Eli wondered what was on Altair's mind, when the Sith spoke again. He listened patiently, and the pieces fell into place, regarding Altair's past and why he feared other Chiss, anyway. No wonder he'd been so scared of Thrawn, and Ar'alani. Eli could also see now that Thrawn hadn't just sent Altair to protect Eli, but it was also because Thrawn hadn't wanted Altair to get triggered by surrounding himself with strange Chiss.

A slave, who'd been hated by his family. Eli couldn't even imagine what that was like, having been raised by a very loving family. Eli also knew that Chiss were loyal to one another, like in the legends, and Altair's family sounded like the antithesis of how Chiss treated one another.

He suddenly felt sad for Altair, but he did his best to hide his expression. A year around Chiss had taught him how to do that. Then again, Altair was a Force User, and the legends about them said that they could sense thoughts.

"Well, I can assure you, no loyal Chiss would kill you. Still, I can see why Thrawn felt it was best to stick you with me for a while." A pause, and then, "Thank you for trusting me with this information, Altair."

What was said in this shuttle would stay between the two of them. And Thrawn, of course.