HEY EVERYONE!

Thank you for giving this crazy story a chance and for those of you who stuck around - thank you! I kind of wrapped this up a bit too quickly, but I am heading off into the wild blue yonder. I will be attending a school that doesn't have internet or wifi, and then after that, starting a job whose hours will seriously not allow me much time to write. SO ANYWAYS, that means that I wanted to conclude this story as quickly as I could before I left.

I apologize for dropping the "replying to reviews" thing - I have been so swamped with getting prepared to leave that I simply haven't have the time. Answering the reviews would usually take me about an hour before I got writing done. Just know that I truly appreciate ALL OF YOU so much, from the bottom of my heart, and I will miss you all so terribly while I am gone.

Take care, and be excellent to each other.

Eli let Thrawn take care of him.

He had tried to remain stoic, keeping the true extent of his suffering as hidden as he possibly could, but even he had a breaking point. And break he did. It was like waking up from one nightmare to find yourself in another.

The swell of pain slowly crept back into his consciousness, radiating from his back in waves, at once brutal, sharp, all encompassing… and then reseeding, leaving his body trembling from weakness… every last one of his muscles exhausted as he went from tensing to relaxing. Over and over again.

But now that he was awake, he couldn't slip back into unconsciousness. The pain was just under the cusp of forcing unconsciousness… leaving Eli in a torment he couldn't escape.

And that's wasn't even to mention the guilt… after overhearing Thrawn revealing so much of himself at such a vulnerable time… and then all the attention was back on him.

Granted, it was exactly the thing Thrawn would have wanted.

"We're docking now," Hera's voice echoed into the cabin.

For whatever reason, Eli's body reacted with another wave of pain, this time much worse than the last. Eli hissed through his clenched jaw and tightened his grip on Thrawn's hand. He was almost certain it was hurting the Chiss, but Thrawn never conveyed anything to suggest it was.

"You hear that?" Thrawn said, as cheerfully as Eli had ever heard him. It absolutely terrified him. "We're docking. A few more minutes… You just have to hold out that much longer."

"I can do that," Eli muttered, his voice shaking through his teeth. It was a lie. And he knew it. And he was pretty sure Thrawn knew it too.

Chest heaving, Eli closed his eyes and tried his best to focus… to stay strong… to push past the pain and simply survive. They'd come so far… he had to hold out.

Before he knew it, he felt Thrawn's hands on his neck… removing the IV needle that was there…. His arms worming their way underneath him.

"Wh-what's h-happen-ing," Eli mumbled haltingly.

"I'm not waiting for them to bring in a grav-stretcher," Thrawn answered.

Eli could feel the effort it took for Thrawn to lift him… he was practically dead weight. Dead.

Don't think that…

Eli's thoughts were more like pleading with himself rather than orders.
"I'm cold," he whimpered. He could feel the sweat coating his body, so he didn't know why he wasn't burning with fever instead.

"Hold on," Thrawn said.

Eli winced a little as bright lights consumed his vision, his fingers weakly grasping at Thrawn's clothes. Reality was getting more and more difficult to figure out. A swooshing sound – a door opening… that was the airlock… they were docked.

And more bright lights. Voices, muffled and distant, Put him down. It's quite alright, I can carry him. We will go faster if you just put him down.

A weak gasp escaped his quivering lips as he felt his body rest on a new surface… cold fabric… soft…. And then movement that made him dizzy. They were going somewhere… quickly.

"Th-thrawn?" Eli mumbled.

I'm here.

How long the journey took, all Eli knew was that it took too long before he felt hands on him again. His vision was too blurry to make out… but there were too many. Working hands. Fast. And there it was – a touch of comfort, on his shoulder.

I'll stay with you.

A poke in the arm and then Eli Vanto knew nothing more.

- SWR-

The nurse withdrew the needle from Eli's arm and motioned for the others to continue. Thrawn had never seen a patient prepped to enter a bacta tank before, and even though he was still worried for Eli's safety, his curiosity couldn't be ignored.

The other two nurses moved in quickly, working together seamlessly. They each held a short tube, and they each threaded it into their respective places – the larger tube went down Eli's throat, the other into his nostril.

"That is why the patient must be unconscious," Thrawn thought out loud.

"They usually resist that part, yes," one of the nurses said, fitting the mask over Eli's face.

"Alright, lift on three," the head nurse said, Thrawn taking the cue and moving into a position to help. And then on the count of three, the four of them lifted him together.

"Big boy," one of the nurses said with a laugh as they lifted.

"I always believed he was typical of humans," Thrawn muttered.

The nurses shared a laugh, which Thrawn didn't understand. But there was something about their calmness, their humor, which did more to put him at ease. It couldn't be that serious, could it? Unless their line of work required a macabre humor simply to endure.

