-1.05 BBY - When Sanis Met Cirr

[Sanis Prent]

"C...c...collllld...."

My teeth were chattering. My damn teeth were chattering. I blew hot breath into gloved hands, watching steam shoot out the sides. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

"MARCUS....how long till you fix this?"

The droid module, hard at work already with replacing the life support system's climate regulator, still took time to address the very valid concerns of the ship's crew.

"The anomaly will be corrected in three hours."

Showing considerable amount of empathy, MARCUS added onto the assessment.

"There needn't be cause for alarm. The residual heat retained on the ship, combined with the admittedly out-of-spec performance of the unit will still retain a habitable temperature aboard the ship. It may indeed be uncomfortable however. You are, I see, in the warmest part of the ship. If it were my place to suggest, warm blankets and hot beverages may help to endure this minor situation as I correct it."

"Thanks." I spat out, bitter and uncomfortable. MARCUS apparently either missed the sarcasm or avoided confronting it.

"No thanks are required. It is my job to be done."

The droid module then clammed up, leaving Cirr and I huddled together under three blankets, curled up against the slightly-warm engine bulkhead. We each had a pair of jackets on, multiple pairs of socks, and I snagged a few of his toques. He wasn't faring any better, but I came prepared for the long haul at least.

I pulled a familiar glass bottle full of brown liquid out from under the blankets.

"Well, Cirr ol' buddy, I never thought I'd hope you were a cuddler."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr, as if on cue, reached a big arm over carefully around Sanis, pulling him closer, while the other arm collaborated with Sanis's efforts to pull the blankets up practically to their necks. His cheeks looked slightly blue, and Cirr chattered out breaths of steamy air as well.

"jIs that what jI thjink jit jis?"

With MARCUS at least dispelling the possibility that they'd freeze to death, Cirr felt a lot better about the idea of passing the bitter cold by pounding down a liter of Corellia's finest.

Cirr impatiently reached for the bottle, plucking it from Sanis's hand. Not wanting to move his other arm, Cirr stuck the bottle top in his mouth, unscrewing it with his teeth instead. Once free, he spat the top across the floor, upturning the bourbon bottle for a glug or two.

"Thrree hourrs he sajid? Of all the fuckjing thjings to go south..."

[Sanis Prent]

I waited for my turn, liberating the bottle from my mechanic and taking my own swig. The burn of the alcohol felt better than anything, and as my face flushed, I at least felt a bit less like a popsicle. I scooted in further in Cirr's embrace, half pulled in by his left arm. It was a sorry situation to be in, that's for sure, but the kid put out more BTU's than a swoop bike. I'd look as ridiculous as I pleased if it meant being warm right now.

"Can you remember a time when everything on this ship actually, you know, worked?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr's answer to that was to unsheath the claws on the hand that was keeping Sanis pulled close to him. Just enough to...

"Ow, fuck! Stop!"

Cirr gave him a slight scowl as he took the bourbon back, having another drink.

"Don't talk bad about herr, she's a good shjip, and always gets us wherre we need to be. Rrememberr when she only had half as many ljight yearrs on the meterr?"

He was always a little sad that Sanis berated Layla like he did at times. It was just his way of dealing. He was sure that the Nar Shadaan loved the ship every bit as much as he did, maybe even more.

[Sanis Prent]

I nodded, getting the bottle back on my rotation.

"I do. Even then, we always had to stay one step ahead. How long's it been? Seven years?"

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Ejight as of last month."

Cirr took the bottle again, pausing to reflect.

"Two weeks frrom now wjill be my forrteenth weddjing annjiverrsarry."

The big felinoid always became a conflicting ball of emotion when he looked back on the life he left behind.

"Forrteen yearrs. Thats overr half my ljife. Funny how that worrks."

Taking another drink he passed it on to Sanis.

"jI stjill thank you forr thjis ljife. The chances jI have to do betterr thjings."

For emphasis, Cirr squeezed his captain a little tighter as he leaned back against the bulkhead, deep in his memories.

[Sanis Prent]

"Cirr, air!"

A little too tight. He relaxed and I sighed thankfully, taking my drink in turn. The bourbon was helping to endure the cold. I felt warmer and a little more relaxed.

"Thank your mother. It was her hairbrained plan. I was just young and stupid enough to do it."




* * *

Carshoulis Prime, within the Carshoulis Cluster

Capital of the Cizerack Pride

Eight Years Ago

The transport arrived at the hyperspace beacon, signalling it to sling back into realspace. Inside, we were packed in pretty tight. Humans, humanoids, other aliens. It was a cosmopolitan mix. About the only thing we had in common was that we were poor and needed work, and had heard from a little birdie or two that there was enough of that in the Pride. Some people were glum about moving out to what was non-aligned space. Some people were hopeful, coming from war zones and escaping either the Empire or the Alliance or both.

Me? I was indifferent. I grew up poor on Nar Shadaa. I knew what that was like, and I knew I wanted no part of staying that way. Like so many on that planet, you learn an honest trade or two, but you also learn a hustle. You need both to break even. I'd hustled my fair bit across a few planets. I knew how to steal and how to make do with what I had. Crossing the Jedi Knight Lok s'Ilancy was an exercise in humility for me, but for some weird reason she seemed to take some amount of pity and interest in me. That could've ended a lot worse, like with me getting cut in half but a lightsaber.

A felinoid woman with a tight ponytail stepped forward to address us as our ship moved closer to what I imagined was Prime. Like Coruscant, the planet buzzed with a corona of near-constant ship activity. Freighters, shuttles, bulk ships, capital ships, all of it. We were one very tiny cog in the machine.

