Summary: A brief glance backwards at what the Emperor is up to. Surely, he wouldn't just let Thrawn vanish back into the Unknown Regions.

Notes: Some familiar faces make an appearance.

Interlude

Location: The Imperial Palace

Coruscant

The Emperor's palace on Coruscant never failed to take Mara Jade's breath away.

An imposing, square-like building, reminiscent of the ziggurats of pre-historic cultures, it was topped by five towering spires which seemed to pierce the clouds and afforded a stunning view of the city-planet.

Mara had heard rumors that the palace had once been the temple of the corrupt Jedi Order, but she didn't see how something so beautiful and aesthetically pleasing – so balanced – could have belonged to those traitors.

The day was clear and cold, a few wisps of clouds scuttling high above in Coruscant's artificial blue sky, and the sun was warm on her back as she climbed the steps of the Palace and presented her ID. The stormtrooper on duty gave both it and her a hard look, carefully checking her credentials and scanning her for weapons. He missed the lightsaber, but then they always did.

Still, she approved of his attention to detail and made a note to inform his commanding officer of such. The Emperor needed as many conscientious and capable guards around him as possible. The threat from these unifying rebel cells was only growing and she would allow no harm to come to her Master from these terrorists and criminals.

"Political advisor, hmm?" the guard said, eyeing her young face and the red-gold hair and green eyes which would better suit a high-level courtesan or exotic dancer than a mid-level analyst. If he knew who she really was…

Plainly disbelieving, he nonetheless waved her through the checkpoint when her credentials cleared.

Mara gave him a small smile that in no way reached her eyes and watched with satisfaction as his own eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Thank you, Lieutenant," she said firmly. And then she stepped around him into the wide, spacious entryway, tilting her head back to gaze up at the curved ceilings lost in darkness high above her. It was like another world in here.

The click of her boots resounded from every direction and there was only the muted hum of conversation from various Imperial dignitaries and bureaucrats to break the silence, as though they too felt the urge to lower their voices in this place.

There was something sacred here, Mara could feel it. Such did not surprise her for her Master lived here, but the faint echo of children's laughter – a Force memory – did. For a moment her world was filled with colors, flashes of faces she did not know.

…Ahsoka, have you seen Anakin anywhere?...

…Depa, Master Windu wishes to see you…

…Quin, take that out of your mouth at once!...

…Luke, where are you?...

The last was a woman's voice, commanding and vaguely familiar.

The voices faded away leaving Mara with an odd sense of loss.

She walked along deep red, carpeted floors, down hallways in which men and women clutching datapads scurried like ants, and past contingents of elite stormtroopers. She kept her hands down, face averted, and pace quick but hesitant – just another Imperial citizen called before the Emperor or his assistants for a brief meeting with greatness before she vanished back intot he nameless mass of bureaucracy.

The truth was much different. Her identichip scanned and cleared, she entered the private turbolift up to the Emperor's office and tried to still her racing heart. Wiping sweaty palms on her trousers, she watched the glint of sunlight on the orderly rows of traffic which filled Coruscant's airways.

She had been training for this moment her entire life. Today she would be given her first mission as the Emperor's Hand, an Imperial agent with Force-trained abilities who answer only to the Emperor.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, anchoring herself solely in the moment. The lift pinged, the red lights slowly grew, and the door slid open.

Mara stepped out into a round, sunlit room high above Coruscant's clouds and her eyes immediately found the kindly visage of her master.

"My child," the Emperor said, "come forward."

He slowly swiveled his chair around to face her fully, those cunning eyes scanning her just as intently as he probed her in the Force. Mara withstood his scrutiny, holding nothing back. At last the Emperor waved a hand at her. "You have completed your lightsaber, I see."

She unhooked the weapon which was hidden at the small of her back, under her uniform's coat, and held it out for her master to inspect. The Emperor ran careful fingers over its plain, silver hilt before igniting the blade.

That was the first time she felt a flash of surprise from him.

