by Timothy Zahn
"Yes, I read the reports," Doriana said, nodding. "Actually, if the timing works out I may take an extra day to poke around and see if I can identify' the traitor in his inner circle. With your permission, of course."
"Granted," Palpatine said. "But be careful. There are rumors of growing dissatisfaction in that sector."
"There are rumors of that sort everywhere," Doriana said. "I'll be all right."
"I trust so," Palpatine said. "But still be careful. And hurry back."
It was a twenty-minute air taxi ride to Doriana's home in the Third Ring Apartment Towers northeast of the Senate complex. He split the time between datapad and comlink, checking on his travel plans and smoothing out the inevitable last-minute details. The taxi let him out on the 248th-floor landing pad, and he rode the turbolift ten stories down to his apartment. Unlocking the door, he went in, locking and privacy-sealing it behind him.
He had told Palpatine that he still had to pack his bags. In actual fact, they were already packed and sitting in a neat row just inside the conversation room. Passing them by, he went to the desk in the corner and sat down. From behind the false back in the bottom right-hand drawer he took a holoprojector and plugged it into the computer. The access/security code was a simple matter of twelve letters and eighteen digits; punching them in, he picked up his datapad again and settled back to wait.
As usual, the wait wasn't very long. Barely three minutes after he sent the call, the hooded face of Darth Sidious shimmered into view above the holoprojector. "Report," the other ordered in a gravelly voice.
"Jedi Master C'baoth is on his way to Barlok, my lord," Doriana said. "Depending on what kind of transport he was able to get, he should be there in three to six days."
"Excellent," Sidious said. "You'll have no trouble arriving ahead of him?"
"None, my lord," Doriana assured him. "My courier is faster than anything the Jedi can provide. He'll also have to stop off at the Temple and persuade the Council to give him official permission, while I'm ready to go right now. And all the groundwork has been laid."
"Then he should arrive to a warm reception indeed," Sidious said, his lips curving in a satisfied smile. "What about Chancellor Palpatine? You're certain he won't notice this little side trip?"
"I've built the necessary slack into my schedule," Doriana assured him. "I can spend up to three days on Barlok without filling behind. If it ends up taking longer, there are a couple of items on my agenda I should be able to resolve via HoloNet conference. I can do that from Barlok or anywhere else along the way, without having to actually travel to those systems."
"Again, excellent," Sidious said. "I have many servants, Doriana, but few as clever and as subtle as you."
"Thank you, my lord," Doriana said, a warm glow flowing through him. Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, was not a man who was generous with his compliments.
"It will be a distinct pleasure to get Jorus C'baoth out of our way," Sidious went on. "All indeed goes according to my plan."
"Yes, my lord," Doriana said. "I'll report as soon as we've achieved our victory."
"Just make certain wehave that victory," Sidious said, the note of warning in his tone sending a chill through the lingering warmth of his earlier compliment. "Proceed with your work, my friend."
"Yes, my lord."
The image vanished. Shutting off the holoprojector, Doriana disconnected it from the computer and returned it to its hiding place. Then, pocketing his datapad, he retraced his steps to where his packed bags waited. Yes, the punishment for failing the Sith Lord would undoubtedly be severe. Nearly as severe, he had no doubt, as that which would descend upon him if Chancellor Palpatine ever learned that he had a traitor in his inner office.
But if the price of failure was great, so were the rewards of success. Doriana's apartment, his position, and his quiet but far-ranging authority were proof of that. It was, in his estimation, a gamble well worth taking.
Besides which, he did so enjoy the game.
Pulling out his comlink, he keyed for a taxi to take him to the spaceport. Then, gathering his bags together, he headed for the turbolift.
The door to the Jedi Council Chamber slid open. "Come," Jedi Master Mace Windu called.
Squaring his shoulders, wondering what this was all about, Obi-Wan Kenobi stepped inside.
And stopped, feeling his forehead wrinkling in surprise. A person summoned to the Jedi Council Chamber naturally expected to find the entire Council waiting for him. But aside from Windu, standing over by the windows gazing out at the city, the room was deserted. "No, you haven't misunderstood where you were supposed to go," Windu said, half turning to give Obi-Wan a faint smile. "I need to talk to you."
"Certainly, Master Windu," Obi-Wan said, still frowning as he crossed to where Windu stood. "Is this about Anakin again?"
"No," Windu said, raising his eyebrows questioningly. "Why, what's young Skywalker done now?"
"Nothing," Obi-Wan assured him hastily. "At least, nothing in particular. But you know what fourteen-year-old Padawan learners are like."
"Strong, cocky, and amazing naive," Windu said, smiling again. "I wish you luck with him."
Obi-Wan shrugged. "If thereis such a thing as luck."
"You know what I mean." Windu turned back to look out the window. "Tell me, have you ever heard of a project called Outbound Flight?"
Obi-Wan searched his memory. "I don't think so."
"It was proposed as a grand exploration and colonization mission," Windu said. "Six Dreadnaught warships were to be linked to each other around a central equipment and supply storage core, the whole thing to be sent out into the Unknown Regions and from there to another galaxy"
Obi-Wan blinked. To anothergalaxy? "No, I haven't heard anything at all about this. What's the proposed time frame?"
