Let's ALL Read: The Thrawn Trilogy

[TheThan]

Given that Thrawn knows about ysalamiris' abilities, why didn't he supply the to the Noghri commando teams?

I know why, he needs them for another more important job. but that would be spoiling it.

[nyjastul69]

I know why, he needs them for another more important job. but that would be spoiling it.

But they can be used more than once. They could have taken more of them. It's simple, 'the plot required it'.

[mangosta71]

Given that Thrawn knows about ysalamiris' abilities, why didn't he supply the to the Noghri commando teams?

Something else that's bugging me on this read... why don't the ysalamiri screw with Joruus's battle meditation thing?

(The answer to both questions is "Plot.")

[hamishspence]

When does Joruus use his battle meditation on a character protected by ysalamiri?

[Gnoman]

The field of a Ysalarmi is explicitly limited, and rather small unless you chain them (already stated). Thrawn keeps one by his side to guard against betrayal while Joruus is outside the field but within earshot.

As for why they weren't issued to the Noghri, I can think of two reasons. One possibility is that Thrawn's plans require such a large number of them (and harvesting is inconvenient enough) that one Ysalarmi is worth a lot more to him than a few dozen Noghri, which he has an apparently large supply of and are expendable. The second possibility is that he doesn't want to risk Luke or Leia finding out about them (specifically, that Thrawn is using them) in the event that a kidnap attempt fails anyway. He clearly has plans for them, and doesn't want to risk exposing these plans yet. Besides, Noghri are expendable.

[mangosta71]

When does Joruus use his battle meditation on a character protected by ysalamiri?

I actually meant "How does he do it when he's inside a Force-null bubble himself (like he is any time he's on the bridge of the Chimaera)?", but now that you mention it during the three-part raid he uses it on the crew of the Chimaera, too.

[pendell]

Chapter 19.

Luke wakes up in Karrde's hidden base; he is surprised to see a tree growing right through the middle of it.

Mara Jade, who seemingly hates him with the burning intensity of a thousand suns -- as he detected through the Force last chapter -- escorts him to Karrde's office. She misses no chance to express her deep and abiding hatred of him , pondering whether to turn him over to the Imperials for the 30,000 bounty or just kill him themselves.

Ah, such PASSION. What a steamy fanfic I could write on the basis of all this passionate hate!

Luke notes in passing his lightsaber is now on her own belt. Does she have Jedi abilities also...?

Luke is ushered into Karrde's office. Karrde wastes no time explaining his predicament; as an independent operator, with business in both Republic and Imperial space, he survives in large measure by not attracting their hostile attention. He had originally planned to NOT hunt Skywalker for that reason. Than Mara dropped the Wild Karrde out of hyperspace practically on top of him, and he has limited options. On the one hand, the Empire is certain to find out he's had a run-in with Skywalker and , if he does not hand Skywalker over, will punish him as only the Empire can. But he estimates that the New Republic is more likely to win in the long run, and so he doesn't want to offend them either.

He seeks a compromise, where he can give the Imperials what they want but still let Luke go. Is it Luke himself he wants, or merely information?

Toward this end, he offers Luke a trade: If Luke tells why the Empire is hunting him, Karrde will tell him how Luke was captured and is still being held prisoner.

Luke agrees. He doesn't know precisely why he is being hunted, but there have been two kidnap attempts. This puzzles Karrde all the more. He assumed the Imperials were hunting Luke for his access to the highest levels of Republic government and any secret information he might know. But that does not appear to be the case.

Karrde explains about the Ysalamir and the planet they are on. It used to be a smuggler's hideout back when there were Jedi around. When the Jedi were exterminated in order 66, most smugglers left to be closer to their markets, Karrde never did.

At any rate, Karrde orders Luke returned to his cell as a 'guest' until he can figure out what to do with him or has more to talk about. Mara takes Luke back, never missing a chance to show her hatred of Luke.

Oh, and Karrde's pet vornskyrs don't like Luke at all. Why not...?


Chapter 20.

We meet up with Han and Lando. Han is getting an update from Coruscant , using a "code" made up on the spur of the moment.

We also learn that Admiral Ackbar is pressing warships into service as converted merchantmen. Part of this conversion is the removal of crew in favor of additional droids.

After the discussion, Lando and Han Solo discuss automated starships in the Star Wars universe. Lando advocates the use of slave circuits -- essentially an autopilot for the ship's computer, allowing it to fly and even fight with reasonable competence. While the modern Republic uses droids rather than slave circuits, they can be a real cost-saver.

Han scoffs at this, remarking on the fate of something called the Katana Fleet, evidently a fleet of ships which was equipped with slave circuits and suffered some kind of mishap.

