Thrawn jolted awake, the door to the bathroom opening. Linnia exited, her hair hanging around her shoulders in damp tendrils over her jumpsuit.

"Morning," she greeted, walking into the kitchen.

"Good morning," thrawn replied, rubbing his hands over his face. He was usually such a light sleeper… how'd she get by him without waking up?

"Caff?"

"Please," his voice was gravelly, and he cleared his throat.

"Would it be alright if I took a shower?" He asked.

"Totally, take as long as you want."

"Thank you."

He walked into the bathroom, shedding the medical issue lounge wear. He turned on the water, closing his eyes in the warmth.

He thought of the previous night. He'd never spent time in another's quarters, not really. Briefly, to pick something up or the like, but he'd never spent the night somewhere. The chiss didn't even visit one another's homes often. They'd meet in a common place. Visiting homes was reserved for family and very close friends. Humans were far less clear with boundaries. Some homes had to be visited or one would be considered rude, others were an honor. Some one would visit and sudden rumors of an affair would sprout up and destroy a career. He'd spent the night on her couch, entered her bedroom uninvited when her comm had gone off, sat on her bed… had he taken too many liberties? The chiss would have been horrified at such a display of behavior. Even close friends didn't intrude on one anothers' bedrooms like he had. The humans were more lax on such things, but of such personal cultural norms, he didn't know for certain. A new air of embarrassment and doubt fogged his mind. Did he allow himself to get too comfortable? Let his guard down too much?

He scrubbed the grime and sweat of the previous day from his body, washing his hair and turning off the water hurriedly. He couldn't enjoy the shower while wondering such things.

He got dressed, rejoining her in the kitchen with renewed self consciousness. She was sitting at the island, her cup of caff in her hand.

"Eli is responding really well to the new medication and the blood transfusion." She said.

Thrawn closed his eyes. "That is excellent news."

She smiled, "he's going to be just fine."

Thrawn stood by the counter, unsure if he should stay, if he should help...

"Would you like to visit Eli with me?" She asked. He wasn't sure by her tone if there was some sort of underlying meaning to the question.

He nodded, and she handed him his mug of caff.

He looked into the mug. Black.

She remembered.

He pulled on his shoes and followed her along the winding corridors back to Eli's room, preparing himself for what might have happened over night. Linnia, however, pulled the door open without hesitation, sweeping in to read monitors.

Eli looked worse. More tubes and wires were sticking out of him, his nose red and cracked around the breathing tube sticking out of it. His chest was exposed, one of the tubes going into his chest just below his collar bone. He was awake, though, and looked at Linnia as she spoke.

"Morning, Eli," she smiled, looking at her datapad. Thrawn stood by the door, trying to stay out of her way.

"Mornin'," Eli murmured. She touched his chest, checking the tubes. He turned to face her, murmuring something Thrawn didn't catch.

"Thrawn's actually right there." She said and Eli looked over.

"Commander?" He said quietly.

"On which side will I not be in your way?" Thrawn asked Linnia. She pointed to the side opposite her, and he sat in the chair. Eli looked over, Linnia pulling one if the tubes from his arm, making him wince.

"'M surprised you're 'ere." He murmured, watching Linnia stick him in the thigh with some sort of medication.

"Why?" Thrawn asked.

"Thunderwasp."

Thrawn shook his head, "I promised you I would stay."

Eli laughed weakly, "you have stuff, Thrawn, I know that. I was just… confused. Erythin' was fuzzy."

"Regardless. You wanted me to stay, so I did."

Eli looked over at Linnia. "Thank you. The medic... he tol' me 'bout what you've done."

She shook her head, "I'm just happy you're feeling better."

He smiled, that crooked, haphazard Eli smile that Thrawn loved, and Thrawn took a breath. His first glimpse of the real Eli since this ordeal had begun. Relief flooded Thrawn's worry, giving him renewed hope. He was going to be ok.

"They told me I was poisoned." Eli said, the fogginess seeming to clear as his speech grew more fluid.

"Yes." Thrawn said, his eyes finding Eli's. "I, however, was not."

Linnia looked at them both. "Have any enemies?"

