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“Commander Vanto,” Thrawn called as he approached Lieutenant Commander Vanto and Commander Faro where they stood in the central corridor of the Chimaera, having an animated discussion over something on the screen of the datapad in Faro’s hands. “With me.”
“I-“ Eli looked from Thrawn to Karyn, before giving her an apologetic half-smile. “Sorry ma’am,” he gestured with his hand towards where Thrawn had already begun walking away without waiting for Eli to follow. “I should-“
“Quite alright, Lieutenant Commander,” she said, giving him a knowing look. “We can discuss this more at a later time.”
“Thanks,” he breathed before turning and jogging the few steps to catch up to Thrawn. “What is it, sir? An update on Nightswan?”
“Unfortunately no,” Thrawn said, looking at him out of the corner of his eye as they strode down the corridor side by side towards the landing bay. “There is a matter for which I need your assistance.”
“You want me to come in there too?” Eli asked raising an eyebrow as he looked up at Thrawn standing in the hatchway of a TIE fighter. The ship had apparently just finished its prep in the Chimaera landing bay as Thrawn and Eli had approached. Thrawn had thanked the crew before climbing up the small ladder into the ship where he now waited, an arm extended in silent invitation for Eli to join him.
“Yes,” Thrawn said. “There is plenty of room for us both, I assure you.”
Eli was skeptical, he hadn’t been inside one since his days in the Academy but he knew they were small - meant really only for one person. But the look on Thrawn’s face told him he had some plan in mind and he wasn’t going to give up so easily. Eli shrugged his shoulders and climbed the ladder into the ship, taking Thrawn’s hand as he reached the final rung and allowed himself to be pulled up. Thrawn took a seat in the pilot chair and Eli hesitated before positioning himself in the small empty space behind the chair as Thrawn pushed the button to close the hatch, sealing them in.
“Woah-“ Eli grabbed onto the back of the pilot’s chair as swiftly Thrawn took off, lifting the small craft and flying it deftly from the landing bay and out into the open space beyond. “What are we doing?”
“I require your skills of observation and astute analysis,” Thrawn said simply. As if they were merely sitting in his office, looking over a datapad together. Not flying into deep space in a spacecraft not truly meant for long distance, deep space travel. Not to mention a ship that only really had room for one person.
Eli leaned his head forward over Thrawn’s shoulder in the chair to look at him. “My skills?”
“Of course,” Thrawn said, turning his head to nod once at Eli before bringing his attention back to flying through empty space in front of them.
“Alright…” Eli resigned. It was just another of Thrawn’s games; he could handle that. “And what exactly am I observing?”
“You’ve seen many battles won and lost with this model of TIE fighter. What do you know about it?”
“Seriously?” Eli raised an eyebrow. He could tell Thrawn was already slipping into “lesson” mode and he simultaneously rolled his eyes internally and prepared for Thrawn to inevitably impress him beyond belief. Just another Tuesday.
“Yes.”
“Alright, well…” Eli considered his study of the different models of imperial starship years ago at Royal Imperial. “TIE/LN starfighters have twin ion engines, powerful enough but very low-maintenance.” His eyes drifted to the ceiling as he forced himself to remember what had been on that blasted starship exam that he had spent two whole sleepless nights studying for while Thrawn had calmly sat beside him studying art on his own datapad. “Independent generators…known for maneuverability and speed…L-S1 laser canons, I think? Strong sensor array,” He gestured to the sensor screen in front of Thrawn that blinked with the emptiness of the space around them, The Chimaera slipping have long since slipped from view.
“And from your field experience?”
“They’re loud as hell. Fast too. Particularly useful in battle with a good pilot, and a good commander…” Eli trailed off.
“But?” Thrawn prompted.
“But…” Eli hesitated. He supposed if there was anyone he could safely make criticisms of the Empire to, it was Thrawn. “They’re pretty weak. Shields are basically nonexistent and one unlucky hit means,” Eli pursed his lips, making a small explosion sound.
The corner of Thrawn’s lip quirked. “Indeed.”
