Grand Admiral

Nine years, six months and ten days after the Battle of Yavin...

Or the forty-fourth year, six months and ten days after the Great Resynchronization.

A metal cell—two meters long, one and a half meters wide, two meters and thirty centimeters high. A simple, hard army bunk in the corner, almost opposite the entrance. Welded to the deck and walls. A refresher in the other end of the chamber. Small ventilation shaft openings under the ceiling. Air enters through them.

A heavy metal door—the only entry and exit. It has a small rectangular window that opens three times a day to feed the prisoner. And it also has a holocamera eye, protected by a transparisteel dome, preventing damage.

He is watched from there. Every moment since he was brought to the prison cell aboard the Chimaera.

Disarmed, demilitarized, stripped of equipment and the usual white stormtrooper armor.

He is wearing only a bodysuit, the usual everyday uniform for Stormtrooper Corps soldiers. The outfit for those rare moments when they are stationed and have "free time."

Detainee THX-0297 had been in this cell for more than a day. The daily routine is simple—the same as always, except that in between feeding and relieving himself, he is taken to the interrogation room and questioned in turn. Captain Pellaeon, the senior artillery officer, the company commander whose fourth squad he was a part of, the battalion commander, the regiment... They change, sometimes interrogating together, sometimes separately from each other, asking the same questions but with different wording. The answers that THX-0297 gives them do not change. He answers frankly—because they are his commanders. Their orders do not contradict the logic of circumstances. They are simple, understandable, and can be carried out with maximum efficiency. One way or another.

He follows orders.

He is a good soldier.

A good soldier follows orders.

Always.

Then, when the next round of interrogations is over, he is returned to his cell, where he does a series of physical exercises. He has nothing else to do. He is a stormtrooper, he must always be combat-ready. Even if he is in the brig. Even if, upon returning to base, he will be liquidated for violating military regulations. Disobeying a commander's order.

As soon as this wording sounded in his mind, his head seemed to explode with a fountain of pain. Unable to control his body, he collapsed to the floor, unable to do a push-up.

Pulling his legs up, he sat on the floor, clutching his head in his hands.

He is a bad soldier.

He disobeyed an order.

A good soldier follows orders.

Always.

He is a bad soldier.

He didn't follow the order.

He was supposed to go on the attack with the fourth squad and complete the task.

A good soldier always follows orders.

He is a bad soldier.

He didn't follow the order.

He was obligated to maintain the chain of command and obey. Disobeying an order is unacceptable.

A good soldier...

With a distinct metallic clank, the "feeding" window opened. THX-0297 raised his head towards the sound, but the metal plate had already returned to its place. The stormtrooper lowered his head again, but at that moment, with a characteristic hiss, the entrance door plate disappeared into the bulkhead.

THX-0297 raised his head again, looking at the doorway.

His body reflexively, ignoring the headache, shot up, stretched into a string. As required by regulations.

— Grand Admiral, sir, Captain, sir! — he addressed those who had entered. — Stormtrooper THX-0297! Cell twenty-two. Imprisoned twenty-three hours ago on charges of disobeying a commander's order. Twenty-two interrogations conducted. Fully admitted guilt in the committed military crime. Awaiting execution. Report complete!

— At ease, Private, — the Grand Admiral said in a calm voice. His snow-white tunic, blue skin, and crimson eyes contrasted strikingly with the gray-steel interior of the cell. The Chimaera's commander, Captain Pellaeon, standing next to him, dressed in a navy uniform, frowned disapprovingly.

THX-0297 relaxed slightly. He looked straight ahead while the Supreme Commander of the Empire scrutinized the furnishings of his cell with unconcealed curiosity. As if seeing it for the first time.

— Why THX-0297? — came the unexpected question from the blue-skinned commander.

— I don't understand the question, sir, — the stormtrooper replied. The question did not contain information that needed clarification. Too general a question. You can't waste a commander's time by going through answers. — I ask you to formulate it more precisely.

— Well, yes, — Captain Pellaeon snorted, grimacing disapprovingly. He wasn't even going to hide his attitude towards the traitor. — Who would doubt it.

— Calm down, Captain, — the Grand Admiral advised, looking directly into the stormtrooper's eyes. — Why didn't you obey the order, Stormtrooper THX-0297?

The clone experienced a strange feeling... unfamiliar. He was as if he had gotten lost in a well-known area, suddenly realizing that the landmarks he was used to were gone. The landscape hadn't changed, but it had become... different.

He had been asked this question. Not once, not twice, not a hundred times. This question in various forms came from the mouth of everyone who interrogated him. And he always answered it. Why hadn't the Grand Admiral studied his interrogations? Why did the Grand Admiral even come here?

— I considered it erroneous, Grand Admiral, — the detainee said. — The third squad died before my eyes. Seven minutes earlier, the first and second squads also died—while performing the standard front assault scheme. The enemy was highly trained and familiar enough with our tactical schemes. I realized that my squad would also die and the task would not be completed. I decided not to obey in order to achieve success. I deliberately violated the order, considering it short-sighted and formulaic and not conducive to victory in battle. I fully admit my guilt and am ready to accept the punishment...

— About the latter—later, — the Grand Admiral said. — Why didn't you report your thoughts to the lieutenant, the platoon commander?

— Or at least to the sergeant—the squad leader, — Captain Pellaeon inserted his thoughts.

— The commander of my squad was following the order of the commander of my platoon, — explained THX-0297. — I decided that they did not have tactical flexibility and were not able to assess the situation as well as I. I decided not to obey the order given to my squad and am ready...

