boxofmisfits | The Lover and the Best Friend

"Yeah, I saw how nervous you were around Ar'alani, and Thrawn confirmed that's just how you are around other Chiss."

It was so odd to him, since the Chiss treasured their Force sensitives, for they were how they got around the galaxy, lacking the sophisticated nav-computers in this part of the galaxy. If the Ascendancy knew about Altair, he'd likely become their most closely guarded secret, and seen as a possible key to having more adult sky-walkers, so they didn't have to recruit children.

The fact that Altair was a man, and not a little girl, was odd in and of itself, since the gift wasn't seen very often in boys to begin with. That Altair was a fully-fledged Sith, with most of the powers that game with it, was like discovering the rarest, most precious gemstone in the galaxy.

"That he does. Even before he was a Grand Admiral, he knew how to inspire loyalty. The time serving with him really was some of the best years of my life. Even if I didn't really feel so at first."

It had taken Eli some time to really appreciate what Thrawn had done for him.

"That obvious, huh?" He asked, with a touch of humor to his voice.

Well, Altair was fairly certain that anyone could see it, if they were looking. He had his reasons, of course. None that he'd get into now though. The only people who needed to know was him and Thrawn. Altair wasn't sure, if he'd been lied to and made to be a scapegoat by his family, or if Chiss attitudes toward the Force had changed over the thousands of years that had passed between then and now.

If he went digging in the Ascendancy he'd probably find an answer. History was never as far gone as it seemed, even if the whole picture couldn't be found. There were parts that were washed away by the sands of time, but it had been his job to piece the past together, to find that which had been hidden away.

But the fact that it would take him to the Ascendancy meant that it certainly wouldn't happen for years.

"... I can imagine. He leads with such confidence, he always seems to be ten steps ahead, he's logical, rational..."

Was he gushing? He was gushing. He absolutely was. It was still okay, he supposed. Whenever he spoke about Thrawn these days, the people around him merely pitied him, for what they thought was a one-sided crush. He didn't know what Thrawn had told Eli about their relationship, but he'd let the human come to whatever conclusion he wanted.

"... You should tell me about those years, when you feel like it."

The situation, along with the fact that they'd more or less only just met, made now a less than ideal time for long conversations, really.

"I'd like to hear. Not only about him, but about you too. You're obviously important to him. I want to know more about you too."

Kind, observant, intelligent. Altair could see why the two of them got along.

Eli smiled just slightly as Altair gushed about Thrawn. He couldn't blame the Sith, because Thrawn was certainly worth gushing about. That man was the greatest tactical genius in the entire galaxy, and the best hope for the galaxy. It made Eli miss serving with him, even if he knew that his work in the Ascendancy was important and he didn't intend to let Thrawn down.

It was a bit odd, to see a Sith talk about a non-Force User in such a way, since everything Eli ever heard about the Sith was that they were full of themselves and anyone who didn't have the Force was dirt under their feet. Yet Altair was speaking of Thrawn as if he were the greatest thing since hot chocolate.

"I'd love to tell you about our adventures, and all the things we got into back then," Eli replied. Thrawn was always worth talking about.

"As for me, I'm not much compared to Thrawn, I'm afraid. I'm from a planet out in Wild Space, which doesn't make me popular with the Core World folk. My parents own a shipping company and I was all set to become a supply officer before Thrawn came into my life."

Altair arched an eyebrow at that.

"Most people are not much compared to Thrawn. I am not, either."

Altair had his intelligence, political experience, his zeal for ancient artifacts and knowledge, and his mastery of the Force. Thrawn though, Thrawn was so much more than even he could ever be. Even with that knowledge though, he didn't think Thrawn would want him to compare himself to him, and call himself not much compared to. He didn't think he'd want Eli to, either.

"Even saying that though, I don't think you should say that you are not much compared to him. In my experience, Thrawn surrounds himself with exceptional people. Intelligent, knowledgeable, talented people. People who may not always see what he sees, but are crafty in their own right. He cares about you, enough to ask me to protect you."

He wasn't sure if he was getting his point across, but, "... I think you must be pretty special, for him to care about you so deeply."

