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Eli and Juno made their way towards the Chimaera’s main hanger, following a few paces behind Thrawn. Four Death Troopers formed a rectangular blockade around the three, a response to an unspoken order to create a barrier between them and Director Krennic’s very effective pest. Krennic’s overseer, though Eli suspected the word babysitter had been the most prominent term in Krennic’s mind when making the assignment, had taken his job very seriously. If Ronan’s orders were to be as obstructive, contradictory, arrogant and annoying as possible, Eli was sure Ronan was due a promotion.
Eli took Ronan’s general meddling and politically motivated loyalty to Krennic as just that, the desperate, but admittedly dangerous, actions of someone willing to do whatever was necessary to retain his standing with his superiors. Thrawn took it with his usual unshakable calm. Though Eli had noticed once or twice when Thrawn’s tested patience with wasting valuable time explaining himself to an unrelenting idiot had allowed his true feelings to leak through his composure. Juno on the other hand… Juno did not like Ronan. And that was an understatement.
His mind wandered back to the conference room a few hours earlier, where the Chimaera’s Commadore Faro, the Chiss Steadfast’s Admiral Ar’alani, Ronan, Juno, Thrawn and himself had gathered to discuss strategies for dealing with both the Grysk threat and Krennic’s deadline for ridding Project Stardust of its gralloc infestation. Ronan, as seemed his direct orders, had opposed and fought Thrawn on almost every count, citing Imperial interests above any personal loyalties. As always, missing the point. And as always, taking a difference in opinion and turning it into insubordination and disrespect. Unfortunately for Ronan, Juno didn’t have to care about such things.
She was not an enlisted member of the Empire. She wasn’t a bounty hunter or a smuggler either, but somehow toed the line between all three. She had knowledge and experience that was vital to unravelling the mystery at hand, which Thrawn had immediately recognized when she was captured by the Chimaera for attempting to commandeer one of the ships he was pursuing. Turns out she was on to the same leads as Thrawn. So, in exchange for her release, she would aid Thrawn and his crew in getting to the bottom of whatever was going on. On top of having motives Thrawn clearly intended to find out, she also happened to speak decent Cheunh, greeting Thrawn with his full Chiss name and in his native language on their first meeting. Clearly, she had significant previous dealings with the Chiss, which Eli knew Thrawn was very interested in learning more about. Eli couldn’t deny his own curiosity either.
It was no surprise when Thrawn asked Juno to stay and no surprise when she said yes. Except of course, to Ronan. He had vehemently opposed her presence on the ship as a “smuggler and vile criminal against the Empire,” despite Imperial records containing no traces of her name. Eli, and of course Thrawn, knew that didn’t mean much, especially considering her Basic accent placed her as being from the far reaches of Outer Rim territories, much like Eli himself. In those places the Empire was more myth than reality. But her genuine nature and sincere interest in the situation, coupled with her ability to help solve Thrawn’s problem, at least temporality over rid any reservations Thrawn might have had about her past. And if that was good enough for Thrawn, it was good enough for almost everyone else. Ar’alani had reservations simply because she didn’t know Juno and was unsure of Thrawn’s motives, and Ronan disagreed on principle. Having previously been the recipient of Thrawn’s confidence, Eli knew that when Thrawn trusted someone, it was for good reason.
Ronan was in the middle of opposing Thrawn for about the dozenth time in their time-sensitive meeting when Juno had apparently had enough. She had been uncharacteristically quiet the first twenty minutes or so of the meeting when suddenly she slapped her palms down on to the conference room table, startling everyone, and scooted her chair back. As she stood, she drew her knife, whose blade was made of some kind of multicolored stone, from its strap on her right thigh. Eli felt like a spell had been placed on the room. Everyone, including Thrawn, was frozen in place.
Juno took two swift steps to her left and grabbed Ronan’s left wrist, placing her body in between him and his hand. She forced his hand against the table, splaying his fingers out and held her shimmering blade just above them. She looked up to Thrawn, seated directly across from them, and uttered words Eli would never forget, “Just one? To teach him a lesson!”
She said it like a child pleading with a teacher for five more minutes of play time.
Ronan let out a startled scream and attempted to twist his hand from her grasp, but she held firm, waiting for Thrawn’s response. Eli spared a glance around the room. Thrawn was his ever-impassive calm, though Eli could detect just a hint of surprise on his features. Faro looked shocked but slightly pleased. She had shown no love for Ronan. Ar’alani’s reaction surprised him the most. She sat back in her chair looking relaxed, a mixture of approval and dare he say respect? crossing her features.
As Ronan continued to struggle, Thrawn finally spoke, ending the spell Juno had cast. “I don’t believe that will be necessary, Juno. Assistant Director Ronan has every intention of cooperating with us.”
Juno held Thrawn’s gaze for a moment and then relented, releasing Ronan’s hand. She sheathed her dagger and sat casually back in her chair, as if she hadn’t literally threatened to dismember an Imperial officer. Eli felt his face heat up, but not out of embarrassment. He didn’t quite know what words to put to how he was feeling. Ronan stayed standing for a moment but when the room remained silent, he decided to sit. He didn’t say another word the rest of the meeting.
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As they walked through the corridors of the Chimaera, passing the places Eli used to be so comfortable with but now ironically found himself feeling foreign to, their footsteps echoed in the silence, begging him to ask the question that had been stuck in the back of his mind since the scene in the conference room. He leaned in towards Juno, attempting to keep the conversation out of earshot of Ronan, who was forced to follow farther behind than he liked, thanks to Thrawn’s guards.
“Were you really going to do it?” he asked quietly.
Juno looked sharply at him. “No,” she chuckled. “Did you really think I was?” She paused a beat. “Did you really think Thrawn would let me? That’s the real question.” A teasing smile and kind eyes accompanied her response.
Eli felt himself start to smile in return, “You were very convincing.”
“Well, that was the point,” Juno stated casually, waving her hand through the air, the many rings on her fingers subtlety catching the light. “Ronan is someone who loves to have his own opinions reinforced, whether negative or positive. He already thinks I’m a lunatic, why not use that to our advantage?”
“You just really seemed like you knew what you were doing.”
Juno laughed, a pleasant and pretty sound that echoed slightly off the corridors and made Eli’s chest feel strangely tight. “I’ve never cut off someone’s fingers, Eli,” she said, still laughing. “You’re just not used to my…” she searched for the right word, pursing her lips. “Approach,” she settled on with a small shrug. “You’re used to a calm, subtle, intentional approach to problems. Which, I’ll admit, is usually the best way to do things. But every now and then,” a light which Eli had come to recognize entered Juno’s eyes, “a situation calls for an approach that’s a bit more…”
“Aggressive and threatening?” Eli offered, playfulness and sarcasm in his tone.
“I was going to go with forward.” She looked up at him and smiled, and Eli got the terrible feeling that he was losing some kind of battle.
A few steps ahead, unknown to either of them, a small smile appeared across Thrawn’s face.