Saga - OT Ballad of the Winter Rose- Doctor Who Crossover

“I am Elaina Pryce, Governor Pryce’s mother. I should be the one thanking you two for destroying the wicked cult along with the Rebel terrorists.”

Hard words about those who live in the shadows of the Empire. Still an exciting update though. Pryce does not always get what she wants.

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

Written by: Nehru_Amidala aka FossilQueen1984

Genre: Gothic romance, drama, hurt/comfort, dark fantasy, slight horror


Cast list: Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Thrawn- Lars Mikkelsen, Governor Pryce- Cate Blanchett, Agent Kallus- David Oyelowo, Vortigern Slavin- Mark Hamill

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, heavily implied Kanan/Hera

Rating: T/PG-13 for battle sequences, thematic elements, blood, snogging, SPOILERS for Thrawn

Universe: Doctor Who and AU! Rebels

Chapter Soundtrack: Lothlorien- Enya, Mechanical Lullaby- Bruno Corlais, Thrawn’s Web-Kevin Kliner

Chapter 16: Off to Ryloth!



Dinner had been a quiet affair for Thrawn and Minerva, once they had gotten back on board the Chimaera. Thrawn had been given his rank plates by Agent Kallus (the traitor!), and he had been the first to congratulate the couple on their upcoming nuptials. Governor Pryce was pale with rage when she observed the couple in the mess hall, fingers laced together and speaking to Lynette and a few other officers about the day’s harrowing experiences. How dare they survive! Grumbling to herself, she barely enjoyed her Kuati tomato soup- and it was a soup she particularly enjoyed.

Lynette was overjoyed with the prospect of a wedding, and had pressed the idea of being their wedding planner on the young couple. Minerva said it was a kind gesture, and Thrawn said they would think about it, as they hadn’t figured out a firm date yet. Once dinner was over with, Minerva was starting to doze, so her handsome fiancée waltzed off with her back to their quarters and settled in to watch the concert simulcast live over the holonet.
Nestled under the silk-cotton blend sheets, Minerva lay gingerly on her side (to avoid laying on her bruised ribs) and was nestled against Thrawn’s toned chest. He had his arms wrapped around her back, his fingers knotted in her hair. There was something comfortably domestic about the whole moment, and neither of them minded in the least. He had turned off the viewscreen and turned out the lights when he felt Minerva breathe heavily, she had fallen asleep. Smiling gently, he kissed her softly before falling asleep himself.

The great thing about shore leave was that everything was relaxed, so Thrawn and Minerva got the chance to sleep in later the following morning. Normally, they were up at 7:30 and in bed no later than 10. However, with two days of shore leave, this allowed Minerva enough time to take it easy and pack ahead of her deployment to Ryloth. This would also allow Thrawn to read her into what was going on currently with regards to the current skirmishes to completely control Tann Province. Actually, it was their breakfast conversation.

“From what you have told me, Vortigern is having a lot of trouble taking over Tann Provence due to poor organizational skills. Certainly, Cham’Syndulla’s resistance is troublesome, but with more than enough manpower on our side, why haven’t we gained full control?”

“Vortigern Slavin is a man of indecisive actions and stale words, beloved. Sending you there to assist should get him going in the right direction.”

“He’s a captain, how can he be so disorganized?”

“Cham’Syndulla has been his nemesis since the Clone Wars, and Captain Slavin’s one track mind has been focused on defeating his nemesis, rather than focusing on the main goal of taking full control of Tann Province.”

So that was it then, Minerva would use her map making skills and ground experience to help Captain Vortigern Slavin secure Tann Province as well as assisting with the day-to-day duties of governing said province. It sounded interesting, and it would be nice to get away from Pryce. Thrawn, meanwhile, would be researching Clan Syndulla and seeing how he could destroy the Rebel cell she was leading. He had learned that a certain Jedi was with the group, and he was determined to learn the identity of his future father-in-law.

He would not be making the trip to Ryloth with her, Pryce was insistent he stay on Lothal at the TIE factory to start implementing his new TIE Fighter design. However, he did manage to get in a snog session with Minerva before she left, and he managed to get to second base! Minerva was blushing the whole time, but relished her lover’s caresses. Eventually, they broke apart and Minerva was off to Ryloth.



It was a six hour trip from where the Seventh Fleet was stationed outside Lothal’s orbit to Ryloth. Minerva was excited, she had read a lot about Ryloth and Twi’lwk culture but had never been to the planet itself. Unlike what she had read back on Earth, Ryloth had several distinct biomes and was not constantly bombarded with hurricane force winds as she had previously believed. Also, it appeared Ryl, the native language, was equivalent to French.

As the shuttle was making its final approach, Vortigern Slavin was having afternoon tea in his office. Technically, it was Cham’Syndulla’s office, but ever since the Empire took over Slavin had claimed it as his own. Behind his chair was the scorched family portrait of the former governor, his late wife and their daughter, Hera- who was leading a band of Rebel terrorists. He wasn’t worried about the mosaic, what distracted him was the nude marble statue of Cham’s late wife, it had been a wedding gift she had gotten him. Twi’lek women were known for being beautiful, and Slavin found himself salivating at the sculpture more often than he wanted to admit. They weren’t even human, curse his lascivious thoughts!

It was at this moment the holographic interface on his datapad buzzed, it was his head of security. The stormtrooper was calling to let him know the map maker had arrived. Standing up, Slavin cracked his knuckles and let out a sigh of relief, “Finally, I get some decent help in the form of Officer Minerva Hektor. I hope her maps are as good as Moff Tarkin claims they are.” Telling a nearby trooper to summon a kitchen slave to prepare more tea for his guest, he briskly walked outside to the landing bay, which was out on the front lawn.

For early January, the weather was warm and Minerva was wearing her spring/summer uniform as the canyon itself was radiating solar heat from earlier in the day, her grey uniform standing out from the uniform orange and red of the canyon. Slavin walked out to greet her, “Welcome to Ryloth, Officer Hektor. I trust the trip went well?”

“The trip was just fine, thank you for the warm welcome.”

Slavin beckoned for Minerva to follow him, and her eyes widened at the sight of the gigantic fortress ahead of them. She had been in large houses before, but not like this. Slavin rattled off information about the defenses and where she was to be working. She would be working in the converted solarium six doors down on the left from his main office. It was a nice room, Minerva thought. The walls were paneled with floral mosaics and the cross hatch art was also a nice touch. The desk was a dark mahogany color, and there was a bay window overlooking a green courtyard.

