Eli returned from Zygerria. He'd gone through protocol like a droid once he'd returned to the Chimera. He could barely remember doing any of it. Once it was over he'd gone straight to Thrawn's quarters where he'd been ever since. He managed to sink into the sofa before his legs could give out. He then wrapped his arms around them and hugged his knees close to his chest.
He was still processing what he'd just seen. What those creatures were doing was beyond barbaric it was unnatural. The thought that someone could sentence another being to those horrors was incomprehensible.
He barley noticed when Thrawn came into the room. He registered what the admiral was saying even less.
"What?" Eli mumbled halfway through Thrawn's speach. He looked up to see the Chiss looking at whim with squinting calculating eyes. It had been a while since that expression had been directed at him.
"Officially what happened at Zygerria was a trap lured by the Rebels where they attacked our ships and liberated prisoners." Thrawn told him in his monotone voice.
Eli didn't know why he was surprised. Of course the Empire wouldn't want this getting out. Especially if what the lieutenant said about even Darth Vader not knowing about it where true.
"And these events on Zygerria, they made you feel angry and upset yes?" Thrawn asked. Eli was slightly thrown by the question. Could he not see how broken he was? Maybe Thrawn's reading of human emotions wasn't as good as he originally though.
"What do you think?" Eli spat. "And the way the Empire are just brushing what they've done under the rug like a broken vase is just….."
He couldn't find the words to describe how he felt. It was anger and sadness and guilt all mixed into one suffering entity.
"Of course." Thrawn mumbled. Eli looked up at him in surprise at those words.
"What?" Eli asked at his gaze.
"It is now obvious that Agent Kallus is the rebel spy."
"How?" Eli asked confused at how he'd come to this conclusion and what that had to do with the situation. "If it was his mission to hide the rebels attack then surely he wouldn't have wanted us to go to the planet. With you and our weapons we could have destroyed them if it wasn't for the imperial ship."
"That was not his mission." Thrawn explained. "I now understand that his mission was one of recrument."
Now Eli was really confused. "Who was he recruiting?"
Thrawn's red eyes fixed him with an alien stare that would always send shivers up his spine.
"You."
Him? Then it all made sense. Somehow Kallus had found out about about the Empire buying slaves on Zygerria. After the incident with the Wookiee's Eli hadn't been shy about his distaste with the Empires treatment of prisoners which anyone who cared enough to investigate would be able to find out where slaves. Due to his high rank and ……closeness to Thrawn he would be an ideal double agent. Kallus must have somehow found out about about the Empires business on Zygerria and decided to kill two birds with one stone- to free the slaves and turn him against the Empire.
But that didn't make a difference.
"So?" Eli said. For the first time since they'd met a look of non understanding appeared on Thrawn's face.
"Don't you get it!" Eli screamed in anger and disbelief, jumping up off the sofa. He'd never felt such anger before. Not even when Thrawn changed his career path. "It doesn't matter if Kallus manipulation is or not. It doesnt change the fact that the Empore are using slaves."
The word tasted bitter in his mouth.
"I can't just convince myself that they were prisoners of war or criminals or whatever this time! I saw the empire buying them. I saw….."
The scream of that young girl ricocheted in his mind. He could feel bile rising in his throat. He barely made it to the refresher before he was sick. The smell only reminded his of the stench of the planet making him throw up even more.
As he choked up the contents of his stomach he sensed Thrawn come up from behind him. A cold hand pressed refreshingly against his forehead whilst another brushed back tangles of damp hair.
Eli leant into the touch.
"I'm sorry." Thrawn told him quietly. Apologies were still a foriegn concept to the alien so Eli knew the fact that he was uttering these words at all showed just how sorry he was. Weather it was due to him upsetting him or what he had to see Eli wasn't sure. But that didn't matter. What mattered that was Thrawn was sorry enough to admit it.
Thrawn was standing besides him now so Eli turned his head so that he could rest it against his stomach.
"I know that you are disgusted by what The Empire has done." Eli murmured. "But I also know that you have a duty to your people and are willing to play the long game. But I-"
"No." Thrawn said firmly, his sharp words cutting though his own with the force of a lightsaber. "I can not know your true allegiance."
"Why not?" Eli asked in confusion.
Thrawn looked away, his red eyes unable to meet his own.
"Because if the Emporer inquires at to whether i know of your allegiances I may be unable to hide the truth from him."
His eyes faded to a dull magenta as they got lost in a far off memory. They had never fully discussed what happened when Thrawn encounters the Jedi all those years ago. It was one of the few things they had never talked about. All Eli knew was that it had instilled Thrawn with an almost uncharacteristic terror about them.
"I don't want to lie to you." Eli whispered. After everything they'd been through to stay together he didn't want himself to the cause of a rift between them.
"And I don't want you to get hurt." Thrawn told him, his voice wavering with gentle emotions that were only ever heard by Eli's ears.
They stayed there for hours, the stars twinkling outside in a constant night. Neither wanting to move from their position, knowing that once they left each other's arms their lives would change forever.
Eli breathed in the stale dust clogging up the old communication tower and waded his way towards the transmitter.
Agent Kallus hadn't belive him when he told him that Thrawn had no knowledge of his switch of allegiance but that didn't mattter. Officially and technically Thrawn didn't know and that was all that mattered. It was one of the first lessons Thrawn had ever taught him. Always maintain plausible deniability.
Eli waded through the thick dust towards the transmitter. He opened up a secure line and hoped the distortion effect hide his nervous stutter. There was no turning back now.
"This is fulcrum with an urgent message for the rebellion. The Empire is building a weapon. One with the power to destroy entire worlds.
They call it the Death Star."
A/N Woohoooo!!!! Guess who finally finished this!!!!! Thank you so much to everyone who stuck around for this story!!!! I was not originally planning for it to go on this long but thanks to all of your amazing support I just had to add more!! Xxxxxxxxx