Vision of the future

'I know the feeling,' Han said. 'Look, I need a quick favor. I'm heading over to that comet out there with Carib Devist. Put some macrobinoculars on me, will you, just in case we run into trouble?' There was a brief pause. 'Sure, no problem. Exactly what sort of trouble are you expecting?'

'It's probably nothing,' Han said. 'Carib seems to think there are Imperials out there flying ore buckets around. Just keep an eye on us, huh?'

'I will,' Lando promised. 'Good luck.'

Han keyed off the comm and swerved around the last handful of ships between him and the comet. 'Hang on,' he told Elegos as he threw full power to the sublight drive. 'Here we go.'

* * *

'Easy, now,' Bel Iblis warned from Booster's side. 'Take it nice and calm and easy. We're all friends here, with the protection of the outer defense perimeter between us and the nasty Rebel attack force. We're safe now, and there's no need to look like we're hurrying.'

'No, we wouldn't want to look like that,' Booster growled, staring uneasily at the huge mass of the Ubiqtorate base looming directly ahead of them. Suddenly, his beloved Errant Venture didn't seem nearly so big and powerful and safe anymore as it used to.

'Steady, Terrik,' Bel Iblis said. His voice, to Booster's thorough annoyance, was controlled and glacially calm. 'The big show's going on behind us, remember? The last thing we want to do is draw their eyes our direction.'

Booster nodded, glancing over at the aft display. There was a show going on back there, all right, with the New Republic ships taking a real beating from the Yaga Minor defense perimeter. Or at least, that was how it was supposed to look. If they were following orders, they were actually hanging just far enough back to keep from taking any really serious damage from the massed turbolaser fire. Hopefully, in all the confusion, the Imperials wouldn't notice that. 'I don't know,' he said. 'I don't like this, Bel Iblis. We got in much too easy.'

'General, we've got movement,' the officer at the sensor station called. 'Imperial Star Destroyer, moving up from starboard.'

Booster took a few steps forward along the command walkway, peering out the viewport, a bad feeling twisting into his gut. The Star Destroyer had appeared from around the starboard side of the base and had moved across the Errant Venture's vector.

And even as he watched, it stopped there, between them and the base. Floating in space in front of them, as if daring them to pass...

'The ship ID's as the Relentless,' someone else called. 'Captain Dorja listed as commander.' Booster's bad feeling turned suddenly even worse. The Relentless—wasn't that the ship that always showed up in the rumors about Grand Admiral Thrawn?

Bel Iblis had come up on Booster's side again. 'General...?' Booster murmured.

'I know,' Bel Iblis said, the calmness bending just a bit. 'But running now would only make us look guilty. All we can do is play it through.'

'Transmission from the Relentless, General,' the comm officer called. 'They're asking to speak to Captain Nalgol.'

Booster looked at Bel Iblis. 'All we can do is play it through,' Bel Iblis repeated. 'Go on, give it a try.'

'Sure.' Taking a deep breath, Booster caught the comm officer's eye and nodded. The man threw a switch and nodded back—'This is Commander Raymeuz, temporarily in command of the Imperial Star Destroyer Tyrannic,' he called in his best imitation of a typical Imperial's overly stiff speech pattern. 'Captain Nalgol was seriously injured in the last attack and is undergoing emergency treatment.'

There was a low chuckle from the bridge speakers. 'Really,' a calm voice said. A steady voice; a cultured voice; a voice that scared Booster clear down to his boots. 'This is Grand Admiral Thrawn. You disappoint me, General Bel Iblis.'

Booster looked at Bel Iblis. The general was still staring out the viewport, his face not betraying any emotion at all.

'There's really no point in trying to maintain this charade,' Thrawn said. 'But perhaps you need a more convincing demonstration.'

It was as if someone behind Booster had suddenly yanked a carpet out from under his feet. Suddenly he was toppling forward, arms flailing madly as he fought to regain his balance. Around him came the sounds of consternation from the rest of the bridge crew; from somewhere beyond that came the ominous sound of creaking metal.

'A small demonstration, as I said,' Thrawn continued, his tone almost bantering. 'Your Star Destroyer is now