**Interlude: The Blue Shadow's Shadow**
**Thrawn's POV**
Skytop Station was a Confederate listening post during the Clone Wars. A modified Core Ship, the station was designed to monitor Republic communications, thereby providing the Confederate Droid Army with vital intelligence on the movement of enemy fleets. Skytop Station was built and crewed by the Hyper-Communications Cartel, a business group formed by Confederate leader Po Nudo. It was stationed in the upper atmosphere of one of the moons of Ruusan.
Once construction was completed, Skytop Station began to intercept Republic HoloNet transmissions, providing the Confederacy with intelligence on the movement of Republic fleets.
Now the Chiss Ascendancy valued neutrality above all else and kept largely to themselves. When Thrawn had attacked Outbound Flight and destroyed it to prevent the Yuuzhan Vong from noticing the Chiss, he had been exiled. Though shortly afterward he had met Dagon Marek, who had gifted the Chiss Navy with over forty Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers, new designs, and kyber crystals to upgrade their ships. So now Thrawn was doing what he considered a kind gesture.
As his *Night Dragon* Battlecruiser approached the station, it was not the first time he had helped Dagon, but he suspected the Chiss might need him sooner. The appearance and the power of the Hunter still startled the minds of the Chiss leadership. If that was only one, and no one knew how many more there were.
"Sir, we are in target range," a Chiss operator reported from the tactical station.
"Very well," Thrawn said calmly. "Open fire."
A few breacher missiles and upgraded plasma-kyber-powered turbolasers lanced out from the *Night Dragon*. In thirty seconds the enemy listening post exploded in a brilliant fireball, debris scattering across the upper atmosphere of the moon.
"Wow, that was quick," an officer muttered.
"Indeed," Admiral Thrawn replied, his glowing red eyes studying the expanding cloud of wreckage on the viewscreen. "The Confederacy grows bolder with every passing month. Their reliance on droids makes them predictable, but their willingness to expand listening posts so close to Republic space shows increasing desperation."
He turned slightly, clasping his hands behind his back. "Prepare the hyperdrive for return to Chiss space."
"Yes, sir."
As the *Night Dragon* began its calculations for the jump, Thrawn allowed himself a moment of reflection. Dagon Marek was a fascinating individual — a man from another timeline, another war, who had brought both advanced knowledge and a dangerous sense of balance to this galaxy. The gifts he had provided the Chiss — the Dreadnoughts, the new hull designs, the kyber-enhanced reactors — had significantly strengthened the Ascendancy's defensive posture.
Yet Thrawn knew the Hunter's power was not unlimited. The man had nearly died on Naboo after purifying the Blue Shadow Virus. He had burned Zygerria to ash to rescue his Padawan's family. He walked a razor's edge between light and dark, and every victory seemed to cost him more.
Thrawn respected that kind of commitment. It reminded him of the Chiss philosophy: protect the Ascendancy at all costs, even if it meant making difficult, unpopular choices.
"Admiral," the comm officer said, "we have a secure transmission from Csilla. The Syndics wish to speak with you upon your return."
Thrawn nodded once. "Inform them I will report in person. And send a encrypted data packet to General Marek. Tell him the listening post has been neutralized and that the Chiss Ascendancy remains… grateful for his continued support."
"Yes, sir."
The stars stretched into lines as the *Night Dragon* jumped into hyperspace.
Thrawn stood motionless on the bridge, red eyes reflecting the blue tunnel of hyperspace.
He suspected the galaxy would need Dagon Marek again soon.
And when that time came, the Chiss would be ready to repay the debt — in their own way.