Thrawn: Treason Quotes
"Assuming they didn’t take the opportunity to alter it."
"Let’s just hope they’re all as incompetent as the ones in that Star Destroyer."
"But a commander never wastes or ignored resources."
"Identification signals...came in shades of green or blue."
"The rare handful of vital or top-secret messages...moved into the range of darker shades of red or purple."
"Without the Defender, Coruscant was in for a long fight."
"Losing the TIE Defender program would be catastrophic."
"Allanar N3 freighter...erratic maneuvering, hyperdrive spinning up."
"I prefer to be prepared for as many contingencies as possible."
"An unfounded rumor is merely a fact that hasn’t yet been confirmed."
"Imperial warships do not carry trained exobiologists unless the mission anticipates a need for them."
"I didn’t realize the navy was that thorough."
"Excellent," Thrawn said. "Commodore, go to medbay and confirm that the examination room and droids are prepared to receive the subject."
"You take everything Grand Admiral Thrawn says as words carved in stone, don’t you?"
"No, of course not," Faro said. "No one is. But when he’s wrong, it’s usually because he has insufficient or faulty information, and he’s always quick to correct any false steps."
"The speed of his attack shows he was waiting for the ship and ready to fire."
"A normal mining ship would probably have lost its entire drive and maneuvering system with that first double shot."
"Multiple names and widely variant details are the hallmarks of unfounded rumors."
"Or a soap bubble that continues to float until it bursts."
"Let us see how well they can stand against an Imperial Star Destroyer."
"You dare call me a slave? I am Lifeholder and Deathbringer. I am Seeker of Conquest."
"Be careful what you wish for, even when you weren’t at all wishing for it."
"The universe around her, nor did any of the others Eli had met aboard the Steadfast."
"That single shot can be toward the observation post or Vah’nya’s shuttle, and they don’t know which would be the better target."
"Death before capture, particularly in a clandestine operation such as this one."
"And so after all that, we just let them blow up the prisoners and our best chance of finding out what’s going on?"
"But all that is dark will eventually be made light if one shows the proper persistence."
"It’s very likely that their very presence will make combat unnecessary."
"The universe is about to get interesting again."
"We must obtain evidence before the conspirators realize their plot has been uncovered."
"The only reasonable conclusion is that the changes were made at the source."
"The Emperor commands only the loyalty of my actions, not the loyalty of my heart and mind."
"For the next hours, she needs you more than the Steadfast does."
"Assistant Director Ronan is more than welcome to stay."
"On the contrary, a ship’s commander is the ultimate authority for what can and cannot be done."
"Regardless, for the moment your part in this has ended."
"Politics, he’d heard someone say once, would ultimately be the death of the Empire."
"Pulling up the listing of the Third Fleet’s ships, he began choosing which ones to send to Krennic’s precious assembly systems."
"Politics between men like Krennic and Tarkin; politics all the way up to Palpatine himself."
"Infighting, jockeying for position, backstabbing with a smile, all the while ignoring the real threats."
"Flying into possible danger with an unstaffed bridge was a laser-etched invitation to trouble."
"The safety of the Chimaera and the goals and good of the Empire stand paramount."
"We must give our enemies a reason to communicate with their superiors."
"Warriors rarely make such elaborate arrangements purely for the sake of their enemies. Their plans will always first and foremost benefit their own interests and goals."
"It was looking like even a ship full of stormtroopers might not be an image worth sending home."
"I study it. Do you like art?" "A little." "I like music better."
"I want to remain so that I may watch you destroy them."
"The Chimaera is jamming all frequencies and all signals so that the warship can’t trigger whatever doomsday explosives are on the conjoined ships."
"We do not struggle against flesh and blood—but against ideas and fears, against hopelessness and manipulation."
"Enemies of the Empire took shots at her all the time, but usually she had shields and turbolasers and officers and crew and an entire ship protecting her. Here on the ground, the experience was considerably different."
"An enemy who could enslave the hearts and minds of their captive species so thoroughly that they were willing to die on the Grysks’ behalf—even when their masters were gone, even when those masters would never know whether those slaves had fulfilled their final orders—posed a terrible threat to the galaxy."
"With an enemy like that pulling the strings, one could never be certain if an ally was still an ally, or a subservient species still subservient."
"The voice of a man who’s been pulled out of one laser cooker only to be dropped into another."
"Knowledge was power. Especially knowledge no one else had, and no one else knew you had."
"The point of the attack is to utterly destroy the conjoined ships and anyone examining them. A sequence of explosions, rather than a single massive blast, might leave sections intact. It would certainly warn off the investigators."
"And don’t look so glum. The reason you were at Aloxor in the first place was that Haveland insisted that we watch over her cargo for her. It’s only fair that whatever glory comes from catching this thief or saboteur should reflect on us, not a lazy moff who couldn’t be bothered to handle her own security."
"Fortunately, the pirates and smugglers infesting that part were too busy getting ready for the anticipated Imperial raid to bother with strangers."
"Leaving Eli still wondering what had happened."
"First Officer Khresh says the Chimaera left to go chase down the Grysk supply ship that got away from us. That was a few hours ago, and they haven’t heard anything since."
"Learning about each other’s ways and learning how we’re alike despite our differences is a way to enrich our lives."
"No one will approach or interfere. Not as long as I live."
"I’ve watched her during the time that I’ve served aboard the Steadfast, and I know that she’s smart, capable, and resourceful."
"Without full knowledge, a person has to rely on trust and hope. Insufficient hope usually comes out as concern."
"Don’t look so glum, Commodore. It’s simple physics. It will work."
"I would think Director Krennic would also have a say in this."
"I steal from Stardust so that not everything Krennic has poured money into goes up in smoke and flame or scrap metal."
"I wished for a better view of the coming battle."
"We stay here," Ar’alani confirmed. She raised her voice. "All stations: Prepare for battle. The enemy will soon be upon us."
"But we don’t need Grand Admiral Mitth’raw’nuruodo. We have Admiral Ar’alani and the warriors of the Ascendancy Defense Fleet ship Steadfast. We can defeat anything the Grysks choose in their folly to throw against us."
"Billions of beings, their hearts and souls broken, ready to fight and die at the order of a handful of aliens. No resistance, no revolt, no dissent, no hope."
"But there are worse things than death, and being forced into service to the Grysks is one of those."
"Let’s see how she does against real weapons of war."
"I promised there would be no deaths," Thrawn said calmly. "I did not promise there would be no damage."
"You realize, I assume," Hammerly said quietly, "that all the Firedrake has to do is swivel around fifty degrees and they’ll be able to bring their starboard turbolasers to bear."
"Besides which, you’re curious to see if Thrawn can defeat someone without actually being aboard his ship?"
"One must never dwell on failure. When defeat has come, a true warrior accepts it, learns from it, and continues on."
"Knowing you’re harboring a potential traitor is worse."
"One can make sure a potential traitor is prepared with the information and expertise one wishes the enemy to know."
"A true warrior should never complain about that defeat."
"I wasn’t joking, Commodore. The point is that you are an exceptionally competent commander, and the Imperial fleet needs to recognize and reward all such people."
"What you did was observe your opponent, weigh his strengths and weaknesses, think several moves ahead, and plan your strategy accordingly. Those are all signs of a good commander."
"The useful tool sometimes called plausible deniability was hardly something the Empire had invented."