Summary: Meanwhile, back on Imperial Center…

Notes: The Empire's response to Thrawn's disappearance. Darth Vader POV.

Best Left Forgotten

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, stood before his master and tried to think nothing at all.

"Most unfortunate, indeed," the Emperor hissed in a tone of voice which made Vader certain that the other Sith Lord didn't view the situation as 'unfortunate' at all.

"Still," Darth Sidious continued, smiling a ghastly smile which exposed his yellow and rotten teeth, "young Bridger and his master are both gone, and our Jedi problem has been dealt with. Grand Admiral Thrawn was at least successful in that."

"As an alien, one must make allowances for his failures," Moff Motti chimed in unctuously. "Indeed, given his limitations, it is somewhat impressive he got as far as he did. Although, we must not forget that his blunders cost us the entire 5th Fleet."

Vader turned to face the simpering bureaucrat. "And what limitations would those be?" he demanded dangerously, in his deep, booming voice. Breathtaking intelligence? An ability to not underestimate his opponents? Respect for those who served under him? A refusal to let bureaucrats dictate the military chain of command?

Colonel Wulf Yularen, head of the ISB, smoothly interjected himself between Moff and Sith before the situation could escalate. "Have you ever fought a Jedi, Your Excellency?"

Motti shook his head stubbornly.

Yularen had served with Vader when the Empire had been the Republic. His hair had gone completely white since then, and he had transferred out of the Navy – taking a demotion – immediately after the corrupt Republic had been transformed under Palpatine for reasons which Vader had never understood. But he had lost none of his resolve.

"Well, I have fought both beside and against Jedi, and they are almost impossible to predict and incredibly difficult to kill. The Grand Admiral's task was one which none of us here – besides Lord Vader and our Emperor – stood a chance of completing."

There was an uncomfortable silence as those in the room tried to decide if Yularen spoke too highly of traitor and terrorists.

"Be that as it may," Moff Tarkin continued, "we must talk about the consequences. The 5th Fleet has been all-but eradicated and Lothal is once more without an Imperial presence. We need a swift military response."

Vader shifted, would have spoken, but Sidious, Yularen and Tarkin all shot him a look, so he held his tongue, feeling anger rise within him.

"Yes, but would a military response be the most effective course of action?" interjected Director Orson Krennic, head of the Imperial Science Division. "Or should we consider a more…permanent solution?"

Krennic had been promoting his pet project – some sort of superweapon powered by kyber crystals – codenamed "stardust" for years now. Thrawn and Vader had opposed diverting so much of the Empire's resources and manpower into an entity which could be destroyed in a single strike, and had recommended the simple, but effective, solution of increasing the size of the Imperial Fleet and upgrading the ubiquitous, but undefended, TIE fighter as an alternative.

But now Thrawn was gone, vanishing completely from Imperial space due to the machinations of the Jedi.

Idly Vader wondered if Kenobi had had something to do with it. Such a strategic loss as the entire 5th Fleet and a Grand Admiral spoke of the work of his old master's devious mind.

For what felt like the hundredth time, Vader testily reminded the regional governors that, "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."

"Very true, my apprentice," the Emperor warned – Vader, not the Moffs – once more reasserting Vader's subordinate position.

The younger Sith Lord could feel the malicious glee coming off the Moffs, could fell the Emperor's satisfaction, and vowed yet again that he would destroy his master one day and take control of what was rightfully his.

He would remake the galaxy and then…then she would be proud of him. He would prove to his Master…his old master that he was the master then, that he had grown beyond Kenobi and was the true master of the Force.

And then, when he had complete control of the Empire, he would use his unlimited resources to find Kenobi, wherever he was hiding. The old man could not elude him forever!

Long after the meeting had ended, and Vader meditated in his private chambers, his anger and unease at Thrawn's disappearance remained. The meditation room he was in had been given to him by Sidious and was the room he had once shared with Kenobi a lifetime ago, when the Imperial palace had been the Jedi Temple. It was a blatant attempt to continuously flood him with anger as it dredged up memories of the past, but today Vader welcomed it. The anger strengthened him and cleared his mind.

The Sith Lord found his attention drifting to memory once more, to his first meeting with the strange but brilliant alien named Thrawn.

And then to his return to the Jedi Temple…

Darth Vader hung, weightless, in the bacta tank, the black and deep reds of his chamber heavy and impenetrable around him. Although nothing was left of Anakin Skywalker in this place, he could still feel an echo of Obi-Wan's presence: a glint of blue-grey eyes, the scent of Obi-Wan's infernal tea, the faint sound of his refined voice.

Anakin stumbled through the door of their shared quarters. Obi-Wan turned towards Anakin from where he'd been standing at the kitchen counter. He looked tired and worn, his tunic loose as he relaxed before bed, and his soft, copper hair mussed from its usual immaculate nature.

He also looked like the best thing Anakin had seen in weeks.

The younger Jedi Knight stumbled across the room and all-but fell into his arms. Obi-Wan froze for a second, startled, before his own arms slowly came up around Anakin, who released a breath and hid his face in his master's tabard.

After long moments in which Anakin just breathed, he tried a small laugh. "Well, I'm back."

The door opened again with a snap-hiss. "Master!" Ahsoka cried, barreling into their rooms. "We were so worried! But of course, you're alright. I told Master Kenobi you'd be alright. You're always alright."

She bounced with energy next to her two masters, her relief pouring from her into the Force around them.

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Anakin has more lives than a Sullustan moonbat."

Later, after they were sat around the kitchen table with cups of Obi-Wan's spicy tea and Anakin had explained everything that had happened in the Thrugii Asteroid Belt, Obi-Wan leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"This Mitth'raw'nuruodo sounds like quite an extraordinary individual. I should like to meet him one day."

Anakin and Ahsoka exchanged amused and long-suffering looks.

Obi-Wan's smile was fond as he collected their empty cups. "The Force works in mysterious ways," he reminded them gently. "We never know when someone comes into our lives and changes the course of our destiny."

He reached out a hand and placed it softly on Anakin's shoulder…Ahsoka's bright, happy smile filled Anakin with warmth…

With a gasp, Vader wrenched himself back into the present moment. Anger – fury – flooded him.

And despair and loss and grief. That hollow sensation which lived permanently within his breast, that black hole of agony which threatened every moment to consume him utterly, pulsed fiercely. Ruthlessly, he fought it back, shut his mind off and blocked out all memory.

Only when his mind was somewhat quiet once more did he pursue his previous line of thought.

Thrawn was gone, just like Vader's former master and apprentice. They were in the past…and the past was best left forgotten.

End Notes: The "she" Vader refers to is, of course, Padmé. I'd absolutely love to have Thrawn and Obi-Wan meet, but I don't think it's going to happen in this story. Ah well, maybe Timothy Zahn will make my dreams come true in his new book.

Next chapter, Ezra and Thrawn come across the remains of Outbound Flight.