When Luke finally ventured out of the storage room to find Mara, he did so very tentatively. An angry Mara, somewhat reminiscent of a ravaging Krayt dragon during mating season, was not something he felt like handling. Nevertheless, he would not delay the inevitable any longer.
When he walked through the door into the room where the fierce redhead was, it was with an open mouth: "Mara—"
—He barely managed to duck the hydrospanner thrown at him.
"You're lucky I don't blast you right here and now," she said in a deadly quiet voice, fingering her blaster.
"And you're lucky I don't throw you out the airlock," he retorted. "Seems like we're a fortunate bunch. Now, if we can dispense with the threats, I have a uniform that you are to put on if you don't want to get yourself killed." Luke threw the uniform at Mara, who caught it and shot him a glare that could melt durasteel.
"Ah, yes, I forgot, you're an Imperial now," Mara scoffed.
"You're the only person I know who can make any word sound like an insult."
Mara gave a grim smile, "Yeah, well, I know one person you know who isn't being truly honest with you."
Luke raised an eyebrow in amusement. "And who might that be?"
"Well, it seems your buddy Thrawn neglected to tell you a few things about Mr. Voss Parck," the redhead began smugly. "He wasn't just some Chiss bodyguard Thrawn happened to employ. He was a human Victory Star Destroyer captain whose records seem to have been erased from most databanks." Mara paused. "You see, years ago, Thrawn picked the wrong side in one of the many political battles in the Imperial court, and he lost. The others were either imprisoned or demoted or reassigned to a torture cell such as garrison duty in the Outer Rim Territories...But Thrawn, oh, Thrawn was different.
"Even the hellish Outer Rim was far too good for him, an ungrateful alien that had been accepted into Imperial society and paid back that acceptance with a slap in the face. They had to come up with something special for him, and that just so happened to be exile to the Unknown Regions. As if the Outer Rim weren't bad enough...Being exiled to the Unknown Regions was like being placed in a fully populated rancor pit." Her lip quirked. "Without any helpful skulls lying around to throw at control panels...
"The winners of the political battle persuaded the Emperor to place Thrawn on a Star Destroyer, and, to add insult to injury, they got Palpatine to make it a mapping expedition. Think about it, Skywalker, one of the best strategists in the Empire, forced to lead a mapping expedition. Both his life and his reputation were easily ruined in one swift stroke. I imagine those in Palpatine's court were still laughing about it years later,...but the thought never crossed their minds that the Emperor and Thrawn were steps ahead of what was happening in the Emperor's court. Both of them had the whole thing planned out from the beginning. Parck was the Star Destroyer captain that happened to find Thrawn on a deserted world and bring him to the Imperial court, joining him in his shame and supposed exile from the Empire." Mara shifted her gaze away from Luke, resting it slightly behind him. "Of course, I imagine there's more to the story, now, isn't there?"
Luke looked over his shoulder, only to jump a few centimeters, cursing the ysalamiri, when he realized that Thrawn was behind him. Or, at least, he thought it was Thrawn.
The Chiss' blue-black hair had been dyed brown, his skin was a darker tan than the solution he had used on the prison planet had made it, and his red eyes were now brown. In other words, he was exactly the sort of person who could fade into a crowd,...that is, if it weren't for the aura of power that surrounded him.
In the back of his mind, Luke noted that this change was probably made with the aid of the box that Thrawn had removed from the storage room earlier.
"Yes, Ms. Jade, there is more, though it seems you certainly did learn a fair amount about my past during your time with the Emperor. When you were working against the Empire, I'm afraid I made the mistake of underestimating you, as evidenced by your rescue of Talon Karrde from the Chimaera. I made an error in judging you after our first meeting, which I trust will never happen again. Ah, but I digress." His brown eyes glinted. "The rest of the story is what you wanted, isn't it? Very well. First off, you were right in that Voss Parck was not a Chiss. With proper cosmetics, however, not even Rukh was able to tell the difference...Ah, what else? ...Yes, my so-called "mapping expedition" was indeed not such. Instead, I opened up a great deal of territory in the name of the Empire, and Emperor Palpatine sent me many ships and troops as I did so. While there are only a few true shipyards—and only a few actual Imperial colonies—in the Unknown Regions, there is a network of alliances with the natives, some intelligence centers, and a few listening posts. All of which will contribute to the Empire I have been building. Now that I've quenched your curiosity, perhaps you would like to satisfy mine, Ms. Jade; how did you manage to land on the prison planet?" Thrawn cocked an eyebrow.
Mara gave him a forced smile. "Some of Karrde's people sometimes make supply runs there; I merely caught a ride on one of the cargo ships, substituting for someone who contracted a mysterious illness that comes about when someone points a blaster at your head."
"You threatened one of Karrde's own people?" Luke sounded skeptical, but amused.
"He didn't take it personally. I told him it was important, he valued his life...and, incidentally, he still gets paid though he's staying home. A worthwhile arrangement for him."
"Indeed. I trust Skywalker has not had the opportunity to inform you of my new alias?" Thrawn inquired.
Mara groaned. "Another one? What this time?"
