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Aden couldn't exactly say that he was pleased about having another person aboard his ship- the X-70A Phantom had been his exclusive home away from home ever since he'd had it made and aside from himself the only things that had moved about aboard so far were his droids. Still, the information he had received was information that both he and Thrawn had decided they wanted to move on and his ship was certainly more covert than an Imperial Star Destroyer would ever be. Faster, too.

He had made a few simple rules to make everything a bit easier on both of them though- Thrawn was not to go into Aden's personal quarters, he was not to go onto the bridge or into the cargo hold, and he was to keep his mitts off of the computer in the main hold. Other than that, Aden was happy to let him get up to whatever he wanted- he had let him know that he could get anything he wanted from the bar, that the galley was open to him so long as Aden himself wasn't in there, that he could use the conference room if needed, along with the holoterminal in the main hold to keep in contact with his people. Aden did not foresee Thrawn needing to access the medbay, but its doors were open to him as well nonetheless.

And of course, the beds in the crew quarters were comfortable due to the fact that they'd never been used before. Aden had even popped a few of his paintings in there so that Thrawn had something other to look at than bare metal walls while he was in there.

Though the main hold was more the treasure trove of art that was not Aden's own creations- sculptures and the like here and there to give the space a classy feel that went with the blend of rich wood tones and more modern glass features along with the plush seating and well-stocked bar. For all intents and purposes, the Phantom looked more like a luxury shuttle than the intelligence hub that it actually was- all of its combat capabilities well-hidden, and its internal computers difficult to access unless one knew exactly where to look for them.

The Phantom had just dropped out of hyperspace as the ship's computers- and the few droids aboard to assist with computing and day-to-day tasks- worked on charting the way forward since there wasn't exactly any commonly traveled route out here and Aden took the opportunity to take a seat by the sleek desk in the main hold, the screen on the wall activating while the surface of the desk parted to bring up the keyboard hidden beneath.

There wasn't exactly a very stable connection to anything super important out here, but the ships internal computers still allowed him to work on a few things he wanted to work on- like reviewing the report he'd gotten from Watcher Three and Minder Four. The message to expect him and an ally had been sent well before they had set off, so that it would arrive before they did and allow the pair of agents on the planet to prepare for their arrival- so they would be ready to receive them along with setting up a safe house while they were there.

Glancing back as he heard movement, he spoke up, "If you want to update your people, I suggest you do that now. Signal's not the best, but it is secure, and it's not like we're going to linger here for long."

He didn't think he was telling Thrawn anything the man hadn't figured for himself, but still, "The ship's navigational computer is currently at 72%, so we'll be off in hyperspace again within about twenty minutes, I imagine."

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"... I guess we're going to have to go over routines again," Aden commented, though it wasn't a particularly serious comment. Simply that the person who had hired his agents on this world had failed to report to him that it was a fellow Chiss which Aden should have liked to know- the fact that there was a connection between his agent and Thrawn was something he couldn't have predicted though.

It didn't exactly take a genius to realize what the connection was, either.

The name Thrawn had uttered aside, the two men resembled each other the way that Aden had resembled his sisters when he was younger. The sort of way that said blood relation.

"I take it the two of you are related?"

Thrawn had said that he had been exiled. Had something similar happened to his relative, Aden wondered. Leaving them both outside the Ascendancy and apart from each other. It wouldn't be too unusual, Aden supposed, but the look on Thrawn's face was different. It looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"He's my brother," Thrawn whispered, approaching Thrass and gripping his arm, making sure he was real. Thrass touched Thrawn's arm in return. This was like a dream, and Thrawn kept expecting to wake up.

"You're the man Keeper has been working with?" Thrass asked in awe. "I never would have guessed."

"How is this possible? I thought you were dead." It also didn't escape Thrawn that Thrass was the same age as when he'd taken Outbound Flight. Not one crow's foot or grey hair.

"It's a long story," Thrass replied.

"A long and complicated story, I'd bet," Aden said, looking at them both. Had he not been capable of recognizing the look that often came with long and complicated- and if he was to guess also difficult for someone normal to believe- stories, then he would have changed his career long ago.

"Perhaps we should go and take a seat before you start telling it?"

