Star Wars_ X-Wing 07_ Solo Command - Aaron Allston [155]
“I’m back on Corellia now,” the redhead said, “after a few years of knocking around the galaxy.”
“Years?” Solo asked. “More like a few days.”
“Pretty good Corellian accent,” Wedge said.
“I don’t believe this,” Solo said.
“And I know, after the way we parted company, you may not want to see me again. But I had to find out if there was any sort of chance for us. I think I’m finally ready and able to give it a try again.” There was hope in the woman’s expression, and acceptance. “I’ll be here, at the address given in the message header, for the next few weeks. I’m trying to drum up traffic for my new shuttle business. I have a ship, a Sentinel-class landing craft I obtained used. I have a copilot you really need to meet and an astromech you already know. Contact me, visit me—do whatever you feel you have to. I’ll accept whatever you decide.”
The screen faded.
“Stand by, Communications.” Solo shut off the cockpit microphone and gave Wedge an accusing look. “You said, when you overflew her X-wing, that you saw no sign she’d ejected.”
“That’s right.” Wedge stretched lazily. “There was no automated comm signal indicating an ejection.”
“Of course, that could have been damaged in combat, or she could have disabled it.”
“Sure, sure. Anyway, as the X-wing was rolling over and sinking as I flew over her, I couldn’t see whether the pilot’s chair was still in there.”
“Commander Square Corners himself, showing a streak of duplicity. Lying by omission. I can’t believe it.”
“Maybe, ultimately, I believe in happy endings,” Wedge said. “I can hope for them, anyway. Besides, with Wraith Squadron on one side of me and Han Solo on the other, how can I keep from being infected with duplicity?”
“Good point.” Solo considered. “She could come back. What she did as an Imperial agent is nothing compared to what she did for us.”
Wedge shook his head. “I think the way you do, but the law doesn’t. In her false identity, she swore an oath to the New Republic, then transmitted classified data to the Empire during a time of wan That’s treason. The only legal outcome for her would be the death sentence. Regardless of what she did for us. Regardless of the fact that she’s not remotely the same person who served the Empire and Admiral Trigit.”
“You’re right.” Solo reactivated the comm unit. “Communications, you have a false reading. The sender’s vocal similarity to Lara Notsil is a coincidence. She’s dead. Understood?”
“Uh, sir, our correlation is something like ninety-nine-point-nine-nine-seven—”
“Tell you what. I’ll send Chewbacca up there and have him explain to you what I just said.”
“No, sir, not necessary. I understand.”
“Forward the message to Lieutenant Donos and then erase all other ship’s copies of the message. Nothing goes into archives. Understood?”
“Fully, sir.”
“Solo out.” He rose. “Come on, we’ve got an hour before arrival at Coruscant. I’ll buy you a drink.”
“I’ll let you.”
As they walked down the Falsehood’s loading ramp, Solo threw an arm over Wedge’s shoulders. “Corellian to Corellian, you know what the great thing about being a general is?”
“No, what?”
“In lots of circumstances, you can pretty much do whatever you want.” With his free hand, Solo reached over and gave Wedge’s hair a thorough mussing.
Wedge batted his hand away. “Hey, stop it.”
“No. I don’t have to. Hey, you should try this general thing. You’d like it.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I’m going to send a message to Ackbar and tell him just what a natural you are for that rank.”
“General, I’m warning you …”
THE STORY OF HAN SOLO AND WARLORD ZSINJ
CONTINUES IN
THE COURTSHIP OF PRINCESS LEIA
BY DAVE WOLVERTON
(BANTAM SPECTRA, ISBN 0-553-56937-6)
About the Author
AARON ALLSTON is the New York Times bestselling author of novels in the Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi, Legacy of the Force, New Jedi Order, and X-Wing series, as well as the Doc Sidhe novels, which mix 1930s-style hero-pulp action with Celtic myth. He is also a longtime game designer and in 2006 was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design (AAGAD)