The woman cleared her throat, looking at our assmbled group with a less-than-impressed expression on her face.

"Welcome to Carrsshouljiss Prrjime. We wjill be touchjing down jin a few mjinutess."

She seemed about as bored with her scripted speech she had to give as I was. My head leaned against a viewport as I watched our entry to the planet begin.

"Pleasse have all perrssonal effectss wjith jyou when jyou deparrt. Anjy jitemss left behjind wjill be confjisscated and cannot be rreturrned. Have jyourr name jidentjifjicatjion badgess wjith jyou and clearrljy vjissjible. jYou wjill need thesse forr worrk vjissass. Once landed, sstep out and to the left and jyou wjill be prrocesssed forr temporrarrjy worrk sstatuss."

Relieved that she was on the last breath of her spiel, the woman rocked a bit on her feet as she clasped her hands.

"Agajin, thank jyou forr fljyjing Itraassie Sstarrljiness, the Clussterr'ss numberr one trranssporrt sserrvjice forr overr two hundrred jyearrss."

Our eyes met as she turned to leave. She suppressed a smirk, and turned away to head back to the front of the transport. By then, the oranges and pinks of the Carshoulis sky were bright in the window, and we were touching down on the tarmac. The whole group of passengers seemed relieved to be done with the long voyage, and everyone started stirring and grabbing at their belongings.

Fifteen minutes later, I was off the gangplank and breathing fresh air. For two months, subject to renewal at the end of the work period, this was my home. Better get used to it.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

The Meei'jassrei' Starport was a curious little place. It was set up apart from the main commercial and general transit starports, and it's purpose was more or less to be a direct "off the boat" labor pool for the rapidly expanding Cizeri economy to lap up an ever-full pool of cheap labor. There were the usual bleatings from old-guard racists and speciesists about cheap foreign labor taking jobs of citizens, but Taataani Meorrrei had seen the citizens who complained about it, and doubted they were any less than pampered double-talkers that would never want to get their hands dirty.

These forrda sometimes had educations and trades. That made them useful, especially to a woman like Meorrrei who always had business concerns. She would pay, on average, one fourth what she'd pay a Cizerack woman for a job. These people didn't have villas, they didn't generally have multiple husbands they had to earn their daily meat for. It was cheap and as far as she was concerned, most everybody came away happy. Besides, find a Cizerack woman with eight husbands who would willingly take a speeder courier job for what it paid?

So once again, the Meorrrei clan matron had come to dip her tongue to the pool, so to speak. Stepping out of her airspeeder, she adjusted her decorative wig as she walked. Her daughters T'yeellaa and Raifaani, most trusted with matters of business, had come with her. With a brood of twelve sons and eight daughters, keeping business in the family was always shrewd.

"Keep jin mjind we want worrkerrss wjith trradess. jI don't carre about unskjilled laborr. We've got ourr own men forr that."

Raifaani, in her late teens, walked alongside her mother with her nose buried in a datapad.

"Motherr, how'ss thjiss forr a ljisst? jI know about how much thejy'll assk, and we can talk them thjiss farr off thejirr prrjice."

Taataani slipped on her glasses to check, her face telegraphing her pleasure at her daughter's good business sense.

"jI can afforrd that. jYou and jyourr ssjissterr go pjick."

Raifaani and her older sister T'yeellaa both trotted along to the work registrar's booth, their tails swishing as they confidently pushed ahead to put in a petition to bid on the labor pool.

[Sanis Prent]

"What'ss jyourr trrade?"

After hearing it six thousand times, it was getting old. We were arranged into groups, and stood waiting for work. You'd think we could stop for say a bite of hot chow or something, but they pretty much just pulled us off the ship and immediately set about parcelling us off for cheap jobs. I felt strangely similar to the way I imagined livestock felt.

"I'm a pilot." I also said this six thousand times.

One lady giggled at that. Why? Did it seem so unlikely? I got visibly irritated at that.

Another lady reached up to grab me by the shoulder, giving me a squeeze. She held up a silver necklace-looking thing and asked "jYou take?"

I shook my head, remembering in my "Welcome to Carshoulis" pamphlet exactly what that necklace meant. It was a very quick and legally binding social contract, and I didn't come here to get hitched. It figured that the skin trade would be booming here. I smiled, a little smug.

"Flattered though. Honest."

The woman's mood darkened and she muttered something in Cizeri as she left that I had to assume was less than polite.

At least that broke the monotony.

"What'ss jyourr trrade?"

sigh.

"I'm a pilot."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"What do jyou pjilot?"

T'yeellaa, her hair drawn into very tiny braids, gave Sanis a once-over, a look of skepticism on her face. It was easy for these workers to lie.

"jIf jyou arre a pjilot, wherre jis jyourr sshjip? Whjy come herre when jyou can fljy anjywherre?"

[Sanis Prent]

Ah yeah, sound logic there.

"Starships are expensive, and I have no money. I'd like a starship, yes, but I need money. That's where you come in. I fly you, you pay me. I make money and get a ship. What's the turn of phrase, picking myself up by my bootstraps?"

The tall one was unimpressed, but her tagalong, the short one with the datapad, still seemed to be paying attention. I looked at her instead.

"Look, you came here in a speeder of a sort, right? If you need a reference, I can test drive it. I grew up on speeders."

I omitted the whole I used to steal them for a living part of my resume. No need for that to sour the deal.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa looked at Sanis, still a bit disapproving. It was a bluff. She was in agreement with her sister to pick him up on a trial basis. The issue now was to talk down the price. She reached down to his neck, holding the ID card that stated the daily wage that was being asked. 200 credits a day.

