Slavin opened the box in front of him to reveal more useless trash. Plunder of war, my foot, he thought. There is nothing here worth anything.

"...I think you're going to love it." Viita's voice drifted from the hallway into the storeroom where Slavin was having his turn at plundering.

"But what about Admiral Thrawn?" his sister answered him and Slavin felt his lip curl. Hopefully, they weren't coming into the storeroom.

"He's had his turn already," Viita said. "And he'll get several others. It's your turn now."

Admiral Viita emerged in the doorway, his sister customarily on his arm, looking for all the world like a perfect Imperial Naval couple. Slavin, and the sailor who was with him, came to attention. "Sir!"

"As you were," Viita said smoothly, without so much as a glance in their direction.

"Captain Slavin," Viita's sister said in her sing-song voice.

He nodded to her politely. "My lady." Slavin turned back to the boxes he was rummaging through. He'd be damned if that spoiled woman ran him out of his due to gathering artifacts from the enemy. Her dress had too much lace on it, all of her clothes had too much lace. In fact, Slavin hadn't seen her without lace the entire time they'd been here. Her hair was piled on her head in loose curls in a very provincial style. But what did he expect from someone from the Outer Rim?

Viita was in his Grand Admiral uniform and didn't seem to care that Slavin was present. His presence, to Slavin, was wholly different from that of his sister. While she was petulant and demanding, he was easygoing and gave his orders almost as a suggestion rather than a demand. Slavin had thought more than once that he would not have minded working under Viita if his sister wasn't there.

But his sister was always there.

So he'd choose Admiral Thrawn any day.

Viita took his arm away from his sister and hefted open a crate on the far side of the room. He took out a large, primitive carved box. Closing the crate, he placed the box on the lid. He opened the box to reveal a mirror on the underside and a mass of jewelry inside.

Dammit! Slavin thought. He hadn't gotten to the jewelry box yet and now she was going to raid it and leave nothing for anyone else.

His sister gasped and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Uri!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

"It's called the spoils of war, my darling," he said with a laugh. "Pick whatever you like."

She raised a necklace and held it up. "And Admiral Thrawn has already been through it?"

"I would presume so," Viita said, taking the necklace from her and holding it to her throat.

"It doesn't look like he chose much, if anything," she noted, ignoring Viita's gesture and lifting another piece of jewelry to inspect in the light.

"I suppose he didn't like any of it," Viita said.

"I wonder what he picked," she mused in a quiet voice. "What kind of jewelry does he pick for his lady."

"I don't think he has a lady," he replied, putting the necklace back in the box and taking out another one.

"What would he pick for his gentleman then," she amended.

"I don't think he has a gentleman either," Viita continued.

"He has to have a someone," she said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"There were rumors of him and his aide-de-camp—"

"There are always rumors of officers and their aides-de-camp," she waved her hand dismissively.

"-a fellow named Vanto, I believe." He went on as if she hadn't said anything. "But to be honest, I don't think he's ever had a someone

She turned to her brother, a look of disbelief on her face. "He has to have a someone!" she cried. "Have you seen him?"

Viita laughed. "I have indeed seen him, darling," he said in a suggestive voice. "You have too, it seems."

"I'm married, not blind and stupid," she muttered. She held a large necklace with amber beads up to her throat and looked at herself in the mirror.

"That color isn't good on you," Viita said.

At the same time, she shook her head, agreeing with him. "I'm surprised someone hasn't snatched him up a long time ago. Or that the Emperor hasn't matched him up with someone." She paused and looked at her brother, "or you, for that matter."

"We're both still too new for that kind of thing, Sola," he told her.

"I've heard of his Majesty 'suggesting' matches for upper-echelon families," she said conversationally.

Slavin hadn't heard that. But then, he'd never met the Emperor. Surely she hadn't met him, had she? They were just some wild space hicks that claimed some of the local royalty, was all. Anyone could do that. How would you prove it on Coruscant? Most of the people they came in contact with probably hadn't even heard of the planet Astarrax.

