Trouble ahead

Chapter Text

A/N: This has been sitting on my laptop for months. I wasn't too happy with it, but I doubt I will change it much, so why not post it?

"Maybe you just need to get laid." He smiled in a handsome way. Yes, he was very handsome, in a rugged way, with untidy sand-blond hair, a strong jawline and blue-green eyes, wiping his oily hands over his black flannel shirt. He was tall and lean and had a strong presence. Victoria guessed that he was probably about 22.

"Don't you think if getting laid would fix this problem, I would have done it already?"

The second, dark-haired man replied while looking down at the TIE engine.

"Bloody thing. It's cursed….Christy could have handled it."

"Christy was a slut!"

"Ohh…." The third and final man of their little group added. He had many tattoos and a few battle scars on his trained body.

"Yeah, she was a slut, but one that knew how to fix things and honestly, work is piling up, man."

The blonde man rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps I could help?" Victoria couldn't believe she had said that. "I'm not half-way bad."

All eyes moved to her while she walked over.

"If that isn't the big boss' daughter."

"Whip my ass…"

The tattooed man shook his head. "That's a crap idea and you know it."

"For once in your miserable life, shut the fuck up, Vas!"

"What's this?" The dark-haired man asked.

"The fogger system of the AIC controller. And it's broken."

There was a brief pause.

"So what do you say? Am I worthy to join your little group?"

"Don't know." The blonde guy said. "But I'm willing to try."

He quickly looked around and the others nodded in agreement.

"Looks like you are – for the time being at least."

"Are you certain?"

"Sweetie this isn't hyperdrive science. I am certain. Just keep the light steady, will you?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay. That should do it." he said from just below her, while tinkering around at some wires and cables. Now he sat on his knees and smiled up at her, his face somewhat dirty and sweaty and Victoria felt a grin forming on her own face. Mackflipped a switch on the generator came to life again with a loud hum.

"You did it!" She said enthusiastically.

He crossed his arms and smiled smugly. "Of course, I did."

He came back up. "And thanks for helping. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to return the favor."

Victoria beamed. He had that effect on her.

"You guys have done enough for me." She told him. "I really love it down here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah… Well, I better go back now. My Dad… you know?"

"How could I ever forget?" he answered, giving her a worried look that was obviously acted.

"What do think of Victoria?" Vas asked once she was out of sight.

"What?!"

"What do you think of her?" He repeated.

"I like her. Not that it's any of your fucking business!" Mack said.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Vas sighed and shook his head.

"There's nothing between us, ok? I'm not suicidal!"

"Good. That's very good."

Mack looked at the engine. Was that really true? Was there nothing?

They had only worked together for two weeks now, but he "liked" Victoria. A lot. She was too young and she was the Grand Admiral's daughter, but he "liked" her. Her laugh, her strong-willed determination, her dark eyes and her strong urge for adventure and adrenaline. She had a good nature and didn't take herself too seriously and she laughed at his jokes. She was... pretty incredible, really. But nothing for him. He knew that.

And then, two days later, it had happened.

She had slipped and had fallen right into his arms. Their faces had been mere inches apart and when he had done nothing, she had suddenly asked:

"Why don't you make a move on me? I know you like me."

That had been…awkward. She had said it with such confidence that it had left him speechless.

"Sorry," she had said then, her face burning with embarrassment. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No. You're right. I do like you, Vicky. I like you a lot. But… when I take a step back and look at things…. you are pretty much out of my league."

"What?"

"You are funny, smart, gorgeous and really kind." He had explained. "But your dad is crazy powerful and he is my boss and I'm just drained in motor oil and the only things I really know are spare parts and fighter technology." Such humility wasn't usually his style. But that was how he had felt.

"There is no such thing as 'league', Mack." She had explained. "I don't give a fuck about what you do or that you're drained in engine oil most of the time. I like you. Being with you has been the best thing that has happened to me since…I can't remember! Do you know how much I look forward to spending time with you?"

