## Chapter 4

1 I had a whole hyperdrive system worked out, modeled on the time-dilation formula from Relativistic physics, with a range of possible lightspeed numbers that ran exponentially from zero (dead stop) to one (infinite speed). It was elegant, looked very cool, and allowed me to actually use some of my college physics.

Alas, later on, when I wasn’t looking, Lucasfilm and/or West End Games came up with an entirely different system. Still, it was fun while it lasted.

—TZ

2 With the official definition of Sith still a few years in the future, I had to come up with a label for a Jedi who has fallen to the dark side. I chose the descriptive if not very original term Dark Jedi.

The definition is unfortunately a bit squishy, referring nowadays to both a fallen Jedi and also a Force-user who never underwent proper training, but perhaps learned under the tutelage of another Dark Jedi.

For this reason (and probably a few others), the term is somewhat discouraged. At the time, though, it was the best any of us had to work with.

—TZ

3 Tantiss was named after Tantalus, a son of Zeus who was admitted to the company of the gods—and then abused the privilege. (The stories about how he did so are many and varied.) That seemed to fit the Emperor-he had the gift of the Jedi, but had abused his power to enslave the galaxy.

The Sith philosophy, we know now, isn’t quite that simple. But it still involves the use and abuse of power.

—TZ

4 One might ask why Thrawn didn’t routinely wear body armor, given that this shows he had it available.

The answer is that body armor tends to be heavy and uncomfortable, and Thrawn would normally not bother with it unless he expected to be going into danger.

—TZ

5 My original reasoning was just what’s laid out here: that whomever Palpatine had left to guard his storehouse had been killed by Joruus C’baoth when he somehow stumbled on the place.

To my mild surprise, speculation quickly arose that C’baoth was the original guardian, and it was merely because of his insanity that he thought he’d killed someone and taken his place.

Such speculation is wrong, of course.

I think…

—TZ

6 A Jedi Master like no other! George Lucas’s first three films gave us Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Darth Vader. The concept of someone wielding Jedi powers whose grip on reality is, shall we say, tenuous, was entirely new.

—BM

7 In my first outline this character was an insane clone of Obi-Wan Kenobi, created before the Clone Wars by the Emperor and put here to guard the storehouse. That would have given me a very interesting dynamic to work with, especially when Luke faces him in Dark Force Rising. At that point, with his own emotions running high, Luke would have to determine whether this was a trick, or in fact a reincarnation of his old friend and Master.

Lucasfilm vetoed the idea. I lobbied very hard to keep it, modifying it six ways from Sunday to try to make sure I didn’t step on George’s yet-to-be-written prequel toes. But it was to no avail. Reluctantly, grouchily, I rewrote the part for C’baoth instead.

Now, as is the case with so many of the strictures and boundaries Lucasfilm put on me, I’m glad they reined me in. Not only is C’baoth an interesting character in his own right, but my subsequent Outbound Flight novel would have had to be drastically different.

C’baoth, incidentally, is pronounced SA-bay-oth, with the first vowel pronounced like the a in has. If I’d realized how hard it was going to be for everyone else to figure out, I would have changed the spelling.

To be fair, part of the problem was also that when the audio adaptations of the books came out, several of the names and words were a bit mangled, leaving a lingering confusion in the minds of everyone who heard them.

It wasn’t just my stuff, either. Anthony Daniels, who did one of the readings, later told me the pronunciation sheet he was given had Tatooine wrong, too.

—TZ

8 Thrawn doesn’t show this kind of emotion very often. It’s likely some of this is the distant memories of his encounter years earlier with the original, nonclone C’baoth.

Of course, I didn’t know that until years later when I wrote Outbound Flight. An other case of being able to fit pieces into a puzzle that at the time I didn’t even know I was making.

—TZ

9 This scene sets up a balance of two kinds of power that will affect the next three books: Thrawn’s military command and tactics-oriented mind versus C’baoth’s Force abilities and the danger of his completely unpredictable thought processes.

—BM

10 I caught more grief for this one than even the hot chocolate incident. The complaints mostly focused on the idea that the Force is created by living beings, and that it can’t be “pushed back” in the way I described, certainly not from other living beings.

Note, though, that I didn’t say that was the case. Thrawn did, and contrary to popular belief Thrawn doesn’t know everything.

What’s actually happening—and we’ll see it in action later—is that ysalamiri simply suppress the level of the Force to something below the threshold that Jedi can access. It’s a fine distinction, but an important one.

Still, the bottom line for Jedi—and more important for C’baoth-is basically the same. Thrawn can therefore be excused for perhaps oversimplifying his explanation.

—TZ

11 Actually, we know from The Empire Strikes Back that the cloaking shield was at least marginally functional at that time.

But the rumors may not have reached Thrawn, out in the Unknown Regions, until closer to Endor.

—TZ

12 I borrowed this from Sauron’s driving of his forces in The Lord of the Rings. Much as I sympathize with the Alliance, I felt there had to be something going on beneath the surface to explain their victory at Endor.

It’s also, I think, consistent with Palpatine’s pride and nature. Endor was to be his victory over the Rebellion, and he would have made sure he could claim it as such.

Logic aside, of course, I also needed this ability for C’baoth to use later in the books.

—TZ

13 Thrawn had spent years observing Palpatine, watching how he used his power, seeing what his goals and desires were. From that analysis, he would naturally have concluded that all Dark Jedi would want the same kind of power over people and worlds.

—TZ

14 Outbound Flight was essentially a throwaway line, a way to confirm that this C’baoth was indeed a clone, as well as to underline Thrawn’s military capabilities.

But it didn’t stay a throwaway for long. I ended up working out a few more details in Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future, and ultimately did an entire novel, Outbound Flight.

I wish I’d known at the time that the project was going to grow to that size. I would have given it a much cooler name.

—TZ

15 Again, my assumptions about the Clone Wars were exactly backward: I assumed the clones would be fighting against the Republic instead of being on their side. (Nice twist, George!)

Fortunately, facing doesn’t necessarily mean fighting. My choice of words here was pure luck, but it helped me avoid a retroactive gaffe.

—TZ