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Ar’alani knew when Thrawn sent Ivant to them, that he had to be special and special he is. The navigators flock to him like a mother docklet and, after many near miraculous calculations, he has a way of easing tensions on the bridge. He has become an emotional support growser for her anxious officers in a way.
Nevertheless, she could not have anticipated this. In all her years as Thrawn’s friend, she has never seen him so open with regards to another living being. Perhaps Thrass, when he was alive, but even then there was a barrier of Chiss Propriety. There is no such caution between these two. In fact, it was not Ar’alani to whom Thrawn listened when his return to the Ascendancy was requested, but Ivant.
“As you can see,” Thrawn elaborates and Ivant hands him a questis seamlessly and without request. “The attack on the Grysk base is pertinent to the vitality of the Ascendancy.”
“How so?”
Thrawn clicks the next slide and Ivant begins, “They’re attacking our supply lines here, here, and here,” he motions to each of the maps displayed on the screen. “Our family allies are being taxed. They’ve already lost the support of their political position by aiding us and now we’ve abandoned them, or so it seems.”
“How do we know that it is the Grysks who are attacking us?” she asks.
Ivant selects the next slide and Thrawn speaks, “There is a pattern of attack that all Grysk warships use…”
She listens of course—these are the Ascendancy’s brightest tacticians—and when they conclude their brief, she folds her arms across her chest. “Am I to assume you want to do this together?”
“Yes, ma’am,” they say in unison.
“This is a great use of EDF resources. Not only the mission, but losing both of you for its duration.”
At this, they do share a glance.
“We have wiggle room in supplies, ma’am,” Ivant says. “We can rework our mission to best utilize the resources available.”
“We can also take one ship, if need be.”
Ivant nods in agreement.
She sighs. “Proceed with plan alpha, I will handle the fallout with leadership.”
They have the audacity to smile.
~
When Sacher first met Eli, she distrusted him. As she has grown older, she has tried her best not to distrust aliens, but a small part still lingers in the depths of her mind. Eli worked against all of that, the prejudice, the distrust. And though her memories of Thrawn have largely faded, he reminds her of him.
She now considers Eli one of her closest friends and as the war continues to eat away at the safety of their navigators, she knows him as a resource and protector. He almost reminds her of Sam, in that violently protective kind of way.
“You’re sure you don’t mind doing this?” she asks. They are standing outside one of the many dojos aboard the Steadfast. Though it is one of the best warships they have, it now serves as a mobile home base, where navigators are ensured rest and recovery.
“Not at all,” Eli says warmly, Thrawn at his elbow. “I’d rather them know self defense than be helpless if something happens.”
“I would do,” Sacher says, “I’m just saying, are you sure you want to try and teach something to thirty young girls?”
Eli smirks, “I’ve completed more impossible tasks.”
Sacher corrals the girls and Eli begins his lecture on the importance of safety. There may come a time when someone isn’t there to save them and they must in turn take care of themselves. Some of the younger girls whimper at this, but Sacher does her best to set them at ease.
He then elaborates that size doesn’t matter in a fight, skill does. Thrawn is at least a head taller than Eli without shoes and he shows how to use leverage to break out of different holds. Each time Thrawn hits the mat, Eli immediately offers a helping hand. It is like watching a choreographed dance.
“Alright, let’s pair up and practice,” Eli instructs and the girls fall in with their friends.
The three of them move around the room, correcting form and when it seems that everyone has the hang of it, Eli offers himself.
“Alright, who wants to fight me?” he asks, smile hanging from his lips.
Un’hee of course shoots her hand up first and he shakes his head, choosing one of the less confident girls, Im’tri.
Im’tri is about ten years old and approaches Eli nervously, wringing her hands as she assesses their sizable height difference.
“Remember, use your size and foresight against me,” he says and lunges.
Im’tri lets herself get captured, plants her feet and tries to toss him over her shoulder.
“Very close,” Thrawn says. “You must remember to use your hips as a fulcrum.”
“Okay,” she squeaks.
“Want to try again?” Eli asks.
She nods and they set back up.
Eli charges at her, grabs her from behind and Im’tri plants her feet, bends at the hip and Eli flops over her shoulder.
The girls giggle.
“Now what do you do?” he asks, looking up at her from the floor.
“Run?”
“Better hurry,” he says and scrambles to his feet.
