Chapter Text
The first time Mitth’ras’safis heard rumours of a human potentially coming to the Ascendancy, he was so busy managing yet another political problem he simply filed the information away, and then promptly forgot about it. As Syndic of the Mitth family his life was hectic enough, and so he also managed to avoid the rumours surrounding the subject, until Admiral Ar’alani contacted him on behalf of his wayward brother.
“Thrawn wants to do what?” Thrass resisted the urge to lean his head into his hands. Of course, it would be Thrawn behind it all.
“Mitth’raw’nuruodo has made a convincing argument for bringing this human to the Ascendancy.” Ar’alani’s voice was as dry as winter wind on Csilla, and held about as much warmth. They both knew what Thrawn was like.
“The human has been one of his subordinates the entire time he has spent in the service of the Empire. Apparently, he has mentored this human as well; he is a sort of protégé, it would seem.”
Thrass hummed and leaned back, steepling his fingers. “Well, well. There must be something about him, then, if Thrawn has deemed him worthy. Otherwise, he would not waste time with such matters.”
“I agree.” Ar’alani looked as calm as ever on the holo, but Thrass could see that she was tense. “I do not think that time away has made your brother any less… difficult. He now evades both questions and the consequences of his actions.”
Thrass sighed. “That, I believe. I wonder what makes him want to send his protégé away now.”
Ar’alani nodded, looking thoughtful. “That worries me as well. The situation within this… Empire may be degrading. Perhaps, if we agree to take in this human, he might shed light on the situation.” She looked down, eyes scanning information. “This Eli Vanto has had a successful record under Thrawn’s leadership; he might prove to be a valuable asset for us, as well.”
“Perhaps. I will talk to the other Syndics.”
And so Eli Vanto’s arrival to the Ascendancy was as good as approved.
Thrass did not see the human until Vanto had been in the Ascendancy for almost a year. It was possible that he would not have seen the human at all, if not for an unfortunate battle that almost destroyed the flagship Steadfast, on which Vanto was stationed under Ar’alani’s command. And Thrass was curious. After all, he had been the one to facilitate the permission for Eli Vanto to enter the Ascendancy. And yet, he still had not seen the man himself. Ar’alani’s regular reports weren’t quite enough to satisfy his curiosity.
It had been Ar’alani who had rendezvoused with the shuttle Vanto had arrived in, and taken him aboard the Steadfast. Negotiating the official permit for this had been an uphill battle as the other Syndics had been wary of allowing outsiders access to the Ascendancy. Nevertheless, Thrass had managed it. Even if it had been through cajoling—and in some cases, bullying—his fellow Syndics.
Thrass found it almost funny that despite being Vanto’s very first defender and advocate, he had not even met him. The Nuruodo family had all but hogged him, claiming that as Vanto had been a navy officer in the Empire, the best place for him would be in the military, under the command of Admiral Ar’alani.
Thrass had had no complaints about that; the reason Thrawn had given them for sending the man over had been Vanto’s supposed usefulness to the Chiss military. Still, Thrass wanted to see the human himself. He told himself that his foremost concern was to talk to Vanto about Thrawn; to find out just what exactly his brother had been up to all those years. Thrawn’s reports had gotten more and more vague the longer he had been away, and both Thrass and Ar’alani were running out of patience.
Now Thrass’s chance to meet Eli Vanto had finally come, after almost a year. Their recent run-in with the Grysks had left the Steadfast in need of repairs, and its crew in need of shore leave. Conveniently, both could be accomplished on Copero. Thrass had not wasted any time in inviting both Vanto and Ar’alani to the Mitth estate for the duration of their leave. His invitation had been accepted almost immediately, as he had anticipated.
Thrass knew that he was well-versed in political games and scheming; what warfare was to Thrawn, politics was to him. Thrawn had always been useless in politics. His brother had never grasped the idea that someone might put their political agenda before efficiency and common sense. His lack of comprehension for such things had not served him well in the Chiss military and Thrass dreaded to think how he had managed in the Empire.
