Grand Admiral Thrawn stood tall in the hanger bay of the battle station, the 'Death Star' as Krennic had called it privately. Flanking him on either side were Governor Pryce and Colonel Yularen, both standing equally as tall as their Chiss companion.
Glancing around the hanger bay, Thrawn surveyed those who were also present.
A legion of Stormtroopers, as well as a sizable squad of Deathtroopers were lined up ceremonially, waiting for their new arrival.
Heading up the welcoming committee was Director Krennic, who was flanked by Tarkin and Galen Erso. The two men stood rigid, one with a smug look on his face, the other a bored one.
Thrawn shifted his gaze again, this time spotting another group of soldiers standing at attention, but not wearing standard Stormtrooper armour, but instead some amalgamation of Stormtrooper and Mandalorian armour.
Standing in front of the group of strangely armoured troopers was another man that Thrawn recognized. Tiber Saxon was the current governor of Mandalore, and had also clearly been invited to the 'Meeting of the Moffs'. Why, Thrawn didn't know, but he was sure he would find out.
Shifting his gaze again, Thrawn spotted another group of high level officers, some he recognized, some he didn't waiting not far from him.
Clearly, the arrival of the Emperor had attracted some attention.
It seemed everyone was here awaiting his arrival, despite the fact that the meeting was no scheduled for a few more days.
Giving Thrawn more time to uncover the truth about this station.
Everyone that was, except the Eighth Brother, who still hadn't returned from his mission.
'Perhaps he's dead!' Thrawn thought cynically.
It was then that a Lambda class shuttle appeared in the hanger, landing before the assembled imperials.
"He comes our Lord and master." Pryce whispered behind Thrawn sarcastically. Thrawn resisted the urge to chuckle, even if it was unlike him.
As the shuttle landed and powered off its engines, the ramp descended.
Thrawn watched and counted as several members of the Emperor's Royal Guard began to descend, lining up on the sides, creating a path for the emperor.
"Ten guards? Is the Emperor expecting something?" Pryce whispered again, counting the guards as Thrawn had done.
"I am unsure governor, but it certainly seems like it." Thrawn replied, continuing to watch as the remaining guards lined up.
'Ten Royal Guards? Pryce might be onto something.' Thrawn thought internally as the guards finished.
It was then that the Emperor began to descend down the ramp, black cloak flowing behind him.
Even to a non-force sensitive like Thrawn, The Emperor's presence was one that sent chills down his spine. The Sith Lord was a menacing sight to behold, knowing full well that he could annihilate you in an instant if he wished.
And by sneaking around investigating this battle station, Thrawn could very well fins himself on the receiving end of Sidious' wrath.
If he wasn't careful that was. Thrawn was always careful, and he always prepared himself.
As the Emperor descended the ramp, another figure that Thrawn did not recognize appeared behind him, following the Emperor.
"Who is that?" Pryce inquired, confusion in her voice.
It was Yularen that answered quietly. "I believe that is Gallius Rax! He's supposedly been working on some sort of secret project for the Emperor in private. Even my spies haven't been able to determine what exactly it is."
Thrawn absorbed what Yularen had said about secret project. The Emperor sure seemed to have a lot of those these days, almost as if he was preparing for something.
But what?
The trio of allies feel silent as they watched the Emperor approach Krennic and his companions, who all feel to their knees in a bow.
Palpatine approached them, then gestured with his hand for them to rise.
Across the now silent hanger bay, Thrawn could hear the discussion going on.
"My Lord, work on the battle station is still fully underway, and everything will be in place for the meeting." Krennic spoke, desperately trying to impress the Emperor.
"Excellent work Director. And what of the recent installation I asked you to make?"
The question was cryptic, but Thrawn now knew what the Emperor was referring to.
The synthetic kyber crystal at the heart of the station.
"My Lord, we have installed the artefact as requested, however we seem to be lacking something to activate it." Krennic spoke again, slight trepidation in his voice.
Tarkin then chose to interrupt. "The power source of this station might not be powerful enough to get maximum yield from the weapon my Lord. Perhaps a new approach?"
The Emperor shook his head in decline before speaking again. "No Grand Moff, I have the vital component missing in my possession. Tell me Krennic, have you run the appropriate tests yet?"
Krennic nodded, before gesturing to Galen Erso beside him.
"Yes my Lord. Our resident expert in this field has been working diligently to ensure your vision becomes a reality."