Huh. Wonder if that'll be important later?



Their next stop is Abregado-Rae , whose spaceport reputation is almost as bad as Mos Eisley's as a wretched hive of scum and villainy. They are in search of a contact which will take them to Karrde. They want to talk to him about cargo ships and a slicer.

On their way into the normal seedy cantina and gambling establishment where such meetings usually occur, they note that there is police activity at docking bay 63 -- has their contact been busted?

They enter a casino called "Lobue" and, while Lando casually sips the most expensive drink on the menu, they spot an old smuggling acquaintance -- one Fynn Torve, sitting at a sabacc table. As they discuss this turn of events, Han deduces that the teams pursuing Leia must be after the twins. He assumes this on the basis that, although both attempts were obviously captures, stunning equipment was not used. Why not? He informs us that stunners carry a fifty percent chance of causing a miscarriage. Conclusion: The twins are wanted alive.

Han is the first person on the good-guy team to figure this out.

The local heat comes in, seemingly after our contact.

Han asks Lando to run interference, then buys some sabacc chips and heads over to Torve's table. His casual banter at the table strikes a nerve.

Han: [getting his cards] "That's more like it. Brings back memories, this does. I used to drop the heavy end of the hammer on the guys back home all the time.

Torve [catching the subtext]: "Did you, now. Well, you're playing with the big boys here, not the little people. You may not find the sort of rewards you're used to.

Han: "I'm not exactly an amateur myself. I've won ... oh, probably sixty-three games in the last month alone."

Torve: Lot of rewards in numbers like that. [looks around , catches sight of Lando]. You willing to put your money where your mouth is?

Han: I'll meet anything you've got.

Irritated bystander: This is all very interesting, I'm sure, but some of us would like to play cards!

Bolding mine. And so, with hints and subtle undertones Torve and Han reach an understanding through a plausible, deniable conversation which has no overt content that could be used in court against either of them. You have to already know what they're talking about to catch the hidden undercurrents. I suppose this is something real smugglers have to do as well.

Torve is able to make use of Han as a distraction. His smuggling contact, a "Reverend", ostensibly anti-gambling, slips a 'skifter', a con man's card which changes faces whenever a certain spot on the card is touched, into Han's hand while loudly denouncing him as a cheater. In the resulting commotion, Torve makes his getaway while the security team is fully engaged with investigating this allegation of cheating.

It takes awhile, but Han is cleared and is free to go. He returns to the Falcon to find Torve and Lando waiting for him. Torve is grateful. They discuss his smuggling job here -- food , evidently. There is a band of recalcitrant citizens in the hills who want to preserve their independence from the central government, so that same government has cut off their food and other supplies. Torve is thus running food to the hills, and the "Reverend" who just saved him is his smuggling contact.

Running food can't be the most lucrative gig in the world. Does Karrde have a conscience?

At any rate, Karrde asks some questions to which he already knows the answer. He wants to find out whether Han and Lando are going to level with him or cheat him. "People who lie about their history usually lie about the job, too."

Han and Lando pass his test, and they get down to business. Han pitches his ships offer to Torve, who finds it interesting enough to bring them to Karrde himself. They will travel in the Falcon with the navigation set by a coded, erasable module. They will have no idea how they got there. It's up to Karrde whether they will have to do the same thing on the way out.

And so our heroes set out towards the main base .. where Luke is being held prisoner.

Iiinteresting.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Cikomyr]

Question to everyone: How are you feeling about the pace? I could certainly go with three chapters per day instead of the 2 we had so far, if most of you would also prefer that.

2 chapters at a time is perfect. As you can see, we are rarely running out of things to discuss anyway, and 3 chapters might make us miss some juicy conversation s.

I will forever imagine the Bimms as Ferengi now...

[Cikomyr]

I actually meant "How does he do it when he's inside a Force-null bubble himself (like he is any time he's on the bridge of the Chimaera)?", but now that you mention it during the three-part raid he uses it on the crew of the Chimaera, too.

It is a huge plot point that the Chimaera is NOT inside an anti-force bubble. That there is just a handful of Ysalamari onboard.

[pendell]

It is a huge plot point that the Chimaera is NOT inside an anti-force bubble. That there is just a handful of Ysalamari onboard.

Not at all. As discussed earlier, Battle Meditation improves the Chimaera's efficiency by 40%. So the Chimaera must be open to the Force in order to realize that benefit. So there are only a few Ysalamir, to prevent C'baoth mind-controlling critical command and control.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[The Glyphstone]

The field of a Ysalarmi is explicitly limited, and rather small unless you chain them (already stated). Thrawn keeps one by his side to guard against betrayal while Joruus is outside the field but within earshot.