Her room was attached to her office, and the detailing was very much the same, except that the bed was queen sized and was of the four poster variety. There were no books, except those deemed “appropriate” by ISB. Luckily, there were a few slim volumes about Ryloth’s history left in the closet. Minerva decided she would read these first. As she was still on shore leave until the day after tomorrow, she contented herself with unpacking and reading about Ryloth in the window seat, quietly drinking chai tea. She did remember to send Thrawn a note, letting him know she had arrived safe and sound.



Meanwhile and across the galaxy back on the Chimaera, Thrawn had pulled up holographic displays relating to the Rebel cells. Thrawn, through his studies, had learned quite a bit about Hera’Syndulla and how she would be heading back home in 2-3 months when Tann Province was under complete Imperial occupation. Kallus had been surprised at the time table, would it really take that long for Slavin to get the job done? Thrawn replied that even with Minerva’s maps, Slavin was prone to being sloppy on the battle field and would need all the help in the galaxy. Besides, once Tann Province was won, things would settle down enough to flush out Cham’s resistance.

Kallus left afterwards, and Thrawn’s glowing red eyes fell on the Jedi Kanan Jarrus. Thrawn felt nothing but hate and contempt for the man who would kill his own daughter just to keep the status quo going. It was obvious he was Minerva’s father, they shared the same dark hair and speech pattern. Also, Thrawn had collected a hair sample of the Jedi after Bataan and it was a match to Minerva’s DNA. Sitting down, Thrawn studied Jarrus’s portrait for a long time, plotting his demise. In the end, they would all pay for what had happened to Minerva, every last one of them.

 

I already read this on a subway train, but the connection was too weak that I could answer.

Thrawn will have a dreadful revenge on his foes.

 

Trust me, the revenge chapters will be worth the read.

 

Why do I sense that Minerva won't get along with this Slavin dude? There's something about him that just feels off, what with his obsession with Cham Syndulla, the fact that he's staying in a palace of sorts and the portraits of the Syndulla family in his office. He sounds like a creep!

I too am looking forward to Thrawn's revenge. Pryce wasn't able to swallow her tomato soup for now, but she doesn't realise that there's much worse on the way.

 

You would be right, things will start going south for Minerva in the next chapter.

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

Written by: Nehru_Amidala aka FossilQueen1984

Genre: Gothic romance, drama, hurt/comfort, dark fantasy, slight horror

Cast list: Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Vortigern Slavin- Mark Hamill, Dr. Aphra- Gal Gadot

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, heavily implied Kanan/Hera

Rating: T/PG-13 for battle sequences, thematic elements, blood, snogging, SPOILERS for Thrawn

Universe: Doctor Who and AU! Rebels

Chapter Soundtrack: Mechanical Lullaby- Bruno Corlais, Raider's March- John Williams Skellig- Loreena McKennitt

Author’s note: I apologize about the timing mistake made in my last chapter. This and chapter 16 take place in late February.

Chapter 17: Dr. Aphra and the Crypt of Rhea’Syndulla



Unbeknownst to Vortigern Slavin, an early morning APB had been released to all Imperial officers within the Outer and Inner Rim Territories. Minerva awoke from her slumber when she heard her datapad beep. Wondering who was contacting her, she sat up in bed and activated the screen, when the bold red text appeared with a holophoto.

“ATTENTION: BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR CHELLI LONA APHRA. HUMAN FEMALE, AGED 35 YEARS, FAIR SKIN, BROWN HAIR, BROWN EYES, STANDS 5 FOOT 4. WANTED FOR LOOTING OF ARTEFACTS AND FORGERY OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. CURRENTLY BELIEVED TO BE HEADING FOR RYLOTH OR LOTHAL.”

Taking a quick shower, Minerva pulled on her uniform and ate her breakfast in her office as the announcement went on the label the Indiana Jones impersonator as armed and dangerous. According to the latest Imperial records, Dr. Aphra’s two droid assistants had been smelted down a year earlier when she had double crossed Lord Vader in a heated battle above Nal Hutta.

So now, she was on the run with limited credits and looking for an easy job. If Dr. Aphra was heading to Ryloth, she would be heading to an area when Imperial rule was lax, and where better than Tann Province? Slavin’s vendetta against Cham’Syndulla was legenadary, and as a result day-to-day law enforcement was sorely lacking, according to Thrawn. From what Minerva had seen, there seemed to be far too many stormtroopers who didn’t know what they were doing, much less what was going on. Surely, there had to be some day-to-day protocol they observed. It wasn’t like they were protecting the plans to the Death Star (Minerva was pretty sure they weren’t).

Reporting to Slavin at promptly 10 AM, she waited in the spacious antechamber as a small contingent of troopers stood at attention at the doors leading from the antechamber to the main corridor. Either side of the door leading into the main office were flanked by a trooper, staring straight ahead. You had to admire that kind of stamina, although as she stood there, Minerva could not help but wonder if anyone ever fell asleep on duty.

On the other side of the door, Minerva thought she heard a crash, an angry shout and an order to clean up this mess! The door whooshed open and the nearest trooper began sweeping up an upset tea set. Clearing her throat, Minerva queried, “Is everything all right, Captain Slavin?”

“No, everything is not all right! I’ll be just a minute,” was Vortigern’s shrill, angry reply. She heard the familiar zip of a sipper being fastened, and the rustle of fine china and flimsiplast being swept up. It was hear that a troopers elbowed his way past Minerva without so much as an excuse me. Minerva quietly stepped into Slavin’s office, when her eyes fell on the Syndulla kalikori.

Remembering what she had read about the totem last night, she allowed herself to quietly study, her blue eyes making note of the patterns and build. It was a nice tradition, she thought. That way, your family history was never truly lost. However, for Hera’Syndulla the thought of her father fighting a war on her homeworld had to be bittersweet.

It was now that she walked over to Slavin’s desk and stood there patiently for her orders. Slavin was hopping comically in sotcking feet as he struggled to slip his boots on. His tunic was buttoned up sloppily, his trousers were wrinkled. Minerva cast a quick glance to the nude statue of Rhea’Syndulla and could not help but notice the strange spots on the statues ample curves. What had been going on?

Before she had time to even think of an answer, Slavin managed to make his was to his desk and address Minerva. “About time you got here, don’t they have you on a stricter schedule?” His eyes greedily looked her up and down, and Minerva fixed him a sharp look. She would not be looked at by him in that way.

“I arrived when I was asked Captain, however it was you who was unready,” she replied peevishly. Since when was she to blame when he was running late? Did he have that much trouble keeping track of time, or did he expect everyone to drop what they were doing and follow his beck and call? So much for being a respectable Imperial governor, even if in name only.

