8 ABY
Karrde dismissed his bridge crew on this long flight between hyperspace destinations. They were navigating an area smugglers referred to as the Void, working Coreward from Bothan Space in a direct route to Myrkr, his home base. A few small amber orbs near the floor, that he couldn't turn off without shutting engines down, failed to illuminate more than a few inches from their source providing him the darkness he craved for deep pondering. All stations were slaved to his comfortable captain's chair console and he was staring at the main screen, letting his training and instinct catch a problem, while allowing his vast intelligence to focus on why he wanted solitude. He was trying to solve a mystery or glean insight on what his rival was up to.
His subconscious monitored the constant drone, a soothing sound made by his massive twin Corvette engines, upgraded of course from the original Action VI design. His ears picked the pings of pebble size meteors deflecting off the hull. He turned all but necessary equipment off to enhance vibrations and sounds, both from inside his beloved Wild Karrde, or anything the enhanced hull encountered. He heard the whine of the lift long before it stopped and counted down to the hiss of opening doors. He turned his head slightly, ear towards the lift to guess the identity before they spoke. There, a slight rubbing of cloth identified her. His voice sounded loud in his ears after hours of silence, "Mara, you're supposed to be resting."
"I meditated," she confirmed his educated guess and glided to his chair, slippers soundless on the polished deck and keen observation taking in the rare sight of a dark bridge while in hyperspace and one lone figure, instead of a minimum crew of three. His face obscured when the scene on the large front monitor converted, in a ten-second rotation, to display another readout of ship's functions. Life support diagnostics replaced the emerald glow of engine performance. She perceived his face in the incandescent gleam, then it again vanished when the screen shifted to the front viewport. In spite of herself, she had to look. The ebony of space blurred into thin white and yellow lines randomly displayed, as they zipped by star systems. Karrde's eyes never left the mesmerizing screen when she swapped his face to gaze with him. "It's unusual for you to volunteer for night watch." She saw his face glow with a different shade of incandescence when the screen burst into hues of blue as she refocused on him. She didn't need to look to know he was looking at vast amounts of information their ship constantly gathered and stored.
Karrde hit pause and read carefully as informants, news, star system reports and more spewed forth valuable secrets. His finger remained down, holding this image in place and he looked at his chief lieutenant, "Can I assist you?"
"I was about ready to ask that myself." She actually fidgeted in the pale blue light. "Something brought me to the bridge," she confessed. While meditating, an inner voice whispered, intrigue could be found on the bridge. It wouldn't leave and here she stood, hopefully, not appearing foolish to the boss.
"Or someone," Talon lifted his right index finger off the button and the screen morphed once again.
Mara sucked in her breath, "What is he doing on the screen?"
"My informant from Belgon Minor sent me this holovid a few hours ago. Watch," he hit replay so it started from the beginning.
The recording, obviously from security cams, displayed a dimly lit cantina filled with species from a dozen worlds. Mara's gaze was stuck on the two humans just entering into view from down a set of steps, most likely from the outside, although no door was visible. The man was escorting the woman, who appeared able to fend for herself by the way she scrutinized the room before allowing a chair pulled out for her at an intimate table for two along one wall. They sat across from each other and punched up holomenu's. Mara tried to stop the unbidden voice screaming in her head to no avail. YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER. "Skywalker, I recognize. Who's the broad?" She glanced from the screen in time to catch a smirk cross her boss' face.
"The 'broad' is Mazzic's chief lieutenant, Shada D'ukal, or so our information indicates."
Interested in why Skywalker would be meeting with her equal in a rival organization, Mara resumed watching. "The recording is redacted; do you have it in its entirety?"
"I do, and the lip reading is quite boring. O'donnl was able to glean from their conversation; he's telling her of his childhood on Tatooine and she's saying very little about her past."
"And you know exactly what Mazzic is up to these days?" She was certain he knew the smuggler's exact moves.
"Nothing important, smuggling near the Yag'Duhl Sector is our last known whereabouts on him."
"Belgon Minor is no place near there." She sagely deduced his reasoning for volunteering a rare night watch. "Do you know her?"
"I've seen her with Mazzic from a distance. By the way he paws her; I'm assuming their roles are quite different than ours."
Mara silently chided herself for allowing her gaze to focus more on the blond Jedi than his companion. "Maybe she's moving up the ladder of success. Landing the brother of the New Republic's most likely next leader is quite a catch."
Karrde stroked his goatee, eyes firmly planted on the willowy brunette on the screen. There was something about the way she moved that he couldn't quite place, but seen before. He didn't like mysteries, especially working for rivals.
"I admit to scouring every detail from what she's wearing…"
"…Or not," Mara finished his sentence, knowing that wasn't what he was going to say.
He pulled a few black chin hairs, "It's probably as you say, she's jumping ship for greener pastures."
"What do we have on her?" Mara knew Mazzic had a female second, but never needed to investigate whom.
"Nothing."
Mara looked at him in surprise, "We never have NOTHING on anyone."
"Her resume is very short, a name, position and employer. She has no past we could find."
"You contacted someone in Mazzic's organization for answers?" Mara asked, already knowing the answer.
He snorted, "I do have a paid informant in their ranks. He does their bookkeeping and I know more about how much Mazzic is worth than this woman," he gestured towards the screen where the two were obviously enjoying superb cuisine.
