Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Legends

"This one is constantly thinking, analyzing, strategizing. He showed no fear, but was curious, studying me in turn."

- Emperor Palpatine

Mitth'raw'nuruodo (&mdash;9 ABY), better known by his core name Thrawn, was a male Chiss military officer and an Imperial Grand Admiral.

A brilliant military strategist and the last great military commander of the Galactic Empire, Thrawn led the remnants of the Imperial Starfleet in a campaign of victories against the New Republic in the years after the disastrous Battle of Endor and reign of Ysanne Isard.

Early life


"I do not need their permission to fight on [ the Chiss' ] behalf."

- Thrawn

Thrawn is believed to have been a son of the Nuruodo bloodline, one of the Ruling Families of the Chiss Ascendancy; he was probably born some time before 40 BBY, and initially pursued a military career in the Expeditionary Defense Fleet.

By 27 BBY, Commander Thrawn was the leader of a patrol unit on the Chiss border. It was in this capacity that he encountered a fleet of fifteen Galactic Republic starships sent by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to intercept and destroy Outbound Flight. Thrawn decimated the Republic fleet down to one ship. Aboard the surviving ship, Kinman Doriana, one of Palpatine’s most trusted advisors, sued Thrawn for parlay. After accepting Doriana’s request, the silver-tongued advisor convinced Thrawn that the Jedi aboard Outbound Flight posed a threat to the Chiss Ascendancy, and that if allowed to pass, would be the harbingers of many others to come. Thrawn allowed Doriana to escape, who brought word back to Palpatine of the alien commander’s tactical prowess.

When the massive exploratory ship arrived, Thrawn attacked it and reduced it to a crippled hulk. However, when he returned to Csilla with news of his work, his overseers were displeased: for the Chiss, any form of preemtive strike was considered a dishonourable act, and Thrawn was lucky to escape without utter disgrace. However, if the Ascendancy's disapproval was expected to discourage Thrawn, it did not, and after continuing to endorse first-strike tactics, he was sentenced to the traditional Chiss punishment of exile on an uninhabited world.

Imperial command
Around the years of the formation of the Galactic Empire, Captain Voss Parck of the Star Destroyer Strikefast discovered Thrawn on a remote planetoid at the edge of the Outer Rim near the Unknown Regions. After disabling Colonel Barris's force with primitive tools and traps, Thrawn impressed Parck. Thrawn insisted he return to his people to protect them, but was convinced by Parck that by offering his service to the Empire, he may be better equipped to do so. He even hinted that Palpatine may one day send Thrawn back to the Unknown Regions with the advanced technology and capabilities of the Empire. Convinced, Thrawn joined him and was brought to Coruscant. Upon arrival, Parck presented Thrawn to Emperor Palpatine, who was most pleased to have the commander responsible for Outbound Flight's destruction before him.

Parck began training Thrawn, but the student quickly surpassed the master, and Thrawn engaged in a long period of private tutoring with the Empire’s greatest minds. Thrawn climbed through the ranks of the Imperial Starfleet, much to the chagrin and in spite of the xenophobia exhibited by many of its human officers.

Thrawn rapidly attained command rank, appearing in public with Palpatine and other high-ranking dignitaries at significant events such as the commissioning of Executor, and serving as captain of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Vengeance. Palpatine stationed Thrawn there in order to "babysit" the ambitous Force-user High Inquisitor Jerec, who often used the Vengeance, and who Palpatine suspected might be trying to atain the position of Emperor. Thrawn also found time to pursue his own interests, and almost perished in the S’krrr incident that destroyed Vengeance.

However, few in the Empire guessed at Thrawn's true importance. Palpatine was using his most able commander to explore the Unknown Regions and nullify or exploit any potential threats he encountered. Moreover, at some stage before 3 ABY, he received a secret promotion to the rank of Grand Admiral, although this was known only to his direct subordinates and a few of Palpatine's most trusted agents, most notably Mara Jade, who served as the sole witness to the ceremony.

High command
3 ABY was a busy year for Thrawn. He returned from the Unknown Regions with his flagship Admonitor, to to assist Darth Vader in his campaign against Prince Xizor and Black Sun. Demonstrating his range of capabilities, he first undertook a secret mission on Corellia disguised as a Mandalorian bounty-hunter, and then worked with Vader in planning the Battle of Derra IV. As a reward for his assistance, Vader gave him control of the Noghri.

After a further brief sojourn in the Unknown Regions, Thrawn returned once again shortly after the Battle of Hoth, this time with the ostensible rank of Vice Admiral, and a fleet including three Imperial-class Star Destroyers and the flagship Grey Wolf. Tasked by Navy command with the duty of pacifying the Pakuuni system, an area plagued with Rebel Alliance and pirate activity, Thrawn conducted the campaign with typical style, decisively crushing the Alliance forces in the system and overseeing the construction of NL-1 to ensure continued Pakuuni obedience. Thrawn also dabbled in Imperial research and development, and was essential in the design of the XM-1 Missile Boat. As a result, he received a public promotion to the rank of full Admiral.



