to get back right away."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Grobber said. "What attack?
Who's attacking?"
"Who do you think? The frinking Imperials, that's who."
Grobber threw a startled glance at selty. "The Imperials?"
"Started out as some anti-Rebel operation," Control said. "At least,
that's what they told us. Then someone took a shot at them, and
suddenly here they are, burning their way through the east wall."
"Skrag! Where's Thyne?"
"I don't know--we can't find him."
"Must have gotten out," Selty muttered.
"Or ducked into some private bunker," Grobber said.
"All right, Control, we're on our way. Skinkner?"
"We're packing up, too," Skinkner's voice confirmed.
"You want us to do anything with these other sleight boxes?"
"To blazes with the boxes," Control snapped. "We need you here."
"No, pack 'em up and bring 'em along," Grobber said.
"Grobber--"
"They're worth a fortune," Grobber growled.
"Thyne'll have our heads if we leave 'em behind. Come on, how much
trouble can a few Imperials be?"
Faintly over the comlink came the sound of a distant explosion.
"That answer your question?" Control snarled. "Get the frink back
here."
And with a sudden hiss, the comlink went dead.
"They're jamming it," Grobber growled, shoving the cylinder back into
his belt. "Selty, you take Promk and Bullkey and get these two and
their landspeeder back to the fortress. Everyone else, back to the
airspeeders. Move it!"
The others scattered. "Don't get any ideas," Grobber warned softly,
glaring from under creased eyebrows at Riij and Maranne.
"We're a long ways from being done with you two yet."
With that he stomped off after the rest of his mob, disappearing just
as they had appeared back into the shadows again. "Get over here,"
Selty snapped, Waving Riij and Maranne forward. Somewhere in the
distance an avian or insect whistled, sounding strangely out of place
in the urban setting. "Bullkey?"
"I'm on 'em," a deep voice came from behind Riij, the confidence backed
up by a blaster nudge in the back.
"Com on, move it."
Riij started forward; and as he did so, Maranne veered slightly toward
him and nudged him with her elbow. "Get ready," she murmured, just
loud enough for him to hear.
At the landspeeder Promk, under Selty's direction, had picked up the
box containing the Durindfire gems and was carrying it back toward the
storage compartment.
The strange avian whistled again; and suddenly, inexplicably, one of
the bottom edges of the box split open, spilling the gems out onto the
ground.
"Promk!" Selty squeaked, aghast. "You stupid idiot."
He jumped forward, grabbing at the box as Promk tried to turn it upside
down. For a moment they both fumbled with it, the prisoners
temporarily forgotten-
And from behind Riij came a short gurgle and a
muffled thump.
Beside him, he sensed Maranne preparing to charge.
"Not yet," he muttered, touching her warningly as he lengthened his
stride. Preoccupied with the spilled gems, Selty and Promk hadn't yet
noticed what had happened over here. Another four paces . . .
three . . . if they'd just fight with the box another few seconds...
one ....
"Now," he murmured; and jumping forward, he put his left palm down on
the landspeeder's hood and leaped over the vehicle to slam both feet
hard against Promk's chest.
The thug didn't even have a chance to gurgle as he hit the ground, the
sleight box spinning out of his hands into the darkness. Selty did
have time for a startled curse and a grab for his holstered blaster
before he went down with Maranne on top of him. A savage jab with her
knee, and he went limp.
"Are you injured?" Pairor rumbled from behind them.
"No, we're fine," Riij assured him, regaining his balance and turning
around. Behind the Tunroth, the third thug was lying in an unnaturally
crumpled heap. "Nice job with Bullkey," he added.
"Not to mention the box," Maranne added, retrieving their appropriated
blasters from Selty's belt and tossing Riij's back to him.
"How'd you manage that one?"
"That was mine," Trell said, stepping out from behind one of the other
parked landspeeders and crossing to them. "Just an exquisitely
well-thrown molecular stiletto."
"A whistle code and a molecular stiletto," Riij said, shaking his head
wonderingly. "You two are just full of tricks, aren't you?"
"The stiletto was a gift," Trell said, crouching down beside the
sleight box. "Blast--the blade's broken."
"Never mind the blade," Maranne said, crouching down beside him.
"Get the gems."
"Forget the gems," Riij told her, peering off in the
direction Grobber and the others had gone. The rescue had been remarkably quiet, but if
Grobber took it into his head to fly over this spot on the way back to
Thyne's fortress, the four of them could still end up fertilizing a
patch of razor grass. "Let's just get out of here."
