“Not at all,” Thrawn assured her. “Once we’re through security, we’ll choose our moment and board one of the sentry fighters lined up just inside the fence. They’re designed for long-range patrols, so there should be plenty of room aboard where we can wait for the admiral.”
“And then, what, we just fly up and meet her?”
“Basically,” Thrawn said. “Though there might be a complication or two along the way.”
“Such as if someone else comes aboard and wants to fly it instead of you?”
“If that happens, we’ll invite them to leave.”
“Whether or not they want to go?”
“Don’t worry, we aren’t going to hurt anyone,” he assured her. “Your restraint in such things speaks well of you.”
“I just don’t like beating up someone on their own world,” Thalias muttered. “Especially given the Ascendancy’s whole non-intervention policy.”
“That was actually what I was thinking about when I referred to your restraint,” Thrawn said. “Regardless, it won’t be a problem. I have a small aerosol of tava mist, more than enough to fill a fighter craft’s cockpit.”
Thalias frowned. “That’s the sleepwalking drug?”
It was Thrawn’s turn to frown. “Who calls it that?”
“People at my old school,” Thalias explained, rolling her eyes at the memory. “A couple of them let off the stuff in class once just to see everyone act like drooling moon-brains. Hours of harmless fun, I guess.”
“The effect hardly lasts for hours,” Thrawn said. “An hour at the very most. But it is harmless.”
“Unless you’re doing something tricky,” Thalias said. “Like, say, flying a sentry fighter?”
“We’ll ease them outside and away from the fighter long before they get that far,” Thrawn promised. “And I have nostril filters for us so that we won’t be affected.”
“Handy,” Thalias said, eyeing him closely. “Do you normally carry that stuff around with you?”
“It’s always worth taking precautions when facing uncertainties,” Thrawn said. “I knew we’d need to steal a ship, so I planned accordingly. Don’t worry, we’ll get through this.”
“Okay,” Thalias said. Personally, she wasn’t feeling all that confident, but she was willing to trust him. “Can I take off this makeup now? This stuff has to weigh half a kilo.”
“It’s closer to a third, actually,” Thrawn corrected. “And no, you’d best let it be. There’s always a chance we’ll be discovered and you’ll need to continue playing your role.”
“Fine,” Thalias said reluctantly. Actually, aside from the weight, she was starting to get used to the contoured hardshell paste. What she hated most about it was the broader idea it represented, and the role of a nervous hostage she had to play while she was wearing it. “So; another day and a half. I don’t suppose you brought a pack of cards.”
“Actually, I did,” Thrawn said. “But I thought we could talk first.”
“About?”
“About why you asked to come aboard the Springhawk.”
A warning bell went off in the back of Thalias’s brain. “I came to take care of Che’ri,” she said cautiously.
“That’s why you were aboard,” Thrawn said. “But it’s not why you asked to come. One of my officers informed me that the Mitth sent you to investigate my performance as the Springhawk’s commander. Is that true?”
Thalias felt her hand squeeze itself into a fist. “I assume that would be Mid Captain Samakro?”
“Does it make a difference where the information came from?”
“It might,” Thalias said. “Did he give a reason for telling you that?”
“Not specifically,” Thrawn said. “I believe he’s concerned about cohesion in the command structure if family matters interfere.”
“That may be what he says,” Thalias said. “But I’m guessing he’s hoping for some of that family interference.”
“To what end?”
“To the end of the Mitth deciding they don’t want you commanding the Springhawk and having the Expansionary Fleet move you somewhere else,” Thalias said. “That would open the way for Samakro to take back command.”
“Your analysis holds several logical flaws,” Thrawn said. “First, the Nine Families don’t dictate military assignments. Second, Mid Captain Samakro has no reason to wish command of the Springhawk. With his experience and capabilities, he’ll surely be offered a more prestigious ship than a mere heavy cruiser.”
“The Springhawk is pretty prestigious,” Thalias told him. “Maybe more than you realize. But even if it wasn’t, the Ufsa family would still want it back. It got taken away from them, and they’re notorious for resenting anything they see as a political backslide.”
“I see,” Thrawn said.
Thalias peered closely at him in the dim light. From the slight frown around his eyes, it was clear that he didn’t see at all. “But to answer your question, no, the Mitth didn’t send me,” she said, picking her words carefully. “In fact, the family fought me the whole way. I was just lucky that I was able to join the ship as a caregiver instead of a family observer.”
“Interesting,” Thrawn said. “Did they give a reason for not wanting you as an observer?”
“They didn’t actually say anything, one way or the other,” Thalias said. “They just kept throwing barriers in my way. New forms I suddenly needed to fill out, new people I had to chase down to approve my request, new people on Csilla or Naporar who had to be brought into the loop. That sort of thing.”
“Perhaps they didn’t think you were qualified to observe,” Thrawn suggested. “Or perhaps there was interference from other families.”
“If there were other families in the mix, I never saw them,” Thalias said sourly. “As for qualifications, I’ve got the full complement of eyes, ears, and brains. What else do I need?”
“That would be a question for the family,” Thrawn said. “But it leads to yet another question. If the family didn’t initiate your arrival, it was your doing. Why?”
Thalias braced herself. She’d hoped to avoid that question completely, but down deep she’d known it would eventually rise up to slap her in the face.
She’d come up with a couple of plausible-sounding lies, and for a moment she was tempted to use one of them. But sitting here, listening to his measured voice, she knew it would be useless. “It’s going to sound stupid,” she warned.
“Noted. Continue.”
She braced herself. “I just wanted to see you again,” she said. “You changed my life, and I…I wanted to see you again, that’s all.”
He frowned at her. “Really. How exactly did I change your life?”
“We met once before,” she said, feeling even more ridiculous. Of course he wouldn’t remember such a minor interaction. “It was a long time ago, when I was finishing my last trip as a sky-walker.”
“Ah, yes,” Thrawn said, still frowning. “Aboard the Tomra, when I was a cadet.”
“That’s right,” Thalias said, breathing a little easier. So he did remember her. That eased at least a little of the awkwardness she was feeling. “Captain Vorlip came in, you talked—”
“And she spun me around to see if I could really feel the ship as I’d claimed.”
“Yes,” Thalias said. “And you impressed her.”
“Did I?”
“Of course,” Thalias said. “She told me afterward that—”
“Because she also sent fifty downmarks ahead of me to Taharim.”
Thalias felt her eyes widen. “She did what? Why?”
“For unauthorized intrusion into the Tomra’s command area,” Thrawn said. “I was three months working them off.”