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

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: Wulff Yularen- Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Kanan- Freddie Prinze Jr., Ezra- Taylor Gray, Governor Pryce- Cate Blanchett, Ryder Azadi & Seamus Sumar- Mark Hamill, Merida Sumar- Elizabeth McGovern, Kallus- David Oyelowo, Lyste- Daniel Radcliffe, Commander Sato- George Takei

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, Kallus/Zeb

Chapter soundtrack: Flaptors Attack/A Street Brawl/The Chase- Castle in the Sky OST

Chapter 34: Factory Inspection Part 4



Left behind to begin questioning, Lyste was practically beaming as his superior officers left him to the task. After being severely reprimanded for loosing ships to one Princess Leia of Alderaan, Yogar was quite determined to quell any doubts as to whether he was a competent officer. Pulling himself up to his full height, he addressed the workers to please form two lines and the questioning. The stormtroopers skillfully forced the workers into neat, single file lines. Ezra and Kanan were already getting ansty, time to make their escape.

“Chopper, make a scene so we can get outta here,” Kanan told the droid. Chop cackled with glee, mayhem and explosions were what he lived for. Rolling around in circles, the antiquated astromech began causing disturbances all over the place, knocking over fuel canisters, breaking toes of the unsuspecting stormtroopers and more than once releasing speeder bikes every which way. Aghast at what was going on, Yogar managed to pull himself together and hand two of the troopers corral the haywire equipment before he took a running leap and managed to latch on to Chopper! Indignant about being manhandled by the officer, Chopper took off at full speed, dragging Lyste with him. Ezra and Kanan were laughing their butts of at the scene and they were able to slip out of the room without being noticed.

By now, Yogar was angry and worn out. Grabbing a hydrospanner, he clouted Chopper upside his dome and bellowed, “Jesus Christ superstar! What is wrong with you, you bleeding git of a droid?” Chopper, highly amused at the tongue lashing, warbled out a stream of nonsense sounds, followed by what Lyste interpreted as a raspberry. Today just was not his day!

“Get thee to repair maintenance, hence,” he snarled. He then quickly turned his narrowed eyes to the still assembled workers, who were rolling on the floor in fits of hysteria. The resolve broken, Lyste had to order everyone splashed with ice cold water until they smartened up.

Rolling down the corridor, Ezra was still snickering, “Poor Lyste, can’t catch a break can he?” Kanan grinned, “Didn’t know Chopper was a first-rate angler. Great job, Chopper.” By now Chopper had caught up to them, and they needed new disguises. Luckily for them, two passing stormtroopers were just rounding the corner. They did not expect two Jedi, much less an ambush. Once the worker’s uniforms and the bodies of said stormtroopers were deposited into a storage closet, off to section A-2.

As they meandered down the hallways, they could hear the frantic voice of Lyste echo from the comm cylinders of the stormtrooper squad leaders. “Better make our way over to A-2,” Kanan suggested. Ezra was inclined to agree, and as they really had no idea where they were going, better to get a data tape download from one of the Imperial astromechs roaming the chrome and durasteel corridors.

Sneaking around when the whole building was nerve-wracking enough, but what were the chances they would have to shoot to kill? Very high, but they were prepared and unbeknownst to them, so was Kallus. He was anxious to help them out, but at the same time he did not want to blow his cover. So far as he knew, Thrawn suspected nothing. Logging into a data terminal, he took note of where stormtroopers were moving to and he espied two troopers and one droid meandering towards section A-2, albeit in a very roundabout way. Logging out, Kallus took the elevator and hoped he didn’t miss his chance.



It had not been an hour when Ezra, Kanan and Chopper encountered a squad of stormtroopers. Their leader inquired to them curtly, “Halt! Where are you supposed to be going? Come to think of it, speeder troopers aren’t assigned to this area.”

Kanan fumbled for an answer, “Sorry, boss. We got lost looking for section B-13.”

“The commissary? Lunch shift is over.”

Ezra decided to rescue his inept Jedi Master. Having lived on the streets for several years, Ezra picked up on Imperial codes and lingo. “I told you we were lost, we just transferred here from Jedha and our lingo seems to be outta date. What section does this lead to, outta curiosity?”

“This is section A-5. Now, scram!”

Not needing to be told twice, Ezra and Kanan were glad to have made the easy get away. “How did we luck out,” Ezra inquired as he and Kanan ran in the opposite direction. Kanan was going to answer the Force worked in mysterious ways, when Chopper came rolling down the hall, waving a purloined data tape in his retractable claw. “Good going Chopper,” Kanan praised. Chopper beeped in self-adulatory praise for several more minutes until they had a run in with a group of stormtroopers. Whoops!

Blasters started firing and the dynamic duo and their faithful droid sidekick found themselves up a creek without a paddle. Retreating towards the elevator lobby, Ezra used the Force, and who should be behind the door than ISB Agent Kallus?

By now the stormtroopers had caught up and were about to get even for all the times the Jedi had wiped the floor with them, when an elevator door opened and Kallus barked, “You two, with me.” Not wasting any time, they got into the elevator only to hear Kallus mutter, “Don’t move, Rebels.”

Refusing to give Kallus the benefit of the doubt, despite his feelings for Zeb were the real thing, they balled their fists and were about to give him black eyes when Kallus gasped, “Don’t hurt me! I am Fulcrum!”

The idea of Mister Stuffed Shirt as Fulcrum was funnier than Lyste being dragged around by a deranged Chopper, and both men burst into laughter. “You are Fulcrum? Yeah right,” Ezra chortled as Kanan collapsed from laughing so hard.

Kallus was indignant, “I am Fulcrum, dammit! By the light of Lothal’s moons, did my love letter to Zeb and my saving Sabine and Wedge at the pilot academy not mean anything?” He scowled at them, and they two Jedi exchanged glances. What Kallus said was true, but that didn’t mean they could fully trust him. Chopper, on the other hand, was of another opinion all together.

“Bwap bwha, bwap bwha!”

“Your droid trusts me!”

“That’s not a good thing. Our commlinks are jammed and we need to contact Ryder and the others. Do you know where we can do that?”

Pausing for a moment, Kallus replied, “I can get you inside the officer’s port outside section A-2. Your droid can unlock your commlinks from there.” Ezra and Kanan agreed, they could keep their cover and Kallus could continue paying lip service to Palpatine and his ilk.



The officer’s port outside the double doors leading to section A-2 were filled with low level tech officers and at least four stormtroopers. They had been monitoring the lockdown, and so far it had all been rather boring. That is, until Agent Kallus barreled into the room, red faced and firing his blasters!

“It’s the Rebels,” he screamed as Kanan and Ezra continued shooting their blasters. Eager for their chance to assist Kallus in apprehending the criminals, they began shooting but were soon stunned and on the floor. Once it was clear, Kallus cleared the data portal for Chopper to use. He was about to say something, but Chopper went right to work and within seconds the commlinks were unjammed.

Kallus was impressed, “I have to say, your astromech is really quite efficient.” Pleased at the compliments, Chopper beeped a sincere thank you, much to Ezra’s surprise. Kanan was able to contact Ryder.

“Good to hear from you Kanan! Merida and I are headed for the east gate. Will you be able to get out that way?”

“We should. See you in a few.”

Hearing this, Kallus told them how to take the back corridors and out to the east gate docking bay. He explained further that the docking bay was full of walkers and any one of them could be used as an escape vehicle. Surveying the room, Kallus commented to the Jedi, “Now, to make this look convincing for Thrawn and Minvera…OOF!”

Not wasting any time, Ezra used the Force to send Kallus flying through the radar glass, and he landed against the control panel interface desk, knocking him out cold!

“Ezra!”

“What? I made it look convincing!”

“Yeah, but I wanted to do that!”

“Well, he’s one of us know and you’ll get your chance before he and Zeb get married.”

Of course, Thrawn and Minerva were very well aware that the Rebel infiltrators had not yet left the campus. For the last couple of hours, they and Governor Pryce had taken lunch on Kuati tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Minerva had been glancing out the window, when she spied something moving quickly up the autobahn towards the factory campus. Letting out a soft gasp, she grabbed Thrawn’s free hand and led him to the window.

Thrawn gazed out the window and nodded, “So, they have come at last to rescue their comrades. Commendable, but futile.” Turning back to his desk as to face Pryce, Thrawn began typing out a message for all troopers to start barricading the East Gate.

Pryce frowned, “Only two Rebels this time? Small party for an attempted rescue. Besides, the Rebels have surely left by now.” She continued her argument by saying that all of the workers had been interviewed, but…

“Two have escaped, I just received Lyste’s report. They have changed disguises and will be attempting a rendezvous with their compatriots via the east gate. Clever that the Jedi lasted this long, but not unexpected.” Minerva knew exactly where her fiancée was going with this, the Jedi had been helped by Kallus, which was the only explanation. Of course, Thrawn was still gathering evidence and the only other Imperial who was in on this was Yularen. Tarkin had been made aware of Fulcrum and had given Thrawn and Yularen the authority to begin investigating and getting rid of the mole. It had also been decided to leave Pryce in the dark, for the time being anyway.

Catching on to what Thrawn was alluding to, Pryce was aghast, “We have a mole? They must be executed immediately.” Thrawn raised his hand and told her to please calm down. There was no need to rush flushing out the spy, played carefully said mole would leak enough information to allow themselves into a false sense of security. From there, it would be an unconscious move that would be the reveal and the game would be up.

Pryce was pleased to hear there would be an investigation, and would have inquired more if Lyste had not interrupted. “Excuse me, but there are Rebels attacking the East Gate. Should we attack?”

“Yes, Lieutenant, let’s play their game. Attention walkers- that AT-DP is under Rebel control. Destroy it.” Form where they were gathered, Thrawn pulled Minerva into his arms and held her close as they watched the ensuing chaos unfold below them.

Not surprisingly, the AT-ATs tried to squish the father and son team, but they used their lightsabers to cut their way out and escape by the skin of their teeth. Merida successfully blew up the barricade and of they sped into the early summer sunset.

Later on that evening, Pryce returned to her apartment to prepare a series of questions to start asking officers when it came time to go fishing for the Rebel mole. Back in Thrawn’s office, he was joined by Lyste and Kallus. Minerva was there also.

Pulling up the holographic photos he had of the Ghost crew, Thrawn inquired to Kallus and Lyste, “Gentlemen, can you tell me about this particular object?” Lyste screwed up his face in confusion, “Its part of a retaining wall outside city limits. It’s absolutely covered in graffiti.” Kallus gave the answer Thrawn was looking for.

“It’s a phoenix, rising from the ashes. Mythological in origin, it’s the call signal of Phoenix Squadron,” Kallus explained. “Show off,” Lyste muttered. Minerva cleared her throat and gave Yogar a reproachful look any older sister would give her younger brother, which is how Minerva viewed her relationship with him.

Thrawn turned around and gave Kallus a cold smile, “Indeed it is, Agent Kallus. Today’s entry did not go without notice. I believe the Rebels have a spy, codename Fulcrum assisting them. No matter how they try and hide, I will find this mole and they will be punished.”

Kallus nodded, “Your plan is without fail, Grand Admiral.”

Back on Atollon, Sabine was uploading the plans she had gotten from Chopper. “Almost got it- there!.. Whoa!” The image that popped up was some sort of TIE Fighter. Hera scrutinized the screen, “This does not bode well, this thing has a hyperdrive and shields. Our X-Wings won’t stand a chance.” Staring at the holographic forms of the Jedi, Commander Sato asked, “How did you retrieve this information? Something like this is highly classified, officers lose their heads for blabbing about these sorts of projects.” He nodded knowingly and Hera replied, “Someone is definitely losing more than their job for this. Who helped you?”

Kanan grinned, “I guess you can thank Zeb’s future husband, Kallus for getting us the info.”

Sabine snorted, “Guess he’s our inside man then.” She smiled and Zeb blushed.

“Until we get more information, we need to be careful. I am grateful Zeb turned an Imperial agent to our side, but we don’t know if anyone suspects his role as our mole. Moving forward, I suggest optimistic caution.”

Everyone else agreed, and within the hour Ezra, Kanan and Chopper were heading back to Chopper Base.

 

Kanan grinned, “I guess you can thank Zeb’s future husband, Kallus for getting us the info.”

Sabine snorted, “Guess he’s our inside man then.” She smiled and Zeb blushed.

Still have to grin at that idea. Wicked and courageous.

 

Christmas 1999, England
No guesses as to what the big gift was.

 

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: Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Kallus- David Oyelowo, Lyste- Daniel Radcliffe, Captain Paelleon- Mark Harmon, Ensign Mithell- Sean Murray

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva

Chapter soundtrack: The Days Between- John Williams

Chapter 35: The Days Between



After receiving word that Thrawn had alerted Governor Pryce about the mole leaking information to the Rebel cells, namely Phoenix Squadron, Moff Tarkin was nothing but irate. How could there be a mole within the Lothal sector? The amount of kyber crystals were of the utmost importance to the development of the Death Star’s superlaser, not to mention Minerva’s half-Gallifreyan heritage. If the Doctor of all people got involved, the war would be over! Thrawn was able to assuage Tarkin’s ire be revealing Minerva’s paternity and explaining how Kanan Jarrus was keeping this as a deep, dark secret from the rest of the Rebels he was colluding with.

Furthermore, Thrawn argued, with each encounter it would be more and more difficult to keep his relation to Minerva a secret. According to decoded Rebels communiques, there theory being put out now was that Targerter was Kanan’s baby sister who had at some point been abducted and brainwashed into serving the Empire, and that her marriage to Thrawn had included a scarpia ultimatum. None of this was true, and if the information had reached the Ghost crew, currently there was radio silence on the issue itself.

“It’s just as well, anyway. They’re still in the planning phases of carrying out some sort of attack against the factory here on Lothal. It will be some months before they have enough Starfighters and supplies to carry out such a mission. In the meantime, I will continue to search for their hidden base and update you with any leads I happen across,” Thrawn informed his superior.

From his desk, Tarkin nodded. As much as he detested empty leads within the Imperial Navy and Army, he disliked spies from the ISB even more. Years of indoctrination and propaganda should have ensured loyalty from all ISB agents, regardless of rank. There were enough citizens to spy on, was that not enough? After reaching a certain rank and pay level, was there not a contentment of being part of the upper-middle class society of Core humans? If the status-quo wasn’t good enough anymore for average Imperials, what was?