As for why they weren't issued to the Noghri, I can think of two reasons. One possibility is that Thrawn's plans require such a large number of them (and harvesting is inconvenient enough) that one Ysalarmi is worth a lot more to him than a few dozen Noghri, which he has an apparently large supply of and are expendable. The second possibility is that he doesn't want to risk Luke or Leia finding out about them (specifically, that Thrawn is using them) in the event that a kidnap attempt fails anyway. He clearly has plans for them, and doesn't want to risk exposing these plans yet. Besides, Noghri are expendable.

Also, I definitely get the impression that a Ysalamiri carrier frame (the portable ones) are very big and bulky things. Carrying one around on your back, particularly for a short creature like a Noghri, is pretty much the exact opposite of quick+stealthy.

[TheThan]

One interesting thing is that Mara shows a considerable amount of restraint for someone who wants so desperately to kill Luke skywalker. She’s had at least three opportunities to try to take his life and has not. We know that she’s loyal to Karrde, but how loyal? Does she hate Skywalker so much as to throw away everything she’s accomplished inside Karrde’s organization and start fresh? I have no doubt that Karrde would indeed fire her for killing Luke; despite that solving a lot of his problems. Karrde would be disappointed in her behavior.

I also love the covert scene with Han and Lando. The coded talk is entertaining and well done. We know what they’re talking about as readers, but the other characters don’t and clearly have no patience for small talk.

[Yora]

Spoiler

Show

I think she doesn't really care much for that. From what I remember, being a smuggler is not a job she likes, but a way to get contacts in the underworld that will eventually allow her to get Luke. Once that is done, she doesn't need Karrde anymore. But I think we're getting a lot more information on that subject in the next few days.

Also, I definitely get the impression that a Ysalamiri carrier frame (the portable ones) are very big and bulky things. Carrying one around on your back, particularly for a short creature like a Noghri, is pretty much the exact opposite of quick+stealthy.

That might indeed be a relevant element too.

Also, so far it hasn't become apparent that the first two attempts failed because of the Force. The first time the noghri just walked up on Luke and he tried to talk them down, and when he was cornered and had to fight, the actual fighting took only a few seconds, during which the entire team was killed. The other team got defeated by Han calling Chewbacca for help. The second time Han and Leia just didn't take the bait, but neither the noghri nor Thrawn know that it was because Leia felt that Chewbacca was not on the fake ship. And if there was indeed a team on Kashyyyk and it wasn't just a vision of the future, then they screwed up because one of them allowed himself to be spotted by Leia.
Luke killed one team with his lightsabre when the noghri tried to politely gave him a wink to come with them without causing trouble. So far, Luke and Leia having the Force was not really the reason why the captures have failed. And I think Luke really is just the consolation prize, Leia and the kids are the really valuable targets.

Another one is that Thrawn also doesn't really want to give Luke and Leia to C'Baoth right now. Because that man is so impatient, Thrawn has to make it look like he is doing everything he can, but it's actually in his favor if the capture gets delayed.
Now C'Baoth could demand that the next time the noghri get two ysalamiri with them, but I don't think he's the type of person who would even think of such a plan. A Jedi capturing Jedi by negating the Force powers of his captives? To him, that would probably be the ultimate sign of weakness. Not that he ever had a lot of trust in the noghri succeeding to begin with.

[TheThan]

Now C'Baoth could demand that the next time the noghri get two ysalamiri with them, but I don't think he's the type of person who would even think of such a plan. A Jedi capturing Jedi by negating the Force powers of his captives? To him, that would probably be the ultimate sign of weakness. Not that he ever had a lot of trust in the noghri succeeding to begin with.

C'baoth is also incredibly arrogant (not to mention insane to boot), he thinks just because he has the force no-one else can even be remotely competent at their jobs. of course the Noghri failed, they're not Jedi. clearly a Jedi can only be captured by another Jedi. if they were remotely competent they would know this but they can't be because they're not Jedi.

[Yora]

Both Thrawn and C'Baoth think they are in charge. Right now C'Baoth is willing to allow Thrawn trying things his way and obviously failing at that, and Thrawn is okay with making a half-hearted attempt to capture Luke and Leia to give C'Baoth the illusion that his demands are taken seriously.

[Cikomyr]

Not at all. As discussed earlier, Battle Meditation improves the Chimaera's efficiency by 40%. So the Chimaera must be open to the Force in order to realize that benefit. So there are only a few Ysalamir, to prevent C'baoth mind-controlling critical command and control.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

I am telling you that the Chimaera not.being in a Forceless Bubble is a.massive plot point.

But not one until way later.

[Gnoman]

The small size of a Ysalarmi's anti-Force bubble has already been established and repeated, including in the current chapters, and there's been no suggestion at all that there's more than one on the entire ship.

