Prologue

The Galactic Civil War, the bloodiest conflict since the Clone Wars, has been raging on for nearly 6 years. As one system after another ignites in the flames of rebellion, the iron grip of the Empire closes around their throats. In the midst of the conflict, heroes, villains, and warriors clash in hopes of imposing their vision upon the Galaxy. One such warrior is Admiral Karyn Faro, commander of the 11th Fleet. For 3 years now the 11th was under her command scouting and scouring the far reaches of the Outer Rim. Now with the planet Sullust lost to the rebellion the fleet is recalled to defend the vulnerable Seswenna Sector...

Eriadu was a beautiful enough place, from a distance. It's orange sky and vast plain gave it an otherworldly yet homely feeling in the eyes of the Admiral. Of course, the sky was darkened by pollution and the plains were slowly replaced with sprawling industrial complexes, but such was the price a world needed to pay if it ever hoped to reach Galactic prominence.
At least the Grand Moff seemed to think so, thought Faro, looking at the giant statue of Governor Tarkin, standing tall in the middle of the garden. His marble image was close to the original: stoic posture, steel in its eyes, an expression of contempt for everyone around him. Perhaps that was what got him killed, or perhaps it was that damnable station, in truth Faro couldn't care less. The locals venerated him like a demigod but for the Admiral only one military mind could deserve such admiration.
And he was dead as well. A reminder that no one is invulnerable to the whims of fate. The greatest military commander of the era bested by womp-rats.

"Never underestimate womp-rats, I suppose," mused the Admiral, advice most of her peers would do well to heed. But they never learned, did they…

A loud curse brought her back from her reverie.
"Damn you filth, I asked for more lime spritz!"

The origin of the disturbance had been a large man dressed lavishly for tonight's feast, his ostentatious profile seemingly imitating the nearby statue if one were to ignore all the gold and pomp. Indeed one could hardly tell that the man was part of the Imperial navy, let alone a Commodore, if not for the insignia plaque attached haphazardly to his chest.

In contrast the person suffering the Commodore's wrath was of short stature dressed in a simple navy uniform. She was also trembling, unable to respond to the prolonged tirade. Faro needed to intervene:

"You're a poor excuse for a pet, get it through your fur headed circu-"

"Easy Commodore, she's with me"
Faro did not know the new arrival assigned to her fleet by the high command, aside from the general information. Might as well measure his worth, she thought to herself.
The man diverted his gaze, stunned that someone dared to interrupt him before realizing who it was.
"Ah admiral" he presented a quick salute "I was not aware that you had a house slave! And dressing her up in military uniform, very droll."
"Senior Lieutenant O'chaita is an officer of the 11th Fleet, not to mention my personal adjutant" Faro twisted her gaze looking directly into the man's eyes.

"Ah," the man was stunned into silence trying to find his words, "well that's... something, I suppose they'll accept anyone in the academy nowadays"
"Oh I do so agree!" Faro grinned, stunning the Commodore once more. "For instance I seem to recall a particular case, you see a man got promoted to the rank of Commodore simply because he was an offspring of a Kuati noble house"
The confusion faded from Commodore Purkis' face, replaced with simmering anger:
"I do not like what you're implying Admiral"
"And I do not appreciate the way you address your direct superior" Faro put on a stern expression. "And we wouldn't want to start your service at the 11th with a disciplinary action, would we?"
The Commodore stood there for a few moments, before doing a quick salute and prudently deciding to retreat.

"I pity the next waiter he finds," Faro quipped before turning her attention to the Cathar officer "Where's your insignia plaque Senior Lieutenant? You could've avoided the whole scene with it"

O'chaita looked flustered "I am sorry ma'am, I have spent the day researching what you requested and as such completely forgot about the party"
Always so focused, thought Faro, to the point of narrow mindedness. But as long as she points it in the right direction...
"So, your report?"
"Right now ma'am?"
"Well I certainly have got nothing better to do" Faro mused. A debrief would take her mind off of things and besides, Faro needed to know for certain.
The Lieutenant straightened up, the circuitry on the back of her head coming back to life with an almost silent metallic purr.
"According to the data submitted by 200 various Imperial sources, there's been between 52 and 63 major attacks against Imperial rule in the Seswenna sector in the last month."

Well that was to be expected, Faro thought. The cacophony of Rebel activity had been building up to a crescendo for 3 years now throughout the Galaxy, and the recent victory at Sullust just a few parsecs north of Eriadu only accelerated the activity. O'chaita continued:
"Of them approximately 15% were confirmed to be committed by various criminal cartels, 25% by local independent Rebel cells and 15% by an organized Rebel fleet operating in the sector. The perpetrators of the other attack remain unconfirmed however I have calculated the proba-"
"That can wait," interrupted Faro, "skip to the data about the organized Rebel fleet."
"Yes ma'am. The first report about the fleet can be traced back to 3 weeks ago. According to the reports we can estimate that the fleet has at least 3 capital ships and a large contingent of starfighters."
"The capital ships, tell me more"
"one was confirmed to be a Nebulon-B Frigate, the other an Acclamator Assault ship…"
Getting closer, thought Faro
"Were there any freighter class ships, spotted operating from the Acclamator?"
"Why yes ma'am, a VCX-100 Light Freighter was spotted during a raid on Sluis Vans." The Lieutenant was silent for a few moments, before asking:

"Ma'am if I may, what importance does a Light Freighter have?"
Faro didn't respond, too deep in thought, reminiscing about the events that took place 3 years ago. Finally, after so long I have them in my sights.