Not wanting to dwell on the sociological lives of ISB agents, Tarkin decided to speak about the upcoming wedding. According to all the Imperial aligned HoloNet outlets, Minerva Hektor had been dubbed “The Imperial Sweetheart” because of her kind nature and dedication to the cause. Billions of little girls idolized her, and not a day went day when Minerva received hololetters from girls’ schools and little girls themselves. They were sentimental, earnest and sweet. It pleased her that she was a role model, and she had to wonder if little girls also viewed Princess Leia in the same way. Earth was one thing, but the GFFA under Sheev Palpatine was something else altogether.

“I understand the Senior Communications Officer Kai’ckul has graciously offered to help plan your wedding to General Hektor. I can only guess the two of you will be wed sometime in the New Year?”

“Yes, Minerva and I are hoping to be wed on New Year’s Day. We are considering the Imperial Botanical Gardens in the Federal District for the wedding and Yolanda’s Fireside for the actual reception,” Thrawn informed Wilhuff. Tarkin shut his eyes, Yolanda’s Fireside was good but surely the two of them could do better than that. After all, heroes of the Empire deserved a grand wedding. Not only would be good publicity, the Empire owed them for their victories against the Rebellion.

“Yolanda’s Fireside will be fine for Konstantine and Lyste when they exchange vows, but you and Minerva are the public face of couples serving together in the Imperial Armed Forces. No, the Moff Chamber will do nicely, I think. It’s Winter Break for the Coruscant Symphony, Isard can go ahead and book them,” Tarkin confirmed.

The conversation continued onto what Thrawn and Yularen had planned next. Thrawn replied he and Yularen were over the next couple of months start interviewing all sector command staff as to narrow down the potential suspect pool (even though they knew very well who Fulcrum was), as well as at some point deploying droids to possible worlds where Phoenix Squadron was hiding. Mixed in with all of this would be further skirmishes, and it was here Tarkin said something that made Thrawn very happy indeed.

“When you do finally capture the Rebel leadership, I want the others alive, in particular Hera Syndulla. Your father-in-law, I leave his fate to you.”

“As you wish, Moff Tarkin.”

Back on the Chimaera, things were running a bit more smoothly. Pryce was facing more lawsuits from not only the ISB, but COMPNOR and the Royal Guards also. She was currently under house arrest at her office at the Dome Complex in downtown Jhothal. With the breathing room, Konstantine and Lyste were free to hold hands and act like a normal couple.

June slowly turned into July and one morning Minerva had been walking along the corridor with Captain Paelleon. He was a tall, clean shaven man in his early 50’s, with a brisk, but fair manner. They had been discussing the virtues of the new TIE Defender versus X-Wings when they heard the sound of boot clad feet. Turning around, the duo came face to face with Ensign Mithell.

He was old for a recruit, mid-thirties. Before enlisting, he had been an accountant at a medium sized firm out of Corellia, but a hostile takeover by TaggeCorp had left more than a few burned bridges. A proud loyalist, Mithell had decided to change careers. A number-crucncher from birth, he was not the best shot with a blaster, hence the low rank. There was also the fact he made comments that got him constantly clouted around the head, almost by Gilald. Furthermore, all the officers called him “Probie” as Mithell was only a probationary ensign, and not a very good one.

Out of breath, he managed to reach them, and saluted respectfully. Minerva nodded in a kind way, when he blurted out, “Minerva, you’re not wearing jodhpurs! You’re wearing trousers!” For female service members, there was a straight-legged trouser option for uniforms, and Thrawn liked this because they showed off Minerva’s long, toned legs. Minerva blinked, why was he commenting about her uniform? She was confused, and asked, “Well, what of it? Nobody else cares, so why should you?” She had never given it any thought, so why was he?

Rolling his eyes, Paelleon intoned, “Rule 47, Probie: never ask women about their uniform preferences.” He then smacked the Ensign upside the head, and Mithell beat a hasty retreat. Paelleon shrugged, kids these days.

Rounding a corner, they met up with Thrawn and accompanied him to the bridge. There had been a break away battle of an intrepid Rebel cell from Mygeeto, and once Thrawn gave the go ahead, the TIE Fighters gave chase. It was a spectacular battle, dogfights breaking out against the screen of stars, neon hued explosions rattling the windows off to the sides, it was all very exciting. However, the battle could not go on forever. Thrawn ordered some use of the Marg Sabl maneuver and it was all over in about 20 minutes.

Considering the threat of the Mygeetan Rebel cells, Thrawn ordered a complete blockade of the planet, once again going over Konstantine’s head. It would take a couple of days, but martial law would be brought to the planet, one way or another.

 

Considering the threat of the Mygeetan Rebel cells, Thrawn ordered a complete blockade of the planet, once again going over Konstantine’s head. It would take a couple of days, but martial law would be brought to the planet, one way or another.

Actually me getting back to this story took longer than the actual blockade, but RL matters kept me pretty busy, especially around Easter. But I need to say how cute AND witty your fanart is. (With my favourite doctor in it... )

As for the story, cannot wait for the outcome of Thrawn´s latest actions.

 

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: Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Konstantine- Mark Hamill, Commander Sato- George Takei, Mart- Art Parkinson, Gooti –Brenda Song, Jonner- Dylan Cole, Kanan- Freddie Prinze Jr., Hera- Vanessa Marshall, Ezra- Taylor Gray, Sabine- Tiya Sircar, Zeb and Rex- Steve Blum

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, Hera/Kanan

Chapter soundtrack: VFD- Thomas Newman, Trepak/Mother Ginger and the Clowns/Slavic March- Tchaikovsky

Chapter 36: The Misadventures of Iron Squadron



The Mygeetan Rebel cells would not roll over and play dead, much to Konstantine’s consternation. They were taking maneuvers that hadn’t been seen in combat since the heyday of the Clone Wars, over twenty years ago. Konstantine had been in university at the time and did not need reminders of the old days where Jedi existed and the Republic pandered to the whining mewls of every last star system. A waste of precious resources and people, he had told everyone.

Refusing to have Thrawn offer advice or lead the battle, Konstantine turned a skirmish that should have lasted no more than an hour into an all-out bloodletting that lasted the better part of the week. 10% of the Seventh Squadron’s TIE Fighters were lost, 3% were directly from the Chimaera and he spent £1.2 million Imperial credits on lost materials, manpower and medical care for the survivors. Tarkin was peeved to no end, and in retaliation he ordered Thrawn and Minerva to not only officially share a room, they had to engage in PDA around the wishy-washy generalissimo. Nobody was thrilled about the ruling, but nobody wanted to cross Tarkin, so Thrawn and Minerva obliged.

No sooner had a half dozen garrisons been left on Mygeeto, when Lynette intercepted a juicy tidbit hailing from Mykapo. According to the local Imperial governor, Rebel cells had been brazenly attacking anything Imperial affiliated for the past month. Even with martial law declared, the Rebels were still causing trouble. Namely, some outfit calling itself Iron Squadron.

According to Thrawn’s intel, Iron Squadron’s former leader, Matthias Matin, had died trying to incinerate a convoy en route to the planetary capital. His young son, Mart, had apparently taken up the mantle. Since the Seventh Fleet was still outside Mygeeto refueling, it would be a couple of days before they could make the trip to Mykapo via hyperspace.



Across the galaxy inside a beat up YT-2400, the day was just beginning. 13 year old Mart Matin had just walked out of the fresher and threw on the least sweaty of his shirts. There was a closet on the ship, but he had to share the space with his crewmates, Jonner and Gooti. Gooti was the only girl on board, so the guys kindly gave her half the closet. She didn’t mind, Jonner and Mart were family. At some point, they had all lost their parents/family to the Empire, so they had banded together and reformed Iron Squadron. In the two weeks they had been active, they had been successful in bombing Imperial Star Destroyers. At least, that’s what they thought they were.

Yawning, Jonner stood under the gunnery turret, assisting R3 with repairs to the firing mechanism and wondered aloud, “Wonder how many Imps we’re going to incinerate today.” R3 beeped it would be the same as the last two weeks, maybe 3 or 4 ships. Jonner shrugged, sounded good to him.

Gooti was standing in the galley, warming up space waffles. The other foodstuffs they had plenty of were rations. Rations were all well and good, but space waffles tasted better and you could make them in a pinch out of rations, provided you had the correct amounts of freeze-dried ingredients. As she popped them into the convection over, Gooti stuck her head into the corridor leading from the entry hatches into the cockpit, “Waffles will be out in 20! Are we good?”

“We’re good, thanks Gooti,” Mart hollered from the cockpit. Gooti was a terrific cook, she could probably open her own restaurant. However, there was a war going on so any future eating places would have to wait. Imperial ship off the port bow!

The Imperial transport was dropping of spare engine parts for repulsorlift vehicles and walkers. The last thing the crew was expecting was to be engaged in open combat with a beat up old freighter. Figuring incorrectly that they were sitting ducks, they opened fire and much to their surprise, the freighter released… cargo boxes?

Four TIE Fighters were dispatched to incapacitate the YT-2400…KABOOM! No sooner had the boxes touched the fighters, they exploded. Before the pilots on the larger ship could even react, the remaining boxes exploded and taking out the ship with it. VICTORY!

The trio cheered, they had taken out another Star Destroyer. Could this day get any better? Their celebrations were interested with a hiss of steam and R3 rolled back towards the hyperdrive to start on repairs.



They had settled into the common area, when the ship’s holographic comm system activated and a motherly, female voice called into the open area:

“Iron Squadron, this is the Ghost of Phoenix Squadron. It’s okay, we are here to help.”

“Sorry, we don’t need help. Iron Squadron does things on its own.”

“Excuse me?”

Hera was annoyed about being spoken to so rudely when Rex gently interrupted her. “Sounds like your typical 13 year old me, Ahsoka sounded like that when she was younger. The Rebel sympathizers are going to need to be evacuated ASAP… Captain?” Hera was still in shock about Iron Squadron’s response, or lack thereof when Kanan cut in.

“Sweetheart, Rex’s right. If our intel is right (and it probably is), then the Empire will be here sooner rather than later. We need to get all those civilians off world as soon as possible. Rex and I will take Phantom II, and you all can take it from there, okay?” Hera slowly nodded, and she kissed Kanan goodbye.

As the smaller craft made for the planet, Ezra and Sabine walked into the cockpit. They had been listening in and this had given Ezra an idea. “Hera, they’re not going to listen to an adult. Hear me out on this. He might listen to me and Sabine.” Sabine nodded and added since they were closer in age, which might help form common ground.

Sighing, Hera and Zeb agreed but reminded them that they were working on short time, as who knew when the Empire might show up? Nodding, Sabine and Ezra dragged Chopper along with them who was more than happy to see another rust bucket up close.

Five minutes later, the Ghost had pulled up alongside the freighter and the latch opened, and out stepped Ezra, Sabine and Chopper. Steam burst from broken vents and lights flickered ominously as they threaded their way from the cargo hold towards the main cabin. “What a rust bucket,” the teens commented in unison. Chopper beeped similar sentiments when they were cheerily greeted by a husky, bi-racial youth a couple of years younger than they were.

“Hey there and welcome aboard. I’m Jonner and this here’s Gooti,” he gestured to the Theelian who had just exited the galley. She was pleased to see the visitors were teenagers like them, albeit a few years older. She waved, and replied, “You missed the fireworks earlier. We blew up a Star Destroyer earlier…actually it was all Mart’s doing.”

By now, R3 had wheeled out and Chopper had gone back to work on the hyperdrive, and Ezra and Sabine exchanged a glance. However, neither of them had a chance to contradict what Gooti and Jonner had been saying because Mart decided to join the party. Swaggering over to the new arrivals, he crowed, “Don’t need any advice from you guys. Did some pretty good shooting on my part.”

Sabine had just about had enough! Fuming, she clouted Mart around the head and lectured, “Listen, little boy! That was not a Star Destroyer- that was a transport! Besides, the Imps will be back with bigger ships and you don’t have a working hyperdrive!”

“I am not little! I turned 13 five months ago. How old are you guys?”

“I’m 18 and Ezra is 16. We know what we’re talking about. Our ‘dad’ is down on Mykapo helping everyone who is sympathetic to the Rebellion evacuate before the Empire shows up.” At this, Jonner and Gooti exchanged a glace. If the Empire was returning soon, maybe they should leave as well.

“No! I can’t leave. Dad died, I can’t give up the mission,” Mart cried.

Ezra placed a comforting arm around him, “I know how you feel. The Empire invaded my home planet, Lothal and they murdered my parents. I was all but 7 and I spent nearly 7 years fighting the Empire by myself. But then I met Sabine and the Ghost crew, they became my new family. I learned we have a better chance working together.”

Mart shook his head, he told Jonner and Gooti to go, but they refused! Insisting, he shoved them all out the door without so much as a thank you and Sabine, Ezra and Chopper found themselves back on the Ghost only a few hours after they had disembarked.



Zeb had been waiting for them, “So, how’d it go?” Ezra shrugged, “It didn’t, big guy. Mart thinks he can do it all on his own.” Sabine added that Gooti and Jonner had been about to leave with them, when Hera shouted down at them to open the hatch door, an escape pod was heading straight for them.

The passengers were Gooti and Jonner, along with the fresh space waffles. Offering some to Hera and Zeb, the young teens explained that while they had enjoyed taking on the Empire, they were going to eventually bite of more than they could chew. So, it was with a heavy heart they left Mart to his fate.

Shaking her head as they made the jump into hyperspace, Hera commed Sato to give him the bad news. Sato refused to take this standing down, no matter what. He ordered Hera to wait for his fleet to join them and together they would rescue Mart.

Meanwhile, back on the Chimaera, Thrawn had sent Konstantine out with a light cruiser to take care of Iron Squadron. He knew from experience that Konstantine would fail spectacularly, it would only be a matter of time when he got the distress call.

It was only 15 minutes from where the Seventh Fleet was currently located to reach Mykapo and when he did, Mart had rerouted all of the ship’s power into the forward laser cannon and shields. For a while, he put up a pretty good fight but eventually his ship was hit, and even the light cruiser had had some damage. It was only know Commander Sato entered the fray.

“Mart! Mart, are you okay,” he worriedly shouted over the holocom system. Hearing his uncle’s voice, Mart perked up. “I’m here, Uncle Jun, I’m okay.” The Ghost was able to rescue boy and droid and the Rebels had just entered hyperspace when the Chimaera appeared.

