I've been looking forward to putting this chapter out for months. You'll see why when you read it, but suffice to say, avoiding spoilers for this has not been easy while answering questions. So, without further ado, let's get onto the chapter.

Before that, though, please give whatever support you can afford to the people of Ukraine. Their fight is far from over.

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Chapter 52

HNE Special Report

Terror in the Outer Rim

Just one week ago, war began when a Jedi led strike force assaulted a droid factory on Geonosis. Though they succeeded in destroying the factory, the forces left on Geonosis are now confirmed to have evacuated the planet in the face of overwhelming Separatist opposition. Experts have cited the still-incomplete Republic Navy as a primary factor in the Jedi failure to completely secure the planet.

Leading the Separatist assault was what many believe to be the Supreme General of the droid armies. Survivors report a monstrous cyborg wiped out a clone company and ruthlessly slaughtered five Jedi in melee combat. Allegedly, this being named itself General Grievous, and was later spotted commanding Separatist forces as they assaulted Petranaki arena. If true, these reports raise questions of what other horrors might yet arise as this war continues.

…

Separatists Push into Republic Territory

Since the fall of Geonosis just three weeks ago, Separatist forces have made significant gains in the Galactic south. Multiple systems along the Corellian Run have fallen to Separatist armies under the command of General Grievous, including Ryloth, Christophsis, Radnoor, and Savareen. Chancellor Palpatine has promised to "retake every square meter of territory the Separatist criminals have seized and rebuild stronger than ever before." When asked why clone forces have proven ineffective against Separatist droids in the area, despite promises by their Kaminoan creators, he cited the defense of Christophsis as dispositive of the claim.

On Christophsis, Jedi General Mace Windu (see here) and his Padawan Commander Naruto Uzumaki (see here) led the 187th Legion and the 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps in the planet's defense. Though ultimately defeated, in large part due to continuing shortages of Republic ships and orbital support, they inflicted truly devastating damage on the droids sent against them. Exact numbers are unknowable, but estimates go as high as three million droids destroyed before the Jedi retreated. Clone casualty reports are still preliminary, but remain below 50,000.

An inspiring display, but the fact remains, that system and numerous others are now in Separatist hands. If the Separatist advance continues at this rate, they will be capable of threatening Inner Rim worlds in a matter of weeks, and Core Worlds soon after. Many of those worlds include the Republic's primary industrial and economic centers. Though no one can deny the valor of either the Jedi or their clone troopers, if they do not receive the ships they need, this war may well be over in all but name.

…

Victory over Eriadu

In a sharp contrast to the ongoing setbacks along the Corellian Run, the clone forces of the 501st, under the command of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker (see here) and his Padawan Commander Ahsoka Tano (see here) achieved a decisive victory over Separatist forces in the skies over Eriadu. A loyalist world, Eriadu occupies a key position at the intersection of the Rimma Trade Route and the Hydian Way. Its former governor, Wilhuff Tarkin, is now a captain in the Republic Navy, and has already enjoyed successes of his own in the galactic north.

Despite his relative youth, being only 19, General Skywalker is a rising star in the ranks of the Jedi leadership. He and his Padawan led a daring series of fighter raids against a numerically superior Separatist blockade, weakening it before bringing in the main force of his fleet. His bold plan saw the liberation of Eriadu without the loss of a single Republic warship. Many are now speculating Skywalker may take the 501st on to assault Sullust, a Separatist stronghold in the region.

…

Separatist Mystery Weapon

In the four weeks since Christophsis fell to Separatist forces, General Grievous' relentless march up the Corellian Run has continued. HNE has now received word from multiple sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that Republic naval forces have suffered no fewer than eight surprise attacks in that time, each leaving nothing but wreckage. The targets have ranged from fleets on maneuvers to fuel and repair depots, but no survivors have been reported from any of the attacks, leaving the exact methods the Separatists are using a mystery. However, it seems clear Count Dooku has deployed a new weapon, and one with devastating power. When asked about these reports, the Chancellor had this to say.