Right now, however, all his own political skill and suaveness did not stop Thrass from feeling the slightest sense of nervous anticipation. He truly wanted to meet the human that had managed to impress his impossible brother.
Once the estate had been prepared for the arrival of guests, Thrass went to greet them outside as he heard the shuttle arriving. The sleek shuttle departed as soon as the passengers exited with their belongings. Ar’alani stepped out first, Vanto following close behind her. Both were clad in their Defence Fleet uniforms. Thrass spied a lieutenant’s insignia on Vanto’s uniform.
As Thrass watched, the shuttle pulled away with a gust of wind that sent the human’s brown hair flying. The midday sun caught in the wild strands, lighting what Thrass had at first glance thought to be a uniform brown colour in shades of red and gold. That, in addition to the warm brown of the human’s skin were unlike anything Thrass had seen before. As Vanto fought to get his hair under control, Thrass used the time to take in the human’s small stature, and the well-fitting, immaculate Defence Fleet uniform he was wearing.
Thrass forced himself to concentrate on the moment and stepped forward, nodding respectfully at Ar’alani before speaking to Vanto in Cheunh.
“Greetings, Eli Vanto. I am Mitth’ras’safis, but you may call me Thrass.”
Vanto bowed at him, one lock of his hastily tamed hair falling back onto his forehead. “I am honoured to meet you, Syndic.”
Thrass suppressed his smirk. It seemed that Vanto had, at the very least, retained his social skills despite his brother’s influence.
“There is no need for formalities here, you are a guest in my home.”
Vanto made an aborted gesture to brush away the stray lock of hair, Thrass’s eyes picking up a slight blush rising on his face. “Understood, Syndic… Thrass.” His voice did not give away any of his nervousness. His pronunciation was almost perfect, but his slight accent gave the words an almost lyrical quality. Pleasing, Thrass thought, and then wrested his attention back to receiving his guests with all the grace that was required of him as the Syndic of the Mitth family.
“You do understand that he has work to do while we are here,” Ar’alani said as she sat down to have a drink with Thrass. It was the evening following their arrival to the Mitth estate. They’d all dined together but afterwards Vanto had wandered off to sleep, tired after traveling, and no doubt still dealing with the aftermath of the battle that had crippled their ship.
“So I am given to understand. He is of use, then? I presumed as much, after the trouble my brother went through in order to send him here. Your reports were almost praising, though few in number.” Thrass sipped his wine, considering Ar’alani.
She raised an eyebrow at him and took a sip of her wine before responding. “Yes, he is.”
Seeing the look on Thrass’s face she continued. “I’d thought you would want to make your own conclusions.”
Well, she was not wrong. Thrass conceded the point with a minute shrug. “Fair enough.”
“Just don’t monopolise his time too much. We need the results of the analysis, and soon.”
Thrass hummed. “Surely you have other analysts? Why him?”
Ar’alani sipped her wine and looked away in the distance. “He is better than them. Mitth’raw’nuruodo knows how to find talent and encourage it.”
They spent the rest of the evening talking about a number of other things, but afterwards, as Thrass got ready to sleep, he found himself mostly thinking about his meeting with Vanto.
The next morning, Thrass noticed that Vanto and Ar’alani had both gotten up before him. In Ar’alani’s case she had already eaten and left to conduct her business in the shipyard, which left him and Vanto alone for most of the day.
Not one to eat much in the morning, Thrass decided on an enormous cup of caf, and one pastry from the spread that the servants had prepared on the dining room table. The room was airy, with large windows that let through rays of morning light. Vanto had chosen to sit down at the end of the table, a couple of datapads and some flimsi scattered around him. Thrass noticed the remains of his breakfast forgotten next to his elbow.
