Vision of the future

'One moment,' Sakhisakh's harsh voice cut him off. 'Was it you who sent Councilor Organa Solo a message over Bel Iblis's name?'

'Well, uh... yeah,' Ghent admitted, eyeing the Noghri warily. 'I wanted the general, you see, but I couldn't get to him. And I found out Leia was here—'

'What do you mean you couldn't get to him?' Leia interrupted. 'Where is he? Has something happened?'

'No, no, he's off in Kothlis system,' Ghent assured her quickly, his eyes reluctantly shifting away from the Noghri to her. 'Some kind of ship buildup—I don't know what for. But I couldn't get a message through to him, not even with top clearance codes. So when I found out you were here—'

'How did you find out she was here?' Sakhisakh demanded.

Ghent squirmed again. 'Well... it was in Gavrisom's files. I mean, I wouldn't usually slice into High Council stuff, but it was really important. And then I met him—' He waved helplessly at Elegos.

'I was waiting at your office for you,' the Caamasi spoke up, his voice sending a wave of welcome calmness through the room. 'As my two colleagues made clear when you spoke with them, we are deeply concerned about the direction this matter has taken. Now, with overt threats toward the Bothan people, that concern has been greatly magnified.'

He shrugged, the gesture rippling through his entire back up to his shoulders. 'I had of course planned to wait until you returned to speak further with you. But Crypt Chief Ghent was so insistent that he see you immediately that I offered him transport, provided he was able to locate you.'

'And provided he could use Garm's private signature code to make sure I'd come to the spaceport?' Leia asked, lifting her eyebrows at Ghent.

The young slicer winced. 'I didn't think you'd come if it was just me,' he muttered. Leia suppressed a sigh. Yes, that was indeed classic Ghent. In actual fact, his name and expertise carried enormous weight among the upper levels of the New Republic government. Another fact he'd undoubtedly missed completely.

And as for bringing Elegos along, Ghent probably didn't have the faintest idea of how to fly a starship himself. Frustrating and annoying, but it all fit. 'All right, relax,' she said. 'The interrogation is over, and all is at least temporarily forgiven. Now. What is this errand that was worth breaking half a dozen laws for?'

Wincing again, Ghent handed her the datapad in his hand. 'It's really a message for Bel Iblis,' he said. 'But—look, just read it, okay?'

Leia took the datapad and keyed it on. On the other hand, she couldn't help wondering, if she'd known that it was only Ghent and not Bel Iblis who wanted to see her, would she have pushed harder for Han to take her along on his trip into the heart of the Empire? Even without Ghent's message the reasons had seemed right and proper at the time. But still...

And then the words popped onto the datapad display... and an icy chill ran through her. 'Where did you get this?' she asked, her voice sounding unreal through the sudden pounding in her ears.

'General Bel Iblis brought it back from Morishim,' Ghent said, his voice trembling now, too.

'There was a Corellian Corvette that came into the system, only a Star Destroyer caught up with it and took it away.'

'I remember reading Garm's private report on that,' Leia said. 'He wanted the incident kept quiet while he tried to find out what it was all about.'

'Well, this was a transmission from the Corvette,' Ghent said. 'It was all mangled up, but I was able to sort through the jamming and untangle it.' He took a noisy breath. 'You see why I had to get it to someone right away?'

Leia nodded silently, staring down at the message.

— is Colonel Meizh Vermel, special envoy from Admiral Pellaeon, sent here to contact General Bel Iblis concerning the negotiation of a peace treaty between the Empire and New Republic. My ship is under attack by traitorous elements of the Empire, and I do not expect to survive. If the New Republic agrees to hold such discussions, Admiral Pellaeon will be at the abandoned gas mining center on Pesitiin in one month to meet with you. Repeating: This is Colonel Meizh Vermel...

'Councilor?' Sakhisakh murmured quietly from across the room. 'Is there trouble?' Leia looked up at the Noghri, almost startled to find him there as thoughts swirled through her mind. A peace treaty. Not a temporary truce, but an actual, genuine peace. Something she'd been looking for and longing for since the days of Emperor Palpatine and her own youthful decision to oppose him and all he stood for.

And here it was, being offered to them by the Supreme Commander of the entire Imperial Fleet. Or was it? Pellaeon was only offering to negotiate, after all. Were there preconditions that would be brought up at such a meeting, conditions that would turn the whole exercise into little more than a waste of time or, worse, a propaganda coup for the Empire?