Unlikely Encounters

Unlikely Encounters Part 1

Disclaimer: Wrote this on a whim. Don't own any of the Star Wars Rebels or Stargate characters. They, of course belong to the creators of the appropriate franchise. 

                                                                                  Chapter 1

Grand Admiral Thrawn finished dressing by smoothing down his long, white sleeves. Once the herd of strange, space dwelling creatures known as purrgills finally dropped from hyperspace, the next few events rushed past in a blur. 

Tentacles from the large animals that had smashed their way through windows to encircle him finally slipped away, allowing the admiral to breathe easy again.  The ship's emergency power came online, enabling failsafe shields to materialize at the ship's front. Thankfully it had activated just in time to protect the bridge and its crew from the harsh vacuum of space that surrounded them.  The purrgill slowly released their prey, separating tentacle by tentacle from the ship's hull, until finally each creature began to glow again a mesmerizing aura of blue. The next thing Thrawn knew, the mysterious beings that brought him and his crew to their unknown coordinates disappeared just as suddenly as they attacked. 

Then there was Ezra Bridger.  

For his part, Thrawn had kept himself composed. He could only assume that the teenager finally collapsed due to exhaustion and having spent all his energy. The defiance and resolve that glared at him the entire trip in his blue eyes finally lifted, rolling to the back of his head. Bridger ended up landing with a blunt thud to the metal floor.  Seconds later, several stormtroopers set to action by surrounding him. 

The admiral had starred at the boy for a moment or two before ordering them to take their new guest to the med bay. There, attendants could treat the open wound in his left shoulder, and keep the rebel under supervised sedation.   

With the matter of Bridger under control, the admiral then turned his attention to the more immediate damage control of his ship.  The Chimera had suffered substantial damage during its unexpected journey through uncharted space.  Before he could get a fix on their location, he needed a status report on what was operable. 

After a series of only a few hours, he and his crew were fortunate enough to come across a suitable planet to emergency land to make repairs. 

Grand Admiral Thrawn scrolled through the datapad he held, red eyes calculating the information before him. Damage was extensive, and would require more time to complete without the means to access replacement parts.  Long range scanners were unable to detect any sentient life that would possess the resources they required. This made things...difficult. 

He should be angry, he knew.  Should be furious about what that single, human child had manage to do.  But strangely enough, he felt...numb. All his plans have been derailed, and yet...he still felt this strange calm.  He has lost the battle, yes, but not the war. 

Ezra Bridger had indeed proven himself to be a remarkable opponent, but then, that's all the kid was to him. As far as Thrawn could see, Ezra had played his last hand.  It left the admiral and his crew crippled, but not defenseless.  Which ultimately meant that the game wasn't over.  

He ordered his chief medical officer to continually send him updates on Bridger's status.  The physicians were to monitor him at all times.  To carefully keep the boy under watchful, heavy sedation felt like the safest course of action given the unpredictable nature of the power he possessed. 

Grand Admiral Thrawn felt himself drawn to the large window plane that looked over the large, sterile room below. 

The nineteen year old Jedi laid silently on a cold examination table, stripped of his normal orange jumpsuit attire, and clad in nothing more than a simple white medical gown.  An oxygen mask was strapped around his head, along with sensor pads placed intently on specific areas of his body to gather data.  Bright lamps attached to the room's ceiling were angled down, casting harsh light onto his prone  form. Several security storm troopers stood at the ready along the walls, their guns at ease, but eyes all focused on the young male at the center of the room. 

To be fair, the scene would look like overkill to the untrained eye, but Thrawn was not taking any chances. Bridger at the moment was unconscious, however, the enigma that was the Force could possibly change that.  

No, he decided he wasn't about to underestimate this child again. Bridger would remain where he was...for now. 

"Sir!"

The admiral's crimson reds eyes flickered down the hallway towards a frantic looking officer approaching him. "Ensign." He gave him a nod to acknowledge him.

"Sir, we've just gotten word from one of the scouting away teams.  Apparently they've made  contact with natives of this planet."

Thrawn raised a blue eyebrow. "Curious, our sensors didn't detect any organic life on this planet. What details can you give me of this encounter?"

"Only that they appeared out of nowhere sir. Our men were walking the terrain when suddenly they came from underground."

"Underground did you say?"

"Yes sir. Currently they appear to be holding our unit hostage. They allowed one, lone soldier to report back with a message."

Admiral Thrawn lifted an index finger to curl under his chin as he processed this new information. "Did they now? And what message is that, may I ask?"

The officer fidgeted a little under the admiral's intense gaze. 

"They wish to...talk, sir.  They enclosed coordinates for a  rendezvous point, and insist on speaking with you."

"Well then." The grand admiral's face remained stoic as he accepted the new datapad the officer handed him. "Let us not keep our new hosts waiting, shall we? Report back to the command center for debriefing, and notify our new 'hosts' that I will be joining them shortly."

Thrawn watched as the officer hastily left.  He peered down through the window plane once more at the teenager who laid asleep at the center of the room below.  Turning on his heel, he left without another word.