CHAPTER 40
Reunion
Kom'rk-class Fighter – 2 BBY
"What's a – woah!"
Bo Katan wrapped her hands in a death grip around the arm rests as Nara pulled back on the throttle, moving the fighter into attack position. Its wings spun as the s-foils unlocked, and only then was she able to comprehend what her partner was gunning towards. Just ahead was a waystation of some kind, its design unlike anything she'd ever seen…and situated in front of it was an equally alien frigate.
"Nara—" she began, but had to grip the armrests tighter as she pulled the ship into a port bank. "Nara! We can't take on a frigate on our own!"
"You don't understand!" the chiss yelled in turn, and Bo Katan could almost feel the rage in her voice. "There is no peace with the Grysks! We either die, become their slaves, or slaughter them all ourselves!"
She still had no idea what the hell a Grysk was…but unfortunately, she didn't think she would be getting that answer anytime soon, seeing as they were already being fired upon. The shields held up against the stray blasts that landed, and Nara was already firing rockets in retaliation, only seeing them harmlessly explode against some kind of unfamiliar shielding.
"Electrostatic," Nara cursed to herself, flipping two knobs just above her and executing a U-turn for another pass. "Hang on!"
Bo Katan's stomach pressed into her waist as the inertial dampeners worked to compensate for Nara's teeth-grit insanity, before nearly blacking out as she flipped the fighter back right-side up. The forward guns screamed as they raked across the hull of the ship, still hitting nothing but shielding before pulling off behind the waystation for cover while enemy fire heated their heels.
"Nara…what's your plan?" Bo Katan queried, finally getting ahold of her equilibrium. "Why can't we just jump out of here?"
The chiss grunted as she drifted the craft, coming to a stop out of the firing range of the frigate behind the waystation. "There's a cloaked gravity well generator nearby. Unless we can find it, we're not getting out of here."
"Cloaked?" Bo Katan gasped. "How big is it?"
"Big enough," Nara answered, her eyes glued to the repositioning craft behind the station. "Before I left the Ascendancy, we dealt with a few of them. They have to kill the cloaking field before they can engage the well, so unless another ship comes through, we won't be able to find it."
The cockpit door slid open, and Alhara came stumbling out. "What's going—"
"Strap in," Nara pointed to the seat just behind Bo Katan. "Now. Hurry!"
She did as she was told, securing herself tightly in the seat. "What's going on?"
"I don't even really know," Bo admitted, her own eyes locked on the frigate as it slowly moved. "Just hold tight."
They waited a few more moments, Bo watching Nara's eyes flick from the sensor readouts to the viewport, looking more frantic than she had ever seen her. Nara had always been good at staying calm regardless of the situation, and rarely did she ever get actually upset. The state she was in now…it seemed completely out of character.
These Grysks really must be something.
Then Nara seemed to have an idea.
"I'm going to try something," she said, frantically working the weapons systems and shield array. "Our best advantage is they've never seen one of these before…at least I'm pretty sure they haven't. This thing is faster than it looks, so maybe if we skidded the underbelly at high speed…" she furrowed her brow, pausing for a moment, before pointing in recognition. "Oh, right, it's this one."
"Want me to watch the monitors?" Bo Katan offered.
"No, I need you to flush all power to the weapons when I say so, then we'll use directional jets."
She queried the board, and then placed her hand over the power transfer. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"I do, trust me," Nara assured her, angling the fighter towards the port side of the waystation. The frigate was nearly clear of it, but her counterpart's eyes blazed with fierce determination. "Ready?"
"Ready."
Nara shoved the throttle all the way forward in a swift movement, pushing Bo Katan back into her seat as they accelerated to max speed in a starboard bank around the waystation. Once they were lined up, the chiss fired afterburners, blazing forward at a terrifying speed too fast for the grysk weapons to keep up until they were just at the ship's bow.
"Now!"
