***The Secret***

The azure water was calling and as soon as Leia stepped into the soft, almost warm blue, it was true bliss. She felt as if she could float forever, while tearing up the dense water with smooth movements.

And when she looked down, she found a whole world below her - surprisingly bright and deceptively calm - with clusters of colourful coral reefs, which occasionally appeared on the seafloor, and swarms of shiny fish and other creatures that sometimes clashed in a predatory confrontation, fighting for dominance over a particular piece of water. Looking through her googles, it seemed as if she only had to stretch out her hand to reach the bottom, but in reality, even her toes couldn't reach the reef's highest ridges. The long, high reef separated the cosy, calm lagoon from the open sea. It shimmered with all the colours of the rainbow and stood in stark contrast to the monochromatic vastness of water in the background and its dark depths.

The sun was setting, the sea was darkening and its rich blue was drawing her further and further in, as if it were whispering to her: `Become one of us and live in these waters forever.´ And for whatever reason she followed that voice and swam away into the nothingness... Infinity lay ahead. It was almost like space: It was dark and there were no fish, no corals, and no visible bottom. Such weightlessness, such freedom... such danger? Leia's blissful excursion was suddenly cut short by icy fear. There was a creature, about her size, swimming straight towards her. It resembled a fish and the greyish colour of its skin almost blended in with the water and if it had not been for the Force, Leia might not have noticed it at all. The creature's eyes held meaning, and, for a moment, Leia thought that an intelligent creature was looking at her, and wanted to say something. Then it made a strange sound and clanged its jaws, exposing sharp teeth, before coming even closer, sliding along her shoulder and then it swam away. With an effort of will, Leia turned around and swam towards the shore, but suddenly the creature was back, blocking her path, swimming close, kicking lightly. At some point Leia just hovered, closed her eyes, concentrated and sent a shockwave towards the predator. She succeeded in knocking it away a few dozen metres, but the creature closed the distance in mere seconds and when it returned it seemed more aggressive than before. And to make matters worse, two of its friends were not yet visible, but felt quite close.

Dammit!

Unexpectedly, Thrawn appeared out of nowhere. Apparently, he too had decided to go for a swim at the big reef. He swam sharply forward, towards the creature. Their gazes clashed, and the red-eyed Chiss at this moment appear to be more animal than man. By now, the two other carnivores had arrived to aid the first, but they only circled them, watching the outcome of the silent duel. The Chiss' features grew sharper for an instant and then the predatory emitted a water column, before it jerked sharply and then staggered back out into the depths of the sea. The other two following him.

The sun was already setting and the first stars appeared, while the sea slowly became as dark as the sky itself. Quickly they swam back to the shore and silently stepped out of the water.

The illusion had passed and, in the moonlight, Thrawn looked almost Human again.

"Are you all right?" He came up to Leia, gently put his arms around her, and kissed her forehead.

"You were frightened?"

"A little," she replied honestly. "What were they? They're... intelligent, aren't they?"

"In a matter of speaking. Their species definitely has a complex social hierarchy. But by nature, they are common predators. I simply marked my territory and retaliated with my own aggression. Then they were gone." At that moment, Leia thought that Thrawn himself was no less a predator than those strange creatures.

"Thank you."

"It is my duty to keep you safe."

Before the sabacc game, they decided to have dinner and the local kitchen droid turned out to be an excellent cook, perhaps even better than some of the droids in the expensive restaurants on Coruscant.

"Is Chiss food any different?" Leia took the opportunity to fill in the cultural gaps. Besides, she was really curious.

"Quite." Thrawn was reserved when it came to his home world, but Leia's inquisitive glance suggested he should not be silent tonight. The Chiss sight.

"Csilla is an ice planet and therefore its plants and other life-forms are rather special. Most of them need very little sun and water and thus are rich in essential micronutrients and in flavour," he paused in thought, as if conjuring up some memories before his inner eye. Then he continued: "When I first arrived in the Empire, I had an interpreter called Eli Vento, who then became my personal aide for some time. He originated from Wild Space and was unaccustomed to many culinary delights. When the opportunity presented itself, I managed to get hold of some Chiss dishes, or close equivalents. I chose those which I considered fairly neutral, yet tasty, and let him try them."

"And? Did he like it?"

"He said that he would rather decline the position of a Commander of a Star Destroyer, which was a sensitive subject for him at the time, before trying it again. I think this shows how much... he did not like the food. In fact, there is only one person who really enjoys some of the herbs from Csilla."

"And who is that?"

"Palpatine. I remember him saying that Chiss teas taste as multifaceted as the Dark Side of the Force itself. In Human terms, I don't think that was a compliment. Yet he had a lot to say about how different intelligent species perceive the taste. He sometimes invites people over and gives them a taste of his mysterious drink only to observe their reactions. I can only guess, but I think it is about their sincerity as few are brave enough to tell the Emperor his tea is disgusting, but at the same time, it is almost impossible to conceal their true reaction. Palpatine finds such tests quite... entertaining."

