Chapter Text
Late Night Conversations
Just within his peripheral vision, Thrawn witnessed Vanto cover a yawn for the third time. Apparently he had forgotten how long the human had been awake this standard day. It had been a challenging day of prioritizing minor crises. None of which answered the pressing issue of the Lothal Rebels. Particularly as none of the agencies tasked with apprehending the insurgents communicated their plans to each other.
“And Governor Pryce has deemed your timeline for the factory upgrades to be impossible with the current budget. Though it is more than what she originally estimated the project to cost.” Vanto continued through a loose shield of fingers over his mouth. “Sorry… She’s demanding you endorse the larger budget.”
“Send that to the Supply Masters with the request to verify her estimates for the equipment and labor.” Thrawn keyed open the door to his office and froze. This was not how he had left his office. The lights on his collection of physical art pieces were off. The holo projector on his desk flickered with each image change. His eyes picked up an infrared shape sitting behind the desk. “That will be all, Commander Vanto. The rest can wait until we reach Lothal.”
Vanto attempted to voice an answer, but Thrawn stepped into his office and let the door shut between them. The human needed rest. And the uninvited host did not like audiences. Thrawn approached his desk, watching the Grand Inquisitor cautiously. The Jedi mask remained in its prominent location on one corner of the desk. The kalikori of the Syndulla family sat on the other end, decidedly not where Thrawn had left it.
The Grand Inquisitor reclined in the chair, silently observing the changing art holos. Long moments passed. Far longer than Thrawn expected the Pau’an to wait. The Inquisitor had gained the position of power simply by taking over Thrawn’s private space. This forced Thrawn to stand. He had no other chairs because this was his refuge, a place to study without interruption. With his sanctuary temporarily lost, Thrawn decided to let this need for control to play out. He settled into a comfortable resting stance and waited. The passing silence allowed him to identify the art holo collection to be what he had curated for the crew of the Ghost. He nearly envied the Grand Inquisitor’s single minded determination towards their capture.
“You are a puzzle, Grand Admiral.” The holos disappeared, leaving the brilliant yellow irises to reflect the remaining dim emergency lights. “I have reviewed and meditated over theses images and objects for hours and am no closer to understanding how you discover the information you glean from them. But that is irrelevant. The real puzzle is you.” The Pau’an rose gracefully from the desk chair, poised as a predator. A species specific instinct allowed free reign without the confines of regulation. The Inquisitor circled Thrawn slowly. An intimidation tactic and to satisfy his curiosity.
Thrawn let his eyes follow the Inquisitor until the Pau’an disappeared from his peripheral. Instinct screamed at him to keep this warrior in his sights, but he remained still. His eyes returning to the two artifacts on his desk, wondering what the Inquisitor interpreted from these objects. His ears strained to listen for the soft footfalls stopping just out of visual range. The willpower to remain still took all his years of training.
The next words from the Grand Inquisitor brushed mere inches from Thrawn’s ear. “What you claim to see within this art, all your insights into behavior and attachments, I sense within the Force. I gain intimate knowledge of emotions, images of past or future, occasionally impressions of thought… The Force is a tangle of energies connecting us all. But you present a difficulty. At first, I thought it might simply be that you are of a species I have never encountered. Yet when I am this close, reaching out with the Force, connecting with the unseen, you are a constant blank. A river of thought blocked by massive sheets of ice. I can sense it, but cannot touch it. And since there are no other Chiss to compare this sensation, I cannot know if it is you alone or rampant in your people.”
“Your frustration is quite clear, Inquisitor.” Thrawn twisted just enough to observe the crease forming across the gray-white brow. “As you have concluded, there is nothing I can do to change this. Nor do I understand why you find this significant. If you have discovered this difficulty, then the Emperor and Lord Vader must have encountered it as well.”
The Pau’an’s lips twisted into a peculiarly pleased smile. “And that is part of the puzzle, Admiral.” The Inquisitor hummed. He finally came to stand before Thrawn, those yellow eyes flickering in the low lights. “How is it they trust you to this extent without knowing your true intentions.”
