CHAPTER THIRTY

Soontir Fel leaned forward in his chair and propped his elbows on the desk. "Everything is in place, then," he said to the empty room.

"Yes, sir," replied the female Chiss voice from the transmitter.

He hoped Chu'itha knew what he was doing. For all the effectiveness of subtle Chiss machinations, sometimes Soontir longed for the swift capitulations provided by the old Imperial strategy of intimidation with overwhelming military superiority. Then again, if the Vikovans believed they were choosing the alliance of their own free will, they would be somewhat less likely to betray Csilla later on.

All that really mattered, though, was that the treaty would be signed, and the Chiss would have their foothold on their soon-to-be vulnerable frontier.

"Very well done."

"Thank you, sir."

He smiled lightly to himself. He didn't need a video feed to pick up her unresolved anxiety. "Will there be anything else, Shawnkyr?"

"No, sir."

"Ah."

There was a long pause. "If I may, perhaps –"

"Jagged will make a full recovery," he told her, barely suppressing a chuckle. "Another dip in the bacta tank, and he will be as good as new."

"Jaina's brother will be very pleased to hear the news."

This time, Soontir did chuckle. "And you?"

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"And you? Are you not pleased to hear the news?"

She paused again, only for a moment. "Apparently my plan to usurp his post has failed, sir."

"Your day will come, my friend," he said. He meant it. "Inform Chu'itha it will not be much longer now. His bait will return shortly to carry out the plan."

"Acknowledged. Nuruodo out." The transmission popped with feedback signaling the termination of the feed.

Leaning back in the chair, Soontir took a long, slow breath. For a moment he let his intense focus slip away, and let relief and gratitude wash over him. He had come frighteningly close to losing Jag, and he didn't know how many more times he could face something like that. The prospect of losing another child was… terrifying. Jag would never walk away from his duty and the constant risks it posed, of course, but at times like these Soontir wished his son could find a calling with a lower quotient of death-defying feats.

Not that there was any chance of that with Jaina Solo in Jag's life.

Despite himself, Soontir smiled. The young woman certainly had all of her father's temper and bravado. In his first minutes of observing her over the security cams in her detention cell, countless memories of a rivalry long past had flooded back to him, and he had begun to think that Jag's attraction to her lay principally in the fact that she was the polar opposite of the Chiss and the Fels in every way. A stereotypical Corellian – to the core.

In Jag's room in the medward, though, she had turned his impression of her upside down. Her devotion to his son had been apparent in every glance, every touch, every anxious tremor in her voice. Her fear had been written plainly across her face. She had exhausted every last bit of mental and physical energy using her Jedi powers to save Jag's life. Yet without hesitation she had sat at Jag's bedside and talked to Soontir when she had awakened. How she had found the strength to do that, he could not imagine – except that it was a strength she had gained from both her parents.

And like her father, she was a very bad liar.

Soontir hadn't pressed her for the truth. There would be time for that later, or better yet to extract it from Jag. Whatever the truth was, it wasn't the completely implausible tale of secret reconnaissance of Vikovan spies gone horribly awry that Jaina had tried to spin for him. Yes, something else entirely had led to the attack on the Jade Shadow with Jag and Jaina – and Force-repelling ysalamiri, of all things – aboard. Soontir had to swallow his long ingrained inclination to blame the Solo for the fiasco that almost had cost Jag his life, though. If one thing was clear, it was that Jaina was covering for Jag. How and why, Soontir couldn't possibly guess. But she was definitely covering for him. He had no doubt of that at all.

He and Syal had discovered long ago that lying to protect the one you love was strangely romantic. Apparently Jag and Jaina were following in their footsteps.

Footsteps. The soft tap of approaching boots snapped Soontir immediately back into focus. He looked up to see one of his subordinates standing patiently in the open portal to the corridor. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"He is waiting for you, sir."

"Excellent." Soontir rose to his feet and strode quickly out of his office on the Star Destroyer. "I trust you have not kept him waiting long?"

"No, sir."

He cast a sidelong glance at the Chiss officer. "You seem uncomfortable, Lieutenant."

No reply.

Soontir hadn't expected the man to lie. "You doubt my judgment?"

"It is not that, sir," the lieutenant said. "But…"

"But what?"

"But he is a smuggler, sir. A pirate."