A pause then, "Is Minder Four also a part of this story or would it be better to send her out on an errand?"

He glanced around as he asked- to see if she was nearby. Given that they had set a time for their meeting, both of them should be around at any rate, assuming nothing unforeseen had happened before his and Thrawn's arrival.

"Minder Four is indeed part of the story. She's in the back room," Thrass said. "She said that she had a feeling that I would want to be alone when you and your associate showed up. I've come to trust her when she gets such a feeling."

Stepping away from the two, Thrass stepped into a hallway and came back a few seconds later with a young woman. Thrawn immediately recognized her as the lone surviving Jedi from the ill-fated Outbound Flight. She too was just as young as she was when he last saw her. She nodded at Aden, "Hello, Keeper."

Thrass led them to the living room, sitting next to his brother on the couch, while inviting Aden to sit in the easy chair. Lorana sat on the floor, ever the Jedi.

"Now then," Thrawn said. "How are you alive and still young? Are you clones?"

"That would be the most logical conclusion," Thrass said. "The truth is much stranger, though." He then told the tale of how he and Lorana had chosen to sacrifice themselves to save the ship's survivors, and that right before impact, a strange anomaly in the Force had opened before them, pulling them within. The next thing they knew, they were on a backwater planet, lost and scared. It was a month before Keeper's agents had found them and recruited them.

"Minder Four," He greeted her in return, giving a slight nod of the head.

He took a seat when he was invited to, settling into the chair to listen to the story that Thrass had to tell. His expression barely changed throughout, though the fact that he believed them was obvious enough given the lack of even a hint of disbelief- despite the story being as wild as it was.

"That does sound fairly typical of Force-related phenomena. Difficult to predict and impossible to replicate with any sort of accuracy."

At least the natural incidents, anyway. Force sensitives could twist some parts to their benefit, but sometimes things just happened and there was no way to intentionally recreate something that happened naturally. If he had a credit for every time the Force displaced people in time though, he'd have two credits- which wasn't a lot, but it was strange that it had happened twice.

"Not that I have a ton of experience or anything. At any rate, I'm guessing I'll need to hire on someone new to take over your positions here."

Aden didn't think Thrawn would leave his brother behind here. Aden certainly wouldn't have left his family behind if he'd found them again after thinking they were dead.

"... And give my recruitment agents another rundown of procedures. I was informed that your team consisted of an alien man and a human girl which tends to be enough, really, but an additional hey, one of them is the same species as you should have been added this time around."

Normally he didn't really care to know more than he needed to about his agents, but this was one of those circumstances where his recruitment agent should have notified him.

"If it's all the same to you, I would indeed like to take my brother back with me. The girl too, if she is willing." Thrawn said. He could think up many uses for a Jedi.

"If Watcher- Thrass is going, then I am too," Lorana said. "Though, I wouldn't mind still doing work for Keeper."

"Nor would I," Thrass stated. "I'll admit, I never envisioned myself being part of an intelligence network, but I'm surprisingly adept at it." Thrass knew how to adapt to a new situation, and he was led to believe that his work was appreciated by Keeper. That Keeper was also a Chiss was very surprising. "And, well, it's not as if either of us can go back to our respective homes."

Thrass was assumed long dead and going back to Csilla would only raise suspicion. Meanwhile, the Republic that Lorana knew was gone, and the New Republic would just feel too foreign to her.

"Then I'd like for you to continue supporting Watch- Thrass- as you have done," Aden said looking to Lorana, and then looking to Thrass, he added, "And I'll assign one of my Ciphers to you. You've done most of the legwork out here on your own, but that role will now fall to the Cipher I assign you. They'll report their findings to you, and you'll be analyzing the information and reporting back to me as you have been."

Stars knew that Aden appreciated Thrass's reports. His other Watchers did do excellent work too of course- he wouldn't have kept them otherwise- but oftentimes they struggled to filter out the unimportant details and bogged their reports down with extraneous information that he then had to sort through on his own. He was capable, of course, but part of the reason he had analysts was to take some of that pressure off of himself.

Sometimes Aden thought that the Sith Empire had had the right idea with the eugenics program that had created the Watchers as he had once known them. Not always. But sometimes. They'd been efficient if nothing else.

"It'll leave you both with more downtime too."

