Che’ri frowned. Was that Mid Captain Samakro? Why was he talking to one of the Nikardun ships?

“I feel you should know that we’re Senior Captain Thrawn’s personal ship,” Samakro continued. “As such, it’s only sporting for me to offer you the chance to surrender before we destroy you.”

Yiv gave out another scream and again jabbed a finger. The same Nikardun gave a jerky nod and hastily shut off the transmission.

Jerky. Hasty. Like he was scared?

Carefully, she looked back at Thalias. The older woman was keeping perfectly still, but there was a tiny smile playing at the corner of her mouth. Che’ri frowned.

And then, she got it. The Nikardun on the Deathless’s bridge were scared, all right. But they weren’t scared of Thrawn. They were scared of their own leader. Whatever Samakro had been trying to do with that transmission, he’d made Yiv even more furious than he’d been before.

Which might not be a good thing, Che’ri realized with a fresh shiver. The stories about Thrawn talked about times when he’d deliberately made an enemy angry in order to keep him from thinking straight. But in this case, Yiv had her and Thalias as hostages, and he’d already threatened to hurt them. Making him angry might just make him hurt them sooner.

“That’s good advice, General,” Thrawn’s voice said over the speaker. “Be advised that if you continue along your current path I’m fully prepared to destroy you.”

“Your freighter against a Battle Dreadnought?” Yiv said contemptuously. “Your foolishness is matched only by your arrogance. Both will light your way to destruction. Whatever you do now, you die. You and all the Chiss will die.”

“Then make an end of it,” Thrawn invited. “Come and take me.”

Che’ri could feel her breath coming in quick, shallow gulps. Again, she could sense that this was all part of Thrawn’s plan. Again, she had no idea what it might be.

But again, Thalias was smiling.

Again, Qilori hadn’t the slightest idea what Thrawn was doing. But the small smile on the Chiss’s face chilled him straight to the bone.

He was up to something. Sitting out here, making no move to either advance or retreat, inviting Yiv to come and get him…but there wasn’t any possible end to this gambit except Thrawn’s utter destruction.

And then, suddenly, he got it.

Yiv was focused on Thrawn. Completely and obsessively on Thrawn. Nothing would distract him from that focus.

Which left the Deathless completely open to an attack from the rear.