As for not being popular though, all he could do about that was shrug his shoulders, "As for not being popular, in my experience, the elites of any world will find any excuse to look down on someone. Being from the wrong world, being newly rich, or old money, being exceptional, not being exceptional... The list goes on and on... In my experience, the ones who make the most noise about such things are vapid and can be safely disregarded, and nothing of value will be lost. And the ones who cannot be disregarded and go out of their way to get in your way can be maneuvered around."

To hear a Sith compare himself as lesser than Thrawn, Eli wasn't sure if that said more about Altair or Thrawn. Perhaps it was a combination of Altair being much nicer and less egotistical than the Sith of legends, and Thrawn just being that impressive.

Altair was proving to be an interesting one, and not just because he was a Sith who just so happened to be Chiss. Thrawn had said the circumstances by which he'd come on board the Chimeara had been unusual, but hadn't elaborated. The Grand Admiral had only said that it was some kind of Force thing, and that he trusted Eli to be clever enough to piece it together if Altair didn't confess himself.

The Sith admired Thrawn a lot, and Eli could see that he and Thrawn were close, by the way Thrawn and he spoke of each other. It was obviously much more subdued with Thrawn, but Eli had been around Thrawn long enough to read his expressions.

Altair also had a point about who Thrawn surrounded himself with. He remembered Faro telling him that he was one of the only people on the Chimaera who could see where Thrawn was going with his plans.

"You got that right. I was originally studying at this academy where more people from my region of space went, and then I found myself at the Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant, because Thrawn insisted I stay with him. I dunno if he told you this, but when we found him, he didn't speak Basic very well, but he did speak Sy Bisti. And I just so happened to be the only person on the ship who could also speak Sy Bisti, so I was his translator and Basic instructor. It helped that I was the only one who had even heard of the Chiss race."

Eli hadn't been very happy about it at the time, but even then, he'd been fascinated by the strange alien he'd only heard about in stories.

"I certainly think I'm special to him. He's my best friend, and even if we're light-years apart, he'll always be my best friend. And, he considers me his friend too. Personally, I think part of the reason he wanted me around him, besides the more practical one, was so that he wouldn't get lonely."

Eli still had that journal Thrawn had written, where the last entry had been a confession that Thrawn considered Eli his friend. It was an undeniably tender gesture from one such as Thrawn.

Edited 2019-11-13 22:17 (UTC)

"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.

"They tend to stick to the Unknown Region, it's true. My homeworld only had stories about them to go off of."

And even then, those stories tended to be inaccurate. Thrawn had found them amusing when Eli had told them to him, but still found it interesting, based on what the stories he chose to share said about Eli himself. Thrawn had figured out so much about him in just a short amount of time. It was a bit creepy at first, but it was just how Thrawn was.

Eli could tell that Altair wasn't from the Ascendancy. Where he came from was another mystery. The accent was Imperial, he could tell that much. Perhaps his parents had gotten marooned outside of Chiss space? Eli could come up with a few ideas, and still have no idea how Altair could have gotten Sith training, or come to fear his own kind the way he did.

"Likewise, I'm glad he has you now."

Being the only alien officer among the Imperials, Eli knew that feeling all too well since he went to work with the Chiss. He could understand Thrawn's struggles all the better these days.

"Is he still as politically blind as he was when I was with him?"

Altair wondered if there was some hidden intent by the words I'm glad he has you now. Not a friend like. Though he doubted Thrawn would have told him about the nature of their relationship- it wasn't like him, after all, and it was hidden between the two of them in public, kept private. Despite the pity he could sometimes feel from the people who thought him to have a one-sided crush, and some occasional attempts to set him up with someone else, Altair preferred it that way. It felt special.

It was another thing he decided not to dwell on. Whether Eli knew or not didn't really matter.

His question made him laugh softly, "I haven't seen him in action dealing with politics all that much, but it's a bent he doesn't have, I think. Not that that's a bad thing..."

Politics were often two-faced, dishonest, manipulative. None of those were words he'd ever apply to Thrawn.

"Politics are... Complicated. You need to read between the lines, know that your opponents have different goals than yours even if yours may be the best course of action, and that they're probably not opposed to sugarcoating their words so that their benefit is ultimately greater than yours... I've never met a politician who's honest, and that crooked nature can be difficult to grasp... I was a politician of sorts myself, and honestly the amount of cards that aren't immediately put on the table..."