"I cannot share classified details of ongoing military operations. Not under any circumstances. However, I assure you, our brave forces and their Jedi leaders are more than a match for any ploy the Separatists may bring against us. Every day, more and more of our forces move to the front lines. We must not allow setbacks in one theater to blind us to success in others. Right now, it is of the utmost importance that every Republic citizen do their part and uphold morale."

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Commander Ponds, CC-6454, was grateful for the ability to switch off his helmet's external speakers. It allowed him to mutter every vile curse he knew without landing himself in the brig for insubordination. A useful ability to have when his commander decided to hang upside down from the ceiling in order to tell him something, or his general plucked a thought from his head without even realizing he'd done it. Now, it did wonders to cover his grumbles that both of them had chosen now of all times not to answer their comms.

Why, why in the name of dry clothes and sunshine, did he wind up with these two Jedi? Okay, so General Windu wasn't too bad. Just a little intimidating. But the commander… He bet Cody, may weevils infest his ration bars, never had to deal with his Jedi scuttling across the ceiling like some sort of demented, orange-armored lizard. He bet Rex- actually Rex had Skywalker. Uzumaki claimed he and Skywalker were brothers, so perhaps Rex had a similar dose of lunacy in his life.

'Well, good,' Ponds thought uncharitably. 'Serves him right for all those protein cubes he conned off Cody and me. Besides, the kid's a lunatic himself. Probably feels right at home.'

Worryingly, Ponds was beginning to feel the same way. There was something about the two Jedi that inspired loyalty and confidence. And respect. He respected them. It was madness. He hadn't been one of those trained specifically to work with Jedi, but General Windu had requested him a, and somehow it was working. Maybe it was Uzumaki's relentless good cheer. Maybe it was how he'd seen the General flatten an entire company of droids with his mind. Maybe both, and a hundred other things alongside. Either way, the two of them had gotten his men through that mess on Christophsis with far fewer casualties than he'd expected. Then again, he'd fully expected them all to die once the

Separatist blew up their transport, so anything was better than that. And he'd even gotten a promotion out of it. He was now Clone Marshal Commander Ponds, first in command of the 9th Storm Corps and its subordinate units, including the 187th Legion. Effectively, the third highest ranked officer under Commander Uzumaki and High General Windu himself.

Hurrah.

Okay, so it wasn't as bad as all that. Not really. Sure, Commander Uzumaki was insane, but he'd also earned every line of those jai'galaara'la sur'haii'se on his headband. Even if Ponds hadn't known about his exploits on Geonosis, he'd earned them again on Christophsis. If holding up a collapsing building from the inside while under fire wasn't impressive enough, that business with the tanks definitely had been. Insane or not, that particular stunt had saved at least a thousand of his men. The general had, if anything, been even more impressive. No, fighting alongside them was far from the worst thing in the galaxy.

From what he understood, normally a position such as his would mean fighting the war from an office chair a thousand light-years from the front lines. In this case, though, being so badly outnumbered worked in his favor. The Republic couldn't afford to have any soldiers with skills like his just sitting behind a desk. At least, that was the reason he planned to give if anyone ever asked what he was doing on the front. It was even true, more or less. The real reason, though, was that he was Mando'ad. Not properly, of course, but in his heart. Where it counted, he was mandokarla. He and every other vod. Not one of them had ever seen Manda'yaim or worn beskar'gam, but their blood was of Mandalore. Their training was of Mandalore. They were of Mandalore, and good luck to anyone who disagreed. That meant fighting on the front with his men. He wasn't sure exactly why the Jedi insisted on being there as well, but he suspected their reasons weren't too dissimilar.

There he went, respecting them again. It wasn't as if he'd disliked Jedi before Geonosis, but he'd never expected to work with one. They'd been abstract concepts, not really worth thinking about. There was nothing abstract about the two lightsaber wielding madmen he followed into battle.

