The sun shined brightly through the fluorescent forest of Myrkr. The colorful leaves danced in the wind as it carried them away to the riverbed. Despite its beautiful appearance and colorful wildlife, the flowered forest was not a force to be reckoned with. From a distance, she could hear the faint chatter of the residents in the city. The laughter of children as they played near the forest with their friends. She closed her eyes, taking in the peaceful aurora that surrounded her. It was a peaceful life—that's what she kept telling herself. Far away from the Empire, the New Republic—and from him.

Mara Jade clenched her jaw at the thought of him—Luke Skywalker, the man who ruined her life. The past five years were difficult for her. She traveled across the galaxy, searching for a new purpose in life, one where her nightmares could no longer haunt her. Which is how she ended up here on Myrkr, with Talon Karrde.

It wasn't a luxurious life, she had to admit, but her training had prepared her for any situation thrown her way. Opening her eyes once more, she took in the beauty of the forest before heading inside.

The fold-out table in his private office was set, the food was ready to serve, and Talon Karrde was just pouring the corellian wine when the tap came on his door. As always, his timing was perfect. "Mara?" he called out.

"It's me, Karrde," Mara responded as she gracefully entered the door. "You wanted to see me? You didn't say what—" her green eyes flicked to the elaborated set table "—this was all about," she finished, her tone just noticeably different. The green eyes came back to him, cool and measuring.

"No, it's not what you think," Karrde assured her, motioning her to the chair opposite of him. "This is a business meal—no more, no less."

From behind his desk came a sound halfway between a cackle and a purr. "That's right, Drang—a business meal," Karrde said, turning towards the sound. "Come on, out with you."

The vornskr peered out from around the edge, it's front paws gripping the carpet, it's muzzle close to the floor as if on the hunt. "I said out with you," Karrde repeated firmly, pointing towards the open door behind Mara. The vornskr rushed towards Mara, it's tail wagging in excitement. It got on its hind legs and began licking her face.

"Drang—" Mara cried out. She fought the urge to toss the animal away from her. She let it cover her face with its sloppy tongue. The vornskr eventually went back down, still happily wagging its tail. Wiping away the excessive drool off her face, Mara kept her emotions in check. This was not the time to get angry.

Laughing, Karrde grabbed a piece of braised bruallki from the serving dish. He tossed the food in the general direction of the doorway. Drang leaped as he grabbed the food in midair. "There," Karrde called after him. "Now go and enjoy your supper."

The vornskr trotted out, content with his meal. Karrde gave Mara a napkin to clean herself with. "Forgive me, Mara," Karrde said casually. "I forget that not everyone is a fan of my vornskrs."

"It's fine Karrde," Mara said as she finished using the napkin. "You were telling me this is a business meal, right." Despite having to deal with an over-friendly vornskr, her voice remained cool and measured.

"It is," Karrde said, shifting his position back to Mara.

"It's certainly the nicest business meal I've had in quite a while," she said as she sat down. She observed the lavish dinner presented before her. Along with the wine and the braised bruallki, it was certainly a luxury. She had to admit, she missed these types of meals.

"Well, that's the point, really," Karrde told her as he reached over the serving tray. "I think it's good for us to remember that being a smuggler doesn't necessarily require one to be barbarian, too."

"Ah," she nodded, sipping at her wine. "And I'm sure the rest of your people are very grateful for that reminder."

Karrde smiled. So much, he thought, for the unusual setting and scenario throwing her off balance. He should've known that particular gambit wouldn't work on someone like Mara. "It does make for an interesting evening," he agreed. "Particularly—" he eyed her cautiously, "—when discussing a promotion."

A flicker of surprise, almost too fast to see, crossed her face. "A promotion?" she echoed carefully.

"Yes," he said, scooping a serving of bruallki onto her plate and setting it in front of her. "Yours, to be precise."

The wary look was back in her eyes. "I've only been with the group for less than a year."

Karrde studied her closely. "Time has never been as important to the universe as ability and results . . . and your abilities and results have been quite impressive."

She shrugged, her red-gold hair shimmering with the movement. "I've been lucky," she said.

"In my experience, Mara," Karrde began. "There is no such thing as luck." He turned back to the bruallki, dished some onto his own plate. "Then there's your talent for starship piloting, your ability to give and obey orders when necessary—" he smiled slightly, gesturing to the table "—and your ability to adapt to almost anything unusual and unexpected situations. All highly useful talents for a smuggler."

He paused, but she remained silent. Evidently, somewhere in her past she'd also learn when not to ask questions. Another useful talent. "Bottom line, Mara, you're simply too valuable to waste as a backup," he concluded. "What I'd like to do is to start grooming you to become my second in command."

There was no mistaking her surprise this time. The green eyes went momentarily wide, and then narrowed. "What exactly would my new duties consist of?" she asked.

