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Han's jaw dropped. “They stole the ship!”

Oxic showed him a calm look. “You'll have to prove intent.”

Han whirled to the thieves. “How did you get aboard?”

“I caution you to refrain from saying anything that may further incriminate you,” Oxic said well over Han's head.

Leia was prepared to see smoke coil from Han's ears when Oxic turned to her.

“Princess Leia, may we confer in private for a moment?”

Leia nodded. “I won't be long,” she told Allana, then stepped into the wake of Oxic's long strides. “This had better make sense, Lestra,” she said, gazing up at him when they were out of earshot of the others.

He tweaked his smile so that it wouldn't seem quite so patronizing. “Princess Leia, I'm certain you don't want to spend any more time on Vaced than is absolutely necessary. If my clients take my advice and enter a plea of not guilty, you and Captain Solo and your young ward will be required to remain here for the arraignment, and be forced to return for the pretrial and trial, assuming the case should get that far. Furthermore, you will be obliged to reside in a hotel— assuming for the moment Vaced even has one—for however long it will take for this … law officer to complete his poking around in the Falcon on an ostensible search for forensic evidence.”

Leia laughed shortly. “Nice to see you haven't lost your special touch, Lestra.”

“I do what I must,” Oxic said. “Of course, it's up to you to decide whether or not to press charges, though I suspect that the local judges are likely to grant my clients probation before judgment, even if the charge of ship theft holds. Out of respect for our long-standing acquaintanceship, I will try to convince my clients to plead guilty to joyriding and misuse of personal property, which will entitle you and Han to be reimbursed for the cost of fuel and the sheer aggravation of it all.”

Leia narrowed her eyes. “Lestra, what are you doing here— really?”

“Nothing more than serving the needs of my clients.”

“You can't be honest with me?”

“This is a legal matter, Princess. Attorney–client confidentiality must be observed.”

Leia forced an exhale. “All right, Lestra, I'll put it to Han.”

“What'd he say?” Han said, coming to an abrupt halt as she approached. “And who is he, anyway? How do you know him?”

“I'll explain later. Right now we've got a decision to make.”

Allana stepped in to listen to Leia's summary, at the conclusion of which Han shouted, “This is a load of poodoo, counselor!”

“Han!” Leia said, putting her hands over Allana's ears, even while both of them were laughing.

“I'm sorry, Captain Solo,” Oxic said. “It's not personal.”

Han turned to the marshal. “Can we make ship theft stick or not?”

Climm took off his hat and scratched his head. “Maybe not in the long run. But the judge'll probably be willing to consider the charge as a way to keep you around. You see, he's kind of an admirer of yours.”

“Great,” Han said flatly. He shot the thieves his best glare, then turned to Oxic. “You win this one, counselor. But you'd better hope our situations aren't reversed someday.”

“I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Captain.”

Han cursed. “Joyriding.” He gave his head a quick shake. “The sooner we're off this rock, the better.”

“THE FIRRERREO'S NAME IS KOI QUIRE,” JADAK EXPLAINED AS HE and Poste watched from a landing bay adjacent to the Falcon's. “She visited me at Aurora Medical, claiming to be an agent for Core Life Insurance. The tall guy she's with, that's Lestra Oxic. His holoimage was all over the head doctor's office at Aurora. He was also the lawyer representing the Colicoids back on Holess.”

“And they're the ones who've been after you since Nar Shaddaa?”

“After me, and now after the Falcon because Oxic knows we need her to find the treasure.”

Poste frowned. “How long have you known all this?”

“Only since Holess.”

“And you didn't tell me because you didn't want to worry me.”

Jadak clapped him on the back. “I've got only your best interests at heart.” He paused, then said: “We have