Timothy Zahn - Outbound Flight

“Isn’t stae a word root for ‘near’?”

“Yes, I think you’re right,” Car’das agreed. “I wonder if we ought to go back to our quarters.”

“We stay right here,” Qennto said firmly. “We already saw how they treated one ship that wandered in too close. I want to see what they do with another.”

“They only took out Progga because he fired first,”

Maris pointed out.

“Yeah,” Qennto said. “Maybe.”

For the next few minutes the bridge crew workedbusily at their stations, the silence punctuated only by an occasional command or comment. Car’das found himself staring at the back of Thrawn’s head as the commander sat motionlessly in his chair, wondering if he dared sidle up behind the other and ask for an explanation as to what was going on.

A few seconds later he was glad he hadn’t. Less than a minute after entering hyperspace, they suddenly dropped back out again. “Already?” Qennto muttered, sounding stunned.

“He did a microjump,” Car’das said, hardly believing it himself.

“Ridiculous,” Qennto insisted. “You can’t hit the side of the Senate Building with a—”

Abruptly, the deck jerked beneath them, nearly knocking them off their feet. Reflexively, Car’das grabbed Maris’s upper arm with one hand and a nearby conduit with the other, keeping both of them on their feet.

Just as a pair of small ships roared past the viewport, spitting laserfire and missiles at the Springhawk.

“I’d say he did a little better than hit the side of the Senate Building,” Car’das managed as the deck again shook beneath them. “Looks like he’s right where he wants to be.”

“Terrific,” Qennto bit out. “I’m glad he wants to be here.”

The shaking subsided as the attackers flew out of optimum firing range, and Car’das focused on the visual displays. There were just three ships indicated: the two fighters now coming around for another pass, plus one larger ship considerably farther away. Unlike the fighters, the larger vessel seemed to be trying to move away from the battle zone instead of into it.

“Here they come,” Qennto said.

Car’das looked back at the viewport. The Springhawkhad swiveled to face its attackers, and in the distance he could see the glow as the fighters kicked their drives to full power.

“Grab on to something,” he warned, resettling his fingers around the conduit as Maris got a grip beside his. The fighters split formation as they approached, veering toward opposite sides of their target, their lasers opening up again. The Springhawk‘s weapons returned fire.

And both attackers exploded.

“Whoa!” Qennto said. “What in the—?”

“They blew up,” Maris breathed. “A single shot, and they just blew up.”

“Don’t start cheering just yet,” Car’das warned. The Springhawk was swinging away from the expanding clouds of debris and picking up speed. “There’s still the big one left.”

The dizzying sweep of stars settled down as they finished their turn, and in the distance he could see the drive glow of the larger ship. “I don’t suppose we could be lucky enough for it to be unarmed,” Qennto said.

“Thrawn wouldn’t attack an unarmed ship,” Maris told him firmly.

“Why not?” Qennto growled back. “I would. Those fighters attacked first. That makes the whole bunch of them fair game.”

“And probably dead meat,” Car’das muttered.

Maris shivered but said nothing.

The other ship saw them coming, of course. Even as the Springhawk closed to firing range, it swung partway around, and a handful of missiles streaked out. The Chiss lasers flashed in reply, and the missiles vaporized in midflight. The enemy responded by rolling ninety degrees over and launching a second salvo. This group, too, was dealt with at a safe distance. A third missile group followed, then a fourth, all destroyed en route.

“Why don’t they jump to lightspeed?” Maris murmured.

“I don’t think they can,” Car’das told her, pointing to one of the tactical displays. “Looks to me like someone took out their hyperdrive.”

“When?” Qennto asked, frowning. “I don’t remember hearing any firing before the fighters attacked.”

“Someone had to be here to call in the news,” Car’das reminded him. “Maybe he got in a lucky shot.”

Whatever the reason, the other ship was definitely not getting away. The Springhawk continued to close the gap, and as they neared it, Car’das noticed for the first time that its hull was covered in what looked like ovoid bubbles, each roughly two meters across and three long. “What are those things?” he asked.

“Qennto?”

“No idea,” the other said, craning his neck. “They look kind of like tiny observation blisters. Part of the navigation system, maybe?”

“Or cabin viewports,” Maris said, her voice suddenly tight. “Could it be a passenger liner?”

“What, with four clusters of missile launchers?”

Qennto countered. “Not a chance.”

The Chiss helmsman moved the Springhawk alongside the alien vessel, compensating almost casually for its sluggish attempts to veer away, and nestled up against the other’s hull.

There was a quick stutter of dull thuds as maglocks were engaged, and Thrawn tapped a key on his command board. “

Ch’tra,” he called.

“ ‘Go,’ ” Car’das translated. “Looks like we’re boarding.”

The commander rose from his chair and turned around. “My apologies,” he said, switching to Sy Bisti as he crossed to the three humans. “I hadn’t intended to take you intodanger this way. But the opportunity presented itself, and I needed to take it.”

“That’s all right, Commander,” Car’das assured him.

“And it didn’t look like we were in that much danger.”

“As it turned out,” Thrawn said. Stepping to a bank of lockers along one wall, he opened one and pulled out an armored vac suit. “Your quarters are too close to the boarding area for safety, so I’ll ask you to remain here until we return.”

“You’re going in personally?” Maris asked, frowning.

“I command these warriors,” Thrawn said, climbing into the vac suit with sure, practiced movements. “Part of my duty is to share in their danger.”

Maris glanced at Qennto. “Be careful,” she said, sounding almost embarrassed.

Thrawn gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry,” he said.

Slapping the final seal closed, he pulled a helmet and large handgun from the locker. “The vessel is most likely severely undercrewed, and Chiss warriors are the best there are. I’ll return soon.”

Car’das had wondered at first why none of the rest of the bridge crew had joined with Thrawn in the boarding party, the sounds of which they could occasionally hear wafting along the corridors and through the open door. It was soon clear, though, that they weren’t just sitting around waiting, but were actively engaged in some project of their own.

It was only as the melee was winding down that he was able to piece together a few recognizable snatches of conversation and figure out what that project had been. Using the Springhawk‘s sensors, they’d been assisting the boarders in tracking down enemy combatants, whether hiding or gathering together for an ambush. Even charging pirate-style onto an enemy vessel, Commander Thrawn made use of all available resources.

It took less than an hour for the Chiss to secure the enemy vessel. Another two hours went by, though, before one of the warriors came to the bridge with instructions to bring the humans aboard.

Car’das hadn’t traveled very much before hooking up with Qennto and Maris. But most of his recent travel had been to the seedier parts of the Republic, and as he stepped into the boarding tunnel he was confident he could handle anything they found at the other end.