History Literature / OutboundFlight

* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: As of ''Survivor's Quest'', [[ComicBook/XWingSeries Booster Terrik's]] Star Destroyer has finally been painted red. Doesn't change the fact that it's a Star Destroyer and needs a ridiculous amount of maintenance and an enormous crew complement, and Booster can't keep it in anything like military shape.

* TheChessmaster: Thrawn was this from the beginning of his career. Palpatine is a less prominent version, at least in this story.

** The Neimodian captain [[spoiler: is killed by his own laser pistol shot bouncing off his own personal forcefield, which Thrawn reconfigured behind his back]]

* TheSociopath: The Vagaari are basically an [[AlwaysChaoticEvil entire race of these]], each being completely self centered and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood incapable of seeing why anyone would care about someone besides themselves]]

* MexicanStandOff: The climax of Outbound Flight: [[spoiler: a three-way battle between Thrawn's Picket Force Two, Outbound Flight and the Vagaari fleet. Thrawn naturally lets Outbound Flight and the Vagaari neutralize each other before finishing off both.]]

** Car'das [[spoiler:voluntarily allows himself to be captured by the Vagaari so that he can give the Vagaari leader a platoon of Trade Federation battle droids. He gives the Vagaari leader a computer pad with full control of the droids, which is promptly tested on some hapless slaves. The Vagaari leader is thoroughly impressed and under the impression that the droids are his personal weapons and playthings...until the battle against Outbound Flight when he discovers that Thrawn still has command over the droids' secondary communications channels.]]

* [[LastKiss Last Hand-Holding]]

* [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscating Fawning Idiocy]]: How the [[spoiler: Vagaari]] got in position in ''Survivor's Quest''. A few of the Chiss knew or at least suspected, but the others didn't.

* [[TestedOnHumans Tested On Slaves]]: When the Vagaari commander gets his hands on the droids stowed away in Car'das's stolen shuttle, one of the first things he does is test their firepower on Geroon slaves.

* PsychicStrangle: In ''Outbound Flight'' [[spoiler:Jorus C'baoth falls to the dark side and tries to kill Thrawn this way. He's stopped when Car'das hits a BigRedButton Thrawn set up earlier, triggering radiation bombs that kill C'baoth instantly along with most of the inhabitants of ''Outbound Flight''.]]

Somewhere between ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' and ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', a ship carrying three Corellian traders has a hyperdrive malfunction and ends up far outside of Republic space. They are taken into the custody of Commander [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mitth%27raw%27nuruodo Mitth'raw'nuruodo]] of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, and from them he learns how to speak Basic and about the Republic, potentially a threat to his people. Thrawn is currently testing/fighting an entirely different set of aliens, the Vagaari.

''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Outbound_Flight_%28novel%29 Outbound Flight]]'' is a Creator/TimothyZahn novel set in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends''. ''Survivor's Quest'' is also included on this page.

''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Outbound_Flight_%28novel%29 Outbound Flight]]'' is another Creator/TimothyZahn novel set in the StarWarsExpandedUniverse. ''Survivor's Quest'' is also included on this page.

Forty-seven years later comes ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Survivor%27s_Quest Survivor's Quest]]'', set between the HandOfThrawn duology and the Literature/NewJediOrder. Newlyweds Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade are contacted by the [[HandOfThrawn Empire of the Hand]] with a message from the Chiss, who invite them as New Republic representatives to come visit the wreckage of Outbound Flight, and reclaim the remains. They feel responsible for that rogue Commander's actions. Things are complicated when they are accompanied by a faux New Republic ambassador with his own agenda, and when the pair find that representatives from the Empire of the Hand, Commander Chak Fel and four stormtroopers of the Five-Oh-First, were sent along as their escort. Things are complicated more when some aliens show up claiming that the Jedi of Outbound Flight saved them from the Vagaari, and they want to pay their respects.

--> '''Mara Jade (in ''[[HandOfThrawn Vision of the Future]]'')''': So... just how badly did Thrawn slaughter them?

** Then gets played with at the end of the novel as Mara believes that [[spoiler: Formbi couldn't have come up with the plan to instigate a Chiss-Vagaari war on his own. The scheme's complicated and convoluted nature goes against the Chiss' cultural and personal beliefs. It's more along the lines of something Thrawn would have cooked up. And while they [[HandOfThrawn destroyed]] the clone on Nirauan, it's possible the Grand Admiral had another clone hidden in the Unknown Regions. The drastic changes in Formbi's personality in the decades since ''Outbound Flight'' lends credence to Mara's theory]].

''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Outbound_Flight_%28novel%29 Outbound Flight]]'' is another TimothyZahn novel set in the StarWarsExpandedUniverse. ''Survivor's Quest'' is also included on this page.

* BadassCrew: The four 501st stormtroopers in SurvivorsQuest. They are ''awesome''.