Bo Katan transferred all power to the weapons just as Nara drifted the fighter, utilizing the law of inertia to its fullest as their speed continued unhindered. Kicking in the directional jets, Nara simultaneously fired everything they had into one spot as they raked by, punching through the shielding and landing a deep blast into the hull. Bo watched as part of the ship exploded as a result, the viewport showing the occurrence in full display as they continued to drift far beyond its aft.
And then, just as quickly as they had arrived, the grysk ship shot off into hyperspace.
They all breathed.
"Engines, please," Nara asked, catching her breath as her muscles relaxed. Bo Katan had all power stabilized within moments of her request, and she heard them flare back to life at the rear.
"Whoo-hoo!" Alhara cried out. "Had that frigate running scared!"
Bo Katan let out a slight laugh with her own release, and then tapped Nara's shoulder with her fist. "Nice work."
"Thanks," Nara huffed out. "But we can't rest easy yet. We're still stuck here."
The relief faded.
"We have to check the waystation…and preferably before it blows…or we could be stuck out here for a long time."
Steadfast – 2 BBY
Eli's brisk walk from his analysis department took time, and he knew Ar'alani understood that. Still, the mental clock ticking in his head refused to release its grip upon his heart as his pace quickened out of the turbolift. She also hated it when her officers ran aboard her ship, so he had that to consider as well. The key was finding the fine line in between.
He approached the bridge doorway about two minutes ahead of schedule, but stopped as the sign above read stand by in the Cheunh language. As it turned out, he'd have to spend those two minutes waiting for the dark mode safeguards to decide it was safe enough to use the power necessary to open the door. Part of him tried to keep his eyes from wandering about, as to avoid the awkwardness of merely standing in front of a closed door as off-duty officers passed him by on their way to the aft portions of the ship…their glowing red eyes piercing his soul.
Although one did catch is eye.
"Navigator Vah'nya!" he called out, just as the woman emerged from the sky walker suite, a giddiness to his voice as a chance to sail through the awkwardness presented itself. Vah'nya seemed started for a moment in the dim lights, but the woman's expression quickly morphed into pleasant surprise.
"Hello Lieutenant Eli," she greeted, sporting the same black uniform he himself wore. "I haven't seen you here in a while."
Eli suppressed an urge to rub his neck. "That's correct. I've been busy with my work, as it turns out."
It wasn't really much of a surprise. Vah'nya was one of the Steadfast's five sky walkers; chiss children, mostly girls, who possessed the enigmatic "third sight" ability, allowing them to navigate Ascendancy ships through hyperspace without having to go jump by jump. The chiss did not have navigational computers, as Eli had quickly learned as he arrived, and relied on the sky walkers to travel through hyperspace. Most of them averaged from the age of seven to fourteen, where third sight eventually faded. Eli wasn't sure on all the details; in fact, he had inferred that he was not alone in that regard by a longshot.
Vah'nya, however, was twenty years old, and still had third sight at greater skill than most if not all of her counterparts. Why she was allowed to break the rules was beyond him, but he could hardly complain. She'd been about the only person aboard the ship he could actually consider a friend, and had also been the only one he could convince to call him by his first name instead of his crew-created core name, Ivant.
"That's too bad," she said, displaying a measure of pity and disappointment. "Did the Admiral call for you?"
"She did," he nodded. "Not sure what for."
Vah'nya pursed her lips. "Oh…so you didn't come all this way just to see me?"
Eli swallowed, caught off guard. "N-no…not at all."
He was pretty sure she was joking, but he had no intention of walking that fine line between quiet jesting…and fraternization.
Vah'nya chuckled slightly at his reaction. "Oh well. I know navigators aren't that interesting. I try my best."
Now he knew she was messing with him. "Next time I come up here I will be sure to let you know."
She beamed. "That would be very nice of you, Lieutenant…although your Cheunh syntax is somewhat lacking."
"What did I say?" he asked, swearing he hadn't made any mistakes.
"I think you meant to say, 'come up here' not 'jump up there'," she winked.
Eli blushed. "I see…sorry."