"Traveling with me, mostly," he said, taking a sip of wine. "Helping me set up new business, meeting with our long term customers so that they can get to know you better—that sort of thing."

She was still suspicious—he could tell that from her eyes. Suspicious that the offer was a smokescreen to mask some more personal requests or demands on his part. "You don't have to answer now," he told her. "Think about it. Talk with Aves and the other crew members in the organization." He looked her straight in the eye. "They'll tell you that I never lie to my people."

Her lip twisted. "So I heard," she said, her voice going back to a noncommittal tone. "But bear in mind that if you give me that kind of authority, I am going to use it. There's some revamping of the whole organization structure that I—" She broke off as the intercom on his desk warbled.

"Yes?" Karrde called towards it.

"It's Aves," a voice called out. "We got company, Karrde: an Imperial Star Destroyer just made orbit."

Karrde glanced at Mara as he got to his feet. "Any make on it?" he asked, dropping his napkin besides his plate and stepping around the desk to where he could see the screen.

"It's—" Aves stuttered. He seemed to hesitate to respond.

"What is it, Aves?"

"It reads as the Chimaera," Aves finally spoke out. "Karrde, this has to be a ghost ship. I thought the Chimaera was destroyed years ago. Hold on, let me get a visual." A few seconds later, a grainy image of a Star Destroyer with a white symbol embedded into the Star Destroyer's hull appeared on screen. Mara recognized the three headed monstrous creature with arachnid-like legs, it was indeed the Chimaera.

"Interesting," Karrde murmured to himself. Grand Admiral Thrawn himself. He looked over to Mara. There was no mistaking the green eyes that had widened in surprise. "Have they made any transmissions?" he asked, turning his gaze back to the screen.

"None that we picked up—wait a minute. Looks like they're launching two shuttles. Projected landing point . . ." Aves frowned at something off screen. "Projected landing point somewhere here in the forest."

Out of the corner of his eye, Karrde saw Mara stiffen a little. "Not at the edge of the city?" he asked Aves.

"No, it's definitely in the forest. About fifty kilometers away from here."

Karrde rubbed his forefinger across his lower lip considering the possibilities. "What do you think, Mara?" He turned around to see Mara look towards the screen.

"There's no way that is the Chimaera," she told herself unconvincingly, she brushed aside her red hair as she focused on the image of the Star Destroyer. "It was deemed destroyed over ten years ago. The reports said–" she saw Karrde eye her with an arched eyebrow. "–the stories mention the Chimaera was dislodged from Lothal by large space creatures that could jump into hyperspace." Karrde continued to study her silently. Perhaps she had heard about the tale the same way he had heard of it. But deep down, he knew there was more to Mara Jade than meets the eye.

"Aves, give me a hailing channel. Let's see what our guests need."

Aves opened his mouth; closed it again. "Okay," he said, taking a deep breath and tapping something offscreen. "You have hailing."

"Thank you," he said as he cleared his throat. "Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera, this is Talon Karrde. May I be of any assistance to you?"

"No response," Aves muttered. "You think maybe they didn't want to be noticed."

"If you don't want to be noticed, you don't use a Star Destroyer," Mara pointed out. "It's possible they're running Karrde's name through the system."

Karrde stroked his chin. "Would be interesting to see what they have on me. If anything." He cleared his throat again. "Star Destroyer Chimaera, this is—"

Abruptly, Aves's face was replaced by a middle-aged man wearing a captain's insignia. "This is Captain Pellaeon," he said brusquely. "What is it you want?"

"Merely to be neighborly," Karrde told him evenly. "We tracked two of your shuttles heading down to the forest, and wondered if Grand Admiral Thrawn might require any assistance."

The skin around Pellaeon's eyes tightened just a bit. "Who?"

"Ah," Karrde nodded, allowing a slight smile. "Of course, I haven't heard of Grand Admiral Thrawn or his rumored return to the galaxy. Certainly not in connection with the Chimaera—the warship that went missing nearly a decade ago during the siege of Lothal, the same warship that is now orbiting above Myrkr. Or even with some intriguing information raids in the Obroa-skai region, either."

The eyes tightened a little more. They looked at something off screen before returning to gaze at Karrde. "You're very well informed, Talon Karrde," Pellaeon said, his voice silky but with menace lurking underneath. "One might wonder how a lowly smuggler would come by such information."

Karrde shrugged. "My people hear rumors and stories. I simply take the pieces and put them together. May I ask what the Empire is doing here on Myrkr?"

Pellaeon favored him with a slightly indulgent smile. "Information on Imperial activity is very expensive."

"Indeed," Karrde nodded, running the possibilities through his mind. There were, fortunately, not all that many of them. "But occasionally one finds bargains. It's the ysalamari you're after, isn't it?"

