Thalias took a deep breath, gazing at Che’ri’s eyes. The enhanced maturity she’d seen in the girl back aboard the Vigilant was still there, and for a moment Thalias noted the irony of a nine-year-old comforting an adult. “You know, when I was your age I remember being terrified of my future,” she said. “It was all so big and unknown, and I had no idea what my place in it would be.”

“I used to feel that way, too,” Che’ri said. “Not so much anymore.”

“Which all by itself is crazy,” Thalias said. “The future you’re facing—for that matter, the future you and I are facing just today—is way less secure than anything I could have dreamed of.”

“You just said it,” Che’ri said. “Dreams. I never knew what to dream. I mean, I was just a sky-walker. I didn’t know if there was anything else I could ever do.”

She gestured at the control board in front of her. “But then Thrawn taught me how to fly. In just a couple of weeks he taught me how to fly.” She smiled, her whole face beaming with happiness and accomplishment. “If I can do that, I can do anything. Do you get it now?”

“Yes,” Thalias said. “And I’m happy for you.” She took another deep breath, willing the tension away. An accomplished warrior like Thrawn; an accomplished pilot like Che’ri. With them trusting her, how could this go wrong? “You said the Vaks had hailed us. Do we need to send a message back?”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Che’ri said, pointing to the mic. “Got your speech ready?”

“I’ve got Thrawn’s speech ready,” Thalias said, forcing a small smile. “Good enough?”

“Good enough.” Che’ri touched a switch. “You’re on.”

Thalias braced herself. This was it. “Greetings to the people of Primea,” she called in Minnisiat. “I am Thalias, companion to Senior Captain Thrawn of the Chiss Ascendancy. In his escape from your world some time ago, he inadvertently took this fighter craft with him. It has been repaired, and my pilot and I are here to return it.”

“You have stolen from the Vak Combine,” a harsh voice came in the same language. “What makes you think you won’t be punished for your crime?”

“I would beg the Combine to accept my visit and the spacecraft’s return as a gesture of goodwill,” Thalias said. “I’m certain that I can explain from Thrawn’s thought line the reasons behind his actions.”

There was a pause. “There is never a valid reason for theft,” the Vak said. But to Thalias’s ears he sounded a little uncertain.