[Cikomyr]

The small size of a Ysalarmi's anti-Force bubble has already been established and repeated, including in the current chapters, and there's been no suggestion at all that there's more than one on the entire ship.

Exactly!!!

[Yora]

Chapter 21 and 22.

I have the certain impression that we are now done with all the exposition and setting up the plot, and now we are actually spending some time with the characters. The previous parts were all a bit rushed with a lot of things being explained and happening quite quickly. In these two chapters, not a lot has actually happened and instead we are starting to get into depth. Though now that I think of it, Han and Lando meeting Karrdes guy also took some real time to set the scene and have the characters thinking rather than getting to the important plot information quickly.

Karrdes situation is getting rather weird indeed. He has a secret prisoner, and the two people who want him both come visting at the same time while being unaware that Luke was even captured.

So far, and from what I had remembered, I had imagined Karrdes base as rather small. But if they are parking two bulk freighters plus a corvette there, it must be quite the big facility.

[pendell]

Hmmm ... can I take a shot at these chapters also?

Chapter 21

Karrde receives word that Han and Lando are inbound, so he gives instructions that Luke be moved to a storage area. Of course, such a hasty move may provide some way to escape.

Let the games begin.

Mara hustles Luke into a storage room at blaster point.

The shed is an out-of-the-way two room structure.

Artoo is in the room on the right, with a restraining collar attached. He can communicate but cannot move or act.

The room on the left is the only room with a lock, normally used for sensitive or dangerous equipment.

The door is a powered door, despite its lock, and may be opened if electricity is connected.

The room is windowless and empty save for shipping boxes which take up half the floor space.

Mara seem nothing which would enable an escape in the boxes.

She locks him in. Having done so, she next opens the lock plate with her blaster and melts the wires leading to the power supply; it is now impossible to open the door without going all the way back to the wall conduit. Skywalker can't get to that.

Now that she's gone, Skywalker can attempt to use this opportunity to escape. The battle of wits has begun.

Assets : He has nothing save his clothes and his body. His force powers are gone, thanks to the planetful of Ysalamiri.

But he does still have his wits .

And perhaps something else.

Step 1: Examine the boxes.
Result: Most of the boxes are sealed. Those which aren't contain clothing and spare equipment modules. Useless.

Step 2: Break off a bit of the metal door plate, already damage by Mara's blaster fire, and create an impromptu screwdriver. Use the screwdriver to open the wall socket and extract the power cord, in the hopes of powering up the door.

He finds he is a few centimeters short.

He also find that Jade thought of this one, too; the power to the wall outlet is cut. So whether he could have made it or not is irrelevant.

Step 3: Luke suddenly realizes he has a power source very close in hand. In fact, literally IN his hand. His artificial right hand has a power supply in it.

With artoo's instructions he removes one of the supplies from his hand, thus connecting to the door and opening it.

Zahn comments that this is the way a battle of wits should be; resolved not by outright stupidity but simply because one party legitimately had one less fact at her disposal than she needed.

This is why, by the way, super-geniuses like Thrawn or Holmes rarely work in real life. Outside of a book , life is rarely neat, orderly, with only a few possible inferences and conclusions. There are always more facts than we have, so the best we can hope for is a rough surmise, rarely a definitive conclusion outside the scope of well-defined logic problems.

Chapter 22 OR Guess who's coming to dinner?

Han , Lando and Karrde sit down to dinner. Mmm.. sounds tasty ... I wonder what they're eating?

At any rate, Han uses this opportunity to pitch his need for ships to Karrde. Karrde gently refuses; he does business in Empire territory, and he doesn't need the heat such a move would generate.

Han mentions his need of a slicer; We are introduced to Ghent; a quite, shy young man who is among the best in the business. Possibly the best.

As they are getting acquainted, a third guest arrives; no less a personage than Grand Admiral Thrawn himself, aboard the Chimaera. He speaks personally to Karrde over the comm. He is coming down to speak in person.

What about? First, he's in the market for capital starships, and he wants to put the word out for that.

Second, he wants more Ysalamiri. Probing, Karrde observes that he seems to be running through them quickly. Thrawn says he simply needs more of them; none have died.

Third, he wants to put pressure on Karrde to help hunt down Skywalker. Again.

Karrde is a bit taken aback but makes a new plan. Hide Han Solo and Lando. Keep them away from Luke. Keep all three parties ignorant of each other.

Why is this seeming less and less like an SF story and more like a high school drama? The one where the protaganist simultaneously invites three different girls to the same prom, and juggles frantically to keep them all entertained and apart? :)

Mara admits she didn't call the Imperials.

