Alliances (Star Wars: Thrawn, #2)(96)
And suddenly Vader understood. The same ability that allowed him to peer into the future far enough to know when and where an attack was coming was being used by the Chiss to sense dangers looming ahead of a ship in time to avoid them. “They navigate and pilot your ships,” he said. “Finding and mapping temporary hyperlanes even as they steer new paths along them.”
“Exactly.” Thrawn waved a hand in the direction of the girls’ quarters. “You can now appreciate the reason for our secrecy. An enemy wishing to duplicate our success cannot simply steal a computer or computer program. He must take rare and precious living beings from us.” His eyes narrowed. “That cannot be allowed.”
“And now your secret is known, and your fears are realized.”
“Indeed,” Thrawn said heavily. “The Grysks must be dealt with, and taught not to test the will of the Chiss Ascendancy.”
As the rebels within the Empire needed to be taught that same lesson. “Why children?” Vader asked. “And are they all female?”
“The ability unfortunately fades with time,” Thrawn said. “No level of training or practice can change that. Young adults retain perhaps half of their childhood strength; older adults only a small fraction. Only children have enough precognitive power to safely guide our ships at the speeds the Aristocras demand. As to their gender—” He hunched his shoulders slightly. “Those with the gift are nearly always female. There are exceptions, but that is the general rule. No one knows why.”
“I see,” Vader murmured. The Jedi’s memories drifted across his vision: training with Obi-Wan, observing the younglings at the Temple in instruction and practice, the gradual achievement of each step on the long road toward strength and proficiency.
Apparently, that wasn’t what it was like for the Chiss. Their Force-sensitives worked and trained for years, only to see their strength fail and their accomplishments fade. “And then they are set aside,” he said. Not even the Jedi were that cruel to their chosen slaves.
“Yes,” Thrawn said. “The sacrifice…most make it willingly, for the sake of the Ascendancy. But all with the ability must make it.” For a moment his eyes seemed to unfocus, as if facing unpleasant thoughts and memories. Then his mind came back. “But that is not our concern now. We must find the Grysk base and retrieve the children before the alarm is given and they are able to mount a response to our attack.” He stood up. “Come, my lord.”
“A moment,” Vader said, making no move to follow. “What exactly are you proposing?”
“Did you not hear me?” Thrawn asked, frowning. “We must find the Grysk base.”
“Which is deep within the Unknown Regions?”
“Presumably not too deep,” Thrawn assured him. “Their homeworld and main center of power is thought to be a considerable distance away. But they will hardly use that location to run an operation at the edge of Imperial space.” He started toward the door. “Come.”
“No,” Vader said.
Thrawn stopped. “My lord?”
“You propose to risk an Imperial warship and Imperial personnel on a matter that concerns only your own people,” Vader said. “I cannot and will not allow that.”
“The Emperor placed me in command of this mission.”
“As he also accepted your word that your first loyalty was to the Empire,” Vader countered. “That appears to no longer be the case. If, indeed, it ever was.”
For a long moment, Thrawn stood motionless. Then he retraced his steps to his chair and again sat down. “If we do not move quickly, all may be lost,” he said, his voice low and earnest. “The Grysks will be alerted. They will abandon that base and relocate elsewhere. The children will disappear into their domain and never be returned to their homes and families.”
Their families. A swirl of The Jedi’s memories swept across Vader’s eyes. The Jedi’s mother…The Jedi’s lost wife and child…
He shook the thoughts away. Those were The Jedi’s memories, not his. “That is the concern of your people,” he said. “It is not yours. Unless you intend to break your oath of loyalty to the Emperor?”
“The Grysks have already made an intrusion into Imperial space,” Thrawn pointed out. “Their closure of the Batuu hyperlane is clearly an aggressive move.”
“Batuu is hardly a major Imperial system.”
“And their current attempt to move Mokivj’s moons to more permanently block Imperial movement?”
“There is no proof their intention is anything more than to seal themselves away from potential threats.”
“Yet that potential threat is part of the Emperor’s design,” Thrawn said. “He is very interested in extending his rule into the Unknown Regions.”
Vader frowned. Had Thrawn just said…? “Which you of course know a great deal about.”
Thrawn seemed to draw back, as if he belatedly realized he’d said too much. “As I said, the Chiss Ascendancy seeks to know all that happens around it.”
Vader nodded to himself. So that was it. All those private meetings, all those secret conversations. The Emperor was taking advantage of Thrawn’s knowledge to prepare for the next great Imperial expansion. “A point that is irrelevant,” he said. “I asked for proof this mission concerns the Empire. So far, that proof has not been forthcoming.”