• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“I’ve waited this long for my own command, Karrde, another week or so won’t hurt.” The man smiled broadly. “Besides, seeing Booster and the Venture is always amusing.”

Whistler hooted and flashed another message in the air.

Karrde laughed and patted Whistler on the head as he straightened up. “Yes, Whistler, I do demand payment for my services. I suspect there are things you can tell me that will more than pay for your passage. If you negotiate with me as well as you negotiated your way here, I’m certain we’ll reach a deal that will work for all concerned.”

Waiting beside her father for the Skipray Blastboat to come to rest on the deck of the Errant Venture’s forward landing bay, Mirax wished she could be anywhere else. Just thinking about meeting Talon Karrde again took her back to the time when they’d worked together closely to bring Ysanne Isard down. And thinking of those times made her remember when Corran asked her to marry him, and her father’s reaction when he discovered they were married.

Those memories ripped open the wound in her spirit caused by Corran’s death. In it she found echoes of the pain she’d felt when Corran was believed to have died on Coruscant, but that pain seemed dull and distant. She realized that part of the reason she felt things more keenly now was because previously Wedge had helped her through the trouble, but he was gone, too. Wedge’s death also hurt Iella and conjured up for her the pain of having lost her husband, Diric, on Coruscant.

The fact that the Errant Venture had visited Distna and found evidence of Rogue Squadron’s demise made it impossible to believe they had not all died. When Corran went missing on Coruscant, the lack of a body meant she hadn’t fully accepted his death as being real. While they found no body at Distna, they had found part of his X-wing, and some of the battleroms recovered from other ships showed Corran’s fighter had been hit and out of the battle fairly early on. He would have been helpless to defend himself.

She looked over at her father as the Blastboat’s gangway extended itself and Booster started forward. “I really don’t want to be here, Father.”

“I know, Mirax, but Karrde requested your presence.” Her father reached out with his right hand and drew her in under his arm. “Karrde might not be as smart as he thinks he is, but he’s not a cruel man. If he wanted you here, it’s not to hurt you.”

She sighed and wrapped her left arm around her father’s waist as they walked toward the ship. Booster had always bristled around Corran and found fault with him, but since his death Booster had been very kind and understanding. She was certain he would never admit to liking Corran, but he clearly understood how important Corran had been to her and refrained from disparaging him in front of her since their discovery at Distna.

She smiled. Part of his desire to avenge Rogue Squadron doubtlessly comes from his love for Wedge, but I’ll bet he wants to take a piece out of whoever killed Corran for having deprived him of something he planned to do himself someday. She looked up at her father, then laid her head against his chest as he looked down at her. “Thank you.”

Booster gave her shoulder a squeeze, then brought his arm up over her head and extended it to Talon Karrde. “You’re looking smug as always, Karrde.”

“I’m pleased to see you again, too, Booster.” Karrde smoothed his mustache with his left hand. “You remember my associate, Aves?”

Booster shook the other man’s hand. “This is the one you’re turning the Last Resort over to? Congratulations on getting that command, Captain Aves.”

Aves blinked with surprise, then looked over at Karrde. “I’m getting the Last Resort? How come Booster knew before I did? Either our security is slipping …”

“Or I’m just as brilliant as ever.” Booster beamed and Mirax found his smile infectious. “I deduced it, actually.”

Karrde arched an eyebrow at Booster. “Deduced it? This sounds very good.”

“It was simple, really. You’ll