— How was your decision better than a frontal assault? — the Grand Admiral interrupted him.

Here THX-0297 hesitated to answer.

— Sir, I... it seemed to me that the combat situation in which everything was happening had another way of resolving itself, — he said, feeling insecure. — As if I had already been in a similar battle... I can't explain... I just knew it would work...

— It couldn't have not worked, — the Grand Admiral said, looking at the Star Destroyer commander standing next to him. — Do you know that you are a clone, Stormtrooper THX-0297?

— Yes, sir, — the detainee replied without hesitation. — Colonel Selid created me from his DNA. His knowledge and memories are loaded into me.

— Not only in you, Private, — the Grand Admiral replied. — Colonel Selid created four thousand of his own clones. Created under the GeNod program. I want to know why you don't meet the criteria of the program. Why do you know that you are a clone?

— Colonel Selid told me that, — the stormtrooper replied. — He explained to me everything I asked him.

— And what were you interested in? — interest sounded in the Grand Admiral's voice.

— The reasons why I look just like him, why I remember his past, why he is Colonel Selid and I am Stormtrooper THX-0297.

— And what did he answer you, Private?

— He said that I am a prototype, — THX-0297 replied. — A genetic copy of Colonel Selid. The colonel said that the current stormtroopers are unsuitable material for cloning under the Spaarti program.

— Why?

— Stormtroopers recruited from ordinary people betrayed the Empire after the Emperor's death, — THX-0297 repeated the words of his genetic original. — They serve various regimes, warlords, and fight against each other. They can betray. Colonel Selid said that I am the first successful sample of the new type of clones. Absolutely loyal, intellectually superior to the others, because I possess the knowledge of the commandant of the Tantiss facility.

— And what is so special about Colonel Selid's knowledge that makes him the best candidate for cloning? — the Grand Admiral asked.

— Loyalty, sir, — THX-0297 replied. — Colonel Selid is absolutely loyal to you.

— Was, — the captain corrected the private.

— Yes, sir. Was. Colonel Selid is dead, — the stormtrooper said.

— Loyalty is a matter of perspective, — the Grand Admiral said. — What else do you know about the colonel?

— Everything, sir, — the stormtrooper replied. — Up to the moment of copying his consciousness.

— Who gave him the order to clone sample B-2332-54? — the Grand Admiral asked.

— The hand of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and his lightsaber were found by the colonel during an inspection of the storages of the Tantiss facility, — THX-0297 said. — The decision to clone immediately after the discovery of the object was made by the colonel himself.

— For what purpose? — asked the commander of the Chimaera.

— Creation of Luke Skywalker clones, — the private replied. — To obtain our own Jedi, loyal to the Grand Admiral and able to counteract the New Republic without the threat of betrayal. As it was in the last years of the Old Republic on the part of the Jedi Order.

The Supreme Commander was silent for a while.

— How did he know who the limb belonged to? — a new question. The Grand Admiral doesn't seem to be interested in the fact that he committed a crime and disobeyed the order at all.

— Each object in storage had an explanatory note, — THX-0297 explained. — But the colonel knew what it was before.

— From where? — Captain Pellaeon blurted out.

— Colonel Selid served in the 501st Legion aboard the Super Star Destroyer Executor during the operation on Bespin, — the private said. — He was the one who found the hand and lightsaber. This finding secured his promotion.

— I see, — the Grand Admiral's eyes narrowed. — So, the colonel fought side by side with the Jango Fett clones? Those that the Empire got after the reformation of the Old Republic?

— Yes, sir, — the private replied. — He served with them during the Clone Wars. And he believed that they were the best fighters compared to conscripts. Impeccably loyal, efficient and with great combat experience.

— In some ways, he was right, — Captain Pellaeon said. — Throughout the Clone Wars and up to today, the number of clone traitors is a billionth of a percent of the list of stormtroopers who defected to the side of the rebel warlords or to the New Republic.

— An interesting fact, Captain, — the Grand Admiral said. — Having the ability to interrogate a copy of Colonel Selid, we neglected such a development of events. Until today.

— In my defense, I can say that I was not present at the colonel's demonstration of Stormtrooper THX-0297, and I did not know that he had Colonel Selid's memories, — the Chimaera's commander muttered, looking away.

— Let others take care of finding the guilty, — the Grand Admiral said, turning his burning gaze back to the detainee. — So, you are claiming that Colonel Selid acted solely in my interests?

— Yes, sir, — the private confirmed. And he was telling the truth.

— Why did he load his consciousness into you completely, and not correct it in accordance with the GeNod program? — the Supreme Commander asked.

— For the same reason he didn't hide from me the fact that I was a clone, — THX-0297 replied. — Colonel Selid worked side by side with the GeNod program clones in the past. And he decided that in this way he would neutralize the negative consequences of this program, because of which the clones killed each other.

— Because they considered a clone with the same appearance to be enemy agents, disguised as a similar appearance, — the Grand Admiral said. The private nodded affirmatively.

— And don't you consider yourself offended by the fact that instead of a name, you have a number, Private? — the commander clarified. — That you live by the memories of another person?

— No, sir, — the detainee replied, struck by the question. How can you be dissatisfied with the fact that you serve the Grand Admiral? And it doesn't matter whether you're a clone or not.

— The rest of Colonel Selid's clones, — Captain Pellaeon reminded, while the Grand Admiral was silent. — Are they the same as you, Private?

