Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I’m telling you, there’s a thing with all of them, like clockwork,” Lastok is gesturing a little wildly as he talks, and Punch is only just quick enough to prevent his drink from getting knocked over. 

“Thrawn just gets huge once a year,” Rado continues, with slightly less aggressive hand gesturing now. 

“He always is, though, he’s so wide,” Venka puts in, a little breathlessly. He has squeezed himself in between Covell and Punch, sitting almost on Covell’s lap. Covell reaches out and pinches his upper arm.

“Spent a lot of time looking at Thrawn since he arrived here, have you Benji?” Venka splutters at the question. He chokes on his ale and Covell laughs. 

“Navy boys,” Punch mutters as he pats Venka between the shoulder blades. 

Covell had only seen a few glimpses of Thrawn. He generally sticks to his flagship, the Chimaera. The Executor had been repaired after her almost catastrophic damages at Endor and made a more impressive ship in Covell’s opinion, but Thrawn had insisted. It had been the subject of quite a bit of muttering over the years, but then again, Thrawn was probably very used to that.

Now, though, with a delegation of his own people visiting, he has opted to host the talks at the Executor. A little showing off, no doubt. The General had been to Thrawn’s home planet over a year ago. He’d come back quite impressed with the rigorous Chiss training, to a point where they’d spent a very unhappy week trying out Chiss sparring. Covell thinks his legs still haven’t recovered.

For the Chiss to venture out this far away from their Ascendancy is rare, and everyone on board the Executor knows the weight of that gesture. 

That doesn’t mean scuttlebutt isn’t alight with all sorts of stories about the Chiss, some even more outlandish than the next.

Lastok politely waits for Venka to stop coughing before talking on. “No, this is a thing, I think they get larger for winter, like a garu-bear.” 

There’s silence around the table as everyone ponders this.

“Wouldn’t Thrawn be domesticated, though?” 

Punch, Lastok and Covell stare at Venka. Covell is aware he’s gaping, but he can’t help it. It’s easy to forget Venka is from a ridiculously rich Coruscanti family. As well as he fits in with their drinking nights, he is all Core. And he’s just shown how deep that attitude goes.

“Are you suggesting Thrawn is some sort of animal?” Lastok’s eyes have narrowed dangerously. 

Venka seems entirely oblivious to the frosty atmosphere his statement has created. “Of course not, but you know how it is with aliens, one can expect to see some more base instincts pop up. I’d say Thrawn has done well for himself in spite of all that.”

Punch grunts and grabs Venka by the arm, and that finally seems to shake him out of it. He glances at Punch’s large hand easily spanning his lean bicep and pales. 

“The best moment to stop talking about Thrawn like that was before you started sprouting Core nonsense, kid. The second best moment is now. Do I make myself clear?” Punch gives Venka a glower that usually sends ensigns scrambling, and Venka shifts in his seat.

“It’s just basic biology,” he protests, and Covell groans out loud now. 

“Why don’t you ask them, then, if you’re that sure of yourself,” Lastok puts in. He’s looking at the entrance to the mess, and Covell turns to look as well.

General Veers has stepped in with three Chiss in tow. Covell recognises them right away, they’ve been following Veers around all day like tall, red-eyed shadows. One of them is a stern looking General called Drask, with a face that looks as if he never smiles. The other is a massive, white-haired bearded General called Ba’kif. Ba’kif had looked quite pleased while Veers had shown him around, and Covell likes him. 

The third Chiss is not as huge as the other two. He’d introduced himself as Lieutenant Stent, and he’d eagerly looked at the Herd’s sparring. He’d seemed a lot more animated than the other two, eager to learn and eager to join in.

The four of them linger at the entrance. Stent speaks to Ba’kif, and then the older Chiss walk to the bar with Veers, leaving Stent standing at the entrance. His keen red eyes move over the room, clearly looking for a place to sit. Before Covell can say anything, Lastok is already waving him over.

Stent seems mildly confused at the gesture, but does come their way. Punch has let go of Venka’s arm and pulls out a chair. With a jerking sideways motion of his head, Stent sits down.

“Good evening.” 

Stent’s Basic is excellent, with just a hint of something exotic swirling underneath the words. He is slowly looking each and every one of them in the eye, as if he’s sizing them up. Venka looks nervous and he actually twitches when Stent’s eyes come to rest on him. Stent does not seem to blink at all, and the full weight of that glowing red gaze is every bit as intimidating as it is on Thrawn.

