Luke bounced into the med room, grin firmly strapped to his face. Wedge held his hands up as if to ward off an attack, exclaiming in mock horror, "No! Please! No, anything but that! Anything but... enthusiasm!"

Luke swatted him playfully across the head, "Just thought I'd drop in on my way to Tauntaun duty," he said, reaching to drag the chair closer to the bed, planking himself down, "What a night! Did you get any sleep?"

Wedge shot him an innocent look, "What do you mean?"

Luke had known his friend too long not to hear the undertone in the question, saw the pink flush that crept across Wedge's cheeks hinting of guilty embarrassment. And he knew immediately that Wedge had been up to something but couldn't quite figure out whether or not he'd been caught. The blond pilot's grin widened, "I was meaning with the alert and all... what did you think I meant? What were you up to last night..." He stopped, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand, "What am I taking about?" He fixed Wedge with his best stare, asking, "Okay, what's her name?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Luke guffawed, "Don't give me that Antilles! It's written all over your face! And you in your sick bed...." he trailed off, another thought creeping in, "How did you get her past the medical droids?"

Wedge latched on to that, "Exactly, I couldn't have! It's all in your mind, Skywalker!"

"The impossible has never stopped you before when it comes to women, buddy! Come on, who is she?"

Wedge sighed, shaking his head, but Luke wasn't about to give up. He leant back in his chair, crossing his arms, "Really! Out of the goodness of my heart...."

"Your what?" Wedge asked blandly, raising an eyebrow.

Luke ignored him, "...I come here to visit you. I even bring someone else for you to moan at... but no! You still won't trust me. I'm hurt Wedge, really hurt."

"Yeah, right! I can see the Bantha tears from here. And if my memory serves me correctly you brought Karrik here for..."

"Karrik..." Luke broke in. Then sat up straight in the chair, the light suddenly dawning, "Karrik!" No... Wedge wouldn't have... He... Surely... Despite himself Antilles coloured. A slow grin slid across Luke's face, then he quickly schooled it into horror. He waited until he saw the defensive retaliation forming on his friend's lips, the final proof that it had indeed been Tennan, then accused, "You seduced my Flight Second?"

"I was in no fit state to seduce anyone!"

"So she took advantage of an injured man..." Luke denounced playfully, enjoying his friend's discomfort.

"No!" Wedge shot back.

"Why so defensive?" Luke leant forward, hands clasped, elbows on his knees, genuinely interested as he asked, "You're not falling for her, are you?"

"No!" Wedge denied, too quickly. Then he realised that it wasn't worth it, that Luke would push until he got the information he wanted: or he'd simply make it up. Despondently he conceded, "Yes... I.." He broke off with a sigh. Then began again, "There wasn't much time for us to even talk before I began coughing my lungs up... The droid tried to order her out. She told him where to go... and stayed."

Luke sat back, slightly stunned, but secretly pleased, "You have fallen for her..." he said softly. Karrik Tennan.... well who'd have thought...

Wedge shook his head, "I talked to her for all of ten minutes, Luke."

Yeh, but you wish it was longer, Luke thought, hearing the dejection in his friend's voice, "So, when are you seeing her again?"

"Luke..." Wedge sighed, "please. Just drop it."

Skywalker relented. But he wasn't going to give up completely, not that easily, "Never really saw you going for a brunette with blue eyes..."

"They're green.."

Karrik shrugged into the heavy over‑jacket, pulling on the protective headgear as she walked across the hanger towards the tauntaun compound.

"Yoh! Tennan, wait up!"

Karrik stopped, turning towards the dishevelled figure of Dack Lanred, who hurried towards her, trying unsuccessfully to put his arm into the sleeve of his coat. She fixed him with an amused stare, walking across to him as he finally stopped to search for the elusive sleeve. "Where are you going?" she asked, catching hold of the neck of the jacket, holding it still for him to push his arm into the sleeve.

"Me?" he questioned, innocently, "I love tauntauns! Didn't you know?"

"That would explain the smell," she quipped, turning away, doing up her coat fastenings before pulling the goggles out of one pocket and her gloves from the other.

"Officer Tennan?"

"Yeh?" she said, turning, quickly amending to, "Yes, Sir?"

"General Rieekan wants a word."

