Grand Admiral Thrawn

ISD Admonitor

Above Unknown Jungle World

Thrawn leaned back on his chair, arms crossed, waiting for possibly a long story.

To anybody that comes in his officer, it probably would be a strange sight to see the Grand Admiral in a conversation with two creatures that look primitive. As a Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy, he has been in many strange incidents.

For example, during a shore leave at Zeltros in which the crewmembers of the Admonitor, Grey Wolf, and the Vanguard partied for days and several stayed in the Red Light Districts. Of course Thrawn, being the outlier, took his time instead to visit the museums of Zeltros and even brought some art pieces back to the Admonitor from auctions. It isn't unusual for Imperial ships to have shore leave on Zeltros, in fact, it's a popular destination.

One day, when he was on the way back to his room holding a sculpture he bought, he found Captain Niriz passed out with two Zeltron women in his arms in one of the elevators. Around them were empty bottles from Captain Niriz's personal stash of alcohol. Needless to say, Thrawn was a little disappointed at Captain Niriz and awarded him with the "Moron of the Week" pin once shore leave was over.

The pin showed an angry cartoon version of Thrawn punching a faceless Imperial Officer on the face while yelling "Idiot".

It wasn't his idea in the first place actually, but from Captain Niriz himself when he use to award rookies his own "Moron of the Week" pin whenever they make mistakes. The old one showed a cartoon Niriz chasing a faceless Officer with a baton.

Ever since the Admonitor became part of Thrawn's command, he adopted Niriz's idea and used it to punish others. Nobody was safe from the "Moron of the Week" pin, even Admiral Krennel when he tried to damage one of Thrawn's paintings before his arm was cut off by Rukh.

Niriz seemed to learned his lesson since he gave his stash of alcohol to Admiral Parck, knowing Parck rarely ever drinks alcohol. Now, the "Moron of the Week" pin sat in one of Thrawn's drawers, collecting dust, waiting for someone to do something stupid.

Thrawn glanced at the drawer holding the journal this Twilight Sparkle touched. He made a mental note to never put the journal outside of the drawer when he's not in the room. If someone ever gets their hands on it and summon him, then let whatever's holy have mercy on their souls.

It's not safe anymore. He needs to come back and retrieve it as soon as possible. He thought.

His attention returned to the two in front of him who were whispering to each other.

"Well?" He asked.

They froze before Twilight Sparkle decided to speak.

"Alright, lets start from the beginning. My name is Twilight Sparkle, former Princess of Friendship, former student of Princess Celestia, the Element of Magic, and former member of the Celestial Council. I was born in Canterlot on the planet of Equis, the capital of the Celestial Alliance. I was not born with both the horns and wings however."

"So is it some kind of genetic mutation?" Thrawn asks.

"No, I will explain about that soon. The Celestial Alliance is made up of seven species, the Ponies, the Griffons, the Minotaurs, the Dragons, the Zebras, the Changelings, and the Yaks. Ponies have four subspecies, the Pegasi have wings which of course, allows them to fly, the Earth Ponies who have incredible strength, the Unicorns which allows them to use magic, and the Alicorns which have the attributes of the other three subspecies. They are the rarest of them all and all Alicorns are automatically royalty."

"Magic, is that what that power you did down there called?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, all species in the Alliance can use magic to an extent.

Anyways, I was born a Unicorn. Growing up, I was very socially awkward and was a bookworm. Princess Celestia noticed my intellect and how powerful my magic was as a child and she took me in as her personal protege. For years, she taught me politics, magic, science, some military tactics, etc. One day-"

BEEP BEEP

"Oh, excuse me Miss Sparkle, Mr. Spike. I need to take this."

Captain Dagon Niriz

Bridge of the ISD Admonitor

Captain Niriz stood in front of the hologram of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

"Do you have something to report Captain?" asks Thrawn. "I'm a little busy right now."

"Yes sir, Admiral Krennel is demanding why you have not returned to Niruan yet."

