Lieutenant Cailin Xoxtin didn't have many friends on the Chimaera. In her mind, the entire ship was full of loose cannons with no regard for Imperial protocol. Proper discipline could have kept the unruly officers in check, but alas. Xoxtin had no faith in their admiral to provide any sense of order. Thrawn's approach to leadership was alien as his garish blue skin, and the whole bridge crew worshiped him for it. She could hardly bear to look him in his demonic red eyes.
Xoxtin had put in multiple transfer requests to no avail. Even her family connections weren't enough to secure her place on a superior vessel. Her family told her that her presence was needed on the Chimaera to keep an eye on the riff raff, personal career be damned. Now how was that a fair thing to put on her? Powerful moffs had tried and failed to bring Thrawn down! Xoxtin wasn't one for political intrigue. She worked in the Navy, not the Senate.
Resigned to her doom, Xoxtin retreated into her work on the hangar, her only place of refuge in a destroyer full of chaos. She kept her standards high and refused to let the other officers drag her into their degeneracy. For that, she was deemed unpopular. Difficult to work with. Bitchy, even.
Fine by her. It wasn't as though Xoxtin needed to drink or play cards with the others off-shift. Let them spend all their credits on vice. Let them drive the reputation of Imperial soldiers into the mud. She wouldn't have joined them even if they had invited her.
One day, the grand admiral himself deigned to appear in Xoxtin's domain. He approached her from the other side of the hangar, blissfully unaware that Xoxtin was in the middle of very important datawork. "Lieutenant Xoxtin. We will be receiving a new TIE commander in the coming cycles. Ensure his fighter is given priority in the hangar bay."
Xoxtin kept her eyes on her datapad. She grit her teeth. "Yes, Grand Admiral."
"Please note that the commander will be piloting one of the prototype TIE Defenders. It is critical that his missions with the craft go smoothly. Even the greatest pilot must know that his fighter is well maintained when it is not in use."
"Do you trust me to run this hangar properly, Grand Admiral?" Xoxtin could help it. She let a trace amount of insubordination slip into her voice. "If you did, you would know that my crew and I are capable of keeping all fighters and transports in battle-ready shape. Up to and including your untested designs. Sir."
From the top of her gaze, Xoxtin could see the dip of Thrawn's chin into a nod. "You have proven yourself able time and again, Lieutenant. I will send the specialized care information to you personally. That is all."
Xoxtin raised her hand in a salute, still not meeting her superior's eyes. He left without another word to her.
The fact that Thrawn tolerated her attitude was one more point against him. A proper admiral would command the respect of all his officers, either by force or by winning them over. Commander Faro had once shared Xoxtin's disdain for Thrawn before he wooed her with his unruly ways.
Proud as she was to stand alone against disorder, Xoxtin wished there was someone else who could understand her pain. Sympathize with the insanity she went through serving on a vessel ridiculous enough to have a custom paint job.
A few cycles later, she may have gotten her wish. When the new commander arrived from Skystrike Academy, the first thing Xoxtin heard him say was, "who approved that hideous beast on the ship's hull? If so much as a fighter under my command had a nonstandard paint job, I would discipline the offending pilot myself."
As an accompanying stormtrooper explained the Chimaera's aesthetic deformity to the newcomer, Xoxtin walked over to greet the new commander. What she saw took her breath away.
The new pilot commander was a tall, imposing figure. He had rich black hair flecked with age, piercing blue eyes, and a crisp, ironed pilot's uniform that spoke of both care and use at once. He had the air of someone competent and confident, with a healthy respect for the society in which he lived. The military in which he served. Xoxtin's cheeks burned with hope for the man to join the ranks of one of the few sane people aboard.
When the newcomer spotted her, he stopped in his tracks. Xoxtin felt his gaze rove over her head to toe, from her shiny polished shoes to her slicked back bun of hair, each the same shade of black. His eyes dilated as they landed on her almond-shaped pair. "Good day, Lieutenant. I am Commander Vult Skerris of Skystrike Academy. I have put my instructor career on pause with the promise that my service will improve the design of our ubiquitous TIE fighters."
"The grand admiral certainly believes he has found a way to innovate Imperial ship designs. You noted one of his 'innovations' earlier, I believe." But Xoxtin didn't want to talk about Thrawn. "I am Senior Lieutenant Cailin Xoxtin, your hangarmaster. You will find everything in this hangar bay is precisely up to Imperial code."
Skerris stepped forward to shake Xoxtin's hand. His grip was firm and sure of itself, fingers calloused from long hours gripping the steering mechanism of a spacecraft. Xoxtin leaned into the grip, loath to let their hands part. "The bay is spotless, Lieutenant. My cadets could learn a thing or two from you. You know how to welcome a new officer." He leaned forward, voice dropping to a whisper. "Xoxtin… any relation to Tzusun Xoxtin of the Mid Rim?"
"My uncle," she whispered back, then stepped away. "I'm impressed you know of us. Your incredible reputation precedes you, but I didn't think you would know anything about me."
"I make it a point to know of all the important people in the Empire. Perhaps one day I will meet them all myself." Skerris raised his eyebrow, a teasing smile forming on his lip. The expression gave Skerris the look of a man far younger than he truly was. "Can you make that happen for me, Lieutenant?"
