“They are encircling us,” Vader warned,
studying the bar. Reflected in the decorative
brasswork were the distorted images of the
ten Darshi as they moved quietly around
behind him and Thrawn into flanking attack
positions.
A simple, yet well-executed maneuver.
During the Clone Wars, The Jedi had seen
many such attacks from Separatist forces. The
attacks from the current epidemic of loudly
flailing rebel groups were significantly less
professional.
Rebel groups like the one on Atollon that
Thrawn had been sent to destroy.
Thrawn had tried encircling them, too,
just like the Darshi here in the cantina were
trying. The Chiss had failed in his effort, just
as the Darshi were going to fail in theirs.
Thrawn didn’t reply. Still disapproving of
Vader’s decision to launch the First Legion at
the incoming ships above Batuu?
The grand admiral was hardly in a position
to be critical. He’d had the Phoenix group
bottled up, in space and on the ground, and
a few ships had still managed to slip through
the blockade.
Here, Vader didn’t have those same
resources, which meant some of the ships
above Batuu would inevitably escape. But
the big freighter, the one he’d sent the First
Legion to, would be dealt with.
He would show Thrawn how it was done.
“Do you hear that?” Thrawn murmured.
“What?” Vader asked, still watching the
movements in the brass.
“Their click code,” Thrawn said quietly.
“Do you hear it?”
Vader frowned. Yes, he could hear the
faint tongue clicking now. Odd that he hadn’t
noticed it before. “Can you interpret it?”
“Not the specifics,” Thrawn said. “But most
follow similar patterns. The number and
frequency of clicks indicate they are nearly
ready to launch their attack. Remember that
we wish prisoners to interrogate.”
Vader glowered at the images in the railing.
Simple blasters for hire, most likely. Better to
eliminate them and allow Kimmund to deal
with the task of finding prisoners. “Do you
expect them to be equally courteous?”
“At first, yes, they will,” Thrawn said.
That wasn’t the answer Vader had
expected. “For what reason?”
“Interrogation,” Thrawn said. “They will
wish to know what I have learned of them.”
He looked sideways at Vader. “Though they
may not offer you the same courtesy.”
The Chiss thought highly of himself,
that was for certain. “Then they will be
surprised.”
“They will indeed.” There was the soft hiss
of Thrawn’s combat baton being drawn from
its holster. “Once they have lost some of their
numbers, they will likely abandon any hope
of taking either of us alive.”
Vader nodded to himself. And when they
reached that point, not even Thrawn would be
able to complain about leaving the bodies of
their opponents scattered on the cantina floor.
“Then their surprise will be short-lived.”
“We will first try to disable without
killing,” Thrawn said, with an emphasis that
suggested it was an order.
Not that Vader was in the mood to accept
any such instructions, especially not under
these circumstances. Fortunately for Thrawn,
he’d presented the goal with more subtlety
than that.
Subtlety. In an Empire filled with men like
Tarkin, perhaps that was what the Emperor
found most useful in this Chiss.
Thrawn had refused to send the Chimaera
against the unknown ships on the grounds
that it could be advantageous to keep the
full extent of the Imperials’ power hidden.
Now he wanted to strike nonlethal blows to
suggest he lacked the power or the strength of
mind to kill?
Very well. Subtlety was a game Vader could
also play if he chose.084 | w w w. s c i fi n ow.co.u k
BOOK CLUB
First LookTHRAWN:
ALLIANCES
EXCLUSIVE
EXTRACT
Timothy Zahn returns with the sequel to his acclaimed Star Wars
novel Thrawn, forcing the Grand Admiral into an uneasy alliance with
Darth Vader...
And in that instant he caught the flicker
through the Force as the Darshi charged to
the attack.
He turned, snatching his lightsaber from
his belt. Three of the aliens were converging
on Thrawn, combat sticks of their own ready
in their hands, while four more charged at
Vader with identical weapons.
Sensation surging—rippling and swirling
of the Force—something or someone
appearing nearby—surprise—confusion—
double vision—second vision bringing only
darkness—
It was the disturbance in the Force the
Emperor had sensed from Coruscant. There
was nothing else it could be.
But now, in sharp contrast with Vader’s
earlier attempts to sense the anomaly, it was
suddenly right there in front of him, flooding
over and through his mind.
Swirlings in the Force—surprise—
confusion—darkness—anxiety—
Only what was it? For all the strength of
the awareness, the sensation was vague and
unfocused. He couldn’t tell whether it was a
person, a group of people, or something else.
Possibly something completely unknown in
Jedi or Sith history.
And then, as Vader tried to focus on the
thoughts and sensations, he heard the distant
rumbling of an explosion.
The swirling of anxiety turning to fear—
twisting in alien forms and patterns—
breaking all ability to concentrate—flashing
into unfocused turmoil—
The sudden shift snapped Vader’s attempts
to isolate it. The distant explosion—had the
aliens attacked the source of the disturbance?
The disturbance dissolving into terror—
A second explosion, as muffled and
indistinct as the first, rippled across Black
Spire, rattling the cantina.Thrawn: Alliances is available now
f rom C ent u r y.