Operation Cinder Part Two

A.N: Timeline setting: Covers the time period between 'To Take Down an Emperor' and the previous one shot from the POV of everyone's favourite blue skinned red eyed dude. Enjoy.

Grand Admiral Thrawn stood on the bridge of the Chimaera, overlooking the vast emptiness of space.

This was supposed to be the rendezvous point. The place of which he had organized a meeting of those who might stand with him.

He wasn't expecting much help to be honest, not when his quest was downright treason.

But Operation Cinder had to be stopped, and he couldn't do it alone. He needed help.

This would be his first stop in obtaining it. If he could gain access to more Imperials who thought the same way as him, he might just be able to rival Versio and Rax.

And from what Yularen had told him, Thrawn would need to best of the best in order to achieve victory.

So he had sent out 'invitations' to a select few. People either he or Yularen trusted to stand with them.

So far, only one had arrived, dropping out of hyperspace in a small imperial shuttle.

"Grand Admiral, you wanted to see me?"

The voice of his loyal agent came behind him, and Thrawn turned with a rare smile on his face to greet the diminutive, yet dangerous alien who served him.

"Rukh my friend, thank you for coming. I will require your expertise on a mission shortly, if you are willing?"

The Noghri nodded in acceptance, waiting for Thrawn to continue.

"Very soon we will require ships for a battle, one that could determine the fate of the galaxy and its people. However, our current supply of fighters is inadequate for what I have planned."

Thrawn had thought long and hard about how he would outmanoeuvre Versio and Rax when the time came. Imperial on Imperial violence was rare, and despite the sheer number of fighters that his foe would have at their disposal would be a problem.

Luckily for Thrawn, he had just the solution.

"You wish me to acquire more fighters for you Grand Admiral?" Rukh inquired, his voice croaky yet confused.

"No Rukh, but rather components. Our enemies outnumber us a hundred to one. We need to tip the balance in our favour, but not with numbers, but rather superior technology."

Rukh seemed to shuffle from side to side as Thrawn spoke. Clearly he was unsure exactly what the Grand Admiral was asking of him.

"What did you have in mind Grand Admiral?" Rukh inquired again.

Thrawn turned away from Rukh briefly, gazing back out the window on the bridge of the Chimaera, clearly deep in thought. Then he turned back around, fire in his already bright red eyes.

"I am authorizing the production of a new line of experimental fighters, one that, until now have only had prototype models. We will mass produce these fighters from the materials you acquire for us, and in doing so level the playing field. Rax and Versio may have the numbers, but we will have the technological advantage."

Shortly after his discussion with Rukh, the Noghri had departed in his shuttle with a small crew of technicians loyal to Thrawn. Their task was to recover as many useful components as they could for Thrawn's project, and tag them for later pickup. The Chimaera, and any loyal vessels would prove paramount in acquiring the components at a later date.

For now, Thrawn had other issues to deal with.

"Sir, we are detecting two signals in hyperspace. IFF confirms them to be the Devastator and the Relentless." A nearby bridge officer called out to his superior, gesturing out the window as he spoke.

Turning to look in the direction he was pointed, Thrawn smirked.

His reinforcements had arrived.

Seconds later, two Imperial Star Destroyers emerged from hyperspace before the Chimaera, both hopefully commanded by someone Thrawn could trust.

Only time would tell.

"Open a communications channel with both the ships officer. I wish to speak to their commanders immediately.

"Yes Grand Admiral." The officer replied, before his hands began to move on his terminal connecting the comm links.

Moments later, two holograms flashed into existence beside Thrawn, to which the Chiss turned to greet.

The first one Thrawn recognized. He was a tallish man with greying hair and eyes that looked as though he had seen many harrowing things. It made sense, since this man had served in the Clone War, and had since then been tasked with patrolling the outer rim worlds for terrorists and other plots.

"Captain Pellaeon, it is good to see you. Thank you for responding so quickly." Thrawn greeted the man who he was accustomed with. Thrawn had only served with the man once, but in that time he had proven to be a formidable and competent officer, one of the best in the Chiss' opinion.

So it only made sense that he should participate in what Thrawn was planning. Pellaeon wanted to do good, to ensure peace in the galaxy. Hopefully that meant he would support Thrawn in the coming months.

"The honour is mine Grand Admiral. I look forward to working with you again." Pellaeon replied, his tone full of respect for the Chiss who had elevated so far up the ranks despite the prejudice against him.

