Chapter 26
The Recruitment
The man awoke laying on a cold metal floor in a dimly lit room with gray walls. He pushed himself up to a seated position and felt the pain in his muscles and bones as he did so. There must have been a crash. He did not remember it, but he did remember the last few moments on his ship before he lost consciousness. Something had happened to the engines. Power was going in and out and they had been stuck in the gravity well of a moon. Then something had happened to knock him out, only to wake up in some cell that was definitely not found on his ship. He looked down and saw the same uniform he had been wearing, though his boots and gloves were gone. The floor, while metal, was not cold, and from this he was able to deduce that this room was either located in a large building or on a ship. If it had been underground or in a small above ground building the ground would have sucked all the heat away. But the moon over which they had been flying when his ship was compromised had no buildings, large or small. So either he had been moved to another world, or he was on a ship. And what would be the point of moving him to another world? A ship would be far more secure.
So he was on a ship. That meant that behind these walls were electrical and life support apparatus. No ship could afford to waste space on thick walls, none but the truly extravagant. And if he had run afoul of someone who owned such a ship as that, he doubted he would still be alive. He placed his blue hand against the wall and slowly walked around the room, his hand dragging along the metal, checking for any variations in the heat or the vibrations in the wall. When he had done one circuit, in the process of which he determined where the hidden door to the room was, he moved his hand down about a foot and started the process over. After taking a few steps an intercom crackled to life and he heard a voice.
"You can feel around all you like, you aren't finding anything. This room was built to hold Jedi, so you might as well give it up. We will be in to speak with you soon," it said. It was a man's voice, and very obviously human, though he could not place the accent.
He sat down and watched the door. If they were watching him he wanted to give them as little to watch as possible. One could give away a great deal by even the smallest actions. So he sat cross legged and waited.
After several minutes the door opened, but no one came through. He did not move, and after a moment the voice returned, this time not over the intercom, but coming from the room or passage beyond the door. "Come in, there is no sense in wasting time."
Seeing no benefit to staying in his cell, he got up and entered the room, where he found a small table at which a human male sat. The man had short white hair and a face that spoke not of great age, but of many years. The human's eyes held his interest though. They showed a simultaneous intensity and calm. This human was someone used to serious, even deadly situations. The prisoner sat down and finally spoke, "Since we are mutually committed to not wasting time, perhaps you can tell me what I am doing here."
"Well Senior Captain Thrawn, this is a recruitment," the man said.
"Ah, I see. Forgive me, but is it not customary, when being recruited, to be told who one is speaking to and what one is being recruited into?" Thrawn said.
"It is indeed, but this is not a normal recruitment," the man said. "And you can only know my name if you decline our invitation."
"Only if I decline your invitation?" Thrawn asked. "Am I to conclude that if I decline your invitation I will be killed, and so the knowledge will do no harm?"
"He told us you were quick," the man said.
"Who is he?" Thrawn asked.
"You'll see soon. He is shuttling over now," the man said.
A door opened into the small room they were in, and light spilled in from the hallway. Thrawn held up his hand to block the light but was able to make out the hulking form of Saw Gerrera stepping into the room.
"He is on board," Gerrera said before taking a spot in the corner and leaning against the wall.
"I take it that you are not who we have been waiting for Mr. Gerrera," Thrawn said. Neither man answered.
"Perhaps you can fill me in on the situation so that we do not waste time when your commander arrives," Thrawn said.
"I think we are fine waiting," Gerrera said. And wait they did, though not long. The door opened again and a taller but less bulky figure occupied the doorway. The bright light from behind him left his face in darkness and he stood in the doorway with his fists on his hips, considering Thrawn.
"I take it that you are my kidnapper. Perhaps you would do me the courtesy of telling me the reason for all this," Thrawn said.
"Your talents have drawn a great deal of attention to you, Captain Thrawn. You are in great demand these days," said the man in the doorway. It took Thrawn a moment to place his voice.
"General Skywalker," Thrawn said, nodding slightly.
"I am no longer a General, for I have no army. Though I think you might be of help with that," Anakin said as he pulled up a chair next to the mystery man.