Considering how the day was going to turn out, Slavin waved her away dismissively. “Since you’re so set in assisting me, as your fiancée assigned you here, you can go down to the local market some miles from here.” It was obvious he wanted to go back to whatever it was she was doing, and it did not involve governing Tann Province or running the Palace in an organized manner.

What a creep, Minerva thought to herself as she made her way towards the front courtyard and to the speeder lot. She chose a simple speeder bike and zoomed off into the mid-morning horizon. There was a small settlement about 4 miles away in a flat part of the canyon where traders made their living with local goods and services. Quite a few were employed at the Palace, and Minerva got the feeling she would not be receiving a warm welcome.

After all, I do represent the occupying enemy, she mused thoughtfully after stowing the speeder bike. During her tenure with the Empire, she began to think differently about how the Empire was portrayed in the Star Wars films and novels and it compared to her personal experiences. Certainly, the Death Star and the two ruling Sith Lords were evil, but the idea of a unified military force ruling the galaxy wasn’t a bad idea. If the xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny went away, maybe the Empire could be a better alternative to the Galactic Republic.



Already, there were cries of locals hawking their wares and offering any variety of services. Children were running under foot, too little for school. Near one of the stalls, Minerva noticed a woman some years older than herself attempting to see some knick-knacks. Her hearts started racing, it was Doctor Aphra.

Aphra was unaware she was being watched, after all Slavin was too much of an idiot to govern Tann Province properly. She was hawking some trinkets she had plundered from a merchant’s caravan that had been a target of an Imperial bombing raid. She didn’t really care about the survivors who had fought tooth and nail to get the goods back, there were collectors who would pay highly for such primitive trinkets. Besides, she needed the credits.

Minerva cautiously readied her knife and approached Aphra slowly. Aphra spun around… and came face to face with a young, pretty Imperial officer. “What are you doing here,” she groused, annoyed she had been found out. Minerva replied she was there to assist Slavin and Aphra was under arrest for looting. Aprha rolled her eyes, new female officers were easy to escape from. Reaching for a blaster, the criminal jumped onto a table and began shooting. Instead of ducking, Minerva brazenly followed her, using her shield to its full advantage. Pulling her blade, Minerva hopped onto the table and managed to nick the rear of Aphra’s left thigh. ACK!

Aphra winced in pain, who was this girl who could fight like a Jedi? Refusing to give up, she ran away and the chase was on. The town was situated above a series of narrow trails that led to the Syndulla clan’s crypt. This is where Aphra wanted to go, but her tools were back on the ship. Minerva continued to give chase, and the two women traversed the canyon, well after sunset.

By now they were both exhausted and looking for a place to stay the night. As luck would have it, Aphra found a hatch the led to where she believed burial treasures were stored. Slipping down the chute, she landed in a dust filled room. It was filled with priceless artefacts, SCORE!

As Aphra began looting the small chamber, Minerva found her way to the crypts’s front door. Removing her boots, Minerva stepped into the small sanctuary, where she lit a candle and whispered the Lord’s Prayer in offer for protection for the night. As a sign of goodwill, she left behind her crucifix from her confirmation. She then curled into a fetal position and fell asleep.



By lighting the candle, Minerva awakened the spirit of Rhea’Syndulla. It was Rhea who was the guardian of the crypt, and Twi’lek religion held that anyone who entered a crypt would meet the guardian spirit. Legends held that meetings between pilgrims and the spirit depended on the intent of the pilgrim. Because Minerva had entered properly and had shown goodwill and reverence for Twi’lek religious customs, Rhea let the Imperial sleep unmolested.

However, Aphra not only lacked respect for this sacred place, she was cold hearted and avaricious. Smiling bleakly, Rhea took on the form of Aprha’s mother as a rotting corpse. The smell of rotting flesh and bones woke Aphra from her sleep. Aphra awoke to the sight, and screamed. Her mother’s zombie (or so she thought) chased her throughout the night, and Aphra’s rational mind went on strike. By morning, the terrified archaeologist fled Ryloth and spent the next month on Lothal.

When Minerva had not returned after sunset, Slavin began to worry. After taking a look at her maps, he was convinced he needed her help in securing Tann Province for the Empire. He sent out a rescue party, and had fallen asleep when they brought her home the following morning. Instead of being relieved at her safe return, he was annoyed that she had instead single-handedly defeated Doctor Aphra.


Minerva rolled her eyes, would he just get over it? It was here that they both got an interesting piece of intel, there was a mass uprising near Lake Versailles. He smiled darkly at her, “Looks like you have your work cut out for you, map maker.”

 

Sheesh, Slavin is truly a creep. I think Thrawn will want to add him to his list soon.

Nice worldbuilding there with the customs to respect in a Twi'lek family vault, are you going to elaborate on that in the fanon thread?

 

I haven't considered that, but I might. That's a great idea, thanks Chyntuck !

 

Aphra and Minerva in one update! Wonderful colliding of universes here! Enjoyed myself immensely.

 

Good to know. I don't think Aphra will be returning in this story, but I will be bringing in Konstantine (I forgot to bring him in earlier).

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

Written by: Nehru_Amidala aka FossilQueen1984

Genre: Gothic romance, drama, hurt/comfort, dark fantasy, slight horror

Cast list: Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Thrawn- Lars Mikkelsen, Governor Pryce- Cate Blanchett, Agent Kallus- David Oyelowo, Vortigern Slavin- Mark Hamill

Pairings: None in this chapter

Rating: T/PG-13 for battle sequences, thematic elements, blood, snogging, SPOILERS for Thrawn

Universe: Doctor Who and AU! Rebels

Chapter Soundtrack: Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra- John Williams, The Blitz, 1940- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Chapter 18: Operation Nachthexen



Minerva nodded to Vortigern’s curt response, of course she was ready. Lake Versailles was a day’s journey away and situated in a forested valley. From what Minerva had read about Lake Versailles, it was in a forested valley that was unusually humid because of its elevation and was quite foggy for the better part of an average morning. As far as she was concerned, it was the Star Wars equivalent of Italy’s Lake Trasimene and it was apparent that the ensuing battle would play out like the meeting between Atilla’s forces and the Roman legions during the Second Punic War.

Of course the Romans lost because they underestimated the enemy, and there is no way I am going to let that happen, Minerva said to herself as she began mapping out the area. Already, there were troops there who knew the area, and Minerva mentioned that they should station themselves along the lake’s eastern shore, so when the sun did melt the fog, the blaring light would blind the Twi’lek mercenaries long enough to start mowing them down by the dozens. The gathered squad leaders thought this was a brilliant idea, why hadn’t Slavin thought of it earlier?

