AN: See, I haven't forgotten about you guys! Work's just been killing me. Expect updates to be slower during the week. I should be able to churn out a chapter a week for sure, and if I'm lucky I might get two out, but I need to update Blood of Mandalore first. The idea bug bit me on that one, and I gotta get it out. Then it's back to this one for the big stuff. Again, I'm going to be diverting a great deal from Rebels season 2 in this part of the fic, so get hyped. It's gonna be good.
Alright, enjoy, lovelies!
Chapter 34: Tracker
Admiral Thrawn stood silently in the large room, a hand to his chin while he examined the wall behind the podium. New Freedom. A piece of art so important to the people of Lothal that they had nearly rioted when the Empire sought to demolish the building it was housed within, a foolish proposition to begin with that the Chiss was grateful the citizens had the stubbornness and will to defend. He glanced down at the datapad in hand at the image of the mural, a testament to everything that it meant to be a citizen of Lothal. It only took a glance for Thrawn to understand the sort of people that inhabited this remote Outer Rim world, and a closer examination left him with an intimate knowledge of their spirit and culture. This painting represented the very heart that beat within Lothal.
The artistry of the piece was simple, its lines solid, its colors bold, a perfect representation of the inhabitants of the planet. A simple, steadfast, stubborn people, much like the art they produced, a fierce pride for their planet running through their veins. The mural was composed of a relief depicting the rounded white towers of Capital City, the planet's largest and most prominent city, as well of scenes of the industries that brought Lothal to prominence, most notably fishing and agriculture. The absence of the mining industry was particularly notable, as it was the discovery of doonium in the ground of Lothal that brought Imperial attention to the planet. Before that, Lothal was nothing to the galaxy, just another simple, backwards world in the Outer Rim, and that the people did not recognize mining as a key industry of importance was particularly telling. It was no wonder that the rebels had a hold here, the Imperial mind and the heart of Lothal were drastically out of sync.
At the center of the piece was a depiction of the people on the sea in their fishing boats, and above that, a celebration of the booming agriculture that sprung from their ore-rich soil, a thing that Imperial mining interests had all but destroyed. Farmers working the fields, fishermen hauling their catches, and the images of a boy and his father, the child pointing toward an unseen future, the guiding hand of the father on his shoulder, all of it spoke to the spirit of Lothal's simple people. The painting was done in purposeful strokes, the colors solid and stark, the atmosphere peaceful and industrious, all of it woven together beautifully to show the heart of an entire people and their culture, clear as day, upon the wall of the building from which they were once governed. Thrawn looked up from his datapad at the painting on the wall, his eyes narrowed as he examined it.
This was not the painting displayed on his datapad.
New Freedom had been altered, the new additions outlined in lines reminiscent of calligraphy instead of the bold even lines, though there was no hesitation in the strokes, no uncertainty, bespeaking instead of an artist with purpose and a stylistic hand, perhaps not a professional, but a man with a vision. The bottom half of the painting remained untouched, the skyline of Capital City still bold and beautiful, but everything above it had been marked by the new artist.
Instead of the fishing boats that sat in the center of the painting, impressionist sketches of the ships known as the Umbra and the Ghost flew beside each other, the massive guidance spire in the background now bearing the black and red banner and sigil that the Shadow King claimed as his own, the ancient Sith sunburst surrounded by the Mandalorian Crusader dragon. The fishermen taking in their haul no longer held nets of fish, but lightsabers, blue and green, the swirling currents that were representative water between them, though in this context, it seemed very likely that the currents here were not currents at all, but a representation of the Force. The farmers in the fields above now wore the outlines of armor, the helmets on their heads both Imperial stormtrooper and the distinctive Mandalorian, each holding blasters and rifles instead of bales of wheat and grain.
But most notable was the father and son, not the centerpiece, but the point to which the eye was instantly drawn. The father now wore the black and red armor and the horned helmet of the Shadow King, his bale of wheat transformed into the Sith Lord's blood red blade. His armored hand still rested on the child's shoulder, but now, the child's hair was black, his skin blue, his eyes red, a clear relief of a Chiss, the uniform the dark gray of an Imperial Navy officer. The message was clear, and it was a friendly one. An invitation, and an intriguing one. It would take no genius to discern the meaning here, and yet, as Thrawn's gaze passed over the officers gathered in the senate building, it was clear they did not see. Like so many, they did not understand.
They saw defamation and vandalism and graffiti when they should have seen the care, the thought, the passion behind the strokes. They saw a threat, the promise of a conqueror, the danger present in the predator when peace and unity and industry were the point of the alterations. The heart of New Freedom hadn't been altered, that remained consistent. What changed was the subject, but it remained a celebration of success and prosperity. This message wasn't a threat, it was a promise, and it was directly addressed to Thrawn, as evidenced by the re-purposed father and son, the Shadow King and the Chiss. Join me and help me guide the galaxy.
