Fandom Star Wars: Demesne [Closed]

[cleopat]

Cora would make sure to suggest a holofilm that they both could easily ignore in exchange for more pleasant happenings together.

Maybe one she had seen several times before and knew Eli wouldn’t care too much about, unless he just really wanted to watch a holofilm. Then she would suggest one that she thought he would like.

But really, any time in his company was good enough.

First, they had to get through the mission, and simply being in the presence of the Inquisitor put her on edge. They hadn’t even gotten to Bakuu yet, and already she wanted to turn around and go back to the ship.

But she would never admit that to Eli, and she would try and put on a brave face in front of Third Brother. No, not try. She would do just that.

It helped that Eli distracted her with pleasant conversation the rest of the way to Bakuu, allowing her mind to temporarily forget about her slight anxieties with the Inquisitor and the possibilities of what awaited them on the planet.

~~~

Skye smirked at Adlai’s comment that her outfit was a cool one. She would disagree, given the very role of the troopers who wear it, but she wouldn’t argue. It was pointless, and perhaps she could see why some may think it’s cool.

Black is a nice color to wear. It can look badass with the right design. And her two batons were pretty neat.

With Adlai’s further information regarding their mission, Skye nodded. “Depending on how strong-willed these associates are, it could be easy,” or it could be impossible, an additional thought she left unsaid, but it was implied. They needed to keep an optimistic mindset for the mission, or Skye may just go insane from nerves.

Nerves from what the Force was trying to tell her leading up to that day.

“Something tells me that identifying the Nakor Spires might be the easiest part of the mission.” Skye truly hoped it was the hardest part though, and the rest would be simple. Nothing to complicated, nothing too dangerous.

She grabbed her uniform from the shelf and began undressing in front of Adlai. “What, you don’t like dressing like a Stormtrooper on your days off?”

~~~

Thrawn didn’t fight Eira on helping her carry back food. It was trivial, and he was confident that if she thought she could carry it all, then she could. He did watch as she walked away to go grab the food, his gaze lingering a bit longer than what is considered decent on her backside, before he quickly turned his head to look out at the water before him.

Oh, Thrawn knew he was already in too deep.

He knew his feelings were getting way too involved in what was supposed to be a simple mission: to find out the truth of Eira’s loyalties.

And yet he couldn’t help himself as he fell further and further for the woman the rest of the galaxy seemed to be in love with as well. After all, she had friends everywhere, on both sides of the line, and somehow everyone still loved her.

And he could clearly see why that was.

“So you could carry it all,” Thrawn said with a teasing smile. He reached out to help in any way he could to unpack and set out the food, but he largely let Eira take care of that as he glanced over all the food. He wasn’t even sure if they could eat it all, but it did look delicious. “Where should we start first?”

 

[Lucyfer]

The time spent with Cora did make the trip go quicker. Which meant, they made it to Batuu before they knew it, and Eli felt the ship slide out of lightspeed and return to Realspace. He let out a sigh as he recognized what that meant. “I’m going to check-in with the cockpit,” with the Inquisitor, “Make sure you have all that you need.”

Not a tall order.

He went to see through the viewports the black spires rising up from where the Inquisitor was directing the ship to land. Naturally, Eli heard the buzz of someone trying to hail them. He didn’t wait to ask if the Inquisitor was going to answer, just moved forward and sat in the co-pilot’s seat before pressing the comm.

“This is Commander Vanto, seeking to land on Batuu, are there any docking bays available?”

“Commander Vanto, this is docking bay 2, you may land at these coordinates. Are you here for business or pleasure?”

“Business,” Eli answered, leaving it at that. The one on staff didn’t care to interrogate it further.

“Go ahead,” he heard the dismissive tone and sighed.

The Inquisitor noted, “We had no reason to answer.”

“They could have shot us down.”

“They don’t have the equipment. Or the guts.”

Eli could have argued, but to what end? “Well, it’s answered now.” He got back up, “We’ll be ready when you are.” He left the cockpit, irked. Why was Third Brother’s mission in life just to annoy other people?

At least the landing went easy, and Third Brother didn't delay getting out of the cockpit -- or out of the ship.

~***~

Identifying the Naklor Spires themselves might be easy. Getting information out of them was probably another story. Adlai wouldn’t disagree, only hum his agreement as he also began to strip down in order to get into the Trooper uniform. He still wasn’t looking forward to this – but he was looking forward to the end.

To the shift into the Rebellion proper.

Rebellion with a capital ‘R’.

“No, can’t say I’m a fan of these heavy, hot outfits. I prefer those thin robes,” he chuckled, taking the occasional glance at Skye as he dressed, before she herself was fully clothed. It was nothing he hadn’t already seen – but well worth five, or six, or a hundred additional looks, now and in the future. “On myself. And on others.”

Dressed at last, save for the helmet, Adlai gave Skye a smile, “Don’t worry. I’ve been on missions like this before. It won’t be too bad.” He knew he had to keep reassuring her, though it was also feeling like reassuring himself. Her bad feeling had its way of making him worry, too.

But he wouldn’t show any flicker of confidence. He was used to this.

~***~

The food was easy enough to set out, and Eira poured a couple of cups of sweet white wine for them, before capping the bottle and setting aside. Close enough to grab an easy refill, not that she intended such for herself. She still had to retain her senses, after all, and she was quite aware of her lightweight status. That was why she usually just didn’t drink. It was safer that way.

She chuckled at Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s query, “Wherever you want to begin, although I think custom is to start with salads, then the actual meal, then any desserts – not sure how different such things are for you,” Eira teased, before doing the opposite of the suggestion.

Mostly, just because.

Also, because the chocolate covered cloudberries looked too good to not take one immediately, “But I’m not here to dictate the order of things,” Eira said, once she’d finished off that first fruit. Though, she would go to the salad then, because as much as she wanted to devour the entire bowl of fruits, she ought to have the actual meal first.

She could take back anything she didn’t eat, after all. “And that’s hardly the most important thing about sharing an evening together, is it?” Really, the food was an excuse to linger. Even Eira knew that.

 

[cleopat]

Cora wanted to give Eli a comforting squeeze or even a hug. As expected, he didn’t seem particularly thrilled to go back to the cockpit, as she wouldn’t either. Any time spent with the Inquisitor was too much time near them.

And she still didn’t know if they could read her damn mind or not.

No, no, they probably couldn’t. If they did, she may have been long hurt by now. Or killed.

Cora had everything she needed with her, and so she waited for Eli and the Inquisitor to be done in the cockpit. She didn’t have to wait too long, and when she saw Eli, she just knew something happened. Maybe an exchange of unpleasant words. She only gave him a look, but didn’t say anything further.

Not with the Inquisitor coming out of the cockpit and leading the way out. And she said nothing as she followed him out, expecting the Inquisitor to lead the way to whichever direction they needed to head in.

~~~

Skye chuckled. “I certainly wouldn’t mind a thin robe right now over this outfit.” She didn’t take long to fully dress, sans helmet. She really didn’t want to put on the helmet. The outfit only continued to serve as a reminder of what she is, and how much the Empire wanted her dead.

But so far, they didn’t even know if she was alive. They haven’t been explicitly hunting her down yet. But Skye knew that if she continued to be active in the rebellion, then that would change soon.

For the betterment of the galaxy, and for an iota of hope in the dimness of the future, she would be willing to take that risk. It was what she was trained to do.

“And I’ve been on battlefields. I’m not worried,” she shook her head. Her dreams had spooked her, sure, but she had also managed to calm herself down. “I trust in both of us to do what is needed, but I certainly won’t say no to a good luck kiss.”

~~~

Eira seemed to go against her own suggestion of the meal order, opting for the dessert first before going for the salad. Thrawn noted this with a raised brow. He would offer no judgment on the matter as he picked up the wine and took a sip of it. He preferred wines on the dryer side, but he wouldn’t complain. It was still tasty.

“Is it your own custom to start in the opposite direction?” he teased, reaching for the salad. Meals were in general set up a bit differently than what he was used to, but Thrawn had grown quite used to what was the norm, like in many other aspects of daily life.

“In your opinion, what would you say is the most important part about sharing an evening together?” He dug into his salad, finding the flavors quite tasty. He didn’t quite finish the entire salad first before trying a bite of the main course.

