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“Thrawn, come home. We need you.”
The message had been concerning - no visual, no details, no time stamp, just Ar’alani’s voice. It was the word ‘home’ that had caught his attention; it had been a long time since he, or anyone else for that matter, had referred to the Ascendancy as his home. Somewhere along the way it had become accepted by everyone that he was not coming back, or if he somehow did it wouldn’t be permanently. The fact that Ar’alani used that specific word made it impossible for him to ignore the request.
The only problem was figuring out how to get there. He couldn’t take the Chimaera; that would attract too much attention and further fray his already tenuous relationship with the Emperor. The only option open to him was to travel in a shuttle, which could be risky since he didn’t know what he was going to face when he arrived. Then there was the problem of finding a navigator - and he would be thrice-damned if he attempted the trip with Vader again. His only option was to hire one as soon as he hit the Chaos.
Which was why he found himself staring down an Urchiv-ki navigator, who stared back at him with astonished eyes as soon as Thrawn introduced himself.
“Forgive me, but you do not wish to go to the Ascendancy,” the navigator said, shaking his head sadly.
“Why is that?” Thrawn asked, his brows furrowing deeply. Something had to be amiss for the message to have been sent, that much was obvious, but aside from that, he had no clue what to expect.
“I…it is hard to put into words, but…the Ascendancy has…” the Urchiv-ki gulped, and looked down. “It is not the same place you left.”
“That does not matter.” Except it did matter. It mattered a great deal, but Thrawn wasn’t about to discuss that with someone outside of the Ascendancy. “Take me there.”
The navigator nodded solemnly, and joined him aboard the shuttle with reluctant steps.
---
The Urchiv-ki was right. Thrawn realized that as he gazed out at the ruins of the planet that had once been the seat of power for the Ascendancy. Csilla was shattered, great chunks floating in a hazardous rim around the larger remnant. Only one thing could have done this.
“Starflash,” he murmured, his heart seizing in his chest.
“Sir?”
“Nothing. Just remembering something.”
The Urchiv-ki knew better than to ask further, and left Thrawn to his grief. Something truly terrible must have happened for the Stybla to use it - unless it had fallen into the wrong hands. He stared out of the viewport for a few moments more, hands clenched at his sides, before turning back to the navigator.
“Do you know what happened here?”
The navigator seemed to shrink into himself, as though he didn’t want to say. “War, sir. War between the Chiss. Everyone in the Chaos thought the Great War was over, but…something reignited it, and we don’t know what. The only thing we do know is that a terrible weapon was used, and it destroyed more than what you see here. Every planet within a certain radius was completely eradicated.”
Thrawn felt his knees start to buckle, and sat down hard in the nearby seat. He grasped the arms of the chair to keep the navigator from being able to see his hands shake. Rentor. Jamiron. Cioral. They would be gone, if what the Urchiv-ki said was true.
Rentor hurt the worst. For a man who didn’t really belong anywhere, he at least knew where he came from - even if he couldn’t point to a ‘home’, he could always point to a beginning, and now that beginning was gone. All that was left were memories. He let out a low sigh, and closed his eyes. He had no time to lose himself in sorrow; the message had come from somewhere, he just had to find where Ar’alani was.
“Is Naporar still there?” he asked, steeling himself so the fear didn’t show on his face. If Naporar was gone, then things were truly lost…
“I don’t know, but we can see.”
“Take us there.”
---
Naporar was still there, though not entirely unscathed. The towns and ports were scarred from battles, with evidence of fires set in strategic locations. He had the navigator drop him off at the main port and wait for him to send word of his next move. The port was quiet, the shipyards full of half-destroyed starships, and only a few Chiss milling about, every one of them staring at him as though he’d grown a second head. He was Chiss, but wearing the uniform of a foreign Empire, so perhaps the wariness was to be expected. He hadn’t thought to change into something else - his entire concern had been getting to the Ascendancy.
He was nearly to the gate when two Warriors in full battle armor stopped him, charrics aimed at his feet, but ready to lift at a moment’s notice.
“Stay where you are. State your name and business,” one Warrior said, eyeing Thrawn with a stern expression.
