Title: Planet Leave 1/?
Author: Grand Admiral Marcia
Characters: Grand Admiral Thrawn/Captain Pellaeon
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 I think; vague slash hints
Summary: Thrawn and Pellaeon visit a loyal Imperial planet for a bit of R&R
and to meet the people
Disclaimer: The characters and universe belong to George Lucas and Timothy
Zahn. I make no money out of this
Feedback: Most appreciated either via email or icq: 49125712

*************
Planet Leave

Captain Pellaeon woke to Grand Admiral Thrawn elbowing him in the ribs.
“Get up,” said the superior officer, getting out of bed and pulling on his
trousers. “You’re coming with me on planet leave to Prahs.”

Pellaeon sat up, rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his grey hair. “I
thought you had planned on going alone.”

“I had. However last night I looked over your files and realised you have
never been to Prahs before. The Prahsii are very strong supporters of the
Empire. A visit from an officer of your rank would delight them. Secondly,
it is a beautiful place to visit, and it has been way too long since you’ve
had some time off. Thirdly, I think you would benefit from studying their
culture. And lastly, I’d appreciate your company.” Thrawn closed one red
eye in an affectionate wink.
“But what about the Chimaera?”

“Ardiff is capable of taking care of your ship for a couple of days. Now
get up and get dressed. Oh, and another thing. We have adjoining rooms in
the hotel I’ve booked, but in public keep your hands off me.”


The Lambda shuttle touched down gently at the spaceport in Eltsen, the
major governmental center on the planet. The ramp lowered and Thrawn and
Pellaeon stepped out. Cheers and applause met them. A cluster of about a
hundred civilians stood before the ship, smiling, waving Imperial and Prahs
flags, and calling out “Long live the Empire!” The two officers smiled and
waved back, and marched down the ramp, boot heels clicking.
A small girl, about seven years of age, broke free of the crowd and ran up
to them, blond curls bouncing. Her big blue eyes sparkled as she offered
Thrawn a small posy of flowers. Thrawn bent down on one knee, meeting the
child at eye level, his red eyes twinkling.. “How sweet of you!” he said,
beaming at the child. He accepted the flowers and affectionately tousled
her hair. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

She looked at him with big serious eyes. “I want to be a teacher at the
Imperial Academy and teach all the soldiers.”

Pellaeon laughed and picked up the little girl and swung her around. He
kissed her on the forehead before putting her down. “I’m sure you’ll become
a very good teacher.”

A blond-haired boy of about eleven came forward, looking apologetic. “I am
so sorry, Admiral, Captain. I took my eyes off my sister for a minute “

“That’s all right, son,” said Pellaeon and shook his hand. “I’m pleased to
meet you and your sister. What are your names?”

“I’m Richard, and this is my sister Bronwyn. It’s such an pleasure to meet
you sir.” He backed away from them, bowing and holding his little sister’s
shoulders.
Thrawn and Pellaeon stepped forward to greet the crowd. They were mostly
athletic, enthusiastic looking youths or mothers and their children. Thrawn
raised a hand to quiet their cheers.
“It is an honour to visit your beautiful home planet, and even more of an
honour to receive such a warm welcome. I look forward to spending a couple
of days here meeting as many of you as I can. Thank you for the
graciousness and hospitality in allowing the soldiers of the Empire to
spend a few days here resting from their duties, after which we will launch
a new and fresh attack on the Rebellion.” The Grand Admiral’s voice
mellowed. “May all the universe know and experience the propserity that the
Empire has brought to Prahs.”

Thrawn stepped back and bowed. The spaceport erupted in a joyous,
resonating cheer. Even the spaceport workers put down their burdens for a
few seconds to applaud the heroes. He and Pellaeon beamed at their
audience, and stepped into the crowd to shake hands with the young men,
kiss the mothers and young women, and pat the children on the head. They
were surrounded by backslaps, posies, gleaming white smiles and remarks of
support and encouragement. A young man of about seventeen with adoring blue
eyes begged Pellaeon to sign his strategy textbook. Pellaeon was happy to
oblige and patted him on the shoulder. A couple of giggling, fair haired
teenage girls posed with Thrawn for a picture taken by their freckled,
golden haired older brother. A pretty young mother showed Pellaeon her son,
born just two weeks ago. Pellaeon kissed the woman on her fair cheek and
told the infant that he would grow up to be a good and wise Imperial
officer. Thrawn admired the toy spaceships that three young boys showed him
and mussed their golden hair. An hour passed of greeting, handshaking and
kissing before Pellaeon and Thrawn managed to remove themselves from the
crowd and into the street.
The street was as immaculate as the spaceport. The street was clean and
tidy, with flowers and small shrubs planted on either side. Small, cheerful
stores lay on either side of the street, their wares displayed in the
windows. Mothers greeted each other in the street; men shook hands and
exchanged contact details, children gazed longingly in the window of a
lolly shop.
Their speeder driver was jovial and friendly. “Gee, I never thought that
I’d be driving around Grand Admiral Thrawn himself! And Captain Pellaeon of
the Chimaera as well! The missus didn’t believe me at first when I told her
I was picking you sirs up. I bet my kids are telling all their friends at
school about it. So were would you like to go today, sirs?” He flicked a
golden lock out of his eyes.
“We’d like to visit a tapcaf in the outer suburbs for lunch, then walk for
a while to stretch our legs and get some fresh air. In the evening we’ll go
to a cantina, preferably one frequented by a lot of youngsters. I’d like to
keep an eye on what some of the Empire’s younger officers are getting up to
in their spare time.”

