Like Herding Nexu
By Andrew J Talon
9 ABY, Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera
In the end, every pilot was needed after Endor. But there was just no choice as to where Mynar would be safe: His father's ship.
He knew Father and Mother had argued over it. Endless arguments. In the end though, if Mynar sat on the sidelines, he would be regarded as a traitor. In a desperate Empire, that was dangerous at best, suicidal at worst.
So Mynar did what he always did: He pushed himself twice as hard as everyone else. He flew every chance he got, he read, he studied, and he worked to earn respect. In some ways, it was easier on the Chimaera, because at least his father and his officers would not disregard him. On the other, it was far more difficult: He couldn't be seen as being there just out of nepotism. He had to prove himself, over and over again.
In the end... It had paid off.
He adjusted the inertial compensator and shot off like a hawkbat in his new TIE Defender, right for the first of the simulated course markers. The tri-wing configuration of the fighter had been daunting to most of his squadron, but he'd volunteered for first flight. Even with his reflexes, it was difficult to keep the overpowered engines from racing away with parts of the ship in different directions.
But with a smooth push on the aetheric pedals, he brought the nimble fighter around the first checkpoint and shot off for the next. Target drones appeared, and he opened fire with his laser cannons. One after the other, they were blown away with his pinpoint targeting. He whipped around the next course marker, and then dove towards some nearby asteroids.
He slalomed around one as big as a bulk freighter, cutting his time to the next course marker by crucial milliseconds. Another flight of drones engaged him, and he blew them apart as though knowing where each one was going to be. He dove for the cratered surface of a large rock, big as the Chimaera herself, and grazed the tops of craters with barely inches to spare.
Drones attacked from behind, and he ducked down to skim the bottom off a deep crater. He hit full reverse, letting the drones zip over head. They tried to slow to get him, but he pulled up and unleashed another volley of laser blasts.
They vanished into short lived explosions, and Mynar threw the throttle back to full. He darted out, zipping around the next course marker before accelerating nearly straight up. Another swarm of drones attacked, and he blew through them as quickly as possible as he dodged around a sudden cloud of debris.
His shields screamed in protest as the micrometeorites hit his ship, but he couldn't afford to waste time. He banked hard and through the next checkpoint, another swarm of drones attacking him from all sides.
He corkscrewed and hit reverse thrust while jinking, getting behind one group of drones. He fired a few furious shots before breaking off, narrowly dodging more simulated fire. He climbed, putting the Defender through sine wave like courses before using the pedals to swing around. He shot right for the center of the blob of drones, and they scattered in simulated panic as he blasted through them.
He shot out the other side of the cloud, and then zipped right back, striking like a shark would a school of panicking fish. He never let up, never let the drones get back into formation, until they were all dust. The second the last drone had laser blasts going its way, he turned and shot back for the Chimaera at full burn.
C'mon... C'mon... C'mon...!
He blew past the last checkpoint. He held in a breath. He checked his time.
Behind his helmet, Mynar allowed himself a grin. His old time was a distant memory... And every other pilot in his squadron was at least a minute slower.
"Defender 1 to Chimaera Actual, please confirm course time."
"Chimeara to Defender 1, time confirmed. Congratulations," the flight officer, Lieutenant Declan, replied. He could hear the smile in the man's voice. He was an old friend of his father's, and had always been fair. His pride lit up like a torch in a dark cave.
"Defender 1, returning to base."
The Defender was slightly more difficult to dock than a regular TIE, but the response system was far more advanced, which more than compensated. Mynar docked with the overhead racks easily, and clambered out of the cockpit. He released his helmet latches, and pulled them off as he landed on the catwalk. He grinned when he was that Captain Benj Dobbs, the Squadron Leader, was waiting for him.
"Captain," Mynar saluted. Dobbs saluted back, his face neutral.
"Excellent work out there, Lieutenant," Dobbs stated. He narrowed his eyes.
"Don't let this success go to your head though."
"No sir, I won't," he stated.
"Good," Dobbs said with a nod. "The Admiral and Captain are waiting for you."
"They're debriefing me personally? Sir?" Mynar managed, surprised. Dobbs smirked wryly.
"Given the importance of this project, are you really surprised?"
"No sir, I-I suppose not," Mynar stuttered.
"Good. Change and meet with them, fifteen minutes."
"Yes sir."
Ten minutes later, Mynar was in uniform, and riding the lift up to the bridge. He exited and walked out, managing to ignore the stares of the crew at him. There was the usual mixture of envy, disbelief, grudging respect, and other stray emotions Mother had taught him to filter out.
It was part of why he'd managed to stay sane all this time.
He entered the office of the Grand Admiral, and stood at attention. He saw Thrawn himself sitting at his desk, considering some flimsiwork before him. His father was at his side, and looked up first. He nodded with full military formality... But he could sense both his father's pride and relief in him.
There were also strange plastic tubes all over the office. He couldn't see anything in them, but he had seen some strange animals brought up for the Grand Admiral. He supposed he was allowed to have pets. It was his fleet, after all.
"Second Lieutenant Pellaeon, reporting as ordered, sir," Mynar stated.
"Come in, Lieutenant," Thrawn spoke, his voice smooth and cultured. Mynar walked up to the desk, and stood at attention. "At ease."
"Yes sir."
