Several days later, Colonel Yularen and Governor Pryce would travel to the Chimaera to discuss the operation over Batonn with Thrawn and Vanto. As soon as he saw the two Imperials enter the bridge, Thrawn bowed his head. "Colonel Yularen. Governor Pryce. Welcome aboard." He said. "Thank you, Admiral." Pryce replied, shaking Thrawn's hand. "We appreciate you seeing us on such short notice." She continued. "We understand you've pinpointed the insurgents's main stronghold?" Yularen then asked. "The Creekpath Mining and Refining complex outside Paeragosto City." Vanto replied. "Commander Vanto was able to sort out shipping vectors utilized by the insurgents." Thrawn said. "They indicate their cargo ultimately ended up in Creekpath." He continued. "And of course, you're planning to go there in force?" Pryce asked.
"I don't see that we have much of a choice, Governor." Vanto replied. "The complex's shield blocks all orbital assault." "And even if it did not, there are approximately thirty thousand civilians within the complex's boundaries." Thrawn added. "Yes, I know." Pryce replied. "Two of those civilians are my parents." She continued. "I see..." Thrawn said. "Which is not necessarily all bad." Yularen interjected. "Governor Pryce has been following events on Batonn very closely. Just two days ago, she came to me with a proposal." He added on, gesturing for Pryce to speak. "It's very simple, Admiral..." Pryce began, locking eyes with Thrawn. "I want to go down there and reacquaint myself with my parents and their friends; maybe even get a close-up look at the insurgents's defenses and weapons setup." She added on. "That way, when you send in your forces, they won't go in blind." Yularen nodded his head in agreement. "Depending on the setup, they might even get a crack at the shield generator." He said. "Taking that down would make this operation considerably easier."
Thrawn pursed his lips together, deep in thought. "A question..." He began. "When you last visited Batonn, you were a Senator's aide. Now you're an Imperial Governor. Your position and reputation may precede you." Thrawn continued. "I can wear a disguise, but the simple fact is that, for most people, expectations override observations." Pryce replied. "They won't expect to see Governor Pryce of Lothal, so they won't see her."She continued. "I assume you won't be going alone?" Vanto asked. "Of course not." Pryce said. "Agent Gudry, one of Colonel Yularen's ISB agents, will go with me." "The story will be that you're hunting down a friend who has gotten mixed up in the mine situation." Yularen added. "A plan that does not require her to take a side in the dispute.." Thrawn said. "All for the best, since we do not know which side her parents support." He continued. "I'm sure they're loyal to the Empire." Pryce protested. "Perhaps." Thrawn replied. "Nightswan is quite persuasive. And even with an ISB escort, this will be a dangerous undertaking."
"I'll be fine. And you need the intel." Pryce said. Yularen then exchanged a glance to Vanto, motioning for him to follow him into the turbolift. Reluctantly, Vanto nodded, entering the turbolift with Yularen. "These passcodes will decrypt anything they send back. Try to keep them isolated from the ship's computer." Yularen said, handing Vanto a set of Imperial passcodes as the turbolift headed downwards. "It's one of the ISB's best encryptions, and we wouldn't want it wandering around the galaxy." He added on. "Understood." Vanto replied, slipping the passcodes into the breast pocket of his Officer's uniform. "Now, Commander... Would you mind telling me who set up the positioning of the Chimaera and the rest of the task force?" Yularen asked. "I believe Admiral Thrawn did that himself." Vanto replied. "Why?" "Because it's decidedly nonstandard." Yularen replied. "In fact, it's borderline insane; the three light cruisers you have are not only too far away from your flagship, but too far away from one another." He continued.