Thrawn drove that thought away as the group slid Eli into the bacta tank. The liquid was somewhat gelatinous, bluish in hue… and for a moment, Thrawn looked down into the tank, the distorted imagine rippling underneath him.

"Do you believe he will survive?" he asked.

"Without a doubt," the head nurse said. "He's a fighter. Captain Syndulla told us he'd been in that condition for a few days. If he can hold out that long, he'll survive anything."

"When will we know for certain?"

"Step over here and find out."

The nurse showed Thrawn the medical read out display that was next to the tank. Thrawn was pleased – he could stand next to the tank, keeping an eye on Eli, and his condition, without moving.

And without asking permission, Thrawn remained where he was, his eyes sweeping from Eli's unconscious form, to the medical readouts, and back again. He would have been content to remain there until Eli was ready to come out, but he became slowly aware that he was being watched. Finally, he spoke.

"I do not intend to move," he said.

"She did warn us that you would be a stubborn one," the nurse said. "Can I at least get you a chair?"

"It will be unnecessary."

"Something to eat?"

"I am content."

"Oh, yes, and self-deprecating, too, I see. I'll see what I can find."

Thrawn just kept staring at Eli. It was comforting to see the read outs on the monitor… although he couldn't understand everything, it all seemed to be very positive. He became aware of a presence behind him and he sighed.

"Can you help me understand these readings?"

"It may be a little beyond your abilities. Unless you have a medical background-"

"I do, in a way."

"Well, 'in a way' isn't the same as-"

"Humor me, then."

The nurse sighed, and after an annoyed "very well," went through and explained how Thrawn could read the displays. She went very fast and used as much technical terminology as she could, and while Thrawn listened, he helped himself to the plate of food she had brought.

She paused, assuming he realized the matter was beyond him, but Thrawn corrected her with a, "No, go on, I find this lesson will be mutually beneficial. I will be able to better understand the condition of my friend, and you will not be bothered by me asking for updates."

"You couldn't have possibly picked up on all that," the nurse said with a faint smile on her voice.

And Thrawn replied, verbatim, everything she had just told him, only slightly adjusting the wording when it better suited the subject matter.

"I remember everything," Thrawn finished.

He turned to give the nurse a small smile, and then changed the subject, "I see I will have to become accustomed to not being the only non-human here."

"We don't have the same agenda as the Empire," the nurse said.

"And what agenda is that?" Thrawn asked, immediately curious. The perspective of outsiders was a weakness he would never get over.

"That there's only one correct solution to a problem."

"We shall see."

-SWR-

Thrawn kept true to his promise to not leave the bacta tank. He refused to leave even when he grew tired, instead sitting down next to it, leaning back against the cool glass, resting his face against the tank and sleeping for short periods.

If anyone wanted to talk to him, they were forced to find him in the medical wing. And every time he talked to his visitors, he did so while his eyes remained fixed on either Eli or the display.

Even when Hera came to tell him that the Ghost was leaving.

"And you'll be fine?"

"To which situation are you referring to?"

"I just told you rebel leadership is going to hold a hearing-"

"Oh, yes. That will be nonconsequential. They will sit me down and tell me how very disappointing all of my past actions have been, and then they will offer me a position in your rebellion. The hearing is merely a formality."

"I wish I had your confidence."

"It's not confidence, Captain Syndulla, merely familiarity. All organizations are the same. I've yet to see any act differently."

"You must ruffle feathers everywhere you go."

"I have a habit with not following protocol."

"You are still going to have to offer them something."

"Something more than my knowledge?" At this Thrawn turned to look over his shoulder.

"We've had Imperial defectors before."

"None nearly as high ranking. And none with access to the information I possess. But I'll concede the point. I do hold something far more valuable. Something that will undoubtedly sway the opinions of the entire galaxy to your side."

Thrawn could see Hera's eyebrows raise. Surprise. They truly had no idea what was coming for them.

"You wish to ask but are uncertain whether I will share the information with you," Thrawn said, smiling and turning to look back at the bacta tank. "It took Eli and I quite some time to unravel it. Years in fact. And without Eli's skills, we wouldn't have unraveled it at all.

"It's a super weapon, on a scale you simply cannot fathom. It will destroy entire worlds. The guilty along with the innocent.

"Once this weapon is unleashed, there will be no turning back from the cusp of civil war. Systems that have so far remained loyal to the Empire will switch sides. The fighting will be extended, and bloody, and leave your galaxy in ruin, making it all the easier for true Evil to conquer it.

"There are far more evil things in this universe than the Empire, Captain Syndulla. I tried to dissuade the Emperor from using this weapon and was called a traitor. His brutality cannot see the logic of the situation. The only way your galaxy can be prepared for the inevitable is by avoiding this war."

"This weapon…" Hera said after a lengthy pause. "Is there a way to stop it?"

"Not that I am aware of."

Thrawn smiled again and turned to face Hera.

"But that does not mean you will not try."