Alliances (Star Wars: Thrawn, #2)(120)

Vader stared at the cortosis weave, more of The Jedi’s memories seeping back into his consciousness. “You suggest they were studying us as far back as the Clone Wars?”

“I do, my lord.” A small smile touched the Chiss’s face. “After all, the Chiss were watching you. Why not the Grysks? My second question: Once the Grysks knew the value of cortosis against blasters and lightsabers, how did the Separatists gain that knowledge?”

Vader reached out and touched the edge of the cortosis with a gloved finger. So many dark, dark memories…“You suggest the Grysks contacted Dooku. That they offered him invulnerable battle droids as a way to ensure Separatist victory.”

“Indeed,” Thrawn said. “I believe their plan was to offer him a taste of such a victory, then withhold it until they had obtained his servitude. But he surprised them.”

“In what way?”

“We have now seen the Grysk pattern of dominance, my lord,” Thrawn said. “On Batuu they forced the Darshi into obedience by holding their ceremonial daggers hostage. With the Chiss, they are attempting to do the same by taking our children. Stealing one species’ treasured and honored past; stealing another species’ treasured and vital future.

“But Dooku surprised them. Instead of simply armoring battle droids, he armored both droids and clone armor. I believe that it was that surprise, and the further reconsideration it forced upon them, that delayed the Grysks’ movement into the Empire until now.”

“Yes,” Vader murmured.

Only it wasn’t Dooku who’d created that plan. What Vader knew now—what The Jedi had never known—was that the factory was being secretly overseen by Chancellor Palpatine, who saw in the cortosis an extra guarantee of success for his upcoming Order 66. “You said before that they were sealing themselves away,” Vader said.

“I was wrong,” Thrawn said. “Or rather, my conclusion was incomplete. I believe now they are ready to make their move, and that the purpose of sealing off the region around Batuu is to discourage Imperial travel there while they take their final steps toward learning how to manipulate humans the way they have the Darshi and the Chiss.”

“Why can it not be both?” Vader asked. “They seek to isolate Batuu for study and also close all convenient avenues the Empire might use to move against them. Their observations of Clone War battles and subsequent Imperial operations will have taught them that our preferred strategy is to bring large numbers of ships and overwhelming force to bear.”

“Indeed,” Thrawn said thoughtfully. “Yes. Their own combat pattern, according to legend, is to use many small groups of warships, each group composed of only a few vessels. It is a strategy designed for infiltration over a large area instead of immediate, massive conquest.”

“Especially when such infiltration is accompanied by reluctant allies among their target’s populace.”

“Indeed.” Thrawn’s eyes took on a new intensity. “You may recall my suggestion that using the cortosis clone armor for infiltration would not be an effective tactic for the Separatists to use against the Republic. In retrospect, that could indicate the hand of the Grysks in molding that particular Separatist strategy.”

Vader stared at him.

He knew.

“You made no such suggestion to me,” he said. A hollow gesture, but one he had to make.

“Ah,” Thrawn said, and Vader sensed a subtle shift in his thoughts. Doubt? Confirmation? “My error. I was thinking of an incident from my past. My point remains: The Grysks stand ready to begin their infiltration of the Empire. The only solution is to eliminate the threat before they are fully prepared.”

And there it was. The reason, perhaps merely the justification, for dealing with the grand admiral right here and now. Treason, overt or subtle, was grounds for execution. “So you propose spending Imperial resources against the Grysks,” he said. “Thereby protecting your own Chiss Ascendancy at the expense of the Empire.”

“You question my loyalty,” Thrawn said. It was a statement, not a question.

“I do,” Vader said, eyeing the grand admiral’s throat. A quick twist, a snapping of the neck…

“You misunderstand, my lord,” Thrawn said quietly. “Have you listened to the transmission I sent the Grysk ship, the message I knew would be passed on by the survivors of the battle?”

“Would that make a difference?”

Thrawn reached to his computer and pressed a few keys. “Grysk war vessel, this is Admiral Mitth’raw’nuruodo.” The Meese Caulf words came from the computer’s speaker. “You are hereby delivered notice to return to your homeworlds and abandon your ambitions to extend your rule beyond your borders. If you continue in these endeavors, be assured that you will be defeated and destroyed.”

Thrawn touched another key, and the recording ended. He looked at Vader, waiting.

Vader ran the words over again in his mind…and then he saw it. “You identified yourself as Mitth’raw’nuruodo,” he said quietly. “A Chiss name.

“And the Grysks always attack the closer enemy first.”

“Yes,” Thrawn said, and Vader sensed a fresh layer of emotion in his voice. “The invasion is coming, Lord Vader. But I have now bought the Empire time to prepare.”

“Perhaps,” Vader said. “But that is not all of it.”