Hint 1: Mara seems to have a sense of loyalty and duty greater than her sense of vengeance.

Karrde explains that Han and Lando are guests and will be protected for that reason. As for Skywalker, he will also be hidden regardless of whether they eventually decide to turn him over to the Imperials or not. Because with a Star Destroyer overhead is NOT the time to enter negotiations. Lando had been in a deal with the Empire once; it hadn't ended well.

And that's why it's a good idea not to play the "I'm altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further" game. It is a short-term win but the aftereffects really can be remembered for decades, in the GFFA and the real world.

So Han, Lando, and Ghent are hustled away along with the remains of the dinner while Karrde hurries to meet his new guest.

Mara goes to collect Luke but it is too late; Luke has already escaped and is in the process of commandering a Skipray Blastboat for his escape. Mara realizes what happens, and grabs its mate to pursue him. The two of them rocket out of the base at maximum speed, right under the nose of three Lambda-class Imperial shuttles and a squadron of escorting TIE fighters.


Awkward.


TO BE CONTINUED ....

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Gnoman]

The thing that bugs me about these chapters is that Han's still looking for a slicer, and I don't understand why. The whole reason he wanted one was to tap into the diplomatic channel secretly while he and Leia were in hiding, but he's already decided to pick her up and take her back home, because the Fey'la problem's gotten too bad for her to sit it out. It's not as if he needs an excuse to find Karrde, since his "looking for freighters" mission is quite valuable enough.

[Yora]

But those kidnappers are still out there and the palace is still dangerous. Once the current crisis is dealt with, it might be neccessary to disappear again.

[Cikomyr]

The thing that bugs me about these chapters is that Han's still looking for a slicer, and I don't understand why. The whole reason he wanted one was to tap into the diplomatic channel secretly while he and Leia were in hiding, but he's already decided to pick her up and take her back home, because the Fey'la problem's gotten too bad for her to sit it out. It's not as if he needs an excuse to find Karrde, since his "looking for freighters" mission is quite valuable enough.

Well, the security leak on Coruscant is an ongoing concern, and the slicer is relevant in identifying it.

[TheThan]

Chaper 23:

We open chapter 23 with Luke at the helm of the skipray blastboat. He sees Thrawn’s ships coming down and assumes that Karrde had come to his decision and that the imperials are there for him. Not a bad assumption given the circumstances.

He’s also certain the skipray that’s chasing him is Mara Jade. Not a bad bit of intuition. In an attempt to elude Mara, Luke attempts a maneuver called a “drop kick koiogram Turn”. The book doesn’t explain precisely what this maneuver does other than get a pursuer off your tail.
However Luke is unfamiliar with the craft and his attempt causes him to clip the trees and he goes down, Mara’s ship being very close, is caught in the slipstream and crashes as well. so they both go down in the middle of the hostle Myrrk forest.

Meanwhile back at Karrde’s base, Karrde gets to match wits with Thrawn face to face as he tries to come up with a plausible excuse for the sudden rabbiting of two of his ships while under the nose of a star destroyer. Thrawn sends part of his personal escort, storm troopers, to investigate the crash site,

Han, Lando and Ghent are safely tucked away in the falcon, or so Karrde thinks. In fact, the three have crept to the edge of the clearing and are watching Karrde and Thrawn’s exchange. This is where they learn through Ghent (who can’t seem to shut up while under stress) spills the beans about the grand admiral. Suddenly it all becomes clear as to why the new republic is getting beaten militarily; although they don't learn Thrawn’s name. Han and Lando also learn from Ghent that Thrawn is after the Ysalamiri, although nobody knows what they do and that he has a prisoner locked up in the storage shed.

Back at the crash site; Luke is getting back on his feet, remarkably unhurt despite the high speed crash. Artoo has lost his data port connector, it snapped off in the crash, but is otherwise undamaged. Luke gets the both of them out of the crashed ship and decides to go for Mara. Despite her hatred for him, he is still going to do the right thing. She seems injured but it’s a ruse to get him under the point of her blaster again. They grab a survival pack and run into the forest and hide; in time to evade the storm troopers Thrawn sent. We learn that Mara actually is injured with a sprained ankle; although she doesn’t show it. We get more clues to Mara’s past as she is familiar with imperial procedures under all sorts of situations; such as stormtroopers checking out a crash site and that she knows how to use a lightsaber, this really surprises Luke.

Mara decides to take them to the city located on the other side of the forest, sans Artoo. Luke argues that they need him and even comes up with a way to get an encrypted message back to karrde by relaying it through Artoo to luke’s X-wing. This seems to convince her to drag him along, although she puts him to work doing it; knowing it'll slow them down.

