1987, Thrawn's Teacher
Under these circumstances, those lofty family representatives in the Chiss Cabinet discovered in horror that they no longer had any cards left to play against Ziyala.
Because the fleet under Ziyala's command could easily raze Csilla to the ground!
Right now. Immediately. On the spot!
The Nuruodo family gritted their teeth and snarled, "So you've finally come to this, Ziyala! You should know what your words just now mean..."
They meant treason.
Admiral Qiyala closed her eyes in pain. This was a situation she had never wanted to face, never wanted to see become reality. But under the combined pressure of the Duchy of Dawn and the Grysk Hegemony, she had no other choice.
Previously, she could have forcibly vetoed Lieutenant General Brent's proposal from the Duchy of Dawn and prevented the fleet from deploying. But if she did that, once Lieutenant General Brent reported the matter to the Duchy of Dawn, the likely result would be her immediate dismissal as the nominal Grand Commander.
Though she was the Grand Commander, that title only applied tactically. When it came to strategy, she had absolutely no say.
And while the new Grand Commander would certainly still be Chiss, could anyone guarantee that person would not commit even more outrageous acts of treason? After all, the position of Grand Commander of the combined fleet meant wielding invincible power!
At the very least, as far as Admiral Qiyala knew, another Admiral of the Navy from the Nuruodo family was far more ambitious than she was! If the Nuruodo family's reputation had not declined over the past few years because of the stain cast by Thrawn's affair, then as a general of the Illyz family, she would never have been able to compete with the Nuruodo family, which specialized in controlling