Vanto had not noticed him yet, which meant Thrass could regard him unobserved. The morning sun painted strands in the human’s mop of hair with gold, and his dark eyelashes threw shadows on his cheeks. The man had an intense look of concentration on his face, his hand moving along the page, scribbling down figures at the speed of light.
Thrass stepped closer, setting his mug down on the table with enough noise to alert the other man to his presence. Vanto’s head swivelled up immediately, his hand stopping on the page.
“Good morning, Thrass.”
“Good morning, Eli Vanto. I hope you slept well?” Thrass motioned towards the mug beside him with a carafe of caf and raised his eyebrow.
A look of surprise passed Vanto’s face and was gone almost as soon as it appeared. “Yes, I did. Thank you for asking.” He hesitated briefly before extending his empty mug towards Thrass, who filled it. Vanto nodded him his thanks.
Thrass sat down in the seat across from him and bit down on his pastry. Vanto looked at him fleetingly, and then back down at his calculations. He picked up the stylus again and resumed his work. Thrass watched as the figures flowed uninterrupted to flimsi. It truly was impressive how fast the man could work. The flow of work was only interrupted when Vanto stopped to take a sip of his caf.
Thrass found the silence surprisingly comforting. Usually his days were filled with endless talking: with his political enemies, with his allies, with other members of the family. The list was long. He found that the easy silence between him and Vanto was a welcome break.
After finishing his pastry, he took his own pad and perused the day’s agenda, compiled by his assistant. There was nothing that required his immediate personal attention and he noted with satisfaction that his assistant had taken into account his wish to spend time with Vanto.
“I apologise, Syndic. I got caught up in my work. Was there something you wished to speak about?” Vanto looked slightly flushed, piling up the flimsies into a neat stack.
Thrass smiled at the human, gesturing with his free hand. “No matter. I understand your work is important. If you are done, I could give you a tour of the house and the grounds?”
Vanto smiled at him then, a small, tentative smile but nevertheless genuine. “I’d like that. I’ve been cooped up aboard starships almost longer than I remember.”
“Yes, I understand that you served in the Imperial navy? No doubt your skills with numbers and analysis served you well there.” Thrass motioned at the paperwork on the table. “Admiral Ar’alani tells me that your work here has been exemplary.”
Vanto blushed this time for real. “Oh, yes. I served under Grand Admiral Thrawn, as you’re no doubt aware of. As for my work here, I’m glad that Admiral Ar’alani thinks so. This isn’t really complicated, though—there’s just so much data to go through and sort. I’m used to this kind of after-battle analysis from my time with the Empire.”
Thrass smiled at him. “It figures Thrawn would find use for your unique talent. The Ascendancy certainly is grateful for your talents.”
An unidentifiable look passed on Vanto’s face. Was it momentary doubt? Grief? Thrass wasn’t sure.
“I’m sure there are better analysts here than me. I’m just happy to help—as a way to pay back Thrawn’s faith in me.” Vanto smiled, though he looked skeptical.
“He wouldn’t have sent you here if he didn’t believe in your talents.”
Vanto froze for a second, and then his eyes met Thrass’s for the first time. Until then, his eyes had been elsewhere when he’d spoken. To Thrass, the colour of his eyes was just as unusual as his hair had been.
“I’ll take your word for it.” The smile on the human’s face looked brittle.
The rest of their conversation concentrated on the house and the surrounding gardens, as Thrass presented them to the human with his usual flair. He could see Vanto liked the gardens and the man said as much. The greenery there was lush, filled with various flowers which Vanto leaned closer to inspect.
“I had forgotten how much I missed outdoors. Not that I saw much nature when I was a cadet in the Myomar Academy, and even less after I was transferred to Coruscant. All these plants remind me of Lysatra.”
He touched his finger gently to a delicate, bright orange, bell-shaped flower with white stripes, and smiled.
Thrass smiled as well. “I find that sometimes working outdoors is much more enjoyable. It has the upside of being able to hide from any prying people when I don’t wish to be disturbed.” He paused for a brief moment. For some reason, he was feeling more reckless than usual but he found he did not mind, and continued, smirking: “Shall I show you my hiding place, Eli Vanto?”