Chapter 24:

Thrawn has left Karrde’s compound and Han and Lando are able to finish their discussion with Karrde. They learn that he is in the business of information and a lot of the questionable actions he takes are for the purpose of gathering information. Lando and Han decides to investigate the shed where they stashed Luke. It doesn’t take them long but they piece together that it was Luke Karrde had locked up. Karrde confronts them and they learn that Karrde doesn’t deal in slaves or kidnappings. This matches what we’ve already seen of his operation; smuggling food and medicine to people who need it. Clearly Karrde has a heart. He convinces Lando and Han that he’s not working with the imperials because he didn’t turn them or Luke over to them while they were at his base.

Back on the Chimera, Thrawn decides that Karrde is up to something and dispatches a squad of storm troopers (which are in short supply apparently) to the surface and a few other solders as well. he suspects that Luke skywalker is down there but has no real proof. He’s playing a hunch. Also we learn that Thrawn has had a chance to view the sort of art Karrde collects; thus giving him insight into his psyche. Will this come into play later? *duhn duhn dunnnn*

We also learn that Thrawn has his eyes set on the Sullust Van Ship yards. we know he's lured ships away from the ship yards in preparation for this attack, but what could that attack entail? I'm sure we'll find out.

Luke, Mara and Artoo spend the rest of the day preparing to move out, they've sent a signal to Karrde and are bedding down for the night. We learn even more about Mara, that she has had training, her specific skill set is not talent combined with skills acquired along the way. She’s also wracked with internal turmoil, her need to kill Skywalker vs her loyalty to Karrde and her knowledge of what happens should he be taken by the imperials. she keeps telling herself that she's not loyal to Karrde and that he doesn't owe her anything, but at the same time, she can't bring herself to just murder Luke right there. she keeps coming up with excuses herself or letting others talk her into not doing it.

She shoots a Vornskr that was creeping up on Luke, it appears that Sturm and Drang have been neutered in a sense, their whip tails have been removed to make them more docile and less likely to injure others as they move about. They’re still pretty awesome though.

Lastly we see Karrde staring out at the night. He knows he has to pull up operations and leave, but part of him doesn’t want to. Myrrk has become home to him and it sucks abandoning it. But he does what he must to stay one step ahead of the Empire.

[pendell]

Chapter 23: I Hate You So Much

Luke is fleeing from the base in his commandeered fighter as quickly as he can, hotly pursued by Mara.

He attempts what modern piloting would call an Immelman turn

Skill: Pilot
[ roll 1d20 ] = 1

Ooops.

And smashes his craft into the forest.

Mara is following a little too closely, ALSO hits the critical fumble, and her craft augers in right behind him.

Perhaps Luke has gotten a little bit lazy ; relying too heavily on the Force , such that his unassisted piloting has suffered.

Meanwhile , The three Lambda shuttles touch down on Karrde's landing pad as Tie Fighters roar overhead in a perfect formation. Karrde expects Thrawn to come out of the center shuttle, so is entirely surprised when he emerges from the rightmost shuttle instead.

Thrawn isn't most Imperial officers; he understands the value of subtlety and deception.

Thrawn enquires about the little air show he and his pilots witnessed on their way in . Thinking fast, Karrde explains that an employee had stolen something and fled; the second ship was in pursuit. It is even mostly true; a prisoner and a droid were stolen; the only thing false in this story is that the thief was no employee, but the most wanted man in the Empire.

Thrawn is not especially convinced by his story, and sends his own troops to investigate the crash site. Karrde protests, but when Thrawn insists he is in no position to refuse.

This is the problem with neutrality, as Therkla discovered; the more powerful and determined the opposing sides are, the hard and harder it is to strike a balance between them .

For Karrde, the balance beam has shrunk to a wire.

His life is only getting more difficult.

Han and Lando, never the most well-behaved guests at the best of times, have worked together to get line-of-sight into the events on the pad, despite Ghent's best efforts. Ghent's babble also reveals useful facts.

1) There is an Imperial Grand Admiral present, probably leading the Imperial forces. This was not something anyone in the New Republic was yet aware of.

2) There is a Noghri present [though they don't know the name yet]. Han recognizes it as one of the sames species as the one which kidnapped Leia.

...

Seems kind of speciesist is to me. Why assume that all members of a species are all commandoes in service of the Empire? That's like assuming all humans are stormtroopers.

Regardless, Han and Lando now have confirmation of their suspicions that the kidnap attempt is Imperial in nature. Is Karrde assisting them?

3) Ghent lets slip that a prisoner was, until recently, being held in the storage sheds, and it is probably that prisoner that just stole a Skipray.

They determine to do a records search on Grand Admirals back on Coruscant. In the meantime, they are going to gather as much intelligence as they can, then get out.