"Pushy isn't he? Very well, tell him we will be going to Imperial Center first, then Niruan. I have a meeting with the Emperor. It is of most importance that I meet him. Make sure you tell him that."

"Yes sir."

Niriz stared off, his face full of worry.

"Is there something wrong Captain?"

"It's the Vendetta sir. Are you sure it's wise to allow the Vendetta join Phalanx Squadron? I've read the history of it. Bad luck follows it everywhere. Eriadu, Scarif, Yavin-"

"Do not worry about the Vendetta, yet at least Captain. I will conduct my own investigation on the Vendetta soon, but now is not the time."

"Yes sir."

The hologram of the Grand Admiral fizzed out.

Captain Niriz let out a sigh. "Alert all ships, set course for Imperial Center."

Niriz slowly walked towards the bridge's viewport. Awaiting him is First Officer Trof Vodelini. Average height, fair skin, black hair, and a native of Orinda, he's served alongside Captain Niriz for years aboard the Admonitor.

"So what did he say?" Vodelini asked.

"He told us to not worry about yet Trof. I don't like this Trof, something's not right."

"About the Vendetta?"

"No, not just the Vendetta. It's this whole damn war. I've seen holovids of battles with the Rebel Fleet. How does a massive fleet of Rebel ships pop out of nowhere completely undetected by the ISB?"

"Perhaps a failure of ISB perhaps?"

"No, when ISB wants to find something, you can bet they'll always find a way to get what they want. There should've been warnings years ahead. It was only after Yavin did the Emperor order thousands upon thousands of more ships. The Executors were designed years ahead, but construction didn't increase in pace until after Yavin. There's also the Battle of Scarif. With how important Scarif was, why were there only two ISDs protecting it? There should've been a fleet's worth of ISDs. Even after Yavin, we have so many ships, so many soldiers, ISB can literally reach anywhere in the known galaxy. So how does even with all this, how can we not have found the main Rebel Fleet and their Commanders yet? It's as if the Emperor wants this war to drag on as far as possible."

"What makes you say that?"

Niriz put a hand on Vodelini's shoulder and pointed at the ships in front of the Admonitor.

"Look at this Trof, the longer this war drags out, the more ships are produced from the shipyards. The more vehicles that are produced from the factories. The more soldiers that are produced from the academies. This is madness, we were promised peace and we can't seem to grab the mere idea of peace. Then there's the Emperor and Vader."

Vodelini gulped in nervousness. "What about them?"

"Look at Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik. He failed one mission and the Emperor sent him on a suicide run on the Hapas Consortium. Ranks mean nothing to him Trof. People like Isin-Il-Raz, Danetti Pitta, and Nial Declann do not deserve to be Grand Admirals. I've seen almost zero Naval accomplishments from them. The Emperor gave them that rank on a silver platter. Fucking Commander Pellaeon deserves that rank way more than they did. Then there's fucking Vader. Throwing good men and women away because they're worthless to them. Competence officers are personally executed by him for one mistake. Admiral Piett is among the lucky few, but come one. We've all sworn to protect and serve the Empire and its citizens. One single mistake warrents death? Even if they weren't their faults? We lost a fucking ISD chasing the Millennium Falcon through a asteroid field. Thousands of men and women lost because of Vader's obsession for them. No competent military commander will steer their entire fleet through an asteroid field."

They both turned their heads to watch as the fleet jumped into hyperspace.

At the other end of the bridge, a man in a an Officer's uniform with a Lieutenant's badge quickly walked off the bridge.

5 minutes later

The Lieutenant quickly walked into his dark bedroom. He whispered to himself, "Director Isard needs to be informed of this."

"Oh no she doesn't."

A hand quickly grabbed him by the neck and threw him and landed on someone. Whoever he landed put a knife on his neck.

"Going anywhere Agent Roz?"

The lights turned on and he was met with a squad of familiar Stormtroopers. His eyes landed on a certain Stormtrooper with an orange pauldron.

"Kreel." Roz hissed. "You traitorous bastards. Is this what you do now? Turn your back towards the Emperor after Vader banished you guys here for your failures?"

