by James Luceno
“Patience,” Fel murmured toward them.
There was movement by the crushed hatch of one of the juggernauts, and two of Nuso Esva’s Chosen stepped outside, their yellow eyes glinting in the sunlight. One of them pointed at Fel, and they raised their blasters.
Fel nailed them both with a single shot. Again, the Quesoth Soldiers did nothing.
Fel gave the rest of the juggernaut hatches a quick check, then did another scan of the area to make sure more of the surviving Chosen weren’t rushing to the attack. As Thrawn had ordered, he’d left this particular loudspeaker intact, merely severing the control, power, and communications cables that led to it. That meant the techs not only would have to set up the special Soldier Speak message Thrawn had prepared, but would also have to splice in power from the shuttle’s generators.
With Sanjin’s stormtroopers still battling for their lives against their own clump of Soldiers, Fel hoped the techs would hurry.
Two streets away, another pair of the Chosen were warily approaching. Fel rotated his TIE a few degrees in that direction and waited for them to come out of cover.
And then, abruptly, the loudspeakers came to life below him, filling the air with a volume and intensity that he could feel right through the lower hull of his TIE as Thrawn’s message blared across this part of the city. The message ended and began to repeat.
For a moment nothing happened. Fel held his breath …
And then, all at once, the Soldiers by the juggernauts began to move. Flowing along the ground, more like a dark fluid than a collection of individual beings, they headed up the hill toward the palace.
The Soldiers had once again pressed their way to the house’s windows, and Sanjin and the remaining stormtroopers had pulled back to one of the inner rooms to make their final stand when Lhagva heard the faint sound of the loudspeakers over the noise of blaster bolts and the thud of maces and swords. He frowned, wondering at the bizarre message—
And then, without a word, the Soldiers lowered their weapons. Turning, they filed quickly back through the doors and the holes they’d battered in the walls, heading out into the city.
Leaving the stormtroopers panting in the middle of an empty room.
Sanjin found his voice first. “What in the void was that?” he demanded.
With an effort, Lhagva worked some moisture into his battle-dried mouth. “You didn’t hear the loudspeaker, did you?”
“No, I think I was getting clubbed with a mace at the time,” Sanjin said, rubbing gingerly and ineffectually at the side of his helmet. “These things don’t block that kind of blow nearly as well as I’d hoped. What happened? Did the Queen surrender?”
“I don’t think so,” Lhagva said. “It sounded like something Thrawn set up.”
“I thought you couldn’t fake Soldier Speak,” one of the others said as he dropped to his knees beside a fallen stormtrooper, his field med-pac in hand.
“He didn’t,” Lhagva said. “It seemed to be just a straight recording, taken right from the Queen’s mouth.”
“Which said?” Sanjin prompted.
“Go through the Dwelling doors,” Lhagva translated. “Surround and protect the Guests.”
“But isn’t that an order for the Soldiers to protect Nuso Esva?” one of the stormtroopers objected. “How’s that going to help us?”
“Because,” Sanjin said, and Lhagva could envision the other’s grim smile behind his helmet, “Nuso Esva doesn’t know that.”
Nuso Esva was still pointing his weapon at the Queen when one of the other Storm-hairs suddenly chattered in their alien language. Nuso Esva barked something in return and took a step forward. “What did you tell them?” he demanded. “What orders did you give your Soldiers?”
“I gave no orders,” the Queen said. “I cannot give any—”
“Don’t lie to me!” Nuso Esva thundered, taking another step forward. “An order was given. You’re the only one who can give such orders.” He took another step toward her. “And now they’re all coming here,” he continued, his voice suddenly quiet. “Why are they coming here, Queen of the Red?”
“I don’t know,” the Queen said. “When they arrive, I will ask them.”
Nuso Esva snorted. “No. You won’t.” Abruptly, his weapon spat a blaze of fire, and without a sound the Queen slumped over.
Dead.