"Too much forr a Forrda. jYou'rre pale and sskjinnjy, and jyou ssmell ljike drrjink. One hundrred twentjy."

[Sanis Prent]

"I'm not skinny!"

Well, damn, I was. But after a few months of eating vending machine cuisine and whatever I could steal, you didn't make a fuss.

"I'm the best pilot you're going to find in this lot today, tomorrow, or this month. Give me the keys and I'll show you. One seventy."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa looked to her sister, bent down, and whispered something in one of her upturned ears. Raifaani looked back to Sanis, nodded, and turned to leave, going down the line ostensibly to look for other potential hires.

The older sister looked at Sanis's eyes for any sign that he was less than sincere. She looked at his hands. They were sure and they didn't shake, and she imagined a steady hand was a good sign in a pilot. Stepping forward, she put a hand squarely on his crotch and gave an appraising squeeze.

"One ssjixtjy. Take the offerr jyou sstupjid Forrda, that'ss the besst jyou'll get becausse mjy ssjissterr thjinkss jyou'rrre cute."

[Sanis Prent]

Oh, so it was like that, was it?

I glanced down the line at the 'sister'. She seemed caught up in the task of selecting other workers from the pool, and oblivious to me down the line. Then she looked back, smiled slightly, and continued to banter with the other hires.

"One sixty. Alright."

Shit, it was a little lower than I hoped.

"Any chance we can stop off for some food? I haven't eaten in a day."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa laughed as they walked back from the employment line to get Sanis's documents checked off. The process was quick and they were in and out without a fuss. Raifaani arrived with the others: A human female who was an accountant by trade, another human male who worked in droid ciruitry, a Cathar woman who was a cook, and a nervous Bothan man who didn't really care to share the details of his work, but it was usually assumed they were always into espionage, which was always handy in business.

"Herre thejy arre motherr, and at an agrreeable prrjice."

Raifaani approached, handing Taataani her datapad as she whispered something out of earshot, presumably about how much she was able to talk down for the lot. The matron's ears bobbed up in a sign of approval and she gave her young daughter a squeeze.

"How ssoon jyou grrow up, jyou'll make a lot of monejy one dajy!"

T'yeellaa, intent on holding Sanis to his part of the bargain, pulled him along by the arm to show Taataani.

"Thjiss one ssajyss he'ss a pjilot."

Taataani walked over to him, adjusting her glasses as she turned his head from side to side with her hand at his chin.

"Oh good. We djid bujy that old Correlljian thjing lasst month, djidn't we?"

Giving Sanis an affectionate pat on the cheek, she beamed.

"jYou fljy Corrrelljian, Human?"

[Sanis Prent]

"I do mum."

Well, once. Corellian was a broad term at least. If you didn't live on a backwater with at least a dozen of them around you, you were truly in the boonies.

"Just about anything else, for that matter."

Truth be told, it was all generally an issue of a few flight hours in each. Even if it was something weirdo, like a Verpene ship, you could generally figure out the X, Y, and Z of it if you had enough time and a long enough leash.

"Your, uh, daughter? She mentioned a test drive. If you're up for it. Not satisfied, go ahead and leave me where you found me. I'm already agreeing to work below my pay grade."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa's smile widened at that. She appreciated that this one had enough pride in what he did to push back a little. Most of the people that made it this way were just glad to be working and could be pushed around.

"jI'd ljike that."

She glanced to her daughters in an unspoken command to tell them both to wait on the tarmac. A skybus should be coming along anyway that would have enough seating to take them all back to the villa in the first place.

She walked along, expecting this human to be mindful enough to play the part he'd agreed to. Sure enough, he reached to the gull wing door and pulled it up, eased the Matriarch into the rear seat, and closed the door behind her. So he could also be trained to behave in a decent society too. That was a plus.

The human climbed into the driver's seat, closing his own door, and turned the key to flare up the repulsors.

"What'ss jyourr name, human?"

[Sanis Prent]

"Name's Sanis Prent, mum. Speaking of names, I should probably catch yours since you're signing my meal tickets now."

The speeder was an upper-model Sorosuub sedan. No problem with this thing, it was built to fly gentle as a feather. I gave a bit more thruster than I would otherwise because I knew the dampener could take it. We very gently rocketed skyward. I could nearly fly a 'suub in my sleep, and the deep, soft leather seats made sleep a very real possibility.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa relaxed in the back seat as Sanis flew along. He seemed very sure-handed behind the controls.

"jYou want jit long orr sshorrt Mrr. Prrent?"

She liked the banter. The last thing she wanted was a 'yes ma'am / no ma'am' automaton. Mind you, the ma'am's should be plenty, but she wanted people around her who could think without having to, well, think about it.

"jI am Taataani Fai'sheea Igaarrai Meorrrei, matrrjiarrch of Housse Meorrrei. jYou want jit sshorrt ljike mosst forrda do, jyou call me Mama Taa. Hell, mjy cubss do sso whjy not?"

[Sanis Prent]

I banked along the sky lanes fluidly, merging in with a main thoroughfare to carry me through Capital district, which was the thickest traffic. By my side was the navicomm, but the directions were all in Cizeri. Knowing basic glyphs, I managed to back out and reset the scripts to basic, and find the menu of waypoints.

"Where to then, Taa?"

There were multiple villas listed. Multiple. Gods, this lady was loaded

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa didn't miss the fact that he said Taa and not Mama Taa, yet had no problem addressing her as mum. Problems at home?

