Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of Timothy Zahn's Characters. But those nice folks would never sue me. Right?

The Return of Thrawn -
Chapter Zero - Preview: Memories and Mysteries

The Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera glided through space. Admiral Pellaeon stared off through the duraplex viewports of the dimly lit bridge into the cold darkness of space, thinking of his dead mentor and friend of thirty years, Grand Admiral Thrawn.

He couldn't understand how the treacherous Noghri bodyguard, Rukh, had found out that the Empire had been poisoning Honoghr. Somehow, he had, and Pellaeon was going to find out. Rukh managed to incapacitate Pellaeon (Pellaeon had just yesterday finished the bacta treatments of his injuries) and stab Thrawn to death...and escape, too! Pellaeon swore to hunt down and kill the Noghri beast. The damned Rebels had no chance of infiltrating the Chimaera and killing Thrawn, nor did they have a chance at defeating the master planner in an all out battle.

His thoughts drifted to the times he had had with the personable Thrawn. The two had served in the Academy together, and although Pellaeon was three years ahead of Thrawn, the two bonded quickly. Thrawn was always figuring out new schemes to make credits. Since he was at the head of his class, he was always charging his peers large sums of money for them to copy his work. The trainers there never stopped him; he was so charismatic that he always managed to escape disciplinary measure. Thrawn had managed to overcome the racial slurs that the Empire had to offer him, probably because he was so intelligent and charismatic. In addition, by the time he came into command of the Dagger, he already had quite a reputation for stopping lawbreakers and the Rebel threat.

Pellaeon thought back to the duo's adventures in Wild Space, commanding the most feared Guardian Light Cruiser around: the Dagger. The ship had a reputation for never failing to catch the fugitives it was sent out to find. When the Empire's two most promising officers came in to the commandership and lieutenant-ship of it, the crime rate in the systems it patrolled drop drastically.

He slowly brought himself out of his daydream when he heard the crisp footfalls of an Imperial Officer behind him.

" Captain Pellaeon?" The officer asked.
Pellaeon turned, seeing the young officer. He felt odd seeing him there. Something was out of place about him. He dismissed the warnings - thinking them to be a paranoia instilled by Thrawn's murder.

"Yes, Lieutenant.?" He tried to put a name to his face, but couldn't. Odd, Pellaeon thought. I usually remember an officer's name.

"Solakis, sir. Lieutenant Garn Solakis," said Solakis quickly, in a very informal voice. Solakis stood at ease. His uniform was sagging slightly and his boots weren't Imperial issue.

"Yes. Lieutenant Solakis." He said, trying to remember seeing him aboard the Chimaera before. "What did you want," the Admiral asked in a distant voice.

"Well, sir, we just emptied out the Grand Admiral's quarters," he said, absently wrapping his fingers on the datapadd that he held. "And we found something that you may want to see."

"Very good, Solakis," he said, staring past him.

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Without realizing it, Pellaeon found himself at the entrance to Thrawn's quarters, becoming conscious of the fact that he never had actually seen but a glimpse of the Grand Admiral's quarters. He and Thrawn had spoken, discussing politics, strategy, and reminiscing about old adventures on those occasional off duty hours, but the two never went to Thrawn's accommodations, always going to Pellaeon's.

Suddenly, apprehension overwhelmed him. He felt that he didn't want to invade Thrawn's personal sanctuary. He rethought that for a moment, and shook the feeling off. Taking on a sense of duty, he stepped into the room, surprised at what he saw.