He was too curious about how everything tasted to completely finish one dish before moving on to the next. Though, in cultural traditions, he would wait for the end to taste his dessert, unlike Eira.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai also wouldn’t say ‘no’ to a good luck kiss, and was willing to provide that, before they both reached Batuu. Unbeknownst to them, it was ahead of 3rd Brother and the others from the Chimaera, though not by nearly enough.

Yet, it gave them time to disembark, and feel out the marketplace of Batuu’s Black Spire. There were numerous stalls and businesses, and plenty of questionable things going on that Adlai had to try hard not to focus on as they made their rounds as Imperial Soldiers. The looks that Skye got were different then the ones he got.

Worry.

Fear.

He almost wondered if there was a Jedi on Batuu the people might be protecting, from those looks alone. After getting a feel, they did some asking around, but mostly got evasive answers. What they did get, seemed to point them towards Mubo’s Droid Depot. Considering the Spires were supposed to be slicers, that wasn’t too surprising that leads would go in that direction.

Slicers did need droids, and droid parts.

So, off they went to Mubo’s Droid Depot which, to Adlai’s surprise, was far larger and far more well-stocked than he expected – though, mostly, with Clone Wars relics which…well, put a sick feeling in his stomach.

Thank god for the helmet.

“Anything I can help you out with?” A chirpy Rodian asked, not in basic, but a droid translated it over in both Basic and Sy Bisti.

~***~

Eira could only grin at Mitth’raw’nuruodo pointing out her own hypocrisy, “Only when the dessert looks better than the rest of the food…which is often,” he knew of her sweet tooth by now, that ought to be no surprise. Likely why many of her main courses involved sweet flavors, too.

Of course, usually, they didn’t bring the dessert out to her until the end so she didn’t have a choice. That was the mistake in this kind of meal. She had it right there. Though, after her one piece, she did at least make an effort to eat her salad – which wasn’t bad, but what salad could really compare to chocolate-covered fruit?

Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s question brought to mind what Lin’s answer would likely be. How many people were likely to believe the physical aspects were the more important? ‘People with touch as a love language.’ Damnit, Lin needed to get out of her head. But what if that was what Mitth’raw’nuruodo thought? Not that he seemed…overbearing about such things.

Not at all. They still sat at a fair distance.

Eira hadn’t had such a question asked of her before, and she hummed in consideration, seeking out what the truth was in her own mind. There was something simple to it, that she wanted to complicate – but perhaps it didn’t need to be. Simplicity wasn’t terrible. “Finding that you can share an evening together is the most important thing,” she pursed her lips together a moment, “I know that seems odd, but for many – myself included – evenings are when people wind down. It’s when they’re more themselves. And I think many people want someone they can spend that time with, without putting in the energy to be someone they’re not.”

She chuckled, “Of course, I don’t spend most of my evenings on beaches, but…I do spend evenings with dinner, and winding down, and this is close to that.” Just with a far better view. She tilted her head. “What about you, Mitth’raw’nuruodo? What are you looking for in lingering here?”

 

[cleopat]

Immediately upon arrival to Batuu, Skye didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. Nothing felt off. Nothing that hinted at her dreams, at least not yet. There were questionable acts going on that she had to force herself to not pay attention to. They were there to get information, and leave.

Nothing that would draw attention to themselves or force them to stay any longer than was absolutely necessary.

But Skye did wonder about the looks they received. The worry. The fear. The trepidation. Was it just a normal reaction to seeing Imperials? Or was there more to Batuu that she didn’t know about? Some other characters in hiding?

Unfortunately, unless she literally ran into one, that question would have to remain answered in favor of searching for the Naklor Spires, which no one wanted to give them a straight answer, even under the guise of stringent Imperials.

What they did get was an eventual trail to Mubo’s Droid Depot, a place filled to the brim with droid parts and Clone Wars relics. Skye wished to put a hand on Adlai’s arm, but that would blow their disguise in an instant. So instead, she approached the Rodian when they spoke up.

“We’re looking for any information you may have on the associates of the Naklor Spires,” Skye said, cutting straight to the point. It fit well with her disguise as a Purge Trooper.

Cold and callous.

“The N-Naklor Spires?” they stuttered.

Skye cocked her head to the side. “So you do know something about them, don’t you?”

“Oh, w-well, I don’t know about that.”

~~~

What if something else looks far better than all of the food in front of us?

Thrawn pushed that thought far from his mind. Even in a normal relationship, it would be far too early to consider such acts with Eira, though he knew of many of his soldiers who weren’t opposed to that one night stand.

He had certainly dabbled in it himself in the past, but Thrawn preferred knowing his partner quite well and intimately. It made for a far more pleasant evening.

Eira gave him an answer to his question that he could agree with. Sharing an evening and spending the time bonding, in whatever way that meant, was indeed the most important aspect for Thrawn. There were so few evenings he could actually spend with company, and not just hunched over his desk, skimming notes and files, or catching up on some much needed sleep.

He smiled and nodded. “I share a very similar sentiment with you, Eira. I think that spending the evening bonding in any way, whether it is lingering on an isolated beach or in the privacy of one’s own living room, is important. I unfortunately don’t have many evenings where I can simply wind down and relax over a glass of whiskey and a holofilm, but I tend to treasure those evenings where I can.”

And even if deep in his mind, he knew this evening had to be a part of work, given what was at stake, he was still enjoying himself immensely, learning new skills and enjoying food with a lovely woman.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai let Skye begin the questioning, observing others in the depot and how they reacted to Skye’s immediate line of questioning. He observed the way the rodian’s head tilted, and the direction – and who was there. He saw the Espirion set down some parts and turn to head towards the door.

So, he acted his own part, grabbed his blaster and aimed as he turned around. “Stop right there!” he ordered, glad for all his upbringing that his voice could sound authoritative when he wanted it to. It worked in these situations, and although everyone froze at first, the one who was walking out knew it was them.

They glanced over their shoulder, “I was just leaving – didn’t want to buy anything or be involved in this mess.”

Adlai shook his head. “Name and occupation. Now.”

“Jori Drevarr,” he answered, “I’m a mechanic.” To his credit, he didn’t hesitate or stutter. The sounds of a long-time criminal, or someone being honest. Hard to tell, but considering the situation, Adlai leant towards criminal.

~***~

Mitth’raw’nuruodo being busy was as common a sentiment as Eira herself being busy. It hardly needed comment on at this point. Likely, what he really needed, was someone who understood that, and didn’t get upset over it. After all, how many would really be able to tolerate a schedule like his?

Plenty would probably start to assume he was cheating.

Or just didn’t care.

“I didn’t take you for a whiskey drinker,” Eira noted, “Gin or brandy, maybe.” Something that felt a bit more refined, but then again, how much of Mitth’raw’nuruodo had surprised her already? Besides which, taste wasn’t dictated by class. There were plenty of terrible, cheap foods that Eira loved.

“How many of my films have you watched now?” she couldn’t help the teasing note. The want to add ‘when you’re missing me’. There was no wrong answer, Eira really didn’t care if he was watching or not. As much as Eira enjoyed her work, there was something embarrassing to trying to know someone who had seen it.

Seen her as she wasn’t.

‘Like he’s seeing you now, as you aren’t.’

A thought to ignore.

 

[cleopat]

Skye couldn’t help the smile at the authoritative tone in Adlai’s voice. In that moment, she was glad for the helmet that did more than disguise her identity. It also hid any immediate facial reactions that would also have given her away.

And Skye also didn’t believe the Espirion. “I hardly believe that you’re just a mechanic.” She wanted to use her mind trick on Jori, if it would work at all on the Espirion, but there were witnesses. It was too much of a risk.

“Listen, I don’t want any trouble. I just want to leave,” he said with his hands up in a surrender gesture.

Skye shook her head. “You can leave once you tell us what you know about the associates of Naklor Spires.”

Jori sighed, lowered his arms, glanced over at the Rodian, and back at Skye. “You promise I can leave once I tell you what I know.” As if the Empire was good at keeping their promises.

Good thing Skye and Adlai weren’t part of the Empire.

“Yes, you’ll be able to leave, but only if we feel like you’re not withholding any information from us.”

~~~

Thrawn shrugged. Many have said the same thing, that they didn’t expect him to be a whiskey drinker, but rather opting instead for something more classy and refined. Truth be told, Thrawn enjoyed anything that could relax him and mellow out his mind after a long day or week.