A sharp, high-pitched laugh tore Thrawn out of his thoughts, the Chiss frowning as he looked over his shoulder at the furiously pacing Maul. The man was barely hanging on to his sanity, flipping between wrathful and desperate at a moment's notice. Since the Grand Inquisitor disappeared after the Shadow King's attack on Lothal, Maul had been erratic at best, insisting that the Inquisitor was alive, though he had no evidence of such. Some days were worse than others. Some days it was fury, the raging tempest that never ceased, one that was outraged over what Obi-Wan Kenobi did, how he could so easily rip their Grand Inquisitor from them and press him into his service. He swore violence, swore death, promised to find Kenobi and end him, thrust his lightsaber through the hole where his heart should be in vengeance for his lost legs, his dead brother, his stolen life, the continuous insults, for the madness he could feel churning in his mind.
But those days were rare. Most days, Maul paced restlessly as mad laughter and wrenching sobs were torn from his throat, his hands clenched tightly around his cranial horns as he tugged at them, the points cutting into his palms and fingers. He was jealous, envious and betrayed, a mix of mournful and desperately anxious as he sat huddled in corners muttering to himself. He knew what the Inquisitor faced, could feel it deep in his bones, and he ached for it, could feel his Master's cruel and soothing touch in his mind and caressing his skin, could feel the horrible comfort of the rancor's teeth scraping against his mechanical legs, legs that had been forced upon him when his Master had bisected him in his first touch of the darkness he would one day come to master.
And now, now, the Inquisitor sat in his place beside Darth Lumis, served as pet to the rancor, felt both the delight and wrath of the Master, was given place and purpose that should, by all rights, belong to Maul. He was going to kill him. The Inquisitor deserved death for many reasons, not the least of which was for his failure on Lothal, but this was even worse. The Inquisitor had stolen Maul's place, and for that, he needed to be executed.
Thrawn kept Maul around because despite his obvious madness, he was excessively useful, not just in his studies of what Kenobi could do to a mind, but in his understanding of the Sith Lord's powers and the mysterious nature of the Force. His studies were nearly complete, his plan nearly perfectly formulated, his trap nearly set, thanks to the data received from the torture of Jedi Kanan Jarrus. All that was left to do was to get the Emperor to allow him near Kenobi once again, a task that was proving to be more and more difficult as the Shadow King became more destructive. He had the bait, he had made the trap, and all that was left to do was arm it, and with his new test subject, he would soon have everything he needed to bring Obi-Wan Kenobi, the would-be Emperor, to heel.
"Admiral Thrawn?" The Chiss turned to face his aid, Commander Eli Vanto, as the man approached, a datapad in hand. "Admiral, the troops and I have swept the perimeter. We haven't found anything else, like you thought."
"Very good, Commander..." the Chiss said softly, returning his gaze to the painting. "I thank you for confirming that."
"Not a problem," Eli said, his tone a pronounced Wild Space drawl that made him sound far less intelligent than he was, a thing that his Chiss Admiral had made ample use of when he wanted to disarm hostilities. "As you've requested, Agent Kallus is waiting to meet with you at your leisure."
"And the Inquisitor?" Thrawn asked, and Vanto quickly flicked his finger over the datapad.
"Lord Maul approved that in place of punishment for his failure here, the Ninth Brother will submit himself to your studies. Needless to say, the Inquisitor was happy to accept the alternative." Vanto handed the Admiral the datapad. "He's been transferred to the Chimera." He tapped the datapad in Thrawn's hand. "That's his file."
"Interesting..." the Chiss said, his eyes quickly running over the information. "I believe the Inquisitor will prove useful to my research."
"Do you think this will help us catch the Shadow King?" Vanto asked, and the Chiss slowly stroked his chin.
"Perhaps..." Vanto sighed. It was the answer the Admiral always gave when he didn't want to say more, when he was keeping his cards close to his chest. He had learned not to press the Chiss in times like these. In time, he'd learn, usually in a dramatic and spectacular fashion. "Tell me, Commander Vanto," the Chiss said quietly, gesturing to the painting before him. "What is it you see here?"
"What, this?" Eli looked up at the mural for the umpteenth time that day. It was hard not to. His time with Thrawn had taught him to notice these things, and while he would never see what the Chiss could, he was developing a discerning eye for things that were less than obvious. "Well, a celebration of Lothal, I suppose."