Eli continued, “They also can’t get too far from the main ship alone, can’t sustain out in the open for too long. Speaking of which…” He gave Thrawn a skeptical look. “How far out are you taking us?” They had already been flying for quite some time, nothing but stars in front, behind, and all around them.
“Far enough. What else?”
“They’re…” Eli shrugged. “Expendable. You almost hate to put a good pilot in a TIE because even a good pilot can make a mistake…and then…that’s it.”
“And what do you think that means for the Empire?”
“You aren’t trying to entrap me out here and accuse me of treason are you, sir?”
Thrawn paused, turning his head to meet Eli’s gaze once more - showing Eli the mischievous glint in his glowing red eyes as he gave Eli a small shrug, “Perhaps.”
“Fine,” Eli rolled his eyes affectionately. “Just don’t tell my parents.”
“I would not dare. Continue.”
Eli laughed a small puff of air through his nose, a smile on his lips. “I suppose they work fine as they are now.” He shrugged. “With brute numbers and good tactical planning, the consequences are small…”
“But?” Thrawn prompted once more.
“But if a significant enemy arises - a well coordinate one, with great naval capacity and durable starfighters…” Eli considered. “Well…the TIES could become more of a liability than a strength.”
Thrawn released the accelerator, effectively stopping the ship - the deafening sound of the engines replaced by the deafening silence of empty space around them. “What improvements would you make?” He said turning slightly in his seat to look at Eli still standing behind him.
“Thrawn what’s the point of this?”
“Indulge me,” he raised his eyebrows. “Please?”
Eli stared down at him for a moment before he huffed a breath. “Well…first things first you’d want better shields. Even a simple deflector shield could do a lot of good to provide at least some level of protection from enemy attacks.”
“Good,” Thrawn nodded. “What else?”
“I guess you could add a lot of mobility and distance if you added a hyperdrive,” Eli offered.
“These ships are small, that is their strength. Where would you find room to add a hyperdrive?”
Eli looked around the ship, considering the space, the potential. He had turned his head fully around and locked his eyes on the hatch as he said, “That space behind the hatch is not being used for anything useful - not like you can see back there anyways,” he bit his lip, considering. “If you changed the design of the hull - pushed it forward, maybe? - You could hypothetically attach a hyperdrive back there.”
He turned his head back to Thrawn and felt his stomach flip at the nod of approval the other man gave him.
“And where would you include the navicomputer within the ship? This control panel is not very large,” Thrawn gestured down towards the control panel in front of him and Eli looked it over, searching for a good spot for the relatively large piece of machinery.
“Well…I supposed you could add the mechanisms right there,” Eli pointed at the right hand section of the control panel over Thrawn’s shoulder, the pilot’s seat limiting how far forward he could reach.
“Where exactly?” Thrawn’s hand hovered over the general direction Eli had pointed.
“Right there, by your hand.”
“Please show me, Lieutenant Commander.”
Eli huffed an exasperated sigh, knowing Thrawn wouldn’t give up until Eli showed him exactly where he meant. He stepped around to the side of the chair, his body squeezing uncomfortably between it and the console. “Right here,” he said, the agitation creeping into his voice as he showed Thrawn the specific spot on the panel.
“I still cannot quite see.” Thrawn said, leaning forward as Eli now stood between him and the panel. “If I may, Commander?” Without waiting for permission, Thrawn snaked an arm around the back of Eli’s waist and pulled him unceremoniously down into his lap in the pilot’s chair.
Eli let out an undignified squeak as his butt landed hard on Thrawn’s lap and he grabbed hold of the closest thing he could reach to steady himself. The ship jerked sharply to the left as Eli latched onto the steering control to catch himself. “Sir?!” He stammered as Thrawn wrapped one arm firmly around his abdomen from behind, the other arm reaching up to the steering control Eli had let go of to right the ship once more.
“This should be more comfortable for us both,” Thrawn said matter-of-factly, as if he had merely adjusted the temperature controls within the ship.
“Thrawn,” Eli said, exasperation clear in his voice.
“Please, Lieutenant Commander.” Thrawn continued. “Show me once again where you would install the hyperdrive controls.”
