Defeat

The blaring of alarm sirens was the first thing he noted when he came to.

Thrawn's vision returned abruptly, registering the familiar environment of the Chimaera's bridge. Red lights were flashing across it. The image was blurry and unfocused. He must have taken a hit to the head, he analysed automatically.

What had happened?

"Grand Admiral?" A figure knelt down next to where he was laying on the dura-steel planks, and after a moment his vision cleared sufficiently to recognize Commodore Faro. The Chimaera's captain wasn't known for her sunny temper, but now her face looked especially grim. And concerned. "Are you alright?"

"It appears so." Carefully, Thrawn stood up. There didn't seem to be any broken bones or other lasting damage. Just a faint nausea, the like one got when staring into hyperspace for too long. Which wasn't a too far off comparison when he considered the last events before he'd lost consciousness. He noted the security blinds had closed over the broken windows of the bridge. So automatic systems were still working. At the very least, whatever the Jedi had done hadn't torn the ship apart. "Status?"

"I – I'm not sure yet, sir. Our sensors are barely working. We're getting damage reports from all over the ship, but at least they're reporting. Whatever those beasts did, the ship appears to be somewhat intact." Faro paused. Now that Thrawn was able to focus on her properly, he saw she wasn't looking good. There is pain in her expression whenever she moves her left arm. Her face holds unusual trepidation. "Sir, what were those things? I have never – they looked like space whales."

"Are they still in our immediate surroundings?"

"No, sir."

"Then that is a question for another time. For now, let us focus on getting the sensors back and determine what the new situation is. And whether we're under threat by the rebels."

"Understood, sir." Faro recognized his matter-of-fact tone and responded in kind. She gave a sharp nod towards the back of the bridge: "At least the one we have on board is currently no threat."

Thrawn's gaze left his immediate surroundings and focused on the back of the bridge. There, two Stormtroopers were standing over the body of the Jedi, blasters trained at his head. Their body stances indicate tension and fear. Their fingers are tight on the triggers.

"Troopers!" Thrawn called sharply. Both soldiers immediately snapped to attention. The admiral signalled Faro to take over the immediate crisis and approached the trio. The Jedi, he saw, was lying completely motionless, only his rising and falling chest indicating breathing. His eyes were rolled back in his head.

"He's unconscious, sir." one of the troopers reported unnecessarily.

Thrawn looked at their prisoner. Aside from the smoking blaster wound in his shoulder, the Jedi seemed unharmed.

Ezra Bridger. Who the emperor had mandated be taken alive. Who must have somehow escaped the Sith Lord's hold, and subsequently foiled Thrawn's entire battle plan. Laying here now, he looked deceptively defenceless.

Apparently, controlling the creatures had taken its toll on the Jedi. And controlled them he had, of that much Thrawn was certain. No species of beings, no matter how unheard of, would be able to focus so efficiently on an entire fleet of Imperial ships without being guided in some way.

Yet they hadn't destroyed the fleet, as far as anyone had been able to tell. The ships were just gone, and though Thrawn now had a theory on how this had come to pass, it was another thing entirely to understand it so well as to be able to control it. Bridger did have an ability to connect with animals, his records showed that much. Thrawn, however, simply hadn't expected it on such a large scale. Fascinating.

And a mistake he would not make a second time.

"Sir?" Faro called. "You had better see this."

Bridger wasn't a threat for the moment. And Thrawn had a number of questions for him once he regained consciousness. "See to it that the Jedi receives medical attention. Preferably without shooting him on the way." he ordered the Stormtroopers, nodding at their armed weapons. With the emergency alarm still blaring across the bridge, he joined his commodore at the navigations' officer's console. "I assume we are no longer above Lothal, Commodore?"

"No, sir, not even close. We don't even appear to be in the same solar system anymore. The creatures – pardon, I know it sounds insane – must have somehow taken us through hyperspace. It's the only explanation. As to where we are…" She gestured askance to lieutenant Dessen.

"We're still trying to establish that, sir." The lieutenant's face holds tension and resigned acceptance. He fears to be disciplined for his failure. "The data we're getting doesn't match anything in our star charts. All I can say is we are no longer in the Outer Rim, or even close to Wild Space."

"The Unknown Regions." Faro stated.

Fate has a way of coming back around. It is less a sword to be wielded by its progeny, but a boomerang that resists any attempt to control its course.

It was an old Chiss saying – from a time when swords were still a preferred weapon in warfare – and one that Thrawn couldn't help but think of now.

"Do we have contact with the fleet?" he asked.

"None yet." Faro said. Her knuckles are white on the console. "Sir, if that Jedi has destroyed them…"

Then a lot of good men have died for nothing. And yet more will die as a result. "Then the rebels will have succeeded in their goal on Lothal, Commodore. But that is of secondary concern now. The Chimaera must needs re-join with its support ships – based on our current situation, I don't believe they have been destroyed. Alone, we are vulnerable."

"Yes, sir. Understood." Faro made a visible effort to regain her composure.

"Excuse me, sir," Lieutenant Dessen spoke up hesitantly, "but unless we can pinpoint our exact location…"

"We will, lieutenant. I am familiar with some of these systems." Thrawn said. "With time, I might be able to narrow our position down."

Both officers' expressions show suppressed curiosity. "That would help, sir. Thank you."

Thrawn turned his attention to the rest of the bridge crew. Those who weren't fixated on their consoles were watching their commanders, all showing signs of confusion and discomfort, though some concealed it better than others. It was an understandable reaction, but one that the Chimaera couldn't afford at this time and this place in the galaxy. Calm was what was needed now, calm and a plan. And, as usual, they were looking to him to provide it.

Faro was picking up the same signals. "I'll see that the ship is ready to move." she assured Thrawn. Then, louder, she added, "Then we'll determine where exactly the rest of the Seventh went, return to Imperial space and show the rebels that we won't be beaten by some gas-breathing fish. Back to work, officers."

Thrawn nodded approval, leaving the bridge in her hands. Faro, he reflected, had matured into a more than capable commander over the past years. Her bluntness hadn't abated very much, but the admiral knew the crew trusted her all the more for it. Under different circumstances, she might have become a great asset to the Empire. Possibly she actually still assumed they'd be able to re-engage the Lothal rebels and take revenge.

Thrawn knew better. By the time the Seventh Fleet would be in any state to make their return, let alone do battle, the rebels would be dug in on the planet, no doubt with the support of its population. And the news would have spread: The Empire wasn't invulnerable; the Rebellion was on the rise. The fire was going to spread, and there was nothing any Imperial officer could do about it now.

Lothal would still be destroyed, of course.

And neither Faro nor the unconscious Jedi, now stuck on this ship, understood the true significance of what had just occurred. Only Thrawn did.

If his ship's crew didn't sorely need him to be present right now, the grand admiral would have liked to retire to the quietude of his quarters. Projecting confidence at this moment was hard, and Thrawn felt overwhelmingly tired. Because no matter what happened next, he had lost. Not just this battle, but quite possibly the war. The war his people were depending on him to win.

No matter how the coming conflict played out, the Empire was no longer a dependable ally.

:

So, I just finished both new Thrawn novels and can't wait for the next one to come out. Until then, this is just my way of coping.

It's not going to be very long and won't include too many theories of what's next for these characters. Basically, this is just supposed to be the aftermath of the Lothal battle, and what that means for every character.

The writing style, at least for this chapter, is shamelessly copied from Timothy Zahn's books, which are awesome. I think it turned out reasonably well, but that's always tough to tell when it's your own writing you're looking at.