He found them exactly where he expected he would; in the hangar, training. Those two were always training. Sometimes they trained alone, other times they trained with the men. This time, they were sparring with each other. Lightsabers filled the air with hums and cracks and flashes of light, and he couldn't have begun to guess who was winning. Supposedly, General Windu was one of the strongest warriors in the Jedi Order. Perhaps the very strongest. Ponds could believe it to look at him. The man had fought Dooku to a standstill, after all, and more power to him. Ponds didn't mean to have any truck with fighting Force sensitives. Let the super-powered space wizards deal with each other. He intended to live through this war, even if it killed him. No fighting Sith Lords, no crashing ships and claiming it was a legitimate strategy, no taking on whole droid battalions on his own, and absolutely no using whole-ass tanks as shot putts. No matter what the commander thought, those were all terrible ideas and he would not be participating in any of them. Again.

The spar was a beautiful sight, but he interrupted without qualm. Unlike several of the men watching, he didn't have money on the winner. The two noticed his approach and broke off smoothly, as if they'd always intended their spar end right then.

"You have something, commander?" The general asked. Even dripping sweat, the sight of his face stiffened the spine of every man in sight. Ponds snapped off a quick salute when he was within a few paces of the two.

"Yes, sir. There's a priority transmission from Coruscant. The Chancellor wants to speak to you."

"The Chancellor?" Uzumaki's face, what little he could see of it, scrunched up in confusion. "What could he want? We've been in position above Denon for days? Why call us now?"

"I am sure he will tell us when we speak to him," the general replied. "Towel off. We should not keep him waiting."

In short order, the three of them were in front of a holoterminal with the creased face of the Supreme Chancellor staring down at them. Not just him, though. Ponds couldn't be so lucky. General Jiraiya was there, too, and General Yoda. Ponds tried to stand back and look unobtrusive, but Uzumaki shifted slightly and somehow he couldn't step back without brushing his commander. He was stuck standing next to the two Jedi as if this was any of his business. As if he were somehow their equal. Why him?

"I am pleased to hear of your situation over Denon, but that is now why I contacted you. Master Jiraiya?"

The massive, white-haired general pulled up a map of the Corellian Run between them. Republic systems were marked in blue and Separatist in red. There was markedly less blue since the last time Ponds had looked at the map. "Our plan has been working so far. We've lured Dooku and Grievous into committing to a main thrust up the Corellian Run. There's a problem, though." A series of orange dots appeared throughout the map. Ponds recognized them immediately.

"The ambushes? The ones without survivors?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Exactly. My spies have confirmed the Separatists really do have some sort of powerful new weapon. They haven't found out what it is, but Dooku is apparently confident it can even smash through our fleets at Denon."

"Allow this to happen we must not," Master Yoda said. "If fall Denon does, then attack Corellia Grievous can."

That brought a grimace to Ponds' face. Corellia was possibly the Republic's most important industrial center. CEC shipyards built a sizable number of capital ships, as well as most of the cargo freighters and smaller cruisers the Republic relied on. Aside from ship production, Corellia also served as one of the largest repair yards in the galaxy, was a major refiner of tibanna gas and fuel, and acted as a waystation for a truly mind-boggling amount of cargo shipping around the Republic. Perhaps most importantly, Corellia had enormous symbolic value. Alongside Coruscant and Alderaan, it had been one of the founding worlds of the Republic. Losing Corellia wouldn't quite lose them the war, but there wasn't much distance between one and the other.

"Obviously, we cannot allow Grievous to capture Corellia," the Chancellor said. "We must find this weapon and learn how to destroy it, no matter the cost. To that purpose, I am sending someone to you. He is a tactical genius with experience facing powerful and elusive enemies. I will let him explain in more detail when he arrives. You can expect him in a matter of hours."

The general nodded. "We will be ready for him, your excellency. I cannot leave the defenses here unattended, but my Padawan will be more than sufficient for this mission."

Ponds thought the Chancellor looked ready to object, but both Yoda and Jiraiya voiced their approval and he said nothing. The commander gave one of those strange eye-smiles and saluted.

"That'll work," he said. "I'll bring Ponds with me. He's a specialist in reconnaissance, isn't that right?"

"I- yes, sir." Ponds wanted to strangle someone. Preferably whoever had told Uzumaki that little tidbit. Never mind that it was clearly marked in his service file. Someone would pay for this. A scouting mission of unknown length with him, his lunatic of a commander, some stranger, and only a few other vode for company? It would be a nightmare. "I'm looking forward to it, sir."

