Alliances (Star Wars: Thrawn, #2)(98)

The chair that had already been adjusted for his height. Either the helmsman had reset it while Vader was on his way, or Thrawn had already had it preset for the taller soon-to-be occupant.

Vader scowled. Yet more of the Chiss’s abundant self-confidence.

Or maybe it was his confidence in Vader.

He reached for the ship’s controls. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Thrawn needed something, and Vader could supply it, and the Empire would benefit from his actions.

At least, the Empire had better benefit by it.

“Stand by to go to lightspeed,” Thrawn called from the command walkway. “Systems clear.”

Vader listened to the familiar cadence as the various stations confirmed their readiness. It wasn’t much different from the countdowns The Jedi had heard aboard Republic attack cruisers during the Clone Wars. Capital warships were capital warships, no matter who commanded them.

There was a flicker in Thrawn’s sense. Vader looked up, to see a small smile on his face. “Do you find this amusing, Admiral?” he challenged.

“No, not at all, my lord,” Thrawn hastened to assure him. “I was simply recalling a memory. I told you the Chiss call this talent Third Sight. What I hadn’t yet spoken of is the title these navigators are given once they take their posts.”

“Which is?”

“The Cheunh word is ozyly-esehembo,” Thrawn said. “In Basic, it translates to ‘sky-walker.’?” Another small smile. “You can imagine my momentary confusion when I first encountered General Anakin Skywalker.”

Vader nodded. He’d forgotten that The Jedi, too, had wondered about Thrawn’s reaction at that meeting. A small mystery, now put to rest.

The recitation ended. “Lord Vader, the Chimaera awaits your guidance,” Thrawn said.

That one, at least, was new. Stretching out to the Force, Vader keyed the hyperdrive.

Double vision: a cometary object approaching the starboard bow—

Not seriously dangerous, but a tweak of the course heading avoided any potential trouble. Ahead, he sensed the boundary of the Mokivj system as the Chimaera once more entered interstellar space.

Double vision: a large, star-sized object above the ship—

Again, a small touch on the drive avoided the risk of collision. Two more stars flashed past, without triggering any warning.

Double vision: the ship angling to portside—

The correct direction to take them to the Grysk base? Vader let his mind sink deeper into the Force, seeking confirmation.

Double vision: the ship angling to portside—

He touched the controls again, realigning the Chimaera onto the vector in his vision.

He’d never done this before. But it seemed he could indeed do it.

Trust me, Thrawn had again pleaded with him. Have I ever failed you?

Double vision: a white dwarf star directly ahead—

Once again, he adjusted course, and settled in for the long journey ahead.





B1 battle droids weren’t very smart, but they were reasonably quick to react to falling objects, thrown objects, and sudden changes in illumination or visibility. The bigger B2s were even dumber and slower, though they carried better firepower.

Both types were equally persistent. And it didn’t help that Duke Solha and his two cohorts were there to shout them on to greater efforts.

It had been only a few minutes, but the numerical superiority was already starting to tell. Without his lightsaber, Anakin’s options were dangerously limited. The only thing that had kept him alive this long was his mobility and the fact that the Serennians seemed extremely reluctant to damage their assembly-line setup.

At least their little Jedi hunt should be keeping them too busy to bother with Padmé and Thrawn. That was the important part.

Still, even given the logistics involved in getting to the rooftop, it seemed to Anakin that they should be back by now. Hopefully, they were just being cautious.

The droids were closing in, and Anakin was looking for yet another good spot to move to, when he felt the distant thud.

The Serennians and droids heard it, too. For a moment the blasterfire faltered a bit as everyone paused to listen. There was a second thud, and a third…

Anakin caught his breath. Something—multiple somethings, now—were slamming into the courtyard side of the factory wing.

Was the factory under attack? There was a fourth thud—

Abruptly, the blasterfire ceased as Solha shouted some frantic-sounding orders. On the floor below, the droids turned and headed at top speed toward the room’s two exit doors. Another order, and the four B1s that had come up to the second floor to try to chase Anakin down turned and also waddled away.

Anakin crouched lower behind his current bit of cover, staying alert. This could easily be a setup, with Solha planning to reverse the orders as soon as Anakin showed himself, turning the supposed exodus into a trap.

The trap didn’t happen. A moment later the only ones left were the five techs still working on the B2’s programming, and the three B2s looming guard over them.

Anakin eyed the droids. Three against one. Certainly better odds than he’d had so far today. But without his lightsaber—

He froze, stretching out to the Force as a sudden breeze touched the side of his face. The door the droids had left through had just opened again. He turned in that direction, looking for something handy to throw—