Disclaimer: Yesterday George Lucas signed the rights of Star Wars over to me. Unfortunately it was all a dream…in other words, I still don't own it.
Ties
Princess Leia Organa Solo looked down at the sleeping faces of her babies and sighed. Her arms ached to hold them but she knew to do so would be to risk waking them up after she and Winter had spent so much time trying to get them to sleep. Since Han and Luke had gone to the meeting she felt a weight on her shoulders she couldn't explain yet she felt somewhat calmer in the presence of her children. She dared to reach down and gently touch the cheeks of first Jacen and then Jaina, using the Force to send them a message of love through her fingertips. To her pleasant surprise, both infants made happy cooing sounds in response then continued to sleep. She looked up sharply as she heard the front door to her quarters open and she rushed from the nursery, questions about the meeting already on her lips.
"Han, Luke…how did it go? Any new information about the Empire? What kind of tricks was Fey'lya up to? How did…" Leia was cut off by Han.
"Whoa, slow down Princess we just got in the door! By the way it's nice to see you too, sweetie." Han smirked and was rewarded with one of his wife's patented glares before he continued. "If you must know, it went kind of sort of well. New information about the Empire is murky at best and Fey'lya was being his normal slimy, irritating, vindictive self."
Leia paused to take in the information before braving her next question. "What exactly do you mean by kind of sort of well? Don't tell me you've been sent on yet another mission half way across the galaxy…"
Han shook his head a hint of his earlier frustration in his voice. "No, I'm not going anywhere…Fey'lya almost trapped me into a mission to Killiset, which is more than halfway across the galaxy by the way, but the kid jumped in and took that blaster bolt to the chest for me…"
Leia's relief was short lived as she realized what that meant. She turned to Luke, unable to hide her disappointment. "Oh Luke, I'm so sorry to hear that…as relieved as I am to hear that Han will get to stay I really want to spend some time with you too."
Luke smiled and moved to put his arms around his sister. "I have to leave tomorrow but don't worry Leia it shouldn't be a very long mission…we're just going to see if we can find any new information about the Empire. With so many rumours about whether or not the Grand Admiral is still alive plus the Killiset's unwavering loyalty to him and the Empire, it seems like the best place to start looking."
Leia frowned. The Noghri had informed her of how the Grand Admiral's Noghri bodyguard, Rukh, had sent them a brief message about stabbing his former master in the back before being shot down by the enraged Imperials…Leia knew well the honour and skill of the Noghri people and found it difficult to believe that one would fail at such an important task. However, the Grand Admiral had proven himself remarkably talented when it came to defying expectations. Luke seemed to sense her trail of thought because he responded to it almost as though she said the words out loud.
"I know it seems pretty unlikely that the admiral survived a Noghri assassination attempt but at the meeting it was made clear that over the last couple days our sources have begun to notice a major shift in Imperial morale and efficiency. All kinds of rumours are spreading like wildfire about what's going on but we need to uncover the truth." He pulled away and gave her his most comforting smile. "I'll be back before you know it."
Leia smiled at him in return. "I'll hold you to that Luke…"
Han moved to put an arm around each of their shoulders. "Hey none of that good-bye stuff yet! It's still early and I figure we have plenty of time to have some good old family fun before Luke leaves…" He gave them his infamous lopsided grin and was rewarded by both rolling their eyes then bursting into laughter when they realized they had reacted the exact same way. Basking in the warmth and laughter of the two most important men in her life, Leia felt the weight on her shoulders lifted. No amount of stress could hold her down while she was surrounded by her family.
Mitth'raw'nuruodo looked down at the sleeping face of the baby in the incubator and sighed. His arms ached to hold the child but he knew to do so would be to risk his baby brother's life, which currently depended on the many wires and tubes hooked up to him inside of the incubator. Since Thrawn had first been told of his mother's pregnancy he had felt a weight on his shoulders he couldn't escape and he had desperately hoped that the birth of his brother would help lift that weight, his overwhelming guilt. Instead, two days ago he had been given the word that the child was born prematurely and was hanging to life by a thread. Thrawn dared to reach down and gently touch the glass, tracing the spot closest to his brother's cheek, using his imagination to send him a message of love through his fingertips. To his pleasant surprise, the infant's eyes seemed to open in response and look at his older brother before returning to sleep. He looked up sharply as he heard the door to the hospital room open and two guards entered ready to drag him from the room and back to the prison…he held out his hands and allowed one of the guards to chain his wrists together once more but not a sound passed his lips.