Gulping, Konstantine could barely look at Thrawn in the face. Standing next to him was Minerva, who looked like she had been spending the last hour snogging her handsome fiancée. Smirking sardonically, Thrawn intoned, “Well, Admiral? Where is Iron Squadron?”

Blushing scarlet, Konstantine mumbled, “They were rescued.”

Thrawn replied dryly, “You mean, you allowed three teenagers and a droid to escape your capture. Moff Tarkin just received word that every last civilian sympathetic to the Rebellion has escaped, and all under your watch.”

Konstantine wasn’t sure to scream or cry, this just was not his day! “Well, what in kriff’s name was I supposed to do then? Blast that ship into oblivion?”

Thrawn tilted his head, “Really, Admiral. Such behavior in unbecoming-”

“Unbecoming my arse! I’d like to see Mister High and Mighty Tarkin do better!”

Thrawn pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, “Really Konstantine, you are a wonder.” His hologram disappeared, and standing there instead was Moff Tarkin!

Kriff!

 

@Nehru_Amidala

I loved reading this latest chapter, especially Tarkin's PDA order to Minerva and Thrawn, which I had to laugh at (it seems like one of the most unusual, but effective, military orders ever given). Another part that I really enjoyed was Iron Squadron's interaction with Phoenix Squadron, because it reminds me of most of the interactions between my younger characters and their elder relatives in my fan fiction.

Finally, I wonder what punishment will be handed down to Konstantine for allowing the Rebels, Ghost and Iron Squadron to escape?

 

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: Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Konstantine- Mark Hamill, Kanan- Freddie Prinze Jr., Hera- Vanessa Marshall, Ezra- Taylor Gray, Sabine- Tiya Sircar, Zeb and Rex- Steve Blum, Paelleon- Mark Harmon, Lyste- Daniel Radcliffe

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, beginnings of Ezra/Sabine, Kallus/Zeb and Krennic/Galen Erso

Chapter soundtrack: Day of the River from Spirited Away, Overture from The Dark Crystal- Trevor Jones, Awful Waste of Space- Alan Silvestri

Chapter 37: Empire Day, Part 1



August 3, Imperial Year 18 (Earth Year 1995) Ezra considered to be the best and worst day of his life. On the pro side, his message had been received by his parents and had reached all of Lothal, not to mention it was his birthday. On the con side, today was the day he lost his parents as a small child and then learned that they had been killed after hearing his message. So many years he had been alone, before Kanan and Hera came along. While he loved his new family dearly, part of him resented that his parents had died so young. Was it too much to ask for those seven years back? He could have had a secure childhood, not being forced into a charity school run by supposedly concerned citizens where you were forced to learn what teachers on Coruscant thought was important. Nothing but the basics of grammar, reading, science, math, (Imperial) history, and very little in the way of art and music. The teachers were harridans, ready with a riding crop to beat you into obedience. Ezra had been taken from Old Jho at that point, and school was the only thing keeping him alive. By the time he was 11 years old, Ezra had already learned everything that the curriculum covered and was tired of having to keep his head down, so one day after lessons were over, he threw away the data pad and left Jhothal behind.

After several hours of wandering, the skies opened up and left him completely soaked. Not caring if he cried, he ran blindly into the base of a communication tower. Seeing how isolated it was, Ezra was curious to see if it was abandoned. The door opened, and the tired boy stepped into the dry room shivering. The room itself was silent, dust covered the abandoned second hand furniture that hadn’t seen a living soul since Padme Amidala ruled Naboo. Stripping, Ezra pulled on some underwear and a flight suit that were a bit large. It felt good to wear dry clothes. Apart from the ramshackle look of the place, it was cozy in its own way, from the perspective of an orphaned 11 year old boy.

There were plenty of rations stowed away, although Ezra was doubtful about how fresh they were. Oh well, there were plenty of chances to con the Imps. Besides, this wasn’t such a bad place. I can totally live here, Ezra thought before falling asleep.

It was sunrise on Atollon, and Ezra had been musing on his thoughts. As his birthday had drawn closer, the crew knew well enough to let Ezra meditate and rejoin them when he felt ready. He had grown up so quickly, he was more man than youth and everyone had noticed. He was more responsible with missions and chores on board, he was taller and had grown into himself. Gooti would make weird faces at him, and oddly enough Sabine would give her the stink eye. It had ever since Iron Squadron had joined up and it amused all of the adults (Hera, Kanan, Zeb and Rex) to no end.

Ezra and Sabine’s feelings towards one another (or lack thereof) had fluxed over the years, starting off as an annoying crush and then turning towards a deep and abiding friendship. However, the longing glances and blushing had not gone away, even though both teens tried not to engage in that as of late. At the end of the day, Kanan and Hera decided that Ezra and Sabine felt something for each other, but were unsure of what they wanted. They had a good friendship, and didn’t want a possible romance to ruin it. What if they broke up and were suddenly bitter enemies? That, it was decided, would be left up to the two teenagers themselves.



This particular morning found Sabine Wren restless in Atollon. She had trouble sleeping after dreaming about walking in on Ezra and Gooti, which had not been pleasant. Waking up with a start, she shook her head and washed her face, mentally pulling herself together. She was a Mandolorian, for Force’s sake! Even though her own family had abandoned her, she had found a new one. My new family, my real one, she thought as she brushed her teeth.

As she tiptoed through the galley, she was surprised to see Zeb up and about. It looked like he was getting ready to bake something, as nearly half the pots and pans were out on the counter. Looking up at her, he conjectured gently, “Out to confess your feelin’s to Ez, this mornin’?”

At the mention of this, Sabine blushed and had to sit down, “It’s not like that! Don’t give me that look... Ok, okay- it is like that!”

Facing her, Zeb explained, “Listen, Bean. Take it from me, the feelings you have for Ezra haven’t changed much from the time the two of you first met, it’s you two that have changed. Your both a few years older, you know each other better and your friends. Then one day, someone makes goo-goo eyes at him and you off yer rocker. Every moment after that, he seems different somehow. You’re seeing him with new eyes.”

“Is that how it is with you and Skander?”

“Oy, none of that! Only I get to call him Skander and yes it was like that with us. The destruction of Lasan defined how we met, but after all those skirmishes we changed, I got smarter about fighting and Kallus began taking us all on as a group. Of course, with that ice moon, we got to talking and I noticed that something had changed between us, and he was very well aware of it, but I guess he wasn’t ready to admit it yet.”

“Maybe those small acts of Rebellion were his way of figuring out what he really stood for, where he stood with you,” Sabine replied thoughtfully as she and Zeb continued prepping the cake ingredients. Zeb nodded, she was taking his advice.

He opened the hatch and told her, “Take it slow, all right?”

Laughing, Sabine promised she would. Shaking his head and proud to have helped the young lovebirds, he turned back to baking Ezra’s cake.

Ezra’s favorite meditation area was just beyond the base, overlooking the sandy canyon floor that the spiders and hermit crabs called home. It was peaceful here, not to mention he could speak to the Bendu about Kanan. With the recent outbursts concerning Minerva and the repeated denials afterwards, Ezra had decided to speak to the Bendu about his dad’s mental state. True to his nature, the Bendu had not given any useful advice (despite foreseeing Thrawn’s total annihilation of Chopper Base come Christmas Day), he had offered Ezra some comfort, “Take care of yourself first and the rest will follow.”

So far, Ezra had heard the Bendu today, which was just as well. Happily, he felt Sabine’s gentle presence and it made him giddy. Did she like him back? He was hesitant to call it love, that would be to awkward. One day, yes he could call what he felt for Sabine romantic love, but not yet. He wanted to consider her feelings as well.

Turning around, he greeted her, “Hey Sabine, care to join me?” He stood up and she smiled at him. Handing him a mug of caf, she asked, “How are you doing?” She knew this was a loaded question, it being his birthday and all.

Sitting down, Ezra let out a deep breath before replying, “I guess I’m pretty good, all things considered. I mean, it still hurts my parents are dead and I don’t have a home, but at the same time I’m proud they heard my message and it meant something, that they didn’t die in vain. I love you- I mean you guys as my new family, and my purpose as a Jedi and a member of the Rebel Alliance. I guess it all evens out in the end.” He was blushing bright red and was gripping Sabine’s hand tightly and hardly daring to look her in the eyes.

Heart pounding, Sabine took a stab at asking Ezra on a date. “Since today’s your birthday, and we’re not really doing anything til later, would you like to go speeder bike racing with me?”

“As friends, or as a date?”

“A date, I guess…”

Laughing, Ezra pulled her close so her arms were around his shoulders, Ezra replied, “Of course.” Kissing her on the forehead, he yelled as he ran off, “Last one to the bikes has to give Chop an oil bath when we get back!” Sabine grinned and ran off after him.

Unbeknownst to the young lovers, the Bendu had been spying on their conversation. Young love, such a grand thing.

……………………


The week leading up to Empire Day amongst the higher ups in the Imperial Armed Forces was always a chaotic one. Aside from getting official invitations and booking hotel suites, there was also a flurry for the best (if not most outrageous clothes for the female attendees), a suitable date and who to talk to and who to avoid. Konstantine had been hoping to use his influence to get the Corulagi planetary governor to relax regulations against the planet’s LGBT community, but his punishment for the Mykapo fiasco was not only could he not attend, he had to wash every last astromech on ship with nothing but toothbrushes for the next three months during his down time, excluding sleeping and eating. On top of that, Lyste had been assigned to a light cruiser, thus ending their relationship. The only saving grace was that Lyste still saw him as a friend, and this was the best outcome in a horrible situation.

Thrawn and Minerva would be attending the ball as a formally engaged couple, and everyone wanted to talk to them. The excitement was palpable, only 5 days to go!

 

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: Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Konstantine- Mark Hamill, Kanan- Freddie Prinze Jr., Hera- Vanessa Marshall, Ezra- Taylor Gray, Sabine- Tiya Sircar, Zeb and Rex- Steve Blum, Paelleon- Mark Harmon, Lyste- Daniel Radcliffe, Admiral Rae Sloane- Octavia Spencer, Director Krennic- Ben Mendelsohn, Galen Erso- Lars Mikkelsen, Emperor Palpatine- Sam Witwer

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, beginnings of Ezra/Sabine, Kallus/Zeb and Krennic/Galen Erso

Chapter soundtrack: Mandolin Concerto RV425- Vivaldi, Glory to the Empire- Kevin Kliner, Blue Danube Waltz- Strauss

Chapter 38: Empire Day, Part 2

Invitations from Coruscant were sent out mid-July, ensuring timely arrival to all of the eligible officers stationed in the Outer Rim, Wild Space, and the Transitory Mists. Minerva was not expecting the gold plated cardstock with elegant calligraphy on it. She was aware that Thrawn and Lyste had received similar invitations, but they were wonderful for the eye to behold. She inquired to Thrawn if the stationary was mass-printed. To her surprise, the design was copy written by the Imperial Palace, and only people who were employed there could use it for business purposes.

Having never been to a proper ball before, Thrawn attempted to explain the protocol. Guests were expected to start arriving at the main gate by 7:30 PM. From there, liveried valets would examine their biometrics to confirm they were on the master guest list, and after that the couple would walk through the main corridor and be announced either one or two at a time. Since they were engaged, they would be introduced as “Grand Admiral Thrawn and his fiancée, General Minerva Hektor”. Following their presentation, they would wait along the edges of the room. Palpatine would appear once the last guests had been presented, he would give a short speech, and the dancing would begin.

A sumptuous banquet would be announced later in the evening, around 9. During the interval, droids would come around with drinks and appetizers. Guests were free to mingle with whoever they pleased until the party started winding down, well after midnight. Blushing slightly, Thrawn asked Minerva if she would stay the night with him. Minerva agreed heartily to it.

Once the RSVP’s were submitted, Minerva discovered she really did had nothing to wear. Being practical, she decided to surf the Holonet and see what she could find. Dress stores all over the Core worlds were having sales, and although Minerva could afford just about any dress she could want (or borrow from Lynette), she felt that this was a special occasion. The selection was amazing, how could she choose?

She eventually found the perfect gown, and it was from Corellia of all places. The undergown was silver colored, with a fine white mesh overgown covered with yellow flowers. The sleeves were narrow and the collar exposed her shoulders. The betrothal bracelet from Thrawn and her engagement ring were matching accessories. Her hairstyle was a different matter altogether. So used to using an army of bobby pins to keep her hair in place, Minerva was delighted to end when she discovered she could use her nascent Force powers to keep her hair in place. Her hair was piled into a bun, with her side locks braided over her ears. A young Queen Victoria had worn her hair in the same way when she had been a young woman, so it was appropriate for a royal fete.

Thrawn had a much easier go of it, from a fashion perspective. Dress protocol for these events called for dress uniforms and polished boots. Dress uniforms for Grand Admirals had epaulets on the shoulders, and Thrawn was quite certain Minerva eyed him closely whenever he wore it.

The grand day finally arrived, and shuttles ferried all of the higher ups from where their fleets were stationed to Coruscant. For those who did not have stylish apartments, hotel suites had been arranged for their stays. Minerva would be prepping for the ball in her old quarters from her time as a student. Her date informed her he would pick her up at 6:45.

Blushing wildly at what the night might possibly offer, Minerva took an early dinner and finished applying a light shade lipstick before the door chimes rang merrily. Glancing at the modular wall chrono, she could scarcely believe it was time. She was nervous, excited and giddy all at the same time. Who would she meet, who would ask about her upcoming nuptials?

Figuring she would deal with the naysayers at the fete, she had slipped on her dancing slippers when she walked over to the door to let Thrawn into the apartment. When she saw him standing on the threshold bedecked in an immaculate dress uniform, heavens! She felt herself flush, and at a loss for words, invited him in.

Pulling her close, Thrawn greeted her with a very long kiss. Once they broke apart, Thrawn offered his date his arm and asked softly, “Shall we go?” Nodding, Minerva managed to reply a soft yes which Thrawn took to be an agreement. Helping her into his speeder, off they went!

Because of the importance of the day, the air-traffic lanes were congested further in towards the Federal district, but Thrawn knew the back ways like the back of his hand, and they arrived with a few minutes to spare. When they arrived, Thrawn handed the speeder’s key fob to a valet droid and gently escorted the love of his life towards the front staircase.

The former Jedi Temple was bedecked in Imperial flags and the scarlet-clad Imperial Royal Guards stood at attention at the very top, with legions of stormtroopers flanking the central row, acting as a military guard for the guests. As they made their way into the queue, Minerva observed Moff Tarkin speaking to Vizer Pestage and Armand Isard. They saw her and all parties bowed heads in a friendly manner. They also acknowledged Thrawn, although a few Army officers made faces as the couple passed, obviously dismayed Minerva was not marrying one of them.

