by Timothy Zahn
But there was no one to receive the corpses. Lorana stretched out with the Force and worked with the ship's comm system, hoping against all her fears that someone might have miraculously survived the cataclysm that had overtaken Outbound Flight.
But no one answered either call. D-4, it seemed, was dead. Of defenders and attackers alike; and that Lorana found both curious and ominous. Surely the Chiss hadn't gone to all the effort to destroy Outbound Flight simply to abandon it. But then where were they?
She spent only a little time on D-4 before continuing on.
The turbolift to D-3 was inoperable, implying damage to the cars or the pylon or both, so she headed instead to D-5. There she picked her way through the same debris and bodies and received the same negative results to her efforts at communication. D-6, the next ship on her grisly tour, was much the same.
Still, all three ships seemed to be mostly airtight again, with adequate light and heat and gravitation. The service droids had used the past few hours well. If the Chiss truly had abandoned Outbound Flight, she and the others might be able to make it at least partially operational again.
She was in the turbolift heading for D-1 when her senses caught the faint whisper of nearby life.
She pressed her head against the wall of the car, stretching out with the Force as best her own injuries and lingering horror would allow. There were definitely living beings out there. Alien beings, and not very many of them. But at least there was someone.
And she and her turbolift car were headed straight toward them.
Stepping away from the wall, she got a grip on her lightsaber. Whether by design or simple blind luck, Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo had made good on his threat to destroy Outbound Flight. And he had, moreover, destroyed it out from under Jorus C'baoth and the rest of the Jedi.
It was time to see how well the Chiss would do in a face-to-face confrontation.
The turbolift car came up short at the D-1 end of the pylon, blocked by a maze of support girders that had broken loose during the battle. Using the Force to augment her efforts, she pried open the car door and climbed through the twisted metal to the entrance door.
The turbolift pylons connected at the base of each of the Dreadnaughts, serving only Decks 1 and 2. The bridge was another four decks up, and under the circumstances it didn't seem like a good idea to trust the Dreadnaught's own internal turbolift system. Making her way to the nearest stairway, she headed up.
The door opened in front of him, and with a not-very-gentle nudge at the small of his back the pair of yellow-clad Chiss gestured Doriana forward.
He found himself on a command bridge similar to the one aboard theSpringhawk, only bigger and crewed exclusively by Chiss in the same yellow uniforms as his escort. It made Mitth'raw'nuruodo's black uniform stand out that much more in contrast as he stood in the center of the room before a Chiss in a gray-and-yellow robe. Behind Mitth'raw'nuruodo, a female Chiss dressed all in white stood at stiff attention.
The robed Chiss eyed Doriana as his escort again nudged him forward. He spat something in the Chiss language- " 'So this is your collaborator,' " Mitth'raw'nuruodo translated.
"Hardly," Doriana said, loading his voice with as much dignity and disdain as he could, just in case the robed Chiss was able to pick up on verbal cues. He had no idea of the details, but it was obvious that there was some kind of power struggle going on here.
And Kinman Doriana, assistant to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, was quite familiar with power struggles. "I'm an ambassador of a vast assembly of star systems called the Galactic Republic," he intoned. "I came here on a mission of goodwill and exploration."
He studied the robed Chiss carefully as Mitth'raw'nuruodo translated. But the other merely smiled cynically and spoke again. " 'You came to bring chaos and war to this region of space,' " Mitth'raw'nuruodo translated. " 'You have brought alien weapons that you intended to use against the Chiss Ascendancy.' "
The robed Chiss straightened slightly as Mitth'raw'nuruodo finished and spoke again. " 'But you have failed. Those weapons are now the property of the Fifth Ruling Family. I, Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano, hereby take possession.' "
Doriana nodded to himself. So it was Outbound Flight and its technology that was at issue here. And he knew enough about internecine conflict to know that letting one Chiss group have sole possession of it would probably create terrible conflict with the other groups, up to and possibly including civil war.
Which would, of course, be precisely the situation Darth Sidious would want to see here. A Chiss Ascendancy entangled with its own internal problems couldn't pose a threat to the Sith Lord's plans for the Republic and the New Order he planned to create. Standing here in the middle of Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano's people, all Doriana had to do was confirm the Fifth Family's claim and he would help put the Chiss on that long and bitter road.
But as he opened his mouth to speak, he looked at Mitth'raw'nuruodo.
The commander was looking back at him, his face expressionless, his glowing eyes focused unblinkingly on him.
Doriana had already reluctantly concluded that Mitth'raw'nuruodo would have to be killed. But if that death came at the height of a controversy over the disposition of Outbound Flight. . "I'm sorry, Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano, but Outbound Flight is not yours to take possession of," he said instead. "As a duly appointed representative of the Republic that sent the project on its journey, I claim full salvage rights."