— Negative, — THX-0297 objected. — By the time of their creation, the colonel had already been able to remove his personal memories from the coding database. They do not have his tactical knowledge—only the military art of fighting.

— Which is confirmed by the results of their actions, — the Grand Admiral said. — For the same reason, none of these clones disobeyed the order—they only carried it out with maximum efficiency, nothing more.

— Then why did THX-0297 disobey? — Captain Pellaeon clarified.

— Because they did not have the colonel's personal memories, — the Supreme Commander said. — Our private is a complex mixture of stormtrooper programming and the mind of an officer who has seen more than one military campaign in his life. And for the other three thousand seven hundred clones, Selid only loaded military knowledge. Before us is a confirmation of the philosophical discussion aphorism: "Being determines consciousness" or vice versa. Deliberately or not, Colonel Selid, whom we have still considered a traitor, after two hundred and ninety-six failures created a sample of a clone-commander, endowed not only with his knowledge, but also with tactical initiative and ingenuity. Therefore, the stormtrooper did not obey the lieutenant—perhaps he does not realize it directly, but Selid's memories make him consider himself smarter than the other fighters. And thereby contributed to the fulfillment of the combat mission—we got hyperdrives for light freighters. Something we couldn't even count on.

THX-0297 was silent. He was not asked a question. But the result, if we leave out the fact of disobedience, speaks for itself. He turned out to be more effective than the commander of his squad and the commander of his platoon. And the reason why he did it did not bother THX-0297. If the command considers his act criminal, he will be eliminated. If not...

— Yes, — Captain Pellaeon uttered. — Here we can see a parallel between the actions of THX-0297 and Colonel Selid himself. They acted contrary to a direct order, reasonably believing that their actions would lead to the quickest achievement of the goal.

— Initiative on the battlefield is a commendable phenomenon, — the Grand Admiral noted. — Especially when it yields results. However, another question arises—what prevents Private THX-0297 from violating the order again. And then again and again. In some cases, his actions will have a positive result for us, and in some cases, quite the opposite. Where is the fine line that separates these two points of view?

Captain Pellaeon could not answer.

Stormtrooper THX-0297 was not going to answer either—the question was not addressed to him.

— Colonel Selid supported me? — this time, the Grand Admiral was looking directly at the stormtrooper.

— Yes, sir, — the private replied. — Absolute loyalty.

— Are you just as loyal to me, THX-0297? — the Supreme Commander asked a new question.

— Yes, sir.

— Are you ready to carry out any order I give you, Private?

— Yes, sir.

— Will you sabotage the execution of the order I give you in the future, if you see another option for fulfilling the task that is contrary to the order I give?

— No, sir, — THX-0297 said confidently.

— That is, if the order to attack on the front, which will lead to the death of all your comrades, but the fulfillment of the task set by me, was given by me, and not by your lieutenant, you would have carried it out?

— Yes, sir, — the stormtrooper replied without thinking. After all, it is logical!

— Explain yourself, — Pellaeon asked with a grimace.

— The orders of the Supreme Commander are not subject to discussion, other interpretation or change of the prescribed execution, — the detainee said. — On Kai Fel, the Grand Admiral set the task for our legion—the capture of the warehouse. This is a strategic task. Its tactical implementation was entrusted to my immediate commanders. Their orders could not lead to the effective implementation of the task.

— My brain is about to boil, — Captain Pellaeon confessed.

— It's simple, — a slight smile appeared on the Grand Admiral's lips. — Colonel Selid's clone assures that he will execute my direct orders unquestioningly with maximum efficiency. But he will sabotage the orders of his commanders, which are not effective, in order to carry out my order.

— Some kind of nonsense, — the commander of the Chimaera shook his head. — This clone is defective. It must be destroyed before it generates a tendency to disobey among our stormtroopers.

— I will decide his fate, Captain, — the Grand Admiral said. — Not you. At least—not now.

— I apologize, Commander, — the commander of the Imperial Star Destroyer hesitated. — But I don't believe this stormtrooper. He disobeyed the order. He's dangerous. He is a traitor.

— There's a simple way to check it, Captain, — the Supreme Commander replied calmly, looking at THX-0297. — What I'm about to tell you, Private, is top-secret information. The future fate of the Empire will depend on your decision.

— Yes, sir! — THX-0297 croaked.

— Private, — the Grand Admiral addressed him. A blaster appeared in his hands, which, despite Captain Pellaeon's rounded eyes, he handed to THX-0297. The stormtrooper silently took the weapon in his hands, automatically checking its combat readiness. The tibanna level and power cell indicators are at maximum. The weapon is ready for battle. — In your hands is a SE-14C blaster pistol. You are authorized to use it for maximum efficiency. The disposition is as follows—I do not intend to defend the Imperial Space. After some time, Emperor Palpatine will return and call all Imperials under his banner. Everyone who does not obey will be destroyed. The fleet and army that follow me will be declared deserters and will be hunted. Captain Pellaeon and I are participants in an anti-government conspiracy, which aims to gather as many Imperial forces as possible under our command in order to eliminate the rotten imperial regime in the future and reject the postulates of the New Order that you serve. If Emperor Palpatine or any other sentient being loyal to him stands in my way, I will destroy them without delay. At the moment there are only three of us in this cell. The guards are at the control panels and will not be able to arrive in time. Captain Pellaeon and I are inferior to you in armament and hand-to-hand combat skills. Nothing can stop you from fulfilling your duty. You can destroy us here and now and effectively quell the continuation of the Imperial civil war, because we are the same warlord traitors that Colonel Selid told you about. And our actions will lead to an even greater crisis in the Imperial Space. Or, you can kill yourself so as not to cause me doubts about your loyalty. Your death by your own hand with this blaster pistol is the key to the effective implementation of my plans to preserve all the best in the Empire that has been created over all these decades. You have three seconds to make a decision, Private.

