"Any Adversary, no matter his strength, can be defeated, if enough time & thought is applied"
The Book of Chances
DARKNESS.
Utter. Complete.
He had seen such darkness before, on the forest moon, when he was waiting for the empire to spring his trap. But this felt different. This felt definitive, both in the way his eyes couldn't see and how his mind was consumed by it.
He had been defeated. No, he had lost to enemies who had fortune & magic on their side. He was offended by that. This is what galled him the most, that, they did not deserve to win.
Yet, they had prevailed. And if we was being fair, isn't that what mattered in war & in life? To prevail?
His stomach rumbled. The abandoned star destroyer was big but after so many years even it's rations were beginning to run low. He was thinner now than he had ever been. But there were some advantages to being famished. He found that the hunger sharpened his senses, made them more acute. He was able to focus for long hours in his meditative trance.
But what use was this focus? His mind shouted to him.
What can you do with this focus when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere for years!
He took a deep breath and tried to quiet his mind. I have my purpose, and my focus will help me fulfill it. He repeated this mantra over and over again in his mind till he could only see the a small white dot in the darkness behind his eyelids and hear nothing, whether within or without.
BEEP BEEP BEEP.
He came out of his reverie with a start and turned to look at the proximity sensor to his left. It was flashing red.
His second exile was about to come to an end and he was ready. His red eyes glittered.
'Luke Skywalker and his family will pay', Thrawn said softly to himself and prepared to be boarded.