Author's Note: I knew I couldn't leave you hanging, again, so I wrote this as quickly as I could. Without further delay, enjoy Wraith versus Thrawn! My apologies if this chapter is a little short, but I'm sure I'll make it up to y'all at some point.


-Chapter 24: Wraith Versus The Super Army (Part 2)-

Location: Diado

"The well-trained mind is stronger than any warrior."

Raised to full height and standing over Commander Hatchet, Wraith eyed this Chiss called Thrawn with a tactical, discerning gaze.

"You, fight me?" He replied to Thrawn's challenge. "I just decimated your army, if that is who you are, and yet you think you can stand against me?" He questioned, finding it very foolhardy for anyone to even dare think of opposing him.

"You have not decimated my army, Wraith. You have killed off many of these Clones, yes, but there are still a good many who will live to fight another day." Thrawn corrected him, hands clasped behind his back.

"Regardless, this battle has already been decided. You are not worth my time!" Wraith rumbled, reaching down and pulling his chain-blades free from Hatchet's body.

"I, someone who has thoroughly studied who you are and has worked closely with the Republic to fashion the means of your defeat, am not worth you time?" Thrawn queried with a raised eyebrow. "Not a very tactical decision from the solider designed to be, what do they call you now... ah yes, perfect." Such deriding comments forced Wraith to stop and consider this man for a moment. He appeared to be practically fearless, a true marvel for anyone who had come face to face with him. But he was also willing to go a step further in whatever verbal sparring they engaged in. While Wraith was simply trying to brush him off, Thrawn was proving very resistant.

Wraith walked closer to Thrawn, his towering form reaching above the Chiss' nearly six-foot height.

"Who are you Thrawn?" He asked. "Surely you are someone of great importance, given the Republic has employed you to learn whatever you can about me."

"All you need to know is that I am Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendency. I am here as an observer of the Clone Wars, but have recently decided to take a far more invested role, if only to prevent your malice from reaching my home." Thrawn responded.

"I care little for anyone outside the Confederacy or the Republic. You need not be concerned about me and my thoughts on your home." Wraith stated. He knew nothing of the Chiss and saw seldom few in the known galaxy at large. As long as they were not involved in the war, they were not his problem.

"Maybe so, but what about when the war is over?" Thrawn pried. "What happens should the Separatists decide to expand their reach? What if my home falls under their options for expansion? Such possibilities I would rather deal with now while they are mere theories rather than fully-formed threats." Wraith couldn't help but nod.

"A wise move." He mused. So far, with the simple words Thrawn had offered, Wraith had already learned much about him. He must be a brilliant member of his people, which was why he was sent to grow in his knowledge by observing the war. He must also be loyal and some kind of defender of his people, which is why he chose to break normal observer protocol and engage in the war. Even still, his decisions when it came to forthcoming events, be they impossible or plausible, were tactically sound and precise, indicating his ability to think and plan was very much on par with Wraith's own tactical genius. Thrawn tipped his head in acknowledgment.

"Do you still refuse my offer?" He wondered.

"I do. For the simple reason I have other things to do, I have wasted enough time on this snowball of a world." Wraith replied. He was in great need of some healing and some new weapons. Right now, he cared little for whatever challenge this Chiss had to offer, only about being able to leave and see to his own repair.

But as Wraith made to leave, Thrawn sidestepped so he was in front of him. The super-solider looked up, both curious and sensing a confrontation. "You are in my way." He growled in a low voice.

"I will not let you pass." Thrawn replied. "Not until you have tested your skills against me."

"Is it a matter of limits, Thrawn? To see how far you can progress until you are bested and therefore need more training?" Wraith coolly wondered, trying to keep an even head. "Because, if so, you will likely find another challenger among the Jedi."

"It is not about me." Thrawn told him. "But, rather, about you." Cocking his head, Wraith chose to listen as Thrawn continued. "It is one thing to deduce who you are based upon mere reports, visual observations or still images. It is another thing, however, to experience who you are in person." He explained. His words quickly helped Wraith to clue in.

Thrawn was hoping to determine his threat level.

"My maximum potential exceeds anything you can withstand." Wraith informed him, stating what he thought was the obvious.