"Purple," he said, after a long pause during which he studied the blade and Mara wondered if she had done anything wrong. "Most unusual."

She didn't say anything to this comment. If her master was not satisfied with the weapon, he would command her to make a new one.

At last, however, he powered the blade down and handed the lightsaber back to her. "I believe such a color will work to our advantage." His eyes scanned her again. "Tell me, Mara Jade, why are you here?"

She wondered if this was a trick question. Nonetheless, she straightened up to almost military attention. "You have a mission for me, Master?" It was a question which was filled with hope and she cursed herself for being so transparent. A spy would be more disingenuous; her teachers would be less than impressed.

"Indeed," the Emperor said. "And forgive me, child, but how old are you?"

She gritted her teeth. This part might prover trickier. "I just turned sixteen, my lord."

To her surprise though, this answer seemed to please the Emperor. "Excellent. Most fortuitous. Yes, young Mara Jade, you should do nicely."

Mara wondered exactly what her age had to do with the mission.

"Your teachers speak highly of you, my child," the Emperor stated, and Mara knew better than to answer that in any way.

"We will see if their assessments are accurate," the Emperor mused. She could feel him in her head again, as well as sense his low level of annoyance.

"Interesting," her Master hissed. "You are correct, child. We are currently waiting on –"

The turbolift slid open again. "Ah, there he is," the Emperor murmured, and the black, armored figure of Darth Vader stepped into the room.

"I am so pleased you could finally join us, Lord Vader," the Emperor said as Vader's mechanical breathing filled Mara's awareness. "I trust you found your old rooms – the ones you once shared with your…previous master – to be a comfort to you." There was sharp satisfaction in Palpatine's voice.

Vader's presence was overwhelming in the Force, biting cold as the depths of winter, and as ominous as an approaching storm. Mara blocked him out as much as possible, but he still made her stomach churn.

"Indeed," Vader said shortly, failing to respond to the Emperor's barb – whatever it meant – although a hot, sharp surge of anger hit Mara through the Force, one filled with menace, and her vision went dark for a moment, even as she tightened her hand on her lightsaber, ready to fight the dark lord in defense of her Emperor.

The moment passed and the Emperor laughed. "You truly are a perfect Sith, Darth Vader." He shook his head slightly in wonderment. "You never let anything go."

"No," said the mechanical monster, "my master."

The Emperor laughed again, a malicious cackle, before turning back to Mara.

"Your mission in one which Lord Vader has declined." The Emperor's disapproval was clear. "He claims he would be unable to locate our missing Grand Admiral Thrawn in the vastness of the Unknown Regions, that it would be like looking for a Hutt on Nal Hutta, that the Empire's resources would be better spent on other matters such as this Rebellion –

– and other similar arguments."

Both Mara and Vader stayed silent and Mara's estimation of the other went up slightly. It had been so low to begin with though that this wasn't much of an improvement.

The Emperor eyed them both with disfavor.

"Very well," he snapped. "My Hand shall track down our errant Grand Admiral and return him to Coruscant for judgement and Lord Vader shall deal with this Rebellion."

The Emperor must have sensed Mara's unasked question.

"You may be wondering, my child, why I have not put a stop to these unifying rebel cells."

Mara had indeed been wondering. Tactically, it was much easier to defeat a rebellion before it unified under a single leader or command and gained both momentum and recognition.

"It was Lord Vader's suggestion to allow them to unify." Her opinion of Vader soured once more. "And I agree."

The Emperor smiled. "It is Lord Vader's job to hunt down the Jedi but for decades some have eluded him. Master Yoda, for instance. And Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Vader's anger flared once more and the Emperor watched his…whatever Vader was to him, with narrowed yellow eyes.

"This rebel movement has already drawn out several Jedi, and they have been dealt with, despite their low rank. Lord Vader believes that a unified rebel movement will draw out any remaining Jedi Masters." The most dangerous and the most powerful.