Slavin stuttered that he had considered a plan similar to the one Officer Hektor had suggested (nobody believed him) but he cautioned that Twi’leks also believed that an ancient witch was rumored to live in the lake and at certain times of the year was supposed to rise from the dead and reign death and destruction to whoever was in the immediate area. Cham’Syndulla wrote it off as a ghost story, and ordered his followers to go through the area anyway, regardless of the superstitions. If anything, Cham was not religious, at least since his wife died.

This bit of information gave Minerva an idea. It was a long shot, but it just might work to their advantage. “Captain, do we have any older ships that can fly silently overhead that can drop bombs?” Slavin stared at her, what sort of question was that? “Of course we do, young lady! We have mid-level crop dusters out in the flight shed opposite the repair garage. Where did you get this idea of yours?” Slavin inquired, interest piqued.

“It was a battle maneuver used by a squadron comprised entirely of women in a battle fought on my planet a little over fifty years ago. Yes, it was successful,” Minerva explained. If she could get some pilots to fly low and overhead in the wee hours of the morning then the nerves of the Twi’leki freedom fighters would be shot by the time they reached Lake Versailles. However, timing was of the utmost importance.

According to Imperial intelligence, Twi’lek freedom fighters were about two hours away from the traditional camping grounds used by religious pilgrims in centuries past. Cham’Syndulla was not with them, he was hiding out somewhere several days away with his higher ranking officers. Speaking with the pilots who volunteered for the midnight mission, Minerva would lead them in between the hours of 2 and 4 am and would make quick getaways before the Twi’leks could retaliate. Afterwards, she would give the signal to the gathered stormtroopers to get into position.

Because they needed to be concealed, the crop dusters had holoshrouds attached so when they flew, both ship and pilot were invisible. Transporting them by ground, Minerva and the troops slept as they were escorted down the rarely used back roads, as Vortigern Slavin cautiously watched the roads, furtively praying nobody was spying on them.

As it turned out, Cham was too busy engaging troops closer to the estate and had ordered his troops who were nearing Lake Versailles not to be so kriffing superstitious, there was no such thing as the Night Witch. These folks really needed to get a life, in his opinion. They were his people, but their belief system was driving him up the wall.

The sun set and the weather rapidly cooled. Squad leaders met the arrivals at the ruins of a castle on the opposite side of the lake, where Minerva and Captain Slavin informed them of the plan. The eastern shore of the lake was on a rise, so the troopers would have an advantage. However, the Twi’leks were formidable opponents, but it would be an Imperial victory so long as they (the Imperials) kept the advantage.

The particular date of the battle, 28 February, was a day noted for bad luck all over Ryloth and already Twi’leks were opening their tents and leaving equipment out in the open. According to their religious beliefs, to appease the Night Witch you left doors open so your soul would not be stolen and your belongings out to show you were not a threat to her supernatural powers. Cham, if he had been there, would have chastised them all until their ears/hearing organs were bleeding and everything was stowed properly. However, their glorious leader was not present, so everything was left out.



The moon was a waning crescent at this point, and there were light clouds obscuring the stars. It gave the shadows an added layer of darkness, and the darkness reached its zenith at 1:37 AM. Walking quickly in the brisk midnight air, Minerva hopped into the pilot’s seat and they were off.

The engines were surprisingly quiet as the small fleet swiftly flew over the lake in fleet formation… and began bombing every tent in sight. No sooner had the explosions started when sleepy Twi’leks began running around like numa’s with their heads chopped off. It was sheer chaos as bombs fell randomly out of the sky, there were no ships anywhere! They were horribly confused and frightened, small ships didn’t have cloaking devices, so where should they aim? A few snipers were able to make some potshots, but they were wide and outside. After at least 20 or 30 laps around the camp, Minerva felt the mission was a success, so she ordered everyone back to base camp.

Gazing out the viewshield, Minerva took macabre pleasure in enjoying her handiwork. Bodies lay half-burned, bloody and broken on the smoldering ground as their comrades tried desperately to get the fires under control and themselves together. In their anger, they would blindly attack the gathered Imperial forces with righteous fury for their fallen comrades. It would be an exercise in futility.

When Minerva landed, she informed Slavin of the success and he was pleased with how well it went, now it was up to the stormtroopers on the other side of the lake to finish the battle. Sitting down with a mug of hot chocolate, Minerva and the other officers watched the battle play out on a holographic relay system attached to the stormtrooper’s armor.

The Twi’leks marched onward towards the eastern shore, and as they trudged tiredly, but stubbornly towards the rise, the sun’s rays lit up the sky. Yawning, they slowed down and began to stumble and they fell down along the way, but their thirst for vengeance forced them onwards. At last they were within sight when they were met by a blinding light! The sun’s rays bounced off the stormtroopers’ armor and the intense brightness was reflected tenfold by the thick fog. Opening fire, the freedom fighters fell by the dozens and while they did manage to slay a few troopers, the body count was far higher for the Twi’leks than the Imperials. By the time the fog cleared out at about 10 AM, it was clear the Imperials had won the battle.


Back at the camp, Slavin let out a sharp sigh of relief! They had won, and it was all thanks to Minerva Hektor, Thrawn’s beloved map maker. It was only now Captain Slavin realized he had full control over Tann Province, all with Officer Hektor’s help. He did not want to admit that a woman had helped him secure his victory, but he could add it into his reports as a mere mention. Little did he know, there was still much to be done to truly control the province, but that would come in the weeks ahead.

 

It's nice to see Minarva in full military action; it looks like a bit of Thrawn's strategic genius has rubbed off her! I'm curious as to the cross-fandom references in this chapter; I've heard about the all-female aviation units in WWII, but I don't associate them with a particular battle. Is there a historical reference I'm missing, or did you borrow that idea from a fandom I'm not familiar with?

 

No, your not missing any historical references, nor did I borrow anything from another fandom. Actually, the whole Nachthexen thing was based off of a real female squadron of Russian female pilots who flew missions over German camps during the end of WWII. Lake Trasimene was the site of a famous battle during the SAecond Punic Wars that the Romans should have won, but they lost.

