“I’m going to Primea to ransom my two hostages from General Yiv,” Thrawn said. “I don’t expect the exchange to end well.”

“Oh,” Qilori said, trying for the right mix of surprise and concern. “Surely you’re not expecting treachery? Yiv the Benevolent has always struck me as upright and honorable in his dealings with others. At least when the other party has also been honorable. You aren’t planning any tricks, are you?”

“He wanted me to come alone in an unarmed freighter.” Thrawn waved a hand around them. “Do you see anyone else? Or any weapons?”

“Well, certainly not from here,” Qilori said with a shrug. Though considering that he’d given the freighter’s hull a thorough visual inspection before coming aboard, and had spent his last rest period surreptitiously checking for weapons controls, he was considerably more certain than his offhanded comment made it look.

Still, there was something odd about the freighter’s shape, something that had caught his attention as he’d spiraled around it earlier. It was nothing hugely out of the ordinary for this class of ship, and he couldn’t even codify what it was that was different. Yet hours later, it was still nagging at him.

“You can therefore affirm that I’ve followed his instructions,” Thrawn said.

“In which case you should have nothing to fear,” Qilori said.

“Perhaps,” Thrawn said. “Are you ready for the final segment?”

“I am,” Qilori said, taking one last sip of his tealeaf and setting the mug aside. Thrawn was right: It would be their last voyage together. Qilori would have to thank the Benevolent later for letting him be present to watch the arrogant, Pathfinder-murdering Chiss die. “Another half hour, and we’ll be there.”

“Good,” Thrawn said, settling himself in his chair. “Let’s make an end of it, Qilori of Uandualon. One way, or another.”

Chapter Twenty-one

Insight. In the end, Ar’alani mused, that was what it came down to. Analysis followed, then extrapolation and countermove. Those were what made a successful military campaign. But it all started with insight.

And if the insight was in error, the rest collapsed like an ice bridge over a bonfire.

Thrawn claimed to understand Yiv. He claimed to understand the Vaks.

But he’d also thought he understood the Lioaoi and the Garwians. His failure there had stirred up old animosities and political conflicts, had gotten a bunch of aliens killed, and had put the Ascendancy in the middle with dirt on its hands. If he was wrong this time, there would be more deaths.

Only this time, many of the dead would be Chiss.

There was a movement to her left, and she looked up to see Wutroow come to a stop beside the command chair. “Breakout in five minutes,” the Vigilant’s first officer reported. “All systems and stations report ready.”

“Thank you, Senior Captain,” Ar’alani said. “Anything else?”