The driver winked a blue eye and laughed. “Oh, sirs you needn’t pretend to
be proper in front of me. I understand that you’ve been out fighting the
Rebellion so long that you haven’t had any for a long time, and you want to
try and meet up with some attractive youngsters. Despite your ages, I doubt
there’d be any boys or girls who’d refuse an offer from you, or fail to
offer first.”

Thrawn was rather taken aback at this forwardness. “I understood your
people don’t approve of men our age having young lovers, or having lovers
at all. I don’t wish to offend your standards after the hospitality you
have shown us.”

“That’s for ordinary men, sir. Heroes like you who for decades have
deprived themselves of wives and lovers to serve the Empire and spread the
New Order are entitled to a bit of leniency.” Pellaeon suppressed a smile.
“I doubt we’d be able to stop the youngsters anyway.” He laughed again.
The speeder left them outside an elegant tapcafe. In their uniforms, they
were easily recognised. Two boys and two girls, all around twelve or
thirteen, put their blond heads together and whispered excitedly at the
sight of them. As they passed their table, Pellaeon caught some snatches:
“so cuuuuute!” “nice butt” “I want to be like him” “I want to marry him!”
and blushed.
A light-haired man with fair skin saw them enter, did a double take, and
greeted them with a delighted smile. “Grand Admiral Thrawn! And Captain
Pellaeon!” He shook their hands and slapped their shoulders
enthusiastically, blue eyes sparkling. “My, its an honour to have you in my
tapcaf! Please, have a seat; lunch is on the house. No, don’t protest, you
sirs have done such wonderful work protecting us from that horrible
Rebellion. If it hadn’t been for the Imperial Navy, there would still be
two Death Stars terrorizing the galaxy. The least I can do is shout you a
meal. My name is Howard, by the way.” He beckoned to a fair haired woman
and a blue eyed boy behind the counter. “That’s my wife and son over there.
Amanda! John! Let’s lay on the best meal we have for Grand Admiral Thrawn
and Captain Pellaeon over here!”

Thrawn and Pellaeon were seated on two neat wooden chairs in front of round
table covered in a red-checked tablecloth with a daisy in a small white
vase in the center. A cosy fire in a brick fireplace in the corner warmed
the room. Two elderly ladies near the fireplace sipped stim tea and sneaked
surreptitious glances at the newcomers. The glass-fronted tapcaf gave them
an excellent view of the park across the road where children played a
friendly ball game and a young fair-haired couple threw a stick for a pet;
and the teens at the table out the front still gushing over the heroic pair.
“Excuse me sirs.” The young boy John approached their table a little shyly
and spoke to Pellaeon. “My mum gave me your autobiography for my birthday
last year. I’ve read it six times already. My favourite part is when you’re
in the Chimaera and attacking the Rebels around the second Death Star they
built. Would you sign it for me please?” He thrust a well-thumbed book to
the Captain.
“Oh John dear, you mustn’t worry the guests. They’ve been saving us from
the Rebellion for many years, let them rest and have some time to
themselves for a bit.” Amanda placed her hands on her son’s shoulders and
apologised to Pellaeon with her eyes. “I’m very sorry about this, I know
you must be tired “

“Oh no, that’s fine. I love meeting loyal subjects of the Empire. I don’t
see it as work; in fact it inspires me to work and fight harder.” Pellaeon
ruffled John’s blond hair and reached for the book and the pen offered.
“Let’s see…how’s this: To John, By the time I retire you will be a cunning
and clever Captain of your own Star Destroyer. Great meeting you; Captain
Gilad Pellaeon.” He finished the signature with a flourish and handed the
book back to the boy with a friendly wink. “I’m sure your friends will be
really jealous of you now.”

John almost burst with pride. “Oh, thank you so much, sir. Gosh, I’ll be
the envy of the Academy!” He darted across the polished wooden floor to the
teens sitting outside and showed them his prize. The girls squealed in
delight and the boys gazed at John with obvious envy. John beamed at his
hero and waved. Pellaeon grinned and waved back.
“That was very kind of you, Captain,” said Amanda quietly. “You have no
idea how much our John admires you and what you’ve done for the good of the
galaxy. His bedroom is covered in pictures of Imperial ships and battles.
His only dream is to follow in your footsteps.”

Thrawn patted her shoulder. “You’ve raised your son well. He already has
strong, healthy Imperial values, due to the good influence of yourself and
your husband. I look forward to see him graduating from Carida in a few
years time.”

Amanda blushed at this praise. “Oh, sir - “

“The Grand Admiral is telling the truth, Mrs Howard.” said Pellaeon,
looking square in her blue eyes. “Your whole planet is exactly what the
Empire stands and fights to protect. One day your son will be a Captain of
a Star Destroyer like mine; or perhaps the Vengeance, or the Death’s Head,
so other planets can experience the joy and prosperity that yours has.”