Thrawn nodded in reply before turning his attention to the other hologram, this one of a tall slender female, one who he had never met before, but had heard about.

"Commander Sloane, a pleasure at long last. I only wish our first encounter was under better circumstances."

Rae Sloane appeared to accept the compliment with ease, bowing her head in a form of respect to the Chiss Admiral before responding.

"I feel the same Grand Admiral, but I can't help but wonder exactly why you have called us into the borders to wild space. Your message was not very detailed."

There had been a reason for that. Thrawn hadn't known who could have been listening in, so he had kept things brief.

"I understand your concern Commander, and I apologise. In these dark times we need to trust one another. I therefore invite both of you over to the Chimaera where we can discuss everything I have discovered in person."

An hour later, Thrawn found himself in her personal office, seated at his desk with his pet Ysalamir resting gently on his shoulders. Across from him sat Pellaeon and Sloane, the former sitting upright in his chair, loyally awaiting orders, and the later glancing around the room at the various artefacts that Thrawn had gathered throughout the years.

"An impressive collection Grand Admiral. I never knew you had a penchant for art." Sloane spoke, her gaze currently looked on a large piece of retaining wall that had been recovered from Lothal, one that bore graffiti designed by Sabine Wren.

"We all have our hobbies Commander. I look forward to learning yours."

Just then the door to Thrawn's office opened, and the fourth and final member of the meeting entered, heading straight for the seat that had been set aside for him.

"Ah Colonel Yularen, glad you could make it. Has there been any improvement with Governor Pryce's condition?" Thrawn inquired, offering the Colonel a glass of water as he sat down.

"Unfortunately no. The medics are unable to do anything more at the moment. They say she needs proper medical attention soon, or she may never wake up." Yularen responded, sounding somewhat downtrodden.

Thrawn understood. He didn't like the fact that Pryce was so badly wounded, but there was little he could do at the moment, not until he had more help.

"I already have a destination in mind Colonel, but for now we must discuss matters of galactic security. So, to business. Firstly, tell me Commander Sloane, how did you come to possess and command the Devastator? I had assumed the vessel was destroyed at the battle station." Thrawn spoke, his red eyes locked on Sloane's face. He wanted to gauge her reaction, see if she was all her dossier made her out to be.

Sloane merely shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip of water from her own glass, before replying.

"Truth be told Grand Admiral the ship was under Moff Tarkin's command, but no one heard from him and I was aboard the ship when the chaos erupted. I gave the order to flee from the system, and no one tried to stop me. Self-preservation kicks in when your life is threatened."

It was a decent answer, and one that made sense, but truth be told it was not what Thrawn was looking for, and he was somewhat disappointed. For what he was planning to do he needed people who would remain loyal, not those who fled at the first sign of danger.

Still, he wasn't about to give up on Sloane yet.

"You must have also received instructions from Rax and Versio to rendezvous above Jakku as the rest of the imperial fleet did? Tell me, why did you come to me instead?" Thrawn inquired, leaning forward slightly in his chair. As he did this, his pet Ysalamir stirred, moving down across his shoulder and onto his arm, before jumping and landing softly on Thrawn's desk, before curling into a ball and dozing off.

Again, Sloane shrugged her shoulders, a rogue smile coming to her face before she replied.

"Eh, hadn't met you before. Thought it'd be fun. Besides, Rax and Versio are too uptight for me. Give me someone with personality any day."

She was flippant, Thrawn would give her that. And whilst he would have preferred a more professional ally, he could see the worth on having Sloane on his side.

"Then I am grateful for your support, 'Admiral' Sloane. You and 'Admiral' Pellaeon will be vital to our success." Thrawn spoke, his voice clear and full on intent. He only briefly caught the surprised look on the faces of Sloane and Pellaeon at the sudden and unexpected promotions. Admittedly it was one part an attempt to sweeten them up for the upcoming bombshell, and another part a way of legitimizing their command of the destroyers they now had in their possession.

"If I may Grand Admiral, exactly why have you called myself and Admiral Sloane here rather than Jakku?" Pellaeon inquired, his tone ever steadfast and loyal.

Thrawn paused a moment, gathering his own thoughts.

And then he spoke.

"Sedition Admiral. Sedition in the name of preservation."

It had taken some convincing, mainly towards Pellaeon, but in the end, both Sloane and he had agreed with Thrawn's assessment of the situation. They understood the need for stopping Rax and Versio, and for ensuring the safety of the galaxy, rather than it's destruction at the hands of man men and their superweapons.

