“I concur, General,” Wevary said without hesitation. “I’m looking forward to the exercise.”

The Irizi glared at him. But he merely compressed his lips and inclined his head.

“Good.” Ba’kif turned back to the board. “Gentlemen, I have four patrol craft prepped and waiting at the platform, plus an observation launch for the six of us to watch from.” He stood up and gestured toward the door. “Shall we go?”

The four patrollers were in their starting positions: Thrawn in one, three of General Ba’kif’s pilots in the others. The test area had been cordoned off, and the initial points for the exercise mapped out. The observation launch was in position, outside the combat area but close enough to see and record everything.

Ziara sat beside Ba’kif in the second seating tier, staring out the canopy past the heads of the other three officers and the Irizi. She’d pitched this to the general as an unfair charge against Thrawn, wrapping her concerns in the glow of the younger cadet’s academic record. And in all honesty, Ba’kif hadn’t seemed to need a lot of persuasion.

But that didn’t change the fact that Ziara had stuck her neck out, and there was now a fresh target painted on her forehead. Before her call to Ba’kif, she’d been peripheral to the situation, with little danger to her or the Irizi name. Now, if Thrawn failed to prove his case, her name would be right up there with his.

“Patrols One and Three: Go,” Ba’kif said into the comm. “Patrol Four: Go. Patrol Two: Go. Make sure your vectors stay precisely on track.”

In the distance in front of them, the three patrol ships began to move. Beneath them, Thrawn’s Patrol Four headed toward them. “Steady,” Ba’kif warned. “Two, increase thrust a couple of degrees. One and Three, running true. Cadet Thrawn?”

“Ready, sir,” Thrawn’s measured voice came.

Ziara felt her lip twist. Now, when her stomach was tied up in knots, was naturally the moment he picked to be cool and calm.

Or maybe it was just that space and combat were a more comfortable environment for him than a courtroom filled with officers, regulations, and family politics.

“Stand by,” Ba’kif said. “Exercise begins…now.”