Punch glances at Venka and then seems to take pity on him.

“Good evening. Stent, right? We met when you were shown around the AT-AT. I’m Punch, this one is Freja, the guy that waved at you is Rado and the pretty Navy boy here is Benji.” 

Stent’s face relaxes and that takes the frost out of the air.

“Benji has a question for you, actually,” Lastok says, and Covell wants to kick at his shins. Stent, however, seems entirely unbothered. 

“Give me what you are drinking, and I will answer any question.”

Lastok looks like Life Day has come early, and he scrambles to get them all drinks. As they wait for him, Stent eyes Venka again. Covell has the vague sense that Stent somehow knows what they were talking about just now. Ridiculous, of course, they were too far away to hear something, even with that enhanced Chiss hearing everyone had been warned about.

Thankfully, Lastok comes back quickly with more ale. Stent sniffs at his glass rather warily, but then downs it in one great gulp. Venka looks as if he is witnessing something that he finds mildly offensive.

“Now,” Stent says, as he very calmly grabs the ale that was meant for Venka and downs that as well. “What did you want to ask, Benji?” His pronunciation of Venka’s name is slightly off, just enough to make Venka frown. With how good Stent’s Basic is, Covell knows it’s on purpose, though he can’t quite make out the reason.

Venka glowers at Lastok. Stent lifts an eyebrow. 

Venka is saved by the entrance of Grand Admiral Thrawn and Admiral Motti. Or, to be exact, by how they are entwined together as they enter. Thrawn’s arm rests around Motti’s sizeable waist, pulling him flush against his side. One of Motti’s scandalously ungloved hands rests just over the very generous swell of Thrawn’s behind. 

“Ah, look at them,” Punch says, sounding rather like a proud parent. 

“Admiral Conan Antonio Motti does have good taste,” Stent says, with smugness dripping off his voice.

“It’s only because you Chiss all got some thing going on, ” Venka blurts out.

There’s a flash of something on that alien face, and Stent’s upper lip twitches. It looks like a sneer, showing a very sharp canine. It doesn’t quite feel like a sneer, though. If Covell had to guess, he’d say Stent is very amused at Venka’s outrage. 

“Is that what you tell yourself to feel better about the way you look at us, Human?” 

For the second time that night, Venka starts coughing. Covell knows Stent is right. Venka had been eyeing the solid bulk of Thrawn. He’d even told Covell about it, in a hushed whisper, blushing a furious red. As any good Core boy, Venka had been brought up with very rigorous ideas of what is proper and what is not. Finding an alien attractive is certainly not proper.

“I’m sure Captain Venka didn’t mean to offend,” Covell says. As much as he doesn’t care for Venka’s Core opinions, he does genuinely like him a lot, and he knows Venka has had very limited contact with people outside his usual circles. He needs to be exposed to these things, and Covell has no doubt it’ll bring him out of his shell.

Stent snorts.

“I’m not offended, but I hope Captain Venka will learn a few things. It is a big galaxy.”

He looks at Venka again, and his face softens. He reaches out a hand across the table, and Venka grasps it eagerly. Their handshake is short, but Stent even offers a smile that’s sized more like a human smile, and Venka smiles back a little awkwardly.

“Better to ask me than General Drask, anyway,” Stent says, leaning back in his chair again. 

“Then…you do have some sort of seasonal thing going on, right?” Lastok asks, very clearly trying to be subtle about the sort of thing he means. 

There’s a glint in Stent’s eyes and Covell realises it’s mischief. He settles in for the show. 

“We do also have seasons, yes, seasonal events, even holidays,” the Chiss responds with a completely straight face. Venka’s laugh is unexpected, and Lastok rolls his eyes at him.

“Fine. I mean the weight thing. You’re all bulking out for winter or something?” 

Stent inclines his head at Lastok in something that isn’t quite a nod. “Yes. An evolutionary benefit, meant to make it easier to get through the winter.” He pauses, then winks at Venka specifically. “We find the leaner shapes of some Humans rather pleasing.”

Venka blushes, and Covell bumps his knee with his in glee. 

“But no pheromones going on, right?” Lastok will not be shaken off the trail.

Stent grins, and that spark of mischief is back.

“I did not say anything to confirm or deny, did I? Conan Antonio Motti taught me a delightful Basic saying for that.”

“And what would that be?” Venka asks, sounding as if he is expecting the worst. 

Stent’s grin widens.

“To fuck around, and find out.”