Rieekan, she thought in dismay. What the hells did he want with her now? For a brief second she entertained the wonderful thought that the snowspeeders were finally up and working... then decided that was too good to be true. She pushed up the bulky jacket sleeve, checking her chrono, "Will it take long?"

The Lieutenant shrugged, pulling a face, "Sorry, Tennan, I'm just the messenger. The General's in his office," he finished as he turned away.

Karrik stood for a moment. She was due for Rekey Duty in ten minutes... there again it was Rieekan who wanted to see her. And he had assigned the duty. Sighing, she shrugged at Dack then turned away, wondering just how sore Solo was going to be when he discovered that she hadn't turned up. Unless, of course, Rieekan wanted to see him and Skywalker as well...

"Lord Vader, Commander Verl Tennan," Jurgen announced. Tennan stepped forward, inclining his head smartly in salute.

Vader said nothing for a moment, reaching out with the Force, sensing the undercurrent of fear that flowed through all who served him directly. But also feeling the arrogance, the bigotry and the deep-seated sense of duty that would potentially carry Tennan swiftly through the ranks. "Leave us!" he ordered Jurgen, saying nothing more until the doors had close behind the man, "We have news of your cousin."

Tennan blinked. Of all the reasons he had run through for being brought before Vader, this was the least expected. He recovered quickly, asking simply, "Sir?" The full weight of Vader's presence bore down on him, but he forced himself to remain exactly where he was, resisting the impulse to take a step backwards. As quickly as it had appeared, the weight lifted.

"Your cousin, Karrik Tennan, has been listed as missing since the shuttle she was piloting failed to rendezvous with the Avenger at Orron III."

"Yes, Sir."

Vader took a step towards him, the room suddenly flooded with sound, a hiss of static broken instantly by... "..coming in fast. If they get too close before jump I'll give you time to get clear."

"Think again, Tennan! Look what's just come through.."

"I see it! They're playing for keeps! TIEs closing... attack range in twelve seconds."

"We'll be ready in twenty..."

"See you later, guys!"

"Tennan!"

Silence returned abruptly and Verl felt proud and very moved. That was Karrik's voice and he expected the Lord Vader's next words to be of praise, bracing himself to hear that Karrik was dead, had died alongside a squadron of TIEs helping to save a ship from an attack by Rebel Forces.

Vader's words shattered his world, "Karrik Tennan is a traitor and a member of the Rebel Alliance!"

Verl looked at him aghast, unable to get the breath to say anything as Vader continued, "That transmission was recorded during an encounter with an Incom T-65 and a Rebel freighter as they rescued downed Alliance personnel. Your cousin has been identified as the pilot of the T-65!"

"Sir," Verl stammered, knowing that he would also be classed as guilty simply by association, "I... I assure you.."

Vader ignored the protest, continuing, "You are here because she has information that I require. The events have already been planned and executed. You are the key to retrieving her!"

Karrik paused outside Rieekan's open office door. He was talking to someone else in the Command Level staff, but looked up as she reached for the door chime, "Ah, Tennan." He pushed himself out of his chair, walking towards her as the other man turned to look at her, "Come in. Have you met Major Derlin?" he asked closing the door behind her, shepherding her towards the empty chair beside Derlin.

"No, Sir," she admitted, acknowledging, "Major."

Derlin gave her a tired smile, "Officer Tennan."

"Sit down," Rieekan invited, moving back round his desk, dropping into the chair.

Karrik lowered herself into hers, sitting uncomfortably, reminding him, "General, I'm due to go out on Rekey..."

"That's all right," he advised her, "I've already informed the Deck Officer that you may not make it. There's something we need to discuss with you, information that you can give us."

Karrik frowned, getting a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. What was going on...

"Tennan," Derlin began, "we need to know about your cousin... Verl."

"Verl?" Of all the reasons she’d thought of for Rieekan wanting to see her, this was definitely one she hadn't considered, "Why?" she asked cautiously.

"We'll explain everything to you later," Derlin assured her, "But right now, we'd rather say nothing."

"Anything I could give you, Sir, wouldn't be very objective."

"Doesn't matter," Rieekan said, "It's your insight we need."

