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added: “Strictly in the interest of facilitating an agreement.”
    Lah glanced at everyone, then set her jaw and nodded. “I won’t be long,” she told the Zabrak as he was exiting the bay. “But keep us on vid anyway.”
    The Zabrak shot Plagueis a gimlet stare as he spoke. “If you are long, we’ll be returning soon enough.”
    Plagueis waited until he and Lah were alone. “Thank you, Captain.”
    She scowled. “Enough of the polite jabber. Who are you, and why didn’t you leave Bal’demnic aboard whatever craft brought you there?”
    Plagueis loosed an elaborate sigh. “Before we go into any of that, suppose we assess the present situation squarely. I’ve stowed away aboard your vessel in the hope of arranging quick passage to Muunilinst.” Speaking in Basic, Plagueis pronounced the word with the second n silent. “Fortunately for both of us, I’m in a position to reward you handsomely for transport—and of course I’ll cover the cost of whatever precious cargo I’ve ruined. You need only quote a reasonable price and the deal can be concluded. I assure you, Captain, that I am a Muun of my word.”
    Her eyes narrowed in misgiving. “Leaving aside your identity for the moment—you know, the important things—your onward passage is a matter I’ll have to take up with the crew.”
    Plagueis blinked in genuine confusion. “I’m not sure I understand. You are the Woebegone ’s captain, are you not?”
    “We’re equals aboard this ship,” Lah said. “I don’t make any major decisions without at least hearing everyone out—whether those decisions involve the cargo we transport or where we deliver it. And while you’re trying to make up your mind whether I’m noble or simply foolish, let me add that I don’t care what you think of the arrangement. As you said: it’s the situation.”
    Plagueis smiled without showing his teeth. “In that case, Captain, I await the results of the summit.”
    Lah relaxed somewhat. “You’re going to have to sit tight in the meantime.”
    Plagueis took the conditions in stride. “Take as much time as needed. The closer we get to Ithor, the closer I am to home.”
    The words stopped her cold. “How do you know we’re bound for Ithor?”
    “The same way I know that your name is Ellin Lah.” Delighting in her confusion, Plagueis said: “I’m not a telepath, Captain Lah. After I selected your ship from among those on the field, I sliced into Bal’demnic’s spaceport network.”
    She tilted her head in a mix of interest and unease. “Why the Woebegone , then?”
    Plagueis sniffed. “I don’t gamble, Captain, unless I know that the odds of winning are on my side.”
    She snorted. “That’s not gambling.”
    In the main cabin space, 11-4D had been monitoring the conversation of the crew members since their return from cargo bay 4. The closest thing the Woebegone had to an actual medical specialist, the droid was responsible for the care and health of the crew, and so it had grown accustomed to eavesdropping on conversations whenever and wherever possible. Having created individual profiles based on heartbeat and breathing rates, body temperature and language, facial expression and vocalization, the droid understood that the discovery of a Muun intruder aboard the ship had significantly elevated Maa Kaap’s stress level.
    “When have you ever known a Muun to do that?” the Zabrak was saying.
    “When have you ever known a Muun, period?” Wandau asked in kind.
    “All right, then, when have you ever heard about a Muun doing that?”
    Before Maa Kaap or anyone else could respond, the captain entered the cabin space, clearly confounded though doing her best to disguise it. 11-4D noted increased blood flow in her head-tails, which were themselves sensory organs, and a change in her pigmentation—aTogruta response to nervous tension that sometimes prompted involuntary mimetic camouflage.
    “So,” Maa Kaap said, coming to his feet.
    The crew members