boxofmisfits | The Lover and the Best Friend

"It certainly impressed the Captain, enough that he brought Thrawn to the Emperor himself."

Eli's smile faltered for just a moment at the memory. He could still vividly recall the Emperor's yellow eyes boring into Thrawn's, and then focusing on him, making Eli feel very small. The Emperor had a sort of aura around him, one that had set Eli on edge, making him afraid to even sneeze in the man's presence.

Altair wasn't like that, though. He was Sith, and yet he was personable and easy to get along with. No scary presence, or superiority complex.

Brushing the memory aside, Eli said, "He got court marshaled more than once, but they always ended with him getting another promotion. But, it seemed like there were lots of people who wanted nothing better than to see him fail, just because he wasn't their idea of an Imperial Naval officer."

He sensed that brief shift in the mood, but said nothing- he assumed Eli would speak about it if he wanted to, and he wouldn't push or pry.

"... I can imagine. I have some personal experience, with that too."

He was not most people's idea of a Sith. A runt, an alien. He'd had people working against him on every level. Imperials who couldn't stand the idea of an alien leading them. Sith who couldn't stand the idea of a free alien at all, much less an alien trained as a one of them. He'd expected to be nothing, to be nobody. And he'd fought it.

He'd fought it every step of the way, and come out victorious.

It was... Unfortunate, to say the least, the struggle. How much more could he have done, how much more could Thrawn had done, had the powers that be wanted them to be victorious rather than to make an example of them.

Of course, had he been encouraged rather than tripped up, perhaps he wouldn't be here, either.

"Some people can only fathom authority and power if it comes from... Certain sources. It's unfortunate. Not that I think that Thrawn has let this impede him in any way."

This Empire, from what he could see, was still somewhat of a meritocracy. Not as much as the Sith Empire had been, but still, he could see the shadows of Sith society lurking just out of view. It was strange, how much things could change, and yet also stay the same.

Win enough battles and the elite might grumble and growl but sort of accept it. But give them an out, give them failure, give them even a hint of weakness or reason to doubt... Not something he was going to ponder about now. It wasn't pleasant to think about, so he'd rather focus on something else.

"I'm glad he had you. Through the court marshals and everything else."

"If nothing else, the council recognized that Thrawn technically hadn't broken any laws, and what he did had gotten results. They at least saw that he was too good to just throw away."

Even still, Eli remembered Thrawn befriending Colonel Yularen, and the ISB officer had seen Thrawn's potential, while also recognizing his political shortcomings. No doubt, Thrawn's superior officers would take credit for anything he did, had Yularen not dragged the both of them to various parties to mingle and make connections. Getting Yularen on his side had greatly helped Thrawn.

Yularen's comment about Thrawn looking good in a white uniform had been rather prophetic, in hindsight.

Eli, meanwhile, had traded his olive green uniform for a Chiss black one. All because Thrawn saw potential in him, and thought highly enough of him to send him to where his talents would be greater appreciated.

"It's funny, but early on I wasn't too pleased with having to live in his shadow. But then, this aid to a moff came up to me and said that her boss had a very lucrative job offer for me. I could have my very own ship, and go from an Ensign right to a command position. But I turned it down, because the moff wasn't concerned about me, but he just wanted to see Thrawn fail." That wasn't all there was to it, though. "But, even then, I was hesitant to take the job. I think that was when I realized that I liked Thrawn, and considered him a friend. I decided I'd rather be an ensign forever and serve at Thrawn's side, than take up that moff on his offer."

"A meritocracy at work indeed."

Technically, anyway. Though achievements did indeed garner reward and status, not everyone was willing to accept it, after all. There would always be those who considered the circumstances of one's birth, the place one came from, or the very species they were born as as something that could not and should not be forgiven. There would always be those born into wealth and status clutching their pearls at the mere shadow of an idea that they could be outshone, that skill could win the favor of the powerful, that all their wealth and their legacy might be for naught in the grand scheme of thing.

He couldn't help the slight wry smile at the idea.

"That you were bitter in the beginning is understandable. You had your plan. He had his. They didn't intersect at the time and that is grounds for being displeased."

Again, it was speaking from experience.

"Your feelings obviously changed. He's... Good at that, I think. Changing minds and feelings. When I first met him, I was terrified. I thought I'd want to be anywhere else in the galaxy, but in the same room with him. For the longest time after I flinched at his presence. Even jumped at shadows. Now though..."

Eli didn't know what had happened to Altair to make him fear his own kind so much, and he wouldn't pry, unless Altair opened up about it on his own. Thrawn had said it wasn't his story to tell.

"The more you got to know him, the less scary he became. I'm glad he's been helping you." Because Thrawn fully intended to return one day, and Eli knew Thrawn well enough to know that he wouldn't leave Altair behind.