Sergeant Kreel jabbed Agent Roz on the stomach.

"We are loyal to the Empire. We will do whatever we can to ensure its survival. Do you not realize where you are Roz? You are in the Unknown Regions, among the Empire of the Hand Command. We are full of people who believe in an Empire that was promised."

Kreel put his fingers on Roz's chin. "ISB may be powerful, but here, you are nothing. Welcome to the wilderness kiddo, your ass is mine." He said as he pulled out a vibroblade.

Throughout the hallway, the crew of the Admonitor heard the screams, knowing it belongs to yet another ISB agent. They all either ignored it, or stick a while to hear the screams of a "spook".

Grand Admiral Thrawn

ISD Admonitor

"I must say your majesty-"

"Please don't call me that. I'm not a Princess anymore. Just call me Miss Sparkle or Twilight."

"Very well Miss Sparkle. Your tales with your friends and your ascension is truly magnificent. What I want to know about is the Celestial Alliance."

"I already mentioned to you about the seven species that make up the Alliance. We had two other species that were part of the Celestial Alliance as well. They were known as the Caribou and the Deer. While the Caribou were one of the original founders, they rebelled to try and start their own slave empire. They were all religious fanatics and the Council voted to exile their entire species to an uncharted planet. Their species slowly died until they were extinct. The Deer were the last to join us. I led the negotiation to bring them into the alliance. They were a mostly peaceful species and I was friends with their leader, King Firehoof."

Thrawn raised an eyebrow once again. No matter how many times Miss Sparkle says the names of almost anyone from her planet, he couldn't help but laugh a little on the inside on how ridiculous they sound. Then again, his name would be considered ridiculous to them.

"So what happened?"

"The Alliance Council became more militant. The more species our scouts observed, the more did everypony began to think the species of Equis were superior. No other species we encountered could use magic and were primitive compared to us. The Council was no different, they felt they were superior and had the right to rule over all. Proposed by Princess Celestia, we started a campaign to subjugate aliens we encountered. Of course, we encountered fierce resistance and received many casualties by the supposed "Primitives". Angered, the populace and the Council became more intent in killing those that stood against us. The Subjugation Campaign quickly became a Genocidal Campaign. Entire populations wiped out to make way for Alliance Colonists. My own friends profited from this by expanding their own businesses in newly conquered planets. My friends refused to listen to me when I advocated peace. Within the Council, only I and King Firehoof were willing to stand for peace. Princess Cadence and Princess Ember were usually neutral in this. We did get the endorsement from my brother, Prince Shining Armor who became one of the top commanders of the military.

There was only so much the Deer could take however, especially King Firehoof. His old heart yearned for peace that was denied constantly. Finally, the Deer broke off from the Alliance and formed a neutral nation with their colonies. Angered, the Alliance ordered their colonies to be bombarded from orbit. I was in a conversation with King Firehoof via hologram when the order was given."

Twilight stared at a wall when she recalled the memories. Thrawn saw a single tear fall from her right eye.

"King Firehoof was like a second father to me. He told me a lot of things that made me doubt the Council. What if we weren't superior? What if we encountered a species that was superior to the Alliance? We did voice these questions and gained a large number of followers, but ultimately fell into deaf ears among the Council. Of course, I was angered by this and so many others as well. In one day, I made myself an enemy among the majority of the council. It was then did we encounter the most advanced species so far, the ones knows as the Chiss."

Thrawn leaned closer to the desk, his breaths unknowingly to Spike and Twilight, were getting quicker.

"Please continue."

"We observed the Chiss closely and myself and my followers were convinced the Chiss were proof that there are very powerful species out there. Our scouts were nearly caught several times but they did gather enough intelligence for the Council to order an invasion. I saw that technologically, they will beat us. However, the Council firmly believed that Magic will reign supreme, but of course, even I know Magic has its limits. I wanted to approach the Chiss peacefully, but that idea was shot down quickly."

"So what did you do?" Thrawn asked.

