Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil

“I would treat them well,” Jixtus assured him. “They would be as honored guests among the Grysks.”

“And guests is all they would ever be,” Thrawn said bluntly. “I doubt you would be willing to invest the time and patience necessary to properly train them.”

Jixtus gave a contemptuous snort. “Time and patience, you say? Truly, you underestimate me. I’ve put a great deal of time and patience into you and your Ascendancy already. A little more invested to obtain such a prize would hardly be a loss.”

“What time?” Thrawn scoffed. His voice was a little stronger, as if he’d realized the end was near and had decided to face his final enemy with dignity. “You’ve just barely arrived in this region of space. I tell you that years of patience would be required to train the Magysines.”

“I am hardly new to this war, Thrawn of the Chiss,” Jixtus retorted stiffly. “Years of patience, you say? That is indeed what was required to train and nurture General Yiv the Benevolent and his Nikardun. Guiding him and pointing him toward his conquests took even more patience.”

“I fail to see what patience was necessary,” Thrawn said. “Yiv simply lashed out at everyone in his path. That hardly required guidance.”

“If you believe that, you’re less perceptive than I realized,” Jixtus said. “The order and locations of his conquests and alliances needed to be carefully mapped out if we were to create the necessary encirclement of your Chiss Ascendancy.”

“By conquests, you refer to the Vak Combine and Garwian Unity?”

“There was no need for Yiv to conquer the Garwians,” Jixtus said. “All that was needed to keep them quiet and cowering was to create a treaty between Yiv and their Lioaoin enemies.”

“So you conquered some and intimidated others,” Thrawn said. “What of the nations you drained of their resources and then crushed underfoot?”

“What of them?” Jixtus asked, his black robe shifting as he gave a small shrug. “They were of no value except as practice for Yiv’s soldiers. A few others, like the world currently below us, had certain specific resources, but weren’t worth the effort of conquering.”

“So those were the ones the Agbui were sent to destroy from within?”

“Some of them were,” Jixtus said. “The Agbui are quite good at such things. The one named Haplif, in particular, was one of the best. The Chiss will pay dearly for depriving me of his future services.”

“His service against whom?” Thrawn countered. “You’ve already destroyed everything in the region.”

“Not everything,” Jixtus said. “Perhaps I’ll send the Agbui against your Paccian friends. Or against the Vaks and Garwians.”

“Trying to make their worlds like Sunrise would be a mistake,” Thrawn warned.

“Possibly,” Jixtus said. “True, Sunrise was an entertaining exercise in subjugation and destruction, but as you can see it was quite costly. Perhaps I’ll simply enslave the Garwians and Vaks, lest I discover too late their worlds also have hidden resources. Agbui persuasion isn’t limited to destruction, after all.”

“Indeed,” Thrawn said. “It was quite clever, using the nyix the Agbui confiscated from Sunrise to corrupt your targeted Chiss officials. Fortunately, we were able to thwart that ploy.”

“Only temporarily,” Jixtus said. “Our latest effort will soon bear the same bitter fruit you see below you.”

“Perhaps,” Thrawn said. “Still, you made a serious error when you sent Yiv against the Paataatus.”

“Why do you say that?”

“So you claim that after years of working destruction from the shadows you’ve finally stepped into the light,” Thrawn said, ignoring Jixtus’s question. “You’ve traveled among the Ruling Families, offering proof of treachery with one hand and the assistance of Grysk warships with the other. Only it was all lies. There was no deceit among the families, and your warships were never going to be given to any Chiss family. They would always remain under your sole control.”

“Would you hand over warships to beings already marked for destruction?” Jixtus countered. “If you had any warships left to hand over, that is.”

“Point taken,” Thrawn said heavily. “But surely you couldn’t have known this would be the view you would face upon your arrival. Did you truly think it would be safe for you to come alone, without your fleet to support you?”

“Of course not,” Jixtus said, an edge of malicious satisfaction in his voice. “If you can still see, look outward, and witness the arrival of your final doom.”

And then, sweeping into view directly behind the Whetstone, the fifteen massive ships of Jixtus’s fleet arrived. “Do you see them, Thrawn?” Jixtus asked. “Do you see them?”

“I see them,” Thrawn confirmed. “An impressive array. I believe introductions are in order?”