Thrawn?!
Jaina's eyes went wide in shock. She realised her mouth was open too, so she closed it, and tried to think of something to say.
Grand Admiral Thrawn had been the Empire's greatest military genius - perhaps in terms of actual battles and campaigns Darth Vader or Rom Mohc had been equally successful, but Thrawn fought with an emphasis on elegance in his campaigns and an efficiency in his use of resources that made him seem more civilised, less brutal and destructive. And there was something about his ability to predict his opponents moved that suggested an understanding of his opponents, an appreciation and tolerance that contrasted with the usual Imperial mindset.
At least, that was what the sympathetic biographies said. Jaina had read three of them, as well as devouring more general military histories that discussed his campaigns in depth, with the energy she normally reserved for ryshcate when she was hungry, and opponents in a dogfight sim.
She had to force herself to remember that Thrawn was meant to be one of the bad guys.
She wasn't sure she was doing a very good job of lying to herself about that.
But the history books also said that Thrawn had died two decades earlier, when she'd barely been born. There had always been rumours of his survival, but no solid evidence had ever turned up - Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara had killed a clone copy of the Grand Admiral on a mission in the Unknown Regions a few years earlier, which they reckoned had put paid to any plans to stage-manage a return, and there was nothing to show of his supposed secret fleet except a few TIE Squadrons and Stormtrooper commando units, largely manned by recruits from his own people, the near-human Chiss.
But... there was no question that the Chiss Grand Admiral was sitting in the command chair of the Chimaera.
And for some reason, he'd misinterpreted her use of the recogntion code to mean that she was an Emperor's Hand, an agent like Aunt Mara.
How do you reply to that? she asked herself. There was danger here - a risk that one wrong move would see this unplanned run-in with the Empire turn into a trap.
"I could ask you the same question," she heard herself say. Was that a good answer?
Apparently so. The Grand Admiral smiled slightly, and relaxed imperceptibly.
"My return is, of course, not yet public knowledge," Thrawn conceded, lifting one hand in an abstract gesture. "And there are military reasons why I cannot explain the purpose of our presence in this system."
Jaina nodded in agreement. "Of course." Should she claim she was on a secret mission too?
"If I might hazard some speculation, Emperor's Hand," Thrawn smiled. "Given your own presence in this rather out-of-the-way part of the Galaxy, I would theorise that you have fallen out of contact with the Empire, and are merely travelling as an extra pilot on your brother's cargo ship, pursuing a more-or-less legitimate trading voyage between two local smuggling centers."
"Something like that, yeah," Jaina nodded, a little uneasily. Was she lying to Grand Admiral Thrawn? But it wasn't as if she had any option, and if he was misinterpreting, she wasn't sure she wanted to correct him. Or did he know exactly who she was, and this was some sort of crazy dance he wanted her to play along with? That might make some sense...
Jaina's head was spinning. Trust in the Force, and do what the Grand Admiral wants. Those seemed like the smart moves, even if the juxtaposition was... weird.
"But your underlying loyalty to the Empire remains. You merely required a commander of sufficient rank to report to..."
Jaina swallowed, nodded sharply. "Of course, Grand Admiral." She supposed her blush was going to sell the moment as an emotional return by a loyal Imperial assassin.
Thrawn steepled his hands, and gave a smile that seemed almost smug. "Well, Emperor's Hand. I would say that your contact with the Empire has been restored. Perhaps I can invite you to remain on board? And your brother's crew, as both he and his partner appear to share at least a little of your own distinctive skill set..."
"That would be... lovely," she said, shaking her head a little. Kriff. How do I get out of this? Smile. Just smile. "Thank you, Grand Admiral. We'd be delighted to join you. It's good to be back where we belong."
She had to hide another grimace, as Thrawn gestured for the officer who'd escorted her up to the bridge. "Lieutenant Yage will show you to your new quarters."
She tried to do an Imperial salute. "Thank you, Grand Admiral."
She tried to organize her thoughts as she followed the lieutenant back down the bridge. The way the officers and crew were looking at her had changed, so she answered their expressions with a smile, and tried to look like a proud agent of the Empire.
Apparently Thrawn had no idea who any of them were, and no-one in his bridge crew had corrected him. Were the Solo kids really that unknown in the Empire? Or was she just going crazy?
Stepping off the bridge and into a corridor focused her mind. She knew her way around a Star Destroyer's bridge tower pretty well. She'd helped out with some refit work on Booster Terrik's Errant Venture. And she was pretty sure that if the security setup aboard an Imperial command ship was anything like a New Republic carrier, the turbolifts leaving the bridge area were unmonitored, to speed up the 'lift-cars' cycle through the ship, and for the simple reason that anyone in the bridge area ought to have already been cleared to be there.
She waited until there was no-one else in sight, then swept the lieutenant's legs out from under her with a side-kick, and dropped her cold with an elbow and a chop.
And then she simply ran for the nearest turbolift.