Star Wars - Hand of Thrawn 2 - Vision of the Future

by Timothy Zahn

She turned burning eyes up at Shada. "From now on she is a woman without a home."

  Karrde looked at Shada. Her face was tight, her lips pressed tightly together. But she returned his look steadily and nodded. "Fine," he said. "We'll just have to see about finding her a new home."

  "With you?" The woman snorted. "With a smuggler and seller of information? Tell me again how low a Mistryl can sink."

  There was no answer to that. But fortunately, Karrde didn't have to come up with one. There was a sudden bustling at his side, and then he was gently but firmly shouldered away by the medical team as they gathered around the injured woman. He stepped back out of their way, shifting his attention to the security team that had arrived at the same time. With professional efficiency they scanned Flim and Disra for hidden weapons, put restraints on them both, and escorted them back to the aft bridge turbolift.

  Another group, following behind them, was carrying Tierce's body.

  "Karrde?"

  He turned to see Pellaeon walking back along the command walkway toward him. "I have to go across to the Errant Venture and speak with General Bel Iblis," the Admiral said as he reached him. "But before I go, I wanted to discuss the price for the Flim and Tierce information you brought me."

  Karrde shrugged. "For once in my life, Admiral, I'm not sure what to say," he admitted. "The datacard was a gift to me. It seems a bit dishonest to turn around and charge you for it."

  "Ah." Pellaeon eyed him speculatively. "A gift from those aliens whose ship scared the stuffing out of my sensor officers at Bastion?"

  "From an associate of theirs," Karrde said. "I'm really not at liberty to discuss the details."

  "I understand," Pellaeon said. "Still, your ethics apartwhich I find laudable, incidentallyI'd like to find a way to thank you with something more concrete than just words."

  "I'll see what I can come up with." Karrde gestured toward the Star Destroyer visible out the viewport. "In the meantime, may I ask what you're going over to discuss with General Bel Iblis?"

  Pellaeon's eyes narrowed slightly. But then he shrugged. "It's still highly confidential, of course," he said. "But knowing you, you'll probably know about it soon enough, anyway. I'm proposing a peace treaty between the Empire and the New Republic. It's time for this long war to finally end."

  Karrde shook his head. "The things that happen when I'm out of touch at the edges of known space," he said philosophically. "For whatever it's worth, Admiral, I agree wholeheartedly with your goal. And I wish you luck."

  "Thank you," Pellaeon said. "Feel free to leave whenever you wish, or allow your crew to take advantage of any of the Relentless's facilities if they'd like. And again, thank you."

  He headed off toward the turbolift. Karrde watched him go, then looked back at Shada. The medical team had finished their preliminary work and were helping the injured woman onto a stretcher. Shada was watching them from a few paces away, an expression of private pain on her face. Like someone watching the last member of her family leaving home.

  And then, unbidden, an idea drifted into Karrde's mind. Something larger than herself, she'd told Car'das. Something she could hold on to and serve and believe in. Something more honorable and noble than the life of a fringe smuggler.

  Something that would make a difference...

  "Admiral Pellaeon?" he called, hurrying back to the aft bridge. "Admiral?"

  Pellaeon had paused at the open door of the turbolift. "Yes?"

  "Let me ride over with you to the Errant Venture, if I may," Karrde said, stepping to his side. "I have a modest proposal I'd like to make to you."

  * * * Luke's final fear was that the Hand of Thrawn's weapons towers would spot them as they lifted their borrowed ship out of its hiding place, forcing their departure from the Nirauan surface to be yet another mad race against death. But the Chiss were apparently still dealing with the aftermath of the hangar destruction, with no attention left to turn outward.

  And so they lifted out into space without challenge; and with Mara's touch on the hyperdrive lever the stars became starlines and faded into the mottling of hyperspace.

  And at long last, they were on their way home.

  "Next stop, Coruscant," Luke said with a sigh, leaning back tiredly in the copilot's seat.

  "Next stop, the nearest New Republic base or one of Karrde's outposts," Mara corrected. "I don't know about you, but I want a shower, some clean clothes, and something besides ration bars to eat."