Beside Krennic, Thrawn believed he saw Erso look incredibly uncomfortable with what was happening.
If he was being honest, Thrawn too was uncomfortable. Krennic had not revealed to him exactly what the weapon was designed to do, only that it was unlike anything that had ever been invented before.
"I would like to inspect your work then Erso. Please, lead the way." The Emperor spoke directly to Erso gesturing towards the door in the process.
It was clear that the ceremony for the Emperor's arrival was over.
That was until a TIE interceptor came screeching into the hanger bay, landing before them and ignoring the ceremony transpiring before them.
Thrawn had a feeling he knew who the pilot was.
As the hatch into the cockpit opened, Thrawn watched as a familiar figure jumped out of the fighter, and began to make his way over to the Emperor, who had turned by this point to watch the approaching figure.
His armour was badly burnt and broken in some places, much different from when Thrawn had last seen him. Clearly something had happened on his mission that had gone horribly wrong for him.
As the figure approached the Emperor, he called out in frustration and anger.
"Would you look what the Jedi did to me?!"
Silence once again feel over the hanger bay, everyone present watching the confrontation between the Emperor and the Eighth Brother.
"Inquisitor. Did you succeed in eliminating the Jedi threat?" The Emperor spoke calmly, despite the scene before him.
The Eighth Brother replied immediately. "No Lord Sidious, the Jedi escaped. There were… unforeseen complications."
Thrawn braced himself for the Emperor to lash out in anger at the Inquisitor. He may not like the Terrelian, especially after discovering his deception, but that didn't mean he wanted him to be killed before everyone for one failure.
But rather than snap, the Emperor merely huffed and spoke again, disdain in his voice. "Then there is room for improvement Inquisitor."
After speaking, the Emperor turned on his heel, and made to follow Erso and Krennic, leaving the Inquisitor by himself, who seemed to snarl beneath is mask quietly, before storming off himself.
Thrawn watched as everyone else began to disperse, before an idea formed in his head. He needed to visit the Chimaera to get something from his quarters, and then…
"Governor Pryce, would you please tell the Inquisitor that I wish to speak to him privately."
The Eighth Brother mumbled to himself as he made his way to Thrawn's quarters. Apparently, in his absence, the Chiss had discovered something that he wanted to share, at least according to Governor Pryce he did.
The Eighth Brother chuckled to himself at the thought of Thrawn still searching for the truth about the Death Star. It would only be a matter of time until the Emperor discovered what the Grand Admiral was up to. And then Thrawn would be screwed.
Stopping outside the door of Thrawn's quarters, the Inquisitor breathed deeply, centring himself and portraying a façade of ally, and entered.
The room was dark, only one light was on, and Thrawn stood facing his desk, a datapad in his hands.
"Inquisitor, good to see you have returned. How was your mission?"
The Eighth Brother blinked in surprise. Why was Thrawn being polite?
"Bridger was there, as well as a few dozen Acklay. The Jedi got away with some explosives unfortunately."
Thrawn nodded, before placing the datapad down on the desk, still facing away from the Inquisitor.
"A shame, but that is not why I have requested your presence. I have done some research into the supposed kyber crystal at the heart of this station."
The Eighth Brother nodded, remembering his fake out earlier on.
"And what have you found Admiral?" The Eighth Brother inquired.
"For starters, I have discovered that you already knew about them!"
The Eighth Brother froze as Thrawn span, blaster in his hand, aiming directly at the Inquisitor. He wouldn't have the time to draw his lightsaber and deflect before Thrawn could fire off a blast or two, so he was trapped.
But he could still use the force!
The Eighth Brother focused, and tried to reach into the force, but found that he couldn't. Something was blocking him from manipulating it.
"What the…?" The Terrelian spoke, confusion in his voice.
Out of the corner of his eye, the Inquisitor spotted movement. A small lizard like creature emerged from behind Thrawn's desk, and the Chiss bent down to pick it up, keeping his blaster trained on the Terrelian the entire time.
"Fascinating creatures the Ysalamir. They possess a natural ability to create a bubble capable of nullifying the effects of the force, as well as your connection to it."
The Eighth Brother sighed, resigning himself to being trapped in the room, completely at Thrawn's mercy.
"You are correct. I did know about the crystals prior to our discussion. What are you going to do to me Grand Admiral?" The Inquisitor spoke boldly, trying to keep fear out of his voice.
"I want you to tell me what you are up to? Clearly you have no real loyalty to anyone but yourself!" The Chiss snarled at him, blaster still trained on his head.
