The four patrol ships leapt toward each other, precisely matching the exercise’s original parameters. Thrawn cut to starboard, heading toward Three. One and Two angled toward him, closing the distance. Thrawn opened fire, raking One and Three with low-power, exercise-level spectrum laser shots. The two ships veered apart, moving out of the lines of fire, as Two headed toward Thrawn’s flank, all three targeting Thrawn with their own fire. For a few seconds, Thrawn ignored the theoretical destruction hammering at his ship’s hull and continued toward One and Three. Then, abruptly, he spun his ship around in a 180-yaw, turning his thrusters toward One and Three as if preparing to escape.

But instead of firing his aft thrusters, he threw full power to the forward ones, continuing his drive toward One and Three.

The maneuver caught all three attackers off guard. One and Three veered even farther apart, reflexively shying away from the threat of being rammed. Two, which had been intent on a flanking close-fire position, instead shot past Thrawn’s bow.

And as Two passed in front of him, Thrawn fired his lasers at its stern, simultaneously firing his rear thrusters full-power toward One and Three.

Someone swore softly. Somehow, Thrawn’s attack had killed Two’s acceleration and sent it into a slow tumble. Thrawn’s own thruster burst sent him past Two’s stern, once again leaving him a clear path for escape.

But to Ziara’s astonishment, instead of running he fired his forward thrusters, killing his speed and dropping beside Two, putting the tumbling ship between him and the more distant One and Three.

And somehow, right in the midst of that maneuver, his ship picked up the exact same tumble that his attack had given Two, precisely matching its speed and rotation as he settled in behind it.

Ziara huffed out a half laugh. “He did it,” she said under her breath. “He disappeared.”

“What are you talking about?” the Irizi asked, sounding confused. “He’s right there.”

“Not done,” Ba’kif warned.

A second later Thrawn broke his ship out of its wobble, and as Two rotated past him he fired his bow-flank and stern-flank lasers, catching One and Three squarely in their bows.

“Hold!” Ba’kif called. “The exercise is over. Thank you all; please return to the launch platform. Cadet Thrawn, are you comfortable with docking your ship by yourself?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll see you inside, then. Well done, Cadet.” He keyed off.

“What do you mean, well done?” the Irizi demanded. “What did that prove? It was a skillful enough maneuver, I’ll grant you, but we all saw it. He hardly disappeared the way he claimed.”