"Only if you make it worth my time, Commander." Xoxtin dismissed the trooper accompanying Skerris with a wave of her hand. She would give the new commander her own tour of the Chimaera. She did her best to keep her overview objective, but it was hard to miss the glares other officers sent in Xoxtin's direction. The stiffness they barely overcame when introducing themselves to Skerris.
"You intimidate your crewmates," Skerris noted. "I would have thought everyone would try to befriend a woman like you."
"Why, because of my uncle?"
"Because of your… charm." Skerris finished awkwardly. His eyes skirted over Xoxtin's form, making it clear what he wanted to say.
Xoxtin laughed. Several officers turned their heads; it was a sound they'd never heard escape her lips before. "On my last assignment they did. You'll find the Chimaera is a unique place to serve."
"Oh?" Skerris kept the teasing tone in his voice, but now he also sounded intrigued. "Will you tell me more over dinner?"
"Of course." With that, Xoxtin left Skerris to his briefing with his new commanding officer. For the first time in many months, she looked forward to a meal in the mess hall. Back in the hangar, Xoxtin checked her chrono constantly, getting little work done in the meantime.
When her shift ended, Xoxtin found Skerris again in front of the mess hall. They walked in together, ignoring the concerned murmurs of Hammerly and Pyrondi. Those bridge hags should learn to mind their own business.
Wanting to keep the new commander to herself, Xoxtin chose a table in the corner of the mess hall for them. They sat far away from where the bridge crew liked to congregate. "I met with Grand Admiral Thrawn in person today. Before, I had only spoken to him over holo. I… think I see what you mean about this ship being unique."
"It isn't just him," Xoxtin warned. "His bridge crew is only too happy to go along with his mad schemes."
"It's a subordinate's job to obey their commander." Skerris spoke as though he were still an instructor at the academy. Did that make Xoxtin his student?
"Doesn't mean they have to be thrilled with the job. We aren't clones or droids; we all volunteered to serve our Empire. Not to be tossed around like toys by some erratic admiral."
"Not every aspect of Imperial service can be glamorous, but it all has to be done," Skerris lectured her further. When he saw the frown developing on her face, he changed the subject. "At least it can be a burden we bear together. I must say, I have grown quite accustomed to our standard TIE fighters. It's a pilot's job to understand their craft's quirks and work them to their advantage. I'm curious to know how the grand admiral's tinkering will change the craft."
Xoxtin had little piloting experience, but she knew what it took to maintain the fighters in the hangar bay. She compared the maintenance requirements of the new Defenders to that of standard TIEs. The Defenders required far more of her attention.
Once the two Imperials grew tired of talking about their work, the conversation turned personal. "How long had you been an instructor, Commander? Did you miss the open space?"
"I was one of Skystrike's first Imperial faculty. After the Clone Wars, I wanted something a bit more stable. Something that let me see the surface more often. Now I'm ready to wander again." Skerris tilted his head, his teasing tone creeping back in. "What about you? Are you old enough to have served in the Clone Wars?"
"I was an ensign at the time." Xoxtin avoided giving away her age directly. She didn't want Skerris to patronize her if he thought she was too young. "For all that I complain about my crewmates, they are parsecs above clones."
"You could say that again."
They both laughed. After a moment, Skerris raised his cup of water towards Xoxtin. "To us Chimaera outsiders. Let's get through this tour of duty together."
"To the last glimpse of sanity this ship has to offer." Xoxtin returned his toast, letting their cups clink together. Each took a large gulp of the Chimaera's recycled water.
"Does this mean you don't have a bunkmate on board already?" Skerris asked once they'd set their cups down.
Xoxtin raised an eyebrow at the question. "This is a Class I Star Destroyer. Rooms are big enough that no commissioned officer need share a- oh." Only then did she catch onto what he was really asking. Her cheeks flushed. "No, I don't have a 'bunkmate.'"
"Well I'm on the lookout for one. They're the only way I can get through long voyages in space." Skerris winked. "Any interest?"
Xoxtin returned his wink with a foxlike smile. "Plenty. When you're done here, I'll give you a personal tour of the ship's sleeping quarters."
Hammerly, Faro, and Pyrondi watched Xoxtin and Skerris eat together. Even from the other side of the mess hall, it was obvious the two were flirting with one another.
"I thought Skerris was married." Pyrondi didn't bother to keep her voice down. The bridge crew's table was too loud for anyone but those immediately next to her to hear.
"He told me he had a wife and three kids. Four if you count the one on the way." Hammerly scrunched her nose in disgust. "Moving in on another woman on your first night away from home? This new guy is a real class act."
"Should we report him for breaking the fraternization rules?" Pyrondi asked. Both women turned to Faro.
Faro shook her head. "We don't have proof they're doing anything inappropriate together. Let the new commander make a friend. Stars knows Xoxtin could use one."
A/N's: Starting off the Thrawn RarePairs challenge with a truly rare pair: one that didn't exist before this fic was posted! I had one other pair in mind for my first entry into the challenge, but Tumblr users voted for this one. To think, y'all could have had Eli/Borika. Heck, you still might. (I'm shards-of-silver on Tumblr, by the way. Come say hello!)
Xoxtin is an obnoxious character in the Thrawn books, but I still enjoyed exploring her point of view. I also got to add a dimension or two to Skerris, who's also pretty one note in both Rebels and Alliances. The fun thing about rarepairs fic is that you get to explore possibilities that canon never considered. I doubt this will get many readers, but I hope those that do check it out enjoy it.