The Rematching Reevaluation

Summary: After Thrawn's exile, Thalias fears for what her future in the Ascendancy will look like. Samakro has his own hopes for what it entails.

Exile.

The word brought tears to Thalias' face. Its harshness whipped her face like the Csillan winter wind. From her place in the back of the crowd, the caregiver searched frantically for an exit. Her eyes blurred as she stood, causing her to bump into several shocked Chiss on her way out. Stunned as they were by Thrawn's hearing, no one reacted to Thalias' departure.

Thalias stumbled into a dimly lit hallway. Her long, loose hair hung over her eyes like a protective visor as she stumbled down an empty corridor. Alone and distant from the chaos unfolding within, she let out a single shaking breath.

Thrawn could not be exiled. In the Ascendancy, exile was a punishment worse than death. Dying among one's people for burial within their family's tombs was paradise compared to facing the Chaos alone. Out there, Thrawn would have no family. No home.

No support at all.

It wasn't just that Thalias would miss Thrawn, though that was certainly part of it. He'd changed Thalias' life. Given her a purpose at a time when she'd had none. More importantly, Thrawn had saved the Ascendancy three times in the two years she'd worked for him. The Ascendancy crippled its own security by sending Thrawn away.

Thalias heaved, hot tears stinging her cheeks as they dripped down her face. She parted her hair with her hands to see if anyone had followed her out. The hall was still empty.

Her nails dug into the stone wall as her sobs echoed back at her. Shock ceded ground to terror as the implications of Thrawn's exile washed over her. With Thrawn out of the Ascendancy, what would happen to Thalias? She had gone above and beyond in her support of him as the Springhawk's caregiver. She'd pulled a charric on her patriarch, for stars sake!

Not to mention, Thurfian was the only reason she'd gotten her job as a caregiver in the first place. Now that he'd gotten his vengeance against Thrawn, there was no reason for him to let Thalias stay aboard. Thurfian could send Thalias to a lifetime in prison for threatening his life. Perhaps he would exile her too. Send her the opposite side of the galaxy from Thrawn so that they both could die alone.

Her sobs turned to wails. If Thalias were taken away, what would happen to Che'ri? By this point, Thalias was more than her momish. Che'ri had truly bonded with her. Thalias didn't want to be one more on a list of caregivers who'd disappointed the girl. She knew all too well what it was like to trade one caregiver for the next.

As the nightmare of abandoning Che'ri played out before her eyes, a lone pair of footsteps turned the corner towards Thalias. Slow, Steady. Sure of their path ahead.

She whipped around, hand raised against her pursuer. When Thalias recognized Samakro, she let the arm fall to her side. Her other hand clasped over it, hiding her chest from view.

Samakro cleared his throat, taking note of her disheveled appearance. "The news was… unexpected. For me as well. I think we all thought Thrawn would be receiving another medal."

"What's going to happen to us?" Thalias gasped. "The Grysk will come back. What then?"

"We will fight them again," Samakro answered matter-of-factly. "The CEDF has plenty of good soldiers. We Chiss defended ourselves before Thrawn came along. We'll keep our people safe after he leaves as well."

"It won't be the same." Thalias heard hints of Che'ri in her own voice. The childishness, the pleading. It was beneath her, yet Thalias was unable to stop herself. "What will the Springhawk be like without him? Will I even be there?"

Samakro stuttered, confused. "Of co- why wouldn't you be there? Thalias, you're great at your job."

The truth came pouring out of Thalias. All of it. How she'd snuck aboard the Springhawk at the last minute, how Thurfian had expected her to spy on Thrawn, how she'd taken the Trials to get out from under his thumb, her promise to Thooraki, her visit to Borika… and her charric pointed at Thurfian. Samakro listened to it all with an increasingly bemused expression on his face.

When she finished, Thalias coughed. Her throat was dry. "And it's all… all for nothing. He's gone. I failed."

Thalias shoved her back against the wall, nearly hitting a portrait of an old general. She winced as her shoulder blade dug into the heavy frame. She slid down the wall to a semi-fetal position.