"The damage they took in Durril's failed attack means they're hardly battle-ready. They can't support the Chimaera, and the Chimaera can't support them. A few armed ships come out of Hyperspace, and you'll be down one cruiser and a whole lot of support ships." Vanto nodded his head in understanding. "The three forces attacking in unison? All three cruisers and support clusters would be gone." Yularen declared. "Not in unison. They'd come in sequence." Vanto began. "First Shyrack, then Flensor, then Tumnor; they'd give the Chimaera just enough time to turn it's turbolasers towards one cruiser before the next was attacked." Yularen's eyes darted to the turbolift door as it hissed open, before he motioned for Vanto to follow him. "I see you're learning to think tactically." Yularen remarked. "And now I fail to understand why Thrawn isn't doing the same." "I'm sure he is, Colonel." Vanto replied.
"Well, I for one can't see the logic in this plan. But I suppose that's his business and not mine." Yularen said, letting out a deep sigh of exasperation as he did so. "Look, all I'm saying is that you should keep an eye things; especially with Nightswan involved..." Yularen began. "I've had the feeling ever since that Tibanna Gas encounter that the man's gotten under Thrawn's skin. Deeper, probably, than the Admiral will ever admit." He continued. "With him orchestrating this whole thing, I'm not sure how clearly Thrawn's thinking." "He's thinking just fine." Vanto said. "And whatever he does, it'll be for the good of the Empire. "I sure hope so..." Yularen mumbled under his breath. "Keep an eye on him anyway." He then ordered, walking further down the halls of the ship, while Vanto remained where he was. I suppose Yularen is right on all accounts. Vanto began thinking to himself. Unless Thrawn arranged the freighters as bait to draw the raiders into an attack. But even then, how long will it be before that attack degenerates into an all out bloodbath...?
2 BBY - "Batonn, the Pryce residence"
"This is, uh.. Quite unexpected." Talmoor Pryce remarked. "Not that your mother and I aren't glad to see you, Arihnda, but... Why the hair and eye lenses?" He asked, pointing to the blonde wig adorned on the head of Governor Pryce. "I'm here very unofficially, hence the disguise." Arihnda replied. "Aside from making sure you're safe, we need your help. A friend of Mattai's is inside the mine area and we need your help to find him." She continued. "He's just the type to jump headfirst into an emergency without thinking." Agent Mattai Gudry, said. "I need to get him out of there before the whole thing blows up." "Those people in the mine are heroes." Talmoor declared. "Fighting for our rights against a repressive and dangerous government." He added on. "I think you may be painting with too wide a brush." Arihnda interjected. "The Empire is quite multifaceted." "Maybe on Coruscant it is. Maybe on Lothal. But not here." Elainye Pryce replied. "Here, the Governor and his friends are corrupt; utterly corrupt. And the galaxy needs to hear about it!" She exclaimed.
"There are Imperial procedures for dealing with corrupt local politicians, mother." Arihnda said. "I'll look into it when I get back to Lothal. I can petition the Senate, possibly even the Emperor." She continued. "But that won't be soon enough to help my friend." Gudry interjected. "I've heard far too many stories about people being press-ganged by insurgent groups..." Talmoor sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll take you. You need me to get through the cordon anyway." He said. "What's your friend's name?" Talmoor asked, switching his attention to Gudry. "I don't know what name he's using here. He hasn't always been on the right side of the law..." Gudry replied. "But he's a weapons electronics guy, so that should give us somewhat of a clue as to where he's working." He continued. "We'll go in and take a quick look anyway, but if they tell us to leave, we leave." Talmoor said. Arihnda and Gudry both nodded their heads in agreement. "Understood, father." Arihnda said.
2 BBY - "Batonn, Creekpath Mining and Refining complex"
"...The irony is that the Governor has himself to blame for the fact that we've even got a shield at all." Talmoor mumbled, as he, Arihnda, and Gudry walked towards the mining facility. "Creekpath's owner pleaded with him for some protection, but he wouldn't give up any of his troops. So instead he found a used DSS-O2 regional shield and had it set up." He added, scoffing at his own words. "I would've thought the operators would have tried to sabotage it before you had them kicked out." Gudry said. "Before the insurgents kicked them out." Talmoor said. "I might agree with some of their grievances, but I'm not with them entirely." He continued. "From what I understand they were escorted out of the premises before they even knew what was happening." Just then, Talmoor heard his comlink beep, and immediately took it off his belt, activating it. "Elainye? Is something wrong?" He asked. "Talmoor, I don't.. I don't feel well..." Elainye replied through the comlink. "Can you and Arihnda come... Home?"
