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“I know what he was implying, Captain Nunb.” Booster’s frown deepened. “He’s CorSec, through and through, and a Horn on top of that. He assumes no one who’s ever moved a little contraband can be trusted.”

Corran wanted to protest that he hadn’t meant what Booster thought he did, but he had to admit to himself that, deep down, he was suspicious of the smugglers Booster had working on hauling supplies for them. In the past it would have been simply because they were smugglers, and anyone who has once crossed the border between lawful and lawless is likely to do it again and again. Because of that, they can’t be trusted, at least they can’t from the point of view of someone who is lawful. Now, because I’m an outlaw, I know that isn’t exactly true, but I didn’t suspect Erisi until too late, primarily because she was one of us. Because that fact made me blind to her treachery, I want to avoid falling into that same trap again.

He looked over at Booster. Of course, he’ll never believe that.

Wedge rapped a knuckle on the table. “Enough, Booster. Aril’s right, and no matter what Corran might or might not think about your people, I know it’s nothing you’ve not already thought a dozen times over about each of them. We’re in a tenuous situation here, and caution is vital for all of us. The fact is that the leak probably did come through Karrde’s people. Booster, I want you to sort that out with him.”

“Consider it done.”

“Good. You’ll let me know what Karrde says.” Wedge looked up at Winter. “Last topic: the Valiant. Any luck in learning anything about it?”

“A lot of luck, actually.” Winter smiled heartily. “The Valiant is an Alderaanian Thranta-class War Cruiser. All of them were supposed to have been destroyed when Alderaan disarmed, but it seems as if Valiant and two other War Cruisers—Courage and Fidelity—were refitted with robotic controls and slaved to accept commands from Another Chance. They were its escorts. One of them would fly into the system before it, another would fly with it, and the third would take another course to draw off pursuit. The trio of ships would change off, and some of the damage on the exterior of the ship suggests it ran off more than one pirate raid on Another Chance. If Emtrey can talk it into opening up its logs we’ll be able to confirm that idea.”

Wedge gave her a big grin. “That’s a lot of information for so little time to research the ship.”

Winter’s hair spread out in a white veil across her shoulders as she shook her head. “Most of it is information I remember from reading histories when I was younger and by correlating little bits of data I picked up in the Organa household or when I worked with Princess Leia aiding her father. When the Another Chance was recovered, it was clear that a massive power surge had fried circuits, including the controllers for the external communication arrays that allowed ship-to-ship communication. Since Valiant queried Tycho’s X-wing when it broadcast the Another Chance’s IFF code, and followed his lead in picking targets, the Valiant was clearly assigned to protect the Another Chance. Three War Cruisers and a War Frigate frequently comprised a patrol in the Alderaanian fleet, so I concluded there must have been three War Cruisers. The Valiant and the other two were the last three built in that class, were commissioned, and then were immediately decommissioned. Unlike the other ships the Alderaanians had used in the Clone Wars—which were scrapped and melted down into peace medals that were presented to the crews and surviving families as mementos—there were no records of scraps being sent out to crews. Nor are there records of crews having served on them, so I have concluded that they were immediately refitted with droids to accompany the War Frigate Another Chance.”

Booster’s jaw hung open. “You remembered all that and figured it all out?”

Mirax laughed. “Winter has a holographic memory. She remembers everything she sees, hears, or experiences, including that dumb look you’re giving her.”

Booster