A/N: I know Grand Admiral Thrawn may seem a bit OOC but I found the idea very interesting. His actions are explained in this prologue to give you more of an understanding of the why he did it to Cecia Norvar. Please review and tell me what you think.

Prologue

Cadet Cecia Norvar knew everyday in service to the Galactic Empire would a good one. She was a new conscript, but had had the priviledge of serving aboard the Chimaera underneath the leadership of Grand Admiral Thrawn and Captain Gilad Pellaeon.

Everyone was feeling anticipation as to how Thrawn would lead the final assault against the self-proclaimed New Republic. It was nearing time to root out the traitors of the Empire.

Already the Grand Admiral was having a strange fixation on the planets Myrkr and Wayland.

Cecia wondered why he was so intereested in them; they seemed out of the way.

She admired the Grand Admiral, though, even though he was an alien. She had heard some stories of his achievements and could hardly wait to see them in action.

Thank the Force that I don't have any parents to mourn my loss into the Empire.


Many families were angry at the Empire for forcing their young men and women to serve under Grand Admiral Thrawn, as one could understand.

I-I-I-I-I

Grand Admiral Thrawn felt an all too familiar warmth (yet again) and tightening in his loins. He narrowed his eyes and leaned back against the headrest of his command chair, trying to conquer the mating urge.

He was in the breeding season of his species, and while there were several female officers onboard the Chimaera (all mechanics or cadets) he didn't want to find sexual relief in them. The Empire was in the middle of a war and he didn't want to use anyone that way. This had happened several times before, and each time he had had enough time to disguise himself as a human and go to the nearest brothel and had found considerable relief there.

But there was no time to waste going to a brothel out in the yonder regions of the galaxy. He would have to hold back the desire to have sex.

He growled irritably as another wave hit him. This was the second week, and this was perhaps the worst week in the ordeal. The very first day had been the slightest of hormonal urges and it had only lasted for a few minutes. These urges lasted for several hours now and came in immediate succession.

His season was becoming distracting and tiresome. Thrawn was beginning to detest certain aspects of his anatomy. He sometimes entertained the notion of surgical castration. Ah, to be rid of this torment. He was slowly becoming a slave to himself. Thrawn was used to being dominant over his body, over his feelings, over everything—but this was becoming more and more out of his control.

Looking at art couldn't distract him, nothing worked. Even his goal for an Imperial victory over the Rebellion was growing more to the wayside mentally.

I-I-I-I-I-I

"So, what's this about you not having any parents?" one of Cecia's new acquaintances asked. Lilia Browel had recently been transferred to the Chimaera, too. They were in the cafeteria, eating cransh salad together.

Cecia Norvar poked at her food, silent for a moment.

"They both died in the Clone Wars when I was very young. I was three years old at the time. I barely remember them because they were always going out to battle," she said, then added as an afterthought, "I lived in an orphanage most of my life."

"Oh."

Browel spooned another mouthful of salad into her mouth.

"My folks were terrified at letting me go. But after hearing there salary would decrease over the years if they didn't release me to the Empire. There's so many bitter folks about."

"Actually, I'm happy to serve the Empire. I think it's a good experience for me. Plus," and Cecia smiled, "we both get to see this Grand Admiral in action."

Lilia Browel blushed, sweeping her eyes on the plastic surface of the table. She smiled, then leaned forward to whisper.

"I've never told anyone this but I think the Grand Admiral, despite being an alien, is very handsome."

At her friend's words Cecia felt a certain measure of relief. So she wasn't the only young woman aboard the Chimaera who felt the same way. She had never seen Thrawn in person, though she was very hopeful to meet him someday. Hopefully it would be under favorable circumstances. She wasn't too fond of the disciplinary scene.

"I'm sorry," Browel said after seeing that Cecia wasn't adding anything to that, holding an embarrassed and highly apologetic expression on her face, "It sounds strange, huh?"

Cecia laughed.

"No, not really."

Then she leaned toward Browel and whispered, "I think he's handsome, too. Though I've never met him in person."

"Me neither."

A voice suddenly cut through their conversation.

"What are you two talking about?"

Cris Petierson stood behind Lilia Browel. He was a handsome young man, high cheekbones, classily dressed when outside of uniform. Though, the one downside to him was the fact he wasn't very bright.

But the matter of wits didn't matter to Cecia's friend. Lilia Browel and Cris Petierson had been friends since childhood, and both were secretly in love. They planned to get married after the war. That is, if they both survived through it all.

"Oh, Grand Admiral Thrawn," Browel said at an attempt at being casual.

Petierson looked puzzled.

"Surely you don't think he"— he started.

His beeper went off.

"Excuse me. I have to go to the bridge. I control the tractor beams, you know," he stated. "Morgley must be off."

He left almost as abruptly as he had came.

Little did Cecia Norvar or Lilia Browel realize that would be the last time they would ever see him alive.

I-I-I-I-I-I

Horror. Terror. Both feelings swam through Cecia Norvar in the crew pits as she stared, horrified, at the spreading sea of red around the broken body of Cris Petierson. She knew why the Grand Admiral had killed him, but it didn't alleviate the anger she held inside for him. The Grand Admiral had little remorse in his face over his actions.

Didn't he realize Petierson had a family? That he could just as easily have banned Petierson from ever serving in the Empire and use that as a humiliating example for the others? Why did Thrawn feel he had to kill the man?

