Excerpts From Thrawn's Assessment of Grievous (Canon)
Stealthy
Reverently Irreverent
- Location
- Roaming
Let's add to the pile then, shall we? Been sitting on this for... a while. Seemed like it was time I post it so I'll stop nitpicking. The audio log format works well for me because it lets me ramble, but finding Thrawn's sense of cadence has been tricky. Still don't think I've nailed it yet, especially since his laconic/succinct style works better in dialogue than something long-form like this. Whatever.
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Excerpts from Mitth'raw'nuruodo's Assessment of Key Members of the Abyss Watchers Organization
Focus: General Grievous
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Excerpts from Mitth'raw'nuruodo's Assessment of Key Members of the Abyss Watchers Organization
Focus: General Grievous
...Except for Lady Ciaran, the member of the Abyss Watchers I find most useful is Qymaen jai Sheelal, better known by his adopted alias: Grievous. For my assessment, I shall start by examining his homeworld: Kalee, and the Kaleesh people.
The history of the Kaleesh is rife with abuse from outsiders. As an example, not long ago the Republic manipulated them to act as their mercenaries against the Bitthævrians. This act is responsible for a stark increase in the technological level of their weaponry. It was a foolish move by the Republic, and reaffirms to me its ineptitude. History consistently shows that societies are better served by gradual and evenly distributed advancement. Giving starships and blasters to a planet that still uses spears will cause long term problems for both the Kaleesh and their neighbors. Problems that the Abyss Watchers are enabling to their benefit.
But more importantly, the Kaleesh been enslaved multiple times. The most notable of these are their subjugation by the long dead Sith Empire, and their struggles against the Yam'rii (known by the epithet "Huk"). I am having trouble finding more detailed records of their people and planet, but this was expected. They are a low-tech species on a planet of little significance...
...Their warrior-culture is well known by now, but the details of it show a civility that defies stereotypical barbarism. I find their religion to be the most interesting. It is not based on omnipotent deities who govern the aspects of the world; instead it is a celebration of their greatest heroes. The majority of their gods are worshiped for being profound warriors, but they also revere the wisest of their rulers and their religious leaders. I have found both Kaleesh Jedi and Kaleesh Sith in their pantheon, and a few members I suspect may not be from Kalee at all. They are a fairly pious people; attacking those on pilgrimages is one of the gravest crimes a Kaleesh can commit, and is surpassed only by defiling graves and other holy sites.
Honor is essential to the Kaleesh. Most of their wars revolve around a tribe's honor. Whether an opponent is "honorable" is the difference between respect and hatred. The Huk show how much of a difference that makes. They treat most of their opponents with dignity as their honor demands, but also because of a general belief in equality. Gender equality on Kalee exceeds that of many other societies in the galaxy...
...The Kaleesh have a strong sense of order. They have a clear set of guidelines for major political decisions, and they obey the outcomes. There is also a coordination among all the tribes with regards to their pantheon. Among many species with this sort of system, there will be disparities. Tribes favor their ancestors, but they don't dispute who has or has not ascended to godhood. The intricacies of their shamans' rituals are a closely guarded secret, but they are clearly coordinated to a sophisticated extent. This is the framework the Kaleesh use when they need to unite their tribes, and it is just as effective.
Furthermore, as the path to godhood is through great deeds, their culture is individualistic. Each Kaleesh seeks to prove themselves worthy. Yet they can still unify, follow orders, and act as a unit. They have both a desire for individual achievement, and an understanding of the values of cooperation. I hypothesize that this is a remnant of a slave mentality, which makes the subjugated cruelly aware of their faults. But if paired with a leader they respect as Greater, they will be unquestioningly obedient and have unbreakable morale. This makes them exceptional soldiers...
