'They're in the market for capital ships,'' she reminded him.
'And they're offering value plus twenty percent.' He cocked an eyebrow at her. 'I thought you didn't much care for the Empire.'
'I don't,' she retorted. 'What's the other option give them to the New Republic?'
He held her gaze. 'That might be more profitable in the long run. Mara's left hand curled into a tight fist, her stomach churning with mixed feelings. To let the Dreadnaughts fall into the hands of the New Republic, successor to the Rebel Alliance that had destroyed her life, was a hateful thought. But on the other hand, the Empire without the Emperor was only a pale shadow of its former self, hardly even worthy of the name anymore. It would be pearls before swine to give the Dark Force to them. Or would it? With a Grand Admiral in charge of the Imperial Fleet again, perhaps there was now a chance for the Empire to gain some of its old glory. And if there was...'What are you going to do?' she asked Karrde.
'At the moment, nothing,' Karrde said. 'It's the same problem we faced with Skywalker, after all: the Empire will be swifter to exact vengeance if we go against them, but the New Republic looks more likely to win in the end. Giving Thrawn the Katana fleet would only delay the inevitable. The most prudent course right now is to stay neutral.'
'Except that giving Thrawn the Dreadnaughts might get him off our exhaust trail,' Mara pointed out. 'That would be worth the trade right there.' Karrde smiled faintly. 'Oh, come now, Mara. The Grand Admiral may be a tactical genius, but he's hardly omniscient. He can't possibly have any idea where we are. And he certainly has more important things to do than spend his resources chasing us down.'
'I'm sure he does,' Mara agreed reluctantly. But she couldn't help remembering how, even at the height of his power and with a thousand other concerns, the Emperor had still frequently taken the time to exact vengeance on someone who'd crossed him.
Beside her the comm board buzzed, and Mara reached over to key the channel. 'Yes?'
'Lachton,' a familiar voice came from the speaker. 'Is Karrde around?'
'Right here,' Karrde called, stepping to Mara's side.
'How's the camouflage work going?'
'We're about done,' Lachton said. 'We ran short of flash-netting, though. Do we have any more?'
'There's some at one of the dumps,' Karrde told him.
'I'll send Mara to get it; can you have someone come in to pick it up?'
'Sure, no problem. I'll send Dankin-he hasn't got much to do at the moment anyway.
'All right. The netting will be ready by the time he gets here.' Karrde gestured, and Mara keyed off the channel.
'You know where the Number Three dump is?' he asked her. She nodded. 'Four twelve Wozwashi Street. Three blocks west and two north.'
'Right.' He peered out the window. 'Unfortunately, it's still too early for repulsorlift vehicles to be on the streets. You'll have to walk.'
'That's all right,' Mara assured him. She felt like a little exercise, anyway. 'Two boxes be enough?'
'If you can handle that many,' he told her, looking her up and down as if making sure her outfit conformed to local Rishi standards of propriety. He needn't have bothered; one of the first rules the Emperor had drummed into her so long ago was to blend in as best she could with her surroundings. 'If not, Lachton can probally make do with one.'
'All right. I'll see you later.'
Their townhouse was part of a row of similar structures abutting one of the hundreds of little market areas that dotted the whole congested valley. For a moment Mara stood in the entry alcove of their building, out of the busy flow of pedestrian traffic, and looked around her. Through the gaps between the nearest buildings she could see the more distant parts of the city-vale, most of it composed of the same cream-white stone so favored by the locals. In places, she could see all the way to the edge, a few small buildings perched precariously partway up the craggy mountains that rose sharply into the sky on all sides. Far up those mountains, she knew, lived loose avian tribes of native Rishi, who no doubt looked down in bemused disbelief at the strange creatures who had chosen the most uncomfortably hot and humid spots of their planet in which to live.
Dropping her gaze from the mountains, Mara gave the immediate area a quick scan. Across the street were more townhouses; between her and them was the usual flow of brightly clad pedestrians hurrying to and from the market area to the east. Reflexively, her eyes flicked across the townhouses, though with each window composed of mirror glass there wasn't a lot there for her to see. Also reflexively, she glanced across each of the narrow pedestrian alleyways between the buildings.
