To Thrawn’s left, the comm pinged. `Admiral Thrawn? We have the contact you requested with the Relentless.”
“Thank you,” Thrawn said, tapping a switch. In front of the double circle of repeater displays a three-quartersized hologram of an elderly Imperial officer appeared, standing next to what appeared to be a detention block control board. “Grand Admiral,” the image said, nodding gravely.
“Good day, Captain Dorja,” Thrawn nodded back.
“You have the prisoner I asked for?”
“Right here, sir,” Dorja said. He glanced to the side and gestured; and from off-camera a rather bulky human appeared, his hands shackled in front of him, his expression studiously neutral behind his neatly trimmed board. “His name’s Niles Ferrier,” Dorja said. “We picked him and his crew up during the raid on New Cov.”
“The raid from which Skywalker, Solo, and Calrissian escaped,” Thrawn said.
Dorja winced. “Yes, sir.”
Thrawn shifted his attention to Ferrier. “Captain Ferrier,” he nodded. “Our records indicate that you specialize in space ship theft. Yet you were picked up on New Cov with a cargo of biomolecules aboard your ship. Would you care to explain?”
Ferrier shrugged fractionally. “Palming ships isn’t something you can do every day,” he said. “It takes opportunities and planning. Taking the occasional shipping job helps make ends meet.
“You’re aware, of course, that the biomolecules were undeclared.”
“Yes, Captain Dorja told me that,” Ferrier said with just the right mixture of astonishment and indignation. “Believe me, if I’d known I was being made a party to such cheating against the Empire-“
“I presume you’re also aware,” Thrawn cut him off, “that for such actions I can not only confiscate your cargo, but also your ship.”
Ferrier was aware of that, all right. Pellaeon could see it in the pinched look around his eyes. “I’ve been very helpful to the Empire in the past, Admiral,” he said evenly. “I’ve smuggled in loads of contraband from the New Republic, and only recently delivered three Sienar patrol ships to your people.”
“And were paid outrageous sums of money in all cases,” Thrawn reminded him. “If you’re trying to suggest we owe you for past kindnesses, don’t bother. However : there may be a way for you to pay back this new debt. Did you happen to notice the ships attacking the Relentless as you were trying to sneak away from the planet?”
“Of course I did,” Ferrier said, a touch of wounded professional pride creeping into his voice. “They were Rendili StarDrive Dreadnaughts. Old ones, by the look of them, but spry enough. Probably undergone a lo of refitting.”
“They have indeed.” Thrawn smiled slightly. “I want them.”
It took Ferrier a handful of seconds for the offhanded sounding comment to register. When it did, his mouth dropped open. “You mean : me?”
“Do you have a problem with that?” Thrawn asked coldly.
“Uh :” Ferrier swallowed. “Admiral, with all due respect-“
“You have three standard months to get me either those ships or else their precise location,” Thrawn cut him off. “Captain Dorja?”
Dorja stepped forward again. “Sir.”
“You will release Captain Ferrier and his crew and supply them with an unmarked Intelligence freighter to use. Their own ship will remain aboard the Relentless until they’ve completed their mission.”
“Understood,” Dorja nodded.
Thrawn cocked an eyebrow. “One other thing, Captain Ferrier. On the off chance that you might feel yourself tempted to abandon the assignment and make a run for it, the freighter you’ll be given will be equipped with an impressive and totally unbreakable doomsday mechanism. With exactly three standard months set on its clock. I trust you understand.”
Above his beard, Ferrier’s face had gone a rather sickly white. “Yes,” he managed.
“Good.” Thrawn shifted his attention back to Dorja. “I leave the details in your hands, Captain. Keep me informed of developments.”
He tapped a switch, and the hologram faded away. “As I said, Captain,” Thrawn said, turning to Pellaon. “I don’t think an alliance with the Rebellion is necessarily inevitable.”
“If Ferrier can pull it off”’ Pellaeon said doubtfully.
“He has a reasonable chance,” Thrawn assured him. “After all, we have a general idea ourselves of where they might be hidden. We just don’t have the time and manpower at the moment to properly root them out. Even if we did, a large-scale attack would probably end up destroying the Dreadnaughts, and I’d rather capture them intact.”