The Last Command: Star Wars Legends (The Thrawn Trilogy)

CHAPTER 1

Gliding through the blackness of deep space, the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera pointed its mighty arrowhead shape toward the dim star of its target system, three thousandths of a light-year away. And prepared itself for war.

All systems show battle ready, Admiral, the comm officer reported from the portside crew pit. The task force is beginning to check in.

Very good, Lieutenant, Grand Admiral Thrawn nodded. Inform me when all have done so. Captain Pellaeon?

Sir? Pellaeon said, searching his superior s face for the stress the Grand Admiral must be feeling. The stress he himself was certainly feeling. This was not just another tactical strike against the Rebellion, after all not a minor shipping raid or even a complex but straightforward hit-and-fade against some insignificant planetary base. After nearly a month of frenzied preparations, Thrawn s master campaign for the Empire s final victory was about to be launched.

But if the Grand Admiral was feeling any tension, he was keeping it to himself. Begin the countdown, he told Pellaeon, his voice as calm as if he were ordering dinner.

Yes, sir, Pellaeon said, turning back to the group of one-quarter-size holographic figures standing before him in the Chimaera s aft bridge hologram pod. Gentlemen: launch marks. Bellicose: three minutes.

Acknowledged, Chimaera, Captain Aban nodded, his proper military demeanor not quite masking his eagerness to take this war back to the Rebellion. Good hunting.

The holo image sputtered and vanished as the Bellicose raised its deflector shields, cutting off long-range communications. Pellaeon shifted his attention to the next image in line. Relentless: four point five minutes.

Acknowledged, Captain Dorja said, cupping his right fist in his left in an ancient Mirshaf gesture of victory as he, too, vanished from the hologram pod.

Pellaeon glanced at his data pad. Judicator: six minutes.

We re ready, Chimaera, Captain Brandei

Timothy Zahn is the author of more than sixty novels, nearly ninety short stories and novelettes, and four short-fiction collections. In 1984, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novella. Zahn is best known for his Star Wars novels (Thrawn, Thrawn: Alliances, Thrawn: Treason, Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future, Survivor s Quest, Outbound Flight, Allegiance, Choices of Onel, and Scoundrels), with more than eight million copies of his books in print. Other books include StarCraft: Evolution, the Cobra series, the Quadrail series, and the young adult Dragonback series. Zahn has a BS in physics from Michigan State University and an MS from the University of Illinois. He lives with his family on the Oregon coast.