"Entertaining? It's appalling!" Leia instantly remembered why she hated the Empire in general and the Sith in particular. Some controlled deep breaths brought her back down, but she was still agitated, while Thrawn merely shrugged.

Then Leia noticed his steak's different colour – it was darker than hers, although the meat was the same. Was it a different degree of cooking or had different spices been used?

The Chiss noticed her gaze and decided to satisfy her curiosity before she even had the chance to formulate a question.

"My food was prepared with a special spice mixture so that it tastes closer to Chiss food. I had it send here together with my stuff. Would you like to try?"

Leia nodded. A small piece of steak was carefully held in place by a fork, cut off, and then brought to her mouth.

"Be careful, it might be too spicy for you." Her taste buds were shocked immediately when the spices moved over her tongue and right into her nose. Luckily, the feeling quickly disappeared, giving way to a nutty bitterness, which then ended with a hint of sourness. The meat itself was very mild, but at the same time seemed to be rawer than what Leia was used to.

"Unusual, but, not bad. What are these spices called?"

A few words, obviously in Cheunh, left his mouth and were too foreign and too complicated to be remembered.

"The kitchen droid called them `Chiss Spice Blend No. 1´" Thrawn said, obviously taking pity on her. "It consists of some herbs and mushrooms grounded to a powdery consistency. If you decide to add it to your food, do not use more than half, preferably a quarter of a tea spoon. I am not entirely sure how and if they effect the Human body."

"I'll keep that in mind. Do you miss your native flavours?"

"Sometimes I do. But then again, the galaxy is a vast place. I have discovered many new things, including foreign dishes I enjoyed more than my native ones. Although, I admit, the transition was not easy at first," he said honestly. "Especially since the sweet taste is associated with poisonous plants on Csilla. They are rarely eaten and if so, only with extreme caution. Sweet things activate fears by instinct. It was a revelation to me that Humans feel differently; that, for them, sweet fruits are even beneficial and have a positive effect on their mood. The biggest test for me was the mango, when I tried it for the first time, I genuinely thought I was going to die."

"So if you misbehave, I could torture you with chocolates," Leia laughed involuntarily at the picture.

"No, you could not" he smiled slyly. "I figured out how to deal with this problem. I can easily eat something sweet from the hands of someone I trust, and even get a certain amount of pleasure from it."

"And? Do you trust me?" the question came out almost by itself. A delicate subject, especially after last night.

"In that regard, yes. I do not think you would poison me. You are too straightforward for that. Besides, our connection makes killing each other rather difficult."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Do you want to find out?" He asked, a scrutinizing stare mustering her.

"As a matter of fact, yes - because if feels like you know a lot more about this Sith ritual than I do, which doesn't seem fair to me, seeing that we are both affected by it."

There was silence again, and a sly smirk on the Chiss' face. How Leia wanted to erase it.

"Tell me!" she said, sounding a little too harsh, but then added more gently. "The Emperor said it was an ancient Sith ritual. The thought alone unsettles me."

"I think it would be more accurate to say that it was a ritual used by the Sith." Her husband explained. "The original creators called it - a more subtle connection. In general, it allows you to feel if something is wrong with your partner. The Sith, however, saw another beneficial side effect - it allowed them a degree of empathy for their partner because if you harm them, you harm yourself. I guess if you let someone close enough... you need some reassurance."

"I wonder... why Palpatine did it. What does he get out of this? And why would he perform the ceremony so publicly?"

"Perhaps he was concerned for my safety. He did not want to lose a talented warlord to a short-tempered Sith apprentice. He still needs me, you know," Thrawn grinned slyly and Leia resisted the urge to throw something at him.

"Or it is much simpler than that. As far as I know the Emperor learned of this ritual from some ancient holocron and saw an opportunity to try it out. He likes to experiment, after all."

Leia was alarmed by the way her husband spoke of the Emperor. As if he knew him very well. Almost as if they were personal friends.

"Well. It works, at least one way. I felt your pain." The princess disliked the direction of the conversation, but her curiosity was stronger. "Does it work the other way around too?"

"Yes." Thrawn was enigmatically silent again for a while, but then decided to add: "I sensed you were in danger out there by the reef."

"Why? Why do you win all the time?!" Leia tossed her cards onto the table in frustration. She already regretted suggesting playing `Sabbac for Truth', where the stake was an honest and moderately detailed answer to a question.

Thrawn had already piled up three questions, whereas she had none; and the prospect of being questioned by the Chiss without getting anything in return, was upsetting to say the least.

"Fortune favors me" he shrugged. Leia closed her eyes and took another sip of wine. She knew a man who had said the same and her heart tingles unpleasantly, as an unseen sense of guilt over Han Solo clutched her throat. `What the Sith was she doing here? Playing sabacc, the game Han had taught her, with an Imperial?!´ "One more game. I need to win. My algorism is quite clear on that." said the mechanical voice of the hologram the droid was projecting and Leia eagerly agreed. She too wanted to win - badly.

"I have one question, you have two," Thrawn summed up after the next round.

