“Admiral Ar’alani, this is Command,” the Vak voice came back. “Do I assume from the pattern that we are the object of a Nikardun blockade?”

“I would say so, Command, yes,” Ar’alani confirmed. “Will you hold your defense ships back while we clear it out?”

“That question was also asked by Captain Thrawn,” Command said. “The answer is now decided. We will hold back.”

“Thank you,” Ar’alani said. “Task force, you have your targets. Engage at will.”

“You heard the admiral,” Samakro ordered, tapping ID locks onto the two closest Nikardun ships. “We’ll start with these two. Azmordi, get us moving—flank speed.”

“No,” Yiv said, his eyes focused slightly off to the side. The smugness had vanished completely from his voice, replaced by utter disbelief and a growing anger, his symbionts’ tendrils waving restlessly. “It’s not possible. You’re simply not important enough for the Chiss to send a war fleet to rescue you.”

“You assume this display of Chiss power is because of me,” Thrawn said. “It’s far more likely the Vak Combine itself called for Ascendancy aid.”

“Absurdity begets absurdity,” Yiv scoffed. “The fools would never make a decision like that. They aren’t even close to having all the thought lines they need, let alone to having considered all of them.”

“You misunderstand them, General,” Thrawn said. “That will prove your undoing. Would you like to know what was in the message I sent them?”

“I know what was in the message,” Yiv retorted. “I took it from your hostage.”

“And substituted something far more innocuous,” Thrawn said. “Of course you did. What you failed to realize was that I left another message in the fighter’s computer. Would you like to hear what it said?”

Yiv’s attention jerked back to the comm from whatever he was looking at, a terrible fire blazing in his eyes. “Tell me,” he invited softly.

“ ‘To Primea Command, this is Senior Captain Thrawn,’ ” Thrawn said. “ ‘My companion Thalias has delivered a message to your representative, a copy of which is reproduced below. If it’s the same message as you’ve already received, then all is well, and you may consider my offer at your leisure.

“ ‘However, if you did not, in fact, receive this same message from my companion’s hand, we may conclude that some of your officers and troops have conspired with General Yiv to withhold my message from you. If that is the case, I urge you to consider my offer with all necessary speed. To aid in your decision, I also include data from other systems that have had dealings with the Nikardun, as well as information about a ship full of refugees he murdered. I or my representatives will journey to Primea in the near future to discuss the matter with you.’ ”