Vision of the future

'I hope for the Chiss' sake they haven't bitten off more than they can swallow,' Mara countered, trying to sound more confident than she felt. Luke had had to function under the handicap of ysalamiri before, but that had been a long time ago. 'Speaking of getting hurt, General, what happened to your face? Or is that patch just something you wear to impress the natives?'

'I lost my eye in our final battle against one of the many would-be warlords out here,' Fel said, his voice calm but with an edge to it. 'Our medical replacement facilities are limited, and I opted to forgo a new eye in favor of others of my pilots who might need the operation.' He smiled tightly, a glimpse of the younger, brasher Fel showing through the age and maturity. 'Besides, even with one eye I'm still the best pilot around.'

'I'm sure,' Mara agreed. 'But imagine what you'd be like with two of them again. And the way the war with the New Republic has dwindled down to basically nothing, I imagine the Empire's got a pretty good surplus of spare prosthetics. All it would take is you showing up and asking for one.' She looked back at Parck. 'But of course, that would mean letting Bastion in on the big secret, which is apparently something you don't want to do. Why not?'

Parck sighed. 'Because everything we've done here—everything we have here—really belongs to Thrawn. And at this point, we frankly don't know which side of your conflict he's going to come down on.'

Mara blinked. 'Excuse me? An Imperial Grand Admiral, and you don't know which side he's going to take?'

'The Empire has been whittled down to eight sectors,' Fel reminded her. 'Militarily, they're no longer a power even worth considering.'

'And as you've already pointed out, they still have a lingering problem with anti-alien biases,' Parck added. 'On the other hand, Coruscant has serious problems of its own, most notably its inability to keep its members from fighting with each other.'

'Which is where you come in,' Fel said. 'As the Emperor's Hand, you knew a great deal about the Empire and those in power there. On the other hand, as a friend of Skywalker and his associates, you're also well acquainted with the New Republic regime on Coruscant.' He smiled tightly. 'And of course, as Talon Karrde's second-in-command, you know a great deal about everything else. You'd be invaluable in helping us end the conflict, unify this region, and begin preparations for the challenges ahead.'

'Your expertise and knowledge are very important to us,' Parck said. 'Our attention has been necessarily turned outward, with the result that we're somewhat out of touch with matters in this part of space. We need someone who can fill that gap.'

'And so naturally you thought of me,' Mara said sardonically.

'Don't be so flippant,' Fel admonished.

'I'm not being flippant; I'm being disbelieving,' she countered. 'I hardly think Thrawn would have approved of you hiring me as your local affairs adviser.'

'On the contrary,' Parck said. 'Thrawn regarded you quite highly. I know for a fact that he intended to offer you a position with us once the Empire had regained its territory.' One of the Chiss beside Parck stirred, tilting his head as Stent had done earlier. 'Admiral?' he said softly, squatting down beside the chair and whispering something into Parck's ear. Parck replied, and for a minute they held an inaudible conversation. Mara ran her eye over Fel and the five Chiss, mentally mapping out how she might be able to take them down if it came to a fight. But the attempt was little more than a mental exercise, and she knew it. With their eyes steady on her, and their hands resting on their holstered weapons, there was no chance she could take out all of them before they got her. Not without the Force.

The conversation ended, and the Chiss stood back up and strode rapidly away along the wall.

'Please excuse the interruption,' Parck apologized as the alien left the room.

'No problem,' Mara said. Down to four Chiss now, plus Fel and Parck. Still rotten odds.

'Having trouble pinning Skywalker down?'

'Not really,' Parck assured her.

'Glad to hear it,' Mara said, wishing more than ever that she could pick up something of his thoughts. That exit hadn't looked like the departure of someone who wasn't really having trouble. If she only had some idea what Luke was up to... 'So Thrawn intended to offer me a commission, did he?'

'He did indeed,' Parck said. 'He knew who all the best people were, both in overall skills and the kind of mental toughness he needed.' He gestured toward Fel. 'General Fel is a good example. His rebellion against Isard was of no consequence to Thrawn. What mattered was his feelings for the people and worlds of this region. So after Thrawn had Isard capture him—'

'Wait a minute,' Mara interrupted. 'Thrawn was involved with that?'

'It was entirely his plan,' Fel said. 'You don't think Isard could have come up with anything that clever, do you?'