"Actually, it's mostly ready now," Windu said. "Just the final assembly and some disagreements about the passenger list."
"Who's in charge of it? The Senate?"
"Nominally, it was the Council's plan," Windu said. "In practice, it's been Master C'baoth who's been the chief driving force behind it."
"Jorus C'baoth, master of the designated interview?" Obi-Wan asked drily. "And yet the project hasn't made HoloNet newscasts? Incredible."
"You shouldn't talk about a Jedi Master that way," Windu reproved him mildly.
"Am I wrong?"
Windu shrugged, a slight lift of his shoulders. "The fact is, everyone connected with Outbound Flight has had their reasons for keeping the project out of the public eye," he said. "Chancellor Palpatine has been concerned that spending time and money this way in the face of the Republic's other problems might not go over very well. Ditto for the Senate, which provided the Dreadnaughts they'll be using."
He pursed his lips. "As for the Council, we had reasons of our own."
"Let me guess," Obi-Wan said. "C'baoth is hoping Outbound Flight can find out what happened to Vergere."
Windu looked at him in mild surprise. "Youare growing in Jedi insight, aren't you?"
"I'd like to think so," Obi-Wan said. "But this doesn't really qualify. Anakin and I never did get the whole story on her disappearance; more to the point, we weren't able to find her on our last trip out that direction. Never mind what C'baoth wants; I want to know what happened to her."
"Careful, Obi-Wan," Windu warned. "You mustn't allow your emotions to intrude on this."
Obi-Wan bowed his head. "My apologies."
"Emotion is the enemy," Windu went on. "Emotion of all sorts. Yoursand Master C'baoth's."
Obi-Wan frowned. "You think Master C'baoth is getting too close to this project?"
"To be honest, I don't knowwhat's happening with him," Windu admitted reluctantly. "He insists that we need to send a strong force out into the Unknown Regions to find Vergere and bring her back, which is all well and good. But at the same time he talks about how the Republic is teetering on the brink and how it might be good to transfer some of the best Jedi out of the Republic entirely, s
ettling them in new colonies in the Unknown Regions where Coruscant politics can't touch them."
"You're not really considering doing that, are you?" Obi-Wan asked. "We're spread thin enough as it is."
"Most of the Council would agree with you," Windu said. "Unfortunately, the majority also think that by now Vergere's trail is so cold it will probably be impossible to follow. Most of those who still hold out hope think a smaller probe would still be worthwhile, something larger than your attempt but far below the scale C'baoth wants." He grimaced. "The bottom line is that C'baoth is about the only one still pushing for the full Outbound Flight."
"Are you suggesting he might defy the Council if you try to cancel it?"
"Why not?" Windu countered.
Obi-Wan turned back to face the window, and for a moment the room was silent. "So what exactly does the Council want me to do?" Obi-Van asked at last.
"At this moment, Master C'baoth and his Padawan, Lorana Jinzler, are on their way to the spaceport," Windu said. "Apparently, Chancellor Palpatine mentioned some bogged-down negotiations on Barlok, and C'baoth persuaded the Council to send him there to mediate."
"It this something major?"
"Major enough," Windu said. "The Corporate Alliance versus the local government. And you know how anything involving any of the big corporate players makes headlines these days."
"Yes," Obi-Wan murmured. Center-stage negotiations, so of course C'baoth would be headed in that direction. "Again, what do you want me to do?"
A muscle in Windu's cheek tightened. "We want you to go to Barlok and keep an eye on him."
Obi-Wan felt his mouth drop open. "Me?"
"I know," Windu agreed soberly. "But you're here, and you're available. Besides, Skywalker seemed to get along well enough with him the one time they met. Maybe you can frame the whole thing as a desire to show your Padawan how Jedi negotiations are done."
Obi-Wan snorted. "You really think C'baoth will buy that?"
"Probably not," Windu conceded. "But if you don't go, it'll have to be either Yoda or me. You think he'll be less explosive if one ofus shows up?"
"You have a point," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. "Fine. We're between assignments anyway. And you're right; Anakinwas rather impressed by that take-charge single-mindedness of his. Maybe a little youthful hero worship will keep him calm."
"Maybe," Windu said. "At any rate, there'll be a ship waiting by the time you and Skywalker get to the spaceport."
"Any instructions other than to just watch him?"
"Not really," Windu said. He pursed his lips, and his gaze seemed to stretch out toward infinity. "There's something else going on, though. Something deep inside the man that I haven't been able to get a grip on. Some private thoughts, or agenda, or. . I don't know. Something."
"Right," Obi-Wan said. "I'll be sure to watch for that." Windu gave him the sort of wryly patient look Jedi Masters seemed to do so well. "And keep in touch," he said.
Chapter 4
Thrawn had told Car'das that his base wasn't far from the spot where his task force had run into theBargain Hunter: What he hadn't mentioned was that the trip would take nearly three standard days.
