I can beat them, Ziara

“This is a military situation between two groups of aliens. Happens all the time out here. Nothing for us to get involved with.” She nodded toward the viewport. “As for your perceived threat, I’m not sure the attackers have even noticed us.”

“They’ve noticed,” Thrawn said. [] He shook his head slowly. “I can beat them, Ziara. I can take all four, right now, without any serious damage to the Parala.”

“Serious is a highly relative term,” Ziara pointed out. “Even if you can, we have no justification. Chiss territory hasn’t been invaded, and we haven’t been attacked.”

“If we move closer, we might be.”

“Deliberate provocation is also disallowed.”

Again, Thrawn shook his head. “I can see it all,” he said, his voice strained. “Their tactics, their patterns, their weaknesses. I could tell you right here, right now, how to beat them.” []

He turned, and Ziara was struck by the intensity of his expression. “No damage,” he said softly. “No damage.”

Ziara turned away from that look to gaze again out the viewport. No damage… except the ruin of his career. And hers, if she gave him permission.

People were fighting and dying out there. True, they were aliens, but Chiss merchants had traded with them and found them to be reasonable enough people. []

“You say you could tell me how to defeat them,” she murmured, still gazing out at the battle. “Could you tell anyone?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the subtle shift in his stance. “Yes,” he said. []

Ziara swallowed hard. Her career… “Permission granted,” she said. []

“Yes, Captain.” With a whisper of displaced air, he turned and headed to the hatchway.

~

Ar'alani shifted her attention to the Springhawk. Normally, she would never do this to the captain of one of her task force ships: giving a vague order on the assumption that the other would pick up on her intent. But she and Thrawn had worked together long enough that she knew he would see what she was seeing and know exactly what she wanted him to do.

And so he did.

~

Trust, yes.

But not a gamble. Not "blind".

Built. Weighted. Often painful.

And, ultimately.

Unbreakable.

“There’s your canvas. Paint me something."

[Photo: beautifully crafted ears by @poppourrico]

Necessity

Thrawn narrowed his eyes. “Make no mistake, Bridger. I have no love for the Empire or its Emperor. I served the Empire out of necessity for a strategic advantage against the total annihilation of my people.”

“So you simply turned a blind eye to the plight of those being oppressed by the Empire?” Ezra pressed.

“I did what I could where I could for the citizens of the Empire, ensuring fair treatment and justice under my watch. There was a limit of what I was able to provide, of course, as certain behaviors were expected of me as I achieved my rank of Grand Admiral. The scrutiny was more severe then. I must stress to you, that I do not find pleasure or amusement in the mistreatment of others. I strived to be a voice of reason and restraint against the excess use of force from the rest of the high command. I had hoped that, when the time came, I would have been in a position to influence the election of a new, more capable leader... one to set the tone of a fairer government, one ready to fight the darkness that threatens to destroy us all. That would have also meant ensuring all the forces available in the Core Worlds and Outer Rims would join to defend against this evil... your Rebellion included. If chaos, inner conflict, and lawlessness are allowed, it will mean doom when darkness comes knocking on our door.”

There was a long silence as Ezra looked at him and slowly reached forward with the Force. He found no dishonesty on Thrawn's part.

“You really believe this...” the young man whispered. “That the Empire is the lesser evil.”

“I don't believe, I know it.”

Ezra slightly shifted in his place. He looked at the ground for a moment but then shook his head.

“No. I can not ignore their pain. No suffering should be allowed to stand.”

“Then there will be no one left to suffer at all.”

["Last Known Trajectory" by @soulnova_alizrak]

~

This is the second half of my Dec 13th post.

And I truly treasure this exchange. Although non=canon, this discussion, Ezra's and Thrawn's POVs, are deep and balanced and perfect. No simple answer, no easy exits.

And I can listen to them converse in my head for hours.

[Photo: lovely pins by @armstrongoutpost. Jedi compass from eBay]

Seven seconds

"I don't fear either the Grysks or your Empire."

*Ar'alani expression holds defiance and contempt*.

"Then fear for me. Even now Assistant Director Ronan decides what to report to Director Krennic, and beyond him to the Emperor. Chiss military activity within sight of Imperial forces could end my career. Possibly my life."

*Ar'alani is silent for seven seconds. Her expression shifts, now holding frustration and resignation. Her fingers tighten one last time around her weapon, then reluctantly relax.* "Either result would less than useful for the Ascendancy, I suppose," she said. *Her voice holds a degree of dark humor and irony*

"Very well".

