Chapter 5
Responses:
Nightwing2013: Yeah, going back, I realised I had some problems there, I'll try not to make the same mistake again. Also just getting to five thousand is a feat in itself, well done!
Beary: Always glad to have just a nice, encouraging review, thanks mate!
Achilles453: I'm trying to paint a realistic picture of Sabine's feelings, given what we saw in the actual series. I haven't watched the Mortis arc in some time, and should probably get round to that. The Well of the Dark Side is where Anakin gets visions of the future, right? Not saying anything, but that miiiiight crop up here and there…
Xertib: Piquing interest is good, I think? Glad you're staying tuned.
Ezra turned away from the window, trying to collect his bearings. He was on Mortis, a dangerous planet from what he could remember of Kanan's tales, and he was stuck here with a crashed Star Destroyer, an unconscious/dead body of his greatest foe, and no feasible way offworld. The Purrgil were long gone, from what he could see while in space, and the only inhabitants were apparently two decades dead. His mind suddenly focused on something. Ahsoka. Morai had appeared in the World Between Worlds, she was possibly an incarnation or servant of the Daughter, who lived and died here, on Mortis. There had to be a portal entrance here that the bird had come through, and even if there wasn't there was probably some force nexus or other he could… do what with, exactly? Kanan. If Master Yoda had appeared to him in the Lothal temple, then surely Kanan could appear here, even beyond death? It sounded like a bit of a long stretch, even to Ezra, a Jedi who had literally bent time itself, but if it was possible, then it was possible here. Turning round again to face the window, he saw the light creeping over for the millionth time. Might as well travel while there's light, and maybe I'll find something to heal this arm with. Ezra twisted his head to look over his shoulder, trying to gauge where he should climb, and nearly jumped out of his skin.
Leaning in the doorway, looking a lot worse for wear, yet still very much alive, was Grand Admiral Thrawn.
LINE BREAK
His face is shocked, not even trying to conceal his surprise. An apt thought, given our situation. Thrawn recollected his memories from the past… however long ago those damned space aberrations ripped away his victory. He remembered nothing, vague red and white strobing lights, but nothing concrete before watching the Jedi Padawan let him fall. He had awoken fully then, pain running all the way up his left leg (he suspected fracture) a massive headache and no weapons nearby to speak of. It had taken an eternity for him to climb out, and when he had he was greeted with this impossible geography, defying all laws of science. Glancing to Ezra's rapidly changing facial expressions, he nodded to the window.
"So is this your force then?" Ezra didn't bother replying, only reaching his right arm out past Thrawn, and drawing a blaster back.
"You make a move out of line, I shoot you. You talk out of line, I shoot you. You even think out of line, and I'll know, I shoot you." Thrawn shrugged; it was the expected response from him, given their history.
"Fair enough, but you must understand we have to work together to get out of this. If we can at all, I assume the primitive beings here won't have access to space travel."
"There aren't any beings here. The three force users that existed died during the Clone Wars, and the only remains of them, thanks to your Emperor's antics on Lothal, is my friend's animal companion. So tell me how to get off this, and then we'll go from there." His posture is commanding, yet the limpness of his left arm betrays a weakness. No matter, it's not like I could do anything about it. Thrawn kept his face impassive, turning out of the room. "We'll want to take the turbolifts, unless you fancy using your 'force' to carry me across thousands of metres of this ship."
LINE BREAK
A cave, somewhere. There is a deep red tint in the air, whether that is blood or energy or what, it's not quite clear. There is barely any activity since the previous owner/practitioner died, yet now the cave walls rumble, as in response to something. Some of the red blood/energy coalesces for a moment, obscuring everything, and when it dissipates, there is a figure standing there that wasn't there before. He seems ghostly, incorporeal, and his head is bowed, as if in thought. He raises his head, and the two pinpricks of light he has for eyes flash for a second, and he smiles sinisterly.
"You, you, Master Jedi, no, you are two pure, but the other one, hmm, I can make use of you." He smiles again.
"I can make very good use of you."
(A/N Yes, it's short. Yes, it's like half an hour late. But the entire day and yesterday I had creative juices flowing for DnD campaigns and characters, so I did that instead. I really need to start prewriting chapters, especially with school starting up again. Woohoo, third year here I come! (For those who aren't Scottish, which is basically most of you, that's like grade 9/10 for americans, I think it's Secondary Two for my english peeps further south, idk what it is elsewhere. Basically I start choosing subjects and narrowing down the curriculum of stuff I'm going to do.) I said from the outset, this would be a backburner project if it came down to this or QfE, and I might have to implement that. Not hiatus status, strictly speaking, but missing an upload here or there, sometimes for weeks on end. QfE should be done by the time September rolls around though, and I can start focusing more on this. People who write stories and also do school/college/work, throw a brother a bone (and also some tips on managing both.) Haven't actually said anything about the chapter in general, so I'll do that. This isn't going to be Thrawn and Ezra bonding, not going to be nice!Thrawn, and is definitely not going to be Threzra. Come on people, how is that actually a ship? Since I've been reading the Thrawn books recently, I tried to incorporate the cold, calculating commander from the show with the witty, tactical, five-steps-ahead-of-everyone genius from the pages. I don't think Thrawn's POV is going to be a regular thing, just something to fill in when I can't do Sabine or Ezra. He is a regular in the story though, which is why I've marked him as a character. That end scene, ooh spooky, no bonus points to guesses though because everyone knows who that is, I'm pretty sure. Next time, Sabine/Ketsu sister bonding and banter, Ezra and Thrawn exploring the terrain, and an old foe awakens.
Vaya con Queso,
DamaSENDhimafriend