boxofmisfits | Field Learning

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Field Learning

Being a Grand Admiral known for having a brilliant tactical mind, it was just a matter of time before Prefsbelt Academy asked him to be a guest speaker. It was Moff Tarkin's old Academy, it seemed. So of course it had high standards when it came to guest lecturers, to say nothing of Thrawn actually knowing the Moff.

It was entirely possible he was the first alien to speak at this academy. Certainly he the first Chiss speaker. Thrawn entered the hall, pose as professional as ever, with good posture and his hands behind his back. He spoke to the students with that cool voice of his, with just enough inflection in his voice as to not be entirely monotone.

He spoke of tactics, strategy, and getting a read on one's enemy and using that against them.

"To defeat an enemy, you must know them. Not simply their battle tactics, but their history, philosophy, art." As he spoke, he brought up holos of artwork of various species, speaking of the cultures the art came from and what it said about them.

All the while he spoke, his eyes gazed out into the crowd of students. Some of them looked quite bored, or that they didn't entirely understand the Grand Admiral's lecture.

At least one of them, though, stood at rapt attention, hanging on to his every word.

When the lecture ended, and the holos vanished, Thrawn addressed the crowd of students, "Questions?"

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The enthusiasm never left Luke's face, but there was a seriousness to his eyes that made him seem almost older than he really was.

"I've always been a pilot, sir," he answered. "I'll prove whether I'm good or not when I see my first live combat."

He knew he had the best scores in the sims; better than any pilot that had been to Prefsbelt or any Academy for that matter. But that would mean nothing if he ended up choking in his first battle.

Thrawn would have to take a look at Luke's records, and statistics, later, once he had a moment to access those records. Luke was obviously a good student, and he would make a find addition to Thrawn's crew.

Luke wasn't as arrogant as most pilots Thrawn had known. Sometimes they had good reason for that arrogance, yes. But Luke's lack of it was rather refreshing.

"Yes, the flight simulators can only teach one so much."

"Exactly," Luke replied, before he paused a moment, frowning to himself. "Sir, if you wouldn't mind humoring me with one more question? How did you come to realize that studying a person beyond their battle tactics was the best way to analyze them?"

"I have always had an interest in artwork, and other cultures that art represented," Thrawn replied. "It gave way to a theory I had, that art said many things about a culture, or an individual. I was allowed to test that theory when I was still with my kind, and it proved successful. Further experiments yielded similar results. Battle tactics only tell you one aspect of a culture or individual."

Thrawn checked his chrono for a moment. Much as he wanted to continue the conversation, no doubt Luke would have somewhere to be. Certainly, Thrawn had things to do. The least of which was stopping by the Academy records office.

"Forgive me, I did not wish to make you potentially late by holding you up."

Oh. Right. Class. That still needed to be a thing. DV booped a low reminder that his next class was with a professor that was watching him, so he really did need to get going. He offered Thrawn another soft smile, before saluting him.

"Thank you again for sharing your wisdom with us, Grand Admiral," he said.

"Think nothing of it, Cadet Skywalker. I must be on my way, myself."

Thrawn returned the salute, seeing Luke out the door before going their separate ways.

With a little time to spend, Thrawn made a detour into the records room, taking a look at Luke's file. Excellent marks, a few notes from professors about being a little too inquisitive, as well as needing to know his place. Overall, nothing that displeased Thrawn. Luke was a very good student.

From there, it was a simple matter of visiting the head of the academy and requesting the Cadet Skywalker be assigned to the Chimaera upon graduation.

Thrawn made sure to mark on his datapad to return to the Academy come graduation day.

Putting in the request to have Luke assigned to the Chimaera was easy. So was getting the almost immediate denial. As it turned out, the young man believed he was set to join Black Squadron for a good reason, as it seemed his patron to the school intended to have him do so...

Said patron being Darth Vader.

"I can grant a field education leave?" the dean of the school offered, as if that would be enough to placate Thrawn. "But I can't overturn Lord Vader's request, not even for a troublemaker student."

"I truly believe Cadet Skywalker would benefit more under my command," Thrawn insisted.

Anyone listening in wouldn't envy the dean, caught between Lord Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn respected Vader, to a certain extent, but he had no qualms in doing the logical choice and having Luke come with him.