She drummed her claws on an arm rest and picked the correct destination.

"jI have a home jin Haiee'rathee'. Go therre."

The speeder banked appropriately at the right exits to change trajectory. Yes, this was all very automatic.

"Mjissterr Prrent, mjy daughterr, do jyou fjind herr attrractjive?"

Already content with his resumé as a pilot, Taa busied herself with checking her makeup as she spoke to her driver.

[Sanis Prent]

"Which one? Is this a trick question?"

Well damn, that was direct. I hoped there wasn't a string attached to this employment deal. Like a silvery string, of the sort that goes around the neck sort of string.

If the choice was between work and marriage and no work and no marriage was the one he was being given ex post facto, I was ready to turn the speeder around.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"The jyoungesst, Raifanni. What do jyou thjink of herr, jiss sshe attrractjive?"

She nearly laughed at Sanis's attempt to not get hemmed into anything.

"jYou thjink jit would make me mad jif jyou ssajy jyess? Haha."

To his credit, Sanis kept the speeder on course without so much as a flutter. Taataani looked past her mirror and up at his own rear-view, weighing his expression.

[Sanis Prent]

Would she be mad if I said no? I wondered that too. Truth be told she was astoundingly attractive. The taller, uncomfortable-crotch-grabbing one was too, if a little scary. Hell, even Mama Taa. The old human term Cougar seemed ironically apt. To be honest, was there something in the water here, or what were they feeding 'em? It was like holiday on Ryloth or Zeltros or some ridiculous combination. I was sure there were a few Uggos like anywhere, but if they were out on Carshoulis Prime today, they were indoors.

"Well, uh, yeah?"

Where was this going?

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Sshe'ss rreadjy forr Krree'rrou, whjich jI don't expect jyou to know about. Sshe jis a woman now, and needss a mate. Nobodjy of qualjitjy orr jimporrtance, jusst a fjirrsst tjime."

Taa spoke about the propositioning of her daughter the way somebody might talk about lunch plans for the next work day. She even went back to her makeup.

"jI'm told sshe pjicked jyou parrtjialljy forr that rreasson. Would jyou take carre of that forr me? jI'd rratherr have thjiss overr and done wjith, rrealljy."

[Sanis Prent]

I'm glad I didn't look at myself in the rear-view, because I'm sure I had a stupid look on my face.

"So lemme get this straight mum. You meet me, hire me ostensibly as a pilot, handshake contract, yadda yadda yadda, hey by the way, mind deflowering my daughter out of nowhere?"

I started to get a little cottonmouth. The situation was getting more than a little surreal.

"Don't suppose this is one of those little deals with a necklace involved?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Marrrjiage? Hahahahaha!"

Taa's boistrous laughter was full, and it shook Sanis' seat a little with its unrestrained mirth. She set her makeup aside and let herself enjoy the ridiculous thought Sanis had wandered into.

"Wjith jyou?! Come on, jI'm jusst talkjing about ssex. Get jit out of herr ssysstem sso sshe can go fjind ssomeone jimporrtant.

What'ss wrrong? jYou don't carrjy anjy ssocjial djisseasse jI need to know of, rrjight? Mjy doctorr can once jyou overr."

The rolling hills of Haiee'rathee' were growing closer on the skyline, situated neatly beyond the bustle of the Capital. Taa was happy to notice that the bizarre conversation hadn't caused Sanis to forget his bearings, and he glided into an exit lane without needing a reminding. He had enough awareness for city driving at least, that was good to know. Maybe he could handle a spaceworthy ship too.

[Sanis Prent]

Someone important.

Damn that cut deep. I let her have her moment though. I mean, my crushed self esteem aside, she was pretty much right. Far as I could tell, Madam Meorrrei could buy a planet, and she knew exactly where she stood in the order of things.

Why did it matter to me anyway? Wasn't I just on the verge of bolting at the idea of getting married into the very same obscenely wealthy family? I couldn't tell if I feared my own delusions of grandeur or the sound of the bubble popping when I fell back to reality.

"I'm 100% healthy, aside from a little hungry right now. Your doc in the box can tell you the same."

I followed the waypoint, descending to a horseshoe-shaped house surrounding a wide garden and a series of pools. The roof was an orange sun-baked tile, and the edifices were a creamier sort of stone. All around, I could see conical evergreen trees spiking up over shorter and vividly-flowered bushes. The villa's tarmac was just a stroll away, and it had lights beeping at every corner to guide me in. I pulled the speeder down as soft as I'd taken her, and lowered the struts as I eased power off the repulsors. The landing was smooth.

"This thing, with your daughter. Is this a condition of my employment with you?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa adjusted her glasses, leaning forward to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"No, of courrsse not. Jusst a favorr forr me. Thjink jit overr.

Majybe even sspend tjime arround herr. jI'm ssurre thjingss wjill be fjine. jYou're both attrractjive jyoung kjidss."

She fell back in her seat and took a haughtier air when she spoke next.

"Arre jyou gojing to get the doorr?"

[Sanis Prent]

Forgetting myself for a moment, I quickly snapped out of it. I opened my door, jumped out, and went to open the gull wing door to let the boss lady out. She was having a lot of fun catching me off guard, that's for sure.

We were ahead of schedule, and the sky bus carrying the rest of the Meorrrei clan entourage was still about ten minutes off.

I did see an open hangar toward the south end of the property though. Something very distinct caught my eye. Through the sun that flowed into the open bay door, something tall and lean could be seen resting inside, it's dull-colored patina a shade only a true star pilot could know and love.

