Through Imperial Eyes

Chapter 4

It was a little before noon when (Y/N) finally woke up. She sat up and reached for the glass sitting on her nightstand. She took a tablet and swallowed it with some water, anticipating that the dull pain of her arm would soon become bothersome. She went to her sink, splashed some water in her face and headed back to her dresser to pick up some comfortable clothes.

The young woman sat back on her bed and grabbed her drawing supplies. She couldn't shake off the feeling of Admiral Thrawn's eyes on her the night before. Although she couldn't guess what was going on in his complicated mind, she couldn't deny that it was definitely affecting hers that day. She picked up a bright red pencil and began to draw, hoping that laying the object of her thoughts on the paper would help her get over the fluttering sensation she felt when they stood in front of her door.

Once she was done, she took a deep blue pigment and added a few details and colour around the two eyes she had drawn. Although she chose not to draw any other features, (Y/N) managed to render their glow and intensity in a pretty accurate way. Satisfied with her work, she took the drawing and hid it with the others in her drawer. Like she had hoped, she now felt a welcome sense of serenity and decided to head out and find something to eat in the mess hall.

The place was almost empty, with only a few other crew members sitting across the cafeteria in their civilian clothes. The crew still had a couple of days on leave and it seemed like most of her colleagues were still out. She grabbed a plate and sat at one of the many tables. She picked up her datapad and went through her messages and the daily news while eating. (Y/N) then caught a small column in the cultural section of a magazine she liked and smiled.

There was a new art exhibition that had opened recently in a gallery she knew on Coruscant. It featured various contemporary artists from Naboo, a few of them she had already heard of. It would be a nice boost for her morale to be reminded of her homeworld before getting back to work. She picked up her empty tray and while disposing of it she decided that she would spend the rest of her day at the gallery.

While walking along the corridors on her way back to her cabin, (Y/N) tried to contact her friend Ania on her datapad. She answered rapidly and they exchanged a few messages. She invited her to come with her but Ania already had other plans. She was supposed to spend her day with the guy she had met at the bar the night before. "Seems like they got along pretty well!" she said internally with a chuckle. She figured it wouldn't be so bad to go alone.

Alone... An idea flew through her mind but she immediately shook her head. "No way. He's not going to want to go out with a subordinate." she told herself.

On the other hand... He did mention he felt lonely sometimes, and it was not like she was asking him out on an actual date. She felt her cheeks blush slightly. It was just a friendly proposition. And if she was so convinced he would refuse, where was the harm? She was just being polite.

Before she could change her mind again, (Y/N) turned a corner and headed towards Thrawn's office. She arrived a couple of minutes later and hesitated in front of the door. She hadn't thought this through, but she knocked anyway. There was no need to think about it if it was just a polite offer. She took a deep breath when the door slid open and she entered the room.

The Chiss' back was turned and he was concentrating on the holomap opened in front of him. A large display of various planetary systems was up, some of the planets highlighted in red. His arms were crossed, a hand on his chin as he pensively looked at the map. (Y/N) wasn't sure if she was supposed to talk first, or even if he had realized she was there when he broke the silence.

"How are you feeling today, Lieutenant (L/N)?" He closed the holomap and turned around to face her.

"How did you...? Yes, I feel a lot better, Admiral. Thank you for asking. The meds that were sent to me are helping quite a bit."

"I'm glad to hear it. What brings you to my office?" His voice was low and calm, a ghost of a smile on his lips. In the dim light of the room, the faint glow of his eyes was even more noticeable and gave the young woman a hard time forming a coherent sentence.

"I stumbled upon a column in the news about an exhibit down on the surface. I am going to spend the afternoon there and I remembered what you mentioned yesterday. I thought I could offer you to come, if you were not busy..." She trailed off, more nervous than she wanted to admit about his answer. Seeing the Admiral remaining silent, she added a little feebly: "I just figured you might want to get off the ship for a bit before we depart, sir."

"I appreciate your consideration, Lieutenant. I still have some work to do, but it shouldn't take very long before I'm done. Would it be alright with you if I met you there in a couple of hours?"

"Of course, I'll send you the details."

"Very well. I'll see you then." He bowed slightly and walked back to his desk without another word.

The young woman took the hint and nodded back before leaving the Admiral to his work. On her way back to her quarters, she shook her head again with incredulity. He actually accepted her offer. She was going to an art gallery with Thrawn.

Back in her room, she went through her clothes, trying to find something elegant enough to wear to blend in with Coruscant's elite, but not too fancy either. (Y/N) didn't want to look like she had put a lot of effort into it. A difficult task, considering she didn't own that many options. She ended up choosing her pastel coloured dress made with a flowy and lightweight material. It fell just below her knees and in itself was pretty simple. She made a few braids in her hair, adding some gold and silver hair cuffs here and there. She also chose a wide golden arm band that she wrapped around her upper arm to hide the small bandage covering her wound. She put on a bit of makeup to add a soft glow to her face and she headed to the shuttles.