Soontir shook his head in wry bemusement. If what he had seen today was any indication, it wouldn't be long now before he had one of those in the family. "Perhaps he was a smuggler and a pirate, Lieutenant. But I was once a Rebel, was I not? A member of Rogue Squadron, no less?"

"That is true, sir."

"Do not judge him too harshly for his past, Lieutenant. Judge him by the man he is today."

"Understood, sir."

The officer saluted and headed off down the corridor as Soontir walked into the hangar bay. His guest saw him enter, and paced over to meet him at the base of the Jade Shadow's lowered boarding ramp.

"Fel," the tall man said. His mane of hair and full beard had a lot more gray than the last time Soontir had seen him. He extended his hand.

"Karrde," Soontir said, and shook it.

"We were just about to raise ship when your pal said you wanted me to stick around."

"Cut your losses and run, is that it?"

Karrde grinned. "Turns out, most of the little buggers survived after all. It'd probably cost me more to hassle your boy to pay me for them than he owes."

"Relinquishing a debt? You are getting soft in your old age."

"Maybe I am." Karrde shrugged. "How's Jag?"

"The armed guards posted outside his door are the only reason he has not left the medward and already returned to Vikova."

"Sounds about right. And Jaina?"

"Asleep. Her Jedi efforts were quite exhausting, apparently."

"I'm just relieved they're both all right." Karrde met Soontir's gaze. "So what is it you wanted?"

Soontir waved a hand to encompass the Shadow. "You've seen the extent of the damage, I assume?"

"Oh yeah." Karrde whistled. "Mara's not going to be happy."

"Yes. That was my assessment as well." He smiled. "That is why I need to repair the ship."

Karrde blinked. "Repair? You want to repair the Shadow?"

"Preferably so Jade cannot even tell that her ship was ever damaged."

"Are you serious?"

He affected a grim scowl. "When am I ever not serious?"

"Fair enough." Karrde frowned thoughtfully. "You should've gotten started hours ago, though, if that's your goal."

"I am aware of that," Soontir said. "Nevertheless, I am quite certain the ship is rigged with numerous traps and other unpleasant features."

There was no comment from Karrde, and for Soontir that was as good as an admission.

"And you may recall that Jade's ships and my hangars do not always interact in a way that is beneficial to my interests."

Karrde chuckled this time and nodded. "I may have heard something about that at some point, yes."

"So you can understand my reluctance to simply attempt the repairs on my own." Soontir met his gaze firmly. "You and Calrissian made most of the modifications and enhancements to the Shadow, and I do not have time to call upon him. So I need you."

Karrde crossed his arms over his chest and carefully looked the ship up and down twice before he spoke. "How long do we have?"

"A day. Two at most."

"You've gone mad, Fel."

"I will pay whatever is necessary."

"For once it's not about price," Karrde said. "It's logistics."

"I understand." Soontir spread his hands, and sighed forlornly. "I should have known such a unique vessel could not be repaired so quickly."

"Hey, now," Karrde said, wagging a finger at him. "I didn't say it can't be done." He rubbed his hands together. "Plus, it'll be fun to see if I really can fix her up so Mara doesn't know the difference."

"You'd better," Soontir said. "Lives depend on it."

Karrde laughed. "So your boy did this, huh?"

"Let's just say there's plenty of responsibility to go around."

"I see."

"I trust I can count on you for complete discretion in this matter?"

"You can. Information is my business, and I can't afford to get a reputation for not keeping the secrets I'm supposed to keep."

Soontir nodded.

"Besides," Karrde added, appraising the Shadow again, "if Mara finds out I knew about this and didn't tell her, much less that I'm actually the one who helped you hide this from her, Jag and Jaina won't be the only ones running for their lives."

"It wouldn't be just you, either."

"True enough." He clapped his hands once. "Well, I guess I'd better get my people started on this right away. There's a lot of work to do."

"There is. Let me know how I can assist."

"I will."

Soontir smiled. "Thank you, Karrde. I owe you one."

"That you do." Karrde grinned wickedly. "I'll call in that favor next time Mara's got it out for me."

Visions flashed before Soontir's eyes. The Hand of Thrawn. An eerily similar ship to the tattered one before them. Explosions. Flames. A decimated fleet. At first a sickening dread filled him to the core. Then he remembered the moment Jag finally had awakened in the medward and looked into Jaina's eyes.

Soontir smiled at Karrde. "It will be more than worth it."