The guards ushered them into a lavish, high ceilinged hall filled nearly to capacity with Imperial senators, officers and their dates. Minerva wondered if she would see Senator Organa and Leia, but Thrawn led her to a quiet area to speak to her.

“Don’t seek out Leia or her father, the Emperor is already suspicious of them.”

“I was just curious to meet them. Would that be out of line?”

“Yes and no. A brief introduction is permissible, but there are fears if the Doctor should get involved, the Rebellion will win the war.”

“Even though we know Vader is eventually redeemed?”

“Even then, the destruction of Alderaan is a fixed point in time, as much as I hate to admit it. Leia Organa must not learn Vader is her father, not yet.”

Sliding her hand into his, Thrawn gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled at her. As they maneuvered away from the alcove and out into the hall, they were greeted by none other than Director Krennic. A wine glass was in one hand, and the other was holding the hand of another man. Krennic’s date was tallish with dark brown hair and a beard, he had kind eyes. He nodded to them reverently, “Good evening, Grand Admiral, General.” Something in his voice sounded sad and distant. Minerva frowned, why was this man so downtrodden?

Neither she nor Thrawn were allowed to dwell on their initial observations because Krennic boasted to them, “Good evening Thrawn and Minerva. Glad to see you two make it, Lothal must be awful this time of year. Backwater planets with no nightlife, won’t catch me spending time there, even if it’s to promote peace. Oh? This is my boyfriend, Galen Erso.” Galen nodded, and his eyes met Minerva’s.

Before he could speak, Galen groped the other man’s rear and Galen squeaked before giving his date a quick peck. Thrawn frowned after them, their relationship was decidedly one-sided. However, he was in no place to judge as plenty of his fellow Imperials probably felt the same way about his relationship with Minerva.

By now, the attendees were being positioned towards the main hallway that led into the gigantic ballroom. As they made their way up the staircase, Thrawn and Minerva could hear the Imperial Symphony Orchestra warming up. The couple ahead of them were announced, and suddenly it was their turn.

“Presenting from the Seventh Fleet, Grand Admiral Thrawn and his fiancée, General Minerva Hektor,” the emcee droid announced. Gracefully leading his date it, all eyes turned towards the regal couple. Thrawn had a look of smug satisfaction on his face, while Minerva was blushing the entire time. Once they had descended from the staircase, they found themselves standing in a group of fellow officers from the Imperial Navy.

Among them was a woman a few years older than Minerva, and her skin was a rich cocoa color. Her hair was out and she was tall. Noticing Minerva, she smiled and extended her hand, “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? You’re the mapmaker, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. I’ve been here in the Palace before, just not this room. I don’t believe I caught your name.”

“I’m Rae, Admiral Rae Sloane. Pleased to meet you.”

She smiled warmly, and in a few minutes the two women made friends. Rae had worked with Thrawn before and considered him a work friend, and wanted to get better introduced to Minerva, when the Imperial anthem started up. All eyes turned towards the staircase, and there stood the Emperor.

Instead of looking like his regular wizened self, his visage was that of a kindly old man, which unnerved Minerva, Thrawn and Rae to no end. Raising his hands to greet the excited crowd, he waited for the music to finish before addressing the gathered throng:

“Greetings, my loyal Imperial Officers and Senators- the happiest of Empire Day to you all. I wish you all a good evening, and let the celebration commence.”

No sooner had Palpatine taken his leave, when the band struck up its first number of the night, a waltz. Bowing to his date, Thrawn asked her for a dance and she happily agreed. As more couples joined in the dancing, Thrawn and Minerva were lost in their own little world. The waltzed effortlessly atop the tiled floor, and they were gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. Other couples did whisper about how odd they were, but they were jealous. Many couples there were in arranged marriages, some happier than others, and it was jarring to see the Chiss and the human so happy together, and after a long courtship to boot.

On the opposite side of the dance floor, Galen and Orson were also dancing. Unlike Thrawn and Minerva, the two men were only dancing arm and arm, their lower bodies not pressed together scandalously close. Galen was self-conscious of his sexual feelings towards men, and Orson was tiring of Galen’s frostiness. He craved this closeness as he loved Galen dearly, almost as much as he loved Project: Stardust. As Galen twirled out again, Orson used his free hand and pulled Galen by his waist much closer so that their bodies were sandwiched together. Sighing happily, Orson rested his head in the crook of Galen’s neck. The scientist sighed softly, and blushed as they continued to dance.

The waltz came to an end, and the next several pieces were faster paced tangos, foxtrots and at least three line dances rearranged for couples. It was about now, the buffet line had opened up, and what a feast it was! Winter green salad with buttermilk dressing, roast pufferpig dressed with figs, cashews and honey-mustard glaze, three kinds of nutbreads, and more drinks than you could imagine. The presentation was first-rate, and Thrawn admired how the main course had been turned out.

The main ballroom opened up to the central courtyard surrounding the Moff Council Tower (formerly where the Jedi Council had sat) for seating. Thrawn and Minerva sat at a medium sized table and were joined by Rae Sloane, Galen and Orson. Among the dinner conversations were the different fighting styles of the Rebel cells their fleets were engaging with, the best places to recruit new soldiers from and how the Emperor planned on taking out the entire Rebel fleet (even though Thrawn and Minerva knew this part already).

The moons were rising, such a wonderful evening!

 

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: Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Konstantine- Mark Hamill, Kanan- Freddie Prinze Jr., Hera- Vanessa Marshall, Ezra- Taylor Gray, Sabine- Tiya Sircar, Zeb and Rex- Steve Blum, Paelleon- Mark Harmon, Lyste- Daniel Radcliffe, Admiral Rae Sloane- Octavia Spencer, Director Krennic- Ben Mendelsohn, Galen Erso- Lars Mikkelsen, Emperor Palpatine- Sam Witwer

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, beginnings of Ezra/Sabine, Kallus/Zeb and Krennic/Galen Erso, past Thrass/Lorona

Chapter soundtrack: And Forever- Big O OST, Confessions in the Moonlight- CITS remastered OST, A****aka and San- Mononoke Hime OST

Chapter 38: Empire Day, Part 3



The dinner itself wound down as the musicians beg warming up for the later part of the ball. Admiral Sloane excused herself to speak to someone on the opposite end of the courtyard. She had produced a calling card for Thrawn and Minerva, as she had invited them over for happy hour at her apartment next time they were all on Coruscant. Noticing the impatient wait staff eager to clear the tables (and possibly scarf down whatever laid uneaten), Thrawn led Minerva back into the ball room for a few more dances before heading home for the night.

As they effortlessly glided together on the dance floor, Thrawn’s active mind turned back to what he was planning on doing with Minerva when they got home. He was going to sit down with her and explain how he came to serve in the Empire. She had shared so much with him, and there was much more Minerva didn’t know of her earliest years. She had the right to know, and as the future Mitth’Minerva’Hektor, she would be expected to know what Chiss society expected of her, not only as a human, but the wife of a Syndic, the official leader of the ruling houses. As it was, House Mitth had held the title of Fifth Family for thousands of years, and leading the Csilla based military fleets for about the same amount of time.

Noticing her fiancée’s far away glance, Minerva glanced up at him. Placing her hands on his face, she pulled him down so they were gazing into each other’s eyes. Thrawn grinned at her, before kissing her. Not ten feet away, Orson scowled at them, lucky! “How come you never kiss me like that, Galen,” he groused to his date. Orson looked at his date, unsure of how to react.

Sighing, Galen replied, “Because I don’t love you like that!” He threw down his drink so quickly, the flute shattered on the floor. Grabbing the jagged stem, he waved it Orson’s face and told him in no uncertain terms that their relationship was one sided and it was over. Stalking out of the ballroom without so much as a word, leaving Orson redder than Vader’s lightsaber blade.

Shaking with rage, he ran out of the room, intent on finding his date and confronting him about his lack of self-control and how if it was not for Krennic’s intervention, Orson would still be rotting on some backwater world working for those Rebel terrorists! Catching up with his date on the front stairs, Galen grabbed Orson by the sleeve, and the men tumbled back onto the stairs. From there, Galen haled a private cab to usher them back to his apartment, refusing to hear his date’s ardent pleas to let him go.

By now, the music had ended and the couples were being maneuvered towards the front. Minerva was laying her head on Thrawn’s shoulder and they were walking down the staircase to where the valet droids were queuing the speeders, when she felt a slight cold spot via the Force. Carefully kneeling, she picked up a piece of torn uniform. Thrawn ran the fabric through his fingers, the rough cut suggested someone of a middle-class background who spent time around machinery and lab equipment.



As they sat down in the speeder, Thrawn informed Minerva that she had found part of Galen Erso’s uniform, and he and Galen must have had a row. As Thrawn drove home, he decided to move his free arm around Minerva’s shoulders. Sighing happily, Minerva lay her head on Thrawn’s shoulder, causing him to blush.

Thrawn’s current abode had belonged to Senator Padme Skywalker (nee Naberrie), before the former Queen moved into a larger flat once the Clone Wars started. The two-story penthouse was nicely furnished, Minerva thought after Thrawn let them in. It was furnished with all sorts of fine art, and not just paintings, but carvings, panels. It was part house, part art gallery.

Grinning at her reaction, Thrawn inquired, “Do you like them?” Blushing, Minerva replied that she did, very much so. Sitting down on the sofa, Thrawn went to go make themselves a couple of mugs of hot cocoa, and left out a holophoto he felt Minerva needed to see.

Warming the milk up in a saucepan, he could hear Minerva’s soft gasp upon looking at it. It was an old photo, nearly 12 years ago. Quietly walking in with the mugs, he set them down on the coffee table and wrapping his arms around Minvera. Her eyes studied the picture, were they family members?

“Thrawn, who are these people? Are they your family?”

Leaning back so Minerva was nestled in his arms, Thrawn shut his eyes for a few minutes before deciding how to go about telling Minerva who the duo in the picture were. Finally clearing his mind, Thrawn explained to her, “The people in that photograph, they were my elder brother, Thrass, and his wife, Lorona. As you can see, she was a Jedi, not unlike your father and his naïve apprentice.”

“A Jedi? You had a Jedi sister-in-law?”

“Yes, I did. About 100 years ago, the Republic decided to send colonists out beyond the known galaxy at the time in an attempt to colonize habitable worlds within the Unknown Regions. Of course, all the inhabited worlds are under Chiss jurisdiction. This project was known as Outbound Flight, and in due time it was a complete failure. The ships drifted too close to unstable dark matter while in hyperspace. The stasis capsules were jettisoned, and Lorona’s just happened to land in the back garden. My brother was the Syndic of House Mitth back then-”

“Syndic? What is that?”

“Syndic just means you happen to be head of the household. Our family was in charge of the military forces on Csilla, and as Syndic he reported only to the House Council and the Council of Elders. Both groups are the governing bodies for the planet, but our people as well. There is quite a bit more, but for right now, I’ll stick with how this all relates to how I wound up serving in the Imperial Army.” He quietly gaged Minerva’s attention for all of this, and to his great relief she was attentive and alert. She nodded for him to continue.

Thrawn continued with his story, “Well, Thrass went out to investigate, and he found her dazed and confused. Of course, she didn’t speak Sy Bisti at all and Thrass was already quite taken with her, even though they had hardly known each other for more than five minutes. For us Chiss, falling in love is different than it is for humans. When we hit puberty, we develop crushes like anyone else in the universe, but when we meet the person we are meant to be with, we call that person our mate. It’s not just a pheromone-related, it’s also one of personality and spirituality. If a Chiss finds a mate outside our species, the results are the same, but less intense for the non-Chiss party. If that’s the case, then a 2-3 year courtship is mandatory. Gender doesn’t matter, so long as both parties are of consenting age. Chiss society calls this ‘being compatible’. Only when the courtship phase has ended are couples allowed to marry. For Chiss marriages to one another, it involves dowry negotiations and about a year of courting.”

Minerva grinned, “So, I take it that ghostly touch on my shoulder the day we met at the bookstore was you?” She leaned over to kiss him, which Thrawn accepted. After snogging for a good while, Thrawn and Minerva lay down together before he continued his story.



“None of us had encountered a Jedi before, and there was some concern about Lorona’s Force abilities used as a subversive threat against, but Thrass was having none of that. He was insistent that as she was going to be his mate, they would need the approval of the other Houses before any sort of investigation could be convened. At the time, I had not found anyone who met my fancy. When that happens, a Chiss is relegated to a life of asexuality. Admittedly, I was jealous of what they had, I could not understand what romantic love was. Not until I met you, my precious Winter Rose.” Here, he took her hands and kissed them chastely, making Minerva blushed.

“How old are you, Thrawn?”

“I am seven years older than you are, so that makes me 27 to your 20. At this time, I wasn’t much older than you were when we first met across the cover of Heir to the Empire. I was leading the phalanxes that protected everyone that served our family, you could say that this included just about everyone whoever did business with us.”


“Don’t businesses offer services to everyone on your home planet?”

“Yes and no. While free markets do exist within the Ascendancy itself, what trade someone is in dictates which family you serve. It’s akin to the patronage system of Earth’s Roman Empire. The wedding was a small, private affair. Many of Csilla’s ruling elders weren’t thrilled with the idea of Chiss nobleman wedding a young woman of unknown origin. Both Ar’alani and Formbi were against the marriage, but when there were no complaints about the validity from the match from me, the relented.”

Minerva asked, “What happened to them?”

Thrawn replied quietly, “They had not been married two years when the Grysks led another raid on the Expansionary Defense Fleet. All three of us were stationed on warships, and the fighting was intense. We lost quite a few fighters, and Thrass and Lorona died trying to protect all of us survivors. Their escape pod took out one belonging to a Grysk, and they died on impact.”

“Oh, how awful!”

“It was painful, and it was difficult to overcome the pain of losing the only blood relations that were still living. In rage, I tore the Grysk apart, even though it begged for mercy. With its dying breath, that creature had the gall to offer me anything on exchange for its life. I wanted information, information about where it had acquired the technology. Being a coward, the Grysk committed suicide before it could reveal anything pertinent.

The information revealed that the Grysk had stolen Imperial technology from the Transitory Mists, and after both councils met and debated what our next steps were. Eventually, it was decided that the so called Imperial Empire could be potential allies, and I volunteered for the operation. Mind you, this was before I met you and Eli.”