Vanto looked at him, regarding him for a moment before smiling. “You know what? I’d like it very much.” As they continued down a winding path between decorative bushes the human continued: “You can call me Eli, you know. Or Vanto, if you feel that’s more appropriate. You are my host, and brother of my… friend.” Then, he stammered. “Besides, you already gave me permission to use your core name. Though, I know that it must be because I’d probably butcher it and˗”
Thrass stopped and looked at him, amused. Then, he decided to cut in. “I don’t deny it was part of the reason, initially. Now though, I wonder if you could manage the full name after all. The true reason, however, was as you suggested: you are a friend of my brother. A brother I haven’t seen in great many years, but my brother nonetheless. My only brother. Any friend of my brother is my friend as well.”
He had not meant to say quite that much but once he had started, he had found that he could not stop. What he managed not to add was just how few friends Thrawn had ever had before he left the Ascendancy. Every word Thrass had just spoken had been the truth, and he found it refreshing. He rarely had the chance to do so. Baring his soul to the human should have felt uncomfortable, and yet, it had not.
Vanto—no, Eli, looked at him with a mix of surprise and understanding on his face. “I miss Thrawn as well.”
Eli did not know what to think; his life had made little sense lately. Just as he had thought he’d finally found his place it had been taken away. Again.
Of course, Eli had agreed to go when Thrawn had asked him. There was not much that Eli would not have done if Thrawn had asked him. Still, leaving his life behind had hurt more than Eli had initially thought it would. His colleagues aboard the Chimaera, his family on Lysatra… Thrawn. Leaving Thrawn behind had been… eye-opening. Eli knew he had had a major crush on the man for a long time. Still, he could not help but wonder if a mere crush would have hurt this much.
The reality of his situation had taken some time to sink in properly. The aftermath of Thrawn’s discovery of what the Empire had been building had been quick and messy. That, combined with the clusterfuck on Batonn with Governor Pryce had forced Thrawn to act quickly. And so, Eli had left when Thrawn had asked. He had not stopped to think; he did not even know what had been told to his colleagues. Or his family. Had they even been notified that he was… gone?
He had just rushed to his secret rendezvous point with the Ascendancy Defence Fleet, and been received by a stone-faced and frankly terrifying woman who had introduced herself as Admiral Ar’alani. After a few weeks, it had been depressing to realise that Ar’alani’s behaviour, though completely impersonal and professional, somehow still managed to be warmer towards him than the rest of the crew’s; most of them constantly underestimated his abilities, and maintained a cold distance with him.
The only one who had actually approached him was one of the navigators. Vah’nya had become his friend, and despite their differences Eli was immensely grateful for her company.
Eli had managed to come up with some resemblance of routine aboard the flagship. There was always work to be done, and he had quickly found out that the types of analyses Thrawn had had him do in the Empire had trained him well for his duties in the Defence Fleet. Now, he wondered if that had been intentional, too. Had Thrawn’s plan always been to send him away?
Just a few moments ago, Eli had been in the midst of yet another analysis of a battle; it had involved some of the fleet’s ships, and the Grysk raiders that had attacked them. Of course, Ar’alani was an exceptional commander, and they had managed to defeat all of the enemy ships—but their flagship had suffered heavy damage.
Now, though, Eli found himself sitting in a garden, of all places. The aftermath of the battle had been as near to chaotic that he suspected was possible among the Chiss. Miraculously, the ship had stayed in one piece as they had made their way to the Copero shipyards.
Eli’s time had been divided between helping run damage control and doing his standard after-battle analysis, before their sudden invitation to the Mitth estate. He had managed to check that Vah’nya and the other navigators were alright, at least, before he and Ar’alani had set off to the estate.
