Grand Moff Tarkin's home [Coruscant, Saturday evening]

Mara mingled through the crowd at Grand Moff Tarkin's personal residence in a dark green, form-fitting dress, lightsaber and blaster strapped securely out of sight and the Emperor's instructions still ringing in her ears. This was her final test to determine if she was worth of becoming his Hand and failure was not an option. She smiled at several generals, bowed to an admiral, and dodged neatly out of the way of a Senator's wandering hands as they got entirely too close to her ass. She could feel the Emperor's eyes on her from across the crowded ballroom, where he stood talking with Darth Vader.

As creative as her mind was, she couldn't imagine what the two of them used as party smalltalk.

( This got long. )

[OOC: Adapted from the comic Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand, NFB, NFI.]