Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

99.

Grand Admiral Thrawn stood in his star destroyer's hanger. With his hands behind his back and red eyes unmoving, the Chiss was at the forefront of his storm trooper fleets. They were organised into perfect rows and there wasn't a smudge or stain on their white armour plates. Their blasters were held with one hand on the barrel, and the other clutching the handle. Under the leadership of the Empire's warlord, Thrawn's troops was one of the best in the galaxy and were responsible for battles that they almost never lost.

Darth Vader's ship entered the star destroyer's hanger and lowered with its wings retracting to its top panel. Admiral Thrawn watched as the ship's belly dispatched a landing ramp before the sound of its engines ceased. The caped Sith exited its hull and thudded down the ramp with his shoulders squared and his steps heavy.

'Lord Vader, it is the ultimate honour to have you onboard,' Admiral Thrawn greeted and bowed his head in respect. The masked man stopped in front of the blue-skinned Chiss and glanced at the soldiers that stood at attention.

'Thrawn. I have been informed of your successes,' Vader stated, his voice through the vent on his mask sending chills down storm troopers' spines. 'Your troops are impressive.'

'Thank you, my Lord.'

Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader turned to walk along the rigid storm trooper troops. The Chiss kept his gloved hands clasped together at the small of his back, and Vader's enclosed fists barely swung with his steps. The Sith's arrival was much anticipated, and Thrawn's destroyer's position in the core was coincidental yet convenient for Darth Vader's personal mission.

'We were informed of the starfighter that your men were tracking from the Hoth system,' Admiral Thrawn said as the two walked through the hanger. 'We have picked up the tracker and have located the ship to be on Coruscant.'

'Good. Have you dispatched a squadron to its location?'

'Not yet, my Lord. I was waiting for your word.'

Coruscant. What could Sol want that was on Coruscant? Vader was under the impression that she was attempting to evade him and the Empire, so why would she venture so close to its capital? The Emperor himself was located on Coruscant, but Vader kept his mission of following Sol to himself. But if Sol coincidentally fell into the Emperor's lap, then the Sith Lord wouldn't object to Sol's capture at Darth Vader's hand.

Nevertheless, Vader wondered what would bring Sol back to the core of the galaxy after years of hiding. But she was away from the Resistance, and unlike last time, he would be ready to face her. 

He wasn't going to crumble in front of her again. He was going to show that he wasn't the Skywalker she knew, and that he was more powerful that she would have ever imagined. After all, it had been his original goal to become so unbelievably powerful that nothing would be able to take Sol away from him; not even death's grip.

'Send a squadron to the ship's location,' Darth Vader stopped his and Thrawn's walk and turned to face the blue Chiss. 'Once I am aware of the conditions, I will then decide whether I shall descend to the planet myself.'

'Very good, sir. This must be a high-profile fugitive of the Empire to demand your personal action. Should I warn the squadron of a potential struggle?' 

'We are dealing with Jedi, Grand Admiral. I suggest the upmost caution, but under no circumstances are your troops to harm this Jedi.'

Admiral Thrawn's eyebrows rose at Vader's orders. At the sight of a Jedi, it was a directive for storm troopers to shoot-to-kill. They were a disease and the Emperor wanted a galaxy where the Jedi were an extinct race. The few that lingered were to be hunted and killed on sight. To hear from Darth Vader himself that the Jedi they were tracking was not to be harmed was strange and a one-time condition.