...But these are the complexities of their society. At their base they are still a warlike people. Killing is a small crime on Kalee. Their codes of "honor" are not chivalric or benevolent; they are based on their bloody path to godhood. Failing to make the distinction is a deadly mistake. There are no great Kaleesh philosophers, diplomats, or artists. There are some in their pantheon known to be "peacemakers", but these warriors created peace only by forcing the enemy to submission or destruction. The closest thing to a true peacemaker I can find in their history is Abesmi lij Tykan, the first of their gods, who achieved "peace" by inflicting the notion of honor among the tribes, and setting the norms for warfare. And even so, she only was able to bend the tribes to obey her decrees after proving to be an exceptional warlord. While there is no specific number as a threshold, a sizable kill-count is the simplest way to achieve godhood. But they are not picky with how you kill your enemies. Cunning is valued as much as valor, but only if you get the kill. And, of course, war is celebrated on this planet...
...I assumed Grievous' alias referred to his brutality and severity. However, I learned that Grievous is not meant in the sense of "a grievous wound", but instead "to grieve", in reference to a lost loved one. It is sentimental. Some will dismiss this as Grievous simply being a "civilized" anomaly; the same excuse for his strategic acumen - an acumen vastly superior to many leaders of "civilized" species. But this is bigotry, and ignores what the Kaleesh truly are. Grief, compassion, and related feelings are not considered weak. Grievous' soldiers respect him all the same for it, if not moreso. These people have not lost their sense of humanity.
The Ascendancy would call the Kaleesh a tragic species: driven to war by the harshness of their homeworld and the brutality of the Huk. They would declare their sense of fraternity to be base, and their sense of empathy discarded. They would declare Grievous, the quintessential brutal warlord, as the great avatar of this fact. Some Chiss may express pity, but I know far too well that most of the Ascendancy would write off the Kaleesh as nothing but savages and barbarians.
We Chiss have the good fortune of being isolated, and are the masters of our fate. We have never been the victim of other worlds, which is why the Ascendency banned aggression and preventative strikes for two thousand years. We rarely deal with foreigners. And so the Ascendancy can not understand that the Kaleesh do not fight as a desperate, unenlightened, measure, and Grievous is not driven by tragedy. He fights not for vengeance or penance, but for glory. They are a species that lacks agency, and must take it by force. War is not a necessity, it is progress...
...This may give the impression that I have strategic insight into the Kaleesh, but that is not true. I have described an overview of their culture and values, but I cannot find their psychological limits. I can only apply broad axioms. I value the art of a species when finding their weaknesses for reasons I have better described before. Art has a unique richness, but I can draw few useful conclusions from the Kaleesh's works. I do not blame this on a weak artistic output. That would be false, and I have discerned more with less for other species. No, this is a shortcoming of my own. I am not omniscient; and the Kaleesh have stumped me on this front. I am using Grievous to rectify my failure.
Of course, the Kaleesh can still be beaten. Their history speaks to that, as does my record of simulated war games against Grievous. I have a superior tactical and strategic mind, which as always is my greatest asset. Against Grievous, I have used his guerilla foundations against him, though he is not easy to outwit. He easily adjusts to new scenarios. And he is more daring than anyone in the organization - except for Lady Ciaran. His audacity is a great tool. While it is his most obvious vulnerability, he defends it well. He will see through the ruses of lesser commanders, trigger them, and then win anyway, simply because he is more intelligent than they are. Despite his reputation, Grievous is typically underestimated. He learned quickly that I do not.
But against the species as a whole, their largest weakness is a technological gap. Kalee lacks planetary shielding. If necessary, orbital bombardment would do a satisfactory job. Though that would be a waste of Kaleesh lives. It is paramount that any war against the Kaleesh be within their codes of "honor", unless I plan to annihilate them completely. The Kaleesh will accept defeat against a worthy opponent, and defeat is an effective way to convert them from enemy to ally. The species difference is not an obstacle. The Kaleesh already treat me with respect, if not the reverence they give to Grievous and - to an extent - Lady Ciaran...
