Star Wars: Thrawn

by Timothy Zahn

The fuller tone partially fades from his voice. “What I don’t know is why you care.” “Why I care about what?” “Why you care about me,”

“You’ve been studying me—don’t think I haven’t noticed.

Always small questions, always delivered very casually. What I want to know is why.” He folds his arms in a crisscross pattern across

“You are my translator. You hold my words in your hand, and their meanings. A misjudged translation will confuse or anger. A deliberate error could lead to death.”

“You give yourself too little credit, Cadet Vanto,” Thrawn said. “Or perhaps you give the social hierarchy too much. I am content to have you as my translator.” “I’m glad you’re pleased,” Vanto said. His tone rises slightly in pitch.

War is primarily a game of skill. It is a contest of mind matched against mind, tactics matched against tactics. But there is also an element of chance that is more suited to games of cards or dice. A wise tactician studies those games, as well, and learns from them. The first lesson of card games is that the cards cannot be played in random order. Only when laid down properly can victory be achieved.

“Once again, your eloquence belies your need for a translator,” the Emperor said. His lips again turn upward. “But I will give him to you. Come, let us rejoin the others.”

So, he definitely thinks they're gonna fuck, right? Like, he can't possibly just let him have Eli as a "translator" when he clearly doesn't really need one.

He does not understand. Nor will he. Not for a long while.

Bitch neither do I?! Like, I'm struggling to see what Thrawn's motives are BESIDES wanting to fuck him, at this point.

Eli felt something stir inside him. “Who said I was afraid?” he demanded. “I’m not afraid. I’m just not looking forward to spending my last term with a bunch of Core World snobs, that’s all.” “I am glad to hear that,” Thrawn said gravely. “We shall endure it together.”

All opponents are not necessarily enemies. But both enemies and opponents carry certain characteristics in common. Both perceive their opposite as an obstacle, or an opportunity, or a threat. Sometimes the threat is personal; other times it is a perceived violation of standards or accepted norms of society. In mildest form, the opponent’s attacks are verbal. The warrior must choose which of those to stand against, and which to ignore. Often that decision is taken from his hands by others. In those cases, lack of discipline may dissuade the opponent from further attacks. More often, though, the opponent finds himself encouraged to continue or intensify the attacks. It is when the attacks become physical that the warrior must make the most dangerous of choices.

A leader is responsible for those under his authority. That is the first rule of command. He is responsible for their safety, their provisions, their knowledge, and, ultimately, their lives.

Failure to act always brings consequences. But sometimes, those consequences can be turned to one’s advantage.

“That fear will eventually fade,” Thrawn said. “But not for a considerable time.” “I suppose not,” Vanto said. “So they get to walk on eggshells for a few months, Orbar gets to do the same, and Deenlark doesn’t have to face Orbar’s family.” “You also will not need to face that same pressure.” “I wondered if you’d been thinking about that,”

“I understand,” Thrawn said quietly. “Very well. I shall strive to achieve that rank as quickly as possible.” Eli looked sharply at him. Was the damn Chiss mocking him? But there was no hint of amusement in his face. Thrawn was deadly serious.

There is satisfaction in defeating an enemy. But one must never allow oneself to become complacent. There are always more enemies to be identified, faced, and vanquished.

But a warrior may forget that even the task of identifying the enemy can be difficult. And the cost of that failure can lead to catastrophe.

Leadership and obedience are the two legs on which a warrior’s life is balanced. Without both, victory cannot be achieved. Leadership depends on information and comprehension. Not so obedience. Sometimes a commander may choose to share details of his plan. Often he may not. In either case, obedience must be instant and complete. Such automatic response relies on trust between commander and those commanded. And that trust can only be obtained through leadership.

“I said watch your mouths.” Vanto does not raise his voice. But the effect on the prisoners is immediate.

He smiles. “But that’s not what he’s calling.”

A great tactician creates plans. A good tactician recognizes the soundness of a plan presented to him. A fair tactician must see the plan succeed before offering approval.

And when a mind is too deficient in understanding, the resulting gap is often filled with resentment.