Now why had he gone and said that? And why did he get the uncomfortable feeling it was true?

"That's the spirit, Ponds. Don't worry, Chancellor. We'll find Dooku's new toy and shitcan it for you. No problem."

Ponds could have wept. No problem? No problem? That was just asking for trouble. Begging for it. Pleading for it on bended knee. And if he'd learned one thing about Naruto Uzumaki over the past weeks, it was that he did nothing by halves. He made a mental note to pack extra power packs for his blaster. And thermal detonators. Lots of thermal detonators. He glanced at the blonde's twinkling blue eyes again and grimaced. Maybe some rocket launchers, too.

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Naruto shrugged his shoulders once again, trying to get his new armor to sit more comfortably. It fit perfectly, of course. He just wasn't used to it yet, despite wearing it through most of the fighting on Christophsis. Before this, the heaviest armor he'd ever worn was his old flak vest. Now, on top of the mesh armor and ANBU style flak he'd worn on Geonosis, he had on a cuirass and breastplate combination, along with pauldrons and greaves. The breast and back plate were made of several overlapping segments, so he didn't lose any mobility, and they stretched to the middle of his stomach and his lower back, respectively. Anakin had sent him the designs, and he'd customized them for his own needs. The pauldrons cupped his shoulders and slid just under the edges of the cuirass when he moved his arms. He kept the lobstered vambraces and metal-backed gloves Kakashi had given him, though they'd been resized and the metal replaced so many times they could hardly be considered the same objects at all. He still thought of them the same, though.

Rather than thigh armor, he wore kama much like Ponds and the ARCs did, but with overlapping armored plates over the leather in the style of armor from Tython before the creation of the hidden villages. It had taken some work to ensure they didn't make noise, but he'd managed it. He may have been a Jedi for over four years now, but he'd never stopped being a shinobi. He doubted he ever would.

The armor's base color was matte black, but he'd been liberal with the orange trim and highlights. On the left pauldron was the symbol of the Jedi Order in white, and on the right was the hurricane symbol of the 187th in the legion's distinctive purple. In the center of the backplate, he'd painted the Uzumaki clan's red and black spiral symbol. Directly across from it, on his chest, was the eight-pointed Republic roundel, painted in orange. Mace had pointed out the color scheme wasn't very stealthy, but he didn't care. If an enemy spotted him when he was being sneaky because of something as dumb as the color of his armor, they deserved to catch him. Besides, between the henge and Jiraiya's transparency jutsu, he didn't think it would be an issue.

Mace himself wore a nearly identical set of armor, only without the Kama and with a slightly different design of cuirass. His set was mostly white, with a few highlights of 187th purple. There were still a few scorch marks too, from that last, desperate scramble to evacuate from Christophsis after their resupply and reinforcements failed to show. Given what Jiraiya had told them earlier, he thought he had a good idea what had happened to them. His jaw clenched at the thought. They'd been expecting a Venator and two Acclamators. That was over 40,000 clones dead in one attack. Not to mention those of his men who'd died because those ships never arrived, and all the refugees they hadn't been able to evacuate before Grievous' troops flooded in. It had been a bloodbath at the end. The Separatists had bombed indiscriminately to drive them out. Whole cities had been engulfed in flames by the time they got into orbit. Millions must have died, and all because those ships hadn't gotten there. Because this weapon had destroyed them.

'Then I'll just have to destroy it,' he thought. 'And maybe Grievous too, if I see him. That would really put a kunai up Dooku's wrinkled ass.'

The thought brought a smile to his face and distracted him from his impatience. The Chancellor had told them this stranger would be arriving in just a few hours. It had been four, now, and Naruto suspected he and the Chancellor had different definitions of "a few". Sitting in the defense was boring enough, but sitting when he knew something was supposed to happen was even worse. He tried to avoid grinding his teeth, but even so, he could feel Mace's eyes on the back of his head. No doubt there would be an impromptu meditation on the virtues of patience in his near future. He distracted himself from that lovely prospect with thoughts of how he might further modify his starfighter. That led to thoughts of the other ships down in the hangar, which led to some very interesting ideas of things he could do with a LAAT. If he started with one of the cargo models, and maybe upped the power supply, he could-

Beep beep beep!

