Vision of the future

His mouth tightened, his remaining eye gazing away thoughtfully into the distance.

'He brought me out here,' he said quietly. 'Showed me what it was we faced, and what we'd have to do to stop it. Showed me that even with all the resources of the Empire and New Republic combined, and with himself at the head, there were no guarantees of victory.'

'On the contrary, he's already made contingency plans for defeat,' Parck added soberly. 'Ten years ago he had sleeper groups of the best of his cloned warriors scattered around the Empire and New Republic, ready to form the nuclei of local resistance forces should Bastion and Coruscant fall. Men who loved their homes and their land and their worlds, and who would give their lives in their defense.'

'Yes,' Fel said. 'Once I understood—once I really understood—I had no choice but to join him.'

'As you will, too,' Parck said.

Mara shook her head. 'Sorry. I have other plans.'

'We'll see,' Parck said calmly. 'Perhaps Thrawn will be able to convince you himself when he returns.'

'And what if he doesn't return?' Mara asked. 'What if the rumors are just that: rumors?'

'Oh, he'll return,' Parck said. 'He said he would, and he always kept his promises. The only question is whether or not this particular rumor is actually him.'

He looked up at Fel. 'And under the circumstances, I suppose the only way we're going to find out for sure will be for me to finally make a trip to Bastion. If Thrawn has indeed set up a headquarters there, that should answer the question of which side he'll be working from.' Mara felt her hands tighten into fists. 'You don't know what you're saying,' she said. 'You can't just turn all of this over to the Empire. All these resources, bases, alliances—'

'They won't misuse them,' Parck said, his voice grim. 'We'll make sure of that. The task ahead of us is far too serious for anyone to waste time on anything as petty as politics or personal gain.'

'If you think that, you are out of touch,' Mara snapped. 'Try to remember back to Palpatine's court, and what the taste of power did to those people. Personal gain is all some of them ever think of.'

'It's a risk we'll have to take,' Parck said firmly. 'We'll be careful, certainly—we'll speak with Sorn when he gets back and sift through the data he collected from his pass through the Bastion system. But unless there's something that positively quashes the rumors of Thrawn's return, it's time to make that contact.'

Mara took a deep breath. 'I can't let you do that,' she said.

'You can't let us do it?' Fel asked pointedly.

'No,' Mara said. 'I can't. You give this to Bastion, and the first thing they'll do is turn it straight against Coruscant.'

'Don't worry,' Parck said. 'We won't give anything away until we're sure Thrawn is with them.'

'On the other hand, we may do well to worry about her, Admiral,' Fel pointed out, eyeing her thoughtfully. 'Someone as vehemently opposed as she is to our contacting Bastion could be trouble.'

'I suppose you're right,' Parck said reluctantly. He levered himself out of his chair, one of the Chiss stepping to his side and offering him a supporting arm as he stood up. 'I'm afraid, Mara, that you and Skywalker will have to be our guests for a while.'

'And if Thrawn is back, and I still don't want to join up?' Mara demanded. 'What then?' Parck's lips compressed briefly. 'I'm sure it won't come to that,' he assured her. But his eyes didn't quite meet hers as he spoke. 'We'll have it all sorted out within a few days. Certainly no more than a month at the most.'

Mara snorted. 'You aren't serious. You really think a couple dozen ysalamiri are going to hold Luke Skywalker and me that long?'

'She's right, Admiral,' Fel agreed. 'It's going to take more to keep the two of them quiet.' Parck studied Mara's face. 'What do you suggest?'

Fel gestured to one of the Chiss. 'Brosh, your charric. Set for level two.'

'Wait a second,' Mara said hastily, jumping to her feet as the Chiss drew his hand weapon. A brief flood of emotion surged through her— Stall, the urgent thought leaped into her mind—'Wait just a Hoth- frost second. I'm an unarmed prisoner.'

The other Chiss were drawing their weapons now, too. 'I know,' Fel said. He sounded genuinely regretful, for