And if he didn't watch his tongue and his temper, he was going to get the rest of them killed, too.
"Then whereis he?" Kav demanded.
"Two incoming vessels," the Neimoidian at the sensors called. "One Chiss cruiser, one smaller vessel."
The Chiss tech spoke again in the Sy Bisti trade language. " 'They are theSpringhawk and a long-range shuttle,' " the TC droid announced primly. " 'Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo will wish to board immediately.' "
"Tell the commander his usual docking port has been prepared for him," Doriana said.
A few minutes later, Mitth'raw'nuruodo strode through the blast doors onto the bridge, a pair of Chiss warriors trailing behind him. "Welcome aboard, Commander," Doriana said, rising from the couch.
"Thank you," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, his eyes flicking briefly to Kav's stiff face and posture. "I appreciate your swift compliance with my instructions."
"As I told you earlier, we wish to be fully cooperative," Doriana reminded him.
"Excellent," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "I wish you to begin unloading your droid starfighters."
Kav jerked like he'd been kicked. "What do you say?" he breathed, his eyes bugging even more than usual.
"Your droid starfighters are to be transported to that asteroid." Mitth'raw'nuruodo pointed out the viewports at a small, irregularly shaped crescent of faint light against the stars. "After that, I will require the services of those who program their combat movements."
Kav gurgled under his breath, and for once Doriana could sympathize with him. The main strength of a Trade Federation battleship lay in its starfighters, the retrofitted quad laser batteries along the split-ring midline more of an afterthought than serious defensive armament. Removing its starfighters would leave theDarkvenge as helpless as the freighter it had once been. "This is outrageous," the Neimoidian protested. "I will not consent to-"
"Be silent," Doriana cut in, his eyes on Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Either he wanted theDarkvenge to be helpless, or- "You have a plan for dealing with Outbound Flight, don't you?"
"I have a plan," Mitth'raw'nuruodo confirmed. "Whether or not I activate it depends on whether or not you're ready to tell me the truth."
An uncomfortable lump formed in Doriana's throat. "Explain, please."
"Your name is not Stratis," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "You're not your own master, but answer to another. And the social threat posed by these Jedi is not the true reason you seek Outbound Flight's destruction." He lifted his eyebrows. "If, indeed, you genuinelydo seek its destruction."
"What other reason would we have to be here?" Doriana asked.
"Perhaps your intent was to rendezvous with them," Mitth'raw'nuruodo suggested. "If Outbound Flight is filled with warriors instead of colonists, together your combined forces would have had both the firepower and the personnel necessary to launch an effective bridgehead invasion."
"I've already told you we're not here for conquest."
"I know what you told me," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, his face expressionless. "Now you must persuade me to believe it."
"Of course," Doriana said. This was going to be risky, he knew, but he'd suspected from the beginning that Mitth'raw'nuruodo would eventually come to this conclusion. It was time to give him the rest of the truth. "I believe I can answer all of your questions together. If you'll come with me, I'd like to introduce you to my superior." Deliberately, he looked at Kav. "You, Vicelord, will remain here."
He didn't wait for Kav's inevitable protest, but set off across the bridge, leading Mitth'raw'nuruodo back to the office where they'd first conferred two days earlier. He ushered the Chiss inside and sealed the door, noting with no real surprise that Mitth'raw'nuruodo had also left his warrior escort behind. The commander was supremely confident in his abilities, and had clearly deduced that Doriana himself was no threat to him.
At least, not yet.
Doriana's special holoprojector was already hooked into theDarkvenge 's comm system. Punching in the access code, he gestured Mitth'raw'nuruodo to the desk chair. "Your first point is absolutely correct," he began, mentally crossing his fingers that the battleship's huge transmitter would be able to punch a signal back to the Republic's HoloNet system. "My true name is KinmanDoriana, an identity I've taken care to keep secret from Vicelord Kav's crew and other associates."
"You play mutually opposing roles, then?"
Doriana stared. "How did you know that?"
"It was obvious," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "Who are your two masters?"
"My official, public master is Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the head of the Republic government," Doriana said, the words echoing strangely in his ears. He hardly dared even think such things in the privacy of his own mind. To be saying them aloud, and to an unknown alien, was virtually unthinkable. "My true Master is a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious."
"A Sith Lord is. .?"
"A being who stands against the Jedi and their control over the Republic," Doriana explained.
"Ah," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, a faint smile touching the corners of his mouth. "A power struggle."
"In a way," Doriana conceded. "But on a plane far different from the one where beings like you and I exist. What's important right now is that Lord Sidious has access to information sources that the Jedi don't have."
"And what do these sources tell him?"
Doriana braced himself. "There's an invasion coming," he said. "A massive assault force of dark ships, shadowy figures, and weapons of great power, based on organic technology of a sort we've never seen before. We believe these Far Outsiders, as we call them, already have a foothold at the far edge of the galaxy, and even now have scouting parties seeking information on worlds and peoples to conquer."
"Stories of mysterious invaders are both convenient and difficult to disprove," Mitth'raw'nuruodo pointed out. "Why do you only now tell me this?"
Doriana nodded toward the door. "Because Vicelord Kav and his associates don't know," he said. "Neither does anyone else in the Republic. Not yet."
"When will Darth Sidious tell them?"
"When he's turned the Republic's chaos into order," Doriana said. "When we've built an army and a fleet capable of dealing with the threat. To announce it before then would do nothing but create panic and leave us open to disaster."
"How does Outbound Flight fit into all this?"
"As I said, we believe the Far Outsiders are currently still gathering information," Doriana said. "So far, there's no indication that they even know about the Republic." He felt his throat tighten. "Actually, that's not entirely true," he corrected himself reluctantly. "One of the Jedi, a being named Vergere, disappeared in that region some time ago. That's one of Outbound Flight's private agendas, in fact: to try to learn what happened to her."