*I've had this idea stuck in my head for a while now, and I finally decided to actually write it. This is my 1st time writing about Thrawn, so excuse me if he sticks out of character every now and then.
*Contains some sentences directly from the Thrawn novel.
Eli watched in shock and disbelief as three hooded men attacked Thrawn. He felt utterly powerless, watching Thrawn do his best to fend of the attackers, and failing, while Eli hid behind a bush. Thrawn, for his part, was barely managing to dodge the flurry of fists and knees launched at him.
But he had no offensive. The standard Academy curriculum included a unit on unarmed combat. Unfortunately, with Thrawn's studies focused exclusively on technology and navy protocol, he hadn't been given any time in the combat dojo.
And it showed. He defense mainly consisted of trying to push his attackers away, ducking from their blows, and trying to protect his face.
But it wasn't enough. Defense alone was never enough.
This couldn't go on forever, Eli knew. Sooner or later, Thrawn's stamina would run out, and his attackers would overwhelm him, and it would be over. Eli clenched his hands into helpless fists, his mind racing. What could he do? The second Eli walked in front of that bush, the attackers would focus some of their efforts onto him. But that could at least distract them from Thrawn, possibly giving him an opportunity to escape. Leaving Eli with the attackers' full attention.
But was it worth it? He only knew Thrawn for about a month, and he had done nothing but threaten to destroy Eli's future of becoming a supplies officer. He was forced to be his translator, and the longer he stayed with him, the less likely Eli was to get the job he wanted.
And then, unbidden, a thought slipped in at the edge of Eli's mind.
This could be the end of all my problems.
It was a horrible thought. A gruesome thought. And yet, it was startlingly compelling. If Thrawn was so badly injured that he could not complete his training, he would have no choice but to drop out. The Emperor's grand experiment—whatever he'd hoped to accomplish by bringing the Chiss to the Imperial navy—would have failed. There would be nothing left to do but take Thrawn back to his exile planet and leave him there.
And then Eli would be free. Free to continue his chosen career in the Imperial navy's supply and logistics division, and out of the unpredictable, tangled path acting as a translator for the only alien in the Empire had put him on.
Eli heard Thrawn's grunts as the attackers' offensive rose up. He tried to tell himself this was for the best. After the whole incident, he would be back on track to fulfilling his family's long heritage of shipping and supplying, and that there was no reason he should be involved with the Emperor's, and other high ranking officials', business.
Eli peered over the bush with a sudden sense of finality in his decision. The three men attacking Thrawn had him completely pinned down. One of them landed a knee into Thrawn's lower torso, causing an involuntary gasp out of the Chiss. With his remaining defenses down, Eli swallowed hard as he watched them beat the living krayt spit out of Thrawn.
He tore his gaze away, and he reluctantly turned his head around. A sudden twinge of regret tore at the edges of his mind. He couldn't just leave Thrawn there, his body being ruthlessly pummeled and beaten...
Despite his conscious nagging him, Eli forced himself to turn away. This wasn't his problem anymore.
With all of the commotion and noise, they wouldn't notice as Eli snuck out, back into the academy.
Eli treaded lightly on his feet, so as to not make a sound, and as soon as he was out of hearing range, he charged out into a full sprint. He never looked back.
Everything was a blur as he made his way to the cadet's quarters. Eli wasn't even aware as he got into his dorm, collapsing as soon as he fell onto his bunk.
...
Thrawn miscalculated. Severely.
Ensign Vanto was supposed to assist him at this moment...but he never came.
Thrawn had thought they had accumulated a bond of sorts in the time they had been together at the Academy. Apparently, he was wrong; Thrawn assumed Vanto had a fierce conscious, and that he wouldn't leave a man to be beaten before his eyes. But that wasn't enough for Vanto to risk his life and career to stay with him. He'd read him incorrect.
Thrawn could feel himself tiring. One of the hooded men slammed a knee to his abdomen, catching him by surprise, and bringing the Chiss to his knees, scraping the permacrete as they fell. They then proceeded to punch, kick, tear, and pummel Thrawn without mercy.
He tried to bring his arms to resist, but they were immediately struck down. A sudden elbow to the throat sent him gasping for breath; a fist slammed onto his eye, dazing him. He could feel the warm of his blood streaming down his face. Where it came from, he didn't know.