Pellaeon's smile vanished. "There are no bargaining power to be had here, Karrde," he said after a moment.

"I presume you're already familiar with the ysalamari rather unique characteristics—otherwise, you wouldn't be here," Karrde said. "Can I also assume you're familiar with the somewhat esoteric art of safety getting them off their tree branches?"

Pellaeon studied him, suspicion all over his face. "I was under the impression that that ysalamari were no more than fifty centimeters long and not predatory."

"I wasn't referring to your safety, Captain," Karrde told him. "I meant theirs. You can't just pull them off their branches, not without killing them. An ysalamari at this stage is sessile—it's claws have elongated to the point they've essentially grown directly into the core of the branch it inhabits."

"And you, I suppose, know the proper way to do it?"

"Some of my people do," Karrde told him. "If you like, I could send one to rendezvous with your shuttles. The technique involved isn't especially difficult, but it really does have to be demonstrated."

"Of course," Pellaeon said, heavily sardonic. "And the fee for this esoteric demonstration?"

"No fee, Captain. As I said earlier, we're just being neighborly."

Pellaeon cocked his head slightly to one side. His eyes widened, just a little. "Your generosity will be remembered." For a moment he held Karrde's gaze; and there was no mistaking the twin-edge meaning to those words. If Karrde was planning some sort of betrayal, that too would be remembered. "I'll signal my shuttles to expect your expert when they land."

"He'll be there, Good day, Captain Pellaeon."

Pellaeon reaches for something off-screen, and once again Aves's face replaces his on the screen. "Did you get all that?" Karrde asked him.

Aves nodded. "Dankin and Chin are already warming up one of the Skiprays."

"Good. Have them leave an open transmission; and I want to see them as soon as they return."

"Copy that," Aves replied, turning off the transmission.

Karrde stepped away from the desk, glanced once at Mara, and reseated himself at the table. "Apologies for the interruption, Mara," he said conversationally, watching her out of the corner of his eye as he poured himself some more wine.

Slowly, the green eyes came back from infinity; as she looked at him, the muscles of her face eased from their death-like rigidness. "You don't believe they're just here to pick up some ysalamari, do you?" she asked, reaching a slightly unsteady hand for her own wine.

"Not really." Karrde took a bite of his bruallki. "Coming all the way here to collect ysalamari seems like overkill to just use against a single Jedi. Perhaps the ysalamari have another use we don't yet know about."

Mara's eyes again drifted away. "Maybe it's not Skywalker they are after," she murmured, "Maybe they found some more Jedi." Her mind wandered to the story of the Lothalian boy that was able to defeat Thrawn ten years prior.

"Seems unlikely," Karrde said, watching her closely. The emotion in her voice when she mentioned the name of Luke Skywalker . . . "The Emperor supposedly wiped them all out when the new order was established. You probably weren't born yet when it happened, but I do remember hearing the stories as a child. In any case, it's possible that they found Darth Vader. Or whatever is left of him."

"Vader died on the Death Star," Mara said, "Along with the Emperor."

"That's the story–"

"He died there," Mara cut him off, her voice suddenly sharp.

"Of course, " Karrde nodded. It had taken him months of close observation, but he finally pinned down the handful of subjects guaranteed to trigger strong responses from the woman. The late Emperor was one of them, as was the pre-Endor Empire. At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum was Luke Skywalker. "Still," he continued thoughtfully, "if a Grand Admiral thinks he has a good reason to carry ysalamari aboard his ship, we might do well in following his lead."

Abruptly, Mara's eyes focused on him again. "What for?" she demanded.

"A simple precaution," Karrde said. "Why so vehement?"

He watched as she fought an internal battle. "It seems like a waste of time," she finally said. "Thrawn is probably just jumping at shadows. Anyway, how are you going to keep the ysalamari alive on a ship without transplanting some trees with it?

"Oh I'm sure Thrawn has some ideas as to the mechanics of it," Karrde assured her. "Dankin and Chin will know how to poke around for details." There was a darkness in her eyes. They seemed strangely hooded. "Yes," she muttered, her voice conceding defeat. "I'm sure they will."

"In the meantime," Karrde said, pretending not to notice, "we still have business to discuss. As I recall, you were going to list some improvements you would make in the organization."

"Yes." Mara took another deep breath, closing her eyes…and when she opened them again she was back to her usual cool self. "Yes. Well—"

Slowly at first, but with ever-increasing confidence, she launched into a detailed and generally insightful compendium of his group's shortcomings. Karrde listened closely as he ate, wondering again at the hidden talents of this woman. Someday, he promised himself silently, he was going to find a way to dig the details of her past out from under the cloak of secrecy she'd so carefully shrouded it with. To find out where she'd come from, and who and what she was.

And to learn exactly what it was Luke Skywalker had done to make her so desperately hate him.