“Yes,” Thrawn replied. “Come in, please. I want to show you something.”
Thalias took another step forward, hearing the hatch slide closed behind her, and looked around. Given Thrawn’s reputation—or perhaps his notoriety—with artwork, she’d expected to find the office filled with holograms of Garwian sculptures and paintings. To her mild surprise, she instead found him surrounded by a three-dimensional map filled with stars and star routes.
“Here’s the Ascendancy,” he said, waving a finger through a familiar cluster of stars just off center on the map. “Here’s the Lioaoin Regime”—he pointed to a much smaller group of stars to the north-zenith of the Ascendancy. “Here’s Rapacc—” He shifted the finger a little way east-nadir. “Here’s Urch”—a little more east-nadir and a bit to the south. “And here are the Paataatus worlds.” He shifted his finger one final time to a spot on the Ascendancy’s southeast-zenith border. “What do you see?”
“The first three are north and northeast of us,” Thalias said, wondering why he’d brought in the Paataatus. They were far away from all the others he’d mentioned, and besides they’d already been dealt with.
“Indeed,” Thrawn said. “Three different nations under Nikardun attack or besiegement, all three on the edges of the Ascendancy.”
Thalias wrinkled her nose. They weren’t that close, really. Certainly not close enough to be a threat.
“So far none of the Nikardun conquests is encroaching directly on the Ascendancy,” Thrawn said, as if he’d read her mind and her silent objection. “But the pattern is troubling. If Yiv is targeting us, this is the ideal way for him to begin.”
“All right,” Thalias said cautiously. “But if he attacks, can’t we deal with him like we did the Paataatus?”
“Interesting that you mention the Paataatus,” Thrawn said. “Their artwork and entire culture strongly implies that the defeat Admiral Ar’alani delivered to them should have ended any resistance to us for the rest of this generation. Yet reports from Naporar indicate they may be rearming for another attack. I suggest that they, too, may be under Yiv’s influence and control.”
Thalias looked at the map again. And if that was true, it was no longer just the Nikardun working their way across the Chaos, with the Ascendancy in their path purely by coincidence. If they’d also conquered or suborned the Paataatus, there was a good chance they were deliberately encircling the Chiss. It was as if Yiv was raising the whole of the Chaos against them. “What can we do?”
“As I told the admiral, we need more information,” Thrawn said. “I’ve spent the past hour studying the map, and there are four other nations in particular whose current status I believe may be revealing. I’m hoping I can persuade the Garwians to take me to one of them under a suitable pretext.”
“That sounds…extremely dangerous,” Thalias said.
“Dangerous, perhaps,” Thrawn said. “But not extremely so. The Garwians…let’s just say they owe me for past events.”
Thalias made a face. She’d heard a little about those events, and they weren’t counted as being among the Ascendancy’s finest moments. “Have you cleared this with the admiral?”
“I have.” Thrawn smiled faintly. “I can’t say she’s enthusiastic about the plan, but she’s willing to go along with it.”
In other words, happy with the plan or not, Ar’alani was willing to stick her neck beneath the blade alongside Thrawn’s. “I see. I assume I’m here because you want something from me, too?”
“Very good,” Thrawn said. “Yes, I’d like you to accompany me on this expedition.”
Thalias had sort of guessed that was where this conversation would eventually end up. Her mind flicked back to her deal with Syndic Thurfian. “As an additional observer, I assume?”
“Yes.” He paused. “And as my family hostage.”
Thalias felt her eyes go wide. “As your—what?”
“My family hostage,” Thrawn repeated.
“Which is what?”
Thrawn pursed his lips. “In certain circumstances, the rivalry between Chiss families is strong enough that they agree to exchange hostages. One member from each side is rematched as a merit adoptive, and that person serves under another family member as servant and hostage. Should hostilities break out between the families, the hostages know they will be immediately killed.”
Thalias stared at him. “I’ve never even heard of that.”
“Of course not.” Thrawn’s gave her a small smile. “Because I just made it up.”
She shook her head. “All right, I’m lost.”
“It’s very simple,” Thrawn said quietly. “I expect the Nikardun to know a great deal about the Ascendancy and Chiss culture. To defeat an enemy you must know them, and they are clearly expert conquerors.” He stopped, an expectant expression on his face.
Thalias made a face. Playing teacher, just as he had on the Paccosh mining station, waiting for her to come up with the right answer.
But at least this time that answer was obvious. “So if they suddenly learn there’s something they don’t know about us, something really important, they might decide they need to rethink their whole strategy?”
“Exactly,” Thrawn said. “At best, it may cause Yiv to abandon his plans against us. At worst, it should buy us some time.”
He raised his eyebrows. “The question is whether you’re willing and able to play such a role.”
The obvious answer—yes—rose quickly into Thalias’s throat. But even as she opened her mouth to say the word, she realized it wasn’t nearly that easy.
She had no idea how a hostage spoke and behaved and thought. Probably there would be some hesitation, some low-level but constant fear for her life, possibly a degree of eagerness to please the one who held her life in his hands. Could she pull all of that off in a believable way?
More than that, going with Thrawn would mean leaving Che’ri alone aboard the Vigilant. Certainly the girl could handle a trip back to the Ascendancy on her own—it wasn’t like Ar’alani couldn’t assign one of her officers to take care of their sky-walker for a few days.
But Che’ri had lost so many other caregivers over her time in the fleet. Would she see Thalias’s departure as yet another abandonment, no matter how good or necessary the cause? Thalias could explain the situation before she left, but that didn’t necessarily mean Che’ri would hear or understand. Where exactly did Thalias’s true duty and commitment lie?