**Chapter 250: Games of Empire**
Aboard the *Scimitar*, the air was cool and precise, the lighting subdued in the way Thrawn preferred—functional yet elegant, allowing the mind to focus without distraction. Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo sat at the tactical station, blue fingers moving with deliberate grace across the holographic interface. The game projected before him was no ordinary simulation. It was something Dagon had introduced from another world, another galaxy entirely: a sandbox real-time strategy experience based on Dagon's Earth memories, heavily modified and dubbed "Empire at War: Thrawn's Mod."
Other worlds, other galaxies, the multiverse—these concepts would seem fictional to the average citizen. But not to Thrawn. He was now deeply engaged in a private game against Dagon, commanding the New Republic Legends faction while Dagon led Thrawn's own Empire of the Hand.
"I must say," Thrawn remarked aloud, his voice carrying that cultured, measured tone, "for a galaxy of wonders, the fact that these games aren't more widespread is a shame."
Dagon, seated across from him in the secure chamber, leaned back with a faint smile. The half-white mullet and lightning scars on his face caught the holographic glow. "The military academies have something similar, but thanks to my memory—or the fact that this type of technology it was based on is thousands of years old—it is expected."
Thrawn's red eyes flicked up briefly, studying Dagon with that piercing intensity that had unnerved so many opponents. "Still, it does wonders for sharpening the mind. But you knowing so much about me is a little disturbing."
Dagon chuckled softly. "What you were considered—and I quote—'heir to the Empire' for a reason. Given that most commanders of the Imperial Navy focused on prestige and the actual thinkers were sidelined because of bureaucracy, well… the most accomplished. Look, I just captured Kuat. So much for the capital ship speed construction."
"Indeed," Thrawn replied, a hint of dry amusement in his voice as he watched his New Republic forces attempt to retake the shipyards in the simulation. "It makes me wonder why I joined the Empire if I wasn't around by the time the Yuuzhan Vong arrived. Though I should have, with the Empire in exile. And now you lost Rendili."
Dagon leaned forward, eyes on the holographic map where his Empire of the Hand forces consolidated gains. "Should I say, and I quote from your art book: 'Failure to act always brings consequences. But sometimes, those consequences can be turned to one's advantage.' I mean, I need all the help I can get, especially due to Resurgent-class being limited to the number of Dreadnoughts I could acquire. But the Republic cut me off at ten, so now we are going to collect ships from those who won't need them and can't report them."
Thrawn paused the simulation for a moment, intrigued. "The Hutts have an impressive fleet for 'criminals.' Still, how are you going to find them?"
"The normal way," Dagon said with a shrug. "In the meantime, Ethan—what is the score?"
A young aide, Ethan, glanced at a separate datapad. "Dagon: six victories, five defeats—two with the Sith Empire of old, one with the Old Republic of old, one each with the First Order, New Republic canon, and one with Thrawn's Empire. Thrawn: five victories and six defeats, most victories came with New Republic Legends."
"It is expected," Thrawn observed calmly. "As the New Republic had the failure of the Empire at used for themselves—learning from our mistakes while we were forced to improvise with limited resources."
The two commanders resumed the game, but the conversation flowed naturally into deeper tactical discussion. Thrawn found the sandbox nature of the mod fascinating—it allowed near-total creative freedom, much like real warfare when intelligence and adaptability replaced rigid doctrine.
"I have studied the tactics attributed to me in your… historical records," Thrawn said, making a precise flanking maneuver in the simulation with a task force of Chiss-style clawcraft analogs. "The stateless strategy, for instance. Using mobility to strike where the enemy is not, forcing them to overstretch their defenses or concentrate forces and lose legitimacy elsewhere. It is elegant in its simplicity. In the mod, I see how it translates—raiding supply lines, feinting at secondary targets to draw out the main fleet, then hitting the true objective with concentrated power."
Dagon nodded, countering with a bold Empire of the Hand push using stealth elements and rapid strikes. "Exactly. You used it brilliantly in the Legends campaigns—raiding Borderland Regions to test reactions, acquiring capital ships through mole miners and the Katana fleet, even the ysalamiri to neutralize Force users while accelerating cloning. The mod captures that essence: limited forces, high mobility, turning the enemy's own strengths against them."