Eli snorted. "Who isn't your enemy, Thrawn?"

Thrawn remained stoic.

"Well, since it was only Eli," Linnia amended, "who would benefit from Eli being gone?"

Eli looked over. "Ghadi tried to solicit me for a position once, to get me away from Thrawn. He thinks Thrawn would fail without me."

Thrawn frowned. He hadn't told him that much.

"Thrawn." Eli said, looking over with a spark in his expression. "I know who did it."


Thrawn shifted, waking. The monitors' incessant beeping had been silenced for the night so Eli could sleep, but it didn't help Thrawn. His neck was cramped and he massaged it, trying to straighten it. The pain radiated into the side of his head, pounding. Linnia was working and he hadn't seen her again once she'd left Eli's room to visit her other patients. Given their newfound understanding of the incident, Thrawn didn't want to return to the Thunderwasp just yet. He looked over, and Linnia was in the doorframe.

"How long have you stood there?"

"Who do you think woke you?"

He looked back at Eli.

"Why don't you come to my place instead of killing yourself in that chair?"

Thrawn pursed his lips. He'd gone far beyond what his instincts, his own culture, had taught him. "I do not wish to intrude."

"Don't be ridiculous."

She nodded toward the doorframe and he stared. "Are you certain?"

She crossed her arms and he stiffened. He'd said the wrong thing.

"If you'd like I can have a room made up for you instead."

His mind raced. What did she want him to do? He wasn't entirely sure. Eli's advice float into his mind about neutral answers when he wasn't sure in a political situation.

"I am honored to stay with you, but if I am an intrusion I'm happy to stay elsewhere."

"You're not an intrusion."

He nodded, "thank you."

"Come on," she said with a half smile and he followed her into the hall.

They followed the same trend as the day prior, fewer words between them than previous. Linnia's door was shut when thrawn climbed into her fold out.


"You are far too reckless, Thrawn. You endanger the family." Thrass said, his brows knit together. He'd always been far more attractive than Thrawn, his poised arms crossed over his chest, his hair hanging around his shoulders.

Thrawn crossed his arms. "Brother, everything I do is for the Ascendency. If the Ascendency falls into harm's way, there will be no family."

Thrass' face fell, melting away into that of a skeleton returned to the ascendency in a body bag, the blaster the only identifier.

"This is your doing, Thrawn" Thurfian's voice echoed, the body of his brother staring up at him. "If you'd listened, Thrass would still live. If you didn't think you were so superior to everyone, Thrass would be alive!"

Thrawn shook his head, "no, no I… I didn't mean for this to happen."

"You're a disgrace, Thrawn." Thurfian's enraged features directed down at him, his voice echoing in Thrawn's head. "A disgrace!"

Thrawn put his hands over his ears, turning, suddenly, toward the viewport of the Thunderwasp, his brother looking back at him in place of his own reflection.

"You've done it again. You've done to Eli what you've done to me. You'll lead them all to their deaths, and you're too blind to see it."

Thrawn blinked and Thrass was replaced by his skeleton, falling to Thrawn's feet, grasping at his ankles, "you did this! You killed me!" It wailed, it's hollowed out eyes looking up at him.

Thrawn's voice died in his throat, backing away from the corpse.

It turned to Eli's his skin falling away at the bone. "This is your fault, Thrawn! You leave a path of ruined lives in your wake."

"No!" Thrawn cried, and fell backward off the bridge and into the nothingness of space.

Thrawn woke with a start, soaked in his own sweat. He huffed, looking around the room. It was silent, empty, leaving just him and his quickened breath and shaking hands.

"Thrawn?"

He flinched, looking over at the door. Linnia was leaned around the doorframe.

"I woke you. I apologize," he said breathily, looking away.

"Don't." She said quietly. "are you alright?"

He nodded, "I am."

She hesitated. "Can I help somehow? Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head, "no. Thank you."

She flicked on the dim light and he squint in the brightness.

"Can I make you a cup of tea?"

He looked up at her but she was already on the move, turning on the kettle she had in the kitchenette. He put his head in his hands. It had been a while since he'd had that nightmare. Thrass had died years ago… he'd though perhaps he was done punishing himself for that, but Eli... it was too similar.