Thrawn also didn't have time to fight a lengthy battle or make a call to a Sith Lord who was notorious for not liking his time being wasted.

"Very well. Tell Cadet Skywalker that he will be spending part of his education on the Chimaera."

The dean looked like he was ready to make a weak attempt at a protest, when Thrawn agreed to the field education. He quickly pulled up the documentation, had what needed to be signed completed, and sent the information on its way.

By the time everything was completed, classes had already let out, and the dean trying to raise Skywalker at his room communicator ended with getting his sleepy eyed friend. He was more awake now, but no less bored looking.

"Luke? Yeah, he grabbed his droid and went off to his not-at-all-a-secret place," the boy replied. "Where does he need to report, sir? I can grab him."

The barest hint of a smile crossed Thrawn's lips as the documentation was finalized. Thrawn was brilliant in a great many things, but politics was not one of them. Surely Lord Vader wouldn't see any problems with allowing Luke to get some experience on a Star Destroyer.

"Tell him to report to the shuttle docking bay." Thrawn informed the boy. "He is to meet me there."

He trusted that Luke wouldn't keep the Grand Admiral waiting.

With that, Thrawn turned around and made his way towards the shuttle bay.

Thrawn was definitely right about that; if Luke hadn't needed to run back to his dorm and pack his things, he probably would have beaten the Grand Admiral there. He came up to him hurriedly not long after Thrawn arrived in the bay, a bag of his belongings slung over his shoulder -- which wasn't much, consisting of a change of clothes, a datapad, and his old T-16 Skyhopper model from Tatooine -- and his droid by his side. He stopped before him, saluting, though he was keeping his excitement in check much better than before.

"Cadet Skywalker reporting, sir," he announced. "I'm sorry, sir, but Teak couldn't tell me if it was all right for my droid to accompany me."

DV let out a low boop, huddling close to Luke's leg, as if to show they were a complete package.

One had to admire Luke's enthusiasm. Not many would appreciate being plucked from their regular schooling to go travel with an alien, even if that alien was a Grand Admiral. Certainly, Luke's friend wouldn't have appreciated it, nor would half the students from the lecture hall earlier.

"Of course your droid may accompany you," Thrawn replied, with just a hint of pleasantry in his voice. "Come."

Waving Cadet Skywalker along, Thrawn stepped inside the shuttle. Once everyone, including Thrawn's Death Trooper escorts, were within, the shuttle took off, back towards the Chimaera.

"Have you any questions before we arrive?"

Luke managed to get himself settled and strapped in, with DV locked down to the deck beside him, but he couldn't help but cast a wary glance at the Death Troopers. He had heard many rumors about them, some of them the stuff of outright nightmares that had kept him awake more than a few nights.

Thrawn's question thankfully pulled his attention away from them, his eyes widening slightly. DV-2 let out a faint boop that almost sounded like, an, "Uh-oh." Still, Luke managed to hold himself back, biting his lip as he warred with himself, torn between wanting to ask for more specific details of Thrawn's past campaigns and his own situation.

"Could you tell me what's expected of me during this, sir?" he settled with, feeling that was the more important thing to know at the moment.

"You are coming here to learn, and gain field experience. You will be expected to behave yourself, and not cause trouble with my crew. Remember, you are on my ship under my request," Thrawn reminded him, his voice firm, but not harsh. Much as Thrawn had taken a shine to Luke, he would send him right back to the Academy early if he deemed it necessary.

"However, I believe your professors and I will have different definitions of what it means to be a troublemaker."

Luke sat up a little straighter in his seat at Thrawn's firm instruction, and it was clear he was taking it seriously. Of course he was; he had dedicated himself to being a pilot the moment he set foot off of Tatooine, and Vader had helped him make that happen. He was never going to ruin his chances, especially to someone like the Grand Admiral.

He sagged slightly after a moment.

"...I promise I'm not a troublemaker," he said softly. "The professors just don't like that I ask so many questions. They seem to think it's a sign of dissent."

"Quite the contrary. On the Chimaera, asking questions will be expected, especially for one such as yourself." After all, Luke was coming to learn and study. How did one expect him do to so if he simply followed orders blindly. Luke would quickly learn that on Thrawn's ship, things worked a bit differently. The Grand Admiral wasn't cracking the whip, demanding his crew be quiet and do as they were told.

