Of course, many of those unpleasant memories were wrapped around the women who’d been assigned to look after her aboard her ships. Some of them had been reasonable; others hadn’t understood her at all. She would be on the other side of the relationship this time, which should help a lot.
Maybe. If she was being honest, she would have to admit that she probably hadn’t been the easiest of caregiver assignments, either. A lot of that time blurred together, but she distinctly remembered several long-term sulks and more than a few full-rage screaming fits.
To take that job onto herself—to face a sky-walker with all that entailed—to try to make a little girl’s life less stressful—
She squared her shoulders. Visiting those dark parts of her past would be hard. But it might be her only chance to once again see Thrawn. It would certainly be her best chance for real observation of him. “All right,” she said. “Yes. I’ll take it.”
“Whoa,” the officer warned. “It’s not that easy. You’d still need—”
He broke off as the door behind her opened. Thalias turned to see a middle-aged man stride into the office. Pinned high on his yellow outerwrap robe was the sunrise crest of a Mitth family syndic. “I see I’m not too late,” he commented. “Mitth’ali’astov, I presume?”
“Yes,” Thalias said, frowning. “And you?”
“Syndic Mitth’urf’ianico,” the man identified himself, his eyes shifting to the officer. “I understand the young lady is trying to secure a place aboard the Springhawk?”
“She is, Syndic,” the officer said, his eyes narrowing a bit more. “You’ll excuse me, but this is a matter for the fleet, not the Aristocra.”
“Not if she’s going aboard as a Mitth family observer,” Thurfian countered.
The officer shook his head. “Her datawork isn’t in order for that.”
“Someone in the family delayed the processing,” Thalias added.
“I see,” Thurfian said. “And there’s nothing that can be done?”
“There’s an opening for the sky-walker’s caregiver,” Thalias said. “We were just starting to talk about that.”
“Perfect,” Thurfian said, brightening. “What still needs to be done to make that happen?”
“It’s not that easy,” the officer said.
“Of course it is,” Thurfian said. “The position’s open, and the Mitth family still has the right of observation.”
“The approvals haven’t been completed.”
“I’m completing them now,” Thurfian said.
The officer shook his head. “With all due respect, Syndic—”
“With all due respect to you,” Thurfian interrupted. He drew himself up—
And suddenly Thalias had a sense of the true power the Syndicure wielded. It stretched far past their political authority, carrying the full weight of Chiss history. “The Ascendancy lies under threat of attack,” Thurfian said, his voice low and dark. “The Defense Force and Expansionary Fleet need to stand at full readiness. Every ship that requires a sky-walker needs to have one, and a sky-walker cannot go aboard without a caregiver. The Springhawk leaves Naporar in four hours for combat. We don’t have time—you don’t have time—to dither around.”
He took a deep breath, and it seemed to Thalias that his stance and manner softened a bit. “Now. You have here a caregiver who’s ready, willing, and able to serve. You have her family’s authorization to be aboard. Surely you can find a way to provide the Springhawk the resources it needs for the task that lies ahead.”
For a moment he and the officer remained silent, their eyes locked. The rivalry between the fleet and the Aristocra…
But there were reason and urgency in Thurfian’s argument, and the officer clearly knew it. “Very well,” he said. He lowered his eyes and worked his questis a moment. “All right,” he said, looking up at Thalias. “Your orders, instructions, and authorizations are on your questis. Read them, and be where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there.” His eyes flicked to Thurfian. “As Syndic Thurfian said, the Springhawk leaves in four hours.”
“Thank you,” Thalias said.
“You’re welcome.” He gave her a small smile. “Welcome to the Expansionary Fleet, Caregiver Thalias. And best of luck with that sky-walker.”
A moment later, Thalias and Thurfian were back out in the corridor. “Thank you,” Thalias said. “You were just in time.”
“I’m glad I could help,” Thurfian said, smiling. “You really are a remarkable person, Thalias.”
She felt her face warm. “Thank you,” she said again.
“And as I helped you,” Thurfian continued, “there’s something you can do to help me.”
Thalias felt herself draw back from him. “Excuse me?” she asked carefully, coming to a halt.
“Time is short,” Thurfian said, taking her arm and starting them moving again. “Come. I’ll tell you on the way to your ship.”
* * *
—
It had been two decades since Thalias had had to even read a military timetable, let alone follow one. Fortunately, once the initial shock wore off, old habits and reflexes took over and she made it to the Springhawk shuttle in plenty of time.
The young girl was waiting in the sky-walker suite’s dayroom when she arrived, sprawled across a massive chair and playing a tap-click game on her questis. She looked to be nine or ten, but sky-walkers tended to be on the short side, so that was only a guess. She looked up as Thalias came through the hatchway, gave the woman a rather suspicious-looking appraisal, then returned her attention to the game. Thalias started to introduce herself, remembered how touchy she’d usually been whenever a new caregiver came to call, and instead took her luggage to her part of the suite.
She took her time getting settled. By the time she once again stepped into the dayroom, the girl had set her questis on the chair beside her and was gazing moodily at the line of repeater displays set into the bulkhead beneath the snack bar. “Have we left yet?” Thalias asked.
The girl nodded. “A little while ago,” she said. She hesitated, then furtively looked over at Thalias. “Are you my new momish?”
“I’m your new caregiver,” Thalias said, frowning slightly. Momish? Was that a new official term for her position, or was it something this girl had come up with on her own? “I’ll be taking care of you while we’re aboard the Springhawk,” she continued as she walked over to one of the other chairs and sat down. “My name’s Thalias. What’s yours?”