Chapter 14: An Eye of a Giant

-.-.-.-

"Even a small group of people can change the galaxy. It only takes one man to spit in the eye of a giant and blind him." ―Nora Wexley

-.-.-.-

All beings begin their lives with hope and aspirations. Among these aspirations is the desire that there will be a straight path to those goals. It is seldom so. Perhaps never.

The Empire was found to be something vile, a disease manifested out of a corruption long unseen and undisturbed by those blinded within the Republic Senate. It was an illness that arose and entrenched itself into the very fabric of their society. Born from the chaotic ambitions of the Clone War, it grew toward an established link that brought forth a façade of stability to the worlds and populations held within its newfound territory of influence.

Those of sound mind and purer hearts, those guardians of justice, were unable to see its rise in time. They too were blind. Most fell at the unwilling behest of those once trusted. Few survived, and for those who did, to flee and retreat was the only answer. To preserve what was seen as their only hope was the only answer.

Usurped by one who's treachery and deception amounted to that which existed beyond the darkest bounds of morality and practical existence, the Republic fell and morphed into the vile creature now known to those few who seek out its true nature, held firm upon the pillars of a corrupted order, ruling with an unshakable and unmalleable countenance. One with such unmovable and tyrannical convictions filled with malice, there was no reason, no compromise, no means observed toward a trusted alliance.

A New Order had arisen from the Old, which bespoke of the singular and selfish means toward that which was never meant as an end but as a beginning toward an ongoing rule of terrible power, intended by the Architect to stretch on for all eternity.

An Eternal Empire.

That could not stand. Always two there would be and connected to the other, one always was. It was clear. The Unknown was connected to the Known.

The position operated upon always was taken forth with the upmost clarity and conviction. Loyalties and the weight of one's word was opaque and carefully set forth in a navigation upon the delicate and eroding sand-bridge of a hoped-for peace. Truth was upheld but indeed protected from that which was recognized once as a light walking amongst twilight in the sky, now cruelly transformed into a darkened shadow haunting the very depths of memory.

The mission always came first; the people, first. From within, the pillars shall crumble, the architects of their own destruction.

-.-

To defeat an enemy, you must know them.

To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.

-.-

And so, a Grand Admiral of the Empire he became.

-.-.-.-

To be lifted with such gentleness was something unaccounted for in the long years of the recent past. It was a foreign experience, a compassion, that was so different from the offerings of the Empire. An unfettered kindness permeated the very aura of the space around Thrawn, perhaps a result of those in the room or perhaps the sum of those kind souls mixed with the mysterious field of energy that had, through those mostly unkind years, come to be known by this part of the galaxy as the Force.

Surely, so very different from what recent years had offered…

Crimson eyes fluttered open and found the Jedi Kanan Jarrus hovering over him, lifting him from the Empire's metallic contraption that caused so much pain. Indeed, Kanan once knew that pain himself at the hands of Tarkin and the Inquisitor, a shared and common suffering between the Jedi and the Chiss.

While Thrawn tried to focus, his head lay limp in the hollow of Kanan's arm, swaying with the gentle lift. Kanan cradled him as he would a child that had fallen asleep in the night away from their bed, the Jedi's other arm hooked underneath Thrawn's thighs. Someone had placed Thrawn's left arm lax across his torso, while his bare right arm, adorned with secured tubing and the IV, teetered limply in the stale air of the Star Destroyer. The torn and bloodied fabric of the sleeve from his white Grand Admiral uniform swayed forgotten below it.

Kanan rotated toward the repulsorlift, and the IV suddenly stung, having been tugged a little too harshly in Kanan's rotation toward the lift. A sharp pain trailed up the appendage, and Thrawn flinched his eyes closed.

What a helpless feeling Thrawn felt, not able to move or even breathe on his own. He tried raising the hand on his torso to alert Kanan of his distress, but his fingers would only twitch. Thrawn furrowed his brow in frustration and weakly shook his head away from the pain, the only movement he was able to produce.

