Wrecking ball

“Can we at least kick him out of our systems?” Ar’alani pressed. “Sending a laser barrage across his bow doesn’t count as attacking.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Senior Captain Thrawn,” Ja’fosk said sourly. [] “And Ar’alani?”

“Yes?”

“Try not to irritate anyone else today.”

“I’ll do my best, sir,” Ar’alani said. “But I won’t make any promises.”

~

“This is wrong, sir,” she said. “Completely and totally wrong. Senior Captain Thrawn deserves a promotion, a new honor chain, and the gratitude of every single one of the Nine and the Forty.” []

“There was no other way,” Ba’kif said, his voice quiet. “The Syndicure was looking for a scapegoat, someone to blame for what happened at Sunrise.”

“What happened at Sunrise was the salvation of the Ascendancy,” Ar’alani said bluntly. “You know that as well as I do. [] If they wanted a scapegoat, they could have picked any one of us.”

“They did,” Thrawn said quietly.

Ar’alani frowned at him. “What?”

“He means they did pick,” Ba’kif said. “Only they picked all of you.” []

“Think of it as a game of Tactica,” Thrawn suggested. “Supreme General Ba’kif has sacrificed his nightdragon in order to protect his groundlion and whisperbirds—”

“Wait a minute.” Ar’alani fixed Ba’kif with a hard stare as one more part of this insanity suddenly became clear. “This was *your* idea?”

“It was,” Ba’kif said, holding her glare calmly. “The Grysk threat isn’t over, Admiral. You know that. We need you and the others—the people who’ve seen Thrawn in action and learned from him—to continue in your positions of authority if the Ascendancy is to be protected.”

“And so you sacrifice him to the Aristocra?” Ar’alani demanded. “You send the Ascendancy’s best protector to uselessly waste the rest of his life on some lost planet?” []

~

“I hope it works,” Ar’alani said. “Regardless, I appreciate you both letting me know what’s really going on.”

“You’re welcome,” Ba’kif said. “But don’t fool yourself into thinking it was entirely altruistic. [] We couldn’t have you running around making noise and demanding that Thrawn be brought back from exile.”

Ar’alani gave him an innocent look. “Would *I* do something like that?”

~

Stars, I do love this woman.

[Photo: art by @fieryzard]