By that point, the rest of the hearing's audience were leaving the hearing as well. The ceiling light radiated red heat over the room, paralleling with the burns rising from Thalias' cheeks.

Samakro, by contrast, showed no change in his heat signature. His blue skin was cool as always. He sank down to her level, leaning against the wall in a half-seated position. "Mitth family politics are weird. See, Ufsa just tells you when they're not keeping you around. If the Ufsa patriarch wanted you out, you would have been rematched already."

"I might still be." She wheezed. "Will Che'ri still have me as her caregiver? I don't want to leave her."

Samakro sighed. "I… have no idea what Thurfian might do to you. But if he was going to report you for threatening his life, I doubt you would be here right now. Politicians like him don't follow the rules. They don't go for the direct attack. My guess is that he's gonna look for a way to drive you out of the family. Find some other excuse to strip the Mitth off Mitth'alias'tov."

"I joined the Mitth to meet Thrawn again," Thalias confessed. "When I was losing my Sight as a skywalker, I didn't know what was going to happen to me. But Thrawn… he helped me. He gave me direction when no one else did. So when I got to choose my family, I chose Mitth."

"Just because he was Mitth?" Samakro asked, his tone flat. "One guy determined your whole future?"

She frowned. "Laugh if you want."

"I'm not laughing." Samakro looked at her through the corner of his eye. "I… had my differences with Senior Captain Thrawn, but I recognize what makes him a good commander. He inspires people. Especially the younger warriors. You know, people who haven't found themselves yet. He's so sure of himself –even when he's crazy– that his sheer audacity convinces people he's right. I might know what I'm doing, but I don't have that effect on people.

"Well, here's something I can do: I'm once again senior captain of the Springhawk. I can appoint you to the permanent position of caregiver over Che'ri. And if you wind up needing a new family…" Samakro cocked his head. "I might have a solution for you."

Thalias turned to face Samakro. This time, she noticed tendrils of heat rising on his face. Flecks of orange contrasted with the deep blue of the captain's skin. "What is it?"

"My… family wants me to marry. Breed new Cousins into the Ufsa family. I want to pursue flag rank. Which means I have no interest in a real marriage. If I poach a Mitth woman, they may just agree to adopt you. You would go back to Merit Adoptive status, but it could be more secure than you are now." Samakro smiled. "In fact, pointing a charric at the Mitth patriarch could be a point in your favor if we don't explain why you did it."

Thalias' mouth fell open at the proposal. "Mid-Captain-

"Senior Captain, now."

"-Samakro, are you saying… you want to marry me?"

The orange spots of heat deepened into a ripe shade of red. "Just for the political convenience of it! You get the protection of the Ufsa to keep your position as a caregiver, and I don't have to worry about disappointing a real wife when I rise to commodore status."

Once the initial shock faded, Thalias considered the idea for its merit. On its face, the arrangment solved both their problems in a neat, politically savvy way. Samakro was a clever strategist in his own right, even if his methods differed from what she had grown accustomed to. Thalias could see why Samakro was a good soldier. A safer soldier, one who would lead the Springhawk out of the shadow cast by its last captain's fate while maintaining its reputation in combat.

The proposal only posed one risk. "If I accept, I wouldn't be allowed to work on the Springhawk anymore. Husbands and wives aren't supposed to be assigned to the same ship. It would still mean leaving Che'ri behind."

"Or… you and Che'ri could be transferred together." Samakro suggested. "At least temporarily. The Springhawk needs extensive repairs after Sunrise, and once word gets out about the way the Magys took control of Che'ri, she may need to stay behind for extra check ups. Or whatever it is they do with skywalkers."

Thalias thought back to the training house where Borika lived. Once the overseers of the skywalker program learned of Che'ri's Magys-induced visions, it was possible she would never leave that place until her Sight faded. With the coming war, the Ascendancy would look for any advantage it could score against the Grysk. Even if it meant experimenting on a young girl.

