Disclaimer: I forgot to add this to Chapter One, please forgive me oh great literary powers that be, I do not own Star Wars or the characters created by George Lucas and Timothy Zahn.

Please note: While this story is primarily about Thrawn and the Imperials, it will also deal with the rebel gang (Luke, Leia, Han etc.) and have flashbacks which will include numerous other favourite characters (in particular Darth Vader). So for those not normally into Thrawn fics, give it a chance and I won't disappoint.

Ties

Chapter Two

Captain Gilad Pellaeon re-read the latest in a long line of dismal reports coming from all over Imperial space since the devastating loss at Bilbringi, less than two weeks ago. Yet another irate Moff demanding to know where Grand Admiral Thrawn was and what would he do to clean up his mess. Pellaeon snorted in disgust and tossed the report back onto his desk. Everyone, Moffs, warlords and even his fellow naval captains had been so eager to share in the credit for Thrawn's remarkable victories yet the first hint of failure or the first sign of weakness and they turn like predators at the smell of wounded prey. It wasn't actually surprising to Pellaeon, he had seen this behaviour all too often in the past, especially in the dark shadow that was the defeat at Endor. But surprised or not it was still overwhelmingly frustrating to have to deal with the petty squabbling taking place among his fellow Imperials while the New Republic would soon realize the Empire's sudden vulnerability.

A knock at his door roused Pellaeon from his brooding but did not stop him from hesitating to answer, he was beginning to doubt if he could handle anymore bad news. After a few more moments he gave in and called for the person to enter. The doors slid open and Pellaeon felt a lurch in his stomach when he saw the look on his visitor's face. Clearly it was going to be something he didn't want to hear and wondered with dark amusement if the unlucky ensign standing before him had lost a bet to be stuck in the position of giving his stressed out captain more bad news.

"What is it ensign? Quit standing there shaking like a baby and come out with it!" Pellaeon snapped at the very young and obviously terrified man. He watched as the ensign swallowed to collect himself then spoke.

"Captain, we've just received word from the Steel Fist that the rebels attacked our salvaging efforts at Wayland. No ships were lost but the mountain was completely destroyed and all of the salvaged materials were either abandoned or destroyed, sir."

Pellaeon felt no anger at the news, it was really no surprise that the rebels would seek to prevent the Imperials from regaining anything from the cloning and weapons facility once they discovered it. Still it was yet another weight on the Captain's already painfully burdened shoulders. "Just hand me the report and leave ensign."

The ensign quickly passed the report into Pellaeon's hand and hurried out of the room. With a heavy sigh he added it to the steadily growing pile, then turned to look bleakly out into space.

Mitth'eeo'nuruodo was sleeping fitfully in a chair next to Grand Admiral Thrawn's bed in the med bay. He only ever went to his quarters to bathe and change clothing, every other moment, both waking and otherwise, was spent in this room. There was no way he would abandon his patient for any longer than was absolutely necessary and thankfully Captain Pellaeon had been surprisingly understanding, ensuring that the doctor was provided with everything he needed and that nosy crew members were kept at bay. Still, rumours were beginning to spread and it would not take long before his identity would be spread throughout the crew and from there, who knew? Even in sleep such thoughts reeled through his mind, along with painful memories and all kinds of nightmarish possible futures. Yet the cost of losing his identity paled in comparison to the loss he could have suffered had he refused to come to Thrawn's aid. Slowly his groggy mind became aware of a voice softly calling his name and it took him a moment for the implications of that fact to sink in. When he had arrived he had told the Imperials only his full Chiss name, a name not one of them could pronounce, keeping his more personal core name to himself. Realization struck like lightening and Mitth'eeo'nuruodo sat bolt upright, fully awake.

"Theeon…kis'a'dabeo…" The voice was weak, barely more than a whisper and the face that spoke them was painfully pale and drawn. The eyes that focussed on Theeon's seemed barely capable of staying open, yet the doctor knew the mind behind those eyes was fully awake. The doctor leaned forward in his chair and touched the other man's arm reassuringly.

"I am here Thrawn, please do not strain yourself. What do you need? Are you comfortable?" The doctor leaned close to the Grand Admiral's face so he would not have to strain his voice to answer him. To his surprise a soft chuckle came from his patient's lips and he pulled back just enough to see a small smile on Thrawn's face.

"You worry too much kis'a'dabeo…" Thrawn paused, struggling a little for breath before continuing. "I simply wished to speak with you…it has been too long."

