Chapter 5: Laying Plans

In person, Admiral Thresk was an imposing Chiss, tall and well-built with a coldly rigid air that brooked no defiance. The Admiral stood with his hands behind his back as the fleet's officers filed into Csaplar's briefing room, regarding them unblinkingly with his red-eyed stare; a few paces behind him, his second-in-command Hess'irolia'nuruodo, a female officer about Jag's own age, adopted a similar posture. Jag didn't know Irolia well, though he'd heard from Jaina that she'd been the primary liaison between her uncle and his party and the Ascendancy government while they'd searched through the CEDF archives for references to Zonoma Sekot. He did know that CEDF high command considered her an exemplary young officer and had assigned her to Thresk as part of the process of grooming her for higher command. Personally, he found Irolia to be loyal, competent, and good-hearted, if rather reserved and stiff- and smiled inwardly at the thought of how Jaina would have reacted to hear him describe anyone else as "stiff".

Jag sat near the back of the briefing room with the commanders of the fleet's other starfighter squadrons. Looking around, he could see that he was one of the only humans in the room- there were only two others, a man and a woman, and he didn't know either of their names. Otherwise, the room was a sea of jet-black hair, blue skin, and faintly glowing red eyes. As a human raised in the Ascendancy, Jag was used to being one of the only ones of his species present at most occasions, but considering the purpose for which this fleet had set out, that fact felt oppressive now in a way it never had before.

When the last officer entered the room, Thresk stepped forward while Irolia activated a large holomap of the local sector of space. "I do not think I need to remind any of you why we are here," he began. "All of you know the terrible crime which has been committed against our people, and all of you know that the Galactic Alliance is responsible for it. We are the sword-arm of the Chiss people, here not to conquer but to seek justice. Thanks to my message to them, the Galactic Alliance government knows this as well."

The sword-arm of the Chiss people? Jag thought. Or of Admiral Thresk's ambitions, and those of his political patron Aristocra Lirnan? A victory over the Galactic Alliance by Thresk could well be leveraged to gain his House, the Mitth, a seat once again among the Ruling Families. To Jag's mind, all of the Admiral's rhetoric about justice rang hollow as a result. Pride and ambition- the Chiss claimed that they were above such things that plagued lesser species, but perhaps they were just better and disguising them or explaining them away.

"I gave the Alliance the opportunity to restore their honor by surrendering those responsible for the treacherous attack against us," Thresk continued, "but they have not done so. Instead, our scouts have reported that two fleets have left their temporary capital at Denon and are positioned to intercept us should we attempt to make for it." His eyes narrowed and seemed to burn even brighter. "These are not the actions of a people who intend to atone for their crimes. Rather, they are the actions of a people who feel a need to hide something from us."

Thresk motioned at the holomap and it rotated so that it focused on two systems, each a short hyperspace jump from Migelli III. "It is in these systems that they have positioned their fleets," he said. "This is where they expect us to strike. Though there is little of value directly in either system, both represent important jump-points on the way to Denon. However, this is not where we are going." The map rotated again, this time focusing on a system that most of the audience had heard of, based on the soft murmurs that rose around the room. "This is Bilbringi, site of a shipyard retaken from the Yuuzhan Vong by the Galactic Alliance at the conclusion of the Yuuzhan Vong War, and now restored to functionality. It is also the site of the final battle of Mitth'raw'nuruodo. The Alliance began this war by assaulting one of our shipyards- I intend for us to return the favor. And while Thrawn was a renegade, he was still a Chiss. Perhaps by taking Bilbringi, we can consider him avenged." Thrawn also, Jag thought, had been an adopted member of House Mitth, which no doubt made it even more personal for the proud admiral.

Thresk paced in front of the holomap and then turned to regard the officers. "You know our target. I will be sending each of you your specific orders shortly. You are dismissed."

The officers stood and began to exit the room, Thresk nodding to each as they passed. Jag was one of the last, but before he could leave the admiral waved him over. "Yes, sir?" the human pilot asked.

"Colonel Fel," Thresk said coolly as he studied Jag's face intently. "At Migelli III we faced only a small, inexperienced force- at Bilbringi, we will be facing much more formidable defenses. You fought alongside the Galactic Alliance with great distinction during the Yuuzhan Vong war, as I recall. What can you tell me about their strengths and weaknesses?"

"Surely the Admiral has already been briefed about the capabilities of the Alliance?" Jag asked, expression neutral. Evading a superior officer's question wasn't in his character under normal circumstances, but in this situation he found that he didn't want to give Thresk anything more than he already had.

The admiral's eyes narrowed. "I have been briefed, as you are well aware, Colonel. I am asking for your personal opinion as a soldier and pilot. Give it to me."

"The Alliance is diverse, which is its greatest strength and weakness," Jag said carefully. "The Alliance as a whole is flexible and creative, but lacks the same level of discipline and efficiency that the Chiss, or even the Empire, have. However, do not underestimate them. They are, after all, the group that defeated the Yuuzhan Vong, and are the successor to the group that overthrew the Empire."

Thresk considered this in silence for a moment. "And are you certain, Colonel," he said slowly, "that you do not feel any… emotional entanglement… with this government that rules, after all, over a substantial number of your own species?"

There, Jag realized, was what the Admiral had really been getting it- where did Jag's loyalties lie? He didn't know if it was because he was human, because of who his father was, or because of his role during the Vong War (how much did they know about Jaina?) but in any case, the question struck him like a slap. "My father was a Baron of the Empire, sir," Jag said, standing stiffly. "I am not beholden to the Galactic Alliance." Well, that was technically true.