Eli craned his neck to look at Thrawn over his shoulder, intending to show Thrawn exactly where he could stick his damn controls but when his eyes met Thrawn’s, his words died in his throat. Thrawn’s eyes were half-lidded, his gaze relaxed, almost - Eli didn’t want to say the word sultry in his mind, he didn’t even want to consider it, but really…he couldn’t find a better word.
Thrawn’s lips were parted and his face was so close Eli could feel the brush of his breath on his own lips. Eli didn’t mean to stare at Thrawn’s lips then, truly. But he realized with a modicum of embarrassment that he had been as he lifted his gaze to meet Thrawn’s once more.
Eli sucked in a breath as he turned his head forward once more. “Um…” he blinked, trying to find any appropriate train of thought to latch onto. He looked down at the control panel, “Hyperdrive…hyperdrive, hyperdrive, hyperdrive,” he mumbled. “I would put it here I guess,” he said, hand gesturing towards a section of the control panel to his left.
His eyes widened as he realized an embarrassing moment later that what he had pointed at was on the complete opposite side of the control panel than where he had been originally suggesting just moments ago.
“An excellent selection,” Thrawn said, voice low in his ear as he rested his chin on Eli’s right shoulder.
“Wait!” Eli nearly jumped out of skin at the proximity of Thrawn’s lips to his ear. “No - here,” He corrected, pointing over to the other side, to the original location he had chosen.
“Also an excellent choice.”
Eli narrowed his eyes. “Would that be your response to any suggestion I made?”
“Perhaps.”
“What if I said it should be on the ceiling?”
“That would be an entirely reasonable location.”
“What about on the outside of the ship?
“Seems entirely practical.”
“Thrawn.”
“Yes?”
“What are you doing?”
“I merely wanted your opinion,” he said, turning his head slightly towards Eli so his lips brushed just beneath his ear as he breathed, “I trust your judgement.”
“Thrawn,” he had meant it to come out as a warning, to be firm. But he couldn’t find it in himself to care at the fact that the word had come out sounding more like a whine than a command.
In response, Thrawn’s arm tightened around Eli’s middle, pulling him flush against his chest. He could feel the rise and fall of Thrawn’s chest as he breathed, could feel the unmistakable growing hardness of him beneath Eli. He was almost able to maintain his dignity until Thrawn breathed in his ear, “Eli…”
Eli shuddered, his eyes falling closed as Thrawn’s lips closed around his earlobe, tugging gently at it with his teeth. Eli bit down on his bottom lip to hold back the sounds threatening to embarrass him as Thrawn’s lips trailed down his neck in earnest.
But he ultimately couldn’t stop the small sound that escaped him when Thrawn took the hand resting on the ship controls and brought it to Eli’s chin, tilting his to the side to allow Thrawn easier access to lave at his neck.
“Tell me, Eli,” Thrawn breathed against his skin, the arm around his middle sneaking up to undo the sealing the strap on Eli’s tunic, letting it fall open before slipping his hand beneath Eli’s undershirt to press his palm flat into Eli’s abdomen, holding him firmly against Thrawn below him. Eli screwed his eyes, could hear the heaviness of his breath as Thrawn continued, “Why install a hyperdrive?”
Eli’s eyes snapped open, his voice coming out sharper than he intended as he asked, “What?”
But Thrawn did not relent. “What would be the-” he licked a stripe from the base of Eli’s neck to the sensitive spot just below his ear, the hand still holding Eli’s chin tightening its grasp. “-tactical advantage?”
“Thrawn,” Eli groaned, involuntarily digging his hips backwards into Thrawn’s as his left hand reached up to latch itself onto Thrawn’s arm holding his chin, the other arm resting on top of the one resting on his stomach that was slowly sliding itself lower - Eli’s intention not to stop Thrawn’s movements but rather to hold on. The tips of Thrawn’s fingers slipped below Eli’s waistband and he shifted his hips once more, wanting more than anything - needing Thrawn to reach lower to - “Please,” he breathed.
“Answer my question,” Thrawn commanded, voice soft in his ear once more and Eli groaned in frustration.