Karrik frowned, "Well in that case Verl is arrogant... self important..." she shrugged, "A spoiled, pretentious, little brat who grew into a spoiled, pretentious bully."

Derlin heard the bitterness in her voice, filing it for future review, then asked, "Do you know where he's posted?"

"Last I heard he was on the Avenger, but that was... two years ago."

"What section was he in?"

Karrik's eyes narrowed, wondering where this was all leading. "Operations," she told him, her voice flat.

"Nothing more specific than that? It could be important?"

She thought back to the last time she'd seen her cousin: two years before at her Grandfather's birth anniversary celebrations, not long before she'd joined the Alliance. He'd swaggered in just as the festivities started, newly promoted to Lieutenant Commander, resplendent in his uniform. Family had swarmed over him and he'd basked in the glory. He'd talked down to her for a little while, enthusing about his promotion and the new ship he'd been assigned to - still in Operations but, of course, he couldn't say any more than that....

Karrik shook her head, "No, Sir, I'm sorry."

"We believe that he's now on the Executor," Rieekan said. Karrik looked at him wondering why, all of a sudden, her cousin's posting was so important to them. Derlin's next words had her looking from him to Rieekan in astonishment, "In Covert Operations."

Karrik swallowed slowly. Weaselly, pathetic, sadistic, bullying Verl.... "I think," she informed them slowly, "that I'd like to know now what this is all about! Sir."

There was a moment’s silence as Rieekan and Derlin exchanged looks. Then Rieekan began, "You were very lucky at Taspin. There was a Star Destroyer dropping into orbit as you and the Falcon left Taspin. It was the Executor."

"Your cousin apparently recognised you," Derlin explained, "from a recording they took of the conversation between you and Solo before you jumped."

"He wants to defect," Rieekan took over, "And he wants you to bring him in."

Yannon Lourd, the Duty Deck Officer, wandered across to the small group of warmly clad pilots who lounged against the tauntaun pens. He held out the assignments, telling them, "Each of you have been allocated an area that we estimate will take four hours to rekey. Your rides have been designated and standard freezer... sorry," he corrected, unable to stop the smirk, "cold weather rations have been packed, along with the sensors you've to place."

"What are we looking for, Sir?" Dack asked.

“Luke trying not to fall off his Tauntaun!” Janson quipped. Luke glared at him as Han Solo grinned.

"It's all there, son," Yannon said, ignoring Janson’s comment and handing Dack a data-pad, "But basically, anything that moves. Not that there's likely to be anything out there. Keep in touch with each other at all times, people, because we can't spare the personnel to keep a radio watch. You'll be the only ones who know if any of you get into trouble."

"Brilliant," Han grumbled, pushing himself off the pen, taking another of the offered data-pads, "They dump us outside then forget about us!" He glowered round the hanger, as Luke grinned at him. "And where's Tennan!" he demanded, "She's the one who got me into this!"

"Rieekan wanted to see her," Dack offered, grimacing as he read through his assignment. Luke and Han exchanged glances, the Corellian rolling his eyes at Luke as Dack turned away towards his animal.

"Think I'd rather be riding a tauntaun," Luke muttered under his breath.

Han couldn't help the grin that pulled at his mouth, "It's probably warmer out there, Kid," he conceded, stabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the hanger doors, "Especially if her Princess-ship's with the General!"

Karrik's mouth dropped open. She sat for a long moment in stunned astonishment, then almost laughed. "With all due respect, Major," she questioned, "are you sure you have the right person?"

"According to the information we have, yes." He picked up the transmission, "This is part of the message that one of our underground operations sent us - Falcon's little friend at rescue identified." He looked across at her, "Little friend is a fighter. Taspin is the only rescue mission that the Millennium Falcon has been involved in lately. And we have confirmation from the people who sent us this message."

Karrik considered his words, still unwilling to accept that it was Verl. Rieekan watched the emotion play across her face, exchanging a quick glance with Derlin before asking, gently, "Does all this seem too incredible, Tennan?"

"I..." she floundered.

Rieekan leant forward, his voice compellingly earnest as he told her, "Karrik, you know this man. If the situation doesn't look plausible to you, we need to know. We haven't yet discarded the possibility that this could be a trap."