Chaf'orm'bintrano seemed taken aback as Mitth'raw'nuruodo finished the translation. He bit something out" 'Ridiculous,' " Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. " 'An aggressor has no rights.' "
"I deny your claim that either I or Outbound Flight have behaved aggressively toward your people," Doriana countered. "And I demand a full hearing and judgment before any Chiss steps aboard Outbound Flight."
Mitth'raw'nuruodo translated. Chaf'orm'bintrano's eyes narrowed, his glare shifting to the white-clad female. He said something; she replied, and the argument was on.
Doriana looked sideways at Mitth'raw'nuruodo. His face was still expressionless, but as his own eyes shifted to meet Doriana's his lip seemed to twitch upward in a microscopic smile of approval.
Just what the commander would do with the mess that had now been stirred up Doriana didn't know. But to his mild surprise, he discovered he was rather looking forward to finding out.
It had taken longer than Car'das had expected to get Outbound Flight prepped for flight. But at last they were ready. "Okay, get to the helm," he told Thrass, glancing out the canopy at the Chiss ships still hovering in the near distance. Why they hadn't already sent over a boarding party he couldn't guess. Apparently, Thrawn and Ar'alani had found a way to stall them.
"Ready," Thrass called.
Stepping to the navigation console, Car'das gave it one final check. Course set and locked in, ready to take Outbound Flight on its final voyage. Crossing to the engineering console, he settled his fingers on the power-feed controls
"Watch out!" Thrass snapped.
Car'das spun around, expecting to see a whole squad of yellow-suited Chiss charging in on them.
But to his astonishment, he found himself facing a lone female human. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Thrass snatch a weapon out of concealment in his robe. In reply, the woman produced a short metal cylinder
And a green lightsaber blade blazed into existence.
"No!" he barked, waving a hand frantically at Thrass.
But it was too late. The other's weapon hissed out a blue bolt, which the woman sent ricocheting harmlessly into the ceiling. "I saidstop," Car'das called again. "She's a Jedi."
To his relief, Thrass didn't fire again. "What do you want?" the Chiss demanded instead, keeping his weapon aimed.
"He wants to know what you want," Car'das said, translating the Cheunh for her.
Her eyes flicked to him. "He doesn't speak Basic?"
"No, no one here does except Thrawn," Car'das said. "But he knows some Sy Bisti, if that helps."
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br /> "It does." She looked back at Thrass. "Who are you?" she asked, switching to that language.
"I am Syndic Mitth'ras'safis of the Eighth Ruling Family of the Chiss Ascendancy," Thrass identified himself
"And I'm Jorj Car'das," Car'das added. "Mostly an innocent bystander to all of this."
"Mostly?"
"I got here through a hyperdrive malfunction," he said. "Who are you?"
"Lorana Jinzler," she said. Lowering her lightsaber, but leaving it ignited, she crossed the threshold and continued on into the bridge, limping noticeably. Her eyes flicked across the dead bodies, and an edge of fresh pain crossed her face. "Who else is aboard?"
"At the moment, just us," Thrass said. He hesitated, then slipped his weapon back into his tunic. "But a member of one of the ruling families is trying to claim Outbound Flight for himself. We're trying to prevent that."
Jinzler's eyes narrowed. "How?"
"We're going to have to scuttle it," Car'das said, watching her face carefully. Even with nothing left but torn and broken metal, there was an even chance she would be attached enough to the hulk to object violently to its destruction. People went all weird like that sometimes.
Sure enough, her eyes widened. "No," she insisted. "You can't."
"Look, I'm sorry," Car'das said as soothingly as he could. "But there's nothing left but dead metal and droids-"
"Never mind the dead metal," she snapped. "There arepeople still aboard."
Car'das felt his heart catch. No-that was impossible. A Jedi might possibly have survived Thrawn's attack, but surely no one else could have. "Who?" he asked. "How many?"
"Fifty-seven," Jinzler said. "Including children."
Car'das looked at Thrass, seeing his own horror reflected in the other's face. "Where are they?" he asked. "Can we get them out of here?"
"In that shuttle?" Thrass countered before Jinzler could answer. "No. There isn't enough room for even ten."
"And it would take time to get them up here anyway," Jinzler said. "They're still in the storage core."
Car'das grimaced. The storage core. Of course-the one area Thrawn's attack had ignored. "What do we do?"
"I don't understand the problem," Jinzler said, looking back and forth between them. "Why don't we just leave?"
"For starters, we can't fly Outbound Flight very far, not just the two of us," Car'das said. "Not even if we had time to get your people up here to help us."
Lorana looked around the bridge. "We won't need them," she said, her voice tight but firm. "I can fly Outbound Flight."
"By yourself?" Thrass asked in clear disbelief. "One single person?"
"One single Jedi," Jinzler corrected him. "Master C'baoth insisted we all learn to handle all of the major systems. At least, under normal conditions."
"The conditions here are hardly normal," Car'das pointed out. "And it still leaves the question of where we go. We'll never make it back to the Republic, not with this much damage."
"We have to reach a Defense Fleet base, as my brother originally intended," Thrass said.