"Is that...?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"...a Corrrelljian ejyessorre? Whjy jyess jit jiss."

Taataani winced as she followed her new employee's eyes to the hangar that dominated the southern edge of the estate. The ship inside, a Corellian YV-666 was bought as a fire sale project. Taataani had hired mechanics to get it to full spec because she intended on flipping the ship for a tidy profit. The less she had to see of it, the better.

She could tell that Sanis felt a little differently about the sight, and smiled, enjoying to see the cynical pilot switched on about something. Well, only a pilot could swoon for something that decidedly ugly.

Taa eased Sanis along with a pull of the arm.

"Come on, you ssjilljy forrda, let's get jyou a meal, a wassh, and a change of clothess. Enjojy jyourr new hjirrjing. Tomorrrow, jyou worrk forr me."

The pair of them walked along a stony trail that led through a few gardens, winding toward the house.

[Sanis Prent]

Present Day

"Ackpthh..."

I sneezed into the crook of my arm, burying my face in long enough to thaw out my nose. Braving the cold again, I came up for a plug of whisky. At least by now, Cirr and I were feeling alright. Still numb and cold, but, in a better way. Of course that all depended on whether the cold lasted longer, or the bourbon.

"You think she knew I'd try and steal that ship?" I looked at Cirr, curious.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr made a face as if to say 'Are you kidding?!' as he took his turn on the bottle.

"Mama had you fjigurred out, she gets everryone. That's just herr, she knows. Prrobably djidn't fjigurre you'd trry and boost jit less than a day on planet though."

[Sanis Prent]

I had a bit of a helpless look on my face. In retrospect it was a hilariously stupid thing for me to try. And probably, were it any other family than the Meorrrei's that took me in, it probably would've ended up with me getting fed my own spleen. At the time, I figured I might be poor, but I was untouchable. I could steal the ship, shake the Carshoulis Cluster's dust off my shoes, and blaze halfway across the galaxy laughing all the way.

And in some way, it's that sort of thinking that also helped to save me when it didn't work out.



Carshoulis Prime - The Meorrrei Estate: Later that evening

It had latched onto my brain and wasn't letting go. This plan. This ridiculous, brazen, ballsy plan in my head.

I mean the door was just sitting the fuck open.

In between the free time and the free meals (even the meals that weren't 'on the hoof' Cizeri style were served decently. They even had the old greasy Nar Shadaan turnovers I grew up on, since apparently enough forrda worked on the ranch to justify a foreign foods hash slinger), I ducked out every excuse I got for a stim, my eyes fixed across the gardens at that big yawning and inviting hangar, and the prize that lay inside.

It could've been the Cizeri stims giving me false bravado. Could've been the complementary drinks (Corellian whisky!). Mama Taa even came by, insisting that she was helping me convalesce after a tragic stint of bejing a poorr skjinnjy forrda spacebojy. She mentioned Raifanni was busy taking Basic lessons, and could use some practice, which was a brazen attempt at getting us together. It only helped to feed my ego, which by terms of girth, was doing laps around my real girth.

If I'd been paying attention, I might have noticed that she was also watching me, watch her. Not her daughter, no, her. That tall, tawny drink of Corellian. I lit stim after stim, ducking out and around, and continued to admire the view.

That night, I lay in bed, in the quarters I'd been assigned to. They weren't bad, about like any given dormatory I guess. Didn't really have anything to unpack in the room, so I got my shower, change of clothes, and lay down. Forget sleep though. I lay for an hour, two hours, three. All I could think about was planning the stupidest thing ever.

I was going to steal that ship, and I wasn't even going to wait for sunrise.

[Sanis Prent]

I was up and on my feet, after the battered fortress of my reason and good sense capitulated to this huge, unstoppable idiot plan. Of course it all made sense. I'd watched the courtyard, the hangar, and around the house. No posted guards, no cameras. These people were too rich to even worry about theft somehow. Of course, the Cizerack had a reputation about their attitudes toward smuggling, piracy, and sneering ne'er do well's like me, but there was reputation and there were sheer street realities. If you're this confident that you're not going to get hustled, maybe it's time you got taken and woke up.

So, I mean, I was doing them a favor then. I was some kind of Outer Rim Ghetto Fable-Spinner, moral pending.

I slipped on my work clothes, finally saying goodbye to the rags I'd been wearing before. The new clothes fit and were nice, so I was certainly keeping 'em. Kept the old jacket though, because it had sentimental value. My door was unlocked - of course! We're all one big trusting family! I padded out of the hall and headed for the exit. The Cizerack operated on no less than three power-sleeps per day, heavy enough to survive a turbolaser barrage. I struggled not to laugh with glee.

Outside was pretty well lit from multiple moons and mood lighting in the courtyard, but I was the only soul up. I even approached slow and quiet, being extra sure to look around. Nope, nobody.

I approached the hangar with more and more surefootedness, eventually passing through the yawning cavern doors. There she lay, tall, angular, and rugged. The paint job wasn't raising any eyebrows, but only a soft-handed inner core poseur cared about the paint. I knew what I was looking at, and my heartbeat quickened.

I put my fist up to my mouth. They even left the gangplank down??!!

If reason hadn't been pummeled into submission by the Big Idiot Plan, you'd think I would suspect a trap, right? Nope, it was all good fortune, and hoo-pee-doo, I went strutting up that gangplank like I already owned the ship.

I got into the expansive cargo hold, and that's when the lights snapped on.

"...oh.

Well.

