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Nudging Poste in the ribs as he stepped past him to take in the main hold, Jadak gasped in genuine wonder. “If I didn't know, I wouldn't even believe this is the same ship.” He peeked into the ladderwell that led to the gun turrets and ran his hand over the console of the engineering station. “You've done a lot of amazing work since she was mine, Solo. You've even got a hologame table.”

Han glanced around. “Most of the changes I made can't be seen, they have to be experienced. The dejarik board is actually the second one the Falcon's had. The first was put in when she was part of a traveling circus.”

Jadak laughed. “A circus?”

“Parlay Thorp sold her to the Molpol Circus and used the money to open a research center. You should contact her sometime. She's on the staff of the Aurora Medical Center.”

Jadak gulped and found his voice. “Aurora?”

“The circus owner sold her to a gambler,” Han continued, “who ended up losing her to … well, another gambler. Lando Calrissian.”

“General Calrissian?” Poste said.

Han grinned. “Lando hasn't gone by that honorific in a lot of years. But, yeah, General Calrissian.” He motioned to the hologame table's curved bench. “Make yourselves comfortable. I'm going to get her warmed up.”

Poste waited for Han to disappear, then swung to Jadak. “I don't see the slicer droid anywhere,” he said quietly.

“Maybe it left when Oxic's men were busy chasing you.”

Poste looked around, even under the acceleration couch. “Maybe …”

“Listen to me,” Jadak said. “After we launch you need to get Solo out of the cockpit so I can have some time alone in there.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Get him talking about the modifications he's made to the ship— the point-five hyperdrive, the turbolasers, anything that comes to mind. If I know Solo, he won't pass on an opportunity to show off.”

“I hate it when someone sits in my chair,” Han said as Leia came into the cockpit and strapped into the copilot's seat. “Except you, of course.”

“Of course.”

Han fiddled with the chair's control. “You know when you have it perfectly adjusted for yourself, then someone goes and fools with it.”

“Life can be hard,” Leia said.

He frowned at her, and motioned with his chin to the instrument panel. “We good to lift?”

“We're good.”

Han enabled the repulsors and eased the ship up and out of the landing bay, the spaceport shrinking below them. “Where's Allana?”

“Showing our passengers some of her favorite toys.” Leia looked over her shoulder. “You trust them?”

Han glanced at her. “Obviously you don't.”

Leia stared out the viewport for a moment, Vaced's blue sky darkening as the ship climbed and stars began to appear. “I can't get a fix on Mag, other than to say he seems like a fish out of water. But there's something not quite right about Quip.”

“His story rang false?”

“Not at all. In fact, everything he said struck me as true—even when he mentioned Bail. I had a strong sense that he actually knew him.”

“They were both there at the beginnings of the Alliance. They might have crossed paths or had dealings. He practically said as much.”

“That's part of what I was feeling. But there was more to it. When he was telling us about falling in love with the Falcon, I felt the emotion behind his words. But when he began telling us about the mission to Bilbringi and his change of heart, I sensed that he was omitting some crucial detail.”

“It didn't happen the way he said?”

“I can't be sure. I just didn't feel his remorse. He felt bad about what happened, but it was as if he had distanced himself from the events. Or that he was recounting someone else's version of the story.”

“Distancing himself is understandable. It's been more than fifty years. If I was telling someone about what I did on Ylesia way back when, it might come out sounding like I don't harbor regrets, but I do.”

Leia sighed. “You're right. Maybe I'm being overly suspicious because of what happened on Taris.”

“And now two strangers try to make off with the Falcon.”

“What