Taking this all in, Minerva gazed at her fiancée with sympathy and worry. How much he had been through before reaching the Empire, and then to endure years of systematic discrimination and harassment from everyone, excluding Yularen, Rae and Eli. Leaning over so she was closer to him she murmured, “We have more in common than I thought.”

Finishing the hot chocolate, Thrawn was about to lead Minerva to the bedroom when she asked quietly, “Thrawn, what do the Grysk look like?” This inquiry threw her lover for a loop, why in space was she interested in such a macabre topic?

“They are not avians, but they are not reptilian either. They are somewhere in-between. They dress ornately in rich robes covered in slime and dust. If you like, I could pull up the image and you could use the Force to see for yourself,” Thrawn suggested gently, not wanting to upset his beloved.

Using the Force to initiate a Mind Meld of sorts, Thrawn and Minerva closed eyes and concentrated. No sooner had the image crossed into Minerva’s consciousness, she reeled back in amazement. She knew what the Grysks really were!

“Thrawn, those creatures you called Grysks- that’s not what they are. They’re UrSkeks!”

 

“A Jedi? You had a Jedi sister-in-law?”

What revelations! From Thrawn´s side! Who would have guessed!


Not ten feet away, Orson scowled at them, lucky! “How come you never kiss me like that, Galen,” he groused to his date. Orson looked at his date, unsure of how to react.

Sighing, Galen replied, “Because I don’t love you like that!” He threw down his drink so quickly, the flute shattered on the floor. Grabbing the jagged stem, he waved it Orson’s face and told him in no uncertain terms that their relationship was one sided and it was over. Stalking out of the ballroom without so much as a word, leaving Orson redder than Vader’s lightsaber blade.

Also had to grin about your interpretation of Orson´s & Galen´s relationship.


Using the Force to initiate a Mind Meld of sorts, Thrawn and Minerva closed eyes and concentrated. No sooner had the image crossed into Minerva’s consciousness, she reeled back in amazement. She knew what the Grysks really were!

“Thrawn, those creatures you called Grysks- that’s not what they are. They’re UrSkeks!”

But what I really had not seen coming was the appearance of Dark Crystal creatures in an SW story. What a great crossover idea!

 

Thanks for all of the wonderful feedback. I wanted to retcon Outbound Flight for a while, and when I was drafting the current story arc, I felt this would be a good place for Thrawn to explain his background a bit.

From what I have read in the R1 related novels, Orson seems too obsessed with Galen, so I decided to try my hand at implicitly showing a one-sided, possibly abusive relationship while obeying the sites rules.

Deciding to declare the Grysks as UrSkeks has been a head canon theory of mine since I finished reading Thrawn:Alliances last summer. That is my hook for a longer, overarching story plot after Atollon and the wedding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

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

Cast list: Thrawn- Mads Mikkelsen, Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Konstantine- Mark Hamill, Kanan- Freddie Prinze Jr., Hera- Vanessa Marshall, Ezra- Taylor Gray, Sabine- Tiya Sircar, Zeb and Rex- Steve Blum,

Spoiler

the Old One aka Aughra- Dame Maggie Smith

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, beginnings of Ezra/Sabine, Kallus/Zeb

Chapter soundtrack: I Want to Hold Your Hand/While My Guitar Gently Weeps- The Beatles

Chapter 40: Empire Day, Part 4



Sabine had the speeder bikes ready to go when Ezra joined her at the corral. Commander Sato had asked her about the joyride, and when she stuttered out a half-arsed answer while blushing, he had told her to enjoy the date and winked knowingly. Ezra pulled on his helmet and asked, “What is it with everyone asking of we’re on a date?” Sabine shrugged, and grinned wickedly before racing off away from base. Heart leaping, Ezra followed joyfully. She really was the best thing to ever happen to him.

As they raced around towards the bottom of the massive coral tree that housed Chopper Base, they noticed large holes at the bottom. They were gigantic, you could fit the Ghost and the Phantom II in there. They were all the way around the perimeter. Sabine asked, “Do you think the base’ll collapse if the Empire put explosives in here?” Ezra shrugged, it was possible. He didn’t want to think about that right now. He chucked some coral at Sabine, who laughed. Flyboy was in for it now!

Speeding away, she caught sight of Ezra gaining altitude. He blew her a kiss, and the chase was on. As they made their way towards the canyon bed where Kanan had first heard Bendu’s calls via the Force, Ezra’s subconscious turned towards a certain Imperial map-maker and her blue-skinned boyfriend. Fiancée, she has a ring now, Ezra thought to himself as he got off the bike. Locking it, he sat down and looked up at the sky. Sabine noticed her boyfriend’s melancholy, so she sat down next to him.

“Credit for your thoughts?”

“It’s the map maker…”

“Thrawn’s girlfriend? Oh Ezra, you don’t have a crush on her… do you?”

“No! Nothing like that, I’m just worried about her. I can sense her sometimes through the Force, she’s not like the other Imperials.”

“Well, she is Kanan’s little sister after all. With all their brainwashing, maybe it didn’t completely take. Then there’s the fact Thrawn will do anything, and I mean anything to protect her. Seems to me he really does love her.”

“Are you implying of you get Targeter to defect to the Rebellion, Grand Admiral Thrawn will follow?”

“I hope so! I don’t have a plan yet…”

“NO! Ezra, it’s too risky! Besides, it would be too much for Kanan to handle, you know how much he hates any mention of them. If you ask me, if they defected, Kanan would do something…”

“Come to think of it, there is something very off about that. The way he denies there’s any connection between him and Targeter (and we all know there possibly is), and his reactions are frightening. He’s off mentally about that. I just wish he would open up.”

Sitting up, Ezra gazed into the distance and Sabine laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. The two young lovers sat together with their thoughts, their Force bond strengthening all the while. At some point, something rolling around in the dust caught Sabine’s eye. Nudging Ezra, they spotted a small orb rolling around in the dust, followed by a few spiders. They were clicking their claws, dinner time!

Easing down the sandy floor, Ezra used the Force to shoo the spiders back towards the caves when Sabine scooped up the orb…and dropped it! It was an eye! Not just any eye, but an eye that was grey and bloodshot, ancient and all-seeing. Covered in tears, it glared up at Sabine (if such a thing was possible) before a wheezy voice older than the cosmos croaked from the nearby caves.

“Return my eye, Mandolorian.”

Sabine yelped, and jumped into Ezra’s arm. Standing in front of them was an Old One. Unlike the Old Ones the Mandolorians worshipped, this one was barely taller than a Tatooine Jawa. Her gray hair was tangled and smelled of swamp gas, her mottled skin was rough as tree bark, and her robes seemed to be made of plant fiber. Her one good eye moved between the two teenagers. As Ezra studied her, he could make out two horns on either side of her head, and he could sense her through the Force. Was she a Jedi?

Sabine was pale with fright, they had upset an Old One! Oh, Yog-Sothoth would be displeased with Clan Wren for millennia for blasphemy against a lower Old One. Kneeling prostrate, she gingerly returned the eye. It was grabbed, and the Old One scolded, “Go away, Mandolorian.”

Eager at meeting a possible Jedi, Ezra jumped to Sabine’s rescue. Aughra used the Force to start the motorbikes, and hearing the engines rev, the two lovebirds returned to the base post haste. Watching them leave, Aughra cleaned her eye off and rolled it down further when she heard the Bendu address her, “Was that wise to reveal yourself, Aughra?”

Looking up at Bendu, Aughra retorted, “Oh, shut up! Mister Stick in the Mud Force user, never caring about anything until Caleb Dume comes to kill his daughter, and Thrawn shows up to rescue her, creating the Shatterpoint and fulfilling the prophecy of the Winter Rose at the same time. Eros et Psyche.”



Back at the Ghost, Zeb had finished baking a spectacular 3 layer chocolate cake, and Hera had cooked some Twi’lek favorites, pufferpig cassoulet, bittersweet green salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and consommé. Everything smelled delicious, and so the eating commenced. Afterwards, came presents. There were two packages this year, one from Kanan and one from Kallus. Kanan had gotten Ezra some plasma bullets for his blaster-lightsaber and Ezra was happy, but it was the gift from Kallus that touched him deeply. It was a picture frame with a holophoto of his late parents. Trying his best not to play favorites, he put them away and wished everyone good night. The party over, the cleanup was taken care of by AP-5 and everyone hung out. Everyone that is, except Kanan.

Ever since the botched mission on Ryloth, Kanan had grown increasingly jealous of how much more time Ezra seemed to be connecting with Kallus. It simply wasn’t fair, Ezra was his son, not Skander’s. Ezra was his son as much as he was Hera’s. The Ghost crew was the only family they needed, and no outsider was going to worm their way into his perfect family. Let the Imperials come, they would go down in flames, everyone regardless of where their loyalty lay.

Taking a speeder bike out, he made his way to where the holes were. Using the Force to ensure nobody was spying on him, he drew his lightsaber and ignited his blade and began hacking away the fossilized coral, weakening the overall structure. All would be flames and blood, the glory of the Rebel martyrs and the Imperial traitors.

Watching not far away, the Force ghost of Depa Billaba looked on sadly at her lost apprentice. Where have you gone wrong, my child? Please do not go down this dark path. Sacrificing one family for another is not the way of the Jedi.

 

Zeb had finished baking a spectacular 3 layer chocolate cake...

Loved this part the most. Because I have done a lot of baking for the Christmas season, too. Yesterday actually a lot of Christmas tree shaped cookies with sugar sprinkles on them.

Anyway, if I am seldom online, I am overly busy with work, family matters and friends. But sometimes I use my lunch break to read your fanfic updates and those of some other writers that I like. To write a nice comment on my tiny mobile phone is rather complicated though and back at home, I always forget. This time I don´t.

Anyway, Ezra is a kind person. With a good, forgiving heart.

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

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

Cast: Jorge Car’das- David Bowie

Pairings: None in this chapter

Chapter 41: The Return of Eli Vanto

Chapter Soundtrack: It’s Hard Work! - Spirited Away OST



About a day after Thrawn and Minerva were back on the Chimaera, they received word the Captain Vanto would be returning to their fleet after Vader felt the young man was far too reminiscent of Doctor Who number 10 for his liking. That wasn’t to say Eli had incurred the Sith Lord’s wrath- far from it. Vader had been pleasantly surprised at the young man’s grit and work ethic. He also knew when to keep his mouth shut, and this pleased Vader.

Piett had taken a shine to the lad, and had offered him a position on his flagship, but Eli turned him down. He was more at home on the Chimaera. Knowing Eli had once been head over heels for this Chiss, Piett asked him if it was more infatuation or lust. Eli had replied it had been a little of both. However, as Thrawn had no idea about social cues when it came to crushes (of either the heterosexual or homosexual variety), and only saw Eli as a friend and later on, trusted friend and brother, it took Colonel Yularen a while to explain to Thrawn what was going on with Eli.

Before the two had sat down (Yularen was Thrawn’s student advisor during the latter’s academy days), Thrawn had been quite concerned for Eli’s mental state, unaware that he himself was the cause of it. The longing gazes, the blushing, the insistence of hand-holding, what did they mean?

Yularen had been straightforward, but kind with his explanations towards human sexuality and how it presented itself among Imperial human society. Yularen himself happened to be bisexual, and hated the Emperor’s xenophobic views wholeheartedly. However, he treaded this line quite carefully. After Yularen’s conversation with Thrawn, this Chiss immediately rectified the situation.

How long ago was that, Eli thought as he filled out the paperwork on his datapad in his office. Only a month had passed since his return to the Seventh Fleet, and not much had changed. Thrawn and Minerva had welcomed him back warmly, eager for news from Vader’s fleet.

Eli said that there was nothing new really, except Princess Leia’s sudden leave of absence from the Imperial Seante. Thrawn and Minerva figured Leia must have gone to either Dagobah or Tatooine to begin her Jedi training. Dagobah seemed safer because Kenobi and Luke were there, and history dictated that they could not meet yet.

It was around this time Governor Pryce decided to use Eli as her gofer, much to his dismay. It was a boring job, running errands and listening to Pryce practice speeches and editing her letters to Lothal’s leaders of industry and philanthropic boards. However, it did give him a chance to spy on her for Thrawn and Minerva. In her office, she was much more relaxed and would gripe on end about how Thrawn and Minerva were mere stepping stones in her path to create her own Imperial fiefdom. Thankfully, she never mentioned his sexuality. For this, he was quite grateful!

One afternoon in the middle of September, Eli was awaken by an ensign. “Sir, there is an artist here.” Eli was confused, why was there an artist on board? Had Thrawn commissioned a wedding portrait of himself and Minerva ahead of the wedding? No, they were attending a conference on Chandrilla regarding electromagnetic weapons and growing seasons on farming worlds. They would not be back until early October.

Pulling on a clean uniform, he left his quarters for the main hangar bay. Aside from the smaller capital ships and TIE Fighters awaiting deployment or being refueled, there was a small Nubian J-7 with a mother of pearl paint job. Extremely sophisticated for an already classic design. The original ship was sleek by nature, but such a paint job elevated the status from elegant to posh. The pilot, or who whom Eli assumed was the pilot, had just walked off the landing ramp.

He was of medium height, dark brown hair with matching eyes and fair skin. His blouse was knit shimmersilk with a leather jerkin worn over. His frock coat was fine nerf leather with fur lining. Woolen breeches and plain black boots. He was also wearing eyeshadow, blush, and lipstick. He carried himself like a well-born woman, but he was built like a top-level athlete.

Well, this is odd. A genderqueer artist, or is he androgynous, Eli inquired internally as he made his way towards the gentleman. Giving a nod, he introduced himself, “Welcome aboard the Chimaera, sir. I am Captain Eli Vanto. Who are you, and do you have business with us?”

The man nodded vigourously, “I do indeed, Captain Vanto. I am Jorj Car’das, galactically reknowned painter and artist. I have been commissioned by Governor Pryce to paint her portrait. I was informed you were to meet me here and take me to her.”

Eli nodded, he had heard that name before and now he could put a name to the face. Thrawn had several of Car’das’s miniature pictures in his apartment on Coruscant, and liked his work. If nothing else, the man was flamboyant, with his ship and personal style screaming “Look at me!”

Making their way towards to the elevators that would take them up to where Imperial High Command had their offices and quarters, all of the officers and troopers would stop and stare at Vanto and Jorj. It was at last they made their way to Governor Pryce’s office.

