Thrawn Ascendancy Book 3: Lesser Evil

He felt his lips crease in a tight smile. That was the kind of mistake Thrawn was very good at taking advantage of.

“The wishes of the unenlightened are of no importance,” the Kilji said. “Do you move aside, or do you die?”

“You who claim to offer enlightenment seem all too willing to extinguish the lives of those who need your guidance,” Uingali replied. “But no matter. I accede to your demands. The Nikardun warship Aelos will lead the way. Prepare to follow as I guide you through our orbital defenses.”

Samakro looked at Thrawn. The senior captain had his questis out and was punching in a series of orders and targeting vectors. He finished and keyed them to their respective stations.

“I need no guide,” the Kilji said. “I need you merely to stand aside.”

“The defenses are subtle and mighty,” Uingali said, trying one more time. “Without a guide, you will quickly be overcome.”

There was a brief, guttural sound. “Move aside,” the Kilji ordered. “I will not tell you again.”

“I have my orders. I must stand firm until assistance arrives.”

“Then you will die where you stand.”

“Senior Captain, we can’t interfere,” Samakro warned quietly.

“I think we can,” Thrawn said. “Azmordi? Can you make the necessary in-system jump?”

“Yes, sir,” the pilot confirmed, leaning over his displays as he keyed in the location Thrawn had sent him. “I can’t guarantee closer than a hundred meters, though.”

Samakro felt his stomach tighten. In-system jumps were notoriously tricky, and Thrawn’s plans unfortunately usually required laser-point accuracy. If a hundred meters was too far off the mark, there could be trouble.

But for once, apparently, Thrawn’s strategy had a bit more margin for error. “That will be acceptable,” Thrawn said. “Afpriuh, I trust you can be more accurate?”

“Yes, sir,” Senior Commander Chaf’pri’uhme said confidently from the weapons station. “Spheres armed and locked on targets.”

“Azmordi?”

“Ready, Senior Captain.”

“Afpriuh, fire on my signal,” Thrawn said. “Three, two, one.”

The Springhawk gave a small twitch as the double salvo of plasma spheres blasted from their launchers and disappeared ahead into the darkness. “Azmordi, stand ready,” Thrawn continued. “In-system jump, then yaw portside ninety degrees. Three, two, one.”

The starscape shifted subtly, sparking an equally small flicker of disorientation in Samakro’s brain. It was followed immediately by a much more obvious shift as Azmordi rotated the ship ninety degrees to portside.

Bringing the Springhawk, no doubt exactly as Thrawn had intended, to face the starboard flanks of the two Kilji cruisers.

They were Kiljis, all right, Samakro noted as he looked them over. From the Springhawk’s new vantage point, even he could see the design similarities Thrawn had already noted. One of the warships was also noticeably shorter than the other, with smaller weapons shoulders and fewer electrostatic barrier nodes. Possibly the Kilji equivalent of Chiss heavy and light cruisers.

“Unidentified ships, this is Senior Captain Thrawn of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet warship Springhawk,” Thrawn called in Taarja. “You stand near our prey. Move clear of the Nikardun blockade frigate Aelos or suffer the humiliation of becoming collateral damage.”

Samakro felt his eyes narrow. If the Kilji ships did anything other than simply turn in place … “Sir?” he asked urgently.

“Generalirius Nakirre showed us that same maneuver at Zyzek,” Thrawn reminded him. “It’s a very deliberate, very confident move, and one I expect he taught his chief commanders.” He smiled faintly. “Plus, I ordered him to move away from the Aelos. He doesn’t strike me as the sort to readily obey an adversary’s commands.”

Sure enough, even before Thrawn finished speaking, the two Kiljis began to move. Rotating sideways toward the Springhawk, exactly as the senior captain had anticipated.

“Who are you to speak of prey?” the Kilji’s voice rang out over the bridge speaker. “And who are you to give orders to warships of the Illumine?”

“I already gave you my name,” Thrawn said. “Do you need me to repeat it?”

There was a vicious-sounding snarl from the speaker. “Your name will die with you, unenlightened fool,” the Kilji bit out.

An instant later a volley of laserfire lanced out from both cruisers’ shoulders and bow emplacements.

“Apparently, he means for us to die right now,” Samakro commented.

“Apparently so,” Thrawn agreed, keying the mute switch. “Afpriuh?”

“Barriers holding,” the weapons officer confirmed. “Eighty-nine percent dissipated. I don’t think they’ve found the frequency for our hull yet.”

“Let’s make certain they don’t.” Thrawn keyed the comm back on. “You make an extravagant promise,” he said as the Kilji ships sent out their second salvo. “Does he who makes that promise fear to identify himself to the one he intends to kill?”