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He worked his way back to the main cargo hold and climbed into a much smaller ship, one of the tiny shuttle craft found on luxury liners. All six of the Noghri were jammed in the back and strapped in place. Ganner sat back with them, looking very large and uncomfortable since his feet rested on equipment and his knees were tucked under his chin. Corran slipped past Jacen and took his place in the forward of the two seats in the cockpit. He buckled on his restraining belts, then pulled on a helmet and opened a comm channel to the Ralroost.

“Lost Hope reporting in. Ready to go.”

“Copy, Hope. Two minutes to reversion.”

Corran initiated the start-up sequence. Both sublight engines came on-line, but the starboard one was producing only 75 percent of its usual power. “Jacen, can you see about bringing Hope’s starboard up at least another 10 percent?”

“As ordered.”

The older Jedi hit a button on his console and reports concerning the Lost Hope vanished, to be replaced by the monitors for Best Chance, the smaller shuttle craft contained within the freighter’s hold. Corran brought its engines on-line, and each reported 100 percent output. Repulsorlift coils reported operational. He hit a button that sealed Chance and made it spaceworthy.

“I’ve got Hope’s engines balanced.”

“Thanks, Jacen. The charges are set and functional?”

“Yes, ready to go on your command.”

“Good, we’re perfect.” Corran forced himself to smile. The plan was simple enough. The Lost Hope would leave the Ralroost and head down, then suffer a catastrophic engine failure. As it plunged into Garqi’s atmosphere, the ship would break apart. Debris would be strewn everywhere, and Best Chance would be able to fly away free. By the time the Yuuzhan Vong collected all of the Hope’s parts and figured out something was going on, the survey team would have returned to the New Republic.

The only Hutt spoiling the party was the lack of a hyperdrive on Best Chance. Without it, the only way the party could leave the system would be by rendezvousing with a larger ship, like the Ralroost. The lack of a hyperdrive made emergency extraction very tricky, but Corran knew that if they needed to get off Garqi in a hurry, they’d already be in enough trouble that there was no guarantee they’d ever get a chance to escape into hyperspace.

Corran flicked his comm unit over to address Ganner and the Noghri. “Get set for a wild ride. No guarantees on this one, but with any luck, we’ll all get out of it alive.”

Jaina’s X-wing shot free of the magnetic containment bubble over the Ralroost’s belly launch bay. She brought the fighter around on a heading that tucked it into the Rogue Squadron formation above Garqi. Anni Capstan, Jaina’s wingmate, designated Rogue Twelve, came up behind her, then Rogue Alpha, a recon X-wing piloted by General Antilles, completed the formation.

Colonel Gavin Darklighter’s voice came strong and steady through the comm channel. “Two flight, you’re on the snoop; One on my polar, Three below. Lock S-foils in attack position.”

Major Alinn Varth followed Gavin’s orders with a quick comment. “On me, Three. Tighten it up, Sticks.”

Jaina suppressed a smile. Because she was a Jedi and carried a lightsaber, and because she used a flight stick to control the X-wing, her compatriots had given her the call sign Sticks. She took it as a sign of acceptance, which was good, since she was a lot younger than the others in the squadron and didn’t have a fraction of their experience. They didn’t look down on her for those lacks, however, and had even bragged about her to some of the new recruits.

“As ordered, Nine.” She nudged the stick to port, bringing her into proper position in the formation. Jaina glanced back at the R2 unit riding behind her. “Sparky, pipe up if I slip out of formation again.”

The droid beeped an acknowledgment.

Colonel Celchu’s voice came through the comm channel. “Rogues, Flight Control here. We have ten skips coming up from Garqi. Intercept is plotted, being sent now.”

Data scrolled up on Jaina’s primary