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“It is good to see you again, Consul Organa Solo. Please, come, be seated, and tell me what has prompted your visit.” He nodded to his own people, indicating their place was along the other side of the table. “If you need any refreshment, this can be arranged. You have a comlink, yes, Major Pressin?”

“Yes, Admiral.”

Leia smiled. “Nothing right now, thank you.” She shook Pellaeon’s hand and returned his smile, then introduced Danni as her aide.

Pellaeon greeted her with a nod of his white-maned head. “Please, be seated.”

Leia sat and noted how Pellaeon turned his chair to face her, leaving his back to his aides. Miat did not seem to mind, but the two officers were clearly put out. Pellaeon wants them off guard and unsettled for some reason, but why?

Leia leaned in toward Pellaeon, capitalizing on his openness. “I have come to correct a problem we’ve had sharing information with you. Something very important has happened, something that could determine the future of both the New Republic and the Remnant.”

Pellaeon nodded slowly. “You’re referring to the fall of Dubrillion.”

Leia managed to cover her surprise, but Danni could not. “How did you know?”

The flesh around the admiral’s dark eyes tightened. “Dubrillion and other New Republic worlds that border our space are of interest to us. I’m certain, Consul, it will come as no surprise that we had agents on Dubrillion. While the messages they got out did not contain a lot of information, we knew something was amiss. The cessation of their communications confirmed it was a serious problem.”

He lifted his chin. “I will also tell you that I know of Danni Quee. We had an agent on Belkadan, at the ExGal project. Any site designed for the gathering of intelligence has an interest for us. We’ve not heard from our agent since what we presume to have been the facility’s destruction.”

Danni blinked. “Who?”

Pellaeon shook his head. “Let’s leave the dead, dead, shall we?”

Leia nodded. “You know some of what has gone on, then. I have a data card that will fill in the technical details, but the brief is this: Humanoid aliens from outside the galaxy have attacked or destroyed half a dozen worlds on the Rim. They exhibit an extreme technophobia, are merciless in combat, take slaves, and are ruthless in dealing with them. They are called the Yuuzhan Vong, and we, as yet, have established no direct diplomatic connection with them. Danni was one of their captives for a while and has had the most direct contact with them among our people.”

The admiral sat back, lacing his fingers together and letting them rest against his chin. “You have come to us to ask for aid in dealing with the Yuuzhan Vong?”

Leia nodded. “You, perhaps better than anyone, know the difficulty of dealing with an enemy who can strike anywhere. And let me speak frankly, internal dissent within the New Republic is not at the boiling point, but New Republic military forces are needed to police disputes. At the same time there are vocal segments of the population who, because of the peace accords, think the military should stand down, demobilize, and that no more money should be budgeted to defense. While the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, if it goes unchecked, could bring everyone together, the unity would come too late. We need to stop them now. We have a force that will function very well as an anvil, but we need a hammer.”

A grim grin tugged at the corners of Pellaeon’s mouth. “I would have thought the Jedi would act as your hammer.”

“As the data files will point out, the Yuuzhan Vong are resistant to Force powers. The Jedi are doing all they can to help in this situation, but there aren’t enough of them to be able to handle a problem of this magnitude.”

Pellaeon glanced back at the two military men. “Your request has not gone unanticipated, Consul. These men have told me, at various times, that any military cooperation with the New Republic would be a trap. You would lure our ships away from our home and destroy them, then finish your conquest of Imperial space. They had not anticipated