Before - Legends Tactics - Thrawn, OC

A/N: My first foray onto the Before board. And for a delightful little crackfic here. I do hope you enjoy:

Tactics

?Have you formulated your plan of attack, Commander Thrawn??

?Hm.? His red eyes narrowed to slits as he peered around the room at the assorted works of art gracing the walls. ?You see those two paintings on the left, dating back to the mid-colonial era??

??yes??

He steepled his fingers as he considered them. ?An eccentric combination of the early expansion period in the region with the later period of isolation and withdrawal. Note the rough exterior edges, the asymmetry of the piece itself; how it contrasts with the smoothness of the core of the work, the elaborate simplicity demonstrated in the complex yet predictable patterns.?

?Sir??

?This suggests a preference of appearance over truth; a tendency to fortify defenses for the sake of determent when, in fact, the interior strength is deceptively weak and easily conquered.?

There was a slight pause. ?Is that it??

?No,? he pointed once more. ?Note the single straight edge of the left-hand work. An homage to reason and order amidst chaos. A desire for control instead of pandemonium to lessen the? inner turmoil.?

Another expectant silence before the other sighed. ?And???

?Consequently,? his eyes slid slowly around, ?I am forced to conclude that the target of the attack would, in fact, prefer to be conquered- given the proper? incentives. Perhaps a... polite request.?

The red eyes of Kthira?yty?nalu flickered, looked between the artwork on the far wall and Thrawn?s eyes twice. ?Very well; your point is made, Commander. But if I may- what was to be your attack strategy, once you described the process of your analysis??

A brow rose smoothly. ?There was none, Aytyn.? She blinked in surprise. ?The sculpture to the right, the elegance of the depiction with painstaking focus on the minute details??

?Yes?? she asked in almost a growl.

?An emphasis on the obvious; a fear of conjecture, of leaving the fine details to the whims of the imaginations of others. All that was left for me to do was to demonstrate that I knew as much about your mental processes as you do- perhaps more even. Without the mystery, you would see little point in continuing to posture.?

He could practically hear her teeth grinding. ?Thrawn??

?Yes, Aytyn??

?You?re infuriating sometimes.?

?Hm,? a ghost of a smile crossed his face as he settled back comfortably. ?Aytyn??

?Yes, Thrawn??

?Will you keep calling me ?Commander???

Her lips curled in an almost feral smile. ?So that you can display even more arrogance when you argue with Admiral Ar?alani in class tomorrow, Cadet Thrawn??

?She disapproves of the study of art as military intelligence,? he returned delicately and with only a mild trace of petulance.

?Well, perhaps when you graduate and earn command of your own picket force, you can demonstrate to her the merits to be found in the practice.? He was quiet and brooding. ?Thrawn??

?Hm??

?You can demonstrate to me the merits to be found in the practice right now??

Some tension left his body as he glanced at her. ?Of course- keeping the ultimate goal in sight- I?m in violation of the very first principle of procedural strategy.?

?Thrawn??

?Yes??

?You?ve a brilliant mind, truly; but stop treating a night spent in my billet like a hands-on exercise in tactical offensive strategy.?

X---X---X---X

A/N: Blame LoriLynn - I'm not sure why exactly, but I'm pretty sure that this fic is entirely her fault.

 

I love that I get blamed for EVERY piece you write--good or bad, fluffy or serious (though mostly fluffy), drabble or epic. Perhaps I'm just your own personal muse?

Also, I love this! There is no doubt in my mind that Thrawn would treat everything as a strategic, military opportunity.

 

I really enjoyed that, Lexi!

Thanks for sharing, and maybe I should thank Lori too for making you write this.

 

You're welcome Hazel. This is what happens when Lexi and I are throwing around random pairing at 1 am (my time). I was delirious and suggested she write a Thrawn romance fic. Apparently this is as close as Thrawn gets to romantic.

 

This was...cool.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Thrawn this way. Young and handsome and already he has this awesome arrogance going.

*dreamy sigh* Thrawn...

...too bad his name isn't really meant to be whispered on a moan, huh?

 

That was really fun, seeing literally everything as important to military strategy. I also love his very astute analysis of art... Great viggie, and I love to see Thrawn stuff when he does occasionally show up.

 

LoriLynn - I love that I get blamed for EVERY piece you write--good or bad, fluffy or serious (though mostly fluffy), drabble or epic. Perhaps I'm just your own personal muse?
You just have a way of... encouraging me to write things that I wouldn't normally take the time to do. Or guilting me into things like Kyp with triplets.
Still trying to decide what your birthday fic pairing will be... muahahaha.

I was delirious and suggested she write a Thrawn romance fic. Apparently this is as close as Thrawn gets to romantic.
Don't push it- I could still write you some Thrawn-smut by mid-month...

Hazel - I really enjoyed that, Lexi!Thanks for sharing, and maybe I should thank Lori too for making you write this
Thank, blame... it's all relative. I'm glad you enjoyed my silly little indulgence fic. Thrawn is just fun to write, especially in funny settings if only because it's so anti-canon...

Ceillean - I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Thrawn this way. Young and handsome and already he has this awesome arrogance going.
Hey, the handsome is entirely your own mental image, I provided no physical descriptors here... (but I, of course, agree whole-heartedly... )

*dreamy sigh* Thrawn...too bad his name isn't really meant to be whispered on a moan, huh?
Too bad indeed, and not least of the impediments to writing the Thrawn-smut I'm threatening Lori with...

Luna_Nightshade - That was really fun, seeing literally everything as important to military strategy. I also love his very astute analysis of art... Great viggie, and I love to see Thrawn stuff when he does occasionally show up.
As Lori pointed out, I imagine that this is as close to romantic as Thrawn ever got in his life. And Thrawn-stuff is great, I think we need more of it on the Boards... if only he wasn't so bloody difficult to write!

Thanks for reading/commenting, and glad you all enjoyed!