"Move back from the bars!" Thrawn shouted. Immediately, the Buzz Droid started to drill through the bars of the container. Vanto moved away, just as Thrawn had told. Just outside the container, the door hissed open, and a group of three pirates rushed in, blasters already drawn. With the flick of his wrist, Thrawn hurled his plaque outside the bars, whilst the pirates opened fire on the Buzz Droid. Charging towards the bars, Barlin rammed her shoulder against them, bashing the container. Jakeeb and Layneo were soon to follow, punching the three pirates in the faces and knocking them out. "Well done." Thrawn said, stepping out of the container. "Ensign Vanto, help Tech Jakeeb and Captain Fitz carry these pirates out." He then ordered. "Ensign Barlin, help Tech Layneo prime the shuttle for launch."
Barlin and Layneo nodded, rushing outside the cargo hold first. "We're going to need more weapons if we're going to make a stand." Fitz protested, grabbing the blasters of one of the pirates, before slinging him over her shoulder. "That will not be necessary. The pirates forward of the entrance hatch will not be joining us." Thrawn replied, picking his plaque up off the ground and beginning to run from the cargo hold. "The other sections of the ship have just been opened up to the vacuum of space, which will have them more than preoccupied." He continued. "What!?" Fitz shouted in demand. "How in the..." "Lieutenant Thrawn is always prepared." Vanto replied with a smirk on his face. "And, as it happens, he also owns a second Buzz Droid." He added on. Fitz chuckled as the three of them and the other Imperials ran. "How unfortunate for our pirates!" She exclaimed.
Out of nowhere, a violet-coated blaster bolt zoomed by Jakeeb's shoulder. "They're following us!" Jakeeb shouted, running as fast as he could with the pirate over his shoulder. "Blast them!" Vanto heard one of the pirates yell, as they continued firing at the group. The three of them eventually reached the airlock, hauling the unconscious pirates inside. Vanto, Jakeeb, and Fitz quickly turned around, gunning down the pirates, as Thrawn entered the airlock, behind Barlin and Layneo. Fitz followed suite, with Vanto and Jakeeb sealing the airlock off behind her. "What course shall we set, Lieutenant Thrawn?" She asked, amidst the sounds of the airlock door being shot at. Thrawn quickly turned his attention to Barlin, who just dragged the apparently dead shuttle pilot out of her seat. "Ensign Barlin, set course for Ansion!" Thrawn ordered. "We must regroup with The Blood Crow!" "On it!" Berlin replied. Without wasting any more time, Barlin detatched the airlocks connecting the shuttle to the hull of the Dromedar, flying away from the freighter and making the jump to Hyperspace.
18 BBY - "The Blood Crow"
"So let me get this straight..." Filia Rossi, Captain of The Blood Crow, began. "You're saying you let yourself get captured?" She asked, her gaze fixated on Thrawn. "Yes, ma'am." Thrawn replied. "It seemed to be the simplest way to rescue the Dromedar's crew." He added on. Rossi bit her lip tightly. "A stupid risk, at that; not just of your own life, but also those of my crew." She said sternly. "It was not a serious risk." Thrawn said. "Part of my job is to anticipate the actions of our enemies." He continued. "I knew Cygni was deceiving us from the very beginning, ma'am. A true crew member would have warned us about the supposed reactor leak, and yet, he didn't." Rossi clenched her fists tightly. "You had a decision to make, Lieutenant..." She began. "The Dromedar and it's cargo, or the missing crew, who may not have even been alive." She added on.
"You chose the latter, and because of it, we lost extremely valuable cargo." Rossi continued. "But we saved the crew, ma'am." Thrawn protested. "And captured three of the pirates, who are being held prisoner as we speak." "None of which stacks up against even one tank of Tibanna Gas, let alone, twenty." Rossi shot back. "Until I receive a ruling from Coruscant, I have no choice but to suspend you from duty." She declared. "Ma'am, you're..." Vanto began. "You will both remain on Ansion while The Blood Crow finishes it's patrol." Rossi interrupted. "Dismissed." Gritting his teeth, Vanto turned around and stormed out of Rossi's office. Thrawn followed suite, walking beside him, as they headed back to their quarters. "My apologies, Ensign Vanto." Thrawn said. "I realize you wished to stay on The Blood Crow. However, there is a task of greater importance that can be accomplished on Ansion..." He continued.
