Space Opera Christmas "All I Want for Christmas is Batuu"

I have had some difficulty deciding which of the huge number of parodies of "All I want for Christmas" to pick and include for my selection of Space Opera Christmas parodies.

However, it was not difficult to decide that "All I want for Christmas is Batuu" would be one of them as it is probably both the best produced and most entertaining.




For anyone who is somehow reading this blog but isn't a total Star Wars nerd, Batuu is where the future Grand Admiral Thrawn (then Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defence Fleet) first met and worked with the future Darth Vader (then Jedi General Anakin Skywalker) as Chronicled by the galactic historian Timothy Zahn in the book "Thrawn: Alliances."



MEGA-NERD WARNING - the rest of this post is aimed at those who are genuinely interested in the very fine detail of the worldbuilding in Space Opera in the Star Wars universe 

Yes, I referred above to Mitth'raw'nuruodo as a Senior Captain when he first met Anakin Skywalker in orbit above Batuu, and not as Commander, the rank he gives Anakin Skywalker in the book "Thrawn: Alliances.

This is explained (or if you prefer, retconned) in the first book of the "Thrawn Ascendancy" trilogy, "Chaos Rising."


In that book, Thrawn's first conversation with Anakin is recounted from the viewpoint of another Chiss, who noted the discrepancy, and assumes Thrawn is downplaying his rank.

That is one possible explanation but not the only one.

If Thrawn was aware of the differences between the Chiss Ascendancy and Galactic Republic naval rank structures, it is entirely possible that he could have given Anakin that rank because it would have given the Jedi a better idea of what rank in the Republic navy would best correspond to his seniority.

In the Chiss armed forces, like many human navies, a commander is junior to a captain - the three grades of commander rank between lieutenant and the three grades of captain. the rank of Junior Commander is immediately above that of lieutenant and Senior Commander immediately below the rank of Junior Captain.

Thrawn's actual rank of Senior Captain was the most senior that an officer in the Chiss navy could reach before being promoted to flag rank (Admiral or Commodore.)

However, iIn the Galactic Republic armed forces, like those of the Galactic Empire which was succeeded it, a commander was senior to a captain.

So in the navy with which General Skywalker would be familiar, the rank of Commander with which Thrawn gives himself would make him senior to a captain and holder of the next rank below Commodore, which in both navies is the most junior type of flag officer.

As the rank Thrawn actually held at this time in the Chiss navy, that of Senior Captain, was senior to a Junior Captain or Mid-Captain, and was the next rank immediately below Commodore, it is entirely possible that he wasn't trying to deceive Skywalker or downplay his position at all, but giving the nearest equivalent in the Republic navy to his actual Chiss rank.

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