"Stop attacking the Bothans." Palpatine said immediately.
"As you wish, Master." Luke bowed his head just slightly in acquiescence, the perfect advocate.
Again Palpatine fell to wary silence and Luke didn't need to look up to know that he was suspected of manipulation, but he lifted his eyes to meet his Masters, trying to keep his expression if not his mind as open as possible, hoping to satiate his Master's anger enough that he was prepared to listen.
"Why them?" Palpatine asked, voice low.
Luke suppressed any trace of satisfaction, "It wasn't arbitrary, Master. I had a goal - and it was successful."
Palpatine stared at him for a long time, hard ochre eyes glinting beneath the folds of the heavy black hood and cowl he wore. Luke forced himself to meet that gaze; not to blink before it...
After long seconds, reminding himself again of his true goals here, Luke glanced away, averting his eyes. The silence hung heavy in the soulless extravagance of the magnificent room, Luke willing his Master to ask...
But Palpatine was not so easily led.
"The Bothans provide a great deal of information to Black Sun." His Master said, ignoring Luke's claim of success.
"They also provide a great deal of information to the Rebellion. I chose my marks with care."
His Master sat back considering, not even nearly willing to let this go as yet. "You asked for wide-ranging permissions knowing the specific action you intended to take."
"I asked for authorization to go after my attackers, which you gave, within the bounds of my jurisdicton- this was simply the first step. It was a means to an end."
And there it was again, Palpatine noted; that same blurring of the lines that the boy always used to hedge around the edges of disobeying, the same justification he so often applied to his Master's orders to bend them to his own needs. Skywalker stood tall and straight, hands clasped behind his back- not nearly as confident as he seemed, Palpatine knew, but at least as determined not to be intimidated. The Emperor brought a sallow, wasted hand to his mouth, to hide the slight smile, suddenly indulgent of his Wolf's composure, his coolness under fire.
"And what do you have to show for your efforts?"
It was, Palpatine knew, exactly what the boy had wanted him to ask and he looked up, eyes alight. "The location of Mon Mothma. Guaranteed- a specific day, an exact time."
Palpatine leaned forward just slightly, drawn in, the game of wits forgotten. "Guaranteed?"
"Mothma brokered the deal between the Bothans and the Rebellion herself." Still angling for permissions, Luke offered this piece of information openly to underline both his commitment to Palpatine and his inside knowledge of the Rebellion; the only two cards he could play to force his Master's hand. "She'll go personally to Bothawuii to reassure them- firstly because she feels responsible, and secondly because they're part of her own power base. That's why I pursued the Bothans- to draw her out. To force her actions."
Palpatine considered, pale, waxen finger rubbing against thin lips, "And you know when she will be there."
"To the hour. I even know that the venue will be changed shortly before the meeting. Give me permission to take a task force out to Bothawuii and I'll bring her to you - that's all I ask."
Palpatine brought his eyes to the boy again, a subtle tendril of the Force to reaching out to search... He could feel his desperate desire to gain this permission- and he knew exactly why his Wolf thought he wouldn't get it. "Bothawuii is in the Rim Regions..."
"Vader won't catch her- he doesn't know the Rebels like I do."
"Then tell him."
Luke shook his head, not yet willing to let this go. "The situation will be too fluid. I know their procedures. I know their Commanders. I know their weaknesses. It has to be me."
"It has to be?" Palpatine repeated, amused.
"I'm asking for permission."
Palpatine didn't miss the insinuation; that at least his Wolf was asking, not just twisting his Masters' previous consent to go after his assassins, stretching it to imply permission to leave the Core Regions in pursuit. That would be a step too far and he knew it - not even returning with Mothma would buy him immunity from Palpatine's rage if he disobeyed to that degree. Palpatine settled back again, eyes on his Jedi, who held his breath in anticipation...
The boy had invested considerable time and commitment in this; where was the harm in letting him take down his aggressor in person? It was after all what Palpatine had originally hoped; that he could incite Skywalker to turn on his previous allies. Now the boy was trying to make that very show of commitment, Palpatine knew, and an undeniably valuable one at that... and the fact that he had achieved this in less than three months, the last month with limited Intelligence, due to the silence of Leemarit...
The Emperor's eyes narrowed as a sudden realisation occurred, "How do you know when she will be there?"
Luke paused, mind racing at the unexpected question and the tone in his Master's voice- what did Palpatine know? Was he digging for information or laying a trap? Answer! Quickly!
"Intelligence, Master." Luke gave the vague reply dismissively, as if curious that Palpatine would even bother to ask, hoping to draw his Master on without closer scrutiny, though he didn't yet know why that tightened his throat in apprehahsion, "There are..."
"Your last Bothan prisoners were taken onboard the Peerless ten days ago..." Palpatine spoke across him, tone cooling.
Veers! Luke bit back the frustration. He'd worked hard to hide the specifics of various capture dates from prying eyes, constantly moving and re-splitting the Bothan prisoners, dividing and recombining them again and again so that no-one had the complete picture. Except perhaps Mara, whom he'd taken great care to keep busy... and Veers, who was the only other person onboard the Peerless with high enough rank to afford some overview.
The Emperor set his head to one side, manner increasingly dangerous. "Yet there have been no transmissions to Intel from my Rebel spy Leemarit for a month... If you had Mothma's guaranteed decision a month ago then continuing to harry insignificant Bothan minions seems... uncommonly wasteful. Uncharacteristically so, one might say. If you did not, then I am moved to wonder where your recent information regarding Mothma's decision came from. Your explanation?"
The question blaring in Luke's mind now was, did his Master already know of Luke's removal of Leemarit and this was all simply a trap being laid, or was this an educated guess? As far as Luke knew, Karrde's assassin had fulfilled his brief to kill Leemarit and been killed making good his escape - hardly surprising since Luke himself had contacted the Rebels to hand over the man's identity. It had been, from beginning to end, a textbook operation... as far as Luke knew.
Suddenly, with Veer's unanticipated interference, the issue of whether or not Luke would be allowed to go after Mon Mothma had become secondary... whether or not he spent the following weeks in a cell, subjected to Palpatine's vindictive 'chastisement' had become the relevant issue. The Emperor tolerated a great deal from his wayward protégé, but lies to his Master were the ultimate offence and were always met with the harshest punishment.
Luke's thoughts reeled, though he kept his face a mask and forced his mind to work: he could of course claim that the staggered series of arrests were to keep up the steady pressure- to ensure Mothma's continued intent. He could even claim some implacable, vindictive drive; revenge on any and all detractors involved in his attack. But if Palpatine already knew the truth, either one would be a direct lie- to his Master's face.