Star Cluster

Vigilance

The purrgil attached to the front window of the Chimaera stopped them both from getting sucked out into space. However, this meant that Ezra and Thrawn still had to endure each other's presence. Ezra released his Force hold on the doors. There was no need to keep them closed now that he'd gotten away.

Thrawn sighed. He'd just been trying to use the Empire for the advancement of the Chiss Ascendency, and somehow, he wound up bound by an animal with the capacity to travel at hyperspace speeds. What an interesting predicament, he thought.

Ezra let out a sigh of relief. Now he knew Lothal would be safe. I wonder if Sabine if she's okay, if she'll come for me. I hope so. I don't know how much clearer I could've been. She knows I'm counting on her.

"Are you going to release me now?" Thrawn asked, breaking the peaceful silence. They'd been out of hyperspace for about an hour. He was feeling sore.

Ezra frowned. "No. I don't trust you not to kill me."

Thrawn rolled his eyes. "I am not going to kill you. I do not think I could. I know when I am beaten."

Ezra's face morphed into surprise. "You... what? You'd accept a defeat?"

"It is the honorable thing to do."

"You care about honor?"

"Yes, believe it or not. I also see no way out of this alive without your cooperation. Even so, my hopes for survival are not very high, so I may as well drop the act."

"Act? What are you talking about?"

"Have you ever wondered why I'm one of the only nonhumans in the entire Empire?"

Ezra had. Most of the other races were enslaved.

"I am a Chiss," Thrawn continued. "We hail from deep in the Unknown Regions. I was sent here by the Ascendency, our military, to infiltrate the Empire and use their information for the betterment of my people."

"So... you're not really loyal to the Empire?"

"No. But what is important is that they think I am. They must now fear I am dead. I doubt the Empire will succeed against the Rebellion, especially after the defeat on Lothal. None of that matters now, though, since our situation is looking a bit... dire."

Ezra had the purrgil release him. Thrawn thanked the stars that he was dropped gently.

"Where are we, anyway?" Thrawn asked.

"Not sure. I told them to take us far away. I'm sure this ship's navicomputer is still working, though. We can figure it out."

"Very well, go ahead." Thrawn motioned towards a nearby console. He waited for Ezra to return. They needed to trust each other in order to ensure their survival. Thrawn knew he shouldn't do anything to make Ezra nervous.

"Unknown Regions," Ezra called, "pretty far out. I think we're in uncharted territory."

"You forget I hail from this region," Thrawn responded. "May I see the navicomputer?"

"Sure," Ezra said, stepping aside.

Thrawn surveyed the surrounding systems. "The farthest ship from the Ascendency - the Chiss fleet - is about three systems away from us, here," Thrawn said, pointing to it. "We can send out a distress signal. It could reach someone eventually. This cruiser was originally intended for hundreds of officers, so I'd say there's about six months worth of food for the two of us, longer if we ration it. If we aren't rescued by then, we'll need to find a habitable planet and live off the land."

Ezra was staring at him. "You're... very smart.

Thrawn couldn't help but smile at Ezra's impressed expression. "You do not think I got this far by being lucky?"