Fleetingly, Thrawn thought of The Ascendency. If only they could see me now.
His hearing began to ring, and black and white dots swirled at the edges of his vision as unconsciousness threatened to overcome him.
He half curled over, moaning he felt as his abdomen getting beaten over and over, certain every rib and organ in his body was smashed.
And then abruptly, the attackers stopped.
Thrawn tried to lift up his head to see what had happened to cause them stop, but the movement only caused an immense amount of pain to the base of his neck.
One of the men squatted and lowered his head down at the Chiss, giving Thrawn his first glimpse of his attackers. He sneered and grabbed a fistful of Thrawn's hair, lifting his head off the permacrete. "Not so high and mighty now, are you, alien?" His jeering face glowered down at Thrawn. The two other men snickered along with him. "You thought that you could do better than humans...didn't you? Thought that you could belong in the Empire?"
Thrawn tried to speak, but only a strained lament escaped his mouth. The man grabbed something from inside his sweater. "Well let me tell you something..." He unsheathed a knife, and held it underneath Thrawn's chin. "I've always wondered how an alien's insides look like... Perhaps you would be kind enough to let me take a peek?"
As his words clicked, Thrawn jerked his head back, but the man sharply reacted and grabbed his neck, driving him to the ground. Thrawn gagged, and a hand darted up in panic, but the man only applied more pressure.
Thrawn's attacker took the knife, and positioned it on the top of Thrawn's chest, lightly carving a line. "I'm doing everyone a favor. The Empire won't have to deal with you, and you won't have to live your worthless life. Everyone wins!" His giddiness was unnerving.
Thrawn could feel his heartbeat hammering in his ears, and he desperately tried to move, but the man was relentless and unmoving. He brought the knife and slashed it across Thrawn's cheek, sending a line of blood oozing down his face. He winced, the movement sending another wave of pain down his bruised features.
The man smirked, but Thrawn fixated a glare on him, staring with a hatred so dark and black the Dark Lord himself may never equal to. The man's face slipped, for a second.
Although he knew he had been defeated, Thrawn would never give up his spirit and resilience.
Thrawn thought he recognized a shiver running up the man's back, but his sneering face quickly returned. The man looked at him a moment longer, and then released Thrawn's neck from his grip. The Chiss erupted into a fit of violent coughs as his body desperately fought for oxygen.
The attacker stood up, and addressed his accomplices. "I changed my mind...maybe we should leave him here, for the Emperor. I'd love to see what he'd do to him." The two other cronies nodded with sounds of sadistic affirmation.
Thrawn lay on the cold permacrete, wheezing shallow breaths, and straining to hear what they were saying. His grip on consciousness was loosening, but he struggled to maintain control.
He felt rough hands grab him and set him vertical. "Did ya hear that, lieutenant? The Emperor's not going to be happy once he finds out you wasted his time," one of the men jeered in his face.
The same hands gripped his torso and swung him across their shoulder. He felt his head loll to the side, but he didn't have the strength to lift it up.
Thrawn couldn't trust his consciousness. One moment he was being carried across the sidewalk of a park, and the other he was being dragged across a dark, abandoned alleyway.
The sound of scuffling feet and muffled whispers echoed, along with the pattering of his blood dripping off of him, leaving behind a trail. This could prove useful...he managed to think, through the several concussions he probably had. Perhaps Vanto had gone to get help. They could trace where his body was with his blood.
But, a cynical side of his mind said softly, That is assuming your captors don't kill you first.
Despite the pessimism of the voice, that was Thrawn's only hope. He fervently held on to it, trying to block out the feelings of despair and agony of his situation.
...
The men hastily laid Thrawn's body in the corner of a half-forgotten supply warehouse, behind the countless crates and supply droids.
They needed a spot to hide him while they made their escape, but not somewhere completely concealed where the Empire would never find the alien. The objective was, after all, for the Emperor to get ahold of him alive. He would send the pitiful creature back on the Force-forsaken planet which he was exiled from, where he deserved.
The man who assumed leadership of the three swiftly jabbed a fist into the alien's stomach, immediately rendering him unconscious. It was both a parting gift and a safety measure to ensure he wouldn't be trying anything.
Scanning the warehouse one last time, the men quickly left, making sure not to blemish the trail of blood the alien had made.
...
