There’s nothing Thrawn wants more than to impress the Emperor. And the one thing standing in the way of fully gaining Palpatine’s favor and trust is a man -- or machine? -- who hides behind not only a mask, but an entire suit of menacing black armor.

The sequel to Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn takes a unique approach to filling out the Chiss’s backstory, alternating between present time and flashbacks to showcase his complicated relationship with Darth Vader … and who Vader used to be.

In these flashbacks, Thrawn and a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker are forced to work together to complete their respective missions. This mirrors the assignment Thrawn and Vader must complete in order to please their shared master.