Chương 4: Self-proclaimed successor (III)
I was awakened by a call on the comlink. Captain Pellaeon reported that the Chimera was half an hour away from arriving at the planet Myrkr in the Obroa sector, located in the N-7 quadrant according to the tactical map of the galaxy.
"Okay, Captain," I said calmly, now looking at my face in the mirror. "I'll be on the bridge soon." End of communication.
I had managed to get some sleep, which reduced my headache. And that was good.
It allowed me to think clearly.
However, despite my hidden hope, I could not recall anything specific from Thrawn's vast knowledge of tactics, strategy, or even his criteria for evaluating works of art. This was depressing. I could remember many things—faces, names, places—but it was all fragmented and unsystematic. Not a full memory, just shards. And likely not the most important ones. This meant that even Thrawn's possession of secrets was a disadvantage now.
I doubted he had a cache of personal notes, like a diary, somewhere on the Chimera. The image of Thrawn meticulously recording his conclusions on flimsi seemed incongruous...
Flimsi...
Flimsiplast. One of the most common writing materials in this galaxy. Created on an acrylic base, used for handwriting texts and printing data. It can be reused as the inscriptions and printed text can be removed without losing the functions of the flimsi sheet. It can also be dissolved in liquid.
Great, I know what the paper is called in the Star Wars universe. Amazing. Not because it confirms that handwritten notes can be kept, but because during my earthly life, I didn't know such specifics. I was more interested in the events and lore of the universe, not the stationery.
So, this is part of Thrawn's memories. Not exactly useful, but...
Stop. What do I even know about the galaxy I ended up in? Here I am, getting excited about deciding which side to choose. Ridiculous!
I should be grateful that I can at least speak the official language of the galaxy. This language is familiar to me. So, maybe I can not only speak it but also read it? Considering my current state, nothing seems reliable.
Approaching the desk, I quickly found a built-in computer with a transparent curved monitor, hidden within the piece of furniture. All I had to do was sit down and place my hands on the tabletop—the computer came to life.
Hmm... this is interesting.
I understand these letters. Not just parsing them, but reading them fluently. And judging by the way my fingers flutter over the keyboard, I can type too. And at a pretty good pace.
Fine. I can speak, read, and write. I could apply to Coruscant as a senator from any sector.
But jokes aside, I have business to attend to.
There are only twenty-five minutes left before arriving at Myrkr. This means I have just enough time to fill in some gaps. At least in general terms.
Thrawn spent most of his time here, in his quarters. This means I can stay here without hiding, delving into background information on the galaxy, historical events, and personalities. From the Chimera, like any other Imperial ship, there is access to the archives on Bastion—the capital of the Remnant of the Empire. However, obtaining information from there is not easy. Even Thrawn's clearance level isn't enough to pull all data remotely—you need to personally fly there and get an array of data. Studying it is only possible on Bastion. War is war, and the secrecy regime remains in effect.
The Chimera's central computer also has its own data archive, but of a service nature. Accessing it is simple—insert your code cylinder into a special slot on the computer. This device looks like a metal pen but contains electronics with recorded data. Essentially, it's a "flash drive," an electronic key, and an electronic signature in one.
If I strain my memory, I can remember that in the films, Imperial officers always carried similar code cylinders in the breast pockets of their jackets. Until now, I thought these were just writing instruments...
Yeah, call me a fan. Okay, let's deal with that later. Thrawn has several such "flash drives"—I'm sure there are interesting things there. Or perhaps not, and the Chiss stored everything in his vast brain.
Using an encrypted and secure communication line from a Star Destroyer, it is also possible to access the galactic infotainment network, similar to Earth's Internet, called "HoloNet." It's extremely simple—there's a search engine, websites, chats, and video hosting sites... In terms of media space, it's not radically different from the "World Wide Web" that I am used to.
However, I won't access it yet—I need to find out more about everything. Like in my world, activity on the HoloNet can be tracked. And I don't want a squadron of New Republic starships, or "rebels," as the Imperials call them, to come and hit me and the fleet on the head because I decided to read some historical chronicles.
"Rebels"... These rebels control most of the galaxy, while the Remnant of the Empire occupies less than a third. The question of who the legitimate government is and who the armed opposition is becomes blurred.
Yes, the galaxy. What exactly is known about it?
From my memories, I recall that this galaxy contains numerous planets and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of different races known to sentient beings... So. Not "people." Here, the term "sentient" is used to denote intelligent life forms, both humans and aliens.