18 BBY - "Ansion, Imperial holding cell"
"You are no doubt wondering why you are here..." Thrawn began, his eyes darting between the three pirates he had helped capture on the Dromedar. "I wish to offer you a deal." He said. "And you can go dump yourself back on Pantora." One of the pirates replied. "If you came here to insult us, you're wasting your time." A gentle smile came across Thrawn's face. "On the contrary, I am impressed that successors of the pirate Queen Q'anah still operate throughout the galaxy." He said. "Moff Tarkin is still bitter that remnants of Q'anah's Marauders escaped their Captain's fate." Almost as soon as Thrawn said this, the faces of all three of the pirates went cold. "P-Pirate Queen?" Another one of the pirates asked nervously. "W-W-We have no idea what you're talking about!" He protested. "A brave but useless bluff." Thrawn declared.
The pirate opened his mouth to speak, but quickly stopped himself, letting his head hang low. "Rest assured, I would prefer to trade you for your leader." Thrawn then said. "The irony is your leader Angel holds much the same philosophy as I do; surely you would have noted that he left you and the remainder here to die when he went to Cygni's rendezvous." He added on. "You're talking parth spit!" The third pirate shot back. "I applaud your tenacity, but yu must see it is of no value." Thrawn replied. "Once Tarkin arrives with his interrogators in hand, we will know everything... However, I offer you three an alternative." He continued. Immediately, the three pirates perked their heads up, curious. "I will give you and your fellow pirates a civilian transport." Thrawn said. "It is partially derelict, but it should safely convey you from this sector before requiring repairs." He added on.
"In return, you will identify the system where Cygni and Angel have taken the Dromedar to remove the Tibanna." Thrawn finished. "What guarantee do we have that you won't take the information and turn us over to Tarkin anyway?" One of the pirates asked. "I offer my word." Thrawn replied. "I also offer simple logic; you three are too young to have been any of Q'anah's original pirates. Therefore, Tarkin's lingering vengeance will not be directed specifically towards you." He continued. "More importantly, I know Tarkin. He will take extra pleasure in the fact that Angel will know you were freed as a reward for betraying him." "You can't know Tarkin very well if you think he shows mercy to anyone!" One of the pirates exclaimed. "Precisely." Thrawn replied. "His reputation does not permit such actions, which is why I will release you on my own alternative." He continued, turning around and exiting the cell. "I will wait while you discuss it amongst yourselves."
Once the cell doors shut, one of the pirates, a man with blonde hair and a bandana, turned to his comrades. "You think we can trust him?" The pirate asked. "He's an Imperial. Of course not." The second pirate, a man with dark skin and one prosthetic eye, replied. "You heard him. Tarkin's coming." The third pirate, an older man with white hair, added. "So you're scared of Tarkin..." The first pirate began. "But what do you think Angel's gonna do when he finds out we sold him out to blueface?" He then asked. "Good point, but maybe we can have this both ways." The second pirate replied. "Let's take the offer, spin blueface some froth, then hightail it to the trapo and warn Angel." The third pirate suggested. "If we're fast enough, we should be able to get there before Tarkin or blueface can chase us down." The first pirate added on. "You think they're going to find an Ub-dub Squalsh who can do slice-work like that?" The second pirate asked. "Not a chance."