"Have you heard anything about Ensign Vanto?"

She shook her head. "No, but in this business no news is good news."

He bobbed his head. He hoped.

"Rega." She called into her comm and Thrawn looked up.

"Yes ma'am?"

"How is Ensign Vanto?"

"I'm with him now. His blood work looks great, he's getting a little snappy with the breathing tube." She said and she could hear Eli's murmurings in the background, making her smirk.

"How is Eli's oxygen?"

"Ninety nine percent saturation ma'am."

"Pull it out, if it averages below ninety it goes back in."

"Yes ma'am."

"Thanks doc," Eli drawled over the comm, and Rega hung up.

Thrawn dipped his head, "thank you."

She poured them two mugs of tea, sitting on the opposite side of the fold out. He looked over at her, sipping her tea.

"You do not have to… amuse me."

She looked at him. "You don't want my company?"

He shook his head, "on the contrary, I do. I simply don't want you to feel obligated."

"When I feel obligated I'll let you know."

He waited for a follow up comment, but she had none, turning on the holo.

"I saw something that made me think of you."

Thrawn's mind flashed to all of the cruelty he'd heard following that statement, but folded. "What is it?"

A program appeared on the holo. A walkthrough of an art museum in the corellian system.

He looked over at her, searching for any sort of malice or amusement, but she had none.

"Art?" He asked quietly.

"Yes. Do you not like it anymore?" She asked bemused.

"I do. Thank you."

She explained where she'd seen it and what she'd watched of it. She sipped her tea, dimming the lights.

He talked to her about the art, answering her occasional questions. He finished his tea, leaning back and watching the program. No one aside from Eli had ever gone out of their way for him before. She'd risen, gotten him tea, and selected material she knew would soothe him without a moment's hesitation. Not even as a small child had someone gone to any lengths to comfort him, and here he thought comforting was a synonym for patronizing.

His hand tightened around the mug. He could get used to it.


He woke, Linnia fast asleep beside him. The holo was buzzing in the background, having restarted the program again. She was curled in an uncomfortable position, the blanket tossed haphazardly over the both of them some time in the night. She wasn't touching him; the futon was large for two people who were used to small military bunks, but she was close enough for him to feel the edge of the warmth radiating from her. He moved his arm closer to her, enveloping more of him in the warmth of her, and watched the rise and fall of her body as she breathed. He'd never allowed himself such an indulgence. Asleep, he could truly study her, the curvature of her cheek, the intricate waves of her dark hair. He saw the edge of the scar again over her shoulder, puckered and raised. His finger brushed the fabric of her shirt, and he pulled away. She offered him companionship, support, trust. He could destroy it all with one wrong statement, one misstep. A statement or misstep he was sure to never see coming... but he would do what he could to prevent it all the same.

She stirred, rolling over to face him. She looked up at him, bleary eyed.

"Guess we fell asleep."

He looked at the holo and back at her. "So we did."

She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Did you finish it?" She asked, nodding to the holo.

He had. Twice.

"Yes." he said, "I appreciate you sharing it with me."

She smiled. "Let's have some caff and take a look at Eli."


She pulled the last wire from Eli, helping him into his shirt and his pants. The head medic from the Thunderwasp was present, talking with her about what Eli's next steps were and what concerns remained.

"I appreciate all the fuss, but I'm fine. Just need more sleep." Eli added, struggling into his jacket.

Linnia rolled her eyes. "You better listen to what you're told and stay put, Ensign Vanto."

He smirked, "yes, ma'am. Thank you."

She squeezed his shoulder and he followed the medic slowly into the hall toward the Thunderwasp..

"It was really great to see you, to clear things up." She said, her eyes sparkling in the light.

"I agree," Thrawn said. "Thank you, for everything."

She nodded, "absolutely."

Thrawn turned toward the hallway to follow Eli back to the Thunderwasp. Now for catching the culprit behind the entire operation.


I took some canonical liberties here with Thrawn's past, dipping into some legends stuff from the old Thrawn books, but overall, remains respectful to the origin canon works.