'As far as the mark...'- The mark was a smugglers' term, referring to the party to be fooled. For smugglers, the mark was generally Imperial Customs and Excise - hardly the term an Imperial Commander would generally use then - or those he would need to hide from. "Where will it be?" Karrde asked casually; it was worth a try.
"I'll send someone to pick them up at Obroa-Skai. I'll supply my own crews, so you'll need to send a transport to get your people off."
Not terribly informative; Obroa-Skai was a huge port-cum-shipyard with hundreds of transports arriving and departing every day. The Commander obviously intended for his freighters to simply get lost in the crush. "I generally like to leave a few of my own people onboard, just as insurance." Karrde mentioned, "Bulk-freighters are extremely expensive items- especially retro-fitted with that much technology."
The Commander only smiled, "Not a chance." He refused point-blank, but there was humour in is tone, as if he'd expected no less from Karrde "If I don't bring them back you know where to come and find me."
"Then I'll have to double the deposit."
"Whatever. Triple it if it helps you sleep at night."
It was, Karrde had learned, very difficult to argue with someone for whom credit was no object; one had very little leverage. Again, The Commander pushed on before the smuggler could query further.
"I'll need contact frequencies and ship blueprints two weeks from now. Send them through the usual channels, with your fees. I'll transfer the credit within three days." He paused, considering; "Do you have any Bothans or Chadra-Fan in your workforce at the moment?"
Karrde raised his eyebrows, "Probably- why?"
"How many?"
The, heavy-set smuggler shifted just slightly, not in the least offended when his question was ignored; he would have done the same. "Perhaps a dozen or so Bothans; half that of Chadra-Fan. I'm not certain." Perhaps the difference between the two amounts would draw out which he was really interested in, since clearly it would only be one group; the other would be a misdirection.
"Can they crew your ships?"
"I suppose so- not alone, obviously."
"Use them - tell them they're to stay with the freighters and follow my command." Before Karrde could speak, the Commander added, "Bill me. You can take it off the double-deposit since you'll have crew-members onboard."
He grinned, looking very young in that moment, "Look at it this way Karrde; not only will you get to keep an eye on your precious freighters, you'll have an eyewitness account of what went on." Again, he smiled; "Obviously, we'll be disabling any trackers or transmitters you place in the freighters' systems."
"As if I would." Karrde smiled. That was the thing about the Commander; he expected professional subterfuge- he didn't take it personally.
"Did you find my infiltration specialist?"
For a second, even Karrde was thrown by the sudden change in subject, but then it was par for the course from the Commander, who wasn't one for small-talk. " 'Assassin' was the word in the comm I received." Karrde corrected, and the Commander made the slightest of gestures in acknowledgement.
"I presume you have a score to settle." Karrde said, glancing only momentarily to the deep scar which ran from beside the Commander's eye down over his cheek and through his lips. He'd tried hard not to stare when he'd entered the room, the first time he'd seen the Commander since the hushed-up assassination attempt. But the severity of the scar was hard to ignore, as was the dark slice which discoloured his right iris, mismatching his normally pale eyes, and to do so felt more forced than to actually look, when he knew that one of the things which had cemented their... association was his own innate, upfront honesty - again, something of the exception in his line of work.
The Commander glanced down, unwilling to be drawn. Chances were that by now he knew who was responsible, Karrde knew, though unlike Vader, he wouldn't simply strike out in a rage. His response would be more measured; more calculating... like the Emperor he was so clearly being groomed to succeed.
"You know I don't work like that." The Commander corrected easily, unoffended.
"I have two mercenaries," Karrde said, "Both of whom have infiltrated the Alliance before."
"Neither of whom have any traceable connections to you?"
"None."
"And they wouldn't be recognised?"
"Not as long as they weren't required to interact with the same beings- they weren't caught last time. May I ask what the job is - aside from an assassination - and where?"
"It's onboard the Rebel Flagship, Home-One. I need to remove the Comm Chief, named Leemarit."
"May I ask why?"
While he genuinely liked Karrde, maybe even trusted him to a certain degree, Luke knew that both had their limits. His Master had illustrated time and again that knowledge was power, and no matter how much he trusted the mercenary, if Palpatine or Vader were to get hold of him then Luke didn't want to find himself on the receiving end of another lesson.
So he considered for a moment, then offered something which would corroborate the story he eventually intended to tell the Emperor, "He crossed me- I don't take well to that."
"So I've heard." Karrde said mildly, taking another sip of the bitter-sweet brandy, studying the Commander's scarred features. Was he telling the truth? He'd told Karrde just minutes ago that he didn't indulge in empty vendettas, so was this something more- or had he been lying first time and this was the truth? It was always difficult to tell. Karrde got the distinct feling that sometimes he lied for good reasons and sometimes just on principle, like a sabacc player keeping his opponents guessing, but he'd also noticed that ccasionally the Commander told the truth as a kind of double-bluff - or made a double-bluff of the truth.
He made a mental note never to play the Commander at sabacc- then dismissed it as hardly the kind of game that a future Emperor would lower himself to.
But then, infiltration and spying hardly seemed fitting pastimes for a future Emperor either - not in person - and though nobody had any proof, Karrde had it on good authority that the Commander had done both. Within the Alliance, no less... which dovetailed quite conveniently with his present target... "Did he cross you in person?" he asked casually, eyes on his glass.
"What?" The Commander frowned.
"I just wondered how the Commander of the Core Fleet would know a Rebel Comm Chief."
"You'd be surprised who I know, Karrde." Luke dismissed, knowing it was what the smuggler chief wanted to hear, pushing the conversation on before Karrde could delve any further, "Which would you recommend now you know the job?"
The younger man also wasn't above taking advice if he thought it would serve him, Karrde had noted that too; something very rare indeed in a man of his rank. "Probably the Malastarian, named Issig, but he's not cheap."
"Immaterial." The Commander dismissed out of hand, reminding Karrde whom he was dealing with, "What do you know about him?"
Karrde shrugged, curious at the question- it wasn't something the Commander would generally bother to ask. "He's reliable. He'll get the job done."
"Do you trust him?" Another strange question coming from the Commander, who trusted practically nobody, and certainly wouldn't trust based on someone else's perceptions.
"Trust?" Karrde pushed.
"Like, I suppose."
Now that really was odd. "Not particularly- Why?"
"Because if he takes the job, it'll kill him."
Karrde missed a single beat, then; "Yes- the message mentioned that. Perhaps he's better than you think."