"I was a bit intimidated by Thrawn at first too. On my home planet, we used to trade with the Chiss, but it had been so long, that I only knew the Chiss from stories I'd heard. The stories said they were fierce and intelligent warriors, who did what they set out to do or die trying."

That last part was certainly true, from what Eli had seen. When Thrawn had promised to become an Admiral, then that was what he was going to do. Just like in the legends, Thrawn hadn't made an idle promise.

He could sense his curiosity. Thrawn hadn't told him, and Altair was glad about that. Still, Eli was Thrawn's friend- and he was his too now.

"That does seem to be a theme," He agreed. The Chiss of his time had been like that. Not quite like the stories, they were people, individuals, too. Still, the aid of the Chiss had been a huge advantage for the Empire, and they could be found in many places, lending their strength to the military, to Intelligence, and more.

Altair fell quiet for a moment, thinking things over, "Where I come from, I- Well, my family had a... Very different view of Chiss Force-sensitives. To them, Force-sensitivity was impurity. A disease that needed to be purged. We were slaves, and I was property as much as they were, so they couldn't do that, but..."

He wasn't as over that as he thought. But it would be good to have Eli on more or less equal terms with what Thrawn knew. This friendship was still new, but he had earned Thrawn's trust, which led him to be willing to place his faith in him too.

"Still, I was raised without a typical Chiss name- I doubt they gave me the name I do have- I was raised not knowing the language, the culture, and I was raised believing that the second an unfamiliar Chiss discovered what I was, I'd find myself with a blade between the ribs."

A slight shrug of his shoulders, then, "Not a part of my past that necessarily needs to be hidden. I think Thrawn was really surprised though, meeting a Chiss who didn't understand a-- well, civilized word of Cheuhn, nor was I even able to pronounce his full name at first. Had it been anyone else, they'd probably think I'd suffered a few too many kicks to the head."

A smile than touched on sardonic, then, "If you want to learn to swear in Cheuhn though, I've got you covered."

That was obviously a joke.

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.

"It's not exactly secret information or anything."

Well, it hadn't been. In his time, as a proper Sith, everyone had known. The people who had dragged him out of the slave settlement, the Overseers on Korriban, his Master, many people of the Empire. Even if they didn't know all of it, what they didn't know, they could easily figure out of, if they put in the effort.

He had refused to seal those records though- not only because it was a past he couldn't deny, but because he wanted to rub it in everyone's faces, what he was, where he came from, and that he sat ruling over everyone. He didn't want to deny it, and he didn't want to let Kallig's legacy erase the past that he had lived himself.

Now that past was lost to time though, and only he could share it- and feel the fear he'd felt then.

"... Fear is useful to a Sith, though."

It wasn't something he recommended. A life lived shackled to one's fear was hardly a whole one. Still, it was the truth for so many he had known.

"Not that I'm so afraid any more. I don't flinch in Thrawn's presence any more, either... Though I think he did the right thing in confiscating my lightsaber, earlier..."

Someone would definitely have gotten smacked in the face by it, had he not.

Eli felt a sudden urge to hug Altair, but wasn't sure if it would be appreciated.

"Yeah, I can't imagine Ar'alani would take it well if you'd drawn your blade on her." That woman didn't have much patience for nonsense, and might have even drawn her blaster on Altair before realizing what the lightsaber signified about him.

"Thrawn spoke very highly of you. He said that you've risked your own life to make sure his men don't have to, and that you kept him safe on missions when it was just the two of you. And therefor, you were the best man for the job of accompanying me."

"Oh, I wouldn't have drawn my blade on her. I would have tossed it in her face and bolted the other way."

Hardly the rational response, but it had happened before. Multiple times, even.

As for Thrawn apparently speaking very highly of him, he couldn't help but blush and turn his head to the side to look somewhere else entirely.

"... Hopefully you'll give me a few less heart attacks than he has."

Of course, those heart attacks hadn't always been connected to danger, but that had also happened. Altair figured that at least with Eli, he'd sense it the second he was in distress, the second there was a shift in emotion. With Thrawn, some of the panic had been because he couldn't put a finger on what emotion had broken through the calm and orderly mind Thrawn had. He knew it was bad, but not how bad.

It had been... Very bad for his heart, really.

Eli couldn't help but stifle a giggle at the idea of someone just throwing their lightsaber. Especially when Altair's lightsaber wasn't the little sword handle but the long pike shaft. That would have been even worse for him than if he'd just drawn his blade on her.

"Seeing as Thrawn wouldn't be happy with either of us if we came back with the other's corpse, I'll try not to."

