“Thanks, Dad,” Eli said.
But despite the smiles and cheerful words, he could sense an unexpected reserve lurking behind his father’s eyes. His mother’s concerns were even more visible. It wasn’t hard to figure out the reason. Every glance at the Coruscant skyline, every lingering look at one of the other freshly minted ensigns, every lowering of their voices whenever someone nearby might hear—all of it pointed to the fact that a Wild Space cadet like Eli should never have been at Royal Imperial in the first place.
And then, there was Thrawn.
“You’re sure he’s okay? Because if the stories about Chiss are right…” She trailed off.
“They aren’t, Mom,” Eli assured her. “He’s okay,” he assured them. “Really. Very smart. Let’s not talk about him, okay?”
“Fine,” his father said. “Let’s talk about you. What happens now that you’re off your career track?”
“Who says I’m off it?”
“Well, I hope so,” his father said. “I just…you never know about Core World nonsense.”
Eli suppressed a sigh.
“And hanging around that Chiss might have affected things, too,” his mother added.
No matter how far down the social scale a person was, he added sourly to himself, there was always someone lower.
“We have to get going,” his father said suddenly. Eli frowned, looking at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thrawn approaching at a brisk walk. As his father had apparently also noted. Always someone lower.
“You really don’t have to,” he said.
“We have to go,” his father said, fumbling in his tunic. “We have to…damn.”
And then it was too late.
“Good afternoon,” Thrawn said as he joined their little group. “You are Ensign Vanto’s parents, of course. Welcome to Coruscant.”
“Thank you,” Eli’s father said, his voice a little strained. “You are…uh…”
“I am Lieutenant Thrawn,” Thrawn said.
“You’re a—you’re really a Chiss?”
“I am,” Thrawn confirmed. “Your son has spoken of your legends concerning us. Be aware that not all of them are accurate.”
“But some of them are? May I ask which ones?”
“Dad!” Eli admonished him, feeling his face warming.
“The most flattering ones, of course,” Thrawn said, a small smile touching his lips. “Still, even when false, legends can be most informative. What is remembered says a great deal about those doing the remembering.”
For a moment an awkward silence surrounded the group. “I see,” Eli’s father said at last. “Very interesting. But as I was saying, we have to go.”
“Thank you for inviting us here, Eli. Let us know where they put you, and take care.”
“I will, Mom,” Eli promised as his father wrapped his arms around them both. “Have a safe trip back.”
“Mr. Vanto,” Thrawn said, returning the nod. “Ms. Vanto. Safe journeys.”
For a moment Eli and Thrawn stood in silence, watching as his parents walked down the path toward the Academy’s landing platform. “They are concerned about you,” Thrawn said at last.
“Parents’ prerogative,” Eli said, wondering uncomfortably how much Thrawn had been able to read from his brief encounters with them. Had he figured out that a major part of their concern was that Thrawn’s presence in Eli’s life might somehow have poisoned his future? “They’re also not all that comfortable here. Big city, Core people. You know.”
“Yes,” Thrawn said.
~
Despite I tried to redact (and I did, heavily, already) this for almost 3 hours, I cannot make it short as I wanted.
It's a defeat, I know, but I cannot reduce it further without losing more treasures.
So, please have the patience to read this sad, but very *very* real excerpt.
One of my favorites, even if painful, that shows how Mr. Zahn knows perfectly well what he is describing here.
Diffidence, intolerance, narrow minds.
And you between your family, your true self, and your loved one.
The wonderful commission in the photo was created for me by @_cinnonym.
Despite the AU setting, this art is the quintessence of them.
The shy sexiness, the polite attention, the unexpressed bold sentiment. I love it so much that I have TWO on my home walls now. Hat and boots are mines. Because I live in Iowa, after all.
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