“I have kept nothing from the Emperor. The truth in words can be understood without reliance on the Force. But it is not trust that I have. It is acknowledgement of the results I provide. I pledged my service to the Emperor and he chose to use my knowledge and skill within the Imperial Navy.”
“And that is another part of the puzzle.” The Inquisitor leaned closer, studying the minute involuntary facial expressions. “You gained the title of Grand Admiral amid a host of humans who despise other species. A review of your many court-martials suggest that you should not be holding any position of authority. Yet here you stand. Grand Admiral of the Seventh Fleet.” The Inquisitor began pacing again. “You wear the title quite well. But authority does not come easily to you. This,” with a grand gesture of his arm, the Inquisitor indicated Thrawn’s entire presence. “This is more natural for you.”
Something deep within Thrawn bristled at the Inquisitor’s implication.
“Don’t be insulted, Admiral. You are an excellent commander. But it is not what you would have chosen. It is what you had to become to get done all that needs to be accomplished. I do not need the Force to reveal to me your motivations or goals. I see it in everything you do, the very way you speak, your unconscious choices. You desire a greater authority placing boundaries around you. Limits to what you should do. You are afraid that if you acted with your full capacity you would be exiled yet again. Cast out when all you desire is to belong.”
The icy waters of Rentor and the frozen winds of Csilla were nothing compared to the chill rushing through Thrawn’s core.
“The humans do not understand.” The Inquisitor soothed. “They fear what they cannot control and destroy what they do not understand. You and I are not human. Don’t continue to hold back your talents because you fear my reactions to your unexplainable insights. It is insulting to us both. Your plans mirror my own. Which means we share an understanding of our quarry. Now we must make good use of our expertise to end this hunt.”
Realization trickled into the back of Thrawn’s mind. “You fear Lord Vader’s wrath.”
“As should you, but yes… my master is not pleased with the continued delay in apprehending the Jedi and the boy.”
“The Emperor has not addressed this issue to me directly, but Grand Moff Tarkin continues to make his displeasure known.” Thrawn frowned slightly. The many priorities calling for his presence limited his involvement in the search and capture of the Lothal Rebels. “He has yet to make ultimatums regarding these insurgents, though he is quick to pull the Seventh Fleet into conflicts he deems high priority.” Thrawn approached his desk and triggered the list of incidents involving the Ghost. Ryloth was only the most recent failure. The insurgents had escaped many of the traps through their own ingenuity and miraculous interventions. “In order to devise a plan of action that will not result in similar defeat, I need more information than you have thus far provided about this unseen Force.”
“Your understanding will be limited.”
“Perhaps, but I do not need to know how the Force works. Only what it is capable of. You can begin with this.” Thrawn lifted the Temple Guard mask and noted the immediate distaste cross the Inquisitor’s face. “Judging from the intensity of your strikes and inconsistency compared to your restrained fighting style, you hold an emotional attachment to this. Which leads me to conclude that if it is not yours, then it resembles one that was once yours.”
The dark glower was all the confirmation Thrawn required.
“A Jedi Knight… An illustrious Temple Guard no less.” Thrawn replaced the mask onto his desk. “One who chose a different path following the eradication of the Jedi Order. An exciting tale, which I will one day learn. For now, in reciprocation of my full efforts, as you claim I have not been providing, I require your complete cooperation. Specifically notification when you are in pursuit of the insurgents so proper resources can be sent. I cannot support your hunt if I’m unaware. You have had successful cooperation with the ISB. Their resources will need to be increased.” Thrawn sent a request to Colonel Yularen. He could not run appropriate covert operations without them. The Grand Admiral turned towards the Grand Inquisitor with full intent to quell this challenge of knowledge. “In order to properly plan our next steps, I need to understand the full extend of a Jedi’s ability and mindset. Everything you have been hesitant to reveal in fear of revealing your true history.” Thrawn closed the distance between them with one step. “Most importantly, I must know the full extent of what the Force is capable of in order to provide pertinent counter measures.”
