none of us are going to have any choice in the matter.'

'Your point?' Carib asked.

'We need to find out which Bothans were involved in the hit on Caamas,' Han said. 'And there's only one place we know we can get those names from.'