Aghast, Karrik looked from him to Derlin then back, her mind racing. The Major leant across, touching her arm in support, assuring her, "Tennan, we're not landing any final decision on you, that's our problem. We simply need your insight into a man that none of us know. We need to know what he's capable of. You know how he thinks."

"But I don't," she began, confused and worried by what they were implying, "That's just it! The two sides of our family never got on. They thought my father had married beneath him. They treated my mother like dirt after my Dad died... I don't know how Verl thinks!"

Derlin held up his hands, quietly interrupting, "But you do know him better than anyone else here. All we need is information. As I said, the final decision rests with us."

"Tennan, I apologise" Rieekan cut in, pushing himself to his feet wanting to give the young woman some time to think it over before Derlin started pressing her for details, "I should have realised that this would be quite a shock. And personally I could do with some Kaffin, what about you two?"

Karrik nodded, thoughts running, trying to picture the Verl she remembered deciding that he wanted to join the Rebel Alliance. It didn't seem possible.... or did it... For the second time in twenty-eight hours she found herself exploring her own motivation: the slow turning of her own soul and mind from a path that had seemed so right. Her memories slid back to the first time she had ever doubted the propaganda. News of the Senate being dissolved just beginning to surface, she had been assigned to transport a prisoner from Coruscant to the correctional facility on Kessel. The prisoner had been a Senator - unable, simply, to flee the capitol in time and fallen foul of the Emperor. The woman's quiet grace and bearing as the stormtroopers had dragged her, in chains, onto the shuttle had affected Karrik so deeply that she'd found the woman's face appearing in her dreams, like some ghostly warning of what was to follow. The destruction of Alderaan had come soon afterwards, and the dreams had turned to nightmares. The last straw for her had been the run to Melmaas IV... Her mind shied away from the name, refusing to acknowledge that it existed in her memory. She jumped as Derlin touched her on the shoulder, "Tennan?"

"Major?"

"I asked," he smiled, "if it would help talking it through..."

Half-heartedly she returned the smile, "Sorry."

"Don't be! As the General said, this has to have been quite a shock for you. I'm afraid," he apologised, "we're playing this as we find it. Time, unfortunately, is not on our side." His face grew serious again, as he probed gently, "What does your instinct tell you?"

She sighed, admitting heavily, "I don't know, Major... Three years ago I didn't see myself here... And if he is Covert Ops, he'll have seen a lot more than it took for me to see reason."

"This may not help," Derlin ventured, "but we believe that he may have been waiting for the right moment to jump. In discovering you alive, he's found someone that he knows won't hand him straight back to the Emperor."

"That," she laughed coldly, "sounds exactly like Verl. Always worried about his own skin, his own blown up image of his own self importance." She rubbed her hand across her face, "I'm sorry, that wasn't exactly constructive."

"It's more helpful than you think, Tennan. Believe me."

Rieekan arrived back with three steaming mugs of Kaffin. He glanced at Derlin, who nodded once, quickly. The General walked past him, putting a mug on the desk then handing the others to Derlin and Karrik. "Perhaps," he suggested, "we should start with everything you know about your cousin: likes, dislikes and the such. It will give us a clearer picture."

Karrik sat back in her chair, fingers wrapped round the mug, and began.

Verl Tennan sat on the cot in his newly allocated quarters, as yet not quite able to take in everything that had happened in the past twenty-eight hours. Only that morning he had been readying himself for duty on the Vindicator, then he was being escorted onto a shuttle and brought here. And all because of Karrik...

“Karrik Tennan is a traitor and a member of the Rebel Alliance!” Vader’s words swam through his head and fear lurched again, turning in his stomach, nausea rising suddenly. He made for the small toilet area, reaching it just as his stomach emptied itself. He leant against the wall for support then turned as the retching finally subsided, sliding down the wall to the floor when his legs threatened to give way, breathing heavily.

“....a traitor and a member of the Rebel Alliance...” That one statement could have carried his death sentence. The fear of what could have been burned icy trails down his spine into his gut. For a moment he thought he was going to throw up again but the wave of nausea faded. He rested his head against the cool bulkhead as his stomach settled then slowly pushed himself to his feet, pressing the button to flush away his shame. Crossing to the wash basin he rinsed his mouth, splashed water on his face then looked at the reflection in the small mirror. He had been dragged in front of the Lord Darth Vader, only to be told that his cousin was a traitor. You are the key to retrieving her! He closed his eyes, under no misconceptions - if Vader hadn’t wanted the information Karrik carried, he would be dead by now, tarred by the same brush.