"I gathered all of my followers, especially those in the military, and formed a fleet to defend the targeted Chiss planet from invasion. They didn't trust us at first when we told them our story, but they changed their minds when we helped them defeat the invasion fleet."

"So how did they capture you?"

Twilight looked down, "My flagship was disabled and we were captured. I ordered the crew to evacuate. We were imprisoned and then sentenced to exile at Tartarus which is the planet you rescued us from."

"Hmmmm, and what happened to the rest of your fleet and my people's planet?"

"The majority of my fleet and the Chiss fleet survived. I don't believe the Alliance would make any moves soon on your people. The invasion fleet did consist of many of the most elite and experienced ships, soldiers, and commanders in the Celestial Alliance Navy. It will take many years and multiple campaigns on other species before the Council is confident enough to invade the Chiss without receiving a lot of casualties in return."

Thrawn glared at Twilight, "Did you meet any Chiss named Thrass?"

Twilight raised her eyebrows. "Ummmm, unfortunately no. That name doesn't ring a bell."

He instantly looked down in sadness and frustration.

Where are you brother?

"So now you're here. What do you intend to do now?" He said as he looked up.

Spike and Twilight glanced at each other before Spike answered.

"We intend to eliminate the Council and turn the Celestial Alliance into what it was meant to be."

"And that is?"

"To spread peace, prosperity, and equality throughout the galaxy."

Thrawn looked at Spike with an amused look. "Funny, that is exactly what the Galactic Empire was meant to be."

Twilight perked up. "So what happened to it?"

"A lot of things. You'll find out soon enough. Question is though, how do you intend to achieve your goal?"

"Well," Twilight rubbed the back of her head. "We couldn't do it alone, so we were thinking of joining your Empire, help prepare it for an inevitable war. Grand Admiral Thrawn, please, the Celestial Alliance is constantly expanding. Wiping out "inferior" species to expand. Sooner or later, they will find your Empire and they will attack."

Thrawn seemed to be in deep thought, before he pushed some buttons on his desk. All of a sudden, a hologram of the known galaxy popped up.

Lines formed until the majority of the galaxy was coated in red with some small pieces of blue and green in the middle of the sea of red.

"The red here is the Galactic Empire. We've encompassed the majority of the galaxy."

"What are those places that are not red though?" asked Spike.

"Those are places that are neutral or not part of the Empire like the Corporate Sector, the Hapas Consortium, and the Chiss Ascendancy. That's not important right now, but my question is, how do you think the Celestial Alliance conquer a large Empire?"

Twilight thought for a moment, before answering. "The most favored tactic by the Alliance Commanders are to send in Changelings to assassinate the leaders. They'll sabotage enemy ships, installments, factories, shipyards, you name it."

"The Changelings must be very powerful to be able to do that."

"Indeed they are. Changeling magic allows them to disguise themselves as any species they've seen. For example, if a Changeling was shown a picture of you Grand Admiral, that Changeling will then be able to disguise him or herself as you. Same voice, same body, everything but the mind. That, they usually do by capturing their targets and smuggling them back to Alliance territory for interrogation while the Changeling disguised as the target will gather as much info and cause as much damage as possible."

"Is there anyway to detect them?" asked Thrawn.

"We usually use magic to detect Changelings, but drawing blood from them, asking individuals questions, etc. can work."

Thrawn was about to say something, when he noticed something yellow crawling up behind Twilight.

Twilight noticed Thrawn looking at something. She looked behind her to see a lizard-like creature flicking its tongue at her.

She screamed and fell off her chair.

Thrawn watched with amusement, a small smirk on his face. Meanwhile, Spike was looking at the creature with curiosity.

"Whoa, what is that?"

"That Mr. Spike, is my pet Ysalamiri Lescah. Please don't scare him too much. The crew of this ship would be very disappointed. They even named him "Captain Lescah" and made an officer's uniform for him." Thrawn said.

Lescah just stood on top of Twilight's chair looking at his master. The yellow Ysalamiri had a red collar around its neck. Twilight was on the ground, her hand on her chest after that minor heart attack.

