"They have very rigid ideas of how people should act and what they should think and do," Doriana said, watching Car'das out of the corner of his eve. This would have been easier without the presence of someone who actually knew something about Jedi, but Mitth'raw'nuruodo would have been instantly suspicious if Doriana had asked that the young man be left out of the conversation. Now he was going to have to walk a narrow line between making the Jedi look dangerous to Mitth'raw'nuruodo and at the same time not saying anything Car'das would know was an outright lie.

And Car'das did indeed seem a bit surprised by Doriana's a.s.sertions. But at the same time, he could also see a growing uncertainty in the young man's face. The Jedi's arrogance, coupled with their inability to do anything about the growing chaos and stagnation, had people all across the Republic wondering if perhaps their alleged guardians of the peace were more noise and bl.u.s.ter than genuine effectiveness. "They feel they have all the answers," he continued, "and that everyone else should submit to their concept of justice."

"Yet you say they are traveling to another galaxy," Mitth'raw'nuruodo reminded him. "Again, how then does this affect the Chiss?"

"Because before they leave they intend to explore some of the unknown parts of our own galaxy," Doriana said, wishing the Chiss were as easy to read as Car'das. So far, he didn't have a clue as to what kind of impression this was making on him. "If they arrive in Chiss s.p.a.ce, they'll certainly attempt to impose their will upon your people."

"Attempt is the correct word," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, his face hardening. "The Chiss do not simply accept alien concepts without careful consideration. We certainly do not submit to domination. By anyone."

"Of course not," Doriana said, his cautious hope glowing a little brighter. So species and professional pride were the hooks into Mitth'raw'nuruodo's heart. Excellent. "But I warn you not to underestimate them. The Jedi are ruthless and subtle, and I daresay their power is beyond anything you've ever encountered."

"You may be surprised at what we've encountered," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, his voice grim. Abruptly, he stood up. "But we will discuss such matters later. Right now, there is other business that requires my attention."

"Of course," Doriana said, rising to his feet as well. "What do you wish us to do in your absence?"

"For the present, you will both remain on this bridge," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "I will send for you when I wish to see you again. In the meantime I will send aboard a team to examine your vessel and its equipment."

"Never!" Kav snapped. "This ship is the property of the Trade Federation- ".

"Quiet," Doriana cut him off, glaring at him. Didn't the fool understand anything? "We will, of course, render any and all a.s.sistance they may require."

"Thank you," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "They will have new orders for you when they are finished. You will obey those orders."

Doriana nodded. "As you wish."

Mitth'raw'nuruodo looked at Kav, and Doriana could sense the tension between them. But the Neimoidian remained silent, and after a moment Mitth'raw'nuruodo turned to Car'das. "Come."

They left the room, the Chiss guards falling into step behind them.

Doriana watched until they had disappeared through the bridge blast doors, then turned to Kav. "With all due respect, Vicelord, what in the name of your grub mother do you think you're doing?"

"That is my question for you," Kav countered. "Do you simply turn your back downward and give over our lives and property to this primitive backworld alien?"

"Look around you, Vicelord," Doriana said grimly. "This primitive alien just wrecked our entire task force. And unless I missed it, he didn't lose a single ship of his own in the process."

"And you wish to make him even stronger by offering him access to Trade Federation secrets?"

Doriana took a deep breath. "Listen to me," he said, enunciating his words carefully. It was as if he were back on Barlok, trying to walk those idiot Brolfi through a simple a.s.sa.s.sination scheme. "We've failed our mission. Even if Mitth'raw'nuruodo turned tail right now and left us in peace, there's no way in the universe our single battleship could take on Outbound Flight's six Dreadnaughts. We would have no choice but to return to the Republic and face Darth Sidious's anger . . . and I can a.s.sure you that you would wish you had died today, torn apart in agony by the Chiss fighters." He lifted a finger. "Unless."

He let the word hang in the air. "Unless?" Kav asked, his voice subdued.

"Unless," Doriana said, "we can persuade Mitth'raw'nuruodo to destroy Outbound Flight for us."

For a long minute the room was silent. "I see," Kav said at last. "Do you think you can do that? And if you can, do you think he can achieve that victory?"

"I don't know," Doriana had to admit. "He's no fool, and he surely knows my description of Outbound Flight and the Jedi was horribly slanted. Odds are he cut off the talks so he could go off and get Car'das's take on the whole thing."