"Not to worry, Lieutenant Eli," she said, a devious smile working up her lips. "It will be our little secret."
Right…I'm sure no one will find out.
Almost on cue, the bridge doorway finally opened, pulling their gazes away. Admiral Ar'alani was situated beside her command chair, conversing with her male first officer, before turning to Eli and waving him in.
"Good luck," Vah'nya offered, patting his shoulder as she paced ahead to her open station. Flipping back into his more professional demeanor, he strode quickly into the smaller chiss bridge by Imperial standards, lacking a crew pit and command walkway.
"Lieutenant Eli'van'to," Ar'alani greeted, ushering away her first officer and handing him a datapad. "Tell me what you see."
Eli had to take a few seconds to switch back into work mode, but soon after he was analyzing the data on the screen. "It looks like energy emissions…weapons discharge?"
Ar'alani nodded. "Yes. My question for you, Lieutenant, is if the weapons discharge is from an Imperial make."
Eli studied the data, once again realizing that Ar'alani wasn't keen on speed, more precision. The patterns looked awfully familiar…but then again, some really didn't. He made sure to check it again…and again…and came to a conclusion.
"I don't think so," Eli answered. "This looks more like a grysk weapon."
Ar'alani's expression remained the same, indicating that had been her original suspicion. "So we are on the right track."
"If I may, Admiral," he interjected, frowning at the pad. "Venisium isn't present in any weapons I've ever seen, and it looks like it's coming up here."
"Venisium?" she queried, sounding out the Basic word.
"It doesn't exist in chiss space," he explained. "I've only seen it used for either combat stims…or potent drugs."
"I see," she narrowed her eyes. "And it's relevant…?"
"It's relevant because it's leaving some kind of trail. Since its base form is as a mineral, it shouldn't be drifting out here."
"Someone put it there, you're saying," Ar'alani conjectured.
"Yes. Maybe one of the grysk frigates attacked one of the supply ships we've seen in this area, and it's leaking the compound," he figured, even if it had a lot of assumptions laced in.
"A possibility, perhaps," she admitted. "But let us keep focus on the current task. Navigator Vah'nya, have you been briefed?"
Vah'nya was already sitting at the navigation helm, and gave her a nod. "Yes Admiral, I am ready."
"Good. Take us out."
Within moments, the stars out the viewport became lines as Vah'nya entered her trance and shot the Steadfast out into hyperspace.
"Good work, Lieutenant," Ar'alani praised, taking the datapad back, even if her expression showed no real pride. "You may return to your station."
Eli stiffened to attention. "Yes ma'am," and turned away…back down into the depths of the Steadfast.
At least he'd felt useful for a moment.
Grysk Waystation – 2 BBY
Bo Katan considered ordering Alhara to remain on the ship, but as she played out the scenario in her head, all results weren't very preferable. Instead she had the girl right in front of her while Nara lead the way through the alien space station. She expected a contingent of warriors waiting there for them to open fire, but instead they were greeted to an eerie, spine shivering quiet.
And lots of alien bodies.
Part of her felt inclined to shield Alhara's eyes from the scene as they passed over the perforated corpses, but by now it was already too late. She still kept her close, regardless, until Nara finally stopped with a raised fist. Lowering her antenna, Bo Katan peered through the walls with thermal vision…and immediately loosened into combat stance.
"Two signatures," she whispered, and then patted Nara's shoulder to let her know she was ready. "Alhara, stay close."
"Got it," the girl said.
Nara positioned herself in front of the door, holding her blaster steady. "Breaching. Three, two…"
Her foot kicked down the door with a loud clenching of metal, and Bo Katan had never seen the woman move as fast as she did. In an instant she was atop the larger alien, wrestling away their rifle and pinning them to the wall with a stark growl from behind her helmet. They both spoke an alien language, hers just as fierce as the apparent male's, and Bo Katan's blaster rang out as he reached for a blade. Nara's wrist blade emerged from her gauntlet in the next instant as she fought with the alien further, her use of rolling tactics far superior as she managed to remain atop of him…and proceeded to stab him repeatedly in the head.
