A/N of shortness: Make sure you read Chapter 9 and 10!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, Thrawn, or anything familiar like that.

The battled raged on outside, the rebels suffering terrible losses. Thjion stood stoically at Thrawn's side, his face set in stone at the carnage his former friends now faced, though he kenw it was ultimattely for the greater good. Already, he could tell the Republic Fleet would be severely damaged. Thrawn's plan for ultimate destruction apparently would be successful... for now. Thjion was still uneasy and had mentioned the treaty a few times to him, but he still refused to enact it. For some reason, Thrawn seemed totally opposed to a peaceful end.

A warning blink appeared on the Wayland battle monitor and Thrawn ordered a minor adjustment, shifting the Rebel cruiser in the defensive postition. It was truely amazing to watch Thrawn work. The confidence with which he operated and the insight into the mentality of his opponent was simply incredible.

"Well, this has gone on long enough," Thrawn finally said with a bored sigh. "The finishing blows should be made soon. The rebels really don't stand a chance, though thankfully they still managed to finish off the base. I expect Pallaeon will be here shortly with the offical reports then we will be headed to Coruscant within the hour if all goes well," he estimated as Thjion walked over to one of the holoimages nearby. He caught sight of that dreadful Noghri, Rukh. He seemed to be taking stock of something on his arm, it almost looked like he was itching, though not quite right. His red eyes narrowed as he tried to remember why this seemingly harmless gesture bothered him.

"So you think our next attack will be successful?" Thjion asked to keep the conversation going.

"Oh yes, the rebels won't know what hit them." Then everything fell into place. Rebels, Leia, Noghri, traitors, assassins, he turned to face Rukh as if in slow motion and watched him with new eyes. The Noghri took no notice, not recognizing the new threat, but just focused on his target. Thjion had heard of their skills, and realized that he, unarmed, was no threat at all. Rukh tensed and Thjion began running, not wasting the time to yell. As the Noghri sprung, a knife unsheathed, Thjion dove in front of the target, having just managed to yell 'Thrawn' before the blade pierced his chest.

Thrawn spun and fired four bolts into the traitorous alien, rendering him dead. He cast the blaster away and knelt beside his baby brother, applying pressure to the wound. He prayed to every divinine being that Rukh had been an inch too low for immediate fatality. He fumbled with his comlink and frantically called for a med team.

"Come on Thjion, hold on," he called desperatly. He'd finally met this amazing part of his family and now he could not, would not lose him.

The team ran in and droids lifted him onto a stretcher as the doctors began assessing the situation. Although their med-speak made little sense, their tone was stiff and serious. The team forced Thrawn away and carried Thjion to the med wing; only one doctor stayed behind.

"What's the outlook?" Thrawn asked hollowly. He did not get up; his eyes did not leave the spot Thjion had just occupied; he just knelt there.

"He's in for a hard time. The blade was rough and barbed, adding to already severe damage. None of the major organs were hit, but severe tissue damage was done and probably a few blood vessles were hit looking at the blood loss," the medic reported. Thrawn nodded at the grim report, a hollowness beginning to seize his heart.

"Admiral," Pallaeon's voice chimed in over the comlink, "the rebels are on the retreat. What should we do now?" It took a moment for his mind to catch-up, but he soon remembered that his fleet was involved in two major battles and he had a duty to his men. Besies, Thjion would be in surgery for awhile and there was nothing he could do.

"Let them go. We've achieved our goal. Contact the rest of the fleet. Anyone who can make it should rendevous at Coruscant at 0900 hours in two days. Oh, and I'm ordering the execution of all employed Noghri." The line was silent as Pallaeon comprehended this.

"Very well sir," he finally answered. He knew that over an open line was not the proper place to ask. Thrawn expected he would be here in a few minutes to question him. "I will transmit the reports to your terminal." Thrawn acknowledged it and let the line go silent. He looked down and let the stillness crash down on him. There were no tears, no agonizing screams or sobbing; there would be a time for that later.

With a sharp throat clearing, he stood and assessed the state of the room and himself. A small pool of blood was the only evidence left, as the team had also removed Rukh's corpse. His uniform, stark white as it was, was stained crimson red. He would need to change later, but he had neither the time nor the will. Sure enough, the terminal beeped as the reports arrived. He walked over and forced his mind to concentrate, but reading about death and damage was trying. Thankfully, Pallaeon interupted half way through the third one.

"I wondered when you might stop by," Thrawn commented, turning to face the Captain.

"Yes, well your message was rather... what happened? Are you injured?" Pallaeon asked seeing the blood.

"No"

"Then who-"

"Thjion."

"How?"

"Rukh planned to assassinate me. Thjion managed to block the attack. The knife pierced his chest. He's in surgery now." His tone was even and in control, but there was an edge to it that Pallaeon could not remember hearing there before.

"Are you alright, Sir?" Pallaeon asked refering now to his emotional state. He had seen how fond Thrawn was of the boy, and he knew this had to be hard for him. Thrawn's cold persona fell away for a second and he gave Pallaeon an appreciative smile though his red eyes managed to still look sad.

"Yes, thank you," he replied simply. It was a short phrase, but Palleon knew there was so much more in those three little words. The icy mask was replaced that Thrawn slipped back into Grand Admiral mode. "There's nothing I can do for him now, and there are other matters that require my attention. I need to finish these reports and create a plan for Coruscant. Duty comes first, does it not Captain?"

"Of course Sir," Gilad responded and turned, recognizing a dismissal. Thrawn turned back to the reports and let a deep sigh leave him. While his mind wanted the Republic to feel his grief, for him to take his revenge, his heart just was not into it anymore, and that was going to make this crucial battle all the more difficult to plan.

A/N or realness: okay so hopefully you all saw the author's note I posted that explained what had happened. If not, keep reading. So, the Chiss are supposed to be a relatively peaceful people, they don't like pre-emptive strikes and it makes sense to me that they would not want to totally destroy their enemy if a peaceful means can be reached. I also wanted to slap cannon Thrawn a few times for not ending the war peacefully and seeking total destruction of the New Republic, I thought he was above that. So, we have Thjion now, someone who could potentially persuade Thrawn to see a bit of reason and convince him that negotiations are the best way to go. I know I used the term surrender earlier, and that was my bad word chose which I shall now blame on the fact that Basic is Thjion's second language. It would consist of the Empire ending this war on their terms but letting the New Republic continue to exist. A cease fire if you will. Alright, so that's the explanation in short. As I said, make sure you read chapter 9. No one reviewed it (I thought maybe you all hated it or were indifferent) and I think maybe you just missed the update. That explained everything. Okay, so please review!! Love ya'll!

-moonservant