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

Written by: Nehru_Amidala aka FossilQueen1984

Genre: Gothic romance, drama, hurt/comfort, dark fantasy, slight horror

Cast list: Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Thrawn- Lars Mikkelsen, Vortigern Slavin- Mark Hamill, GL-1977- Harrison Ford

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, mention of Rex/Ahsoka

Rating: T/PG-13 for battle sequences, thematic elements, blood, snogging, SPOILERS for Thrawn

Universe: Doctor Who and AU! Rebels

Chapter Soundtrack: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky- Joe Hisaishi, The Blitz, 1940- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Will to Live- Joe Hisaishi

Chapter 19: Gambits and Reprisals



To Agent Kallus’s great annoyance, Thrawn was correct about the time table regarding Slavin’s complete control of Tann Province. After all, it was a sizeable portion of the northeastern continent and with the man power under Vortigern’s control, how hard could it be to decimate a bunch of savage locals? According to Thrawn, Vortigern was drunk on power and now that he was living in thee Syndulla clan’s castle, he had no real intention to do any more fighting, unless Cham’Syndulla offered himself up on a silver platter. That, according to Thrawn, was as unlikely as Moff Tarkin running off and eloping with Darth Vader on Chandrila.

Kallus had to choke down a snort as Thrawn made the comment. They were currently on Lothal at Governor Pryce’s request to oversee the final stages of revamping the factory district into a full-fledged Imperial quality manufacturing campus. This was where Thrawn’s TIE Defender would be built, along with walkers and other fighting machines that the Empire needed in their arsenal because Phoenix Squadron was keeping them on their toes.

To be fair though, Thrawn’s tactical skills and Minerva’s maps were doing much more damage in the skirmishes in the Inner Rim and on the frontiers of Wild Space. Also, Rebel spies had learned that the Empire had a map maker with perfect memory. The Rebels had given her the code name “Targeter”. At the moment, nobody knew her identity except that she was in her late teens/early twenties and that she was engaged to someone of high rank. Bail Organa, recalling the times during the Clone Wars he had bummed around with the Pater Nostra Gang, wondered if she wasn’t Clara Oswald (he had heard Madame Vestra name drop the Doctor’s former companion on more than one occasion) but since those records were still classified by Emperor Palpatine, it would have been impossible to tell. Mon Mothma told him he was dreaming, but Bail ignored her. They had more important things to worry about.

Minerva’s maps were so detailed, you would have thought she had visited each and every planet within the GFFA, and this was leading to the credible theory that she was a Force-sensitive. However, this was only a theory and Bail wanted to keep this under wraps since the only Jedi openly serving the Rebellion at the moment were knee deep in fighting Imperials mano a mano for the time. Still though, it did lead him to wonder who the mystery girl was. There was also the troubling fact he had recently gotten a letter from Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had sensed a deep tremor in the Force. Unsure of what it portended, the aged Jedi Master informed Organa that he would need to send Leia to Dagobah to begin her Jedi training when he heard from Kenobi again. Also, the former senator was instructed to reveal Leia’s true parentage via letter so she had time to digest the news en route to meeting Master Yoda.

Bail was conflicted about this, he had nothing but deep respect for the late Mrs. Anakin Skywalker and one of the main reasons he had contacted Ahsoka (after her mutual break up with Rex) was because Padme’s ghost had haunted him every night until he spoke to her. Also, he was still dealing with gilt not believing her when terrorists attacked the Jedi Temple. In his heart he knew her to be innocent, but Mon wanted her to be guilty. He dragged his feet on the manner, but in the end she wore him down. Ergo, he voted her way and lived with the guilt of his decision. Now though all these years later, the Empire was growing bolder and Kenobi’s request did little to quiet his mind. All he could do was pray Leia could continue on in her mother’s footsteps.



Meanwhile back in the warmth of Ryloth’s slowly awakening spring, the quest for control of Tann Province was going back and forth like an Olympic gold medal tennis match. Every day, it seemed that any gains made by either side were quickly erased by the opponent. Then there were those battles that turned into stalemates that lasted weeks at a time. In between the fighting, Minerva was stricken with a nasty bout of Corulagi flu that kept her confined to her room for a fortnight. By now, Cham’Syndulla had come out of hiding and was preparing to face Vortigern on the battle field.

By now, it was the beginning of May. The sun’s rays warmed the ground and green things started growing in the flower boxes running along the balconies, bringing nice touches of colors to the otherwise drab building. Minerva had been assigned to decoding messages that Cham was sending to his myriad bands of saboteurs. One message she decoded around the 7th of May sent chills up her spine. She learned Cham had set up a trap at the Tulara ravine. He and some of his troops were armed with sonic rifles and were going to ambush the troops. These troops weren’t the household guards, these were the best troops stationed on Ryloth.

Horrified, Minerva ran to Slavin’s office in order to relay the news, but Slavin was less than thrilled about it. “So they’re on patrol? No need to worry.” Minerva argued that they would be rendered deaf for the rest of their lives of they didn’t do something, or something even more horrifying would happen. Slavin viciously leapt up and backhanded her, sending the young woman to the floor.

“Just because you’re Moff Tarkin’s pet map maker and Grand Admiral Thrawn’s beloved fiancée, that does not give you the right to run around like a silly little girl rescuing troopers. That is their job, to shed their blood for the glory of the Empire, not yours,” Slavin spat venomously. Slowly standing up, Minerva made her way out of the door, refusing to cry. Slavin may not have cared but she did.

Making her way back into her room, Minerva rummaged through the closet until she found an abandoned pair of hearing organ covers. These are perfect, Minerva thought to herself as she stuffed them with cotton balls and candle wax. Once they were stuffed, she covered her ears. To her delight, she could barely hear anything around her. Now, she could leave.

The Tulara Ravine was nearly an hour away via speeder bike, and to Minerva’s great relief, the troops had not yet made the descent. It was the end of blurrg mating season, so they were traversing the mesas that straddled the ravine. Parking the speeder. Minerva hailed the leader. “You all are in terrible danger, you need to turn back!”

“Good afternoon, Lady Thrawn. Why have you gone local? What happened to your face? Shall we contact the Grand Admiral? With you in charge, we’d have total control by now,” the squad leader, GL-1977 inquired in a friendly tone. Minerva was a good leader as far as the troops were concerned. Of course, Minerva could not get her warning across as a perfectly timed barrage of sonic blasts ripped across the horizon, leveling the troops.

From where he was standing, Cham’Syndulla was quite shocked to see a lone girl standing on the horizon, a golden shield protecting the fallen troops, who were groaning in pain while clutching their heads as many succumbed to bleeding out. Her dark brown hair was loose, and in her right hand was a small vorpal blade. Also, he could not help but notice the ear cones around her ears. He gritted his teeth, how dare she figure out how to avoid the sonic weapons. Charging towards him, he ordered everyone to fire at her.