Without hesitation, THX-0297 did what the duty of any stormtrooper, devoted to his commander and Oath, required.

His thumb rested on the safety catch. A short beep sounded—the weapon was ready to fire. THX-0297 instantly raised the weapon and aimed it at the source of efficiency problems. His index finger squeezed the trigger all the way.

A dry click touched his ear. Private THX-0297 pulled the trigger again. But the blaster bolt didn't even think about leaving the barrel of the weapon to make a hole in the skull of a sentient being whose death would be an effective way to solve the problem of violation of the Military Oath by the Supreme Commander of the Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn.

— There's the answer, Captain, — the blue-skinned non-human said, fearlessly looking into the eyes of a person who could kill him and the commander of the Chimaera with his bare hands in less than a couple of seconds. — At ease, Private. You can remove the weapon from your temple.

— Yes, — THX-0297 took the barrel of the blaster pistol away from his head. His thumb habitually rested on the safety catch, making the weapon safe for those around him.

Captain Pellaeon wiped large beads of sweat from his forehead.

— As the head of the tribunal of armed forces subordinate to me, I am dropping all charges against you, — Grand Admiral Thrawn said, holding out a hand encased in a snow-white glove. THX-0297 obediently placed his weapon on it. The grip to the Grand Admiral, the barrel to himself.

— Commander, but the order was violated! — Pellaeon reminded.

— Yes, — the Grand Admiral agreed. — A criminal order that claimed the lives of three stormtrooper squads.

— There is no such concept in the military jurisprudence of the Empire as a "criminal order", — Pellaeon grumbled. — Any order from a commander is legitimate a priori.

— Consider that it has now appeared, — the Grand Admiral said. — Our people should not die because the tactical implementation of the tasks turned out to be not up to par.

The commander of the Chimaera did not answer, fidgeting with his gray mustache in embarrassment.

— May I ask a question, sir? — THX-0297 couldn't stand it. The Grand Admiral nodded in agreement. — Please clarify—am I a good soldier or a bad one?

— Good, bad... What's the difference, really? — the Supreme Commander shrugged. — The main thing is who has the bigger turbolaser.

***

— Sir, — after we left the cell with the detained stormtrooper, Pellaeon couldn't stand it. — Leaving him at large is not safe! His actions are a blow to the entire command system of the armed forces...

— The actions of Private THX-0297 are a new milestone in the evolution of the Empire, Captain, — I said. — Palpatine and his henchmen have used and are using their armed forces as puppets for almost thirty years, who carry out any order. The destruction of the Kaamas and Alderaan planets... No one even asked the question of whether these actions were legal. They just did them. And these actions led to unrest in society and the strengthening of the enemy's positions.

— Is this the implementation of your policy related to striking exclusively at military targets? — Pellaeon squinted.

— Yes, — I said. — The Empire under my leadership will change for the better. Fighting with the civilian population of any of the planets is wrong. This only adds to our enemies. And the number of our allies should grow. The more we demonstrate our exclusive militarism purely against the armed forces and enemy targets, the fewer people on the other side of the conflict will want us dead.

— The idea is not without logic, — Pellaeon replied after a couple of seconds of silence. — But our attack on Kai Fel is not at all an attack on a military target.

— Indeed, Captain? — I asked. — Kuat and its satellites are allies of the New Republic. They build and service their combat spacecraft. Do you have confirmation of the fact that these hyperdrives would not have been installed on Mon Calamari star cruisers or to repair other ships captured from the Empire? I don't. Thus, any industrial facility aimed at strengthening the military power of the enemy will be attacked. We will instill this idea into the minds of our enemies, forcing them to worry about their bases, both known and secret.

— Do you want the New Republic to start discussing the location of their secret positions? — Pellaeon suddenly asked. — And you will receive this information from "Source Delta"!

Which pleasantly surprised me. He quickly figured out where it came from. It's good that he doesn't know that "Source Delta" - a practically legendary "spy" in the heart of the New Republic is actually a complex of trees turned into a listening device, not top-secret and high-ranking Imperial agents. So far, this secret is only mine.

— Exactly, Captain, — I confirmed. — The New Republic owns many Imperial ships and property. I want to know where they are located and take them. Every Star Destroyer I can reach.

— We'll need a lot of potential recruits, — Pellaeon sighed. — And at that—loyal to your plan.

— I see no reason to object to your judgments, Captain, — I said. — It is useless to capture and acquire spaceships when we cannot ensure their technical serviceability and manning. We are already feeling a shortage of personnel in relation to three Star Destroyers. And almost two hundred heavy cruisers. Unfortunately, the Spaarti cloning cylinders are unable to provide us with the necessary number of clones at once.

— If they are all like THX-0297, then they will do far more harm than good, — Pellaeon shook his head.

— On the contrary, Captain, — I noted. — Tactical initiative that brings victory with minimal losses is exactly what we need. If Colonel Selid's method really works flawlessly, then we will have no problems filling command vacancies for heavy cruisers.

— Forming crews from clones who are ready to clash with their commanders just because they consider them wrong is shooting yourself in the foot, — the commander of the Chimaera shook his head.