"Yeah…but…"

"No buts! You're not out of my league."

"Ok."

"Say it."

"Say what?"

"That you're not out of my league."

"Well…Ok. I'm not out of your league."

"Good. Now prove it." She had looked right in his eyes and then she had done the unbelievable - she had pulled him in for a kiss.

Victoria finished her second strawberry jam roll and then reached for the orange juice.

"I'm surprised you managed to stay out of trouble for so long," Thrawn said suddenly and mustered the teenager in front of him.

"What kind of poisonous compliment is that?"

"It is not like you." He took a sip of tea. "You spend a lot of time in workshops and the lower hangers lately."

"Yes….Is that a problem?"

Why did dinner suddenly feel like an interrogation?

"Please explain to me why you are there." He said, consciously skipping her question.

"I like the TIEs. I like to watch them go off, understand how they work, repair them. I have learned quite a bit in the last week. People are nice down there … I am not sure if I'm a help or a nuisance, but I try to help, which mostly is doing the stuff that no one else wants to do."

"Interesting."

"How so?"

"Neither your mother nor I ever showed any real interest in mechanics."

"I do. I also like slicing and flying. I guess that's not very female."

"If you like it, you should do it. Some of the best scientists and mechanics are female."

"Yeah…but… I'm not a total tomboy and I like other things too…. "

"I am well aware." He looked through some datapads.

"But rest assured, no matter how many hydro-spanners you carry, the men down there know about your femininity."

Victoria blushed.

"I…I don't think so."

"Really? What about Lieutenant Mack Reynolds?"

"Are you spying on me?!"

"I am informing myself and I am glad I did."

"That's just semantics! Dad….please…."

"I am afraid that will not work on me, little one. There are other men, Victoria. Better men. He and his friends are exceptional mechanics and out-standing pilots, but they are also bad-mannered, quick-tempered and expendable. I just think he is wrong."

"Maybe he's the right kind of wrong?"

"Oh no - most definitely not."

His eyes held hers.

"You are 16. Do not do anything stupid."

She couldn't help but wonder why they were here. Chiss. The part of her she knew nothing about. Victoria studied them, from a safe distance. They looked similar, behaved similarly, but somehow they were not. They appeared to be hardworking and efficient but also detached. Like wheels in a bigger machine - logical, unemotional, organized. They didn't seem to care about the role they played in the bigger picture, they didn't seem content either. Were no smiles, no small talk. Probably no friendship. The hierarchy was easily visible, even if you did not understand the rank bars and there seemed to be no sign of resistance, of questioning. Victoria briefly wondered about the pros and cons of such a mindset. Of course, 100% obedience was nice, but also dangerous. The Empire was not big on resistance, but if a commander was weak, the bag stabbing was only a question of time.

„Viz veo ticsi nah en'rcsoah vah csei csehisbacah cart ch'itnun'ah horci?"

Victoria heard a female voice behind her and flinched involuntarily.

"I… I am sorry?"

The Chiss woman raised an eyebrow.

"You cannot speak Cheunh?"

"No."

"I asked if you did not know that prying is bad taste?"

"I'm sorry. I was…. curious, I guess. I have never met any Chiss before, except my father of course."

"A mutual curiosity. You are quite unique." The tall woman was quiet for a while. "But your father told me not to engage you."

Victoria smiled.

"In that case, there is no cause for concern, as it was I who engaged you."

The woman silently looked at her for a while and smiled and shook her head.

"Very well."

The woman, Admiral Ar'alani, had a strange, thick accent and most commonly known phrases were still beyond her, but otherwise, her Basic wasn't too bad. Victoria wondered how long her father had worked to perfect his basic. Long, she guessed.

At first, it was she who inquired. About their ships, fighters, Csilla and the female Chiss patiently answered most of her questions, before changing the topic to what interested her the most, Victoria herself.

