Standing By

One by one, it seemed the two had woken up. The Chiss was quick to adapt to the change in the Galactic Powers present in the galaxy, only six years after his disappearance. The Empire had divided into more than just two pieces. It was shattered across the galaxy. Imperial officers of high rank entrenched themselves on planets, in sectors, under their control.

Those considered loyal, followed Rae Sloane and Gallius Rax. Those who were disillusioned with both the Empire's old ways and the New Republic's chaotic form, joined the Galactic Imperium.

To preserve the true ideals of the New Order, the Galactic Imperium was not to rain over the entire Galaxy. Their goal was to protect it, but that didn't mean it had to rule it all. From a strategically placed location, they could form a pact with the New Republic and maintain order.

The walls seemed to be suffocating, they stared down at him as he stood by the viewport. Looking out towards the planet below their vessel. Tobias Rune and Grand Admiral Thrawn were staring out the window towards Naboo and Rori.

"Your ship is a... Work of Art." Thrawn commented as he stared at the fact in which they were housed within the Lucrehulk-class modular control core. His eyes took note of all the cannibalized ship parts and modules presently adorned on the hull. "You designed the retrofit?"

One could barely call it an executor class anymore except for its iconic cityscape and dagger shaped exterior.

"Of course, who else would I trust to build my flagship?" The Grand Moff snickered quietly to himself and closed his eyes partially. He could hear the movement of Ezra as he began to wake up.

Thrawn was keen on the movement as well, but ignored it. One of the main tactics the Empire used against rebels, was making them believe they didn't see them.

Ezra was all to aware of this and could at least sense that the Admiral knew he was awake. Yet he felt this enigmatic feeling from the man next to him. His eyes gazed over his hands, and checked his own body.

It was clear he had been treated and healed. There were no cuffs restraining him to the bed and while there were Arashi sentries at the door, there weren't that many guards.

Glancing over to his side however, the young Jedi Padawan blinked and stared down at the unconscious Sabine who was sleeping hunched over the side of the bed. She was drooling on the sheets and he smiled slightly seeing her alive and well. Though she looked a few years older than he remembered last seeing her. She was also wearing a black imperial uniform, her hair had golden tips.

Reaching over he would gently pat the top of her head, observing her sudden deflation as she felt at ease from his touch. A small smile appeared on Sabine's lips as her eyes opened, but still appeared closed as they were covered by her lashes.

"I give the Empire less than a month before they're driven into the Unknown Regions," Tobias uttered loud enough for the Jedi Padawan to hear, Thrawn chuckling at this as he nodded.

"I concur, if what you say is true and this Gallius Rax is culling the herd. The Empire will not survive in the coming months without fleeing to the Unknown Regions, Wild Space or entrenching on planets." He responded with a light nod before tilting his head to the side, curious of what they could possibly do now.

"I know you're awake, Sabine." Ezra whispered as he nudged the side of her head, causing her to lift up and sit straight. Yawning a bit as she gave the Padawan a smug grin.

"Oh... A few weeks unconscious and you finally wake up." Sabine mused as she looked him over, wearing the same clothes he had worn when he was found.

"What did I miss?" Now he didn't bother managing his volume, "And why are we on an Imperial ship and why is the blue guy still alive? Weren't we both supposed to die?"

"General, stop flirting with the Jedi. They're not allowed to form 'sentiments' with other people," Tobias teased as he'd glance over his shoulder towards the girl who was seated next to the bed.

Sabine's face almost turned a beet red as she was accused of flirting with Ezra. "I didn't–" She was cut off when the Jedi was suddenly pushed off the bed and into her arms.

"HEY!" Both Sabine and Ezra shouted towards Tobias, hugging each other in the process so that neither of them fell over.

"Wait... You're a general?" Blinking a few times Ezra came to his senses and looked at the woman he once knew from only minutes ago according to his mind.

"General of the Arashi Special Forces, Spec Ops." She pointed towards the Sentries at the door, "They're generally the Imperium's version of the Storm Troopers."

"The guys in the blue?" Ezra scrutinized the troopers which wore an unknown armor he didn't recognize as his mind deliberated over the new name he just heard. What was this Imperium she just spoke of?