Mara could, reluctantly, see a logic to this and Vader's obsession with hunting down Jedi was well-known. Still –

"Didn't Thrawn vanish with a Jedi onboard?" she asked, tying to remember the details of the classified report the Emperor had allowed her to read. "Ezra Bridger," she recalled the name.

"That boy was no Jedi," Vader snapped, and he sounded angry again. "His training was incomplete."

Mara wondered disparagingly if Vader thought the task beneath him.

"He is still a threat, as is our former ally, this Mitth'raw'nuruodo," the Emperor said, getting angry in his turn and all but hissing the words. "I want the Unknown Regions as well, Vader," the Emperor reminded his apprentice. "Our work is not yet finished together, my friend."

Mara could feel the tension between them, taut as a stretched wire. The Force hummed with power.

She cleared her throat. "Where would you like me to start my search, Your Majesty?"

The Emperor's gaze pulled away from Vader reluctantly and he fixed a pair of predatory yellow eyes on her face. "For that you will have a guide, my child," and he waved a hand, using the Force effortlessly. A door slid open and two of the Imperial guards entered the room, dragging a humanoid male roughly between them. They threw the figure down on the ground before the Emperor's desk before moving back towards the edges of the room where they took up positions.

Mara studied the humanoid with interest. Weequay, she decided after a moment, remembering her lessons on alien species. Older, given the tendrils of skin which hung down from his face and which resembled a beard. He had tough, leathery skin and a wiry appearance. His clothes were a hodge-podge and worn – someone on the fringes of society – and the way his glance darted to all sides of the room before he looked up at the Emperor showed either an experience with violence or a naturally devious disposition.

"Pirate Hondo Ohnaka," the Emperor said, studying the alien in his turn. "We meet at last."

Ohnaka raised his head, showing a face split by a devil-may-care grin and a pair of bright, mischievous eyes. "Indeed, indeed. You know my name. That is most excellent." And he bounded to his feet, causing the guards to place hands on their weapons, though he paid them no mind. "Of course, you would know the great Hondo Ohnaka! That's just good business! Why I was friends with both Count Dooku and General Kenobi – although not at the same time of course – "

Mara became aware of Vader's sudden stillness beside her. His mechanical breathing remained unchanged, his face – whoever and whatever he was – remained hidden behind that armored helmet, but his stance showed a hint of…uncertainty? As though he was…surprised?

Perhaps she wasn't reading him right. The Wheequay was still talking, bluff and ebullient. Mara had no idea why her master was letting the criminal prattle on like this.

"And you must be the…Emperor?"

"Indeed."

A brief hesitation. "And what can Hondo Ohnaka do for you, my fine sir?! Connections, that's what I have. I know everyone and have worked with – and against – everyone!"

"Which is the only reason you are still alive," the Emperor assured him drily.

This only damped the pirate's spirits momentarily. "Indeed, indeed," he agreed. "But I am still alive."

"For now," Vader rumbled.

Ohnaka's gaze slid over to the menacing visage of the Sith Lord. "Which is more than I can say for you, my friend."

Vader's hand curled into a fist and the one farthest from Mara gripped the hilt of his lightsaber, but the pirate had already turned away from him, seeming to dismiss the Sith Lord as a threat. Mara had to suppress the inappropriate urge to snort at the sense of…effrontery? she felt from Vader.

"Is this about my friend, Ezra Bridger?" the pirate demand now and Mara couldn't stop the shock that hit her, feeling echoes of her surprise from both Vader and the Emperor. The old pirate's cunning eyes were fixed on Palpatine's face and although Mara did not know the man's history, she reminded herself that it was never a good idea to underestimate someone just because they were old, grungy, and presented an appearance of bluff, good-humored incompetence.

Appearances are deceiving, she chastised herself.

Ohnaka obviously found what he was looking for in the Emperor's face. "Ah," he said simply. "You wish to know where the young Jedi has gone, yes?" He stroked the tendrils on his chin. "Well, theoretically I supposed, I could have planted a tracking device on him. For research purposes, you understand," he hastened to explain, as though someone had accused him of unsporting behavior. "I like to know where my investments are."

