“Not at all,” Thrawn said. “Certainly the Empire is corrupt. No government totally escapes that plague. Certainly it is tyrannical. But quick and utter ruthlessness is necessary when the galaxy is continually threatened by chaos.”
“And what happens when the ruthlessness breeds more chaos?” Nightswan asked. His tone holds challenge, his body stance briefly throwing off the weariness to hold fresh energy. “For that is what happens. Repression and revolt feed and devour each other.”
“Then the revolt must die,” Thrawn said. “The danger is too great. The stakes are too high. If the Empire falls, what can replace it?”
“Justice. Mercy.” Nightswan’s smile holds sadness. “Freedom.”
“Chaos,” Thrawn said. “Lawlessness. The Clone War.”
Nightswan shakes his head. “Perhaps I have a more optimistic view of my fellow beings than you do. So you consider tyranny to be a bulwark against evil. For how long?”
“Explain.”
“How long will you accept tyranny as a necessary part of Imperial rule?” Nightswan asked. “Until all resistance is silenced? Until all evils are vanquished?”
“Perhaps your optimism is not as strong as you claim,” Thrawn said. “The tone of a government is set by its leader. But Emperor Palpatine will not live forever. When it comes time for his authority to be handed to another, my position as a senior officer will allow me to influence the choice of that leader.”
“And do you expect that new leader to spread light into the darkness?”
“There is hope that he will,” Thrawn said. “But if evil is victorious, that hope will be extinguished. Forever.”
“Hope.” Nightswan shakes his head. His body stance holds no such hope. “I fear, Admiral, that you’re still dangerously na?ve on political matters.” He lifts a hand. His body stance holds defeat. “I hope you’re right. But I fear you’re wrong.”
“We shall see.”
“Some of us shall,” Nightswan said. “Others of us will be long gone. What about the Neimoidians? What happened with them?”
“To my knowledge, they are still where I left them, nursing their resentments and dreaming of a long-delayed victory,” Thrawn said. “As I said, I made them no promises. Still, that initial contact was the reason I first created and then nurtured an acquaintanceship with the young Cadet Vanto. When I overheard him speak the name Chiss, I thought he might have been planted aboard the Strikefast by them to secretly observe me.”
“I assume that wasn’t the case?”
“It was not,” Thrawn said. “By the time I was convinced, I had seen other qualities in him, qualities I have spent the past few years helping him develop. Like you, he has the rare combination of tactical aptitude and leadership.”
“Ah,” Nightswan said. His voice holds sadness. “And now we come to the part where you ask me to abandon my people and my cause and join you in your fight for a better Empire.”
“Not at all,” Thrawn said. “After your activities here, you would never be accepted by the navy.”
“Nor would I accept such an offer.”
“But you are correct in that I wish to offer you a position,” Thrawn said. “Not with the Empire, but with the Chiss Ascendency.”
Nightswan’s eyes widen. His expression holds complete surprise. His arm and torso muscles tighten, his body stance straightening. “You want—? Admiral, that’s crazy.”
“Is a human among the Chiss more implausible than a Chiss among humans?” Thrawn asked. “It would offer you the chance to stand against forces far more evil than you face now. Moreover, your work there might someday save the lives of all those who currently stand with you at Creekpath.”
“And what of those people right now? What would happen to them?”
“I offer them a promise,” Thrawn said. “If they disperse, leaving their weapons behind, this will be the end.”
“What, no retribution?” Nightswan’s expression and tone hold sarcasm. “No tyrannical hammer to beat back the chaos?”
“The people of Batonn are Imperial resources,” Thrawn said. “A wise commander never wastes resources without need.”
Nightswan shakes his head. His expression holds disbelief and sorrow. “I should have guessed that was how you see people.”
“I see reality,” Thrawn said. “Your followers may return to their homes and jobs. There will be no reprisals or other action taken against them.”
“Until you leave.” Nightswan’s expression holds bitterness. “Even if Governor Restos honored your deal—which he wouldn’t—it still wouldn’t last. The injustices against the people are too great, the arrogance of those in power too deep. Sooner or later, they would rise up again. Only this time, they would have no one to lead them. They would be cut down like grain in a field, their voices silenced before they were ever heard.”
“So you will stay?”
“I have no choice,” Nightswan said. “We have the same sense of duty, Admiral Thrawn. Perhaps we ultimately seek the same end, at least for the distant future. But we see vastly different roads to that end.”
He straightens again, his body stance holding a sense of imminent departure. “May I count on your promise to protect the civilians—excuse me; the Imperial resources—of Creekpath as best you can?”
“You may,” Thrawn said. “I will seek to preserve all the lives under your leadership, combatant or otherwise, to the best of my ability. And my offer of clemency in surrender also stands.”
“I appreciate that. Good evening, Admiral, and thank you for your time. We’ve been distant adversaries for a long time. My curiosity is now satisfied.”
“Is it?” Thrawn asked. “There is still the matter of the Empire’s new project. If I were to aid you in your search for answers, would it persuade you to join me?”
Nightswan stares across the gap between them. His expression is tight, his eyes narrowed. His body stance once again holds surprise. “What exactly do you know?”
“I have no direct knowledge,” Thrawn said. “But I, too, have gathered some of the pieces of the puzzle to myself. I may also know where the main work site is located.”
“But you haven’t gone there to see?”
“I have not found an opportunity.”
“Haven’t found one? Or have refused to make one? And if you did find it, what then? What would you do? You serve the Empire, and this project, whatever it is, represents a great deal of Imperial resources.”
“I do indeed serve the Empire,” Thrawn said. “But I also serve the causes of the Chiss Ascendancy. If I deem this project to be a threat against them, I might find it necessary to reconsider my path.”
Nightswan’s expression holds interest and temptation. His fingers rub restlessly against his leg, the movement holding uncertainty. “And if I surrender and accept your terms? What are you offering?”
“We will journey to the site together.”
“And the people of Creekpath and Batonn?”
“I have given you my terms.”
“And what of their grievances against Governor Restos?”
“I will do what I can.”
Nightswan shakes his head, his body stance holding resignation. “And therein lies the problem. This is a political situation, and you have no political power. On one hand, we have a puzzle, and a fear of what the Empire is planning. On the other hand, I have real flesh-and-blood people to protect. I’m sorry.”
“As am I.”
Nightswan turns and begins walking toward the mining complex. “I have read about the nightswan,” Thrawn called after him. “Have you?”
Nightswan turns partially back. His face is obscured by shadow. His body stance again holds weariness, along with a quiet dread. “You refer to the fact that it sings only as night is falling?”
“Yes,” Thrawn said. “You do not expect your stand to succeed, do you?”
“I know that it won’t succeed,” Nightswan said.
“That does not necessarily mean the end. I can give orders for you to be taken unharmed.”
“They’ll be ignored. Half the troops here are Batonn Defense, and Restos is determined to get rid of me.”
“Then come with me now.”
“A man must do what he must, Admiral Thrawn. Even if his stand is against the fall of eternal night.”