Grand Admiral Thrawn;
Mitth'raw'nurodo
Chiss Grand Admiral, the only alien ever to attain the rank, and the most famous Grand Admiral of all. Thrawn returns from the Unknown Regions five years after the Battle of Endor to command the Empire and nearly destroy the fledgeling New Republic. Much is known about Thrawn; I attempt to relate it in something of a chronological order here (though I leave out many events of the Thrawn Trilogy itself, since there are many fine summaries of those books already available, and since those books are essentially required reading to understand the Star Wars Expanded Universe in the first place).
-Mitth'raw'nuruodo, whose core name is Thrawn, is born into the Chiss ruling family Nuruodo, which handles the military and foreign affairs of Chiss society. Like his fellow Chiss, he never has an adolescence, instead maturing early and receiving adult responsibilities. He eventually becomes a military leader, a Syndic heading a House Phalanx, and a commander in the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, where his excellent service earns him many decorations. (SWG#5, VF, EGAS, SWAJ#7)
-Thrawn learns several languages indigenous to the Unknown Regions, which he would later be prepared to call upon when dealing with the Ebruchi. (SWAJ#11)
-K'rell'n (Corellian) traders contact the Chiss. Thrawn learns a smattering of Basic from them, as well as the fact that Republic/Imperial standing orders include studying all unknown alien species they encounter. The Corellians' discovery is not recorded in an official survey. (SWAJ#7, SWAJ#11)
-Commander Thrawn routs forces sent by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to destroy the Outbound Flight Project on the edge of Chiss space. He captures Kinman Doriana, an important advisor to Palpatine, and interrogates him. Doriana convinces Thrawn of the need to eliminate Outbound Flight, and Commander Thrawn preemptively strikes against it two weeks later, destroying it. (VF)
-Thrawn returns to the Chiss homeworld of Csilla and talks his way out of the repercussions of engaging in a preemptive strike, which is tantamount to murder by Chiss standards. Despite a reprimand and being placed under observation, he continues engaging aliens at the periphery of Chiss space. (VF, SWG#5)
-Palpatine attempts, on at least two occasions, to recruit Thrawn. Thrawn does not accept at this time, as he is still attached to the Chiss Expansionary Defense and cannot honorably leave his post. (VF, SWG#7)
-In order to join the Empire, Thrawn engineers his own downfall by attacking an enemy ground installation that is manufacturing weapons. He is stripped of rank and exiled to a primitive jungle world in Wild Space, near the Imperial border. (SWG#7, SWAJ#7)
-Thrawn is discovered by Captain Voss Parck of the VSD Strikefast, after Thrawn runs rings around ground forces under Colonel Mosh Barris in an attempt to gain a ship and return to Chiss Space. (SWAJ#7, NEGC; one week after Palpatine declares himself Emperor, and over a decade after the destruction of the Outbound Flight Project.)
-Parck delivers Thrawn to Palpatine, who is intrigued (to say the least) despite his hatred of nonhumans. Because of the realities of court intrigue, however, Palpatine tempers the signs of his enthusiasm. (EGAS, VF)
-With Parck as his mentor, Thrawn is given private Imperial military training, the best the Empire has to offer. (SWAJ#11)
-A species of tongue-lashing creatures take up residence for the first time in the caverns beneath the fortress that would come to be called The Hand of Thrawn. It is suspected that they were placed there as a natural defense against visitors by new residents of the fortress (perhaps Thrawn's House Phalanx?). (VF; 30 years prior, or 11 BBY.)
-Palpatine assigns Thrawn to the ISD Vengeance to watch one of his more ambitious underlings, Inquisitor Jerec. (NEGC)
-Captain Thrawn of the ISD Vengeance (which is at the discretion of Jerec) participates in the pacification of Sulon shortly before the battle of Yavin. By this point he has more decorations than officers with twice his years of service. (SFE)
-The Battle of Yavin occurs. (SW; included for reference.)