The piercing whistle of the alarm cut right through his train of thought. He didn't need the sensor officer's confirmation to know what it signified. There was a ship exiting hyperspace nearby. He let the present moment push away any thoughts of the future. There was only the now and what he could do in the now.

"Stay alert," he ordered. "We don't know for sure if it's a friendly."

A second later, he felt a slight disturbance in the Force, almost as if there was a Jedi on the incoming ship. But that didn't make any sense. If the Chancellor was sending another Jedi, he would have just said so. The signature didn't feel much like a Jedi, anyway. It was strong, but not very controlled. Not totally untrained, but far from the disciplined flow of even the newest Padawan. He didn't know what to make of it.

'Master? You feel it too, right?'

'Yes. I do not know what it means, but I sense no hostility. Do you?'

Naruto focused on reading the newcomer's intentions. They'd come out of hyperspace quite far from the formation, so it was tough to get an exact read, but he was confident in what he gleaned. 'No. They're not alone on that ship, though. There's at least two others with them. None of them feel hostile, but it's hard to tell at this distance. I think the Force user is very young, though. Like, not even a teenager sort of young.'

They were so absorbed in their mental conversation they almost missed the sharp double beep warning of a new ship in the realspace around them. The sensor officer's voice drew their attention, though.

"I have it on scope, sir. Single craft, unknown configuration. It's small, sir. Maybe a shuttle."

Naruto moved to look at the man's screen. He didn't recognize the ship either, but it was indeed small. Maybe thirty meters long, with a conical nose and a single forward sweeping wing that arced from the stern to hang over the bow. There were a few armaments, including some the computer couldn't identify, that looked to him like lasers. Actual lasers, not just misnamed blaster cannons. That was new. Or rather, it was very, very old. Lasers hadn't been a viable weapon since modern shielding had come into play over 30,000 years ago. Then again, the sensors weren't picking up any sign of either deflector or particle shields on the shuttle. There was a weak electron field that might offer some protection, and something that looked like armored hull plating, but no true shields. If the lasers had been strange, this was just baffling. He'd never seen or even heard of a ship larger than a starfighter without at least basic shields. It wasn't even legal to build them. Just who were these people?

"I don't recognize it either, but it's not a threat," he said. Mace raised an eyebrow when he admitted he couldn't identify the ship. Aside from Anakin, he was probably the best in the Order at that sort of thing. If it was outside his experience, it was truly exotic. Mace didn't comment, though. He just signaled the comm officer to open a channel.

"Unknown craft, this is General Mace Windu aboard the Republic cruiser Thunderhead. Identify yourself and state your intentions."

For a moment, there was just the static crackle of an open line in deep space. Tension mounted in the bridge at the silence until, at last, a voice came over the comm. A voice speaking Meese Caulf of all languages. It actually took Naruto a moment to recognize it. He hadn't heard Meese Caulf since Anakin taught it to him. It was an Outer Rim trade language, one favored in the galactic west but virtually unknown past the Mid Rim. Anakin had only taught it to him out of boredom during a month-long diplomatic mission that went nowhere. The words were smooth and oddly accented, but still understandable. Almost automatically, he touched the minds of the bridge crew and translated for them.

"Thunderhead, this is the shuttle Cy'leez'olemo. We are here at the request of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Transmitting authorization now."

The comm station chirped, and a string of numbers and letters scrolled across the screen. The comm officer nodded to Mace. "It checks out, sir. Should I clear them?"

Mace nodded. "Tell them to dock in the hangar. Watch for anything suspicious, though. This could still be a trick. Naruto, come with me. We should be there to meet our guests."

They should be there in case their guests turned out to be less harmless than they appeared, is what he meant. Naruto followed behind him, discreetly making a couple of kage bunshin to follow them invisibly from the shadows. If this was some sort of trap, he wanted the extra eyes and a quick kawarimi available for both of them. That trick had saved him more than once on Christophsis.