Thrawn would have moaned in pain, but the breathing tube prevented him from doing even that, unable to emit any audible sound since speaking with Rukh and Commodore Faro aboard the ISD Chimaera. He hoped she and the crew were well…

Thrawn was so tired, both of a physical and of a mental nature. The course upon which his mind would normally travel became ever foggier and more uncertain with each heartbeat. It was nearly untraversable now. He should just let go, let go of the struggle and of all the pain with which he was troubled.

It was so cold. His mind suddenly seemed detached from his body, and Thrawn began to relax, his body fading away from him. No…

Ezra saw Thrawn's reaction. "Kanan wait. His arm." Kanan stopped.

Ezra ducked underneath Thrawn's breathing tube and IV lines and lifted Thrawn's dangling arm. A little blood had trailed down his cerulean forearm from where the IV was inserted.

Kallus stood on the other side of the interrogation chair, fumbling with an IV bag and the mechanical ventilator. "Commander Kimmund, would you grab this IV bag for me please?" Kallus asked, as he lifted the mechanical ventilator from its place.

Kimmund took the IV solution from him and followed Kallus around the interrogation chair, careful to not tug on Thrawn's IV line any more than already was done. He observed his superior officer with a pang of guilt. One for which loyalty and admiration was great enough to commit treason, so helpless in the arms of both Jedi.

They seemed to care for him though, especially the boy. Thrawn wasn't responding to the young man's touch. Thrawn's face remained relaxed and lips slightly open around the breathing tube. Kimmund saw the boy look to his master with questions as he and Kallus approached.

Two shrill double-beeps began to emit from the mechanical ventilator Kallus held. The machine could also monitor a patient's vital signs and detected Thrawn's diminishing heart rate and resulting low oxygen level. Kallus startled and quickly silenced the machine.

"What's happening?" Ezra asked, watching Thrawn's face relax more.

"Place him on the lift quickly- Carefully," Kallus said.

With Ezra stabilizing his arm, Kanan gently lowered Thrawn onto the repulsorlift.

"Thrawn?" Ezra's voice had a worried edge to it as he touched Thrawn's shoulder. Thrawn lay unresponsive, the mechanical lift of his chest the only indication of life.

"Go ahead and get on the lift with him Ezra," Kallus said as he kneeled down beside Thrawn. He set the mechanical ventilator down with a metallic thud, as Ezra climbed over Thrawn and sat on the Chiss's left side.

Ezra could tell Kallus was worried. The former Imperial glanced at the readout on the mechanical ventilator and quickly grabbed for a tube of stimulant.

"What now?" Ezra asked. Kallus' eyes hesitated toward Ezra's gaze a moment as he turned back toward Thrawn. Kallus pressed the tube against Thrawn's neck and injected the stimulant.

"The toxins are breaking down in his system. It's starting to be too much for him to handle in his state." Kallus' voice became quietly grim.

Kallus tossed the empty tube aside and looked back at Ezra. He knowingly held up a manual bag ventilator, and Ezra's heart dropped with nervous energy. "Oh…"

"When I separate the tube, we need to do this fast," Kallus said with reassuring authority. "I'll show you how to do it first, and then I'll hand it to you okay?"

Ezra's eyes went wide but were determined at the expectation of his action. "Okay."

"Thrawn's fading…," Kallus said, looking at the group. Kimmund took in a deep breath upon seeing the gravity within Kallus' gaze. "We need to get him proper medical care soon at our base…"

Kallus looked aside and decided against finishing the thought. What good would it do right now? He resolved his mind and leaned over Thrawn, looking intensely at his closed eyes, and mentally willed them open.

"Grand Admiral-," Kallus started. He reached for Thrawn's hand resting across his torso and squeezed, trying to awaken him. "Thrawn… sir."

Thrawn wasn't responding. His body merely shook at Kallus' attempts at attention.