— You weren't listening to me carefully, Captain, — I said. — My point of view is precisely to use the GeNod program in the image and likeness of Stormtrooper THX-0297 to create ship commanders directly. We will create crews under the program under which Colonel Selid created the other three thousand seven hundred stormtrooper clones. Or, if it is costly, the rank and file will be manufactured using Spaarti technology—we had no problems with these clones. But in any case, we will use the GeNod program only after we have studied it in detail. It and its products that we already have now. Combat use indicates their effectiveness—this is an undeniable plus. But there are also negative aspects of the project.

— At the very least, their loyalty from objective sources is unknown to us, — Gilad grumbled. — Honestly, sir, I thought this crazy guy would shoot you and me in the head.

— It's difficult to do this with a blaster that does not have the ability to put the trigger mechanism into firing position, — I allowed myself a slight smirk, handing the man the weapon that had previously been handed to the stormtrooper. The captain, turning the weapon in his hands, looked at me questioningly.

— But the indicators...

— Are not lying, — I explained. — It is difficult to deceive an experienced stormtrooper by passing off an empty cell and cartridge as full—the change in weight is obvious. But to refine the safety system so that the weapon does not fire in any case, regardless of the position of the bracket—this is already a little easier. But it is time-consuming. Order the senior mechanic to receive a thank you for his work—he spent a day to achieve such a result.

— So, there was no risk? — Pellaeon looked at me with disbelief.

— The risk in the life of a soldier is always present, — I reasonably noted. — This is part of the profession that we choose by the call of the heart. It is only in our power to minimize it as much as possible to save lives—our own and our allies. Here, Captain, is pure mathematics. The better we fight, the fewer losses we will have. Consequently, we will have to use the replenishment of clones to a lesser extent as compensation for losses on already operating ships. Which, in turn, directly affects the number of ships manned with crews.

— In that case, I don't envy Captain Mor's fate, — Pellaeon shook his head, seeing which prison cell we had stopped at. — We will have to use the reserves of stormtroopers in order to replenish the losses of his soldiers stationed aboard the Relentless.

— Thanks to Colonel Selid, we have a certain "unaccounted supply", — I said. — Upon returning to Tangrene, we will organize the redistribution of these soldiers to all ships of the fleet—by company for each major ship. Since they are so good in battle, as was demonstrated to us on Kai Fell, then their participation in future fleet operations will be extremely useful for the fulfillment of the tasks set.

— And it will also allow us to break their general mass into other legions and establish control over how they behave and whether they are actually loyal, or is Private THX-0297's story nothing more than an attempt to mislead us? — Pellaeon said with a cunning squint, not taking his eyes off me.

— Bravo, Captain, — I said. — Today you are making amazing progress in strategy matters.

— I've been racking my brain for a day over the hidden meaning of your orders to move GeNod clones to different legions, — Pellaeon admitted.

"And I, from the very departure to Tangrene and until the end of the battle on Kai Fell, was thinking about what to do with them if they survived," a thought flashed through. Which he wisely didn't voice.

— It will get easier with time, — I promised. I managed to finalize the plans in the end, didn't I, in less than a couple of weeks? — The main thing is to practice more often.

— It seems it's time for me to ask for a raise for performing the duties of your chief of staff, — Pellaeon smiled kindly. But he immediately erased the smile from his face, seeing that my face did not express even a shadow of emotion. The crew had gotten a little used to my half-smiles over the past few weeks, but that was all I allowed myself.

— A good idea, Captain, — I said. — Now you personally handle all the issues of the armed forces headquarters. But no one is relieving you of command of the Chimaera.

— Yes, Grand Admiral, — the elderly captain's face stretched out. He probably only now realized that by making a thoughtless attempt to joke, he had heaped ten times more problems on his head than he had a minute ago.

Well, it's time to teach the Far, Far Away Galaxy the sacred law of the armed forces of my homeland.

Initiative punishes the initiator.

Punishes harshly.

***

— Captain Mor, — the commander of the Relentless rose from his bunk, fearlessly looking into the crimson eyes of the Supreme Commander who had entered his cell.

— Grand Admiral, — he calmly greeted his superior in rank.

— I see you're not bored here, — the blue-skinned non-human said, looking at the walls of the cell covered in writing. Alexander glanced at his work. Black marker on gray—not bad. Especially if you look closely and realize that all the diagrams, schemes, and other "art" presented are tactical layouts. Working out various situations, which he used to pass the time in captivity.

— You can't let your brain relax, — Mor replied. — It's fraught with mistakes.

— The same ones you made on Kai Fell? — Thrawn went from zero to hyperspace speed.

— With all due respect, Grand Admiral, but I do not believe now and did not believe then that my actions were erroneous, — Mor replied calmly.

— Well, now, — Thrawn said thoughtfully, looking at Captain Pellaeon, who was standing silently next to him. Gilad, as usual, preferred to keep silent and not shine in front of the superiors. — Explain yourself.

— The task of the fleet was to capture warehouses for finished products, — Alexander said.

— No need for preludes, Captain, — an icy coldness appeared in Thrawn's voice. — I remember the order to the fleet—I gave it. In the smallest detail. Didn't you receive the information chip with it?

— I did, — Alexander nodded in agreement.

— Didn't study it? — Thrawn narrowed his eyes slightly, making his crimson eyes look like the jaws of turbolasers.

— I don't usually ignore the orders of the command, — Alexander said. — I studied your order from beginning to end.

— In that case, there is only one assumption about the reasons for your non-compliance, — Pellaeon quickly said, trying not to look at Thrawn. — You had a mental breakdown, due to which you misinterpreted...