The Imperials refuse to consider non-human races as "sentient" and have several epithets to replace the concept. "Non-human," "exotic"... The military personnel and civilians of the Remnant of the Empire do not favor non-humans and consider them almost as slaves. They are barred from positions of power, oppressed, and exploited mercilessly. Thrawn was lucky because his tactical skills earned him elevation by Emperor Palpatine himself, making him the thirteenth and last Grand Admiral.
But, let's return to the galaxy.
What do we have?
Opening the map of the galaxy (understanding the common galactic language, known as Basic, allows me not only to write but also to read, so managing simple technical tasks is easy), which flashed under the ceiling, I leaned back slightly in my chair, folding my hands on my chest and fixing my gaze on the ceiling.
The Star Wars galaxy far, far away has no specific name among the locals. It is simply called "the Galaxy." While some races have their own terms, there is none officially accepted within Imperial society.
According to the publicly available reference information from the Chimera's navigation computer, the task ahead is enormous. One glance at the hologram and its explanation shows how difficult it is not only to create but also to maintain power over such a vast territory. We should tip our hats to Emperor Palpatine, who in just over twenty years managed to subjugate most of this distant, distant galaxy, imposing his rule or securing loyalty from planetary governments, granting them some autonomy.
The galaxy has a diameter of one hundred to one hundred and twenty thousand light-years. The galactic disk contains about four hundred billion stars, of which no more than a quarter have been properly explored by the galactic community, described, cataloged, and entered into a database. A considerable number of stars remain undiscovered or unexplored, and the races inhabiting them are unknown to the galaxy's peoples.
So, for convenience, the galaxy is divided into eight regions, radiating out from the galactic center: the Deep Core, the Core Worlds, the Colonies, the Inner Rim, the Expansion Region, the Mid Rim, the Outer Rim, and the Unknown Regions. These regions, like circles on water, diverge from the center to the periphery—because the exploration and settlement of the galaxy occurred in exactly this order, starting with the Central Worlds and the Core. Notably, human expansion began on the planet Coruscant, which has been the capital of the largest galactic states for thousands of years. For the previous two decades, Coruscant, like the entire galaxy, was under the control of the Galactic Empire and was called the Center of the Empire. Now the planet, like most of the galaxy, is ruled by the New Republic, which has returned the planet to its old name.
The Imperial military command also uses a technique called a "coordinate grid" to accurately determine courses. Similar to the well-known and familiar game "Battleship," letters are placed on one side of a regular square and numbers on the adjacent side. The place where the imaginary lines of a particular letter and number intersect is called a "square." However, this is not a geometric flat figure, but rather a cube that covers all planets, systems, and other astrographic objects within the boundaries of the designated "square."
From the Galactic Core, also called the Deep Core, four arms spiral out—the Bakchu Arm, the Ettari Arm, the Southern Arm, and the Tingel Arm. It is in these arms that most of the stars and systems outside the Deep Core are concentrated. Closer to the center of the galaxy, these arms practically intertwine, and towards the periphery, they diverge like propellers in a fan.
There are five known dwarf satellite galaxies, designated by the first five letters of the common galactic language: Aurek, Besh, Cresh, Dorn, Esk. It is also assumed that there are two similar dwarf galaxies, designated Forn and Grek, but their exact sizes are unclear. The first two are the most famous and have been at least somewhat studied, but expeditions to them have been rare, and detailed information is scarce in the Hyperera databases.
The galaxy, according to many studies, is surrounded by a certain anomaly that prevents the stable operation of hyperdrives, which is why expansions beyond the boundaries of habitable space are practically nonexistent. In my memory, there was only one such expedition, but Thrawn destroyed it so that it would not fall into the hands of the most dangerous enemy for everyone living within the galaxy. But there is still much time before they appear, and they can be discounted for now. The self-name of these opponents is Yuuzhan Vong, and they are not flying here on a friendly humanitarian mission.
So... How much time is left before they arrive?
Again... Time.
Making another request to the onboard computer (I really hope there is no system administrator on board quietly monitoring my terminal's search history), I shook my head. As it should be in such a large state, there are different chronology systems, and they differ from each other, sometimes radically. But studying them all is pointless. The Imperials use a calendar officially called the "Galactic Standard Calendar," also popularly known as the "Coruscant Standard Calendar." This method of chronology has been the main one since the founding of the Galactic Republic twenty-five thousand years ago.
Since then, the method of chronology has changed several times, but the system for designating dates has remained unchanged. Year, month, date. And only so.
