You are too generous. [Murder is not his intent. It is not his preferred method, unless there is truly no other recourse— but her beliefs are saturated with emotion, perhaps contaminated with the sensations and wants of those minds she has strained herself to reach. She is, despite herself, an unreliable advocate.]

In this moment they are a danger to us all, and to the Empress even more so. [Thrawn exhales thinly, his mouth drawing out into a taut line, though depending on how close those heated silhouettes wander, she may be right to believe a conflict can be avoided. A handful of breaths spent in silence, the bright flecks on his vision closing in—

—too close.]

You are to take the hostages ahead on your own. I will distract them.