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frowned.
    Karrde glanced at him. “That’s right—you’ve probably been out of touch for a while. Two days ago the Imperials launched a multiple attack on targets in the Abrion and Dufilvian sectors. They severely damaged the military base at Ord Pardron and captured the Ukio system.”
    Luke felt a hollow sensation in his stomach. Ukio was one of the top five producers of foodstuffs in the entire NewRepublic. The repercussions for Abrion sector alone— “How badly was Ukio damaged?”
    “Apparently not at all,” Karrde said. “My sources tell me it was taken with its shields and ground/space weaponry intact.”
    The hollow feeling got a little bigger. “I thought that was impossible to do.”
    “A knack for doing the impossible was one of the things Grand Admirals were selected for,” Karrde said dryly. “Details of the attack are still sketchy; it’ll be interesting to see how he pulled it off.”
    So Thrawn had the
Katana
Dreadnaughts; and he had clones to man them with; and now he had the ability to provide food for those clones. “This isn’t just the setup to another series of raids,” Luke said slowly. “The Empire’s getting ready to launch a major offensive.”
    “It does begin to look that way,” Karrde agreed. “Offhand, I’d say you have your work cut out for you.”
    Luke studied him. Karrde’s voice and face were as calm as ever, but the sense behind them wasn’t nearly so certain anymore. “And none of this changes your mind?” he prompted the other.
    “I’m not joining the NewRepublic, Skywalker,” Karrde said, shaking his head. “For many reasons. Not the least being that I don’t entirely trust certain elements in your government.”
    “I think Fey’lya’s been pretty well discredited—”
    “I wasn’t referring only to Fey’lya,” Karrde cut him off. “You know as well as I do how fond the Mon Calamari have always been of smugglers. Now that Admiral Ackbar’s been reinstated to his Council and Supreme Commander positions, all of us in the trade are going to have to start watching over our shoulders again.”
    “Oh, come on,” Luke snorted. “You don’t think Ackbar’s going to have time to worry about smugglers, do you?”
    Karrde smiled wryly. “Not really. But I’m not willing to risk my life on it, either.”
    Stalemate. “All right, then,” Luke said. “Let’s put it on a strictly business level. We need to know the Empire’s movements and intentions, which is something you probably keep track of anyway. Can we buy that information from you?”
    Karrde considered. “That might be possible,” he said cautiously. “But only if I have the final say on what I pass on to you. I won’t have you turning my group into an unofficial arm of New Republic Intelligence.”
    “Agreed,” Luke said. It was less than he might have hoped for, but it was better than nothing. “I’ll set up a credit line for you as soon as I get back.”
    “Perhaps we should start with a straight information trade,” Karrde said, looking around at the crystalline buildings. “Tell me what started your people looking at Calius.”
    “I’ll do better than that,” Luke said. The distant touch on his mind was faint but unmistakable. “How about if I confirm the clones are here?”
    “Where?” Karrde asked sharply.
    “Somewhere that way,” Luke said, pointing ahead and slightly to the right. “Half a kilometer away, maybe—it’s hard to tell.”
    “Inside one of the Towers,” Karrde decided. “Nice and secure and well hidden from prying eyes. I wonder if there’s any way to get inside for a look.”
    “Wait a minute—they’re moving,” Luke said, frowning as he tried to hang on to the contact. “Heading… almost toward us, but not quite.”
    “Probably being taken to the landing field,” Karrde said. He glanced around, pointed to their right. “They’ll probably use Mavrille Street—two blocks that direction.”
    Balancing speed with the need to remain