— I was and am in my right mind, Captain Pellaeon, — Alexander said. — No deviations from the norm. There is no need to try to use the charter article on mental instability to exempt me from punishment for disobeying an order. I deliberately violated it.

— It seems we're having a day of disobedience today, — the Grand Admiral said. Pellaeon glanced at him cautiously, opened his mouth to say something, but... remained silent. All the better. Gilad is an old soldier and connoisseur of various subtleties of military jurisprudence—in his time he was quite well sifted through its millstones. And he is a reasonable person in general, he strives to act in good conscience. And now the latter must have prompted him to save his comrade commander from imminent execution by referring to medical deviations from the norm. — Continue your report, Captain More. Before a fundamental decision is made regarding your future fate, I would like to hear your version of events.

— I was interrogated more than thirty times, Grand Admiral, — Alexander said, suppressing an instinctive desire to yawn. Interrogations are interrogations, but they did not let him sleep on principle—as soon as he tried to fall asleep, the guards immediately dragged him to the interrogation room, where someone from the 501st Legion officer corps asked him the same formatted questions, carefully recording any answers. Which, by the way, were always the same and did not abound in any particular inventiveness. Dry facts and nothing more. — My testimony is recorded...

— The documents can wait, — Thrawn said. — I want to hear everything from you personally.

It seems that this is why Alexander was "marinated" all this time. An interrogation technique known since the Mandalorian Wars—not to let the interrogated sleep, so that by the time of the conversation he would literally be falling off his feet from fatigue. And he no longer had the desire to invent or lie at least a little.

— From the very beginning of the operation, I realized that the implementation of sequential actions—orbital shelling with simultaneous repelling of attacks by small aircraft of the planetary defense forces of Kai Fel, landing of troops in the landing zones of finished product warehouses with their subsequent capture and removal of the hyperdrive cargo—seemed too slow to me. Given the resistance we were facing, I decided to start landing troops at the same time as the orbital bombardment.

— You lost almost all the landing barges, — Thrawn noted. — Was that also part of your idea of fulfilling my order? Or did it become a consequence of it?

— War without losses is impossible, Grand Admiral, — Alexander reasonably noted. — I took a calculated risk.

— And what was it? — the Supreme Commander asked. — To lose all stormtroopers without exception and not achieve the goal?

— Negative, Grand Admiral, — the commander of the Relentless shook his head. Still the commander... Who knows how fate will turn out for him after the end of this conversation. — I understood perfectly well that losses were inevitable. As was the delay during the operation. The enemy had already understood, using the Crusader and Chimaera, as well as other Imperial Star Destroyers, what we were looking for and how we intended to achieve it. Delay could cost us part or all of the cargo—there are clearly not idiots stationed on the planet. And nothing more from Kai Fell, except hyperdrives, cannot be obtained even with a great desire. Therefore, I ordered the landing to begin without waiting for the completion of the operation to destroy the air defense systems.

— And you involved TIE bombers to perform the duties of dive bombers or stormtroopers, — Thrawn said. — As a result, the entire squadron was destroyed. And almost half of the legion of stormtroopers attached to the Relentless are now either in the ship's morgue or in a deep freeze warehouse, because there is simply no other place to store such a number of corpses. And after these short summaries, Captain Mor, tell me what exactly you did right?

— Thanks to my approach, the legion fighters not only prevented the removal of hyperdrives for Imperial Super Star Destroyers of the Executor class, but also attracted forces from two nearby landing zones, which allowed the remaining ships to cope with minimal losses, — Alexander said calmly, but inside he already felt that he was starting to get worked up. — Stormtroopers have died before. This is their usual pastime—to act as expendables in the course of hostilities. In hundreds of operations smaller in scale than the one on Kai Fell, the number of losses was in the tens of thousands of Stormtrooper Corps soldiers. And that never raised any major questions.

— In the past, yes, — Thrawn said in the same emotionless voice. — Now the circumstances have changed. We no longer have the reserves and resources of the Galactic Empire. And we cannot afford to lose fighters and crew members by the thousands—we simply have nowhere to get them from.

— I heard that a large number of volunteers are arriving at Tangrene, — Alexander said. — Each of them can easily become a TIE pilot or a stormtrooper. The ideological component of the Empire is still alive and...

— Captain Pellaeon, — the Grand Admiral addressed the commander of his flagship. Without even looking at the quieted Gilad. — What is the average lifespan of a TIE fighter pilot during periods of intensive military operations?

— Two combat missions, sir, — Gilad cited the statistics. — Forty percent survive five combat sorties. Less than thirty—ten or more.

— Out of the total number of pilots in my fleet? — Thrawn clarified.

— Data as of the twenty-second year after the proclamation of the New Order, — Pellaeon said.

— That is, the statistics are given for the year before the Battle of Endor, — the Grand Admiral paraphrased. — At that time, when the Galactic Empire had a fleet of more than twenty thousand Imperial-class Star Destroyers, and the total number of starships in the service of the Empire was several million pennants, — he summed up. — The statistics are depressing. Especially if we extrapolate the situation to modern reality.

— Is this a problem for our fleet? — Alexander was surprised. — On the Relentless, more than half of the technicians are clones. They are present on almost all the ships of the fleet, which means that there is also their source.

— And you are observant, Captain Mor, — an unspoken threat sounded in the Grand Admiral's voice. — Yes, there is a source. But it is not as perfect as we would like. Otherwise, this galaxy would already be blazing in the abyss of the Clone Wars version two point zero. So you are quite wrong to think that any shortage of personnel can be eliminated with the snap of a finger. You have effectively destroyed a significant part of the stormtroopers. And I will need to replenish their numbers in the near future—a series of battles awaits us, which will require, among other things, stormtroopers. And talented commanders. Which I will not have by that time if they continue to act according to the tactics of throwing their own soldiers' bodies at the enemy.

