[Hand Of Thrawn] - 01(48)

Han’s eyes flicked to the intercom display and the two Caamasi. “No, I haven’t had a chance to talk to her since I got back,” he said. “But as it happens she’s got a pair of Caamasi in the outer office right now. Along with a couple of Ishori.”

Karrde hissed softly between his teeth. “So the Ishori are getting involved. Which means the Diamala will undoubtedly be coming in on the other side.”

“Oh, undoubtedly,” Han agreed. “The other side of what?”

“I don’t suppose it’s much of a secret anymore,” Karrde said. “At least not on the exalted levels you circle in these days. I’m sure Leia will fill you in later, but the bottom line is that we’ve discovered it was a group of so far unidentified Bothans who sabotaged Caamas’s shields on the eve of its destruction.”

Han felt his stomach tighten. “Great,” he growled. “Just great. There aren’t enough people out there who hate the Bothans already. This is just what we need.”

“I agree,” Karrde said. “I hope the Senate is up to the task of keeping this under some semblance of control. The main reason I called was to tell Leia that our friend Mazzic has caught Lak Jit, the Devaronian who actually found the datacard. We’ve got him locked away, and I’ll keep him there as long as she wants me to. Unfortunately, it appears he’s already spread the news as far as his little feet and the flow of credits would take it. I don’t think there’s any chance of keeping this a private matter within the New Republic hierarchy.”

“Yeah, well, things were going along too smooth anyway,” Han said sourly. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Karrde said blandly. “You know I’m always at your service.”

“That’s good,” Han said. “Because I’ve got another problem I’d like you to tackle.”

“Certainly. Cash or account?”

“We had a little run-in with some pirates off Iphigin,” Han said, ignoring the question. “Good-sized crowd: they had a Kaloth battlecruiser, a couple of Corellian gunships, and some Corsair starfighters.”

“Well-equipped group,” Karrde agreed. “On the other hand, you’d be a fool to hit a place like Iphigin without enough firepower to handle the job.”

“It still surprised me a little,” Han said. “But here’s the kicker. Luke says the battlecruiser had clones aboard.”

Karrde’s expression didn’t change, but the lines at the corners of his eyes tightened noticeably. “Does he, now,” he said. “Any idea what kind of clones?”

“He didn’t say,” Han said. “You ever hear of a pirate gang running with cloned crewers?”

“Not that I can recall,” Karrde said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “My guess would be that they’re leftovers from that big Imperial offensive ten years ago. Grand Admiral Thrawn had Mount Tantiss long enough to have turned out quite a lot of them.”

“So what are they doing with a pirate gang?” Han persisted. “Don’t you think that what’s left of the Empire would want to keep them for themselves?”

“Point,” Karrde conceded. “On the other hand, maybe they’ve decided it’s more effective to hire them out to one or more gangs as advisers or elite warriors, Perhaps in exchange for a hand in choosing their targets, or else a share of the plunder.”

“Could be,” Han said. “It could also be that some pirate group’s found its own supply of cloning cylinders.”

Karrde’s lip twitched. “Yes,” he agreed grimly. “That could conceivably be the case.”

“So what are we going to do about it?”

“I suppose I’d better look into it,” Karrde said. “See what I can find out.” He lifted an eyebrow slightly. “Cash or account?”

Han rolled his eyes. Every time he thought Karrde might actually be on the edge of doing something noble and self-sacrificing, the other always found a way to remind Han that his relationship with the New Republic was strictly professional. “I give up,” he said. “What’s it going to take to bring you over to our side, anyway?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Karrde said consideringly. What did it take to lure you away from the carefree life of an independent trader?”

Han made a face. “Leia,” he said.

“Exactly,” Karrde said dryly. “Now, if she had a sister-I don’t suppose she does?”

“Not that I know of,” Han said. “Though with the Skywalker family you never know.”