"Beautiful," the man said, nodding towards the panoramic window behind the Admiral's desk, beyond which the asteroids of the Semiramis Cluster hurtled and spun through the void, bathed in the pale cyan light of the distant sun.  

The admiral snorted and waved a beringed hand, "Rocks."

He stood by the drinks cart and poured himself and his guest glasses of Corellian brandy. He didn't bother with ice, just filled both cups nearly to the brim. His guest, somewhat to the admiral's surprise, accepted the drink with a small smile.

"To your good health," he said, raising his glass and taking a sip. 

The admiral sat down behind his desk and took a long drink, running his hand through unkempt and graying hair. His guest sat.

"Only reason I haven't had you shot for what you've done is, serious people tell me you're a serious man," said the admiral, leaning back in his chair and hoisting black-booted feet onto his desk, careless of the dataslates sprawled across it. One snapped beneath his heel, "One I might want to think twice about crossing. I have to take their word for it, being not entirely serious myself anymore, in these inglorious times."

The other man gave a small, noncommittal shrug and took another sip of his brandy.

"You had to bring that Jedi garbage to sell here? What was wrong with Hutt Space?" asked the admiral.

"I was under the impression you were happy with our arrangement."

"Mining and selling those ludicrous crystals was our arrangement, not laundering the Emperor's most prized possessions!" snapped the Admiral, "The End is impossible for Imperial timeservers and our beloved local Moff to find, not so hard for that freak..."

"Vader."

"Yes, him," said the admiral with a shudder.

"You are running a rebel base," said the other man, lightly, "One you know as well as I they will track down sooner or later, once they net their bigger fish. You and I also know you have planned for that contingency. I haven't shortened the life span of your beloved home."

The admiral snorted, "Well I doubt they'll come in guns blazing, for the moment. More likely we'll be flooded with their spies and Jedi sniffers."

"Exactly," said the other man, and smiled.