Grand Admiral Thrawn woke from his dream, to find himself in the command chair of his private control room, large and empty looking without his usual art displays. He rubbed his temples and looked around the room listlessly. It was a dream he rarely had anymore but it was still as clear as the day it actually happened, for worse than a dream it was an actual memory. Thrawn stood slowly and stretched his cramped limbs. He had awoken from his coma mere days before and was still far from fully recovered, yet despite his brother's warnings he had left the med bay and began to work again. He smiled as he remembered how the crew cheered when he stepped onto the bridge once more and how eagerly they set out to fulfill his first order. The crew of the Chimaera had been good to him, save for a certain tractor beam operator, whose fate never had to be duplicated. Thrawn knew well, however, that it was not out of fear that his crew respected him but because such displays of anger were so rare and that he rewarded success and effort far more often than he punished. A buzz at his door brought him out of his thoughts and he smoothed his uniform before returning to his command chair.
"You may enter." Thrawn's smooth voice cut through the room clearly without a hint of shouting. He watched as Captain Pellaeon entered the room briskly, with several data pads in his hands.
"I hope I am not disturbing you Admiral, but you asked to be informed as soon as we entered the Killiset sector. We have and in another twenty minutes we will be in orbit around Seti I as per your orders, sir."
Thrawn nodded his approval. "Have you informed the House of Seti that our presence is to remain as quiet as possible?"
"Yes Admiral. While the Representitve of the House expressed his relief to hear that the rumours of your death were false, he made it clear that he understands how dangerous it could be if your enemies received word that you are still alive. He promised to ensure that as few people as possible will hear about your arrival." Pellaeon's tense posture and tight voice suggested to Thrawn that there was more on his mind than he was letting on.
"Is there something else Captain?" The grand Admiral's voice was as smooth and calm as before but he leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing slightly as he searched his Captain's face. Pellaeon hesitated for a split second then braced himself.
"With all due respect Admiral, I was wondering how certain you are that we can trust the Killiset's. After the treachery of the Noghri, and the rumours of that fiasco now widespread, it seems likely that the Killiset's might start questioning their loyalty to the Empire too." Pellaeon realized too late that the alien admiral might see his grouping together of the Killiset's and Noghri as a racist remark; however Thrawn simply gave a nod of understanding.
"I understand your concern Captain but rest assured our relationship to the Killisets is completely different from the Noghri. Where the Noghri had been deceived by the Empire since before I was so much as an Imperial lieutenant; the Killisets have never been deceived by us. The help I provided them was genuine and the proof is insurmountable. I must confess, I alone should take the blame for the Noghri…I've known since Lord Vader handed their responsibility to me that it was only a matter of time before someone exposed the Empire's deception. In truth, I genuinely wanted to help them, because I knew they would continue to help us if we did…" Thrawn trailed off for a moment before returning his glowing red eyes to Pellaeon. "But all of that is in the past and cannot be changed. What matters now is that the Killisets are eager to help us and we can trust them to do their best in that regard."
It was a clear dismissal, yet something prevented Pellaeon from moving. The Grand Admiral realized that Pellaeon was studying his face. Two pairs of eyes met and the Captain took a deep breath.
"I didn't tell him about the Noghri, sir. In fact, I didn't tell him anything about your campaign against the rebels…He asked but…I thought you would prefer to inform him yourself." Captain Pellaeon's eyes broke away from Thrawn's and the tension in his face showed clearly that he was worried about his commanding officer's reaction. There was a moment of silence as the full meaning of the Captain's words sank into Thrawn's mind. He could imagine how anxious his brother would have been for answers, how frustrated and persistent the younger man could be. It would have been so much easier for Captain Pellaeon to give in and answer Theeon's questions but instead he had truly understood the situation and kept quiet.
Thrawn's voice was strangely soft when he finally answered. "Look at me Captain." Pellaeon's eyes nervously returned to his. Thrawn did his best to maintain his cool composure but allowed some warmth into his next words. "Thank you."
A moment of understanding passed between the two men. Captain Pellaeon had gone out of his way to protect the Grand Admiral's brother from information he was unready to hear, information that would have cut the doctor deeply. That single act of selflessness had bridged the gap between military rank and loyalty, leaving instead true friendship between the two officers. Pellaeon gave a small smile and a nod of his head then turned without a word and left the room. For a moment Thrawn closed his eyes and allowed himself a smile as he felt the weight on his shoulders lifted.
