Uninvited Guest (II)

Myrkr is truly a unique planet.

And the point is not so much that the local flora is distinguished by its ability to suppress any communication due to the characteristics of microelements circulating along tree trunks. Anyone close enough to the edge of the forest loses the ability to communicate with comrades over long distances. For example, on the surface, there's no hope of establishing communication with a ship in orbit, even something as advanced as an Imperial Star Destroyer. This is why Karrde cut down a significant part of the forest, placing his base there to enable communications. In his business, it's simply impossible to cope without it.

However, this planet interests me for completely different reasons.

Ysalamiri live here—lizard-like creatures that can literally grow their claws into trees and are generally extremely lazy. However, they have an excellent feature that helps them survive in a world where ferocious hunters—the Vornskrs—use the Force to track down game.

Ysalamiri form a bubble of space around themselves in which the Force "does not work." For ordinary sentient beings, such an effect poses no danger, but for Jedi or Sith, it prevents them from directly influencing anything near an Ysalamiri.

The more of these lizards there are, the larger the "bubble" of space free from the Force.

Why does the Grand Admiral, who is not sensitive to the Force, need such a zoo that requires several capacious ships to capture these animals? The answer lies on the planet Weyland.

But more on that later. The first priority now is to talk to Talon Karrde.

Imperial intelligence knows offensively little about him.

Human, male, smuggler, information trader. Where and how he does his business is unclear. The size of his organization is also unknown.

The Imperials are confident that Karrde occupies a neutral position in the conflict between the Empire and the New Republic, preferring not to interfere and not to choose sides.

And at the same time, this is not entirely true.

About one and a half to two years ago, when Rogue Squadron defeated Ysanne Isard, the director of Imperial Intelligence, in the Bacta War, and the New Republic gained control of the planet Thyferra, capturing several Imperial starships, including the Executor-class super star destroyer called Lusankya, Karrde, albeit not without his own benefit, contributed to resolving a minor crisis between the New Republic and smugglers who had captured a fully operational Star Destroyer.

But only those present at the deal know about this—Republican officers and the smugglers themselves.

A little history.

Ysanne Isard is a calculating, cunning, cruel woman loyal to the ideals of the Empire. Since Palpatine's death five and a half years ago, she held Coruscant under her rule with a small fleet. After the rebels took the planet, she fled to Thyferra on the Lusankya, taking several Star Destroyers with her.

Why Thyferra? Why did she like this planet?

It's simple. This world produces bacta, a substance that can heal any physical wound. Whoever controls bacta production controls the drug market. Isard might have succeeded, but history decreed otherwise.

She lost everything—the planet, the ships, and even her life. The New Republic believes she is dead. Unfortunately for them, this is not the case.

After Thrawn's death in the events known to me, Isard will try another multi-step plan to capture the Lusankya and present the ship to the Reborn Emperor Palpatine, but she will fail. The ship will remain with the New Republic until the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, where it will perish.

However, this background information is not very useful now. The New Republic went to great lengths to conceal the Lusankya's location while repairing the ship. And there's only one place and time when the Super Star Destroyer will be vulnerable. But for this to happen, Thrawn's campaign must fail, and the Grand Admiral himself must die.

Thrawn's death will allow Booster Terrik, a smuggler who currently owns an entire Star Destroyer with the New Republic's permission, to emerge from the shadows. This guy has stayed deeply hidden, fearing Thrawn was hunting for his ship, until the Chiss's death.

Again, this is just a guide at this point.

Talon Karrde, as a man and leader of a smuggling ring, interests me for completely different reasons.

This man has many secrets, but he is not ready to sell all of them.

And the secret I need most, for sure.

"Claw" is also dangerous because he has significant influence among smugglers. Therefore, if properly pressured, he can create a very serious organization from the traditionally independent dregs of society. Even if it only has armed freighters, it is still a fleet. Armed freighters helped the Republicans capture the Lusankya in a relatively combat-ready state.

The underworld cannot be discounted—they have significant resources and can tip the scales in one direction or another. If I don't want an alliance between the smugglers and the New Republic, I need to take things in a different direction.

For example, creating doubts and mistrust within Karrde's organization. Preferably by destroying it completely.

Killing or capturing Karrde will do no good—as soon as this happens, smugglers throughout the galaxy will want to drink Imperial blood. This could lead, as in the events known to me, to the destruction of the Imperial Star Destroyer being completed at the Bilbringi shipyards, which I can acquire. In modern realities, when it's a war of all against all, an extra ship will never hurt.

With these thoughts, I headed to the surface of Myrkr. If everything went as planned, Pellaeon had already hinted to Karrde about Mara Jade. This will make the Claw tense. Information he does not possess interests him as long as it doesn't harm his organization.

And the best way to deal with Karrde is to make him stop trusting Mara Jade.

The Emperor's Hand, left without a livelihood after the death of its master, wandered around the galaxy for five years. She crossed paths with Isard and many other Imperial figures, becoming disillusioned with the Empire without Palpatine. Thus, she joined Karrde's organization. She needs money and a place to stay. This is her nature—the nature of the personal agent of the once most powerful man in the galaxy.

There's no point in recruiting Mara Jade now, today.

It's enough to create doubts in her head, to make her believe that the Empire, as a single state, fair in practice and not just for show, can exist. Jade knows Thrawn and his capabilities well. She fears that his actions will destroy her little cozy world. She is right to be afraid.

The Empire does not waste its personnel. At least not the part I lead.

Therefore, I should at least try to recruit Mara Jade. If it works, great. She will be a valuable acquisition. If not, no worries.

There are still many undiscovered stars of the future New Jedi Order in this galaxy. I just have to work hard with them ideologically.