Thrawn probably had his own plans already and desire to catch back up with his brother. As for what Thrass and Lorana could share with Thrawn about the intelligence gathered, well. That was what contracts were for, and they'd have more than enough time and opportunity to discuss and write one on the way back.

"Of course you'll get a raise appropriate to where you're going too. I imagine your lodgings will be taken care of," He said, glancing to Thrawn briefly before looking back at Thrass and Lorana, "But needs and wants are still a thing and prices tend to fluctuate a lot- as I'm sure you're both aware given that the economy here was not this messed up when my recruitment agent came through here the first time."

Paying them what they were worth and getting into Thrawn's good graces- hopefully, anyway.

"Thank you, Keeper," Thrass replied, bowing his head. He wasn't so materialistic as to want a lot of credits, but an increased wage for cost of living would be nice. It wasn't as if he wasn't a commoner once. Lorana was also used to a life where material wealth was discouraged and excess was frowned upon, but she also wasn't going to turn down an increased wage.

"I will have cabins prepared on my ship for the two of you," Thrawn said. "You will be staying there until I find a suitable world where you may live." Perhaps he could house them in the Fortress of the Hand, for it was secure and they'd be of use there. Then again, Thrass's presence would cause a stir, for many of the Chiss staffed there knew that he had vanished. There was even a task force dedicated to finding Outbound Flight.

Thrawn would figure something out, because he always did.

"Hey, I appreciate your work," Aden said, shrugging a shoulder. He didn't think giving a raise was really something he should be thanked for given that it was partly selfishly motivated. Well-paid employees were happy employees and happy employees were less likely to stab him in the back. Some people got too ambitious of course, but for the most part the logic behind it was sound.

"I'll let you all catch up properly before you report your findings," He said then, rising from his chair and adjusting his skirt, "I need to do some shopping anyway since there will be more than two of us on the way back."

He hadn't stocked the Phantom well enough for four people, after all.

"You'll have an hour or two at least to talk without me listening in."

"That would be most appreciated," Thrawn said. There were so many questions he had for Thrass and Lorana, and he wanted to tell his brother about everything that had happened to him since they had last seen each other.

"We'll be waiting until then, Keeper," Thrass said. Before he could catch himself, his eyes fell on the bruise on Keeper's upper thigh. Even without his honed sense of observation, he knew those were from someone's hand. Glancing at Thrawn, he eyed the bruise on his brother's lip that he had noticed before but hadn't felt a need to comment on. Surely he was missing the full picture and that wasn't what he thought it was.

Aden's sense of observation was well-honed too and his eyebrows went up a bit at how Thrass had noticed and the corner of his lip quirked up briefly in amusement- more an involuntary response, really. None of them had expected this, after all, and Aden might have actually behaved himself had he known.

Probably not given that Thrawn was very attractive, but he might have. Maybe.

He said nothing though, instead turning to head out of the house to both go shopping for enough food for the four of them on the way back and to scope out the area a bit.

It had been a while since he'd really worked actively in the field, but it wasn't like those were skills he'd ever go and forget.

And as he had said, a few hours did pass before he returned- announcing himself with the same knock from earlier so they'd know it was him.

With Aden gone, the three of them got to conversing. Thrawn told them about his exile, being found by the Empire and enlisting in their navy, working his way up to becoming Grand Admiral, and being sent out into the Unknown Region ostensibly to map it for Palpatine. Of course, Thrawn told them about his Empire of the Hand and what they did. He told them about Nuso Esva, the news about Palpatine's death and the rebellion forming the New Republic.

Thrass and Lorana in turn told him about some of the things they'd done since Keeper's agents recruited them, and how they'd come to be known as Watcher 3 and Minder 4. Thrass also felt a little smug that Thrawn had gone gray before he did.

They knew they would have to come up with a story just in case anyone from the Hand recognized Thrass. For now, he and Lorana would have to avoid Thrawn's Chiss agents.

At the knock, Thrass waved Aden in like before. "Did you get all your errands done, Keeper?"

"My ship's been fully stocked for the four of us when we return, yes."