The only problem that had been brought up was the limited number of allies they had, and the current state of the ships they possessed. Chimaera may have been operational, but it had sustained heavy damage from the Ghost. The repairs that had been made would only hold temporarily. And if they hoped to have any success against the forces of Rax and Versio they would need two more things.

Allies and upgrades.

And Thrawn knew where to find them.

And so after his two new found allies had headed back to their respective Star Destroyers and gone in search of other allies and equipment, Thrawn had given the order to jump to an unknown region of space.

Unknown to many that was, but not him.

After all, he had grown up here.

Thrawn waited with baited breath, a breath he didn't even realize he was holding, as the blue vortex of hyperspace that he could see out of the window of Chimaera's bridge faded away.

And then there, before him was a familiar sight, one that he had not seen in years, but one that he had missed dearly.

Csilla. His home planet. The planet from which his species had originated. He thought back to his childhood, of the days spent traversing the frigid wastes of the planet. As a child, he had been the adventurous type, always craving the need to explore. He had spent hours on end climbing glaciers, exploring caves and finding all of the little secrets that his people knew nothing about. He supposed that it all started there. His desire to explore, to discover, that was what had fuelled him, what made him gather the various trinkets in his travels.

And it was exactly why his people had chosen him for the mission he had.

"So, that's your home planet? I expected something a bit different." Yularen chose that moment to appear beside him, his own gaze locked on Thrawn's planet.

Thrawn said nothing in reply, lost in his own memories of a distant past.

A past he was now about to revisit.

"Grand Admiral, we have detected several large ships approaching our position." An officer called from his workstation, a slight edge of fear in her voice. Thrawn understood. After all, this was the definition of wild space.

"Hail the lead ship and broadcast my message on an open frequency." Thrawn ordered in response. It would only be a matter of time before what he assumed was the Chiss fleet opened fire on the Chimaera.

The officer nodded in reply, her fingers crossing over several switches on her terminal before she gestured for the Grand Admiral to speak.

Bracing himself, Thrawn spoke in a language foreign to all of the Chimaera's bridge, but not to him, nor his people.

"This is Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Imperial Navy. I am returning from special assignment and have vital intelligence that could threaten the Chiss Ascendancy, as well as the galaxy as a whole. I request immediate access to the Chiss high council."

No response came at first, and that honestly scared Thrawn. This could all go horribly wrong. If the people in charge were not the same as when he had left? If they didn't like him or believe in his story, then it could be the end.

And then, something changed.

"Grand Admiral, the unidentified ships have ceased approaching, and we are receiving a communication from the lead one. I can't decipher the language however." The same officer as before spoke, her voice still a bit wobbly, but otherwise now possessing a strain of hope, hope that Thrawn shared.

Moving over to the terminal, Thrawn read the message before smiling.

"The high council wishes to see us immediately."

Thrawn stood, his posture tall and his imperial uniform pristine. The bright white contrasted greatly against his blue skin and red eyes, a sharp contrast to the dark colours worn by the various Chiss guards that were present to act as security, as well as escort the imperial duo through the palace the council resided in.

Beside him, Yularen stood, his own uniform equally as white and pristine, ever confident.

Hopefully together they would be able to convince the Chiss high council to help.

And then the doors before them opened, and a single figure stepped through, making an immediate beeline for Thrawn.

But this one was not Chiss, but rather human.

Thrawn had to stop himself from breaking into a wide smile.

"Eli Vanto, my old friend."

The meeting with the council had gone unexpectedly well. The Chiss councillors, alongside the members of the upper class had all convened for the return of their chosen champion, and had all agreed with Thrawn's assessment of the situation. Thrawn had told them in detail of his adventures, of his rise and ruse through the ranks of the Empire, and of the battle station that had been designed as the ultimate planet killer.

And with little to no hesitation, his own people had pledged their immediate support for his next plan. Stopping Operation Cinder was a priority.

And so now here he stood, overlooking a sight he had never expected to see in his life.

The Chimaera, his personal Star Destroyer was now grounded, held within a Chiss foundry awaiting repairs and upgrades. Upon closer inspection it had appeared the damage to the hull was beyond conventional repair, so he had opted for a different solution.

Thrawn now watched as his ship was torn apart, scrap by scrap. Its interior was rebuilt from the ground up, various new components being put in place to ensure the best result.

The material the hull was made from also changed. The Chiss did not have access to the quantities of resources needed for normal Star Destroyer hulls, but they did possess their own solution, one that comprised of a much thinner material, but one that offered greater manoeuvrability, even in capital ships.