"Lescah, come." Thrawn said as he pat his lap. The Ysalamiri flicked its tongue before jumping on the desk and then settling on Thrawn's lap.

"Do not be scared of Lescah, he's very gentle and harmless." He said as Thrawn started petting Lescah. "There are other Ysalamiri's on this ship as well but only on certain areas. I advise not harming them. The crew loves their pets."

"Duly noted." Spike said as Twilight made her way back up her chair again.

"Now back to business. I believe your best bet is to join the Empire under my command. A lot of other officers in the military are very anti-alien."

"So you'll help us?" asked a hopeful Twilight.

"Of course, but I will need to introduce you to the Emperor and you must tell him everything. The galaxy is currently in a state of Civil War right now so I'm afraid the Celestial Alliance will be on the top of the priority list. You can still help us prepare of course."

Thrawn glanced at the hologram that is still up. "Where is the Celestial Alliance in this galaxy anyways?"

Twilight got up to get closer to the map. "Well, Equis is located around here," She said as she pointed to an area near the edge of the galaxy. "And I believe the last planet we conquered before our exile was here."

Twilight pointed to an area near the Chiss Ascendancy. "Of course, it may be bigger now since I'm gone. I advise interrogating the Alliance prisoners and analyze their equipment to find the exact size of the Alliance, though I believe it should be around the same size as I described.

So relatively around the same size as the CIS and Hutt Space combined.

"Do not underestimate them Grand Admiral. They may be smaller than your Empire, but they've invested heavily in expanding the military."

Kind of like us after Yavin.

Thrawn leaned back on his chair. "I will bring you to Imperial Center to meet the Emperor. Your rooms should be ready by now, however" he glanced at their clothing. "You'll need better clothing than that to meet him. I will have clothes sent to you immediately."

He pressed a button on his desk. They waited a few moments before two Stormtroopers walked in.

"Escort these two to their rooms."

"Yes sir." Both Stormtroopers said.

Twilight and Spike got up to leave the room. One Stormtrooper stayed in the front to guide them, and the other walked behind them.

As soon as they left, Thrawn sat frozen for a moment before pushing some buttons.

The map of the galaxy was replaced by a hologram of a meeting room. From Thrawn's point of view, it looked like he was at the head of the table.

To his left sat Admiral Delak Krennel, General Soontir Fel, and General Kron Dorst.

To his right sat Admiral Siath, Commander Stent, Admiral Ar'alani, and Admiral Voss Parck.

"I assume you've all listened to the conversation and have recorded all information?"

"Indeed, is it wise to introduce them to the Emperor Thrawn?" asked Admiral Ar'alani.

"Yes, I have plans for the both of them. They'll indeed become valuable to us in the war. If we just hide them, the Emperor will eventually find out and I'll lose his trust."

Admiral Krennel was reading from his datapad the whole time. "Her adventures with her friends, sounds like something from a child's fairy tail. I'm curious about these Elements though."

"If you're wondering if they're a threat Delak, then you should've paid attention the part when she said they only have effects on beings with magic." said Admiral Parck.

"I'm for retrieving these Elements and sending them to the scientists. Who knows, its power may be harnessed into a weapon." responded Krennel.

"I'd say that's a bad move," said General Fel. "We'll want to gain their trust. These Elements are not only important symbols to the ponies, but it means something personal to Miss Sparkle."

Krennel growled at him. "Who cares what a bunch of animals think."

"But I do Admiral Krennel," said Thrawn. "If we keep going this path, then we'll just end up from one war to another. We'll only be contributing to the vicious cycle of war."

Krennel might have hated Thrawn, but he still respects him and chose not to respond.

"Admiral Parck?"

"Yes sir?" asked the Admiral as he perked up.

"What is the status of the Wrath?"

"Well, out Commando teams have retrieved the late Admiral Strang's designs on Mustafar and Naboo, and they've salvaged pieces from the Conqueror's wreck. The Wrath is currently in drydock and its new weapon will be ready in a few months."

Thrawn turned to Commander Stent and Admiral Siath. "How are the rest of the fleets?"

