She had had a tiff with Teo the morning after her call to Uriellilen, which had solidified her decision to come and see her brother. He had welcomed Luxsolaria aboard his ship with open arms and a tight hug. It felt good to be hugged. It had seemed like ages since anyone had hugged her with the children both away at school.
He had shown her her new room, which had brought a delighted gasp to her lips. It had been decked out in live plants and lace that she recognized as her mother's, the bulk of which Uriellien had inherited.
The crew seemed happy to see her, and she said hello in as many native languages as she knew to members when she knew Basic wasn't their home language. Uriellien brought her to the command deck with him to stare into the muted kaleidoscope of colors that was hyperspace. The several hour trip had been spent in pleasant conversation about the latest gossip on Coruscant and the many flower baskets that Sola received on his behalf.
"Well," said Uriellien as the Crimson Asp came out of hyperspace. "Look who is already here."
"Who?" Sola asked, standing next to him on the command deck.
He put his arm around her and bent down close to her ear. "Your Snooks partner."
"Oh!" she piped, a thrill of excitement flowing through her. "I just wrote him a letter!"
"Did you?" Uriellien released her with a smile. "Why did you write him a letter?"
"He wrote me one," she replied after a pause. How was she supposed to answer that? Because I finally met someone with a brain in their head that is interesting? That sounded rather self-serving, even if her letter writing was just that.
Surprise registered on Uriellien's face. "He did?"
"He thanked me for the lace mat I made for his Snooks prize and told me that the journals the pilots wrote were helpful." She raised her head a little higher in pride, smirking at him.
"Oh, I am sure you told him they were your idea," he teased.
"Of course, I did!" She put her hands on her hips with fake indignance.
Uriellien laughed, and turned to his Captain and said, "Hail the Chimaera. It would appear that Slavin is playing with two balls in the air."
"I take it that is not good form," Sola said regarding him, feeling the seriousness in her brother's words.
"Not good form at all, my darling."
The trip down to the planet in the Lamda was a smooth one, for which Sola was grateful. She didn't like atmosphere-to-space flights, the turbulence was off putting. It reminded her too much of the drop ships of her youth, dodging incoming fire and Astarraxian storms. The shuttle landed with barely a bounce. She gave a silent kudos to the pilot.
Getting off the shuttle revealed a stark landscape of reds and oranges. The smell of clay baking was strong in the air, which seemed to suck all of the moisture out of her skin as soon as she stepped off. For some reason, she had thought Ryloth would be like Astarrax, with fecund air and wildlife abounding. It was nothing at all like home.
Waiting for them at the end of the landing ramp was Grand Admiral Thrawn along with a soldier she assumed was Captain Slavin. She couldn't help the smile that formed on her face at seeing him. He struck quite a figure, dressed in his white uniform with his striking blue skin in the middle of the desert around him. His red eyes seemed to glow from this distance. Had they glowed that night at the gala? She couldn't remember.
Uriellien offered her his arm, which she took as they descended the ramp. The air tensed as they approached the two officers, and Sola noticed Slavin's eyes shifting from her brother to her to Thrawn standing just in front and beside him. She admonished herself for feeling smug at her brother's side. One wasn't supposed to take pleasure in other's misfortunes, she reminded herself. But it was hard not to, seeing that the Captain practically squirm.
"Grand Admiral Viita," Thrawn greeted with a slight incline to his head. "Madam Tristane."
"Grand Admiral Thrawn," Uriellien mimicked the gesture with a smile. Sola beamed an excited smile.
The Captain stood to attention and saluted. "Sir," he said stiffly. "Excuse me, but civilians aren't allowed in this area." His eyes shifted to Sola.
"The Lady Luxsolaria is welcome wherever I am," Uriellien said firmly. She felt a flush of pride as he introduced her by her Astarraxian title, but felt his ire rising with each word. "And you invited me here, Captain, but it looks as if you already have guests."
Slavin again glanced again from Thrawn to Uriellien, this time ignoring Sola entirely. She suddenly felt left out.
Thrawn turned to Slavin. "You invited him?" There didn't seem any maliciousness in his words, not in the same way Uriellien had spoken. The question seemed just that, a question. Sola got the impression of curiosity from the Grand Admiral, nothing more.
Clearing his throat, Slavin said, "I did. I reached out to both of you at the same time. I—" he paused, waves of anxiety emanating from him. "I did not expect either of you to respond to my request."