Trevik gasped, his body stiffening as he stared in disbelief and horror at the Queen’s lifeless form. This wasn’t the way Queens of Quethold died. It was never the way Queens died. Dimly through the hiss of blood roaring through his ears and brain he heard the sound of more blasterfire …
“You. Traitor.”
Trevik jerked his head around. Nuso Esva was staring at him, his weapon pointed directly at Trevik’s face.
And only then did he realize that there were bodies of dead Quesoth all around him. The Workers, Borosiv of the Circling of the First of the Red—all of them were dead.
All of them had been murdered.
“You’re going to take a message to Thrawn for me,” Nuso Esva said, his voice grim and defiant.
And yet, beneath the alien warlord’s determination, Trevik could somehow sense a bitter-edged melancholy. There were four thousand Soldiers marching on the palace, and he knew that his own death marched alongside them. “Tell Thrawn that he may think he’s won,” Nuso Esva continued. “But with my death, his own will not be far off. My followers are still out there, and they’re more numerous than he can possibly imagine. No matter where he goes, no matter where he tries to hide, they will find him. You’ll tell him that.”
With a supreme effort, Trevik forced words into his mouth. “I will tell him,” he promised.
For a moment Nuso Esva held his position. Then, at last, he lowered his weapon. “Go,” he ordered.
Trevik was at the edge of the palace grounds, weaving his way through the lines of incoming Soldiers, when the Storm-hairs opened fire behind him.
He had reached the waiting group of white-armored humans when the Storm-hairs’ firing came to an abrupt end.
Parck looked up from the report. “So that’s it,” he said.
“That’s it,” Thrawn confirmed. “One of the bodies in the Dwelling of Guests was positively identified as his.”
Parck nodded, feeling a strange weariness stealing over him. After ten years of sporadic combat, slippery escapes, and unlikely victories across the Unknown Regions, warlord Nuso Esva was finally, finally dead. “What now?” he asked, setting the datapad aside.
Thrawn shrugged slightly. “There’s little we can do for the Quesoth except aid in rebuilding the damage to the Red City,” he said. “But they should be all right. Historically, there have been several instances when Queens have died prematurely. Sometimes that induces the next Queen to arise ahead of schedule; sometimes the affected city has to limp on alone until the regular time of arising. But whatever struggles the Red City ends up going through, the people of Quethold will survive. That’s what’s important.”
“Yes,” Parck agreed with a shiver. Especially considering what that Midli, Trevik, had told them about Nuso Esva’s plans for the planet. He could have destroyed everything, and might even have gotten loose to spread more of his poison across the Unknown Regions.
But he hadn’t. He was dead, and it really was over. “Actually, Admiral, I meant what were we going to do now,” he said.
“You and the Admonitor will be heading back to the Chaos Triangle to begin cleaning up the legacy that Nuso Esva left behind,” Thrawn said. “As for me, I can now finally turn my attention to an even more pressing problem than Nuso Esva. Namely, the restoration of the Empire.”
Parck winced. Thrawn had returned only occasionally to Imperial space since Palpatine’s death. Those trips had usually been short, had always been shrouded in secrecy, and had invariably left the Grand Admiral frustrated by the growing disorder there. Between the incompetence of its own leadership and the steady military pressure from the New Republic, the E
mpire had shrunk to barely a quarter of the size it had attained under Palpatine’s rule. “You may have trouble persuading them to accept your help,” he warned. “Some of their recent experience with Grand Admirals hasn’t been all that positive.”
“There’s someone there I can contact,” Thrawn assured him. “Captain Gilad Pellaeon, currently in command of the ISD Chimaera. I worked with him before, back when Nuso Esva made his one incursion into Imperial space.”
“Yes, I remember,” Parck said grimly. “Candoras sector. I also remember that it was shortly afterward that Nuso Esva launched the Braccio campaign and ended up nearly destroying half a dozen species.”
“Your recollection is correct,” Thrawn said, frowning slightly. “Your point?”