She was expecting them, and she greeted them. “Jorj, so wonderful to see you. Please sit down, I made us some tea. Captain Vanto, please join us. As we agreed, you will paint my portrait here on ship instead of down on Lothal. The populace has been restless lately, so I have had to install a mandatory curfew. Was the trip difficult? For someone as flamboyant as yourself, you were not harassed by Konstantine’s crew?”

“I assure you, Governor, I was not. To the contrary, I have been treated as a king.”

Pryce nodded, eager to get the consultation underway. Part of her bedroom had already been configured into the scene she wished painted. Watching Car’das made sketches, Vanto decided Pryce was truly an ugly woman. It’s wasn’t her soul, it was the deadness of her eyes, the ill pallor of her skin, her perpetual scowl and that huge nose. Of course, plenty of people had large noses and good looking, but Pryce was not attractive. There was nothing of a natural beauty to her. Lynette Kai’ckul was a natural beauty, as was Minerva. Princess Leia of Alderaan was the Ur-example he could think of. At her best, Arihnda Pryce was plain. At her worst, something short of harridan.

Showing Pryce the initial sketches, she hummed and eyed the pencil marks critically. She made suggestions about her chin and eyebrows, the shade of her irisies, and what shade of pink her lips should be. “You need to tone down my cheek bones, they are not that pronounced,” she stated.

Gesturing towards Vanto, “Study him for a second.” Dragging the young man forwards, she sat him down on the stool, and Car’das commented, “You’re a handsome bloke, now aren’t you? Not many officers I have painted have bright eyes, very expressive. A widow’s peak- now that’s interesting. Fair skinned and a healthy pallor,” he stroked his free thumb down Eli’s right cheek, making him blush.

Jorj chuckled, he had that effect on many people. He informed Pryce he would tone down her cheek bones, and to expect her portrait within a month. In between, he would need to visit twice a week. She was keen to this, and she told Eli to schedule the appointments.

Confused about what was going on, Eli wrote to Thrawn and was thrilled upon getting a response the following morning:

17 September, IY 18

Dear Eli,

I received your letter last night, are you all right? Certainly, Car’das’s behaviour towards you was too forward and could be considered borderline harassment. Pryce is pushing her boundaries here, if she allows this sort of thing to happen, please contact Captain Paelleon or myself immediately. We will see to it that whatever is going on stops immediately.

Minerva and I are doing fine, thanks for asking. Minerva found a wedding dress, and it looks stunning on her. (I am enclosing photos.) The weather has been dreadful, thunderstorms all month long. The food at the Governor’s mansion is barely edible. The fish they serve us is overcooked, and the Romanesco is never pan fried to the point of being brown. Minerva has had to start cooking for the two of us, and the quality has gone up exponentially. I have cooked some meals myself, and now everyone wants to eat what we are having.

Sending you all our love and support,

Thrawn

P.S. Everyone keeps talking about my upcoming ‘stag night’. What does a male dear have to do with the night before I marry Minerva?

P.P.S. From what I have learned about Jorj Car’das, he is genderfluid. I hope that helps.

In between reading the letter and Jorj’s next appointment, Eli went to Yularen AND Piett. They agreed with Thrawn’s advice, and spoke scathingly to Pryce about the unprofessional breach of decorum. Not only did she have to pay a six figure fine to Eli for ‘emotional distress’, Yularen registered her as a Level 6 Sex Offender. Level 6 was the lowest level for sex offenders, and not only was she registered all over Imperial space on ISB and COMPNOR lists, she was banned from hosting third parties on board Imperial ships without an ISB agent or the fleet’s head officer present. In her case, that meant Thrawn and Konstantine.

Car’das did finish Pryce’s portrait, but it shipped to the Chimaera via currier. It was an ambitious piece to tackle, Thrawn told Eli and Minerva when they saw it when they returned at the beginning of October. While not as horrible as first thought, it did not do Pryce any favors. At the end of a day, she was a plain woman whose cruelty and ambition shone through, no matter they medium.

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

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

Cast: the usual, with Sam Witwer as Darth Maul and Tobias Menzies as Tiber Saxon

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, Ezra/Sabine, Kanan/Hera, mentions of Kallus/Zeb

Chapter 42: The Cybermen of Krowsnest Part 1

Chapter Soundtrack: A Windy Town- Joe Hisaishi, Storytime-Edward Scissorhands OST, The Demon God- Princess Mononoke OST



Mid-October arrived with little fanfare. All the time and energy Thrawn, Minerva, and everyone else researching who the Imperial mole was. Even though the parties involved were privy to certain information about Agent Kallus in his capacity as Fulcrum, there was certain protocol you had to follow. Coincidentally, there were some officers who saw Kallus’ fondness of the same gender as a weakness. As a rule of thumb, couples were encouraged to act professional during work shifts, but ribbing and harassment were rife within various fleets, as not all were as progressive as the Seventh Fleet.

As someone who was in a committed heterosexual relationship, Thrawn took a great psychological interest in why humans from certain systems were vehemently against the sexuality of their peers. The raw nerves rubbed by cadets holding hands, non-verbal body language, certain affectations, these small character traits were enough to see some folk’s blood on fire. Why then, it seemed, were the greatest antagonists of this lifestyle also the most likely to deny themselves if they felt the same way? After all, intergalactic law superseded planetary law, didn’t it? Were these humans giant hypocrites? On the other hand, it could be the overriding societal cultural norms and guilt manifesting itself resulted in broken psyches and maladaptive behaviors.

Regardless, fleet and sector command staff of all stripes were being looked at as potential Fulcrum suspects. To prevent witch hunts, the ISB had detailed protocols for undertaking such investigations. The interrogations were to be handled only by Imperial High Command officers who had the requisite training, and an ISB agent had to be present at all times. Also, the leads had to be credible. Anyone caught making a false claim took a 15% pay cut, rank loss, and kitchen duty for up to 3 months. On top of that, there were forms on top of forms that had to be filled out by everyone involved. After returning from Chandrila, Thrawn and Minerva took a break from wedding planning and spent their shifts signing and reading paperwork that would have filled all 7 Harry Potter novels dozens of time over.

The first morning post paperwork found the Grand Admiral and General finalizing wedding plans. Minerva was trying on her wedding dress. When she had tried it on at the store, the train had been far too long and the dress was a size too large. However, she had been able to get it altered, so she was now trying it on for her husband-to-be.



Thrawn walked into their bedroom to see his blushing bride to be in her wedding dress. What a sight! Her dark brown hair fell around her like a cascading waterfall, her creamy vanilla complexion illuminated by the lights in the closet. The dress itself was nothing to sneeze at. It was a radiant ivory silk gown with a curlicue patter on it with three-quarter length sleeves. There was a corseted top covered tastefully in lace, leaving a fair amount of cleavage showing.

Thrawn couldn’t help but grin, in only a few months’ time, Minerva Hektor would finally be his, and his alone. Smiling, he walked over to her and started kissing her. Giggling, she spun around to face him. Returning the kiss, it turned quite passionate and the young couple stood there for a good while holding each other and kissing.

Breaking apart for some much needed oxygen, Minerva finally asked, “Well darling, what do you think?” Thrawn responded he thought she was much too lovely, and he couldn’t wait to take it off on their wedding night. Minerva blushed at this and playfully swatted at him before changing into her olive green uniform. Leaving for breakfast five minutes later, Thrawn checked Minerva out as she caught up to Lieutenant Lyste. Olive green was a tough color to wear, it certainly hadn’t done him any favors. Then again, he was a Chiss and had to deal with bullies because of his alien heritage. Minerva didn’t’ look bad in it, but wearing straight legged trousers gave her a much more stylish appearance. In Thrawn’s own opinion, anyway.

Sitting down to breakfast, today’s menu was fried eggs with rashers of bacon and tok nut butter toast with blue milk and citrine juice. Yogar told everyone the latest scuttlebutt, and there were some scintillating tales. Kallus played along and laughed, earning Yogar’s undying admiration. Thrawn and Minerva were more concerned with the rumor of a nine-year old slicer giving Konstantine a run for his money. According to Lynette’s intel, the child was called Ghent Karrde and he was attending a polytechnic boarding school on Corellia. According to his school files, he was a bona-fide slicing prodigy with an independent streak a mile long. He was well liked, but had strong political views. This was about it.



Once the first breakfast shift ended, Thrawn and Minerva were called into a holo-meeting with Grand Moff Tarkin, Armand Isard and Darth Vader. The discussion was about the compiled list of officers and command staff who fit Thrawn’s psychological profile of potential Fulcrum agents. As everyone sat down, Minerva felt cold. The air conditioning was on, but not at full strength. There was no Force connection with his father, Ezra, or Vader. What was going on?

Shaking her head, she assured everyone she was fine and Tarkin began lecturing everyone about how dangerous it was to have a Rebel sympathizer on board, and the imminent threat of getting the Doctor involved in the war. As he pontificated, Thrawn jotted down notes while everyone else nodded along in agreement. Except for Minerva.

The room got foggy and she could hear a soft, sinister voice hissing in her ear, Pretty little girl, pretty little girl…The fog thickened and Minerva craned her head from side to side, but discovered to her horror she could not move! The fog thickened and she found herself alone and glued to her chair and unable to move.

Suddenly, a shape formed in the darkened corner. It was a humanoid, and one that Minerva was unfamiliar with. He (it appeared to be a male) was tall, taller than Thrawn by several inches. His lower half were mechanical legs and hips. His upper body was all red skin inked in red tattoos. He had no hair, only an outcropping of short, sharp horns. He was a Sith…or an ex-Sith, in this case.

Minerva managed to gasp, “Who are you? Were you Palpatine’s apprentice before Vader?” This didn’t surprise her in the least. Considering how much time had passed between now and the heyday of the Jedi Order, it made sense Palpatine had an apprentice before Vader. The novels were vague with this, but then again they were all wrong. Only the Trilogy seemed to be the factual events, she thought so anyway.

Tilting his head in an ironic manner, Maul smiled showing his dagger-like yellow teeth. “Well, aren’t you a clever little Earthling? Did your Star Wars trilogy tell you my story,” he queried. Minerva shook her head indicating no. She was absolutely terrified, but she refused to show it. She would not reveal herself to be a coward.

Laughing as only a crazed man could, he strode right over to her. Grabbing her face with his right hand, Maul forced Minerva to face him. When he gazed into her expressive blue eyes, her expression surprised him. She was not disgusted, rather she was curious. Then again, she was the long prophesized Winter Rose. He smiled, and stroked her cheek, “You are not just pretty, you are beautiful.”

Minerva sharply pulled away, “What do you want from me? I’m not a Jedi.” Maul chuckled at her defiance, “Strong words, little war goddess. You have knowledge of someone I am looking for.”

“Why in space would I help you?”

Maul snarled, “Don’t test me, girl. You think your precious Grand Admiral can help you?” Reaching out with the Dark Side, he levitated Minerva out of her chair and kept her in her seated position. She was petrified, unable to move. She was only able to breathe and speak. But, for how long?

Maul smirked at her resistance, “Indeed you are strong, too bad I have a score to settle. You will help me locate Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Minerva attempted to move, but Maul threw her against the ceiling and she nearly suffered a concussion from the impact. Whirling the young woman around, Maul growled and carried on a like a maniac, until Minerva revealed what she knew.

“You want Kenobi? You’ll find him on Tatooine.”

“I’m already here, you insolent wench! Where is he exactly?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do, you know. Where is he hiding?”

“No, I don’t! Let me go!”

“Never! Not until I get the information I want.”

“All right, he has a house somewhere in the Dune Sea, beyond the Jundland Wastes. Does that answer your question?”

Minerva had no answer as Maul started cackling about how at long last he was going to seek revenge. The fog dissipated, and the room returned to normal. Everything Minerva perceived was static until Tarkin’s voice cut through the discord like a knife, “…and that concludes everything pertaining to the Fulcrum investigation. General Hektor, you have experience with diplomacy among Imperial officers. I have a mission for you.”

“As you wish, Grand Moff Tarkin. What do you ask of me?”

“Recently, Tiber Saxon took control of Mandalore and he claims things are going well. But, I have reason to believe otherwise. I wish for you to go and see if everything is as running smoothly as he claims. Can I count on you to do this?”

“Yes, you can.”

“Splendid. This meeting is adjourned.”

Once everyone had left, Minerva fainted out of chair and onto the floor like an overcooked noodle. Worried Kanan had attacked Minerva again, Thrawn scooped her up into his arms and carried her bridal style back to their quarters. Once they were nestled together on the loveseat, Thrawn wrapped his arms around her and began speaking in Cheunh.

“Minerva skat, hvad skete der på mødet? Anfaldt din far dig?” Minerva darling, what happened in the meeting? Did your father attack you?

“Nej, det var en anden. Nogen ikke med far eller oprørerne. Han var en Sith, snarere en ex-Sith.” No, it was someone else. Someone not with Father or the Rebels. He was a Sith, rather an ex-Sith.

“Vaders forgænger derefter. Gav han dig sit navn? Mere vigtigt, hvad krævede han af dig?” Vader's predecessor then. Did he give you his name? More importantly, what did he require of you?

“Han ville vide, hvor Obi-Wan Kenobi befinder sig. Han bundede mig stadig, og jeg kunne overhovedet ikke bevæge mig, før jeg fortalte ham, hvad jeg vidste. Det var sådan en frygtelig følelse, levende sådan og frosset. Jeg er ikke sikker på, hvad der var mere skræmmende, hvad han vidste om mig ... eller det faktum, at han allerede var på Tatooine.” He wanted to know where Obi-Wan Kenobi is. He still bound me and I couldn't move at all until I told him what I knew. It was such a terrible feeling, alive like that and frozen. I'm not sure what was scarier, what he knew about me ... or the fact that he was already on Tatooine.

“Hvad vidste han om? Vidste han, at du er en jordboer? Elskede, fortæl mig alt!” What did he know about? Did he know you are an Earthling? Beloved, tell me everything!

“Darth Maul, det var hans navn. Han vidste, hvad mit navn betød, hvor jeg er fra ... og han vidste om trilogien.” Darth Maul, that was his name. He knew what my name meant, where I am from... and he knew about the Trilogy.

Upon hearing this, Thrawn grew angry. Who was this ex-Sith Lord who thought he could use his wife in such a disgraceful way? Kissing her soundly, Thrawn assured her he would get to the bottom of the matter. Pulling up his holo displays, he brought up Ezra’s profile and found a note from the Pyke Syndicate saying somebody named Maul had put out a pitiable bounty on the boy’s head. So, that was the connection!

