[Thrawn Trilogy] - 01(14)

“True,” Karrde said. “Unless, of course, it’s traded for something equally valuable. I presume you’re already familiar with the ysalamiri’s rather unique characteristics-otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. Can I assume you’re also familiar with the somewhat esoteric art of safely getting them off their tree branches?”

Pellaeon studied him, suspicion all over his face. “I was under the impression that ysalamiri were no more than fifty centimeters long and not predatory.”

“I wasn’t referring to your safety, Captain,” Karrde told him. I meant theirs. You can’t just pull them off their branches, not without killing them. An ysalamir in this stage is sessile-its claws have elongated to the point where they’ve essentially grown directly into the core of the branch it inhabits.”

“And you, I suppose, know the proper way to do it?”

“Some of my people do, yes,” Karrde told him. “If you’d like, I could send one of them to rendezvous with your shuttles. The technique involved isn’t especially difficult, but it really does have to be demonstrated.”

“Of course,” Pellaeon said, heavily sardonic. “And the fee for this esoteric demonstration … ?”

“No fee, Captain. As I said earlier, we’re just being neighborly.”

Pellaeon cocked his head slightly to one side. “Your generosity will be remembered.” For a moment he held Karrde’s gaze; and there was no mistaking the twin-edged meaning to the words. If Karrde was planning some sort of betrayal, it too would be remembered. “I’ll signal my shuttles to expect your expert.”

“He’ll be there. Goodbye, Captain.”

Pellaeon reached for something off-camera, and once again Ave’s face replaced his on the screen. “You get all that?” Karrde asked the other.

Aves nodded. “Dankin and Chin are already warming up one of the Skiprays.”

“Good. Have them leave an open transmission; and I’ll want to see them as soon as they’re back.”

“Right.” The display clicked off.

Karrde stepped away from the desk, glanced once at Mara, and reseated himself at the table. “Sorry for the interruption,” he said conversationally, watching her out of the corner of his eye as he poured himself some more wine.

Slowly, the green eyes came back from infinity; and as she looked at him, the muscles of her face eased from their deathlike rigidness. “You really not going to charge them for this?” she asked, reaching a slightly unsteady hand for her own wine. “They’d certainly make you pay if you wanted something. That’s about all the Empire really cares about these days, money.”

He shrugged. “We get to have our people watching them from the moment they set down to the moment they lift off. That seems an adequate fee to me.”

She studied him. “You don’t believe they’re here just to pick up ysalamiri, do you?”

“Not really.” Karrde took a bite of his bruallki. “At least, not unless there’s a use for the things that we don’t know about. Coming all the way out here to collect ysalamiri is a bit of an overkill to use against a single Jedi.”

Mara’s eyes again drifted away. “Maybe it’s not Skywalker they’re after,” she murmured. “Maybe they’ve found some more Jedi.”

“Seems unlikely,” Karrde said, watching her closely. The emotion in her voice when she’d said Luke Skywalker’s name … “The Emperor supposedly made a clean sweep of them in the early days of the New Order. Unless,” he added as another thought occurred to him, “they’ve perhaps found Darth Vader.”

“Vader died on the Death Star,” Mara said. “Along with the Emperor.”

“That’s the story, certainly-“

“He died there,” Mara cut him off, her voice suddenly sharp.

“Of course,” Karrde nodded. It had taken him five months of close observation, but he’d finally pinned down the handful of subjects guaranteed to trigger strong responses from the woman. The late Emperor was among them, as was the pre-Endor Empire.

And at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum was Luke Skywalker. “Still,” he continued thoughtfully, “if a Grand Admiral thinks he has a good reason to carry ysalamiri aboard his ships, we might do well to follow his lead.”

Abruptly, Mara’s eyes focused on him again. “What for?” she demanded.

“A simple precaution,” Karrde said. “Why so vehement?”

He watched as she fought a brief internal battle. “It seems like a waste of time,” she said. “Thrawn’s probably just jumping at shadows. Anyway, how are you going to keep ysalamiri alive on a ship without transplanting some trees along with them?”