Thrawn raised an eyebrow in polite surprise. “None of them has died, Captain. We simply need more of them.”
“Ah,” Karrde said. “I see.”
“I doubt that. But no matter. It occurred to me, Captain, that as long as we were coming here, it might be a good time for us to have a little talk.”
“What sort of talk?”
“I’m sure we can find some topics of mutual interest,” Thrawn said. “For example, I’m in the market for new warships.”
Long practice kept any guilty reaction from leaking out through Karrde’s face or voice. But it was a near thing. “Warships?” he asked carefully.
“Yes.” Thrawn favored him with a thin smile. “Don’t worry—I’m not expecting you to actually have any capital starships in stock. But a man with your contacts may possibly be able to acquire them.”
“I doubt that my contacts are quite that extensive, Admiral,” Karrde told him, trying hard to read that not-quite-human face. Did he know? Or was the question merely an exquisitely dangerous coincidence? “I don’t think we’ll be able to help you.”7
Thrawn’s expression didn’t change … but abruptly there was an edge of menace to his smile. “You’ll try anyway. And then there’s the matter of your refusal to help in our search for Luke Skywalker.”
Some of the tightness in Karrde’s chest eased. This was safer territory. “I’m sorry we were also unable to help there, Admiral. As I explained before to your representative, we were under several tight scheduling deadlines at the time. We simply couldn’t spare the ships.”
Thrawn’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “At the time, you say? But the search is still going on, Captain.”
Silently, Karrde cursed himself for the slip. “Still going on?” he echoed, frowning. “But your representative said Skywalker was flying an Incom X-wing starfighter. If you haven’t found him by now, his life support will surely have given out.”
“Ah,” Thrawn said, nodding. “I see the misunderstanding. Normally, yes, you’d be correct. But Skywalker is a Jedi; and among a Jedi’s bag of tricks is the ability to go into a sort of comatose state.” He paused, and the image on the screen flickered momentarily. “So there’s still plenty of time for you to join in the hunt.”
“I see,” Karrde said. “Interesting. I suppose that’s just one of the many things the average person never knew about Jedi.”
“Perhaps we’ll have time to discuss such things when I arrive on Myrkr,” Thrawn said.
Karrde froze, a horrible realization shooting through him like an electric shock. That brief flickering of Thrawn’s image—
A glance at the auxiliary sensor display confirmed it: three Lambda-class shuttles and a full TIE fighter escort had left the Chimaera, heading toward the surface. “I’m afraid we don’t have much to entertain you with,” he said between suddenly stiff lips. “Certainly not on such short notice.”
“No need for entertainment,” Thrawn assured him. “As I said, I’m simply coming for a talk. A brief talk, of course; I know how busy you are.”
“I appreciate your consideration,” Karrde said. “If you’ll excuse me, Admiral, I need to begin the preparations to receive you.”
“I look forward to our meeting,” Thrawn said. His face vanished, and the display returned to its distant view of the Chimaera.
For a long moment Karrde just sat there, the possibilities and potential disasters flipping through his mind at top speed. “Get on the comlink to Chin,” he told Mara. “Tell him we have Imperial guests coming, and he’s to begin preparations to receive them properly. Then go to pad eight and have Aves move the Millennium Falcon farther back under cover. Go there in person—the Chimaera and its shuttles might be able to tap into our comlink transmissions.”
“What about Solo and Calrissian?”
Karrde pursed his lips. “We’ll have to get them out, of course. Move them into the forest, perhaps at or near their ship. I’d better deal with that myself.”
“Why not turn them over to Thrawn?”
He looked up at her. At those burning eyes and that rigid, tightly controlled face … “With no offer of a bounty?” he asked. “Relying on the Grand Admiral’s generosity after the fact?”
“I don’t find that a compelling reason,” Mara said bluntly.
“Neither do I,” he countered coldly. “What I do find compelling is that they’re our guests. They’ve sat at our table and eaten our food … and like it or not, that means they’re under our protection.”
Mara’s lip twitched. “And do these rules of hospitality apply to Skywalker, too?” she asked sardonically.
“You know they don’t,” he said. “But now is not the time or the place to turn him over to the Empire, even if that’s the way the decision ultimately goes. Do you understand?”
“No,” she growled. “I don’t.”
Karrde eyed her, strongly tempted to tell her that she didn’t need to understand, only to obey. “It’s a matter of relative strength,” he told her instead. “Here on the ground, with an Imperial Star Destroyer orbiting overhead, we have no bargaining position at all. I wouldn’t do business under such circumstances even if Thrawn was the most trustworthy client in the galaxy. Which he’s not. Now do you understand?”
She took a deep breath, let it out. “I don’t agree,” she gritted. “But I’ll accept your decision.”
“Thank you. Perhaps after the Imperials leave, you can ask General Calrissian about the perils of making bargains while stormtroopers are strolling around your territory.” Karrde looked back at the display. “So. Falcon moved; Solo and Calrissian moved. Skywalker and the droid should be all right where they are—the four shed has enough shielding to keep out anything but a fairly determined probe.”
“And if Thrawn is determined?”
“Then we may have trouble,” Karrde agreed calmly. “On the other hand, I doubt that Thrawn would be coming down himself if he thought there was the possibility of a firefight. The upper military ranks don’t achieve that status by risking their own lives unnecessarily.” He nodded at the door. “Enough talk. You have your job; I have mine. Let’s get to them.”
She nodded and turned to the door; and as she did so, a sudden thought struck him. “Where did you put Skywalker’s lightsaber?” he asked.
“It’s in my room,” she said, turning back. “Why?”
“Better get it and put it somewhere else. Lightsabers aren’t supposed to be highly detectable, but there’s no point in taking chances. Put it in with the resonator cavities in three shed; they ought to provide adequate shielding from stray sensor probes.”
“Right.” She regarded him thoughtfully. “What was all that business about capital starships?”
“You heard everything that was said.”
“I know. I was talking about your reaction to it.”
He grimaced to himself. “I’d hoped it wasn’t that obvious.”
“It wasn’t.” She waited expectantly.
He pursed his lips. “Ask me again later. Right now, we have work to do.”
For another second she studied him. Then, without a word, she nodded and left.
Taking a deep breath, Karrde got to his feet. First thing to do would be to get back to the dining room and inform his guests of the sudden change in plans. And after that, to prepare himself for a face-to-face confrontation with the most dangerous man in the Empire. With Skywalker and spare warships as two of the topics of conversation.
It was going to be a most interesting afternoon.
“Okay, Artoo,” Luke called as he made the last of the connections. “I think we’re ready to try it. Cross your fingers.”