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She had initially forgotten Wedge himself, forgotten the times they had spent together. He had desperately told her everything, showed her pictures, taken her out to the same places that the two of them had visited on the planet Ithor. He had reminded her of the reconstruction site of the Cathedral of Winds they had visited on Vortex.

Some of these things caused elusive images to flicker in the back of her mind, enough that she knew they had been there once … but she could not grasp them anymore.

Other things Wedge told her exploded back into her thoughts with full clarity, enough to bring stinging tears. Whenever that happened, Wedge was there to hold her in his arms and comfort her.

“No matter how long it takes,” he had said, “I’ll help you to remember. And if we can’t find all of your past again … then I’ll help you make new memories to fill those spaces.” He brushed her hand, and she nodded.

Qwi reviewed the tapes of her speech before the New Republic Council, where she had insisted that they dispose of the Sun Crusher and stop trying to analyze it. The Council members had grudgingly agreed to mothball the project by plunging it into the core of a gas-giant planet. But now it appeared that this had not been sufficient to keep the superweapon away from an anger and determination as powerful as Kyp Durron’s.

As she reviewed the holotaped speech she had given, she heard the words in her own voice, but did not remember speaking them. She placed the memories in her mind, but they were external views of herself as seen and recorded by others. She heaved a deep breath and scrolled to the next data file. A cumbersome method, but it would have to do.

Much of her basic scientific knowledge remained intact, but certain things were completely gone: insights she had gained, new weapons designs and new ideas she had developed. It seemed that when Kyp had rummaged around in her brain, yanking out anything that had to do with the Sun Crusher, he had erased whatever he found questionable.

Now Qwi had to rebuild what she could. It didn’t bother her that knowledge of the Sun Crusher had been obliterated. She had previously vowed to tell no one how the weapon worked—and now telling would be impossible, even if she wanted to. Some inventions were better erased.…

The Maw assault fleet had been under way for almost a full day, heading toward the Kessel system. Qwi had been studying much of the time, sparing only a moment to talk to Wedge when he came to visit after completing his duties on the command bridge. When he brought her food, they ate together, making small talk, spending their time looking into each other’s eyes.

As she sat at the data terminal, Wedge would come and stroke her narrow shoulders, massaging until her tense muscles turned buttery and warm. “You’re working too hard, Qwi,” he had said more than once.

“I have to,” she answered him.

She recalled her youth, when she had studied desperately, cramming knowledge of physics and engineering and weaponry into her pliable young brain for Moff Tarkin. She alone had survived the rigorous training. Kyp’s heavy-handed scouring of her mind had left her with those painful childhood memories—memories she would just as soon forget.

There were some things she could not recapture from data tapes or tutorial programs. She had to go back inside Maw Installation, into the laboratories where she had spent so many years. Only then could she determine which memories would come back and how much of her past she would have to sacrifice forever.

The intercom rang out, and Wedge’s voice flooded into their quarters. “Qwi, would you come up to the bridge, please? There’s something I’d like you to see.”

She acknowledged, smiling at the sound of his voice. She took a turbolift up to the frigate’s command towers and stepped out onto the bustling bridge. Wedge turned to greet her—but her indigo eyes were drawn to the broad viewport at the front of the Yavaris.

She had seen the Maw cluster before, but her mouth still dropped open in awe. The incredible maelstrom