"Perhaps. But that remains to be seen." Thrawn calmly retorted. Wraith was a little stunned by his reply. Even though he had borne witness to the kind of fights he could withstand and the amount of carnage he could create, the Chiss was still seeking to engage in combat with him.

Wraith had to give him credit. This Thrawn had guts.

"I will give you one chance to walk away. I will not call you a coward and I will not pursue you. Leave now and you do not have to die." He offered, a little annoyed by Thrawn's last statement.

"Thank you, but I decline." Thrawn politely responded. "You seem so certain in your victory... but I remain unconvinced you are capable of attaining it." He jabbed in a quiet voice. Beneath his helmet, Wraith's eyes narrowed.

"Alright... Thrawn. You asked for this!" He growled, ditching his blades with a simple flick to each chain on his arms. Thrawn smiled a little at his acceptance.

"A few ground rules, if you don't mind." He said. "No weapons. No tools. Only our wits and our knowledge of the martial arts."

"Fine." Wraith accepted. "Now... time to teach you a lesson in pain!" Snapping out his arm, hand balled into a fist, Wraith aimed to strike Thrawn right in the face. But, to his surprise, Thrawn calmly sidestepped his blow and held his arm with his right hand.

It was almost as if he had been anticipating his move.

"Or is it you who needs to be taught a lesson?" He wondered. Moving with sudden swiftness, Thrawn maneuvered his right leg behind Wraith's left and pushed hard on his extended arm, tripping him. Landing on his back, Wraith quickly rolled over and onto his feet, shaking off the surprise and decided to take Thrawn seriously at his word.

No one was capable of just doing that to him.

Thrawn maintained his calm and composed demeanor, standing tall and upright without concern, as if him being able to land Wraith on his back was nothing out of the ordinary. Knowing he needed to prove his strength, Wraith quickly struck back, hitting hard and fast with punch after punch. Mixing things up with crosses, jabs and hooks, Wraith was relying on his unpredictable nature to help him gain the advantage.

But Thrawn read him like a holotext and calmly blocked or dodged each of his blows as they came, rebuffing Wraith with a level of grace in his moves. "Brute force is not always the answer, you know." Thrawn commented, blocking and deflecting as he spoke. "Your musculature indicates you rely heavily on your strength as a means of support. But you lack a balance." Growling in irritation at how Thrawn was not even trying to strike him but mock his moves instead, Wraith turned up the heat by striking faster. Whirling around and lashing out with a kick, Thrawn ducked his leg entirely and retaliated with a palm strike that hit Wraith square in the back, causing the super-solider to stumble. "You are tense. There is an anger simmering beneath the surface. That is the source of your imbalance." Thrawn told him.

"Don't tell me how to live!" Wraith rumbled as he turned and whipped a hard punch straight at Thrawn's head. But the Chiss tilted his head and brushed it aside, attacking Wraith with two quick uppercuts to the chin and a jab to the face that knocked Wraith back once more.

"Ignorance is a very crippling vice." Thrawn mused, watching as Wraith shook his head and recovered.

"Enough!" Wraith growled as he executed a lunge kick, Thrawn stepping aside just in time. With Wraith landing before him, his back facing Thrawn, the super-solider moved to strike behind him with his elbow. But the Chiss caught it and struck back with a chop to Wraith's shoulder, managing to inflict a very painful blow to the weakened portion of his already seared jacket. Planting his boot against his back, Thrawn kicked Wraith away, knocking him to his knees.

"Do you persist in being unteachable?" Thrawn wondered, almost tauntingly so. Wraith's fist pounded the ground.

Who was he to mock him like this?!

Whipping around, Wraith sprang forward and launched into a lunge kick, forcing Thrawn to quickly move to his right. But Wraith anticipated this and, as soon as he landed, whipped around with a heel-kick aimed for Thrawn's head.

But, exercising surprising strength, Thrawn grabbed Wraith's incoming leg and held him in place, striking back with his own kick to the back of Wraith's other knee. The super-solider crumpled to the ground as Thrawn released him. "Where are those nine martial arts I noted you being so knowledgeable of?" He asked. "I must confess Wraith, you are quite disappointing in person." Down on the ground, Wraith realized all he was doing was helping Thrawn gain knowledge about him that could be given back to the Republic.

