Title: The Ruling Council

The main door to the Council chambers opened without a sound and Eli's armed escort stepped away, allowing him to walk into the center of the circular room containing a dozen black chairs set around an equally circular table. He sagged down into the uncomfortable chair in the middle, resting his back against the cold padding.

Only his nameless interrogator with the burgundy red patch remained, assuming a standard position by the heavy door; the other Chiss warriors dispersed without a word. It meant the High Councilors expected Eli to behave, otherwise they would have taken proper security precautions.

Or perhaps they simply didn't want any witnesses to the conversation.

His nameless interrogator tilted his head to a side, as if he had received a signal into the Chiss version of a comm link attached to his , one by one, eleven figures gracefully entered the room, taking seats at seemingly random positions around the circle, spreading themselves out on either side of Eli.

There were two white-uniformed members of the Defense Hierarchy; one of them Fleet Admiral Ar'alani, the other, an elderly navy blue Chiss with silver streaks in his receding blue-black hair Eli didn't know.

The remaining nine Chiss were members of the Council of Families, their faces partially hidden by of their head-to-foot ceremonial robes was of a different color: beige, yellow, bronze, burgundy red, dark green, cyan, navy blue, deep purple, and dark brown.

An awkward silence followed until Eli finally cleared his throat, looking at his judges and jury nervously. "If it is permissible to know whom do I have the honor of addressing?" Eli began in Sy Bisti, trying his best to imitate Captain Dorja's polite way of speech and Commander Nalgol's bold body language. The Kuati prince had enough confidence to stand tall even in the Emperor's presence. Eli supposed he wouldn't let himself be intimidated by the Ruling Council.

You don't need to be perfect. You need to believe in yourself. That's all it takes, Thrawn had said.

"No," said a hooded figure in bronze, a woman with a rich contralto voice.

"Just as our Families are defined by their function in society, so are we defined by our roles as representatives of those Families. We are here before you not as people, but as the beginning and end points of a decision-making process."

"You do not need to know who acts on behalf of the Chiss. We represent everyone," said a figure in dark green, an elderly man with a deep, authoritative voice. Green was the Harana Family color, currently ruled by House Reli, meaning it must have been Aristocra Reli'anr'harana there.

Eli felt as if he'd just run head-on into a wall made of thick ice. He only needed to find a crack in the iceberg. Fortunately, the gundark had taught him a couple of things as well. What General Bittenfeld couldn't solve by force, he would solve with even bigger force.

"As you wish, Honored Councilors," Eli gave them his best imitation of Captain Dorja's Coruscanti nobleman's bow. "My name is-"

"We know who you are, Eli Vanto," a sharp male voice silenced him, belonging to a medium-built figure in yellow, "an alien criminal caught trespassing upon the Chiss Ascendancy territory, making outrageous demands upon his arrest."

Eli suppressed a smirk.

"Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano, if I am not mistaken?" He tried to put as much confidence into his voice as possible. Yellow did not answer, only the glowing eyes narrowed considerably. "If I may be so bold, Aristocra," Eli continued in a firm, steady voice. Commander Nalgol would be so proud of him right now.

If you want to be taken seriously in the Imperial Court, Lieutenant Vanto, you need to act like them, the Kuati prince had said. They are the ultimate predators, which means you need to become a predator as well. If you keep behaving like a prey, you will only end up dead.

I'm sorry, Commander Nalgol, but members of the Imperial Court are not the ultimate predators, Eli thought bitterly, looking at his assigned judges and jury. These are.

"It seems you have been misinformed. I am Assistant Syndic Mitth'eli'vanto representing the House of Humans in Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo's absence. My origins are not important."

Tread carefully around Aristocra Formbi, Theliv, for he could become either a powerful ally or a bitter foe, Eli remembered Thrawn's words. His past make him the weakest link of the Council, and with a correct instrument, applying exactly the right amount of pressure, it may be possible to exploit the crack and trigger an avalanche.

"An outsider with a Chiss name." Yellow made a scornful sound. "You have no right to demand anything."

Eli only smiled. "On the contrary, Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano. I have the legal right to make demands, especially against House Chaf."

Yellow stiffened.

Good. It was Formbi, then. Eli couldn't have known for sure. His intel on the current members of the Ruling Council might have been outdated.

Strike right at the Chiss heart, Theliv. Thrawn had said. The sense of guilt can be a verypowerful motivator. Unfortunately, I am speaking from experience.

"Since it was your actions, Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano, which caused the death of Syndic Mitth'ras'safis. You have wronged House Mitth in the past, and I, the legal representative of Syndic Mitth'raw'nuruodo, am fully authorized to demand a new trial if necessary."

All Chiss in the room collectively blinked in response. They kept staring at him for what seemed like an eternity but it couldn't have lasted more than a couple of seconds- presumably stunned speechless, and then they broke into a heated discussion in Cheunh. Unfortunately, Eli couldn't understand a word they were saying; he tried to memorize as many words as he could on his way to Csilla, but there were too many homonyms and too many words that sounded nearly identical to human ears but could be differentiated with enough time and practice.

Finally, the shouting match receded into a low murmur. Andit seemed that Aristocra Formbi wasn't pleased with the result one bit. He sat unnaturally straight, with his gloved fists tightly clenched, throwing proverbial daggers at Eli with those glowing red eyes.

"Your claim against House Chaf is valid, Assistant Syndic," a staccato voice cut through the murmuring, ending the discussion. The speaker was a petite figure in the burgundy red of Nuruodo, Thrawn's adoptive family. "Since the only reason why Chaf'orm'bintrano had been allowed to keep his status was because he could not have known Syndic Mitth'ras'safis would rather willingly sacrifice his own life than let the foreign invader's technology fall into the hands of the Fifth Family."

A small smirk escaped him, Eli couldn't help it. One down, eight to go, he thought as he mentally prepared to charge at the other High Councilors.

Too bad the gundark couldn't see him now. Or perhaps not. General Bittenfeld would have encouragingly hit him on the back with such a force Eli would have doubled over in pain.

TO BE CONTINUED

Take that, Formbi! Really, there are so many things I can forgive but Thrass's death is not one of them. And don't worry, Commander Riza is still on Relentless but she's no Core World snob so... Meet the ship's second officer, Commander Nalgol, the Prince of Kuat. Some of you may remember him as Captain Nalgol from Hand of Thrawn Duology.