The planet’s sunlight was different from what he remembered of Lysatra, more temperate. Copero was also very different from the freezing temperatures of Csilla—Eli was happy that his visit there had been a brief one.
Eli leaned back and turned his face to the sun. The warmth was refreshing, as was the fresh air. It carried with it the fragrance of living things. He had meant every word he had said to Thrass earlier. It had been a long time since he had been outdoors. Now that he thought of it, the last time he had truly been near anything even resembling nature, had been on the backwater planet they had found Thrawn on.
Lately, it seemed that almost all of his thoughts led back to Thrawn in some way or another. It was hard not to think of him; being surrounded by Chiss all the time. Eli sighed. Reading Thrawn’s diary had been both enlightening and infuriating. It galled Eli to read how easily Thrawn had essentially decided his life for him. Sure, Eli had come to first accept and later cherish his place by Thrawn’s side but reading it all so callously written down had shaken him.
There had been many things he had learned from that diary—like the fact that Thrawn considered him his friend. Eli had hoped as much, and having it confirmed both warmed and broke his heart. Eli knew that expecting anything more from Thrawn had been foolish but he had secretly dreamed of it nonetheless. Now, he could not even ask Thrawn what exactly he had meant by his words in that final diary entry. He would just have to wait. Surely, they would see each other again someday? In the meantime, Eli would just have to do his best to, not forget, but put his feelings and thoughts of Thrawn aside and concentrate on his new life.
That’s going well, Eli thought, and almost snorted. I’m staying with his brother, of all people.
At first glance, Thrass did not resemble his brother much. Besides the fact that they were both tall, had blue skin, black hair, and red eyes.
Still, there was something similar in their disposition. But where Thrawn’s bearing was all military precision and power, all clearly and very deliberately broadcasted, Thrass had a much more subtle air about him; his movements lithe and graceful, like those of a dancer. Despite his rather nonthreatening appearance, Eli bet that he was no less deadly than Thrawn.
It did not surprise Eli that Thrawn had not mentioned that he had a brother. Gods knew how hard it had been fishing for any personal information from the elusive Chiss. Instead, he had found out about Thrass from Thrawn’s diary, after he’d already left for the Ascendancy.
Eli did not know much about his host apart from the fact that he was the Syndic of the Mitth family, and Thrawn’s only blood family. Apparently, he had also been the one to sponsor Eli’s acceptance to the Ascendancy. Ar’alani had told Eli as much, in the first months after his arrival.
Eli chanced a brief glance towards Thrass; he was sitting with his legs crossed and his eyes closed on the wooden floor of the gazebo, apparently meditating. The ornate gazebo was hidden deep in the gardens—the last place Thrass had taken him on his tour of the estate. His hiding place, he had called it. It was a really nice place, Eli thought. The round building was an airy thing of intricate woodwork and stone; clearly designed for warm summer weather. It was surrounded by trees and several colourful flower bushes.
Eli was sitting on an ornate bench just outside the round building, thinking. He had a datapad with him but for some reason work held little appeal to him at the moment. Eli found that he would much rather just enjoy the moment.
Copero had one of the biggest shipyards in the Ascendancy, but the numerous repairs that the Steadfast required were still going to take a long time. Ever practical, the Chiss had decided to take the opportunity to upgrade some of the systems at the same time.
Eli found that he did not mind his extended leave at all. Ar’alani mostly spent her time away from the estate, conducting her business in the shipyards, not trusting anyone else to oversee the repairs of her ship. It left Eli alone with Thrass—when the Syndic was not away engaging in his various political duties. That was not nearly as common as he had expected though. Eli had a sneaking suspicion that Thrass was, perhaps not dodging some of his duties, but delegating them in order to stay on the estate as much as possible. Why, he could not tell.
In the weeks after his arrival, he and Thrass had fallen into a routine with an ease that surprised Eli. Sure, there had been some initial awkwardness but after they had gotten over it, Eli found that Thrass was very good company.