He shook his head. That someone as honorable as Thrawn was politically blind... Well, Altair did find that part of him charming, but it was disadvantageous, he knew.

"... I suppose that's what he has people like me for."

Yet another piece of the puzzle that was Altair's backstory. Thrawn wasn't kidding when he said Altair had a complicated history, one that didn't quite fit in with galactic society as they knew it. Perhaps Altair was from a different part of the Unknown Region, outside of the Ascendancy?

"Well, he said he appreciated it when I kept him from making any career-killing errors, because I knew the Empire better than he did."

And now he had to rely on that Pryce woman. Not exactly a comforting thought. Not that he thought that Thrawn was out of his league in dealing with her, and he would always have the upper hand when he interacted with her, but her actions at Batonn had left a bad taste in Eli's mouth.

"See, in the Ascendancy, the military is completely apolitical. As in, you don't get command of a dreadnaught just because you or a relative have the right connections. I might have been a bit resentful of him at first, because if his career crashed and burned, then I would go down with him."

Eli obviously didn't feel that way anymore.

"I can imagine..."

Chiss society was so strange to him. It was another part where he really just wouldn't fit in. He was used to playing someone else's game for his own benefit, or having someone play his. That was just the sort of games one had to play, being Sith. Especially a Sith who had been in his position. And now that he was used to it, could he ever go back to being anything else? He wasn't sure.

Would he fit in, would he even have a place, when he followed Thrawn back to the Ascendancy in the future?

Well, all he really needed was Thrawn, he supposed. So long as he was at Thrawn's side, he thought everything would be just fine.

"Can you tell me more about the Ascendancy? I'd ask Thrawn- I mean, he has taught me a lot, including being patient with me as I learn Cheuhn and probably butcher every single word I say- but... It's honestly sort of humiliating, being Chiss, and having the only thing I know by heart be unspeakable curse words..."

He felt ignorant. Completely, utterly. Not a feeling he liked.

He was no stranger to feeling like an outsider, but that didn't mean he liked the idea of getting completely used to that.

"I'll tell you what I can, sure," Eli had caught that hint in Altair's tone. He was a Chiss, but he didn't belong in Chiss society, and he would be an outsider among his own kind if he were to ever spend time among them. Eli at least had an excuse, because he was human.

Almost like how Eli had felt among the Imperials at the Royal Academy, being human but raised in a completely different part of the galaxy, and therefor didn't fit in with his peers. Not to mention some of the added discrimination that came with hanging out with 'the alien' every day.

"The Ascendancy is a Republic oligarchy, and the heads of the government are the Aristocra. There's also the ruling families, each responsible for a different part of Chiss society. And of course, the Syndics, who are kind of like politicians. Mitth'ras'safis is the Syndic who represents the Mitth family, for example."

"Aristocra... I've heard of those, I think."

Mentioned somewhere. On Hoth, maybe? There had been a lot of Chiss there, and he had lurked at the edges of conversations, curiously listening in. Still, it seemed complicated. Sith society had been too, but the rules that bound the Sith and the rules that bound the Chiss were very, very different, and difficult to navigate.

There were things about the Chiss that he liked. But all of them were Thrawn. Everything else? He was curious, but terrified. Maybe that would change in the future, but for right now? There was a lot of fear to get over.

He had more he was curious about, too. Mitth'ras'safis, for example. But he didn't ask.

Instead, he deflected, "I had an easier time navigating my cult on Nar Shaddaa."

Eli looked at Altair with wide eyes. "Cult? You ran a cult?"

A Sith running a cult shouldn't have sounded too outrageous. Plenty of cultures regarded Force Users, including Sith, as divine beings. It would be easy enough for a Sith to plant themselves somewhere and start a cult. Altair just didn't seem the sort, in the short time Eli had known him.

They were coming up to the freighter now. Eli thought about hailing the ship, but decided not to. If there were Grysks aboard, he didn't want to give them away just yet.

"Sort of. I had people running it for me, more or less. I only stuck my head in once in a while, though whenever I came back, it had grown..."

A few had become dozens, dozens had become more. How many exactly, even Altair wasn't sure of. But the old Strell house had been full of people, the poor and downtrodden of Nar Shaddaa, finding their odd little community there. Purpose, he supposed. That was important for all beings.

