Alliances (Star Wars: Thrawn, #2)(17)

“Where did they come from?” Faro asked. It was way too soon to figure the ships’ vector, but since everyone seemed to end up at Black Spire, it seemed reasonable to assume the newcomers were going there, too.

“Straight over our shoulder, looks like,” Hammerly said. “Down the hyperlane we came in on, I’m guessing.”

“Only they’re in more of a hurry to reach the planet than we were,” Faro said. “Stayed in hyperspace a little longer and came out up there instead of back here.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hammerly looked furtively up at her. “Orders, Commodore?”

Translation: Was Faro going to decide this qualified as an emergency and take the risk of contacting the admiral?

Faro looked back at the tactical. The estimated landing for the four small ships was twenty minutes, assuming they were heading for Black Spire. At the larger newcomers’ current acceleration profile, again assuming a planetside rendezvous, they would be fifteen minutes behind the original foursome.

Or possibly not. There were now indications that the large freighters might be splitting up, one heading for orbit while the other headed for the surface.

Could that change be because Thrawn’s freighter was sitting in their planned landing spot? In which case, could someone down there be annoyed enough to start shooting?

Faro made up her mind. Grand Admiral Thrawn had a passion for information, and right now there was precious little of that commodity that Faro could offer.

Besides, Vader was down there with him. What could possibly happen that the two of them together couldn’t handle? “You’ve got ten minutes to squeeze everything you can out of those sensors,” she told Hammerly. “Once we see what you’ve got, we’ll go from there.”



* * *



—

The travel corridor between the landing field and Black Spire was rough-hewn, its edges lined with small trees and bushes that marked the forest’s continual attempt to reclaim the land.

The lack of precise edgework suggests the earlier care has diminished over the past few months. The air is rich with memory, full of the aromas of exotic plants and the sounds of distant birds.

Three meters ahead and a meter to the right, Vader hunches over the front of his speeder bike, his long cloak rippling rhythmically in the wind of his passage. His body stance perhaps holds tension, perhaps anger.

Black Spire comes into sight. Vader lifts a hand, signaling a halt.

Thrawn slowed his speeder bike and stopped beside Vader’s. “Have you a plan of approach?” Vader asked. His left hand falls back from the speeder bike’s control grip to his side near his lightsaber.

“We will begin with the cantina,” Thrawn said. “It may be that the bartender will remember me.”

Vader’s hand moves a few centimeters closer to his lightsaber. His back stiffens slightly. “We shall see,” he said. He leans forward and again takes the control grips. His wrist twists and the bike moves forward.

A surprisingly large number of residents were visible on Black Spire’s streets as Thrawn and Vader traveled at reduced speed along the twisting paths through the outpost. Perhaps that was due to the hour: The sun was near zenith, and for many residents this would be the time for a midday meal, business meetings, or general conversation. Four species were represented: humans, Darshi, Shistavanens, and Jablogians.

Vader’s helmet moves a few degrees back and forth as they approach the cantina. His vision appears to linger on each Darshi that he passes. “You are not familiar with Darshi?” Thrawn asked.

“I am not,” Vader said. “Are they from the Unknown Regions?”

“I believe they are a border people,” Thrawn said. “I know little about them except their basic appearance. They travel both Wild Space and the Unknown Regions.”

“I understood travel into the Unknown Regions was difficult.”

“Indeed,” Thrawn said. “The hyperlanes are few and not easy to traverse. But system jumps are possible if a traveler has sufficient time and is content with traversing limited distances.”

“And if one was not content with limited distances?”

“One would need a careful study of the border,” Thrawn said. “Millennia ago a set of chained supernova explosions throughout this particular region threw planet-and moon-sized masses at high speeds across the stars. The movements of those masses continually alter the hyperlanes, changing the paths in ways that are difficult to calculate. Other phenomena in other parts of the border created similar barriers. The hyperlanes that remain largely intact are beset with other dangers.”

“Are the Darshi one of those dangers?”

“Their culture has not been deeply studied by the Chiss,” Thrawn said. “They are not generally believed to exhibit violence to outsiders.”

“Yet they are built for violence,” Vader said. “Long clawed limbs are ideal for attack. Narrow heads and bodies are likewise excellent for defense.”

“I agree,” Thrawn said. “I can only state again that the stories do not portray them as violent.”

Vader turns his head as he passes another Darshi, keeping him in view until he is lost to sight. “Stories are not always accurate,” he said. “I also note that each carries a long knife at his side.”

“Indeed,” Thrawn said. “From the extensive tooling on the scabbard, I surmise the weapons are largely ceremonial.”