Pretend he has one cybernetic eye here18 BBY - "Coruscant, Imperial Navy Judicial Panel"
"...And it is therefore the discussion of this panel that Lieutenant Thrawn be cleared of all charges of insubordination during the Dromedar mission." Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, leader of the Imperial Navy Judicial Panel, declared. "Lieutenant, you and Ensign Vanto are dismissed." Motti added. Thrawn bowed his head, walking away from the podium, alongside Vanto. "Your family still engages in private shipping, does it not, Ensign?" Thrawn asked as they walked. "Yes, sir. Why?" Vanto asked in reply. "Is there something you need?" "A knowledge of supply and demand for Doonium." Thrawn replied. "Once I had informed Cygni that my Buzz Droid was a Mark-One, he clearly knew the value of it's Doonium content." He continued. "The price of Doonium has gone through the roof since the navy started it's latest shipbuilding surge." Vanto said.
"That is the tale. But there are more... Intriguing possibilities." Thrawn began. "Some other project, large and unannounced. Invisible to the Senate and Finance Ministry's public records." He continued. "Secret project or not, the money has to come from somewhere..." Vanto replied. "Material costs, engineering, worker payments, resource transport... The bigger it is, the harder it is to hide." He continued. "I can look into it if you'd like." "I would be most appreciative." Thrawn replied, walking up towards the exit door. "I was told our new orders would be waiting for us here." He then said, reaching to press a button on the door's control panel. "Ensign Eli Vanto?" An older, female voice, asked. Vanto turned his head, seeing a woman with grey hair wearing a Senator's garments standing opposite him and Thrawn. "A word with you, please?" The woman asked.
Vanto looked at Thrawn and nodded, signaling for Thrawn to exit the room. Once the door shut in front of Vanto, the woman introduced herself. "My name is Culper." She said. "I am an aide to Moff Ghadi... You do know who he is, I assume?" "Of course." Vanto replied. "How many I be of service?" He then asked. "An associate of his excellency, a governor in a prestigious Inner Rim system, is in need of an assistant military attaché." Culper replied. "A single word from his excellency, and the job is yours." She continued. "Interesting..." Vanto replied. "Unfortunately, I'm committed to three more years of service to the navy." He added on. "And even if I were in a position to consider it, I'm not yet ready for a desk job." "The attaché's office is an extension of the Imperial Navy." Culper replied. "And this would hardly be a desk job." She continued.
"You'd certainly be promoted to Lieutenant along the way, with Captain soon following; before you know it, you'd have a command in the system fleet's own defense force." Vanto crossed his arms, deep in thought. "Sounds intriguing." He said. "More than simply intriguing, I would hope." Culper replied. "And yet, you seem oddly.. Hesitant, Ensign. In my eyes, an Inner Rim assignment is more than generous." Vanto's expression hardened. "What do you mean 'more than generous'?" He asked. "I mean that for a Wild Space person like yourself, the Inner Rim is an incredible move upward." Culper replied. Vanto's expression, however, only hardened more. "I see... This is about Thrawn, isn't it?" He asked. "Moff Ghadi doesn't care if I succeed; if anything, what he wants is for Thrawn to fail." Vanto continued. "His excellency has no interest in what happens to a lowly senior Lieutenant." Culper replied. "Only he's not a senior Lieutenant anymore, is he?" Vanto asked. "I'm betting he's just been promoted to Captain." He then said.
Culper let out a deep breath. "...Fine." She said. "Yes, there are those who aren't pleased with the attention your alien friend is getting. After all, he not only cost the Empire hundreds of thousands of credits, but also risked The Blood Crow crew to rescue a few Senators and other Imperials." Culper continued. "All to show off how clever he was." Finally, Vanto let his expression soften. "I appreciate your honesty, Miss Culper." He said. "Please thank his excellency for the offer, but I am happy right where I am." Vanto continued. "Then you're a fool." Culper replied. "He will go down someday, and anyone too close will go down with him." She added on, turning around and walking away. After only a few steps, however, she stopped dead in her tracks, turning her head slightly towards Vanto. "Oh, and I'd get comfortable with the title of Ensign, if I were you." Culper said. "You'll be holding it for quite some time."
