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“I feel about Tycho what Iella feels about Corran.”

“Hence the impasse between us.”

“Impasse, indeed. Still, Captain Celchu sounds fascinating.” Diric’s voice became wistful and Iella straightened up.

“Don’t even think it, Diric.”

Wedge raised an eyebrow. “What’s the matter?”

Anger creased leila’s brow and put snap into her voice. “He’s going to meddle.”

The older man wheezed out a laugh and punctuated it with a wet cough. “Meddle, is it? You see, Wedge, my vocation in life is to seek out people who fascinate me. I study them. I try to understand them. I share what understanding I have with others.”

Ieila’s brown eyes narrowed. “On Corellia he found a defendant in a case fascinating. He got to know her and decided she was innocent.”

“Was she?”

Diric nodded solemnly.

“He kept after Corran and me, constantly asking us little questions that forced us to look beyond the scope of our investigation. She had been framed, but we got the guys who were responsible in the end.” She frowned at her husband. “That was a different case, it wasn’t on Coruscant, and you weren’t weak as an Ewok cub at the time. You need to recover.”

“I will, dearest.”

Wedge smiled as he heard all manner of meaning in those words. Ieila’s sigh meant she heard at least some of them and knew nothing short of house arrest would keep Diric from meeting Tycho. Diric will make sure Iella doesn’t let her desire to avenge Corran stop short of discovering the truth of what caused his death. “Having a hobby will likely speed your recovery.”

“A hobby, very good.”

“This man’s hobby is going to be my nightmare.” Iella shook her head. “Antilles, didn’t you say something about food when you arrived here?”

“I did indeed.” Wedge jerked a thumb up toward the ceiling. “There is an Ithorian tapcaf about thirty levels up that is supposed to offer some fairly exotic vegetable matter and then …” He stopped as a tone sounded from the comlink clipped to the collar of his jacket. “Hang on a second.”

He pulled the comlink free and flicked it on. “Antilles, go ahead.”

“Wedge, it’s Mirax.”

“Finally awake?” Wedge nodded toward Iella. “It’s Mirax.”

“Ask her if she wants to join us for food.”

“Will do. Mirax, I’m at Iella’s apartment. She wants to know …”

“I heard, but it’ll have to be another time.” Mirax’s tone dripped seriousness. “I have a problem. It’s on the Skate, and I need you to get down here. Just you.”

Wedge frowned. Those fliers for Zsinj should have been taken into custody a long time ago. “How bad is it? Are your riders back and causing trouble?”

“No, no, not that. That I could handle.” Mirax sighed. “Look, you know I usually haul rare items for folks, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, at the station I picked up something that’s very rare, and as near as I can tell, if I don’t get rid of it in the right way, the New Republic will shake itself apart and a scant few people will be alive to start rebuilding the future.”

10

Gavin Darklighter felt his gorge rising as the miasmal stench from the darkened hovel stabbed through his nostrils and into his brain. He reeled away from the doorway and fell to his knees, puking up what felt like every last bit of food he’d eaten since his return to Coruscant. His stomach muscles clenched again and again, wringing his guts empty, but doing nothing to soothe the prickly sensation in the back of his throat that prompted him to heave once more.

A piercing wail from a female Gamorrean drilled through his skull and reminded him where he was and why he was there. Gavin coughed once and spat, then croaked a command to the black M-3PO droid behind him. “Emtrey, don’t let them go in there. Tell her I’ll do all I can.”

Gavin wiped his mouth with his hand, then weakly crawled up the hovel’s exterior wall. He pressed his back against the ferrocrete and slowly straightened up. He coughed again and his body tried to make him heave yet again, but he clenched his jaw and refused to vomit. Never seen one that bad before.