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“Not professionally,” Drayson said. “But his loyalty to her is well known.”

Ackbar nodded thoughtfully. “He was here with me for three hours today,” he said. “He was the one who ordered the prowlers to Koornacht—not General A’baht.”

“Interesting.”

“There is more. He brought the Fifth Fleet back, as she ordered—but only as far as the outer marshaling point, and he kept it at combat readiness, with full crews aboard. He understands the stakes. He may be more sympathetic than you expect. But I cannot promise that she will even listen to him.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” said Drayson. “That’s useful. If you’ll excuse me—”

“Admiral—”

“Yes?”

“I was wondering—could the viceroy have done this to Leia? All those hours he spent alone with her—we know so little about the Yevetha,” said Ackbar. “Is it possible that something happened in that room? Is it possible that he has done something to her mind?”

“No,” said Drayson. “No, I can tell you that nothing happened in that room.”

The answer did not seem to please Ackbar. “Thank you,” he said all the same.

* * *

The sounds of splashing and gleeful childish laughter covered any sounds of footsteps on the walk. But Leia, with her wariness magnified by powerful feelings of isolation, was aware of Admiral Drayson’s approach before he had even emerged from the trees.

Jaina, in turn, quickly sensed her mother’s dark mood. “Mommy, who’s that? Do you want me to make him go away?”

“No—no,” Leia said with a quick smile, and tousled her daughter’s wet, stringy hair. “Jacen, Jaina, take Anakin inside. I want you all dry and dressed when I come in.”

For once the children obeyed without argument. Leia thought it a telling sign that the stress and chaos of the last weeks, of the last few days, was affecting them as well.

Drayson stopped a polite distance away, hands laced together behind his back. “Princess.”

“You know, if security is supposed to keep unwanted people out, the security around the president’s residence leaves a great deal to be desired.”

“Your husband admitted me, Princess Leia.”

“Did he,” she said. “Well, my husband leaves a bit to be desired himself lately. What do you want?”

“Five minutes,” said Drayson. He brought his right hand forward and showed her the datacard he had cradled in the palm. “I think this will be useful to you in regard to the decision you’re facing.”

“Which one is that?”

“The only one that matters.”

“Five minutes?”

“And then I’ll be gone.”

“All right,” she said with a sigh. “Five minutes.”

The datacard contained a brief recording, timestamped less than two hours earlier. The recording showed a pair of Yevethan thrustships unloading on a hilly, brush-covered landscape. The kind and volume of material being unloaded and the shape and size of the clearing being made for it dictated one conclusion—it was the first phase of a colonization landing.

“Where is this?”

“The astrographic office knows it as Doornik-319,” Drayson said. “It’s part of a system inside the Koornacht Cluster. The Kubaz who lived there till yesterday called it Morning’s Bell.”

“What happened yesterday?”

“The same thing that happened to Polneye,” said Drayson. “And it doesn’t stop there. The evidence I’ve seen suggests that every non-Yevethan settlement in Koornacht received the same sort of treatment.”

“What evidence? Where did you get this recording?”

“I’d rather you not ask me that, Princess.”

“I am asking you.”

Drayson nodded. “Princess, is it absolutely necessary that you know the source for you to credit the evidence? If so, then I’ll answer. But if you don’t need that knowledge to accept what that recording means, then I’d rather not risk those assets any more than I already have by revealing what they’ve discovered. The information is what matters.”

Leia stared at him.

“I think my five minutes are up,” he said, with a little bow. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“Stop!” she said sharply. “Who are you, really?”

Drayson turned and looked back at her. “I do what I do under the authority of an executive order issued by Mon Mothma,” he said. “You’ll find