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“Mirax is missing. I want to go after her, but Airen Cracken won’t tell me where she was when she vanished.” I shrugged. “I was hoping the Council could order him to give me that information.”

“Leia might be able to convince them to do that, but I’d not be betting a lot on it, kid.” The smuggler’s brown eyes hardened. “As sympathetic as Leia might be to your cause, the fact is that your request would be pretty low on the New Republic’s list of priorities. And, if you think about it the way you would have thought about it when with CorSec, there’s no way you’d have turned that sort of information over to the spouse of an undercover officer.”

I glanced down at the floor. “I know.”

“However,” he said, letting a lighter tone bleed into his words, “New Republic Intelligence isn’t the only place you can get information about Mirax. She still flying the Pulsar Skate?”

My head came up. “Yes, sir.”

“Before I head out for Kessel—Leia has me working as a liaison to the inmates since I’ve been in the area before—I’ll put out some feelers and see if the Skate has been spotted in any of the usual places. Might pop up a lead for you.” Han’s eyes narrowed in my direction. “But that’s only if you get over this sir thing.”

I smiled in spite of myself. “Thank you, Han. And I’m Corran, despite having been in CorSec.”

Han smiled. “The galaxy is a big place, so your search won’t be easy, but I don’t expect that matters much to you.”

“It doesn’t.”

“May the Force be with you, then.” He glanced at Wedge. “You certain you don’t want to come along to Kessel?”

“Next time, Han, but not right now.” Wedge gave him a smile. “The last time I was there—Rogue Squadron was there—Moruth Doole didn’t really take a fancy to me. Do yourself a favor and don’t mention me to him.”

“I copy. When I get back, I’ll let you know if I’ve learned anything, Corran.” The pirate tossed us both an easy salute. “Good flying to both of you.”

Wedge and I stared after him as he spun and disappeared through the doorway. I laughed. “He has something of a presence, doesn’t he?”

Wedge nodded. “Kind of hard to forget.”

“Explains the bounties on his head.” I felt my smile slowly receding. “Wedge, one thing, I, ah, don’t know if you’re planning to see Iella now that you’re dirtdown, but if you do, don’t ask her about Mirax. She’s working for Cracken still, and might have information, but I don’t want her to get into trouble giving it to me.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.” Wedge frowned slightly. “I really should link up with her, shouldn’t I?”

I smiled. “You two seemed to get along famously. I pretty much thought you’d have gotten fairly serious by this time.”

“I would have, too.” He shrugged uneasily. “I had intended to start dating her before her husband showed up, then after his death and Thyferra and Wraith Squadron and Thrawn …”

“I know, a lot of things have happened to make things tough. Can’t beat a homeworld girl, though, for having someone who can share the universe with you.”

“You and Mirax are certainly proving that.” Wedge looked away a little wistfully. “I really should call her and give things another chance. Maybe once I get this reconstruction going well I can take the time.”

“As Han said, it’s a pretty big galaxy, but I don’t think you’ll find anyone in it better for you than she is.” I forced an awkward laugh. “Big galaxy and I’m having to look for my wife, while the perfect match for you is so close. Life is never easy, is it?”

“No, that’s true.” Wedge’s eyes brightened and a smile began to blossom on his face. “However, we might have an edge in helping you solve your problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“Luke’s here, on Coruscant. You should talk to him.” Wedge nodded solemnly. “Finding Mirax may be akin to finding a quark in a mole of deuterium, but if that’s your task, having a Jedi help you do it is not a bad way to go at all.”

FIVE

Despite the early hour, Wedge made a call to Luke Skywalker, and we were invited to his chambers in the Imperial Palace. Wedge obtained an airspeeder and