“Yeah, well, don’t be too pleased,” Han said. “I haven’t accepted anything yet.”
He gave Gejjen’s hand a single pump, then looked past him to the others. They were older-the first a sandy-haired man with a blocky jaw and graying mustache, the second a middle-aged woman with a round face and cold gray eyes. Han wasn’t familiar enough with the new government to recognize them by sight, but he was guessing by Antilles’s displeasure and the number of security agents waiting outside that they were Gavele Lemora and Rorf Willems. Along with Gejjen, Lemora and Willems were the heart of the Five Worlds government, with Lemora serving as minister of intelligence and Willems as the minister of defense.
Gejjen frowned in Antilles’s direction. “I thought you weren’t to bring them in here unless…”
“Admiral Antilles’s request was necessarily rather vague,” Leia interrupted. “Han will need to know a few more details before he can agree to serve as your emissary.”
“Ah-of course.” Gejjen glanced over his shoulder at the cold-eyed woman-Lemora-and looked relieved. “We’ll be happy to give him a basic briefing.”
“After the droid leaves,” Lemora added, staring at C-3PO.
“I can’t leave!” C-3PO objected. “I won’t be able to record the briefing.”
“That’s the point, chiphead,” Willems said. He had a gravelly voice and a thuggish demeanor. “We don’t want it recorded.”
“Are you certain?” C-3PO inquired. “Captain Solo’s memory circuits have been showing signs of fatigue lately. Just the other day, he told Princess Leia that with her new short haircut, she didn’t look a day over thirty-five.”
“I meant it,” Han growled. “And stop eavesdropping.”
“He doesn’t have a choice, Han-it’s in his programming,” Leia said. She turned to C-3PO. “But I’m sure Han can still keep a few basic facts straight. You can wait outside.”
C-3PO’s chin dropped. “Very well. I’ll be available if you need me.”
After C-3PO left, Gejjen motioned Han and Leia to chairs. Antilles took a seat at the end of the table, a choice that suggested he really did not like being a part of this conversation.
“I assume you recognize ministers Lemora and; Willems.”
Han nodded. “Yeah-I was just wondering what could bring the entire High Cabinet all the way out here.”
“We’re on an inspection tour.” Lemora did not even bother trying to sound plausible. “What matters to you is that a unique opportunity has presented itself.”
Before Han could threaten to leave because he didn’t like being lied to, Gejjen dropped the bombshell. “Queen Mother Tenel Ka has agreed to meet a Corellian delegation.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You can’t be serious!”
Han and Leia spoke at the same time, for the only thing that might have surprised them more-or caused more doubt-was to hear Gejjen claiming that their son Ana-kin had not really died fighting the Yuuzhan Vong. Tenel Ka was a vocal and very loyal supporter of the Galactic Alliance, and any suggestion that she might be willing to discuss changing sides was crazy.
“I assure you, we are serious,” Gejjen said. “The High Cabinet did not come out here to play a practical joke on you.”
“Then someone fed you a bad set of coordinates,” Han replied. “There’s no way Tenel Ka is going to support Corellia. She’s already assigned two battle fleets to Alliance command.”
Gejjen was not deterred. “And if that were to change, the Galactic Alliance would be forced to reconsider its position regarding Corellia.”
“The invitation is real,” Lemora assured them. “The Queen Mother has half a day available on the twentieth. Can you reach Hapes by then?”
“Sure.” Han glanced toward the end of the table and found Antilles gazing into the corner, apparently contemplating the wonders of automatic caf dispensers. “If there’s any sense in going.”
“I think what Han means to say is the offer sounds suspicious.” Leia looked to Han as though for confirmation, but she was really signaling him to play along. “We both know Tenel Ka well enough to be certain that she’ll never change sides.”
“You see, that’s why you’re perfect for this job,” Wiilems said. “If anyone has a chance of talking some sense into her, it’s you two.”
Han did not like the menacing note he heard in Willems’s gravelly voice. “You’d better not be sending us there to threaten her,” he said. “Because that would steam me about as much as it would Tenel Ka.”