He just so happened to also have brandy in his personal stash. But not gin. “I actually don’t like gin,” he confessed. “It’s a bit too dry for my tastes, but you’ll find I do enjoy a wide variety of alcohols.” Like the aforementioned brandy and whiskey.

And there were some that he was eager to still try.

With the next question, Thrawn blushed the tiniest bit. He hoped the darker shade of blue tinting his cheeks weren’t noticeable in any manner. “I have seen two so far.” He didn’t want to admit that the first movie he watched was soon after meeting her the first time. The second one, not that long ago, on the same day as their kiss.

“I’m curious,” Thrawn tried to turn the question back on her, “do actors watch their own movies?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Jori knew plenty about the Naklor Spires, considering he was one. He also had no plans of revealing that fact to the Empire. Or who any of his associates were. There were people generally disliked on Batuu – and so he decided to drop one of them into the Empire’s maw. “Fine, one of them helped me out with some sensitive things when my datapad went on the fritz. Name’s Kharyx Maat, she’s a cathar.”

And a known thief, who no one here was likely to defend. Honestly, Jori wondered why she wasn’t already dead. “That’s all I know.”

“How’d you find her? How’d you know she was Naklor Spires.” Adlai asked, wanting to understand a bit more of how he knew this woman. They clearly weren’t advertising their services as datapad repairers.

“She fuckin’ bragged about it the entire time,” he said, shaking his head a bit in disgust, “Maybe she was lying about it, but she tuned up my datapad well enough, so I’m not going to complain. If you’re needing software work done, she’s the one for it…though I don’t really need to know your business.”

~***~

The blush was absolutely noticeable.

‘Which ones?’ Eira was curious if it was embarrassment, or something else that he’d seen in the films, that brought such color to his face. Not that he let her ask immediately, and she chuckled at the redirection. “Now, that’s no fair, you didn’t tell me which ones you saw first.” However, she would answer, setting her empty salad aside.

“For me, it depends. I do try to watch most of them. I don’t see how they’ll end up when the special effects and editing are done, so my experience acting it out, is quite different then what people are actually going to see. That said, there were some in my early career I’m not keen to ever see,” she chuckled, “I wasn’t…enthused to be in them, but I had to get my foot in the door.”

She had better choices now. Not to mention, premieres made it all but required to watch the film.

“So, which ones have you seen?” Eira returned to the teasing tone, “something has to be coloring your face that way.” Probably embarrassment at being called out on it, but still – she intended to make it a little worse. He didn’t blush easily.

 

[cleopat]

Skye slightly cocked her head to the side as Jori spoke, giving away one of Naklor Spires’ associates. Then why didn’t it sit well with her? Why did she immediately not trust him with handing over the right information?

If he was an associate of the Naklor Spires, then of course he wouldn’t out himself to the Empire. But to hand over someone who wasn’t associated just to get them off his trail? That was also likely.

But if he wasn’t an associate, then he could have been telling the truth.

There was only one option Skye could think of that could help them.

“Do you mind if we speak more in private about this Kharyx Maat?” she asked in a tone that suggested she wasn’t asking at all. “Just some standard questions.”

~~~

Thrawn absolutely believed Eira would bring the subject back around to which films he had watched of hers, which he didn’t want to answer. He wanted her to remain ignorant to that fact instead of divulging the information that yes, he had seen more of her than he is seeing now.

An image he will never get out of his head, nor did he really want to.

“So even actors have the odd jobs in the beginning of their careers that they didn’t want to take, but had to in order to climb the ladder, so to speak.” Much like him, holding positions and doing missions early on in his Ascendency career that led to where he wanted to be - before his fall from grace. And then it started all over again within the Empire.

Thrawn sighed, and set aside his food. “Okay, I’ll tell you which ones they were.” And he did, one movie featuring prominent nudity that was the main reason for his light facial discoloration. The other was a much less scandalous movie, but had been a serious drama that helped Thrawn realize her acting skills.

Talented actress indeed.

 

[Lucyfer]

Jori didn’t like this, at all. “You said I’d be free to leave,” he reminded, irritation in his tone, but also fear. Adlai couldn’t even blame him for that fear. He knew what it was to be faced with Imperial questioning, and even as a Count, he was often afraid. Of course, he was also a rebel. Jori had no such protections of his rank. He knew that.

‘He also knows what he’s hiding.’

“If we felt like you weren’t withholding information. We feel like you are,” Adlai stated bluntly. “Come outside with us,” he stepped forward, already expecting what would happen when he did so.

Jori ran, and Adlai immediately sprinted after him, his step forward turning to a run easily.

He let Jori get out, of course. That’s where they wanted him, after all. Thankfully, Jori wasn’t a fast runner, but he was willing to knock over stalls and displays to try and slow Adlai. Adlai had more than the typical Stormtrooper training, and, well, he expected this. It was what he’d do, but he was able to jump the fallen items, and managed to catch up to Jori before he could get too far away, and tackle him right to the ground.

“LET ME GO! I TOLD YOU WHAT I KNOW!” No doubt, Jori was shouting to try and get help.

Everyone just looked away instead as Adlai pinned his hands behind his back, slapping on the binders the Stormtrooper outfit came with, and hauling him back up to his feet to look around for Skye.

He ignored the sick feeling in his stomach as no one came to help Jori.

~***~

Eira was not at all surprised about one of the films Mitth’raw’nuruodo watched. It was one of the more popular ones, and for obvious reasons. Was it great? No, of course not – it was a spy comedy, and she played the Femme Fatale villain, who naturally converted to good because the hero was terribly attractive. Thankfully as a comedy, it hadn’t taken it seriously as some spy movies did (making that the serious reason was always gross), so it was played for laughs, and somehow made the Femme Fatale more developed – but it still wasn’t good.

And had featured quite a bit of her assets, clothed and unclothed.

The drama had none of that, even if she was still cast in a romantic role, it was a romance that built through the course of the holofilm, and she had a great co-star for that role. She’d gotten to play the serious role in a film based on war and refugees, as the leader of a refugee rescue group, and her co-star had been a younger actor who played the rash enemy her team inadvertently captured and had to deal with alongside the refugees they were escorting to safety. His slow realization of what was going on had been part of the focus, but her own character hadn’t been the ungrowing leader – she’d also had to “rehumanize” her foes, so to speak. She’d definitely been a lot firmer, a lot colder, in that role. Jaded.

“You know, I didn’t watch that spy movie when it first came out. The appeal was always obvious,” Eira chuckled, “I didn’t hate doing it, but I couldn’t imagine watching myself like that,” she shook her head, “I have seen it now.” She hadn’t hated watching it, although she did cringe at some of her lines and acting, only because it was her. If it was someone else, she probably would have been laughing along with the audience.

“I was always afraid I’d end up typecast like that. Just…the pointless love interest role, stuck in comedies or other non-serious roles. I don’t dislike those kinds of films, but I guess I wanted to do more than that. Tell…well, tell stories that meant something beyond helpful escapism,” no, she wouldn’t say the films were bad.

People needed escapes.

People also needed ways to conceptualize the world and bring distant issues, closer. “I’ve enjoyed my more recent work for that, though,” she chuckled, “I did sign up for another sort of…filler movie. Something to do with extinct species. I haven’t gotten the script yet. I think I’ll need it after the Cora Vessora play.”

No doubt, “What sort of jobs did you have to do? Cleaning toilets on starships?” she chuckled at the imagery of it. Hard to imagine Mitth’raw’nuruodo doing that.

 

[cleopat]

Skye understood his fear. She knew the fear quite well, that fear of the Empire and their questioning. If she was ever taken in for questioning, would they immediately know what she was? Who she used to be? One of their droids may be able to match her face with that of her younger self.

That was why she had to be successful. There was no room for failure.

Jori took off running, and Skye was about to take off behind Adlai as he followed, but she was stopped by a cold feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.

There’s darkness here.

Shaking off the feeling, Skye sprinted after them, the Force allowing her to easily catch up right at the moment Adlai caught Jori. No one was looking, no one was near, so she took that opportunity to do what she wanted back inside, had there not been witnesses.

“You will tell us the truth.” Skye motioned her hand as she called forth the Force to help her get actual answers from Jori.

“I am an associate of the Naklor Spires,” he answered with no hesitation.

“Who are some of your other associates?”

~~~

Thrawn had his own opinions about the movies he watched, outside of the fact that Eira was in them. He typically didn’t watch many comedies, so that one wasn’t too much to his tastes, except for when it was. The drama was more of his interest, and the movie was one he had genuinely enjoyed, even if he saw the parallels between it and reality with the Empire on many planets.

