Thalias had expected the place to smell old and musty, perhaps with the pungent scent of rotted food or—worse—rotted bodies. But while there was a definite hint of staleness, it was hardly overwhelming. Whenever the owners of the station had pulled out, they’d apparently done so in an orderly fashion.

“This is the place,” Thrawn said softly, shining his light into alcoves and rooms as they walked down a wide corridor. “This is where they came from.”

“The refugee ships?” Thalias asked.

“Yes,” Thrawn confirmed. “The style is unmistakable.”

“Mm,” Thalias said. She’d looked at everything he had, and she didn’t have a clue as to what he was picking up on. “What now?”

“We go to the main control center,” Thrawn said, picking up his pace. “That’s where our visitors are most likely to dock.”

“How are we going to find it?”

“We’ve passed two floor schematics on the walls since we left the shuttle,” Thrawn said, frowning slightly at her. “The main command and control centers were obvious.”

Thalias made a face. Not just one floor schematic, but two of them?

Okay. So maybe she hadn’t seen everything he had.

They found the control center exactly where Thrawn had predicted it would be. The controls and consoles were labeled with an unfamiliar script, but everything seemed laid out in a logical pattern. A little trial and error with the controls, and suddenly the room blazed with light.

“That’s better,” Thalias said, putting away her own light. “What now?”

“This,” Thrawn said, throwing a few more switches. “If I’ve read the console organization correctly, we should now have turned on the station’s external lights.”

Thalias stared at him. “You—? But that ship will see us.”

“I told you I was going to invite them in,” Thrawn reminded her. “More important, our lights will hopefully distract them from the Springhawk, should its hiding place have been their original destination.”

“I see,” Thalias said, freshly aware of the charric riding her hip. “You’re not expecting to fight them, are you?”

“I’m hoping to avoid that, yes,” Thrawn said. “The equipment bay with the largest docking ports is at the portside edge of the station. We’ll wait for them there.” With a final look around the control center, he headed for a hatch leading in that direction.

Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Thalias followed.