"But--" "No, he's right," Trell said through clearly clenched teeth.
"If whatever's going on back at Thyne's place dies down fast enough we
could still find Grobber's buddies camping out in the Hopskip's cargo
bay. Just grab the box and whatever's still left inside."
Maranne hissed something vile sounding, but she nevertheless stood up,
the now half-empty box in her hands.
"Fine," she said bitterly. "What about the spice?"
"Leave it here," Trell told her. "Corran said we wouldn't want to get
caught shipping spice, and I'm rather inclined to agree with him."
"We can call CorSec on the way and tell them where to pick it up," Riij
added. "Now let's go."
They all piled into the landspeeder. "Speaking of Corran and CorSec,"
Trell commented as he spun the vehicle around and kicked power to the
engines. "Turns out they're one and the same."
"Corran's with Corellian Security?" Maranne asked, frowning at him.
"You're joking."
"That's how he and Hal were talking, anyway," Trell said. "Last we
saw, they were heading off after Thyne."
Riij winced. "In the middle of Thyne's fortress? They haven't got a
chance."
"That was also our estimation," Pairor agreed. "But counting the
number of Thyne's warriors here and those fighting the Imperials
outside his stronghold, it seems likely the core areas within may have
been nearly deserted."
"'Nearly' might not have been good enough," Maranne said. "And what
about Kast? He was still there, wasn't he?"
"I've given up trying to guess what kind of game Kast is
playing," Trell said, twisting the landspeeder hard to get around a
Herglic-parked speeder truck. "All I know is that he's the one who
gave Corran the molecular stiletto that got us out of there."
"And we do not believe it was merely a trap," Pairor added. "We were
challenged by Imperial TIE bombers as we left the stronghold; yet upon
identification, we were permitted to pass."
/>
"That had to be Corran and Hal's doing," Trell said.
"CorSec's supposed to be working pretty closely with the Imperials
these days."
"Yes," Riij murmured, thinking back to the brief argument he'd had with
Corran about the Rebellion. And now to find out Corran was actually
CorSec. Could he have guessed Riij's true loyalties from that
conversation?
"We were both permitted to pass," Pairor reminded him softly.
"I understand," Riij told him. "I also understand that the way
everything else here's been going, that doesn't mean a whole lot. If
we get to the Hopskip without running into an ambush--from any of the
sides of this crazy powerplay--then maybe I'll believe we've gotten
away with it."
"Gotten away with what?" Maranne asked.
Riij spread his hands. "With whatever in blazes we did here."
There was indeed no ambush poised outside the Hop-skip. Nor were any
of their former companionsCorran, Hal, or Kast--waiting there.
What was there was a single datacard.
"Looks like the same stuff that Kast used to stick the molecular
stiletto to Corran's cell bars," Trell commented, poking experimentally
at the bits of adhesive residue that had been left on the datacard.
"Should we read it here, or inside?"
"Inside," Riij said firmly, taking the datacard from him and glancing
around. "And not until we're out of here.
You and Maranne get the pre-flight started; Pairor and I'll check to
make sure no one left us any surprises."
Trell had the engines nursed and sputtering to life, and Maranne had
the nav computer working on their course, when Riij and pairor returned
from their tour of the ship.
"Looks clean," Riij told the others as the two of them took their
seats. "Or at least, there's nothing obvious. You talked to the tower
yet?"
"We're third in line to leave," Maranne told him. "You want to read us
a sleepy-time story now?"
"Sure," Riij said. From behind Trell came a faint rubbing sound--Riij
getting the last bits of adhesive off the datacard, probably--and then
the brief scraping as he slid it into his datapad.
"It's from Kast," Riij said. "'To the crew and passengers of the
Hopskip: well done."
"Well done!" Maranne growled. "What in blazes--?"
"Shh," Trell cut her off. "Go on."
"'You have adequately completed the mission that was assigned you,"
Riij continued." 'You may return now to the Admonitor and retrieve
your cargo. This datacard will serve as proof to Captain Niriz that
you have fulfilled your side of the bargain and may have your cargo
returned to you." Then it's signed with his name and what looks like
some kind of ID mark."
"So he's not going back, huh?" Trell said, an odd feeling stirring in
the pit of his stomach. "I'm not sure I like that."
