#previouslyunpublishedwip

“And how did you convince them to give Lothal the budget?” He doesn’t give it much thought, but something tells him she would be in a worse mood if she didn’t get it. “I take it you got the budget.”

She flashes a bright smile at him.

“Well, of course. The data we put together is good.” Smugness doesn’t really sit well with him, but he’s in a good mood and can make little concessions—he’s learned he’s always making concessions when Arihnda is concerned. And they do work well together, after all. “That with my speech convinced them that Lothal is a safe investment. Although…” she seems reticent at first, but then shrugs and adds, “Tarkin seems to favor you, that may have played a part as well.”

He's a… cordial relationship with the Grand Moff. But that’s as far as it goes.

“Tarkin doesn’t play favorites,” he comments. He has to, if he wants the conversation to keep going. She seems to love talking about politics and people involved in those political games. And even though he cares very little for it, he can indulge once in a while.

“He usually doesn’t, but when it does benefit him, he plays favorites just alright.”

She shivers. For a moment, he wonders if the air around them is getting chillier. But she shakes her head and focuses her attention back on him. He can’t help but notice how the lines around her mouth became tenser just a moment ago as she spoke about Tarkin.

Thrawn knows she’s no stranger to dealing with Tarkin. That’s how she managed to get the Grand Moff to give him and Vanto a career boast years ago. To this day, he doesn’t know how she did it.

He files this information for later research and for a future—he hopes—conversation.

“Krennic doesn’t like you, but he doesn’t like Tarkin either. The sentiment is mutual from what I could see today.”

“The enemy of my enemy…” he muses. 

“You are learning something, after all.”

He flashes her a sardonic smile. If Ar’alani could see him right now, she’d be proud of him.

“Still, we all work for the Empire. I do not think Tarkin would favor Lothal if our data wasn’t acceptable.”

She chuckles.

“People work for themselves,” she corrects him. “Tarkin especially. Sometimes his interests happen to align with those of the Empire.” There’s a frown on her face as she adds, “I see I still have a lot to teach you, Grand Admiral.”

It gives him some hope. It does seem to bode well to their future. To keep Arihnda on his side, if needed, he doesn’t mind always staying behind on the Empire politics.

He wonders what Ar’alani would say if she saw him now. The man who promised to study and master politics happy to remain oblivious if it kept him close to a human woman.

“I prefer to think that our private interests are not above those of the Empire.”

She shakes her head, as if he’s a lost cause.

“Suit yourself, Grand Admiral.”

For a moment, there’s silence between them. He wonders if she’s going to leave the airspeeder now—leave him. But she looks ahead and asks in a serious tone.