out. That should have filled him with dread, but when he
could see clearly, Emtrey looked at him from afar.
And looking at the stone, he knew he was looking down,
which meant things for him were definitely looking up.
Evir Derricote, slaving with the other Imperial prisoners at
the far end of the cavern, turned to look at the commotion
the Rebels were causing, but he did not hurry to do so. It
would have been beneath him to let them think their squab-
bles were of interest to him. Affecting an air of nonchalance,
he turned and watched them disinterestedly. Then he saw Corran Horn.
The diminutive Rebel had irked him the first time they
had met, then had compounded his error by gloating over his
part in taking Borleias. As the Rebel reared back to throw
something, Derricote almost called out a warning to the
guards, but something forestailed him. He watched Corran
make his throw and saw a small missile shoot up toward the
ceiling.
Derricote lost it in the shadows above and began to
wonder what Horn was up to. The rock he had thrown
clearly was insufficient to dislodge a stalactite or trigger a
collapse of the ceiling. As unwise and annoying as Horn had
appeared to be, Derricote never would have classed him as
suicidal, yet if he was successful in an effort to dislodge a big
piece of rock, it would drop straight down on him and the
carpet of stunned prisoners covering the cavern floor.
The Imperial General saw Horn go down. The little fool
will likely be bit by the rock he threw. Serves him right.
Derricote almost turned away, but stopped to see if his pre-
diction would come true. It did not.
He did not see the stone fall back to the earth.
This started General Derricote thinking. He prided him-
self on being intelligent. He had, after all, created the Krytos
virus. It was not his fault that Ysanne Isard's expectations
for it were unrealistic. He had done his best, but that was not
good enough for her, so he ended up in her private prison,
subject to her whims. The whims that imprisoned me can
also free me.
Derricote could think of dozens of explanations for why
the stone did not fall back to the cavern floor. The simplest
explanation was that it had become lodged between stalac-
tites. However, for that to happen, Horn would have to be
incredibly lucky. He doubted the prisoners would have
staged the sort of charade that shielded Horn's effort just so
he could test his luck in a place that, ultimately, housed those
who were utterly without luck.
One by one Derricote examined and discarded explana-
tions for the rock remaining on the ceiling and, at last, hit
upon the only one that seemed to make sense. Iceheart has us
standing on our heads. Any fool who tries to escape to the
surface will just go deeper and deeper into her prison. Horn
discovered this fact, tested his hypothesis, and has his result.
And, just as obviously, he means to use it to escape.
The general slowly smiled. He could easily let the guards
know Horn was planning to escape, but doing that would
make him nothing more than an informant. Informing was
weak and would not be rewarded by Ysanne Isard. She
wanted action. She wanted him to do something to atone for
his failure. To please her he would have to act, because tak-
ing action was strong.
This Horn will bear watching. When he moves, I will be
ready. Derricote tugged at the abbreviated sleeves of his tu-
nic. He will become the source of my redemption and I will
once again know the glory of service to the Empire!
26
"Thank you, Admiral, I do have questions for Tsillin Wel."
Nawara Ven sorted through his set of datacards, then fed one
into his datapad. On the long journey to and from Ryloth
he'd read Wel's depositions and had formulated a series of
questions to ask her. There really was little to dispute in
what she had to say, but he needed to make certain the Tri-
bunal understood the limitations of what she had testified to.
In direct testimony the Quarren had seemed a bit testy,
and Admiral Ackbar had admonished her to be cooperative.
If needed, Nawara knew he could exacerbate that natural
Mon Calamari-Quarren enmity and completely discredit her
testimony in Ackbar's eyes. Generals Salm and Madine, on
the other hand, might react negatively if he provoked her.
Combat piloting is often much easier than this.
Nawara looped a lekku over his shoulder. "Agent Wel,
according to your earlier testimony, you've been auditing
Imperial expenditures for years, is that correct?"
The Quarren's facial tentacles quivered. "I have said
this, yes."
"And the purpose for studying these expenditures was to
estimate how much money the Empire was pouring into anti-
Rebel activities, correct?"
"Yes."
"This means you were looking for evidence of expenses
that were hidden--black projects, so to speak, that did not
appear on any official Imperial budget."
The Quarren nodded. "Budgets for such things are regu-
larly hidden within other programs. A terra-forming budget
might, for example, have miscellaneous expenses linked to it
that cover the cost of military development projects. Prior to
our taking of Coruscant I would compare known expenses
with the budget expenditures and create a picture of what
the Empire was spending."
