Who was this Chiss, anyway?
“And your name?” he asked. “In case you specifically ask for me?”
“Junior Commander Thrawn,” the Chiss said softly. “And yes. I shall most definitely ask for you.”
Qilori had never expected the Chiss named Thrawn to ever blacken his sky again. He’d certainly hoped he wouldn’t. But yet here he was, back at Guild Concourse 447, asking specifically for Qilori of Uandualon.
And a senior captain now, to boot. Qilori didn’t know a lot about Chiss military ranks and promotion schedules, but he had the distinct impression that Thrawn was younger than most Chiss who’d achieved that rank.
Considering what had happened at Kinoss a few years ago, he supposed he shouldn’t be too surprised.
“It’s good to see you again, Qilori of Uandualon,” Thrawn said as Qilori was ushered onto the bridge.
“Thank you,” Qilori said, looking around. He’d never been on a Chiss warship before, and the difference between this and his usual freighter and diplomatic cruiser assignments was like the difference from sweet to sour. Weapons boards, defense boards, status panels, multiple displays, a full complement of black-uniformed blueskins—
“Are you familiar with the Rapacc system?” Thrawn asked.
Qilori jerked his attention back from the lights and displays, fighting to keep his cheek winglets still. Rapacc. That was one of the places Yiv the Benevolent had under blockade, wasn’t it?
Yes—he was sure of it. Qilori didn’t know Yiv’s final plan, whether the Benevolent would directly annex the system or leave the Paccosh as tributaries. But either way the Nikardun were certainly already there.
What in the Great Presence’s Name did Thrawn want with Rapacc?
“Pathfinder?” Thrawn prompted.
Abruptly, Qilori remembered he’d been asked a question. “Yes, I know the system,” he said, again trying to keep his winglets steady. “Difficult to get into. Nothing very interesting once you do.”
“You might be surprised,” Thrawn said. “At any rate, that’s our destination.” He gestured to the navigator’s station. “At your convenience.”
There was nothing for it. Guild rules apart, Qilori could hardly tell Thrawn that the Nikardun would be as happy to cut a Chiss warship to ribbons as they would any other unwelcome intruder. Apart from all the other considerations, a warning like that might prompt Thrawn to wonder how Qilori knew so much about Yiv and the Nikardun, and where he’d learned it.
So Qilori would take the Chiss to Rapacc as ordered. And he would hope to the Great Presence that the system’s Nikardun overseer would take the time to pull the valuable and totally innocent Pathfinder out of the wreckage before ordering the ship’s final destruction.
He would hope it very, very much.
* * *
—
The bridge was quiet as Samakro came in, with only the command, helm, primary weapons, and primary defense stations occupied. Plus, of course, the alien Pathfinder sitting at the navigation station, and the two charric-armed guards standing on either side of the hatch keeping a watchful eye on him.
Mid Commander Elod’al’vumic was seated in the command chair, her fingers tapping noiselessly and restlessly on the armrest as she gazed through the viewport at the undulating hyperspace sky. She looked up as Samakro came alongside her. “Mid Captain,” she greeted him.
“Mid Commander,” Samakro greeted her in turn. “Anything to report?”
“The Pathfinder came out of his trance again an hour ago, took a ten-minute break, then went back under his headset,” Dalvu said. “He said another three-hour shift should bring us to Rapacc. We took a location reading while we were in space-normal, and it looked like we were in the right position.”
“I presume you reported all this to the captain?”
Dalvu’s shoulders gave a small twitch. “I sent him the message. Whether or not he noticed is something you’d have to ask him.”
Samakro felt his eyes narrow. A disrespectful comment that managed to be not quite over the line into something actionable.
Dalvu wasn’t the type to come up with such opinions on her own, let alone have the audacity to speak them. Apparently Kharill had been sharing his displeasure regarding the new command structure with his fellow officers. “I believe you’ll find Captain Thrawn on top of the situation,” he told her. “Hold things as is for another hour, then start bringing the Springhawk to combat status. I’ll want us at full battle—”
“Combat status?” Dalvu cut him off, her eyes going wide. “We’re going into combat?”
“I’ll want us at full battle stations thirty minutes before we reach Rapacc,” Samakro finished.
“But combat?”
“Probably,” Samakro said. “Why, did you think we had some other reason for going back to Rapacc?”
Dalvu’s lips curved in an almost-scowl. “I assumed Captain Thrawn forgot something and we were going back to get it.”
Samakro gazed down at her, counting down five seconds of silence. Dalvu’s scowl was gone after the first two seconds, and by the fifth she was starting to look distinctly uncomfortable. “I suggest you keep any derogatory thoughts about the captain to yourself,” Samakro said quietly. “His mental state is not your concern, nor is his fitness to command, nor is his authority to issue orders aboard this vessel. Is that clear, Mid Commander?”
“Yes, sir,” Dalvu said in a more subdued tone. “But…are we even authorized to fight these people?”
“We’re always authorized to defend ourselves,” Samakro reminded her. “And given the blockade ships’ reaction on our last incursion, I suspect we won’t have to wait very long on that count.”
“Yes, sir,” Dalvu muttered, lowering her gaze.
Samakro pressed his lips together, his annoyance at her reluctantly fading away. Unfortunately, she had a point. They’d been fine on their last run into the system; but that time they’d had a Nightdragon running backup. Now it was just them. “You weren’t aboard the Springhawk back when Thrawn was first in command, were you?”
“No, sir,” Dalvu said. “But I’ve heard stories of his…recklessness.”
“Best to take those with a sideways look,” Samakro advised. “Just because Thrawn doesn’t lay out his tactics in advance for everyone to see doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them. Whatever he’s got planned for today, he’ll get us through it.”