"It is my understanding that Chiss are rare outside of the Ascendancy..."

He didn't know what that said about him, that that was the part he latched onto first. Still, it had become so much more obvious to him now, that besides himself who had never been in the Ascendancy, and Thrawn who had left with the intention of one day returning, Chiss didn't venture so far out of the Ascendancy, and certainly not with a frequency where they could be called common. They weren't really in his time, either.

But there had still been some. On Hoth, especially, but also on Dromund Kaas, and Ilum, and Ziost. While not closely, they had still been allied with the Sith Empire, and from what Altair had heard, were seen as valuable allies as they were seen to not have any moral hangups about the cruelty of the Sith.

Not an assessment Altair agreed with, personally. Of course it could be because he was Chiss himself, and while hardly a typical one, was not without a moral compass. Being willing to do whatever it took to ensure stability and prosperity, to deal with threats... But then, most people equated ruthlessness with not having a moral compass, and it certainly wasn't any Chiss' fault that people were morons.

Nothing he needed to retreat into his own thoughts to ponder on now, he supposed.

Snapping out of it, he shook his head, before offering a slight smile, "I'm glad you were there for him. I'm glad he has a friend like you."

Being lonely was an awful thing. He was glad Eli had been there to alleviate it then. And he was glad he was at Thrawn's side now.