"I command armies, I do not recruit them," Thrawn said. With the exception of his mouth and his eyes, he kept his body perfectly still as he spoke. This could have, he knew, an unnerving effect on others, but that was not his purpose. It was not even a purposeful activity really. He was simply hyperalert, and not wasting any effort on unnecessary motion. He was at a tremendous disadvantage and he knew it. Worse yet, he knew that his opponents knew of their superior position. He had spent his life avoiding situations just like this.
"The Emperor is already recruiting my army for me. Across thousands of worlds people wake up each day hating the Empire. They yearn to be free of it, and of him. All they need is a banner to rally around. There are hundreds of little rebellions going on, right now, all searching for a leader who can bring them victory. They seek a legend that can give them hope enough to overcome their fear. The kind of legend only success against great odds can create. I need victories, and I believe you can secure them for me," Anakin said.
"I fear you overestimate me Master Jedi. I am but a lowly tactician," Thrawn said.
"You cannot pull off modesty Thrawn, I would suggest removing that trick from your repertoire," Anakin said, clearly annoyed at having his time wasted.
"Perhaps you are correct. But the point remains. I am a junior officer in the military of a minor galactic power. I do not know what you think I can do for you," Thrawn said.
"The same thing you were going to do for Palpatine," Anakin said. "I'm sorry, were
already doing for Palpatine."
Thrawn said nothing and the man next to Anakin said, "You entered Imperial service more than a year ago. The decision was finalized at a meeting on Corellia, where you stayed at the Hotel Barbizan, along with several other Chiss officers, none of whom received similar offers. You have been working primarily in a consultative capacity, but plans are already in the works to give you an official rank in the Imperial Navy, a command position."
"I see that Imperial Intelligence has not been acting with due diligence," Thrawn said with a respectful nod in the man's direction.
"The part I own has," he said.
"You were working for Palpatine, because the value of your mind is evident enough to overcome Palpatine's disgust with non-humans. You are going to put that mind to work for me," Anakin said.
"And if I refuse, I will die?" Thrawn asked rhetorically.
"As far as the Empire is concerned, you are already dead," Saw Gerrera said from the shadows in the corner of the room. As he said that the white haired man touched a button on his wrist communicator.
"I assume my compatriots were all killed?" Thrawn said.
"Yes," Anakin said.
"This hardly seems a manner of acting consistent with the Jedi code," Thrawn said impassively, as though they were not discussing the murder of his fellow Chiss.
"It isn't, but then of course, there are no Jedi in this room, or on this ship," Anakin said. When Thrawn raised an eyebrow Anakin said, "Jedi cannot do what needs to be done."
"If a crash has been staged, you must know that it will be investigated. My people are thorough. Remains will be collected and identified…," Thrawn started to say.
"Where they will find yours," the white-haired man interrupted..
"Unless of course I were to accept your offer," Thrawn said.
"No, either way," Anakin corrected. Just then the door opened and two clone troopers dragged a very frightened looking Kaminoan into the room. They threw her down on the floor where she landed on her knees, her hands bound in front of her. She said nothing. She did not even look up. The clones left the room and the door closed behind them.
Thrawn considered her for a moment and then looked up at Anakin. "So it was you who destroyed Tipoca City?"
"Yes, though the Empire planned to do it themselves soon enough. But before we left, we acquired certain assets, such as Nala Se here. We have been able to provide her with a functioning lab, and now can, with sufficient advance notice, clone any being we wish," Anakin said.
"So the remains they found are of a clone of me. You created him just to kill him?" Thrawn asked.
"We did wonder to what extent a clone of you could reproduce your intellectual abilities," Anakin said.
"And what did you find?" Thrawn said, with no seeming interest.
"He did not perform up to expectations," Anakin said.
"It takes time for a clone to come into their own…," Nala Se began before being interrupted by the closing of her throat. With her hands bound she was unable to grab at her long neck, as instinct impelled her to. But the widening of her eyes and the frantic struggling against her bonds made it clear the extent of her desperation. After a few seconds of this scene, watched dispassionately by Thrawn, Anakin released her.
"Hardly an advertisement for the benefits of joining your side," Thrawn said.
"She is not on our side, she is our prisoner. She conspired with Palpatine to destroy the Jedi, and she will pay the price for doing so. But not until after her usefulness is exhausted. You on the other hand will not be a prisoner. You will be the commander of our fleet," Anakin said.