...It is not merely his tactical talents, martial prowess, or adaptability that I value most in Grievous. He believes in full measures. If given the means and freedom to do so, he would commit genocide against the Huk and permanently end their threat to his people. It is why he pursued them to their homeworld after evicting them from Kalee, after all. While I prefer the galaxy united and whole, I would not stand in the way of Grievous on this hypothetical crusade. The Huk are parasites, and would threaten the unification of the galaxy. Grievous has shown this commitment to wholly annihilating the enemy against the Black Sun criminal empire as well, and I have no doubt that he will do so against the greater enemy. Such severity may be necessary...
The history of the Kaleesh is rife with abuse from outsiders. As an example, not long ago the Republic manipulated them to act as their mercenaries against the Bitthævrians. This act is responsible for a stark increase in the technological level of their weaponry. It was a foolish move by the Republic, and reaffirms to me its ineptitude. History consistently shows that societies are better served by gradual and evenly distributed advancement. Giving starships and blasters to a planet that still uses spears will cause long term problems for both the Kaleesh and their neighbors. Problems that the Abyss Watchers are enabling to their benefit.
But more importantly, the Kaleesh been enslaved multiple times. The most notable of these are their subjugation by the long dead Sith Empire, and their struggles against the Yam'rii (known by the epithet "Huk"). I am having trouble finding more detailed records of their people and planet, but this was expected. They are a low-tech species on a planet of little significance...
...Their warrior-culture is well known by now, but the details of it show a civility that defies stereotypical barbarism. I find their religion to be the most interesting. It is not based on omnipotent deities who govern the aspects of the world; instead it is a celebration of their greatest heroes. The majority of their gods are worshiped for being profound warriors, but they also revere the wisest of their rulers and their religious leaders. I have found both Kaleesh Jedi and Kaleesh Sith in their pantheon, and a few members I suspect may not be from Kalee at all. They are a fairly pious people; attacking those on pilgrimages is one of the gravest crimes a Kaleesh can commit, and is surpassed only by defiling graves and other holy sites.
Honor is essential to the Kaleesh. Most of their wars revolve around a tribe's honor. Whether an opponent is "honorable" is the difference between respect and hatred. The Huk show how much of a difference that makes. They treat most of their opponents with dignity as their honor demands, but also because of a general belief in equality. Gender equality on Kalee exceeds that of many other societies in the galaxy...
...The Kaleesh have a strong sense of order. They have a clear set of guidelines for major political decisions, and they obey the outcomes. There is also a coordination among all the tribes with regards to their pantheon. Among many species with this sort of system, there will be disparities. Tribes favor their ancestors, but they don't dispute who has or has not ascended to godhood. The intricacies of their shamans' rituals are a closely guarded secret, but they are clearly coordinated to a sophisticated extent. This is the framework the Kaleesh use when they need to unite their tribes, and it is just as effective.
Furthermore, as the path to godhood is through great deeds, their culture is individualistic. Each Kaleesh seeks to prove themselves worthy. Yet they can still unify, follow orders, and act as a unit. They have both a desire for individual achievement, and an understanding of the values of cooperation. I hypothesize that this is a remnant of a slave mentality, which makes the subjugated cruelly aware of their faults. But if paired with a leader they respect as Greater, they will be unquestioningly obedient and have unbreakable morale. This makes them exceptional soldiers...
...But these are the complexities of their society. At their base they are still a warlike people. Killing is a small crime on Kalee. Their codes of "honor" are not chivalric or benevolent; they are based on their bloody path to godhood. Failing to make the distinction is a deadly mistake. There are no great Kaleesh philosophers, diplomats, or artists. There are some in their pantheon known to be "peacemakers", but these warriors created peace only by forcing the enemy to submission or destruction. The closest thing to a true peacemaker I can find in their history is Abesmi lij Tykan, the first of their gods, who achieved "peace" by inflicting the notion of honor among the tribes, and setting the norms for warfare. And even so, she only was able to bend the tribes to obey her decrees after proving to be an exceptional warlord. While there is no specific number as a threshold, a sizable kill-count is the simplest way to achieve godhood. But they are not picky with how you kill your enemies. Cunning is valued as much as valor, but only if you get the kill. And, of course, war is celebrated on this planet...