"The stimulant should have worked," Kallus muttered. The sound of the mechanical ventilator breathing for Thrawn became a weight upon everyone's hearts. Kallus squeezed Thrawn's hand one more time and then moved to rub Thrawn's chest, just above his heart. His voice became intense. "Thrawn, sir, wake up."

Commander Kimmund shook his head, afraid suddenly that all he did would soon be for nothing. Kanan lowered his head and gripped the handle of the repulsorlift as he felt turmoil in the Force.

Ezra was unaware of the turmoil though and unknowingly pushed through it. He placed a hand on Thrawn's forehead, and his voice was soft. "Thrawn? Open your eyes for us."

Thrawn's eyelids flinched, and his brow furrowed underneath Ezra's palm as his consciousness rose back to the surface.

"There you go, sir," Kallus said, smiling thinly. Heavy cerulean eyelids revealed dim scarlet orbs, and they flinched as they went in and out of focus. Eventually Thrawn recognized Kallus, his face hovering directly above him. "We're going to switch out your breathing tube, and get you off this ship, okay?"

Sound was strangely echoey and far away, as if Thrawn were underneath a blanket of ocean, and sound was drifting far away and useless. Thrawn understood more of Kallus' facial expression than his words. Brow furrowed… face slightly red… blue eyes intense… authoritative surety… hesitant trust… anxiety.

Kallus saw Thrawn losing focus and pressed his hand slightly harder onto Thrawn's chest. Thrawn's eyelids pulsed open as a result, and his pupils attempted to focus again for but a moment. Thrawn shifted his head and began to drift away once again though, his eyes closing with heaviness.

"We just need to do it; Ezra, keep his head secure," Kallus said breathily.

Ezra kept his hand on Thrawn's forehead, and Kallus moved quickly. Kallus detached the oxygen connection of the mechanical ventilator from Thrawn's endotracheal tube and secured the manual bag ventilator in its place. Thrawn didn't react. Ezra was amazed at how quickly the transition happened.

Kallus squeezed and released the bag at a steady rhythm while watching the medical readouts beside him. There was a slight dip in the oxygen readings but it soon recovered.

"This is the rhythm you want to maintain," Kallus said. Ezra found Kallus' gaze and nodded. Kallus rotated the bag on the tube toward him, and Ezra began breathing for Thrawn. "Yes, just like that Ezra. Commander Kimmund, let's cover them, quickly."

Ezra felt a surge of anxiety a moment at observing Thrawn's chest rise and fall to the rhythm of his hands. He felt a squeeze upon his armored shoulder though and found Kanan looking down at him with cloudy and scarred eyes. "You're doing well Ezra."

Kallus placed the inert mechanical ventilator at Thrawn's booted feet for use in the shuttle, and Kimmund began placing the smuggler boxes over their legs. Small air holes were punched into the top of some of the crates, and Kallus hooked the IV bag connected to Thrawn's arm through them. "Alright lean back Ezra, we'll be at the shuttle soon. Just remember, you're breathing for him."

"We'll be fine Kallus," Ezra said scooting backward and down on his right side beside Thrawn.

Kallus nodded back and placed the last crate over them. It was a tight fit, but to any Imperial, they would be pushing a repulsorlift full of ordinary medical supplies, just as the official manifest from the leader of the First Legion indicated on his report.

Kallus stood up straight and found Kimmund holding a stormtrooper helmet out to him.

"Helmets on," Kimmund said.

Kallus and Kanan put on their helmets and joined each other at the foot of the repulsorlift. Kimmund punched in his code sequence at the door, Chopper watching the leader of the First Legion with his photoreceptors. The droid warbled nervously.

The door whooshed open and Kimmund eyed the droid through his helmet a moment. He then turned to Kanan and Kimmund, his voice strong. "Follow me, and, as before, let me do the talking."

Kimmund didn't give them a chance to respond and turned to exit the medical interrogation room. He stopped short though and faltered at the sight of Tephan laying unconscious on the metallic ground. This better be worth it.