  "Point taken," Luke said. "You always were the practical one, weren't you?"

  "And you always were the idealistic one," she said. "Must be why we work so well together. Speaking of practical, remember back in the cloning chamber when Artoo went all squeaky?"

  "You mean just before the sentinel droids showed up?"

  "Right. We never did find out what was tying him in knots that way."

  "Well, let's find out now," Luke said, levering himself out of his seat and making his way back to the droid alcove where they'd plugged Artoo into the ship's computer. "Okay, Artoo, you heard the lady. What was it about the Unknown Regions data that got you all excited?"

  Artoo warbled, his words appearing on the computer display. "He says it didn't have anything to do with the Unknown Regions," Luke reported. "Which he says he didn't get more than a general overview of, by the way."

  "I didn't think he'd gotten very much," Mara said regretfully. "He wasn't connected to the computer nearly long enough to download everything."

  "Well, we're sure not going to go back and get the rest now," Luke said, skimming down the scrolling words. "But there was something he stumbled across in one of the other records..."

  Mara must have picked up his sudden shock. "What is it?" she asked sharply.

  "I don't believe it," he murmured, still reading. "Mara, he found it. He found it."

  "Wonderful. Found what?"

  "What else?" Luke looked up at her. "Thrawn's copy of the Caamas Document."

  CHAPTER

  43

  Fifteen days later, in the secondary command room of the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera, the peace accords between the Empire and New Republic were signed.

  "I still say you should have been the one over there," Han groused as he and Leia watched from the back of the room while Pellaeon and Gavrisom performed the ceremony amid the crowd of assembled dignitaries. "You did way more on this than he did."

  "It's all right, Han," Leia said, surreptitiously wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. Peace. After all the years, after all the sacrifice and destruction and death. Finally, they had peace.

  "Yeah?" Han countered suspiciously. "Then how come you're crying?"

  She smiled at him. "Memories," she said. "Just memories."

  He found her hand, took it comfortingly. "Alderaan?" he asked quietly.

  "Alderaan, the Death Stars" She squeezed his hand. "You."

  "Nice to know I'm in the top three, anyway," he said, looking around the room. "Speaking of old memories, where's Lando? I thought he was going to be here."

  "He changed his mind," Leia said. "I guess Tendra wasn't very happy with him heading out to Bastion with you without at least telling her about it. He's taken her art shopping on Celanon to make it up to her."

  Han shook his head. "Strong women," he said, mock sadly. "They'll get you every time."

  "Watch that," Leia warned, digging her elbow into his side. "You've always liked strong women. Admit it."

  "Well, not always," Han said. "Owokay, okay. I like strong women."

  "What's this about strong women?" Karrde's voice asked from Han's other side.

  "Just a friendly family discussion," Han assured him. "Good to see you again, Karrde. How come you're not over there with the rest of the high-class people?"

  "Probably the same reason you're not," Karrde said. "I don't exactly fit in with that sort of group."

  "That'll change soon," Leia assured him. "Particularly now that you're respectable and all. How in the worlds did you talk Gavrisom
and Bel Iblis into this joint Intelligence service idea?"

  "The same way I talked Pellaeon into it, actually," Karrde said. "I simply pointed out that the key to a stable and calm peace is both sides knowing the other isn't plotting some kind of move against them. Bastion doesn't trust your Intelligence network, and Coruscant definitely doesn't trust theirs."

  He shrugged. "Enter a neutral third partyuswho straddle both regimes and are already equipped to gather and assemble information. We'll simply now be supplying it to your two governments instead of to private buyers."

  "It could work, I suppose," Han agreed cautiously. "The Bureau of Ships and Services has been operating independently for years without going political, either under the Empire or the New Republic. You might be able to pull it off."

  "I like the fact we'll be getting the same information about our own systems that you'll be giving Bastion," Leia said. "It'll supplement the data the Observers are sending us and help us keep track of what the various system and sector governments are up to. That should help us spot problems before they get too big to deal with."