"Nara!" Alhara called out, and Bo Katan roughly yanked her back before she could get in the way.
"Stay back!" she ordered. "Nara, that's enough!"
The alien was long dead by the time Nara finished her stabbing, their face almost unrecognizable and covered in green blood. She rose to her feet, wiping her blade clean and sliding it back into her gauntlet.
"What the hell just happened?" Bo Katan ordered. "He was already dead, Nara."
"Not dead enough!" Nara screamed, her breathing becoming labored as she tried to bottle down her adrenaline. "You don't understand, Bo."
"No shit I don't understand!" she bit back. "I thought you said this place was about to blow…and you just killed the only one who knows how to prevent that!"
Nara took a breath, slouching as it finally looked as if she'd regained control of herself. "The station won't explode. They didn't have time to set up the explosives…that's why there's all these dead bodies lying around."
Bo Katan narrowed her eyes behind her helmet. "Who killed them?"
Alhara cleared her throat, raising her blaster. "Guys, there's still another—"
"Put that down!" Nara shouted, standing between her and the other heat signature. "Alhara…please…just listen to me."
Bo Katan peered over her shoulder to see what looked like a child lying on an operating table covered by a cloth, a sight that already had her sick to her stomach. Upon closer inspection, however, she noticed the hand that hung loosely off the edge was blue skinned.
"Is that one of your people?" she asked, pointing towards the girl.
Nara's anger seemed to fade, and she nodded. "Yes…I need to check on her…make sure she really is still alive. Please stand back."
"Why?" Alhara asked.
"Because I imagine she's been here a while, and I want her to see one of her people when I remove that rag," she reasoned, holstering her blasters. "Watch my back?"
Bo Katan didn't like that she still didn't understand what was going on, but inclined her head. "When this is through, I want the full story, Nara."
The chiss warrior pulled her helmet from her head, revealing a troubled expression coded with sincerity. "You'll get it, I promise. Sorry for yelling, Alhara."
"It's okay," the girl said.
Nara took a deep breath while Bo Katan intermittently scanned the area, and carefully removed the rag from the girl's upper body. She didn't stir at first, giving Nara somewhat of a hopeless demeanor…but once she gently brushed her thumb against her forehead…
"AHHH!" the girl screamed; a wordless, jumbled scream as her body seized and convulsed, her eyes sealed shut. Nara's eyes widened as she reached forward, gently grasping her shoulders as she tried to hold her down, speaking a new language Bo Katan had no bearings to even possibly comprehend. The words were somewhat demanding, but also with a distinct shudder, suggesting she wasn't entirely sure what to do.
"What's wrong with her?" Bo Katan asked, and Nara only shook her head in desperation, before uttering a new set of words.
The girl's glowing red eyes snapped open, her screams coming to a halt…before she reached up and embraced Nara with a desperate fury that left Bo Katan speechless. She had never seen such despair in someone so young, enough to reach out to the first sign of a chiss face as if her life had just been forever saved. And then, as if the scene weren't heartbreaking enough, her cries became flowing tears and intense sobbing.
"Shhhhhh…" Nara embraced her, stroking the girl's hair and whispering soothing words in her native language. "…she'll need a minute," she switched to Basic, before turning back to the girl.
Bo Katan nodded, and then turned to Alhara, patting her on the head. "You alright?"
Alhara swallowed, her helmet inclining towards the floor. "Yeah…just…all of this…"
"It's a lot," Bo Katan eased, taking a knee beside her. "Let me just say that in all my years…I haven't seen a slaughter quite like this. It's okay to be a little shaken. I am too."
"I just…" Alhara began, trailing off for a moment. "I just don't know why someone would do this."
Bo Katan sighed. "There isn't always a reason," she admitted, letting her thumb rub up against Alhara's shoulder. "But with the way Nara is acting, I think their reasons might not make any sense to us."
