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Eli walks through the halls of the Mitth Estate, accompanied by two armed guards. He doesn’t want to be here. The leadership of this family has been very vocal about their distaste for him and general displeasure that he is allowed to serve in the EDF. Up until recently Eli thought he could skate by mostly unnoticed. But apparently his research has brought him more towards infamy and with the recent court martial…Well, he supposes it was only a matter of time before a family tries to blackmail him into doing their bidding.
He is brought into an ornate room and told to remain seated while one of the guards goes to fetch the Syndic. He glances around the room and wishes he had any of Thrawn’s ability to deduce characteristics of people based on their choice of decor. There are two ornate couches and several paintings of landscapes.
“The Syndic will see you now.”
He is ushered from the antechamber into the room where one woman in ornate robes waits and two more stand in the periphery, dressed in what can only be described as spacer garb.
“Good afternoon, Eli’Van’to. My name is Syndic Mitth’ali’astov. I heard that you were recently dismissed from service.”
“I heard that you were the one to sign the paper sealing my fate.” He also heard that her and Samakro are friendly and that, upon his dismissal, Samakro excused himself post haste to place an angry call.
Her eyes glow brighter. “You’re quite sassy for an alien in a precarious position.”
“I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want something from me. So maybe I shouldn’t be too concerned about my position.”
“Perhaps I want you dead.”
“This doesn’t look like an execution.”
“Pray tell, what do you think this meeting is then?”
He looks at the two women. The older one looks familiar in a distant way. Her hair is long and uncombed. She wears a practical shirt and scarf with a vest hanging open—an obvious choice to show the blaster tucked inside. She stands in parade rest—prior military.
The younger woman stands closer to Thalias, watching him closely like she is waiting for an attack. Her hair is closely cropped and, unlike her compatriot, she wears a blaster openly strapped to her thigh.
“You want me to join your little group. You know I have skills and you know that the Syndicure would push for my expulsion from the EDF.” It all falls into place. “Thurfian is on his deathbed and to prove your worth as his replacement, you signed off on it, thus putting me in a place with no safety net. You not only secured your own promotion, but my place in your ranks.” He glares at them. “Why?”
The older woman scoffs. “He is clever.”
The syndic grins. “I have heard that you are familiar with navigators and the skills they hold.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then are you also aware that… when trained properly and not abused by the system, Navigators have powers the likes of which we have never seen. Families are beginning to see this and we,” she motions to the three of them, “are a force preventing the trafficking of navigators that will ultimately cause a civil war.”
“So what do you want me to do?”
“It is difficult for these young girls to trust us after everything that has happened. We want you to be the one to help us save them. You will have other duties of course, asset prediction and recognition. However, your first assignment is much more difficult.”
He moves to the edge of his seat.
“We are preparing for civil war and we cannot do that without an army… One Thrawn has been amassing for years now. We want you to bring him home, no matter the cost.”
“I think you overestimate what I am to him.”
“We do not,” the older woman says.
“I have seen exactly how this will be,” the younger says. “I will be your guide and it will all align as it is meant to be.”
“Well then,” Eli says. “Where do I sign?”