The Galactic Empire, as well as the Imperial Remnant, used the same calendar and the same principle of counting the date—either from the Great Resynchronization that occurred forty-four years ago, or from the date of the proclamation of the new Order twenty-eight years ago. The Rebel Alliance and the New Republic counted dates from the Battle of Yavin, which took place nine years ago, but the Imperials ignored such chronology—for them, the Battle of Yavin was not a day of triumph.
However, all the galaxy's calendars are based on the size and rotation speed of the planet Coruscant. This is a "solar-lunar" calendar, related to both the movement of Coruscant in orbit around the star and the movement of the planet's main satellite, Centrax I, in orbit around Coruscant. The standard unit of time is the standard second. It seems similar to the earthly one—at least my attempts to calculate the length of a second using the well-known "Mississippi Times" method led to this result. Minute, hour, day—these time values correspond to earthly ones. The differences begin at the "month" level. In the galaxy, there are two options for counting the number of days in a week: similar to Earth, with seven days in a week, or "standard," with only five days in a week. In this case, a "standard month" has seven weeks of five days each, making a standard month thirty-five standard days. There are 368 standard days in a standard year, arranged into ten months, three holiday weeks, and three public holidays. Because the hyperdrive theory allows space travelers to overcome relativity, a single duration of time was established for all regions of the galaxy. Convenient, I must say.
However, different planets and parts of the galaxy have their own local times.
So, returning to the Yuuzhan Vong... They will arrive, if my memory serves me correctly, twenty-five years after the Battle of Yavin. Accordingly, in sixteen years. And all this time, only civil strife will reign in the galaxy—Imperials against the rebels, rebels against someone else, and so on...
The real Thrawn was aware of the threat posed by the Yuuzhan Vong and was willing to fight them, exploiting their weaknesses that he could identify. And I...
What chance do I have of acting as coherently as Thrawn? I don't have his knowledge, I don't have his talent. I only have knowledge of the Expanded Universe of a galaxy far, far away. Not comprehensive, but if I delve into my memory, I can remember something...
What can I oppose to the genius of strategy and tactics? What data do I have to carve out my place in this brave new world?
Service in the analytical department of the Navy of my home country? In a universe where multi-kilometer ships fly at lightspeed? It's not even serious...
Or is it?
I want to live since I have a second chance. Preferably, away from wars and possible genocides. But if I remember correctly, everything that will happen in the galaxy, I won't be able to sit it out.
So what to do?
The Yuuzhan Vong will be defeated by the New Republic. At great cost, with the collapse of their state, but they will win. The Remnant of the Empire, weakened by years of civil war and confrontation with the rebels, will also be sidelined. And, if I remember correctly, even the Star Destroyers of the Remnant, which will be obsolete by that time, will fight the Yuuzhan Vong better than the Republican starships.
And the acute question arises—whom to join?
This is pure mathematics.
In the Imperial Remnant, I am a Grand Admiral. A prominent military figure with a certain amount of authority. Thrawn has many ideological supporters. Not to mention the Empire of the Hand in the Unknown Regions, where he served a significant part of his career. But for some reason, Thrawn did not report its existence to the Imperials in the Remnant. Why?
He must have realized their likely actions—squabbling over new resources, possibly even intervention. The Empire of the Hand doesn't have many ships—just slightly more than Thrawn currently commands. And the best chance of preserving everything he created is to keep these territories secret.
The lack of unity among the Remnant territories is why they are losing the war against the rebels. After the Empire's collapse, there was plenty that could be used to defeat the rebels, but it is all in the hands of ambitious and selfish leaders who see themselves as great rulers. Their neighbors rejoice as the rebels eliminate their competitors. Consequently, the Remnant loses vast territories—the New Republic bites them off bit by bit. The process began five years ago when the rebels captured Coruscant, and since then, their machine for restoring democratic power in the galaxy has not slowed down. They come out of every crisis with acquisitions for themselves.
Thrawn is the last of the Imperial military leaders who made everyone in the New Republic sweat, from the lowest private to the highest government official.
Would it be advisable to join the New Republic?
Even now, Thrawn, in my person, has much to offer them.
For instance, I could lure my fleet into a trap and help the rebels eliminate significant Remnant forces. I could reveal the location of Honoghr—the Noghri are excellent saboteurs and killers. Whoever has them on their side will only benefit.
I could offer the Empire of the Hand and its knowledge of the Unknown Regions—something the New Republic lacks. They don't even know what's in the northern part of the galaxy—on the Imperial map, it's just blackness, devoid of star markers and hyperspace routes.