Thrawn had recounted their adventure into the ruins on Rishi, and how Altair had saved him first from a trap, then from the alien guarding the artifact they'd been after. The mask sitting on Thrawn's desk had come from those ruins as well, though when he'd asked Thrawn about it, he'd changed the subject.

"I saw that he's added a few new pieces of art in his office since I left."

"I don't think that's unusual for him, exactly? His dedication to art and the information he can learn from a single piece is... Impressive, to say the least."

Altair was sure he could look at a work of art and only gain a quarter of the information Thrawn could. It was a curious intellect, one that Altair felt honored getting to watch at work. Sitting and watching Thrawn study art was still his favorite thing to do, on any given day, looking for those subtle shifts in expression.

"Were there any pieces in particular you were thinking of?"

It was said with sort of a half-smile, as he could very well guess. Aloysius's mask was rather prominently displayed, after all, and as a Sith relic it stood out a little he supposed. It hardly had the darkness of other Sith artifacts around it, but it was rather obviously of a darker bent.

Edited (grammar... i think...) 2019-11-17 17:30 (UTC)

"The things he does with art, I couldn't even fathom how he comes to the conclusions that he does. One time, we were helping this planet with a spice problem, and he figured out the natives' way of thinking just by looking at a mural in their townhouse."

It was almost like a superpower, much like Altair and the Force. Eli had wondered if it was a Thrawn thing or a Chiss thing, and time spent with the Chiss had shown that it was just a Thrawn thing. He'd seen no other Chiss display the seemingly magical ability to read art that Thrawn did. He'd even asked Thrass about it a few times.

"The two ysalamiri up on the back wall caught my eye immediately." Eli said casually. Thrawn had told him about the creatures in that piece, and lucky for Altair they were just statues and not the real thing. "That and the mask propped up on his desk. He said you actually helped him acquire that one."

"You're not alone there... I've always considered myself fairly observant, but he notices things in art that I wouldn't have even with all the time in the world."

Thrawn had a unique way of seeing things. He learned so much from art. That art spoke differently to each person that saw it was a fact, but in general that statement was meant more as in a single piece of art could invoke different feelings depending on the viewer. What Thrawn saw in art was different than mere emotion.

"And it is rather prominent, isn't it? Most Jedi and Sith would likely be unsettled."

Never mind that Jedi and Sith were rare, these days.

Altair certainly wouldn't want to encounter a live specimen, though. While it likely worked differently, he'd had his connection to the Force severed once before. It had been a dark, sinking feeling, one he didn't want to feel again.

"As for the mask- It belonged to my ancestor, Aloysius Kallig, once. I gave it to Thrawn as he's more likely to treat it with respect than I am. Once upon a time that mask was half of my inheritance, but... So long as it belongs to Thrawn, I'm happy to part with it."

Lucky for Altair, they were only native to one planet. According to Thrawn anyway.

"Aw, that was sweet of you." The Sith weren't one to part with what they felt was their's, though Eli could see that Altair didn't have any huge attachment to the mask. Perhaps there was something about this Aloysius that Altair wanted to distance himself from.

Still, the fact that Altair trusted Thrawn with a piece of his history, and Thrawn put it on display as a piece of art, that said a lot about how the two saw one another.

"I'm guessing that Aloysius wasn't a Chiss. I mean, that's not a Chiss name."

"I have the other part of my inheritance with me always, so... It felt right to give him the mask."

The crystal from Aloysius's lightsaber was important to him on a level the mask was not. Of course, Altair trusted Thrawn with his lightsaber, too, let him handle it and even confiscate it if he thought it necessary. Still, the crystal was something Altair would not give away.

It was a typical Sith crystal- red, filled with the pain Aloysius had inflicted upon it long ago, and yet very much a part of Altair too.

"And I honestly have no idea what Aloysius was. I only met his ghost and he was wearing his mask then... Sith are very particular about how they appear after they kick the bucket, apparently. I wasn't too inclined to ask, either."

"I see. I mean, granted, your name isn't very Chiss either." He would have thought 'Altair' was his core name, but Altair had outright said that he hadn't been giving a Chiss name. Eli was rather glad for core names while serving with the Chiss, since many of them had those long names.

"On the Steadfast, the concept of human naming conventions escapes most of my crewmates, so they call me Eli'van'to," Somehow, Eli managed to convey that his name was said as one long one rather than as a first and last name. "They even got a core name out of it. Ivant."

Altair couldn't help but tilt his head at that. How strange. Admittedly he hadn't interacted with many Chiss in his day, even less that got to call him by name, rather than Lord Kallig, or Darth Nox, depending on the time he'd interacted with them. He found himself glad that Thrawn had been the first Chiss he'd met in this time- likely the only Chiss he'd interact with for the foreseeable future, too.

"That is somehow both strange and endearing at the same time," He said, still looking a bit puzzled.

