Samakro frowned, eyeing the ships. What was Thrawn seeing that he wasn’t?

He smiled suddenly. It wasn’t anything his commander was seeing, but simple tactical logic. “Because the Chiss have a reputation,” he said. “The Lioaoin High Command knows all about it, and won’t believe the Ascendancy has sent only two ships to slap them down for their attack at Primea. They’ll assume we’re either a diversion or part of a larger encirclement force. Either way, they’ll want to keep the bulk of their force close in for protection.”

“Exactly,” Thrawn said. “Watch for four of the ships to continue toward us, while the rest deploy in a defensive high-orbit pattern.”

A light blinked on the comm console. “Admiral is hailing them,” Samakro reported.

Thrawn nodded. “Let’s hear what she has to say.”

The comm officer touched a switch. “This is Admiral Ar’alani of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, commanding the Vigilant,” Ar’alani’s clear voice came over the bridge speaker. “Forces of the Lioaoin Regime have knowingly and with prejudice attacked a ship of the Chiss Ascendancy. Have you any explanation to offer before we pass judgment?”

Silence. “I say again,” Ar’alani said, then repeated the message.

“The Nikardun are here,” Thrawn said quietly.

“I’m not picking up any non-Lioaoin ships,” Dalvu said.

“Then they’re on the surface, or aboard Lioaoin ships,” Thrawn said. “But the regime would certainly attempt to excuse their actions at Primea if they weren’t afraid of reprisals from their allies.”

Samakro thought back to what Thrawn had said about the Nikardun sacrificing the Lioaoi to keep themselves and the Vaks out of the Chiss target zone. “So the Nikardun just let them walk to the slaughter?” he asked. “Doesn’t say much about their value to the Nikardun.”

“More likely it indicates the even greater value General Yiv places in the Vak Combine,” Thrawn said. “I see we have four ships approaching.”

Samakro looked at Dalvu’s profile, caught the sour look on her face. Thrawn had called the exact number of the Lioaoin response, and for some reason his casual show of competence annoyed her. “Confirmed, Senior Captain,” she said reluctantly.

Thrawn touched a switch on his command chair. “Admiral, I believe our opponents are on their way.”

“I concur, Senior Captain,” Ar’alani’s voice came back. “Ready to deploy probe.”

“Springhawk stands ready,” Thrawn confirmed. “Deploy at will.”

Samakro craned his neck to look out the viewport at the Vigilant, running in the near distance off the Springhawk’s portside bow. There was a flicker of thruster fire, and the probe shot away from the larger ship. “Probe away,” he confirmed to Thrawn.

“Acknowledged.”