Anger swept in to replace the fear. Had she given any thought for the family when she upped and defected to the ranks of the Rebel Alliance? A traitor in the family... Were his mother to find out, she would never be able to live down the scandal. Only she wasn’t going to find out. Suddenly, he found himself smiling. What he had lost on the one hand was being given to him on the other, tenfold. Karrik could have cast suspicion on the whole family. Instead she was providing an opportunity to re-enforce their loyalty. And with any luck giving him quite a boost in promotion prospects in the process. His mother had always said that nothing good would come of his Uncle’s marriage to that woman.... in this instance it looked as if his mother would be wrong.

And it all sounded so simple. All he had to do was meet Karrik and keep her busy until the stormtroopers arrived. And with that success beneath his belt, knowing how much it would mean to Vader...

He turned, undoing his belt and stripping off his uniform jacket as he walked back into the sleeping area. Today was turning out to be not such a bad day after all.

Derlin rubbed his hand across his face, surreptitiously trying to stretch tired muscles. Rieekan was also beginning to feel the fatigue and decided it was time to call for a respite, "All right, people, fifteen minute break while I get something for us to eat. Officer Tennan, feel free to stretch your legs, but say nothing about this to anyone!"

"Understood, Sir," she acknowledged, pushing herself to her feet. She threw a salute at him, then Derlin, before disappearing quickly out the door.

Rieekan watched her go, "What do you think?"

The Major shrugged, wearily, "There's no love-loss between them. She's trying to be as fair as she can: perhaps even overcompensating... But from what she's told us so far, I'm inclined to believe that the man is genuine. Sadistic and thoroughly nasty when he feels like it: but genuine, at least, in this."

"So if she agrees to go in?"

"Then, barring any anomalies in the information we get from Pethusaan, my recommendation is that we bring him in."

“We’ll need Mon Mothma’s go ahead before we start arranging anything at this end.... but I see no reason why you shouldn’t start laying the ground plans.”

Derlin sat forward, “That brings me to a slight logistical problem, Sir.”

“Only one?” Rieekan asked, giving him a wry smile.

Derlin flashed him a grin, “Well for the moment, anyway.” Then he explained, “We’re going to have to work very closely with Karrik Tennan on this. If she remains with her Flight she’s going to end up being asked increasingly awkward questions as we keep pulling her off the Flight details. Then she’s going to disappear for three days, maybe more, after which it may not be viable for her to return to her Flight...”

“What are you looking for, Major?” Rieekan interrupted.

“I’d like her re-assigned to my unit, General.”

“I see,” Rieekan said, steepling his fingers as he considered the request. Derlin, of course, was absolutely right- it would be far easier to re-assign Tennan. Then, at least, Alpha flight would know where they stood. It just hadn’t actually occurred to him before this that these events would result in the loss of yet another pilot from already depleted flights, “Leave it with me, Major.”

Derlin nodded, “Sir,” then rose to his feet, “I’ll see if Anders has come up with anything else.”

“And I’ll see about getting us something to eat.” He toggled a switch on the console, a silver blue droid shuffling in as Derlin left, “Twodeekay, arrange for some more kaffin and rations to be brought in. And tell the Princess Leia that I would like to see her.”

She had intended merely to wander through the base for a while as she tried to get her wits together: searching through the information she had given to Derlin and Rieekan, trying to work out if there was anything she had missed. It wasn't until the droid asked her if there was anything he could do for her, breaking her from her thoughts, that she realised where she had gone. The med-droid waited patiently for an answer. "Um," she began, floundering. A confusion of feelings that she'd managed to forget since the events of the night before, welled up again. She tried to fight them down, rationalising that she was here now, she may as well ask how he was, "I... um.... came to see how Lieutenant-Commander Antilles was doing."

"Greatly improved. You may see him if you wish."

She started to say no, that she was required elsewhere, but then she remembered him as she'd found him on Taspin: unconscious, left for dead by the Imperials. The image changed swiftly to the astonished look on his face after he'd kissed her. A smile crept onto her lips and she found herself walking towards the door of his room.