Fuck."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Raifanni Meorrrei, wearing nothing but a smile, punched the controls to draw the gangplank up and seal the ship.

"Djid jyou wake up forr a drrjink of waterr?"

She beamed with a confident smile, thrilled that her trap had actually worked.

[Sanis Prent]

The term quid pro quo kept knocking around in my hollow head for some reason.

With a deadpan expression and a careful affirmative nod, I spoke in a tone that I was really, really(!) trying to convey something a little extra with my words.

"Yes, water. Exactly that. Water. And nothing else."

Water = the inevitable blackmail sex and nothing else = don't tell mom I'm sort of trying to steal the ship. Now that we've got this subtle game of doublespeak out of the way...

...well I mean, big deal. I'm blackmailed into consolation teenage sex. I'm four years her senior and 15 only gets you 20 on Dantooine, if I recall correctly. The biggest hairball to navigate around was whether or not young Raifanni was a post-coital backstabber and would rat me out anyway.

I didn't really have a choice.

"Well, guess I'd better be out of these clothes then."

[Sanis Prent]

The Next Morning

Waking up in my quarters was a good thing, I finally decided. Comfy bed, as opposed to slouched over a cargo skid on a freighter. I even beat my chrono alarm by a good 15 minutes, although that was because every inch of my body was sore, and I think I pained myself awake.

"Ugh..."

Last night was rough. Raifanni was eager enough, sure, but the sort of eager where they sub in three times the effort for half the know-how. Considering she was every bit as strong as I was, if not moreso...

"Well, lets try to sit up..."

My head throbbed. I remember hitting some bulkheads sort of, in the "everywhere" region of my body. I finally talked myself into padding into the bathroom, as gingerly as possible. The good news, as I assessed myself in the mirror, was that my face and handsome good looks were still going strong. The bad news was everything neck and below, which looked like a road map of claw marks, teeth marks, and the old standby, the hickey. In particular, I noticed four conspicuous claw marks all lined up in a row, on each cheek of my ass.

All I could think about was that it was going to kind of suck sitting on my duff and flying speeders for the next few days.

With a groan, I hauled myself into the shower. Blissfully, it was real water, and I turned the heat up about as hot as I could take it. I had to get ready for work. I was a gainfully employed pilot and not a starship thief, after all.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jYou'rre late."

Taataani waited in the sun room adjacent to the main entrance, rocking gently back and forth in a plush glider chair, her tail swishing along as she rocked. It was getting warm already this morning, and the matron fanned herself gently with a small folding fan. Her wig, of a different style and color today, was trussed up with expert skill.

"Bad habjit to sstarrt on jyourr fjirrsst dajy, Mrr. Prrent."

An amused smirk cut through what was almost a serious expression.

[Sanis Prent]

I looked at my chrono and grimaced. Two minutes past. What a hard-ass.

"Won't happen again, mum."

A new work outfit on, I chafed underneath it. In my tender state, even standing still wasn't entirely painless. I'd popped a few painkiller tabs on my way out and could at least walk like a normal person, but I was still feeling it.

I waited for the worst. Waited to hear a "mjy daughterr told me..." delivery that would leave me fired or worse.

It never came.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa rose from her seat, tucking her fan away in a handbag as she inspected her driver. She smiled.

"jYou cleaned up jusst njiceljy."

She walked around slowly, and after a moment or two delivered a light slap to Sanis's backside.

"Verrjy ssharrp."

[Sanis Prent]

I tried not to think of words like searing or piercing or any other high-violence adjectives to describe the pain of that all-too-well-aimed smack to my derrier. My teeth clenched and I exhaled slowly through them, my eyes half closing.

"...thanks mum..."

By both suns of Tattooine, who knew I had all these nerve endings in my ass, and that this was how I'd find out I did.

I could use a drink. Too bad I was now officially on duty.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa had a luncheon scheduled with a business colleague, the matron of the Raurrssatta house. She was led to the speeder by Sanis and helped inside. As the pilot brought the sedan skyward and began the trip once more across the Capital sprawl to reach I'aufa district, the Meorrei matron busied herself with a datapad, or at least put on airs of doing so.

"Raifanni tellss me jyou werre fun."

A knowing smile as she briefly looked up to catch his face in the rear view.

"Glad jyou rreconssjiderred the favorr jI assked. jI trrusst sshe wassn't too much of a messs."

She shook her head knowingly.

"Gjirrlss that age...makess me want to be done wjith cubss entjirreljy."

Raifanni didn't mention, of course, the ruse she'd used to facilitate the favor. She'd been true to her promise at least. Not that Taa needed to know the truth from her daughter. Mother's rule #14, your teenagers lie more than they don't.

[Sanis Prent]

I grimaced a bit.

"Well, glad I could help."

I'aufa was a bit of a schlep. I changed skylanes about a dozen times, getting around snarled traffic and dipping past whatever I could avoid. I'd already started off this job on a bit of a shitty note so I figured I needed to step up my game. Fortunately the sedan handled very forgivingly, and my employer lounged more or less undisturbed by my frenetic driving.

We at last cleared the last of the snarls around the capitol, and everything thinned out to the outer districts, which were, similar to Haiee'rathee', in that they were bastions for the rich to enjoy, away from the bustle of things.

The house, I noticed, was even larger than the Meorrrei villa at Haiee'rathee', but then again, Taa owned something like six from what I saw. No telling how many the matron of this house owned. We put down on what looked to be an island within a lake. I noticed with amusement that there was no bridge to the mainland, and instead there were two piers. As I helped Madame Meorrrei out of the speeder, I watched a gondola approach, a Cizerack male and female sitting inside it, with the male working the oar to drive the boat.