What have I done? A flood of shame crashed down onto Eli as the reality of he had just done sunk in. He sat up in his bed, and put his hands over his face, massaging his temples.
I just watched and let a man get slaughtered!
His parents would be horrified and beyond disappointed...they had taught Eli to always help those in need, no matter what. And now Eli had gone and thrown that all away.
He had to get help.
Thrawn was probably still getting mercilessly beaten to the point of unconsciousness, and here Eli was, just laying down, when he could be calling for help.
Dabbing at his eyes, Eli quickly got up with a newfound sense of urgency.
He left his quarters, and ran to Commandant Deenlark's office, knowing full well that every second he wasted was a second that Thrawn could be killed.
He knocked repetitively, waiting impatiently for Deenlark to answer.
"Come in," Came his gruff voice, sounding irritated. Eli scanned his rank plaque, and the beep from the sensor indicated that the access was given. He quickly opened the door, and rushed in.
Commandant Deenlark was leaning back in his chair, in front of his desk. He was checking a datapad, and lowered his eyes at the sight of Eli.
"Now what's so important that you have to barge into my office in the middle of the night?" He growled, setting the data pad away, and crossing his arms.
"Sir, Cadet Thrawn was attacked. He and I got jumped by three cadets on our way back to our quarters. I narrowly managed to escape to call for help," Eli said in one breath.
Deenlark raised an eyebrow, but at least he was more attentive. "Where and how long ago did this happen?" He asked, his voice suddenly wary. Although Deenlark's dislike of Thrawn was no secret, the safety of the cadets at the Academy was his responsibility.
"About...30 minutes ago, sir. I was unable to assist in any way, but we can intervene if we hurry," Eli's tried to keep his voice even, but it seemed almost pleading. His eyes were looking down with guilt. "It was in the sidewalk through the park, between the protocol and logistics buildings."
Deenlark eyed him for a moment longer, and then got up, and reached for his comlink. He tapped it on. "This is Commandant Deenlark. We have a report of an attack on a cadet. Have a medic crew ready for me if need be," He signed off and jerked his head at Eli, indicating him to follow. Deenlark hurried out the office along with Eli. "Lead the way."
"Yessir," Eli said, wasting no time to show Deenlark where he and Thrawn had been before they were attacked.
When they arrived however, Thrawn and his attackers were nowhere in sight. Eli paced around, looking desperately for Thrawn. Were they too late? A sinking feeling of despair filled Eli.
Thrawn could be dead. And it would be all his fault.
Deenlark clicked on his comlink. "Dispatch the guards to the park. We need a full search party looking for Cadet Thrawn immediately, and have all security footage reviewed."
Eli could see other cadets stopping to stare and whisper amongst each other about what was going on. He didn't care. Eli looked to the ground and suddenly noticed what was likely Thrawn's blood splattered into the concrete. It made a trail, as if someone carried his body away. Eli's eyes widened, and he tugged on Deenlark's sleeve.
"Sir..." He said hesitantly. "I believe this is where they took Thrawn..." He said, pointing to the bloodstains. Deenlark's eyes followed the trail, and he took off on a sprint. Eli followed in suit, along with three of the Academy guards Deenlark ordered.
Thrawn's trail of blood led them to an alleyway between two of the Imperial Academy's supply warehouse. But that was where it stopped.
While the guards searched around the area, one of them received a message from his comlink. He looked at Deenlark, "Commandant, we just received word that Cadet Thrawn's body was sighted during one of the security tapes."
"And? Where was he?" Deenlark asked, his voice steady.
"They said three men were dragging his body to supply building 3K."
"Was he conscious?" Deenlark asked. His voice was deadly serious.
The guard grimaced and asked something through the comlink. He sent a signal to the others to go ahead and search the area. "They say he barely appeared to be breathing—he looked like he went through the gutters. We had better hurry," he said, as he began to sprint to catch up with the other guards.
After minutes of frantically searching, they found Thrawn.
He was alive, but with an inch of his life left.
His attackers left him in the corner of the supply warehouse, his body hidden from view by supply crates and machinery. They left him to die...
Eli felt sick to his stomach as he watched the medics carry Thrawn onto a stretcher.
His face...
It was almost unrecognizable with all the bruises, cuts, and blood.
I let this happen.
All because he wanted Thrawn out of the picture.
But it worked, he thought bitterly. There was no way Thrawn could continue his training at the Academy like this...