--> '''Mara Jade (in ''[[HandOfThrawn Vision of the Future]]'')''': So... [[GenreSavvy just how badly did Thrawn slaughter them]]?

Somewhere between ''ThePhantomMenace'' and ''AttackOfTheClones'', a ship carrying three Corellian traders has a hyperdrive malfunction and ends up far outside of Republic space. They are taken into the custody of Commander [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mitth%27raw%27nuruodo Mitth'raw'nuruodo]] of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, and from them he learns how to speak Basic and about the Republic, potentially a threat to his people. Thrawn is currently testing/fighting an entirely different set of aliens, the Vagaari.

* DontShootTheMessage: In-universe example: C'baoth leaves Thrawn with a very bad impression of the Jedi, which combined with them being [[OutsideContextVillain wholly alien to the Chiss]], seems to lead in future to consistently underestimating Jedi in general and C'Baoth in particular.

** This whole story was originally one of these. In ''TheThrawnTrilogy'', Thrawn tells us that he destroyed the Outbound Flight Project and killed the original C'baoth (and his vehemence then is now explained) and in ''HandOfThrawn'' Soontir Fel and Voss Parck give more details about the way Thrawn was outnumbered.

* HyperAwareness: Luke and Mara can rewind their memories to take another look at what they saw. One might wonder if Zahn would like this trick for himself, as it's [[TheThrawnTrilogy the second time he's featured it in his Star Wars works]].
* InTheBlood: Admittedly, [[TheThrawnTrilogy Joruus C'baoth]] was already crazy from being a [[CloningBlues flawed clone]], but it's pretty easy to see where he got his, well, ''everything'' from.

* SherlockScan: Thrawn, art, [[TheThrawnTrilogy you know how it goes]].

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Jorus C'baoth isn't as bad as [[TheThrawnTrilogy his clone]], but he's still not the stablest of beings. You can see why he and [[EvilChancellor Palpatine]] get along.

* CloningGambit: Sort of. Jorus C'baoth dies, but from TheThrawnTrilogy we know that Palpatine decides he can still make good use of those genes. [[CallForward And, in Outbound Flight, it's mentioned that before they leave every member of the crew is given a thorough medical exam...]]

* FandomNod: Ari Roselani, cosplaying as Grand Admiral Thrawn, [[http://public.fotki.com/Kait/star_wars/tim_zahn_booksigning/thrawntim.html met]] Timothy Zahn in 2002, and apparently they became friends. ''Outbound Flight'' has a female Chiss admiral dressed all in white and aiding in Thrawn's plans named [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ar%27alani Ar'alani]].

* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: As of ''Survivor's Quest'', [[XWingSeries Booster Terrik's]] Star Destroyer has finally been painted red. Doesn't change the fact that it's a Star Destroyer and needs a ridiculous amount of maintenance and an enormous crew complement, and Booster can't keep it in anything like military shape.

Forty-seven years later comes ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Survivor%27s_Quest Survivor's Quest]]'', set between the HandOfThrawn duology and the NewJediOrder. Newlyweds Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade are contacted by the [[HandOfThrawn Empire of the Hand]] with a message from the Chiss, who invite them as New Republic representatives to come visit the wreckage of Outbound Flight, and reclaim the remains. They feel responsible for that rogue Commander's actions. Things are complicated when they are accompanied by a faux New Republic ambassador with his own agenda, and when the pair find that representatives from the Empire of the Hand, Commander Chak Fel and four stormtroopers of the Five-Oh-First, were sent along as their escort. Things are complicated more when some aliens show up claiming that the Jedi of Outbound Flight saved them from the Vagaari, and they want to pay their respects.

* TheManBehindTheMan: In ''Survivor's Quest'', Aristocra Formbi believes that [[spoiler: the Vagaari have allied themselves with someone more powerful and dangerous]]. While it's never outright confirmed, [[spoiler: the Vagaari's pack of Wolvkils and swarms of Schostri are reminiscent of [[NewJediOrder Yuuzhan Vong]] biots. The absence of either creature during Car'das' time on Vagaari ships in ''Outbound Flight'' supports Formbi's fears, suggesting the Vagaari are being backed by the Vong to help weaken the Chiss Ascendancy in preparation for the imminent invasion.]]

--> '''Mara Jade (in ''[[HandOfThrawn Vision of the Future]]'')''': So... just how badly did Thrawn slaughter them?

* BittersweetEnding: ''Outbound Flight'' has either this or a DownerEnding, from a certain point of view.

