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Once when Eli was very young, a terrible storm hit Lysatra. Rain poured down like a waterfall. Thunder shook the ground and lighting would light up the black sky in brief brilliant bursts of white. He had been so sure that he was going to be swallowed up by the storm, washed away with the flood. But then his grandmother took him out onto their porch and held him there on her lap.
“Hush now boy, just sit still for a minute. Listen to the sounds of the storm. Ya hear that? That’s nature, sweetie.”
“It’s scary.”
“Damn right it is, Eli. But when ya are face with a storm like this one, ya can’t let it break ya. Bend with the wind, weather the beating rain on your skin. The storm can howl and scream but don’t let it break ya spirits, Eli.”
Suddenly the howling winds stopped and the rain slowed to a drizzle. A pocket of calm had appeared within the storm and over the Vanto residence. His grandmother gave him a smile.
“Ya see, boy? Ya just gotta search for these small moments of peace. Pockets of calm. They’re always there within the storm. It’ll guide ya through to the other side. Alright now head back on in, Meemaw’s legs are getting sore!”
Stepping though that portal felt just like that storm. Terror flooded Eli’s senses as he was buffeted by whipping winds and thunder shook the ground beneath him. Thousands if not millions of voices spoke, called, screamed all at once. He felt Bridger grab onto his arm as he was nearly flung off the odd dirt red walkway they stood on.
“Vanto! I think it’s attuned to you, do something!” Bridger yelled over the cacophony of sounds.
“You’re the jedi! What am I supposed to do!” Eli screamed back as Bridger pulled him back down.
“I don’t know. Control the storm?”
Eli sighed and closed his eyes. He tried to focus on the words of his grandmother, almost forgotten. He stopped resisting the winds and instead let his body bend with it. He listened to the booming thunder, the chorus of voices. Except it wasn’t voices. As Eli focused deeper, he realized it was not many voices but one voice. A soft voice. A deep voice. Firm and gentle all at the same time. It was one he hadn’t heard in nine years.
“Thrawn?”
Suddenly the storm stopped. Everything went still and quiet, except for the now faint whispering of Thrawn’s voice. Bridger let out a surprised huff and smiled.
“Nice! Thought we were gonna blow away there for a second.”
Eli looked around, getting a sense of their new bearings. The walkway that they stood on looked like a old beat dirt paths of Lysatra. Well worn and well traveled. It wasn’t the only on in this place. Numerous dirt path spiraled and branches out to portals with different symbols. Bridger took a quick glance around and smirked.
“Wow, you must really like him, seeing as he’s the only person we’re hearing right now.”
Eli flushed. “I just thought about him when walking in. Besides don’t we want to be finding Thrawn?”
“Sure but look around you. Every moment that ties you to him is here and I’m guessing a lot of them were spent on the Chimaera. Gonna be hard to find the right one.”
Eli strode forward on the dirt path to the portal in front of them. He watched in awe as it rippled and then he saw himself standing next to Thrawn, on the bridge of Chimaera. Eli looked way younger and less world weary. His past self was showing Thrawn something on his datapad and the Chiss was leaning into him to see better. Present Eli’s breath caught as he heard past Thrawn murmur a praise at whatever past Eli had shown him. Unconsciously, he reached out towards the visage of Thrawn in front of him.
“No, don’t!” Bridger shouted and grabbed Eli’s wrist.
Bridger pulled him away from the portal and released him. “You can’t just go into them like that. You’re not just a passive observer here, you would be affecting your own past. It could seriously mess things up.”
Eli blinked bewildered. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve only been here once before, but I reached into one of these portals and changed what happened. Luckily for me, it didn’t affect much. My past self wasn’t present in that moment. But imagine if you jumped into your past right now? How badly that could go?”
Eli grimaced. It would be pretty bad if he jumped in. For one, past Eli would probably lose his mind and well Thrawn’s always been a wary individual. Probably would have him immediately detained. But now this posed a problem. If this was connected to him, his moments with Thrawn, then the correct portal needed on the Chimaera wouldn’t be here.
“Bridger, I was long gone from the Chimaera when Thrawn was on Lothal.“
Bridger seemed to ponder this for a moment before his face brightened with excitement. “You were able to connect to this place though. This space isn’t just linear, it’s all time, all space happening at once and together. Just like how I found my way to you, you can find the path we need!”
Eli scoffed. “Kid, you had the force. I ain’t got none of that mystical nonsense.”
Bridger huffed. “Technically we all have the force. Some just can manipulate it. You brought us this far, haven’t you? I’ll even help this time!You said you thought about Thrawn when you stepped in. Do that again but think not just about your time with him, but of him in general. Connect to him.”
It was worth a shot. Eli closed his eyes once more and thought of Thrawn. Beyond just their time, but of the man himself. Eli’s thoughts drifted from the things he loved about him to the things he hated. The quiet endless well of kindness. The tendency to wake Eli up in the middle of the night for some wild plan. The deep loyalty and trust he gave out to those who earned it. He felt a wave of something flow through him as Bridger put a hand on his shoulder. He became aware of his own heart beating and somewhere distant, a twin pulse, slower than his own. But they formed a rhythm, a call and response.
He shivered slightly at the feeling, but it was warm and welcoming. It was waiting for him. Thrawn was waiting for him. Eli started walking, the direction was just a feeling but one he intrinsically trusted. As he stepped forward, a new path branched off beneath his feet. No longer the red dirt of Lysatra but a soft light blue and white. Snow dusted the path and Eli couldn’t help but smile.
