Timoti Zan - Thrawn Ascendancy Book II: Greater Good

SENIOR CAPTAIN THRAWN | Mitthrawnuruodo Trial-born

ADMIRAL ARALANI

THALIAS | Mitthaliastov Trial-born

SYNDIC PRIME THURFIAN | Mitthurfianico blood

MID CAPTAIN SAMAKRO | Ufsamakro cousin

SENIOR CAPTAIN LAKINDA | Xodlakindaro merit adoptive

GENERAL BAKIF

CHERI sky-walker

THE MAGYS

COUNCILOR LAKUVIV | Xodlakuvivil ranking distant

RANCHER LAKPHRO | Xodlakphrooa

YOPONEK | Coduyoponekri

QILORI OF UANDUALON Pathfinder navigator (non-Chiss)

JIXTUS

HAPLIF Agbui

UFSA

IRIZI

DASKLO

CLARR

CHAF

PLIKH

BOADIL

MITTH

OBBIC

BLOOD

COUSIN

RANKING DISTANT

TRIAL-BORN

MERIT ADOPTIVE

PATRIARCH head of the family

SPEAKER head of the familys delegation to the Syndicure

SYNDIC PRIME head syndic

SYNDIC member of the Syndicure, the main governmental body

PATRIEL handles family affairs on a planetary scale

COUNCILOR handles family affairs at the local level

ARISTOCRA mid-level member of one of the Nine Ruling Families

SUPREME ADMIRAL

SUPREME GENERAL

FLEET ADMIRAL

SENIOR GENERAL

ADMIRAL

GENERAL

MID ADMIRAL

MID GENERAL

COMMODORE

SENIOR CAPTAIN

MID CAPTAIN

JUNIOR CAPTAIN

SENIOR COMMANDER

MID COMMANDER

JUNIOR COMMANDER

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER

LIEUTENANT

SENIOR WARRIOR

MID WARRIOR

JUNIOR WARRIOR

For thousands of years it has been an island of calm within the Chaos. It is a center of power, a model of stability, and a beacon of integrity. The Nine Ruling Families guard it from within; the Expansionary Defense Fleet guards it from without. Its neighbors are left in peace, its enemies are left in ruin. It is light and culture and glory.

It is the Chiss Ascendancy.

Throughout her years in the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, Admiral Aralani had lived through more than fifty battles and smaller armed clashes. The opponents in those encounters, like the battles themselves, had varied widely. Some of them had been clever, others had been cautious, still othersparticularly political appointees who had been promoted far beyond their abilitieshad been painfully incompetent. The strategies and tactics employed had also varied, ranging from simple to obscure to screamingly violent. The battle results themselves had sometimes been mixed, sometimes inconclusive, often a defeat for the enemy, andoccasionallya defeat for the Chiss.

But never in all that time had Aralani experienced such a mix of determination, viciousness, and utter pointlessness as in the scene now unfolding in front of her.

Watch it, Vigilantyouve got four more coming at you from starboard-nadir. The voice of Senior Captain Xodlakindaro came from the Vigilants bridge speaker, her resonant alto glacially calm as always.

Acknowledged, Grayshrike, Aralani called back, looking at the tactical. Four more Nikardun gunboats had indeed appeared from around the small moon, driving at full power toward the Vigilant. Looks like you have a few latecomers to your party, as well, she added.

Were on it, maam, Lakinda said.

Good, Aralani said, studying the six missile boats that had appeared from behind the hulk of the battle cruiser she and the other two Chiss ships had hammered into rubble fifteen minutes ago. Sneaking into cover that way without being spotted had taken some ingenuity, and many commanders with that level of competence would have used their skill to exercise the better part of valor and abandon such a clearly hopeless battle.

But that wasnt what these last pockets of Nikardun resistance were about. They were about complete self-sacrifice, throwing themselves at the Chiss warships that had rooted them from their burrows, apparently with the sole goal of taking some of the hated enemies with them.

That wasnt going to happen. Not today. Not to Aralanis force. Thrawn, the Grayshrike has picked up a new nest of nighthunters, she called. Can you offer them some assistance?

Certainly, Senior Captain Mitthrawnuruodo replied. Captain Lakinda, if youll turn thirty degrees to starboard, I believe we can draw your attackers into a crossfire.

Thirty degrees, acknowledged, Lakinda said, and Aralani saw the Grayshrikes tactical display image angle away from the incoming missile boats and head toward Thrawns Springhawk. Though with all due respect to the admiral, Id say theyre more whisker cubs than nighthunters.

Agreed, Thrawn said. If these are the same ones we thought were caught in the battle cruiser explosion, they should be down to a single missile each.

Actually, our tally makes two of them completely empty, Lakinda said. Just along for the glory of martyrdom, I suppose.

Such as it is, Aralani said. I doubt anyone out there is going to be singing the elegiac praises of Yiv the Benevolent anytime soon. Wutroow?

Spheres are ready, Admiral, Senior Captain Kiwutroowmis confirmed from across the Vigilants bridge. Ready to rain on their picnic?

One moment, Aralani said, watching the tactical and gauging the distances. Plasma spheres ability to deliver electronics-freezing blasts of ionic energy made them capable of disabling attackers without having to plow through the tough nyix-alloy hulls that sheathed most warships in this part of the Chaos. Smaller fighter-class ships, like the Nikardun missile boats currently charging the Vigilant, were especially vulnerable to such attacks.

But the missile boats smaller size also meant they were more nimble than larger warships, and could sometimes dodge out of harms way if the relatively slow plasma spheres were launched too soon.

There were tables and balance charts to calculate that sort of thing. Aralani preferred to do it by eyesight and experienced judgment.

And that judgment told her they had a sudden opportunity here. Another two seconds Fire spheres, she ordered.

There was a small, muffled thud as the plasma spheres shot from their launchers. Aralani kept her eyes on the tactical, watching as the missile boats realized they were under attack and scrambled to evade the spheres. The rearmost of them almost made it, the sphere flickering into its aft port side and paralyzing its thrusters, sending it spinning off into space along its final evasion vector. The other three caught the spheres squarely amidships, killing their major systems as they, too, went gliding helplessly away.