Timothy Zahn - Outbound Flight

“Make me believe that,” Thrawn said, his voice darkening even further. “Both of you.”

Car’das looked at Stratis. Suddenly, in the wink of an eye, this whole side trip had taken on a very bad taste.

“Commander?” he entreated.

Stratis’s eyes flicked to him, then back to Thrawn, a thoughtful expression suddenly appearing on his face. “Very well,” he said, gesturing toward the side of the bridge. “There’s an office back there where we’ll have more privacy”

Thrawn inclined his head slightly. “Lead the way.”

Doriana led them to Kav’s command office, his skin prickling with anticipation and the stirrings of fresh hope. An hour ago it had been all over, the mission a failure, Doriana himself among the walking dead. Even if their attackers allowed them to return to the Republic, he knew the payment Darth Sidious would demand for his failure.

But now, suddenly, all that had changed. Maybe.

“Please make yourselves comfortable,” Doriana invited, gesturing his guests to seats facing the desk as he circled around the massive carved-wood structure and sat down in Kav’s equally elaborate chair. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the vicelord glowering at him, but he had no time now for petty Neimoidian pride. “May I offer you some refreshment?”

“No thank you,” Mitth’raw’nuruodo said as he and Car’das sat down. The two Chiss guards, as Doriana had expected, remained standing in the doorway where they could watch everyone in the room as well as keep an eve on what might be happening on the bridge proper.

“All right,” Doriana said, focusing his full intellect on the task at hand. This was it. “Let me tell you about a project called Outbound Flight.”

He started at the beginning, describing the project’s origin and its mission and making sure to emphasize the Dreadnaughts’ size and weaponry. “Interesting,”

Mitth’raw’nuruodo said when he’d finished. “What does this have to do with us?”

“The fact that Outbound Flight is a danger to both the Republic and your own people,” Doriana told him. “You remember my mentioning a group aboard called the Jedi? These are beings of great power, but who are also dangerous troublemakers.”

“In what way?”

“They have very rigid ideas of how people should act and what they should think and do,” Doriana said, watching Car’das out of the corner of his eve. This would have been easier without the presence of someone who actually knew something about Jedi, but Mitth’raw’nuruodo would have been instantly suspicious if Doriana had asked that the young man be left out of the conversation. Now he was going to have to walk a narrow line between making the Jedi look dangerous to Mitth’raw’nuruodo and at the same time not saying anything Car’das would know was an outright lie.

And Car’das did indeed seem a bit surprised by Doriana’s assertions. But at the same time, he could also see a growing uncertainty in the young man’s face. The Jedi’s arrogance, coupled with their inability to do anything about the growing chaos and stagnation, had people all across the Republic wondering if perhaps their alleged guardians of the peace were more noise and bluster than genuine effectiveness. “They feel they have all the answers,” he continued, “and that everyone else should submit to their concept of justice.”

“Yet you say they are traveling to another galaxy,”

Mitth’raw’nuruodo reminded him. “Again, how then does this affect the Chiss?”

“Because before they leave they intend to explore some of the unknown parts of our own galaxy,” Doriana said, wishing the Chiss were as easy to read as Car’das. So far, he didn’t have a clue as to what kind of impression this was making on him. “If they arrive in Chiss space, they’ll certainly attempt to imposetheir will upon your people.”

“Attempt is the correct word,” Mitth’raw’nuruodo said, his face hardening. “The Chiss do not simply accept alien concepts without careful consideration. We certainly do not submit to domination. By anyone.”

“Of course not,” Doriana said, his cautious hope glowing a little brighter. So species and professional pride were the hooks into Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s heart. Excellent. “But I warn you not to underestimate them. The Jedi are ruthless and subtle, and I daresay their power is beyond anything you’ve ever encountered.”

“You may be surprised at what we’ve encountered,”

Mitth’raw’nuruodo said, his voice grim. Abruptly, he stood up.

“But we will discuss such matters later. Right now, there is other business that requires my attention.”

“Of course,” Doriana said, rising to his feet as well.

“What do you wish us to do in your absence?”

“For the present, you will both remain on this bridge,”

Mitth’raw’nuruodo said. “I will send for you when I wish to see you again. In the meantime I will send aboard a team to examine your vessel and its equipment.”

“Never!” Kav snapped. “This ship is the property of the Trade Federation—”

“Quiet,” Doriana cut him off, glaring at him. Didn’t the fool understand anything? “We will, of course, render any and all assistance they may require.”

“Thank you,” Mitth’raw’nuruodo said. “They will have new orders for you when they are finished. You will obey those orders.”

Doriana nodded. “As you wish.”

Mitth’raw’nuruodo looked at Kav, and Doriana could sense the tension between them. But the Neimoidian remainedsilent, and after a moment Mitth’raw’nuruodo turned to Car’das.

“Come.”

They left the room, the Chiss guards falling into step behind them. Doriana watched until they had disappeared through the bridge blast doors, then turned to Kav. “With all due respect, Vicelord, what in the name of your grub mother do you think you’re doing?”

“That is my question for you,” Kav countered. “Do you simply turn your back downward and give over our lives and property to this primitive backworld alien?”

“Look around you, Vicelord,” Doriana said grimly.

“This primitive alien just wrecked our entire task force. And unless I missed it, he didn’t lose a single ship of his own in the process.”

“And you wish to make him even stronger by offering him access to Trade Federation secrets?”

Doriana took a deep breath. “Listen to me,” he said, enunciating his words carefully. It was as if he were back on Barlok, trying to walk those idiot Brolfi through a simple assassination scheme. “We’ve failed our mission. Even if Mitth’raw’nuruodo turned tail right now and left us in peace, there’s no way in the universe our single battleship could take on Outbound Flight’s six Dreadnaughts. We would have no choice but to return to the Republic and face Darth Sidious’s anger…

and I can assure you that you would wish you had died today, torn apart in agony by the Chiss fighters.” He lifted a finger. “

Unless.”

He let the word hang in the air. “Unless?” Kav asked, his voice subdued.

“Unless,” Doriana said, “we can persuade Mitth’raw’nuruodo to destroy Outbound Flight for us.”

For a long minute the room was silent. “I see,” Kav said at last. “Do you think you can do that? And if you can, do you think he can achieve that victory?”

“I don’t know,” Doriana had to admit. “He’s no fool, and he surely knows my description of Outbound Flight and the Jedi was horribly slanted. Odds are he cut off the talks so he could go off and get Car’das’s take on the whole thing.”

“But why would he listen to a human he believes to be a spy?” Kav objected.

“He doesn’t,” Doriana said, smiling tightly. “If he did, he certainly wouldn’t have said so right in front of the man. I think he just wants us to believe that so that we won’t think he’ll listen to Car’das advice.”