by Timothy Zahn
“I checked the coordinates,” Wutroow continued. “It’s pretty far out. Without a navigator it’ll take four or five days to get there.”
“Not exactly Thrawn’s usual definition of as soon as possible,” Ar’alani agreed. “All right. I assume you signaled Naporar and asked if they could assign us a temporary sky-walker?”
Wutroow nodded. “I did. And—”
“No, no, let me guess,” Ar’alani said. “You got shunted around to at least three different desks until you finally reached someone who said it would be a month before anyone was free?”
“Not exactly,” Wutroow said, her voice odd. “I got sent directly to Supreme General Ba’kif.” She lifted a finger for emphasis. “Not the general’s office. The general.”
“Ba’kif took your call personally?”
“I was rather shocked, too,” Wutroow said. “Especially when he said a sky-walker would be waiting for us when we reach Naporar.”
“Well, that’s one for the archives,” Ar’alani said, frowning. “No fuss or anything?”
“Not about the sky-walker,” Wutroow said. “But there was one other odd thing. When we see Thrawn, we’re supposed to ask about his sky-walker’s caregiver. There’s apparently some confusion as to who she is and how she got the job.”
“Really,” Ar’alani said, looking at the questis note again. So whatever Thrawn was doing was important enough that one of the top people on the Council was taking a personal interest, while at the same time there was something going on under the surface involving his sky-walker and her caregiver.
Naturally, Thrawn would be oblivious to both currents. “Very well,” she said. “Set course for Naporar; best speed we’ve got.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Wutroow said.
“And once we’re on the way,” Ar’alani added, handing back the questis, “have the weapons crews start full-service scans on their equipment.”
“You think there’ll be combat at the other end of this trip?”
“Thrawn’s there,” Ar’alani reminded her. “So, yes, I’d say that’s pretty much guaranteed.”
The Springhawk was waiting precisely where Thrawn had said he would be. A quick shuttle ride across, and within an hour of arriving in the system, Ar’alani and Wutroow were sitting in the briefing room with Thrawn and Samakro, reading through Thrawn’s data and proposal.
Ar’alani took her time looking through the material. She read it a second time, as she always did such things. Then, just to make sure it really said what she thought it said, she read it a third time.
By the time she lifted her eyes from the questis, she saw that Wutroow and Samakro had made it through, as well. The two officers were gazing at the sections of table in front of them, their expressions a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and apprehension.
She shifted her gaze to the end of the table. Thrawn was waiting patiently, trying to hide his own anxiety. “Well,” she said, setting down her questis. “It’s inventive, I’ll give it that.”
Some of Thrawn’s anxiety faded away. Apparently, a lot of his concern had been centered on how she would react. “Thank you,” he said.
“With all due respect, Senior Captain, I’m not sure that was a compliment,” Samakro spoke up. “The plan may be inventive, but I don’t think it’s physically possible.”
“Actually, Mid Captain, I’ve seen it done,” Ar’alani said. “Back at the Academy, Captain Thrawn pulled off this same maneuver.” She raised her eyebrows. “On the other hand, that was a patrol ship. This time you’re talking about a heavy cruiser. Big difference.”
“Not as big as it might seem,” Thrawn said. “True, the Springhawk’s mass is greater, but its thrusters and maneuvering jets are correspondingly more powerful. With proper care and preparation, I believe it can be done.”
“And you’re sure this is the right system?”
“The indications are there,” Thrawn said. “I won’t know for certain until I’ve examined the mining station.”
Ar’alani pursed her lips and picked up her questis again. It certainly wasn’t going to be easy. The place Thrawn proposed to infiltrate was what was colloquially known as a box system: unusually strong electromagnetic fluxes wrapped around the outer edges, interacting with the solar wind to create even more obstruction to hyperspace travel than usual. Unless a ship was willing to come out of hyperspace outside the cometary belt and spend days or weeks traveling through space-normal to the inner system, there were only a dozen reasonably safe inward pathways.
Even more intimidating was the fact that some cataclysm millennia ago had seeded the inner system and much of the outer system with large meteors, making the entire area a sort of miniature version of the Chaos itself. Taking those additional navigational hazards into account, the number of safe lanes to the inhabited planet dropped to exactly three.
Three routes to one single, isolated planet, unknown to the Ascendancy and apparently unconnected with any known species in the area. A somewhat larger selection of pathways to the outer asteroid belt, which consisted of several tightly packed clusters and a number of possibly abandoned mining space stations.
But while the mining stations might be abandoned, the rest of the system was active enough. Thrawn’s brief reconnaissance had picked up a fair amount of travel within the system, mostly between the planet and a handful of colony or manufacturing stations orbiting it. Unfortunately, the Springhawk had been too far out to tell whether or not those ships were similar to the destroyed refugee ships whose records Thrawn had now shared with her and Wutroow.
And just to add spice to the whole thing, all three of the entry routes were being patrolled by small warships of a completely different design.
“So you think this is the system the refugee ships came from,” she said, looking up at Thrawn again. “You further think they’re under blockade by these other ships.”