"Nothing unusual, some smugglers ended up in our territory fleeing from authorities. A patrol group eliminated them." answered Admiral Siath.

"And any reports from Commander Vanto?"

"The Ruling Families still refuse to help us, but the common populace seem to have made you a hero. He's reported posters of you sir, everywhere. You've become extremely popular to the populace despite your exile." answered Commander Stent.

"Hmmm, excellent news. Anything to report General Dorst?"

General Dorst let out a sigh. "Nothing much sir. Troops are still high spirits, but are itching to fight the Rebels."

"Unless the Rebels trespass our territory, then they're of no concern to us."

There was a moment of silence before Thrawn spoke again. "If there's nothing else to report, then I must take my leave."

"Yes sir." They all responded before the hologram cut out.

Thrawn sat back as he watched Lescah drink from his bowl of water.

He took out and read the status of Phalanx Squadron.

Active

Mandator III-class Star Dreadnought: Shadow of Bastion

Bellator-class Super Star Destroyer: Purifier, Overlord

Praetor-class Battlecruiser: Star Fire, Fury of Eriadu, Pride of Corellia

Allegiance-class Battlecruiser: Divinity, Sword of Kuat, Justice, Fist of Mandalore, Domination

Imperial-class Star Destroyer: Admonitor, Vanguard, Grey Wolf, Fury, Disciple, Rage, Reckoning, Vendetta, Ravage, Rampage

Victory-class Star Destroyer: Stalwart, Sceltor, Iron Fist, Resolute, Storm, Victorious, Defender, Illustrious, Fearless, Valiant, Warspite, Repulse, Renown, Demoralizer, Ambition

Venator-class Star Destroyer: Resurrection, Warrior's Spirit, Liberty, Light of Hope, Unity

Providence-class Dreadnought: Indomitable, Divine Fury, Wrath of Mustafar, Hellstorm

Munificent-class Star Frigate: Divine Vengeance, Dagger of Raxus, Independence, Unmerciful, Phoenix

Recusant-class Light Destroyer: Immortality, Trailblazer, Freedom, Bandit

Lucerhulk-class Battleship: Firestorm

Secutor-class Star Destroyer: Swarm

Gladiator-class Star Destroyer: Watcher, Hunter, Raider, Brute

Procursator-class Star Destroyer: Procursator, Pride, Greed, Envy, Infallible

Immobilizer 418-class Interdictor: Corvus, Whirlwind, Trapper, Venom

Interdictor-class Star Destroyer: Dominator

Strike-class Cruiser: Ebolo, Daring, Diamond, Arrow, Fire, Fear

Nebulon B2-class Frigate: Betrayal, Ludwick

Nebulon B-class Frigate: Maru Ki, Merciful, Turncoat

Phalanx-class Heavy Destroyer: Harbinger, Warthunder, Rain of Fire, Scorch

Syndic-class Destroyer: Syndic, Loyalty, Destiny, Twilight Trascendence, Heretic, Order

Chaf-class Destroyer: Armageddon, Destruction, Vicious, Reign, Barrage

Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruiser: ID1, ID2, ID3, ID4, ID5, ID6, ID7, ID8, ID9, ID10, ID11, ID12, ID13, ID14, ID15

KDY Escort Carrier: EC24, EC25, EC26, EC27, EC28, EC29, EC30, EC31, EC32, EC33, EC34, EC35, EC36, EC37, EC38

Carrack-class Light Cruiser: CK12, CK13, CK14, CK15, CK16, CK17, CK18, CK19, CK20, CK21, CK22, CK23, CK24, CK25, CK26, CK27, CK28, CK29, CK30, CK31, CK32,

Lancer-class Frigate: LC33, LC34, LC35, LC36, LC37, LC38, LC39, LC40, LC41, LC42, LC43, LC44, LC45, LC46, LC47, LC48, LC49, LC50, LC51,
LC52, LC53, LC54, LC55, LC56, LC57, LC58