"And I have none! People always forget about me!" the droid complained grumpily before his hologram slowly faded. Leia laughed involuntarily. It had been fun, but now she actually became a little nervous.

"I want the truth." Leia said sternly. "And nothing but the truth."

Common sense would have told her to at least formulate some limits for the questions. It would also have told her to consider the amount of the local Marasai berry wine and its effect on humanoid organisms, however, common sense seemed to be absent today. Perhaps she had left it somewhere in the blue sea, with the coral reefs and those strange sea creatures. Thrawn relaxed on the soft beige sofa now and Leia in the large armchair opposite him. She twirled her glass thoughtfully, her hand playing with its thin, long stand, while she was occasionally glancing at the Chiss. There were many questions she wanted to ask, but only one that had been haunting her for some time.

"You are quite fond of studying others... But I have studied you too, you know? At least a little." Leia said slowly. "There were rumours in the Alliance that you were somehow chosen by the Emperor himself and that he favoured you; supported you. Considering your background and your very rapid rise through the ranks, those rumours don't sound too far off. And my observations would support them too… The opera, the wedding and the way you talk about him, well, it sounds like the two of you are getting along. Like you are close. So…What's your connection to Palpatine?" She paused for a moment, worthy of a politician. "Why do you support him? And if you do, why did you agree to our little deal?"

"If that was the first question, I am almost afraid to hear the second." In the dimness of the room, his scarlet eyes seemed to flash more brightly for a second, but then their glow grew softer.

"Once upon a time, I was banished from my people and from their dominion, the Chiss Ascendancy.I had a serious disagreement with the ruling families."

Leia raised an eyebrow in surprise. `How serious? About what?´ But she didn't ask those questions aloud though and continued to listen intently.

"And the Emperor... gave me everything. A second chance, a second life and a place in his world. He listened to me, understood me and provided me with the opportunities to fulfil my potential. For that, I am eternally grateful. Back then I swore an oath of allegiance to Palpatine as a military man and I have no intention to break that oath," the Chiss paused for what seemed like an eternity. "I really do support the Emperor in most matters." He said then.

"Most? So not everything?"

"Not everything. I opposed the construction of the Death Star."

Leia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She seemed to have learned more about her husband in the last few hours than she had in all the time since they had met.

But was he telling the truth? Or was he only telling her what she wanted to hear?

"Is that so? And why would you do such a thing?"

"It seemed like a pointless investment of enormous resources, for a battle station that promised little to no usefulness in any real space battle; which does not make me any less despotic, from your point of view, of course," the corners of his thin lips quirked up just a little. "And I do not believe in the Doctrine of Fear. In fearful situations, people lose their minds, their focus and they become less effective. It is never good for the cause," he paused again and Leia could hear the quiet breeze and the soft melody of the sea outside the window. It was so peaceful here and they were talking about war.

"However, it is worth clarifying. I would never have supported the destruction of the Death Star the way it happened." The Chiss continued. "What that Alliance pilot did, was no less terrible than the destruction of Alderaan. The most senseless confrontation in history. So many unnecessary casualties, it always upsets me."

"The operation on Hoth suggests otherwise," Leia's voice was quiet, but as cold as the planet itself. For a second she wanted to throw her wine right into the Chiss' face, but her glass was empty.

"I know and I am sorry about that," he bowed his head slightly and covered his eyes for a moment. "At that time, it was the only appropriate reaction. To restore order. To show the galaxy that the Empire would strike back."

"I hate you!" Leia blurted out without thinking. She had lost too many friends that day. "And I hate the Empire!"

"You have every right to do so."

They were silent again and the silence was as dark as the black sky above them, before it was suddenly lit-up by the light of a falling star.

Leia calmed down a little, there was something else, something important that the Chiss never said, she could feel it.

"But none of this explains..."

"Why I agreed to your terms," Thrawn finished her sentence and nodded. "Perhaps it is best described as a religious-spiritual disagreement that divides us. I will die one day. And so will you. And our child," he paused, closing his eyes slightly as if he were listening to something. "Everyone is mortal; that is the indisputable law of the universe. And I would like it to stay that way. The Emperor... does not want to die. He wants to rule forever, and the methods he has in mind to archive his goal are… revolting. There is a lot I can understand and accept, yet even I draw a line at some point. Which leaves me with no other option but to help the Emperor to die with dignity when the time comes."

"Then what?"

"Then a new Emperor will take his place. That is the way. And, no, I do not support the idea of founding some kind of `New Republic´."

"So much for that idea." Leia whispered softly, while her stomach clenched with anger. No, she had not really harboured that illusion, but it was hard to hear it spoken out loud.

"I know that the Empire is not perfect and there are areas that, surely, require more attention: education, the arts, health. And you could give it to them. Gather those who are dissatisfied, listen to their suggestions and reform bills and with that help to improve society as a whole. There are many ways to achieve this, even some I can help you with."

"Not under the Empire's flag!" Leia hissed instantly.