He'd also gotten a better look at the look of the place. Thrass's written report had told him a lot, of course, but reading something and seeing it for oneself were two very different things. Same went for reading something and talking with the people who lived here, and he'd done plenty of that too- framing his questions in a way that made him seem like some curious tourist, using his charm to get people to say more than they normally might have.

"I got a bit of a feel for what you said in your latest mail too."

Not as much as someone who had lived here for a while, but still. When one knew what to look for, seeing the things that didn't fit was easy.

"Speaking of- let's get that report out of the way."

The one who would be doing the heavy lifting was Thrawn- Aden had thought the information to be of particular interest to him and Thrawn had agreed based on what Aden had presented him with, which was why they were both here. Still, it was information he too wanted since he would be the one directing the flow of it all if it became necessary.

"Technically we could do that on the way back, but..."

He gave a dismissive gesture, "Might as well get it out of the way here."

Thrass and Lorana would need to pack their things too so it'd probably be dark outside by the time they were ready to leave again. Technically it had been supposed to be a longer visit, but. Unforeseen circumstances and all of that.

"Oh, yes, the report," Thrass said. "For the past couple of weeks, we've noticed some odd activity. Taken separately, they seemed innocuous, but when looked at as pieces of a bigger picture, it seemed to be worth noting." He brought out his datapad to review his notes. "At one shipyard, I noticed that parts for starfighters were being shipped, and at another shipyard, weapons were being smuggled in, both going to the same planet."

"Hm, I find that too sloppy for Nuso Esva's work," Thrawn mused. "It could be another warlord he has convinced to join him, or it could be an independent."

"With the changes in local economy and the overall look of the place as compared to only a short while ago, I'd say you're looking at a warlord who's seeking to have this world act as either a base or at the very least as a staging point."

Most of the natives seemed to have been run off into the slums surrounding the wealthier and more fortified parts of the city. It wasn't exactly a haven for degenerates, but with a little more effort to push civilians off to the fringes, it could become just that. Run off the honest folk and it would be easy for someone to swoop in- take over the planet's resources, communications. All the things that mattered.

Reminded him a little of Rishi, really.

There had been that jumpiness in the natives Aden had met too, along with individuals who clearly didn't belong, and yet moved about as though they owned the place. Whatever plans were in motion, whoever was behind the scenes was decent at pulling strings.

Not decent enough- had they been smarter, then a slower and more natural approach would have been better- but decent. Move slowly enough, carefully enough, and the people living on the planet may not even have noticed that their way of life was being choked off by outsiders. Perhaps Thrass and Lorana would have taken longer to notice.

Perhaps the mastermind didn't think anyone was looking or listening in.

"Whoever it is, I'd say putting a stop to it would be best. While the planet itself may be out of the way, the routes around it are important enough that if someone should take control of them, it'd be a pain."

A warlord could choke off trade much the same way that they were choking off the local economy, and that would have effects on nearby sectors. They could reroute traffic to suit them too. Starfighter parts and weapons were worrisome enough, but Aden knew bad news when he saw it. Should this become a hub of activity for some warlord and his unwashed cohorts, then this Nuso Esva could move in once the groundwork had been laid too Aden thought. Take out the competition once the dust settled to avoid doing the heavy lifting.

That's what Aden would do if he was a warlord anyway.

"Of course I'm only capable of controlling information- smothering any calls for help, for example. Whether it's swooping in to save the day or leaving things as they are, that's not up to me."

He didn't have the same resources as Thrawn did, after all. Aden's spies had what they needed, but a large scale operation was beyond his network.

"Most likely a staging point. The next-to-last staging point before the home base, even."

Lorana tilted her head quizzically at Thrawn's deduction, to which Thrass said, "He does this all the time. Even I don't know how he does it, and we grew up together." Thrass wondered how much of the intel he'd given Keeper during his time as a Watcher Three had gone to Thrawn, and whether it had helped during his various battles and campaigns. To think, he was still helping his brother without even realizing.

"We shouldn't act too quickly. I want more reports from your Cipher while I plan my attack." Charging in with only half the needed information could be dangerous and cause more harm than good.

"If you say so, then I suppose that's a safe bet."

What information Aden had dug up on Thrawn had more or less told him that his deductions were worth putting some amount of faith in. It would be a nice test to see whether or not that was true on a larger scale like this or if he should continue to trust only himself and his own judgement.