Before long, Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin engaged in open rebellion against the Emperor, using many of the technologies he had developed for the Navy against loyal forces. Thrawn used the forces at his command to crush Zaarin’s forces and the Alliance fleet that attempted to aid him. For his actions, Thrawn was finally given a public promotion to Grand Admiral by the Emperor in the Eva-T system.

Thrawn subsequently stayed on Coruscant and engaged in the politics that accompanied his new rank as vigorously as any battle. He took quickly to appearing in the Emperor’s Court and standing alongside the Emperor and Darth Vader at publicized events. This inevitably brought Thrawn into conflict with Rufaan Tigellinus, a power hungry fellow Grand Admiral. Vader’s departure to accompany Death Squadron to the Outer Rim removed Tigellinus’ primary concern, allowing him to focus on Thrawn. Despite Tigellinus’ efforts, Thrawn continued to climb the ranks of Coruscant society without the aid of strong political factions. The apex of his ascent came on 1:13 of 3 ABY, when Thrawn was inducted into the elite Order of the Canted Circle by the Emperor’s personal invitation and support. Thrawn became a trusted commander in Palpatine’s fold, even going so far as to refuse orders to engage in battles he deemed impossible to win on several occasions. On each of them, Palpatine stripped Thrawn of his rank and sent another commander in his stead, but saw his loyal commander reinstated when the Imperial force was destroyed as Thrawn had predicted.

Unknown Regions
Thrawn's time on Coruscant was short lived. As Tigellinus and other Imperial courtiers closed in on Thrawn, the Chiss and Palpatine hatched a plot to satisfy both their long desire to bring the Imperial Starfleet to the Unknown Regions. Thrawn feigned defeat in the political battles and was sent away by Palpatine. He was given Captain Niriz's Admonitor alongside the formally downgraded Parck and set out on his mission.

The exact extent of Thrawn's activities in the Unknown Regions is unknown, but it would appear that he mapped out large swathes of the region and defeated local threats like the Ebruchi, founding a command-post at the ancient fortress known as the High Tower on Nirauan, and forging a network of alliances and colonies which would develop into the neo-Imperial hegemony known as the Empire of the Hand. The Empire of the Hand was based in a vast information complex known as the Hand of Thrawn which had been established by Thrawn even before his promotion to Vice Admiral.

Some of the members of this Empire were Baron Fel, and Thrawn's old comrade, Voss Parck, who was an Admiral at the time. Many Chiss flocked to the Empire of the Hand in order to receive protection from many of the threats in the Unknown Reigons. As well as standard tools of Imperial power such as Star Destroyers and stormtroopers, Thrawn rallied local forces to his cause, most notably the Chiss warriors of his personal guard, the Household Phalanx. This new faction crushed the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium and prepared for many more dire threats, possibly including the Yuuzhan Vong.

Final campaign
The death of the Emperor saw the New Order spiral into chaos&mdash;but Thrawn appeared to have remained in the Unknown Regions, although he must have been kept appraised of the ongoing situation, as Ysanne Isard transferred officers such as Baron Soontir Fel and Major Wortin to his command.

Four years after the Battle of Endor, following Isard's defeat in the Bacta War, Thrawn finally reemegred in the Empire proper. He transferred his flag to the venerable Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Chimaera, named Captain Gilad Pellaeon as his second in command and gathered a small but skilled command armada. After a number of successful early raids, the Council of Moffs gave official control of the Imperial Military to Thrawn.

In the early stages of his campaign, he traveled to Wayland, where he acquired three items from Mount Tantiss, an Imperial Storehouse. These three items were, a cloaking device, a mad Jedi clone Joruus C'Baoth, and a "trivial piece of technology" a full suite of Spaarti cloning cylinders.

Joruus C'Baoth was the clone of the Jedi, Jorus C'Baoth, who perished in Thrawn's destruction of Outbound Filght. In exchange for fighting for Thrawn, this mad Jedi demanded that Thrawn capture the unborn Solo twins so that he could raise them as his apprentices.

Thrawn used the Spaarti cylinders to clone elite warriors by the tens of thousands, bolstering the conscripts on which the Empire was now forced to depend for much of its manpower. At the same time, he worked to replace the losses in materiel that the military had suffered in the years since Endor. Although he was thwarted in his attempt to capture a large number of New Republic ships from Sluis Van, Thrawn's leadership saw the Empire's own shipyards increase production once again, and he was able to rediscover and recommission the 200 Dreadnaught Cruisers of the Katana Fleet.