-Captain Thrawn, still in command of the Vengeance, visits S'krrr to study the artistic merits of the Sikadian Gardens nine months after the Battle of Yavin. When an outbreak of Drog beetles kills Vengeance officers Wolver and Tier, Thrawn first investigates the killings, then is forced to work with S'korr warrior-poet Sh'shak, Shi'ido anthropologist Mammon Hoole, and the Alderaanian children Zak and Tash Arranda, in order to survive the outbreak. (GOF#8; NEGC states this occurred ten months after Yavin, but Tash is quick to remind Zak that it's been nine months since their parents died on Alderaan. Note that Thrawn must have had an allergic reaction to the flowers in the Sikadian garden that affected his brain, as he is far too slow to make some very obvious mental connections he would normally have made otherwise.)
-Thrawn is promoted to Vice Admiral. Shortly thereafter, Thrawn receives a promotion to Grand Admiral in a secret ceremony following the public dedication of the Assemblage Wing of the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. Thrawn meets Mara Jade, one of the Emperor's Hands, at this ceremony. (NEGC, HE, DFR, TIE; my earlier speculation that Thrawn had two Grand Admiral promotions is explicitly suggested by the NEGC. This promotion was apparently only known to Palpatine and his inner circle, and to Thrawn's forces in the Unknown Regions.)
-For the first time, Thrawn outright refuses an order of Palpatine's. Palpatine hands his attack force over to another commander, only to have it promptly destroyed. Palpatine listens more carefully the three other times Thrawn disagrees with him. (LC; arbitrarily placed shortly after his promotion, since Palpatine would most likely get involved with few command decisions made on a level of lower than Admiral.)
-Thrawn finally becomes bold enough to attempt to manipulate Imperial court politics. One of his most visible rivals is Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus, who at first plays the role of Thrawn's friend in hopes of betraying the Chiss officer. (SWAJ#12, SWI#66)
-Admiral Thrawn is inducted into the Order of the Canted Circle. He is the fourteenth new member in ten years; combined with his nonhuman origins, this makes his induction an amazement to court observers. Palpatine himself encouraged Thrawn's induction, and this encouragement is believed to have been the deciding factor in the face of sharp opposition from established Order members, almost certainly including political rival Rufaan Tigellinus. (SWAJ#12)
-The Imperial Advisors unite (undoubtedly with Grand Admiral Tigellinus in their number) to politically crush Thrawn, giving Palpatine convenient cover to keep the reasons for Thrawn's upcoming foray into the Unknown Regions a secret. Admiral Thrawn is "punished," along with Parck and others involved with Thrawn, by being sent into the Unknown Regions on a survey mission aboard the ISD Admonitor. Thrawn is soon put in a position to both pacify the Ebruchi Pirates and allow the Admonitor's captain, Dagon Niriz, to prove his own loyalty to himself. (SWAJ#11; Thrawn is illustrated as having a Grand Admiral's uniform, though nowhere in the story does it necessarily state he had this rank. Additionally, the full-color artwork that opens the story depicts him as merely an Admiral.)
-General Havarel of the Admonitor is sent back to Coruscant after attempting mutiny. (SWAJ#11)
-Thrawn is forced to destroy a species living in the Fringe of the Unknown Regions because he was unable to gain understanding of their their psyche from their art. He retains a piece of their art, a hypnotically writhing sculpture. (HE, TTSB; could be at any time Thrawn was in the Unknown Regions, but arbitrarily placed early in that campaign since the world was in the Fringe.)
-Additional ships are slowly added to Thrawn's command until it becomes fairly large; some of those ships are tasked with taming Wild Space, while others assist in exploring the Unknown Regions. This serves a dual purpose; the Empire gains outposts and alliances in previously unexplored space, while Thrawn is able to use Imperial forces to protect the Chiss and gain a conduit for advanced war materiel. (SWAJ#11, GG8, SWG#7)
-Thrawn comes across an offhand reference to the planet Myrkr. He is intrigued by the fact that both the Old Republic and the Jedi left it strictly alone, despite the fact it was well within the Old Republic's borders and populated for at least 300 years. (HE; seven years prior, or about 2 ABY.)
