Disclaimer: Star Wars is the property of George Lucas and Co. I make no profit out of this story.

Galaxy Under Siege Ch.11

Grand Admiral Thrawn sat listlessly in the private med bay room and watched his brother's sleeping form. Wires and tubes seemed to cover the young man; they were imbedded in his arms, strapped to his chest and coming out of the breathing mask attached to his face. The sight reminded Thrawn all too clearly of similar moments in the past, the images coming unbidden and rendering him unable to sleep. Thrawn was not, by nature, a sentimental man, but he was deeply devoted to his younger brother. Yet, Theeon's condition was completely out of Thrawn's hands and that sense of helplessness ate at him.

The doors to the room swished softly open, but the Grand Admiral did not turn to face the visitor. A quiet humming noise caught Thrawn's ears and curiosity caused him to finally turn around. He was surprised to see Captain Niriz sitting calmly in a hover chair in the doorway, "What brings you here, Captain?"

The captain moved forward, and the doors closed silently behind him. Niriz spoke as he settled his chair next to Thrawn, "I was given word that Lord Vader and Admiral Piett are on the Death Star, and I was curious to know if you had heard anything from them."

Thrawn reached over to the bedside table and picked up a data pad, "Admiral Piett sent me this information a couple hours ago," Thrawn handed the data pad to Niriz.

Niriz began to glance through the information, "Admiral Piett wrote this?"

Thrawn shook his head, "No Captain, it was Lord Vader who wrote it, Admiral Piett was just the messenger. Truth be told, he seemed a little shaken when we spoke."

"I can imagine it was an unpleasant experience," Niriz said quietly. "Do you know when they'll be back?"

"Lord Vader wanted to organize an inspection of the Death Star for any signs of spy devices or sabotage equipment. He also wants to prepare the station for removal from this system since the location has clearly been compromised. In all it should take several hours."

"We will be heading for Coruscant after words, I take it?"

Thrawn nodded his head, "We have already been away too long. There are far too many who would like to take the throne and far too few who are actually capable of taking on the responsibilities it carries."

Niriz studied Thrawn's face for a long time, "Are you planning on making a bid for the throne too, sir?"

Thrawn turned to look at the still form on the bed. He could feel his cool, impassive expression beginning to crack, and he knew that Captain Niriz would be able to see the signs of stress beneath Thrawn's calm façade. "Even if I was in top form- my Niruaun forces well equipped, all my allies organized and prepared- it would still be a grueling task to attempt to take over the throne. In my current state it would be impossible." He paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Backstabbing, power grabbing, petty squabbling…these are the things we can look forward to when we return to Coruscant. If we are not careful, the Empire will collapse before the Far Outsiders even launch their full attack and then the galaxy will be truly doomed."

Both men went silent. Niriz began to study the information in the data pad carefully, committing the gruesome words to memory. Finally he broke the silence, "What of Lord Vader, sir?"

Thrawn turned to look at Niriz, "What I am about to say does not leave this room, Captain, understood?" Thrawn waited until Niriz nodded his consent. "Despite Lord Vader's infamous temper and apparent lack of patience, he is far more clever than he is given credit for. I admit that I have clashed with him in the past over his tactics, both towards enemies and allies, but despite our differences we also have much in common. Vader is, at heart, a military man, a man of action. He will do what it takes to get a job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. That philosophy fits well into my own. I truly believe that he is the only man vying for the throne that will actually stand a chance at repelling the Far Outsiders. However, even he can't battle invaders, rebels and political enemies at the same time; he will need allies."

Niriz nodded in understanding, "And that's where you come in…"

"Precisely. I have already begun to plot out…"

The swish of the door cut Thrawn off. The Executer's chief medical officer, Dr. Hadar, strode into the room, followed by two younger medical officers. "I am sorry to disturb you Grand Admiral, Captain, but I have urgent news." Dr. Hadar moved next to Theeon's bed and pulled an I.V. tube from its bag.

Thrawn stood, instinctively taking a protective step towards his brother. "What is the meaning of this?"

The chief medical officer looked up, his face grim, "We have discovered the cause of Dr. Theeon's relapse, sir."

Thrawn's body relaxed slightly, "With a cause a solution can be found. What went wrong?"

The two younger med officers stepped back slightly and the chief straightened to look Thrawn in the eyes, "We discovered that one of our medical officers, Dr. Glazeel, had begun administering Coradek VII to your brother's I.V. instead of Ibudek III without consulting anyone. Unfortunately, that combination…"

Thrawn's voice cut him off like icy steel, "Where is he?"

Dr. Hadar's eyes widened, "I told him to wait in my office, sir."