Thrawn used his tactical skills to effectively employ his forces in a series of decisive victories, causing a deep wound to the New Republic. The successes of Thrawn’s campaign bolstered waning Imperial morale and temporarily ceased the squabbling of Imperial warlords, a problem that had plagued the Empire since the death of Palpatine. Using his cloaking device to good effect, Thrawn blockaded Coruscant with cloaked asteroids and scored victory after victory.

Thrawn, acknowledging the potential for his defeat, also sent a single Spaarti cylinder to his facility on Nirauan to produce a single, unaccelerated clone of himself.

Thrawn died during the climactic Battle of Bilbringi at the hands of his Noghri bodyguard, Rukh, who had discovered the duplicitous oppression of Honoghr of which Thrawn was responsible. Rukh snuck up behind Thrawn as he was sitting in his command chair and stabbed him through the chest from behind the chair. After this, Pellaeon took over as the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet.

Thrawn's final death
The single clone of Thrawn, which was being grown at the Hand of Thrawn complex, remained undisturbed for almost ten years. In the event of his death, Thrawn had prophesized that he would return ten years after his death to rule the Empire once again. Instead of the true Thrawn taking control of the Imperial fleet, a pretender named Flim was hired by Moff Disra in order to put off the peace talks with the New Republic.

Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade heard rumors of Thrawn's return and eventually discovered the Hand of Thrawn complex on Nirauan. Admiral Parck, Baron Fel, and many Chiss soldiers had spent the previous decade continuing Thrawn's fight against threats from the Unknown Regions.

It appeared that Thrawn was once again ruling the Empire but the Jedi uncovered Disra’s plot. As they entered the cloning complex and saw the fully mature clone still in the cloning cylinder. Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade destroyed the complex walls and flooded the cloning facility, destroying everything inside, including the incubating clone of Thrawn.

Ten years after his death, Thrawn's career finally came to a close.

Command style


Appalled by the “Vader style” of command that so many of his contemporaries supported, Thrawn preferred to promote creativity in his crew, rather than merely punish their failures. This was perhaps best exemplified in a pair of incidents surrounding the tractor beam control pit. During his campaign against the New Republic, a tractor beam operator aboard Chimaera responsible for allowing Luke Skywalker to escape capture, was, by his order, executed at his post in a rather brutal fashion by Rukh. On the other hand, when Skywalker escaped a similar trap again, he rewarded the new tractor beam operator with a promotion to Lieutenant, because he had employed creative thinking in his attempt. In addition, Thrawn encouraged his senior officers to express their own ideas and gave them reasoned consideration rather than ignore any outside ideas, as many an Imperial commander had done during the height of the Empire. The sharp contrast between Thrawn's style and that of megalomaniac and sadistic Imperial leaders heightened the Thrawn's ability to lead.

Thrawn’s command boosted the morale of his crew through victories, but also through his clear dedication to the Empire. Officers and crewmen serving under Thrawn admired his lack of concern for personal glory, only the defeat of the Empire’s enemies and the establishment of order. It was later postulated that Thrawn did not support the Empire per se, but rather wanted to establish order in the known Galaxy in preparation to combat as-yet-unknown threats he had discovered during his time in the Unknown Regions of the Galaxy.

Finally, Thrawn was willing to admit defeat. Rather than stand proud and fight a losing battle, Thrawn knew when it was time to retreat, although those instances were few and far between.

Technique


While a master of military tactics, Thrawn was more than an adept commander. His use of knowledge and intelligence in conjunction with stunning tactics proved Thrawn to be one of the galaxy’s most remarkable military commanders.

The precise application of intelligence allowed Thrawn to win countless victories over a numerically superior force. Thrawn believed that he could understand the psychological and tactical limitations of his adversaries through the examining of their art, and thus exploit their weaknesses.

An attention to small details also played a major role in Thrawn’s technique. By scouring large collections of data and intelligence, Thrawn was able to piece together small details that alone were merely trivia, but together formed a powerful variable. Additionally, his collection of information and near encyclopedia knowledge of topics gave Thrawn an eerie aura of omniscience.

Finally, Thrawn laid out complex campaigns in advance of his attacks. By following a carefully planned campaign, Thrawn was able to keep his enemies guessing. In the time it took his enemies to understand one phase of his plan, Thrawn had already moved on to the next. In this, Thrawn was always a step ahead of his foes.

Behind the scenes

 * Grand Admiral Thrawn first appeared in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, the first book of the Thrawn Trilogy named for him. The trilogy marked the dawn of a new era in the Expanded Universe, and Thrawn's character is considered a contributing factor.


 * Artistic renditions of Thrawn during his final campaign often picture him with a ysalamir.


 * Thrawn was voiced by Tris King in Star Wars: TIE Fighter.

Appearances

 * Outbound Flight
 * Mist Encounter
 * Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire
 * Galaxies
 * TIE Fighter
 * Side Trip
 * The Making of Baron Fel (flashback)
 * Command Decision
 * Tatooine Ghost
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command