“That Nuso Esva was a vengeful son of a space slug,” Parck said. “I don’t expect his followers to be any less so. It may not be a good time for you to reintroduce yourself to Imperial politics.”
Thrawn shook his head. “Don’t worry, Captain. Whatever followers Nuso Esva has left are few and scattered. Without his leadership, they’ll slink back into the shadows where they belong.”
“Perhaps,” Parck said. “It still might not be a bad idea for you to take a few additional precautions out there.”
“Your concern is touching,” Thrawn said. “Again, you have no need to worry. Captain Pellaeon is a competent commander, and he’s made the Chimaera into one of the finest warships in the fleet.”
“What I meant—”
“And I’ve also made arrangements to have a bodyguard accompany me when I return to the Empire,” Thrawn continued. “Whatever vengeance Nuso Esva had planned, or thought he had planned, it will never reach me.”
“I hope not.” Parck took a deep breath. He still didn’t like this, but he knew better than to argue when Thrawn’s mind was made up. “With your permission, Admiral, I’ll go begin preparations to contact Captain Pellaeon and return you to the Empire.” He smiled slightly. “To your Empire.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Thrawn said quietly. “And don’t look so glum. This isn’t just the end of Nuso Esva.”
He smiled tightly. “It’s also the beginning. The beginning of victory.”
A B O U T T H E A U T H O R
Since 1978, TIMOTHY ZAHN has written nearly seventy short stories and novelettes, numerous novels, and three short fiction collections, and won the Hugo Award for best novella. Zahn is best known for his Star Wars novels Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future, Survivor’s Quest, Outbound Flight, and Allegiance, and has more than four million copies of his books in print. His most recent publications have been the science-fiction Cobra series and the six-part young adult series Dragonback. He has a B.S. in physics from Michigan State University and an M.S. in physics from the University of Illinois. He lives with his family on the Oregon coast.
BY TIMOTHY ZAHN
STAR WARS
STAR WARS: Choices of One
STAR WARS: Allegiance
STAR WARS: Outbound Flight
STAR WARS: Survivor’s Quest
STAR WARS: Vision of the Future
STAR WARS: Specter of the Past
STAR WARS: The Last Command
STAR WARS: Dark Force Rising
STAR WARS: Heir to the Empire
ALSO
Cobra Alliance
The Judas Solution
Conquerors’ Legacy
Conquerors’ Heritage
Conquerors’ Pride
Cobra Bargain
Cobra Strike
The Backlash Mission
Cobra
The Blackcollar
Author Annotations
Chapter 1
1 Each of the three classic Star Wars movies includes a Star Destroyer in its opening scene. All of my Rebellion-era books do the same.
—TIMOTHY ZAHN
2 I wanted to set up the Fleet as having suffered during the chaos and retreat of the years since Endor, slipping back from the generally efficient war machine shown in the movies to something less polished. Lieutenant Tschel was an example of the eager but inexperienced crewers that the Empire now had to whip into fighting shape, contrasting with the old-school competence and tradition of Captain Pellaeon.
—TZ
3 The Grand Admirals were to be part of this same overall plan: an extra layer put in at the top of the military command, its members appointed by and answerable only to the Emperor.
—TZ
4 Later, after the 501st Legion fan group began, it was also established that Vader similarly liked to grab the Empire’s best stormtroopers and add them to his personal legion. I got to play with that idea a bit in later books.
—TZ
5 When Heir first came out, I got a few questions about how this fit with the celebrations we saw at the end of Return of the Jedi. My answer was that those were spontaneous shows of relief and defiance by the galaxy’s ordinary citizens, but that the Empire’s military was far from defeated. In fact, it would be ten more years of Star Wars time until Vision of the Future, when the war with the Empire would finally end.
—TZ
6 I don’t see Thrawn as the type to use unwilling conscripts. Clearly, this was something other Imperial leaders had initiated before his return.
—TZ
7 I wanted Heir’s villain to be a military leader, as opposed to a governor, Moff, or Sith. But a normal admiral seemed too commonplace. Hence, the Grand Admirals.
