“Yes,” Thrawn said, his voice quiet and contemptuous. “You fought on. Like cadets.”
C’baoth snorted. “So is this what you want me for, Grand Admiral Thrawn?” he asked scornfully. “To turn your ships into puppets for you?”
“Not at all, Master C’baoth,” Thrawn told him, his voice perfectly calm again. “My analogy with combat borg implants was a carefully considered one. The Emperor’s fatal error was in seeking to control the entire Imperial Fleet personally, as completely and constantly as possible. That, over the long run, is what did the damage. My wish is merely to have you enhance the coordination between ships and task forces-and then only at critical times and in carefully selected combat situations.”
C’baoth threw a look at Pellaeon. “To what end?” he rumbled.
“To the end we’ve already discussed,” Thrawn said. “Power.”
“What sort of power?”
For the first time since landing, Thrawn seemed taken aback. “The conquering of worlds, of course. The final defeat of the Rebellion. The reestablishment of the glory that was once the Empire’s New Order.”
C’baoth shook his head. “You don’t understand power, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Conquering worlds you’ll never even visit again isn’t power. Neither is destroying ships and people and rebellions you haven’t looked at face-to-face.” He waved his hands in a sweeping gesture around him, his eyes glittering with an eerie fire. “This, Grand Admiral Thrawn, is power. This city-this planet-these people. Every human, Psadan, and Myneyrsh who live here are mine. Mine.” His gaze drifted to the window again. “I teach them. I command them. I punish them. Their lives, and their deaths, are in my hand.”
“Which is precisely what I offer you,” Thrawn said. “Millions of lives-billions, if you wish. All those lives to do with as you please.”
“It isn’t the same,” C’baoth said, a note of paternal patience in his voice. “I have no desire to hold distant power over faceless lives.”
“You could have just a single city to rule, then,” Thrawn persisted. “As large or as small as you wish.”
“I rule a city now.”
Thrawn’s eyes narrowed. “I need your assistance, Master C’baoth. Name your price.”
C’baoth smiled. “My price? The price for my service?” Abruptly, the smile vanished. “I’m a Jedi Master, Grand Admiral Thrawn,” he said, his voice simmering with menace. “Not a mercenary for hire like your Noghri.”
He threw a contemptuous look at Rukh, sitting silently off to one side. “Oh, yes, Noghri-I know what you and your people are. The Emperor’s private Death Commandos; killing and dying at the whim of ambitious men like Darth Vader and the Grand Admiral here.”
“Lord Vader served the Emperor and the Empire,” Rukh grated, his dark eyes staring unblinkingly at C’baoth. “As do we.”
“Perhaps.” C’baoth turned back to Thrawn. “I have all I want or need, Grand Admiral Thrawn. You will leave Wayland now.”
Thrawn didn’t move. “I need your assistance, Master C’baoth,” he repeated quietly. “And I will have it.”
“Or you’ll do what?” C’baoth sneered. “Have your Noghri try to kill me? It would almost be amusing to watch.” He looked at Pellaeon. “Or perhaps you’ll have your brave Star Destroyer captain try to level my city from orbit. Except that you can’t risk damaging the mountain, can you?”
“My gunners could destroy this city without even singeing the grass on Mount Tantiss,” Pellaeon retorted. “If you need a demonstration-“
“Peace, Captain,” Thrawn cut him off calmly. “So it’s the personal, face-to-face sort of power you prefer, Master C’baoth? Yes, I can certainly understand that. Not that there can be much challenge left in it-not anymore. Of course,” he added reflectively, glancing out the window, “that may be the whole idea. I expect that even Jedi Masters eventually get too old to be interested in anything except to sit out in the sun.”
C’baoth’s forehead darkened. “Have a care, Grand Admiral Thrawn,” he warned. “Or perhaps I’ll seek challenge in your destruction.”
“That would hardly be a challenge for a man of your skill and power,” Thrawn countered with a shrug. “But then, you probably already have other Jedi here under your command.”
C’baoth frowned, obviously thrown by the sudden change in subject. “Other Jedi?” he echoed.