“You had a decision to make, Lieutenant,” Rossi said. “The Dromedar and its cargo, or the pirate frigate and the Dromedar’s crew. You chose the latter.” She shook her head. “Wrong choice.” Thrawn’s eyes flicked to Eli. “We saved the crew, ma’am,” he said, sounding as confused as Eli had ever seen him. “And captured several pirates and their ship.” “None of which stacks up against even one tank of tibanna gas, let alone twenty,”

They left the office, Thrawn silent, Eli silently seething. What had that been all about? Because it had been deliberate. Rossi might not realize it, but then she hadn’t spent as much time with Thrawn as Eli had. To Eli the signs had been clear as day: The Chiss had deliberately maneuvered the captain into kicking Eli off the Blood Crow along with him.

“Two reasons,” Thrawn said. “I need you to monitor my interrogation. There may be a point where you will be uniquely useful.” “All right,” Eli said, wondering what Thrawn could possibly mean by that. Uniquely useful wasn’t a term anyone had ever applied to him.

Military leadership is a journey, not a destination. It is continually challenged, and must continually prove itself anew against fresh obstacles.

Political power and influence are different. Once certain levels have been reached, there is no need to prove leadership or competence.

Some succeed in standing firm against the storm. More often, they find their paths yet again turned from their hoped-for goal. But such a turn does not always mean that the victim has lost. Or that the victor has won.

“I see,” Eli said. So there it was. He wasn’t being cited for ability and groomed for a prestigious post. He was nothing more than a tool with which Ghadi and his friends hoped to topple the non-elite, nonhuman threat to their comfortable little universe. “I appreciate your honesty, Ms. Culper. Please thank

Thrawn was silent a moment. “This job you were offered. Was it better than the one the navy has assigned you?” Eli looked over just in time to see Culper leave the room. Captain of his own ship…“No,” he said. “Not really.”

Eli felt his lip twitch as the final element fell into place. By masking his insight and revelation this way, Thrawn was hoping to pass on more of the credit to the rest of the Thunder Wasp’s crew. And, by logical extension, to Commander Cheno. One last chance for him to shine in combat.

One is born with a unique set of talents and abilities. One must choose which of those talents to nurture, which to set aside for a time, which to ignore completely.

“I do not understand,” Thrawn said, his usually impassive face troubled as he gazed at the datapad report. If Thrawn were a lesser being, Eli reflected, he would almost say the Chiss was confused. “What’s there to understand?” Eli asked. “It’s the result everyone expected.” The glowing red eyes bored into Eli’s. “Everyone?” “Mostly,” Eli hedged. Yes, that was definitely what he might characterize as confusion. “Really, it’s just navy politics as usual.” “But it violates all tactical reason,” Thrawn objected. “Commander Cheno acquitted himself well, and the actions of his ship won the battle and saved many lives. How does High Command conclude that he must be relieved of duty?” “They didn’t relieve him, exactly,” Eli pointed out. “The communication stated that he’d been permitted to retire.” “Is there a difference in the result?” “Not really,” Eli admitted. “You’re right, letting him retire is mostly just a sweet-shell. As I say, politics. Gendling’s well connected, and his delicate little pride got bruised, so he’s taking it out on Cheno.”

“But it could have been worse.” “How so?” “Really?” Eli asked, frowning. Was it really not obvious to him? “You were the one Gendling really wanted to nail to the bulkhead. Cheno might have been able to save himself if he’d told the panel you’d overreached your authority. But he didn’t. Since they had nothing on you, they threw him to the wolves instead.”

Eli sighed. “You might as well get used to it.” Again, the glowing red eyes turned on him. “What do you mean?” Eli hesitated. It really wasn’t his place to say this. But if he didn’t, who else would? And for all Thrawn’s military skill and insight, he seemed incapable of seeing this one on his own. “I mean, sir, there’s a good chance that you’re going to leave a trail of damaged careers in your wake. In fact, you already have: Commander Cheno, Admiral Wiskovis, Commandant Deenlark—all of them have had official feathers ruffled in their direction.”