Che'ri would need someone to advocate for her. She needed Thalias to protect her when the researchers went too far. With Samakro's position in the CEDF and his connections to both military officers and Ufsa politicians, it may be enough to keep both her and Che'ri safe.

Then, when Che'ri's Sight finally faded, she and Thalias could sink into obscurity together. Thalias would adopt her personally after Samakro achieved his goals of flag rank. They could be Saalias and Sacher together. Live out their lives as mother and daughter in an Ascendancy brought to peace after the Grysk were vanquished from the Chaos.

The more Thalias thought about it, the more appealing Samakro's proposal became. She had one more question before committing to a choice. "What about romantic aspirations? Would I be getting between you and someone else?"

"I wouldn't be making you this offer if you were," Samakro pointed out. "I want to be an admiral someday. Admirals don't have the time for romance. Just ask Ar'alani." He snorted. "The Irizi threw a fit when they realized they weren't getting any progeny out of her.

"Why, is there someone else you wanted to marry? Or is he off to exile right now?"

"It wasn't like that." Thalias rushed to clarify. "I admired Thrawn, but… not in a romantic way. He was like an older mentor figure to me." She reached out to take Samakro's hand. The gesture felt alien, but if the two were to get engaged, they would have to get used to touching one another.

To Thalias' shock, Samakro's hand fit neatly around hers. His palms were warm as a hearth, calluses caressing her knuckles. His hands spoke to a lifetime of service. Of steadfast faithfulness to his people. "As far as marriages of convenience go, I could certainly find worse suitors."

He huffed, releasing her hand. "I'm offering you job security and a family that won't play political games with your life. I am the best offer you are going to find, Mitth'alias'tov. Especially on a short notice. Go find your dream man after I get promoted to commodore."

"Perhaps I will." The corners of Thalias' lips twitched upwards into a smile. "You'll make a fine husband in the meantime."

"Does this mean you're saying yes?" Samakro tried to sound nonchalant as he asked. It didn't quite work.

"It does." Thalias stood up from her place on the wall. As she looked around her, she saw a few of the Springhawk's warriors approaching their new senior captain. She wiped the last of her tears away and declared, "yes, Ufsa'mak'ro. I accept your proposal to marry and be rematched into the Ufsa family. I suspect our respective families will have no issues formalizing the rematching. Let us wed as soon as we have a spare moment from the battle's aftermath."

A few onlookers gasped. Some called their friends over to the scene. Thalias expected them to blurt out questions, but none did. Instead, they whispered as the pair walked past them towards the exit. Thalias only caught snatches of what they said.

"Should have known…"

"I never thought-"

"...See how he always looked at her?"

Outside was a bright and sunny day, a stark contrast to the tragedy inside. Thalias still seethed at the decision made for Thrawn, but at least now her grief was not coupled with fear for her own future. Samakro had seen to that.

It wasn't how Thalias thought she would find her husband one day. She hadn't given much thought to a husband at all. She suspected if she had that she would have chosen a man like Samakro. A driven, steady hand capable of keeping her safe in the uncertain times ahead. In return, Thalias would assist him in whatever maneuver Samakro needed to keep his path to CEDF admiralty clear.

The arrangement wasn't as romantic as the stories she used to read, but it gave Thalias a sense of purpose to guide her through the trials ahead. She trusted Samakro to be a kind, if distant spouse for the time it took him to get promoted once again.

Lastly, Thalias trusted herself not to get attached to Samakro. Not if it would damage his ability to protect their people. If the Chiss Ascendancy was too foolish to keep Thrawn around, they were going to need soldiers like Samakro.

May the warrior's fortune smile upon their union.

A/N's: My first idea for this fic was just Samakro comforting Thalias after the exile scene, but it grew legs. And by legs I mean a marriage plot.

Thank you to the organizers of this exchange (Star Wars Rarepairs 2023 on Ao3) for getting me out of my comfort zone a little bit. I never expected I would write a fic shipping these two. There's a first time for everything.

Thank you to everyone else reading this fic! I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to let me know what you think down below.