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“And if I don’t agree?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I know, Corran Horn, you are capable of fierce loves and loyalties. If you persist in sending messages out, I will have your astromech taken apart, and I will scatter those parts further than my clone ever scattered the Lusankya prisoners. With a thousand years and a thousand Jedi you would not be able to reconstruct Whistler. His fate is in your hands.”

Corran let his jaw drop open to cover his surprise. Her bald-faced threat to Whistler didn’t surprise him. He’d considered the droids hostages from the second the restraining bolts had been placed on them. What her threat did mean, however, was that no one had noticed Whistler was missing yet. As nearly as Corran could determine the droid had vanished a week previously, which meant he was fairly well along on the mission Corran had given him.

He scrubbed his hands over his face, then hung his head. “You know, the only problem with you is that while you might have loved, you never were loved back. You know how much your threat hurts, but only because you’ve seen such threats hurt others. You don’t know firsthand the pain you’re inflicting.”

“I don’t have a problem with being saved that sort of pain.”

“No, I don’t suppose you do.” Corran looked up at her and met her bicolored stare openly. “You know, the real pity in that is this: You also don’t know that the best balm for that pain is having a friend, a true friend, someone you can trust no matter what. But, I imagine, to you that sort of blind trust is simply a tool that can be used against someone.”

“Very effectively, too.”

“I’m sure.” Corran reach back behind his head for the weight bar. “Well, the one thing I trust about you is that you’ll be true to your nature. And that nature, Madam Director, is what will kill you in the end.”

Wedge Antilles raked his fingers through his brown beard. He didn’t think the beard made him look any different, and his mental image of himself still hadn’t adjusted to include it. Even so, it changed the outline of his jaw enough to fuzz recognition and, combined with the prosthetic he’d wear to become Antar Roat again, it should enable him to get past any security screening Krennel put him through.

Colonel Vessery looked over at him from across the holoprojector’s sector map of Ciutric. “Do you have reservations about this plan?”

Wedge shrugged. “Same I have about every plan before it goes off. We get slipped into Ciutric as an Imperial unit looking for sanctuary. We fit in, then I send out a message that gets to you and in twelve hours you show up with the commandos we’ll need to break open the prison holding the Lusankya prisoners. At the same time the New Republic shows up with a fleet that will pound Krennel and liberate Ciutric. A lot of things can go wrong there.”

Vessery smiled. “True enough, but most of them come in along the lines of command and control. With the Director controlling communications and making sure messages go where they’re meant to go, everyone should show up on time. Your flight missions are fairly straightforward. One flight will eliminate the shields over Ciutric while the other neutralizes the defensive positions around the prison. Both units will then suppress ground defenses and air support. As you have seen in the simulations, the Defenders are well suited to these tasks and more than capable of standing up to the punishment.”

“Nice machines. I still prefer my X-wing, but I’ll take a trip in a pinch.”

“Flying one in combat will convince you.” Vessery looked over at the doorway as a silhouette filled it. “Come in, Major. This is General Antilles, Major Telik. Major Telik will be leading the commandos on the operation.”

Wedge took the slender man in with a glance. His high cheekbones and sharp nose gave his face an angular cast. Dark brows, which matched the close-cropped hair on his head, shadowed deep brown eyes. Not terribly muscled, Telik took Wedge’s proffered hand and shook it with a surprisingly strong grip.

“Glad to have you with us, Major.”

“My pleasure, General.