“There was no such intent on my part.” “I know that,” Eli said. “It’s not because of anything you’ve done. It’s just the political reaction to—well, to you.” “That was never my intent in accepting the Emperor’s service.” “Intent isn’t the point,” Eli said patiently. “The problem is that you don’t fit into the neat little box navy officers are supposed to fill. You’re not human; worse, you’re not from the Core Worlds.” “Neither are you or many others.” “But the rest of us Wild Space yokels aren’t flying rings around all the politically connected elite who think they’re such flaming-hot stuff,” Eli pointed out. “You’re showing them up, and they resent you for it. And if they can’t take you down, they’ll go after the people they think helped make you who you are.” “People like you?”

But this conversation wasn’t about him. This conversation and warning were about Thrawn.

He had been promoted. Yet Vanto had not? That wasn’t as it should be. Vanto had held the rank of ensign a full year longer than was customary. Yet there was nothing Vanto had done or failed to do that should have delayed his promotion.

No one is immune from failure. All have tasted the bitterness of defeat and disappointment. A warrior must not dwell on that failure, but must learn from it and continue on.

“Your aide might disagree,” Arihnda said. “Ensign Vanto. In three years you’ve gone from lieutenant to commander, yet he’s still an ensign. Why?” Even through the glasses she could see his eyes narrow.

But she’d done some digging on Vanto while she was prepping for this meeting, and it hadn’t been hard to put the pieces together. Fortunately, she’d put them together right. Behind the glasses, Thrawn’s eyes narrowed. “Promotions should not be affected by politics,” he said. “Maybe they shouldn’t, but they are,”

You’re too good for them to attack directly, so they find other ways. Pressuring the High Command to keep your aide from advancing is one. Putting your ship last in line for repairs is another.” Thrawn seemed to straighten up. “Excuse me?” “Oh, you hadn’t caught that one?” Arihnda asked. “Practically every other ship that needs dockyard space has been put on the list ahead of the Thunder Wasp. After all, the best way to make sure you don’t outshine all their precious elite Core World officers is to keep you on Coruscant away from any possible battles or engagements.” “Interesting,” Thrawn said. “I had of course noted that the Thunder Wasp had been placed at the lowest priority. I assumed the repair ranking was based on which ships needed to be returned to patrol duty most quickly.” “You were half right,” Arihnda said. “Just substitute which captains they want back on duty—and which one they don’t—and you’ll have the complete picture.”

There will be many cultural differences, and a warrior dealing with the Chiss must be wary of them. But never make the mistake of believing forbearance equates to acceptance, or that all positions are equally valid. There are things in the universe that are simply and purely evil. A warrior does not seek to understand them, or to compromise with them. He seeks only to obliterate them.

But standing by an ally doesn’t necessarily mean one will always agree with that ally. Or with his goals or methods.

His words stop. His eyes focus on the connection rings set into the walls beside two sets of racks. His fingers squeeze together with sudden tension. “They weren’t passengers,” he said quietly. “They were prisoners.” “Not just prisoners,” Thrawn said. “Slaves.”

Vanto is silent a moment. “I’m not completely comfortable with the idea that the Empire is using slaves, sir.” “Terms are not always as they seem, Commander,” Thrawn said. “They are called slaves, but they may in fact be indentured servants. They may be prisoners working off their sentence. They may have sold themselves into slavery as a means of repaying debts to others on their world. I have seen all those situations at times.” “You really think any of those are likely?” “No,” Thrawn said, his tone hardening. “But it does not matter. However these beings were pressed into service, they are now Imperial assets. They will be treated as such.” “Understood, Commodore.”

“Which you know because you’ve already checked the older archives,” Vanto said, a bit crestfallen. “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.” “It was an excellent idea,” Thrawn said. “In other circumstances it might well have been highly useful.

It’s not surprising, therefore, that those seeking excitement sometimes weary of long and arduous pursuits. They are relieved when the enemy appears of his own accord, standing firm and issuing a challenge. But the wise warrior is especially wary at those times. He knows there are few things more dangerous than a skilled enemy on his own carefully chosen ground.

“I’ll be as quick as I can,”

the way he says this in the audio book is so tender oh my god

“It has been rather in his shadow, hasn’t it?” Eli smiled. Once, he’d indeed felt that way. But not anymore. Not for a long time.

But ultimate safety does not exist. Those who trust in such will find that hope dashed upon the very rock behind which they seek to hide.