"Yes, an industrious people..." Thrawn said in his flat, vaguely bemused voice. "It is little wonder that Governor Pryce is so invested in its elevation under the Empire."
"But that isn't what you meant is it?" Eli asked, and a faint smile touched the Chiss' lips. "I don't know, sir..." Eli said, examining the painting next to the Chiss. "I know the men are saying it's a threat, but this whole thing sort of feels like...flirting."
"An apt description, Commander," Thrawn said quietly. "If a bit crude. Observe the brush strokes, if you will. Careful, deliberate, precise. The hand of an amateur, for certain, but such strokes and lines are congruent with the hand of the writing on the notes I have received from the Shadow King. Like his written hand, these lines are..." He stroked his chin, looking up at the painting before a faint smile touched his lips. "Playful. This is not a threat."
"And meant for you, obviously," Eli said, pointing at the former father and child on the mural. "So, what does it mean? Is he trying to disarm you? Court you? Kill you?"
"Perhaps all the above, Commander..." Thrawn mused as he turned from the painting. "It would be foolish to assume his intentions until I have spoken to him myself, though I suspect I have an understanding of his motives."
"...which are..."
"Intriguing..." Thrawn said in his vague, bemused tone, and Eli sighed heavily. Whatever it was that the Chiss suspected, he wasn't sharing. "In time, we will understand exactly what the Shadow King wishes, and my progress with the Ninth Brother will allow me to do just that."
"Safely, sir?" Eli asked, and the Chiss nodded.
"Perfectly, and the Shadow King has earned my attention. Dangerous though he may be, our meeting has been a long time coming. When I have the opportunity to speak with him, I will take it. I feel we have...much to discuss."
"But when you do, you'll have defeated him, right?" Eli asked, the two stepping out of the Senate building and walking past the sentry line of stormtroopers, five black armored men falling into formation behind the Admiral and the Lieutenant Commander.
"That is correct, but even a defeated opponent has value, Commander Vanto. The Shadow King is too dangerous to keep in captivity, and his crimes prevent him from ever being allowed to serve the Empire, but I feel he is a valuable resource, one that must not be wasted."
"Um, sir?" Eli asked timidly, looking over his shoulder at the black armored troopers behind them, and behind them, Maul, feral and savage with a wild look in his eye that Eli had never seen. "I mean no disrespect, but what sort of use could a man like the Shadow King be?"
"That depends entirely on him, Commander Vanto," Thrawn said quietly as he eyed the man with his curious, appraising gaze. "You are correct that he will be defeated when we speak, but there is a vast difference between defeat and loss. There are many ways to achieve victory." He quickly glanced behind him. "Why? Are you concerned for what will happen?"
"I don't know..." Eli said, staring at his feet as he walked down the street toward their waiting shuttle. "It's just...I mean, look what he leaves in his wake. Bodies and broken minds. That's probably why the Emperor himself forbid you from engaging with him. How are you going to get him to change his mind?"
"I won't have to, Commander," Thrawn said. "There are many paths to a single destination, and I believe very soon, we will find ourselves indirectly engaging with him." The Commander's brow knit together in an expression of worry and unease.
"If anyone can take him down, it's you, I know that..." Eli said, stepping closer and keeping his voice low in the hopes that the black armored elite soldiers behind them didn't hear. "But something happened here, something more than some vandalism, some dead soldiers and a humiliated Inquisitor, and they aren't telling us what that is." He indicated with his head at the elite soldiers behind them. "I mean, nothing explains the presence here. Ten Star Destroyers, Death Troopers, hell, I thought I saw the Imperial Guard st the starport when we landed. Even Maul's hit new levels of crazy."
"Very astute, Commander..." the Chiss whispered, stopping for a moment as they passed through the security checkpoint into the hangar, his sharp eyes looking at the crowed surrounding his shuttle, including a tightly guarded Agent Kallus. "You are correct. Something has happened. My meeting with Agent Kallus is not just to satisfy Governor Pryce's request to have me involved in the defense of her world."
"Ah, I see..." Eli said, a faint smirk on his lips. "You think the Agent will tell us what we need to know?"
"I find it unlikely he will know himself. Regardless, I believe we will find his input valuable." Thrawn lengthened his stride, taking him faster over the landing pad to his ship where Agent Kallus stood, the man drawing up taller when he saw the alien approach, and he moved out to meet the Chiss halfway, quickly saluting the man in greeting.
"Admiral Thrawn," the ISB Agent said, the stormtroopers behind him snapping to attention when the Chiss stopped. "Welcome to Lothal. Unfortunately, we do not seem to be at our best at the moment."