It was here that Minerva would twist her ankle, and as she fell Minerva nicked herself with her blade… and the secret of her Gallifreyan heritage was made known. Cham was horrified, who was this young girl whose blood ran gold like the Doctor? A relation? No, an abomination. Coldly, he shot her point blank. The last thing Minerva saw before passing out was the tall form of Cham’Syndulla’s tall frame leaning over her.



When GL-1977 managed to extract himself into an upright position from underneath his dead comrades, his first thought was to report back to home base to alert Captain Slavin about the ambush, but then he saw the sight of Minerva Hektor, akimbo and badly bruised. Running over, he pulled off his gloves (he was trained as a medic) and felt her forehead. She had a fever, this was not good. Slavin would stand by and do nothing, he needed to contact Grand Admiral Thrawn.

By the time the intrepid Stormtrooper reached the mansion, the moon was rising over the horizon. A medical crew was on standby, and once Minerva was checked over she was gently laid in her bed, dressed in a slinky shimmersilk nightgown. Making his way downstairs to the front door, he was approached by Slavin and Thrawn.

Nervously gulping, he was preparing to be demoted for his failure by Slavin when Thrawn fixed his red eyes on the stormtroopers. “Trooper GL-1977, Captain Slavin informed me of your actions earlier on the ravine. Is it true?”

“Yes sir, it is. Officer Hektor warned us of an impending attack…she protected us from sonic weapons, sir. Many died, yes, but many more lived because she faced Cham Syndulla in single combat. She fell, but I managed to keep her steady on the way back.”

“You kriffing idiot, you should have left her to die-“

“Slavin, that is quite enough! You are dismissed for the evening, Vortigern. Tell me, GL-1977, have you any training as a medic?”

“Yes sir, I do. I graduated from Imperial Academy with my degree in field medicine.”

“I hereby promote you to Medic, First Class. We have use for you aboard the Chimaera. Your promotion will go into effect at noon tomorrow, so I suggest you pack tonight and report to the daily transport shuttle at 10 AM. You are dismissed, medic.”

“Thank you, Grand Admiral. I will not fail you.”

Saluting the Chiss, the newly promoted trooper quickly walked away, a noticeable spring in his step. Thrawn was more than happy to promote the young man, good talent like that was being wasted in the stormtrooper corp. Now, to check up on his beloved.

Standing on the threshold, Thrawn quietly stepped into the dimly lit room. On the bed lay Minerva, her chocolate curls spilling around her head like a waterfall. She was breathing softly, her rose petal lips parted somewhat. All the better to kiss her then.

Laying down so that his chest was level to hers, he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. Minerva’s eyes fluttered open, and she returned the kiss. They stayed like that for a while, before Thrawn lay down and held her in his arms. Falling asleep, both felt as though they were home.

 

Ooooh, big fat chapter and a lot to unpack here!

Okay, first of all:

This sentence had me laughing my head off.

Then: interesting insight into the "other side" in the opening section of the chapter. I'm not sure I understood everything there is to understand because I have this nagging sense that I'm missing some Doctor Who references, but I enjoyed how you sketched out Bail Organa's and Mon Mothma's roles in all this, especially how Bail has the feeling that there's more to this Imperial mapmaker than meets the eye (or, in this case, the rumour). Having her codenamed "Targeter" was also a neat touch.

As for the second part, Minerva was very brave (if a little foolhardy) and Slavin has no idea in how much trouble he is now. GL-1977 may have received a well-deserve promotion, but between the fact that he slapped Minerva and the fact that he told the trooper that he should have left her to die, Slavin is going to be demoted – or worse – big time. And, honestly, who could blame Thrawn for it?

 

I obviously missed a lot of updates, since I was visiting the thread last time.

Not even I got all Doctor Who references, I am afraid, but it was a good read. This time we also learned Bail Organa´s point-of-view and the one of Hera´s father as well. It teaches us that the line between good & evil can be very thin. And that good intentions lead to hell sooner or later. Well done!

 

Thanks much for the feedback. I thought some more world building was in order, particularly with the Rebellion. Even though Kanan is trying to keep her a secret from the Ghost Crew, and by extension Phoenix Squadron, the impact her maps are having are making enough of impact for the higher up (like Mon and Bail) to ponder the idea of some wunderkind mapmaker working for the Empire.

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

Written by: Nehru_Amidala aka FossilQueen1984

Genre: Gothic romance, drama, hurt/comfort, dark fantasy, slight horror

Cast list: Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Vortigern Slavin- Mark Hamill

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva

Rating: T/PG-13 for battle sequences, thematic elements, blood, snogging, SPOILERS for Thrawn

Universe: Doctor Who and AU! Rebels

Chapter Soundtrack: Aniron/Lothlorien - Eyna, Cocobeatles/You Know I Love You- Bruno Corlais

Chapter 20: Fortes Fortuna Iuvat, Part 1



Ryloth’s full moons cast the silvery pallor into the bedrooms facing out towards the courtyard, casting the greenery in a soft glow. The dim rays met the window panes of where Minerva and Thrawn were sleeping, entangled in each other’s arms. Somewhere outside, the nocturnal hoots of a lone convor could be heard, but just barely.

As it was some point well past midnight, Minerva rolled over onto her side, and the rays of the moon shone on her. Feeling her stir lightly, Thrawn slowly opened his eyes and felt like he was in some sort of waking dream out of an ancient fairy tale. The way Minerva’s skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, and the pale nightgown against her alabaster skin leant itself to her ethereal looks.

Shifting his weight as not to wake her, he gently stroked her cheek, and she opened her eyes and smiled at him. Pulling her closer, Thrawn kissed her hungrily, letting his hands wander up and down her chest. Minerva nuzzled his neck, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her hands moving to his shoulder blades. He loved her so much, nobody would ever hurt her again.



“Are you all right, my winter rose?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m fine. Why?”

“Slavin hurt you earlier, and you faced Cham’Syndulla alone earlier. Must you always be so brave and foolhardy?”

“I was hardly that, Thrawn. Our troops were walking into a trap, and someone had to warn them-“

“Not at the expense of losing you, though. Stormtroopers are meant to take the heavy brunt in skirmishes, and they should have been made aware of the intel regarding yesterday’s attack. However, by engaging in single combat, you are intentionally putting yourself in harm’s way. Also, sooner or later the Rebels will get word of your Gallifreyan heritage and attempt to abduct you. I do not wish for that to happen.”

Letting out a sigh the resonated from the soles of her feet, Minerva laid against Thrawn’s chest and admitted he was correct. She had been foolish to reveal herself like that, at the same time she had felt that she had no choice. She eventually fell back asleep, letting Thrawn’s steady heartbeat lull her into the warmth of slumber.