"t see." Nawara glanced down at his datapad. "Now,
you have told the court that my client, Captain Celchu, was
paid approximately fifteen million credits over the past two
years. This would be the amount of time that has passed
since his escape from Imperial custody. Is that a fair summa-
rization of your testimony?"
The Quarren's turquoise eyes glinted wetly. "I indicated
that fifteen million credits is all we have been able to un-
cover. The money is located in six different accounts. There
could be more."
"But you are uncertain of that?"
"Counselor Ven, since the occupation of Coruscant I
have been working night and day analyzing Intelligence ac-
counts. There are literally millions of accounts. I feel fortu-
nate to have uncovered the six we have found so far."
Nawara pressed his hands together. "But these six ac-
counts are not the only accounts you have looked at, cor-
rect?"
"No, I have reviewed thousands of accounts myself, and
my staff has reviewed nearly a million."
"So the accounts you have linked with my client are not
remarkable?"
"I don't understand the question."
"Allow me to rephrase it." Nawara smiled. "How many
Imperial agents have you found that have funds in numerous
accounts ?"
A translucent membrane nictitated up over Tsillin Wel's
eyes. "A few."
"A few what? Dozen? Hundred? Thousand?"
"Dozen."
"And how many
of those individuals have six ac-
counts?"
The Quarren shifted slightly in the witness chair. "So
far, none, but we have a great deal of work to do yet."
Nawara nodded. "Now, discovering the links between
these files and an agent is not easy work, is it?"
"No."
"Is one of the difficulties that Imperial Intelligence took
pains to make it difficult to locate the identities of their
agents?"
"Yes."
"Do they encrypt data?"
"Yes."
"Do the encryption routines vary in difficulty depending
upon the value of the agent?"
"Objection." Halla Ettyk stood. "Calls for speculation
on the part of the witness."
"Admiral, Agent Wel is overseeing an Intelligence divi-
sion that has been at war with Imperial Intelligence for years.
Clearly she would be familiar with the degree of security the
Empire used to protect its assets and hide information."
"Overruled. You may answer the question as best you
are able."
Wel's facial tentacles rolled up and slowly unfurled.
"Encryption does become more difficult the more valuable
the asset. The methods used to hide Captain Celchu's iden-
tity show him to be of middling importance to the Empire."
Nawara smiled. "So you have uncovered other agents on
the same level of importance as him?" "Dozens. Hundreds."
"And each of them had fifteen million credits paid out?"
The Quarren hesitated. "No."
"No? How much were they paid?"
"Thousands."
"So you're saying that while Captain Celchu was pro-
tected like an agent of little value, he was paid out of all
proportion with his apparent worth to Imperial Intelli-
gence?"
"That is one conclusion that could be drawn from the
accounts."
"Is the other perhaps that he was set up to look like a
valuable agent as part of a frame-up?" "Objection. Speculation."
"Withdrawn." Nawara nodded to Commander Ettyk.
"Agent Wel, how much money has Captain Celchu taken
from his accounts?"
Wel's tentacles writhed. "None."
"To your knowledge, is there any evidence that Tycho
Celchu knew the accounts existed?"
"No.'
Perfect. "So these accounts could have been set up and
made to look as if Captain Celchu was an Imperial agent
without his knowledge, specifically to discredit him in a trial
like this?"
Yes."
Nawara let his smile blossom fully. "And in your experi-
ence, has Imperial Intelligence ever set up such accounts to
attempt to make the Alliance think someone is an agent in
their employ?"
The Quarren glanced down at her hands. "Yes. At least
once."
"And who was that?"
Tsillin Wel glanced up at the bearded man sitting at Ad-
miral Ackbar's left. "General Crix Madine. I found the ac-
counts and also proved they were false."
"And you have diligently applied yourself to proving the
accounts you have linked to Captain Celchu are false as well,
correct?"
The Quarren shook her head. "That is not part of my
job."
"So you just manufacture evidence for the state. Truth
means nothing."
"Objection."
"Sustained." Admiral Ackbar looked down at Nawara.
"You have made your point, Counselor Ven. There is noth-
ing more you can gain on this line."
"Yes, Admiral." Newera returned to the defense bench.
"No further questions."
In the holding cell, Nawara rubbed some warmth back into
the tip of his right lekku. "No, you're right, Captain, we did
score points today. I think General Madine will question
whether or not you're being paid off."
Tycho smiled over at him. "That's good, yes?"
"In a way, yes."