“Grand Admiral Mitth’raw’nuruodo of the Galactic Empire, formerly Senior Captain in the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet,” he said, squaring his shoulders as he gazed back at the pair. “I’m here because I received a message from Admiral Ar’Alani.”
The two looked at one another, the hard expressions giving way to something Thrawn had a hard time reading - sadness, maybe, and that set him on edge even more. They were quiet for a few moments, then one of them finally nodded.
“This way, Grand Admiral. We will take you to her.”
They led him through the winding corridors of the port, to a building that he recognized instantly - the hospital. The very one he’d stayed in when recovering from his wounds sustained in the battle with the Vagaari pirates. He said nothing, though his heart beat a little faster; this couldn’t be good.
Once inside, a nurse took over, guiding him to a room at the end of a dim corridor. It was a quiet wing, the only sounds coming from the rooms were the soft beeps and chimes of the equipment monitoring patients’ vitals. He hesitated outside the door, and then finally pushed it open.
The room was dark inside, save for one light over the bed where Ar’alani lay. She was pale, her black hair splayed on the pillow in a halo around her head. He moved closer to the bed, as quietly as he could, and sank down into the chair next to it. Her eyes fluttered open, their light faint, but she smiled softly and reached her hand out for him.
“You came,” she said in a raspy voice.
“How could I not?” he said, taking her hand in both of his.
“Good to know that I still know the right things to say to make you obey.” She let out a soft laugh, which led to a coughing fit that made Thrawn wince. “I didn’t think you were going to.”
“I came as soon as I got the message. The journey only took three days,” he said, confused.
“Thrawn, I sent that message weeks ago, at the height of all this. When you didn’t come…” She turned her head away from him, and sniffed. “When you didn’t come, we had no choice. The traitors had to be stopped, so we used the only thing we knew would work.”
Again, his heart seized in his chest, and guilt flooded into his very core. “Starflash,” he said, his voice quivering slightly.
“Starflash,” she said, and nodded. “So many dead, Thrawn - Samakro, Wutroow, Thalias. They’re all gone, but it’s over. It’s finally over.”
There was one name she didn’t say, but he dared not ask. Not yet. He didn’t want to know - not yet. “What happened to you?”
“I’m dying, Thrawn. They don’t know exactly what’s wrong with me, but…they think it’s because I stood too close to those who activated the device. A shockwave hit me.” She coughed again. “All I know is it’s a slow death, but…at least I got to see you one last time, so it’s not all bad.”
Thrawn lowered his head in shame, though he gave her hand a small squeeze. Everything was gone. “I should have gotten here sooner. You weren’t supposed to get hurt - no one was supposed to get hurt. I was supposed to-”
“You can’t help that the message didn’t arrive in time.”
“No. I should have left the Empire sooner. I should have come back sooner, exile be damned. We knew what was going to happen, it was already starting when I left. I shouldn’t…” He paused, and lifted his head to look at her. “I shouldn’t have let myself get caught up in the petty squabbles of the Emperor. I thought if I…if I rose through the ranks, I could be of more use when I did come back.”
She shook her head. “What’s done is done. You can’t change it.”
He closed his eyes. They were all gone because of him. Everyone he’d ever known and loved, gone, including… “Where is Eli?”
She frowned, and weakly tugged his hand up to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to his fingers. “Thrawn, he volunteered for Starflash.”
Those words shook him to his core. Eli was gone, too, though he supposed he should have known. Eli had been a noble soul, too noble for the Empire, which was why Thrawn had sent him to the Ascendancy in the first place. And now…that nobility had led to his death anyway.
She pressed her cheek against his hand, and closed her eyes. “He’s the reason any of us are still here. Him, and the volunteers from the Stybla. They are the reason the Ascendancy will go on, in some way.”
He scooted forward in the chair, and brought his forehead to hers. At least this way she wouldn’t see the grief on his face. “I’m sorry, Ar’alani. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Just…promise me you’ll stay? I mean just until I…” A tear trickled down her cheek. “I don’t want to be alone when it happens.”
“Of course. I’ll stay. I’ll stay as long as it takes.”
She let out a sigh of relief, her body going lax. “Thank you.”
He kissed her forehead, and stroked her hair until she fell asleep, leaving him alone in the dark with his misery and his regrets.