Alhara seemed to look back to the girl who was still crying in Nara's tight embrace. "She looks so scared. What did they do to her?"
She had no idea, but that fact that the girl looked no younger or older than Alhara made her feel uneasy. Bo Katan couldn't imagine seeing Alhara in such despair and emotional agony, much less bear to watch it.
After a few minutes of waiting, the girl finally released Nara from her death grip, although maintained one arm around her as the crying stopped. "She's ready to talk now," Nara beckoned them over. Bo Katan rose to her feet and ushered Alhara along, removing her helmet to reveal her face to the girl. She furrowed her brow in confusion…and then pulled closer into Nara.
"She's never seen a human before," Nara said, just as Alhara followed with the same action. "So she's just a little scared."
Bo Katan tried to look as friendly as she could…realized how bad at it she was…and instead just tried to keep somewhat of a less imposing figure.
Nara spoke her language, and Bo picked up some words. "…Bo Katan bah Buhn Kryze…Alhara."
The girl looked back at them, and Alhara waved with a smile, prompting the girl to release from Nara slightly. She spoke in that same language, Nara said something back, and the girl responded.
"She says her name is Un'hee. She was taken by the grysks from her home when she was very young. Since then she has served them against her will."
Another exchange, and this time Un'hee started looking a little more comfortable…and her answers seemed to make Nara's eyes widen significantly.
"She's a sky walker," she said, only making Bo Katan even more confused. "Sorry…a navigator. They…well…I'm not sure how, but they help chiss ships navigate through hyperspace."
"Children?" Bo Katan asked, and Nara nodded. "Why?"
Nara shrugged. "They have an ability to see things before they happen…my people call it third sight."
Bo looked down to Alhara, and she looked back up in response. "You mean like her?"
Nara shrugged again. "Maybe. Like I said, I don't know how it works. It's kept secret for the most part."
Alhara stepped forward. "I can…feel something from her. It's faint, but…"
Un'hee's gaze locked on Alhara, and suddenly began to pull away from Nara. "K'sicen'i?" she asked.
"Sister," Nara translated, smiling. "Y-you must have third sight…o-otherwise—"
The entire station shook as Bo Katan heard the docking clamp secure itself, and her blaster was back in hand quickly. "Grysks?"
Nara shook her head. "No…if it was them, they would've just blown the base to bits. Probably pirates."
Alhara and Bo Katan pulled their helmets over their heads. "I'll take care of this. Look after the kid. You too Alhara."
"But-!"
"Stay here," she ordered, exiting the room and heading towards the hangar.
A whole five minutes passed before Bo Katan came in through the comm. "Nara…it's your people. You'd better get down here before I have to defend myself."
A rush of relief blasted through her mouth in the form of a releasing sigh, and Nara smiled down at Un'hee. "Time to get you home, sweetie."
The gratitude that the girl showed was enough to warm her heart for the rest of her life, even if she was still shaken and tear stained. "Thank you…Vigan'ara."
Scooping her into her arms, she carried her through the halls, prompting Alhara to carry her helmet for the time being. This next part would be critical, as it was normal for her people to
assume that anyone aboard a grysk ship was probably indoctrinated to their will…and needed to be dealt with. The good news was she had a sky walker to bargain with, and she could hope that the chiss commander would be willing to hear her out.
Once they reached Bo Katan situated behind the junction to the airlock, Nara could see the rifle-mounted flashlights shining in. She searched her mind, probing for a set of words that would make them sure to trust her. Standing beside the corner, she took a deep breath, and stepped out.
"Hold fire!" she urged, the lights shining upon her. "Our posterity is at risk."
They froze for a moment, the lights blinding her vision to hide their faces as she held her pose. Un'hee shivered as she covered her eyes, and Nara felt an admittedly cold sweat begin to leak down her face.
They lowered their blasters.
"Who are you?" the lead solider asked, only his red eyes visible through his protective breather. "You wear the markings of a chiss, but your armor is…unfamiliar."
