Leaving Edam was much more pleasant than arriving. Firstly, Thrawn longer had to listen to the governor go on about his forgery that he paid an arm and a leg for and now had a bounty out for the dealer who delivered it to him. Secondly, he had Sola sitting in the co-pilot seat demurely with her hands in her lap.
It did not take him long to make the observation, "You don't know how to fly."
She shook her head, beaming a smile at him. "Not a whip!"
Taking off took three times as long as he instructed her on what to do in the seat's position, while resisting the urge to simply lean over her and do it himself. She followed his instructions obediently and with a serious look on her face. Once they were free of the atmosphere and in space, she turned to him and said, "You are upset that I don't know how to fly."
It took him a moment to answer as he considered her accusation. "I'm not upset," he said. "I am surprised. With the amount of flying that you do, I would think you would know how to do it yourself."
"No one has ever taught me," she replied. "And I would hardly be flying star destroyers, where I spend most of my ship time. Besides, Uri thinks that I'm a bad driver. I imagine he would think I would make an even more awful pilot. So what did you think of Edam?" she asked, changing the subject.
"The planet itself was very pleasant," he admitted. "The governor and his wife, less so."
She laughed, as if she found the idea funny.
He didn't see what was so funny about it, but he liked the sound of her laugh. He pulled the lever that propelled them into hyperspace, the stars lengthening before they were in the sparkling light that slung them between spacetime.
"He owes you a favor now," she said, her eyes flitting from the viewport to him and back again, finally settling on him.
"Does he?" Thrawn asked. He didn't see how he did. Thrawn had done nothing for the governor or his wife.
"He does," she affirmed. "You confirmed that his painting was a forgery and saved him the embarrassment of showing it off as genuine to someone else who might know the difference."
"I hardly see that as a favor," Thrawn noted.
"I do," she said. "You need to keep track of these things. It's important. You might need to call in a favor one day." She beamed her smile at him, the one that lit up a room like sunshine. She reached for hand and laced her fingers in his. "Actually, I can keep track of it for you. I do it for Uri, I can do it for you too. That way, you can concentrate on important things, like catching rebels and chasing pirates."
He thought briefly of Arhinda Pryce and her offer of helping politically and how Eli had said he needed it. He liked the idea of Luxsolaria Viita helping him better.
Her eyes drifted from him to the viewport, her hand still in his. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Hyperspace?" he asked.
She nodded. "I could watch it for hours. It's mesmerizing."
They fell into a comfortable silence, their hands clasped together. He felt her fingers loosen against his knuckles and turned to look at her. Her face had slackened, she had the same look on it that she had when she was looking at the map in Ryloth during the take over of Syndulla's homestead. He watched her for a few minutes, examining her profile without the fear of being seen as rude, as she blinked slowly at the viewport, her mouth slightly open.
He remembered Ryloth, when she had the same look on her face looking at the map and how she had known where the people were going to move to before they did so. A thought occurred to him. He leaned forward, her hand slipping out of his, and put his lips close to her ear. "My lady," he said quietly. "What do you see?"
She did not answer him right away, but stared into the void. When he thought that she would not answer him, that he would have to call her back from wherever it was the sight had taken her, she blinked rapidly and brought her hand to her forehead, moving a strand of her long, blonde hair out of her face.
She turned and smiled at him, but it did not hold the sunshine in it of her previous ones. "Oh, nonsense really," she answered him. "I see you holding a brick on board the Chimaera, you are building what looks like a temple." She shrugged, her face turning serious. "It doesn't always make sense. Sometimes, it is just visions of things, like dreams, but they are happening when I am awake. Why would you be building a temple aboard your ship?"
He shook his head. He had no answer for her.
"You see?" She chuckled. "You think I'd be able to see something useful, but I never do. And if it comes to pass, I don't realize it until it is happening, so I can't do anything to stop it."
"But it does come to pass?" he asked.
"Only rarely. Usually it is just silly things, like you holding a brick in your cargo hold while building a temple on your ship." She shrugged again.
He sat up straighter, his brows knit together in thought.
"Have I upset you?" she asked. She sounded worried.
"No," he assured her. He reached for her hand again and held it in his. "You have not. Not at all."
They talked the rest of the way back to the Chimaera as if they were having one of their teas, about philosophy and art, Edam and favors, avoiding the topic of being able to see things that weren't there.
He instructed her again on what to do when they arrived, and again she obediently followed his direction, the two of them bringing the craft in to land in only twice as long as it would have taken him to do it alone. She was making progress, he noted satisfactorily.
Standing, they stood facing each other, the sound of the lift opening behind them in the back room hissing. They looked at each other for a long moment before she cupped his cheek in her hand, her fingers resting against his orbital lobe, and drew him down to her to kiss him. One of her arms was around his neck as her mouth closed on the lips in one of her many goodbye kisses.
She did not draw away, however, when she finished. Her face floated close to his, her brow coming together in consternation. "I am loath to leave you," she whispered fiercely.
She snaked her other arm from his cheek to around his neck. He lowered his head and put his mouth on hers. Clasping her around her waist, he pulled her to him, pressing their bodies together as if the invisible rope that tied them together was retracting to nothing. She gave a small moan of surrender that made his groin clench in pleasure.
Her comm beeped in her pocket. "Your highness?" asked the pilot of her departing ship. They ignored it.
Their tongues danced as their lips moved. Her hands flitted to his throat and she began to unbutton the collar of his tunic. Each button made a sliding click as she released it from its buttonhole. He moved one of his hands to the back of her head, entangling his fingers in her hair, sucking on her bottom lip.
Her comm beeped again. "My lady," said the pilot. "If we don't leave soon, we'll miss our window for landing on Coruscant."
They separated from each other with a sigh, pressing their foreheads together.
"I have to go," Sola said, taking in a gulp of air.
"Yes," Thrawn replied breathlessly.
Standing up straight, he saw she had tears in her eyes. She put her hand on his chest, over his heart, and said, "Na annu serennen falla ask teru." He knew the words were Astarraxi, though he did not know the translation. She took a step back, blinking, and the tears rolled down her cheeks. Before he could say anything, she turned and opened the cockpit door and strode out.
He felt the invisible rope that bound them together stretch again, seeming to pull at his torso, before it snapped, leaving him as breathless as their kissing had done. As he buttoned his tunic, he heard her leave through the back of the shuttle. Private Nasiri Demsin was obviously waiting for her, for he heard her say, "My lady, you're crying. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Sola replied with a sob. "I just have to go home."
Just as he was finishing the last of his buttons, Rukh appeared in the doorway. "Admiral?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Are you alright?"
Thrawn pulled on the hem of his tunic to straighten it. "I'm quite alright, thank you, Rukh," he said. Though he wasn't entirely sure of the truth of the statement.