“You were the Benevolent’s master then?” Qilori asked.
An instant later he regretted his impulsiveness. It was clear he was here to answer questions, not ask them. The deep, cold emptiness of space…
“Do you assume, then, that there can be only one military mind that sees the Chiss as the prime obstacle to dominion over the Chaos?” the voice came. To Qilori’s relief, there seemed to be more grim amusement than anger in the tone. “No, Qilori of Uandualon. Had we been guiding Yiv’s efforts, instead of merely watching them, he would have been far more successful.”
“Of course,” Qilori said, ducking his head. “I apologize for any offense.”
“None is taken. At any rate, the frontal attack has failed, as many of us predicted it would. Clearly, something more subtle will be necessary.”
Qilori pricked up his ears. “You’re going against the Chiss?”
“Do you disapprove?”
“Not at all,” Qilori assured him. “They’ve taken my life from me. If your offer of a bright future includes revenge on the Chiss, you can count me in.”
“Excellent.”
Abruptly, the displays and controls came back to life. Qilori took a deep breath, watching as the self-checks cleared, watching as the location display calibrated itself. His earlier assessment had been correct: They were very much in the middle of nowhere.
“You may continue our journey,” the voice continued. “We will talk again later.”
“Yes,” Qilori said. “May I…if I can’t have your name, can you at least tell me what to call you?”
“Jixtus,” the voice said. “You may call me Jixtus. Make good note of that name, Qilori of Uandualon.
“It’s the name of he who will finally and completely destroy the Chiss Ascendancy.”
For all those who stand on the edge of chaos
STAR WARS BOOKS BY TIMOTHY ZAHN
STAR WARS: Heir to the Empire
STAR WARS: Dark Force Rising
STAR WARS: The Last Command
STAR WARS: The Hand of Thrawn, Book 1: Specter of the Past
STAR WARS: The Hand of Thrawn, Book 2: Vision of the Future
STAR WARS: Survivor’s Quest
STAR WARS: Outbound Flight
STAR WARS: Allegiance
STAR WARS: Choices of One
STAR WARS: Scoundrels
STAR WARS: Thrawn
STAR WARS: Thrawn: Alliances
STAR WARS: Thrawn: Treason
STAR WARS: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TIMOTHY ZAHN is the author of more than sixty novels, over a hundred short stories and novelettes, and five short-fiction collections. In 1984, he won the Hugo Award for best novella. Zahn is best known for his Star Wars novels (Thrawn, Thrawn: Alliances, Thrawn: Treason, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future, Survivor’s Quest, Outbound Flight, Allegiance, Choices of One, and Scoundrels), with more than eight million copies of his books in print. Other books include StarCraft: Evolution, the Cobra series, the Quadrail series, and the young adult Dragonback series. Zahn has a BS in physics from Michigan State University and an MS from the University of Illinois. He lives with his family on the Oregon coast.
Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & ® or ™ where indicated. All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
DEL REY is a registered trademark and the CIRCLE colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
ISBN 9780593157688
International edition ISBN 9780593159897
Ebook ISBN 9780593157695
Book design by Elizabeth A. D. Eno, adapted for ebook
Cover art and design: Sarofsky
ep_prh_5.5.0_c0_r0