The ship was already setting down in the massive hangar by the time they got there. It was even more interesting up close. The hull was a silvery, iridescent metal he didn't recognize. From the configuration, he guessed it served as armor, though he doubted it would withstand blaster cannons, let alone the heavy guns of something like the Thunderhead. Still, if it only had to withstand those laser weapons, he supposed it made sense. Hopefully, the scanner teams had gotten good scans of the ship, in case it didn't stick around. He always liked studying new ships.

There were four minds in the shuttle; two of them distinctly different from the other two. Probably a gender division. The two… men, he thought, felt serious and focused, but it was the women that captured his attention. They were Force sensitive. The younger one, and he would not have put her age above 10, was quite strong, with some degree of control. The older one, a grown woman but not old, was far weaker. Only the faintest traces of power drifted from her. She felt nervous, a little awed, and more than a little concerned for her younger companion. The faintest brush of the girl's emotions told him why. She was tired. No, exhausted, as if she'd hiked over hard terrain for a day and a night. He was impressed she was still conscious, let alone as alert as she felt. Without considering what he was doing, he reached out for her mind to offer whatever comfort and strength he could.

'Hello,' he sent her. He doubted she would get the actual word, or understand it if she did, but the sentiment should come across fine. 'I'm a friend. You must be very brave to push yourself so hard.'

Instantly, and perhaps predictably, her emotions stiffened with fear. He could almost hear her squeak. Her older companion must have noticed something amiss, because her emotions also went rigid, though with concern and wariness rather than terror. Cursing himself for the idiot he so often was, he withdrew in a hurry.

'Dumbass,' he told himself. 'Laser brained vac-head. Of course she got scared. Someone just touched her mind out of the blue. Who wouldn't get scared? Force, I really am still an idiot sometimes.'

There was no time to try correcting his misstep. Even as he upbraided himself, the shuttle's boarding ramp extended with a hiss. A hatch opened, and two humanoid figures walked down the ramp. Naruto scanned their features and their emotions at the same time.

He'd been right about them being men, or at least masculine in appearance. They were both young-looking. If they were humans, he'd have placed them in their late twenties. Neither was remotely human, though. Both had blue skin and bluish black hair cropped short. There were slight ridges on their foreheads. Nothing major, but it was noticeable. What drew his gaze were their eyes, though. Red eyes, with a glow about them that suggested excellent night vision. Nothing particularly exotic or unnerving on its own, but the effect, combined with their military uniforms, rigid posture and equally rigid expressions, was striking.

Their emotions were no less so. The shorter one, with the broader shoulders, felt like most military officers Naruto had encountered. The good ones, at least. He was a study in control. There was annoyance, discomfort, some confusion, and even a touch of concern for the two females back in the shuttle, but his sense of duty wrapped tight around it all. Nothing pierced that enforced calm, and Naruto doubted anything would. He had the feel of an experienced campaigner, and whatever new sights he was seeing now, he'd seen stranger and come out the other side.

The other was something else entirely. Naruto had never felt anyone even remotely like him before. His mind was like a palace made of beskar and then dipped in liquid nitrogen. It wasn't barren, like Deyne Tapalo's had been. That man had felt nothing. This man felt, but every emotion slotted neatly into place next to his thoughts, and those whizzed about like streaks of lightning. Next to him, the shorter man may as well have been a tantruming child. This man was in complete control of himself. When those glowing red eyes swept over him, Naruto suspected the man saw at least as much as he had about him, and without the help of the Force. Curiosity was his strongest emotion. Endless, starving curiosity; like a pit he could never fill. After that was a sort of self-satisfied happiness, as of someone patting themselves on the back after a job well done. Beyond that, but still vibrant in its intensity, was an eagerness to be about something. He was not merely here out of duty. He wanted to be here, as if standing in front of two suspicious Jedi on a massive warship in the middle of a galactic war was his fondest dream.

"I am General Mace Windu of the Jedi Order," Mace said in Meese Caulf. "This is my Padawan, Commander Naruto Uzumaki. I understand the Chancellor sent you. We were only told to expect one of you."

