They had him. This time, by every evil of the Chaos, they had him.
But at what cost? What terrible, terrible cost?
The Convocate Hall was packed when Thurfian arrived, and as he headed toward the Mitth section he did a quick head count. The Speakers of all Nine Families were present, as were most of the upper-level syndics. A dozen other lesser families were represented, mostly those with close ties to one of the Nine or aspirations to someday join them in Ascendancy rule. The room buzzed with quiet conversation as those who’d only heard part of the situation were filled in by the others.
Seated at the witness table, a pocket of silence amid the verbal storm, were Supreme General Ba’kif, Supreme Admiral Ja’fosk, Admiral Ar’alani, and Thrawn.
Thurfian had just taken his chair when Ja’fosk rose to his feet.
Instantly the rumble vanished. “Speakers and Syndics of the Ascendancy,” Ja’fosk said, throwing a quick, appraising look around the chamber. “I’ve received a transmission from General Yiv of the Nikardun Destiny.” He lifted his questis. “Quote:
“ ‘I have in my possession the two family hostages of Senior Captain Thrawn, whom he sent to Primea with an offer to the Vak Combine of union and treachery against the peaceful peoples of the Nikardun Destiny. If he wishes the females to be released unharmed, he will travel alone to the attached coordinates in an unarmed freighter with the equivalent of two hundred thousand Univers.’ ” Ja’fosk lowered the questis. “The coordinates given indicate a high orbit over Primea.”
The usual protocol was for one of the Speakers to offer the first response or ask the first question. But Thurfian wasn’t much interested in protocol at the moment. More than that, he needed to make sure the entire chamber had the full horrifying situation. “Leaving aside for the moment the question of why Yiv thinks the Chiss have such a thing as family hostages,” he said, rising to his feet, “I’d like to know who these two women are.” He raised his eyebrows. “Or are they both women, or is one a young girl?”
“One of them is a woman,” Ja’fosk said, his voice under careful control. “Her name is Mitth’ali’astov. The other is indeed a girl, Che’ri.” A muscle in his cheek twitched. “One of our sky-walkers.”
A ripple of disbelief and outrage ran through the assembled Aristocra. Apparently, most of them hadn’t heard the whole story. “I assume Yiv is unaware of her status?” Thurfian asked.
“We believe so,” Ja’fosk said. “There’s certainly no indication that he even knows about the sky-walker program, let alone has any details.”
“I assume there’s also no indication that he doesn’t,” the Plikh Speaker put in harshly. “I would like to know exactly how Senior Captain Thrawn made such a blunder as to put one of our sky-walkers in enemy hands.”
“The Nikardun aren’t our enemies,” Ja’fosk reminded her. “As to Captain Thrawn’s reasoning in this matter…” He looked down at Thrawn.
“I certainly never intended either of them to be put at risk,” Thrawn said. “Their mission was to return the Vak fighter I had borrowed and to bring a warning to the Primea leadership of Yiv’s activities among other species in the region. Thalias was supposed to deliver the message, then take a passenger transport to Navigator Concourse Four Forty-Seven, where they would be brought back to the Ascendancy.”
“And why was a sky-walker even aboard?”
“Che’ri could pilot the fighter. Thalias could not.”
Thurfian felt his lip twist. Liar. Thrawn clearly knew or at least suspected what Yiv would do if Thalias and Che’ri came within reach. This whole thing smacked of a back-door approach to getting the Syndicure to order a retaliatory strike.
And if the mood in the chamber was any indication, he was going to get it. If there was one resource the Ascendancy guarded with insane jealousy, it was their sky-walkers.
“This conversation is not over,” the Irizi Speaker warned. “We’ll want the details of this situation—all the details—at some point in the future. If blunders or outright deception are found, the Syndicure will mete out the appropriate consequences.”
“Understood,” Ja’fosk said. “For now, though, speed is of the essence. We must use whatever means necessary to retrieve the two women.”
“I assume,” Zistalmu spoke up harshly, “that means a military strike.”
“Against those who, as Supreme Admiral Ja’fosk has already admitted, aren’t our enemies,” Thurfian added.
“They’ve taken a sky-walker,” Thrawn said. “I believe that act in and of itself constitutes an attack on the Ascendancy.”
“Even when they’re unaware of their crime?”
“They’ve taken a sky-walker,” Thrawn repeated.
Thurfian caught Zistalmu’s eye across the chamber, saw his same cynicism reflected in the Irizi’s expression. Yes, this had been prearranged, all right. Ja’fosk and Ba’kif might not have known the whole plan going in, but Thrawn and Ar’alani most certainly had.
There would be a reckoning for this down the line, Thurfian promised himself. But for now, that would have to wait. Yiv had a sky-walker, and it was abundantly clear that the Aristocra would turn the Chaos upside down if necessary to get her back.
Still, if they were lucky—if they were very lucky—Thrawn might finally have outsmarted himself. In which case, Thurfian would happily and with full sincerity join into the Mitth family’s eulogy for its fallen hero.
* * *
—
“I think the thing I’ll miss most about Thrawn,” Yiv commented casually from his bridge command chair, “is the way he always seemed able to read his opponent and plan accordingly. It forced one to keep alert and to learn to anticipate in turn.”
Thalias kept silent, focusing instead on the task of not scratching her arms despite the itchy feel of the shapeless robes the Nikardun had given her and Che’ri to wear. She suspected they were prisoner suits, and that they were deliberately designed to be uncomfortable, but she would be damned if she would give Yiv the satisfaction.
“This canister, for instance,” Yiv continued, pulling out the small, flat canister that had been concealed inside Thalias’s belt buckle. “Hard to tell without opening it, but deep-spectral analysis suggests it’s some kind of soporific. Possibly a lethal one?”
“It’s not lethal,” Thalias said. “It’s a sleepwalking drug called tava. It’s the drug my master used on the crew of the Vak fighter when he commandeered it.”