Through Imperial Eyes

Chapter 10

(Y/N) woke up from a peaceful slumber, realizing she was not alone in her bed after a short second. In fact, she was still nestled against Admiral Thrawn's body, her head resting on his chest. She looked up at him, trying to see if he was still asleep, and felt his arm around her waist tighten to hold her closer. He slowly opened his eyes and the woman admired their faint red glow.

"I hope I didn't wake you up" she whispered with a sleepy voice.

"I've been awake for a while. You need more sleep than I do, I figured I'd let you rest." he answered with a small smile.

"You didn't have to wait for me." She adjusted herself and laid a little more on him to be able to look at his face.

"Chiss require less sleep than humans, so it was not unexpected. Staying with you wasn't unpleasant either."

She felt his hand slide lower on her behind and he grabbed one of her cheeks to emphasize his point. She chuckled and they both laid there in a comfortable silence. After a while, (Y/N) stretched her limbs lazily and moved away from Thrawn. She sat up on the bed and noticed her painting on the ground.

"It's even more vibrant now" she noted happily.

The Chiss pushed himself up near her and kissed the back of her neck before looking above her shoulder. His red eyes focused on the artwork on the floor.

"You're right, it's beautiful. You're quite talented, (Y/N)." he said to her ear.

"Thank you. Now that the ink is dry, I just wonder where I'm going to put it." she wondered before standing up. "You probably need to head back now, don't you?"

"I should get going soon, yes."

The young woman walked away from her bed and reached her shower. She turned on the faucet, waiting a few seconds for the water to become hot, then hopped in.

"...How soon?" she asked with a feign innocent look, soaking her hair under the water.

He chuckled softly, the sound too subtle for her to notice from afar, and he joined her in the shower. They did their best not to get too distracted since the Admiral needed to leave but still ended up enjoying each other's company. When they were done and cleaned, he quickly dried himself with a towel and got dressed. (Y/N) did the same and picked out her clothes from her drawer. Once he was ready, he crouched down and rolled up her painting. She watched him, intrigued.

"If you agree, I'd like to keep it." he said, standing back up. "I'll find a way to compensate you."

"If you really like it, sure. And don't worry, I'll think about something for the payment." she answered with a smile.

"Thank you." He tilted her chin up and gave her a small peck on the lips, then turned around to leave. "I'll see you on the command bridge, (Y/N)." he said before heading into the hallway.

Left alone in her cabin, the lieutenant leaned against her closed door and looked at her room. Saying that she didn't expect such a turn of events was an understatement. The memories from their night came back to her like a fever dream. She felt her cheeks heat up and a warm sensation rising inside her. It really had been an amazing night.

"I guess Ania was right after all." she said aloud with a smirk.

After grabbing a quick snack from the cafeteria, she hurried to get to her station on time. Thrawn was already speaking with Commodore Faro near the front deck windows. He stood as straight as ever, nothing in his demeanor seemed different than usual. She did a quick reading on her console, making sure everything on her sensors was in order before finishing her snack.

"I see someone has overslept this morning!" Lieutenant Hammerly joked next to her, almost making her choke on her nutrition bar.

"Yeah, my alarm didn't go off." she answered, coughing a few times before being able to breathe normally.

She was definitely not as good at acting normal as he was. She didn't dare take a look behind her to see if he had noticed the whole thing. Beside her, Hammerly was laughing, patting her back to make sure she was alright.

"Don't die on us (L/N)!" she joked again.

"I'm fine, thank you!" she said begrudgingly. "Now let's focus on work, shall we?"

The two officers turned back to their stations. Behind her on the walkway, she heard the Grand Admiral speaking with Commodore Faro.

"Prepare my shuttle. I'll be meeting with Admiral Konstantine and Governor Pryce down at headquarters." she heard him say. "All stations aboard the ship should be at mid-level readiness in twelve hours."

"Yes, sir." Faro answered.

(Y/N) turned away from her work once again to look at the walkway. Thrawn had just ordered the whole ship to be one level down from its full-combat readiness. She frowned when she laid eyes on him walking away, wondering what kind of trouble exactly he was expecting. Without slowing his pace or turning his head, he gave her a side glance and a simple nod. She nodded back quickly, but the sense of dread she felt didn't leave her until well after he was gone.

°°°°°°°

She had been able to catch some sleep for a couple of hours between the end of her regular shift and the deadline the Grand Admiral had given that morning. She was already at her station when he returned to the bridge with Governor Pryce and two death troopers dragging a man behind them. It took her a second to recognize Agent Kallus, his face covered in cuts and bruises.

She stopped breathing at the sight. Her warning didn't change anything, he got caught and obviously beaten up pretty badly. He was barely able to stand and the young woman felt her throat tighten with resentment. While the troopers were leading him across the walkway to the front deck of the command center, he caught sight of her and his eyes lit up with a slight glimmer of hope. Seeing him in such a state made her heart ache, and he seemed to realize there was nothing she could do for him.

"Commodore, relay this order. All stations at full-combat readiness. Lieutenant Hammerly, calculate hyperspace jump to the coordinates I just sent you." the Chiss ordered.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The two officers agreed simultaneously.

"We'll be joining Admiral Konstantine and the rest of the fleet near Atollon." he further explained to the crew.

(Y/N) stared at Thrawn with a renewed sense of dread. Her eyes then drifted at Agent Kallus, then again back at Thrawn. Before anyone could notice her disarray, she turned around and lowered her gaze on her console. They were heading for battle against the rebels, and from what she just heard, they were going to hit them hard.