It was early on a cold morning on Peridea. Any galactic traveler was used to the stars changing, but here they were entirely wrong. Everything had turned out so terribly. Dolya had been nursing an overwhelming sense of guilt after their defeat on Lothal. She should have sensed the purrgil. Her job was to foresee the unforeseeable, and she had failed. She had been tired and morning sickness had taken its toll. Her powers had been unstable. As a result an entire garrison had been lured into a single building and massacred by the rebels. These extremists had no regard for life.
Thrawn, on the other hand, didn't dwell on the past. She admired how easily he accepted their situation and started working on solutions. The sought-after Jedi, Ezra Bridger, had escaped onto the inhospitable planet below, but the Chimaera crew had bigger problems. Their isolation from the Empire had tactical implications, of course, but they were also cut off from supplies. They would need food, fuel, repairs, medical supplies, and all manner of equipment just to keep functioning.
Thrawn went to work to triage their situation. He had a gift for uncovering the talents of his crew and bringing out their individual strengths. He knew who to put to task and where.
He carefully chose a small cohort of storm troopers to send out on a scouting mission. Their primary objectives were reliable sources of food and water. Food had been rationed, and everyone was hungry. Thrawn tried to share some of his portions with his beloved, but she had been too nauseous to eat much.
Dolya prepared her trance to watch over the scouting party. Every crew member and soldier had a different reaction to battle meditation. Some were more oblivious, others could almost communicate back.
Siab, the leader of this mission, was one of the more astute. She wasn't quite prescient but very intuitive. Dolya would do most of her work through her on this mission.
Dolya could sense their fear setting foot on an unknown planet in an unknown part of space, but these were trained troopers for whom fear translated into focus.
The team collected initial data on the atmosphere, and gravitational and magnetic fields. Siab could feel something down on this planet. She didn't have the training to nail down what she sensed, but it was overwhelming. She shrugged it off as the team gathered samples of liquids, moss, and ferns. Suddenly, Siab's body was commanding her.
Down.
With her belly on the ground, Siab made out the shape of a furry, four-legged creature silhouetted at the top of a hillock. The creature was tense and ready to pounce. She signaled her team, but not quickly enough. The creature opened up its stride and charged.