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Girl takes after her mother—and her grandmother, Han thought. Natural-born diplomat.

“For a fuzzling, she’s pretty sharp,” Grees said.

“Yeah, especially for a human fuzzling,” Sligh said.

“You gotta agree to take us with you and help us get to safety,” Emala said. She, like the others, was no longer looking at any of the adults, but at Allana. “You promise that, we’ll tell you what we know.”

“We must ensure our own safety, too, and that of Amelia,” said Leia. “If we take you with us, we’re going keep an eye on you until we’re sure it’s safe for all of us. Agreed?”

The Squibs leaned in to one another, whispering in Squibbal. Emala poked her head up and regarded Allana with large, soft, doe-like eyes for an instant before rejoining the blue huddle. Finally they seemed to reach an agreement and stepped back.

“You got a deal,” Grees said.

“Finally,” muttered Han.

“You know where Daala is?” pressed Leia.

“We know where she’s heading. She’s not quite there yet, or she might be, we don’t know,” Sligh said. “She’s heading for the Meridian Sector. Pedducis Chorios, specifically.”

“Why there?” asked Zekk. “I thought for sure she’d be heading for Imperial Space.”

“She wanted to go back to familiar ground,” Emala said. “She’s got a history with that place.”

“Yes, she most certainly does,” Leia said. She looked meaningfully at Han. “That was where she went when she found Liegeus again. I think she was there until his murder.”

“There’s a Moff there she’s got it in for,” Grees said. “Except he’s got a bantha-sized head and thinks she wants to ally with him instead. Name of Tol Getelles. We were doing some, um … research on him for the Imperial Remnant.”

“Also half true,” said Zekk. “By some mathematical reckoning that might add up to a single entire truth.”

“Not by mine,” said Han. “Keep going.”

“I’m not lying!” Grees protested, scowling and showing teeth that were startlingly sharp and white for a Squib his age. “That’s how we were able to intercept the communication. From there, we were able to back-trace it and tap into some other messages. She talked to several people. We have them recorded, verbatim.”

“We’ll want to listen to those, but give us the short version first,” Han said. Leia stepped away for a moment, clicking her comlink and speaking softly.

“Moff Vansyn and Moff Getelles,” said Emala promptly.

“What about them?”

“You said you wanted the short—” began Sligh, but as Han took a step toward him, he put up his small hands. “Okay, okay, hold your dewbacks. She contacted Moff Vansyn first. There’s apparently some other Moff she doesn’t like—”

“She doesn’t seem to like very many of them,” Emala said.

“—named Lecersen,” said Grees, picking up where Sligh left off. The transition was handled with ease and familiarity. “Seems Vansyn used to be friends with Lecersen, but he’s been feeling ignored recently. Daala promised Vansyn that if he supported her claim to become Head of State of the Empire, eliminating first Jag and then Getelles, she’d see to it that he would get Moff Getelles’s territories.”

“A tempting offer,” Leia said, returning to the group. “I just contacted Ashik.” Ashik was Jag’s devoted Chiss assistant. Han nodded. If anyone could shed some light on the Squibs’ claim, it would be him. “Their story checks out. In a very convoluted manner, they actually were working for Jag.”

“See? And to think you doubted us,” said Sligh.

“I still do. Keep going,” said Han.

“Isn’t that enough?” asked Sligh in an injured tone. “What more do you want from us? We’ve told you where she’s going, who she’s working with, and who she’s setting up.”

“How many recordings do you have?”

“More than enough,” Grees said quickly as Emala opened her mouth to answer. “We’ve told you everything we said we would. Now you need to take us to safety.”

Han held up an index finger. “One moment,” he said. He patted Allana on the head and motioned to Leia. The two of them stepped aside and spoke quietly.

“What do you think?” Leia asked.

“I think we ought to leave them here