Thrawn's eyes narrowed in appreciation as his simulated forces executed a textbook envelopment. "Cultural understanding remains key. Art reveals how a species thinks, their priorities, their weaknesses. In one campaign, I studied a species' pottery to predict their defensive patterns—symmetrical yet fragile at the joints. Here in the game, it translates to analyzing faction bonuses and unit synergies. The New Republic's reliance on starfighter swarms and morale-driven leadership makes them vulnerable to psychological disruption—hit their command ships, sow confusion, and the fleet fragments."
Dagon countered with a feint, drawing Thrawn's forces into a nebula trap before springing an ambush with hidden Resurgent analogs. "Your use of cloaked asteroids at Coruscant was masterful. Minimal material for maximum effect—blockading a planet without committing a full fleet. In the mod, I've tried similar with stealth ships and decoys. It forces the opponent to react to ghosts while the real blow lands elsewhere."
Thrawn allowed a rare, thin smile. "Precisely. Deception and maneuver. Use escorts as decoys to reveal enemy capabilities while the flagship stays safe. Then apply enabling fires from unexpected vectors—tidal waves from orbital bombardment to disable shields, for example. Technology must be understood intimately; pair it with intangibles like leadership and the enemy's culminating point. Boyd's OODA loop—observe, orient, decide, act—becomes far more potent when cultural insight shortens the opponent's orientation phase."
He demonstrated in the game, using a small force to probe Dagon's defenses, gathering data on unit responses before committing heavier assets in a decisive strike. "The Chiss Ascendancy taught me restraint and precision. Our doctrine emphasizes non-intervention and defensive posture—no preemptive strikes without confirmed threat. The Expansionary Defense Fleet patrols the Chaos, learning without conquering. Naval focus dominates; ground forces are secondary, used mainly for boarding or defense. We eliminate an enemy's space capability first—destroy shipyards and fleets from orbit, leaving worlds largely untouched except for targeted strikes on military infrastructure."
Dagon listened intently, adjusting his own strategy. "That discipline shows. Your people avoid the arrogance that doomed so many Imperial commanders. In the game, when I play as the Empire of the Hand, I incorporate that—hit hard but surgically, preserve forces for the long campaign. No superweapons like the Death Star; you saw that as a mistake—arrogance over adaptability. Fleet-based warfare, mobility, and cultural leverage win more reliably."
"Indeed," Thrawn agreed. "The Death Star was a symbol of fear, vulnerable to a single flaw. Better to understand your enemy's art, predict their moves, and dismantle their will to fight. In one engagement, I studied a commander's preference for bold, heroic charges—his art collection revealed a romantic idealism. I baited him with an apparently vulnerable target, then crushed the relief force he committed. Here in the mod, similar principles apply: exploit faction AI behaviors and player tendencies."
The conversation deepened as they traded moves. Thrawn shared more Chiss tactics: coordinated clawcraft strikes that used gravity wells and hyperspace jumps for hit-and-run operations, intelligence gathering through non-aggressive patrols, and the philosophy that knowledge of the enemy's mindset was the ultimate weapon. Dagon countered with insights from his Earth memories and Sith holocron training—brutal efficiency mixed with adaptive resilience forged in fifty years of machine war.
They discussed how the mod's sandbox freedom mirrored real strategy: no fixed end goal, only the objectives players set. Thrawn found it liberating compared to rigid Imperial doctrine, while Dagon appreciated how it let him test multiverse-spanning ideas without real-world risk.
Hours passed in this intellectual duel until a chime interrupted.
"Sir," Puck's voice came over the intercom, professional yet urgent. "We have arrived at Teth."
Thrawn glanced at Dagon, the game pausing mid-battle. "Excellent. Time for some loot."
The *Scimitar* dropped out of hyperspace near the Hutt-controlled world, the promise of seized assets and hidden fleets hanging in the void like fresh prey.
The game could wait. Real empire-building called.