“Because they wouldn’t tell me why I’m here,” Che’ri persisted. “There’s nobody very far away we have to fight, is there? They say we don’t go outside the Ascendancy to fight anyone. And if the people they’re fighting are close, the ship doesn’t need a sky-walker.”

“Good points,” Thalias said, an unpleasant feeling stirring in her stomach. Even if the task force was heading off for some punitive action, traveling jump-by-jump would get them any reasonable distance without having to risk taking a sky-walker into combat. So why were she and Che’ri aboard? “Well, whatever we’re doing, Senior Captain Thrawn will get us through.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve read a lot about him.” Thalias pulled out her questis. “Do you read? Would you like to read about his career?”

“That’s okay,” Che’ri said, wrinkling her nose a little. “I’d rather draw.”

“Drawing’s good, too,” Thalias said, sending Thrawn’s files to Che’ri’s questis. “This is just here if you want to read some later.”

“Okay,” Che’ri said uncertainly as she peered at her questis. “There’s an awful lot there.”

“So there is,” Thalias conceded, feeling a pang of embarrassment. She’d loved reading when she was a sky-walker. Naturally, she’d assumed Che’ri would be the same. “Tell you what. I’ll go through it later and make up a shorter version for you. Some of the more exciting stories of things he’s done.”

“Okay,” Che’ri said, sounding marginally less unenthusiastic.

“Good.” For a moment, Thalias tried to think of something else to say. But she could see the wall still standing between them, and she remembered how moody she’d sometimes been when she was Che’ri’s age. Best not to push it. “I have to check in with the first officer,” she said, standing up. “I’ll let you get back to your drawing.”

“Okay,” Che’ri said. “Am I supposed to get my own lunch?”

“No, no, I’ll make it for you,” Thalias assured her. “Are you hungry?”

Che’ri shrugged. “I can wait.”

Which wasn’t exactly an answer. “Do you want me to make you something now?”

“I can wait,” Che’ri repeated.

Thalias clenched her teeth. “Okay, then. I’ll go check in, and then come back. While I’m gone, you think of what you’d like to eat.”

Another shrug. “I don’t care.”

“Well, think about it anyway,” Thalias said. “I’ll be back soon.”

She headed out, glowering to herself as she strode down the corridor. Maybe taking this job had been a mistake.

Still, she and Che’ri had barely met. It wasn’t surprising the girl was holding back, especially given that she was still hurting from what she saw as desertion by her previous caregivers.