"It was called the Cult of the Great Healer. It was dedicated to helping the poor and the sick of Nar Shaddaa... Not that they didn't get themselves into trouble every now and then."

Such was the way of cults, after all. He knew they'd turned to less than legal means of ensuring the cult's prosperity. Especially since he couldn't babysit them all the time, having his own business to attend to, too.

Altair shrugged then, instead turning his focus out to the freighter. Speaking was nice, but they were on a mission. Like he had promised, he would do his best to ensure Eli's safety- put his life on the line, if necessary. Eli was important to Thrawn. And he was becoming important to Altair, too.

"So you were a charity cult. Don't really see a whole lotta those. Guess so long as you weren't poisoning people, or demanding your followers give you all their money, then that's not so bad."

Thrawn had of course busted such cults back when he and Eli worked together. Those were good times. Such cults and pirate operations were almost small time, compared to the rising threat of the grysks.

The fact that Altair's cult was on Nar Shaddaa was interesting though. Because that planet was within Known Space. Every time Altair revealed something about himself, it just raised more questions.

When they reached the ship and attacked their shuttle to it, Eli turned to the Sith, "Perhaps you should take point. I mean, since you've got the lightsaber and the Force." Of course, Eli was assuming that Altair had some precognition powers, since all Chiss Force Sensitives had that.

"I wouldn't. I know what it's like to be poor," Altair said, with a small smile. He'd been dismissive of them at first, but they'd all sort of grown on him. He let their money circulate within the cult itself, and very rarely did he ask anything of them. And never without giving something in return. He said nothing about all that though.

As soon as the shuttle was attached to the ship, he got up, and put his veil back on.

It might seem like he was putting himself at sort of a disadvantage, but it was easier to focus on his surroundings with it on.

"I wasn't going to send you in ahead."

That might be the typical Sith thing to do. He was not a typical Sith.

"Thrawn would kill you if you did," Eli replied, with a smirk.

He stood up, drawing his blaster and headed for the airlock. Counting to three, he opened the passage, into the freighter.

The scene before them was one of death. The smell hit Eli first, almost making him gag. It was like a slaughterhouse, with gibs and bits of gore strewn over the floor, blood covering the walls. It was almost hard to tell they had once been human.

Eli could only hope there were survivors. Or at least, someone to interrogate. "We should try getting to the comm station. There might be a log."

"Probably."

The stench of death that hit them was sure something. His eyes were covered, but he didn't need to see it to know what it looked like. He could sense it all. These people hadn't been murdered so much as butchered. Even Sith would probably balk at the extent of it.

Distasteful. He couldn't help but frown.

Altair couldn't sense any survivors though, not anywhere near them, at least. As they moved, it might change. For now, he didn't reach too far, focusing on the area around them to keep them safe from any nasty surprise that might be lurking.

"Understood."

He moved ahead, on guard, and keeping a few steps ahead of Eli- his lightsaber in his hand, ready to be activated at a moment's notice, rather than on his back.

Eli couldn't help but glance at that lightsaber. Granted, he'd never seen a lightsaber except in holos and some of Thrawn's artwork, but the typical model was just the handle for a single blade, or an elongated one for a dual-bladed saber. That though, that looked more like a pike handle.

He stayed a few paces behind Altair, blaster in hand, prepared to raise it at a moment's notice. All the while, he was careful to step around the gore. He could tell himself it was just so he wouldn't slip, but really, he was just squeamish.

Once out of the main section, they found themselves in a corridor, and Eli gestured for them to go left, surmising that the comm room would be near the front.

The walk was eerily quiet, and Eli got a bad feeling the farther along they went. He froze suddenly, when they got near the front. He swore he heard voices speaking in an alien language in the room just up ahead.

Altair had no such problems with the gore, though his steps were light- his movements weren't so much those of what one might consider a proper prideful Sith, so much as the practiced ease of a trained assassin, used to moving about unheard. Unseen too, though he wasn't doing any of that now. He'd worn his white and gold outfit for a reason, knowing it would catch an enemy's eye before Eli ever did.

And even if Eli hadn't froze, Altair would have held a hand out to stop him.

He could hear them. He could sense life ahead. And he was immediately wary.