Inactive

Assertor-class Super Star Destroyer: Wrath

Thrawn let out a sigh. In the eyes of anybody else, this would be considered an impressive fleet, and it definitely is. Each ship and crew were picked by Thrawn and his commanders. Phalanx Squadron is not only the main fleet of the Empire of the Hand, but also an elite squadron. The majority of the ships excluding the Chiss warships, were sent by the Emperor himself. As for the Clone Wars ships themselves, both Thrawn and Palpatine knew the Unknown Regions is massive and Thrawn would need a large fleet to defend it. This problem was solved when Palpatine ordered old Republic and Separatist ships to undergo refit before being sent to Thrawn's command. Officially, they're listed as scrapped, unofficially, they're part of the Empire of the Hand Command.

While any other Commander would be very gracious for the Emperor's generosity, Thrawn isn't stupid. The Emperor sent these ships here to keep them out of the fight against the Rebels. The majority of the Imperial Fleet were sent to planets he knew the Rebels wouldn't dare attack. The rest are either sent along or in small fleets to protect unimportant planets. Meanwhile, he would send Death Squadron by themselves in a wild chase to hunt down the main Rebel Fleet. He knows by doing this, he'll keep the conflict going as long as possible.

The longer this conflict lasts, the more the Emperor can expand on the military.

He can't engage the Rebels since they have not attacked the Empire of the Hand nor have they discovered them yet. His orders were to keep it a secret from the rest of the galaxy. Thrawn wanted to stop this conflict and to stop all this madness.

If only I can engage the Rebels and end them as soon as possible.

He then glanced at the Nebulons on his datapad and let out a mischievous smile.

Yes, if only.

2 days later

Twilight Sparkle

ISD Admonitor

"Ugggh, how long until we there?" said Twilight who was laying on her bed.

Usually, she's never bored as she always has something to do or read. Unfortunately for both Spike and Twilight, they don't know how to read their written language.

"I dunno, why not ask Captain Niriz?" asked Spike as he laid on his bed on the other side of the room.

The both of them wore the clothes they were provided. Twilight was provided with an officer's uniform without a badge, and Spike was given a black armor to the Wookies. It only covered his chest, waist, and pelvic region leaving his limbs and his head exposed. It was all they had that would fit someone of his size. He did ask about that giant Stormtrooper they encountered earlier named Zuke, but he was told that it was a special order.

Spike then had an idea and sat up. "What if we talk to Thrawn again? Maybe he can teach us how to read their written language?"

Twilight looked at him. "Eh, fine. It's better than nothing."

They both got up and left the room. Their room was on the same floor as Thrawn's own bedroom and his office anyway so it was a short walk. The hallway was mostly empty aside from the occasional officer or patrol.

When they finally made it to his officer, the Stormtroopers recognized them easily and as per Thrawn's orders, opened the door for them.

As soon as the door closed, they heard talking. Captain Niriz and the other high ranking officers were all on the bridge. Twilight and Spike hugged the wall and got closer. She took a peek around the corner and could only see Thrawn, but she could not see the other individual unless she exposed herself. She could see Lescah sleeping on his bed near Thrawn's desk.

"You promised you would've killed him by now." They heard Thrawn said.

"Yes, I know. We all thought he was dead too." said another male voice they couldn't recognize.

Thrawn let out a sigh. "Fine, here. Take the journal. You should hide it somewhere more secure than throwing it down a Bottomless Pit."

"Look, how are we suppose to know it will end up here?"

"Then burn it then."

"You know I can't do that. Look, I promise this time we'll kill him."

"You better, not even Palpatine will be able to stand up to him."

"I know. Just give me the vial."

There was a moment of silence before Thrawn spoke again.

"I almost lost two squads of men looking for this. It's small but you can duplicate it."

"Thank you. I need to find the last journal. Max has it."

"Max has the last one? You gave it to him knowing Azarov and Steiner may find it?"

"I trust him."

*sigh* "Alright, I'm trusting you on this. Do whatever you can, even if it means recalling your nephew from the front lines."

"He won't like it, but I will."