Vader rumbled again. "Where is he?" he demanded.

Mara had to suppress a small surge of annoyance. Vader had dismissed this mission as beneath his notice. He had no right to interfere with what the Emperor had given to her.

The pirate smiled apologetically and spread his hands wide. "I may have left the instructions on how to access the tracking devise and turn it on…in a safe location."

Vader took a step forward, threateningly.

"Ah, ah, ah," and Ohnaka actually waved a finger admonishingly at the Sith Lord. "Torturing me will take too long. The Jedi could have discovered the tracker by then and 'poof', vanished." He waved his arms around theatrically. "We Wheequays are hard to break and I am Hondo Ohnaka. Not even General Grievous caused me to betray…my men!"

Yourself, more like, Mara thought, but now she stepped forward. If Vader wanted to good cop, bad cop them, she was more than willing to play along.

"And will you take me to this location, instead?" She kept her most disarming smile in place. "We will find this young Jedi together," she promised. You can leave here with me, or you can stay here with him, she didn't have to say, meaning Vader or the Emperor she left open for his imagination.

Ohnaka agreed with alacrity and the Emperor cackled once more.

"Good," he intoned, as Mara firmly marched Ohnaka from Vader and Emperor's presence. "Good. Everything is going according to plan."

As the turbolift doors slid closed after them both – the Emperor's Hand and the pirate – Mara watched Vader turn towards them. His masked face was utterly impassive, but menace filled the air around him and his hand remained on his lightsaber hilt. She had the oddest feeling though that his menace was not for her, that he barely noticed her presence, but was instead for the old pirate at her side.

As though he would kill the Wheequay if he ever got the chance.

Mara eyed Ohnaka without turning her head; a useful trick her teachers had taught her. The old pirate shivered, visibly, but his gaze was…Mara had to turn back to Vader to track his eyeline. His gaze was on the Sith Lord's lightsaber. Understandable.

She would have thought no more about it except that it was not precisely fear she was seeing on the old pirate's face. She pondered the alien's physiognomy and the potential meanings for what she had seen as they descended in silence down the turbolift.

It was only when she exited back onto the main level, Ohnaka keeping close on her heels, and she came face to face with a Dathomiri inquisitor she had sparred with several times. The two women passed a single look between them before averting their eyes and continuing on separate paths.

The look on Ohnaka's face, muted, confused, as he gazed at Darth Vader's lightsaber, had been the same.

Recognition.

Mara Jade returns. And trying to see what her reaction to the Jedi Temple (now Palpatine's palace) would be was really fun. Also, her bird's eye view to Palpatine and Vader's contentious relationship was great too. Her relationship with Palpatine is interesting, as is her relationship with Vader – no respect for him whatsoever lol, in contrast with Thrawn; two Imperials who are more "morally grey" instead of just evil.

I'm not sure how true any of this is too the books in Legends – I read them so long ago I can no longer remember – but it felt right. It's part of what makes her such a great foil and then partner for Luke; she's just not afraid of people who are vastly more powerful than she is.

Vader's never-ending obsession with Obi-Wan continues.

Anyone want any more scenes with what Darth Vader is up to? I'm trying to find a way to add one more in, but the story seems to have moved away from him after this. Still, if anyone's interested, I'll try and find a way to work it in.

This chapter was honestly supposed to be just a couple of paragraphs, but it wanted to be written…and then Vader inserted himself…and then Hondo made an appearance… and you all got another chapter out of me. So, that's why it's called "Interlude," because although about Thrawn and Ezra in a way, it's actually more about the various dynamics between Mara, Palpatine and Anakin/Vader. With Hondo thrown in, much to his discomfort.

Back to the main storyline next chapter. Thrawn and Ar'alani meet for the first time since Thrawn's Exile and Ezra and Thrawn go before the Aristocracy of the Chiss Ascendency. Thrawn has a plan, but Ezra might not like the consequences.