Nara swallowed, feeling her throat turn dry for a moment, but pressed on. "I am Vigan'ara, Blood of the Vigan family, and Nite Owl of Clan Kryze," she explained, forced to use Basic words for those that had no Cheunh substitutes. "Our ship was caught in a grysk gravity well. We've been trapped ever since…but in the meantime, we have rescued a chiss navigator," she presented Un'hee. "She was taken by the enemy."
"You have companions?" he asked, still holding his rifle steady.
"Yes," she nodded, and then turned to Bo Katan and Alhara, switching to Basic. "You can come out now, helmets off."
Bo Katan was hesitant, but did as she suggested, revealing herself with Alhara at her side.
The commander narrowed his eyes. "You travel with humans?"
"Yes. Please allow me to speak to your ship commander. This sky walker needs attention," she insisted.
There was another pause, and the commander seemed to consult his wrist-bound questis before finally fully lowering his blaster.
"The Admiral will see you on the bridge, Vigan'ara…as well as your…companions."
The Admiral…all the way out here. Had to be Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, which narrowed down the possibilities quite a bit.
Nara hoped to whatever higher power existed that it wasn't her.
Chimaera – 2 BBY
Ronan fancied himself as a patient man…patient enough to be reasonable anyway. After multiple hours of jumping, scanning, jumping, scanning, they were no closer to solving this piracy problem than they were before they began. As Director Krennic's top officer, Ronan had been drilled on efficiency for years under the Stardust project, and it was an environment his overseer had demanded from his staff. A project so big needed nothing but the best minds willing to work as hard as possible for it to succeed, so Ronan had become quite adept at snuffing out incompetence.
Aboard the Chimaera, however, he imagined he'd need to transfer every member of the bridge to sanitation.
First there was Commodore Faro, an opinionated officer who seemed to think she was smarter than she actually was, lead on by her Grand Admiral to think she actually had any kind of viable future within the Imperial Navy. Then there was the members of his crew pit, constantly barking nonsense as Thrawn asked for it, hardly with any chain of command structure present, not to mention his TIE Defender squadron, which was traveling no faster than a collection of regular base TIE Fighters. Thrawn himself seemed to have become disinterested in the whole search, retreating to his office to do…whatever that strange mind was considering.
But perhaps the most supreme insult of all, the person who didn't even deserve a sanitation station, was the blue skinned 'Commander' Nerah. Ronan, in all his years, had never seen a more useless officer. Spending her time fully armored and holding a E-11D rifle over her chest, he watched as she stared blankly out the viewport while Faro made her rounds through the crew. What was she even doing on the bridge? Every insight she brought forward was either shot down or corrected by the Commodore or Admiral, and even Ronan knew most of it was confused gibberish.
This was a Grand Admiral's flagship…not a training course, and Ronan struggled to contain himself as he wanted nothing more but the useless woman out of his sight. Thrawn should know giving special treatment to one of his own people looked bad on his record, no matter how smart he appeared to be.
Stuffed shirts, cloak and blade, underhanded deals, special treatment? They were all the same…every single Admiral in the Imperial Navy, trailing all the way back up to the Emperor himself. They deserved one another.
"Your opinion, Assistant Director?"
Ronan turned on his heel in a flash to see Thrawn standing behind him, gracing him with his almost unfeeling, glowing red eyes. He quickly used his elbows to stop his cape from swaying, and cleared his throat. "My opinion on what?"
"The current course of our operation," Thrawn said. "You seem…distressed."
"I wouldn't say distressed is the right word," Ronan argued. "More…annoyed. Do you have any idea how much time you are wasting checking each individual system?"
"The time isn't entirely wasted, but I see your point," Thrawn said. "I believe it is time to try something else."
Ronan frowned. "Something else? Do you have a better way to scan every system?"
"No. Something far more…efficient," he turned to Nerah. "Commander. Have you completed your analysis?"