“TIEs are too reliant on their capital ship,” he snapped, voice laced with irritation as Thrawn’s fingers brushed gently, maddeningly back and forth across his hipbone.
“They are.”
“With a hyperdrive-” Eli shuddered as Thrawn reached lower, fingers brushing the length of his cock beneath his pants.
“Yes?”
“They could be more independent.”
“Good,” Thrawn breathed as he - finally - wrapped his hand around Eli, giving him a few lazy strokes. In response, Eli keened, throwing his head back against Thrawn’s shoulder. The hand on his chin moved lower, resting against his throat, effectively holding him in place, pinning his body flush with Thrawn’s. “And what is the benefit of independence?”
Eli, even through his lust addled state, understood the game. Answer a question and Thrawn would give him what he wanted. He had the sudden urge to punch the damn chiss, or to kiss him silly, maybe to murder him in his sleep later. But he settled for sharply jerking his hips upward into Thrawn’s hand, trying desperately for more friction. Thrawn’s hand around his throat tightened slightly and he warned, “Eli,”
Eli whined, a breathy, frustrated that sound that yanked itself right from his throat. “More independence means more specialized ops-“ his words were cut off by another moan as Thrawn tugged his pants down enough to free his cock. “-more localized missions. A further reach across the galaxy. To stop threats before they could even organize.” Thrawn had begun stroking him with tantalizingly slow motions.
“Good,” Thrawn breathed straight into his ear - straight through to his core. “And why did you choose to place the navi-computer on the control panel where you did?”
Eli no longer cared about the game, no longer cared about anything but the feeling of Thrawn’s hand on his cock, wetness of his tongue on his neck, the pressure of his hand holding his throat. “Fuck the navi-computer, we don’t need one anyways,” he gasped and when Thrawn’s hand on Eli’s throat tightened and his movements abruptly stopped, as if he had been suddenly frozen to the spot, Eli groaned, “Please don’t stop.”
The words, or maybe the desperation in Eli’s voice, seemed to break Thrawn out of his momentary stupor and his hand began moving with a renewed fervor. It seemed to him as if Thrawn had run out of questions which was fine with Eli because he was now experiencing the full effect of Thrawn’s concentration solely on wringing as much pleasure from him as possible.
He came in Thrawn’s hand not shortly after, eyes on the endless stars in front of him, grateful for the vacuum of space surrounding them to absorb his choked cry.
Thrawn relaxed his grip on Eli’s neck and Eli rested his head back on Thrawn’s shoulder, the sound of Eli’s heavy breathing filling the small ship.
He lifted his head once more to watch carefully as Thrawn brought his soiled hand up to investigate it. He turned his hand, observing it closely in the different facets and shadows of the starlight coming from the viewport. Eli turned his head fully to the side, eyes widening as he watched Thrawn raise his hand to his lips, pink tongue darting out to taste the fluid on the skin between his thumb and forefinger. Eli huffed out an involuntary breath through his nose at the sight and Thrawn looked at him for one moment before he raised his hand before Eli’s lips. Eli looked Thrawn in the eye for a long, heated moment before his tongue poked out to taste himself on Thrawn’s hand.
His eyes never left Thrawn’s as he took the tip of Thrawn’s forefinger between his lips, laving at it as Thrawn gently pushed it deeper into his mouth. He closed his eyes and relished the small sound Thrawn made in his ear as he sucked in earnest. He could feel how hard Thrawn was beneath him, pressing into him and Eli found he wanted nothing more in the galaxy than to make Thrawn feel as good as he had just made Eli feel.
He used one hand to pull Thrawn’s hand from his mouth and the other to pull himself up enough to maneuver himself to the floor. It was awkward with the controls so close to the pilots chair and Eli had to grab onto Thrawn’s legs at one point as he accidentally knocked the vertical steering controls, the ship jerking forward sharply causing Eli to nearly fall into the viewpoint.
But the effort was worth it for the view he got of Thrawn as he spread his legs, allowing Eli to kneel between them. Thrawn’s face was flushed, his chest rising and falling from his heavy breathing. Eli thought if he hadn’t just done so, he could easily come from the sight of him like this alone.