"I've heard that, too." Viita's voice was quiet. "A shame he couldn't have done it with you."

She shot him a nasty look, her eyes squinted and her lips pursed, but said nothing.

"I like this one." Viita picked up a blue jeweled necklace and placed it at her throat. "I think it's a set." He took it away from her body and unhooked it, holding it up to drape it across her.

She turned around and allowed him to put the necklace on. "It's pretty."

"It looks pretty on you," he replied.

She looked at herself in the mirror on the underside of the jewelry box lid and smiled. Viita rummaged through it and picked up two earrings that obviously went to the necklace. His sister offered him her ears one at a time for him to take out the earrings she was wearing and replace them with the blue stoned ones.

"It brings out the blue in my eyes," she said.

Slavin was having a difficult not time giving them his full attention, as they were speaking as if he weren't there. He had hardly gone through the box he was inspecting when they'd arrived, as he kept stopping to give them furtive glances.

"They're quite fetching on her, aren't they Captain Slavin?" Viita asked, turning his sister around to face him.

Slavin stood up straight and widened his eyes like a deer in headlights. He didn't give a hill of beans that they looked fetching on her (which they did). He just wanted her to leave. "Uh…yes," he stumbled. "Quite fetching."

"What do you think this is?" she asked him, holding up another piece. It was a netting with small blue stones in it. She moved it around, examining it. "I don't think it's a necklace, I can't find a clasp." Before Slavin could answer, she gasped, "Oh! It's a headpiece!" She placed her hands through two parts of the netting. "This is where the lekku go!"

She put it on her head. It was much too big for her.

"You don't have lekku," Slavin said in confusion.

"I could plait my hair," she said, "and put the plaits through the lekku holes."

"You'll have to have it sized," Viita said. "It looks like it's blinding you."

"It is blinding me."

"The next time your husband calls, you can tell him to get ready to take you to the jewelers," Viita said jovially.

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Lady Luxsolaria stood up straight, which, despite her diminutive size made her look rather fearsome, and turned to her brother with an icy stare. "What do you mean, the next time my husband calls?"

Viita's cheeks began to redden, but he didn't back down from his sister's question. "Exactly what I said."

"That intimates that he has called before," she said slowly. "I haven't received any calls from him, Uri."

There was a pause. "That's because I ordered them not to be forwarded," he said quickly.

"You did what?!" she yelled, her own cheeks beginning to redden. Slavin could see the swirls showing up on the sides of both of their faces as they squared off.

"I thought you wanted a break from him," Viita answered calmly.

"I never said I didn't want to talk to him! I said it was nice to have a break from him!" Her voice carried down the hallway from the open door.

"Well, you can't have a break if you keep talking to him." Viita was now standing with the same imperious stance that she had held a moment before.

"You can't keep him from talking to me!" She balled her fists at her sides. "He's my husband!"

"He's an asshole!" Viita bent down slightly, looking her in the eyes, raising his voice for the first time.

"It doesn't matter if he's an asshole or not!" she shouted. "You can't keep from speaking to me. That's juvenile!"

Admiral Thrawn emerged in the doorway, several of his men with him, his brows raised. "Is there a problem?" he asked in a smooth, calm voice.

"No!" Luxsolaria snapped, turning from Viita and walking toward the door. "I just have to make a comm call!"

"Do you want anything else out of here?" Viita shouted at her back, gesturing to the box, his cheeks still red.

"No!" she snapped again, walking past Slavin and Thrawn and stalking out of the door. "I like this, thank you!"

A heavy silence hung in the storeroom for several long moments as Viita glanced from Slavin to Thrawn. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. He opened them again and motioned to the jewelry box. "Have at it, Captain," he said. He strode to the door. "I'll look at it again later." He went the same way as his sister, albeit at a much slower pace.

"Can't tell they're related," Slavin muttered sarcastically.

Thrawn simply looked at him questioningly, and then silently left the room.