[Thrawn Trilogy] - 02(8)
“And implied that a horrible retribution would fall upon us if he’s not there when that happens,” Thrawn growled. “Yes, I know the routine well. And I’m getting rather tired of it.” He took a deep breath, let it out slowly. “Very well, Captain. The next time C’baoth calls, you may inform him that the Taanab operation will be his last for the immediate future. Skywalker isn’t likely to make it to Jomark for at least two more weeks-the little pot of political confusion we’ve stirred up in the Rebellion high command should occupy him at least that long. As to Organa Solo and her unborn Jedi:you may also inform him that from now on I’ll be taking a personal hand in that matter.”
Pellaeon threw a quick glance over his shoulder, to where the Grand Admiral’s bodyguard, Rukh, stood silently near the aft bridge door. “Does that mean you’ll be taking the Noghri off the job, sir?” he asked quietly.
“Do you have a problem with that, Captain?”
“No, sir. May I respectfully remind the Grand Admiral, though, that the Noghri have never liked leaving a mission uncompleted.”
“The Noghri are servants of the Empire,” Thrawn countered coldly. “More to the point, they’re loyal to me personally. They will do as they’re told.” He paused. “However, I’ll take your concerns under advisement. At any rate, our task here at Myrkr is completed. Order General Covell to bring his force back up.”
“Yes, sir,” Pellaeon said, signalling the communications officer to relay the message.
“I’ll want the general’s report on file in three hours,” Thrawn continued. “Twelve hours after that I want his recommendations as to the three best infantry troopers and two best mechanized operators in the assault. Those five men will be transferred to the Mount Tantiss operation and given immediate transport to Wayland.”
“Understood,” Pellaeon nodded, dutifully logging the orders in Covell’s file. Such recommendations had been part of standard Imperial procedure for several weeks now, ever since the Mount Tantiss operation had begun in earnest. But Thrawn nevertheless still periodically went out of his way to mention it to his officers. Perhaps as a not-so-subtle reminder of how vitally important those recommendations were to the Grand Admiral’s sweeping plan to crush the Rebellion.
Thrawn looked out the viewport again at the planet beneath them.
“And while we await the general’s return, you’ll contact Surveillance regarding that long-term team for Hyllyard City.” He smiled. “It’s a very large galaxy, Captain, but even a man like Talon Karrde can run only so long. Eventually, he’ll have to come to rest.”
It wasn’t really deserving of its name, the High Castle of Jomark. Not in Jonius C’baoth’s estimation, anyway. Short and dirty, its stonework ill-fitting in places and as alien as the long-gone race that had built it, it squatted uneasily between two of the larger crags on what was left of an ancient volcanic cone. Still, with the rest of the rim circling around in the distance, and the brilliant blue waters of Ring Lake four hundred meters almost straight down beneath him, C’baoth could allow that the natives had at least found some good scenery to build their castle on. Their castle, or temple, or whatever. It had been a good place for a Jedi Master to move into, if only because the colonists seemed to hold the place in awe. Then too, the dark island that filled the center of the crater and gave the lake its ring shape provided a suitably hidden landing site for Thrawn’s annoyingly endless stream of shuttles.
But it was neither the scenery, nor the power, nor even the Empire that held C’baoth’s thoughts as he stood on the castle terrace and gazed down into Ring Lake. It was, instead, the strange flicker he’d just felt in the Force.
He’d felt it before, this flicker. Or at least he thought he had.
Threads to the past were always so hard to follow, so easily lost in the mists and the hurryings of the present. Even of his own past he had only glimpses of memory, scenes as if from a history record. He rather thought he remembered someone trying to explain the reasons to him once, but the explanation was long gone in the darkness of the past.
It didn’t matter anyway. Memory wasn’t important; concentration wasn’t important; his own past wasn’t important. He could call upon the Force when he wanted to, and that was what was important. As long as he could do that, no one could ever hurt him or take away what he had.
Except that Grand Admiral Thrawn had already taken it away. Hadn’t he?
C’baoth looked around the terrace. Yes. Yes; this wasn’t the home and city and world he’d chosen to mold and command as his own. This wasn’t Wayland, which he’d wrested from the Dark Jedi whom the Emperor had set to guard his Mount Tantiss storehouse. This was Jomark, where he was waiting for : someone.