"Y-Yes, of course..." Talmoor replied, deactivating the comlink and turning to Arihnda, who was walking a few feet behind him and Gudry. "Arihnda, your mother's taken ill." Talmoor said. "We have to go home right away." "Wait a minute, I need to find my friend!" Gudry protested. "Can't I stay? I promise I won't get into harm..." Talmoor opened his mouth to speak, when Arihnda put her hand on her father's shoulder. "That's a good idea." She said, cutting Talmoor off. "You can find your way back to the house, right?" Gudry nodded his head. "Sure. You two go on." He replied. Immediately, Arihnda and Talmoor ran off, eventually making their way back inside the house. "Elainye, are you alright?" Talmoor asked frantically, rushing over to his wife. "You sounded terrible..." Elainye looked at Talmoor and Arihnda, confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked in reply. "That was me, I'm afraid." Arihnda replied, holding up a comlink in her hand. "I needed to get back here, and away from Mattai. And this was the simplest way to do it."
Arihnda sighed heavily, before she spoke again. "There's going to be a battle soon; a big one. Both of you need to leave before it..." "Arihnda, Arihnda, it's okay." Talmoor interrupted. "The Governor wouldn't dare attack the mine." He added. "There's an Imperial task force overhead with orders to neutralize the insurgents on Batonn. That means Creekpath." Arihnda shot back. "So you need to gather up everything you can't live without..." She continued. "Arihnda, please." Elainye said, cutting Arihnda off. "There's no please, mother! You need to go pack now!" She exclaimed, almost raising her voice. "What about our friends?" Elainye protested. "What about all the men and women that we've been working with in the mine?" Arihnda sighed heavily, shaking her head in frustration. "I'm not here for them. I'm here for you." She sternly replied.
2 BBY - "The Chimaera"
Back onboard the Chimaera, Thrawn sat quietly in his office, completely alone. Pressing a button on his desk, Thrawn opened up a comm channel to Batonn; specifically, to the insurgents below. "This is Admiral Thrawn of the ISD Chimaera. I wish to speak to Nightswan." Thrawn said. "...Excuse me?" A voice replied through the intercom. "This is Admiral Thrawn." Thrawn replied. "Please inform Nightswan that I wish to speak with him." For a moment, Thrawn leaned back in his seat, waiting for a response. Then, a new voice came over the intercom. "This is Nightswan. How did you get this frequency?" Nevil Cygni asked through the intercom. "It was one of many contained records in that freighter Commander Vanto and I took from your ship." Thrawn replied. "Careless of whoever flew that ship last." Cygni said.
"With anyone else, I would've expected a form of ultimatum." Cygni remarked. "Or even some gloating. But neither strike me as your style, so tell me, Admiral... Why did you call?" Thrawn pressed his fingertips together, allowing a smile to come across his face. "I wish to speak with you." He replied. "Face to face. With no barriers between us." Yet again, silence fell upon the intercom, before Cygni spoke again. "Very well." He said. "Meet me on Batonn." Cygni finished, deactivating his end of the transmission. Thrawn rose from his seat, walking around his desk and exiting his office to find Commander Faro standing outside. "Your orders, Admiral Thrawn?" Faro asked. "Prepare my ship for immediate takeoff." Thrawn replied. "I am to speak to Nightswan on the planet." Reluctantly, Faro nodded her head. "Understood, Admiral. Your shuttle will be ready in a moment's notice." Faro replied, turning around and marching down towards the hanger bay.
Pretend she is wearing an Imperial Officer's uniform here