To Ronan's surprise, Nerah revealed that she had actually been looking at her forearm mounted holographic gauntlet, displaying a set of artwork that she still stared at as she approached, stroking her chin with her free hand. "Yes sir…I believe so."
"Excellent," he praised. "You may present your findings."
Ronan suppressed a glower. More artwork nonsense.
"This appears to be a stylized expression of a habitat, the overarching dome representing the sky…and the lines all angle downwards, suggesting a use of artificial gravity," she said, pointing to the different parts. "The quarter sphere at the bottom corner presents an orbit around a celestial object…perhaps a planet?"
"Close," Thrawn interrupted. "Note the sphere at the top left of the image. Is it depicted with luminosity?"
Nerah studied it, and then shook her head. "No…which means…that is the planet, and on the bottom corner is actually a moon."
"Very good," Thrawn said. "So our possible target orbits a moon. Did you find anything else?"
"Just a minute!" Ronan butted in, drawing both sets of crimson eyes. "What does a piece of art have to do with anything?"
"Quite a lot, Assistant Director," Thrawn insisted. "You will see. Continue, Commander."
Nerah looked back down at her projection. "The colors seem to favor shades of red, which could suggest that the system has a red giant as its star…or perhaps a morbid tribute to the villainy that takes place here."
"Both observations could be correct simultaneously," Thrawn said. "And those were my thoughts as well," he then turned towards the crew pit. "Commodore. Which star systems along the vector we procured have a red giant as their star?"
Faro checked her display as she returned to her station. "Just two sir."
"And how many have moons large enough to support the orbit of a habitat?"
Faro checked again. "One, sir."
"Excellent. Is my ship ready?"
"Only mid-level sir," she answered. "Would you like us to be brough to full combat?"
Ronan's eyes widened. "Combat? Thr—"
"Grand Admiral Thrawn," Nerah corrected, her holographic gauntlet no longer visible. "Sir."
Ronan felt his own facial muscles tighten into a stark glare at the alien woman. How dare she interrupt him from relaying concerns about Thrawn's obvious insanity. He should call upon guards right now to haul her off to the brig for a potential court martial…but there were none to be found…and Ronan had taken note of her role aboard the Chimaera. Unfortunately for him, she was only doing her job assuring the efficiency of the bridge and the operation remained streamlined.
Only then did he realize she was ensuring the exact efficiency he was complaining to himself about earlier. Perhaps she was more useful than he thought…
No. What she did was insubordinate, and she should be punished for it…then again…for what? He was in the wrong here, no matter how he spun the tale, and any unbiased source would recognize that.
But he would be watching her.
"Grand Admiral Thrawn," Ronan bit out. "Going into combat readiness would only be a waste of time and effort…time you don't have!"
"Your concerns are noted," he said rather dismissively. "Commodore, you may take us to the designated system when ready."
Steadfast – 2 BBY
Nara hadn't been aboard a chiss ship in many years, and all the hallways brought back a quiet sense of constant nostalgia. She remembered spending lengths of time aboard these ships, touching down on planet surfaces and boarding others…charging headlong into battle. Those days may have passed, but the way her life had adjusted still maintained those elements, even if her nonchalant walk to the bridge with her helmet under arm and Un'hee just beside her reminded everyone of the stark reality.
She wasn't one of them anymore.
"These are your people?" Alhara asked as they headed up the turbolift, Nara's eyes looking above through the clear walls.
"Yes," Nara confirmed, letting out a sigh as she felt her heart beat faster the closer they came to the bridge. "They usually don't come out this far from the Chaos."
"The Chaos?" Bo Katan queried.
"It's a…long story," Nara shook her head as the turbolift came to a stop and Un'hee grasped her hand a little tighter. "I know you're the boss, but try to follow my lead on this one."
Bo inclined her head. "I can't speak their language. Not like I have much choice."
Nara grimaced…and the door opened. Through the circular entrance to the bridge, she saw the double rim of stations situated around the command chair…the use of white and cobalt blue very prominent in the colorations.