He didn't completely understand how Chiss names worked either, of course, but still. He was in the process of learning, and any Chiss who would prefer being referred to by their full name rather than core name, he would respect and take the time to learn to say it without completely butchering it.

"Can't say I've met any Chiss with that particular quirk myself... Admittedly I haven't met all that many."

Eli smiled a little. "Some Chiss have made the effort to call me by my human name, mostly Thrass and some of the navigators."

Eli liked the sky-walkers. The ones he'd gotten to know were like the sisters he'd never had. Briefly, he wondered if Altair had the Third Sight, or even Second Sight. Thrawn had said he'd they'd yet to need Altair for such a task, but he believed Altair had the potential to navigate a ship in the way the sky-walkers did.

"I imagine they'd call you Alt'air'kallig if you served alongside fellow Chiss," The smile suddenly widened a little. "And then they'd start calling you Tairk."

"... Right. Just introducing myself by Altair then, should it ever come up."

Altair was rather fond of the name he had been given, though he had no clue who it was that had given it to him. It had always felt right, always felt like him, even though there had been times that he'd wondered what it would have been, had he not been Force-sensitive. Had his family actually cared for him, rather than wished him dead for something he could not control. It wasn't as though he'd chosen to be as he was, after all.

"I doubt it will, though, not any time soon anyway. I intend to follow Thrawn regardless of where his path takes him, but... I think worrying about other Chiss is something for the future, not for right now."

"Some of us would like nothing more than for Thrawn to come home," Thrass missed his brother, just as Eli missed his friend. Eli had told Thrawn as much. "But we understand that he has a mission, and he intends to see it through."

Thrawn wasn't one to give up. He intended to turn the Empire into a powerful ally to help in the grysk invasion, even if that took a long time. Eli just hoped he knew what he was doing in waiting for Palpatine to bite the big one, because Eli was quite sure the Emperor had no intention to die. Not without taking the rest of the galaxy with him.

"When that day comes, when he can return, you'll be gladly welcomed alongside him." He wondered what the sky-walkers would make of Altair. Because he was like them, only with powers they'd never have.

"He does. And I'll be by his side, every step of the way."

So long as Thrawn allowed it, for whatever he needed him for. Altair would be there, at his side. There would be times when his assistance wouldn't be needed, but even then, Thrawn would have his company. Altair couldn't imagine himself being anywhere else but with him.

He wondered if his feelings for Thrawn were as obvious to Eli as they had been to Thrawn himself. But then, they both admired the man, so maybe it just came across as loyalty and admiration. But then, there were those aboard the Chimaera who had read his feelings for Thrawn as romantic already, and were waiting for him to be rejected.

For now it hadn't been brought up so he wouldn't worry about it.

"I do hope the day will come sooner rather than later. I might be scared, but for him it's home."

"You know Thrawn, he's nothing if not patient. It took him ten years to get to the rank of Grand Admiral, though admittedly he did jump ahead in promotions several times because he was just that good." That Thrawn reached the rank of Admiral so quickly was testament to his intelligence and strategic mind, especially given the xenophobia he had to deal with.

Eli checked the reading on the navi-computer. Tatooine wasn't far now. He stood up, "I'm gonna go change real quick. Thrawn thought ahead to pack us some civilian clothes. It's doubtful that the people of Tatooine would recognize my uniform, but they'd probably recognize it as a uniform."

Altiar's outfit wasn't immediately recognizable as Sith garments, though Eli doubted that the planet's citizens would jump to that conclusion or even know what a Sith typically wore.

"That he is," Altair agreed, with a nod. It was one of the things Altair admired about him, but then, there was nothing about Thrawn that Altair didn't admire. He admired his intellect, his patience, his strategic mind, his strength, his kindness and honesty.

Shaking his head to stop himself from thinking too much of Thrawn, as they had a mission to do, he nodded, "Alright."

He really did wonder how Tatooine had changed. If anything at all that he had once known was still there. It had always been sand and insufferable heat, but there had been mysteries too. He'd known once he stood on its surface again, he supposed, still there was something sort of nostalgic about the thought. Chasing this enemy was not the same thing as chasing artifacts and secrets, but still. Perhaps returning was a little sad, too, when he took the time to think about it.

Andronikos was long dead, after all. He didn't regret being in this time any more. But he wished he could have at least bid his companions farewell before their paths had split in such an unusual and curious way.

Eli came back into the cockpit wearing a loose-fitting tunic with a hood to keep the sun off his face, along with pants and boots suited for a sandy planet. Now that he thought about it, Altair's veil was probably not a bad thing to wear on a planet like Tatooine, not to mention the white clothing.

"I would think we won't be on that planet for too long. I know Chiss don't do well in the heat."

The Lover and the Best Friend

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