  "Yeah," Han said darkly. "Just because the Caamas Document Luke and Mara brought back slowed down a lot of the brush wars doesn't mean they won't start up again."

  "Still, I suspect that seeing how easily their old rivalries were manipulated by Disra and Flim has made them more cautious," Leia pointed out. "I know of at least eight conflicts where the participants have now petitioned Coruscant for mediation."

  "It may also depend somewhat on how the trial goes," Karrde said. "I was a bit surprised so many of the culprits are still alive."

  "Bothans tend to be long-lived," Leia said. "I'm sure that group is regretting that fact."

  Across the room, Leia could see Bel Iblis and Ghent talking with Pellaeon now, Ghent looking extremely uncomfortable at his inclusion into suchto his mindexalted company. A little ways behind them, Chewbacca was riding patient herd on Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin as the children chattered excitedly away to Barkhimkh and two other Noghri about their adventures on this latest visit to Kashyyyk. "Did Luke tell you where he found that copy of the document, by the way?" Karrde asked. "I couldn't get anything out of Mara."

  "No, he and Mara have both been very quiet about it," Leia said. "Luke said they have some thinking to do before they give us any details. It most certainly has to do with that odd spaceship they came back in."

  "I imagine there's an interesting story behind it all," Karrde suggested.

  Leia nodded. "I'm sure we'll hear it eventually."

  Han cleared his throat. "Speaking of Luke," he said, "and speaking of strong women," he added, throwing Leia a grin, "how's your organization going to manage without Mara?"

  "We'll have some problems," Karrde conceded. "She was running a good deal of the organization, after all. But we'll adjust."

  "Besides, he's got someone new to take her place," Leia couldn't resist adding. "Shada's officially joined himhad you heard that?"

  "Yeah, I did," Han said, giving Karrde a highly speculative look. "You know, I asked you once what it would take to get you to join the New Republic. Remember? You asked what it had taken to get me to join up"

  "Yes, I remember," Karrde cut him off, an uncharacteristic note of embarrassment coloring his voice. "Kindly bear in mind that I have not joined the New Republic. And my relationship with Shada is nothing like that."

  "Neither was mine," Han said smugly, putting his arm around Leia. "That's okay. Give it time."

  "It's not going to happen," Karrde insisted.

  "Yeah," Han said. "I know."

  * * * On the ship's layout map, the room was called a forward visual triangulation site, for use in line-of-sight weapons targeting if any enemy managed to knock out the main sensor array.

  But for tonight, at least, it had become a private observation gallery.

  Mara leaned against the cool transparisteel viewport, gazing out at the stars. Wondering at the right-angle turn her life had just taken.

  "You realize, of course," Luke commented as he came up behind her with their drinks, "that they're all probably wondering where we are."

  "Let them wonder," Mara said, sniffing the air appreciatively over the mug he handed her. The courtiers of Palpatine's court had always been openly contemptuous of hot chocolate, considering it beneath the dignity of elite such as themselves. Karrde and his people, like the good smugglers they were, had turned up their noses at all nonalcoholic drinks in general.

  But the drink fit perfectly with Luke's farm boy past. It gave her a warm feeling, evoking a sense of comfort and stability and security. Simple necessities, which she'd missed so much throughout most of her life.

  She took a sip. And besides that, the stuff just plain tasted good.

  "Has Leia talked to you about the wedding?" Luke asked, sipping from his own mug as he leaned against the viewport facing her.

  "Not yet," Mara said, making a face. "I suppose she's going to want some big blowout High Alderaanian ceremony."

  Luke grinned. "Wants, probably. Expects, no."

  "Good," Mara said. "I'd rather have something quiet and private and dignified. Mostly dignified, anyway," she amended. "With New Republic dignitaries on one side and Karrde's smugglers on the other, we'll probably need a weapons check at the door."

  Luke chuckled. "We'll figure something out."

  She eyed him over the rim of her mug. "Speaking of figuring things out, have you decided what you're going to do about the academy?"