"If it weren't for those eyes, you might pass for a Chiss… May I touch you?"

"Touch me? Why?"

"Your bones." The Chiss explained.

Cautiously Victoria reached out a hand, which the elder Chiss studied and then pressed.

"Outch!" Quickly she pulled her hand back. "What's wrong with you?"

"They are Human." The older women whispered.

"What?"

"Your bones. Chiss bones are far denser."

She calculated her strengths and weaknesses as an opponent, Victoria realized all of a sudden. Yes, that was the Chiss way…Worse eyes, weaker bones….Easy prey?

It wasn't very polite, yet it also revealed her weakness: pride. The Chiss were the reference point and everything that deviated from it was considered inferior. But it was always easier to spot the weaknesses of others…

"Gathering data to eliminate the threat, Admiral?" She provoked, sounding more like her mother than she liked to admit.

"I do not consider you a threat."

Again. There was so much pride and a total lack of simple emotional intelligence, which would make dealing with most intelligent beings out there a lot harder.

"Yes, you do. But I'm sure you have realized by now that there is nothing to fear."

"If I were stupid enough to reduce strength to physical capability, yes."

Quick, rational and smart….Evolutionized by centuries of survival of the fittest in the toughest of climates? Or was it just her, the fleet Admiral?

"Perhaps we should fear each other."

"I do not fear you, but acknowledge the danger of seeing your father's cunning, combined with human emotion."

Victoria shook her head.

"I'm not my father."

"That's what he said."

Victoria noticed how the Chiss woman eyed her again.

She did not like her. And it was not just because her mere existence questioned some core-believes of Chiss society. It was personal. Interesting…

He couldn't idly stand by and watch his only daughter marching into disaster with eyes wide open. He briefly wondered who would ever be good enough for her, a girl who was so smart, so beautiful, and so pure of heart? Well, certainly not him!

Kessel sounded like a good destination for him. Or somewhere at the front, where death was constantly looming. His blue fingers quickly typed in some commands and he then wrote down some possible destinations.

Sith, he had never done such a thing. Using his position to get rid of a person that affected him personally. He never had to. The whole situation proved that Victoria had to leave – soon.

Suddenly, the door opened and Captain Pellaeon walked in.

"You look unusually troubled." He said briefly. "What's the matter?"

"I am considering murder." The Chiss sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Pellaeon lifted an eyebrow and mustered the Chiss curiously.

"Murder?"

"Victoria has found a 'boyfriend'." He more or less spat out the last word. Pellaeon laughed.

"Oh dear."

"Yes… he is not… suitable."

"Are they ever?"

"Probably not." The Chiss stared at the computer screen. "All my life I fought against prejudice and now here I am, thinking he hasn't got the right name, comes from absolutely nowhere, is far too full of himself, has no idea how to behave in proper society and absolutely does NOT deserve my daughter." He shook his head. "I feel like such a hypocrite, but I cannot watch this unfold. It makes me physically sick."

Pellaeon sat down next to him.

"Thank God I never was in that situation… Who is the lucky one?"

Thrawn activated a datapad and pushed it over to the older man. He chuckled.

"Ah…. she likes the wild flyboys."

"Apparently."

"Usually it is best to do nothing."

"That is not the kind of advice I am seeking."

"Yes, but it's the right one. There is no good way out of this, my friend. Victoria has to figure it out on her own that he is not right for her. If you intervene, you'll be the bad guy and she will never forgive you."

"I can live with that."

"Thrawn..." The stretched the word.

"I am not comfortable with the situation."

"You're not the first and won't be the last." The elder man seemed to the lost in thoughts for a moment. "Perhaps you should offer her an alternative. Something else that might spark her interest. We could take her with us to Zender."

"That is the last planet I would take my daughter to!"

"You asked for advice, now hear me out…"

TBC

A/N: If you like this story, I might want to check out my other stories too. Most of them are at AO3.

/users/Pureblood_Slytherin/works

Enjoy!