"He must have arranged his payment to be delivered somewhere else,"
Maranne said. "It didn't look like he and Niriz got along very
well."
"Perhaps his payment is in the remainder of the sleight boxes," pairor
said.
"I wouldn't count on it," Riij said. "There's a postscript: 'Do not
return to the Dewback Storage Warehouse for the other sleight boxes.
They are empty."
"What?" Trell growled, half turning to glare back at Riij over his
shoulder. "Come on, now, that's just crazy.
You're telling me the two boxes you happened to take to
the Mynock's Haven were the only ones with anything in them? What are the odds of
that happening?"
"Not too bad, really," Maranne said grimly. "Not when you consider
that they were the only two we knew we could open and then reseal
again. They were leading us around by the nose the whole way, weren't
they?"
"The whole way," Riij agreed." 'And don't bother with either the
Durindfire gems or the spice. Both are counterfeit."
Trell looked across the cockpit, to find Maranne looking back at him.
There didn't seem to be anything to say.
There was another faint scraping behind him as Riij pulled the datacard
from the datapad. "Look, we got in and out again alive," he reminded
them, reaching over Trell's shoulder to hand him the datacard.
"My instructors used to say that no mission you walked away from was a
complete failure. Maybe we'll meet Corran and Hal someday and find out
what this whole thing was all about."
Trell turned the datacard over in his hand. "I doubt it," he said.
"I'd say chances are good that neither of them knew what was going on,
either."
He slid the datacard into a storage slot on his board.
"Come on, Maranne. Let's get out of here."
"I know this sort of thing embarrasses you," Captain Niriz said as he
poured his guest a glass of aged R'alla mineral water, "so I'll only
say it once. When I heard the reports of military action on CoreIlia,
I was concerned for your safety. I'm glad to find out my fears were
unfounded."
"Thank you, Captain," Grand Admiral Thrawn said, accepting the
proffered glass and taking a sip. He was still wearing his Jodo Kast
armor, though without the helmet and gauntlets. "You're wrong, though,
about expression of concern and support being an embarrassment. On the
contrary, loyalty is one of the two qualities I value most in my
subordinates and colleagues."
"And the other?" Niriz asked, pouring a glass of R'alla water for
himself.
"Competence," Thrawn said. "Has the Hopskip's cargo been reloaded
aboard yet?"
"It's being done, sir," Niriz said. With most people, he thought
distantly, the addition of Mandalorian armor would instantly create a
powerful air of strength and mystery.
With Thrawn, in contrast, it almost seemed to detract from the sense of
authority that was already there.
"The bridge has orders to let me know when they leave."
He cocked an eyebrow. "Which reminds me: you promised to let me know
what all this was about when you returned."
"And I intend to do so," Thrawn assured him. "I'm waiting for one
other person to join us here first."
Behind Niriz, the door slid open. Niriz turned, opening his mouth to
reprimand whoever this officer or crewer was who would dare enter the
captain's private office without permission-And an instant later was
scrambling to his feet, the harsh words dying in his throat as if
they'd been choked to death. The armored figure striding with casual
arrogance through the door-"Ah; Lord Vader," Thrawn said, rising more
easily to his feet. "Welcome aboard the Admonitor. We're honored by
your presence."
"As we are with yours, Admiral Thrawn," Lord Darth Vader said, a
distinct edge of challenge in his deep voice.
"You're nearly six hours late."
"I know, my Lord, and I apologize for keeping you waiting," Thrawn
said, nodding his head deferentially.
"As it turned out, I was forced to significantly modify the plan I
originally outlined to you."
"But the objective was achieved?" Vader demanded.
"It was indeed," Thr
awn said. "Zekka Thyne and the Corellian branch of
Prince Xizor's Black Sun have been effectively eliminated."
Niriz looked at Thrawn in surprise. "Zekka Thyne? But I thought--"
"You thought the Emperor had an arrangement with Xizor?"
Vader demanded, turning that grisly mask toward him.
Niriz swallowed. Vader's reputation concerning flag officers who had
displeased him . . . but on the other hand, Thrawn demanded absolute
honesty from his subordinates.
"Yes, my Lord," he said. "I did."
Vader's stiff posture seemed to ease slightly. "For the moment,
perhaps, that is true. But such arrangements are made to be
altered."
He turned back to Thrawn. "Yet I understood there was Imperial action
against Thyne's stronghold."
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