Altair tilted his head back toward Eli slightly- looking to him to decide whether they moved forward, or whether they took a more cautious approach. If it were Grysks, he was more experienced than him- he assumed. Of course, if it were Grysks, then Altair would have to curb his desire to turn them into nothing but a smear on the walls, much like what had been done to the humans who had been aboard the freighter.

Eli considered his options. The people behind the door were muffled, and he couldn't tell what language they were speaking. If they were grysks, even if they were captured alive, they would just kill themselves before being subjected to any kind of interrogation. Eli was currently betting on them being grysks, judging by what little he could hear.

Leaning in close, Eli whispered into Altair's ear, "Can you sneak in and take them by surprise?" He'd noticed the way Altair moved as they were making their way down.

He tipped his head lightly forward, yes.

He could sneak in, he could take them by surprise. By the time they did notice him, it would be way too late for them.

"Kill or capture?" He asked, voice quiet, a whisper, so only Eli would hear.

He was leaning toward kill- it had been a long time since he was this out for blood. Thrawn's fear of the Grysks was a strong motivator to completely wipe them out, even for him who was normally less bloodthirsty than most other Sith.

Eli thought it over for a moment. Altair certainly seemed eager to kill the intruders. Thrawn had mentioned that he was determined to stop the grysks, but Eli couldn't be sure if Altair was out for grysk blood in particular or if he was just always this way when it came to a fight.

He and Thrawn both preferred to take prisoners, but the grysks were different. They couldn't be reasoned with, and only sought to conquer and destroy. They didn't deserve to be spared.

Eli made a hand motion across his throat, indicating that Altair could kill them.

Another slight tip of the head, to show his understanding. Making sure that no one was headed in their direction, so Eli would be safe while he was away, he slipped into the shadows, and disappeared. There was silence for the longest of moments, before it was followed by the sounds of of a scuffle.

Altair did not consider himself particularly bloodthirsty, especially not compared to many Sith he knew. He liked avoiding fights and avoiding deaths where he could. He had grieved when Thanaton had died, despite the man having called for his death from the very beginning. Any situation that was not resolved peacefully, he usually regretted.

He had no such regrets here.

Their enemies had not been expecting him, small, fast, aided by the Force, moving into blind spots they didn't even know they had before they could really register that he'd moved. He wasn't underestimating them- Thrawn saw them as a threat. So he did too. He knew they were dangerous, and treated them accordingly.

One fled or... Tried to move out into a more narrow space to limit his movement, Altair wasn't sure-- out toward the hall, toward Eli. He did not get far, before he was yanked back by the Force, slammed down onto the floor hard enough to dent it, then viciously pulled back, followed by a snap. If it was the spine or the neck was difficult to say. Regardless, it was another dead Grysk, less lucky than the others that had merely been made short work of with his lightsaber pike. Altair gave a zap for good measure though.

Satisfied that there was no immediate danger around them any more, reaching out with his senses to make sure- feeling no alarm, no movement through the Force-, he switched his lightsaber off, and it withdrew into its shorter form. He still kept it in his hand, rather than returning it to its normal spot slung over his shoulder.

Heading over to Eli, he lifted his veil slightly to look him over- to make sure he was okay.

"You're alright? Not hurt, right?"

He knew. But he still asked. Fussed a little. He couldn't help it.

Eli pressed himself against the wall as Altair went to work, not wanting to give himself away. But when the first sounds of a lightsaber and screams of pain sounded, Eli was unable to help but peek out and look.

He'd never seen a Sith, or even a Jedi, in action, and he wasn't sure exactly what he was expecting. Their opponents were indeed grysks, and they had no idea what they were messing with. Eli watched with equal parts fascination and morbid curiosity as Altair disposed of the grysks.

When Altair came up to him, he stammered, "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine." He looked at the dead grysks, then back to Altair, "Now I'm really glad you're on our side."

Stepping inside the room, careful not to step on any of the bodies, Eli surveyed things. There was a console up against a wall, and hopefully they'd gotten here before the grysks had begun to erase anything.

As Eli stepped up to the console and began typing, pulling up data, he mused, "The grysks tend to suicide after capture. Taking them alive wouldn't have done us much good anyway."

Edited 2019-11-14 22:23 (UTC)

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