Chapter Forty-Six, Part Two

"This really is an awful way to travel…" Anissa shook herself as Dan pulled her from the phantom zone. "Ultron said you can avoid the time dilation, so why don't you?"

"It gives me time to think," Dan laughed as he scanned the system around them. This place had no name, at least within the Republic. A cluster of stars at the edge of Chiss space, it was intended as an escape if the Chiss Ascendancy faced an enemy they couldn't overcome. "It's also a good opportunity to practise mental abilities… now come this way."

A flick of his hand drew Anissa's gaze to a small fleet of ships, well hidden at the very edge of the star system. Commander Thrawn's defence force and a second independent fleet, running silent to better surprise their target.

"Still, it's a lot of extra memories…" Anissa rubbed her temples and followed Dan through the radiation belt of a nearby planetoid. "The two trips I've taken give the illusion that I've spent most of my life inside that empty place…"

"Hey, you could have stayed with May on New-Krypton," Dan shrugged, eyes focused on the system's edge, where a bright flash heralded an exit from hyperspace. An ungainly vessel pushed into real-space, six Republic Dreadnaughts welded around a bulky core. "You're the one who wanted to see more of this galaxy, and this is easier than getting on and off of a ship I'd also have to protect."

The Outbound Flight inched forward on its composite engines, while Thrawn's ships moved to surround it from a distance. The Chiss hailed the Jedi control vessel with no response, yet no shots were fired. A looped message began to broadcast to the Outbound Flight, while Thrawn's interdictor expanded its gravity well to trap it in real space.

"I guess…" Anissa shook her head as they closed with the clustered ships. "What are you doing here anyway? These vessels are far less advanced than what I saw in orbit around Krypton, almost archaic by comparison…"

"We're here for something more valuable than spaceships…" Dan opened a channel and hailed the lead vessel of the Chiss defence force. "Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, my name is Dan-EL… I was hoping to come aboard and chat?"

A flurry of activity rippled outward from the Chiss as an unidentified com signal sprang up less than a kilometre away. Fighters were launched, a wave of thruster light that spiralled toward Dan and Anissa in orderly lines. A calm voice answered his hail, even as they were surrounded by fightercraft.

"This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo… I wonder, how do you know that I command this fleet?" The Chiss fighters buzzed closer, but didn't engage, visual sensors locked on Dan and Anissa's forms. "The composition of our forces is closely guarded, knowledge that should be limited to the galaxy at this time."

"I'm well informed on many secrets in this galaxy, including your people's current conflict with the 'Far Outsiders,'" Dan ignored the fightercraft and sent a series of images to the Chiss Commander's ship. Holographic visuals from the liberation of Zonama Sekot, where Ultron's vessels overwhelmed the Yuuzhan Vong expeditionary force. "We have a common enemy, and I may be able to help you with this current situation… the Outbound Flight is under the control of a fallen Jedi, a force user with dreams of conquest and control."

"You have information on the Outsiders?" Thrawn hesitated a moment, silence on the com interrupted by only static. "...perhaps we can talk, but I'm concerned that you seem to have appeared from the void… where is your starship?"

"My people can travel through deep space without a need for starships," Dan activated a phantom jump that carried them just outside their escort of fighters, which twisted and dove to reform their encirclement. "We travelled here as we are, though you are welcome to scan the system if you don't believe me…"

"I believe you," Thrawn's cool voice erupted into a sigh. "It's just that your timing is poor, it would be better if you returned once this situation has been dealt with."

"I'm aware that you're awaiting the arrival of a certain slaver fleet, a clear plot to deal with two problems for the price of one," Dan laughed at the silence that followed his words. "The Vagaari will take several hours to make their way to this system, we've got plenty of time to discuss things before they join the party."

"Very well…" The fighters around them peeled away, with two left behind to escort them forward. "Follow the fighter craft, we'll speak further once the two of you are aboard."

– – – –

"Are you sure it's wise to bring unknowns aboard our flagship?" Thrawn's second gave him a hard stare. "You're already up for review because of your recklessness, this plan is already pushing the edge of your authority…"

"Enough," Thrawn silenced her with a wave of his hand and rose from his command chair, eyes still fixed on the image of the new arrivals. "These people know things that only members of this crew should know, and their mindset is quite intriguing."

Thrawn had always been able to gleen vast amounts of information on a beings psychology from very limited interactions. This duo had no fear at all. They floated between warships a thousand times their size as if it was a stroll through a well travelled path. He truly believed this Dan-EL's words, but he couldn't understand why. 

Much of his tactical ability was intuitive, but he always held firm to reason. His gut told him that this was a pivotal moment in his life, a point in time that could ripple out to the entire Chiss civilization. Reason told him he had to learn more, before could act on this instinctive whisper.

"Come, join me in greeting our guests, and be polite but abrasive," Thrawn straightened the hem of his coat, a habit formed from his years of service. "I am most interested in getting to know the both of them, their reaction to a bit of aggression will tell me much about them."