The admiral was silent for several moments longer, then nodded. "You are dismissed, Colonel Fel," he said curtly. "Tell your squadron to prepare, and get some rest. Soon, this war begins in earnest."

Jag saluted and left the briefing room, unable to shake the feeling of Thresk's red eyes burning into his back as he did so.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Fesyr raised her eyes slowly from her hand of sabacc cards and regarded the other pilots who sat around the table in one of the Galactic Alliance Star Destroyer Freedom's Dawn's lounges. Directly across from her sat Kayn Mantrell, a dark-haired human male with a short growth of beard who was also the leader of her flight; next to him was a driven little Sullustan from another squadron named Siril Hamb; rounding out the table was a female Falleen named Aisla who somehow managed to look elegant even in a flight suit- she was Fesyr's wingmate, and her closest friend on the squadron. Aisla was a very good pilot and engaging conversationalist, and beyond that, Bothans and Falleen shared a deeply-rooted cultural love of intrigue.

It was probably that very love of intrigue that drew Fesyr to games like sabacc. A game of chance and deception, pitting one's wits and luck against not only other sentient beings but fate itself- it was a heady feeling even if you weren't a skilled player, which Fesyr was. She'd met better players, but not many; unfortunately, both Mantrell and Aisla were also either very good or very lucky, and Siril was a largely unknown quality. Luckily, Fesyr was on the top of her game tonight; she felt that fate- or the Force, as the Jedi would say- was on her side.

"So," the Sullustan in question said, laying down his cards. Eighteen, Fesyr thought, noting their value. Not bad, but hardly unbeatable, either. Glancing down at her own hand, the Bothan smiled tightly to herself. "Who do you think it is that we're going to be sent out here to fight, anyway?" Official word was that this was a routine patrol, but everyone on the Dawn knew better- something was up, something the officers were keeping close to their chests.

"I heard pirates," Mantrell said lightly, putting down his cards as well- twenty. "Pirate activity's been big since the Vong War, what with the galaxy having to put itself back together and all- lots of easy pickings. Still, I'd hate to meet the pirates we'd need a whole fleet to take down."

"Two whole fleets," Aisla remarked. "I think that this is some sort of threat from the Unknown Regions, considering how close we are. You know they say that the Sith have been hiding out there for millennia, just waiting for the right moment to strike!" The Falleen bared her sharp teeth in a mock-ferocious snarl at that, then laughed at the sheer absurdity of ancient Sith emerging from the Unknown Regions to strike at the galaxy- a legend that had been around for almost as long as there had been Sith, and that had never materialized. She lay her cards down, and Fesyr noted their value- negative twelve. Not a good hand; luck wasn't with Aisla tonight, it seemed.

The Falleen turned to regard Fesyr, the fine scales on her otherwise-humanlike face gleaming faintly in the lounge's light. "Of course, Sneak probably hopes it's Vong," she said lightly, a smile playing around the edge of her mouth.

Fesyr's fur stiffened at the nickname, which she felt reflected other species' common stereotypes about Bothans, but it was one she supposed she'd earned when she'd been discovered going through her wingmates' possessions while they were supposed to be asleep to make certain none of them had ties to the Peace Brigade or any other illicit groups. Despite her protests that she wasn't paranoid, she was cautious, the name had stuck. "If it is the Vong," the Bothan said softly, "then I have every intention of making sure they regret crawling out of whatever hole they've been hiding in. Oh, and by the way…" She put her cards down. Twenty-two. Not Pure Sabacc, but the next best thing, and a far better hand than anyone else had. "I believe I win."

The Bothan reached out and quickly drew the pile of sabacc chips in the center of the table over to her side. "Come now, friends," Fesyr said, glancing at each of the others in turn and flashing her canines in a smile. "Don't look so down. The night is young. Shall we play again?"

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

"So how much do you know about the Chiss, Antilles?" Traest Kre'fey's hologram asked Wedge as he stood on the bridge of Freedom's Dream, looking out over the stars.

The Corellian general shrugged. "Not a whole lot," he said. "My sister's married to Soontir Fel, who's supposed to be one of the highest-ranking non-Chiss in the entire Ascendancy, but I haven't exactly had the chance to sit down with her and talk about Chiss politics. I was at Bilbringi when we fought Thrawn, but I don't think that qualifies me to talk about the entire species."

"Thrawn, yes," Kre'fey mused. "I've been thinking about him quite a lot, these last few days. I wonder how representative he really was of his people? If he was a representation of the norm among them, then imagine…" he let that thought hang in the air, leaving Wedge to mull over the implications.

"If Thrawn was typical, the whole galaxy would probably be speaking Cheunh right now," he finally said. "He was smart, and he was efficient, and from what I've heard most Chiss are probably one or both, but that flair he had, that inventiveness- I think that's the kind of thing that only comes along a time or two in an entire generation. From what I have heard about the Chiss government, they're a lot more inflexible and traditional than Thrawn was. If their military's the same way, then we can work that to our advantage."

"I was thinking much the same thing," said Kre'fey, "but when the most famous member of a species was also perhaps the greatest military mind of his time, it does make one wonder."

"Right now I'm wondering what the Chiss fleet is up to," Wedge said.

"So am I. That's why I sent a number of drone scouts into the Migelli system to report back to us on the Chiss' movements." The Bothan admiral looked directly at Wedge. "Right now, their fleet seems to be massing together and they look like they're getting ready to move out. I'll have you patched in to receive their transmissions as well. When the Chiss do move, we'll know."

"And we'll be ready for them," Wedge said. He only wished that he felt the certainty he'd put into his voice.