Kanan felt the Commander's regretful ache through the Force and pitied Kimmund. Commander Kimmund continued forward though, despite the pull of his heart, and ushered them out of the hallway. Once again, Kimmund ordered the stormtrooper guarding the entrance that First Legion personnel were only allowed through.

And thus, Commander Kimmund, leader of the First Legion, led a group of Rebels and an Imperial prisoner of the highest classification toward the ISD Devastator's hangar bay.

Toward freedom and escape. Toward hope?

-.-.-.-

Major Ottkreg felt it was time to check on the traitor. He slowly walked the corridors of the Devastator, leading back to the medical interrogation wing that held Grand Admiral Thrawn. Oddly, the Chiss wasn't formally stripped of rank, as the Empire needed to maintain the prime cover story of rebel partisans attempting to assassinate him through hacked sentinel droids. It was too risky; too many journalists had deep connections within Imperial ranks and knew how to look for little details like that.

Therefore, much to Major Ottkreg's chagrin, he still thought of, and had to address to others within the Empire unaware of the truth, their alien prisoner as Grand Admiral Thrawn. One whom technically held a higher rank than he still.

No matter. Soon, Major Ottkreg felt the ire of his Imperial fortitude would be extinguished considering the toxins he ordered the Chief Medical Officer to administer. Should the Chiss overcome the concoction, Lord Vader and the Emperor should ensure the parasite's end soon enough. Until the fate became final though, the sheer fear held within the eyes of those he passed in the metallic hallways of the Devastator would suffice his hunger for power and respect.

The stormtrooper guarding the interrogation wing of the medical bay stood promptly at attention upon seeing Ottkreg's approach.

Major Ottkreg stopped in front of the trooper and stood rigid with Imperial pomp for an awkward beat, judging the trooper's reaction. He already noted three violations of Imperial protocol on his way here and had a keen eye in search of a fourth. Ottkreg eyed the stormtrooper from boot to helmet as if he owned him.

"Well are you going to let me through or just stand there like a lost gundark?" Major Ottkreg said curtly, raising his chin with a smirk.

The stormtrooper straightened his shoulders returning the major's gaze with hesitation. "S-sir, I've been ordered to only allow First Legion personnel through."

Major Ottkreg's smirk faded and his brow reflected a new ire. "Do you not know who I am trooper?"

"Y-yes sir- Major Ottkreg, sir- I'm sorry but-"

"Under who's authority do you hold this order?"

"Commander Kimmund, sir."

Major Ottkreg bristled, and his voice hushed to a frightening malice. "I am a Loyalty Officer of the Empire. Do you not understand- the weight with which my authority stands." Ottkreg stepped closer to the stormtrooper. "Especially considering- who is in that corridor behind you!?"

The stormtrooper knew he was given an order and felt he understood the proper chain of command given the circumstances he was aware of. Yes, this was merely a test of loyalty. He wouldn't let someone who wasn't authorized beyond him. Too many Rebels had infiltrated Imperial facilities around the galaxy, and he wouldn't be the next. Should he pass this test perhaps he would be commended and given a promotion, he thought.

"With respect, sir," the stormtrooper began. "Commander Kimmund is in command of the First Legion which answers directly to Lord Vader, who is the supreme authority on this ship, and-"

"Oh, we have a stormtrooper who thinks on their feet do we? Enough!"

Major Ottkreg pulled out his command code cylinder from his uniform and beckoned the trooper to insert it into the door's security panel. Through gritted teeth and an ire yet unknown to the stormtrooper in their Imperial career until this moment, Major Ottkreg kept his voice surprisingly literate and understandable. "You. Will. Open. That. Door."

The stormtrooper, perhaps realizing the chance of having made a mistake, quickly inserted the code cylinder into the panel, and the door immediately hissed open. Major Ottkreg furiously grabbed his code cylinder back and trudged forward into the interrogation wing, suspicious of what Kimmund had done.

