Kantasha Pellaeon and Mitth'raw'nuruodo turned to see a somewhat frantic-looking Jedi bound into the room. As soon as the term "frantic" passed into their minds, however, it was gone, for the Jedi had turned his face into an impassive mask and was acting as if his behavior had not been in the least bit unusual.
Kantasha couldn't help but ask, "What'd you talk to her about?"
Luke Skywalker brought his blue eyes to bear upon her. "I have convinced Jade to join us. We shall be having no more difficulty with her."
Eyes blazing, Kantasha stood. "I don't trust her."
He gave her a cold stare. "Trust? You wish to bring trust into this? I've known Mara for years. How long have I known you?" Luke pinned her with his gaze. "Do you still want to bring trust into the equation?"
Thrawn chose to enter the conversation then, his eyes glittering warningly at the dark-haired female. "We will abide by your judgment, Jedi Skywalker." He cleared his throat. "There is another matter we wish to have your judgment upon." He then proceeded to explain the plan Kantasha had suggested.
The human male nodded, a mischievous smile on his face. "I like it. Who'll be doing the—"
"We can work on it together, if you'd like," Kantasha said quietly.
Luke understood that it was meant to be a sort of apology. "All right. We'll get on it, then I can do the planting."
The Chiss (who was still in his human guise) started to protest.
Luke held up a hand. "I know my face is well-known, but I'm going to be wearing a cloak, and with the Force I shall be keeping everyone's attention away from me...Also, I know the people within the Republic better. I know where the information should go."
Thrawn nodded. He understood that the Jedi needed this. Powerful or not, he was still human, and the human psyche often possessed a thirst to prove itself. Very well. He would give the Jedi this test, and he knew that the Jedi would pass it. And it was only right that the New Republic should be taken down so willingly by one of its own.
Later, two New Republic Intelligence operatives discovered a datacard. When they put it into a datapad, they read:
Never trust an
advocate
Of keeping spice from public markets;
G'n'n'al'th
will be upset
When you find how much spice he really
gets.
After they read the datacard a few times, one of the
NRI agents made the observation that the first letter of "Never"
was in a bolder and larger font than all the other letters. "What
do you think that means?" he asked his friend.
The other agent looked at it, somewhat puzzled. "Could be an error or malfunction. Somehow, I think that's the least of our worries." She sighed. "Guess we'd better start investigating Senator G'n'n'al'th..." She looked somewhat puzzled. "Do you really think the Senator uses spice? I mean, he's so outspoken against it..."
The male shrugged. "I've heard of stranger things."
Luke sat with Mara in her room. She was now free to roam about, but she wasn't exactly eager to go into the same room as Kantasha.
"We've started the plan," Luke told her. His eyes almost seemed to dance.
"Which is...?" Mara asked, trying to read him. She was more skilled at reading people than most, but it would have been a lot easier if she could touch the Force. But Luke hadn't taken the ysalamiri back to the ship, explaining that it was easier for him to hide himself from Leia that way. Though she didn't mention it, Mara knew that the ysalamiri actually mostly affected her room. Only a little of the anti-Force bubble extended into the other room.
Luke shook his head. "I want it to be a surprise. You'll see soon enough." He was silent for a moment. "I'm glad you're here, Mara...I'm glad that I have something left of what's now my past, and I'm glad that I can help bring yours back by supporting the Empire as my father did."
"You can't just bring back the past," Mara said quietly.
"I know...But you can build upon it and make it even better."
The redhead looked at him. His optimistic streak still managed to shine through. Despite the darkness threatening to envelop him, he still seemed to maintain his inner light. But Mara wondered how long it would last. Little by little, the darkness continued to come, trying to snuff out that light.
Would it ever be completely snuffed out? Would the man that used to be Luke Skywalker, the farmboy turned fighter pilot turned Jedi Master, finally cease to exist?
As Mara Jade continued to look at him, the darkness came back, clouding his brilliant blue eyes.
"They shall pay," he whispered. "The New Republic shall be brought down. The New Republic shall fall. And we will watch, you and I, Mara, we will watch it fall. You, the one friend who has stuck beside me, despite having been given every reason not to, you will watch with me, as the New Republic falls in upon itself, as the Old did." He looked over at Mara, his eyes filled with a kind of manic glee. "Do you feel the thrill, Mara? The excitement coursing through your veins..."
As Mara met his eyes, she couldn't help but shiver. He gave a small smile, then brought a finger up and gently moved it up and down her arm, sending chills down her spine.
"The Old Republic was taken down and replaced by an Empire, which was in turn replaced by the New Republic. When we take down the New Republic, shall we call the government the New Empire?" he asked with a small smile.
"Whatever you want, Skywalker," Mara answered, trying to work moisture back into her mouth. "You can call it the New Krayt Dragon if it pleases you."
Luke gave an unexpected bark of laughter which caused Mara to jump. "Or the New Bantha Cub."
"Or the New Womp Rat," returned Mara.
"Or the New Jawaling."
"Or the New Sandjigger."
Luke looked at Mara curiously. He hadn't realized she'd been that familiar with his homeplanet. "How have you heard about sandjiggers?"
Mara shrugged. "I like to familiarize myself with a planet before I go to it. Something I learned when working for the Emperor."
Luke was impressed. "Well, the New Sandjigger it is." The darkness in his eyes had almost completely disappeared, replaced by a twinkle. But Mara could still see just a little of it shading his eyes.