~

Come on, Lani!

I know that it is evident that you care unconditionally about the guy (Thrawn absolutely leverages on that for pushing you, once again, to the limit) and you are saying this out of a hyperbole, and because it fits wonderfully that sarcastic relationship of yours.

However, Thrawn is already pretty convinced that he has no other "use" in life than serving the Ascendancy without your dark humor and irony making things worse.

[Tone that, thankfully, he totally notices, though]

At the end of "Treason", just before being purgilled, Thrawn is in an exceptionally dark spot with the Emperor. It is evident that his true allegiance lies with the Ascendancy, no matter the fables he keeps telling himself or Palpatine.

The whole gang (Ar'alani, Faro, Eli) got the memo: he is irremediably exposed and in a very very very "precarious" situation (quoting Faro here).

And, maybe, just maybe, in the back of his mind, he starts realizing that he TOTALLY underestimated and misunderstood the Emperor (because, stars, he utterly DID).

But even in this basically desperate condition, Ar'alani keeps supporting and trusting him.

Oh, I A D O R E these two.

I cannot even put it into coherent words.

And, yes! I collected enough merch for continuing (finally!) my Ar'alani series.

Expect a couple of months of posts about her.

You survived 18 weeks with Eli, I am sure you can manage this power couple for some time in my feed.

[Photo: the cutest pin by @ritarussiandoll_pins on the perfect chibi design by @junchan_nyan_art]

The best of you

Anakin: Besides, the role of Master comes easily to me.

Ahsoka: Really? Well, this time, try to be convincing at it.

Anakin: Yeah, you’re right, I probably deserve most of the credit. But not all of it.

Ahsoka: Good thing I know you don’t mean everything you say.

Anakin: Have you seen Padmé?

Ahsoka: She’s right next to me! I’m okay, too. Thanks for asking.

Ahsoka: Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten us into.

Anakin: What? Hey, it's not my fault. You were supposed to study the holomaps.

Ahsoka: I did! Remember when I reminded you about the giant wall, and you said, 'Don't worry, Snips, we won't be anywhere near that.'

Anakin: Just get ready to climb.

Ahsoka: If there’s one thing I’ve learned from you, Master, it’s that following direct orders isn’t always the best way to solve a problem.

Terrified, as I am, for the new "Ahsoka" series (and I guess you, at this point, clearly know why), I forget sometimes how much HAPPY I am to see her again.

Her path, our path, all these years.

How much she changed, matured, while keeping her soul.

Her optimism, irony, kindness.

Impossible not to feel connected.

Impossible not to love her.

So, yes, I genuinely want to know more, to explore more.

And, on top of everything she can be and do and say, I honestly want to see her with Anakin again.

Because, with her, he is the best version of himself.

She truly is the Ashla, the Light Side, everything is right and just and real.

The only one (and I do understand this is a personal assessment) that deeply keeps Anakin grounded, balanced, sane.

Someone allowing him to be.

Silly, bold, carefree.

The kid that wanted to fix things, and to help others, and to smile, and to have fun.

So, sure, I hope for flashbacks.

But, mostly, I look forward to a moment, a connection.

Because they deserve it.

Washing away the sense of guilt from both of them.

The memory of her leaving when he needed the most.

The scar of that outstretched hand failing to reach his heart on Malachor, clashing with the stubborn self-persuasion that Anakin —the good in him, his past, his love— has truly been destroyed.

So, a closure, an understanding.

This is what I want to see, more than anything.

Heart of a rebel

...Tell me all your secrets,

And I'll tell you most of mine.

They say nobody's perfect,

Well, that's really true this time.

I don't have the answers,

I don't have a plan.

All I have is you,

So, darling, help me understand.

What we do (You can whisper in my ears).

Where we go (Who knows what happens after here).

Let's take each other's hand,

As we jump into the final frontier.

"You have the heart of a rebel."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Thrawn, in his systematic attention to reality and buried soul intentions, saw Alexsandr's true nature probably ages before Kallus himself.

Maybe, knowing Thrawn, easily revealed because of a reflection of his own heart.

And, yes, I guess it was a compliment, after all.

But, I promise, I do not want to speak about Thrawn today.

Comforting.

It is comforting that, of all the SW characters that were saved from their dark destiny, Alexsandr Kallus is the one who survived.

No matter the murders, the tortures, the massacres.

He, ultimately, deserved a happy ending.

Ahsoka, Leia, Han, Luke, Rex, Sabine, Hera.

