Nine years, four months and seventeen days after the Battle of Yavin...
Or forty-fourth year, four months and seventeen days after the Great Resynchronization.
"All that remains is to serve," thought Talon Karrde, watching the wine splash in the glasses.
** Smuggler Talon Karrde **
Not the most sophisticated setting for a meeting with a young and beautiful woman, but the working and living conditions didn't allow for anything more elaborate.
However, Talon believed that the invited lady wouldn't mind the situation. He had observed her for quite some time, drawing conclusions to better understand her. It's not that he made any special effort for Mara's sake—he had already realized that the girl was smart beyond her years, resourceful, and didn't react to primitive advances.
So, he enjoyed simply watching her. Almost a sport.
There was a quiet but strong-willed knock on the door. Glancing at the chronometer, Talon grinned. The girl was punctual, as always.
"Come in," he said.
"Just like that?" Jade asked, opening the door. Karrde, against his will, admired this stately woman, full of feminine beauty and grace, dressed in a simple but well-tailored jumpsuit. "You won't even ask who came to you?"
** Former Hand of the Emperor - Mara Jade **
"At this time, only you can disturb my privacy," the man smiled, rising to meet her.
Mara looked at him unkindly, assessing the table set with far-from-ordinary delicacies.
"I didn't think everything was ready," her gaze could have frozen Tatooine, and Talon felt a chill.
"Just a business lunch," he said, smiling disarmingly. "That's all."
Mara was about to respond, but she was interrupted unceremoniously: one of Talon's two tame Vornskrs grumbled under the table.
"Get out of there, Onslaught!" Karrde ordered. "Your lunch is in the kitchen. And if you don't hurry, Sturm will devour everything himself."
The four-legged predator, wagging its docked tail, crawled out from under the table, stretched, and slowly trudged towards the exit, growling under its breath.
"I apologize for the interruption," he said, looking at Mara, who sat down in the chair opposite. "You were saying..."
He didn't finish, being unceremoniously interrupted by the beeping of his comlink. The man looked at the device with a hint of suspicion.
"It seems the universe is against you continuing your thought," Mara smiled, helping herself to a plate of stew.
"I'm listening," Talon answered the call.
"Boss," a familiar voice came through. "This is Aves," his assistant's voice sounded tense. "I hope you haven't started lunch."
"Your hopes were not justified," Karrde said calmly. "I'm sure you're bothering me for a reason."
"Of course," Aves assured him. "You should know that we are not alone. An Imperial Star Destroyer is in orbit."
Karrde noticed that Mara began to chew more slowly, turning her attention to her ears.
"Whose is it?" he clarified, looking with regret at the cooling meat but overcoming the temptation and heading to his desk, where he found one of the decks.
"You think his commander is so steeped in the good old days that he kindly keeps his transponder on?" Aves's voice had a hint of amusement. "He's in high orbit. It's difficult to read the name on the hull, but there's an assumption that this vessel is called Chimera."
Karrde stood with his back leaning against the edge of the desk, continuing to watch Jade. She began to defiantly fill her plate with snacks.
This woman has many secrets. But among them, particularly uncontrolled reactions to anything related to the Galactic Empire and the only Jedi in the galaxy stood out. Such as now.
Although no, never before had he seen her in such an excited state that she began to confuse the line of dishes. Not her style at all.
"An interesting company," Karrde entered the name of the ship into the deck to find information about the desired ship. "What are they doing? Any transmissions?"
"If they contacted someone on the surface, it wasn't with us... Wait a minute..." Aves's voice became alarmed. "Boss, they're releasing Lambdas."
"How many?" Karrde tensed. The Lambda-class T-4a shuttle is the Empire's main small transport vehicle. Five crew, twenty passengers, decent protection and weapons, one of the best hyperdrives in the galaxy. Such a ship can both deliver an assault strike and land a couple of squads of troopers, causing trouble on the surface.
** Lambda-type shuttle T-4a **
"Two," there was no confidence in Aves's voice. "Claw... The situation is getting worse. The ships are flying towards us."
"Did you mean to say that they will land near our base?" Karrde asked with emphasis.
"No, boss, these ships are flying directly towards us," Aves said confidently this time. "But two Sentinels—yes, they're flying towards the forest."
** Sentinel-class landing ship **
"In one place?" Jade clarified.
"On both sides of the base," said Aves. "And the Lambdas are on the other two sides."
