"Yes, sir," Faro said. "A suggestion, if I may?"
"Your admiral has given you an order," Vader said.
"Continue, Commodore," Thrawn said calmly.
Faro felt her throat tighten. Vader's comment, underscoring as it did Thrawn's order, was in itself an additional order. Was Thrawn simply going to ignore it?
"I've done some calculations, sir," she continued hastily, wondering if Vader was going to interrupt. Or worse. [...]
Thrawn inclined his head. "Show me."
Faro keyed the route to the display, bracing herself as she waited for Vader's inevitable question as to what kind of lane could possibly connect two such minor worlds. [...] But for once, the Dark Lord seemed to have nothing to say.
"An excellent suggestion, Commodore," Thrawn said. "Set the course for Mokivj."
~
"Lieutenant Agral?"
"A moment, sir... yes! Got them, sir!"
"Excellent," Thrawn said.
Faro suppressed a smile. Agral was the youngest of the senior bridge crew, and sometimes his enthusiasm bumped into the more sedate official protocol.
Fortunately for him, Thrawn appreciated enthusiasm from his subordinates.
~
Pyrondi was gazing at the display, watching the fighters drift away. Faro looked sideways at Thrawn, wondering if he would intervene, knowing he wouldn't. He'd explained all the nuanced of the maneuver to Pyrondi and had handed over control of the operation to her. Now he would stand back and quietly assess how his senior weapon officer handled the task. [...]
Thrawn remained silent as Pyrondi repeated the process with the remaining TIEs. "Excellent work, Lieutenant," he said as the fighters faded into the starscape ahead.
~
[Photo: the beautiful pin by @fulcrumdawn, on my truly precious @poppourrico Thrawn Disney ears]
No comments:
Post a Comment