Thrawn's hands were clenched into fists so tightly that his knuckles were white. He normally held great pride in maintaining his composure, but the stress, guilt, injuries, and exhaustion had pushed him to the edge of his patience. Theeon had survived so many hardships in his young life; he had courageously faced brushes with death since infancy and always survived. Even the Far Outsiders failed to kill him, and to think that he might die because some stupid, incompetent med officer didn't bother to do his job properly…

Thrawn's thoughts were cut off by Captain Niriz's hard voice, "Make sure the fool stays there until we're ready to see him, if he tries to escape stun him and have him thrown into a detention cell." One of the young medical officers nodded and quickly left the room. Niriz turned his attention to the remaining officers and spoke with a calmer voice, "Now, what needs to be done to help Dr. Theeon?"

Dr. Hadar glanced at the Grand Admiral, but quickly returned back to Captain Niriz, "As I'm sure you know, Coradek VII and Ibudek III are both powerful painkillers that should not be mixed."

"Yes, it's apparently common knowledge to everyone in the Empire except for trained medical professionals," said Thrawn icily.

The chief swallowed, "Well, given the nature of your brother's injuries, his respiratory condition and his other medication…"

Thrawn cut him off, "Why did it take you so long to discover what was wrong?"

"With all the drugs in his bloodstream it was difficult to isolate the Coradek. As I said, Dr. Glazeel never informed anyone of his mistake, in fact he administered the Coradek several times. Unfortunately, it was enough to trigger the chain reaction that led to Dr. Theeon's current condition. We discovered the mistake a few minutes ago when med officer Fadrik," Dr. Hadar gestured to the young officer behind him, "finally isolated the traces of Coradek in a sample of Dr. Theeon's blood. That's why I rushed in here and unhooked that I.V. Thanks to the effects of the Coradek VII we cannot administer any more painkillers to Dr. Theeon without the risk of killing him." The chief finally met Thrawn's eyes. "I offer my most sincere apologies, sir, for this terrible turn of events…"

Thrawn turned away and looked down at his brother. "Will he make it?"

"I have no doubt the boy will pull through, sir. He's remarkably courageous and strong willed. I won't lie though, once the painkillers wear off he's going to be in agony for the next few days, as his body adjusts and heals." The chief watched Thrawn worriedly.

Thrawn kept them waiting. He still felt the rage, waiting just beneath the surface of his skin, but he managed to hold himself in check. For all his anger, the logical part of his mind told him there was more to the situation than simple incompetence. Something else was at work and he wanted to dig to the bottom of it.

Finally, he straightened and turned to face the others, "Inform ship's security about Dr. Glazeel and ensure he is detained. I will decide his fate when Lord Vader returns," Thrawn paused, "and Fadrik, I will see to it that you are rewarded for your good work."

Fadrik looked surprised, "Thank you, sir."

Thrawn gave a curt nod then turned his back to them again. The two medical officers took it as their cue to leave and quietly exited. Captain Niriz watched in silence as Thrawn sat back down in the chair next to his brother.

"We can continue our earlier conversation another time, sir," Niriz said quietly. "In the meantime, do try to get some rest."

Thrawn turned his head and gave a faint smile, "Thank you, Captain."

Niriz gave a reassuring smile then left the room. Alone now, except for his unconscious brother, Thrawn closed his eyes and put his head in his hands.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Princess Leia watched as the exhausted and battered rebel pilots were assisted out of their fighters. All five survivors looked traumatized and their ships were even worse. It was a miracle they were able to make it to the base at all. In her opinion, the sight of them was enough to prove that they were not imposters. Beside her, Mon Mothma seemed calm and stoic, but Leia could feel the tension in the other woman.

As though reading Leia's thoughts the Alliance leader turned and whispered in her ear, "I am glad we have already started the evacuation procedures, we cannot afford to face such a powerful enemy with so many of us already lost."

Leia whispered back, "Do you think it's wise to question them here or should we bring them to an escape ship?"

"We will be leaving their damaged fighters here in case any of them have tracking devices planted on them. However, I have informed the medics to take them directly to my ship. Even if we had time to question them here, they are in no condition to answer. Speaking of which, we need to get onboard too." Mon Mothma gestured to her ship.

The princess hesitated. In truth she would feel more comfortable on the Falcon with Han, Chewie and Lando. Despite everything that went wrong on their trip to Bespin, Leia would always feel safest among her friends. She suddenly realized that Mon Mothma was still waiting for her to respond. She looked up at the older woman's face and noticed she had a faint smile. "Perhaps it would be better if the leaders were divided. It would make you feel safer wouldn't it?"

Leia gave a thankful smile at her leader, "I feel it might be for the best."

Mon Mothma nodded, "Very well, you had better be on your way. There will be a meeting when we reach our next location, perhaps sooner depending on the information the survivors provide us. I will keep you informed."

"Thank you. May the Force be with you." Leia said gravely.