“Well, you certainly do have the talent in any role you pursue,” he said with confidence. Even with only two movies, Thrawn could observe and analyze how well she did her job. He didn’t know about type-casting before, but imagining someone of her talents being confined to one type of role was tragic. “I’m glad you’re able to tell those stories you wish to tell.”

And that she would continue to tell those stories, although something more nagged at his mind. That something more of if she had a second job she wasn’t telling anyone.

Upon the question turning to him, he chuckled and shook his head, setting aside his empty salad for the main course. “I did do that a few times, especially whenever I annoyed or angered my superiors.” Oh, his smart mouth got him into trouble a few times by those who allowed their pride to stand in their way. “That was very early in my career back home.”

Home, how he missed it.

“But other than that, nothing too obnoxious. Mainly assignments no one really wanted to do, such as scouting missions or even being forced to entertain a political leader for several hours.” Now that was something he would never wish to do again. He and politics did not go well together, but everyone in the empire knew that.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai observed the trick he’d seen played out a hundred times before. Eira had noted before it was one of her skills – mind tricks. More useful to a counsellor than a knight, although Skye did a fairly admirable job. There was no hesitation from Jori, nor repetition – something Eira had noted was a problem with several practitioners.

‘She had to learn…to survive.’

He hated that thought even as Jori began to answer, “Nole Keat, Zane Ramsen—”

“Leadership. Who is your leadership?” Adlai tried to press, forgetting, of course, that Jori wasn’t going to say anything to him. It briefly shook Jori from the trance as he looked from Skye, to Adlai.

“No, no way, I’m not – shit, you’re a Jedi.”

“No, she’s no—”

“Yes she is.”

That voice was unfamiliar, but familiarly tuned by a voice modulator. Adlai looked back to see an Inquisitor step into the area, with two Officers following him, neither Officer looking pleased. Adlai started to step back, then remembered Jori, and grabbed his binders to pull him back – already in the process of undoing the cuffs.

That wasn’t fair to Jori to let him die here.

The male Officer raised his blaster and pointed it Adlai. “You will stop what you’re doing now.”

Adlai raised his hands.

The binders slipped off Jori at the same moment, and Jori bolted, only for the male officer to shoot him in the back – stun, Adlai noted – while the Inquisitor remained focused on Skye.

“You’re not Ae’lia. Where is she?”

~***~

Ah, now that was easier to imagine. Not Mitth’raw’nuruodo scrubbing toilets for the Empire, but as a teenager after upsetting superiors? Yes, that tracked, and Eira chuckled along with the mental image, and his own laugh. The food was going by only too quick – her own want to get back to dessert not helping in the least.

Her wine was also going quick, but she left a little at the bottom. Then it was always an almost but not quite. No need to refill if it was not empty. She could leave it like that, even if the sweet taste was better than the rest of the food.

Damn sweets.

“Politicians aren’t that bad,” Eira noted, “Although I do wonder what your idea of entertaining them is,” it was an invitation to elaborate, of course, though she made it more overt, “Which politician was it that no one else wanted to tend to? There are a few I can think of that even I would shudder to think about entertaining.” It had to be a punishment, right? People knew he wasn’t good at this.

Or maybe it was just early enough in his career with the Empire that they hadn’t learned the open secret about Mitth’raw’nuruodo and politicians. ‘Although apparently he’s fine with Sith politicians.’ Food silenced that thought, for the moment. Not that there was any threat of it slipping her lips, but still.

 

[cleopat]

Skye felt the Inquisitor before he made his appearance.

She tried to ignore it, hoping to get more time with Jori before he found her. But luck wasn’t on her side. He found her and said a name she wasn’t expecting.

How do you know Ae’lia?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She knew her lie was bullshit, she was certain the Inquisitor wouldn’t buy her lie either. But she wouldn’t give up Ae’lia, not even under pressure from torture.

“I am Purge Trooper 217, sent here on a reconnaissance mission, with which you are now interfering.” Likely none of them would believe her at this point, but it gave her and Adlai more time to think of an escape plan.

Given the view of blasters and the look of displeasure on the female officer’s face, she only had seconds to think of an idea before they succumbed to a fight.

~~~

Thrawn had to disagree with Eira’s statement. Politicians could indeed be that bad. They didn’t always say what they mean, and many of them had hidden agendas for why they wanted to talk to you. It was frustrating, and it was an art Thrawn could not read at all.

Normally he was great at reading people and their body language. But politicians? Not very well at all.

“In the past, I often entertained them by discussing the artworks that were in the room, but many of them found that dull.” Which was preposterous. Who could find such works of art boring? Yet many of them did.

And he found their discussions of politics quite dull.

Thrawn immediately thought of one politician in particular when Eira asked her question. Governor Tarkin. He didn’t dare say that outloud though.

“Oh, but now I am curious as to which politicians you wouldn’t dare to entertain,” he countered with a smile. “Please, do elaborate.”

 

[Lucyfer]

“Under who’s orders?” Eli Vanto snapped at the Purge Trooper, although from the turn of the Inquisitor’s head, he supposed that wasn’t a useful question. He knew that. He just…wasn’t used to turning to violence so quickly as he knew the Inquisitor meant to do, and it was a little unnerving.

More than a little unnerving.

“She’s lying,” The Inquisitor hissed, “About all of it,” he gestured out towards them and stepped ahead.

It took everything in Adlai’s willpower not to step back.

“How about I make you a deal, little Jedi,” he taunted, lightsaber illuminating, “you tell me where Ae’lia is,” and then it was thrown. Adlai ducked, not realizing he was too late on that, until he heard a thud, until 3rd Brother had his lightsaber back in hand…and Adlai was looking at his own hand on the ground in front of him.

He knew he went pale under the suit. He could feel the blood drain from him and felt suddenly quite woozy, although he knew he hadn’t really lost that much blood. Seeing your hand suddenly detached was…not a pleasant sight.

“And I let this Stormtrooper live.”

Adlai suddenly heard the hiss of the lightsaber at the back of his neck. It had been a bad decision to duck.

“You see, I was Delkan Vook, her master – and I have quite a bit more to teach her.”

Adlai’s good hand snaked to his blaster, thinking he could kneecap the Inquisitor. Or maybe one of the officers, although he doubted the Inquisitor would care, it might buy him time. The pain was starting to radiate down his arm, the fiery cauterization, and the screaming nerve endings that had been severed, but he still worked his way through that.

3rd Brother’s eyes were entirely on the Jedi.

~***~

Eira gave a sympathetic hum to Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s situation with artworks and politicians not fining them entertaining! How rude! Although, Eira could understand, not all politicians were adept at playing constantly intrigued and invested, when someone wasn’t their constituent. And Mitth’raw’nuruodo would never be that, so they never needed to feign interest.

They had to with someone like Eira. The public loved her, so of course, they had to feign much the same. It didn’t make them less tiresome, but at least it usually meant the pretending to be interested went both ways. Sometimes, Eira was genuinely interested, of course. She didn’t make friends with Adlai solely to get him involved in a Rebellion.

Or even Savit, the Imperial musician.

“Well, I would dare to entertain any, given the need,” Eira noted with a smile, setting aside the empty plate of main course, “but I wouldn’t volunteer myself to entertain the likes of Grand Moff Tarkin. I do not know him, but what I do know suggests we wouldn’t have very much in common,” Eira explained, “and he has a reputation for being a rather…harsh individual.” That was saying it nicely. “I’m not certain he’d get much enjoyment out of it, either.”

He would not.

“He’s the only one that comes to mind immediately, I’m sure I could think of others,” though she wasn’t going to, she didn’t want to be too rude or unkind to hypothetical people that weren’t around. Tarkin, fine.

The Emperor was also one she wouldn’t want to entertain…but that was one she couldn’t say. That suggested too much of what she was.

 

[cleopat]

It would do Skye no use to keep lying. The Inquisitor knew the truth, although it amused Skye that the officer still thought to question her further, as if she was a Purge Trooper.

A kid, really. He and the other officer looked nothing more than like two kids.

In the next second, Adlai’s hand was severed from his body. Skye looked on in horror, a scream threatening to bubble up. No, she couldn't. She had to keep it together. For both their sakes.

And she had to keep it together as the Inquisitor hovered his lightsaber over Adlai’s neck, threatening to decapitate him if she didn’t tell him the truth about Ae’lia. Skye couldn’t do that to her friend, but she also couldn’t let Third Brother kill Adlai.

She saw the subtle movement of Adlai, reaching for his blaster. She just needed to keep him distracted for a few more seconds, if Adlai were to be successful.

The name meant something to Skye. She recalled Ae’lia mentioned her former master’s name being Delkan Vook. And he fit the description of how she described him quite well. Skye swallowed, and quickly ran through her options.

Her hand was ready to grab her lightsaber, after willing the Force to fly it out into her hand instead of reaching to grab it. Perhaps the Inquisitor was waiting for that, but she didn’t care. She was prepared to fight him.

“I don’t know who Ae’lia is!” she practically begged. Come on, Adlai. Please let this work. I can’t lose you. “Nor do I know of any other Jedi who may still live.”

