“I assume so,” Thrawn said. “Presumably a Void Guide, like the second ship’s. Note also the fact that we found no such body aboard the first ship.”

He paused again, clearly expecting Thalias to follow his path of logic. “The Nikardun took him with them?” she offered.

“Indeed,” Thrawn said. “Was he dead, or alive?”

Thalias chewed at her lip. How was she supposed to know that?

For that matter, why was Thrawn even going through this logic puzzle with her, especially this way? It was like the schoolwork classes she’d had to take as an occasionally reluctant sky-walker, or the same classes she was now having to inflict on an even more reluctant Che’ri.

“The Paccosh aboard the other ship died much later than those who were attacked in the Ascendancy,” he prompted.

Thalias nodded as she finally saw where he was going. Especially since the second group had asphyxiated instead of being murdered like the first group. “He was dead,” she said. “If he’d been alive, he’d have told the Nikardun where the other ship was and they’d have moved in and slaughtered them, too, instead of letting them die on their own.”

“Excellent,” Thrawn said. “We also glean the fact that it was the Paccosh, not the Void Guides, who chose the four-star system as their rendezvous.”

“Okay,” Thalias said, frowning. “How does that help us?”

“It may not,” Thrawn conceded. “But sometimes small bits of knowledge return in unexpected ways.” He gestured ahead. “At any rate, I believe we’ve learned all that we’re going to here. A stealthy return to the Springhawk is now in order, followed by a hopefully unimpeded exit from the system.”

“The Nikardun will be watching,” Thalias warned.

“Agreed,” Thrawn said. “But after the Vigilant’s incursion, I expect the Nikardun will have pulled their sentry lines closer into the inner system. Our escape should be straightforward, as should our rendezvous with the Vigilant to retrieve our sky-walker.”

“And then back to the Ascendancy?”

Thrawn looked down at the double ring in his hand. “Not right away,” he said. “No, I think we’ll go to a Navigators’ Guild concourse and hire ourselves a navigator.”

Thalias frowned. “You already said we’ll have Che’ri.”

“In case we need her,” Thrawn said. “But the Paccosh indicated there may be more Nikardun ships arriving in the near future. There’s something I want to do before that happens.”

“Ah,” Thalias said carefully. Unless the fleet had changed the rules since she was a sky-walker, a captain who wanted to expand the scope of a mission was supposed to first get authorization.

But that really wasn’t any of her business. “You’re looking for a Void Guide?”

“No,” Thrawn said. He fingered the ring one last time, then put it carefully into a pocket. “No, I think there’s someone who will be far more useful to us.”

Memories V