MEANWHILE...

Luke wakes up from unconsciousness. Seeing both ships wrecked, he goes to check on the other fighter to encounter a seemingly senseless Mara Jade. As he leans in to have a closer work, she wakes up and sticks a blaster in her face. She was deliberately shamming to sucker him in.

We now spend several minutes as Timothy Zahn attempts to find a convincing rationalization for Mara Jade not to kill Luke Skywalker out of hand.

This cheerful reunion is interrupted by the Imperial search party dispatched by Thrawn. Mara hides Luke and herself from the troops, who soon depart. Why?

Mara explains that she did not want to return with the rescue party because she didn't know what story Karrde was telling them, and she wanted to get the story straight before waltzing in.

Why is Luke still alive? Luke is able to talk her into sparing both her and R2, offering his and R2's help both with sensors to detect the local wildlife, which is very dangerous, and to arrange an R2-encrypted transmission to his X-wing, which Karrde should be able to read using the X-wing's computer.

That all seems very reasonable , but Mara could have killed them both at the start before listening to them talk. Why not? Is there some something hidden going on here...?

If she really wanted him dead, she should have shot him as soon as he poked his head into her cockpit.

Strange.

They agree to travel together to Hyllyard city, the nearest town. Luke suggests a travois to carry Artoo, so with a certain degree of skill Mara uses Luke's lightsaber to cut branches from trees and orders Luke to construct the stretcher.

So she can use a light saber. Interesting.

3) We also learn why Mara hates Luke: She tells him "You destroyed my life."

You look plenty alive to me....


Chapter 24

Karrde comes to speak to a suspicious Han and Lando. Karrde explains that the Imperials are here for Ysalamiri, which he is assisting them with in exchange for the opportunity to observe their operations. Seemingly accepting this, Han and Lando excuse themselves to look at the Falcon ...

Except they don't go to the Falcon. They are much more interested in the storeroom that may contain prisoners.

They enter the two-room assembly and find:
1) A droid restraining collar.
2) A tri-wheel track such as that made by an R2 unit.
3) A miniature power supply jury-rigged to the door controls. Examination reveals that this is a power supply used in biomedical implants -- such as artificial hands.

Putting these pieces together, they conclude Skywalker was held prisoner here and draw blaster on Karrde when he walks in on them.

Caught in his deception, Karrde admits that, yes, Skywalker had been held prisoner here. He was the one who stole the Skipray.

Han accuses him of slaving and kidnapping. We know from the last three chapters [though I didn't mention it in the summary] that Han HATES slavers with a passion. Karrde appears to have only seconds to live...

He denies the claim, truthfully admitting that Skywalker had pretty much dropped into his lap.

He also points out that he neither turned Skywalker over to the Empire nor did he turn over Han and Lando. This assuages their anger somewhat, at least to the point of not killing him on the spot. They ask to see Luke's X-wing. Karrde agrees, but only in the morning. The planet is really dangerous at night.

MEANWHILE ... Star Destroyer Chimaera.

Pelleon finds Thrawn in his art gallery considering the works of Sluis Van. He deduces from their art that they have a cycle of activity, and in the next few days they will be as lethargic as possible. It is at this time he will attack them, and brook no delay for any reason.

So he orders Pelleon to send a detachment to Hyllyard City. The reason Pelleon is in this room at all is to report on the findings of the search team -- they found the approximate landing site, but could not pinpoint it exactly. The forest is doing terrible things to their sensors. Also, they detected the R2-encrypted message but cannot decode it. Nor does it match normal Rebel encryption.

Hearing this, Thrawn leaves 30 storm troopers, half a bike scouting unit, and 2 Chariot Assault Vehicles at Hyllyard city. It is the only reasonable destination with the survival supplies aboard the Skiprays.

Pelleon is curious as to why.

Thrawn explains his reasoning:

1) The pursuing Skipray did not radio base nor was it contacted by Karrde. Thus, this was a mission conducted entirely in comm silence.

Something the Imperials were not to know about.

And , therefore, not the pursuit of a common thief. There would be no reason to hide that from the Empire.

2) During the earlier conversation in which Thrawn had strongly pressed Karrde to join the hunt for Skywalker, Karrde had acted as if he had assumed the hunt was over -- why would he do that?

3) Karrde had refused to join the hunt for Skywalker. Why?

From these three bits of evidence, Thrawn speculates -- not proves beyond doubt, but at least speculates -- that it is possible the escaping prisoner is none other than Skywalker himself. He is not so certain of this as to bring in Karrde for interrogation, but certain enough to gamble a landing force on that assumption. Their orders are to capture Skywalker if that is , indeed, who emerges from the forest .. and eliminate Karrde if this should prove to be the case.

