“On it, ma’am,” Layneo said, pulling a chair over to the main computer station. “Here we go.”
“What are they doing?” Cygni asked, lowering his voice to a whisper as if afraid he would disturb their work.
“They are attempting what is known as an asymmetric backdoor,” Thrawn told him. “It is a hidden code programmed into many ship computers for precisely this purpose.”
Cygni whistled softly. “I’ve never heard of that. Nice.” He threw a sideways look toward Thrawn. “Never heard of a nonhuman as an Imperial officer, either. You’re some sort of Pantoran, right?”
Eli took a breath, preparing to point out that Pantorans didn’t have red eyes—
“Of a sort, yes,” Thrawn said. “What I am is a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy.”
“Right,” Cygni said again. “Sorry—I didn’t mean to pry. I just…no offense.”
“None taken,” Thrawn said. “Ensign Vanto, go to engineering and unpack the crate I had delivered aboard. We shall join you shortly.”
“Yes, sir,” Eli said, frowning slightly. There was something about the way Thrawn was acting, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Was he worried about the ship? The tibanna gas? The pirates? Captain Rossi?
Actually, when he put it that way, it wasn’t surprising at all that Thrawn might feel preoccupied.
The crate had been left just outside the cargo bay where the line of tibanna cylinders stood against the hull. Eli glanced into the bay—Jakeeb was in there taking the readings Thrawn had ordered—then set to work on the crate. He got the end open.
And felt his eyes widen. He’d had no idea that Thrawn was bringing—
“What in the world?” Cygni’s stunned voice came from behind him. “Is that a buzz droid?”
“It is,” Thrawn said calmly. “I am surprised you recognize it.”
“They weren’t exactly a secret weapon,” Cygni said, walking up to Eli and crouching beside him to peer into the crate. “That’s a Mark One, isn’t it? Rare. Is it functional? Please tell me it isn’t functional.”
“Of course it is functional,” Thrawn said. “It would hardly be of use otherwise.”
Cygni looked at Thrawn, then at the buzz droid, then back at Thrawn. “Okay, you’ve lost me,” he said. “These things were designed to eat starfighters, right?”
“They also have other uses,” Thrawn said. “Come. I will explain.”
He turned and walked through the hatchway into the cargo bay. Cygni watched him go, then turned to Eli. “Is he serious? About using buzz droids in there, I mean?”
“I assume so,” Eli said.
“Really.” Cygni looked at the hatchway again, then shrugged and gestured to Eli. “After you,” he said. “This I have to see.”
Thrawn was standing with Jakeeb, the two having a quiet discussion, when Eli and Cygni joined them. “Tech Jakeeb confirms my earlier assumptions,” Thrawn said. “The static-lock does indeed seal the tibanna cylinders, but only from this side.”
“Excuse me?” Cygni asked, sounding even more confused. “What do you mean, this side?”
Thrawn gestured. “Tech Jakeeb?”
“The lock’s only on the cargo bay side of the cylinders,” Jakeeb explained. “See, they’re fastened right against the hull with half-meter struts. That’s too short a distance for the lock to go all the way around—it would short out or power-drain itself out of existence. So the lock is just on the surfaces inside the bay.”
“Though also around the ends of the cylinder row, I assume,” Eli said. He saw where Thrawn was going with this now.
“Correct,” Jakeeb confirmed. “Just not on the backside. So if you want to get to them, your best bet is to go through the hull.”
“Hence, the buzz droid,” Cygni said, sounding awed. “I’ll be damned. Why hasn’t anyone thought of that before?”
“Oh, they have,” Jakeeb said. “Thing is, it’s not quite as simple as it sounds.”
“Because?”
“One, you have to get a buzz droid and probably rebuild it,” Jakeeb said, ticking off fingers. “Two, once you’ve done that, big-ship hulls are thicker and tougher than the old starfighters. Fair chance you’ll wreck your droid before you’re halfway through. Third—” He looked at Thrawn, raised his eyebrows.
“Third is that you will necessarily drain one of the cylinders into space when you cut through,” Thrawn said. “That represents a loss that many are unwilling to accept.”
“Though losing one out of twenty isn’t bad, percentage-wise,” Cygni mused. “Especially if the alternative is to lose all of them. So I gather once you have that cylinder drained, you can cut it into little pieces and dump it out your gap in the hull, which then gives you access to the others from the back. Then you just work your way down the line, cutting all the struts and freeing them one by one?”
“Exactly,” Jakeeb said. “Takes a while, but once you’ve got the first one out it’s a purely mechanical operation.” He looked at Thrawn again. “There is one other slight problem, of course. Venting the tibanna outside the ship theoretically works just fine. But if you spark the vapor in just the right way…well, there could be trouble.”
“As in blowing up the ship?” Cygni asked.
“Not that much trouble,” Jakeeb said. “But it would be a mess.”
“Fortunately, that will not be necessary after all,” Thrawn said. His head was cocked a little to the side, Eli saw, as if he was listening to something.
“Why not?” Cygni asked.
In answer, Thrawn pulled out his comlink. “Ensign Barlin? Do I hear the hyperdrive going active?”
“Yes, sir, you do,” Barlin’s voice came faintly from the comlink. “Got through the lock, and we’re just about ready to go. Does Cygni have the destination coordinates? Or are we just going to take the ship to Ansion?”
“Neither, I’m afraid,” Cygni said softly.
Frowning, Eli turned to him.
And froze. The wretched, nervous, ill-fated crewman had vanished. In his place was someone else: quiet, calm, and supremely confident.
A small blaster held steady in his hand.
“What the hell?” Jakeeb breathed.
Cygni ignored the comment. Pulling out a comlink with his free hand, he flicked it on. “We’re good,” he said. “Three with the tibanna; two on the bridge.” He raised his eyebrows toward Thrawn. “I’d appreciate it if you’d order Barlin and Layneo to surrender quietly.”
“Why should I deprive them of their right and duty to defend their lives?” Thrawn countered.
“Because if they surrender, they won’t be harmed,” Cygni said. “I give you my word.”
“And these?” Thrawn asked, inclining his head toward Eli and Jakeeb.
“None of you will be harmed,” Cygni said. “All we want is the tibanna.” He wrinkled his nose. “Well, and the ship, too. I guess that goes without saying.”
Before Thrawn could answer, a dozen large, rough-looking men appeared, swarming through the hatchway into the cargo bay. One of them, a thin man with a braided beard, raised his blaster—
“Blasters down,” Cygni snapped. “They’ve surrendered. No shooting. Angel, I said down.”
The man with the braided beard ignored him. “What the hell is that?” he demanded, jabbing the blaster at Thrawn.
“That,” Cygni said, “is a lieutenant of the Imperial Navy. Now lower your weapon.” He looked at Thrawn. “Lieutenant?”
For a moment Thrawn studied him. Then he raised his comlink again. “Ensign Barlin, a group of pirates are on their way. They’ve been ordered not to harm you if you surrender without resistance. You will do so.”
“Sir?”
“Surrender, Ensign. That is an order.” Thrawn put the comlink away. “Would you care to accept my surrender personally, Mr. Cygni?”
“That’s all right, Lieutenant,” Cygni said, not moving. “I get no particular enjoyment out of defeating my opponents. Angel? Disarm them, please.”
“Yeah.” Angel grinned evilly. “?’Cause I do enjoy it. So don’t get clever.” He gestured three of his soldiers forward.
Out of the corner of his eye, Eli saw Jakeeb brace himself as he prepared for action. “As you were, Jakeeb,” he murmured. “You’ve been given an order.”
Jakeeb hissed out a sigh. “Yes, sir.”