Nearly a week had passed since the last signal had been transmitted from Shin's communicator. With little information to go on, Morgan called Baylan into the bridge of her ship... she'd called in reinforcements—in the form of a new asset, a new inquisitor, one to replace the... failures of her previous creation of Marokk. She was fortunate enough to have contacts from those strewn apart, scattered in the remains of the Empire... and she hoped that he'd be able to assist in the search for Hati. She turned to face Baylan as he entered the bridge, a datapad in her hand. "I'm glad you're here, I have more information on Shin—rather, someone who I've hired to help track her."

     Baylan made his way to the ship's bridge, knowing Morgan had new information for him, but he wasn't sure in what way. "Have we heard from Shin yet...? Or gotten any updates on her location?" He asked, something in voice bordering on concern.

     "We haven't heard anything, but I have one of the best contacts I know of, he's staying on top of things." She flipped the screen to show him. "Orian Hilron was an Inquisitor of my discipline during our Empire's height, an expert in tracking... if he can relocate her comm signal, or confirm her whereabouts, it'll be the best we can do at this moment."

    "An expert tracker?" Baylan asked, even if she had just said so. That was good news... any remaining Inquisitors were skilled beyond their years, given all they had lived through against the remaining Jedi and the Rebellion. "If anyone can find *any* new information it will be him. I just hope Shin is alright... I know she can hold her own, but—this is all so unlike her."

     "Considering Shin knows much about our attempts in locating Thrawn, it concerns me that she's been missing for so long now." Morgan hesitated before adding. "Not that I'm not concerned for her safety as well, of course. I'm a mother, Baylan. Of course I understand the... frustration, and concern you must feel. But it's well under control, and you're getting the updates as I receive them."

     "And for that, I thank you." He said simply before freezing, head turning to the door that slid open behind the two. Entering had been a young girl, one of blue skin with tan patches from place to place and black hair streaked with silver almost as if it were tinsel, with the eyes of a Chiss.

     This had been Aurra, the daughter of Morgan Elsbeth and Thrawn... and she would come around from time to time when missing her mother, especially as Morgan spent more and more time in the efforts to find Shin and get Thrawn back.

     Morgan tilted her head, a much softer look overtaking her face at the sight of her. She waved her hand lightly towards Baylan, as if indicating that she didn't need him in that moment. "I'll keep you posted, you're dismissed for now." Her attention was now on that of her daughter, to whom she motioned that she may approach. "What is it, Darling? Are you alright?"

     Baylan nodded, knowing this meant she would like to be alone to have a moment with her child. He understood parenthood to some degree... he considered himself a father to Shin in many ways, which is why he wouldn't give up on finding her. He exited the room wordlessly, letting the mother and daughter have the room to themselves.

     Aurra walked over to Morgan, holding a pen in one hand and a stuffed toy of a bird—a flutterplume variant to be exact—native to the tropical Chiss planet of Copero, something brought to her from a follower of the former Grand Admiral. "I thought you were going to come draw with me..." she said quietly, almost disappointed.

     She sighed lightly, gently running her fingers through the ends of her hair to try and be comforting to the young girl. "I'm sorry, I was in the middle of some very important planning for work." Morgan glanced around, before kneeling down in front of her. "It's very important. More effort that's trying to bring... your father home."

     That didn't seem all that interesting to Aurra... how many times had she promised to bring home this father she didn't know in her short lifetime already? But it wasn't as if she would say much to Morgan on this note. "I don't know him... but I know you." She put her words this way, hoping her mother would understand.

     Although Morgan often carried a colder demeanor, that didn't mean she was incapable of seeing when her daughter truly needed comfort, or in this case—time with her mother. "... Perhaps I can come draw with you for awhile. At least, until I receive the reports I'm waiting for. Does that sound fair to you?" She offered, knowing it wasn't a lot—but she knew her, and knew it's what she wanted.

"I would like that a lot." Aurra was honest with her, nodding her head. "I was trying to learn to draw a blurrg... the big guys with the little arms." She seemed proud of herself to say.

     "Blurrgs? That sounds lovely. You'll have to show me how to draw those." Morgan rose to her feet, holding her hand out for the child. "Come, you can lead the way if you'd like."

     Aurra shifted her pen to the hand with her stuffed animal, taking Morgan's hand. It was while they were on their way out that she got a message from Orian—a transmission that Shin's comm was beginning to send a location signal out from Republic Space once searched for... and that they may just be able to reach her.

     Morgan of course stopped to answer her comm, glancing down at her daughter. She wouldn't neglect her for this, but at the *very* least she needed to tell Baylan that they had a chance. "... Aurra, run ahead and get all your art supplies out, darling. I'll be right there, alright?"

     Although she gave a slight huff when the comm went off, almost as if she knew that this was some kind of busy signal for her mother, she nodded slowly. She let go of Morgan's hand, beginning to walk ahead to her room.

     She watched her daughter walk off, before answering the comm. "Hilron, I trust this means you found something out? Forgive me for asking you to be quick with it, but I do have something rather important to get back to."

     "No worries, Miss Elsbeth—but I have quite the important piece of information. Her comm has come back online due to frequencies found mainly in the Republic—and we can send a message to it if we mimic such frequencies." Orian told her as quickly as he could.

     She nodded, seeming pleased with this. "Then we'll just have to mimic those frequencies, and get ahold of her as quickly as possible-" Morgan paused only to look in the general direction of her daughter, biting the inside of her lip for a moment. "... Forward the information to my partner in all this, Baylan Skoll. He'll be the one to take any next steps in contacting Shin. But stay in contact, I'm sure I'll need your services again very soon, Orian."

     "Will do. I'm only a call away if you ever need me, Miss Elsbeth. May the force serve you well." He said as his form of a goodbye, disconnecting the call so he could get in contact with Baylan... they would be able to contact her within hours with this knowledge...

(A/N: the introduction of OC's in this chapter really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who (unfortunately) read my earlier books. XX thank you for all the support, we both really appreciate it 🥰)