Ottkreg punched his key-code into the panel for the door behind which Grand Admiral Thrawn was held and immediately blanched at what he saw… or what his eyes didn't see.

Frag…

Where Thrawn should have been was an empty medical interrogation chair with open restraints and disconnected medical sensors. Ottkreg huffed into the room and saw Tephan of the First Legion incapacitated and unconscious on the floor with her helmet off.

His eyes wide in astonished anger, Ottkreg bellowed in fury to the stormtrooper in the hallway. "You idiot!"

Major Ottkreg pulled out his communicator. "Set a lockdown throughout the ship. Should Commander Kimmund be spotted, his location is to be reported to me immediately, and he is to be taken into custody for questioning. Alert Lord Vader with a Code Silver under my authority. I don't care if he's in his bacta tank!"

The stormtrooper walked behind Major Ottkreg. "Orders sir…?"

Major Ottkreg unkeyed his comm and eyed the unconscious form of Tephan with disdain. He turned around to the stormtrooper after a moment with wide eyed fury. "With me trooper."

And Major Ottkreg trudged into the corridors of the Devastator followed by a nervous stormtrooper.

-.-.-.-

They were almost to the hangar bay when the alert went out. Commander Kimmund slowed to a stop in the middle of the hallway upon receiving the security alert.

"What's going on Kimmund?" Kanan asked. The Jedi felt the sudden dread from him.

Kimmund glanced back to Kanan and Kallus. "Complication. Security bulletin out for my detainment. Either someone found the room empty or…" Kimmund shook his head and continued down the corridor again with Kanan and Kallus pushing Thrawn and Ezra on the lift.

"… or Tephan woke up," Kimmund grimaced. "We need to hurry."

Kimmund rounded a corner, and the hangar bay entrance was just ahead. The doors were right there, and the Rebels' Imperial Shuttle waited beyond.

But two stormtroopers suddenly appeared in front of them from another pathway ahead.

"Halt," one stormtrooper said, holding his hand out. Kimmund noticed the other trooper raised their blaster a little higher than normal regulation for parade rest. They were ready for trouble.

Kimmund held out his left hand, indicating to Kanan and Kallus that they should stop.

Kimmund feigned ignorance and continued a few paces before stopping himself, adding separation between him and the Rebels and Thrawn. "What's going on troopers?"

"We've been ordered to take you in for questioning, Commander Kimmund," the stormtrooper holding his hand out continued. "Major Ottkreg's orders."

"Ah, I see," Kimmund said, returning his hand to the barrel of his blaster. His blaster was set to stun… But there were two of them, and Kimmund saw theirs weren't set to stun… Upon neutralizing one, the other would have enough time to react. A tense silence swam through the atmosphere of the corridor, as Kimmund considered what to do.

Ezra, on his side looking over Thrawn, could feel the tension from where they lay underneath the boxes on the repulsorlift. Even if a fight did break out, he wouldn't be able to help as he needed to breath for Thrawn. They seemed stuck yet were so close to their goal.

Kallus naively stepped forward, hoping to help Kimmund. His mind twitched to the blaster at his hip. "Is there some kind of problem here?"

"Kallus no," Kanan muttered.

Ezra felt an awareness from Thrawn in the Force and witnessed his crimson eyes flutter open. They were mesmerizing as Ezra had never seen eyes such as his. They glowed a pale red in the darkness, perhaps capturing the small amount of light that seeped through the air holes in the boxes around them. Ezra could tell he was weak by how his eyes moved but also noticed Thrawn seemed to be tracking movement.

"You can see them can't you?" Ezra whispered.

Thrawn gingerly shifted his head and looked Ezra directly in his eyes. He tried to hold the young Jedi's gaze. Ezra saw and felt wisdom in those crimson orbs but couldn't quite decipher the meaning conveyed from them, yet they still spoke to Ezra. If only Thrawn could truly speak to him…

Thrawn flicked his gaze to Ezra's hands pulsing the ventilator and filling his own lungs with oxygen. Perhaps with anxiety at realizing the helplessness of his condition, Thrawn fluttered his eyes closed.

