Infiltration (Thrawn x Reader)

Chapter 8 - Dinner with the Admiral

Two days later

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I walked into Thrawn's office exactly when the message had said, BD on my right shoulder. His tall, straight frame was sitting at his desk, tapping at his datapad. He looked up at my entry, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Ah, Eli told me you'd made a friend," he said, motioning at a chair across from him.

I looked over at BD, and gave him a small smile. "He does like me, I think." When I sat down, he jumped off my shoulder onto the chair next to me. I smiled, stifling a giggle. A droid in a chair, how curious.

"Yes. And do you like him?"

I looked up at Thrawn, pushing my face back to normal. It hadn't been a question I'd expected from him. His face was its usual hard exterior, but his voice had something lacing it that I had not heard before, nor could I place it.

"I do. I was hoping I could keep him, actually," I said cautiously. My eyes drifted back to BD, not wanting to look Thrawn in his glowing eyes anymore, or his perfectly lined face.

"I see no issue with that. Have you had him looked over?"

I nodded. "Darro has thoroughly gone through his memory. He has a lot of data about planetary creatures and such." He also had a lot of details about various Imperial personnel, including the inquisitors. Even Darro hadn't known about some of the troopers he had data on.

"And not your slicer?" he asked. I finally looked back up at him.

I shrugged, nonchalant. "Darro was free, and he likes droids." This wasn't true. I trusted Obrinn with my life, but not when it came to BD. He had clandestine Rebel information, and I didn't know what she would do with it. Darro wouldn't say a word to anyone, I knew.

Thrawn nodded slowly. His face gave away nothing, and yet, I was abruptly struck with hatred for the man. Occasionally his cold demeanor struck me as insincere, as if deep down, he had rich emotions and desires. But not right now. His eyes bore into me, and I got the strong feeling he didn't like me. At all.

We locked eyes for longer than normal, and my unease grew. What did he know? Against my better judgment, my eyes finally split from his, drifting over his face, his dark, blue-black hair, his defined, tall posture. His chest and shoulders were broad, much wider than mine, but not nearly as beefy as Finon.

Finally, he spoke, my attention snapping back to his eyes. "Would you care to join me for a meal?" I blinked at him. A... meal? I hesitated, unsure and completely caught off guard.

"Uh, sure. I mean yes," I corrected. He stood up, heading for the door. Completely dumbfounded, I followed, my mind racing. His tone had been light, and it had definitely been a question, not a command. What was he playing at?

We left his office, heading toward the forward bow, to my surprise, back toward the officer's quarters. Where exactly was he planning on eating? BD's quick, metal footsteps sounded from beside me, a small comfort to my racing mind.

Okay, option one, he knows who I am and is going to interrogate me.

Option two, he knows who I am, and is going to try to slowly trick me into revealing myself.

And option three, the least likely of them all, he simply wants to share a meal with me.

The deeper we went, the less frequently we passed doors, the chambers behind them becoming bigger and more spread out. I glanced at the door to my room as we passed it. Finally, we took a right, and reached the end of a hallway. Thrawn entered his code cylinder, and the door opened. He motioned for me to enter. I reached my hand down for BD to hop on my shoulder, then entered.