"If you want someone to get into their ranks, I can assign a couple more Ciphers if you'd like. I've got a few who are currently sitting around twiddling their thumbs."

Not entirely truthful, but he did have a few who could be pulled away from less immediately pressing operations.

"Very well. I will defer to your judgement for who to send. Make sure you order them to not try to be heroes and get out if they think their covers are compromised." It probably didn't need to be said, but Thrawn felt the need to put it out there anyway. While he'd never been led to believe that Aden would sacrifice his agents, there was a ruthless side to Aden.

"Once they gather more information, we can cut off their supply lines in such a way that is not immediately noticeable, and won't affect the local economy. Then we can strike at the warlord directly."

"I don't sacrifice my agents, Thrawn. The information they bring is important, but not more important than their lives."

Aden knew what it was like to be seen as disposable. As only a tool. His agents were people to him. His people. He preferred to keep them out of situations where they'd have to give their lives in order to complete their mission. But of course admitting that would be a bit too much like vulnerability.

"I've put a lot of time and effort into finding and training them. I won't lose them to a warlord and his idiot cronies."

He snorted then, "So use their plan here against them except not in a way that sucks? Got it."

Show them how it was really done before springing the trap shut. It'd be funny if he thought that they'd realize that that was what had been done.

"We should pull out for now though. Pack up here and then make our way back to the Phantom."

Thrass and Lorana were likely to have things they wanted to pack and bring along.

"You three can pack up and I'll make sure nothing that can be used to identify any of us remains."

"As it should be." Especially when Thrass was one of his agents. The loss of life would be bad in an of itself, but there was also the fact that losing those agents would mean having to find and train more. Loss of life and resources was to be avoided at all cost. It was nice having the confirmation said aloud.

"Yes, Keeper," Thrass said, as he, Thrawn and Lorana went into the back rooms to pack up their things. Thrass and Lorana didn't have much to pack, with their things mostly consisting of a few changes of clothes and some equipment and weapons. Lorana was used to traveling light, since Jedi often didn't have much to their names anyway.

Once packed up, Thrawn helped carry his brother's things back out in the den. "We are ready to leave." Thrass said.

While they were occupied, Aden swept the house. Experience guiding his hand in sweeping away the traces of the life Thrass and Lorana had lived here. There would be nothing to find in the house for anyone who might be curious. No trace to lead anyone to any of them. Just an empty and abandoned house to either go back on the market or to sit abandoned.

He was waiting by the time the others returned, near the window with his arms crossed.

People outside going about their days as normal. But not too normal. They'd be able to make their way back to the Phantom just fine, he thought.

"Then let's go."

He headed for the door to open it- eyes open just in case. But not particularly expecting any trouble on their way back.

Thrawn couldn't help but do a visual scan of the area, like he thought that Aden would miss something. By all accounts, he'd covered their tracks well, and there was no sign that anyone had lived in the house. The agent was quite thorough.

The three of them followed Aden outside, not saying a word. Thrass looped his arm through Thrawn's, in order to look more natural. It was also just his own way of showing affection for the brother he thought he'd never see again.

Aden rolled his eyes very subtly at Thrawn's check of the area- like Aden was some sort of amateur who'd miss something. But then, he supposed it was true that Thrawn had no idea about the sort of education Aden had had, and the training. Aden was an independent- not exactly easy to just trust that he was experienced. Even so, he couldn't help the slight eye roll. But at least he hadn't said anything.

Their trek back to the Phantom was as quiet as he had predicted. Outside of Aden's ship, a pair of droids stood guard- assassin droids by the look of them, though the way they moved and held themselves spoke more to guard or bodyguard programming. Either way they stood down at Aden's approach and disappeared back up into the ship along with a mouse droid that came scurrying from somewhere to drive back up into the Phantom as well- obviously coming back from some subtle surveillance of the spaceport they'd landed in.

Aden led the group inside then, "I already prepared two more bunks in the crew quarters- there's space for all your belongings as well. Other than that, the common areas are open for use, but the cargo hold, my quarters at the front, and the bridge are not."

His rules for Thrawn were very much still in effect for Thrass and Lorana too.

"Feel free to help yourselves to food and drink, too."

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