I first ran across the title, by the way, in connection with the German navy in William L. Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
—TZ
8 With none of Vader’s backstory available at the time, and having just invented the Noghri species for this story, I came up with the idea that Vader might have designed his mask to look like a stylized version of a Noghri face, the better to facilitate his command of the death commando squads. (At the time, of course, I didn’t know that it would be revealed in RotS that Palpatine had provided the mask.) I wasn’t allowed to explicitly make the mask/Noghri connection in Heir, but I thought I might be permitted to do so later in the trilogy, so I went ahead and designed the aliens’ faces with that resemblance in mind.
Of course, we know now that the mask (which had originally been based on Ralph McQuarrie’s preproduction drawings) was provided by Palpatine, based on his own twisted, evil Sith specs, and had nothing whatsoever to do with the Noghri.
Just as well that LFL hadn’t let me run with this one. Yet another instance where their caution about letting my imagination stray too far saved me from future embarrassment.
—TZ
9 Originally, I had Rukh and his fellows being Sith, keying off Vader’s title Lord of the Sith. Since at that point the term hadn’t been defined, I figured I was safe. But Lucasfilm was concerned that George would want to use the Sith at some future date (which, as we all know, he did) and told me to pick some other term for them.
I fumed about that for a while, but of course I’m very grateful now that they ordered me to make that change.
—TZ
10 My original idea was that Noghri skin started out a pale gray in childhood and gradually darkened to black as the Noghri grew to adulthood. But there were concerns about possible racial questions (even though the Noghri were eminently honorable and would eventually become New Republic allies), so I changed the skin to gray.
—TZ
11 We never saw a command chair in any of the movies. The Star Destroyer bridge seemed to be modeled on the old sailing ship design, where the officers stood or paced as they observed the deck and rigging and gave orders. But it seemed to me that Thrawn would spend a lot of time up there, and to minimize the distractions of fatigue would arrange to have a chair.
Also, of course, ringing the chair with repeater displays would allow him to keep a closer eye on what was happening aboard his ship.
—TZ
12 Thrawn’s—and Palpatine’s�
��real agendas for the Unknown Regions campaigns were fairly vague here. The background for all of that would be slowly developed and revealed in future books.
—TZ
13 Heir to the Empire wasn’t my original title for the book, but was suggested by Lou Aronica at Bantam. My choices were Wild Card (which was vetoed because Bantam was also doing the Wild Cards superhero anthology series) and Warlord’s Gambit. Though we ultimately went with Heir, there are still bits of setup—such as here—for that other title.
—TZ
14 Assault Frigates were modified Dreadnoughts, a little more than a third the size of a Star Destroyer. They were older ships—Clone Wars era—but still packed a hefty punch.
Both Assault Frigates and Dreadnoughts came by way of West End Games (WEG) and their Star Wars role-playing games sourcebooks.
More about WEG later.
—TZ
15 One reason we proposed Tim to Lucasfilm as the author of the new Star Wars trilogy was his background in writing military science fiction. His previous novels—including the Cobra series and Blackcollar—were excellent examples of the craft.
–BETSY MITCHELL
16 One of the criticisms often thrown at Star Wars is that X-wings fly like atmosphere fighters, banking and turning when the vacuum of space shouldn’t allow that. However, the movies posited S-Foils (which at the time I interpreted as “spacefoils,” as opposed to airfoils), which I also assumed were “pressing” against the universe’s vacuum energy (sometimes called zero-point energy). In that same vein, I created the etheric rudder, also interacting with the vacuum energy, to give steering capability.
The term never caught on, though, and has since quietly been dropped. But I think the principle still stands.
—TZ
17 One of the coolest parts of writing Star Wars books is when you occasionally see something you’ve done borrowed for use in another part of the vast Lucasfilm universe. In this case, it was the “Storm Over Ryloth” episode of the Clone Wars TV series, where the Marg Sabl maneuver is used against a Trade Federation blockade.