Ezra felt Thrawn's anxiety. "It'll be alright," Ezra whispered. Thrawn merely furrowed his brow in response, trying to will the anxiety away.

Ezra hoped they would be off this ship soon.

Kimmund glanced to Kallus and held up his hand again to stop him, but the movement startled the stormtroopers blocking their advance to the hangar bay. They both raised their blasters toward the Rebel group, and the one seemingly in charge raised his voice commandingly.

"Halt! All of you, lower your weapons to the ground! The droid too, no sudden movements!"

Chopper held up his mechanical hands and warbled nervously.

Kimmund was now caught with a hand off of his blaster, truly unable to react. He mentally groaned at Kallus and turned his attention back to the stormtroopers, his helmet slowly shifting forward with his gaze.

"Alright let's not do anything hasty, boys," Kimmund said, raising his left hand higher in perceived submission. This was bad.

But suddenly the stormtrooper on the right let out a surprised yell as his shin was inexplicably struck. Chopper whipped his head back and forth, trying to determine where the source of the attack was coming from.

"Hey! What?!" The stormtrooper looked down and saw nothing, but his feet were suddenly swept from underneath him. The trooper fell to the ground with a harsh thud, his blaster clanking away from him. The stormtrooper's companion nervously reacted toward the stealthy strike. What was happening?

Kimmund didn't wait for explanation. He saw an opening, both stormtroopers' attention off of the group, and slapped his hand back to his blaster. In a flash, he stunned the trooper on the left while a lone discharge of lightning enveloped the other trooper on the ground, stunning him as well.

It was quiet after the second trooper fell unconscious on the ground.

Emerging from his stupor, Kallus whipped his blaster from his hip and pointed it forward, trying to assess with Kimmund for another threat.

"Hold your fire," Kanan yelled behind them. "He's friendly."

And with what appeared to be a shimmering essence to any normal eye, a flash sparkled in the corridor, and a short, armored creature appeared breathing heavily over the two fallen stormtroopers holding an electrostaff.

"Rukh," Kanan said, smirking.

Rukh's staff was at the ready, still poised from battle. The Noghri shifted his gaze up from the troopers limp on the ground and smiled at Kanan.

"You," Kimmund exasperated, lowering his weapon with frustrated but thankful disbelief.

At the same time, Kallus turned to Kanan, keeping his blaster focused on Rukh, "You know him!?"

Rukh shifted his gaze to Kallus and eyed him with a warrior's challenge directly over the barrel of the former Imperial's blaster.

"Yes, he's a friend," Kanan said with soft assurance. "Lower your weapon."

"I know him as well," Kimmund said with a bitter respect. "How are you here Rukh?" Kimmund shook his head and corrected himself. "How long have you been here?"

Rukh straightened and stepped over the unconscious stormtroopers toward the group. His eyes were quick, assessing their surroundings.

"Doesn't matter, long enough," Rukh said deeply. "The hyperdrive should be back online soon."

"So you were behind the hyperdrive overheating?" Kimmund said. So he'd been on the ship a while… "Moved on from sabotaging shuttles have you?"

Rukh couldn't help but offer a brief smile. "Yes."

Rukh lost his smile just as quickly and glanced longingly at the boxes on the repulsorlift. He eyed each of them with a stern seriousness. "Quickly. I'll continue to escort you."

Rukh activated his cloak and disappeared.

"Sabine, Rex, have the shuttle ready to go," Kanan said into his comm. "We might need to get out of here fast."

-.-.-.-

"To defeat an enemy, you must know them." ―Thrawn

"To know your enemy, you must become your enemy." ―Sun Tzu, author, "The Art of War"

"I study the art of war, work to perfect it." ―Thrawn