“Quiet a moment, Captain,” Thrawn cut him off, his glowing eyes gazing unseeing through the side viewport and the edge of the planet turning beneath them. “I need to think. Yes. They’ll try to travel in concealment whenever possible, I think. For now, that means the turbolift tunnels.” He gestured to the two communications officers still standing beside his chair. “Order turbolift control to put the system back into normal service except for the 326-KK nexus between deck 98 and the aft hangar bays,” he instructed them. “All cars in that area are to be moved to the nearest cluster point and remain locked there until further notice.”
One of the officers nodded and began relaying the order into his comlink. “You trying to herd them toward the hangar bays?” Pellaeon hazarded.
“I’m trying to herd them in from a specific direction, yes,” Thrawn nodded. His forehead was creased with thought, his eyes still gazing at nothing in particular. “The question is what they’ll do once they realize that. Presumably try to break out of the nexus; but in which direction?”
“I doubt they’ll be foolish enough to return to the supply ship,” Pellaeon suggested. “My guess is that they’ll bypass the aft hangar bays entirely and try for one of the assault shuttles in the forward bays.”
“Perhaps,” Thrawn agreed slowly. “If Skywalker is directing the escape, I’d say that was likely. But if Karrde is giving the orders :” He fell silent, again deep in thought.
It was somewhere to start, anyway. “Have extra guards placed around the assault shuttles,” Pellaeon ordered the stormtrooper commander. “Better put some men inside the ships, too, in case the intruders make it that far.”
“No, they won’t make for the shuttles if Karrde’s in command,” Thrawn murmured. “He’s more apt to try something less obvious. Perhaps TIE fighters; or perhaps he’ll return to the supply shuttles after all, assuming we won’t expect that. Or else-“
Abruptly, his head snapped around to look at Pellaeon. “The Millennium Falcon,” he demanded. “Where is it?”
“Ah-” Again, Pellaeon’s hand reached uselessly for his command board. “I ordered it sent to deep storage, sir. I don’t know whether or not the order’s been carried out.”
Thrawn jabbed a finger at the stormtrooper commander. “You-get someone on the hangar bay computer and find that ship. Then get a squad there.”
The Grand Admiral looked at Pellaeon : and for the first time since ordering the intruder alert, he smiled. “We have them, Captain.