Of course, the battle itself had provided some data. They had the enemy’s laser spectra and intensities, plus their overall missile blast profiles. The Grayshrike also had the form and design of the metal lattice they’d used in the asteroid weapon.
Unfortunately, none of that would go very far in figuring out who these aliens were or where they came from.
“Still, the commander was more careless than he might have been with his language,” Ar’alani said. “The term he used—generalirius—when he was referring to General Yiv, for example. Of course, he was expecting to destroy both of us before we could send word elsewhere.”
“Yes, I saw that in your report,” Lakinda said. “Do you know what it means?”
“No, but the term generalissimo is supposedly used by a couple of nations out past the Tarleev,” Ar’alani said. “It refers to someone who’s both the chief military commander and the chief civilian leader. Generalirius might be related to that term.”
“Interesting,” Lakinda said. Or, of course, it might not be related to anything at all. “If they’re from that part of the Chaos, they traveled quite a distance to get here.”
“Which would raise interesting questions as to what they’re doing here,” Ar’alani agreed soberly. “First Yiv, and now these unknowns, all coming out of nowhere to sniff around the Ascendancy’s borders. Two data points is hardly a pattern, but even so I don’t like the trend.”
“On the other hand, unless someone else uses the same asteroid trap, these are the same ones who took out those Nikardun bases,” Lakinda pointed out. “It’s possible they came here solely to chase down Yiv, and now that he’s gone they might simply leave.”
“That would be very convenient,” Ar’alani said. “Though if all they wanted was Yiv, why take a poke at us?”
Lakinda felt her lip twitch. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Alien minds; alien logic.”
“An all-too-common excuse for lack of knowledge,” Ar’alani said. “Unfortunately, also very true. Well. We don’t know if any of their other ships or bases were close enough for the commander to send his battle data before he self-destructed. If they were, we may have a tougher fight the next time we go up against one of them.”
“I suppose we’ll find out,” Lakinda said, eyeing Ar’alani closely. So far there’d been nothing in this conversation that couldn’t have been said via ship-to-ship comm. Why had the admiral invited her over to the Vigilant?
“I suppose we will,” Ar’alani agreed, something in her tone suggesting this part of the meeting was over. “That covers the official briefing, the part that will go on the record. Now the real reason I asked you here. I trust you’ve had time to read your most recent message from Csilla?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lakinda said, keeping her voice and face studiously neutral. The transmission had come in via the Schesa triad only an hour ago, and a full hour’s worth of thought and puzzlement had still left her unable to make top or bottom of it. “I assume you also received a copy?”
“I did,” Ar’alani said. “Let’s start with the question of whether or not you want to go.”
Lakinda frowned. “The orders seemed abundantly clear,” she said, trying to read Ar’alani’s face. Unfortunately for her, the admiral was even better at being studiously neutral than she was. “I’m to proceed immediately to Csilla to rearm and repair as necessary, then join the Springhawk in Senior Captain Thrawn’s search for the Vagaari pirates.”
“The orders are indeed clear,” Ar’alani agreed. “But as your commander and the flag officer on the scene, I can countermand any and all orders as I see fit. So again: Do you want to go?”
“I’m sorry, Admiral, but I don’t understand the question,” Lakinda said, feeling even more like a fool. What exactly was Ar’alani getting at here? “Why would I not want to go assist the Springhawk?”
“First, because I could use you here, should our new friends send more ships.” Ar’alani looked her straight in the eye. “And second, because you have a problem with Thrawn.”
Lakinda felt her throat tighten. “I’m not sure I know what you mean, ma’am.”
“I think you do,” Ar’alani said. “Every time you and Thrawn are together, there’s an underlying prickliness in your face and voice. Nothing blatant, certainly nothing anyone else would probably notice. But it’s there.”
“Admiral—”
She stopped as Ar’alani held up a hand. “I don’t know what the issue is, and I don’t care. Family problems, personality conflicts, or whatever. It’s also certainly not unique in the fleet—there are whole sections of senior officers’ profiles devoted to who they work well with and who they should probably never be paired with again.”
Lakinda took a deep breath. “I don’t have a problem with Senior Captain Thrawn, ma’am,” she repeated. “Even if I did, I would never let personal feelings get in the way of working with him or any other of my fellow officers or warriors. Unless you need me to stay and assist with the ground survey, I’ll return to the Grayshrike and prepare for our departure.”
“Very good, Senior Captain,” Ar’alani said, her voice going to full formal. “At your convenience, and on your schedule. If I can assist in any way, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
“Thank you, Admiral,” Lakinda said. “One thought. Since I’m heading directly back to the Ascendancy, I suggest we transfer the Grayshrike’s remaining breachers and plasma fluid to the Vigilant. It won’t bring you up to a full complement of either, but it would be helpful if you end up in further combat.”
“It would indeed,” Ar’alani said. “Thank you for the offer. I’ll get Senior Captain Wutroow on it immediately.”
By the time Lakinda was back on her shuttle, she’d alerted Apros to get started on the weapons transfer from his end. Apros hadn’t been happy at the Grayshrike’s new orders, and his response to her order made it clear he was equally unhappy that Lakinda hadn’t asked Ar’alani to countermand Csilla on this one.
Lakinda couldn’t disagree. Even with the alien warship that apparently had been assigned to the system now destroyed, it was a serious risk for the Vigilant to stay here alone to search for the reasons for its presence. Two ships were always better than one, and the fact that Supreme Admiral Ja’fosk apparently thought Ar’alani would do better alone than Thrawn would was of small comfort.
Still, the Vigilant was a powerful warship and Ar’alani an extremely capable commander. If the aliens sent more ships, they would likely end up the same way the Battle Dreadnought had. Certainly Ar’alani’s plan had shown she shared Thrawn’s fondness for layered tactics.
Lakinda frowned as an odd thought struck her. Ar’alani was three years older than Thrawn, and she’d known him at Taharim Academy. Since that time the two of them had worked together on a number of missions.
So was it, in fact, Thrawn’s tactical genius that Ar’alani had learned from? Or was it the other way around? Could Thrawn have simply adopted Ar’alani’s methods and run with them? In that case, maybe he got all the attention because he was brash enough to go full-bore into situations where Ar’alani’s innate prudence suggested a slower approach.
If Thrawn really wasn’t as good as everyone thought, then maybe Lakinda wasn’t as much in his shadow as she thought.
Something to consider. In the meantime, she had a ship to prepare, weapons to off-load, and Thrawn’s latest reports to study. Whatever was going on with the Springhawk, the Grayshrike would likely be seeing more combat. Probably very soon.