-Thrawn locates (or returns to) an ancient ruin on the planet Nirauan made of an unusual, highly resilient black material, reminiscent of the Fortress of Hijarna. Having recognized the usefulness of the structure, he transforms it into his personal base and information repository, code-naming it The Hand of Thrawn. Commander Parck is placed in charge of the facility. (VF; Parck was not seen aboard the Admonitor in SWAJ#12/13, suggesting he was already assigned to The Hand of Thrawn.)
-Grand Admiral Thrawn returns from the Unknown Regions to play dress-up as Jodo Kast, destroy Black Sun's influence on Corellia, and get command of the Noghri from Darth Vader. Based on information gained from his trip to Corellia, Thrawn recommends Colonel Veers be promoted, and that an attack be made against suspected Rebel supply lines at Derra IV. (SWAJ#12, SWAJ#13)
-Cynnabar's Infonet, an exclusive smugglers' NewsNet, somehow picks up rumors of Thrawn's return from the Unknown Regions. (SWAJ#11; though his rumored NewsNet return isn't explicitly tied to the above events, the dates on the newsfeed in SWAJ#11 seem to support that supposition.)
-Darth Vader, claiming his duty to vanquish the Emperor's enemies would be requiring his full attention, presents Thrawn to the Noghri as their new leader. (DFR)
-Thrawn plans an attack on suspected Rebel supply lines at Derra IV for Darth Vader. Among the forces carrying out the attack is the legendary 181st Fighter Squadron. Afterwards, he returns to the Unknown Regions; his apparently forced departure, without public recognition for his role in the Battle of Derra IV, makes Baron Soontir Fel of the 181st question his loyalty to the Empire. (SWAJ#12, SWAJ#13, B&H) -The Battle of Hoth occurs. (ESB; included for reference.)
-Grand Admiral Thrawn, back in the Unknown Regions, orders the VSD Iron Fist (Captain Ferob commanding) to bombard the planet UR41-284, destroying everything in a 70 km radius except for the planet's museum district. (TTSB; Ferob had been serving under Thrawn for 3 years. This has been confirmed by the NEGC to be the same Victory Star Destroyer that Zsinj once captained, and later named his Super Star Destroyer after.)
-Shortly before the Battle of Endor, Thrawn is tasked with helping defeat the treasonous Admiral Harkov and Grand Admiral Zaarin, and formally receives promotion to Grand Admiral (as opposed to his secret promotion years before) while in the midst of this campaign. He also receives the title of Warlord, not to be confused with the New Republic's later use of that term for breakaway Imperials. Thrawn is eventually successful in defeating Zaarin, after demonstrating his engineering aptitude by designing the Missile Boat, and he once again returns to the Unknown Regions. (HE, NEGC, TIE)
-The battle of Endor occurs. (RJ; included for reference.)
-The Chiss beat back an attack by invading Ssi-Ruuk, leaving a New Republic force sent in the wake of the Bakura Incident to find them half beaten. This strike is spearheaded by Thrawn and his Household Phalanx, since the phalanx is on extended leave to "deal with encroaching threats." (EC, EGAS, NEGC, SWG#5)
-Thrawn's forces are slowly pared down (by Isard? Palpatine's clone?) to help support the war against the New Republic. For unknown reasons, he chooses not to return himself at this point. (GG8)
-Admiral Voss Parck provides Ysanne Isard with a scheme devised by Thrawn to capture Baron Soontir Fel, now working with the New Republic's Rogue Squadron. Fel is delivered to Thrawn, who easily convinces him of the need to aid with the struggles in the Unknown Regions. Thrawn arranges for Fel's wife Syal to join them, and the Fels take up residence in The Hand of Thrawn. (SWG#7, VF, NEGC)
-Thrawn begins searching for information on the location of the planet Wayland, site of the Emperor's secret storehouse. (HE; he'd been searching for it for "over a year.")