— In that case, I would advise you not to deprive these commanders of the tactical freedom that is given to us in accordance with the Charter of the Armed Forces of the Galactic Empire, — Alexander said firmly, feeling his voice tremble with rage.

Pellaeon, who was standing next to the Grand Admiral, rolled his eyes in amazement. No one had ever dared to speak to the Supreme Commander in such a tone.

— Resentment, disappointment, wounded self-esteem, — Thrawn stated, observing Alexander's reaction with incomprehensible interest. — An explosive bouquet, Captain Mor. Doubly incomprehensible, given your previous merits.

— I completed the mission, — the commander of the Relentless said, articulating every word. — There is a war between the Empire and the rebels. We have struck at their allies. There were losses. They are inevitable. There are no battles without the dead and wounded. In this case, the lives of these soldiers became the key to the rapid capture of the object and the associated development of success. I acted taking into account the forces I had—those that I had, taking into account the circumstances of the transition under your command. And achieved the best result.

— This is a very common point of view lately, — the Supreme Commander said. — And yet, there is something more hidden in your rhetoric than it seems at first glance. "Taking into account the circumstances of the transition under your command." What do you mean by this phrase, Captain?

— Exactly what I said, Grand Admiral.

— Are you shifting the blame for the losses you suffered on me? — Thrawn clarified, and one of his eyebrows flew up, emphasizing the questioning intonation of the blue-skinned non-human.

— I am used to taking responsibility for my own actions, — Alexander snapped. — I said exactly what I wanted to say. In this battle, we would have greatly benefited from Alpha-class strike fighters. Xg-1 gunships, — he clarified, seeing that the Grand Admiral's expression hadn't even tried to change. — Powerful missile, bomb and cannon armament. Deflectors, which our machines lack so much. High speed of movement... These were the ships that were removed from our Star Destroyers immediately after we—I and other commanders of Star Destroyers—decided to leave our places of service and join your fleet. Thanks to their characteristics, we could have pushed through the ground-based air defense of Kai Fel with the same ease that the Crusader did. And we would not have risked an entire Star Destroyer, albeit a Victory-class one, by bringing it into the planet's atmosphere, risking running into disguised anti-space defense systems that could have been misled by the enemy and not detect the same planetary-based ion cannons. If there had been at least one on Kai Fel, we would not have even been able to start the landing, not to mention capturing the cargo. And instead of advanced samples of technologies, we continue to send them to be slaughtered, using small aircraft that can hardly compete with enemy machines. The enemy soldiers know well the situation in which the Armed Forces of the Imperial Space are located. And they have already developed dozens of tactics that the enemy successfully implements against our pilots.

— An interesting concept of views, — Thrawn said. — I can't help but say that you are right, Captain, on this issue. We really need to rearm. And it, in turn, requires time and money. In large quantities.

Alexander frowned.

No, he really didn't expect the Supreme Commander to start explaining his point of view in any way... Why even say anything at all! He believed that he would be executed in principle, as soon as the information about the ignoring of direct and clear orders of the Grand Admiral reached the latter.

But he certainly could not have imagined that Thrawn would so simply agree that his plan could have been much better and more thought out. Only... How to relate to what was said? As praise for his actions? As a reproach?

What is happening at all?

— From your point of view, Captain Mor, perhaps my actions really infringe on the self-esteem and tactical initiative of the Star Destroyer commanders, — the Grand Admiral continued in a calm tone. — But from my point of view, what happened looks much more prosaic. More than five years ago, the Empire suffered a serious blow. The elite of the Imperial armed forces were destroyed. The Imperial Civil War began, during which a huge military machine and billions of career military personnel perished in a fratricidal war, not to mention cases of mass treason and desertion. And not the slightest attempts to seize the initiative from the hands of the enemy. Well, Captain Mor, — Thrawn's gaze became tenacious and piercing. — You had the courage to point out to me that the tasks that I set for the fleet should be solved by the captains of the ships under my command independently, based on the forces and means at their disposal...

— Sir, I... — Alexander began, but the Grand Admiral interrupted him with just one heavy gaze capable of melting metal. The commander of the Relentless preferred to shut up and swallow his words.

— I'm talking now, Captain Mor, — the Supreme Commander said dryly. — I do not reject proposals and plans only on the basis that they do not come from me. I advise you to take it on board—and the hidden resentment and the touch of an offended sense of self-esteem will disappear from your rhetoric. Not so long ago, literally a couple of minutes before we came to your cell, Captain Pellaeon in his own skin proved the existence of a feedback between the personal workload of the initiator and the initiatives they expressed. In six hours, we will arrive at the point of reconnaissance of the fleet's forces. You will return aboard the Relentless. You will once again board the bridge of the Imperial Star Destroyer and continue to command it. From now on, you will not receive any instructions from me regarding the tactical implementation of the tasks assigned to you. You decided that you were able to handle them on your own? Well, commendable. The initiative of subordinates should be supported by the command. Consider that you have received carte blanche from me for tactical freedom. You receive goals—strategic tasks. And you think about their implementation yourself. And after each battle, you will report to me on what you have done. As you rightly noted—the commanders of warships are personally responsible for carrying out the orders of their superiors in rank and preserving the integrity and combat readiness of the starship and crew entrusted to them. You are confident in your abilities, Captain—so be it. After each battle, you will personally write letters to the relatives of the crew members of your ship who died in battle, in which you will describe in detail what you personally did to achieve the tasks set before you, — Alexander felt his body covered with sticky sweat. What other mind games did Thrawn start? Why is he doing this?! What other wild innovations?

