After what felt like an eternity of silence, Luke finally spoke, albeit reluctantly, "So, what's the routine?"

Voss Parck's glittering red eyes gave the Jedi a calm, calculating gaze that caused him to squirm inwardly, then he replied, inclining his chin, "The machine in the wall gives us two meager excuses for meals a day. The refresher to the side is always open, but beware of the shower."

"Why?" Luke inquired, curiosity piqued.

"For a minute, you shall find its temperature to be satisfactory, but as soon as the thought crosses your mind it disappears, and the water is suddenly as frigid as Hoth. Mere moments later it is hotter than Tatooine's twin suns, and then the punishing cycle repeats. It seems your Republic isn't as kind as it would have people believe." Parck gave a grim smile, "We are never allowed to leave the cell, for they fear that we will attempt escape or suicide by ourselves or with help from others. It's one of the few signs of intelligence the incompetents in charge have shown."

"Any routine beatings?" Luke asked with a sigh. He didn't quite mean the question, however, as he didn't imagine the Republic would be cruel enough to beat its prisoners.

"From the guards or from your cellmate?" Parck shot, a hint of amusement tugging at his ruby eyes.

"Either."

"Depends on your behavior," the humanoid answered ambiguously.

"How do you know I wouldn't strangle you or them through the Force like my father used to do?" Luke questioned, eyes flashing challengingly.

"The ysalamiri won't allow that," the blue-skinned alien replied simply.

Luke slitted his eyes, "How do you know about the ysalamiri?"

"Thrawn knew, so I knew."

The Jedi had the feeling that there was something very important that the Chiss was neglecting to tell him, but Parck spoke before Luke could voice his thoughts. "Where do your allegiances lie now?"

Skywalker's brow furrowed, "What?"

"Your allegiances. Are you still loyal to those who imprisoned you?" The Chiss' question sounded innocent enough, but Luke knew Parck was trying to trip him up.

"They had good reason to do so," he pointed out.

"Perhaps...Perhaps not. Surely if you meant as much to them as you seem to think you do, they would forgive you for an error in judgment."

"I killed a man!" Luke exclaimed. "That qualifies as more than an 'error in judgment!'"

"Why did you kill him?"

"I was in a bad mood and he ran into me. I did it without thinking."

"Then it wasn't premeditated—"

"No," Luke told the Chiss forcefully.

"—and therefore was a mistake. How were you to know he wasn't trying to rob or assassinate you?"

"He didn't have a weap—"

"Some beings don't need crude weapons such as blasters and vibroblades. Their hands are weapons enough," Voss Parck countered.

"But that wasn't what I was thinking—"

"But if they had truly cared then they would have put it off to that. If they had truly appreciated the great amount of help that you have given them in the past—whether it was misguided or not—they would have forgiven you. You don't incarcerate a Jedi unless he's done something so horrendous that it's unspeakable. The only thing the Rebels gain by jailing you is a false show of power during a time that they don't need you. Mark my word, as soon as Trouble shows up on their doorstep you will be released, and they'll be at your feet, begging you to forgive them."

Luke glared at him. The Chiss was just trying to rile him.

And he was doing a krethin' good job of it.

Luke bit his lip. "Suppose, for argument's sake, you're right. Changing sides right now won't change the fact that I'm in a prison with an Imperial."

Voss Parck shrugged. "I never claimed it would."

Luke narrowed his eyes and changed the subject. "What's your story?"

The Chiss could sense that the Jedi wasn't going to let this one go, and sooner or later he would have to speak on it. "I was caught leaving the Chimaera. Evidently, the Rebels who captured me were frightened that advertising my presence would cause wide-spread panic, so they just put me here and kept quiet."

"Why?"

"They thought that the idea of more 'Thrawns' throughout the universe would cause mass hysteria, and people would change sides."

"You said you haven't attempted escape, but have you entertained ideas of it?"

"What prisoner doesn't?" came the cool reply, a tight smile accompanying it. "But the odds of one person managing to escape this high-security prison by himself are not great, I'm afraid."

"Are all of the Chiss geniuses like Thrawn?" Luke queried.

Parck chuckled, "My goodness, no. I wouldn't say that Thrawn qualified as a genius, eith—"

"But he almost managed to bring the whole New Republic to its knees, and he probably would have if he hadn't been executed," Luke pointed out.

"Murdered by that traitorous Rukh, you mean?" Parck's eyes were mere angered slits. Luke shrugged, and Voss Parck gave a small sigh. "Thrawn knew what had to be done, and he might have succeeded in doing so if events had gone a little differently."

"How did Thrawn do what he did?"

The Chiss raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Luke rephrased his question, "How did he read creatures the way he did?"

The blue-skinned humanoid's mouth tugged upward. "It's amazing what one can learn by a bit of studying."

"What kind of studying?" the Jedi inquired further.

"That would be exchanging secrets, and loyal Imperials do not tell their secrets to treasonous Rebels."

Luke laughed dryly. "Who would I tell my secrets to? The wall? I'm sure it'd love to hear this."

Disapproving of the Jedi's humor, Parck frowned. "How do I know that you aren't planted here to find information?"

Luke sighed. "Back to this again."

"True trust cannot be gained in less than a day. Sometimes it isn't even gained in an eternity."

For some reason, the words hung heavily in the air.

Parck interrupted the silence first. "Why do you stay loyal to the Rebels when they were the ones that put you in here?"

"Because I don't believe in the Empire's ideals," Luke stated quietly.

The humanoid waited for a moment, and when the Jedi said no more, Parck queried, "And?"

Voss Parck barely managed to hear the almost ashamed words that left Skywalker's mouth, "Because of my sister and friends."

Knowing that it was a delicate subject, Parck tried to speak with a light voice. "Sometimes you have to go against those you care for the most to obtain justice."

"But the Empire's certainly not a better government. They have prejudices against nonhumans, believe in slavery, and—"

"I'll be the first to admit that the current Empire has flaws, but it does because it has no strong leader to guide it. When Thrawn was the head, nonhuman prejudices were few. Especially since Thrawn himself wasn't human."

"But the people have no say in the Empire—"

"Again, that comes from poor leadership. The problem with the Republic is just that: it's a republic. What the galaxy needs is strong leadership to unite it and keep creatures from tearing it apart. When there are many different 'leaders,' the only thing they think of is what they want for themselves and their system, or planet, whereas when there are only a few major leaders, they are able to choose what is right for the galaxy as a whole, without pointless matters to distract them from their goals."

Luke grimaced, "Sounds like you've had a long time to think about this."

"What better matter is there to ponder than how to right the galaxy?"

"How about what our next meal's going to be?" Luke gave a small grin, trying to steer the conversation to a less delicate subject.

Parck shook his head imperceptibly. He knew the Jedi was very uncomfortable with the conversation.

Well. Never mind. They would have plenty of time to discuss it later.

Plenty of time.

Author's Note: Many thanks to Moy for betaing!