Mitth’raw’nuruodo, known to the galaxy by his core name, Thrawn, was a Chiss, born
on the icy world of Csilla, several decades before the outbreak of the Clone Wars.
After spending his childhood on the homeworld, Thrawn enlisted in the Chiss Expansionary
Defence Force, the military arm of the Chiss Ascendancy, and quickly became the youngest
Chiss to reach the rank of commander in the ascendancy’s history.
Thrawn’s career with the CEDF led to many impressive accomplishments, he was the first
Chiss ever to encounter humans, as well as the first to become fluent in Galactic Basic.
It was also through Thrawn’s exploits that the Chiss Ascendancy first became aware of
the Force, and of Droids, two concepts previously foreign to their species.
Decades later, Thrawn curried substantial favour with Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic
Republic, after he assisted the Chancellor in a black-ops mission to destroy a Jedi Exploration
vessel.
Impressed by Thrawn’s tactical brilliance, Palpatine had the Chiss brought before him
following the conversion of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, and offered him a position
within the fledgling imperial navy.
Thrawn accepted, and the years that followed saw him quickly rise through the ranks, scoring
countless imperial victories and playing an instrumental role in forging an alliance between
the Empire and the Chiss Ascendancy.
Thrawn was frequently degraded and reviled in his early career by his typically bigoted
imperial comrades for being non-human, but with the respect of Emperor Palpatine, and
his long list of accolades, this had little effect on his meteoric rise through the ranks,
and those imperials who served under the direct command of Thrawn eventually grew to like
and respect the man as a leader.
Thrawn’s differences from his imperial colleagues were not limited to race alone.
The Chiss was always highly concerned with the welfare of the men under his command,
and made constant efforts to reward officers who acted with imagination and creativity.
Thrawn was also far more lenient in disciplining his subordinates, encouraging them to learn
from their mistakes and grow into more proficient officers.
Thrawn’s tactical genius was unrivalled in the history of the Galaxy.
The Chiss was famously obsessed with the culture and artwork of other races, and was able to
use his artistic knowledge to not only determine the race of an opposing commander but also
to identify the psychological blind spots of that race, adapting his tactics accordingly.
Following the Emperor’s death, Thrawn led a historic campaign against the New Republic,
often employing more Guerrilla style tactics with which his imperial comrades were highly
unfamiliar.
Thrawn’s irregular techniques allowed the Imperial Remnant to make the best possible
use of their weakened Starfleet, often engaging far larger forces and emerging victorious.
Thrawn’s later life held many incredible accomplishments, from the hunt for Demetrius
Zaarin to the founding of the Empire of the Hand, but it was his campaign against the
New Republic in the final years of his life that would be forever engrained in galactic
history.
After Thrawn inherited control of the Imperial Remnant following the apparent death of Yssane
Isard, he immediately began formulating plans to return the Empire to its former glory.
From his Flagship, the Chimera, Thrawn and his venerable second in command, Captain Gilad
Paelleon used the diminished Imperial Fleet to strike out against the New Republic, crippling
their navy in the famous Battle of Sluis Van and later threatening the security of Coruscant
itself.
Thrawn even succeeded in replacing many of the Empire’s ships when he rediscovered
the long-lost Katana Fleet, a force of 200 Old Republic Dreadnought Cruisers left adrift
in uncharted space after a navigational accident.
Through the cunning and intellect of Thrawn, the Imperial Remnant succeeded in pushing
the New Republic to the very precipice of destruction, winning victory after victory
against often impossible odds.
However, during the Battle of Bilbringi in 9 ABY with the Republic lines breaking and
Thrawn on the cusp of ultimate victory, the Chiss realised his one fatal mistake.
Rukh, Thrawn’s ever-present bodyguard was a Noghri Death Commando, a member of a fiercely
loyal warrior-race who had served Thrawn and the Empire for many years, but it was during
the Battle of Bilbringi that the New Republic revealed the truth behind the Noghri’s loyalty,
they had discovered that before his death, Darth Vader had secretly ordered the deployment
of a poisonous hybrid-plant into to the Noghri Homeworld’s Ecosystem.
This deception, disguised as an ecological support project, ensured that no other plant-life
would grow on the planet, forcing the Noghri to rely entirely on imperial supply chains
and forever ensuring their loyalty.
Upon discovering this betrayal, Rukh plunged his vibroblade through the back of Thrawn’s
Command chair aboard the Chimera and into the Grand Admiral’s Heart, with his final
words Thrawn expressed his admiration for Rukh’s method of assassination, saying famously,
“But…it was so artistically done.”
Having murdered the legendary Admiral, Rukh loudly declared that he had liberated the
Noghri people, he fled the bridge, and was immediately shot dead by Imperial Storm Commandoes.
Despite having the upper-hand on every front, the sudden loss of Thrawn’s exceptional
leadership completely destroyed Imperial Morale.
Taking command of the fleet, Captain Paelleon ordered a full retreat into the unknown regions,
and the New Republic was victorious.
After his death, Thrawn would be remembered by the galaxy as a tactical genius, as a loved
and respected leader and as the man who almost brought the new republic to its knees.