For one, he responded to Eli’s questions. In fact, he seemed to have a real interest in familiarising Eli with Chiss culture as much as possible. Eli was aware his knowledge of life in the Ascendancy was woefully lacking—living aboard a military ship did not leave much time or opportunity for getting to know a new culture.
First, there was a crash course in food; Thrass had cooks working for him on the estate but he also showed Eli how to make some of the easier recipes he knew. “I used to cook this for Thrawn, back before he joined the military,” he would say. To Eli, after spending years on military rations, tasting food that actually had flavours and consistency beyond mush or paste was divine. No matter how strange most of the foodstuffs were to him.
Then there was art. Eli was not much of an art critic, nor could he analyse the pieces the way Thrawn could. However, he could still look and appreciate. There was quite a sizeable collection of various art pieces on the estate, containing everything from paintings and intricate mosaics to statues. The stories Thrass had about the different pieces were what Eli liked the most. Knowing more about the artists or the time periods the works were created in made him feel more connected—both to the artworks, and to the culture and people who had created them.
Eli’s favourite was a small mosaic made from pieces of coloured glass. It was an abstract piece, but what called to Eli were the colours. Strong orange and purple were blended with brown and white in intricate swirls of colour, all bound together in black framework. When he had asked Thrass about it, the Chiss had told him that both the maker and the subject matter were long forgotten, if they’d ever been known in the first place. Eli could feel a strange kinship with the long-forgotten mosaic.
For the most part, however, they spoke of their lives. Eli asked many questions of Thrass, and if some of them were of Thrawn, who could blame him? Thrass told him many things about him and his brother, of their youth, of their life before Thrawn’s exile. All of it was new to Eli.
What surprised Eli was that Thrass had just as many questions about Eli and his life. At first, Eli had thought that it was just another tactic to gather intel about the Empire. Still, most of the questions were not really about the Empire at all. Rather, Thrass seemed to want to know about his life on Lysatra, his interests, his thoughts and experiences. It threw Eli off, at first. It had been a long time since anyone had been interested in him, and not just in the things he could do.
Of course, Eli still had a lot of work to do, which Thrass left him to do in peace. He never bothered Eli when he was working, nor did he try to interrogate Eli about the progress of the analysis he was doing, which Eli appreciated. He had enough pressure from Ar’alani to finish as soon as possible. Nevertheless, Thrass was there whenever Eli felt he needed a break or someone to talk to.
In fact, whatever free time Eli had was spent in Thrass’s company. The longer Eli spent with Thrass, the more grounded he felt, somehow. His Cheunh had improved in leaps and bounds—both vocabulary and pronunciation. Thrass was a good teacher; he did not shy away from correcting Eli’s errors, but he managed to do it in a way that did not make Eli feel like a total fool. Most of the Cheunh Thrawn had taught Eli had been what was expected and useful in military service. Eli noticed that his newfound mastery of the language, as well as knowledge of the Chiss culture in general made him feel more at home in the Ascendancy.
It was almost two months after Eli had arrived to the Mitth estate, the two of them sitting in Thrass’s study, when Thrass asked Eli about the Chiss legends of Lysatra. The question stopped Eli for a moment. The request brought to mind his meeting with Thrawn, and he said as much to Thrass.
“Interesting.” Thrass looked thoughtful, his eyes sharp and gleaming with intellect. When he got like that, it was easy to tell that he and Thrawn were brothers. Despite their differences in build and personality, they had the same sharp edge of intelligence about them.
“Those stories are ancient,” Eli shrugged and sipped his drink—a variety of local wine that Thrass had offered him. It tasted of summer.
“They would have to be. My people–” Thrass stopped for the briefest of moments, tapping his finger against his wine glass before looking Eli in the eye, “Our people I should rather say–” He paused again at the look on Eli’s face. Eli did not know what it was the Chiss saw there but he was smiling at Eli, his red eyes shining. “You are one of us now, Eli Vanto. Never doubt it.”