"You've got to be kidding me." I scoffed under my breath.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Be qujiet!"

Taa hissed, her ears switching back to show her irritation. Realizing that such an outburst was unbecoming of her, she turned to her employee and spoke in a quiet tone.

"Thjiss woman jiss an jimporrtant parrtnerr of mjine and jyou need to be sseen and not hearrd."

She paused, reluctant to say much about it, instead using her tail to embrace Sanis near to her as she greeted her host.

"Laai'aufrrei rakaa e'"

She embraced the taller and thinner woman as they kissed each other lightly on each cheek. Taataani regarded her warmly.

"Good to ssee jyou agajin. jIt'ss been sso bussjy jI rregrret jI haven't been able to vjissjit much."

As Taa talked and walked with the other matriarch, she kept her tail curled at Sanis's midsection in an unspoken command for him to follow where she went and stay by him, rather than just tend to the ship.

[Sanis Prent]

The two captains of industry and extravagant living chatted it up, though most of it was in Cizeri, and I hadn't a clue about any of it. They didn't feel any particular need to clue me in on that, which I could understand. After all, who was I?

We were led onto the gondola for the ride to shore, and I sat, taking in the view. It was every bit as ridiculous as Taataani's villa, and it left me wondering just how many of these obscenely wealthy women had this hobby of collecting various luxury palaces. If I didn't figure I'd get my spleen handed to me, I'd almost want to hold out for a raise. That I was somehow recruited below my pay grade was a testament to the kind of people I was dealing with. They hustled way better than anything in my league.

My eyes eventually found themselves drawn to the Gondola driver. He was a tall Cizerack of pretty thick build, but looked to be a teenager. He wore a silk tunic, and his longer hair was braided at the back with a few ribbons tied into it. He was as quiet as I was, but he looked at me with curious eyes, and if I had to guess, maybe a bit of sadness to them. I don't know why, but that made me uncomfortable.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani dispensed with the labors of speaking in Basic, which was a barbaric and clipped language to begin with. She spoke with Iesshaauurri Raurrssatta in a much more civilized Cizeri

("So, my Cirrsseeto's your boatman, then?")

Her eyes looked to the teenager who continued to paddle gently toward the shore.

Iesshaauurri shrugged, running a hand along the teen's upper arm.

("You say that as if it's a bad thing, Taataani. He's doing very well for himself. I would go so far as to say he's certainly one of my favorite young men, and of course, he's a credit to your house. He still sings wonderfully. Such a talented husband.")

Taataani, for her part, nodded graciously.

("I gave his hand to you because I knew you would treat him well, and you don't disappoint. I'd like to think that's strengthened our friendship, as well as our working relationship. I'm pleased to see that your business has allowed you some time at home. For a while, I was worried you worked too much.")

The taller woman smiled at that, shaking her head.

("We're both doing well enough to have our daughters vetted for leadership. I still find time to keep my hands busy with a few things though. I doubt I'll ever truly retire, just spend less hours in the office.")

Her eyes fixed on Sanis, and she cocked an eyebrow.

("If you weren't my friend, I'd be worried of your taste in employees. You aren't afraid of flaunting a faux pas around at all, are you? Of course, you're as shrewd as I am, so I know what you pay for help like that. Hiring outside the cluster is the future, for better or worse.")

Iesshaauurri smiled at the human.

("Does it have a name?")

Taataani laughed at the haughty use of the word it. Whatever could be said of her associate, she had a dry sense of humor that was often appreciated.

"Ssanjiss Prrent."

Looking back at the human, Taataani gave him the courtesy of going back to Basic.

"He'ss a pjilot. jI thjink he'll be usseful forr that jojint venturre we werre plannjing forr the charrterr sserrvjice."

[Sanis Prent]

Not wanting to risk speaking out of turn, I took Taa's advice beforehand to heart and kept my mouth shut. Even when the boat pulled up to the dock, and the kid tied it down, I still said nothing. If they were vetting me for some sort of work then I was sure I'd know about it eventually when they finally ordered me to do it.

Still, I looked at the teen as we left the gondola and were escorted to the villa. He didn't say anything, just gestured for us to follow him. I knew that the situation in Cizerack culture was a bit off the galactic norm, but something about the way he looked, especially at Taataani, seemed a little tragic to me. Maybe I was just reading too much into nothing. Still, I took in the sights.

The villa was four stories, with polished stone next to rough-hewn stone to create a pattern of reflective and matte finishes that was interesting. The doorway had a sweeping arch to it, and the capstone above had an ornate crest that was covered in Cizeri. I imagined it had more or less to do with announcing House Raurrssatta to anyone near the entrance.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirrsseeto Raurrssatta, née Meorrrei, did as his mistress asked and was a courteous host to his mother and her employee, a human named Ssanjiss Prrent, a name that sounded about as natural to him as a kick in the head. That was always a recurring joke with forrda names though. He seemed a bit small for a male. Cirr wondered if Iesshaauurri would have him wrestle him like she sometimes liked to see. That would be pretty easy.

It had been a year since he'd seen Taataani, and Cirr was dealing with a lot of conflicting emotion. She knew his marriage had been difficult for a few years, and he'd eavesdropped on more than a few occasions when Taataani and Iesshaauurri did speak about it, and there was always shouting. That usually resulted in him getting a beating for it. He loved his mistress, and his mother needed to understand that it was just different in his new house. He was treated differently, but Iesshaauurri still loved him, just in a different way.