"And do I not count as a collaborator?" Thrawn asked.
"No," the white haired man said. "You played no role in Order 66 or the fall of the Republic. We know that. We also know the choice Palpatine, or rather Tarkin, presented you with. Work for them or the Chiss would become a target."
"Yes well, it was a difficult situation," Thrawn said.
"But not a difficult choice," Anakin said.
"No," Thrawn responded, his voice growing tight.
"Good, because you face it again," Anakin said.
"I beg your pardon," Thrawn said.
"Well we know what got you to agree to join the Empire. I appreciate the fact that what we are asking you to do is harder, so it seemed wise to make sure the incentive to agree was at least as strong," Anakin said.
"At least as strong?" Thrawn asked.
"Nala Se is talented at so many things, not just cloning. To manipulate genes at the level she and her colleagues did, it requires a depth of knowledge that can be turned to so many creative projects. She has, over the last few months, developed a virus, particularly suited to your people. It will, once released, spread like wildfire, and it will claim the lives of two out of every three of your people infected," Anakin said. Throughout his tone remained even, betraying neither excitement nor aversion at the prospect of genocide. Nala Se, on the other hand, hid her face by turning away and towards the door.
"You would do such a cruel and dishonorable thing?" Thrawn said, his voice similarly free of passion.
"Cruelty is sometimes necessary, and honor is a luxury to be enjoyed in safer times. We have to win, and we will, if we are prepared to do what is necessary for victory," Anakin said. He then snapped his fingers and the clones entered again to drag Nala Se back out. It was clear to Thrawn that she had been brought in precisely so that he could see her shame at what she had done, that he might know the threat was real.
"And you believe you are prepared?" Thrawn asked.
"I have to be. I was given the power, the power necessary to save the galaxy from Palpatine. And if I refuse to employ that power, if I allow the horror of what must be done to dissuade me, then I will have failed in the duty that such gifts place on their recipients. I will have wasted what was given to me. Know this, Captain Thrawn. I am going to win. Your choice, for you and the sake of your people, is whether you are going to win too, by standing with me," Anakin said.
"You have certainly given me a great deal to think about," Thrawn said.
"Well think fast, because I will be leaving soon, and if you have not made up your mind by then, I will have Saw here throw you out of an airlock, and I will have my associate…," Anakin pointed at the white haired man next to him before continuing, "release the virus."
Thrawn stared into Anakin's eyes for several seconds, and all the while he remained perfectly still. It was a fairly easy decision to make. There were a limited number of factors to consider, and one overwhelmingly significant truth that could not be evaded. Skywalker could do what he threatened, and from the ISB reports Thrawn had seen in his time as an Imperial consultant he knew the ruthlessness Skywalker had shown over the previous years. "There will be no need for such efforts. I have decided to accept your offer."
"This offer means you will serve me until this war is over, until it is won," Anakin said as he stood up.
"I understand," Thrawn replied.
"This seems like the time for a drink, but I neglected to bring anything," Anakin said.
The white-haired man next to him reached into his overcoat, in the process revealing a blue kyber crystal hanging from a chain around his neck, and pulled out a flask. "I don't carry around glasses, so you two will have to take turns," he said.
Thrawn reached for the flask, but it floated from the man's hand to Anakin's, who looked Thrawn in the eyes for a moment while holding it. Thrawn returned the stare for a few moments, refusing to break eye contact.
"Well someone drink it," the white-haired man said with exasperation.
"I would be honored to follow you, General Skywalker," Thrawn said.
As Thrawn waited for Skywalker to respond he felt something strange. At first he felt terror, then sadness, then elation, then anger. He seemed to be cycling through every emotion, with each lasting only a fraction of a second. But with each it was as though a memory came to mind when he considered the feeling. He felt as angry as he had felt when as a student he discovered other students were cheating so as to stay equal with his marks. Then he felt as elated as he had felt upon receiving his first promotion. One after another feelings and memories flitted through his mind.
"Get…out of…my…head," Thrawn croaked out.
"Certainly. But before we celebrate your wise decision, is there anything you would like to tell us? Anything you learned from your time in Palpatine's employ?" Anakin said.