"Well, Special Operations use customized iterations of the armor equipped with personal cloaking fields and disguise hologram projector suites, decorated by yours truly." Sabine responded with a cheeky grin across her lips as she pointed out the sentries weren't hers.

Ezra didn't know what to think about this. They had both been fighting to free the galaxy from the Empire, and yet she joined another iteration of it? He looked towards the enigmatic Tobias Rune, his eyes giving a gander over the mantle which was adorned on his shoulders and around his neck.

"Grand Moff Tobias Rune," She responded with a handful of enthusiasm.

Walking over to him, Tobias would look over the Jedi for a few moments, a smile across his lips. "Would you like to found a secret Jedi Order?" This made Thrawn and Ezra both raise a brow at him, even Sabine Wren was confused at this.

He had just recruited a bunch of Jedi into his Shadow Order, now he was going to have Ezra form a Jedi Order in secret? What was his plans?

The general idea was to make it appear as if Luke failed to form a Jedi Order, and to have an Order waiting to be revealed by the time of the arrival of the First Order. If he is able to pull this off, this means he'd be able to triumph in his plans for the future, and possibly the past.

Ezra was rather dumbfounded at the prospect of creating an Order in secret. "A ... Secret Jedi Order?" This man who was an Imperial, part of an Order who exterminated the Jedi for a false betrayal, was offering help him found a new one? Ezra was Skeptical.

"S-sure...?" He squinted his eyes at the Moff before looking towards Thrawn who was adamantly paying attention to the schemes which Tobias was making. Jedi were renown for their objectivity, they were brilliant ambassadors and skilled warriors. If the Empire had them at their disposal, it would have come with a better timeline. Of course, the Jedi had also been perceived as a threat to the Emperor, a Dark Lord, so they had been removed.

While he figured that Ezra would be unsure about his proposal, he was overjoyed to hear his response. "And so the Jedi will rise again," he referenced the prequel, where the Sith claimed that they would rise again, that they would once again reveal themselves to the Jedi.

"What do you get out of the Jedi reforming anyways?" The Jedi Padawan asked curiously looking up at the man with a brow raised with greater intrigue. "Weren't they the enemies of your Empire?"

Tobias simply stared at him for a few moments before letting out a soft sigh. "I was born twenty years before the Battle of Yavin. I am aware of the Clone Wars, the Good deeds of the Jedi. I wasn't blinded by Palpatine's lies. The Jedi are the enemies of the Sith, not the enemies of the People."

Ezra slowly nodded hearing him, Thrawn was rather interested in see what kind of scheme this was being incorporated into. From the moment he met the man only hours ago, he began to believe this was a man who manipulated the landscapes of politics from the background and even the foreground. He even manipulated his enemies, and used the same tactics he did, to know one's enemy one must know their culture.

Tobias knew the Galactic Alliance to restore the Republic. He knew the individual cultures involved, he knew the Jedi culture, the Sith. He knew the Empire very well. He knew their tactics, stratagems, policies, laws and how to manipulate it.

As Thrawn could see he was also very well versed in the unnatural and superstitious power of the force. Yet he hadn't seen very much of his techniques in use.

"We have a few more Weeks until we leave the system, and the sector, all together. Rae Sloane is scheduled to temporarily rendezvous with us here in the Naboo system before heading off to claim complete control of the remnant in the Jakky System." He responded as he glanced over towards Admiral Thrawn.

He recognized the name. It was the name of a woman who served the Empire and was undoubtedly loyal. Then why was someone so loyal coming to Tobias? Was Tobias planning on controlling both?

Tobias could sense Thrawn's confused thought, "It's for her protection..."

Thrawn raised a brow hearing this. He wanted to protect this woman who would later become a rival faction? No, that wasn't it. As a Jedi or let alone a Sith, he could see into the future, past and present.

"...From being usurped and killed, or at least killed." No, it seemed his intentions were not to aid a rival, it was to stop someone else from rising to power. Someone else who didn't have the same ideals as Sloane.

"Fascinating..." Thrawn commented on the plans which went unspoken. He was curious of what he had in store even more now. From his position, this Tobi was different than the one in the Imperial Academy records. He was more of a tactician, a manipulator of events. He had strings everywhere, connections, and seemed to be able to bring people over to his side out of necessity and whim.