The Inquisitor hovered beside the desk, silently observing. Those yellow eyes, streaked with red, narrowed and his jawline tightened. Perhaps in anger, perhaps in judgement. Thrawn did not care which. His only goal now was to learn what he needed to know in order to crush the rebellion. If it weren’t for these Jedi holdouts, his efforts would have succeeded far more completely.
With a couple of steps back, Thrawn settled into a relaxed fighting stance. His fighting sticks were collapsed on his belt. No need for those quiet yet. He needed to see the Force at work. “When you are ready. There is no further need to hold back.”
“You clearly do not know what you are asking.”
“While my experiences with Jedi have been few, they have been illuminating.” Thrawn motioned to the darkened walls where the important artworks awaited study. “With the Jedi all but eradicated, my studies have been… severely limited. As a general rule, I’ve concluded that Jedi prefer to defend, even when staging an assault. The Lothal Jedi appear to use deception to an extraordinary degree and rely heavily on deflection by way of their reliance on their lightsabers. The levitation and manipulation of objects as makeshift weapons is also a common tactic.” Thrawn met the Inquisitor’s icy stare. “Certainly there are methods I have yet to encounter.”
Expectation stretched heavy across the distance between them.
The Grand Inquisitor took to pacing along the edges of the office. This time Thrawn turned to keep his eyes on the Pau’an. This prowling was more than curiosity. “Without a doubt there is, Grand Admiral. However these will be unlikely to be used by … Jedi..” The very word scowled out into an insult. “I could kill you where you stand without a single ounce of effort.”
It took a moment to remember his first encounter with the Jedi. A lifetime ago at the edge of the Chaos. Thrawn frowned. “That would be an impressive feat if I have not already experienced such an attempt from a Jedi on an opposing starship with minimal lasting effects.” Phantom pains of choking on nothing crept around his neck.
Sharp teeth gleamed in the dim light as the Inquisitor slowly released a grin. “Hmm… don’t make it sound like a challenge.” He reached out with a hand and Thrawn felt the air in his throat stop. He could not take a breath. Nothing squeezed his throat. No pain accompanied the lack of breath.
Clawing at his own neck was useless. Gasping foolishly for air wasted energy. He was not as helpless as the first time he experienced this display of power. Nor was he helpless to stop it. Thrawn ceased his reactive attempts to struggle. He removed one baton and launched an aggressive attack. The moment the Inquisitor switched his focus to blocking the attack, Thrawn’s breath returned. The unseen Force knocked him back and held him up against the bulkhead. The Pau’an snarled up at him in anger.
Thrawn strained against the Force, seeking a weakness to break free. He had never felt this invisible restraint crushing his chest and restricting his limbs. Still he cocked his head curiously at the former Jedi. “So you can only do one or the other.”
The Inquisitor used the Force to slam Thrawn onto the floor. Hard enough to truly knock the breath out of him. “You are not my enemy, Admiral. I would rather not snap your neck in order to make a point.”
Pushing himself off the durasteel floor, Thrawn noted how the Force had not granted him even a moment to brace against the impact. “That is the first time you have not held back.” He gingerly tested his jawline and nose for breaks. The Grand Admiral could not remember the last time he had fought anyone whose strikes bruised and threatened true injury. Slowly he recognized the growing anticipation of a true sparring partner.
“Then let’s not have it be the last.” The annoyed scowl instantly transformed into an eager predatory grin.
Certain his eyes were glowing brighter with the intense detail coming into focus, Thrawn allowed a reciprocal smile to ease into his sore muscles. “We have time.” He stretched his legs, testing their limits as he walked to his desk. In a few quick orders he cleared the main training room for the next six hours.
“Leave the tunic on, Admiral.” The Grand Inquisitor was half way across the office. He called over his shoulder, “It would be a shame for you to spend the next week in bacta patches. Though perhaps another venue. I would not want to damage your … artifacts.” Even the sneer didn’t dampen the building excitement of a true test of strengths.