"Your times with the Defender have been exceptional," Thrawn spoke, red eyes boring into Mynar. He tried not to show any fear, was well practiced at it, but those red eyes were so probing and intelligent.
"Thank you, sir."
"It is deeply unfortunate that your genetic profile is not suitable for the Mount Tantiss project," Thrawn said, "An entire squadron of pilots like you and winning this campaign would be far easier."
Mynar winced on the inside. How his parents had arranged for that, he would never know... But he was thankful for it. Force sensitives and cloning didn't mix well, and he suspected that C'Boath was a good reason why.
He didn't know that the mad Dark Jedi was a clone, but from his mother's descriptions of what had happened to such clones in the Clone Wars? It wasn't hard to figure out.
"Yes sir. It is," Mynar replied. His senses were feeling a bit... Off. Dulled. He saw a strange, furry lizard like creature crawl through the tubes. It stopped and stared at him, focused.
"That said, your mastery of the fighter should not be wasted," Thrawn stated, "I am promoting you to First Lieutenant. You will serve as a trainer to the new squadrons of TIE Defenders across the fleet."
Mynar stood up a bit straighter.
"Yes sir."
"You will leave at 0800 tomorrow on..."
The dull feeling increased. More of the strange creatures crawled into the tubes, crowding them. They all fixated on Mynar. Some even began to scratch at the plastic, as though trying to reach him. Mynar focused on staying calm... But it was as though the Force was muted somehow. Like the entire universe was now duller, with the colors washed out.
His father frowned in concern, and glanced between him and Thrawn. While Mynar couldn't sense his feelings, the tension in his father's body language said more than enough. Thrawn, for his part, simply glanced up at the strange creatures, and then back at Mynar. Those red eyes bored into him, calculating, considering. Mynar tried not to, but he was already holding his breath-
Thrawn slowly looked up at Mynar's father, meeting his eyes.
"It is good that our crew has no Force sensitives for C'Boath to train, isn't it Captain?" Thrawn asked, calm and cool as ever. "It would make things... Difficult."
Father did his best to hide his relief, and simply nodded.
"Yes sir. Very much so."
Mynar fought back his own sense of relief, and tried to pretend that he had no idea what his superior officers or father were talking about.
Thrawn turned back to Mynar, and handed out a datapad.
"Your orders. Report to Shuttle Arconius at 0800 tomorrow."
"Yes sir. Thank you, sir." Mynar nodded. Thrawn nodded back.
"No thanks are required. I have a keen eye for talent, and I do not want it to go to waste."
Just a brief flashback before the resumption of the Kessel Arc.
Omake: How Barriss Survived
I can only blame rewatching Robot Chicken: Star Wars Specials
- - -
Darth Vader enters Palpatine's chambers.
Vader: "Master, I have located the Jedi Barriss Offee. She is living as Captain Gilad Pellaeon's wife. I will kill her, take her children into custody, and execute Pellaeon as a traitor-"
Palpatine: "Oh like fun you will!"
Vader: "Master?"
Palpatine: "I've always known who she was and who she married and all of that!"
Vader: "Then... Why have you done nothing? What is your scheme?"
Palpatine: "My scheme? In case you haven't noticed, we-Ugh. Of course you wouldn't know, Dickless!"
Vader: "Master?"
Palpatine projects several holo images of Barriss in... Revealing attire.
Palpatine: "I'll make this so simple, even you can understand it, Lightbright! 'Halleena Pellaeon' is the most popular holovid porn star ever. She makes very few movies, and only with her husband, but they're popular enough that it made her manager one of the richest men in the holo industry ever."
Vader: "Wha-?'
Palpatine: "I mean, you never noticed?! She's so hot! Her measurements are like one of those Tao anime MILFs! I don't know what Force technique keeps those massive jugs of hers firm and supple but damn, I need to learn it for my face! She even wrote some smutty romance novels and those are so transparently about herself that I'm amazed no one figured her out sooner! But same problem: They make a LOT of money! So much so that her manager is single handedly paying off the interest on the loans for both Death Stars!"
Vader: "But-!"
Palpatine: "I know you think that starships and armies come out of thin air, but they come from money! Lots of it! And as long as Barriss and her husband are kriffing for money that helps us fund the Empire, we're not killing them off any time soon! And you are especially not gonna lay a finger on that fine ass alien waifu, because you let the last Death Star blow up!"
Vader: "But-She's a Jedi in our midst-She framed my padawan-!"
Palpatine: "Oh, I'm sooo sorry she framed your underaged alien jailbait sex toy we killed off anyway!"
Vader: "She was not my-!"
Palpatine: "Look Vader, maybe you no longer have a dick, but everyone in the galaxy who does-And plenty without-want to pay money for her to stay alive. And that money is letting us build the new Death Star, so keep your lightsaber in your damn pocket, jackass!"
A pause.
Palpatine: "Besides, if we're going to kill anyone, it'll be her husband. Maybe I can catch her on the rebound. I can't believe his luck! He's a good, efficient, loyal, intelligent officer who can make a Force-powered porn star tap out first! How in the hell did he manage it?! It's gotta be some Force ritual, no man is that much of a Chad naturally...!"
Vader sighs and not for the first time, curses that he decided to go Dark Side and kill of all those younglings...
This is absolutely non-canon and very, very silly.