MEANWHILE..

Our romantic couple is trudging through the forest. We learn that Mara, being a good girl scout, was prepared for this contingency. She has taken the time to scout out the forest, hunt the more dangerous predators, and keeps her finger on the pulse of the local settlers and politics. "Know the territory" was a primary lesson drilled into her in her former life.

... What WAS that former life? ... It is one that involved survival training, training in lightsaber tactics, and a life which was completely destroyed by Luke. How?

Mara considers to herself her own reasons for doing what she's doing; both keeping Skywalker alive and coming back to aid him. The reason is clear in her mind. If neither she nor Skywalker emerge from the forest, Karrde will be taken by the Empire, interrogated, executed.

Mara would not see this happen. She knows that Karrde would risk everything to save her and will not abandon her on this planet. She returns loyalty for loyalty.

NOTE: Mara Jade is loyal to her friends.


R2 earns his keep by detecting a wild Vornskyr, which Mara shoots down. Good reflexes and aim.

Meanwhile, Skywalker is earning her respect -- he has conducted himself well on this little camping trip, far better than someone with Force Powers and a high military rank and a presumably pampered life could be expected to .

She doesn't know the former farm boy very well at all.

She is determined to find out more about him before she kills him. And she is determined that no one -- not vornskyrs, not Imperials -- will take that away from her. Only I Can Kill Him .

Karrde meets with his subordinate, Aves, on the quiet. His life is coming down around his eyes. He orders Aves to get together a team to rescue Luke from the city -- like it or not, Luke is a guest. Karrde has a sense of honor.

Aves is happy with this assignment. Many of the smugglers feel they owe Luke big time -- literally, as they had previously been in debt to Jabba the Hut, who presumably did the normal loan shark practice of exhorbitant interest followed by leg-breaking or worse for non-payment. The death of Jabba on his sail barge made life a lot easier for many , many people on the other side of the law.

Karrde isn't entirely pleased with this... because his orders are to rescue Luke. But in the event rescue is infeasible, Luke is to be eliminated. He knows too much.

DARK SIDE POINTS: Karrde.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[nyjastul69]

I fell behind in my reading this weekend. I had a coupla parties to attend. I'm caught up now.

I must say that I find the dialogues very well written. I especially like the exchanges between Karrde and Han. They are more similar than either one might like, or admit.

In regards to the reading rate, I'm fine with 2 chapters per day. I think it probably helps focus the daily discussions. More might be a bit too cumbersome. I was going to suggest more chapters per day because 2 seemed kinda slow, the first several chapters are short. Now that we've almost finished the first book, I'm glad I didn't suggest it. Moving to 3 per day would work, but I think 2,works better, especially with the chapters lengthening a bit.

I'll also add that the synopses are so well done I don't feel that I even need to read the book. ;) Well, sorta, anyway.

[TheThan]

Personally I think the Skipray blastboats aren’t true fighters like the rebellion’s X-wings or the empire’s tie fighters.

I feel they fit a different role, that of gunship.
They’re heavier armed and require a larger crew than a fighter, but are not full capital ships either. so they're something in between a capital ship and a starfighter, so gunship.

Edit
The thing even reminds me of a hind or an Apache

[pendell]

A gunship is a fair assessment, I think. I agree that it is an attack ship designed for merchants or warships rather than a superiority fighter. It might be able to outmaneuver a star destroyer but not much else. In a dogfight against ties or xwings it is lunch.

Still the speed and armor means its just perfect for a torpedo run, provided it has an escort of , say, z-95s to keep ties away. Also ideal for customs and patrol against merchant craft. But with no crew or cargo space it wouldn't make a pirate; I suspect Karrde uses them for security.

All in all, a heavier, faster, better armed but more expensive Y-wing, I think.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[nyjastul69]

A gunship is a fair assessment, I think. I agree that it is an attack ship designed for merchants or warships rather than a superiority fighter. It might be able to outmaneuver a star destroyer but not much else. In a dogfight against ties or xwings it is lunch.

Still the speed and armor means its just perfect for a torpedo run, provided it has an escort of , say, z-95s to keep ties away. Also ideal for customs and patrol against merchant craft. But with no crew or cargo space it wouldn't make a pirate; I suspect Karrde uses them for security.

All in all, a heavier, faster, better armed but more expensive Y-wing, I think.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

OK. You seem pretty knowlegeable. What are the differences between an X/Y/B- wing fighters, or are some of them not fighters at all?

[Jon D]

X is a generic fighter, B is a superiority fighter, Y is a bomber and the A is an interceptor.

The X should be the superiority fighter while the B replaces the Y as a fighter/bomber, but that never happen.