"What is more important to you, the people's well-being or the flag?" Thrawn merely shook his head.

"The Empire is a good and functional ship and there is no point in taking a Star Destroyer apart to turn it into a Mon Calamari cruiser. A lot of what happens on a ship depends on who runs it and on what course is chosen. And that can be influenced. There is a lot more freedom than it seems."

However, Leia chose not to listen. "I will not support the Empire. Never!"

"I like your boldness, your determination and your willingness to fight for your beliefs. Even if that means fighting me. But sooner or later I will change your mind, you will see."

Leia lifted one of the cushions from the other edge of the sofa and used the Force to throw it against the Chiss' chest.

"Never!"

Their discussion could have gone on, but a droid rolled into the living room, saying "Greetings dear gentle beings, would you care for some more wine?"

Thrawn nodded in agreement, and then lifted his glass to have it refilled with a dark, purple liquid.

They sat opposite each other and Leia now stretched out her legs on the sofa, resting them beside her husband. However, in this position there was no way the droid could reach her glass.

"I'm terribly sorry," he muttered, lengthening his arms as far as possible, while the bottle started swinging dangerously close to his guests. Out of pity Leia then picked up the glass on her own and held it up to the droid.

"Thank you so very much," he replied, refilled her glass and then rolled out of the room. "I wish all of you a very good night."

Leia smiled involuntarily. This robot was a bit odd and somehow, he reminded her of C3PO.

Where had it come from?

Suddenly, Leia felt Thrawn touching one of her calves. Instinctively, she flinched and then looked directly at him, her eyes shooting blaster bolts. However, the Chiss wasn't scared by her reaction and continued stroking her legs with subtle touches, as if there had been no argument at all.

"Lea..." he whispered huskily. The Princess first thought was to bend her knees to put an end to his unexpected, yet pleasantly soothing touch, but when she tried to pull her legs towards her, Thrawn gently held them in place.

"I think we have gone too far. I do not wish to spend my time here with you discussing what divides us." He raised his glass. "In fact, I would much rather drink to a possible future in which we are on the same side."

Leia reluctantly drank with him. She had thought she'd had enough, but the wine was lovely dry, yet with some fruity notes in it.

"Where did you learn how to duel? You were quite adept with the lightsaber... Consider that my second question."

"The art of war involves wielding various weapons. Swordsmanship, even if it does not involve lightsabers, is found in many cultures, so, of course, I have studied it." The Chiss replied ambiguously. There was a brief pause. "But that was not the main reason… Once, when I was young, when I was still a warrior of the Chiss Ascendancy, I went on a mission with a Jedi. He was one of the Order's best warriors and already quite famous, despite being very young. A hero with no fear – that was, at least, the name the public had given him during the Clone Wars. But he was also a Republican General and a skilled pilot. I was deeply impressed by his mastery of the lightsabre and the versatility of the weapon itself. Later, when I served the Empire, I was given some lessons by the Sith, at my request." "One of the Sith?" Who it was? "It doesn't matter who it was" Thrawn smiled softly and looked at her intently, as if hypnotizing her and suddenly she was much more interested in something else.

"What was the name of this Jedi?"

"Anakin Skywalker."

Leia flinched as if struck by lightening. "What?! No! Don't tell me…I don't… I mean…" Leia brought her hands to her temples and her mind was on fire. There were thousands of questions – far too many, and it felt as if a bomb had exploded inside of her.

Vader had been a Jedi? A `hero´ of the Republic?!

She wanted to yell the none of this could EVER be true! Vader was evil. Had always been evil. Had been born evil. He was a Sith. An Imperial. The embodiment of evil and her mother... had just made a very wrong choice, or, the circumstances had left her no choice at all. That was what she had thought all along. What she wanted to think. Yet, deep down, Leia had always feared that things hadn't been so easy, so clear cut. They never were…

Suddenly, her disbelieve was replaced by curiosity, which burned like a flamed in the depths of her rebellious mind, unstoppable.

"What kind of joint mission was that? And Vader... Anakin Skywalker, what was he like - then?"

"So many questions... but we count them as one, right?" The Chiss asked mockingly and then was silent for a while, as if deciding whether or not he should provide her with the answers she was clearly longing for.

"Well... not much different, I would say. Anakin preferred dark clothes. He was slightly shorter, but not much, had blond hair, blue eyes and his gaze could be just as terrifying without being channelled through a visor. He was short tempered, refused authority and disobeyed orders easily for the sake of reason or efficiency - we had that much in common," he smiled at the recollection, but it was a sad smile.

"As for the mission ... we were searching for Senator Padmé Amidala on a very remote planet in the Unknown Regions."

"What?!" Leia's surprise was boundless. Perhaps that had been the last thing she had expected to hear.

"You repeat yourself, Princess," Thrawn was clearly enjoying the moment.

"Yes, I knew your mother, Leia. And you certainly resemble her in looks, but in character..."

"You stop right now! I don't want to hear it!" Leia yelled and simultaneously raised her palm in warning. Still, the end of the sentence hung in the air.