His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and even. But he had fooled her once before into thinking he was asleep. So she stood by the bed for a moment, doing nothing more than watching him. His eyes slid open. "I didn't want to be accused of taking advantage of a sleeping man!" she told him.

He grinned, "I wouldn't have complained...."

"You did last night!" she accused, quirking an eyebrow.

He reached out, touching her fingers tentatively with his, "I didn't know who you were last night."

"No," she agreed, moving her hand away, "you thought I was Commander Skywalker!"

He laughed softly, then said, "My life still belongs to you, you know."

She kept her face blank, "Haven't we had the Wookiee conversation before? And besides, as a chat up line that rates way below so do you come here often!" He smiled, slowly, and she suddenly realised exactly what she had said. She felt her cheeks flush and was surprised to see his face also reddening slightly. They both laughed at their embarrassment. Butterflies erupted in her stomach and she swallowed, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but here. And yet desperately wanting to stay.

"I could pull rank on you," he said, almost timidly, watching her face for a moment before continuing more strongly, "Disobeying a senior officer is a Court Martial offence."

She moved her hand to touch his fingers with her own, "I've already been Court Martialled once this week, thank you."

He chuckled, taking hold of her hand, drawing her down to sit on the bed beside him. Lifting his other hand he lightly traced her jaw line from her ear to her chin, sending a shiver down her spine, "I think, yesterday, I was trying to thank you for saving my life..."

"You were," she agreed with a slight smile.

"Well... it's important to me, my life that is. I'm very attached to it!" He grew more serious, "Almost losing it has made me reconsider a few things."

She squeezed his hand saying nothing and they sat in silence for a few moments. Finally she told him, "I have to go... I only stopped in to see that you were okay..."

He reached up, brushing her cheek, "They might be releasing me this afternoon."

The butterflies began to race again, but she leant forward, kissing him gently on the lips. She pulled away, only far enough that she could look into his eyes, asking softly, "So where do I find you?"

He grinned, finally relaxing. Twining his fingers through her hair, behind her neck, he pulled her back down towards him, "I'll find you!" he murmured.

The door opened, admitting Leia, “General, you asked for me?”

Rieekan rose to greet her, indicating that she should take a chair, “Yes, Your Highness. Please, sit down. I should have some kaffin arriving soon.” He sank back into his own chair, pulling information onto his console screen, “I’m concerned about the X-wing flights.”

Leia frowned, “In what way, General?”

“We have a grand total of five seasoned pilots,” he explained, beginning to read their names from the screen, “Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, Zev Haarkis, Karrik Tennan and Janson Waede. Granted Hobbie Arriek and Alissha Downhigher have had some experience, but the rest have very little to almost none. For most of them their first experience of battle was on the journey here. Antilles is medically unfit for duty, Skywalker’s not that much better. And now Major Derlin wants Tennan transferred to Intelligence, a request that under the circumstances I can't really refuse.” He shook his head slightly, “That coupled with our losses at Taspin.... I feel that I have no other choice but to amalgamate the Flights.”

Leia was nodding, “I agree totally, General. Wedge should be released from medical within the next few days, so he’ll be available to help in the simulators. But they’re still not willing to say when he’ll be fit for flying duty. And with Karrik gone.... there’s not much else we can do.”

“One Flight, then” Rieekan decided, “Commander Skywalker leading, Zev as Second until Wedge is passed by medical. And,” Rieekan continued, tapping his forefinger against his lower lip, “to avoid any confusion we’ll give the Flight a new designation.”

Leia’s eyes narrowed and she leant forward, something in the tone of his voice telling her that he was up to something, “What, exactly, are you going to suggest?”

His eyes flashed devilment, “After that little stunt they all pulled trying to cover for Tennan, there’s only one possible callsign, Your Highness.” He grinned, “Rogue.”

Leia chuckled softly, shaking her head then asked, “Do you want me to disperse the orders?”

“Yes, but later. First we need to discuss what we’re going to say to Mon Mothma about this Tennan business. And if you don’t mind sitting in, I’d like you to liase with Derlin and Mon Mothma on it. There are still problems that I need to sort out concerning the base and our hasty arrival. Not to mention that our engineers are having problems getting the snowspeeders up and running. Something of the magnitude of this possible defection needs the total attention at whoever’s at the top and at the moment, I can’t guarantee that.”

