Through Imperial Eyes

Chapter 14

His companion. It was the small confirmation that (Y/N) was missing up until that moment. The young woman instantly felt relieved at the thought that he, too, believed they shared a real bond. Not only that, but that he considered it important enough for him to tell other people about it. She turned her head away trying to hide her emotions. Even if they were just a small group of girls and she couldn't communicate with them, it still brought her some happiness. In fact, their inability to be understood by the Chimaera's crew was probably one of the key factors for his honesty.

"Well, I guess you can tell the girls that I'm happy to meet them." she said, putting a smile in her voice.

Thrawn spoke once more with the blue-skinned girls and they smiled at her again. They then started to walk away from the couple and went into their own quarters.

"I translated your message in Cheunh and advised them that they should go and get some well-deserved rest." he explained.

"Right. Thank you." she answered while they entered his own cabin. "If you don't mind me asking, why were they taken prisoner in the first place? They're so young!"

"They're our most well-guarded secret. These young girls are the reason why the Chiss can travel through the Unknown Regions without navicomputers." he said.

"How so?" she wondered.

"They have a very rare ability called Third Sight. I mentioned it before when I talked about General Skywalker being able to predict the near future. They share the same capacity and use it to help our ships navigate through hyperspace without needing to calculate trajectories. They can see any approaching object in advance and reorient the vessels' trajectory to avoid them."

(Y/N) was bewildered by his explanation. The thought of entrusting the life of a whole crew, the safety of a whole ship to such young children seemed insane. She resisted her urge to laugh at how crazy that sounded because some part of her knew he wouldn't lie to her. It was also a logical answer considering the lengths the Grysks went to to hide them.

"As I said, Force sensitive children are very rare. Among our species, almost all of them are girls and their ability fades over time. My own older sister was gifted with Third Sight and became a pilot." he continued. "The Ascendency sees them as our most valuable resource and treats them accordingly, like we collectively protect all of our children."

"Really?" she asked with a small voice when she heard the last part.

"Yes. They're considered one of the most precious things we could possess. Chiss children are the future of our species and are treated with the utmost care." Thrawn answered, his red irises staring at the young woman's face.

At that moment, (Y/N) buried her face in his chest. She felt tears roll down her face as she lost control of her emotions. After seeing him surrounded by all the little girls, after he had introduced her as his partner and now after hearing about how his people cherished their youth, it was more than she could handle. She put her arms around him and let out soft sobs. She couldn't help but feel hopeful that he would actually be happy about her situation.

He, on the other hand, was slightly taken aback by her sudden outburst. After a second of standing still, he embraced her and did his best to comfort the young woman. He let her cry for a long moment, holding her tightly against him and letting his head rest on top of hers.

"(Y/N), please, you know you can tell me everything." he finally pleaded.

She couldn't help but laugh softly at what he said. Surely he had put all the pieces together. She let go of him enough to be able to look at him and examined his face. He had that small wrinkle of worry between his brows she had only seen once before.

"I guess you already know then?" she asked before saying: "I'm pregnant, Thrawn."

He stayed silent for a couple of seconds, his glowing eyes scanning her face before glancing rapidly at her body. What he was looking for exactly, she didn't know, so she waited for him to speak.

"I admit that I did notice a slight roundness in your figure and an increase in your body temperature recently." he conceded. "However, neither were combined with other signs usually indicating a pregnancy, nor did I find the time or the opportunity to confirm if our two species were compatible enough to conceive in the first place."

"Well, I often felt nauseous in the last few months. I was just lucky that it didn't happen when you were around. It made it easier to hide it from you." she admitted.

"How far along are you?" he then asked, gently cupping her face in his hand.

"I'm guessing around three and a half months, maybe a little more. I have to admit I was scared to get in trouble if I went to the medbay." she confessed. "I was also scared to tell you up until now. I didn't know if you would be happy about it."

"You didn't have to be scared, (Y/N). Even if with our careers it will surely become complicated, we'll find a way to make it work." the Grand Admiral said before giving her a reassuring kiss. "I love you, and I'll do everything in my power to protect you and our child."

Thrawn's eyes were glowing intensely, and she knew that he was telling the truth. A warm feeling of happiness finally dissolved all the remaining fear she had kept bottled up inside until that moment. She wrapped her arms around his neck, he found her lips and they sealed his promise with another kiss.

"I love you too." she concluded with a smile.