"A work in progress, Agent Kallus," Thrawn said in his flat tone, observing the Agent's facial expressions carefully. Superiority, pride bordering on arrogance, commanding confidence, and just the slightest hint of disdain. It was a look that Thrawn had grown accustomed to in the Imperial military, the human-centric government breeding a current of contempt for non-humans. It never bothered him, though more often than not, such attitudes got in the way of his ability to properly do his job, a thing that his aide Eli Vanto was quick to point out when Thrawn did not recognize it himself. Somehow, this man had found himself in command of Lothal, and in such, had come into a great deal of power, and with it came the self-importance that allowed a person's true natures to come forth. This would not do.
"Colonel Yularen speaks very highly of you," Thrawn said quietly, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips when the Agent's eyes widened slightly. "I am certain you are up to the task of restoring order to Lothal, as per his expectations."
"Y-yes, well, we are doing what we can to establish order after the recent attacks," Kallus said, somewhat humbled as he fell in beside the Admiral as he slowly walked toward his shuttle.
"Quite a lot of power you seem to have found yourself in possession of," the Chiss said impassively, though the Agent seemed to bristle, his shoulders tightening and his back straight. "How did you come to be in such a position? Surely this was not your original purpose here."
"The responsibility has fallen to me. One must be flexible in these matters, Admiral," Kallus calmly explained. "A ship with no captain is in danger of sinking, and I am the highest ranking official on Lothal at the moment."
"Yes, but how," Thrawn said cooly, stepping into the shuttle and remaining standing as the doors were sealed shut. "I understand that you are in power, but I do not understand the circumstances that have led to your command. Explain, if you will, how this has come to be."
"Sir, the report-"
"The report is incomplete," the Chiss interrupted, his eyes narrowing as he observed the agent's sudden discomfort. Whatever it was that happened on Lothal was humiliating, that much was clear, and the command, it seemed, wasn't the honor it appeared to be. This command was unwanted and unwelcome, a duty that had been badly failed by everyone that had attempted to hold it and have paid dearly for that failure.
"Lothal is held by Governor Pryce," Kallus began quietly, sitting in the flight seat as the shuttle lifted off from the ground, his hands clasped tightly before him. "In the Governor's absence, she assigned a minister to oversee Lothal's affairs in her place."
"Minister Maketh Tua," the Chiss said quietly, his eyes drifting to his aide, who was swiftly bringing up her file on his datapad. "A civilian. Who was the military commander in charge."
"That would be Commandant Aresko..." Kallus said slowly, unease creeping into his voice, his posture tensing even further. "But he's-"
"Dead, Admiral Thrawn," Eli said, turning the datapad toward the Chiss, his red eyes quickly running over the information.
"Governor Tarkin's first casualty here on Lothal, yes?" Kallus didn't move, didn't breathe, clearly disturbed by the harsh policies of the Grand Moff. On this matter, Thrawn and Tarkin fundamentally disagreed. Commandant Aresko may have failed time and time again when it came to dealing with the rebels, but all that meant was that a transfer was in order. There was little sense in wasting a resource when it was simply being misused.
"Him and Taskmaster Grint, yes," Kallus said quietly. "Good men. Incompetent, perhaps, but..." He shook his head. "Good men." He cleared his throat and looked up at the Chiss and his young aide. "Then the rebels and the Shadow King attacked. You must know what happened."
"I know parts, yes..." Thrawn whispered. "If you would..." Kallus groaned and ran his hands over his face, shaking his head slowly, but said nothing. The Admiral paced slowly before him, taking the datapad from Eli's hands. "Agent Kallus, ISB-021. You were sent to Lothal to deal with the rebel trouble, and the Grand Inquisitor was sent for after they discovered that the rebel leader was a Jedi, is that correct?"
"That's correct..." Kallus said, slowly nodding. "But the Inquisitor failed as well. That's why they brought Tarkin in, he came back from some asteroid with no fingers on his left hand."
"Yes, I am familiar with that incident," Thrawn said dismissively. "I'm more interested in you, Agent Kallus." He flicked through the datapad, stopping for a moment while he examined the screen. "Your record is impressive. Your work to quell dissension spans dozens of worlds, you have fought against the infamous insurgent Saw Gerrera, and you participated in the genocide on Lasan. There's little wonder they selected you to aid in putting down the rebellion here."
"I will be successful, Admiral," Kallus said firmly. "There isn't a place these rebels can run where I won't-"
"I wonder if you weren't brought here because one of the rebels is a Lasat," Thrawn mused, his glowing red eyes searching the agent. "You are something of an expert in killing the species, yes? The reports from Lasan say you are responsible for giving the order to bring disruptor weapons to bear on the population." Thrawn stopped, his hands folded neatly behind his back as he examined the man as he became defensive. "A weapon that disintegrates organic tissue on an atomic level. A weapon so destructive that the Imperial Senate banned its use."