The feelings subsided and Thrawn's mind was once again his own. He took a moment to bring his excited breathing under control and then answered. "I know only that they have a project, of the greatest secrecy, that is central to their long term plans."
"How do you know this?" Saw Gerrera asked.
"I have seen their strategic planning. There is a gap in all the long term plans they have developed. There is something in each of them which requires a substantial amount of their resources, and which they do not plan to deliver any notable advantages for years. And they have clearly already begun this project," Thrawn explained.
"If it is secret how could you know that they have begun the work?" the white haired man asked.
"They don't have as many ships as they should, given the worlds they control," Thrawn said.
"Perhaps they are being economical," the white-haired man said. "Only building what they need."
"The fact that the Jedi still exist, that you have a fleet in operation, shows that they are not even building that much. This project is significant enough that they are willing to accept your destabilizing presence in order to keep it going," Thrawn said.
Skywalker smiled and then handed the flask to Thrawn, "By all means Admiral Thrawn, you go first."
The symbolism was not lost on Thrawn. The drink to seal their agreement was a gift from Skywalker, driving home that Thrawn's life itself was now a gift the Jedi had given him, a gift Thrawn suspected would have been withdrawn if he had withheld his knowledge. Thrawn brought the flask to his mouth and could detect, even before taking a sip, the distinct smell of Forvish ale. This too, he knew, was a message. They had gathered enough information about him that they knew his favorite drink. He took a deep drink and then passed it to Skywalker, who took a small sip before returning it to the white-haired man. Before the man could put the flask back in his coat pocket, Saw grabbed it from him and then finished the flask off.
"Well Admiral, this ship is now yours and will serve as your flagship," Anakin said.
"Might I inquire as to the command structure?" Thrawn asked as he stood up.
"You answer to me and no one else. But my colleagues here are not under your command. They have their own areas of authority," Anakin said.
"It is vital that military, intelligence and insurgency efforts be coordinated and planned out," Thrawn insisted. Saw Gerrera sneered at this, while the white haired man simply threw a suspicious look Thrawn's way.
"And they will be, by me, with your input of course," Anakin said.
"You say you are leaving. How will I contact you?" Thrawn asked.
"Walk with me," Anakin said before turning towards the door without waiting for a response. Thrawn followed without objection. They entered a hallway which Thrawn recognized as that of a Maelstrom class battlecruiser.
"My flagship was, I assume, mothballed before you liberated it?" Thrawn asked.
"Yes," Anakin said as he walked down the hall. "You may feel free to modify it in any way you see fit in order to make it more effectively meet your needs. And of course if we acquire any ships of greater interest to you then you can transfer your flag to one of them."
"Do we have the crew sufficient to fully make use of a ship this size?" Thrawn asked.
"Yes, though we would have to abandon our other ships to do so. But we are gathering recruits every day," Anakin said.
"That carries with it certain security weaknesses," Thrawn explained.
"I know. They are told before they join that they will spend at least a year without the ability to contact anyone. All communications systems have been placed under central control. You will need to choose an officer you trust to oversee comms. I suggest a clone," Anakin said.
"I was under the impression that clones were beginning to show a decline in effectiveness due to rapid aging," Thrawn said.
"Others perhaps, but not mine," Anakin answered as he came to a stop in front of a closed door.
"What will I find here?" Thrawn asked.
"We have acquired certain resources over time. We had them on a prison ship, but once we acquired this ship we moved them here for greater security. This whole section is prisoners. We had more than the brig could hold so we adapted some of the crew quarters. This first one is the least of what we have," Anakin said as he pressed a button to open the door. On the other side, lying in a fetal position on the bare floor was an old man. He wore the faded and tattered uniform of the Grand Army of the Republic and when the light from the hallway hit him he slowly turned away from it and covered his eyes with his arm.
"Wulff Yularen. One of our first prisoners, and the only one from those days still alive and in here," Anakin said.
"He has been in confinement for seven years?" Thrawn asked.
"Yes," Anakin said while walking into the cell.
"He disappeared in the first weeks of the Empire's existence. What information could he have?" Thrawn.
"Well as I said he is now the least of what we have, though he recently was of great help. He doesn't know any of the Empire's secrets but he knew a few of the secrets of other officers. He has by now given up everything," Anakin said. He looked down on the quivering Yularen and pushed him in the side with this foot. Yularen whimpered. Thrawn took the whole display to be Skywalker showing him what he was prepared to do to officers who had served under him with insufficient loyalty.