Chapter 30 – The Secret

"So, how old did you say you are?" Leia asked and then moved over to the sofa, stretched out on it and rested her head on her husband's lap.

Оn the ceiling there was hologram of the sky with the stars and moons illuminating the sky, even though it was well past midnight.

"You are out of questions, darling," a smooth, calm voice said and a slight sneer appeared on his face.

"Hey! That's a simple question!" Leia raised herself on her elbows and intently gazed into her husband's eyes. She really wanted to know. He looked like a young man, but, if what he had said was true, he was probably old enough to be her father.

"What exactly do you want to know? How many years I have lived according to Imperial chronology? My biological age? How much older I am than you? Or how many years Chiss can live?"

"You make everything sound complicated."

"Well, it is. As you remember, I spent the first half of my life in the Ascendancy and there... time is measured differently. I could tell you how old I am in Chiss years, but that would not correlate with Human years. And there are some peculiarities of my race to consider as well – our physiological maturation occurs earlier and life expectancy is longer. I would say I am a middled-aged man for a Chiss, with two-thirds of my life still ahead of me, in a favourable scenario. My biological age in terms of the Human equivalent would be around 33-35 years. At the same time, in absolute Human terms, I have lived at least thirty years longer than you have. So, all in all, I'm relatively young for a Chiss, but older for a Human.

"I see," Leia said, but was confused for a moment.

"And how do you expect me to react to this revelation?"

"With love and respect for my age," the Chiss laughed amicably and immediately seized the initiative. "Speaking of love... Do you think you could ever love me?"

"Is that your question?"

"No. That's a simple question," he answered, copying her intonation from only moments ago.

Leia pondered the question. Loving Han had been easy. He was cheeky, sweet and had always done his best to earn her attention. He had been there for her, had shared her life and had brought some kind of charm to it. Back then, life had been crazy, always living on the edge and there had only ever been moments for them, but Han had suited her well during that period of time, because with him it was impossible to make plans. And if there had been any, the usually had changed them spontaneously.

She had never had any intention to fall in love with Thrawn. And it would be much easier to hate him - for his military genius and playing on the wrong side, for his inflexible will and stubbornness, for his dictatorial views on the universal order, and also for his desire to decide everything without consulting her first. And for the fact that he had a solution to everything. And for the endless secrets that surrounded his entire life. And much more… So why did she not hate him? Why was she so attracted to this man? She could blame ancient instincts, or tell herself that her body betrayed her, or that sleeping with a strong, attractive man automatically created attachment, but she knew it was more than that.

"I don't know. Why do we fall in love with someone? It's nothing you can control. It just... happens." Leia put one of her hands on her heart and then shrugged.

"It just comes? All by itself?" The smirk on his face indicated that he didn't really believe her. Repeating her gesture, putting her hand on her heart, he continued. "And it is not linked to the wishes and actions of both parties involved in what is going on in here? It just happens?"

"I never thought about it," Leia said, but was lying, of course. She had thought about it - many times. She had, for example, wondered why she had preferred Han Solo over Prince Isolder. But right now, she wanted to tease the smug Chiss on whose lap she was laying so comfortably.

"Really?" his voice sounded somehow special now, low, like velvet touching her skin. "And you have never thought about how you felt about me either?" Leia was hot as the Chiss' hand slid down and, as if by chance, came to rest on her heart, where her hand had lain, only a moment ago. An innocent caress that stirred up something big inside.

"I've never thought about it..." she whispered and bit her lower lip unconsciously in temptation. He leaned over her then and took hold of her seductive lips, stopping her from saying anymore, while causing the thin straps of her dress to discreetly slid down, exposing her pale breasts to him, which he then caressed with sensitive fingers. Leia didn't know how his touch managed to bring her whole being to life. All contact points between them seemed to spark with the fire of passion and a pleasant heaviness built up in her belly.

"Think about it now…," he murmured in a low voice that penetrated her whole body.

No, she did not want to think of anything right now. Right now, all she wanted was to dissolve in his burning touches and melt her body with his, all through the darkness of the night.

Thrawn never asked his question.

Early in the morning, the island was engulfed in a soft, golden light, but Grand Admiral Thrawn was already awake. A vague uneasiness had woken him and now he went for a walk along the coast.

He looked up and then noticed the wedge of a Star Destroyer greying the sky over Fiji, but it was high up and barely recognisable within the clouds to the untrained eye.

Something had happened. He returned home, activated the commlink and, as expected, received a message from the Chimera.

"Leia, wake up," a voice said and Leia felt his gentle touch on her body. Thrawn was deceptively calm and relaxed and extremely collected.

"Why? I'm fine where I am," she pulled the Chiss down towards her and tossed him onto the bed. "And you should join me..."

Rarely in his life, Thrawn felt his will crumble, yet now, for one brief moment, he was ready to give in to temptation. Still, he pulled himself together in time.

"I would love to." Gently he kissed the young woman's neck and shoulders. "But our holiday was cut short. I have to go."

