“Let’s see if they’re interested in talking.” He keyed the comm. “Unidentified ship, this is Senior Captain Mitth’raw’nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendancy,” he said in Minnisiat. “Can you understand me?”
Silence. Thrawn repeated the greeting in Taarja, then in Meese Caulf, then Sy Bisti. Che’ri was trying to remember if there were any more trade languages she’d ever heard of when there was an answering ping from the comm. “Hello, Senior Captain Mitth’raw’nuruodo,” a woman’s voice came in Meese Caulf. “What can I do for you?”
“It is considered courteous for one party of a conversation to offer his or her name to the other,” Thrawn said.
“You think we’re going to have a conversation?”
“We seem to be doing so,” Thrawn pointed out.
There was a short pause. The other ship, Che’ri noted, was heading toward the planet, without any hint that the pilot might be interested in a closer look at the Chiss visitor. “Call me Duja,” the woman said. “My turn. Does the Chiss Ascendancy favor the Republic or the Separatists?”
“Neither,” Thrawn said. “We take no side in this war of yours.”
“Then I see no reason to talk to you. No offense,” Duja said. “You haven’t seen a Nubian ship land lately, have you?”
“What does it look like?”
“Shiny silvery metal,” Duja said. “Smooth curves, no angles, twin engine pods.”
“We have not seen it.”
“Conversation over, then,” Duja said. “Nice talking to you.” There was another ping as she shut off the connection.
Che’ri looked at Thrawn, expecting him to call Duja back and try to persuade her, maybe offer to work together. But to her surprise, he merely closed down the comm. “You’re just letting her go?” she asked.
“She’s not a warrior,” Thrawn said, his voice thoughtful. “A scout, perhaps a spy, clearly someone with training. But not a warrior.”
“How do you know she’s had training?”
“Her ship is armed,” he said, “and as we spoke she rotated slightly so the weapons could be more quickly brought to bear if necessary.”
“Oh,” Che’ri said. She hadn’t seen any of that. “What do we do?”
“We wait,” he said. “As I said, she’s a scout or a spy. Sooner or later, a warrior will come.”
The warrior Che’ri and Thrawn were waiting for, it seemed, was in no great hurry.
Thrawn and Che’ri had been waiting three days when the silvery ship Duja had talked about appeared. It disappeared into the trees a fair distance from a settlement built in and around a group of black stone or wooden spires. A few hours later, Duja’s ship rose from the forest and headed away, pursued briefly and uselessly by a couple of the planet’s patrol ships. Che’ri waited for the Nubian to follow it, but the big silver ship remained hidden.
And then, again, nothing. Thrawn spent the days studying all the information he could find on the planet—which Che’ri learned was named Batuu—and giving Che’ri more piloting exercises with the control board in simulator mode. Che’ri, for her part, ran the exercises over and over, and over and over again. Thrawn hadn’t actually said so, but she had a strong suspicion that when the expected warrior arrived Thrawn would be leaving the scout ship in her hands. When that happened, she was determined not to let him down.
And then, even as Che’ri was privately about to give up hope, he was there.
“Unidentified ship, this is General Anakin Skywalker of the Galactic Republic,” the pilot said over the scout ship’s speaker, the Meese Caulf words a little mangled but mostly correct. “You are intruding on Republic equipment and interfering with a Republic mission. I order you to pull back and identify yourself.”
“I greet you,” Thrawn said in turn. “Did you give your name as General Skywalker?”
“I did. Why, have you heard of me?”
Thrawn caught Che’ri’s eye as he touched the MUTE button. “Interesting coincidence,” he commented.
Che’ri nodded. The pilot had spoken the word as if it was his name, but probably he’d just messed up the language.
Thrawn unmuted the comm. “No, not at all,” he said. “I was merely surprised. Let me assure you I mean no harm to you or your equipment. I merely wished a closer look at this interesting device.”
“Glad to hear it,” the pilot said. “You’ve had your look. Pull back as ordered.”
Thrawn pursed his lips thoughtfully. Then, very deliberately, he eased the ship back from the ring they’d moved up to examine. “May I ask what brings a Republic envoy to this part of space?” he asked.
“May I ask what business it is of yours?” the pilot countered. “You can be on your way at any time.”
“On my way?”
“To continue your travels. To go wherever you were going before you stopped to look at my hyperdrive ring.”
Again, Thrawn touched MUTE. “Opinion?”
Che’ri blinked. He was asking her opinion on this? Her opinion? “I don’t know anything about things like this.”
“You’re a Chiss,” Thrawn reminded her. “As such, you have instincts and judgment, perhaps more than you know. Do you think he’ll make a good ally?”
Che’ri crinkled her nose. She’d never met this person. She’d barely even heard him speak.
Yet she could sense confidence in him, and strength, and commitment. “Yes,” she said. “I do.”
Thrawn nodded and unmuted the comm. “Yes, I could continue on my way,” he said. “But it might be more useful for me to assist you in your quest.”
“I already told you I was on a Republic mission. It’s not a quest.”
“Yes, I recall your words,” Thrawn said. “But I find it hard to believe that a Republic at war would send a lone man in a lone fighter craft on a mission. I find it more likely that you travel on a personal quest.”
“I’m on a mission,” the pilot insisted. “Directly ordered here by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine himself. And I don’t have time for this.”
“Agreed,” Thrawn said. “Perhaps it would be best if I were to simply show you the location of the ship you seek.”
There was a short pause. “Explain,” the pilot said quietly.
“I know where the Nubian ship landed,” Thrawn told him. “I know the pilot is missing.”
“So you intercepted a private transmission?”
“I have my own sources of information. Like you, I seek information, on that and other matters. Also like you I’m alone, without the resources to successfully investigate. Perhaps in alliance we may find the answers both of us seek.”
“Interesting offer. You say it’s just the two of us?”
“Yes,” Thrawn said. He glanced at Che’ri. “Plus my pilot and your droid, of course.”
“You didn’t mention your pilot.”
“Neither did you mention your droid. Since neither will be joining us in our investigation, I didn’t think they entered into the discussion.”
“Artoo usually comes with me on missions.”
“Indeed?” Thrawn said, cocking an eyebrow. “Interesting. I was unaware that navigational machines had other uses. Do we have an alliance?”
The pilot hesitated. Che’ri motioned, and Thrawn touched MUTE. “The pilot of the other ship is missing?”
“I don’t know for certain,” Thrawn said. “But the lack of activity suggests that may be the case.” He shrugged slightly. “Besides, General Skywalker clearly cares about him or her. Raising the level of urgency should help him make up his mind.”
“So what answers are you looking for?” Skywalker said.