Thrawn watched as new hull panels were welded into place, the glorious sheen of silver/grey that had been the previous colour of the hull was now a dull blue, one that was partly indicative of the Chiss as a people, and partly of the ingenuity of his species as a whole.

They did not have access to Imperial levels of equipment, but that didn't matter.

"No matter how many times I see this process I remain amazed. The Chiss are truly extraordinary."

Thrawn smiled as the voice beside him hit his eyes. It had been too long since he had spoken to Eli in person. Sure, they had sent messages and intelligence, but they had never been able to speak as friends.

"My people have always prided themselves in our ability to adapt to any situation. It is why we have thrived in these dangerous regions of space." Thrawn replied, his red eyes watching as another hull plate was welded onto place on the Chimaera.

"Tell me about it. Time and again the council surprises me with some new development that I would never have seen in a million years. Turns out it's not just you that is so attentive. Must be a Chiss thing." Eli replied, a smirk on his face.

In response, Thrawn released a rare chuckle.

Roughly a month after Chimaera's arrival at Csilla, Rukh showed up.

And with him was a crew of loyal engineers, as well as several imperial cargo ships worth of material for Thrawn's latest idea.

The Chimaera was still undergoing upgrades, a process that was taking longer than anticipated. But that was of little concern right now.

Thrawn stood before a crowd of Imperials who had come with Rukh, who now stood by the Chiss Grand Admiral's side. The engineers before them apparently had all sworn loyalty to Thrawn, rather than Rax and Versio.

It was flattering in a way that so many humans were willing to trust a Chiss, especially over renowned leaders such as Rax and Versio.

But it all played directly into Thrawn's hands.

And so now here he stood, ready to unveil his newest creation.

Or rather, his newest improvement.

"I have previously headed up an experimental fighter division for the Emperor know by the codename 'Defender'. However, I was unable to get the vessel out of an experimental stage. This changes today. Together, with help from the Chiss ascendancy, I have redesigned this experimental fighter into one that can easily be mass produced without sacrificing any of the advantages it has over the rest of the fighter divisions. Just one Defender will be more than equivalent of an entire wing of TIE fighters. Thus, I request one task from you, loyal Imperials. Help me make this fighter a reality."

Suffice to say, the crowd of assembled loyalists broke into cheers.

And the work began.

Four months after arriving at Csilla, Thrawn got an incredibly unexpected surprise from Admiral Sloane.

"Well? What do you think?"

Thrawn was lost for words, something that was incredibly rare. The Grand Admiral stood in the hanger bay of the Devastator, which now held high orbit over Csilla.

And there before him was yet another secret weapon, one that originated from Mandalore.

"How did you acquire this Admiral Sloane?" Thrawn asked, inspecting the power core before him. He had only read about this weapon, but from what Tiber Saxon had said, it possessed the power to neutralise entire armies.

Exactly the sort of weapon that would be both useful to him, and detrimental in the wrong hands.

"Mandalore is in utter chaos right now. Civil war in the wake of Saxon's death. I snuck a team in and stole it. Figured it might come in handy." Sloane replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

Thrawn had to give the woman credit. He knew she was good, Yularen and her dossier had said as much.

But to acquire such a piece of hardware, one that could hopefully be turned again Rax and Versio was a major victory.

"Excellent work Admiral Sloane. I was right to trust you."

Sloane bowed her head in reply.

Five months after arriving at Csilla, and word reached Thrawn that the Chimaera was complete.

In the time between Sloane's arrival and this monumental even, much had happened.

The new and improved TIE Defender program had been a roaring success, with over fifty fighters being produced, and many more on the Chiss assembly lines. In time, Thrawn would have a fleet of fighters that would break any blockade of Star Destroyers.

Privately, he wondered what Hera Syndulla would think of such a task force. Fortunately for her, she was not his target any more.

There had also been developments regarding the health of Governor Pryce. She was still in a coma, but was stable. Hopefully in time he would be able to wake her safely, without risking brain damage or worse.

But right now he only concern was seeing Chimaera space worthy again, and it was quite the sight to behold.

The shape was the same as other Star Destroyers, but the new blue like metal that made up the outer hull gave it a much more majestic sight. It was unique, and had many more improvements added internally as it did externally.

He couldn't wait to try it out.

Still, it was missing something.

Turning his head to his side, Thrawn addressed Eli, who had come out to watch Chimaera's first flight with Thrawn.

