Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil
- Автор: Зан Тимоти
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: Random House
- ISBN: 9781473596580
- Жанр: Боевая фантастика
Электронная книга - «Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil». Краткое содержание книги:
“You wish to know the names of the warships that will slaughter you and finish the destruction of your pitiful force?” Jixtus asked. “Why?”
“Why not?” Thrawn replied. “Are you so desirous of personal glory that you would deny your force captains their share of it?”
Jixtus snorted. “Do you think to drive a wedge between my captains and me? You are indeed foolish. But no matter. The largest ship, the one now coming up along the starboard side of this pathetic little Kilji war cruiser, is my flagship, the FateSpinner.”
“Impressive,” Thrawn said. He was hiding his apprehension well, Qilori thought, but the sight of the massive Grysk warship had to be digging a claw into his heart.
“It is indeed,” Jixtus agreed. “It’s a Shatter-class WarMaster, the greatest class of warship in the Grysk armada. Flanking it on portside, starboard, and dorsal are my three StoneCrusher-class WarMasters Emery, Armageddon, and SkySweep. Screening the core ships are my eleven Prism-class BattleChiefs. I’d offer their names, but there’s no point in overburdening you with details when your time is so short.”
“Fifteen vessels in all,” Thrawn said. “I note that there are more here than you offered the Clarr Patriarch.”
“Of course,” Jixtus said. “A moment, if you please.”
He rattled off a few sentences in the Grysk language, and Qilori saw the battle formation slowly break apart as the warships headed toward different sections of the battleground.
“I’m sending them off to search for the ships most likely to hold survivors,” he said, switching back to Minnisiat. “You’ll recall I offered to trade Chiss lives for the Magysines?”
“You spoke only of the Vigilant.”
“I’m adding further inducements,” Jixtus said. “And you’re correct about the numbers. Patriarch Rivlex wasn’t the only arrogant fool who accepted my warships. The Chaf and Ufsa Patriarchs were also eager to add Grysk power to their fleets. I, for my part, was happy to have safe harbors where my ships would have easy access to supplies and fuel.”
“Yet you’ve now brought all of them here,” Thrawn said. “What if the Patriarchs notice their departure? Will they not wonder whether your promise of control was a lie?”
“Is that where your final hope rests?” Jixtus asked. “That the Patriarchs will see their folly and reconsider their agreements with me?”
He gave a contemptuous snort. “No, Thrawn. As you once thought to utilize the Magys and her people to see your battles laid out before you, so too is this final expectation also in vain. My warships will return to their nests once we finish here, long before the Patriarchs can become concerned, probably before they even notice their absence.”
“It would have been wiser to leave one or two behind to calm any concerns,” Thrawn suggested.
“As I see now, I could have,” Jixtus agreed. “But I came to Sunrise expecting to fight a major battle. I didn’t expect to find that you’d done my job for me.”
“So this is your entire fleet?”
Qilori’s winglets twitched. That was an odd question.
Jixtus apparently thought so, too. “Why do you ask?”
“I offer a trade,” Thrawn said. “Answer my question, and I’ll tell you why it was a mistake to send the Nikardun against the Paataatus.”
Qilori looked sideways at Jixtus. The Grysk was sitting motionless, his veiled face turned toward the viewport and the two damaged ships the Whetstone was making its way toward. “Very well, I’ll play your game,” he said. “I really don’t care about Yiv or his failures, certainly not now that he’s gone. But I’ll admit to some curiosity. Yes, this is my entire fleet. Not the entirety of Grysk forces, certainly—our armada would fill the Csilla sky. These are merely what I deemed necessary for the destruction of the Chiss Ascendancy.”
“Minus the warship we’ve already taken from you.”
Jixtus made a rumbling sound in the back of his throat. “The HopeBreaker. Yes. The FateSpinner’s sister ship. Like Haplif’s death, be assured that the loss of that ship will be held for full payment against you.”
“I apologize for bringing up a painful subject,” Thrawn said. “I merely mention it because the record of its destruction will provide detailed instruction to the Chiss Defense Force as to how to face your warships and destroy them. You might wish to ponder that before you consider another move against the Ascendancy.”
“Pondered, and dismissed,” Jixtus said contemptuously. “By the time I bring my warships openly into your war, there won’t be enough left of your Defense Force to worry about. Especially not with well over half of the Expansionary Defense Fleet already lying waste here. Explain to me Yiv’s mistake.”
“The mistake was that the Paataatus were quite unhappy at his attempt to conquer them,” Thrawn said. “That anger was matched with an equal degree of gratitude for my assistance in breaking the last Nikardun stranglehold on them.”
“And so …?”
“And so they were happy to do me a favor,” Thrawn said. “Are you still there, Generalirius Nakirre?”
“I am,” Nakirre spoke up.
“You sent your Kilhorde against several of the small nations to the south and southeast of the Ascendancy,” Thrawn said. “Unfortunately for them, that also put them to the north and northwest of the Paataatus Hiveborn. Having a large military force operating that close to their borders was deemed unacceptable.”
“What are you saying?” Nakirre demanded.
“I’m saying that your Kilhorde is gone,” Thrawn said. “A multipronged Paataatus attack fleet engaged and destroyed it. All of it. The worlds and peoples on whom you hoped to force your enlightenment have been set free.”
“No,” Nakirre insisted. “You lie. The Illumine Kilhorde is mighty and unshakable.”
“Unfortunately, it also had several weaknesses, both in design and in combat doctrine,” Thrawn said. “Flaws that were easily gleaned from the battle data we retrieved from your picket cruiser Hammer. That information was of course shared with the Paataatus prior to their attack.”
Qilori looked sideways at Nakirre, cringing as the Kilji’s skin roiled across his body like waves on an agitated sea. Jixtus, in contrast, was utterly unmoving, his face turned toward the generalirius.
And then, abruptly, Nakirre leapt to his feet. “You did this!” he snarled, jabbing a finger at Jixtus. “Your arrogance—your refusal to accept the Kilji Illumine as true allies—your failure to provide adequate support for our conquests of enlightenment—”
Without a word, Jixtus pulled a small hand weapon from inside his cloak and fired a single shot.
Qilori’s winglets spasmed with shock as Nakirre jerked and collapsed to the deck, his skin finally and forever going still. “Sir—!” Qilori gasped.
“Calm yourself, Pathfinder,” Jixtus said. “If the Kilhorde is gone, the generalirius is of no further use to me.” He looked around the bridge, his covered face turning to each of the Kiljis in turn. Then, apparently satisfied that there would be no further resistance, he returned the weapon to its hidden holster. “And now, Thrawn of the Chiss. Are you ready to give me the Magysines?”
“One final comment before I answer,” Thrawn said. “I wish to remind you that the data from the Hammer’s recent confrontation here at Sunrise, along with our observations during our own battles with your warships, have likewise highlighted several weaknesses in Grysk combat abilities and tactics. You would be wise to take that into account before you answer my question.”