"A weapon that is terribly effective if you want to cleanse a planet from filth," Kallus snarled. "I don't know if they assigned me to Lothal because one of the rebels is a beast that survived the purge of Lasan, but mark my word, I will finish what I started!"
"Is that how you came to control Lothal?" Thrawn asked again, his tone hard. "The Grand Inquisitor, Maketh Tua, Governor Pryce, Admiral Konstantine, Governor Tarkin, all these people will control Lothal before you, so how."
"Admiral Konstantine controls the fleet that blockades Lothal, the activities on the ground are mine," Kallus slowly explained, his patience strained. The Grand Inquisitor is dead or captured, Governor Pryce will not leave Coruscant, Maketh Tua has disappeared, and Tarkin left for the Imperial Palace with Lord Vader to-"
"Darth Vader was here?" Thrawn asked, surprise sneaking into his voice, and on the other side of the shuttle, Maul savagely snarled and kicked the wall, the wall denting from the hard impact of his cybernetic legs, and suddenly, everything made sense. Maul's state of agitation, the presence of the Royal Guard, the bodies in the hangar, the secrecy surrounding the mess here. Lord Vader was on Lothal, and he left in complete secrecy, which meant something happened that the Empire didn't want public. Vader was defeated, and Thrawn knew of only one that could accomplish such a thing.
"We tried to draw the rebels out by making Minister Tua scared enough to reach out for help," Kallus growled. "She's a timid sort. We thought she'd lead us to a rebel faction."
"And she did," Thrawn finished. "More than you could handle."
"They have Jedi with them, what was I supposed to do!?"
"Did you face a Jedi?" Eli asked, swiftly jotting notes down on the datapad, and Kallus glared at him.
"I did, as it so happens, and before you ask it, no, the Inquisitor wasn't with us, and neither was Lord Vader. Obviously the Inquisitor failed to stop him, and they must have gotten away before Lord Vader could get to them."
"And the Jedi you faced?" Thrawn asked, his fingers steepled together. "Was it the rebel leader, Kanan Jarrus?"
"No, and not his student either," Kallus said, shaking his head. "This was a different one. I didn't get a good look at him, but he was young, blond, wore black, carried a red lightsaber." He paused, thoughtful for a moment before he looked at the Chiss. "Do you think he took the weapon from the Inquisitor? Do you think they took out the Inquisitor before they went for the Minister?"
"Perhaps..." Thrawn whispered. It wasn't, but the ISB Agent didn't need to know that. Not yet. "Was the Shadow King present, did he return with his rebels?"
"No, he wasn't there," Kallus said quietly, jolting straight up in his seat when he felt the ship shudder as the landing struts unfolded.
"But the painting-" Eli began, but quickly stopped when Kallus rolled his eyes.
"Fear tactics, boy. The rebels are associated with this renegade, and they have a Mandalorian vandal with them. This is just another one of their attempts to disturb the peace."
"You believe this to be the work of Sabine Wren?" Thrawn asked calmly, and Kallus scoffed and shrugged.
"If that is the vandal, than yes." Eli glanced sidelong at the Admiral, looking to see if he could detect any offense for the disregard for the art he s valued, but if the Chiss was offended, he wasn't showing it.
"I thank you for your time, Agent Kallus," Thrawn said, bowing slightly to the man as he stood. "This meeting has been...most informative. I do hope your efforts will be more successful than your predecessors."
"Is that it?" Kallus asked, his voice strained with uncertainty. "I thought you were sent to lend us your aid."
"That is unfortunately not the case," Thrawn said softly. "My attention is required elsewhere. I am only here because of the unusual nature of the last attack as a favor to Governor Pryce."
"He already has ten Star Destroyers and the Imperial garrison at his command," Maul snarled as he stalked forward. "One would think that would be enough to crush any trouble that may arise."
"And yet, I have been given to understand that the might of a Star Destroyer is insignificant next to the power of the Force," Thrawn said, his voice affected with light amusement, and Maul visibly bristled, snarling at the Chiss as he stalked off the ship. "I will make all possible haste to finish my current assignment, Agent Kallus, so that I may have a chance to lend my assistance to Lothal."
"How are we supposed to fight that?" Kallus gasped in frustration, his hand running through and messing his immaculate hair. "If it's as powerful as you say, how are we supposed to destroy people like that when our defense against Jedi are not enough?!"
"I have some ideas about that," Thrawn whispered, an enigmatic smirk on his lips as he slowly turned and walked out of the shuttle, his aid close at his side, and Kallus slowly followed.