...I assumed Grievous' alias referred to his brutality and severity. However, I learned that Grievous is not meant in the sense of "a grievous wound", but instead "to grieve", in reference to a lost loved one. It is sentimental. Some will dismiss this as Grievous simply being a "civilized" anomaly; the same excuse for his strategic acumen - an acumen vastly superior to many leaders of "civilized" species. But this is bigotry, and ignores what the Kaleesh truly are. Grief, compassion, and related feelings are not considered weak. Grievous' soldiers respect him all the same for it, if not moreso. These people have not lost their sense of humanity.
The Ascendancy would call the Kaleesh a tragic species: driven to war by the harshness of their homeworld and the brutality of the Huk. They would declare their sense of fraternity to be base, and their sense of empathy discarded. They would declare Grievous, the quintessential brutal warlord, as the great avatar of this fact. Some Chiss may express pity, but I know far too well that most of the Ascendancy would write off the Kaleesh as nothing but savages and barbarians.
We Chiss have the good fortune of being isolated, and are the masters of our fate. We have never been the victim of other worlds, which is why the Ascendency banned aggression and preventative strikes for two thousand years. We rarely deal with foreigners. And so the Ascendancy can not understand that the Kaleesh do not fight as a desperate, unenlightened, measure, and Grievous is not driven by tragedy. He fights not for vengeance or penance, but for glory. They are a species that lacks agency, and must take it by force. War is not a necessity, it is progress...
...This may give the impression that I have strategic insight into the Kaleesh, but that is not true. I have described an overview of their culture and values, but I cannot find their psychological limits. I can only apply broad axioms. I value the art of a species when finding their weaknesses for reasons I have better described before. Art has a unique richness, but I can draw few useful conclusions from the Kaleesh's works. I do not blame this on a weak artistic output. That would be false, and I have discerned more with less for other species. No, this is a shortcoming of my own. I am not omniscient; and the Kaleesh have stumped me on this front. I am using Grievous to rectify my failure.
Of course, the Kaleesh can still be beaten. Their history speaks to that, as does my record of simulated war games against Grievous. I have a superior tactical and strategic mind, which as always is my greatest asset. Against Grievous, I have used his guerilla foundations against him, though he is not easy to outwit. He easily adjusts to new scenarios. And he is more daring than anyone in the organization - except for Lady Ciaran. His audacity is a great tool. While it is his most obvious vulnerability, he defends it well. He will see through the ruses of lesser commanders, trigger them, and then win anyway, simply because he is more intelligent than they are. Despite his reputation, Grievous is typically underestimated. He learned quickly that I do not.
But against the species as a whole, their largest weakness is a technological gap. Kalee lacks planetary shielding. If necessary, orbital bombardment would do a satisfactory job. Though that would be a waste of Kaleesh lives. It is paramount that any war against the Kaleesh be within their codes of "honor", unless I plan to annihilate them completely. The Kaleesh will accept defeat against a worthy opponent, and defeat is an effective way to convert them from enemy to ally. The species difference is not an obstacle. The Kaleesh already treat me with respect, if not the reverence they give to Grievous and - to an extent - Lady Ciaran...
...It is not merely his tactical talents, martial prowess, or adaptability that I value most in Grievous. He believes in full measures. If given the means and freedom to do so, he would commit genocide against the Huk and permanently end their threat to his people. It is why he pursued them to their homeworld after evicting them from Kalee, after all. While I prefer the galaxy united and whole, I would not stand in the way of Grievous on this hypothetical crusade. The Huk are parasites, and would threaten the unification of the galaxy. Grievous has shown this commitment to wholly annihilating the enemy against the Black Sun criminal empire as well, and I have no doubt that he will do so against the greater enemy. Such severity may be necessary...
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