~~~

Thrawn grinned and chuckled at Eira’s predictable response. He was not surprised that other people held a generally unfavorable opinion of the Governor. He was quite the intimidating man, and early on in Thrawn’s career, he remembered some trepidation towards the man. Even now, Thrawn wouldn’t dare get on his bad side.

Which seems to be working out less and less with each passing day as of recent.

“I’d say you share the same sentiment with many others in the Empire. There’s not many who would willingly entertain Governor Tarkin, myself included.” He could admit that much. “I am honestly not even sure what he would get enjoyment from.” Thrawn had never seen the man outside of the work environment.

Would he enjoy painting? Holochess? Reading? Thrawn was curious about this, but not so curious as to ask the man himself.

He was already on thin ice with the Governor.

Thrawn set aside his now empty main course. “I must commend you on the choice of dinner. It has been excellent so far.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Time was the enemy for Adlai. He could start to feel his heartbeat in his ears. The pain was intensifying alongside nausea. Nothing was going well as he waited for an opening or for the release of death that was sure to follow the Inquisitor’s reaction if he failed to get an opening. If Skye didn’t figure out what to say.

She denied again, with no illumination of a lightsaber. No threat. Just begging, pleading, anxiety and horror – and he heard Third Brother grunt in dissatisfaction. “Then neither of you are any use to—” Adlai shot. He didn’t focus to watch if it hit, as he felt the lightsaber lift a bit as Third Brother turned his body to follow the trajectory.

Adlai dropped all the way down and rolled to get out from under the lightsaber, hearing it sizzle the ground near him as Third Brother reacted when he noticed Adlai moved. He managed not to get cut further, and got up to his feet behind Skye.

Behind his mask, he was wild-eyed.

He wasn’t sure what to do. Run – of course! – but where? How? And did they try to get Jori? Fighting didn’t seem like an option at all, but then again, he was sans hand. Anything that involved further risk sounded like a terrible idea.

The shot hadn’t been aimed at Eli, and his body immediately turned fully around towards Cora when he realized that, already starting to move towards her in case she was hit by the shot, not bothering with the Jedi and Companion, or the stunned informant.

~***~

It did not surprise Eira that even Mitth’raw’nuruodo held some trepidation with the thought of entertaining Tarkin. Even though they had seemed on good enough terms at his promotion party, the Grand Moff wasn’t the sort to make an unnecessary scene. He was scarily good at the politics, and Eira knew she’d risk stumbling if she was in is presence too long. He wasn’t going to be distracted by a pretty face.

‘No, not like Mitth’raw’nuruodo.’

She ignored the momentary self-loathing, the reminder of who she was. Who they were, to each other.

“I have never heard of a single thing he enjoys,” Eira confirmed, not able to add any suggestions for Mitth’raw’nuruodo. “All I hear is that he is more Core than Core, which should mean he likes operas and other high arts, but I get the feeling he…doesn’t, really.” Something she couldn’t place, other than she thought the ‘more Core than Core’ was a façade. Whatever laid at the center of Wilhuff was a monster on par with the Emperor.

And the Emperor played at being wonderfully Core, too.

But she wouldn’t linger there. Instead, as Mitth’raw’nuruodo commended the meal, she plucked one of the chocolate fruits up, “You haven’t tried it all yet,” and she held it out for him to take, a bit higher up, admittedly enticing him to just take it between his lips, but she wouldn’t at all be surprised or upset if he just took it with his fingers.

 

[cleopat]

Cora didn’t anticipate the Stormtrooper to attempt to shoot at Third Brother, nor did she anticipate for the shot to actually hit her instead. She instantly recognized searing pain in her left thigh as the shot struck her. Her leg collapsed under the weight of pain. She let out a hoarse cry as her hands clutched at her leg in reflex.

Skye didn’t recognize anything else happening around them, outside of the Inquisitor and Adlai dodging the near beheading and rolling behind her, to safety. Willing the Force, her lightsaber flew into her hand, and she ignited it, the purple saber lighting up both ends.

“If you can, grab Jori and get back to the ship. I’ll be right behind you,” she whispered with haste. Normally when one said such a thing, they had every intention of sacrificing themselves so that others may escape a precarious situation. Skye had no such intention. She endeavored to get out of there alive, so that she may live to help the Rebellion another day.

She wouldn’t strike first though. Skye saved that for Third Brother to claim. “While this has been a terribly interesting conversation, I’m afraid we must go now, since, as you said, we have nothing of use to you.”

The hand. Don’t forget the hand.