"What kind of ideas?" the Agent asked quietly, and Thrawn slowly shook his head.
"Nothing that will work more than once, and not without perfect timing," the Chiss firmly answered. "I'm sorry, Agent Kallus, but I will not set my trap until I am certain of its success." A group of officers stood waiting for the Admiral, quickly updating him in hushed whispers that Kallus couldn't hear, the aide by his side quickly swiping his fingers across the datapad. After a moment, Thrawn turned to the Agent, his hands folded tightly behind his back. "To ease your mind, I do not believe the rebels will attack Lothal again."
"And why shouldn't they?" Kallus scoffed. "Nothing has stopped them in the past."
"Perhaps not..." the Admiral said quietly. "But the painting they left for us spoke of...finality. In time, they will return to Lothal, but not until they are ready to take it from the Empire. It is our duty to destroy them before it comes to that. Now," he said, gesturing to the officers behind him. "My men will assist you in retrieving the information you need to feel secure in your new role so that you may see to the successful defense of Lothal until I am able to return. We have compiled extensive data on your key rebel insurgents that you may use as you please. You will be escorted back to Lothal when you are ready."
"Will I need this information if the rebels do not return?" Kallas asked almost bitterly, and Thrawn slightly inclined his head.
"As I said, the information is available to you if you wish, though I have always found it advisable to arm oneself with knowledge, given the opportunity. Do with it as you wish, Agent Kallus." Without another word, Thrawn turned and walked into his ship, his aide at his side and his guards behind him as he entered an elevator to take him to the most secure depths of the Chimera. They were silent for a time, the Chiss and his aide walking slowly through the corridors and quietly dismissing the guard when they came to a door requiring top security clearance that the guard did not have. As soon as they were alone, their already slow pace slowed even further, Eli switching the datapad off and tucking it under his arm.
"Do you not trust the agent?" Eli whispered, despite them being alone, and the Chiss shrugged almost in indifference.
"I have found it unwise to trust desperate men, and Agent Kallus is truly in a desperate situation. He may be foolish enough to waste the trap on Kanan Jarrus."
"And we need it for the Shadow King," Eli said, nodding. "I understand. I just wish there was more we could do."
"In time, Commander," the Chiss said softly. "Perhaps after we apprehend the Nightswan and his insurgency."
"You still think he's hiding something?"
"About the missing doonium, yes..." Thrawn whispered, his brow drawing thoughtfully together. "This secret is a well kept one, and Nightswan has been pursuing the truth long before you and I began seeing the pattern. I should very much like to hear what he has discovered. After he is apprehended, perhaps our pieces and his may be joined to make a completed picture."
"And after that, it's just the Shadow King, right?" Eli asked. "You think this trap will work?"
"It is our best chance, yes," Thrawn whispered, a slight smile on his lips, punching in a secure code on a console beside a locked door. "Of course, it all depends on how testing today goes." The door slid open, and the pair stepped inside the brightly lit, sterile command center, a handful of Imperial scientists working fervently over a workstation and Thrawn passed by them all without a word, stopping before the large, transparisteel divider that separated the lab from the large, empty observation room where the Inquisitor knelt.
The tests had already begun, as per Thrawn's instructions, and a quick glance seemed to confirm all his expectations. The Ninth Brother knelt in the middle of the room, his pale eyes clouded and his expression dazed, the result of the research provided to Thrawn by Governor Tarkin on the interrogation of Kanan Jarrus. The drugs used had been altered and perfected by his team of scientist and only now had they been given the chance to test them. From the look of the man, they appeared to be working.
His lightsaber lay loosely in his hand, the burning red blade hissing as it burned into the floor, his bare chest bloody from superficial cuts, the result of successful tests of Thrawn's new measures against a Force sensitive opponent. The stark white walls of the room were covered in lines of carbon scoring from earlier tests of the creature's abilities, the expected result of blaster fire against an opponent with a lightsaber that knew the Force. But the preliminary testing was over, and it was time to see exactly how well the trap he had built worked.
"Inquisitor," Thrawn said, his finger on the intercom, and the yellow-skinned man shivered and looked up, wavering on his knees and raising his saber slightly. "We are introducing a remote droid into the room," he said, watching as Eli quickly entered the commands into the display, a port on the ground sliding open and admitting the spherical droid, the device floating in the air as the basic systems scanned the surroundings. "I would like you to use the Force to destroy it, Inquisitor."
