Chapter IX
There wasn't much left after they got thru with the small outpost, but since it had been built once those who had constructed it could likely do so again. What aggravated Valeriy was that it had existed, for some time apparently, and she had known nothing about it. The Moff glanced over at her guest, who was listening patiently to some report from Captain Janim while ignoring him at the same time.
How had Tork known? she wondered, but knew that the real question was how had those the man worked for been aware of the chance that a hidden base like this could exist? The Finality threaded its way clear of the mass of black holes at a slower pace than the ships which had been here, so there was naturally no sign of them as they floated in space near Kessel. Quirlarna was beginning to wonder what all this was about. Waving Janim off, the armored trickster walked towards her and there was purpose as well as a hint of menace in the way he came across the short distance.
"Now that our work here is done," Tork said, his voice rumbling like a soft peal of thunder, "We can contact my allies as we make our way to our next target." Valeriy had some idea of what that meant, for the purported Dark Lord had used this vessel as a highly visible symbol of the power he could wield at several brief stops on the way to the Maw. Never showing up in person, but the voice was enough to send shivers down the spines of many they encountered.
Whether they believed their ears or not, the Moff couldn't say. Stirring up this level of trouble could only go one of two ways, she knew. Either they would get what they wanted or their continued lives would be drastically abbreviated. Quirlarna knew which she hoped to have befall them as they made the jump to hyperspace.
The mess that was the Smuggler's Run made a good location for a covert rendezvous, and now that her son was sleeping by her side Mara felt some of the tension that had been with her since the strike on the Maw fade away. Jag was the first to speak, breaking out of his usual withdrawn manner as he hailed her and said, "Where's Jaina?" "I sent her on an errand back to Denon," Jade Skywalker said, her tone matter of fact and she hoped that Fel would let her leave it at that.
No time now to go into what had happened in their absence or her brief encounter with the visitor she hadn't expected to see again. More of a chance for that later, she thought. Corran came on the channel and outlined what he and Jagged had seen. "Did he actually use that name he was going under at the time of your trip to Zonama Sekot?" Mara asked. "We only saw him for a brief time, but if it wasn't the Nom Anor we all know so well it was somebody that looked a lot like him and had been through a great deal of effort to look like Yu'shaa should look now," Horn told her.
Mara nodded, remembering what Luke had told her about his mission before he had vanished. It wasn't much to go on, but she had to give it a shot. "I need the two of you to head out to the Smuggler's Alliance and contact Talon Karrde," Jade Skywalker said. "You're going after Luke?" Corran said. "Yes, and if I can't get him out on my own I'll need any help I can get. Preferably from a source that doesn't have to go through sixty bureaucrats to get anything done," Mara said.
Jag laughed at that and said, "I know what you mean." "Plus if this movement to indoctrinate these disaffected Yuuzhan Vong is widespread, Lando and his droids can help track their movement," she said. "Like you did on Mon Calamari and Jaina did just after the loss of Coruscant," Horn said, "We'll get right on it. May the Force be with you," Mara was alone with Ben a short time later and she sat there and gazed at the stars for a long moment. Then she brought up the navigation console and began plotting a course to the Kathol Sector. "Come on," she told her son, "Let's go find your father."
She was not a woman without resources, and it didn't take Leia long to figure out that they were going to Muunilinst. The planet had been the site of a recent conference between the Moffs and Pellaeon, or so D'ukal said. The effects of the war could still be seen from orbit, but down below they were starting to become harder to notice. It only took a short time after identifying herself to be brought into the presence of the most powerful man in what had once been the Empire. Gilad glanced up, did a double-take and shot to his feet.
"It is good to meet you at last, Grand Admiral Pellaeon," Vhaldoq said smoothly. The two men were clad in nearly identical uniforms, which had prompted a few stares as they had been brought here. "What is he doing here?" Gilad asked. "We've come because I wanted to speak to you," Leia said, "That was the original reason, anyway. D'ukal had led me to believe that what is going on here is symptomatic of a larger disease." Pellaeon nodded, sizing the younger man up. In truth, D'ukal didn't deserve the uniform for he was in fact the clone of the individual who had originally earned it.
Leia had heard that story and many more during the voyage here, and was starting to believe that the man sometimes called the first Grand Admiral was one of the most complex individuals she'd ever met. "Grand Admiral Thrawn spoke highly of you, sir," Gilad said, "According to him, you helped ease transition to life among a mostly human military force." "The death of my student is old news," Vhaldoq said, "Those were different times and the means he sought to use might have worked if he had taken better precautions."
Leia frowned, for what D'ukal was proposing was nothing less than a return to the monolithic dictatorship she'd given her all to topple decades ago. The Grand Admiral must have caught her change in mood and he said, "Now the galaxy is again united, but there are yet forces seeking to drive wedges between you and the rest of the Galactic Alliance. If you let them, then you will be letting an even greater evil than the Yuuzhan Vong ever were loose in the stars again." "And what might that be?" Pellaeon said incredulously. Vhaldoq said, "The same that founded the Empire to start with and I once adhered to, the acolytes of the Dark Side; the Sith."
