The Commander tilted his head, voice emotionless, "I sincerely hope not. I'll be handing him over to them and I'd rather he didn't make a last-minute escape. I don't particularly want them to catch him alive either, but just in case, I need him to be primed with certain information."
Interesting- though it did explain to Karrde one thing; "Which is why you're using a go-between."
The Commander paused just slightly before allowing Karrde some glimpse at the greater plan, "The ideal would be to use an Imperial agent, but in this instance I can't. I need to remain unconnected to the death for a few weeks - after that it doesn't matter. If you have a problem with providing someone on these terms..."
"No." Karrde considered a moment, knowing that the offer of a get-out was genuine and he wouldn't be judged for choosing to take it. It wasn't generally the kind of thing he got mixed up in, handing out jobs with a foregone conclusion, but in his line of work one always knew a few beings who had played both sides to the center once too often and deserved this special kind of skewed justice; "But I'd like to use someone else, if I may?"
"If he's capable- I still need a clean kill before I hand him over- timing is important."
"Yes, I think so, particularly if the target is unaware. I'm sure in fact."
A short silence ensued, but the Commander just couldn't help himself, setting his head slightly to one side, a dry smile tilting the edges of his scarred lips, "What - does he owe you currency?"
Karrde smiled sardonically, "Perhaps I owe him."
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CHAPTER TWELVE
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The Peerless came out of hyperspace just clear of Coruscant's gravity, manoeuvring her massive bulk into a military shipping lane with graceful precision, the Dauntless, the Fury and the Dominant following close behind.
On the bridge, Mara stood close to the Commander, who remained statue-still before the span of the main viewport, the glistening jewel of Coruscant's night-side as The Peerless took up geostationary orbit changing his expression not a whit.
He had, she knew, greater things on his mind.
He had been summoned to Coruscant by the Emperor's personal command - not that anyone else could order him anyway, but it was rare that the wording of a summons to Skywalker included the statement, "By the Emperor's Command-"
Luke had been released from Coruscant by the Emperor only eight weeks earlier, and had immediately ordered so convoluted-a course for the Peerless that it was instantly clear that he'd had his destinations planned for some time.
He had, of course, sought prior permission from his Master to use any means in his power to find those who had aided and abetted his attempted assassination, but Mara knew that Palpatine hadn't anticipated this response. Luke had begun hounding the Bothans almost as soon as he'd left orbit, the first raid by the 701st having already taken place by the time the Peerless exited from her first hyperspace jump at Corulag. This was a carefully orchestrated, premeditated plan and it seemed to be gaining momentum. In fact, Mara couldn't quite shake the hunch that she was looking at the tip of the iceberg...
She got the distinct impression that Skywalker was deriving a certain satisfaction from putting a light under the Alliance then standing back to watch the ensuing fireworks.
And Palpatine had encouraged it of course, referring to it as putting his Wolf among the herd.
Still, even he had started to grow a little edgy at this very specific, unrelenting operation, curious to know what exactly was going on in his feral Jedi's head. Because Skywalker certainly wasn't admitting anything out loud - which usually equated to his skirting the very edge of what he knew would be acceptable to his Master...
So Mara could well understand the Commander's edginess today. He had been recalled without further explanation to Coruscant and it was pretty clear that he was expected to provide some kind of justification of his actions when he arrived. Palpatine always maintained a deliberate lack of continuity or predictability in his dealings with Skywalker, sustaining the wary trepidation he held for his Master. But as much as Palpatine had learned the most effective way to keep his wayward Jedi off-balance in the last three years, Skywalker had also learned the best method of dealing with his Master, Mara noted. He spent his life now steering the fine course between what could easily be considered excessive, unwarranted disobedience and what his Master may categorise as the kind of blatant, fascinatingly wilful insubordination which occasionally but not always, bought immunity from Palpatine's wrath- sometimes under the most outrageous circumstances.
It had become more and more a game of wits and will between them, and Skywalker's sudden burst of motivation following his assassination attempt had upped the ante once again, Mara knew. Of course, any genuine dissent or defiance would be met with the most severe, implacable force, requiring days or even weeks to recover, but eventually Skywalker had learned the rules of the game and remained forever just within the bounds of acceptable behaviour. The plain truth however, was that this alone wouldn't protect him from his Master's wrath if Palpatine believed Luke was challenging him, and even Mara, who had known the Emperor far longer than Luke, had no idea how he was going to take this, which made whatever the hell Skywalker was implementing right now that much more of a gamble and he knew it.
A Lieutenant walked quickly up to Skywalker and saluted smartly, catching Mara's eye simply because he was around the same age as Luke- very few people who had risen to serve onboard the Peerless were so young. "Sir- Chancellor Amedda sends official greetings and requests a projected arrival time."
Luke turned just slightly, "Acknowledge and send a reply. Fastest course by Shuttle."
The Lieutenant was snapping his heels in response when a second message was forwarded to his autoreader.
"Sir, The Emperor commands you to an immediate private audience." he said, looking up, no concept of what this really meant. It was, to most of the people on the Bridge, an accolade rather than a threat. Mara glanced at Skywalker, whose expression remained neutral.
The silence hung expectant, the young Lieutenant unsure what to do, waiting for some reply. When the Commander turned to exit the bridge, the Lieutenant spoke out, "Sir- may I send a response?"
"No." The Commander replied simply without turning.
Mara looked with trepidation from the closed turbolift doors to the Lieutenant, aware that Luke would be expected to reply to any message from the Emperor immediately, any delay a message in itself. she let out her breath in a slow sigh, which did nothing to ease her nerves. The game was on.
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"You are of course, kiddin' me?" Han prompted, stopping dead in the corridor, so that Leia was three or four steps forward before she realised and turned about and Chewie, who had been behind Han, ploughed into him with a startled grunt.
Leia glanced back at the Wookie and the two shared a long-suffering glance before she looked back to Han, "Why would I be kidding you?"
"Because.... seriously - you need me to tell you?!" Han exclaimed, "I'm just.. I'm... speechless."
Leia set one hand on the curve of her hip, "That'll be the day, Solo."
Chewie gave a short guffaw at that, then turned to look innocently up at the ceiling as Han glanced back.
"Hey, since I'm the only one around here who ever talks any sense. Not surprisingly, I feel it my duty to keep talkin'." Han maintained, a picture of indignant, injured pride.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I told you weeks ago that Mon had decided to meet up with Olin'yaa and... what did you say?" Leia set her head to one side in mock consideration, but when Han wouldn't be drawn, she feigned remembering, "Oh that's right you said - and I quote - 'Well it's about time'."
Seeing Chewie nodding from the corner of his eye, Han turned on his friend, tone wounded, "Would you stop backing her up?!"