Chapter Text
Ensign Ufsa'phy'ren remembers being over the moons about her first assignment. An aide aboard a warship? This was the kind of commission someone like her could typically only dream of. There would be so much to see and learn that she hadn't been given access to at the Academy. She had read about different careers within the military track after her merit adoption and subsequent assignment to the academy, and though she'd graduated with high marks from Taharim, she was not top of the class. Her opinions were... problematic, and she had a tendency to question things.
And that questioning had led her here. The Ufsa syndic had been quite clear on that.
Now, she dreads it. Spying on her new CO? Reporting back to the family on his actions, especially when he steps out of line? She had heard the rumors about Mitth'raw'nuruodo's early career, but wasn't he old now? Surely he had figured out how to follow the unspoken rules set forth by family politics.
And to make matters worse, her new CO had a Human first officer. She’s never even seen a living, breathing Human before. Would he be an idiot that she'd have to help her new CO care for? The syndic seemed to think so…
She sighs into her tea. There isn't a blend strong enough for this, nor enough books in all the Chaos to figure this out. Ufsa'phy'ren—Saphyr was on her own.
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-/
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She makes sure to do an academy-perfected about face and salute when the door to the Senior Captain's office opens behind her. The lieutenant that had led her in had instructed her to wait there for her new CO and XO to return.
Her breath catches in her throat as he dismisses his conversation over his questis' comm function rather abruptly. She hopes it wasn't something important. His attention shifts to her as she stresses over the prospect of upsetting her captain before she can properly introduce herself. He studies her thoughtfully for a brief moment.
"At ease, Ensign Ufsa'phy'ren," Senior Captain Mitth’raw’nuruodo bids her, gesturing to the seat she had risen from. He is ridiculously tall and does not look as old as her reading assures her he is. He has some silver hair at his temples, but it only adds to his intensity. "Have I pronounced your name correctly?"
Some of Saphyr's nervousness bubbles into confusion. "Yes, sir," She agrees.
"That makes for an interesting core name," He muses. Oh, she thinks, annoyance joining the tumultuous emotions warring for dominance within her, here we go. There was a kind of exotic tea called sapir, and people always commented on its resemblance to her core name, to the point where people called her Sa-peer instead of Sa-feere. "There are precious gems called sapphires in Lesser Space,” He informed her. “Have you heard of them?"
Saphyr's brow furrows. What? "N-no, sir."
Thrawn inclines his head. "I will send you some reading on it," He decides, to her utter surprise. "Recreational, of course, but perhaps you'll find it interesting." Wait, seriously?
"Uh, thank you, sir."
"You are most welcome." His voice is soft, not the barking tone most of her instructors used, though there's a glint of amusement in his eyes. Is he testing her? After all, what captain would send an ensign extracurricular reading? She’s his aide, not his colleague.
She couldn’t let that rattle her. If testing her was his aim, Senior Captain Thrawn had no idea what he was up against. She might not have had the best grades in her graduating class, but she had been close. No one had a photographic memory or a thirst for knowledge like Saphyr did. At least, no one she had ever met.
"Please, Ensign, take a seat," His quiet, powerful voice cuts through her thoughts. "I trust you have studied your orders thoroughly, however I believe we should also discuss the more likely day to day expectations. Standing orders very rarely account for wartime or its challenges."
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-/
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"Welcome aboard, ensign," Comes the chipper call of slightly accentuated Cheunh from behind her. Saphyr whirls around, surprised, and is met with two of the strangest eyes she has ever seen staring back at her.
"Ah, senior commander," Thrawn says, turning with far more grace. "Finished with your analysis?"
He nods, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he smiles at them, beaming with lips and teeth. He's… brown. She had known that, having studied his profile in the CDF database. Still, he's weird looking, and it takes her a minute to realize the conversation has gone on without her.
"Finish your tour, sir. I can wait." He looks at Saphyr again. "I'll swing by the mess for you both. How do you take your tea?" He asks her.
"I—" She shakes her head, confused. "Sir?"
"There's no wrong answer," Senior Commander Ivant assures her politely. "I assume you did the mess first to avoid the latemeal rush."
