Thrawn: Alliances

 

Thrawn is a character who is likely unknown by most Star Wars fans. With the exception of Ahsoka Tano's mention of his name in a season 2 episode of The Mandalorian, he has not appeared in any movies or live-action shows. And yet he plays a prominent role in the Empire's military rise after the Clone Wars. He is featured as a main character in the animated series Rebels, and there are several books written where Thrawn is the main character. Timothy Zahn has two trilogies focused on Thrawn's character. I've read roughly half of the Star Wars canon books, and Zahn's Thrawn books are among the best. He's portrayed as a brilliant military leader who studies art and culture to get an advantage over his opponent. Beyond that, however, it is interesting to point out that the Empire's military is led exclusively by humans, except for Thrawn. He is the only non-human (that I'm aware of) included in the Empire's military ranks, and he is a Grand Admiral at that. Zahn's books dive into Thrawn's backstory and describe how he was able to climb the Empire's military ranks.

Alliances tells two stories. Palpatine starts the current story, which takes place prior to Episode IV, by saying "I sense a disturbance in the Force." That's never a good thing. He sends Thrawn and Vader on a mission to investigate this disturbance. They discover an alien race called the Grysk, who according to Thrawn should not be underestimated in their strength. The Grysk are causing a disturbance in the Unknown Region, including kidnapping a group of Force-sensitive Chiss children, which is the disturbance Palpatine senses. We've learned about these Chiss children in Zahn's other Thrawn trilogy, Ascendancy. They are usually females between the age of 7-14, and are used as navigators. Interestingly, they are called Skywalkers. During their investigation, Thrawn warns Vader of the powerful nature of the Grysk. Some of his actions, however, cause Vader to question if Thrawn's alliance is really with the Empire or the Chiss Ascendancy.

The second story involves Anakin on a rescue mission for Padme. It takes place in the past, during the Clone Wars. Padme goes to a remote planet at the insistence of one of her handmaidens, who discovers a secret Separatist base. When Padme arrives, she discovers that her handmaiden has been killed. Through her investigation, she also discovers the Separatist base. After not hearing from Padme, Anakin goes on a solo mission to investigate, a mission not sanctioned by the Jedi Council. Upon arriving, he crosses paths with Thrawn, who is in the area on his own mission for the Chiss Ascendancy. Thrawn joins forces with Anakin to help him find Padme. Interestingly, the scene where Thrawn first meets Anakin is described in Zahn's book Chaos Rising. Thrawn and Anakin rescue Padme, and in the process discover that the Separatist base is using Cortosis to produce battle droids and armor. Cortosis has high energy absorption, and can distribute energy from blasters and lightsabers in a way that causes no damage. They are able to shut down the base and destroy the Cortosis mine, which is a good thing, because otherwise the Clone Wars could have been very different if the Cortosis droids and armor were further developed.