While everyone else journey and tribulations were still on, even after Endor and the Empire, suspended and unconcluded, Kallus and Zeb were given closure.

Peace.

But, in a way, somehow frightening for a soldier and a warrior.

Used to be constantly in the fight, lives at stake, decisions to make.

No time for thinking, no time for feeling.

An easy dichotomic existence of "us or them", "live or die", "win or lose."

Black or white.

And then, suddenly, one day you are given the chance to, simply, be.

No answers and no directions.

Shades of grey.

When you were defined by war all your life, hard to cope with.

But, as I said in the past, it gives me solace to think about them.

Walking, uncertain, on this exciting new path.

Taking each other's hand as they jump into their unplanned beautiful future.

[Photo: one of my absolute favorite pins I own. Made by @ritarussiandoll_pins on a design by @drunkenfangschrecke. The quote is from "Final Frontier" by Don Was and Paul Reiser. The sweets are traditional "Carnival" treats called "chiacchiere" which mean "small talks". These, specifically the zebralike ones, reminded me of Zeb]

Va, pensiero

Fly, my thoughts, on wings of gold,

go settle upon the slopes and the hills

where the sweet airs of our

native soil smell soft and mild.

Greet the banks of the River Jordan

and Zion's tumbled towers.

Oh, my homeland, so beautiful yet lost.

Oh, remembrance so dear yet heartbreaking.

Golden harp of the prophetic wise men,

why hang so silently from the willows?

Rekindle the memories in our hearts,

tell us about the times gone by.

Remembering the fate of Jerusalem

play us a brutal lament

or else be inspired by the Lord

to fortify us to endure our suffering.

~

On March 9th, 1842, "Va, pensiero" from the Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Temistocle Solera, is played for the first time at "La Scala", the mayor theater in Milan.

The city, like many other Italian regions, is ruled by the Austrian Empire. Lombardy has a long history of foreign dominations, the Gaul, the Spanish, the French, but something is different in that lost spring of 1842.

For the first time, people start feeling a sense of belonging, a sense of union.

A sense of homeland.

This spirit will lead the citizen of Milan to the "Five Days", an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion sparks in the city, and, after five days of street fighting, Marshal Radetzky and his Austrian soldiers abandon the city.

Recollecting the period of Hebrew Babylonian captivity after the loss of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE, the "Nabucco" is the perfect metaphor for that patriotic sentiment and a hymn for the people of Milan.

As the third piece and conclusion of this "Thrawn and the Ascendancy" mini-series, I share with you the heartbreaking sadness for a homeland beautiful yet lost.

"It is my home. The only home I’ve ever known.

It is the Chiss Ascendancy."

["Chaos Rising", first draft]

The Guardian

He paused again [...]. “I wish to offer you an honor that has seldom been given to Stybla, and even more infrequently to members of other families. Your name, Mitth’raw’nuru, will henceforth carry the additional appellation odo. In Tybroic, the original language of our family, it was the word-mark of a guardian or protector who had proved worthy of the most extraordinary respect.”

~

He opened the desk drawer beside him and lifted out the four-point pinwheel medal that had been given to Thrawn so long ago at the Stybla honoring ceremony. [...]

Thrawn took the medal, cupping it in his palm, and for a moment gazed at it in silence and remembrance. Then he looked up and handed it back. “Thank you,” he said. “I’d prefer you keep it safe for me, if you don’t mind. The path I’m on may turn out to be rockier than expected, and I’d hate to lose it.”

~

I cannot describe my feelings while reading these words.

The final, canonical confirmation that whatever Thrawn did and does —who he ultimately IS— is to take care of everyone.

Chiss, crew members, pilots, slaves, refugees.

Lives.

The match point against all the "He is a villain" sayers.

How not Supremacy or Power but the Guardian theme is focal in "Lesser Evil", the Ascendancy Trilogy, and Zahn's canon books in general.

Thrawn, Thrass, Uingali, Thalias, Ar'alani.

In a way, all silent, hidden, attentive keepers.

Of sky-walkers, ships, populations.

And, yes, also protectors of Thrawn himself.

So, the pinwheel.

A memento that curious, tolerant, patient, and kind souls may express their care and love in ways and forms that are unusual and different.

But not less real.

Or true.

Like this community does.

People of unlike background and culture, ethnicity and religion.

On this first Thrawn Thursday of the year, a celebration for you all.

[Photo: French paperback version of "Chaos Rising", and one of the pinwheel accessories that I compulsively bought after reading the last page of "Lesser Evil"]