— Sir, I don't understand, — he admitted. — What is all this for?

— You expressed your point of view, Captain, — Thrawn reminded. — My actions, my instructions, brought to the attention of each of the commanders of the starships participating in the mission, led to the fact that we would not have captured the cargo of hyperdrives in the period of time I had designated. You decided that you would cope with the tactical component much better on your own. Therefore, you will also cope with my order—to fulfill all the combat missions set with minimal losses among personnel and equipment—with a bang! I have no doubt about that, Captain. Your eloquence has touched me and has created confidence that you will be able to find words of sorrow and regret for the relatives of all those members of the Relentless crew who died because of your actions. Whether they are right or not—it is only a point of view, depending only on the position from which we observe what is happening. I am sure that it will not be difficult for you. Or am I wrong, Captain More, and your bravado, with which you tried to wound me, in reality has nothing to do with reality and is dictated only by the desires of a disgraced commander to hide his mistakes on the basis of a desire to stand out from the general mass of commanders?

— Sir, but I didn't mean that at all... — Alexander protested.

— It doesn't matter to anyone now, Captain, — Thrawn said. — You gave me a wonderful idea—to pay attention to the expansion of the aircraft fleet of the Imperial Star Destroyers at my disposal. From now on, every standard week you will send me proposals for strengthening the power of our armed forces—both their space and ground components. With all the positive and negative qualities of your plans. For every untenable or excessively burdensome proposal, I will deprive you of one of the officers and transfer them to service on other ships. For every worthwhile proposal—everything will remain as it was before. I am sure that you will gladly appreciate such an innovation—because it allows your tactical talent to unfold completely, to determine its most effective application. I am sure that you will like this initiative.

— Yes, sir, — Captain More said in confusion. — But this is a whole lot of new documents and evaluations of the existing ones...

— Are you afraid of such responsibility, Captain? — the Grand Admiral narrowed his eyes.

— Not responsibility, — Alexander shook his head. — But the time that I spend on fulfilling the tasks set before me could have been used to improve the operational actions of my ship and crew...

— Could have been, — Thrawn easily agreed. — But you chose the wrong way to provide me with evidence of your rightness, Captain Mor. I do not forgive the unnecessary deaths of my subordinates, and the fact that most of the landing operations on Kai Fel took place without such huge losses among the stormtrooper personnel directly indicates that the implementation of my plan without various kinds of improvisation is a quite real event. Next time, Captain, when you want to prove to me the validity of your point of view, try to do it before the battle in which you intend to destroy your subordinates. In the end, there is a big difference between incompetence and a mistake.

— I'm sorry, I don't understand, sir...

— It's simple, Captain, — Thrawn's eyes were filled with unbearable crimson light. — Mistakes are how you learn. Fools learn from their own, reasonable people—from others'. Incompetent reasonable people do not learn at all. And do not learn from the chances of re-education provided to them. That is my point of view, and it is not subject to appeal. You were too inspired by your victory over the New Republic ambush and the capture of the Black Asp and believed that you could get away with anything. This is a mistake. Keep this in mind, Captain Mor, next time you decide to throw something like that. Am I speaking clearly?

— Yes, sir, — Alexander swallowed the lump that had inexplicably formed in his throat. — Perfectly.

— Let's end our meeting there, Captain Mor, — Thrawn turned over his left shoulder and left the cell in complete silence. Alexander momentarily met Gilad's gaze, who was sympathetically shaking his head at his colleague-captain:

— Looks like you got away with it, — the commander of the Relentless said, noticing that his hands were shaking slightly.

— It's extremely unlikely that you'll be so lucky next time, — said the commander of the flagship Imperial Star Destroyer of Grand Admiral Thrawn's fleet, not hiding his skepticism. — Soon the personnel problems will be resolved, and the commander will stop giving second chances. The next "mess-up" will mean the end of everything...

— Do you think I haven't figured that out yet? — Alexander snapped back without malice, seeing that the shaking in his hands did not want to go away on its own. — Not only did he come up with a shitty plan to bypass Thrawn, but also a pathetic excuse... Just caused problems for himself.

— Oh, — Pellaeon drawled. — Thrawn knows how to spoil a leisurely lifestyle like no other. The Grand Admiral forced one lieutenant colonel from ISB, who risked demanding information from him, to do push-ups right on the bridge of the Chimaera. The entire watch counted in whispers how long Astarion would last while bending and unbending his arms.

— To the sith with all this drill, — Alexander shook his head. — Is there a cabin to put myself in order?

— And what's wrong with the brig's shower? — Pellaeon smiled in his mustache.

— Proximity to Thrawn has clearly affected your sense of humor, Gilad, — Alexander said. — Jokes... inappropriate.

— It would be inappropriate if I let you into the captain's cabin to put yourself in order, — Pellaeon said. — I am sure that after seeing you on his territory, Thrawn would have come up with a better entertainment than passing your brains through the meat grinder of his intellect.

— Thrawn in the commander of the destroyer's cabin? — Alexander frowned. — What is he doing in your apartments at all?

— It hasn't been my cabin for the second year, — Pellaeon said with a sigh. — And what he does there... The whole fleet would like to know, believe me.