"If it is some sentimental attachment that prevents you from killing him, I must say that in this case ending his life would be the act of a friend," Thrawn said while looking at the pathetic figure on the floor. Yularen's blubbering had led him to drool over his unkempt beard. His hands kept creeping out to Anakin's boots as though to embrace him, but also kept pulling back out of fear.
"I know," Anakin said before walking away from Yularen, who began to cry.
"Please General, please," he said with a cracked and thin voice. Anakin neither responded nor looked back at him before leaving. As the door closed Thrawn saw Yularen reaching a hand out as though to catch some light to keep with him.
"You said he was of great help to you recently," Thrawn said.
"Yes, though that will be the final stop on our journey," Anakin said. They walked along without speaking for a while passing many doors. Thrawn wondered whether it was really true that all of them held prisoners. He supposed he would find out once full control of the ship was his.
They stopped at another door and it opened to reveal a very different scene. Instead of a broken human on the floor of a dark cell, Thrawn saw an unconscious Pau'an strapped to an inclined table. There were tubes coming out of his arms, which ended not in hands, but in stumps with leather caps on them. Thrawn looked down to see the same was true of his feet.
Skywalker walked into the room and beckoned Thrawn to follow. "This," he said, "is not the result of Yularen's help. This one I caught myself."
"This is, I take, the former Grand Inquisitor," Thrawn said.
"Yes," Skywalker said. "It is important to keep him sedated if I am not present. Even without his hands he is dangerous. We have had him for two years, and he has provided a great deal of information in that time. I believe he has more locked away in his mind, but finding the way to it has been difficult."
"Why?" Thrawn asked.
"He has been trained by Palpatine to resist mental probing with the Force, and there is no one better at hiding the truth from Jedi than Palpatine," Skywalker said.
"Then perhaps a more traditional approach can be taken," Thrawn suggested. "If brute force will not work, turn to subtler forms of persuasion. The right words at the right times are often all you need. Is there some level of sedation that would allow him to wake up, but make it difficult for him to use the Force?"
"It might be possible. Perhaps it is worth a try, but I will want regular and detailed reports," Skywalker said.
"Of course…what shall I call you?" Thrawn asked. "You have said you are no longer a Jedi or a General."
"You can call me Commander if it suits you," Skywalker said. "Now we move on to our most recently arrived guest."
They had only to cross the hall from the room holding the Grand Inquisitor. Unlike the previous two prisoners, this last one shocked Thrawn. When the door opened he saw, sitting primly on his bunk, Grand Moff Tarkin.
"How did you..?" Thrawn started to ask.
"Yularen. He finally gave up something of use. A tidbit about Tarkin's leisure activities. Do you want to tell my new Admiral where I found you Tarkin?" Skywalker said.
"Thrawn? Have you no loyalty?" Tarkin shouted.
"To my own people, yes," Thrawn answered coolly.
Skywalker's response was less measured. Tarkin doubled over in pain and grabbed at his midsection. Thrawn turned to see Skywalker's hand, his real one, tightening around some unseen object.
"Tarkin here has held out as much as he could. He has a high tolerance for pain, and so we are looking into other methods. While we put that together I would be happy, of course, for you to interrogate him. Perhaps you can find out more about this big project of theirs," Skywalker said as he released Tarkin's stomach. Tarkin gave Thrawn a withering glare, which Thrawn ignored. "I will, of course, need recordings of any interrogations," Skywalker said.
"You are not trusted apparently, Captain Thrawn," Tarkin said.
"I was no more trusted by you, Grand Moff Tarkin, nor your Emperor. And it would be foolish for them to trust me, when I am so new to their service," Thrawn said without missing a beat.
"You passed up a position of authority in the greatest power the galaxy has ever seen, so you could join a rabble," Tarkin spat.
"A rabble that nearly killed the leader of that great power. A rabble that captured you. A rabble that has evaded you for more than seven years. There are only two explanations of this. Either your Empire is entirely incompetent, or it is facing something far stronger than the number of combatants on each side suggest. Now I would never say the Imperial system is a paragon of competence and efficiency, but it is not remarkably inept. This leaves only one conclusion. There are processes, forces at work driving this Rebellion, and you cannot control them. If it is a choice between placing myself and my people in opposition to a power so strong even the Empire cannot crush it, or riding that power into the future…Well, that is a choice that hardly needs explaining," Thrawn said.
