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Sian Tevv’s large ears curled forward. “You should take the full month. If you do, if the reports from the Bilbringi shipyards are correct, the Lusankya will be operational. I would think adding a Super Star Destroyer’s firepower to any taskforce would be worth the delay.”

“The Lusankya will take longer to be combat ready. We have not finished training a crew, and several more shakedown runs will be needed before the techs turn it over to a crew that can fight from her.” Admiral Ackbar’s barabels twitched. “Still, your point about firepower is a good one. To be on the safe side I will bring in more ships than called for, to provide me with a reaction force in case Krennel finds new allies.”

Cracken pointed a finger and swung it around to include everyone in the room. “The most important point concerning this operation is simple: No word of it may leave this room. We suspect Krennel has some intelligence assets within the government here—ex-Imperials, speciesist crazies, whomever. If any word of this leaks, the whole operation will fail horribly.”

Mon Mothma nodded solemnly. “I’m certain all the Council members understand this. No leak of this affair will come from Coruscant.”

Ackbar stood again. “Then, if I may have your leave, we have planning to do.”

Outside the chamber, Ackbar rested a heavy hand on Cracken’s shoulder. “Did I cover it well?”

“Yes, Admiral, better than most of my operatives would have.” Cracken smiled. The message from Wedge Antilles had come in two forms. One, which they had played for the Council, specified five weeks before an attack. The other, which they kept secret, chopped two weeks off the staging time. The inevitable leak from Coruscant would have Krennel waiting for an attack that would take place two weeks after they’d already smashed his fleet. Cracken had no real love for deceiving his bosses, but if a deception would protect the warriors who would die because of leaks, he had no problem lying as much as necessary.

“Better than your operatives? I find that hard to believe.” Ackbar led the way between two guards into Cracken’s office suite in the Imperial Palace. They passed through his antechamber, into his office, and into the totally secure briefing room beyond it. Cracken closed the door behind them and Ackbar seated himself at the briefing table.

Cracken smiled and took his place at the head of the table. “Admiral, I believe you know these people. Iella Wessiri was an investigator at the Celchu trial, Mirax Terrik you’ve met, and this is her father, Booster.”

The Mon Cal nodded his head. “I know of Booster only by reputation, and quite the reputation it is.”

Booster nodded to Ackbar. “It’s so good to be loved.”

Airen Cracken posted his arms on the end of the table to hold himself up. “Okay, this is the situation. The Council has given us the go-ahead to run with Wedge’s plan. We’ve not told them that the real Ysanne Isard is alive. They’ve discovered Ysanne Isard is supposedly working for Krennel, but they don’t believe it and we’re not about to tell them she’s a clone. The only source we have for the real Isard’s survival is Whistler, which is good enough for me. News about Isard’s survival can’t leave this room.”

Mirax leaned forward. “Isn’t having the Council think Isard is working for Krennel as dangerous as letting them know the real Isard is alive?”

“No, because any rumor of Isard working for Krennel that gets back to the genuine Isard will just confirm how good her intelligence sources are. If she knows that we know she’s alive, however, she’ll vanish and we’ll never find her until she wants to be found, and I don’t like that idea at all.” Cracken sighed. “Look, you’re three of the shrewdest people in the galaxy, with access to intelligence resources I don’t have. You’re already in on the secret here, and expanding the circle of knowledge is not going to be a good thing, so you’re it. The game here is this: If Isard is offering us Krennel, it’s because she’s after something bigger. I want to know what it