The mere thought of carrying Adlai’s severed hand, cauterized from the lightsaber, sent a wave of nausea through Skye.

~~~

Thrawn supposed he shouldn’t enjoy discussing his technically superior officer with an actress, but it was refreshing to finally get off his chest the thoughts he had been harboring about the man. Of course, there were still some other thoughts he held that he wouldn’t even confide with Eira about.

“I highly doubt he enjoys the high arts Coruscant has to offer. He never really seemed interested whenever I brought up art around him.” No, Tarkin didn’t seem like the type of person to enjoy operas and orchestras and galleries. Thrawn may still not quite understand the phrase ‘more Core than Core,’ but he could agree with Eira on the matter.

But like Eira, he wouldn’t linger on the topic anymore. Not when there were more pleasant topics to be discussed, such as the delectable looking dessert he hadn’t even touched yet. “You’re right, I haven’t tried it all yet.”

Their closeness, the pleasantries, all of it Thrawn should have ignored, and yet it enticed him to lean forward as Eira offered the chocolate fruits. He took the fruit between his lips, slowly caressing the tips of Eira’s fingers, and pulled back to chew and enjoy the fruit. “Now I can officially say I have enjoyed everything you picked out tonight.”

 

[Lucyfer]

With the scream, Eli’s turn shifted to a sprint, though he wasn’t there in time to catch Cora. He was still at her side quickly, and had a hand over the wound (well, over her hand) to apply some momentary pressure as he noticed blood was coming out of it. That wasn’t good at all, and he let go of his blaster to try and shrug off his tunic to wrap it around her leg, the belt around his waist discarded in an instant.

Third Brother disregarded the two of them immediately. It wasn’t as if they were actually important to all of this, and he was very upset that his quarry had gotten away. ‘Decisions, decisions.’ He knew what they planned to do when the Stormtrooper darted over to the informant, and in the back of his head – he decided to let them.

It wasn’t often Third Brother had much cunning – not at the risk of losing a Jedi, at any rate, but Ae’lia was bigger than this, to him. Things weren’t supposed to be personal, but…this was. So, he decided he would let them get away, alive, because he knew they would tell her. One way or another.

He’d still make them work for it, but he’d keep his attention off the wounded Stormtrooper and go right for the Jedi, digging right into the volatile roots of Style Seven, alongside the darker and far more violent styles he’d learned as an Inquisitor and unloading – but only with the lightsaber.

He wouldn’t really use the Force against the Jedi before him, except where necessary with the lightsaber. He wouldn’t hold her up, he wouldn’t trip her, nor grab at clothing, or push her back. He’d allow that to appear a weakness, and give her an opening to escape when the time came, knowing it would pay off in the end.

He still knew one thing about Ae’lia that he doubted had changed: she would want to save him. She would make herself known, to her own detriment.

While the Inquisitor fought Skye, Adlai went to Jori. He wasn’t sure…precisely how to get him to wake up, or unstunned, and knew he couldn’t really carry him. Or drag him. He started to kneel down, when Jori seemed to just snap awake. He gasped, started to scramble up, but his limbs weren’t fully working.

“Hey, hey,” Adlai calmed, and offered his good hand, “Come on, lean on me, we’ll get out of here.”

Deciding it was better to trust a Stormtrooper who was obviously against the Inquisitor, Jori took their hand and did, in fact, lean on them. Not the best decision. Adlai stumbled and almost fell himself. “Holy shit, your hand—”

“Y-yeah.”

Jori grabbed Adlai around the waist. Mutual aid limped the pair out of there, as Adlai made a beeline back towards the ship to get it going, and grab Skye as best he could if she wasn’t already running back.

~***~

Eira had invited such an action from Mitth’raw’nuruodo. Nonetheless, it still brought a light flush to her cheeks as he went along with it, and casually finished his compliment about all the foods. Sadly, she also knew that meant this was all about over, once the desserts were gone – or gone enough that they’d both had their fill, and the wine as empty as it would get (likely, not completely).

She wouldn’t linger on that part.

“Good,” Eira was pleased, although now she knew to plan better with the drinks. White wines weren’t the preference. Mitth’raw’nuruodo wasn’t that much into the sweet wines, and his tastes lingered towards whiskey. She could easily devise something that would cater to that, better, “Next time, I’ll have to try even harder. Of course, I also have to think of something else to explore.”

She supposed, she’d need to continue doing that. Certainly, in a more…ordinary situation, it would have been nice to let Mitth’raw’nuruodo also pick out more, but this wasn’t ordinary. Eira had to keep a certain control over it all, to continue to steer it away towards the typical dinners, and anything too talk-oriented. Keeping it towards activity limited the time for talking.

Which was sad in its own way.

“But I have some ideas,” some she absolutely would not be putting into action anytime soon. If ever, as sith still whispered at the back of her head, reminding her not to get caught up in a pretty face, a pretty voice, and an intelligent mind. Too intelligent – so intelligent she argued with herself that he couldn’t actually support it. There had to be something more going on.

Something that gave her that stupid little hope. She was rarely wrong about this, damnit!

“It’s a shame how quickly today’s gone.” That much was at least true.

 

[cleopat]

Cora didn’t recognize that Eli was beside her until his hand was placed over her now bloodied one. “I don’t want to get your tunic soiled,” she laughed weakly, but she helped him wrap the tunic around her thigh. What was important was staunching the blood flow until they could get back on the ship, where they had bacta bandages in an emergency kit.

Skye was relieved as Adlai and Jori got away, as the Inquisitor’s attention remained focused on her. As expected, he attacked, and she counteracted with rapid defense and honing in on Style Four she practiced and perfected in the Jedi Order.

She hadn’t been in lightsaber combat since the Clone Wars, but everything felt natural for her, as if it was only yesterday she was practicing with Master Parsa or Kai, the way they did during downtime. The lightsaber acted as an extension of her arm, as she counteracted every swipe the Inquisitor aimed her way.

But he didn’t seem as aggressive as the Grand Inquisitor was. The use of the Force against her wasn’t as obvious, and he kept leaving openings for Skye to escape. She didn’t wonder about the fight, not in the heat of the moment, but at the first opportune moment for her to turn and make her escape, she took it.

Skye took one backlip away from Third Brother and turned and ran. With the Force, she grabbed Adlai's hand, thankfully still in the severed remnants of his Stormtrooper uniform, and she ran as fast as she could, to either catch up with Adlai and Jori, or to meet them at the ship, sans one aggressive Inquisitor.

~~~

Thrawn relished in the light flush he managed to bring to Eira’s cheeks. Such an action is a hard one to fake, even to a well trained actress, so this he knew the response was real.

And it made him feel good.

The next piece of fruit he ate was from his own fingers, and he enjoyed the tangy and sweet taste that the chocolate covered fruit possessed. This would be a combination he had to remember for his own personal enjoyment. A treat, after an especially difficult and trying week.

“I absolutely look forward to whatever adventure you bring for us next time.” Whenever that next time would be. They both knew their schedules didn’t coincide often enough for a date frequently like most couples, but once in a while, the stars aligned just right so that they could make it happen. Like today.

And, hopefully, like in the near future.

“Perhaps we should make our next outing sooner, rather than later,” he suggested, even if he knew it might not be feasible. “Because I can’t wait to see these ideas of yours in action.” But his empty wine glass and empty dessert tray reminded him that the evening was winding down, and he would have to head back to the Chimaera soon.

 

[Lucyfer]

Third Brother was a little pissed when he saw the hand zip by. There went part of his plan to track down the Jedi by who they knew. No matter – he still knew this was going to go his way. Sentiment. It was a Jedi’s worst enemy, as well as their compassion, their mercy, and worst of all, their Hope.

Remembering that the Inquisitors were someone they once knew, always complicated things. And this Jedi would tell the other. Third Brother was certain of it, and so he didn’t pursue, but turned back towards Eli and Cora, scoffing at the attempt to wrap the wound. “I told you not to get involved.”

Eli glared up, “We stayed back!” He snapped, “Now we’ve lost them, and their informant!”

Third Brother scoffed, “You say that as if this informant of theirs is the only one. Get up, we’ll….” Realizing his own stupidity, he just grumbled and waved them off, “Go back to the ship. I’ll get an informant.”

It was probably not a good idea to leave an Inquisitor on their own. Eli had seen many almost incidents already and they hadn’t been there long before Third Brother honed in on the Jedi. However, at this point, that was the Empire’s problem. Maybe even Thrawn’s problem. It wasn’t his problem, and it wasn’t Cora’s problem.

“Come on,” he muttered under his breath, prepared to help her up, and help her back to the ship.

~***~

Adlai had made it back to the ship, somehow. He was surprised he hadn’t collapsed, nor that Jori collapsed. In the ship, Jori made his way to the cockpit, “Not—not without Skye,” Adlai said, lifting his hand to take the helmet off, only to pause when he again saw the stump. Really saw the stump.

‘Oh, voids.’

Not his smartest idea.

He felt woozy again and stumbled into the wall, unable to take his eyes off the strangely cauterized yet still quite wet, and a bit bloody, wound. ‘Oh, stars. Oh, how will I ever explain….’ This wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all.

Jori set a hand on his arm, and Adlai jolted, both in minor pain and surprise.

“Get it together. We have to get out of here, you need to get the ship prepped.”

He probably did, but his mind stopped functioning as he stared into the face he didn’t know.

Why was Adlai here?

Who was this person?

Why was Adlai’s hand missing?

“I’ll tell you whatever you want about the Spires if you just get us out of here before that psychopath gets back!”

“Right….”

And it would probably be better to have the ship primed for Skye, but when he got to the cockpit himself, took a seat, and stared at all the buttons, he felt his vision…shift. Everything seemed to get really far away.

And then it all went black.

~***~

Thankfully, Mitth’raw’nuruodo seemed to have no issues with allowing Eira to continue to select things to do. She always had several things she could fall back on, too many experiences, and too much money, to be able to try most anything that came to mind. Of course, what she’d prefer would have been to go dancing with him.

But that wasn’t the smartest thing.

Too much contact.

Too much time to talk.

This time was already running out, a mixed blessing. A fortunate curse.

“I’ll have to see how easy it is to arrange my next plans,” Eira kept a bit of an impish smile on her lips, “as well as learn your schedule for the upcoming month, so I can actually arrange things, but you probably need to check on that,” she wasn’t expecting it right then. His cup was empty. They had devoured the dessert. There was a moment’s temptation to pour more wine for them both, the bottle wasn’t empty, but she refrained.

“Which, I probably need to let you go do, don’t I?” the playfulness faded. How could it remain in parting? She rose, “Though I think first I need to go get decent again,” she chuckled, “as much fun as it would be to scandalize whatever driver I call, I think I did enough of that with the delivery boy.” No more of that, it was time to be decent again, but at least she’d gotten to extend some of her own time looking at Mitth’raw’nuruodo underneath the uniform.

Not that she’d ever suggest that as an intention.

But she didn’t go right to change. First she leaned over Mitth’raw’nuruodo, ghosting her fingers beneath his chin and drawing his head to tilt up a little so she could kiss him, before leaving him to change.

 

[cleopat]

Skye ran.

Skye ran as fast as she could, and she didn’t stop until she got to the ship.

Skye only stopped when she got to the cockpit, and saw Adlai slumped over, out cold undoubtedly from shock. “Shit, shit shit,” she repeated under her breath. She ignored Jori for the moment as she grabbed Adlai, and moved him over to a cushioned bench, using the Force to give her strength to help move his body.