"This is not good, Claw," said Mara, her face showing barely noticeable traces of tension. "One Sentinel can transport fifty-four troopers..."
"Yes, Mara, I know," Karrde smiled. "Half a company of troopers on Lambdas is coming to visit us. And another company on the Sentinels cuts us off from the forest. Curious..."
"But how do they know our base is here?"
"They probably have eyes," Talon said slowly. "From orbit, it's hard not to notice the modular base, which they didn't have time to camouflage. We need to contact them."
"For what?" Mara seemed petrified. Every intelligent person in Karrde's organization disliked the Imperials, but Jade... She reacted with wariness and undisguised hostility to anything about the Remnant of the Empire. She spoke about the Empire before the Battle of Endor with distinctive warmth.
"Let us show our cordiality," muttered Karrde. "I know only a few reasons why the Empire might come to Myrkr."
"Vornskrs and ysalamiri," Jade narrowed her emerald eyes. "Isn't it too much honor for one single Jedi in the entire galaxy?"
"Perhaps Luke Skywalker is not the only one?" Karrde looked at the girl with curiosity.
The reaction was worth it.
Luke Skywalker is another trigger for her negative emotions. Her pupils dilated, breathing became more energetic... At such moments, she looked like a Vornskr.
But she didn't say anything.
"Aves, I need their frequency," Karrde said. "And before the ships land..."
"No need, boss," surprise appeared in the assistant's voice. "We are being hailed."
Talon looked at Mara. The girl looked even more tense than before.
"Imperial Destroyer Chimera, this is Talon Karrde speaking," Talon said. "I am glad to welcome you to the planet. Can I be of any help?"
A vague crackle of interference was heard from the comlink, then the holoprojector built into the device activated. A middle-aged man with a short-cropped hairstyle appeared, looking at Talon. The captain's insignia indicated that the commander of the Imperial Star Destroyer himself had deigned to speak with the smuggler.
"Captain Pellaeon from aboard the Chimera," a clearly set official tone, not conducive to friendly conversations. "Talon Karrde, I presume?"
"That's right," Claw continued to radiate friendliness. "Your ships are flying to our temporary camp, so I would like to know how I can help the glorious warriors of Grand Admiral Thrawn."
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Mara had turned white, squeezing herself into the chair and tightly grasping the armrests. Interesting reaction...
"And you are well informed," the commander noted in a tone that gave off a chill. It's funny, but sometimes such intonations slipped into Jade's voice, especially when she demanded obedience, being in a position of power in Karrde's organization.
It was her ability to manage people and her efficiency in carrying out orders that made Talon consider her for his first assistant. This business meeting was meant to discuss Jade's promotion. However, the agenda would have to be postponed until more favorable conditions.
"The galaxy is big," Karrde smiled reservedly. You shouldn't clown around with someone who can unleash hundreds of turbolasers on your base, not to mention the actions of MLAs. "Rumors about the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn are circulating here and there..."
"Are your ears just wide open?" Pellaeon chuckled.
"Exactly so," Claw did not react to the insolence. "But I am a hospitable person and always happy to help my neighbors. Just tell me how I and my people can be useful..."
"Don't worry, Karrde," the commander of the Imperial Star Destroyer advised him. "Soon you will know everything firsthand."
Talon felt a bit hot under the collar.
"Your words mean that..."
"The Grand Admiral is landing on the surface," the Imperial officer's smile resembled a grin. "I advise you to prepare the utensils for dinner for him as well."
"I would also like to know how exactly you know about this," Karrde thought.
"And one more thing," Pellaeon added. "The Grand Admiral asked that your first mate be present at your meeting with him."
"Unfortunately, this position is vacant," Talon said evenly, realizing that the Imperials somehow knew something they shouldn't.
"Indeed? Strange," Pellaeon raised an eyebrow. "After all, according to our information, your first mate is a lovely young lady with red hair and strikingly beautiful green eyes..."
The last words of the Imperial captain coincided with the sound of Mara breaking the armrests of an ancient chair.
Karrde nodded to the Imperial with a tight smile, after which his image disappeared.
It looked like the red-haired beauty had a fan she was wary of. Until now, Karrde believed that his organization had little interest for the Empire or the New Republic. But since they found out about Mara Jade... It meant the situation was far worse than he thought.
He had miscalculated somewhere.
"Aves," he contacted his trusted assistant. "Hide everything you don't want the Imperials to see. Immediately after they leave, pack the base. It's time to get out of here."