“Less a blockade than an interdiction,” Thrawn said. “You can see the patrol ships’ configuration is mainly designed to control access to the main planet. The asteroid stations aren’t as heavily guarded and are therefore more accessible.”
“But they are still guarded,” Wutroow pointed out. “And I’m only counting three good paths in and out of the system.”
“Only if you want the planet,” Thrawn said. “If you want the asteroid station I’ve indicated, there are several other workable vectors.”
“At least until the blockaders get a few more ships,” Ar’alani said.
“Indeed,” Thrawn agreed. “It therefore seems to me that if we want to do this, we have to do it soon.”
“How long did you sit out on the edge observing them?” Ar’alani asked.
“Only three days,” Samakro said.
“A full three days,” Thrawn corrected. “Long enough for me to analyze their patrol pattern and learn how to penetrate it.”
“Again, unless they’ve gotten more ships in the past fifteen hours,” Ar’alani said.
Thrawn’s lip twitched. “Yes.”
For a few moments, the conference room was quiet. Ar’alani gazed at her questis, pretending to study it, weighing the options. For anyone else, she knew, three days wouldn’t be nearly enough to analyze an alien patrol pattern, let alone figure out a way through it.
But for Thrawn, three days probably really was enough, Samakro’s doubts notwithstanding. Ar’alani couldn’t have come up with a plan herself this quickly, but she could see that Thrawn’s had a good chance of working.
On the other hand, this was hardly going to be a sleepwalk. Thrawn’s proposed course should get them in well ahead of any pursuit from the handful of patrol ships watching the outer system, but if the blockade’s commander detached some of his closer-in planetary forces he might catch the two Chiss ships in a pincer. “What about exit strategy?” she asked. “We’ll need one immediately, and you’ll ne
ed one eventually.”
“There we have two interesting options,” Thrawn said. As if, Ar’alani thought wryly, this whole thing didn’t come under the heading of interesting. “The typical box system is bounded for the most part by external flux patterns interacting with solar wind. These two points”—he tapped his questis—“mark the outer system’s two gas giant planets.”
Ar’alani smiled tightly as she saw it. “Planets which carve out small holes in the solar wind as they travel along their orbits.”
“Holes you can pop in and out of without confusing your hyperdrive or your sky-walker,” Wutroow said. “Huh. Hard to hit from the outside, though, unless you’ve got really good planetary data.”
“But not as difficult going from the inside,” Ar’alani said, “since you know right where the planets and the gaps are.” She looked at Thrawn with sudden realization. “That’s how the refugee ships got out past the patrols, isn’t it?”
“That’s my assumption,” Thrawn said.
“And now, of course, we’ve also got the planetary data we need,” Wutroow added. “So we go in through Shadow Number One and exit through Shadow Number Two?”
“Exactly,” Thrawn said. “And the Springhawk can subsequently leave through either. They’re close enough together for your purposes, but far enough apart that the blockaders won’t be able to sufficiently guard both, if they even wish to do so.”
“Unless, as we all keep saying, they’ve found more ships,” Wutroow pointed out.
Thrawn nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, I’m confused,” Wutroow said, frowning at her questis. “You don’t blockade a place unless you want to take it over. I’m sure it’s a great place to live, but why would anyone else want it?”
“Box systems have some advantages,” Samakro said. “As we’ve already noted, they’re easy to defend and don’t get much random traffic passing through. As such, they’re ideal as supply depots, staging areas, and maintenance facilities.”
“But easy to defend also means easy to bottle up,” Wutroow pointed out.
“Our unknown opponents do display a certain degree of arrogance,” Thrawn said. “Something we’ll be able to use against them when the time comes.” He looked at Ar’alani. “If the time comes,” he amended. “Admiral?”
Ar’alani pursed her lips. It was a gamble. But then, so was all warfare. “All right, let’s do it,” she said. “Pick your spot, and we’ll rendezvous there.” She lifted a finger. “Two things first. Before we head out I want your sky-walker and her caregiver moved to the Vigilant. You’re going into danger, and I want them safe. You can do a jump-by-jump to get out and then rendezvous with us to get them back.”
“I agree that Sky-walker Che’ri should join you,” Thrawn said. “But I’ll need Thalias to remain with me.”
Ar’alani frowned. “Why?”
“The alien clothing and the positioning of the bodies suggests the males hold their females in high esteem,” Thrawn explained. “If I have a female with me—”
“A moment, Senior Captain?” Wutroow put in, frowning. “What do you mean, from their clothing and body positions?”
Thrawn shook his head. “I wish I could explain it, Senior Captain,” he said. “I can see it. I can understand it. But I can’t really put it into words. The point is that if I have a woman with me, I believe any guards we encounter will be less likely to attack before listening to our explanations.”
“I thought you said the mining stations were deserted.”
“I believe they were,” Thrawn said. “But as Admiral Ar’alani pointed out, it’s been fifteen hours since our last observation. It’s mostly a precaution.”
“And you really think a woman can talk them down?” Wutroow persisted. “How?”
“Let’s skip the how for a moment and focus on the who,” Ar’alani said. She could sympathize with Wutroow—she’d certainly had her share of trust-me moments with Thrawn—but she also knew there was a point at which he simply couldn’t put his analysis into words. “Thalias is a civilian, which limits what you can order her to do.”
