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He tried to lighten the moment with a laugh. “We are a pair, aren’t we?”

“I don’t know, Han. You tell me.”

His eyes flashed. “Well, look, be sure to let me know what planet SELCORE decides on.”

“Anything to help the refugees,” Leia said with counterfeit good humor.

“That’s what I’ve been saying all along.”

Leia folded her arms. “In that case, our paths are bound to cross one of these days.”

“I don’t know, sweetheart, it’s a big galaxy.”

“Only as big as you make it,” she said, deactivating the comm.

In her new office, Viqi Shesh watched a full-color 3-D recording of herself being interviewed by reporters as she had emerged from the closed-session inquest into the command staff’s monumental blunder regarding Corellia and Fondor. Although she had been compelled to answer “No comment” to most of the reporters’ questions, she decided that she had carried herself well and had surely succeeded in stealing the limelight from Senator Ta’laam Ranth and others.

The holorecording was about to recycle when the intercom built into her greel-wood desk sounded a tone.

“Senator Shesh,” her human secretary said, “there’s a Pedric Cuf here to see you. He admits to not having an appointment, but he claims that you have been trying to contact him for the past few months.”

Shesh zeroed the holoprojector and leaned back in her swivel chair. “I’ve been trying to contact him?”

“That’s what he says.”

When Shesh glanced at the holo display for the reception room, she saw a very tall and gaunt human smiling for the cam. “Send him in,” she told her secretary.

Cuf entered the office a moment later, tendering a brief but dignified bow before settling into the armchair to which she waved him.

“I have long anticipated this meeting,” he began in Core-accented Basic. “I had hoped to speak with you sooner, but I’ve been preoccupied with business matters in the Outer Rim and in Hutt space.”

Shesh brought her interlaced hands to her lips and studied Cuf over the tops of her extended forefingers. “I trust that matters concluded to your satisfaction.”

Cuf smiled without showing his teeth. “To be perfectly honest, my associates and I were recently taken somewhat by surprise by a hostile bid for power by a Corellian firm. But, otherwise, yes, everything has been working out to our satisfaction.”

Shesh could feel the blood racing through her veins, but she managed to keep her composure. “Why have you come to see me now?”

“My superiors thought it a good idea that we become acquainted. To begin with, they wanted to thank you for your efforts of some months past, in seeing to it that some missing property was returned to us.”

Cuf let the statement hang in the air. Shesh guessed that he was referring to Elan, the phony defector the Yuuzhan Vong had attempted to foist on the Jedi Knights, but she couldn’t be certain that he wasn’t a New Republic Intelligence agent, hoping to trick her into revealing her part in that affair or the Fondor calamity.

“I don’t recall helping return any property to you,” she said after a moment. “And to be frank, I don’t recall attempting to contact you. Perhaps you have me confused with someone else.”

Pedric Cuf stared at her. “I see. Well, perhaps I have made a mistake. It wouldn’t be the first time a Hutt has led me astray.”

“A Hutt,” Shesh said.

Cuf laughed shortly. “And here I was, all set to launch into a discussion regarding the eventual disposition of”—he gestured broadly to the windows at Shesh’s back—“all this.” He stood up. “A pity we can’t do business, Senator. I suspect we would have made a good team.”

She watched him head for the door, then said, “Did I mention that I like your suit?”

He stopped and turned to her, his smile back in place. “Yes, it fits me like a glove, don’t you think? Masks all my imperfections, truly allows me to blend in. I had it specially made by a company that’s simply out of this world.”

“Does the company produce a line of women’s wear?”

“They offer an exquisite line. In fact, I’m certain they could supply you with outfits perfectly tailored to your needs.” Cuf paused briefly.