Watching her carefully, Thrawn spoke quietly, "Mitth Nuruodo."
The flicker was there. "Of course," the redhead growled, "ever the sly one."
Luke sported a confused look. "What?"
"What you know is my core name: Thrawn," the cool Chiss said. "What Ms. Jade knows is my true name."
The name hissed through Mara's teeth, "Mitth'raw'nuruodo."
"Your fiery redhead friend knows many more intimate details about the Empire than you might suspect, Skywalker. Never underestimate her."
"I'd like it if you didn't talk about me as if I'm not here," the woman snarled.
Thrawn inclined his head, "Many apologies, Ms. Jade."
Mara was poised to shoot back a sarcastic remark and faltered when the Chiss did not give her the opening she was looking for. Throwing a glare at both males, she said something unintelligible under her breath, storming out of the room.
"A wild kelpie, that one," Thrawn muttered under his breath.
Luke thought about asking, but didn't. Whatever a kelpie was, he was sure he had to agree.
Mara Jade, feeling the need to vent some anger on someone, found a target easily in Kantasha Pellaeon, who was no longer in the cockpit, though she was sitting down and looking just as frustrated as Mara felt.
"What's with your obsession with Skywalker?" Mara growled. Now that they were alone, she was finally able to voice the question that had been pestering her.
"Sounds like you're the one with the obsession," the dark haired woman parried.
"I just don't want to see him get hurt," the redhead spat, but some of the venom was gone from her voice.
"This coming from the woman who lashes out at him frequently."
"He's a good guy, too noble for his own good," Mara persisted.
While Kantasha worked on her fingernails with a nail file—Where did that come from? Mara thought—, she answered, "Sounds like he needs a good girl to take care of him."
"Hah! You?" Mara laughed bitterly.
"I certainly don't see any other good girls around here, do you?"
Mara slitted your eyes. "You better watch out or you won't be seeing any good girls around here."
"Is that a threat, Mara Jade?" Kantasha's green-flecked blue eyes glinted amusedly.
"It's a promise," the trader said quietly.
"Why, you couldn't shoot a bantha with your eyes open."
"And you couldn't make a Jawa baby cry," Mara returned. "Unless you showed him your face."
Kantasha shot to her feet. "Are you challenging me?"
"Only if you're woman enough to answer it."
Thrawn instructed Luke to alert the others that they would soon be dropping out of hyperspace and needed to strap in. When he went to the two females to tell them to do so, he sensed something hostile in their manners, but he didn't inquire as to the origin. He wouldn't even attempt to understand the inner workings of female minds.
The landing process went smoothly, without any spats and with minimal talking. When asked them to identify themselves, Thrawn replied smoothly on the comm, "This is Captain Mitth Nuruodo of the freighter Elusive Phoenix, requesting permission to land."
After a few moments, the reply came, "Request granted."
As Thrawn had said, a military welcome was in order, albeit a small one. After all, someone with the mere insignia of "captain" should not be given too enthusiastic of a greeting. Stormtroopers stood at attention, loyal and obedient even if they may have had several suspicions as to this being more than an uneventful meeting.
A military man, who looked to be in perhaps his early seventies, came to the bottom of the ramp to meet them. As he came closer, Luke saw that his insignia labeled him an Imperial admiral.
Luke threw a sideways glance at Mara, noticing, almost predictably, that she was in one of the most unmilitarylike postures she was capable of. Through the Force he threw, Watch your posture!
Sending him back a scowl with the Force, the redhead straightened, promising, You'll pay for this someday, Skywalker.
"Welcome back, Captain Nuruodo," the man greeted. His eyes, blocked from the view of the Stormtroopers, flicked briefly to Luke's, then Mara's, then Kantasha's, where they lingered a bit longer, then they finally moved back to Thrawn's. Maintaining his loud voice, he continued, "I trust your mission went well?"
The aura of power that normally surrounded Thrawn was mostly gone, but, to Luke, just a tendril of the Force would prove that it was still there, only hidden. And Thrawn's appearance was decidedly unChisslike. "Yes, Admiral." He gazed inconspicuously down the rows of Stormtroopers towards the long and impressive Imperial base. Luke thought he could detect the hint of approval in Thrawn's eyes. Not that Luke blamed him. If there were indeed more of these Imperial bases scattered throughout the Unknown Regions, the Empire would once more be a force to be reckoned with.
"Good." The admiral, whom Luke suspected was Pellaeon, inclined his head. "If you will follow me."
Author's Notes: Thanks for betaing, Moy!
My words about Thrawn and Parck aren't too far off Zahn's, but I figure Mara would probably tell it in a similar manner both times. I have done a little paraphrasing and a small bit of condensing—I don't want you to think Zahn's words are mine, so just pretend that from "Well, it seems your buddy Thrawn..." to "...joining him in his shame and supposed exile from the Empire" are Zahn's words (they aren't exact; he's more talented, and I didn't want to take them exactly from his book). Also, what Thrawn says in the large paragraph after Mara is gleaned from Mara's words in Vision of the Future, but I don't believe it was done as closely.