Lilia Browel, whose post was near Cecia Norvar's, gagged as though becoming sick in an attempt to cover up the sobs of grief threatening to overwhelm her.

"Clean up the mess," Thrawn ordered in a glacially calm voice to a pair of medics.

Clean up the mess! Is that what he thinks of Cris!

Cecia took a deep breath to calm herself.

Grand Admiral Thrawn turned around to look directly into her eyes. She was too angry and grief filled to feel awe or terror toward him. She felt as though nothing could get any worse. Her new friend's fiance had been brutally murdered by that demonic bodyguard of Thrawn's.

She held his cold stare, not letting him have the satisfaction of seeing her grief, of seeing her surrender her gaze and look away.

I-I-I-I-I-I-I

She was somewhat attractive and she had the crisp coolness and intelligence in her eyes that reminded Grand Admiral Thrawn of a female Chiss.

Her hair was light brown, a little wavy, her eyes were brown, she had pale skin, and she was small. Light boned.

Good. He always liked his momentary sexual partner to be on the smaller scale, small breasted, petite. A part of his soul cried out against what he was setting out to do. Sexual activity between a superior and junior officer was frowned down upon.

But, at the same time, he couldn't operate right in his season. He was becoming increasingly dangerous by the moment. If he didn't mate soon he would take someone by force. As he didn't want to do that, he tried to control the strong impulse to rip off her clothing as well as his and make love to her in plain sight of everyone.

He needed to be in control, even while being swamped with strange hormones. He needed to take her peacefully. And soon. He was burning alive and control was becoming harder to accomplish by the second in the presence of the opposite sex.

"You," he said in his commanding tone. "What is your name?"

"Cecia Norvar, sir," she said evenly, still staring up at him with icy coolness.

"Follow me."

I-I-I-I-I-I

Cecia followed him to his personal, dimly lit command room. It was strange how during lunch she had been thinking how she had been thinking how she would love to meet Thrawn in person sometime. Now that she had seen him, she didn't ever want to see him again.

He was a cruel, heartless monster.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn! Where are my Jedi?" an old man demanded.

Cecia Norvar recognized him as Joruus C'baoth. She swallowed down fear. He was insane, the dark Jedi from Wayland. His hair was white, wild, and while he appeared old he was well muscled. A bronze pendant hung from around his neck.

"Calm down, C'baoth. You will have your Jedi soon. Now, if you will excuse me."

To Cecia's surprise the Grand Admiral led her past the command center to his bedroom compartment.

His bedchambers were spacious compared to her and Lilia Browel's own. There was nothing overly lavish or gaudy about it either, though. She had imagined before that his bed quarters would be filled with classy frivolities. In a way, she was glad that wasn't the case.

"Please have a seat, Norvar," the Grand Admiral said politely.

Cecia sat down across from the bed.

What is he planning? Is he…shaking?

She thought it was her imagination, but he really was shaking.

Suddenly she was beginning to feel very uneasy about all this.

"Allow me to make an explanation," he said. His voice was still calm, but there was something about the way he was looking at her that made her heart pound against her chest. Made her stomach churn. Something was wrong. She had felt it when he had passed his command center, the place he should normally stop to communicate with junior officers and had entered his bedroom quarters instead.

"My species are seasonal breeders. In that time frame we must mate or we will lose control. We become irritable, and our existance becomes a living hell until the time of mating. The more we wait, the more in danger others are to our brutality as we lose control."

She had a sickening feeling inside where this was going. Before she would be glad to hop into his arms and allow him to make love to her, but the thought seemed a nightmare to her. And she felt anguish that he would even think about having sex right after having someone murdered. It showed how sick he was as a man.

His fingers lightly traced the back of her neck, tracing her spinal cord. She shivered in pleasure, then felt terrible for feeling that way around this heartless monster.

"I will try to be very gentle, Cecia. Will you comply?"

She envisioned Cris Petierson laying in his blood, Lilia Browel sobbing brokenly. Thrawn wanted her to give him sexual pleasure so he wouldn't "lose control" when he had just murdered a friend of her friend in front of her eyes? She would never give him that pleasure.

"What do you think?" she bit out, too filled with hate to think about what she was saying, "That I'm supposed to moan, drop my clothes, and say, 'Of course—take me now, Thrawn!' when you murdered"—

He struck her across the face. Hard.

She reached a hand up to touch the spot but his left hand suddenly closed around the wrist, closing tightly.

She stared up at him, terror filling her. Why hadn't she said, "Yes" instead? Her refusal had caused him to become brutal.

His eyes were like burning, passionate flames of anger and intense sexual desire and determination. He would have her, whether he had her consent or not. And he would be anything but gentle.

I-I-I-I-I-I

She sat naked upon the bed, her arms hugging her knees to her chest. Bruises covered her body. Blood trickled down her legs. He had taken her virginity from her, had used her like a wad of toilet paper, and then had fallen asleep after his exertion.

She was too numb and shocked to cry or become enraged. All she felt was nothing. Just a haunting emptiness inside. Every limb in her body trembled as she tried to escape him. She tried to organize her thoughts, but she couldn't think. She couldn't do anything.

Slowly, she made her way to the bathroom. Surely a bath would make it all better. A nice, soothing bath.

Pain filled her with each step, making a low whimper escape her lips.

As the bath filled with steaming hot water, she knew she would have to escape the Empire and that monster at all costs.

Cecia didn't want Thrawn to…do that….to her again.