From the cockpit, one of the Death Troopers announced that the Chimaera was in sight, and they would dock within shortly.

"I have a special project that you may be interested in."

Luke couldn't help but be relieved at that. He really didn't think all commanders were like what the instructors tried to impress on him. It seemed ridiculous that people weren't allowed to speak their mind; how were people supposed to prove themselves that way?

He brightened slightly at the call that they would be docking soon, and even more so when Thrawn mentioned he had a project he might be interested. He was torn in asking what that might be, but he had a feeling he would find out shortly. Instead...

"Sir, do you mind if I ask you about a rumor I've heard?" he asked, almost sounding shy. "I... heard an actual chimera was painted on the bottom of the Chimera. Is that true?"

And could he see? Please?

Given Luke's enthusiasm for ships and flying, Thrawn figured Luke would very much like his new model of TIE. Lukes marks showed that he had talent for flying, and would no doubt take to the ship easily.

The barest hint of a smile crossed Thrawn's lips.

"Indeed there is. I've always thought it was a nice touch."

Of course, Thrawn had a holographic model of the ship, where one could easily see the design on the bottom. But surely Cadet Skywalker deserved more than to see a replication.

"If you look out the front, you may be able to see it as we approach." Thrawn said it just loudly enough for the two Troopers in front to hear him as well, and let them know that he'd given Luke permission.

Luke perked up, glancing over at the troopers a moment to make absolutely sure it was okay, before quickly releasing himself from the crash straps on his seat. He hurried over to the front, DV beeping mildly behind him, mindful not to get too close to the troopers as he leaned toward the viewport and craned his head up, his mouth falling open at the sight of the twisting limbs that seemed to surround the Star Destroyer's docking bay.

"Whoa..." Luke murmured, DV peeping in agreement.

Thrawn's lips quirked in an amused smile. The Death Troopers kept to themselves, having understood Thrawn's implied orders. It was nice to see someone who appreciated art.

He beckoned Cadet Skywalker to return to the passenger area in as they neared the docking bay. With a hiss of released gases, the shuttle docked and Thrawn unstrapped himself. Beckoning Skywalker to follow him, Thrawn exited the shuttle, dismissing the two Death Troopers while he was at it.

"Allow me to show you where you will be staying. I'm certain you wish to get settled in."

Luke almost didn't hear the Grand Admiral; his attention was drawn to around the docking bay, taking in the ships that were currently there, and hit with a vague sense of nostalgia. This was only his second time on a Star Destroyer, and he couldn't help but smile softly to himself. This wasn't the Devastator, that much was clear just by looking around. Things here were a little bit relaxed by comparison to what he remembered, being all of eleven and clinging to Lord Vader's hand.

It still made him feel more at home than he had on the ground.

"Yes sir," Luke replied after a moment, jerking himself back to the present.

A few officers gave respectful salutes to the Grand Admiral. An observant individual would notice that the officers were much less tense around Thrawn, and any salutes and greetings weren't done out of fear of being reprimanded for not showing respect.

Once he and Luke, and the droid, were within the turbolift, Thrawn turned to young Skywalker. "Tell me, what planet did you originally hail from?"

Seeing the almost casual respect brought a small smile to Luke's face. He knew it wouldn't be this way with every commander, but the sight of it made him feel a little more at ease. Truly, there needed to be more commands in the Empire like this, more places in the Empire like this. Maybe then it would be a better place.

It was easy for him to slide in a similar kind of approach, standing respectfully at attention when addressed, but losing much of the stiffness in his shoulders.

"Tatooine, sir," he answered. "I lived on a farm on the outskirts of Anchorhead."

"Tatooine. Fascinating," Thrawn made a mental note to look up any artwork from Tatooine. "That is a desert planet, is it not? Darth Vader must have seen something in you for him to give you such an opportunity."

That Luke was set to serve on Vader's personal star destroyer upon graduation, to the point where the commandant feared Vader's wrath if Luke's were permanently assigned to the Chimaera instead, said a lot about how serious Vader was about Luke's career. Not many would take such a chance on a farm boy from an otherwise inconsequential planet. If Luke was indeed related to the late Jedi, Thrawn could certainly see why.

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Field Learning

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