He expected Thrawn to rest his head back, to close his eyes, as Eli opened his tunic and undid his pants. Instead, he felt hot all over as Thrawn watched him, piercing him with that intense, glowing red gaze as Eli took his cock in his hand, gave it a few experimental strokes, before leaning down and licking a slow stripe up the underside of it.
He watched the chiss huff a sharp breath, his lips parting, his abdomen clenching under Eli’s hand. Thrawn’s hands found themselves in Eli’s hair - not guiding, not pushing, just tangling into the messy strands.
Eli finally broke his gaze as he leaned down to take Thrawn fully in his mouth. He heard the man above make a small sound in the back of his throat and he wished he could’ve still seen his face, especially when Eli squeezed a hand around the base of his cock and he gasped, “Eli-”
“Admiral Thrawn,” Commander Faro’s voice was tinny over the comm as it cut through the silence of the ship, a sound coming from Thrawn’s lips instantly freezing in his throat.
Eli stopped his movements, lips motionless around the tip of Thrawn’s cock, his wide-eyed gaze meeting Thrawn’s as they stared at each other. Slowly, Eli started to move his head once more, Thrawn’s fingers tightening in Eli’s hair.
Thrawn had just closed his eyes, a small moan escaping his lips before Faro’s voice cut in once again, “Admiral, come in.”
Eli lifted his head, looking up at Thrawn through his lashes and holding Thrawn firmly in his hand as he said, “You should probably answer her.”
Thrawn’s nostrils flared and Eli hid a small grin as he watched the battle waging in Thrawn’s eyes as he stared down at Eli - Eli was almost certain he would ignore the comm-
“Thrawn,”
With what Eli would call a dramatic huff, Thrawn released one hand from his hair to accept the comm, “Commander Faro. What is it?” The one hand remaining in Eli’s hair carded through it and Eli had to bit his lip to hold in a satisfied hum. Thrawn’s other hand had come up to rest in front of his own face, a gesture Thrawn often made when he was deep in thought - except now, from his angle on the floor, Eli could see where his forefinger rested against his mouth, his teeth digging into the flesh there.
“Thrawn, where are you? There’s a situation; you’re needed on the bridge.”
“What-“ he voice cut off, just for a second as Eli lowered his head once more, taking the tip of Thrawn’s cock between his lips. Eli watched as he bit down on his finger just a little bit harder before he recomposed himself, “What situation?”
If she noticed the interruption, her tone did not imply so as she said, “No time to explain, sir. How quickly can you get here?”
“Commander Vanto and I are currently located approximately 30 standard minutes from the Chimaera.”
Thrawn’s fingers in his hair tightened, edging on the near side of painful as Eli slid his mouth down further and further until his lips met the base of Thrawn’s cock, the length of it pressing the back of his throat. Eli dug his fingers into Thrawn’s thighs, hoping his - admittedly very weak - gag reflex would not fail him now.
Eli sent up a silent prayer to whatever gods were listening as his gag was covered by Faro’s shout, “What?!” Thrawn used the hand in Eli’s hair to yank his head up, tilting his head back to give him a look so angry, so heated, that Eli wasn’t sure whether Thrawn was about to murder him or devour him. Faro continued, “What are you doing that far- Oh, blast it,” she cursed “It doesn’t matter. Just get back here.”
“Commander, we will return as swiftly as possible. You have command of the bridge until I return.”
“Hurry up,” she said before the comm went to static.
“I should cite her for insubordination,” Thrawn nearly growled - the sound of his voice, the distinct loss of composure - it made Eli feel unbearably hot.
“You really want to talk about insubordination right now, sir?” Eli raised his eyebrows, giving Thrawn’s cock in his hand a firm squeeze.
Thrawn huffed out a short breath and Eli considered, with a not so small smirk on his face, the fact that this was probably the most frustrated he had ever seen the Chiss.
“You should probably fly us back now,” Eli suggested.
Thrawn looked down at him with a near pained expression. As if he didn’t want to because it would mean the end of this, the end of Eli between his knees.