With a giggling squawk, she scampers off and their sparring lesson devolves into a game of tag—a wonderful way to cut the tension and remind the girls that even though it is a serious topic they are not yet in danger.
“Thank you,” Sacher says when they stand outside the dojo and the children have all dispersed for dinner.
“It was fun,” Eli says and Thrawn nods in agreement.
“Will you guys be here long?” she asks and realizes belatedly that she treats them like one, single unit. That is not how the EDF works, people are individuals not packaged sets.
Eli glances at Thrawn who says, “Not very, we are awaiting our ship’s repairs.”
“Ah, well, hopefully we can continue our lessons in the meantime.”
“Indeed,” Thrawn says and Eli nods in agreement.
~
Navigators aren’t required to wear uniforms. Before the war, most of the staff just assumed they were some political delegate’s daughter. Now that everyone knows about navigators and their value to the Ascendancy, they are almost revered. Few people want to strike up conversations, let alone friendships, and so Vah’nya has taken to wearing a uniform. It is easier to blend in this way, besides she is closer in age to the staff than her fellow navigators and there is only so much time she can spend with young girls before she doubts her sanity.
“Oh Chaos, here they come,” Saritina hisses, bringing Vah’nya back to present. Eli and Thrawn sweep into the mess hall in perfect lockstep. Eli is speaking animatedly with his hands and Thrawn’s gaze is firmly fixed on him. Though the mess hall is decently full, it is lunch time, people move out of their way.
“Thrawn and Ivant?” Vah’nya asks.
“Yes. Have you ever just wanted to watch two beautiful people have sex?”
Vah’nya looks back at Thrawn and Eli, two of her best friends, who she knows are in love but she isn’t sure if either of them are even in to stuff like that. They are two of the nerdiest and at times socially awkward beings she has ever had the privilege of making fun of.
“I try not to imagine my senior officers naked together.”
Saritina sighs. “I do.”
Vah’nya watches as they get in line, as they move around each other effortlessly, one pouring cacco while the other grabs utensils and napkins. They sit together in a corner of the mess hall and continue their in-depth discussion seamlessly.
“Do you think they’re actually together?” Vah’nya asks.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Saritina retorts, rolling her eyes.
To everyone else, maybe. Thrawn and Eli sit across from each other, never once grazing hands, or feet under the table. It may not be so obvious for them.
~
“Hey,” Vah’nya says, jogging up to catch Un’hee in the hall. They are on Naporar now, finally retrieving their ship and their assignments. Like every other deployment, they are assigned to Thrawn and Eli together. “You have a second?”
Un’hee’s eyebrows arch slightly. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, I just wanted to talk to you.”
“If you don’t want to bunk together…”
“No, that’s fine, we can.” Un’hee is about ten years younger than Vah’nya, but she doesn’t act like it. She’s really the closest thing Vah’nya has to a sister and so she doesn’t mind usually. She glances around the mostly empty hall. “Are Thrawn and Eli dating?”
Un’hee’s eyebrows shoot up. “Who said that?”
“Nobody, I was just wondering if you knew.”
She shrugs. “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.”
“So they are?”
Un’hee looks over her shoulder. “They’re happy.”
Vah’nya smiles. “That’s all I needed to know.”
~
“Bun’hee,” Eli calls from the kitchen of their Naporar apartment. They don’t have long, just a single night shoreside, and Eli has opted to make them a home cooked meal before they set out once again. “Dinner is done.”
She scrambles out of her bedroom, the smell of warm soup and grilled cheese sandwiches filling the air. Thrawn stands at the stove, ladling the rich orange soup into three bowls while Eli stands beside him, cutting up sandwiches. Thrawn spills a little soup on the counter and Eli hands him a towel without request. Thrawn wipes it up and hands the towel back to Eli just in time for him to wipe his hands clean after handling greasy cheese sandwiches.
Un’hee sits at the table. Eli brings over the plate of sandwiches along with one bowl of soup while Thrawn brings the other two bowls over. Eli pours them all something to drink while Thrawn sets the cutlery and napkins down for each of them. They are two halves of one single person, operating on opposite sides to complete one task flawlessly.
If the war ever ends and her dads ever let her date, she hopes loving someone looks like this—effortless, of one mind, in tune.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Eli asks as he and Thrawn sit at the table.
“Dating.”
Eli’s face pinches up and Thrawn looks no less pleased. “Maybe when you’re thirty.”
“Sure, Da,” she giggles, “Whatever you say.”