“You,” she finally acknowledged Jori, “There’s a first aid kit in the cabinet in the corridor adjacent to the entrance. Go fetch it.” Her tone indicated she was not to be questioned with at that moment, and he recognized that, rushing off to go get the first aid kit. It wouldn’t do much for Adlai at this point, but it was better to wrap his…stump than to let it hang in the open air.

After Adlai was placed on the bench, Skye rushed back to the cockpit to begin prepping the ship for departure. The important thing was to get off the planet and far away from the Inquisitor and the Empire. She could think about their passenger at another time.

Once safely in the air and flying away from Batuu, only then did Skye go over to Adlai. Her fingers brushed over his hair, pushing back strays. In her frantic nature, she forgot to take off her own helmet. “We’ll get you some help,” she whispered. “And even a brand new hand, so no one will ever have to know.”

Skye felt sick to her stomach.

~~~

Cora couldn’t even muster a glare at Third Brother as he scoffed and chastised them for ‘getting involved.’ She was too focused on the pain radiating from her thigh, and the wave of nausea did not help things.

Fortunately, she did not vomit. The nausea abated a bit.

Cora leaned on Eli as she attempted to stand up. It was hard, not having the strength of both legs, but she managed to get up and used Eli as a crutch. She didn’t think he would mind so much.

All she could think about was how her injury potentially ruined the mission, even though she knew it wasn’t her fault. It was that damned rebel, who lost a hand. And a hand that they lost as well, to the Jedi.

She really, really did not like Force users.

“Training did not prepare me for what it felt like to get shot,” she mustered out a weak laugh.

~~~

With the wine gone and the dessert eaten, the reminder that they had to part ways linger heavily in the air. “I’ll be sure to let you know of my schedule as soon as I figure it out myself.” With the ever changing nature of his job on a daily basis, even Thrawn didn’t know his own schedule most days.

It could be a toss up, with one day thinking he could relax, to finding out that no, he is not getting any sleep that night.

Such is the nature of a Grand Admiral.

“I suppose we both must return to our realities.” And while he would have cheekily made a comment about wishing to watch her change back into her clothes, he refrained from doing so. Too much, too soon, when even he did not know what was going on yet. If this was a genuine relationship, or if in fact he was uncovering more about Eira than he cared to admit he wanted to know.

More about her that would incriminate her and her allies.

But he did allow, “And as much fun as it would be to continue to see you in such a state of undress.”

Her fingers distracted him from any further thoughts. He tilted his head up, just enough so that his lips could gently press against hers in a tender kiss, one that spoke volumes of his enjoyment of the evening. That no, he didn’t wish for it to end. That he wished he could whisk her away to some luxurious private room she was deserving of and continue their evening there.

 

[Lucyfer]

Jori returned with the first aid kit, as he felt the ship moving, and opened it as he walked back to where Adlai was – where Skye now was – wondering just what fucking mess he had gotten himself into.

“We, uh, we should probably get the rest of his armor off around his hand, if you’re wanting to do something.” Or they could not, Jori supposed, but he figured that was the best way to work on the stranger.

Adlai stiffened, briefly coming back to reality, to see a purge trooper’s helmet looming over him. It took a second for him to remember that, yes, that wasn’t an enemy. And he was also looking through a stormtrooper’s helmets, thanks to the inlays of information over everything he was looking at.

He felt sick again.

“Oh, you’re awake. Can you get your armor off?”

“Uh….”

Adlai tilted his head a bit to see who was speaking to him. Some strange orange guy. “What…?” He moved his stump-hand to go for the latch. Bumped his stump into his helmet, felt searing pain, and promptly passed right back out as a scream was caught and strangled in his throat.

~***~

Eli didn’t mind serving as Cora’s crutch. He minded the situation, he minded that she needed it, but he didn’t mind helping her at all. He let her set the pace, and just matched it, staying alongside her, and keeping a hand around her waist as he helped her back towards the ship, trying not to think about how this was going to get explained to Thrawn.

Eli wasn’t going on another damned Inquisitor mission. They made it abundantly clear he and Cora weren’t needed. ‘We really…didn’t do much at all.’ Sure, he shot someone, but the Jedi had still gotten away with that informant.

He heard Cora, and he managed a light chuckle at her attempt at humor, “Always thought they should find a way to let us know how it feels to get shot, without, you know, shooting us. We have a lot of VR training tech, you’d think they could figure out how to simulate pain.” Actually, he knew the Empire could.

Plenty of interrogations didn’t involve actual pain, because the ones they were interrogating couldn’t be, well, released with wounds, because the interrogation wasn’t exactly approved. Certain drugs heightened sensation to a ridiculous degree. In theory, that could also be used for pleasure.

In practice, it always seemed to be used for pain.

Getting back to the ship, Eli would help Cora to the bench before he let her go, “I’ll go find the first aid. I’m sure it has some pain pills, too,” he forced a grin to try and comfort her with the thought of the pain going away. “When we get back to the Chimaera I’m sure we’ll get you fully fixed up,” it couldn’t be that bad.

~***~

Eira felt too warm with Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s comment, and that kiss, but she didn’t break it immediately. It was a pleasant warmth, even if it was also too much, thoughts running far ahead of her in directions both familiar and unfamiliar – and then, only familiar in theory, really. Familiar from just being aware, given the nature of her job.

Of course, the ‘too much’ was there.

And so was the factor of time, which seemed to save her every time. Which she would have to continue to build into these outings. Events, that ended, and didn’t linger. No home invites, nothing outside of the public domain, in a way. This was quite public. Everything else would have to be, even if she was using her influence and wealth to keep it private-ish.

There would undoubtably still be some sort of photograph of this night. The press were great that way.

Eira did break the kiss, both too soon and not soon enough, and couldn’t help but smile and wink, “Sorry, Grand Admiral. I’m afraid that’s enough for today. Maybe another time,” maybe. Eira was already making a mental note that undress was a bad idea, no matter how much she enjoyed it, too.

He wasn’t on her side.

He was with the Sith.

Eira changed back in the privacy of the dressing stall, and redid her hair into an updo so the semi-damp strands weren’t annoying her, before exiting to go and gather the remainders of things – the rest of the wine she’d inevitably share or give to Lin, and of course, the blanket.

 

[cleopat]

Skye cursed under her breath as Adlai passed out yet again. “Get the stim pack out,” she ordered, moving to remove her own helmet first, so she could see better, then removed Adlai’s helmet. She frowned at how pale he looked, no doubt caused by the shock of, well, losing a fucking hand.

Next she set to remove the armor around the cauterized wound, mindful of the area to not touch it. Skye completely removed the armor from that arm and moved the sleeve on his arm up some, so it wasn’t laying as close to the wound.

“Give me the stim pack,” she demanded, holding out her hand to Jori. He wordlessly placed it in her hand, and Skye turned back to Adlai. She shoved the needle in his upper arm and injected the medicine into his bloodstream. It won’t fix the stump where his hand once was, but it would alleviate some of the pain and better help fight off infection.

“They should also be bacta bandages in there.” Again, they wouldn’t bring back the hand, but they would begin to heal the wound. It would be a temporary solution until Skye could get them to a hospital and allow Adlai to be seen by medical droids, to help clean the wound, and to give him a new hand.

Stars, what was she going to tell Eira? Would his parents ever know that his son was now sporting only one real hand?

~~~

Cora shook her head. “Well, just take my word for it. It hurts. A lot.” She didn't want to think about Eli experiencing this pain, and it was definitely a pain she didn’t wish to experience again, and seeing her own blood? Now coating Eli’s tunic? It wasn’t a pleasant sight. “Not quite like anything I’ve ever experienced.” Not that she’s been shot before. Or suffered any great injuries in her past, minus a broken leg when she was too curious of a little girl and climbed a tree before slipping and falling out of it.

She sat down, wincing as the injury stretched a little due to the change in movement. “I doubt the pain pills will do much good, but I’ll happily take them over nothing.” Maybe they would help lessen the pain radiation she was experiencing. Her whole thigh felt on fire.

Thank the stars the wound site was where it was and not at an artery, or down a little further on her kneecap. Then she would be in trouble.

“Oh stars, I hope my parents never find out about this,” she moaned, rubbing one hand down her face. Her parents would no doubt go into overprotective mode on their youngest child. She may even be contacted by her siblings, demanding to know what happened and if she was going to get a leave of absence to recover. No, she doubted that. The Empire had some of the best medical professionals. She would be back on her feet in no time.