Finally before the pair stood a massive portal opening, it shimmered with the visage of the unusually empty halls of the Chimaera. The connection between him and Thrawn sang so strongly that Eli almost fell to his knees in relief.
“Hold on, I’m coming.” he whispered.
“This is the one?” Bridger asked.
“It is,” Eli turned to face the Jedi, “Thank you for getting me here.”
Bridger nodded. “We had our differences but he let me go home, so this is the least I could do for him. I’ll stay here to keep the portal open just in case. I don’t know how much I trust those witches. If it goes sideways, this is the back up plan.”
Eli nodded. “Got it. If we don’t come back in three days, close the portal and tell Ar’alani…..”
“I know.”
“Thanks again, Bridger.”
“May the force be with you.”
“And may a warrior’s fortune smile upon us all.”
Eli stepped through with no hesitation.
****
To Eli’s surprise, the connection to Thrawn didn’t fade once he stepped out. In fact it was stronger than ever. No longer a heartbeat but tugging sensation, like there was a knot tied around his left rib pulling him along. He followed that pull as he ran through the deserted halls of the Chimaera. It was eerie. The Chimaera had never been empty like this before.
He ran down the docking ramp onto some kind of black spire. His breath caught as he spotted directly in the middle, a glass coffin. Eli sprinted over to the coffin and flinched when he peered inside. Inside laid Thrawn, perfectly still in a sort of unending slumber. The Chiss’s hair was longer than it was when Eli first met him. He would have called him beautiful if Thrawn wasn’t trapped under some kind of spell.
“Eli Vanto. We have been expecting you.”
Eli startled as an echoing voice spoke. He turned to see three tall women dressed in red robes walk towards him. The one on the left gave him a piercing look.
“He arrived sooner than expected.”
“Jedi trickery will not help you in these trials.” said the one on the right.
The woman in the middle raised a hand and examined him. “Are you here to claim, Mitth’raw’nurodo?”
“I’m here to take him home.” Eli said, tone unflinching.
The three woman nodded in unison and spoke. “Very well. Your trials begin now. Fail and the Grand Admiral is our forever. Pass and you both shall be set free.”
The Great Mothers then began to chant in a language Eli couldn’t understand. He placed his forehead against the glass lid of the coffin.
“I’m going to save you, I promise. Wait for me.”
The chanting stopped and runes began to glow beneath Eli’s feet and then the ground fell away into nothingness.
****
Eli’s eyes fluttered open. He turned to see Thrawn in bed beside him. They were in Thrawn’s quarters on the Chimaera. The Chiss was already awake per usual and softly purring as Eli’s head was on his chest.
“What’s wrong?” Thrawn asked.
Eli’s head felt fuzzy. “I don’t know. I had a weird dream.”
Thrawn buried his face into Eli’s hair and rubbed comforting circles on the human’s back. Eli melted into the touch. Why was he so on edge? Everything was great. He nuzzled into the Chiss’s cool body and let out a sigh, tension bleeding out of him.
“Have you thought about what I proposed?”
Ah. Right. Going to the Ascendancy. This couldn’t last.
“Yeah, I did. I don’t want to leave you but I know I can’t stay here in the Empire for much longer. And being granted the honor of being trusted in helping your people means a lot.”
Thrawn tilted his head in confusion. “Leave me? Eli, I asked if you wanted to run away from all this. The Empire, the Ascendancy. Leave it all behind. Go off, be free together.”
Eli jumped back out of Thrawn’s arms. He suddenly felt cold, like all the warmth had been sucked out of the room.
“You want that don’t you? You hate it here, you would be so alone there,” Thrawn’s voice took on a sickly sweet croon, “no one would truly understand you there. All alone, only able to receive the barest hints of love from me.”
Eli sat there frozen as his own feelings of anguish and grief from years ago poured back over him tenfold. The gut crushing loneliness he felt the first year without Thrawn, without any of the friends he made on the Chimaera. Tears began to spill from his eyes and wouldn’t stop.
Thrawn smiled, a cruel and wicked one. The Chiss pulled Eli back into his arms and wiped away the tears. “It is alright, beloved. All will be well. We can stay here forever if you want. Here in the bliss. Say the word and we’ll have no more responsibilities. No more duties to uphold.”
The warmth came rushing back as Thrawn held him. But it was no longer comforting. He felt like he was burning. “No.”
“What did you say?”
Eli pulled out of Thrawn’s grip. “I said no.”
Thrawn snarled. “You could have everything you ever wanted.”
Eli laughed darkly. “What? Some petty fake amalgamation of the man I love? Thrawn would never abandon his people, those under his care. He would never walk away from his responsibilities so lightly. He’s so kriffing selfless to the point of detriment. Do I think that’s a problem? Yes! But hell, it’s one of the reasons I love him!”
Eli jumped off the bed and pulled a blaster out from his bag. He pointed it at the false Thrawn. “You could never be him. He’d die before running away. He would let the ones he loves go to save them. He’s so much more than you could ever hope to imitate. If you thought you could tempt me with cheap sweet nothings, you’ve failed.”
The false Thrawn shifted and transformed into one of the witches. She screeched and lunged towards Eli, who shot her immediately. She vanished in a puff of green smoke.
“Passed.” rang out the cold tone of the witches.
The world around him began to shake. Eli stepped back in surprised and then fell out of a mirror. The mirror showed the false recreation of Thrawn’s quarters. Eli scoffed and then shot the mirror, shattering it into pieces.
“Bring it on!” he yelled as the chanting started again.
He fell once more into darkness and came to underwater. The second trial had begun.
To Be Continued