-Thrawn contacts Captain Gilad Pellaeon, default commander of the Imperial Fleet, and instructs him to meet his shuttle on the frontier. With newfound hope for the Empire, Pellaeon complies. (HESB)
-Thrawn returns from the Unknown Regions, chooses the ISD Chimaera as his flagship, and has a meditation chamber/command room constructed aboard. He reorganizes the fleet, assigning to his armada the Star Destroyers Chimaera, Death's Head, Judicator, Inexorable, Stormhawk, and Nemesis, along with many smaller ships, and then begins strategic raids along the border of the New Republic. The politicians of the Empire, both impressed with his competence and hoping to make him a puppet ruler, hand control over to him. (HE, TTSB, EC; 6 months before the raid on Obroa-skai.)
-Thrawn activates the Noghri, one of which, Rukh, becomes his bodyguard. (HE, SWAJ#13; Rukh was present at the beginning of HE, but Thrawn indicates he was not going to use the Noghri in the Unknown Regions in SWAJ#13.)
-Thrawn orders the construction of many new starships, including a new TIE model, the Scimitar Assault Bomber. The design incorporates many recommendations from experienced TIE Bomber pilot Tomax Bren, commander of the Scimitar "White Death" Assault Wing for which the new bomber is named. (TTSB, SWAJ#15).
-Five years after Endor, Thrawn begins his full-fledged campaign against the New Republic, beginning with an information raid on Obroa-Skai, from which he learns the location of the Emperor's storehouse in Mount Tantiss on Wayland. This gives him access to around 20,000 Spaarti cloning cylinders, a functional cloaking device, and the mad Jedi Joruus C'baoth. (HE)
-Thrawn begins the Mount Tantiss Project, which uses the extensive cloning facility in the mountain to produce a new clone military. By using ysalamiri, he is able to clone soldiers in a record time of fifteen to twenty days. Among the personnel used for the clone matrices are Corporal Terkuss, Lieutenant Creb, and Baron Soontir Fel (though Fel's clones were reserved for Thrawn's sleeper cells, groups of soldiers designed to form nuclei of resistance groups should the Empire and/or New Republic fall to threats from the Unknown Regions or beyond). (DFR, TTSB, VF; Han and Leia were surprised to discover Fel clones existed, despite the many clones killed and examined by the New Republic in the years following Thrawn's defeat. This seems to indicate Fel clones were never placed on active duty.)
-Thrawn experiments with creating a new breed of warlords. His prototype is a clone of Royal Guardsman Grodin Tierce, with some of Thrawn's own strategic genius added to the flash learning matrix. Unfortunately, the experiment is something of a failure, as the clone of Tierce is little more than a tactically brilliant stormtrooper, lacking the vision of the Grand Admiral. Thrawn discontinues the project. (VF; two months before Bilbringi.)
-Thrawn tracks down the legendary Katana fleet. Despite interference by the New Republic, Thrawn obtains a little less than 180 Dark Force Dreadnaughts to bolster his forces. His Mount Tantiss Project provides him with the necessary crews for the ships. This acquisition offsets the trickle of ships into the Deep Core on the clandestine orders of Palpatine's clone, as well as extensive combat losses predating Thrawn's return. (DFR, DESB, EC)
-Thrawn briefly returns to the Unknown Regions during his campaign, delivering both ysalamiri and a single Spaarti cloning cylinder in which to grow an emergency back-up Thrawn. Thrawn may also have promoted Voss Parck to Admiral at this time. (VF; this probably occurred during the month between DFR and LC, after Thrawn had enough additional war materiel, like the Katana Dreadnaughts, to make the trip worthwhile. This also is the only time his absence could have escaped the notice of readers of the Thrawn Trilogy! Thrawn himself must have made the journey, since no traditional Imperials knew of his Unknown Regions forces, and none of his Unknown Regions forces knew of his self-cloning project. Promotion of Parck is based on the assumption that only the leader of the Empire, or someone in the Empire's political hierarchy, could authorize a promotion to Admiral.)
-Thrawn is assassinated by his Noghri bodyguard, Rukh, during the Battle of Bilbringi. There is some evidence that Thrawn's death was partly orchestrated by the clone of Palpatine, in preparation for the latter's ascension to power. (LC, DESB; "most of a month" after DFR.)
[as referenced from
www.sithnet.co.uk/sith/index.php?page=Characters (which is slowly being re-written) ]