Through Imperial Eyes

Chapter 19

"The Rebels have captured Pryce. I have no doubts they've used her codes to infiltrate the imperial headquarters. To what purpose, I do not know." Rukh's hologram was saying up on the front deck.

"I expected Governor Pryce to fail, but not so completely. You must get inside and deactivate the shield generator before the Rebels lock down the Imperial Dome." the Grand Admiral replied.

"And then?" the Noghri wondered.

"Then, wait. I'm already en route." he said calmly.

The transmission ended, leaving Thrawn alone and staring at the bright blue streaks out the windows of the Chimaera. They were supposed to arrive in less than fifteen minutes, so the crew was already powering up the various systems. (Y/N) had already checked her console and was waiting for further instructions.

"Sir, what do the rebels hope to gain by locking down the headquarters?" one of her crewmates asked.

"My guess is that they'll try to launch the Dome into orbit and destroy it entirely. After their last failure, I believe they'll attempt to clear out all imperial presence in the city. They're desperate, Lieutenant, and we'll use it to our advantage." the Admiral explained. He turned around to face his crew. "I want the Chimaera to be stationed directly over the Dome. As long as we are above them, they'll be stuck on the ground. They won't risk destroying the whole city by colliding with our ship."

"Understood, sir." one of the lieutenants agreed.

A few minutes later, they dropped out of hyperspace and commenced their approach. The communications officer confirmed that the Dome was locked down under Protocol 13. All military personnel had been called back to their stations inside headquarters before its complete lockdown.

Soon after they reached their vantage point directly over the structure, they received an incoming transmission. (Y/N) was surprised to see the young Jedi Ezra Bridger appear on Thrawn's terminal.

"Governor Pryce is our prisoner and we have complete control over the Imperial Dome, with every trooper, pilot and officer trapped inside. You failed Thrawn. Leave Lothal and we might let your troops out before we blow the dome to pieces." he said with confidence.

(Y/N) shook her head hearing his speech. The young man was very courageous, but he was not a strategist. Almost in a single sentence, he had revealed his whole plan as well as his only leverage against them. Which was not that much of an advantage, if she was being honest. The rebels had locked themselves in with a whole army awaiting an order to turn against them, if they had not yet realized that the whole exercise was not a simple drill.

"Are you quite finished?" Thrawn then replied to the Jedi. "If you truly wish to save Lothal, Commander Bridger, the only term I'll accept is your immediate and unconditional surrender."

"Why would I surrender when I hold your entire army prisoner?" he asked.

"No, you've simply moved my assets to a safe position, so that I can bombard the civilians of your home without incurring imperial casualties." the Admiral informed him in a cold voice.

(Y/N) eyes widened at her partner's words. "He must be bluffing... He can't seriously be considering shooting at civilians" she told herself. Her eyes were locked on his figure, but she couldn't see anything indicating that he wasn't serious. His hands were clasped behind his back and he stood straight like always.

"Rex, raise the planetary shields!" the crew of the Chimaera then heard a woman yell through the monitor.

They heard a few other shouts from the rebels confirming that Rukh had accomplished his mission and deactivated the shield generators. (Y/N)'s heart skipped a beat when she connected the dots. He was really going to bombard the city. She started to feel dizzy.