So much, too, for keeping Thrawn’s favored method for surreptitious communication secret. Up to now, only she and Thrawn had known how he’d managed his communication with the Garwians during the Lioaoin pirate attack on Stivic all those years ago. He’d obviously planned in advance to pull the same trick here, knowing that Ar’alani would recognize it and be able to extract the message.

What he couldn’t have anticipated was Zistalmu inviting himself onto the mission.

The question of Thrawn’s possible interference in that particular incident had long since been forgotten. But all it would take was Zistalmu putting the pieces together to drag it back into the light. And with Zistalmu and Thurfian both out for Thrawn’s blood, that could be a serious problem.

Right now, Ar’alani had more pressing matters to deal with. Two of the Vak patrol ships had broken out of their lens formation and were pursuing Thrawn’s ship. So far they hadn’t fired, but someone had clearly figured out that the rogue fighter had been commandeered and was hoping to stop it. Meanwhile, off to portside, two much larger Vak warships had come into view around the planetary rim, moving steadily toward the Vigilant.

And then, around the planetary rim to starboard, a much larger ship had appeared.

A Nikardun warship.

“Vak warships moving toward portside flank,” Wutroow called. “Close-combat distance in two point three minutes. Patrol ships moving up in defensive lens; combat distance ninety seconds.”

“Picture coming through,” Biclian reported. “On Sensor Two.”

Ar’alani looked at the specified display. The data Thrawn was sending seemed to be a schematic of one of the Vak patrol ships.

She smiled tightly. A schematic, moreover, with all the weapons and targeting sensor systems marked. Everything she would need to take all the fight out of them without loss of life or serious damage to the ships themselves.

“Prepare lasers,” she ordered. “Target patrol ships’ weapons sensors. Target very carefully—I don’t want any additional damage.”

“Just a moment,” Zistalmu cut in. “Are you mad? You can’t launch an unprovoked attack.”

“It’s not unprovoked,” Wutroow said. “One of them fired on us, remember?”

“That was Thrawn.”

“So you’ve suggested,” Ar’alani said evenly. “Until that’s been confirmed, we operate on the assumption that the Vaks have attacked us. Captain Wutroow, pick three of the patrol ships and fire—”

“Belay that order,” Zistalmu snapped. “I forbid any action. You will prepare to withdraw—”

“Incoming!” Biclian snapped. “Four heavy cruisers, coming in from hyperspace behind us.”

“Acknowledged,” Ar’alani said, feeling a sudden sense of unreality as she gazed at the display. They were heavy cruisers, all right, arrayed in a diamond combat formation.

Only they weren’t Vak ships, or even Nikardun.

They were Lioaoin.

“Yaw turn—one eighty,” she ordered. “Stand by lasers and spheres on new targets.”

“Lioaoin flagship is signaling, Admiral,” the comm officer called. She touched a switch—