That and make a complete fool out of him.

He needed to get back to his roots, back to the original training that truly made him such a deadly warrior to begin with. This Thrawn seemed to be quite adept in the art of close quarters combat. He needed to prove he was better, if not superior.

Recalling his life before the introduction of tools, equipment and incredible rage, Wraith slowly returned to a standing position before he turned and faced Thrawn once more.

But this time, instead of outright attacking, he assumed an attack stance, readying his mind for a coming fight.

Thrawn nodded a little at the sight of Wraith being far more reserved and tactical. "Now, that's better." Wraith's eyes narrowed.

"Do your worst, Thrawn." He growled.


Aboard the Endurance...

Mace Windu was overseeing the return of Jaeger Regiment. Thrawn had ordered a full retreat, according to the Clones, and the Jedi believed it was because The Wraith had gotten the better of them.

Still, he was quite pleased by the number of Clones who actually returned and were not in body bags or being carried by medics.

A far more worrying thought was that there was no sign of Thrawn amongst these Clones. Mace Windu feared the worst, thinking Wraith had gotten to him. He walked over to a pair of shadow troopers who had been escorting the foreign officer.

"Troopers, report. Where is your commanding officer?" Mace inquired as they snapped to attention.

"General Windu, sir. Commander Thrawn is still on the planet's surface. He said he was going to meet with Wraith and 'satisfy two needs' as he put it." One of them replied.

"That's not good." The Jedi muttered. "Get me a dropship, now!"


The fight had escalated from a one-sided display to a full-on match between equal opponents.

Wraith had found his center, using his training in hand-to-hand combat as a means to regain his composure and his sense of power. No longer was he relying on raw emotion.

Now he was relying on the tactical genius that was his mind.

Thrawn found the far more calm, focused and significantly quieter Wraith to be a far greater challenge than his previous self. It would seem his offhand coaching had actually paid off and had returned Wraith to the top-tier fighter Thrawn had first discovered in the reports he read and the footage he'd studied. Since his renewal, neither opponent could land a hit on each other, a very clear demonstration of Thrawn's true mastery of hand-to-hand combat that Wraith made note of. While Clones fell in droves before him, standing little chance against his enraged state, a true master had no issues when it came to dealing with an unbalanced person.

That was something Wraith knew he had to re-attain. Maybe once he had been far less disturbed, but ever since his introduction to RGE-7, he had noticed a fairly major difference between the man he was at the start of the Clone Wars and who he was now.

He had no idea battling Thrawn would help him realize that.

Still, Thrawn was proving to be an exceptional opponent, one Wraith doubted he would ever forget.

Feigning a punch, Wraith snapped out his elbow at the last possible second, hoping to drive his armored joint into the Chiss man. But Thrawn managed to deflect and retaliated with a palm strike, one that struck Wraith on the helmet but barely made him flinch. Moving to deliver an uppercut, Thrawn quickly drew his fist back and used it to block the incoming blow, before he turned around and moved to deliver a backhanded punch. However, Wraith stopped him cold and used the Chiss' disadvantaged position to push him forward. Thrawn recovered quickly and stepped out of the way just as Wraith brought his arm down in an elbow drop, nearly scoring a critical blow to Thrawn's back but only hitting air.

"Using calm, calculated strikes to pave the way for a crippling blow. A Hijkata technique. Very impressive." Thrawn told him as he collected himself.

"Praise is not necessary. I am used to it." Wraith replied. The Chiss tilted his head.

"The arrogance could use some work, though." He quietly noted. With a huff, Wraith charged at Thrawn, aiming to perform the Charging Wampa move from his Teras Kasi training. Thrawn waited to see what Wraith would do and, seeing his right arm taunt and bent in the ready position of an uppercut, Thrawn quickly stepped back and let Wraith's fist go sailing past his face. Feeling only wind and no solid connection, Wraith had fortunately developed a backup plan. Pulling his arm back in, Wraith adjusted his arms and shoulders in mid-air before he snapped out his both fists as he landed, his right catching Thrawn by surprise with a solid blow to the chest with his armored knuckles. Thrawn stumbled back as he exhaled sharply, recoiling a little from the sudden secondary strike.