"Before you go, how's your niece by the way?"

"She's an art professor believe it or not. I'm very proud of them."

"Then tell them both that I wish them good luck. Maybe one day, I'll meet them again."

"Very well."

There was sound of crackling energy before the room was filled with blue light.

"Wait Waddles! Come back. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was made of pork!"

"She's visiting?"

"Heh, yeah. The place is still a little gloomy without her brother around, but we can wait."

*BANG*

"Well I guess I should go now before she breaks something again. Until next time Thrawn."

"Very well. Good luck Sixer."

After a few moments, the crackling of energy disappeared before the room was filled with silence again.

"You can come out now."

Both Twilight and Spike froze. They dare not move after hearing Thrawn speak.

"There's no use hiding. I can see you through the cameras."

Both Twilight and Spike looked around until they both spotted a camera looking at them from a corner of the ceiling.

Twilight facepalmed while Spike turned around and banged his head on the wall.

They walked around the corner, heads down in shame.

"The warning still stand. If you speak of this to anyone else, I will personally throw the both of you into an escape pod and launch it into a star. And don't think your size will make a difference here Mr. Spike. I will always find a way. Now what is it do you want?"

"Well um, we have a problem. Spike and I cannot read the written language here." Twilight answered.

"That is unfortunate. What makes you think I have the time to teach the both of you?"

"Well, then is there someone else who can?"

They both heard the door open and turned around to see Captain Niriz walking towards them.

"Sir, I've come to report that Grand Admiral Grant has arrived at Imperial Center, it appears every Grand Admiral is there except for you sir."

"Very good Captain. Tell them I will be there in the next few days. One more thing Captain, these two do not know how to read our written language. I'm ordering you to teach them."

"Me?" Niriz all but yelled.

"Yes, you Captain. Unfortunately, I am very busy right now and it would be best if you teach them."

Niriz mentally cursed at Thrawn.

"Fine, but I get to have two weeks off."

"Five days."

"One week."

"Deal."

Niriz let out a sigh.

"Alright you two, come on."

Twilight and Spike followed Niriz out the door. He then told Spike to stay right below the blast door.

"Stay there, do not move."

"Why?" asked Spike.

"Just do it." Niriz hissed.

He tip toed past Spike and hugged the wall. Niriz made a quick peek around the corner to see Thrawn drinking a cup of wine, listening to classical music, and petting Lescah who was on his lap.

Niriz backed off as he leaned on the wall. He rubbed his temple in frustration.

Busy my ass you sneaky motherfucker.

Author's Note

I referenced the characters from my other fic for a reason. I haven't tied that fic to this one yet, but soon.

There will be a flashback chapter about Thrawn later on. It will take place after his exile and training in the Imperial Academy, and before he was given command of a ship.

Yes, I know people will say, "Thrawn doesn't have a fleet like that!"

I will just say this. Not only is this AU, but the Empire has plenty of Mandator IIIs, Bellators, Assertors, Praetors, and Allegiances. Where else do you see them in comics or books? The only Imperial Mandator III named was the Panthac which sacrificed itself to destroy the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer Whelm.

The only Bellator seen was a Bellator captured by the New Republic.

The only Assertor seen was the Wrath performing a Base Delta Zero escorted by a Heavy Interdictor, some ISDs, and some TIE Defenders.

The only Praetor Mark IIs named are the Helmsman which was damaged in an engagement with the Rebel Flying Bantha Squadron and the Thalassa which was part of Admiral Sander Delvardus' fleet.

The only Allegiance named was the Allegiance which was destroyed by New Republic forces during the Battle of Calamari. I assume the Pride of Tarlandia was an Allegiance destroyed in the battle of Endor as it was described as a "Battlecruiser" and it had the same bridge tower of an ISD.

I can make the Empire of the Hand Fleet as big as I want without using obvious and well-known ships like the Executors.

Next up, is Twilight's and Spike's introduction to Emperor Palpatine, the introduction of even more Imperial characters especially the Grand Admirals, etc.

Poor Captain Niriz