And standing there waiting was Admiral Ar'alani.
Nara nearly looked away out of reflex, but stifled the reaction and strode before the tall, white-clad chiss woman. Beside her, to her surprise, stood a human in a black chiss uniform, something that almost made her stop dead in her tracks.
"Vigan'ara," Ar'alani greeted, her tone sounding neutral for now. "I never thought I would see you again, in all honesty."
Then she realized she had no idea what she was going to say, which prompted her to revert back to her old ways of speaking to her. "I brought you a present," she said, tipping her head towards Un'hee. "She's…a little shaken."
"I noticed," Ar'alani said, turning her gaze to her blank-faced companions. "I trust these are the warriors I asked you to find…even if one is a child…"
Nara felt her heart jump into her throat…but realized Bo Katan had no idea what was being discussed. "They don't speak Cheunh…obviously," she winced.
"That is quite alright. Lieutenant Eli'van'to can translate for them," she offered. "Unless they speak Sy Bisti."
Nara turned to Bo Katan, switching to Basic. "How's your Sy Bisti?"
Bo Katan snorted. "My sister tried to teach me when I was a girl. Didn't go well."
"I understand it a little," Alhara admitted. "But…same here."
"I can translate for you," the human, Eli, offered. "Or your companion can. Whichever works best."
"Is there a problem?" Ar'alani asked in Cheunh.
"You can translate," Nara waved her hand. "That's what the Admiral wanted."
Eli nodded.
Once everything was settled, Ar'alani began first. "I am Admiral Ar'alani of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet. You are?"
Eli translated, and Bo Katan replied. "Bo Katan Kryze. I am from the planet Mandalore, and have enlisted Nara's services for many years now," she said, and then motioned towards Alhara. "This is Alhara Eon, and she is my foundling."
"A pleasure to meet you, Bo Katan Kryze," Ar'alani said once Eli finished. "I thank you for assisting in returning this sky walker to us. You may consider the Ascendancy very grateful."
"The pleasure is mine," Bo Katan replied. "Meeting Nara's people is a great honor."
Nara grimaced slightly, and knew she hadn't been able to hide it. In that time, Ar'alani waved over another from the navigator station, and a woman no older than twenty approached with haste.
"Navigator Vah'nya, please tend to sky walker Un'hee. Try to make her comfortable, and I will meet with you soon," she ordered, and Nara felt Un'hee's hand grip hers a little tighter.
"Hey," Nara knelt beside her. "It'll be okay. She's one of your sisters. She'll take care of you."
Un'hee looked up to Vah'nya, who in turn gave her a comforting smile, and then back to Nara, loosening her grip. "Will you come back to see me?"
"Yes, of course, sweetie," she promised, letting her thumb softly rub the girl's shoulder. "I'll see you again when I can."
Reluctantly, Un'hee began to pull away, and after a warm exchange with Vah'nya, the two disappeared into the Navigator's suite.
"For now, your companions can be honored guests until you are prepared to depart," Ar'alani offered. "Lieutenant Vanto, please escort them to the conference room. I wish to speak to Nara alone."
"Yes ma'am," he stiffened, and then beckoned to Bo Katan and Alhara, the former who didn't seem too keen on the idea.
"Nara, we have to get back," Bo Katan insisted.
Nara sighed. "I know, but we're stuck here until we take out the gravity well generator anyway, and we won't be able to do that without the Admiral's help. Besides…she and I have a history that we…need to work out."
Bo Katan narrowed her eyes, and for a moment, Nara spotted a droplet of suspicion in her gaze, but it faded quickly.
"Contact me if anything goes wrong," she directed, beginning to pull Alhara along.
"I will."
After a shared nod, Bo Katan, Alhara and Eli vacated the bridge.
Ar'alani wasted no time. "We can discuss this in my office. There you can give me your full report."
Full report…right. Once again she thanked the stars Bo Katan hadn't learned Sy Bisti.
And didn't know the truth about why she became a Mandalorian.
