Infiltration (Thrawn x Reader)

Chapter 14 - Confessions

Author's note: This one is almost twice the length of the last chapter. I hope you enjoy! Everything is starting to come together. Destiny, one might say...

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Darro's POV

Something was off. Thrawn's command shuttle had landed, I know it did. I'd heard the announcement. But it's been three hours, and she was nowhere to be found. Nervous energy was flowing through me. Normally, I could feel her energy coursing through the ship. But not now. Surely, she would have returned with him. But she always checks in, and she hasn't. I growled a deep sound as I reached for my datapad.

To Thrawn: Grand Admiral, have you seen the Commander?

Grand Admiral. I hope the rumors are true, or that was an embarrassing slip up.

I threw it on to the bed, not expecting a reply. Maybe they were just doing what they do. But no. Something was wrong. And when my datapad went off almost the moment it hit the bed, my worries were reinforced. I picked it up.

Meet me in my office in ten.

I let out a strained huff, then rounded up the rest of the team. Together, we walked to his office.

"Dar? What's up?" Kandria asked lightly after a moment. Nobody had questioned my summons, all following me silently. I could almost picture Lilya's tiny lip twitch at Kandra speaking first. She always seemed to find it humorous, though I didn't know why.

"I don't know. I just have a feeling."

"So... Thrawn requested us? Not Lilya?"

I shook my head. "I don't know," I repeated softly. Nobody else spoke until we were all seated in Thrawn's spacious, white office. Lilya wasn't there. My jaw was beginning to ache from the pressure of clenching it and unclenching it. Thrawn looked completely normal, but anxious energy radiated off him. He was waiting for something.

"Sir, what has happened?" Kandria blurted out. Despite myself, I felt my own twinge of humor.

A few years ago, anybody speaking out like that to Thrawn would have made my chest tighten. Even Lilya, with her smart mouth. But we've seen Thrawn change. I've seen the way he looks at her when she isn't looking. But I've also seen the short, clipped moments where Lilya's expression goes soft, as if she's remembering something. Remembering him.

She used to reside lightly in the force, her soul gentle and soft, despite her outer hardness. I knew from the moment I met her that she was not what she appeared. But after meeting Thrawn, it changed. Her presence in the force grew passionate, all-encompassing. Sometimes being around her and Thrawn at the same time was almost overwhelming, their energy washing everything else away. Perhaps if I was more sensitive to the force, I could understand it better. But I'm not.

It seems so odd she would fall for him. I've known her for ten years now. I know she is a Rebel. I know she despises the Empire. I don't know what her purpose is; she does her job here well. I've never seen her falter, even when the situation is questionable. But I know she's here on someone's orders, and it isn't an Imperial order. I've seen her at night, when she'd come to my quarters for company. The darkness that covers her face, the regret, the anger. The Empire infuriates her, though it is buried deep. And yet, she's head over heels for the Grand Admiral of the Seventh Fleet. I knew now the rumors were correct, as he wore the crisp white uniform of the GA.

"Lilya had a mission on Coruscant that didn't go well." I stared at him. Surely, he had more to say than that. For once, I wished Kandria would speak up. When nobody did, I swallowed the rage I felt building.

"Where is she?" I asked calmly. His red eyes lingered over me, intense. If I hadn't seen those same eyes soften as they gazed at Lilya, I would be nervous. But at the moment, with the fear bubbling inside me for Lilya's safety, my mind kept picturing them soft and focused, looking at her. Surely it wasn't his fault the mission went south, right? And for the love of gods, surely she's alive? Right?