As if Eli would stop just because he had to fly them back.
Eli lowered his head once more, taking the tip of Thrawn’s cock in his mouth. When Thrawn made no move to take his hands out Eli’s hair and fly the darn ship back to the Chimaera, Eli looked up at him - raising his eyebrows as if to say go on.
Thrawn gave him a resigned look before letting go of Eli’s hair and grabbing the controls. Thrawn began flying them back, working hard to maintain his composure and keep his focus while Eli worked just as hard below him to make sure Thrawn lost all sense of composure and focus.
“Please don’t crash the ship,” Eli said, before lifting Thrawn’s cock to take one of his balls into his mouth. The ship jerked sharply to the side as Thrawn let out the most undignified sound that Eli had ever heard. “What did I just say?”
Eli wanted more than anything to take his time - to make Thrawn squirm, to make him whimper, to make him beg. But…they were running out of time and Eli really wanted to make sure they could at least regain some level of decency before they had to get off the fighter. Plus, they could take their time later, he would make sure they did. So Eli put his very best effort into getting Thrawn off while he flew them back.
Eli was actually quite impressed at the efficiency and skill with which Thrawn was flying, considering the…distraction Eli was giving him. He was planning on complimenting Thrawn later on his flying ability until the ship jerked sharply forward once more causing Eli to hit his head on the steering mechanism above him. The pain was inconsequential to Eli, however - not when he heard the way that Thrawn moaned as he came, unrestrained, into Eli’s mouth.
As the Chimaera came into view, Eli finished straightening Thrawn’s collar from where he stood behind him in the small empty space in the back of the TIE. He licked his palm and slicked it through Thrawn’s hair to catch the errant strand that had fallen onto his forehead, making sure it was perfectly back in place. He then straightened his own collar and looked down, ensuring his tunic had remained unsoiled - unlike the undershirt underneath that still felt uncomfortably damp in a few places.
The landing bay was a flurry activity but Thrawn still managed to land the TIE with a graceful ease. Thrawn stood and they gave each other a once over and a nod of approval before Eli reached over to open the hatch-
“Wait,” Thrawn said and Eli had not even fully turned to look at him before Thrawn had swept him into his arms - one wrapped around his back, the other supporting his head as he tilted him back and kissed him deeply. Eli could only grab a hold to the front of Thrawn’s tunic and hold on as the intensity of the kiss sucked all the air from Eli’s lungs and every thought from his head.
When he released him, Eli suddenly felt unsteady on his feet but Thrawn had already opened the hatch and was walking towards the chaos of the bridge, ready to take charge once again.
“How is your head?” Thrawn asked softly once the action had died down and they stood side by side on the bridge. Most of the officers, including a particularly grumpy Faro, had retired for the evening - only a few officers remaining to monitor the sensors and the comms for any lingering trouble but they were far enough away that Thrawn and Eli could speak privately.
“It’s fine,” Eli said, gingerly rubbing the back of his head where it was still sore from where he had bumped it in the TIE. Both men turned their heads to look at one another.
“You should visit the medbay this evening,” Thrawn said - his tone sincere, concerned.
“Alright,” Eli bit down on the smile creeping onto his face as he turned to look back out the viewport. “Hey, why did you really take me out in that fighter today?” He asked.
“I desired your opinion - that was not a ruse, I assure you. As you said, I am of the same opinion that the TIE fighters as they are currently pose a significant liability to the Imperial Navy. I am currently developing a proposal for improvements, much of which is based on what we discussed.”
“So it wasn’t just to get in my pants, then?”
“That was not my only goal, no.” Thrawn said and Eli’s eyes widened. “What is the correct saying? I ‘killed two mynocks with one blaster bolt’?” Eli couldn’t stop his mouth from dropping open as Thrawn looked at him with a small, devious smirk. Eli wasn’t sure what he wanted to do more - push the damn Chiss off the command walkway or grab him by the collar, shove him against the viewport, and kiss him silly in front of all the officers remaining on the bridge.
Eli ultimately did neither, but Thrawn could see the battle between the two waging within him regardless.