Once Minerva had fallen back asleep, Thrawn’s active mind returned to yesterday’s events. He had been planning a just revenge for Slavin’s treatment of Minerva and the fallen troops of the 138th Not as prestigious as the 501st who served Lord Vader, the men of the One Thirty Eighth were nonetheless highly skilled soldiers and competent ones at that. There shameful deaths were, of course, the fault of the Twi’lek partisans, but it was Vortigern Slavin who was to blame. Therefore, he was to be punished.



Thrawn moved away from his sleeping beauty and turned on his datapad. In the report he had sent to Grand Moff Tarkin, he had outlined what had happened to Minerva, the number of troops who had needlessly died, and the many others who had lived and were all undergoing hearing implants in the fortress’s medical wing. Also, Thrawn had mentioned that Slavin was a lascivious objectophile, and was frequently tupping a priceless female humanoid statue.

If there was one thing that did not fly with the Imperial Navy, it was any kind of deviant sexual perversion. Pedophiles were barred entrance and were executed on sight. Everyone else was forcibly castrated or sterilized. What happened afterwards was up to local Imperial High Command. Since Thrawn was the highest ranking Imperial on Ryloth, he would be the deciding factor in determining Slavin’s fate.

Quickly dressing in a clean uniform, Thrawn contacted Grand Moff Tarkin about his next steps.

“Krennic, you idiot! If you call me one more time about your erstwhile relationship with Galen…oh! Thrawn, it’s you. Thank goodness. What are you doing contacting me this early in the morning? Has Cham Syndulla surrendered?”

“Not yet, but he should be charging nearer once his daughter arrives later this week. I have alerted the medical team about what is about to happen to Vortigern. Shall I relieve him of his rank and install Minerva as the de facto governor?”

“Excellent idea, but no. She is far more useful to us as our chief mapmaker and while she is capable on the field of battle, I would prefer it if she stayed closer to you. Could you please turn on a holoprojector? I wish to oversee Slavin’s operation myself.”


“As you wish, Grand Moff Tarkin.”



While Tarkin and Thrawn were making plans, Vortigern had had a restless night, and this was putting it mildly. He was annoyed that Thrawn had been dismissive towards him in his capacity as de facto governor, and the mapmaker had some nerve rescuing troopers. It had not been his day. Adding to his frustrations, the squad leader had gotten promoted to Medic, First class when clearly he should have died along with Officer Hektor during the attack. These thoughts nibbled away at his already troubled subconscious, and after a couple of hours tossing and turning, Slavin was at his wit’s end. Freeing himself from the stifling clothes he had been wearing to bed, his middle aged body meandered out into his office.

There were no light on, except for the dim back up lighting that was used in case of a power outage. Pressing his ear against the door that led from his office to the exterior antechamber, he heard nothing except the march of troopers on night duty. Relieved, he let out a deep sigh. One of the perks of running Tann Province was that the troopers under his command had to do every little thing he requested, no matter how outrageous.

Seeing that he was free to have his way with the statue, he slid behind it and began snogging its ample curves. Gripping the hips, he began making love to the statue whispering all sorts of vulgarities that would have made even Casanova blush in embarrassment. This was the only activity that kept him sane during his waking hours, and little did he know it was about to cost him. Big time.

His passion was reaching a dizzying peak, when the door whooshed open, and standing at the threshold were none other than Grand Admiral Thrawn…and the scowling holo projection of Grand Moff Tarkin! Standing behind them was a menacing looking med droid. Slavin paled and placed his hands in front of his lower half to prevent further humilation.

“Slavin, you pervert! Droid, restrain him. Thrawn, have you readied the knife?”

Gazing at the sharpened blade, Slavin’s eyes widened in fear. Panicing, he bolted and nearly made it out the door to freedom…but was stopped by two storm troopers. Thrawn motioned for the troopers to hold him down as the droid injected synthetic testosterone in order to prevent voice disorders. There was a quick swish, and as Vortigern gazed down, he heard the sound of flesh hitting the floor and a smear of blood between his legs.

The pain was excruciating, and it hurt one thousand times worse as the droid applied a laser to the wound, cauterizing it. Screaming in pain, he begged to be killed. Neither Thrawn nor Tarkin would hear of it. The punishment for his sexual deviancy had been delivered, and it was now that Tarkin pronounced his final judgement.

“For the needless deaths of Ryloth’s finest and the assault on Officer Hektor, you are hereby demoted to Ensign. You will be Captain in name only, Grand Admiral Thrawn is now in charge of daily operations. Tomorrow, you will plant mines in the Tulara Ravine, and wait for Cham Syndulla’s daughter and her Rebel friends to arrive. Do I make myself clear?”

“Go kriff yourself,” Salvin snarled.

Thrawn smacked him so hard, the former Captain fell to his feet, and Thrawn forced him to apologize and did not leave until the statue was cleaned and restored. Afterwards, no more was spoken of what had happened as Slavin was locked in his bedroom to recover.

Meanwhile and elsewhere, Hera had gotten word that her father needed help and announced that in three days’ time, everyone would be heading to Ryloth to assist the Free Ryloth movement.

 

“Krennic, you idiot! If you call me one more time about your erstwhile relationship with Galen…oh! Thrawn, it’s you. Thank goodness. What are you doing contacting me this early in the morning? Has Cham Syndulla surrendered?”

That made me laugh my head off. Thank you! I needed that.

 

I'm glad that helped lighten your mood.

 

Oh wow. I expected that Slavin was in trouble, but not in this sort of trouble. I suspect that he'll be back causing as much damage as he can in the future though. He's the kind who abuse their power when they have it, and who undermine other people's power when they don't.

And now the Rebels are coming to Ryloth, so Thrawn is going to be in full Grand Admiral mode.

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

Written by: Nehru_Amidala aka FossilQueen1984

Genre: Gothic romance, drama, hurt/comfort, dark fantasy, slight horror

Cast list: Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Vortigern Slavin- Mark Hamill, Kanan Jarrus- Freddie Prinze Jr, Hera’Syndulla- Vanessa Marshall, Sabine Wren- Tiya Sircar, Ezra Bridger- Taylor Gray, Zeb- Steven Blum, Chopper- himself/Ben Burtt, Cham’Syndulla- David Ogden Stiers, Numa- Cote DePablo

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, slight Kallus/Zeb

Rating: T/PG-13 for battle sequences, thematic elements, blood, snogging, SPOILERS for Thrawn

Universe: Doctor Who and AU! Rebels

Chapter Soundtrack: The Days Between- John Williams, Arrietty’s Song- Cecile Corbel

Chapter 21: Fortes Fortuna Iuvat, Part 2



It took the Ghost crew the entire three days to reach Ryloth from Lothal because of engine problems. First, Chopper had updated the wrong components and then tried to blame it on Zeb, who wasn’t having any of that and spent the better part of the morning chasing the droid around, shouting obscenities and finally trapped the droid next to the hyperdrive motivator and gave them both a long zap with the shock-blade. Well, it did a number on Chopper all right, and it revealed that the sneaky droid had been recording Zeb at night for blackmail. The holofilms revealed his risqué dreams involving him and Kallus, and the Lasat was not yet ready to admit his long standing crush on the Imperial officer. Everyone else knew he was gay and were fine with it. “Karabast, that can’t get out,” Zeb lamented as the droid rolled away, cackling evilly as the Ghost suddenly dropped out of hyperspace.

