Infiltration (Thrawn x Reader)

Chapter 19 - Cyborg

Thrawn's POV

I'd just finished the mission with Vader when the news about Abafar came through. The base—and Death Star—are under attack. Or, they were. The original time stamp was almost an hour ago. Vader sent a message to the Executor to meet him there, and I ordered the ship to Abafar. My lack of sleep was beginning to wear on me, but I ignored it. Frustration bubbled up inside me. I'd known she was going after Tarkin, but the Death Star too? How did she even find it? I entered my office and immediately began pacing.

Vader walked in without announcing himself. "You seem disturbed, Grand Admiral."

I turned to him, and gave him a curious look. "I am. I'd sent Commander Lilya on a mission to Abafar per Tarkin's request. She was instructed to only bring one member of her squad, and she hasn't reported in."

"You are worried about your lover?" he asked, his mechanical voice almost mocking. I respected the dark lord, but I knew he had once done the same. I took the opportunity to goad him once more.

"I saw love once on the face of a young senator and her Jedi lover. I am sure that I feel the same toward Lilya, as those two once felt toward each other." I kept my voice even. When I stopped talking, I walked to my chair and sat down. Not surprisingly, he said nothing in response. But I had struck a nerve, and while he definitely didn't feel sympathy, he might feel something.

"What do you propose, Admiral?"

I looked him over. "I plan to drop my ground forces, and find the people who did this. As well as Lilya, alive or not."

"Indeed. I will add my ground forces to yours. I have just received word that the Rebels destroyed the Death Star completely. Somebody set the complex to self-destruct."

I felt my eyebrows lift ever so slightly. "It's gone completely?" Interesting. She must have brought the entire fleet. "What about the meeting?"

"I do not know. It seems the Emperor had us distracted at the perfect time."

"Perhaps..." I said in response. "You said the Rebels did this? How?"

"Again, I do not know. But from the reports, it wasn't their whole fleet. They guess it was about half."

So, Lilya had much more pull in the Rebel Alliance than I'd realized.

"Your thoughts still dwell on the commander."

My eyes shot up to his helmet as I gave him my coldest stare. I was not in the mood for his criticisms.

"And your thoughts still dwell on Padmé." The room became electric as the dark lord stood up tall, furious.

"You speak of nonsense that you know nothing about," his voice rang out, and I could hear his anger, see it in his stance.

"You're probably right, my lord."

"I expect you to have a shuttle for us ready the moment we enter atmosphere."

"Understood," I said, noting the anger still in his voice. When he left, I narrowed my eyes at the door. Goading the dark lord was not my best moment, but I didn't want to hear him speak of her any longer. I pulled out my comm.

"Darro," came the voice on the other end.

"I need all of you in my office."

"On our way," he said. I clicked off the comm and tapped my fingers on the desk. The three soldiers entered a couple minutes later. I looked at them. They were all on edge, ready to snap at any moment for fear of their commander.

I motioned to the chairs. None of them sat. I leaned back a bit in my chair, still evaluating them.

"The orbital battle station has been destroyed."