"Bah," C'baoth snorted, waving a hand in dismissal. "A pittance of money in punishment, plus a temporary and perfectly reasonable restriction on his movements. Would you really have me waste Captain Pakmillu's time-and my own-with something so trivial?"

"The captain still needs to be informed."

"He will be," C'baoth promised, eyeing him thoughtfully. "Your attitude surprises me, Master Kenobi. Isn't this sort of mediation and conflict resolution precisely the sort of thing Jedi throughout the Republic do every day?"

Obi-Wan glared at the corridor ahead. "Usually one party or the other specifically asks for Jedi assistance. Here, neither of them did."

"Yet is not a Jedi who sees such a problem honor-bound to lend his aid?" C'baoth pointed out. "But now to more important things. Your Padawan should have finished with the tutorial by now. Let us see how quickly he takes to this form of combat."

Car'das started awake to find a pair of glowing red eyes hovering above him in the darkness. "Who is it?" he asked anxiously.

"Thrawn," the commander's voice came back. "Get dressed."

"What's happened?" Car'das asked as he pushed off the blanket and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"One of my scouts has reported a group of unidentified vessels in the area," Thrawn said. "Quickly, now-we leave in thirty minutes."

Forty-five minutes later, theSpringhawk cleared the asteroid tunnel and made the jump to lightspeed.

And not just theSpringhawk. Before they made the jump Car'das counted no fewer than eleven other ships forming up around and behind them, including two moreSpringhawk — size cruisers. "Is this more Vagaari?" he asked as the starlines melted into the hyperspace sky.

"It doesn't appear to be," Thrawn said. "The ship designs are entirely different. I wanted you aboard to see if you can identify them."

"You might have done better to bring Qennto instead," Car'das warned. "He's a lot more knowledgeable about those things than I am."

"I thought it best to leave both him and Ferasi behind," Thrawn said. "I've sensed certain. . problems there."

Car'das winced. "You're right," he had to admit. "So where exactly are these invaders?"

"Why do you call them invaders?"

"Well, I-" Car'das floundered. "I just assumed they were in Chiss space, after that talk you had with your brother." He frowned. "Theyare in Chiss space, aren't they?"

"The charter of the Expansionary Defense Fleet is to observe and explore the region around the Chiss Ascendancy," Thrawn said. "That's all we intend to do today."

Which was pretty much exactly what he'd said about the Vagaari attack. Terrific. "How long until we get there?"

"Approximately four hours," Thrawn said. "In the meantime, I've had a combat suit prepared for you, one with more armoring and self-sealant capabilities than your suit from theBargain Hunter Go below and put it on. The armorer will assist you."

It took Car'das and the armorer most of the first three hours to get the suit fitted correctly, with the fourth hour spent in checking him out on its features. Once that was finished, though, he found the suit quite comfortable to wear, though noticeably heavier than the simple vac suits he was used to.

He returned to the bridge to find that in his absence Thrawn and the rest of the bridge crew had also donned their combatsuits. "Welcome back," the commander greeted him, running an eye over his suit. "We're nearly there."

Car'das nodded and moved to his usual place beside the other's command chair. Listening to the clipped comments of the bridge crew, he let his eyes roam the displays and status boards and waited. The time count went to zero, and they were once again back among the stars.

"Where are they?" he asked, peering through the viewports at the stars and a very distant sun.

"There," Thrawn said, pointing a few degrees off the starboard bow. "Sensors: magnify." The main display rippled and steadied..

Car'das caught his breath, his chest suddenly squeezing tightly against his heart. In the center of the display was a horrible, terrifying, impossible sight: a pair of Trade Federation battleships.

"You recognize them?"

For a moment Thrawn's question didn't register. Car'das continued to stare at the image, his eyes tracing along the curved split-ring configuration of the ships and up the antenna towers that distinguished Trade Federation battleships from simple freighters. Then his brain seemed to catch, and he tore his eyes away from the sight.

To find the commander gazing up at him, a hard and knowing expression on his face. . and once again, Car'das knew it would be fatal to lie. "Yes, I do," he said, marveling at how calm his voice sounded. "They're battleships from a group called the Trade Federation."

"Members of your Republic?"

Car'das hesitated. "Technically speaking, yes," he said. "But these days they seem to be largely ignoring our laws and directives." He forced himself to meet Thrawn's gaze. "But you already knew where they were from, didn't you?"

"The hull markings follow a similar pattern to those on theBargain Hunter," Thrawn said. "I thought there was a reasonable chance they were from your Republic."

"But they don't represent the Republic itself," Car'das added hastily. "The Republic doesn't have any army of its own."

"So you've told me," Thrawn said, his voice suddenly cold. "You also told me the Republic doesn't condone slavery."

"That's right, we don't," Car'das agreed cautiously.

"Then why did I find evidence of slavery aboard the ship that was pursuing you?"

The rings of tension around Car'das's chest tightened a few more turns. He'd forgotten all about Progga. "I also told you there were some cultures in our area thatdo keep slaves," he said, fighting to keep his voice steady. "The Hutts are one of them."

"And the Trade Federation?"

"No," Car'das said. "Well, not that I've ever heard, anyway. They're so heavily into droids they probably wouldn't know what to do with slaves if they had them." Car'das nodded toward the display. "Which could be a serious problem for us right now. Each of those battleships carries over a thousand droid star-fighters, not to mention a few thousand battle droids and the landers and carriers to move them around."

"Then this is an invasion force?"

Car'das winced. "I don't know," he said. "I don't think so, not with only two of them."