"About time," Qennto muttered under his breath as the three humans stood together at the back of theSpringhawk 's bridge and watched as the handful of ships flew in formation across a small asteroid field. "I'm about to go stir crazy."
"You could always join Maris and me for the language lessons," Car'das offered. "Commander Thrawn really is decent company."
"No thanks," Qennto grunted. "You two want to aid and abet a potential enemy, be my guests. Not me."
"These people arenot potential enemies," Maris said firmly. "As you'd realize if you'd made any effort to get to know them. They're very polite and extremely civilized."
"Yeah, well, the Huns have a civilization, too, or so they say," Qennto retorted. "Sorry, but it'll take more than good manners to convinceme the Chiss are harmless."
Mentally, Car'das shook his head. Ever since that first night aboard when he'd been frozen out of the negotiations, Qennto had been nursing a grudge against the Chiss in general and Thrawn in particular. Car'das and Maris had both tried to talk some sense back into him, but Qennto was more interested in brooding than in reason, and after a few attempts Car'das had given up. Maybe Maris had, too.
Thrawn had been across the bridge, standing beside the crewer at what Car'das had tentatively identified as the navigation station. Now the commander stepped back and circled to where the humans waited. "There," he said, pointing ahead out the wide viewport. "The large asteroid with the slow rotation. That's our base."
Car'das frowned at it. The asteroid wasn't rotating so much as it was doing a slow wobble, nearly but not quite end over end. Not for pseudogravitational purposes, obviously; theSpringhawk showed that the Chiss had artificial gravity. So why pick a rotating asteroid?
Maris was obviously wondering the same thing. "That wobble must make it hard to dock with," she commented.
"Itdoes require a certain degree of skill," Thrawn agreed, lifting his eyebrows slightly like a teacher trying to draw an answer from a group of students.
Car'das looked back at the asteroid. Could Thrawn have set up a deliberately tricky docking procedure as a training exercise for new recruits? But he could do that more easily and safely with a separate practice station.
Unless this asteroid was merely a training facility and not his main base at all. There were certainly no lights or indications of construction showing anywhere that he could see. Was that the conclusion Thrawn expected them to come to?
And then, suddenly, he had it. "You've got a passive sensor array at one end," he said. "The wobble lets it sweep the whole sky instead of just one spot."
"But why spin the whole asteroid?" Maris asked, sounding puzzled. "Couldn't you just rotate the array?"
"Sure he could," Qennto growled. "But then there'd be something moving on the surface an enemy might spot. This way everything's all nice and quiet and peaceful, right up to the minute when he blows their ships out from under them."
"Essentially correct," Thrawn said. "Though we're not expecting enemies to actually come calling. Still, it's wise to take precautions."
"And they didn't blowour ship out from under us," Maris said, tapping a finger on Qennto's chest for emphasis.
Qennto turned a glower toward her. Car'das spoke up quickly: "So we're in Chiss space now?"
"Yes and no," Thrawn said. "Currently, there are only some survey and observation teams here, so it's hardly representative of a proper Chiss system. However, the second planet is quite habitable and within a few years will probably be opened up to full colonization. At that point, it will come officially under the protection and control of the Nine Ruling Families."
"I hope you're not expecting us to stay for opening ceremonies," Qennto muttered.
"Of course not," Thrawn assured him. "I tell you this simply because you might wish to return someday and see what we've made of the Crustai system."
"You've named it already?" Maris asked.
"The initial survey team always has that honor," Thrawn said. "In this case, the name Crustai is an acronym for-"
"CrahsystorMitth'raw'nuruodo," a Chiss called from across the bridge. "Ris ficar tli claristae su fariml'sroca."
"Sa cras mi soot shisfla,"Thrawn replied sharply, striding back to his command chair in the center of the bridge and sitting down. "Hos mich falliare."
"What did he say?" Qennto demanded, grabbing at a nearby chair back for balance as theSpringhawk veered sharply portside and began to pick up speed. "What's going on?"
"I'm not sure," Car'das said, mentally replaying the Cheunh words and trying to sort out the various prefixes and suffixes. The Chiss grammar was logical and relatively easy to learn, but after only three days of lessons he didn't have much vocabulary to work with. "The only word roots I caught were the ones for `stranger' and 'run.' "
"Stranger. Run." Qennto hissed betwee
n his teeth as the stars in the viewport stretched into starlines. "They're after someone."
"Someone not too far away, either," Maris murmured. "Isn'tstae a word root for 'near'?"
"Yes, I think you're right," Car'das agreed. "I wonder if we ought to go back to our quarters."
"We stay right here," Qennto said firmly. "We already saw how they treated one ship that wandered in too close. I want to see what they do with another."
"They only took out Progga because he fired first," Maris pointed out.
"Yeah," Qennto said. "Maybe."
For the next few minutes the bridge crew worked busily at their stations, the silence punctuated only by an occasional command or comment. Car'das found himself staring at the back of Thrawn's head as the commander sat motionlessly in his chair, wondering if he dared sidle up behind the other and ask for an explanation as to what was going on.