"And you, Princess." Mon Mothma turned away and headed to her ship.

Leia took one last look at the damaged fighters and moved to the side of the hangar bay where she knew the Falcon would be. She hurried past dozens of technicians, orange suited fighter pilots, druids and support staff. The sense of urgency in the air was electric and it would not be long until the base was empty. She turned past a large stack of crates and caught site of the Flacon at last. Grouped in front of the entrance ramp were Han, Luke, Chewie, Lando and C-3PO; their faces looked grim as they spoke. Luke was dressed in his orange flight suit and was clearly getting ready to leave when he caught sight of Leia and gave her a warm smile.

Leia smiled back, "Mon Mothma agreed to let me come with you lot on the Falcon, of course, that's if there's still room."

Some of the grimness left Han's face, "Well, I'm sure we can fit you into a storage compartment somewhere." Leia rolled her eyes and smiled. Han smiled back but there was an edge of seriousness when he continued, "Seriously, Princess, I'm glad you're able to come with us."

Leia's face became solemn, "Me too."

Chewie rumbled a question at her and Threepio translated, "Chewbacca is surprised that Mon Mothma agreed to let you travel on a different ship."

Leia shrugged, but she felt a strange sensation creep into her spine. She could tell both Luke and Han noticed her reaction but neither said anything. She quickly tried to mask her unease, "Since all our ships are traveling together we decided it might not be a bad idea to divide the leaders a bit; in the event of, well, in case we need to separate."

Leia could tell that the others were far from comforted by her words, but whatever they thought of the implications she knew they were glad she was with them. Luke put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"I need to go," Luke said calmly, "I'll try to pay you all a visit at our next stop."

Luke let go of her shoulder and began to move away from the group. Han stepped forward and gave him a pat on the back, "If things get bad, kid, don't get separated from us."

Luke gave his best comforting smile, "I'll do what I can." He gave them a salute, "May the Force be with you!"

"With you too, kid." Han said. Lando, Chewie, Leia and Threepio waved. Once Luke was out of sight there was a long moment of silence. It seemed strange to Leia that there was such a cloud of tension in the air. Together her friends had faced all manner of battles, but there was something different about this one. Even without the use of the Force she knew it. A glance around at her circle of friends told her she wasn't the only one who knew it either.

"We should get going," Lando said softly. He took one last look in the direction Luke went and began climbing up the ramp. The others reluctantly followed him. Leia felt that strange shivering sensation crawl up her spine again, just as the ramp slid shut.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus sat back in his plush seat in the Imperial palace's main boardroom. The meeting with his fellow Grand Admirals had gone about the way he expected; none of them wanted to side with Lord Vader, at least not openly, and none of them were willing to elect a new leader. Tigellinus had cleverly managed to create a sense of suspicion among them and managed to paint himself as the most trustworthy of the group. After the meeting both Grand Admiral Grant and Grand Admiral Pitta had come to him when the others had left and expressed their agreement with his point of view. Tigellinus knew that once he had a few victories against the Far Outsiders others would follow Grant and Pitta to his side. There were only two people standing in his way that could offer any true resistance to his power…

A beep from his communicator cut off Tigellinus's thoughts. He looked down at the identification code that showed on the screen and smiled to himself. Things were coming together nicely. He tapped the communicator.

"Agent 462, you're right on time. What's the status of our operation?" Tigellinus said calmly into the device.

"Dr. Glazeel has been found out, sir. Thrawn has had him detained until Lord Vader returns from the Death Star. That could be at any moment. Dr. Glazeel asked me when you would intercede on his behalf." The agent said in a cold, clinical manner.

"Did Dr. Glazeel succeed?"

Agent 462 hesitated, "Not completely, sir. The patient is surprisingly durable for one in such poor health. However, the stress is clearly taking its toll on Grand Admiral Thrawn and his health is beginning to suffer as well. Rumours are beginning to spread through the ship that he won't be mentally capable of battling the Far Outsiders again."

Rufaan Tigellinus leaned back in his chair, "I suppose that will have to do, for now. As for Dr. Glazeel, he will no doubt be interrogated and executed. We must at all costs prevent him from talking. It could ruin everything we've worked for."

The agent's face remained cold and expressionless, "I will see to it that he is eliminated."

Tigellinus narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, "It can't look like an assassination, Agent 462. That will simply lead to more questions and we can't afford that right now."

The agent stared back calmly, "It would come as no surprise if a man in Dr. Glazeel's position killed himself. It's such a tragic fall from grace, after all."

An unpleasant smile crossed Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus's face. He nodded to the agent, "Do it."

Agent 462 ended the transmission and Tigellinus chuckled softly. If Agent 462 was right, he now only had one competitor to worry about…now to find Lord Vader's weakness.