"Of course I am out for myself. And how could I trust you anyways. For all I know you are fanatically loyal to the Emperor!" The Inquisitor spoke, his arms moving to punctuate his speech.
Thrawn's red eyes continued to bore into the Eighth Brother's, filling him with a sense of dread.
Was Thrawn going to kill him?
"This weapon is clearly being designed to do more damage than it does good Thrawn, even you can tell that. It's better off in the hands of someone other than the Emperor, someone like you. Besides, I am the only one who you can truly trust here."
Thrawn's eyes seemed to become brighter at the Inquisitor's statement, before he spoke again.
"I have no desire to rule this station. And what makes you think I can trust only you?"
The Eighth Brother had thought long and hard about this, and truth be told he regretted deceiving the Grand Admiral. Despite his ruthlessness, Thrawn knew right from wrong, and he was more alike with the Inquisitor than any other member of the crew.
"When this station is complete, what do you think the Emperor will do with it? Destroy the rebellion… no question. But then what? How long before he turns it on the various non-human worlds? How long before he attacks the Chiss homeworld? You can trust me Thrawn because aside from you I am the only non-human on this station in any real position of power!"
Thrawn listened to what the Eighth Brother had to say. It was true. The Empire was dominated by humans, and it was no secret that many of the leaders held anti-alien tendencies. Thrawn was lucky enough to ascend the ranks quickly, but that still didn't stop other leaders from criticising him due to his alien heritage.
And aside from the various alien slaves that the Empire employed, Thrawn and the Eighth Brother were the only two imperial leaders that were non-human.
Well, aside from Mas Amedda that was, but he was too naïve and weak to pose any real threat.
So what the Eighth Brother said was true. It would only be a matter of time until the Emperor turned against both him and the Eighth Brother.
So why was he so obsessed with turning Tano to his cause? She too was an alien.
Still, at that moment, it didn't matter. He had to find out the full truth about this weapon. And if that meant working with someone like the Eighth Brother, then he would.
So Thrawn lowered his blaster.
Author's thoughts
So, smiley faces to anyone who notices the callback to one of my previous stories in this chapter.
Also, is it me or does every Thrawn chapter in this story start with him in the hanger bay.
Anyway, regarding why Thrawn does what he does at the end of this chapter, I have an explanation. He is not... I repeat not, fooled by the Eighth Bro anymore. He knows about the deception, and he knows that the Eighth Bro is playing him.
However, they both had their own goals, and they both know the other one is up to something. They have essentially agreed to stay out of each others way, allowing them both to go about their own plans for now.
So its a mutual agreement of 'stay the hell away from me'.
Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter.
Next time round, we follow Ahsoka and Kaeden on Jedha, as they hunt for Saw Gerrerra, and have a rather awkward conversation along the way.
As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:
jamese765: Stupid spies!
FossilQueen1984: I'm glad you liked the brief look into Kallus, as well as the arguements between the droids. K-2 just wants to watch the world burn. Wedge will appear in this story at a later date.
Loftcat27: Thanks for the wish of luck, I'm glad you liked the chapter.
Mysterious Guest number one: I'm glad you liked K-2, he so fun to write for.
LukeDude: With added Defender and B-wing upgrades, the Ghost shall look... AWESOME!
There is a reason there is only four X-wings at the moment. Let's see if anyone figures out why. (To be fair, it is a very well hidden reason)
The identity of the cloaked figure is one of the people you mentioned. Who though, you will have to wait and see.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd love to hear your guesses as to the identity of Maul's recruit, either now or closer to the reveal.
And now to answer your questions:
1.
Oh, ok then. :)
Travis Middleton: I wouldn't say I'm completely back yet, just felt like giving you all some stuff to read that I was happy with.
Despite that, I'm glad you liked the previous chapter. It was a fun one to write.
To be honest, I just been calling the team 'Team Rebel' in my planning. If you have a name for them, I'd love to hear it.
Mogor: The identity of the figure will be revealed in time. Let's just hope that Mothma doesn't do anything rash if she finds out the truth.
SLE's fave guest: I'm glad my attempt at humour with K-2 worked.
Bothan spy... no, but they are around.
Cranky Paws: Oh god! I better get to the end then in order to save you. :)
Thanks for your kind words. I never expected much reaction when I started, so I am glad that there are people that enjoy this. Let's hope everyone enjoys the way this all goes down eventually.