“I believe she’ll be willing to volunteer.”
“That’s not the point,” Ar’alani said. “If you want a woman to accompany you, there are plenty of female officers to choose from.”
Thrawn shook his head. “I need the Springhawk to be at full combat capability in case something goes wrong. That means every officer and warrior at their posts.”
Ar’alani shifted her attention to Samakro. “Mid Captain?” she invited.
“Unfortunately, Senior Captain Thrawn is correct,” Samakro said reluctantly. “We’re not exactly shorthanded, but we have more than our fair share of inexperienced personnel aboard. If Thalias is willing, she’s probably the one who should go.”
Ar’alani looked back at Thrawn. “You really think you can prove this is where the refugees came from if you get aboard that station? Even if there are no people or bodies or anything else aboard?”
“Absolutely,” Thrawn said. “There’ll be designs and patterns that will quickly settle the question.”
At which point…what? Ar’alani had no idea what Ba’kif’s plans were once Thrawn located the origin of the destroyed ship.
But figuring that out was his job, not Ar’alani’s. Her job was to work with Thrawn to get the proof Ba’kif needed.
“All right,” she said. “But only if Thalias is willing. If not, she stays with the Vigilant and you choose someone else.”
“Understood,” Thrawn said. “Whenever you’re ready, Admiral, I have the coordinates for our rendezvous prepared.”
* * *
—
The Springhawk was ready. Or at least it was as ready as Samakro could make it.
Samakro himself, not so much.
He could appreciate that the Council thought this mission was important. He could also appreciate that Thrawn’s plan was probably their best chance of slipping into the alien system and gaining that data without having to engage either the inhabitants or the ships riding herd on them.
That last point was crucial. Ascendancy policy was to do whatever was necessary to avoid preemptive combat against potential adversaries. An incursion into someone else’s territory, even just to gather data, drifted perilously close to the line. The faster Ar’alani could get the Vigilant in and out, the less chance either Chiss ship would need to fire its weapons.
“Vigilant?” Thrawn called.
“We’re ready,” Ar’alani’s voice came back. “Vector locked; maneuvering jets charged. Let me know when to go.”
“One moment,” Thrawn said, leaning forward a bit in his command chair as he gazed at the tactical display. “I need Blockade Four to move a little farther in its orbit…there. Stand by countdown: Three, two, one.”
There was the subtle shift in the deck vibrations as the Springhawk moved forward. Samakro peered up through the bridge canopy, confirming that the Vigilant was also in motion and staying in perfect sync with the smaller cruiser.
In perfect sync, and way too close for comfort.
Samakro scowled. In theory, the plan was simple: The Springhawk would fly alongside the Vigilant, staying close to its hull and hiding in the bigger ship’s sensor shadow, until they reached the point where the cruiser would slip away and duck inside one of the asteroid clusters. The Springhawk would go dark, hopefully undetected, and let the Vigilant lead away any pursuit.
In practice, the whole thing was a disaster crouched to spring. Thrawn had opted not to use tie cables to connect the ships, pointing out that a small error in either ship’s vector would create a visible ripple that an alert sensor operator might spot. Tractor beams were impractical for the same reason, plus the added disadvantage of generating a possibly detectable energy signature. Connecting the two ships with maglocks, allowing the larger ship to simply carry
the smaller one, would show a blatant mass/thrust discrepancy.
So instead Thrawn was going to attempt the kind of close-in flying normally associated with air shows.
The problem being that he was attempting it with a cruiser and a Nightdragon instead of the smaller and far more maneuverable missile boats.
“Pitch shift on one,” Thrawn called. “Stand by countdown: Three, two, one.”
Samakro tensed, waiting for the inevitable collision. To his relief and mild surprise, the inevitable didn’t happen. Both bows tilted upward at precisely the same time, and to precisely the same angle, and the ships continued on.
“Blockades One and Two are reacting,” came a voice from someone on the Vigilant. “Increasing speed and moving onto intercept vectors.”
“Time to intercept?” Ar’alani asked.
“Projected intercept…three minutes after Springhawk disengages.”
“Thrawn?” Ar’alani asked.
Thrawn didn’t answer. Samakro looked over at the command station, to see his commander working his questis. “I suggest a two percent increase in speed, Admiral,” he said.
“Two percent, confirmed,” Ar’alani said. “Course changes?”
“The next two can run as scheduled,” Thrawn said. “I’ll need to recompute the others.”
“Understood,” Ar’alani said. “Speed increase and starboard turn ready.”
“Acknowledged,” Thrawn said. “Stand ready speed increase. Three, two, one.”
There was a slight sensation, as much imagined as felt, as the Springhawk increased its speed. “Stand ready starboard turn,” Thrawn continued as the two ships settled into their new vectors. “Three, two, one.”
This turn was larger than the earlier pitch maneuver, shifting them a full seven degrees. Once again, the two ships stayed in perfect formation.
“Get busy on those revisions,” Ar’alani warned. “The portside change is scheduled for three minutes from now.”
