Expositions on the plot can be as long as in ROTJ’s briefing scene (which didn’t affect its overall pacing), there’s no need for waits and conversations longer than there were in the OT.
Why do you say it would make more sense in a prequel novel? I don’t get it: wasn’t half of SW’s plot about Leia being a spy and Obi-wan’s mission to bring the stolen data tapes to the Rebellion? I’m only suggesting to push this just a little further in the espionage genre with a cold war-like context.