The doctor shook his head. "There will be plenty of time for that later. Listen to yourself; you're gasping for breath at just two sentences!"

Thrawn looked at the younger Chiss for a long moment, noticing the lines of tension in his face, the dark circles under his eyes, his unruly hair and rumpled uniform. The uniform in particular caught his attention, an Imperial medical uniform clearly borrowed from a man with considerably more bulk than the doctor.

"I can't imagine that I…look any worse than you do…" Thrawn smirked as he watched Theeon bristle at his words.

"Let me assure you that there is no way I could possibly come close to looking as bad as you do." A smirk suddenly curled the edges of the doctor's lips as well. "But then that is a rather cruel comparison considering you're so much older than me to begin with."

Thrawn chuckled. "Very true, kis'a'dabeo…but then being older…I can claim…more wisdom…and ignore your advice not to talk."

Theeon's smirk vanished as his face became very serious. He opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a knock at the door. Both Chiss looked up to the door, Theeon debating in his mind whether to ignore it, when the door slid open. Captain Pellaeon entered, a troubled expression on his face until he caught sight of the Grand Admiral awake in his bed. The captain was unable to control the relief that washed over his face.

"It's good to see you back among the living Grand Admiral. I must say, things have been rather…tense …without you." Captain Pellaeon noticed a warning look from the doctor, clearly sending him the message to avoid disturbing the patient. However, Thrawn noticed the look too and responded to Pellaeon regardless.

"I have the utmost faith that you kept control of the situation to the best of your ability, Captain. I will need every bit of information you can give me about the Empire's current situation, from losses of systems and bases to the political situation, both how our fellow Imperials and also the rebels are reacting to the aftermath of Bilbringi…" Thrawn paused, it had been the most he had attempted to speak and he was panting for breath. Before he could continue the doctor cut him off.

"That is enough Grand Admiral. You are in no condition to be going back to work and the stress of taking on too much too soon could cause you to relapse…"

Thrawn held up a hand to cut Theeon off. "Please Theeon…The stress of assisting Captain Pellaeon with damage control is no where near the stress I would endure lying helplessly in bed knowing years of hard work and sacrifice are crumbling apart…" Thrawn held the doctor's gaze, willing the younger man to understand. "Please kis'a'dabeo you know this is the truth…"

The younger man frowned but resignedly turned from the Grand Admiral's penetrating look. "Very well, I will leave you to your discussion." The doctor turned sharply on his heel and left the room.

Captain Pellaeon winced as he watched him go then turned his attention to his commanding officer."Forgive me sir, I had not come here with the intention of causing an argument…"

Thrawn gave a tired wave of his hand in dismissal. "No harm done, Captain. Theeon is simply concerned, not truly angry…Once again I have placed him in a difficult situation…Forcing him to balance between the professional and the personal…" Thrawn trailed off, with a shake of his head.

Pellaeon cleared his throat to regain the Grand Admiral's attention. "All things considered he is doing remarkably well, sir. I honestly can't say you would have survived without his aid…He has also provided a great deal of assistance to the rest of the med staff, which given the current situation has been immensely valuable."

Thrawn's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I would expect nothing less of him…but it is still reassuring to hear you approve…"

"Of course I do sir." Captain Pellaeon paused, unsure whether to ask the question that had crossed his mind numerous times during their conversation. "Permission to speak freely sir?"

The Grand Admiral smiled thinly. "You have many questions I'm sure."

Pellaeon nodded. "I realize we need to move on to more urgent matters, sir, but I couldn't help noticing that you kept referring to the doctor as Theeon and kis'a'dabeo. When I had first asked him his name he told me something that was frankly, a great deal more difficult to pronounce than Theeon."

Thrawn chuckled. "I learned long ago that my native tongue can be extremely difficult for humans to pronounce, which is why since joining the Empire I chose to go by my core name, Thrawn, rather than my full name Mitth'raw'nuruodo. However, a core name, much like many human's first names, is considered rather personal. Theeon likely did not know what the protocol for such usage would be among humans….That or he was trying to be difficult." Pellaeon raised an eyebrow and Thrawn chuckled again. "As for kis'a'dabeo…it is a complicated term but roughly translated it means…child brother…it implies that one brother is significantly younger than the elder…and that the elder sees himself as both a brother and father figure to the younger…" Thrawn's voice seemed to trail off but he quickly shook himself and returned his red gaze to Pellaeon. "And now Captain it is time to bring our attention back to the matter at hand…"