"You have to go? Now? Why? And where to?" All of a sudden, Leia was wide awake. She had a bad feeling about this.

"I do not quite know all of what happened yet, but Lord Vader has been wounded and I have to complete the mission he started. We will board the Chimera together and then you will be brought to Coruscant. For your safety, you will go to the Imperial Palace, where I will have quarters prepared for you. You will stay there until I return."

"Imperial Palace? Have you gone mad?!"

"Do not worry. The palace is huge and you do not have to attend any official events. You will be safe there."

"I'm not going to the Emperor! Can't I stay here?"

"Out of the question, my dear. It is not safe and you know it. If Xizor managed to come here once, he might do so again….And the Black Prince is untrustworthy in many regards. I would be a fool to leave my beautiful, young wife all alone on a tropical, isolated island."

"Then... The only solution is that I stay with you, on the Chimera. After all, is there any place safer than the one next to you? You will protect me." Leia said and tried to manipulate him, however, she wasn't sure if Thrawn would fall for it.

`Such things only work if you believe in them yourself´ she remembered her father saying during one of their mental training sessions. So, she looked deep into the Chiss' eyes and touched his mind with hers. She didn't care that it was as dark as space, and neither was she troubled by the fact that she still couldn't read it, simply because she didn't have to in order to influence another person's mind. To enhance the intended effect, Leia snuggled up to her husband and wrapped her whole body around his in a tight embrace. `Safe,´ she whispered mentally and relaxed her own body as she felt it.

Thrawn felt the impact immediately and carefully watched the Princess proceed. His mind was cold and clear, but emotionally, he felt a warm wave washing over him.

"So that is how it is done? If I were Human, I am sure it would have worked." He liked the effect though, and for a while, just enjoyed the feeling - Leia's openness and softness and her light touches in the Force.

"I was not planning on it, but I guess I could do that" he said and with that finally broke the silence, pretending to have been persuaded by her charm.

"But at the same time, I should like to warn you... On that ship, I am a soldier first and I have to perform my duties. And my orders are carried out without question. And you, too, when you step aboard that ship, you will have to obey me... whatever happens."

"Yes, Grand Admiral," Leia replied playfully in military fashion.

At this, Thrawn's comlink beeped insistently.

"I have to take that call. You have half an hour to get ready."

A few seconds later, Leia slipped out onto the corridor and, out of the corner of her eye, caught sight of the room in which Thrawn went. With the intention to eavesdrop on his conversation, Leia went to the dressing room, which was right next door and which, considering the circumstances, she could enter without suspicion. Yet the door was shut tightly and it was just as impossible to hear a word through the wall. Therefore, Leia meditated to sharpen her senses to the extreme and to catch what was being said in the room next door. She tried hard, but only sensed shadows of emotions and a clot of darkness and coldness, which she was sure was coming from the Emperor himself. Her husband's state she would describe as one of tension and mild excitement. But, of course, this did not enlighten her about the conversation's subject.

Lazily, she rummaged through the contents of her wardrobes and quickly snatched a couple of more or less decent dresses - just in case, before changing into a simple black jumpsuit.

"I'm ready."

The Chiss approved her choice of garment with a slight nod of his head. He himself was already dressed in his white Grand Admiral's uniform.

When did he do that?

The shuttle landed softly in the Chimera's main hangar and the pilot and several stormtroopers had already descended the gangway, leaving Thrawn and Leia alone.

"From now on, I will first and foremost be the Grand Admiral of the Empire you hate so much. And that means my duty will be more important than your feelings. But I will do my best to keep you out of harm's way."

Leia only shook her head.

"Keeping me in the dark and guarding my peace won't work, Grand Admiral. What I don't know, I'll figure out myself and that might not be beneficial for our relationship… We have been through this before. Let's make it better this time. Trust me and tell me what's going on. I might disagree, I might throw a temper tantrum and, yes, I might even try to stop you. But I am sure you can handle this."

"I think I brought a rebel aboard myself," Thrawn laughed.

"Yes, Grand Admiral. I think you did." She smiled. "But here is my promise to you: I will try not to make things difficult on purpose."

"I hope not."

Thrawn returned to his quarters late; it was almost midnight according to the ship's time, which fortunately, was almost the same as Fiji's. His quarters were spacious and consisted of several rooms, but there was only one bedroom. The Chiss spotted Leia in his favourite large chair, behind his desk, intently studying something on his data console in guest mode. She was wearing his white shirt, which, on her, looked more like a dress. At first, he almost couldn't believe his eyes - it was truly wild to see someone in his chambers on the ship. Thrawn had been alone in here for many years, and if he had had any guests it had only been in bed and no one had dared taking and using his things like that. Leia's proximity definitely evoked some feelings, but the Chiss still wasn't sure how to interpret them.

"Hello." She rose from the chair and stretched herself sweetly. "Tell me, where are we now? What planet is this?"

His quarters had a large viewport from which one could observe the blackness of space, or the stars' endless lines in hyperspace and, apparently, Leia had found out how to open it.

