"You're a Jedi," the man said sourly. "You never have problems like that."

"That is as it may be," C'baoth said. "Nevertheless, for your role in this accident, you are hereby docked one day's pay."

The man's eyes widened. "I'm what? But that's-"

"You are also forbidden to use Outbound Flight's speeder system for one week," C'baoth interrupted.

"Now, wait a frizzing minute," the man said, consternation starting to edge into his shock. "You can't do that."

"I just did," C'baoth said calmly. He looked around the crowd, as if daring anyone to argue the point, then brought his eyes to rest on a Rodian in a maintenance jumpsuit. "You: take this speeder back to its parking area. The rest of you, return to your jobs."

Reluctantly, Obi-Wan thought, the crowd began to disperse. C'baoth waited long enough to see the Rodian ride away with the speeder, then turned and headed back the way he'd come, his mouth twitching as he spotted Obi-Wan.

"I told you to remain with Padawan Skywalker," he said as he approached.

"I know." Obi-Wan gestured toward the dissipating crowd. "'What exactly was that?"

"It was justice," C'baoth said, pa.s.sing Obi-Wan without breaking stride.

"Without a hearing?" Obi-Wan asked, hurrying to catch up with him.

"Without even an investigation?"

"Of course there was an investigation," C'baoth said. "You were there; you heard it."

"A couple of questions to the partic.i.p.ants hardly qualifies as an investigation," Obi-Wan said stiffly. "What about a call for witnesses, or an examination of the speeder itself?"

"What about the Force?" C'baoth countered. "Don't we as Jedi have an insight that permits us to make these decisions more quickly than others?"

"In theory, perhaps," Obi-Wan said. "But that doesn't mean we should ignore the other resources available to us."

"And what would you do with these resources?" C'baoth asked. "Impanel a committee and spend hours in interviews and examinations? Do you think expending all that time and effort would lead to a different outcome?"

"Probably not," Obi-Wan had to admit. "But you pa.s.sed judgment without even consulting the captain or ship's law."

"Bah," C'baoth snorted, waving a hand in dismissal. "A pittance of money in punishment, plus a temporary and perfectly reasonable restriction on his movements. Would you really have me waste Captain Pakmillu's time-and my own-with something so trivial?"

"The captain still needs to be informed."

"He will be," C'baoth promised, eyeing him thoughtfully. "Your att.i.tude surprises me, Master Ken.o.bi. Isn't this sort of mediation and conflict resolution precisely the sort of thing Jedi throughout the Republic do every day?"

Obi-Wan glared at the corridor ahead. "Usually one party or the other specifically asks for Jedi a.s.sistance. Here, neither of them did."

"Yet is not a Jedi who sees such a problem honor-bound to lend his aid?"

C'baoth pointed out. "But now to more important things. Your Padawan should have finished with the tutorial by now. Let us see how quickly he takes to this form of combat."

16.

Car'das started awake to find a pair of glowing red eyes hovering above him in the darkness. "Who is it?" he asked anxiously.

"Thrawn," the commander's voice came back. "Get dressed."

"What's happened?" Car'das asked as he pushed off the blanket and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"One of my scouts has reported a group of unidentified vessels in the area," Thrawn said. "Quickly, now-we leave in thirty minutes."

Forty-five minutes later, the Springhawk cleared the asteroid tunnel and made the jump to lightspeed.

And not just the Springhawk. Before they made the jump Car'das counted no fewer than eleven other ships forming up around and behind them, including two more Springhawk-size cruisers. "Is this more Vagaari?" he asked as the starlines melted into the hypers.p.a.ce sky.

"It doesn't appear to be," Thrawn said. "The ship designs are entirely different. I wanted you aboard to see if you can identify them."

"You might have done better to bring Qennto instead," Car'das warned.

"He's a lot more knowledgeable about those things than I am."

"I thought it best to leave both him and Ferasi behind," Thrawn said.

"I've sensed certain . . . problems there."

Car'das winced. "You're right," he had to admit. "So where exactly are these invaders?"

"Why do you call them invaders?"

"Well, I-" Car'das floundered. "I just a.s.sumed they were in Chiss s.p.a.ce, after that talk you had with your brother." He frowned. "They are in Chiss s.p.a.ce, aren't they?"

"The charter of the Expansionary Defense Fleet is to observe and explore the region around the Chiss Ascendancy," Thrawn said. "That's all we intend to do today."

Which was pretty much exactly what he'd said about the Vagaari attack.

Terrific. "How long until we get there?"

"Approximately four hours," Thrawn said. "In the meantime, I've had a combat suit prepared for you, one with more armoring and self-sealant capabilities than your suit from the Bargain Hunter Go below and put it on. The armorer will a.s.sist you."

It took Car'das and the armorer most of the first three hours to get the suit fitted correctly, with the fourth hour spent in checking him out on its features. Once that was finished, though, he found the suit quite comfortable to wear, though noticeably heavier than the simple vac suits he was used to.

He returned to the bridge to find that in his absence Thrawn and the rest of the bridge crew had also donned their combatsuits. "Welcome back," the commander greeted him, running an eye over his suit. "We're nearly there."

Car'das nodded and moved to his usual place beside the other's command chair. Listening to the clipped comments of the bridge crew, he let his eyes roam the displays and status boards and waited. The time count went to zero, and they were once again back among the stars.

"Where are they?" he asked, peering through the viewports at the stars and a very distant sun.

"There," Thrawn said, pointing a few degrees off the starboard bow.

"Sensors: magnify." The main display rippled and steadied .. .