The Ninth Brother made no response save for the soft groan of acknowledgment in his chest as he staggered to his feet, swaying as his lightsaber deactivated and dropped from his hand, clanging as it struck the floor. His eyes closed as he breathed deeply, jaw clenched and shaking his head to clear the fog in his mind, and reaching out with his hand toward the droid, he tightened his fingers as if he was grasping the droid in his hand. For a moment, the droid shuddered, falling in elevation slightly as invisible pressure pressed down upon it, the Inquisitor shaking as he strained to hold the droid, and with a spasm of his fingers, the droid took off into the air, spinning and floating as it returned to scanning the area, free of the grasp of the Inquisitor and quickly scanning the man when he howled in outrage and dropped back to his knees.
"Inquisitor," Thrawn said again on the intercom, "please destroy the droid." With a frustrated scream, the Inquisitor reached out for his fallen lightsaber, the hilt scraping on the ground as it vibrated, but the weapon didn't heed the call of its master. Baring his sharpened teeth, the Inquisitor crawled the short distance to the weapon and snatched it from the ground, switching it on and throwing the spinning weapon with practiced precision, the weapon slicing through the droid and the two hemispheres falling to the ground.
"Inquisitor," Thrawn said evenly into the intercom. "We are deploying another remote droid. Please destroy this one with the Force, not your lightsaber."
"I can't," the Ninth Brother snapped, his hazy pale eyes struggling to follow the remote droid as it floated through the room, his jaw clenched in useless anger, and a faint smile touched Thrawn's lips, Eli, leaning forward closer to the glass to observe the creature. He was still dangerous, no doubt, but as Thrawn predicted, his ability to touch the Force had been disrupted, if not blocked entirely. The research provided by the Jedi's interrogation was proving to be more useful than anticipated.
"Very well..." Thrawn said into the intercom. "We are activating the droid's security settings. Please take the appropriate measures to defend yourself." With a few taps of his finger on the controls, the spherical droid began shooting at the Inquisitor, the red blade spinning furiously and deflecting the bolts as the remote droid fired them. Most were struck away, the rapidly spinning blade catching nearly all of the shots and sending them burning randomly into walls and the observation glass and the floor, but occasionally, a bolt got past the saber, the weakened charge striking him in the arms, the legs, the chest until the furious man managed to bring the remote droid down. Without hesitation, Thrawn's fingers tapped the console, and access doors on the side of the room hissed open, allowing six sentry droids to step into the room, blasters primed and ready in their hands as they began to shoot at the Inquisitor.
"He's doing better than I expected..." Eli muttered, slight concern in his voice as he looked at the Chiss' impassioned face. "Is this even working?"
"It is, Commander..." Thrawn whispered, his eyes staring transfixed at the Inquisitor as he fought the droids, hissing and snarling in pain as plasma bolts from every direction grazed his skin, leaving burning welts where he was struck, far too many to deflect them all. Still, despite the pain, he pushed on, his spinning blade slicing through the droids as he got near.
"It doesn't look like it's working," Eli said, wincing as the man destroyed another droid. "The Shadow King's gonna be stronger than him. If the Inquisitor is doing as well as he is, than the Shadow King's certainly going to do better."
"Yes," Thrawn agreed. "No doubt he will be extremely dangerous. We are neutralizing the battleground by removing the Force as a factor, but he still has training, a strategical mind, and a wealth of experience to draw upon. Such things are not to be discounted simply because he does not have access to the Force." Thrawn tapped his fingers on the controls as soon as the droids were destroyed, releasing six more into the arena, and the Inquisitor immediately began attacking them before they could start firing. "However, the Force is an unpredictable variable that allows the clever practitioner to turn a disadvantage into an advantage and a defeat into a victory. Do not underestimate the devastation of losing such an advantage."
The droids opened fire, the red lightsaber thrumming and hissing as it spun to deflect the new barrage, but this time, the Inquisitor howled in pain, the plasma rounds usually fired gone and replaced with heavy metal rounds that stayed their course, superheating or melting as they came in contact with the lightsaber, but never altering their course, leaving the pale yellow skin to be struck and splattered by molten iron and steel. For a while, he stood, attempted to fight back, but the surrounding droids became too much, and he was quickly subdued, dropping to his knees when his movements became inexplicably slow and sluggish, like his limbs were suddenly heavy and his mind dulled. When he dropped his lightsaber, the droids moved in and restrained the sedated creature.