The taller one with the mind like a frozen clock smiled thinly and nodded in acknowledgment before responding in the same language. "Mid Captain Ufsa'mak'ro is merely here to escort me, and to see my pilot and her young companion safely back to our home. I am who your Supreme Chancellor told you to expect. My name is Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, of the Chiss Ascendancy. May I come aboard?"

Mace nodded. "Of course. Welcome aboard the Thunderhead, Senior Captain Mith'raw'nuruodo."

The red eyed Senior Captain nodded graciously and stepped off the boarding ramp. Ufsa'mak'ro turned sharply and headed back inside without a word. The three of them watched as the shuttle took off and raced out of the hangar. Once it was out of sight, Naruto turned to their new guest.

"So, Senior Captain Mith'raw'nuruodo? That sure is a mouthful. You don't have a nickname, do you?"

The blue-skinned man smiled again, just as thinly as before. "I am told outsiders have difficulty pronouncing full Chiss names. Fortunately, there is no need for such formality between allies. You may call me Thrawn."

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Che'ri shivered a little as she piloted the shuttle out of the hangar and tried to keep her eyes on the controls. She couldn't help taking a few glances at the enormous ship out of the viewport, though. In her time as a sky-walker, she'd served on every sort of ship in the Expansionary Defense Fleet, including heavy cruisers and a Nightdragon man-of-war. She hadn't ever thought something could be bigger and more powerful than a Nightdragon, but that ship, the Thunderhead, looked like it could smash one to pieces out of hand. And there were a dozen more nearby, at least. This Republic was crazy. That wasn't what made her shiver, though. Nor was it the idea of leaving Thrawn alone with those strangers. Thrawn could take care of himself, whatever Thalias thought. Honestly, her momish could be so silly sometimes.

No, what made her shiver was the memory of those two humans Thrawn had met in the hangar. The Jedi. She had felt them. Felt them. With her third-sight. But that was supposed to be impossible. Third-sight helped her navigate the Chaos. It let her look a few seconds into the future when she was in hyperspace. It wasn't some sensor array in her head. It just wasn't. Except, what if it was? The moment she'd come out of hyperspace and taken off her headset, she'd known those two were there. They'd been like stars in her head. She was pretty sure they'd known about her, too. One of them definitely had.

The feel of that mind touching hers had been terrifying… and exhilarating. It had withdrawn as soon as she got scared, but she didn't think it had wanted to hurt her. It felt more like it had said hello. Like a friend. The only other time someone had touched her mind had been the Magys, but that had been nothing like this. The Magys had tried to possess her. It had hurt. This had been… nice. The stranger had even done something so she wasn't tired anymore. She felt like she could navigate for days, still. Thalias had run her through a bunch of tests, but eventually she let her do her job.

She hadn't mentioned how she'd sensed the Jedi to Thalias, or to Mid Captain Samakro. They'd have only gotten worried and made her take even more tests. Adults were always worrying over her. Except Thrawn. He never worried. He'd taught her how to fly. But everyone else always worried and whispered and tried to fob her off with more graph markers and snacks. It was annoying. She was ten, not stupid.

Maybe she would tell them later, when they were back on the Springhawk. Maybe. But maybe not. Because she had a secret. When the Magys had tried to possess her, she hadn't been able to tell for sure, but now she was. Those Jedi had Third Sight, just like her. So had the Magys, even though she'd always been talking about the Beyond. And if Third Sight let you do more than just navigate, that meant the Chiss didn't know everything about it. And if that was the case, maybe she didn't have to lose her powers in a few years. After all, the two Jedi had both been older than her. The Magys had been ancient. Maybe… maybe.

She smiled to herself inside her sensory deprivation headset. When Thrawn got back, no matter how long that took, she'd have so many new things to show him. Maybe he'd have new things to teach her. And they could work together again. Her and Thrawn and Thalias and even Samakro, even though he was always grumpy. She would be the first Sky-Walker to never have to retire. It would be perfect.

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"Hyyyaaaaaaarrrggggghhh! Please, make it stop. Please! Plea- aaaaaiiiiigghh!"