On his data console he saw a larger star map, which probably meant the Princess had been trying to match their travel time to its content in order to figure out the name of the green ball that glowed below them in the distance. A tedious task, which could take a long time...

"Lothal."

The princess's heart skipped a beat as she instantly remembered the conversation in the bar with Mirabella's informant and the rumors about a brutal operation to destroy the rebel cell here.

"Thrawn," Leia rarely addressed him by his name. "I need to know something... What was going on on Lothal around the time I was attacked in the mall? What was that operation you were in charge of here?".

"I was in charge of?" Chiss raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Admiral Constantine is in charge of the Lothal Sector," he went to his data console, logged in under his name and studied the data of the operation Leia had inquired about.

"Just as I suspected: a small operation, the essence of which was to prevent a ship, presumably a rebel ship, from leaving the planet's space port. There were a few surprises in the process and a ground operation had to be carried out, which, unfortunately, caused several communication towers to be affected; an incident some scandalous journalists then called an `information blockade´."

"Does that mean there was no orbital bombardment...?" Leia asked cautiously.

"Of course not. It is very rarely used. And surely not in cases such as this." His scarlet eyes met hers. "Why did you ask? Where did you get this idea?"

"Never mind."

"Oh no, my dear, I do mind, as it seems like someone has deliberately trying to misled you."

Reluctantly, Leia told the story of Mirabella's informant.

"That explains a lot," he sighed heavily and then shut down the data console.

"I only wish I had known that before..."

"I didn't want to draw attention to the fact that someone had rebel connections because..."

"...because you are on their side. I do not want my next sentence to sound manipulative, but perhaps it is unavoidable. Leia, because of the information you withheld, some people who were investigating your assassination attempt were hurt. The case has hit a dead end. It has not progressed one inch and because of that some have lost their positions and a lot their nerves. You can be lucky no one lost his life, though I am not certain about that," he made a hand gesture urging Leia to let him finish. "Those are people, Leia, just like the Rebels you sympathize with. And what about all the other people? The civilians who were just buying Christmas presents – Are their lives worth less because they are not fighting for the ideas of democracy and freedom?"

Leia had an answer to that question, but knew it would not make a difference now, so she remained silent.

"The details are important," Thrawn continued. "Firstly, someone deliberately wanted to turn you against me and wished to highlight the atrocities of the Empire. Secondly, and no less important, it is generally thought that it was an attempt on your life and that Mirabella was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, which leads me to believe that perhaps she was the intended target and you were the distraction." They were silent for a while; each of them occupied by their own thoughts.

"You have a cosy place, but it's very cold. I'm cold, I'll admit," Leia tucked her legs under and shuffled awkwardly in his shirt. No wonder. Everything in here was set up to his needs - the temperature, the dim light... The Chiss pulled out a control panel and adjusted the climate control to a more Human setting. In his wardrobe, in the other room, he found a blanket, which he then carefully placed over Leia's shoulders.

"This should help." She was really cold - he could feel it. Once again, he marvelled at how sensitive the Human body was. He wouldn't even notice such a difference in temperature.

"Before I tell you why we are here. I have one question for you, Leia. Will you answer it?" Thrawn sat down nearby, in a less comfortable chair and then took her cold hands in his, warming her fingers up.

"How would you feel if you knew I was badly injured after another mission?" The Princess's eyes widened in fright. What was the meaning of this?

"I will add context - if I were wounded by a group of rebels. Possibly mortally wounded. How would you feel at the prospect of becoming a widow? To be free of all of it," he circled his quarters with his gaze. Only a while ago, Leia would have been happy. She wouldn't say that, no, but she would have been. Once upon a time she had wished for Thrawn to not return. There was a downside to that wish, though.

"Freedom is not when you are single and can do as you like. Freedom is when you can be yourself among your own. Your death will not set me free. Not from the Empire, nor from all the other problems that still have to be solved."

"Good," the Chiss nodded, showing that he was satisfied with her answer and that she should continue.

"I would feel your pain," Leia rubbed her finger where the barely visible mark of their union was. "And I would wish with all my heart that you would get better."

"Yes, but other than that? Would you take joy in my defeat? I have an important mission ahead of me... And if I lose, would you feel satisfaction that those you care about have won? Answer me, Leia. Honestly, if possible..."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you asking me things I don't know myself?" Her voice was low, but tearful. There was doubt and pain in it.

"I want to understand who you are to me," he said, as if reflecting Leia herself. "I want to understand whether you are my enemy or my ally. A lot depends on it."

"Like what?"

"Like how much I can trust you, my dear," his eyes glowed ominously in the darkness of the cabin. "I want to know if I can trust you with my secrets, or if I should hide them more securely," a slight smirk played on the tips of his thin lips. "When you let someone get this close... you need some reassurances."

"And you want me to trust you blindly," Leia smiled bitterly. "It's a bit unfair, isn't it?"

"Yes. It is." His face was impenetrable, but for a brief moment it seemed as if the perfect mask was cracked and a sincere feeling slipped through - it wasn't easy for him.