~~~

Thrawn wanted to linger in the kiss a while longer. It had been so long since he allowed himself the pleasures of the flesh, including something as innocent as a chaste kiss, but not there. Not at the beach. Despite its seemingly private nature, he knew it was still public for Eira. Cameras could be watching.

If Eira did wind up being innocent in everything, he fully intended to allow them to linger further in simple pleasures such as kisses, and maybe more.

But there was the odd feeling that Eira seemed a bit more innocent than she let on. It was in the slight mannerisms, the body language, but Thrawn noticed it. For now he wouldn’t comment on it, but rather just take things slow and see what Eira allowed and didn’t allow.

He allowed her to go off to get dressed, and he likewise did the same in his dressing stall. He brushed back the strands of his hair and dressed in the clothes he arrived in. Civilian clothes for him. He wouldn’t want to get sand on his uniform.

Thrawn exited the stall, a small bag slung over his shoulder. “Do you need any help?” he offered, noting her picking up the remains of their dinner. One last attempt to linger before they parted.

 

[Lucyfer]

Jori followed instructions. What else was he going to do?

The man was all bandaged up, and without helmet, when Jori realized, "That's Adlai Malvern…isn't it?" He wasn't sure if he expected answer. He probably shouldn't have even mentioned any recognition, they might kill him for that kind of thing. Still, this situation was getting more interesting by the minute. First these two, then an inquisitor, now one was a Count, and the other was a Jedi! What was his world coming too?

"I, uh, I don't know where you're sending this ship, but the closest hospital is Gannaria. They don't ask many questions there." Likely pretty important in this situation, and a missing hand probably wasn't too strange. After all, they dealt with spice runners, and shit happened. Spice lords weren't known for mercy, after all.

This was a business.

"Less you got connections elsewhere. I don't know what's going on with this day anymore." Except that he'd be answering questions. That, he was still pretty sure of, unless he could get away on whatever planet they ended up on.

He liked living.

Bring around Jedi wasn't good for that.

~***~

Eli was going to take Cora’s word for it, although he’d been in his fair share of gunfights. He wouldn’t say that right then. Or that Thrawn was the reason for every single one of them. He’d never been shot quite like Cora had been. More just grazes and near-shots. That was scary enough, and hurt enough.

“I won’t tell them if you don’t,” although Eli supposed the Empire might. Did it alert on injuries? He wasn’t sure what degree the injury needed to be before emergency contacts were alerted. Nonetheless, he came back with the first aid kit, and handed Cora the bottle of pain pills, “I’m going to see the wound now, okay?”

He waited for that bit of acceptance, before he’d recognize that with how high up it was, rolling up her pants wasn’t going to work, “Er, I’ll…you need to slide your pants down.” Obviously, and though he knew it was needed, it was still a bit awkward.

He hadn't exactly seen that much of Cora -- kind of, at the water park, but somehow bathing suits were different -- so he'd lift his gaze up, even if it would have to go right back down to treat the wounds, and he offered to help her with lifting herself up -- or with the pants -- if it was needed.

~***~

Mitth’raw’nuruodo didn’t really take any longer to get dressed, likely because it wasn’t his uniform. That might have taken him more time. Just as if Eira had been in one of her really fancy dresses. In a way, they’d both taken steps to being a bit more casual, no matter how uncasual a privately rented beach was.

She chuckled at his offer to help, “Oh, my, yes,” the acting was atrocious on purpose, accent immediately shifting to one known from agri-worlds. Eira knew how to ham it up, sometimes it was called for, after all. “I just cannot bear the weight of this wine bottle all on my own, Grand Admiral,” she teased, “I’m not sure how I’ll ever get home alone.”

And then she effortlessly lifted it up, chuckling again. “Sorry, I can’t even pull that acting off,” no, she didn’t need his help, “But I appreciate you checking. I’m okay, really. I’ll have a speeder pick me up not far from here soon.” Except something was very much not okay. She felt it, even with how withdrawn her senses were, and with how Coruscant tended to cover the Force.

She withdrew completely, her demeanor never changing as she ignored it beyond that Force retreat, and the alarms screaming in her head.

Run.

Run.

Run.

“I’ll see you soon,” she promised, right then deciding that skyfaring would be next. Easily accessible. Public enough. And Amilyn could make sure she didn’t leave the area with Mitth’raw’nuruodo. Whether she could be trusted with that was another question, but nonetheless. “Have a good evening, Mitth’raw’nuruodo.”

 

[cleopat]

Skye froze upon Jori mentioning Adlai’s name. She didn’t confirm his suspicion, but her silence spoke enough. She wouldn’t threaten Jori to keep their secret, but she hoped that her silence for the moment spoke volumes.

Maybe they would have to bribe his silence once they were done with him.

“Gannaria?” Skye repeated, bringing her gaze away from Adlai’s unconscious form to glance at Jori. She heard of the planet before. Been there before. Unscrupulous characters frequented the planet, which hopefully meant privacy and no questions, just as Jori said.

She nodded and once Adlai was bandaged as well as he was going to be for now, Skye moved back to the cockpit and entered the coordinates for Gannaria. “That would make two of us who don’t know what’s going on with this day anymore,” she murmured.

What she wouldn’t give to wake back up on Serenno, with Adlai, pretending everything was normal for just one second. That she wasn’t a Jedi. That he wasn’t a rebel. That they were one mistake away from certain death.

~~~

Cora managed a crooked smile. “Then it’s a deal,” she agreed, taking the bottle of pain pills from Eli. Stars, she did not want her family to ever know what had happened. Maybe in a few years she’ll tell the truth. But immediately? Nope. Not going to happen.

She poured out two pills from the bottle and dry swallowed them, nodding at Eli to allow him to look at her wound. She trusted him. She trusted that he wouldn’t accidentally aggravate the wound and inflame the pain even more.

Immediately the issue became obvious. The pants would need to come off if Eli were to look at the wound. Swallowing, Cora nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.” It’s not like he hadn’t seen her thighs before, when they were at the waterpark. But that was an intentional show of skin. This…wasn’t. It was different.

Cora unbuckled her belt for easier access to her pants, and carefully, she slid them down her thighs, hissing as the fabric brushed against the wound. That was unavoidable, she knew, and now that it was done, they could get her patched up and the wound covered so simple brushing of fabric won’t hurt. “Okay, I’m ready.”

~~~

Thrawn lightly chuckled at Eira’s antics. The gentleman in him had to ask, even if there wasn’t much he could help with, a thought that was emphasized by Eira’s response. “Alright then, if you’re sure.” He wouldn’t push the matter, that would be ridiculous.

He would let her go, until their next time. Hopefully sooner, rather than later, which was expected given their own individual hectic schedule. “And same to you, Eira.” He leaned forward to place a parting chaste kiss on her cheek, before he nodded at her and let her leave.

Thrawn didn’t leave the beach quite yet, not as sudden as Eira did. He checked messages on his datapad, nothing too pressing to answer right at that moment. Good, the Chimaera didn’t implode while he was away, enjoying his evening.

But it seemed his good evening was coming to a close.

Crossing the beach in his direction was one of the Inquisitors, surprisingly sans helmet, but rather with a drink held in one hand. Thrawn noticed little black balls settled at the bottom of the tea-colored beverage. Yes, because that’s what you’re supposed to focus on.

“Good evening, Grand Admiral,” Fourth Brother said, the sarcasm not hidden at all in how he addressed Thrawn. He lifted the babo tea to his lips and took a rather loud sip.

“What are you doing here?” Thrawn demanded. Had the Inquisitor been spying on him and Eira the entire time?

“Oh, just checking to see how the mission was going. Since, you know, you’re supposed to uncover any hidden rebel tendencies in that actress, not romance her. Unless you’re just playing the role of a rather convincing honey pot, then I guess congratulations is in order.”

Thrawn scowled. Of course he still remembered the mission. The thought kept invading his thoughts throughout the evening, even when he didn’t want to remember. “Sometimes in order to earn enough trust for someone to become more vulnerable around them, a little play is in order.”

Fourth Brother shrugged, taking another sip. “I wonder if Tarkin will see it that way.”

Thrawn couldn’t bring himself to care about what Governor Tarkin thought. Not right now.