"I understand," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "Tell me: does this ability to touch others' minds also work the opposite direction? If I, for example, am impressed enough with the need for them to return home, would my urgency influence their thoughts and decisions?"

"They will indeed sense your urgency," Sidious said, the corners of his mouth drooping again. "But don't expect them to act on it. Master C'baoth will not under any circumstances return to the Republic. To even offer him that possibility would rob you of your only chance for a surprise attack."

"Perhaps," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "Though to those who can touch others' minds the concept of surprise may be limited at best."

"Which is why Doriana proposed to use droid starfighters as the main thrust of his attack," Sidious pointed out. "Still, with all power comes a corresponding weakness. Amid the clutter of the thousands of minds aboard Outbound Flight, even Jedi sensitivity will be blunted. And once those same thousands of people begin to die in battle-" His lip twitched. "-that handicap will increase all the more."

"I understand," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said again. "Thank you for your time, Lord Sidious."

"I look forward to hearing the report of your victory," Sidious said, inclining his head. He sent a final look at Doriana, and with a flicker the image was gone.

For a long moment Mitth'raw'nuruodo sat without speaking, his glowing eyes glittering with thought. "I'll need a full technical readout on Outbound Flight and its component Dreadnaughts," he said at last. "I trust you have current information?"

"Up to and including even the final passenger listings," Doriana assured him. "Now that you know about Jedi power against living gunners, shall I cancel your order to remove our droid starfighters?"

"Of course not," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, sounding mildly surprised. "And I'll expect the off-loading to he completed by the end of the day. I'll also need two of your droidekas and four of your battle droids to be packed and loaded aboard my long-range shuttle for transport to my base. I presume that six droids can be controlled by something more portable than this vessel's computer?"

"Yes, there are localized datapad systems that can handle up to two hundred droids each," Doriana said, suppressing a grimace. Kav was upset enough at him for simply handing over his starfighters for the Chiss to pick apart. He wasn't going to be any happier about losing his combat droids. "I'll pack one in with the droidekas."

"Good," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "I take it only the droidekas come with those built-in force shields?"

"Correct," Doriana said. "But if you're thinking about adapting the shields for use by your warriors, I'd advise against it. There's a fairly dense radiation quotient involved, plus high-twist magnetic fields that turn out to be fairly nasty for living beings."

"Thank you for your concern," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, inclining his head slightly. "As it happens, we're somewhat familiar with such devices, though they were generally used with reversed polarity."

"Reversed polarity?" Doriana frowned. "You mean with the deflection field facinginward? "

"They were used as intruder traps," Mitth'raw'nuruodo explained. "Many an unwary robber incinerated himself as he tried to shoot a guard or homeowner from the inside."

Doriana winced. "Ah."

"But as you say, they proved too dangerous to bystanders and innocents who were accidentally caught," the commander went on. "Their use was discontinued many decades ago." He stood up. "I must leave now. I'll return later to confirm that my orders have been carried out."

Fourteen vessels," Admiral Ar'alani declared, her glowing eyes sweeping the field of debris stretched out before them. "Possibly thirteen, if the two sections of wreckage to the right belonged to a single vessel that broke apart before exploding."

"Is that the correct number, Car'das?" Thrass asked.

"Yes, that's sounds about right," Car'das agreed, his muscles wilting a little with relief. The fifteenth ship, the intact Trade Federation battleship, was nowhere to be seen. He just hoped that it was Thrawn who'd moved it, and that it hadn't managed to skip out on its own. "Of course, I was just an observer," he reminded them. "I didn't have access to the sensor information."

"Plus there were a considerable number of those," Ar'alani continued, pointing at the charred sections of two droid starfighters floating past the bridge canopy. "Too small to be staffed."

"They're mechanical devices called droids," Car'das said. "These in particular are called droid starfighters."

Thrass grunted. "If the field of battle is any indication of their combat abilities, I would say they're misnamed."

"Don't be misled by your brother's skill at warfare, Syndic Mitth'ras'safis," Ar'alani warned. "If these droids were as useless as you imply, no one would take the time and effort to build them."

"I've seen reports of them in combat," Car'das confirmed. "Against most opponents, they're quite formidable."

"Yet I still see no evidence that these weapons or their masters attacked first," Ar'alani pointed out.

"I can only repeat what I said earlier, Admiral," Car'das told her. "The mere act of launching the starfighters was an overt act of aggression. Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo responded in the only way he could to protect his forces."

"Perhaps," Ar'alani said. "That will be for a military tribunal to decide."

Car'das felt his stomach tighten. "You're bringing him up on charges?"

"That will also be for the tribunal to decide," Thrass said. "But we'll first need to examine the records of the battle and interview the warriors who were present."

"At this battle as well as the earlier raid against the Vagaari," Ar'alani added.

"I understand," Car'das said, his heart starting to beat a little faster. Here was the opening he'd been looking for. "Speaking of the Vagaari, my colleagues and I were hoping we could settle the question soon about the treasure we were promised, so that we could be on our way."

Ar'alani's eyebrows arched. "Now, suddenly, you're in a hurry to return home?"

"We're merchants," Car'das reminded her. "This has been an interesting and productive side trip, but the cargo in our hold is way overdue for delivery."

"A cargo you would very much like to supplement with stolen pirate plunder."

"Yes, but only because our customers will demand late-delivery penalties," Car'das explained. "There's no way for us to pay those without the items Captain Qennto has requested."