It was a move he knew, but he had never seen it as a part of a fighting combo like that.

"The Dragon's Wings. A k'Jtari strike." He mused, wheezing a little. "Impressive."

"You've seen it?" Wraith wondered, resetting himself.

"Yes. But never as part of a rising strike." Thrawn continued as he recovered. Wraith smirked a little.

He appeared to have Thrawn on the ropes.

But such a sentiment vanished when Thrawn moved suddenly and unleashed a hard palm strike so vicious it snapped Wraith's head to the side and sent him spinning. Quickly finding clarity, Wraith shook his head and cleared it just in time to see Thrawn come rushing in. Wraith stepped back to avoid his right cross and leaned back a little further to avoid the follow-up left cross, forming a plan of retaliation using another k'Jtari move. Lashing out with a straight kick to gain some distance, Wraith successfully pushed Thrawn away before he launched into a hurricane kick, striking the Chiss with three blows in quick succession. With Thrawn staggered, Wraith pressed his advantage and struck with his knee, only to have Thrawn form a solid defence using both his arms and a leg to block it. His recovery time impressed Wraith, making a mental note that the rules of dominance in fighting still applied to the Chiss commander. Using the momentum from his knee strike, Wraith reared back and delivered a hard jab. But, managing to actually grab and hold Wraith's fist before it could land, Thrawn promptly twisted it sharply and pressed his thumb down on a nerve near his wrist, causing Wraith to cry out in pain.

"YEOW!" The super-soldier fought to wrench his arm free, only to have Thrawn literally throw his arm away and deliver a hard punch that slammed into Wraith's chest, close to his arm. The staggered super-soldier stepped back, slowly flexing and shaking his afflicted hand. He was not expecting Thrawn to be able to block the full force of one of his punches. "A Stava nerve pinch, not bad." He mused, knowing the technique well. "But was that hit supposed to hurt?" Wraith growled, trying to act tough.

"No. But that was a nerve cluster in your left deltoid that I struck." Thrawn informed him. "You will not be moving that arm for a while." Looking down at his now limp and unresponsive limb in surprise, Wraith unfortunately discovered that Thrawn was right.

"No matter." He grumbled, deciding to fight with his feet instead. Executing a crescent kick to put Thrawn on guard, Wraith then spun and performed a reverse tornado kick, his limp arm trailing behind him. Thrawn spun around, leading Wraith's incoming leg with just enough space to avoid him, and used his momentum to perform a backhand with his fist that smashed Wraith across the face, opening him up for Thrawn to drive another pointed blow into his opposite deltoid, putting his other arm out of commission as well.

The commander had every intention of ending this.

With both arms rendered useless, depriving him of his defenses, Thrawn struck quickly and mercilessly. Driving a kick to the side of Wraith's knees, Thrawn put the super-soldier on the ground before finishing him off with a single high-kick to the chin, a move that put Wraith on his back once more. Only this time, the super-soldier had no intention of getting back up. Doing so would prolong a fight he was now officially losing. In his mind, it was better to yield with dignity than to face disgrace with an undignified defeat.

Groaning as his audible way of surrendering, Wraith stayed still as Thrawn eased himself and slowly dusted off his hands.

"That was quite a show, Wraith. Your skills are truly impressive. I can see why lesser men fear you so greatly." Thrawn told him.

Did he just insult him, thank him and praise him at the same time? Who was this man?

Wraith said nothing in reply as Thrawn started to walk away in the direction of an incoming dropship sent by the Endurance. Lying alone in the cold snow, Wraith found himself grateful for the peaceful moment. It made for a nice reprieve from the strenuous hours of battle he had just endured, both against Clones and this Commander Thrawn character.

While his body was at ease, albeit painfully so, Wraith's mind was still active. Today had escalated from a simple reconnaissance mission to something else altogether. It had become a test of his endurance, a test of his skills, a test of his will, his strength and his power. Although it may not appear like he had physically won, Wraith felt he had achieved something great mentally.

Thrawn had managed to teach him a lot, both about himself and the Republic. They were getting bolder now, their desperation to do him in bringing forth potent foes for him to deal with. This Clone army, whatever it was called, would certainly plague him again in the future, of this he had no doubt.

