"Yes, sir. I suppose... they have the same sort of aura about them. But more controlled. And Lord Callida's, ah, morals surprised me."

"Yes, she seemed quite attached to them. It was most interesting."

"What are you going to do about that?"

"Acquiesce to her demands, of course," says Thrawn, smoothly. Almost cheerfully, actually. "Unless she fails to give more morally appropriate alternatives."

Pellaeon's eyebrows shoot up.

"Sir?"

"She did not strike me as either unreasonable or unintelligent, captain. If all she wants is to create an empire that she finds morally agreeable - well, that's hardly inimical to any of us, irritating as the interim might be."

"I... see, sir. But why is it necessary to indulge with this? Do we really need them?"

"Need, perhaps not. But they are both very useful. Likely the most useful things to be found in Mount Tantiss."

"More so than the Spaarti cylinders?"

Thrawn considers.

"Yes."

Well then.

"Yes, sir."

"Patience, captain. I trust their use will become clear soon enough."

"In the meantime, sir, Intelligence has a lead on a group of those mole miners you asked for."

"Excellent. And where will we be acquiring them?"

"A mining operation called Nomad City, on the planet Nkllon." Pellaeon brings up the data on the main holoprojector. "But Nkllon is too close to its sun to be approached directly. Radiation would overload any ship's sensors and shielding within minutes."

"An interesting problem," muses Thrawn. "I'll have to think on it. For now, I have another undertaking to pursue..."

The Grand Admiral would like to launch a simultaneous strike against three systems. With the help of their guests, of course.

Probably a good idea to test their capabilities sooner, Pellaeon supposes.

Systems are chosen. Bpfassh, Jkryst, and Kdanskd, all in the Sluis sector. Logistical planning ensues.

... Callida does not think she can reach three separate systems at once. Not without help, anyway.

Does Occlus think she could help magnify Callida in some way?

Occlus has a ritual for this, of course. This technique is a variant on the Force meld, which is itself a type of smaller-scale battle mediation. With it, Callida should be able to draw upon Occlus's power. Learning it is fairly straightforward.

Oh, good. Then she can do three systems at once. She expects Thrawn will be pleased.

Which of course, he is. He's quick to attend to the needs of his guests, should they find that they have any before the attack.

Occlus wants a list of all relics he's cataloged in the storehouse so far.

The Grand Admiral is of course happy to provide such a list. Would she like a list of everything, including the boring modern technology, or just the probably-force-related stuff?

(He is not actually happy to provide such a list. But he'll do it anyway.)

She's really only interested in the Force-related artifacts.

As the honored Sith Lord wishes. She can have her pick of them, though Thrawn would of course greatly appreciate if she could explain just what resources they have newly acquired, since Occlus and her apprentice are the only ones who could possibly figure that out.