  He turned his head to gaze out the viewport. "I can't just abandon the students I have there," he said. "That much I know. I was thinking maybe I could slowly turn it intooh, call it a pre-Jedi school. A place where beginning students can get the basics, maybe learning from older students, and do a little practicing among themselves. Once they've passed that stage, you and I and other instructors can complete their training. Maybe in a more personal one-on-one arrangement, the way Ben and Master Yoda trained me."

  He looked back at her. "Assuming you want to be involved with the training at all, that is."

  She shrugged. "I'm not completely comfortable with the idea," she admitted. "But I am a Jedi nowat least, I assume I amand until we can swell the ranks of instructors I suppose teaching is going to be part of my job." She considered. "At least, it will be once I've got a little more training of my own under my belt."

  "Private training, of course?"

  "I should hope so," she said. "Before I can do that, though, I'll need time to gracefully disengage from Karrde's organization. I've got responsibilities I have to transfer over to other people, and I can't just let them slide." She smiled. "Responsibility and commitment, you know."

  There was a flicker in his emotions. "Yes," he murmured.

  "Though even when I'm ready to start teaching I don't think I'll want to stay on Yavin to do it," she continued, studying him closely. "Maybe the two of us could travel around the New Republic with the more advanced students, teaching them as we go. That way we'd be available for emergency conflict mediation and conciliation and all the other things Jedi are supposed to do, while at the same time giving the students a taste of real-life situations."

  "That would be very useful," Luke said. "I know I could sure have used some of that myself."

  "Good." She regarded him thoughtfully. "Now tell me what's bothering you."

  "What do you mean?" he asked warily, his thoughts closing in on themselves.

  "Oh, come on, Luke," she said gently. "I've been inside your head and your heart. You can't keep secrets from me anymore. Something hit you when I mentioned responsibility and commitment a minute ago. What was it?"

  He sighed, and she could sense him give up. "I guess I still have some lingering doubts about why you'd want to marry me," he said hesitantly. "I mean, I know why I love you and want to marry you. It's just that it doesn't seem like you'll be gaining as much from this as I will."

  Mara gazed down at the dark liquid in her mug. "I could point out that marr
iage isn't a game of profit and loss," she said. "But I suppose that would just be deflecting the question."

  She took a deep breath. "The fact is, Luke, that until that mental and emotional melding we had during the battle in Thrawn's cloning chamber, I didn't even know myself what it was I wanted. Sure, I had friends and associates; but I'd cut myself off so completely from any real emotional attachments that I didn't even realize how much a part of life was missing."

  She shook her head. "I mean, look, I cried when the Jade's Fire crashed. A shipa thing; and yet I cried over it. What did that say about my priorities?"

  "It wasn't just a thing, though," Luke murmured. "It was your freedom."

  "Sure," Mara said. "But that's part of the point. It represented freedom, but it was freedom to escape from other people if I decided I wanted out."

  She looked out at the stars. "In many ways, I'm still all closed up emotionally. You, on the other hand, have such an emotional openness it sometimes drives me crazy. That's what I need to learn; and you're the one I want to learn it from."

  She moved closer to him and took his hand. "But that's just profit and loss games again. The simple, bottom-line fact is that this is the right path for us. Like that Qom Jha proverb Builder With Vines quoted at us in the caverns, the one about many vines woven together being stronger than the same number used separately. We complement each other perfectly, Luke, all the way down the line. In many ways, we're two halves of a single being."

  "I know that," he said. "I guess I just wasn't sure you did."

  "I know just about everything you do, now," Mara reminded him. "Faughn was rightwe do make a good team. And we can only get better at it. Give us a few more years, and enemies of the New Republic will be running for cover like crazy."

  "And those enemies will definitely be there," Luke said, sobering as he turned again to gaze out the viewport at the distant stars. "That's our future, Maraout there in the Unknown Regions. Our hopes and dreams; promises and opportunities; dangers and enemies. And for the moment, we're the ones who hold that key."

  Mara nodded, stepping close to his side and putting her arm around him. "We'll have to decide what to do with that overview Artoo downloaded. Maybe send probe ships out to take a look at some of the worlds Thrawn had listed, just to see what's there."