And Thrawn... while still something of a mystery, he had proved himself to be exceptionally dangerous. No Jedi or Clones had ever made Wraith as uneasy as this new commander did.

He would never say it out loud, but he was a little afraid of Thrawn.

"Most of my enemies, through either their actions or their attitudes, have earned only my ire. But you, Thrawn, have earned my respect." Wraith admitted quietly.


Elsewhere, some time later...

Bent over the holotable, Pomel Scipio was in the midst of recording some findings of a recent experiment, his notes cluttered across the visible screen in a seemingly random array of indistinguishable numbers, letters and characters. He'd been busy, as he always was while Wraith was out, but this time he was preoccupied with far more experimental studies and not with anything related to Wraith's care. But he soon decided he would have to switch studies when he heard the door behind him open and the sound of metal boots on a metal floor filled the room. "So? How did it go?" He wondered, slowly standing up and turning around. "You were gone such a long time I was starting to wonde-" turning around and catching sight of Wraith's battered and scorched appearance, Scipio stopped talking for a moment as his mouth hung open in shock and his eyes widened. "By the stars! You look like you've been through hell!" He exclaimed, rushing over to Wraith.

"I feel like it, too." Wraith grumbled as he plunked himself down in a nearby seat, chain-blades clattering as he dropped them down on a nearby surface. "Diado wasn't nearly as quiet as the dossier said it would be."

"Apparently not!" Scipio mused as he looked over the blackened hole in the middle of his chest. "Republic ambush, I'm guessing?"

"Good guess. Wasn't your average Clones, though," Wraith added, "it was a whole army of specialists. I've never seen so many different units... ever."

"Interesting." Scipio quietly noted, his fingers tracing the deep scratches in his shoulder armor. "I'll need to see your helmet recordings immediately, then."

"Before you do, let me give you the damages." Wraith went on to explain everything that had happened concerning his equipment and how he ended up looking so battered.

"So you'll need some new slug weapons. I think I have an idea for some replacements." Scipio said, already thinking about a pair he'd seen recently. "And I'll be sure to work on improving your gauntlets. Those Clones were some good thinkers, helping me come up with far more refined ways to improve you."

"And some kind of electrostatic protection for the cloaker." Wraith reminded him, growing tired of being found out each time he went invisible. Speaking of personal devices, Wraith withdrew the shield generator he had taken from the Clone assassin and handed it to the doctor.

"My my. This is a personal shield projector... and it appears to be the Verpine or Arkanian variant." Scipio noted, holding the device up to the light. "This is good. It'll protect you from physical attacks as well as kinetic and energy based attacks."

"Nice. Always good to have an extra layer of defense, especially if I'm dealing with grenades... the anti-armor variant, specifically." Wraith nodded, remembering the explosives the Clone commandos used against him. Having already dumped his chain-blades on the table, Scipio went to them next as he set down the shield generator.

"And these... where did you get these?" He asked, picking up one and noting just how hefty it was.

"They were constructed out of necessity." Wraith replied rather cryptically.

"I see." Scipio hummed, eyeing the tools that had been recently produced. Dried blood coated their edges, staining even the handles with large splotches. "You are a fairly good blacksmith, Wraith. With a little extra work, these could truly be an ornate work of art." He noted, seeing that, despite their worn appearance, they were certainly a viable weapon.

"I needed them to do their job, nothing more. Tweak them if you wish, but always ensure they are still useable afterwards." Wraith told him. Scipio nodded absentmindedly, becoming rather engrossed in his study of the chain-blades.

"Heavy, robust... chains on the grips offering added reach and offensive techniques..." He muttered, holding up the thick links of metal that had been fastened to the hilt. "I don't think there's enough room on your body for all of your new tools." Scipio surmised, his brain pondering how he could possibly incorporate these chain-blades into Wraith's arsenal.

Then again, did he really need them? Or were they sentimental only?

"I've been thinking about that and I have some ideas." The commando informed him. "But, I'll tell you what, why not install a weapons locker on the shuttle. It'll be a place for me to keep some of my bigger tools." He suggested.