Sidious watched impassively as his latest test subject writhed and shrieked on the floor. A dozen advanced droid systems were monitoring the screaming man, but he wanted to watch himself. Droids couldn't feel what was happening in the Force, after all, and this was fascinating. He'd never seen someone's Force presence… roil like this. It looked as if his soul was boiling. His flesh, too. Skin bubbled and blackened, eyes bulged, and fingers flexed so far back the bones snapped like twigs. Occasionally, he looked down at a scroll in front of him and made a note.

The sound of footsteps behind him drifted through the shrieks of pain. He didn't turn to see who it was. Only four beings aside from himself had access to this place. Of those, only one of them was on Coruscant at the moment. He considered killing him for intruding, but prudence stayed his hand. Sate Pestage was a useful tool, and useful tools were too valuable to break in a fit of temper.

"You have news for me." It wasn't a question. Utility would not save the man if he had interrupted without good cause, and Sate knew that. His fear would ensure he wouldn't dare waste Sidious' time.

"Yes, my lord." The man's dry, wheedling voice was even more obsequious than usual. Clearly, he'd grasped the edge of his master's temper. "I've received word Thrawn is now in place with Windu and Uzumaki."

Sidious allowed a smile to twist his lips for a moment. "Good. Good. He will be of great use there."

He had been working on suborning Thrawn to his service for years, but the threat Uzumaki posed to the Plan had necessitated accelerating his designs. Speeding up Thrawn's departure from the Chiss had been irritating, but worth it. There were too many potential futures where Uzumaki lived through Order 66. Unsurprising, given the boy's skill set, but he was too powerful a piece to let him wander the board unchecked. Tyrannus had his fool plan to turn the boy, and he would watch that carefully, but Thrawn was his ace. If Uzumaki survived, who better to counter the threat he might pose than the greatest military genius Sidious had ever encountered? One who would know how the boy thought. One who would be loyal to Sidious. When his Empire rose, if Uzumaki still lived, he would find himself facing an enemy more deadly than he could imagine.

Let the boy struggle as he wished. Let Tyrannus fumble about, thinking himself clever. Let the Jedi flail in the dark looking for phantoms. They were all puppets, dancing to his tune. They could not see the end of the song, but he could. He'd written it, after all.

Dismissing Pestage with a wave of his hand, he turned his attention back to his latest test subject and cackled. Now that Uzumaki was taken care of, he could finally turn his full attention to his future apprentice. Seducing Skywalker to the Dark Side may have failed, but there were other ways. Older ways. Ways even he had not imagined until those two shinobi had crashed into the galaxy and stood everything on its head. The Jedi were not the only ones who had benefited from lost knowledge. Mysteries the Sith had failed to solve for millennia now lay open before him. There was still work to be done, of course. The mutilated thing that had once been a man on the floor below was proof of that. Its skin was a shriveled brown, like spoiled fruit, and withered lips pulled back over shattered teeth. There was no life left in its body, which saved him the trouble of killing it, but also made it useless for further study. Still, he was close. Very, very close. And when he succeeded, when the Jedi were wiped out and Skywalker was his, nothing in the universe would be able to challenge him.

"Bring in the next," he told a security droid. It stalked off to drag another whimpering young man into the room. The twisted corpse joined the pile of failures in a pit off to one side. He would study it later, but for now, he had a fresh subject. The Force crackled around him, and the scroll began to glow red. The droid held the man still as he set to work, and once again, screams echoed off the walls.

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So, Thrawn showed up. He wasn't invited, but he showed up anyway. More specifically, he wasn't supposed to be here until much, much later in the story. I always knew I wanted to include him. I read the OG Thrawn trilogy almsot 15 years ago and I've loved the character ever since, but it wasn't until after I finally read the new trilogies last year that I started thinking of including him in the Clone War. Even then, he was slated for a much later debut than this. However, after I had already outlined and started writing out this new arc, it came to me to bring him in early. So I did. And oh boy, do I have plans for him.

I would recommend reading the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy to get a better understanding of his backstory, but it is not essential. I'll be recapping anything you need to know within this story. They're good books, though, and well worth a read.

I wonder what Sidious is doing. Oh well. It's probably not important.

If you have any comments, quibbles, suggestions, or inquiries, please leave a review. I look forward to hearing from you. Until next time.