"But why would he listen to a human he believes to be a spy?" Kav objected.

"He doesn't," Doriana said, smiling tightly. "If he did, he certainly wouldn't have said so right in front of the man. I think he just wants us to believe that so that we won't think he'll listen to Car'das advice."

Kav shook his head. "This is too complicated for me."

"Yes, I know," Doriana said. "That's why you have to leave everything to me. Everything."

Kav rumbled something under his breath. "Very well," he growled. "For now. But I will be watching you."

"You do that," Doriana said. "Just keep in mind that your life is worth a lot more than your pride."

"Perhaps," Kav said. "But you say Mitthrawdo does not believe your warnings about the Jedi. How then will you convince him to destroy Outbound Flight?"

"I have more in my persuasive a.r.s.enal than just lies about the Jedi,"

Doriana said. "Trust me."

"Very well." Kav inclined his head. "For now'."

Car'das had been sitting alone at the computer desk in his Springhawk quarters for three hours, struggling through pages and pages of technical Cheunh text and scans, when Thrawn finally arrived.

"My apologies for my long absence," the commander said as the door slid shut behind him. "I trust you've kept yourself occupied?"

"I've been studying the tech teams' reports as you requested," Car'das said stiffly, turning back to the computer. It was rude, he knew, but he wasn't in a very hospitable mood right now.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Your a.s.sessment of the Trade Federation's capabilities?" Thrawn asked patiently.

Car'das sighed, feeling like a ship with a misfiring gyro. Right before the battle Thrawn had accused him of lying about widespread Republic slavery; and then, right after the battle, he'd accused him of being a spy for the Federation. Now he wanted a military a.s.sessment from him?

"Those droid starfighters are top-line weapons," he growled. "I read a report a few months ago speculating that the only reason they didn't completely wipe out their attackers at Naboo was that having to control all those ground troops at the same time overloaded the computer systems and made the starfighter control more sluggish than it should have been.

Here, they weren't running any ground troops. In my humble civilian's opinion, if you hadn't knocked out their communications the way you did, they'd have cut us to ribbons."

"Agreed," Thrawn said. "Fortunately, Expansionary Fleet vessels are equipped with more powerful transmitters than those of the regular Defense Fleet forces, since we seldom have a normal colony system's network of boosters and repeaters to draw on. What about Vicelord Kav and Commander Stratis personally?"

"Why are you even asking me this?" Car'das demanded, giving up and swiveling around to face him. "I thought you didn't trust me."

Thrawn shook his head. "Not at all," he said. "If you and your companions were spies, you'd have used your access to the base's computer to study our technology and learn the locations of our worlds. Instead, you've merely worked on improving your language skills. May I sit down?"

"Yes, of course," Car'das said, scrambling out of his chair and extending a hand. Preoccupied with his own uncertainty and bruised pride, he hadn't even noticed the utter weariness in Thrawn's face and posture. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Thrawn a.s.sured him, waving off the proffered hand as he stepped over to the bunk and sank down onto it. "It's simply been a very long day."

"You look more than just tired," Car'das commented, peering at him closely. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing serious," Thrawn said. "I just received word that Admiral Ar'alani is on her way back."

Car'das frowned. It had been barely five weeks since Ar'alani had taken the captured freighter away with her. "They're finished studying the Vagaari ship already?"

"I believe she's cut short her role in the examination," Thrawn said.

"That was why I made a point of accusing you of espionage in front of my warriors. After today's events she will undoubtedly be questioning them, and I wished to have a plausible reason on record as to why you and the others were still in Chiss s.p.a.ce. My apologies for any distress that may have caused you."

"Don't worry about it," Car'das said, frowning. "You think Ar'alani's suspicious of you?"

"I have no doubt," Thrawn said. "Particularly given the reports she's been receiving from Crustai."

"But who at your base would have-" Car'das broke off as a horrible thought struck him. "Thra.s.s? Your brother?"

"Who else would have felt it necessary to keep her informed?"

"Are you saying your own brother is trying to sink you?" Car'das demanded, still not believing it.

"My brother cares deeply about his blood family, including me," Thrawn said, his voice tinged with sadness. "But he's disturbed by what he sees as my self-destructive behavior . . . and as a syndic of the Eighth Ruling Family, his duty is to protect that family's honor and position."

"So he calls an admiral down on you?"

"If Admiral Ar'alani is here to reverse my orders, I'll be unable to do anything that will lead to further trouble," Thrawn pointed out. "Or so he reasons. With a single course of action he thus protects both me and the Eighth Family."

