“Not at this time,” Thurfian said. “Though as long as Senior Aide Thivik is still on his way, I might as well start the packing. I presume I’ll be speaking with you later, as well?”
“At your convenience,” Thyklo said. “Congratulations, Patriarch Thurfian. May the Mitth flourish under your guidance.”
Patriarch Thurfian. The words echoed through Thurfian’s mind as he pulled on his clothing. Patriarch Thurfian. He’d once wondered with private amusement what Zistalmu would think if he knew Thurfian had been elevated to Syndic Prime. He could only imagine the Irizi’s expression when he learned Thurfian was now the Mitth Patriarch. Zistalmu’s expression would be priceless.
So, when the time was right, would Thrawn’s.
Thurfian didn’t have a lot of keepsakes, but most of them were items he didn’t trust to some random moving crew. The twenty minutes were nearly up, and he’d finished packing the relics into sturdy travel boxes, when there was a tone from the door.
He opened it to find Senior Aide Thivik waiting, a group of four Mitth guards spread out protectively in the corridor behind him. “Good evening, Senior Aide,” Thurfian greeted him gravely, stepping aside to let him in. “Thank you for coming, and my condolences on the passing of your master and our beloved Patriarch.”
“Thank you, Syndic Prime,” Thivik said gravely as he stepped past Thurfian into the suite, closing the door on the other Mitth. “Patriarch Thurfian, I should say. I trust you’re ready?”
“I am,” Thurfian said, eyeing him closely. Thivik always looked old and gaunt, but tonight he looked even older. Patriarch Thooraki’s death had clearly hit him hard. “I have a few things we’ll want to take with us.”
“Yes,” Thivik said, turning to look at the boxes Thurfian had packed. “You’re quite pleased with yourself, aren’t you?”
“Pleased?” Thurfian asked cautiously.
“Pleased that you’ve been granted the highest position in the Mitth family,” Thivik said, still looking at the boxes. “Pleased that you now have more power than you’ve ever dreamed possible. Pleased that your hopes and goals, whatever they might be, are about to be realized.”
“Should I instead cower in fear and false modesty?” Thurfian countered. “Yes, I’m pleased. Pleased, humbled, and awestruck. Should one who has been placed at the head of the greatest and noblest family of the Chiss Ascendancy be otherwise?”
“The greatest?” Thivik said, his tone suddenly gone odd. “Perhaps. That determination is for future historians. But the noblest?”
He turned around, and Thurfian had to stifle a sudden urge to take a step backward. The sudden intensity in the other’s face … “We shall travel to the homestead, Patriarch Thurfian,” Thivik said quietly. “We shall speak with the Patriels, and your staff, and we shall settle you into your new home. You shall have a good night’s rest, and a filling breakfast.”
Thivik’s eyes seemed to glitter. “And then,” he said, his voice taking on an edge of long distant pain, “I will tell you of the ancient history of the Mitth. The true history, so long suppressed.
“And I will tell you of a terrible alien weapon known as Starflash.”
About the Author
TIMOTHY ZAHN is the author of more than sixty novels, nearly ninety 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, Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, 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.
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