Eli gasped and put his hand on the glass, looking carefully at the Inquisitor as he understood the trap that had been so carefully built. He glanced sidelong at the Chiss as he quickly jotted down observation notes into the console, and after speaking briefly to a scientist and a medic, ordering them to return the Inquisitor to full health and reward him for his cooperation, Thrawn left the room, Eli quickly following. It was genius, as were most of the Admiral's plans, and for the first time since this whole thing began, Eli saw the end gleaming before them, their victory within their grasp. All they had to do was reach out and-
"A well made trap does not mean the desired prey will be captured, Commander," Thrawn said in a light, bemused voice, and Eli looked at the Admiral with a displeased frown on his face. It was like the Chiss could read his mind from his expressions. "A great deal may still go wrong. Many things may alert him to the nature of the trap, and thus far, he has largely known exactly what he was walking into. Our opponent is clever, and an intelligent predator knows how to observe and assess. Capturing him will not be easy, even with the trap we have created."
"We just need to find the right bait, right?" Eli asked, and the Admiral nodded.
"The right bait administered at the right time," Thrawn quietly corrected. "We have the bait, but the moment is not opportune. It is too soon after his assaults on Lothal. He will be too on guard for the trap to be successfully baited." Thrawn's lips pressed together, his eyes falling thoughtfully to the ground. "No, we must wait. There is still information I should like to acquire before he has been caught that will help inform me exactly what is to be done with him once he is in my possession."
"Aren't we going to turn him over to the Emperor?" Eli asked, though the apprehension he felt as soon as he said it. The Shadow King was a dangerous threat to the security of the Empire and he was almost certainly going to be executed for his crimes, but a recent mission to the secret Baklek Base had led them to the discovery of Imperial sanctioned slavery of Wookies captured from Kashyyyk, and it left both Commander Vanto and Thrawn with a bad taste in their mouth. As if a major secret military project wasn't enough, the idea that it was being built on the backs of slaves as Thrawn surmised was somehow worse.
"Perhaps..." Thrawn said slowly. "He is far too dangerous to be put to use for the Empire, so I should think his execution is an inevitable outcome, after he has been extensively interrogated. I should like to run my own interrogation of him first, if at all possible. I feel I may have a better chance of gleaning information out of him."
"Information about what?" Eli asked reflexively, and took a sharp breath when he realized what just after he had asked. "You think he knows something about the project?"
"I find it far less believable that he knows nothing," the Chiss said. "I would be very interested to hear what he has to say on the matter."
"You think he'll talk to you about it?"
"I know he will. We have something of a correspondence already. His artwork on Lothal has made the next move mine. I should hate to disappoint him." Eli sighed and shook his head.
"Looks like love to me," Eli said with a sly smirk on his face, the playful jab earning a short, amused scoff from the Chiss. "You think he's connected to Nightswan?"
"Possibly, but I find it unlikely," Thrawn said quickly. "Nightswan is clever, to be sure, but his activities are that of a rebel. The Shadow King is not a rebel, he is a usurper."
"The Lothal rebels are rebels..." Eli said, and Thrawn's eyes drifted to the ceiling in thought.
"Yes, but they also have a commonality in the Force, and while it is certainly possible that Nightswan has the gift as well, I find it unlikely." He shrugged, his pace quickening as he pulled himself out of his thoughts. "I shall have to ask Nightswan when I apprehend him. Ut for now, Commander Vanto, while we wait for the right moment to bait our trap, we have a message to send to the Shadow King."
"You think that's a good idea to keep leading hm on like this, sir?" Eli asked cautiously. "We're drawing him closer each time you contact him, and if your trap isn't ready, he might come looking for you to make good on this flirtation you have going with him, and I really don't think this is the sort of suitor you want coming to call."
"Isn't it?" Thrawn asked quietly. "The sort with potentially every answer I seek. Not only is he involved with a particularly large and troublesome rebel cell, but he may very well have information on the Empire's secret project. No, Commander Vanto, this is exactly the sort of man we want drawn to us. I dislike wasting resources, and the Shadow King is a valuable one."
"I don't think the Empire would agree..."
"Perhaps not..." Thrawn said, his voice hardening. "But I do not believe you were comfortable about the discovery that the Empire is engaging in slavery."
"No, I wasn't," Eli quickly offered. "Were you?" Thrawn was silent for a moment, his pace slowing again until he stopped in the hallway, his hand stroking his chin and his eyes distant.
"If we conformed to every idea and every belief the Empire provides us with, we would be no better than the droids we program to serve," Thrawn said slowly. "It is our duty to think critically, or the Empire will never progress. We must adapt to changes and new information, or we simple become a drain on our resources instead of a resource ourselves. To this end, our enemies hold unique value to us, and I will not waste the ability to glean information from them simply because the Empire believes they are good for nothing but execution."
"I understand..." Eli said. "I just think we should be careful."
"And we will be," Thrawn assured him. "While we wait for the right moment to set our trap, we shall continue to learn what we can. Come. We have to decide what to send the Shadow King. We have a unique opportunity to learn a bit of what he does. I should hate to waste it."