Darth Vader’s wrath made it a dangerous task to have leadership positions in the Imperial Navy, but Grand Admiral Thrawn became the rare Imperial who lived to tell the tale.

Thrawn’s Boldness

Thrawn is considered as one of the Empire’s best tacticians with a gifted mine of strategy in the Star Wars canon. Both Thrawn and Vader were considered Emperor Palpatine’s most favored tools through which he maintained his rule. However, both were quite opposite in the way they thought.

In the new graphic novel adaption of Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances, the difference in perspective between the Dark Lord and the Great Admiral is captured very well.

The issue is shown in their arrival on the planet Batuu, as they are given the task of working together in an investigation on the disturbance at the Emperor’s request before the events of A New Hope.

Tension arises between the two as Thrawn has some secret history with Vader at the end when Thrawn refuses to deviate from his stratagems even after Vader orders the opposite.

Defying Vader’s Order

The conflict arises when Batuu’s Black Spire Outpost is taken over by the Darshi, a border society. Thrawn believed that caution and gathering more data would be a valuable action along with keeping the Star Destroyer hidden.

However, Vader wanted The Chimaera to encounter the Darshi’s ships that entered the planet’s orbit. Meanwhile, Thrawn defied his orders by telling his commanders to halt their positions, thus getting a warning from Vader instead of being punished.

Other Imperial officers would have been punished by Vader for defying his orders, but Thrawn was not one of them. Despite being annoyed by him, Vader didn’t punish him because of an important reason.

Vader did not spare his life out of mercy, but out of Thrawn’s inheritance value to the Empire. He is not only known for his intelligence and for gaining victory where his companions would have failed, but also because he is favored by Palpatine as he has immensely unique knowledge about the Unknown Regions. 

Vader could not kill Thrawn due to this reason, he could not compromise the mission and then face the wrath of the Emperor, but there is more to their relationship than it is shown.

Vader and Thrawn’s Relation

Thrown has been to Batuu and Black Spire Outpost during the Clone Wars and during this time, he was a companion of Anakin Skywalker, the man Vader once was before turning towards the dark side.

However, Vader does not recall the past, but he remembers their time together when he was Anakin with the respect, they had for each other. This is the reason why he finds himself unable to punish Thrawn despite his defiance. 

Thrawn can oppose Vader which would have cost other officers their lives for having differences and going against him. His boldness earned him the Empire’s boldest leaders.