"It means, Senior Lieutenant, that the fleet responsible for causing havoc in my sector is led by the Ghost cell", answered a mechanical voice. Faro turned to see Moff Spijzeren standing behind them. The Moff was easy to spot, his presence unmistakable to both eyes and ears, his heavily modified body whirling and churning any time he moved. Like the Lieutenant the back of his head had an cybernetic semicircle, unlike her his augments didn't stop there. Steel jaw, metallic hands, but most striking of all his eyes, fully replaced with a dozen of small sensors. It was said that Spijzeren had a thousand eyes all watching the sector day and night. Looking at him it was easy to believe.
"In other words," he continued "The same group of terrorists that killed Grand Admiral Thrawn."
O'chaita glanced at Faro. The admiral's face remained passive.
"I must admit I am rather perplexed Admiral, that you wouldn't trust my information." A dozen of the robotic crimson eyes focused on Faro, studying her from every angle.

"I meant no disrespect to my lord, I simply wanted to double check. These Rebels are known for spreading misinformation." Faro tried matching the Moff's stare but quickly folded. The eyes were too many, too robotic and too cold.
"And, theoretically if your intel was different to my own? Would you accuse me of lying? Would you take your fleet in a wanton pursuit of retribution?"
She tightened her grip.
"In the past 3 years there's been nothing more I wanted to do than to use my entire fleet in order to track down and destroy that group. And yet my lord I didn't, because I know my duty."

It's not like Faro had much of a choice. The 11th Fleet was stationed on the other side of the galaxy, and despite her pleas to the High Command, was never transferred near Lothal. By the time it had, the Rebels were long gone. Now however, now she has a chance to settle scores.

"Good. I remind you that if I had summoned you and your fleet it wasn't for your vengeance. The Emperor," Spijzeren bowed ceremonially at the mention of the name, "has tasked me with restoring peace to the Greater Seswenna Sector, and the sector fleet is unable to stem the tide. Your forces meager as they are, will have to pick up the slack"
"Meager..." echoed Faro. It was true, the 11th was the smallest fleet in the navy, more comparable in size to a task force. However it was also one of the best, after all, Faro spent 3 long years whipping it into shape. "Is there anything else my lord?"

"One last thing. The Commodore, you disapprove of his transfer to the 11th." It was a statement, not a question.
"I tend to disapprove of nepotism in general, my lord."
The Moff laughed in a croaking voice, it was metallic, reminiscent of the sound of bending metal.
"I can see why the Admiralty has developed a distaste for you. Listen well Karyn Faro, the Commodore was named by Imperial High Command, to doubt their judgment is only one step below doubting the will of the Emperor."

Faro clenched her teeth but said nothing and nodded.
"Dismissed." Spijzeren averted his eyes from the Admiral and observed the cityscape, seemingly losing all interest in her.

As Faro was walking back to her shuttle, O'chaita caught up with her.
"Ma'am, permission to speak freely?"
"Granted." Faro slowed her pace.
"Will Commodore Parkins be my superior?"
"Technically yes," Despite having an AJ-6 construct, the Lieutenant wasn't devoid of emotions, a fact apparent to anyone. "Does that bother you?"
The Cathar averted her eyes. Faro sighed, stopped and turned to face O'chaita.
"Lieutenant, how long have you served under my command?"
O'chaita blinked. "1 year and 2 months ma'am"
"Correct. Now remind me what our motto is?"
"Our only creed is merit"
"Exactly, we accept nothing less and nothing more" Faro smiled "Let the Commodore flaunt his innate sense of superiority. Here in the far reaches of space only one thing matters: Competence."

Author's notes:
Hello there! And welcome to what will hopefully be a long journey in a galaxy far far away. I started this project because of my love for Legends material and canon Thrawn books and the aversion towards recent Star Wars shows. While I understand why people love them, I find them lacking in certain parts for instance their depictions of the Empire. In legends post-ROTJ the Empire is a fascinating menage of warlords and rump states all trying to fight each other while in Canon it's... different. In the new Thrawn books, the Grand Admiral is a fascinating figure who isn't truly malicious or evil (though he does commit evil deeds), while in Rebels he's a moustache twirling villain. A competent and intellectual villain certainly but still limited by the scope of the show.
As such I've decided to pour my frustration into this story which will centre around a secondary character from Thrawn's book: Commodore Karyn Faro. Despite being a POV character she is mostly there to give us, the readers, an outsider view on what Thrawn is doing, similar to Pellaeon or Eli Vanto. While she is well written for her role her character is never expanded upon, which is perfect for a head canon approach.
I will be setting the story in canon while also including some characters from the Rebels show, trying to rationalise and improve both the setting and the characters as we go along.
Until next time!