"Do you know anyone who can paint star ship hulls for me?"

Eli groaned in response, and Thrawn released another chuckle.

Six months after his arrival at Csilla, news reached Thrawn. News he had been waiting for.

Admiral Pellaeon had arrived, and immediately demanded to see Thrawn.

The news as grim, but exactly what he wanted to here.

Versio had been spotted above Naboo, and he had a fleet of Destroyers with him, as well as what looked like some sort of orbital satellite.

That meant only one thing.

Operation Cinder had begun.

And Thrawn was prepared.

Chimaera was fully upgraded now, and with his five entire wings of fifteen TIE Defenders built and ready for combat, Thrawn prepared to strike.

His fleet was small and would no doubt be outnumbered, but he had counted on that.

If innocents were threatened after all, then no doubt the rebellion would also be there.

And hopefully that meant Hera Syndulla. Maybe together, they had a chance.

And so he had given the order. Pellaeon and Sloane had agreed, taking command of their own Star Destroyers in the process.

And now before him, Thrawn looked out of the window on the bridge of the Chimaera. The blue vortex of hyperspace was beautiful to him, even now.

Even if it was the calm before the storm.

The storm that he fully intended on being the end of Garrick Versio.

Author's thoughts

Thrawn buddy, you don't get any easier to write for.

I hope you all like this one shot, even if there was no action whatsoever in it. Still, it was important to get it across for the next part. Besides, I know some of you will love it simply because it is Thrawn.

Also, in regards to the new design of the Chimaera, just to be clear it's not completely blue like Chiss skin, but rather a dull shade of it. I wanted to make Chimaera a bit more unique and more Chiss like I guess. Let me know what you think of the idea.

As for the Chiss ascendency, we know very little about them in canon, aside from what is in the Thrawn novel, so I sought of improvised. Hope that's ok.

And oh hi Eli Vanto. I know he didn't have much of a role in this one shot, but I wanted to include him regardless. I will do some stuff with him later though. :)

Anyhoo, sorry again for the delay on updating. Bad internet recently.

Next one shot will be the last of the Operation Cinder stuff. I wonder what will happen?

As normal, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:

Maliwan: What will Thrawn do indeed? Hopefully this one shot gives some ideas. :)

TerminatorJedi1995: Glad you enjoyed the space battle. I had a hard time writing it.
Hopefully you liked this Chiss fuelled chapter. I enjoyed writing it.
I hope your teeth and mouth in general are feeling better. Nasty thing to have to undergo.
I'm not too sure myself about an Old Republic era show. That era is mainly told in RPG games, which focus on player choice. Making a TV show about it would mean you have to create a specific canon, and not everyone will agree with how it goes down. (Not that they do anyway huh?)
Still, you never know in the long run. I'm not too interested in that era myself, but for those that are it would be awesome.

Cranky Paws: Yeah you can't win most of the time with fanbases. I just stay out of their way and privately laugh at them. (not really, he he)
Glad you liked the sudden enexpected Thrawn. Hopefully this one shot makes his appearance even better. As for Iden... wait and see.
You're more hyped for my stuff than you are actual Star Wars canon... wow... thank you. :)

Cousinxcaps: Thanks, glad you liked it. I did toy with the idea of making the ships loyal to Thrawn have markings on them or something, but I felt it wasn't necessary... not yet at least.
But hey, at least Chimaera is blue now right?
Iden is an odd character. She was wasted in BF2 so I wanted to add her here for a bit for her fans. As for where Draven is... you might be onto something. Muahahahahaha!

Travis Middleton: Glad you enjoyed the chapter. It was inspired by the plot of BF2.
Hera is great fun to write for, especially when she is kicking imperial butt in space.
Hopefully you enjoyed Thrawn in this one shot. He has been building and preparing, and only now does he strike.
As for Iden, wait and see what she does.

Chiara Polairix Edelstein: Hera as a protagonist is great fun. She made the most sense in this arc.

Jaco2553alpha: He he, sorry. Hopefully this one makes it better, even if it is another cliffhanger.
As for the ship Kalani is using, it is a capital ship class like the 'Invisible Hand'. Should have clarified really. :)

FossilQueen1984: Versio is certainly in trouble. Thrawn does not mess around.

jamese765: The plot thickens even further in this one shot. Hope you like.

Mysterious Guest one: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the one shot. Hopefully this one is just as good.
I was going to do an original character for a child for Kanan and Hera in the future, but now I will most likely use Jacen instead. That being said, maybe they will have more than one child. :)