If I had Thrawn's full knowledge, I could offer even more...
But what can the New Republic give me? Will they imprison me, thinking I am playing a sophisticated game, claiming I know nothing about what they want to find out? They will surely try—naïve to expect they will welcome me with open arms and provide a house with a white fence. Most likely, I will be convicted by the "fairest of courts" and then locked up somewhere. A high-ranking Imperial officer of Thrawn's caliber cannot simply join the rebels and
remain above suspicion.
No. For them, I am just a bearer of Imperial secrets. They are unlikely to torture me, but my ignorance will be seen as reluctance to share what they don't know but want to know, such as the secret of the lizards from Myrkr, or the secret treasury of Emperor Palpatine on Weyland...
The thought struck me like lightning.
Stop. Imperial secrets. What no one knows, but wants to know.
What the galaxy doesn't know about. Something that will manifest itself later, during specific events.
Crumbs left after the pigs devoured all the delicacies from the table.
I remember! Even if not in detail, I remember names, significant events, approximate dates! I read about all this! Or heard about things I haven't read personally.
Okay, not everything, but significant events. With Thrawn's mind, which is like a computer, processing and analyzing everything...
You just need to strain your memory...
It's a pity that all the dates and events were given in the books from the rebels' point of view, using the Battle of Yavin as the reference point. It will need recalculating, but this is a minor issue.
The situation worsens because very soon—within a year, maybe less—Emperor Palpatine will make himself known.
Yes, he died at the Battle of Endor five years ago. But few people know that the Emperor is a Sith Lord, capable of controlling the Force. Like the Jedi, but the Sith seek power over all and the destruction of the Jedi.
Emperor Palpatine almost achieved both goals. His death at Endor caused the Empire to fall apart, leading to the Imperial Civil War, where territories were divided among various Moffs, Governors, Generals, Admirals, Grand Admirals, and others.
By now, most of them are dead—at the hands of the rebels or each other. And the rebels have taken their territories, seeing the Imperials' demise as inevitable.
But they do not know that on the planet Byss, hidden in the Deep Core, Emperor Palpatine will be reborn, or has already been reborn, gathering his supporters.
I don't remember exactly when all this will culminate, as the campaign of the revived Emperor was described in comics I did not read. But I know generally what will happen.
Palpatine will gather all loyal Imperial commanders and their forces. He will sweep through the Republican worlds and others, crushing his enemies with a huge fleet. Some ships will be super star destroyers, capable of burning out entire planets. But in the end, Palpatine's obsession with Leia Organa Solo's children will lead to his downfall.
If only I knew exactly when this chaos would begin...
Why? Because staying away from such an epic mess is crucial. The Reborn Emperor is mad. He seeks to settle scores with the Skywalker couple, the children of Darth Vader, who caused his death. And there are only two of them—Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, who married Han Solo.
Palpatine will die trying to seize the body of Anakin Solo, the youngest of Leia's children. This will not be his final death, but it's an event I remember. Palpatine will die irrevocably the following year after attempting to seize Anakin Solo's body. Along with the Reborn Emperor, the best of the Imperial Navy, its best ships and officers, will perish.
But Leia Organa Solo is currently pregnant with her twins. They will be born just before Thrawn's defeat this year. This means Anakin Solo will be born next year.
Given that Thrawn died the same year he began his campaign against the New Republic, the Reborn Emperor's campaign will start next year.
I have five months to implement my plan for my future.
What's the plan?
Certainly not to join the New Republic.
They will have endless chaos and crisis after crisis. Joining them? Many of the New Republic military are former Imperials, but those who joined later are just extras. And I don't want to be a statistic.
Nor do I want to be a target for Palpatine. He had a special relationship with Thrawn and won't forgive betrayal.
Joining Palpatine? No thanks. He's mad and a mind-reader. The Sith can sense deception. If I trust the Republicans to avoid torture, the Reborn Emperor will turn me inside out to find out what I know. Negotiating peacefully with him is impossible.
Let it be as it is? I'll die. Without intervention, Thrawn's death is guaranteed, followed by the loss of Imperial positions.
Subjugate the Remnant? Delusional grandeur. My first battle in the Obroa-skai system was lost. After fleeing, I'm thinking about capturing vast territories? Career military men, fighting for decades, are against me. The chances are minimal.
On the other hand...
The rebels had few professional military men, but they gave the Empire a hard time. Starting small, they won. Perhaps the Force favors those with "dementia and courage," or there's a secret. The Skywalker family often leads crises. I don't have one, but...