Eli felt himself blush at the words, and fought the irrational impulse to bring his hands to his face and hide behind the wide burgundy sleeves of his elaborate tunic. It was a gift from Thrass—he had given it to Eli during the first week of his stay.
Thrass’s melodic laughter did nothing to quell the blush on Eli’s face. “Oh, Eli. Never change. What was I saying…? Ah. About he stories. It has been a very long time since the Ascendancy has had any contact to anyone outside of our borders. Of course, trading does not count since we do it by proxy, as you must know. So, it follows that the stories about any visiting Chiss would have to be very old.”
“Thrawn explained as much, before,” Eli answered, fighting to get his blush under control. He thought of the legends, remembering one of his favourites.
“I think my favourite one might be of the lone Chiss warrior coming to Lysatra.”
He looked over at Thrass, the Chiss motioning for him to continue.
Eli cleared his throat and began to tell the story, his voice easily falling to the rhythm of a storyteller despite the fact that the last time he had heard the story had been many years ago and in another language.
“It was the middle of Lysatra’s worst storm season in centuries, when a strange ship appeared…”
Thrass had known that eventually Eli’s leave had to come to an end. Ar’alani had kept him updated on the progress of the repairs, and he knew that his time with Eli was nearing its end. What had surprised the Chiss, was how much he would miss the human. He felt that they had truly bonded, and not just over the fact that they were both close to Thrawn.
Their newfound closeness had not gone unnoticed by Ar’alani, either. She had warned Thrass of their approaching departure, as well as given him a hint of their next destination, all the while managing to look almost sorry. Thrass was no stranger to seeing his friends off to danger. Some might argue that he was no stranger to danger himself; after all, the life of a Syndic was rife with danger.
Still, knowing that Eli would be shipping out to the outer borders of the Ascendancy filled Thrass with vague fear. The farther out you went, the more dangerous it got. Nevertheless, he had to honour the human’s wish to serve in the Fleet. It didn’t stop him from slipping Eli a comm device with his personal number saved in it.
They stood alone, waiting for the shuttle to arrive. Thrass eyed the human standing beside him. His uniform looked every bit as crisp and professional as the day he had arrived on the estate, but it felt strange to see Eli back in dark grey. Thrass had gotten used to seeing him clad in the Mitth burgundy and gold. He’d looked so good in red. The thought surprised him so much that he drew in a sharp breath.
Eli turned to look at him. “Are you all right, Thrass?”
Thrass fought to contain his momentary fluster. “Yes, I am fine. I must confess, I will miss our talks, Eli.” I will miss you.
It was a good thing that, for human eyes, the Chiss blush was very hard to detect. Thrass was relieved that Ar’alani was not present.
Eli’s face softened to a smile. “I’ll miss our talks, too. I think I’ll also miss this place. I’ll remember it though, when I’m out there. It makes it easier to fight when you have something to fight for, to protect.”
To his knowledge, Thrass did not have any medical problems. At the moment though, it felt like his heart had skipped too many beats to be considered normal or healthy. He could feel his face warm some more.
Ar’alani’s sudden arrival gave him the incentive to get himself under control, and not long after that, the shuttle arrived.
Thrass said his farewells to her first, knowing that they would be in touch, if needed. “Warrior’s fortune to you.”
She nodded at him in answer, and turned to walk to the shuttle. Eli turned to follow her, but Thrass called out for him.
“Eli, wait. Take this.” He handed him a small personal comm unit. Eli took it in his hand, and looked at it, fascinated.
“I… I would like to keep in touch. It has my personal comm number. I understand, if you do not wish to comm me, or are too busy for such things. I just wanted you to have it.”
Eli’s eyes widened, and he looked up at Thrass, and then back down at the comm before closing his fingers around the small, circular piece of tech. “I’d like that as well. I’ll do my best to keep in touch. Thank you.”
And with that, Eli Vanto was away, and out of Thrass’s life.