* FantasticRacism: In ''Outbound Flight'', Doriana knows about his master's kneejerk distaste for nonhumans, but he thinks that Thrawn just might be impressive enough to make Sidious overlook species. In ''Survivor's Quest'', Mara Jade is told that the stormtroopers are from the Five-Oh-First, thinks back to her time working with them as Emperor's Hand, and remembers that the Emperor's xenophobia rubbed off on them. The Empire of the Hand's 501st is not the original 501st remaining in the Imperial Remnant, but if they decided to take the name they might also have taken the attitudes. Then she and Luke discover, to their shock, that at least one of the stormtroopers isn't human.
** Also, the Survivors of Outbound Flight almost uniformly hate and fear the Jedi, and they lock away any children who show signs of being Force-Sensitive. One of the stormtroopers is angry about this. Locking up and 'disappearing' people who hadn't done anything happened on his homeworld, before the Empire of the Hand came.

* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: As of ''Survivor's Quest'', [[XWingSeries Booster Terrick's]] Star Destroyer has finally been painted red. Doesn't change the fact that it's a Star Destroyer and needs a ridiculous amount of maintenance and an enormous crew complement, and Booster can't keep it in anything like military shape.

* [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscating Fawning Idiocy]]: How the [[spoiler: Vagaari]] got in position in ''Survivor's Quest''. The Chiss knew or at least suspected, but the others didn't.

* YouSuck: C'baoth delivers one to each side in the dispute between the Corporate Alliance and the people of Barlok, due to [[{{Understatement}} neither side covering themselves with glory]].

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: No one ever learns what Thrass and Lorana did.

--> '''Thrass''': "It appears we will both be giving our lives for your people."

** The Hardcell-class ships get destroyed ''by their own missiles'', thanks to some brilliant maneuvering by Thrawn

* DontShootTheMessage: In-universe example: C'baoth leaves Thrawn with a very bad impression of the Jedi, which combined with them being [[OutOfContextVillain wholly alien to the Chiss]], seems to lead in future to consistently underestimating Jedi in general and C'Baoth in particular.

''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Outbound_Flight_%28novel%29 Outbound Flight]]'' is another TimothyZahn novel set in the StarWarsExpandedUniverse. Survivors Quest is also included on this page.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Chiss (except Thrawn) have a strong moral objection to the idea of pre-emptive strikes, and Luke offends Formbi at one point by implying that they only refrain from them for pragmatic reasons, showing how seriously they take it.

** Jorus C'baoth wants to get Outbound Flight approved. Palpatine wants this so he can destroy Outbound Flight and get rid of eighteen Jedi quickly, but he doesn't just want to jam it down the Senate's throat, not yet. As Palpatine, he sends C'baoth to resolve a dispute. As Sidious, he sends an operative to build up and supply some fanatics on one side of this dispute, giving them a missile that's supposed to track down where the people meeting for the dispute. The missile is sent, C'baoth intercepts it, and then, while everyone is thoroughly shaken up, he slams down a compromise that makes him look like a hero, leading to Outbound Flight's approval.
* CloningGambit: Sort of. Jorus C'baoth dies, but from TheThrawnTrilogy we know that Palpatine decides he can still make good use of those genes.

* DontShootTheMessage: In-universe example: C'baoth leaves Thrawn with a very bad impression of the Jedi.

** The Niemodian captain [[spoiler: is killed by his own laser pistol shot bouncing off his own personal forcefield, which Thrawn reconfigured behind his back]]
** Car'das [[spoiler: voluntarily allows himself to be captured by the Vagaari so that he can give the Vagaari leader a platoon of Trade Federation battle droids. He gives the Vagaari leader a computer pad with full control of the droids, which is promptly tested on some hapless slaves. The Vagaari leader is thoroughly impressed and under the impression that the droids are his personal weapons and playthings...until the battle against Outbound Flight when he discovers that Thrawn still has command over the droids secondary communications channels.]]
*** [[spoiler: It's implied that either Car'das came up with this plan after a late-night conversation with Thrawn, the contents of which the reader is never directly told, despite being informed of the conversation taking place; or that Thrawn himself came up with this plan for Car'das to follow, and told him during that conversation. Car'das has enough time to think 'What in the worlds could Thrawn have had stashed aboard the shuttle?' while onboard the Vagaari ship, however, heavily suggesting that while he knew Thrawn wanted him to take that shuttle, Car'das wasn't aware of this part of the plan. By the end of the book, Thrawn and Car'das trust each other enough to use their personal names ([[FirstNameBasis Thrawn and Jorj]]), while Choices of One makes it clear that Jorj is the person Thrawn trusts most in the galaxy.]]
* HyperAwareness: Luke and Mara can rewind their memories to take another look at what they saw.

* ModernStasis: Star Wars Tech Stasis is averted here. In ''Outbound Flight'', we see that both Republic and Chiss forces think of a gravity-well generator as purely theoretical until they see one in action. Droids are unknown to the Chiss, and the Corellian traders are shocked to see that the Chiss ships can perform microjumps, very short and precise hops through hyperspace.

* ShootTheDog: Thrawn shot down ships with [[HumanShield living shields]], saying that those hostages were already dead.