Car'das caught his breath, his chest suddenly squeezing tightly against his heart. In the center of the display was a horrible, terrifying, impossible sight: a pair of Trade Federation battleships.

"You recognize them?"

For a moment Thrawn's question didn't register. Car'das continued to stare at the image, his eyes tracing along the curved split-ring configuration of the ships and up the antenna towers that distinguished Trade Federation battleships from simple freighters. Then his brain seemed to catch, and he tore his eyes away from the sight.

To find the commander gazing up at him, a hard and knowing expression on his face . . . and once again, Car'das knew it would be fatal to lie.

"Yes, I do," he said, marveling at how calm his voice sounded. "They're battleships from a group called the Trade Federation."

"Members of your Republic?"

Car'das hesitated. "Technically speaking, yes," he said. "But these days they seem to be largely ignoring our laws and directives." He forced himself to meet Thrawn's gaze. "But you already knew where they were from, didn't you?"

"The hull markings follow a similar pattern to those on the Bargain Hunter," Thrawn said. "I thought there was a reasonable chance they were from your Republic."

"But they don't represent the Republic itself," Car'das added hastily.

"The Republic doesn't have any army of its own."

"So you've told me," Thrawn said, his voice suddenly cold. "You also told me the Republic doesn't condone slavery."

"That's right, we don't," Car'das agreed cautiously.

"Then why did I find evidence of slavery aboard the ship that was pursuing you?"

The rings of tension around Car'das's chest tightened a few more turns.

He'd forgotten all about Progga. "I also told you there were some cultures in our area that do keep slaves," he said, fighting to keep his voice steady. "The Hutts are one of them."

"And the Trade Federation?"

"No," Car'das said. "Well, not that I've ever heard, anyway. They're so heavily into droids they probably wouldn't know what to do with slaves if they had them." Car'das nodded toward the display. "Which could be a serious problem for us right now. Each of those battleships carries over a thousand droid star-fighters, not to mention a few thousand battle droids and the landers and carriers to move them around."

"Then this is an invasion force?"

Car'das winced. "I don't know," he said. "I don't think so, not with only two of them."

"But they could be here to attack us."

"I don't know why they're here," Car'das insisted, sweat gathering around his collar. It was one thing to listen to Thrawn talk about preemptive strikes against vicious conquerors like the Vagaari. It was something else entirely to stand here and see him mentally lumping the Trade Federation or even the entire Republic into that same category. "Why don't you ask them?"

A faint smile creased Thrawn's face. "Yes. Why don't we?"

He swiveled around. "Communications: identify their main command frequency and create a channel," he ordered. "These people speak Basic, I presume?"

"Yes," Car'das said, frowning. Surely the commander wasn't going to try something this potentially tricky in a language he'd barely learned, was he? "But they'll also have protocol droids aboard that can translate Sy Bisti."

"Thank you, but I'd prefer to see their reaction when they're hailed in the language of the Republic," Thrawn said. "Ready, Commander," the comm officer called.

Thrawn tapped a key on his board. "This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet," he said. "Please identify yourselves and state your intentions."

Doriana was still fumbling with his tunic belt as he hurried through the open blast doors onto the bridge. "What's this about an attack?" he asked as he crossed the walkways to where Kav stood in front of his command chair.

"Soothe yourself, Commander Stratis," Kav said. "It is not as serious as was first thought."

"This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet," a voice said from the comm speaker beside the vicelord's chair.

"Please identify, yourselves and state your intentions."

"He has been repeating that message for ten minutes," Kav said contemptuously. "But then, what else can he do?"

"Explain," Doriana growled. After being hauled out of bed, he was in no mood to put up with Neimoidian smugness. "You can start by telling me who he is."

"How should I know?" Kav said scornfully. "But he is a braggart beyond anything I have yet seen."

He seated himself in his chair and touched a control, and a tactical overlay appeared on the main display. "Behold," he said, waving his long fingers. "He dares to threaten us with three small cruisers and nine fighters. Most likely they are pirates with a sense of bluff as large as a Dug's pride."

The message repeated. "I hear no threat in that message, Vicelord,"

Doriana pointed out, trying to suppress his growing annoyance. He'd been dragged out of bed for this? "All I hear is a local asking what we're doing in his territory."

"The threat is implied, Commander Stratis," Kav countered. "It is built into all warships, as much a part of them as weapons and shields."

Doriana looked at the tactical, then at the corresponding telescope display. Even knowing where the ships were, it was incredibly hard to pick them out of the starfield behind them. Superb stealthing, which meant that Kav was right. They were warships, all right. "Maybe he's got more firepower hanging back in reserve."

"No," Kav a.s.sured him. "We have done a complete sensor scan of the entire area. Those twelve ships are all there are."

"This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo-"

"Shall we consider this an unscheduled drill?" Kav added as the message continued to play in the background.

"Let's try talking first," Doriana suggested, sitting down on the couch beside the other. The fact that this Mitth'raw'nuruodo spoke Basic might very well mean he was a pirate with some familiarity with some of the outer reaches of the Republic.

But it could also mean this was a trick by person or persons unknown to smoke out the truth about the Darkvenge's mission. "Open a hailing channel," he ordered.

"Open."

Doriana reached over to Kav's station and keyed the control. "I greet you, Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo," he said, stumbling a bit over the unusual glottals at the section breaks. "This is Stratis, commanding Special Task Force One."

"My greetings in return, Commander Stratis," Mitth'raw'nuruodo's voice came back. "Please explain to me the purpose of your task force."

"We intend no harm to you or your people," Doriana said. "But I'm afraid the details of our mission must remain confidential."

"I'm afraid in turn that your rea.s.surances are insufficient,"