"What do you mean?"
Nawara shrugged. "The idea that you're an agent who
was being paid by the Empire isn't supposed to impress the
Tribunal--it's meant to impress the public. It's only one of
three motives that would explain your actions. It does pro-
vide the prosecution with an embarrassment of riches. Greed
is the easiest thing for most folks to understand, especially
when you're talking that much in the way of credits."
Tycho's binders clicked against the edge of the table as
he slid his hands from it and held them against his chest.
"Corran's threatening to expose me is another motive.
What's the last one?"
"Lusankya." Neware opened his hands. "The Tribunal,
at this point, has a choice. If they assume you betrayed the
squadron because you were being paid or because you feared
what Corran would uncover, they can convict you of murder
and treason without any problem. Everyone will understand
what happened and there won't be any messy details to deal
with. If they decide, on the other hand, that you did what
you did because of Imperial brainwashing at Lusankya, then
they would be bound to find you innocent by reason of di-
minished sapience. In that case you'd be placed into a hospi-
tal and treated for your affliction, to be released whenever
Tycho stared down at his hands. "Which could be
never."
"That's your nightmare. Their nightmare is that some
Emdee-oh droid with a Cognitive Matrix analysis package
will unscramble your brain and declare you cured in a week
or two. They'd have to let you go free, which would make
the justice system seem impotent."
Tycho's head came up and the bright blue of his eyes
surprised Neware with its intensity. "What you're saying is
that the sabacc cards have been programmed against me."
"It's worse than you know." Neware jerked a thumb
toward the exterior wall. "The day we got back from Ryloth,
the Palpatine Counter-insurgency Front blew up a school.
It's been thirty-six hours and they've still not found all the
bodies. Some were vaporized in the explosion, unrecover-
able-just like Corran's. Both humans and non died in the
blast. Someone claiming responsibility said that such acts of
terror would continue until the state's sham trial of you, an
obviously innocent man, was ended and you were set free."
"What?" Tycho shook his head. "In court you showed
that the Imps had planted the information to frame me, and
now you're telling me that they're saying I've been framed?
What's going on?"
"Your trial is divisive. The government is using it to
show they, unlike the Empire, can handle things in an open
manner. Imperial agents, on the other hand, are making it
look like evidence is being trumped up against you. It makes
humans think you're a sacrifice being offered up to keep the
Alliance together. The non-human population already thinks
you're guilty and somehow responsible for the Krytos vi-
rus-it doesn't matter that you had nothing to do with it."
Tycho leaned forward and slapped his hands on the ta-
&n
bsp; ble. "Nawara, you have to let me testify on my own behalf. I
can convince them I'm innocent."
The Twi'lek sat back. "You've been talking to Diric
again, haven't you?"
Tycho nodded. "He visited me while you and Wedge
were gone. Aside from Winter, he was my only visitor. He
says that talking to me has him convinced I'm innocent."
"That's great for him, but he was also an Imperial pris-
oner, so he feels a sense of kinship to you. Most other folks
don't have that bond."
Tycho raised an eyebrow. "You endured Imperial dis-
crimination against non-humans. Can you really say you
weren't an Imperial prisoner?"
Nawara hesitated for a moment. The greatest thing for
him about joining the Rebellion had been having the weight
of oppression lifted from him. As a non-human he was
treated as inconsequential by the Empire. Imperial magis-
trates would ignore him and his objections, or they would
overrule him and threaten him with contempt for wasting the
court's time by bringing up points of law. He knew that at
any moment he could be gathered up in some Intelligence
sweep and incarcerated for whatever was left of his life, and
no one would know.
Fear was once a constant factor in his life. Then he
joined the Alliance, and while he didn't fully leave fear be-
hind, he was given control over it. Now, with the Empire in
retreat, that same control had been extended to others. Even
the most despised individuals in the Empire now knew free-
dom.
And still have a taste for revenge against their oppres-
sors.
"Yes, I could say I, too, was their prisoner, Captain, but
that doesn't matter. The fact is that if you testify, Com-
mander Ettyk will destroy you on cross-examination."
"How?"
"She'll go back through your life and make it into a
mockery of what it's been." Nawara's eyes narrowed to
bloody crescents. "She'll point out that you volunteered for
the Imperial Academy and were a successful TIE fighter pilot.
She'll suggest you were so callous that you were speaking to
your family and fianc& via the holonet at the precise mo-
ment Alderaan was destroyed--all because you had learned,
being as you have always been an Imperial Intelligence agent,