"I want you by my side and at my side."

"The Empire's side, you mean."

"No, I said exactly what I meant," the firmness in his voice, the confidence. "On my side. With me. In what I do. I am going to tell you something... and then you have to decide - either to be with me or to forget all of it."

"Forget all of it? I've had a pretty good memory so far."

"Is. That. So.?" he stretched out the words, like people from Wild Space sometimes did. Or like someone who was just starting to learn a new language and was tasting the new words. "You see, mental techniques can change memories or their perception."

Leia didn't understand what he was trying to say, but suddenly all her senses were heightened to their maximum. Something was wrong.

In an instant she wanted to break the contact of their hands, to pull away and to close herself off, to raise all her mental walls, but it was too late - a dark whirlwind burst into her consciousness.

She was frightening at first and expected pain and violence, but the alien's consciousness stopped at the edge of her own, peering inside, but touching nothing, affecting nothing.

`We are alike, my dear Princess,´ she heard a quiet whisper inside her head. `Both of us, creatures of the Force.´ There was a light rustling that sounded like laughter.

`Who are you?´

`A Sith's apprentice´ his eyes smiled, but there was only darkness that splashed within them. Yet his darkness was not like Palpatine's cold and not like Vader's wall of fire. It was subtle, polished, sharp and pervasive. Like a lurking predator, ready to made a precise lunge. `A Force user - Just like you.´

One of his hands released hers and his fingertips slid along her neck, sending subtle sparks of the Force through her skin.

So that's what it had been! She had mistaken this pleasure for love, yet he had only been using the Force. He had been manipulating her. Now she could see that as clearly as she saw his hand on top of hers.

`But that does not mean you did not enjoy it.´ His darkness was soft and weightless and it penetrated her skin stealthily, guided by an invisible hand. And it ensnared the whole ship in thin threads, subtly bending everything and everyone to its will.

`Do you want to be with me?´ the darkness asked, slowly taking her in its sweet embrace. `Do you want to create a new galaxy with me?´

The temptation was great.

But there was silence everywhere - inside and outside.

Suddenly, the darkness lifted as unexpectedly as it had descended. It disappeared into the darkness of space and into the room's twilight. Just a moment before her own powers had arisen, ready to push the stranger beyond her consciousness.

"Who is your teacher?" Leia asked aloud, catching her breath, but without realizing, she was still tightly holding on to his hands, as if they would prevent her from sinking. And when she did realize her actions, she hastily let go of them and leaned back.

"I think you know the answer to that question." He smiled smugly and then closed his scarlet eyes.

"The Emperor?"

He nodded. "Of course."

Then, without a warning, Leia felt his Force presence return. No, it had never gone, it had only been hiding, lurking.

`Sleep tight.´

Only at the very edge of her consciousness, the Princess noticed her body weakening; losing control. She vaguely remembered Thrawn picking her up in his arms and laying her down on the bed, covering her with a blanket. And then she fell into a deep, calm, dreamless sleep. And the Darkness guarded her peace.

Leia awoke suddenly, as if she had woken from death itself and each new breath awakened her consciousness and brought her back to life. It felt surprisingly good.

The Chiss was half sitting, half lying on the bed, his eyes were closed, but she was sure he was awake.

"You are awake," he slid his hand over the control panel beside the bed without looking, and switched on the light.

"Let us pretend it is morning then." The observation viewscreen opened and soft, artificial sunlight filled the room.

"Now, tell me what happened. Why are we here?"

"Apparently, Lord Vader discovered…. some Jedi. Here, on Lothal. He went down to the planet with a platoon of Darktroopers, but returned alone, wounded and unconscious. Judging by the outrage in the Force – now that I can talk about such things with you - the Jedi are dead. All three of them. The story could have ended there, yet another unpleasant and rather strange thing occurred. Additional lightsaber wounds were inflicted on the Dark Lord later on, in the Executor's medical bay. Do you have any idea how that could have happened?" A surreptitious smirk formed on his lips and Leia's heart skipped a beat. "I sense you have a hunch. Care to share your suspicion?"

"I don't think I should talk about it."

"No, you should not. But I will help you. My mission is to find Luke Skywalker. Will you tell me who that is?"

Leia took deep breath. Inhale and exhale. And with a conscious effort tried to clear her head. Without avail. Should she tell him?

"He's... my twin brother. Lord Vader's son."

"Twins…" he said, finally opened his eyes and, right now, they looked almost Human, with only a slight scarlet glimmer in them. "I assumed as much, but had to make sure."

"I have to see him... My father."

Thrawn nodded. "That can be arranged. The Executor is close by."

"Can we go right now?"

"Yes. But, one more thing. Lord Vader must not know who I am. This little secret has to stay between you and me."

"If he doesn't ask, I won't tell. But he will feel it if I lie to a direct question."

"A direct question is nothing but knowledge in need of confirmation. So, if you do not lead him in the right direction, you have nothing to fear."

Leia was beginning to understand how the Sith thought. And she didn't like it.

TBC