"And that intrigues you," Mara smiled.
"More like, worries. I'm deciding how to cross her path innocuously," Talon confided.
The ship reverted from hyperspace, stalling further discussion. Mara watched as her boss stiffly rose and raised the light level two degrees, giving him just enough sight to work the controls. She made for navigation and he waved her off.
"I need a refresher on how to run the ship alone."
Returning to her former spot, she watched as he first computed the next navigational jump and then sat in Dankin's pilot chair and maneuvered the massive Corellian freighter to the proper coordinates. He checked the scanner for unknown enemies who might be lurking to take him on. Not seeing anyone on the sensors, he threw a switch enabling their stolen cloaking device to send signals they were a meteor, and downloaded messages and the latest batch of material for his large information center in the bowels of the ship. A signal indicated when all was complete. He turned off the cloak, checked his navicom once again and took them to hyperspace.
"Nice," she commented as he took his chair and dimmed the lights.
"Not as fast as my crew, but I can fly her alone if needed." He resumed staring at the comely woman who was laughing at something Skywalker said. "Now where were we?"
"Crossing paths," Mara reminded.
"I need all Mazzic's routes," he started mentally planning.
"Why?" He looked at her with a blank expression and she repeated, "Why so interested in her? There are plenty of women running around the galaxy you've met and couldn't care less about, and I'll narrow it down to our smuggler friends and foes."
"Because…" he carefully paused to phrase his response appropriately, "they don't interest me. This one's different. Those, I can look at and read their life stories in the hardened lines in their faces, appearance, and the way they hold a drink. Tell me what you think of her?"
Mara, for the first time ignored the smiling Jedi and concentrated on the woman. "She's about my age, dressed in typical one piece jumpsuits denoting she is an assassin for Mazzic, which I heard from Dankin a long time ago. Lots of us wear them and I don't do your dirty work, like it's rumored she does for Mazzic. My opinion of Mazzic; he's such a wimp he keeps a woman close for protection. The material is expensive. She keeps herself in good…no…great shape."
"How can you tell?" He looked at her feminine curves and saw a body begging for his hands to explore, but he filed that licentious thought for when he was alone.
"If you look carefully, her muscles on the upper arms are well defined."
"Go on," he had to agree as he mentally undressed her.
"She's hiding something, a weapon in her boots."
Talon looked at her lower legs, mostly hidden in the shadows. "Vibroblade."
"And, I bet she knows how to use it. I got it," Mara's snapped fingers had his undivided attention. "She's force sensitive and Skywalker is recruiting her."
The screen, finished with the holorecording, switched automatically to hull integrity.
Karrde overrode the information and found what he was looking for. A quick call to his information center and he requested his 5PO protocol droid to search for information on Mazzic's whereabouts. "Duro," Talon muttered to himself as the droid promptly sent the location.
"And the ship is listed as the Wild Rycrit instead of the Distant Rainbow," Mara finished reading aloud. "How old is the holovid of Skywalker and D'ukal?" Mara wanted to know if the lieutenant had time to rejoin Mazzic.
"It was recorded two days ago. She wouldn't have time to get to Duro from Belgon Minor."
"Is that what she usually wears?" Mara returned her perusal, searching for clues.
Talon chuckled and called his droid, "5PO, shoot up a selection of holo's we have on Shada D'ukal."
"Of course, Sir," The cheerful metallic voice answered.
Mara's eyes shot open at the display. The clothing revealed much more skin than the garment she donned for Skywalker, from skimpy bikinis to opulent evening gowns. All images showed her clinging to Mazzic's arm and her expression imperceptive and dull. "An act; she's playing the part. Notice how her eyes are constantly scanning?"
"Oh, I didn't miss that," Karrde cleared the screen to the front view port at the sound of the lift doors sliding open. He raised the lighting and stood, grateful for his replacements. Relieving his post to Chin and his night crew for the next shift, he motioned for Mara to accompany him as he exchanged pleasantries, officially leaving Chin in charge of the first shift of a new day.
Following Mara into the lift, and alone, he continued, "She's more than Mazzic can handle, I'm sure."
Mara let her thought's return to Skywalker. "Okay, but if he's not looking for Jedi, what are they doing together?"
The lift doors opened to their personal quarters and he, like the gentleman he was, escorted her to her door. "My paths don't cross the leaders of the New Republic or Empire often, but we'll keep our informants feeding us information. I've already added those two to our list of special requests from our informants." He bid her goodnight.
Belgon Minor
After a scrumptious meal of local cuisine, Luke escorted Shada D'ukal to her ship at the spaceport. Parting at the foot of her ship, he smiled pleasantly, "Ms. D'ukal, the New Republic is indebted to you informing us of the buildup of missiles surrounding Bastion Space and most Imperial patrols pulling back to that region. A single meal by me is hardly fair payment, although it did live up to its reputation as the best restaurant on this planet."
"I have to agree." She flashed him a smile and turned serious. "Mazzic has no love for the Empire; consider it a loan for a future need on our part." At his nod, she continued in her business tone, "You know the restaurant was monitored?"
"Yes, that's why I bored you with my upbringing on Tatooine."
They both smiled at that and she thanked him for supper and boarded her ship.
The End