"Yes, that could work." Scipio nodded in agreement, knowing a sniper rifle should also belong in that locker. "So you tell me that one single Clone army did all this to you? Incredible."

"Yeah. Bunch a new guys, but they sure packed a mean punch." Wraith agreed. "But they taught me a lot about myself. I've been going good for a while but now I need to constantly evolve. The Republic is going keep trying to one-up me, so I have to always be on top of my game. Whatever they do, I have to be able to do better." He said, sounding very determined.

"I couldn't agree more. Where should we begin?" Scipio wondered.

"Let's start with this Feral Rage you've given me. I need to be able to think while I'm so... incensed. If I just lash out, my actions fuelled by nothing more than raw emotion, I'm not a soldier, I'm an animal. I'd rather the Clones fear my tactics because they've been enhanced by my rage, rather than just having them fear my strength."

"Okay. But we'll keep the strength, right?"

"Obviously. I love ripping Clones apart." Wraith replied, earning a chuckle from Scipio. "Also, I'm going to need more tech, more weapons, more tools. You may have to bulk up my armor, add a few extra pouches, change the engineering of some stuff, I don't care. But I've got to be on par if not more powerful than this new army. They'll be after me again, I'm sure of it. They've got an impressive arsenal and I need to match it should I face them again." He explained in a serious tone of voice. "I am a super-commando, after all."

"You do make a point." Scipio nodded, turning around and heading to the holotable. "Let me see what I can come up with. Any ideas?"

"Maybe a few..." Wraith nodded, specifically thinking about a few of the pieces of tech the Clones had used against him.


Coruscant, in the office of the Supreme Chancellor...

Having returned from Diado, Master Windu and Commander Thrawn stood in Palpatine's presence that night as they reported the day's events.

"Ultimately, while Jaeger Regiment did prove effective against The Wraith, they wound up defeated in the end." Mace Windu explained, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"His sheer determination and force of will is very impressive." Thrawn reported. "Such traits should be noted and passed on to other leaders, information like that may prove useful."

"So how do you recommend we improve for any future encounters, Commander?" Palpatine asked.

"There is an old saying among my people, Chancellor: the best way to defeat your enemy is to convince him he has nothing to gain by defeating you. While Wraith's devotion to the Separatists is strong and he lives by his mandate to slaughter the Republic, it would be wise for us to appear inferior, not worth his time, therefore encouraging his arrogance. This single plan can be enough to topple him even when he is in the heat of battle."

"That is all very well and good, Commander Thrawn. But what of Jaeger Regiment?" Palpatine wondered, addressing both individuals. "We are fighting this war with Clones, where do they stand in the grand scheme of things?"

"It is hard to say just how effective Jaeger Regiment was, given they were forced to retreat in the end. It may be that we must always send out stronger and stronger units after Wraith, tiring him out until we can strike a critical blow to him." Windu grimly surmised.

But Thrawn disagreed.

"I think you may be overlooking the whole encounter and are forming your opinion solely upon the outcome, Master Jedi." He objected. "What we do know is that, to a degree, Jaeger Regiment was relatively successful against The Wraith. It has accomplished what any previous army unit could not: it forced him to improvise." Turning to Palpatine he continued, "Chancellor, it is my recommendation that we take what we have learned from this encounter and apply it to future battles. Instead forming a single army, turn Jeager Regiment into special operations companies, composed of the same Clone specialists. These companies can then be attached to larger armies, the five-oh-first, the two-twelfth, the one-oh-fourth, the three-twenty-seventh, and so on. This way they can be far more effective on a wider range of fronts, always there should Wraith arrive."

"I will take your suggestions under consideration." Palpatine informed them, rising from his seat. "I wish to thank you both so very much for your participation in this trial run. Your efforts have helped us on our path to finding a permanent solution for this menace." As Thrawn tilted his head in acknowledgment, Mace had a one further question.

"If I may Chancellor, how did you know about Wraith's location on Diado?"

"There are some Separatists who are not as wholesome as many would believe. These Republic agents feed me information and keep me appraised of the actions of many notable figures. Wraith happens to be right near the top of their watch list." Palpatine lied, determine to keep his abilities and identity as a Sith Lord a firm secret.