"I think you two are going to have some fun together, Tarkin. A shame I won't be here for all of it," Skywalker said. He looked down at Tarkin and said, "All for a little trip to the pleasure house. He didn't want Palpatine to know, thought the Emperor would view it as a weakness, so he masked his vacation with a fake inspection in a different sector, leaving him without his normal security. My associate from before picked him up."
"Am I really not to know his name?" Thrawn asked.
"For now. In time perhaps it will make sense to tell you, but for now his intelligence all goes to me, and I will decide what it will be useful for you to know," Skywalker said.
"Compartmentalization has, I admit, its benefits," Thrawn said.
The two of them exited the room and made their way to the Hangar Deck. Thrawn had some fairly technical questions to ask Skywalker about the size and status of his fleet. Hearing that he had six capital ships under his control and a dozen frigates pleased him very much. Skywalker, it turned out, had spent most of the previous two years making raids on Imperial repair facilities and looking for ships on old junk planets that could be salvaged. The main limiting factor on the fleet was manpower, but more men were showing up every week to take their place on the line. That surprised Thrawn not at all. He had seen the repressive instincts of the Imperial military up close, and while he had no moral objections, their knee jerk aggressive responses to any resistance had seemed, to him, counter productive.
By the time Skywalker got to his small personal frigate, which he operated with the help of a single R2 unit, the former Jedi turned to him and said, "Whatever else you do, make the Imperials bleed. I want them off balance, I want them lurching from crisis to crisis. Ours is the only rebel force you can count on to take any real, meaningful action. We cannot rely on the Jedi. You are under no standing orders other than to keep me informed. I expect you to go where the conditions and strategic necessity point you."
"When it comes to civilian casualties?" Thrawn asked.
"Your only concern is with the effects on overall recruitment," Skywalker said without hesitation.
"I wish there to be perfect clarity between us. Where significant civilian casualties are unavoidable, your preference is for there to be no sign left of who is responsible? No witnesses? Correct?" Thrawn asked.
"Correct," Skywalker answered. He turned around and walked up the ramp to his ship. Thrawn watched his ship leave and felt a sense of excitement. He had never had a command as unrestricted in its scope and rules of engagement as this one. It would be interesting to see what came of it. The day had started on a relatively minor mission, one that would have advanced his career, but in a minor way. Now he had the chance to guide this rebellion to victory. That victory was in the future he had little doubt. He had heard, in his time working with the Empire, of the attack on Eriadu. He had heard how close the Emperor had come to death, how clever the plan of the rebels had been. Skywalker had baited the Emperor, manipulated his emotional weaknesses, particularly his desire to stamp out any Sith rival, and so come close to victory. The only thing which had defeated Skywalker, all parties agreed, was his refusal to kill the children sent to attack him. All who had worked for Tarkin that day agreed the Emperor had been put to flight and saved only by the accident that the ship carrying the former Jedi younglings had escaped the surprise fighter attack.
He saw none of that weakness in Skywalker now. Thrawn had no doubt that if he had answered incorrectly at any point in his interrogation that his people would have been exposed to the virus, just as he had no doubt Skywalker had really developed the virus. He could have released it on one of the colony worlds first, to prove to Thrawn it was real. Skywalker's innate power, and his focus on destroying Palpatine, at the head of the galaxy's growing discontent was a potent combination. They were, of course, at a massive disadvantage in terms of men and materiel, but they had certain advantages. Their location was unknown to the Empire, while the Empire's assets were everywhere. The Empire was wasting resources on some grand fool project of the Emperor's devising, while all available resources ought to have been deployed to fight against the rebellion. With care and forethought, all the strengths of the Empire could be overcome, Thrawn was sure. And while he cared very little for ideals such as freedom or justice, to be the military leader who overcame such odds would cement his place in galactic history forever. He had not sought out this new position, and would not have chosen it if offered without coercion, but it was no use now worrying about what had led him here. Now was the time for moving the pieces into place for a victory most glorious.