As it turned out, Zeb’s payback also fried the hyperdrive motivator, so Hera had to call Vizago to get another one installed. Chopper apologized, but refused to say what for. Kanan spent most of the night helping Hera install the hyperdrive, while Ezra and Sabine discussed why Zeb had gotten so angry with Chopper to begin with.

“It has to do with Zeb’s secret crush,” Ezra told Sabine conspiratorially as they started a round of holochess. Sabine’s brown eyes narrowed, since when did Zeb have a secret crush? Then again, Ezra was his roommate. She grinned, “Spill.”

Looking around and using the Force to make sure nobody was listening, Ezra whispered to her, “You are not to say a word of this to anyone. Not Hera, not Kanan, not Rex and especially not Zeb. He’s sensitive about this.”


“About being gay? We already know and are fine with it. Not like he’s head over heels for Agent Kallus…”

Ezra groaned and smacked his forehead.

“KRIFF! Is that it?”

“Yes and calm down!”

“How can I calm down knowing my friend is in love with an Imperial? How long have you known?”

“Since last October, when those dreams began. Ugh, it’s bad enough that I hear them when I sleep.”

“How racy are they?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Sabine shuddered and the conversation as a sulky Zeb came in after being lectured by Hera. The hyperdrive was finally installed, but it would be another 12 hours before it could be activated, so the first twelve hours of the second day were spent travelling at sublight speed.

Kanan and Ezra got in some Jedi training, and Kanan was proud of his padawan. In many ways, he considered the boy to be the son he never had. Heck, the whole crew was his family, his real family and nothing was going to change that. It didn’t help that he had blatantly lied to the Bendu about this, and when Thrawn did raze Atollon (on Christmas Day no less) Kanan’s perfectly constructed world would fall apart. For the time being though, all was right within his personal life.

By the time the Ghost limped to Ryloth, Cham’Syndulla and his number two, Numa were on tenterhooks. Hera had not contacted them as she said she would and then he learned about the hyperdrive malfunction. Surely, she could get another ship that worked better for everyone. The Free Ryloth movement had a small fleet of freighters, and since he was running the operation he could afford the loss of one.

Drinking his afternoon pot of herbal tea, his video comm rang, the holo symbol of Phoenix Squadron appearing. He smiled and let out a sigh of relief, it was about time they made contact.

“Hera! You’re all right!”

“Hi, dad. Yes, we’re all okay. Sorry we couldn’t get here sooner. We had… technical difficulties.”

“So I have heard. Hera, don’t you think it’s time to upgrade to a newer model of freighter? I have a few beauties in the fleet you can use.”

“Dad, I appreciate the offer, I really do. But, you’re making a bigger deal out of this than you need to. The hyperdrive has been fixed. We answered your call for help. We noticed the high amount of Imperial ships. Have they taken Tann Province?”

“Yes after a matter of months. At first, the campaign was sloppy and troops were lost on both sides and for a while, we had the upper hand. One day, everything changed. The Empire heard about Slavin’s complete mess and set up a two pronged approach.”

“You’re not making much sense, Dad. Who or what has changed things so radically?”

“There’s a girl here, a human woman not much older than your resident artist… she fought me in open combat and she’s a Gallifreyan! Not to mention, she used the legends of the Night Witch against us. On top of that, the new commander has stymied us at every turn. He is ruthless and effective.”

“Who are they?”

“I am unsure of who they are, the girl is a complete enigma. Unlike other Imperials I have faced, her eyes are unclouded by hate and she left a proper offering and showed reverence at the family crypt. The commander is unlike anyone I have ever met, he has blue skin and glowing red eyes.”


“Shavit, that’s Grand Admiral Thrawn! Don’t know who the girl is though, Thrawn’s girlfriend maybe?”

“Sounds about right, she was wearing an engagement ring when I met her in single combat- don’t give me that look, Jarrus! I’ll meet you within the hour.”

Severing the connection, Numa walked in and informed her boss that the Ghost had been sighted. Speeders and blurrgs had been prepped.



Meanwhile, on the other side of Tann Province, Thrawn’s timeline had been correct, down to the last millisecond. Imperial slicers had intercepted the Ghost’s transactions with Vizago and the transmissions from Cham’Syndulla to his daughter. Thrawn was slightly distressed at the revelation of Minerva’s Gallifreyan heritage, but he couldn’t hide her away forever. As far as they knew, she had no connection to Kanan Jarrus. He hypothesized the Jedi had not made mention of having a daughter, and would not as it would jeopardize the mission. He had buried this secret deeply, and it would eventually reveal itself at a most inopportune moment. Now, all he and Minerva had to do was wait for the Rebels to come charging in.

For Vortigern Slavin, the three days had been the longest of his life. After being castrated, he had been forced to repair and restore the statue of Rhea’Syndulla under the supervision of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who would beat him with the barrel end of a rifle if he did something incorrectly. It took him 14 hours to complete it and then he was forced to do all of his own laundry and formally apologize and pay restitution (4 month’s pay) to the mapmaker. She had forgiven him, and had blackened his eyes, under the order of Moff Tarkin.

Time seemed to slow down into the wee hours of the fourth day, as everyone prepared for the next steps.

 

Looking around and using the Force to make sure nobody was listening, Ezra whispered to her, “You are not to say a word of this to anyone. Not Hera, not Kanan, not Rex and especially not Zeb. He’s sensitive about this.”

“About being gay? We already know and are fine with it. Not like he’s head over heels for Agent Kallus…”

I love your refreshing view on the SW universe!

 

Haha! This was a fun depiction of the on-going shenanigans aboard the Ghost! And now, Kanan is on Ryloth, closer to his daughter than he has been in a while, and things are bound to come to a head. If Kanan's teammates don't know about Minerva, and Thrawn has deduced that correctly, I'm sure the reveal will come at the most inopportune moment indeed!