“Go ahead.”
“You’re not looking well.”
He gave her a humorless grin. “Crisis will do that to a man. I’ll be fine.”
The door slid shut behind her.
CHAPTER TWO
Exactly an hour later, Ebbak returned, escorting Admiral Wedge Antilles of Corellia. The aging military officer, upright and moving as easily as a man half his age, wore the full-dress uniform of an officer of the Corellian Defense Force and a grave expression that concealed his feelings like a mask. Even through the Force, Jacen could pick up little of what Wedge was experiencing-alertness, confidence that might or might not have been forced, a patience born of self-control.
Jacen rose from behind his desk to shake Wedge’s hand. He gestured for Ebbak to leave, and she did so without speaking. Jacen resumed his chair and gestured to its comfortable, high-backed double on the opposite side of the desk, situated there just for this conference. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you.” Wedge did, his posture perfect, and Jacen felt a tiny trickle of annoyance. Wedge had to know that Corellia was beaten at this point-he could have the decency not to pretend otherwise.
“I know you don’t like to waste time,” Jacen continued. “So do you have a position statement for me?”
Now, at last, Wedge did look confused, if only faintly. “A position statement?”
“As in, It’s clear the Corellian position is hopeless, so I’m here to talk sense.”
Wedge chuckled. “I’m here because you suggested a meeting with a top-ranking representative of the Corellian military or government. You’re here because, having achieved a military victory on Hapes-one that has been spectacularly covered in the media, and let me add my congratulations on that-you want to press your advantage and conclude a peace with Corellia to give your brilliant political career one more boost.”
Jacen felt a flash of anger and instantly clamped down on it. Wedge’s words hit close to their target. If Jacen could negotiate a peace here in the next few days, everyone would benefit-Corellia, the Galactic Alliance, and Jacen himself. “You’re not in a good position to make accusations about other people’s motives and ethics. Not after signing off on the coup attempt at Hapes.” He knew the anger in his voice was real.
Wedge was silent for a long, chilling moment. “Because I think you need to know, I’ll tell you something that constitutes a Corellian government secret. I didn’t know about the plot against Hapes. You already knew I had nothing to do with its planning.”
“How would I know that?”
“Because it failed.”
Jacen almost asked whether belligerent cockiness was part of the genetic pattern of all Corellians, but he resisted the urge. His own father was the archetypal Corellian, and if belligerent cockiness were credits, the Solos would be the wealthiest family in the galaxy.
Jacen gave Wedge a condescending look. “You don’t need to offer a defense yet. War crimes trials haven’t even started. And if your negotiation is particularly skillful, they might not happen at all. So let’s get back to the subject. Admiral, your position is hopeless. The Corellian system is surrounded, blockaded. Despite the fact that numerous planets made noises of support when Corellia took its stance of defiance, not one has rebelled in support of Corellia; you are friendless. And you’re running short of crucial supplies. The smuggler convoy that you expected an hour or so ago is not running late; it is entirely in our hands, with all its bacta, all its munitions now helping the GA cause.”
Wedge smiled. “First you say we have no friends, and then you say people were arrested trying to bring us essential goods.”
“They were smugglers, not friends.”
“Sometimes smugglers become friends. Your father and I were smugglers who joined the Rebel Alliance cause. And now, since you’ve seized those cargoes rather than paying for them, you can be sure that fewer smugglers will become friends with the Galactic Alliance. Are you saying that the GA doesn’t need friends? Or just doesn’t need friends like me and your father?”
“You’re changing the subject again.”
“True.” Abruptly Wedge looked weary, reflective. “I’ll be honest. I’d like to see Corellia reunited with the GA. If it isn’t, something very bad will happen.”
“Now you’re talking.”
“‘If Corellia doesn’t rejoin, if war truly erupts … I may never get my pension from the GA.”
“Wedge…”
“I earned that pension. Decades of service.”
“Be serious…”