“I understand, General. And I accept.”

Rieekan visibly relaxed, “Thank you, Your Highness.” His door chimed, the droid returning with a laden tray.

When Karrik returned to Rieekan's office, she found Princess Leia, food bar in hand, talking to the General. Major Derlin listened to their conversation, munching on some candy. A small spread of dry rations and fruit had been set out on Rieekan's desk along with a steaming pot of kaffin. Leia greeted her with a smile. The General turned as she knocked on the door, "Tennan, come in. Help yourself to something to eat."

Derlin, yet another mug of kaffin slowly taking the edge off his fatigue, settled more comfortably in the chair. He waited until Karrik sat down, the gave her a quick grin, "Ready for another onslaught, Tennan?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Most of the stuff this time will be to ascertain a safe house or a place where we can set up the meet." He was looking at her intently, as was Rieekan and she began to feel slightly uncomfortable as Derlin continued, "But before that we have to know if you're willing to go in and bring him out?"

Karrik regarded him for a moment. Having assumed that it was a foregone conclusion that she would bring Verl across, the question surprised her. Tension tightened in her gut, "You said before that he'd asked for me."

"True," General Rieekan told her, "but we won't force you to do this. We'll find a way around it if..."

She cut him off, interrupting, "Sir, with all due respect, if I'm the only one he's going to trust, then I have to be the one who goes. Besides, I want to do this.... To be honest, I don't think I'll believe its really happening until I see his face."

"In that case," Derlin began, "we'll need details of hotels, public houses, cantinas, anywhere that we could possibly use for the meet. Is there a particular place that your cousin would feel safe...."

Since they had announced that Verl had specifically asked for her to bring him out and that he wanted to rendezvous somewhere in her home city, she'd had a worry nagging at the back of mind. His words about Verl's security pulled it to the fore. It coalesced into sharp understanding. Sudden apprehension sweeping through her, she plunged in, "Sir.... I have one stipulation..."

The Major stopped, surprised. Karrik looked quickly away from him, glancing at Leia for support, trepidation mounting even higher. The Princess gave her a nod of encouragement and, looking at Rieekan then back at Derlin, Karrik continued more sedately, "The people I knew in my home town... and my family... they're all Imperial through and through. As far as they're concerned I'm missing, presumed dead. My mother is the only one who knows that I'm alive. If I turn up and get recognised, it'll cause problems. I won't do anything that compromises my mother's safety."

Derlin considered her words for a moment. "Accepted. If we give you the final call on the location, would that be satisfactory?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Then once we're agreed on a location we can start working on how we get you in and back out again..."

“Before you get started,” Rieekan interrupted, “there’s one other small thing that we need to sort out.” He sat down, looking across the desk at Karrik, “Because of your importance to this mission it’s going to be necessary to cancel your flying duties.... we can’t risk your being injured in a training accident even if it’s only in the simulators. Not only that but you’re going to have to work closely with the Major and his staff. All things considered, it’s been decided that it would be easier for everyone concerned to transfer you from X-wings to the Intelligence section.”

Karrik frowned slightly, then nodded, “I understand, Sir.”

Derlin glanced at Rieekan, then looked back at Karrik, deciding to come clean, “Karrik, it may mean a permanent transfer.”

The pilot’s face fell, “Permanent...”

“After you bring your cousin in we may not be able to allow you to go back to flying the fighters.”

Karrik looked at him aghast. Flying was all she knew how to do, it was all she had ever wanted to do. She got itchy fingers if the X-wings were grounded for more than a day and now they wanted to ground her permanently! This was not good.... not good at all... “But,” she attempted, looking from Derlin to Leia to Rieekan, “Sir.... I...”

“It’s only a possibility, Karrik, not a certainty,” Leia put in gently.

“Exactly!” Derlin confirmed, “I just thought I should let you know all the facts before you commit yourself to this. I’m sorry, I should have mentioned it before, I just never thought.”

“That’s okay, Major,” Karrik said, relaxing slightly. Then she decided that if it was only a possibility then she would deal with it when and if they tried to keep her on the ground. “I still want to bring him in.”