Be a fool

"Sounds intriguing,” Eli said. "Which leads to the obvious question: Why me?"

"One might just as well ask why not you?"

He could take Moff Ghadi up on his offer and command his own ship. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.

"For a Wild Space person like yourself, the Inner Rim is an incredible move upward"

"I see” Eli said, a trickle of anger tugging at him. He'd seen plenty of superiority and disdain from the Core cadets at the Royal Imperial Academy, but he'd never thought he would hear that same prejudice from a senior government official. "Tell me, why exactly have I been singled out for this honor? It's because of Thrawn, isn't it?"

"There are a few of us who aren't pleased by all the attention the alien is getting. His actions cost the Empire hundreds of thousands of credits' worth of lost tibanna gas"

"He also rescued the freighter crew"

"Three of whom were aliens"

Eli felt his skin prickle. "What difference does that make?"

"Do you really not understand? The Empire's priority was to retrieve the tibanna. That was what was valuable. That was what a good Imperial officer should have focused on. Instead, he risked the lives of you and the other Blood Crow crew to rescue some aliens"

So there it was. He was nothing more than a tool with which Ghadi and his friends hoped to topple the non-elite, nonhuman threat to their comfortable little universe. "Please thank Moff Ghadi for his offer. But I'm happy right where I am"

"Then you're a fool. He will go down someday. Even with you there to smooth the political path for him. Good day, Ensign. And if I were you, I'd get comfortable with that title. You'll be holding it for quite some time"

Eli watched her go, the emotional tangle emerging again as the disgust receded.

"You are disturbed." Thrawn's voice came from behind him.

"I'm fine” Eli growled.

"What did she want from you?"

"She was offering me a job,” Eli said shortly. "I assume you picked up my orders while you were at it?"

"Yes." Thrawn held out a data card.

"With no promotion"

"No,” Thrawn said. Thrawn was silent a moment. "This job you were offered. Was it better than the one the navy has assigned you?"

Captain of his own ship... "No” he said. "Not really"