"And then what happens to my people?" Jinzler asked. "Would they be prisoners of war? Captives held for study?"
"The Chiss aren't like that," Car'das insisted.
"But the end result might be the same," Thrass conceded. "If the Fifth Ruling Family chooses to press its claim to Outbound Flight, even if we go to a military base they may demand that all aboard be placed in holding until the matter can be decided."
"A prison by any other name," Jinzler said grimly. "How long would this decision process take?"
Thrass snorted. "With a prize such as Outbound Flight? It could be years."
"So we can forget going anywhere in Chiss space," Car'das said. "Any idea what other habitable worlds there might be out here?"
"Even if I did, I would caution against anything nearby," Thrass said. "This region is dangerous, with pirates and privateers all around."
"Not to mention what's left of the Vagaari," Car'das agreed with a shiver. "Come on, Thrass, think. There has to besomething else we can do."
Thrass gazed out at the Fifth Family ships. "There's one other possibility," he said slowly. "Within two days' flight is a star cluster that the Defense Fleet has begun to fortify as an emergency refuge. I've seen the data, and there are at least ten habitable worlds within it that haven't yet been explored."
"Kind of an out-of-the-way homestead," Car'das pointed out doubtfully.
"Andstill in Chiss space," Jinzler added.
"But it's a place where vessels of the Fifth Family wouldn't accidentally discover you," Thrass said. "Only Defense Fleet personnel go inside, and only to specific systems as they work on the fortifications."
"So what's the catch?" Car'das asked.
Thrass made a face. "The catch is that I don't have the safe access routes into the cluster," he said. "Are your navigational systems capable of finding such routes on their own?"
"Probably not," Jinzler said. "But I might be able to. There are Jedi navigational techniques that should be good enough to take us through even a star cluster."
"So what happens if she can?" Car'das asked Thrass. "They set up shop and wait for all this to blow over?"
"Or I return after they're hidden and negotiate in secret with the Council of Families for their safe passage home," Thrass said.
"Even if such negotiations take a few months, the survivors will at least have a habitable world to live on." He looked at Jinzler. "There are other hypercapable vessels aboard that I could use, are there not?"
"Just one, a two-passenger Delta-Twelve Skysprite," Jinzler said. "But it should have the range you need."
"So that's it?" Car'das asked, not quite believing they'd hammered out something workable so quickly. "We hide Outbound Flight in this cluster, negotiate a deal with the Chiss-all the Chiss-and everyone gets what they want?"
"Basically." Jinzler hesitated. "But thenwe won't include you. I have something else I need you to do for me." Her lips compressed. "A personal favor."
"Like what?" Car'das asked cautiously. Doing a personal favor for a Jedi didn't sound very appetizing.
"I want you to find my brother when you return to the Republic," she said. "Dean Jinzler, probably working with Senate Support Services on Coruscant. Tell him-" She hesitated. "Just tell him that his sister was thinking about him, hoping that someday he'll be able to let go of his anger. His anger at me, at our parents, and at himself."
"All right," Car'das said, the hairs on the back of his neck tingling. The fact that she was sending him on such an errand implied she wasn't at all sure she'd be coming back. Given the shape Outbound Flight was in, he wouldn't have bet on it, either. "I'll do my best."
For a long moment she held his eyes. Then she nodded. "You'd better go, then," she said. She looked down at her still-glowing lightsaber, as if suddenly realizing it was still active, and closed it down. "Please don't forget."
"I won't," he promised. "Good luck." He looked at Thrass. "To both of you."
Ten minutes later, Car'das eased the Chiss shuttle out of the Dreadnaught's hangar and flew it clear. Turning the nose toward the waiting Fifth Family ships, he looked back over his shoulder at the magnificent failure that had been Outbound Flight.
He wondered if anyone would ever see it again.
Doriana was gazing out the bridge canopy, listening with half an ear to the argument still going on between Chaf'orm'bintrano, Mitth'raw'nuruodo, and the female Chiss, when Outbound Flight abruptly made the jump to lightspeed.
For a moment he stared in disbelief. . and then, slowly, he felt a smile tug at his lips. So that was what Mitth'raw'nuruodo had been up to with this confrontation. He'd been stalling for time while some of his people stole the Dreadnaughts right out from under Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano's nose.
And even Doriana's own attempt to muddy the Chiss waters had apparently been part of that scheme. Had Mitth'raw'nuruodo anticipated Doriana's efforts? Or had he simply incorporated them into hi
s own plan as they occurred? Either way, it was artfully done. "Excuse me?" he spoke up, lifting a finger. "I believe the discussion is over." He waited until he had their attention, then angled the upraised finger to point out the canopy. "Your prize is gone."
Chapter 24
The shimmering hyperspace sky flowed past the Dreadnaught's canopy as Outbound Flight drove onward into the unknown. Lorana knew the sky was there, but had no time to actually focus on the sight. Every bit of her attention was tied up with D-1's systems as she used the Force to both sense the equipment status and keep the controls in proper adjustment.