Thrawn told Minerva the reason Maul had approached her was because he wanted revenge on Kenobi and at some point in the recent past tried to get Bridger to become his apprentice. In a rather convoluted way, Maul was heading for a showdown with Kenobi, and in all likelihood Kenobi would win the fated rematch.

Feeling much better about it, Minerva left Thrawn to pack for her trip, just in case it turned into an overnight. Thankfully, the commute from Lothal to Mandalore was a short one, just under three hours. When the shuttle landed, Minerva respectfully saluted him.

Tiber greeted her, “Welcome to Mandalore, Lady Thrawn. I have much to show you.”

Meanwhile back on the Ghost, Ezra and Sabine had finished a make out session and were going about their afternoons when Sabine’s datapad buzzed. Racing back into her room, she turned on the soundproof before activating the hologram transceiver. On the other end was the face of one her secret weapons back home on Krowsnest, a Cyberman!

“MISTRESS, YOUR MOTHER IS MOVING TOWARDS THE EMPIRE. WE CYBERMEN AWAIT YOUR ORDERS.”

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

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

Cast: the usual, with Tobias Menzies as Tiber Saxon, Kevin McKidd as Fenn Rau, Sharmila Devar as Countess Ursa Wren, and Ritesh Rajan as Tristan Wren

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, Ezra/Sabine, Kanan/Hera, mentions of Kallus/Zeb

Chapter 42: The Cybermen of Krowsnest Part 2

Chapter Soundtrack: Merry-go-Round of Life/Lady Eboshi- Joe Hisaishi, Bandersnatched – Danny Elfman



Once Sabine had finished confirming her communications with her army of Cybermen, she began to devise a way to get the Ghost crew to visit Krowsnest. Going back meant facing her biological mother, the very person who had banished her from Mandalorian society to begin with. This had been a low point in her life. She had put her Cybermen in hibernation mode on the grounds of the estate, only to awaken should her mother move closer towards an alliance with the Imperials. Her father had been arrested and her younger brother, Tristan, had been forcibly apprenticed to Boba Fett, who was no more a ‘real’ Mando than he was a Time Lord. Adding to the stress was the fact she was in possession of the highly coveted Darksaber.

The Darksaber had been the weapon of the legendary Pre Viszla, the only Jedi who had Mandolorian blood and heritage. After the Sith attacked the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, it had been lost for millennia. Sabine had won it off Director Krennic in a sabacc game in her academy days. It was a symbol of Mandalore and whoever wielded it was seen as the rightful ruler of not only Mandalore, but of all the worlds under their jurisdiction. Sabine was very well aware of its loaded history, and was reluctant to wield it.

Her family had abandoned her all for the fact Sabine had built weapons for the Empire, and were so bust toeing the line they abandoned her when she needed them the most. Even three years later, she had hard feelings about the whole affair.

This particular morning of 16 October, Imperial year 18 saw Sabine painting miniatures of Kallus and Zeb. Ever since the two had expressed feelings for each other, she had been their main shipper on deck (no pun intended). She spent her free time drawing wedding cakes and miniatures of the couple that she planned on putting on the wedding invitations, and the detailing was amazing. You could see their facial expressions, eyebrows, and the tiniest details on their matching tuxedos. She was humming a tune when there was a knock on her door.

“Who is it?”

“Darth Vader! Nah, it’s me. Can I come in?”

“Sure, Ez.”

Opening the door, Ezra leaned against the railing, smiling a lopsided grin. Waving her boyfriend in, she closed the door and heaved a sigh. Sitting down on the lower bunk, Ezra could see his girlfriend was in one of her moods. “Is it your family again,” he asked quietly. He had learned long ago to ask before pryig into everyone’s past lives. He had learned this the hard way with Zeb, and even know he felt Zeb was still leery of opening up to others outside the crew. Kallus was the exception, of course.

Sabine nodded and told her boyfriend what she had learned, including about the Cybermen. Ezra grew grave when she mentioned them, but she assured him that they were not a threat. Ezra wasn’t so sure. Kissing her gently on the forehead, he asked, “Are you sure there isn’t anything else you wanna talk about while I’m here?”

Swallowing, Sabine inquired, “Ezra… are you at all familiar with the Darksaber?”

Ezra went wide eyed, “You mean Pre Viszla’s lightsaber? Kanan told me all about it.” When she produced it, Ezra wanted to hear how she got hold of it to begin with. She had been 12 at the time and had been acting as Director Krennic’s personal secretary at the time because she was excellent at weapons design. That night, he was seeing his boyfriend Galen Erso, and had gotten drunk. During that time, he challenged Sabine to a round of sabacc and had used the Darksaber as collateral. Needless to say, he lost more than the Darksaber.

She had practiced with it over the years and was showing off her skills, when Zeb ran by. Poking his head in, he smirked, “Is that how Mandalorians flirt?” The teenagers blushed bright red and vehemently denied they were flirting. Zeb merely rolled his eyes and told the dynamic duo Hera was calling a meeting in the cockpit.

When they got there, they were quite surprised to see the holographic image of their ally, Fenn Rau. He had worked with them before on previous missions and he was part of a smaller insurrection group located on Mandalore. What was he calling them for, anyway?

Nodding to the new arrivals, he addressed the crew, “I have it on good authority Saxon’s Imperial Commandos are about to strike Krowsnest. Questions are being raised about Countess Wren’s loyalty to the Empire. Sabine, I know you are not going to like this, but could you please talk your clan into joining the Protecters? I know she’s a former Death Watch member, but Saxon’s a tyrant we need to overthrow if we want to free Mandalore and restore it to its former glory.”

Everyone turned to Sabine, it was her call. She nodded slowly and confirmed this. Rau saluted her, “If you need backup, let me know. I can’t promise one of my fellow Protectors will be able to join up with your outfit, but we will give it our best effort.” Nodding, they cut the transmission and Kanan responded, "Glad to see Rau and them are on our side, but how are we going to convince your family to speak to us, Sabine?” Sabine smirked, she had an idea.



Meanwhile and across the galaxy, Thrawn’s questioning of possible Fulcrum agents was getting underway. Colonel Yularen had been dispatched by Grand Moff Tarkin to assist with the interviews. Unlike other investigations of this caliber, Thrawn had a unique approach to the interviews.

As the interviewees were let into the private corridor that led from the main hallway to his office, they would catch sight of him. Thrawn was seen battling assassin droids wearing a tight fitting undershirt, his trousers and boots. His arms were well sculpted, and he had six-pack abs. He was quite the catch, and this display of overt sexuality, masculinity and sheer power was overwhelming. More than a few times officers gazed at him with open hostility, jealous he had won the heart of the lovely General Minerva Hektor. Compounding that, some of them also discreetly checked out his toned form out of the corner of their eyes, and blushing bright scarlet.

Of course, Thrawn was playing up his physical prowess to gauge their stress levels and how he could play their neuroses to his advantage. Many of them were former bullies and were about to pay for their past transgressions. Hinting at their deeply repressed sexuality during the interviews, they were indignant and called out their peers as traitors. In the end, they were just as quickly dismissed and shattered at having been read like open books. Yularen had been informed by his future son-in-law about how the plan was going to be executed, but Yularen still had some slight misgivings about the process.

“It’s not the most ethical means of getting confessions, you are right about that. However, all these officers are engaged in daily power struggles with their fellow officers. Everyone has their personal allies and enemies, and I being of alien origin and as Grand Admiral am a target for their ingrained prejudices. When these are called out, they are only too eager to save their own skins,” Thrawn explained.

Yularen nodded, even with comradery within the Imperial Officers Corp, there was always a certain amount of blame-shifting and one-ups-manship. Hopefully, things would calm down when they got closer to interviewing Kallus.



Elsewhere on Krowsnest, things were getting worse by the moment. Tristan had ambushed Zeb, Hera, and Ezra. Currently, they were standing before the imperious Countess Wren, who was seated on an austere marble throne. She gazed at them in disgust, “You have no right to be here. In fact, you should all be in the dungeon awaiting execution by the Empire for treason. Where my daughter is…”

KABOOM! There was a sudden explosion as a chandelier cascaded to the floor. The double doors flew open and there was Sabine, marching with an army of Cybermen in formation behind her. Following them was Kanan, holding his activated lightsaber.

Ursa felt herself grow weak at the sight of the Cybermen. Raising the Darksaber, Sabine bellowed, “Countess Ursa Wren, I charge you with treason against Clan Wren and the Mandolorian Protecters.” The Cybermen marched in place, chanting in unison. It was an unholy sight, and everyone was filled with dread.

Unseen by everyone, Fenn Rau slipped into the rafters and paled. What were the Cybermen doing here? Sabine, what have you done? The Doctor will get involved now, let’s just hope you didn’t reconfigure any Daleks, he thought grimly.

 

KABOOM! Rico! KABOOM!



Very courageous ways to link the WHO canon with the SW universe.

Now I lean back and wait for the Doctor to solve this conundrum.

 

Well, that would be breaking the Doctor’s rule of not interfering with set points on history.

River Song, aka Thrawn’s mother in law, is another story altogether. Kanan’s gonna be steamed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

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

Cast: the usual, with Tobias Menzies as Tiber Saxon, Kevin McKidd as Fenn Rau, Sharmila Devar as Countess Ursa Wren, and Ritesh Rajan as Tristan Wren

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, Ezra/Sabine, Kanan/Hera, mentions of Kallus/Zeb

Chapter 44: The Cybermen of Krowsnest Part 3

Chapter soundtrack: Lady Eboshi- Princess Mononoke OST, Lothlorien/I May Not Awaken- Enya



At the very sight of her daughter standing with a small army of Cybermen, Ursa bolted upright and the whole room went silent. Her two-armed guards rushed to intervene, but she raised her hand. This was not the right moment to start bloodshed. From a tactical standpoint, Countess Wren was vulnerable. Her daughter had the Darksaber pointed at her chin and Sabine’s metal soldiers had not only freed the younger of the Jedi, but also the other Rebels. In between the black blade in between her eyes and the Cybermen positioning themselves as the door, refusing to let anyone enter or exit. How had the situation gone south so quickly?

Letting out a long, tired sigh, Ursa decided it was best to negotiate. At the very least, she could let Sabine know that she did love her, very much. It was just that the political situation playing lip service to Tiber Saxon and with her darling Ulrich’s life hanging in the balance, she had to be pragmatic and follow Mandolorian traditions. Did Sabine not know this? Hearing that Sabine had joined the Rebels a few years back, Ursa had turned her back on Sabine, considering her weak for abandoning The Way. However, Sabine’s resolve had only gotten stronger, to the point she had hidden a secret army in plain sight and was now the wielder of the only weapon legendary to unite every last Mandolorian in the known galaxy. She was a true Mando, but Ursa’s proud heart was having great trouble allowing maternal instincts to kick in, and Hera Syndulla could see that quite clearly.

Ursa cleared her throat, “Sabine, please don’t slay me in cold blood. Let me have my say.” A Cyberman clouted her around the head, “SILENCE! YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SPEAK TO MISTRESS THAT WAY.” Wincing, but only slightly, Sabine gestured for the Cyberman to allow her mother to speak. Turning her attention to her mother, and gesturing for her reluctant Jedi boyfriend, Sabine snarled, “Speak? Speak? That’s a new one! How many buttons have you sewn into the eyes of the children of your maidservants who used such a tone with you in the past? 3? 4? I was 9 years old when you threw me out- nine years old! No parents do that, much less mothers! I have a new mother, another mother who loves me for who I am. I have grown into what I have become. But you, you still here on this ice cube and everything stays the same. Imperial flags fly in the cities where the Clan Wren flag once proudly flew. You are a traitor to The Way, our clan, and to Mandolore. I should very much like to slice off your head and stick it on a wooden pole for all the other clams to see. But, since I take the higher ground, I will let you in on a secret. See that Jedi over there? He is my cy’rika. I’m dating a Jedi.” She smacked her mother across her face and stepped back down, letting the older woman process what had just happened.

From up in the rafters, Fenn Rau really was not sure who he should be sympathetic towards. Certainly, it was heart wrenching to throw a nine-year-old out of the house because she did not want her weapons tested on family members, and then shuttled off to study under Orson Krennic. On the other hand, Ursa’s beloved darling was held as prisoner, subject to ghastly tortures beyond imagining just to keep her in line. Krowsnest was subjected to heavy taxation and near martial law, but at least there wasn’t a garrison, or a puppet backed ruler who would bombard the planet until nothing was left until it was nothing but molten slag. Ursa Wren had to tread a fine line, and while both choices were heart wrenching, Ursa’s actions towards Sabine were not the greatest. Hopefully, both women would out their hubris aside and talk things out. If not to clear the air, but then to mend the bond torn by pride. He really hoped it was the latter. It would make the situation easier, and if all went well then they could possibly get Clan Wren on board with overthrowing Tiber Saxon, and getting Bo-Katan to run things, as rightful Mando’a and all of that.



Ursa nodded gravely, “Sabine, please! I’m sorry I threw you out- truly I am.” Sabine turned around on the balls of her mother and gave her a look that would have frozen volcanoes. “Are you terribly sorry, or is this a half-assed attempt to get back into my good graces? I will speak to you later.” She gave orders to her Cybermen to show everyone to their quarter. After this, she needed a stiff drink, a hot shower, and a long snog with Ezra.

Zeb, Chopper, Hera, and Kanan were just along for the ride. This was Sabine’s mission, and figuring out how to handle what was going on was part and parcel of being in a leadership role. As her chosen family, they could offer and give support and advice, but in the end it all came down to what kind of relationship she wanted to have with her biological family. Only time would tell what would happen next.

Meanwhile back on Mandalore, Minerva was being valeted around the domed capital city, Sundari. When she had first seen the city from the Imperial shuttle bringing her there, Minerva was half expecting Aunty Entity and Master Blaster to show up on their war motorcycles with the welcoming party. As it was, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome was the only film in the titular series Margie had ever allowed her to watch. When she asked about the massive destruction, Saxon had only shrugged it off as a side effect of millennia of wars. Minerva was horrified, how could he justify that? Was it not in Mandolore’s best interest to restore the land to its ancient beauty so future generations might benefit from farming and foresting responsibly?