"We did, sir."
Silence reigns for a beat. Then, "You have yet to introduce yourself, commander," Captain Thrawn chides, almost deadpan.
"Oh!" The second officer says, flushing, face aglow in the lower registers of the infrared. "Sorry about that," He says, lips still curling upward. "Most just know me because," He gestures to himself because it's obvious. "I'm Senior Commander Eli'van'to. Feel free to call me Ivant."
Briefly, she wonders how the other Chiss haven't eaten him alive. He’s like an emotional beacon. "Ensign Ufsa'phy'ren, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you." She offers her own, more tentative smile in return. "Black tea is fine, sir, but," She chances a look at Thrawn. Her commanding officer had told her that she should never feel uncomfortable asking questions. Time to test the theory. "Surely that is to be one of my tasks.” She looks between them. “I don't mind," She presses. “If you wouldn’t mind telling me—”
The two men exchange a look. Thrawn inclines his head to Ivant following what she isn't sure is a conversation but certainly seems like one. Last time she checked, humans couldn't communicate with their minds, and neither could Chiss. Yet, somehow, they manage.
"There is no task beneath me, Captain Thrawn, or the rest of our crew. You are an Ensign in the Chiss Defense Fleet, Ufsa'phy'ren, not a maid."
She knows she's staring at him. And she probably shouldn't be, but this went against every precedent she had read. Not to mention that his eyes are just ridiculously, over the moons expressive and trained on her.
"Yes, sir," She settles on saying, considering the apology that wants to fall from her lips and deciding that it would make matters worse.
This didn't feel like a dressing down yet, but she suspected it would start to feel like it if she kept going. She doesn't want that to be how she interacts with her commanders or her crew, and especially not on her first day. Better to agree, then sit back and observe.
After all, she reminds herself, that was what the syndic wanted from her, anyway.
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-/
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"Just tell them the truth," Commander Ivant says, out of the blue, one afternoon.
Her heart lurches, landing solidly in her throat. She's been reading the same message on her screen for the last ten minutes, seeing the words but not being able to comprehend them. How had he even known? He's not Chiss. He has no family, as far as she can tell. Humans use the last part of their names to designate family, and she's never heard of a Vanto.
Hell, it had taken her a minute to figure that out when Thrawn had made the switch from Ivant to Vanto fourteen days earlier. She really ought to see if there are any more in the archives, but she's concerned that they're monitoring her questis usage and search history.
"Sir, I'm—what?"
"You've been with us a few weeks now, I'm certain your family is anxious to know what Thrawn is up to."
"I don't," She begins, looking over her questis at him. Like most of his expressions, this one is clear. He knows she's about to lie and he doesn't want to hear it. She exhales and speaks truth instead. "Respectfully, sir, I didn't ask for this."
"I know you didn’t." His voice is warm and gentle. It doesn't have the hissing harshness of most Chiss, though neither does their CO. "Do what you must," He says. "Thrawn and I understand you're in a bad position."
Did they? Saphyr wondered. From what wasn't redacted in the archives, Thrawn was probably used to having someone reporting back on him. And Ivant, while not incompetent, was treated as such, and definitely unliked.
Ivant's voice shifts, still warm, but stern. "You can tell them whatever you want, or whatever they want," He continues. His eyes are hard, solid panes of deep cool brown. "But do not endanger this ship or its crew."
The words are a warning she thinks about for a long time afterward. Her report is bland, like how her teachers had seen her at the academy. Good, but not great. Smart, but not ingenious. She had been told to keep her head down, to get in and out of Taharim unscathed.
All she had ever felt at the academy was restricted.
Here and now, heeding that old warning as she submits her report, Saphyr has a feeling that she's landed herself smack dab in the middle of an anomaly. Thrawn and Ivant are unorthodox. It might be easier to tilt things negatively, to speak ill of her assignment in hopes of gaining favor with the family. But the Ufsa's political contingent was looking for something, she could tell.
Saphyr needs to know what that something is. She's always been a little too curious for her own good. Absently, she wonders if it'll backfire on her yet again, and if she'll care when the time comes.
Probably.