Car'das thought about the Vagaari attack they'd witnessed, and the people pinned helplessly under fire in their hull bubbles. "And meanwhile, people like the Vagaari will be free to go their way."

"Indeed." Thrawn pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead.

"Still, until the admiral arrives, command remains mine. What's your impression of Vicelord Kav and Commander Stratis?"

With an effort, Car'das dragged his mind away from the images of the Vagaari's living shields. "For starters, I don't think Stratis is really in command. I just can't see the Neimoidians handing their own ships over to a human that way."

"Unless the human is somehow higher in authority than they are," Thrawn pointed out. "Or if the human is an agent for such a person. Stratis itself is of course an a.s.sumed name."

"Could be," Car'das agreed. "I do think that they're telling the truth about not being an invasion force, though. Even if their storage rings are packed to the shock webbing with battle droids, they can't possibly have enough for a planetary occupation."

"Then you conclude their mission is indeed to ambush this Outbound Flight?"

"I might, if I knew what Outbound Flight was," Car'das said. "But I've never heard of it, and I don't necessarily trust Stratis's opinions."

Thrawn nodded. "Perhaps Qennto or Ferasi will have more information."

"Maybe," Car'das said. "We're heading back to Crustai, then?"

"I need to be there to welcome Admiral Ar'alani," Thrawn reminded him.

"My people here can finish the examination without us."

"What if Kav and Stratis decide to kill all of them and make a run for it?"

"They won't," Thrawn a.s.sured him. "First of all, they can't simply jump to hypers.p.a.ce, no matter how much the vicelord might like to. Not with the Whirlwind pinning them in place."

"Ah-ha," Car'das said, his face warming with embarra.s.sment. With everything else that had happened, he'd completely forgotten the cruiser Thrawn had sent off to the side before the battle began. Apparently, the Chiss techs had figured out a way to tuck the Vagaari gray projector inside a ship's hull.

"But even if they could escape, I don't think they would," Thrawn continued. "Stratis very much wants me to destroy Outbound Flight for him."

Car'das felt his eyes widen. "Is that where this is going?"

"What did you think all that talk of weaponry and dangerous Jedi was all about?" Thrawn countered.

"I just-I mean, I thought he was trying to get you to let them go,"

Car'das said, stumbling over his own tongue. "You aren't thinking-?"

"I will do whatever necessary to protect those who depend on me," Thrawn said, his voice carefully precise. "No more. But no less."

He stood up. "But that isn't your concern," he said. "Once again, I thank you for your a.s.sistance."

"No problem," Car'das said, standing up as well. Was it his imagination, or had the commander staggered slightly as he got back to his feet?

"You'd better get some rest. It won't be fun for anyone if you collapse from exhaustion before Ar'alani even has a chance to throw you in the brig."

"Thank you for your concern," Thrawn said drily. "I'll try not to disappoint her."

"One last question, if I may," Car'das added as the commander stepped to the door. "How were you so sure that those droidekas wouldn't gun us down?"

"Those-? Oh, the rolling droid fighters," Thrawn said. "It wasn't difficult. Everything about the bridge design spoke of a people who would never willingly put themselves at more risk than absolutely necessary."

"That's Neimoidians, all right," Car'das agreed. "You could get that just from the bridge design?"

"Architecture is merely another form of art," Thrawn reminded him. "But even without those indications, the triple blast doors we pa.s.sed through would have told me these Neimoidians are not warriors."

"Which is why they have battle droids to fight for them," Car'das said.

"But isn't gunning us down exactly what cowards like that would do?"

Thrawn shook his head. "Vicelord Kav was too close to the line of fire.

He would never have ordered the droidekas to attack."

Car'das grimaced. "A bluff."

"Or he was making a point," Thrawn said. "These combat droids are a new concept to me, but one worth careful thought." He grimaced. "I sincerely hope the Vagaari haven't visited a world where they might have picked up such weapons."

"Probably not," Car'das said. "The Neimoidians keep them pretty close to home."

"We shall see." Thrawn touched the control, and the door slid open.

"Sleep well, Car'das."

For a few minutes Car'das gazed at the closed door. So Thrawn had now a.s.sured him that he didn't really suspect him of spying. That was rea.s.suring . . . except that he'd stated exactly the opposite in front of witnesses, and with exactly the same degree of apparent sincerity.