I have determination. And a desire to survive, not seize territories for ego, but to prevent future harm. The galaxy will face strife anyway, but I can mitigate its scale and find my place.
Am I a loser or a fighter? Those who do nothing have no chance.
I have a fleet. Circumstances permitting, I can try. Military conflict within the Remnant weakens it against the New Republic. While I fight for crumbs, the Republicans, with greater forces, will bite off larger pieces.
A new massacre among the Imperials won't make me popular. When all forces are needed to subjugate the Remnant, they may not support me.
Support comes from loyalty. Soldiers and sailors are loyal to current power holders with more weapons, money, and a record in the war against the New Republic. Thrawn's authority rests on being the last Grand Admiral, the only foreigner to receive the title from Palpatine.
Trumpeting: "I built a state in the Unknown Regions!" won't help. The value of an intelligent person in the Empire depends on effectiveness. Thrawn was very effective.
Since I don't want to be in a New Republic prison, a target for Palpatine, or a puppet of Remnant warlords, I need to carve my niche. To avoid a coffin or a cell, I need to win and gain popularity among the Imperials.
To do this, I'll follow Thrawn's steps. But avoid mistakes that led to catastrophe. Short-term strategy for now—the Reborn Emperor's appearance is approaching.
The goal: my own state. Talking about this is unsafe. The Remnant may demand everything back or refuse more. The galaxy's territories are divided, so I'll need to conquer territory. For this, I need ships and loyal people.
Thrawn's steps—Myrkr and Weyland will provide human resources. About ships... He attacked a shipyard to capture disarmed New Republic ships. Why were they disarmed during difficult times?
Think, Victor, think...
No need to think when I can check intelligence reports.
Let's see... The rebel fleet...
Found it! The New Republic has a budget crisis. They disarmed some warships for cargo transport. Free space filled with cargo—vital for either side.
Attacking the shipyard, stealing combat starships—a bold, brave move. But Thrawn failed.
I remember why. I can try to replay the outcome. But first, break the plan into parts and study each comprehensively.
First scenario: increasing the fleet size.
Second: announcing a "competition" among starship hijackers, smugglers, and others for purchasing hijacked warships. But the ships obtained this way might be junk. Mon Calamari star cruisers differ significantly from Imperial starships, posing logistical and repair nightmares. Thrawn didn't disdain such things, but it's impractical for me.
Third option: seizing abandoned or unknown properties. Many such places exist in the galaxy. The first "Easter egg" is already in my hands: Emperor Palpatine's treasury on Weyland, a lost world with many Imperial secrets.
Thrawn has information about its location. If these coordinates are correct, Weyland is relatively close to Myrkr—a short flight.
Good news.
My body felt a slight tug—weak but noticeable, like going up or down an elevator.
We have exited hyperspace.
Sighing, I turned off the computer. I threw my jacket over my body, buttoned it up, and pocketed the code cylinders—regulations required it. Then, I headed towards the exit of the cabin.
I stopped in front of the reflective surface next to the door and looked at the reflection.
An effort of will drove the grin off my face. Thrawn doesn't do that. Thrawn is serious and calculating. I must not make mistakes.
One mistake, two—attributed to the Grand Admiral's personality. But more mistakes... As the saying goes: "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern." I can't risk the Imperials discovering me. Their interrogation methods are ruthless.
Decision made. I'm on the side of the Empire. Not because I am a tyrant or despot, but because the Empire is effective in fighting enemies. Not the current Empire, but the one that was.
And the state I will create.
This is not a quick process. Initially, I'll use Thrawn's groundwork. Interstellar flights are long, and the Chimera's memory banks are full of official information, including tactics and strategies. I need to study them, process them, and make them my weapon for creating a new state. Calling it "Thrawn's Empire" would trigger the rebels. The galaxy has had enough "Empires." I need something
more viable.
I'll have time to think about this. For now, events haven't progressed too far, and I can use Thrawn's foundation. But change everything for the better—what's convenient for me.
One small step for the Chiss whose body I now inhabit, and a giant leap for the sentients of this galaxy. This will happen today, now.
My mind is already analyzing and strategizing. Today's events will change the future, as I desire.
It's time to greet the owner of this world and make him a cautious offer to earn extra money. An offer he won't refuse.
If I remember correctly, I'll meet not only Talon "Claw" Karrde, the smuggler leader.
He is served by one Emperor Palpatine once called his Hand.
A valuable asset in the ruins of the fallen Galactic Empire. She will be mine. Or no one's.
It's time to remind Mara Jade of her oath of allegiance.
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