"And now you have both of us," Urillien replied. "Fancy that, Captain."
Slavin looked decidedly uncomfortable.
Thrawn, on the other hand, seemed not phased by it at all.
"Since I am here," Uriellien turned to Thrawn, "I would love to see what plans you have in place, Admiral Thrawn. Perhaps we can work together to end this little annoyance." He threw a glance at Slavin.
Thrawn inclined his head once more, "Of course, right this way."
He turned gracefully and began to lead them through the camp. As they walked, people openly stared as they passed, some of them to the point of gawking. Sola looked down at her outfit. Had she dressed inappropriately? She wore a simple solid colored lavender dress cinched at the waist with a classic Astarraxian lace overlay on top of it. Her long golden hair was piled up on top of her head, as per her usual style, with ringlets escaping despite the time she spent on keeping them in place. She thought she had dressed for the weather, but as they walked sweat began to sheen on her body.
The Chiss Grand Admiral walked with a quick, military stride and in order to keep up with Uriellien's match in his pace, Sola was almost jogging. She didn't mind it, in fact, she was used to it. Her small stature made her often have to quicken her steps and her gait was fast paced naturally, most likely because of it. But the speed did not help when it came to working up a sweat on the short walk to the building. Her only real consolation was that Uriellien, Thrawn, and Slavin were all sweating too.
The air inside the building that Thrawn and Slavin led them to was stifling. There was a box fan set up to try to get the air moving, but in the heat of the desert, the building was like a small oven. It was stark and utilitarian, with a command holo in the middle of the room and several desks pushed into the corners. The heat and smell brought back a bevy of memories that she hadn't recalled in decades. She hadn't realized how far removed from all of this she was.
Uriellien must have felt her stiffen unconsciously, for he glanced down at her and whispered, "Are you alright?"
She beamed a smile at him, "I'm fine," she whispered back. "I wasn't expecting the heat."
He patted her hand that still held his outstretched elbow. "No, I guess you aren't used to this kind of thing any longer." He turned behind him to his aide. "Captain Biallie, will you find someone to see to quarters for us, and take Lady Luxsolaria with you. If there isn't enough room, she and I can share a space."
As they were talking, Thrawn had drawn up a map on the holo. Her eyes caught it and immediately her fingers were drawn to an unmarked spot on the map. They itched to reach up and touch the holo, to put a little red dot in that blank space. She balled her hands into fists.
"Sola," Uriellien said, drawing her attention back to him, "you can look at the map later. "Go get us settled."
She forced a smile, wrenching her eyes away from the one spot on the map. "Alright," she replied. "I'll see you in a bit."
Captain Biallie gestured for her to walk with him. She took up a stride next to him, exiting the building. As she left, she felt as if there was a visceral snapping of her personal energy. As soon as Uriellien was no longer in view, she felt very bare and alone. She let out a shiver in the heat.
Captain Biallie walked slower than Grand Admiral Thrawn and Uriellien. It was almost too slow, her legs were tingling to walk faster, despite the heat. After talking with several other men, the two of them were led to a large cloth tent that was almost finished being erected. "Looks like you'll be staying here, my lady," he said, "with the Grand Admiral."
She made a face. She would rather have had her own room. "He snores."
Biallie laughed. "I know. I don't envy you sleeping in the same tent as him."
"Watch it," she teased, "or you'll end up in here too, then neither of us will sleep." Hearing him laugh made her feel more at ease.
He blushed as he chuckled. The heat must be getting to him, she noted as his cheeks turned red. "I will leave you to tell them where to set up the furnishings," he said, gesturing to the soldiers setting up. "If you need anything, please call."
"I will," she promised.
"You won't," he replied. "And I'll get in trouble for it."
She took a deep breath and looked at him guiltily. She had always been a bad liar. "I will," she promised again. "If I need anything, I will call."
He nodded and walked off.
Turning her attention to the tent, a soldier came up to her and said, "Your retinue can stay in the barracks and attend to you here."
She blinked, taking a moment to absorb what the woman had said to her. She hadn't had people to wait on just her since she was a girl. "I don't have a retinue," she replied. "It's just me."
The soldier looked surprised for a moment but recovered quickly. "Oh," she said, glancing away. "Well…"
"I can take care of myself," Sola said with a laugh, reaching out to touch the woman's arm reassuringly. "I can take care of other people, too."
The woman smiled at Sola's touch and nodded. "Yes, my lady. I think you can."