At the very mention of this, Saxon burst out laughing. What use was arable farmland to a society of warriors and bounty hunters? Minerva countered that the Ancient Spartans of her homeworld of Earth saw value in maintaining a warrior culture and cultivating farmland. Saxon frowned, why did Lady Thrawn always seem to draw paralells between what she observed here and her woefully backwater planet she called home? Forget UNIT and the Doctor, Mandolore was at the cutting edge of everything. “Sundari is a city of the future, Lady Thrawn. Has your Grand Admiral considered our fair city as a prime candidate for your honeymoon?” Minerva responded that where she and Thrawn spent their honeymoon was none of his kriffing business, and he was not on the invite list.

Playing this off as nothing more than empty words, he arrived at the gigantic garrison that housed all of Sundari’s Imperial forces and their families. The layout reminded her very much of the Tower of London, but the compound had to be three or four times taller than the Chrysler Building in America. There were green gardens and the atmosphere was serene, but it seemed to Minerva this was all at the expense of the rank and file Mandolorian citizen. She aired her concerns but was rebuffed by anyone standing nearby.

“You are a half-Gallifreyan map maker engaged to one of the highest ranked officers in the Imperial Navy, and your concerned about the common people? I thought Tarkin said you were born and raised to landed gentry,” Saxon huffed sourly.

“I was, but I was also taught to have compassion and empathy for all people. All Imperial citizens should have the right to a comfortable exisitance, regardless of economic background or gender,” Minerva quipped.

“Don’t be so idealistic, you’re not Princess Leia of Alderaan. The poor and downtrodden of the Empire are much better off than what you may hear,” Saxon boasted. Minerva, of course, knew better and regularly donated to Imperial charities who were doing good work (even the Rebels said so), but they were chronically underfunded and the Imperial press rarely spoke of such things. It was no wonder then many either gave up or joined the Rebels.

Taking the elevator to reach Saxon’s office, he told her, “My researchers are working on a most impressive weapon. Now, it’s still in the development phase, but I am under the impression your husband will be most pleased with it.”

Minerva smirked at this bold claim, Weapons don’t interest Thrawn the way you think, Saxon. He may like the design and how they work, but he despises them. To him, they represent the banality of violence in war. He prefers tactics and stratagems, to him war is like chess.

Walking into a nearly empty laboratory (it was lunch time for the lab drones), he unveiled a large circular knob that resembled a giant yo-yo. Except that, it had a glowing middle ring that smelled slightly of burnt electronics. Minerva eyed the weapon suspiciously, “What is that, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“It would be my pleasure. What we have here is an arc pulse generator. When it is powered, it acts as an electromagnet. What would the electricity be drawn to, my lady? Why, it is drawn to the beskar in Mandolorian armor! Any citizen will be incinerated inside their armor. With this weapon, I will be, I mean the Empire will be unstoppable,” Saxon gleefully pontificated.

Minerva felt like fainting and throwing up at the same time! She dreaded learning who built this mechanical nightmare. The Death Star was bad enough, but this! Holy God! “Christ Superstar, whoever built this is delusional,” Minerva croaked before vomiting into a wastebasket.

“Ah ah ah, milady. We mustn’t be judgmental, especially in your current condition,” Saxon scolded in a sing song voice. Minerva just glared at him; she was not pregnant. Thrawn had not lain with her yet, he was waiting for the wedding night for that.

Refusing to hear her ardent pleas, Saxon locked her in a plush bedchamber and ordered stormtroopers to bring her club soda, crackers and chicken broth. He also decided to call Grand Admiral Thrawn. Locking the door to his office, Saxon activated his commlink and holo projector. Once Thrawn’s face appeared, Saxon addressed him.

“Good afternoon, Grand Admiral. I regret to inform you General Hektor’s morning sickness is keeping her from appreciating the job I’m doing keeping Mandolore in line,” Saxon groused tersely.

Thrawn frowned, “I have not yet lain with Minerva, she is not pregnant. You’ve gone ahead and traumatized her by showing off the arc pulse generator. Need I remind you, Earthlings only have achieved thermonuclear weapons and space flight within the last half century. Moff Tarkin has not informed you of this?”

“Of… of course he has! Should I have told her Sabine Wren was the one who created this masterpiece at the age of 7?”

“I haven’t yet, but I will in due time.”

“Please do. One more thing, Saxon.”

“Yes, Grand Admiral?”

“Please see to it your trousers are zipped when you holophone your superiors. One might accuse you of taking indecent liberties with cadets.”

Blushing furiously, Saxon zipped up his pants, and ended the call. Not the best call, but at least his reputation was still in tact.

 

A premature Christmas present from you (actually arriving on my husband´s birthday!). And what a showdown it is. The white gloves are off!

 

Thank you, and wish Darth Uncle a happy birthday. One more chapter with the Cybermen and then I tackle “ An Inside Man” and River Songs makes an appearance!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ballad of the Winter Rose

A SW Rebels/Doctor Who Romance

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

Cast: the usual, with Tobias Menzies as Tiber Saxon, Kevin McKidd as Fenn Rau, Sharmila Devar as Countess Ursa Wren, Ritesh Rajan as Tristan Wren, and Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, Ezra/Sabine, Kanan/Hera, mentions of Kallus/Zeb

Chapter 45: The Cybermen of Krowsnest Part 4

Chapter Soundtrack: Heartbroken Kiki- Kiki’s Delivery Service OST, Fairy Tale/I Want Tomorrow- Enya



After ending the conversation with Saxon, Thrawn felt exhausted. Not just from interviewing potential Fulcrum suspects all day, but also from having to deal with Tarkin’s underhanded threats of pulling funding and betting it all on the Death Star. He was also lonely. Eli was now Governor Pryce’s office-boy, and his beloved Minerva was off on Mandalore, being feted by Gar Saxon. At least he knew to keep his hand to himself. To top it off, Pellaeon and some of the older officers were going to Old Jho’s for trivia night. He would have joined them (trivia night amused him greatly), but he was not feeling it.

Wisely deciding to finish some mind-numbing paperwork before taking a private dinner and turning in early (extra sleep always helped), he turned on his data pad and was soon immersed in busy work when there was a sharp knock at his office door.

Christ Superstar! What idiot decided to interrupt him now? Preparing to intimidate the hell out of the idiot who interrupted his train of thought, he opened the door… darkness there and nothing more! Praying that his reprobate father-in-law was not Force trolling him, Thrawn made a cursory inspection of the corridor leading from his office to the door separating his and Minerva’s quarters to the main hallway running the length of the Chimaera.

“Whoever you are, the prank is over,” Thrawn ordered sharply. Still no reply, but he could not shake the feeling he was being watched. Refusing to show any fear, he made his way towards his workout room and retrieving a spare blaster laying on the floor. He had just exited when he heard the doors to his office open.

Bloody hell and Jesus Christ Superstar!



He opened the door and raised his commlink to call for backup, when his glowing eyes caught sight of a most peculiar bundle laying on his desk. From said basket came the distinct sound of an infant cooing, nestled in a pink blanket. His eyes widened in realization, this was his and Minerva’s future daughter! Placing the blaster on the desk, he walked around to the other side and sat down.



The tiny little girl was certainly an adorable little thing, there was denying that. She had a head of curly dark brown hair and fair skin. She had his eyes, and the name embroidered on the blanket read “Rhiannon Hektor-Thrawn, 5 November 1999, Mitth’Rhia’nnon’Hektor”. Looking up adoringly at Daddy, Rhiannon began vocalizing. Her happy coos cheered her father greatly, who gently scooped her up and held her in his safe embrace.

“Penny for the guy, little one?”

Not understanding the historical reference, Rhiannon merely waved her arms and legs about wildly in an uncoordinated manner, and Thrawn kissed her downy head gently. Although, he had to wonder why she was here in the past. A Star Destroyer was not an appropriate place for an infant, especially one who very well could have inherited her mother’s Force sensitivity. Had something happened in the future that forced someone from UNIT to deposit her here? Included among her belonging were a diaper, and a family photograph.

Shifting Rhiannon from one arm to the other, he examined the photograph. It was taken back on Earth, and everyone was in civilian clothes. Yularen had arms around a laughing Margie, Thrawn and Minerva were standing together, Rhiannon nestled in her mother’s arms. Next to them were Eli and Lyste who looked happier than he had seen either of them in a long time. Scanning the photo, Thrawn caught sight of Eli and Yogar’s matching wedding bands. Flipping the picture over, he read the following words:

Valentine’s Day, 14 February, 2000 (Imperial Year 23)

Wulff Yularen, UNIT Director of Intelligence

Margaret Yularen (nee Fowler)

Grand Admiral Thrawn, Imperial

Minerva, Lady Thrawn

Rhiannon Hektor-Thrawn, Mitth’Rhia’nnon’Hektor, heir apparent of House Mitth, age 3 months

Eli Vanto, Captain of the Imperial Navy

Yogar Vanto (nee Lyste)- Commander of the Imperial Navy


After reading this, Thrawn let out a sigh of relief, his family was alive and intact. Rhiannon began to squirm, impatient to do something besides being held. Moving back into the bedroom, Thrawn lay down the duvet on the floor and her with it, so she would have something soft to lay on. Eager to be on her own, Rhiannon started cooing and taking everything in. Sitting next to her, he dangled his commlink above her arms and encouraged her to reach for it. The hours passed, and Thrawn was certain little Rhiannon had him wrapped around her little fingers. He would do anything to protect her, now and in the future.

He was so ensconced playing with his adorable daughter, he was unaware of Lyste walking into the bedroom, with a handful of requisition forms he needed to sign. Thrawn had not been in his office and Yogar had been going to leave when he had heard the undeniable sounds of a baby cooing and Thrawn talking quietly to said infant. Confused as to what was going on, he walked in.

“Grand Admiral, I didn’t know you and General Hektor had a baby already!”

Thrawn turned halfway round and gave Lyste a pointed look. What had happened to the common courtesy of knocking first? Surely the paperwork could wait until the morning. The commotion attracted Rhiannon’s attention, and the infant craned her head to see what all the hubbub was all about. Sighing and seeing there was no simple explanation with regards to the current situation, Thrawn scooped Rhiannon up into his arms and slowly stood up.


“I hope this is important Lyste, I was attending to my daughter’s physical and socio-emotional development,” Thrawn retorted coldly. Lyste had been getting impertinent with his superiors lately, and all because Lyste was now in charge of a light cruiser. Honestly, it was getting annoying and is dealing with Phoenix Squadron was not annoying enough. Lyste was blushing in embarrassment.

“It’s nothing important really… I just wanted to drop off this paperwork before calling it a night,” the younger man stammered, shifting from one foot to the other. Letting out a soft sigh, Thrawn held his daughter up so she could see their visitor.

Lyste beamed at the tiny baby, “Well, hello there. Aren’t you sweet? What did you and Minerva decide to name her?” Thrawn told him the baby’s name was Rhiannon, but not before swearing him to secrecy (under pain of death).

Bidding them good night, Thrawn changed Rhiannon’s diaper and put her down to bed. Before that though, Thrawn sat down and read her The Snow Queen. Rhiannon let out a yawn and fell asleep just as the story ended. Kissing her softly, Thrawn lay her down on the duvet, when he heard a cough from the doorway.



“Ahsoka Tano, you’re the one who brought her here. What happened to Minerva? Is she safe,” Thrawn asked the ex-Jedi anxiously. Laughing gently, Ahsoka explained she was merely babysitting and felt a bit of father-daughter bonding was in order. Scooping up the infant, she replied, “Happy Christmas, Grand Admiral. Will you be extending the Christmas Armistice to Kanan Jarrus?”

“Likewise, to you as well, Lady Tano. Should there be a final battle at the end of the year, I will extend it to Captain Syndulla and Bridger, everyone else will depend on everything plays out. Good night,” he bowed his head politely before turning in for the night.

Worlds away and the following morning, Sabine was feeling much better. After talking it over with Ezra, Sabine felt as though she was finally ready to speak to her mother. Everyone was sitting down, and Fenn Rau addressed everyone, “How did everyone sleep last night?” Everyone said they had, and once breakfast was served, Sabine and Ursa began negotiating how to handle the Imperial occupation going forward.

It was a lively discussion, each side respecting what the other had to say, and counterpoints were well made. Both sides agreed that while mistakes were made, going forward they were going to have to get along to get the Imperials out of Mandolorian space, and Fenn Rau offered to stay and help. Also, they had a secret army of Cybermen! The Empire would never see it coming!

With everything wrapped up nicely, the Ghost crew headed back to Atollon when they got a call from Rex, who had stayed behind because he had contracted pneumonia and had to be treated there. As the Ghost entered hyperspace, Zeb and Ezra settled into a game of holochess, Kanan cleaned his lightsaber, and Hera and Chopper were speaking to Commander Sato.

“How is Ezra taking his separation from Sabine? Considering this is first girlfriend, it can’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t, take it from me. I think they kissed for almost five minutes before Zeb pried them apart. Teenage hormones, can’t live with them, can’t live without them either. Aside from Rex’s ailment, did we miss anything?”

Sato’s demeanor turned serious, “We’ve picked up chatter from Wild Space…”

“What, what is it?”

“The TARDIS! The TARDIS has been sighted.”

At the mention of the blue police box, Hera felt her eyes grow wide and jaw go slack. “Did you say the TARDIS, as the one the Doctor pilots? The Doctor? Doctor Who is aiding us,” Hera collapsed to the floor, in silent disbelief. “A miracle! The Doctor is taking our side in the war. Does Rebel High Command know?”

Sato whispered and cautioned her to be quiet, “Shhh! It’s just a rumor and I don’t want to get our hopes up. Besides, the only way the Doctor would get involved with us is if an Earthling was involved…”

Hera frowned, “Is there a chance he’s trying to rescue Targeter? I mean, is she a companion?”

Sato snorted, “I highly doubt it, I’ve talked to Fulcrum about it, she’s no companion to the Doctor. Apparently, he rescued her when they met across the cover of a science-fiction novel.”

Hera snorted bemusedly, “He being Thrawn, I’m guessing. I can’t speak for personal taste, but his species are attractive.”

Sato nodded, and reminded her that they needed to focus on the main mission on reaching Lothal to destroy the TIE Defender factory. Only time would tell what would happen next.

 

Ha, the plot thickens. So many things happening! I already consider this as a special Easter Egg.

 

We are heading towards the climatic parts of the story where things start for picking up. Any ideas on who's piloting the TARDIS? It ain't Harkness, I can tell you that much.