“Really? Brains do things like that?”
“All the time,” Thalias said. “Yours took the soothement bubbles, added in your fears of getting lost, sprinkled on some of the feeling you get on the bridge that none of the grown-ups are paying any attention to you, then baked all of it inside a dream. Pop it from the oven, and there’s your nightmare.”
“Oh.” Che’ri pondered that a moment. “Doesn’t sound so scary that way.”
“Nope,” Thalias agreed. “Almost silly, in fact, once the lights are back on. Doesn’t mean it’s not terrifying when you’re in the middle of it, but it helps make it better when you can figure out the pieces afterward. It’s just your brain and your fears messing with you.”
“Okay.” Che’ri hugged the pillow a little tighter. “Thalias…did you ever get lost?”
Thalias hesitated. How should she answer that? “Not when I was your age,” she said. “I’ll bet you never got lost, either.”
“But you got lost later?”
“I sort of got lost once or twice,” Thalias admitted. “But that was when they already knew my Third Sight was fading, and they were running me through tests inside the Ascendancy. They do that on purpose, because they know that if the sky-walker loses the track it won’t be dangerous to the ship.”
“And then you were done,” Che’ri murmured.
“And I thought my life was over.” Thalias smiled. “But as you see, it wasn’t. Yours won’t be, either.”
“But if I get us lost…?”
“You won’t,” Thalias said firmly.
“What if I do?”
“You won’t,” Thalias said. “Trust me. And trust yourself.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“You have to,” Thalias said. “Uncertainty can be the most difficult and frightening of mental states. If you’re always wondering which way to go, you might freeze up and not go anywhere. If you’re afraid you can’t do something, you might not even try.”
Che’ri shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Well, you don’t have to know anything tonight,” Thalias said. “All you have to do is lie down and try to get back to sleep. You sure I can’t get you something to eat?”
“No, that’s okay,” Che’ri said. She looked down at the pillow in her arms, then shifted it around behind her. “Maybe I’ll draw for a while,” she added, settling herself against the pillow and snagging her questis from the bedside table.
“Sounds good,” Thalias said. “Do you want me to sit with you?”
“No, that’s okay,” Che’ri said. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Thalias said, standing up and backing toward the hatchway. “I’ll leave the door open. If you need anything, just call, okay? And try to sleep.”
“I will,” Che’ri said. “Good night, Thalias.”
“Good night, Che’ri.”
Thalias waited another hour, just in case Che’ri changed her mind and decided she needed something. By the time she finally turned off her light and settled into bed, Che’ri’s own room light was out, and the girl was once again fast asleep.
And of course, because Thalias had talked about them, her own sky-walker nightmares chose that night to come back.
* * *
—
“This just came in, Admiral,” Wutroow said, handing over her questis. “Not entirely sure what it means.”
Ar’alani ran her eyes over the message: Rendezvous with me at the following coordinates as soon as possible. Bring only the Vigilant. Do not hire a navigator.
“I checked the coordinates,” Wutroow continued. “It’s pretty far out. Without a navigator it’ll take four or five days to get there.”
“Not exactly Thrawn’s usual definition of as soon as possible,” Ar’alani agreed. “All right. I assume you signaled Naporar and asked if they could assign us a temporary sky-walker?”
Wutroow nodded. “I did. And—”
“No, no, let me guess,” Ar’alani said. “You got shunted around to at least three different desks until you finally reached someone who said it would be a month before anyone was free?”
“Not exactly,” Wutroow said, her voice odd. “I got sent directly to Supreme General Ba’kif.” She lifted a finger for emphasis. “Not the general’s office. The general.”
“Ba’kif took your call personally?”
“I was rather shocked, too,” Wutroow said. “Especially when he said a sky-walker would be waiting for us when we reach Naporar.”
“Well, that’s one for the archives,” Ar’alani said, frowning. “No fuss or anything?”
“Not about the sky-walker,” Wutroow said. “But there was one other odd thing. When we see Thrawn, we’re supposed to ask about his sky-walker’s caregiver. There’s apparently some confusion as to who she is and how she got the job.”
“Really,” Ar’alani said, looking at the questis note again. So whatever Thrawn was doing was important enough that one of the top people on the Council was taking a personal interest, while at the same time there was something going on under the surface involving his sky-walker and her caregiver.
Naturally, Thrawn would be oblivious to both currents. “Very well,” she said. “Set course for Naporar; best speed we’ve got.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Wutroow said.
“And once we’re on the way,” Ar’alani added, handing back the questis, “have the weapons crews start full-service scans on their equipment.”
“You think there’ll be combat at the other end of this trip?”
“Thrawn’s there,” Ar’alani reminded her. “So, yes, I’d say that’s pretty much guaranteed.”
The Springhawk was waiting precisely where Thrawn had said he would be. A quick shuttle ride across, and within an hour of arriving in the system, Ar’alani and Wutroow were sitting in the briefing room with Thrawn and Samakro, reading through Thrawn’s data and proposal.
Ar’alani took her time looking through the material. She read it a second time, as she always did such things. Then, just to make sure it really said what she thought it said, she read it a third time.