Cirr escorted the matrons and the human to a sun room that held a half dozen triclinia, small lounging couches used for recreational discussions and refreshments. Noting there were more couches than needed, he began working with other husbands to remove them, until Iesshaauurri snapped her fingers.

("Darling Cirrsseeto, leave one for yourself please. Come and sit with me, your mother, and her friend.")

Cirr's ears cocked, perplexed. Not one to question, he nodded quickly.

("Yes Mistress, of course.")

This was a positive turn, wasn't it? Getting to join in with company was a rare treat? Cirr allowed a furtive smile at that, and his eyes met the human Ssanjiss's, and he wasn't sure what the forrda found so interesting about him. Self-conscious, Cirr gave a shy wave of greeting to the strange alien.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani watched the two males interact, despite the gulf of a language barrier, and she smiled from behind a goblet of Raiffa blood wine that she'd been served. One of Iesshaauurri's men prepared to pour into a glass that Sanis held up, and she reached up to his seat and smacked him across the leg.

"jYou'rre drrjivjing, jyou ssjilljy forrda, have ssome ssensse."

Her smile broadening at the rebuke, she looked back to her host, who had her men lay out civilized refreshment. Aside from the wine, there were of course the little snacks to be had. Taataani already had a sajoi wrapped around her finger by the tail, and bit the softly-chirping rodent in half like a ripe fig.

"Tell me, Taataani, jyourr man Prrent, can he teach otherr pjilotss?"

Iesshaauurri wasted little time getting to business, unlatching a sand oyster's shell with the flick of a claw as she tilted the contents back.

The Meorrrei matron looked at the human and gave a confident look.

"Perrhapss. Morre jimporrtantljy, he'ss got fljight experrjience on Correlljian sstarrsshjipss. That'ss morre jimporrtant, jI thjink. The rresst, well, can be taught, and he jin turrn can then teach."

Another sajoi dispatched, and Taa washed it down with some wine.

"Wouldn't jyou agrree, Mjissterr Prrent?"

[Sanis Prent]

"Ow."

I recoiled a little from the slap, which again seemed to find one of Raifaani's little love mementos and stung like hell. Denied my booze, I looked across the table for something I could eat. I wasn't really keen on the whole open zoo mentality that Cizeri food seemed to embrace, but I did ape Iesshaauurri's good taste and pilfered an oyster. I knew I could eat those. And by good graces, there was a knife for us bumble-fingered aliens who lacked retractable claws. I picked it up, slipped the blade through the mollusk's foot, and was home free. Of course, I was midway through slurping the seawater and sex-tasting bit of live seafood down when I was asked a question. Fortunately, it seemed that prim table manners weren't too stiffly enforced in the Pride, so I didn't feel like a rube.

"Uh, sure."

I paused, continuing to chew. Damn, this oyster was fresh, awesome.

"It's not too difficult. Hardest thing to get over is the tendency to play gentle. They're built tough and you can ride them tough."

My brow knit as the question I'd wanted to ask finally came up, and I figured now as as good time as any to ask.

"What sort of training did you have in mind?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani figured now was as good a time as any to clue him in, and set a holocube on the table, keying it up. The images displayed numerous Corellian cargo ships of varying classes, and repeating data in both Basic and Cizeri.

"Ourr plan jiss to wjin a contrract wjith the Corrporrate Ssectorr, jyou know of jit? We contrract to them forr a perrcentage of thejirr trrade jinto the deep Corre, and get prreferrentjial trreatment when trrade expands."

Iesshaauurri sucked a small freshwater snail clean of its shell, discarding the empty husk into a silver dish.

"Ljike jyou ssajy, Mrr. Prrent, Correlljian sshjipss arre tough. Forrda outlanderrss and ssmugglerrss usse them to ssteal bussjinesss frrom ourr clussterr all the tjime. jI thjink jimjitatjion jiss the mosst prrofjitable forrm of flatterrjy."

The Raurrssatta house matron shrugged lackadaisically and fiddled with the holo, pivoting bits of it around to view at her leisure.

"We have fjiftjy Cizerack pjilotss, rreadjy to learrn on a Correlljian ssjysstem. We want jyou to teach them, afterr jyou'rre vetted of courrsse."

[Sanis Prent]

Let's see, how should I broach this subject.

"I want triple my current pay grade."

slap

"agh..."

Well I expected that. Taataani glared daggers at me for my impudence. I wasn't backing down though.

"You hired me as a pilot. This is a change of my job description."

Her eyes narrowed as her ears switched back, and I heard the faintest of growls before her features softened into a conciliatory smile.

"Look at thjiss one. jI clean hjim up, gjive hjim a place to sstajy, feed hjim well and he thjinkss he can barrgajin ljike a rreal jai'heethraa."

Taataani, Iesshaauurri, and even the kid Cirrsseeto shared a laugh at my expense. I copped a tight smile, foraging for another oyster.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa studied the forrda's face for a sign of a weakness, and found little to none. Impressed, she reached for a sajoi, dunking the rodent partially in her wine and swirling it about as she pondered the idea. The quickest of glances to her partner, who nodded, let her know that she would write off the increased costs. It was done then.

"Two tjimess pajy grrade, wjith sstjipulatjion."

She smiled as she weaved her counter offer, watching the sajoi tread wine.

"Upon completjion of contrract, jI wjill crredjit jyou one thjirrd value down pajyment on mjy jYV-666 frrejighterr, and agrree to ssell that ejyessorre off to jyou, wjith ten perrcent fjinancjing."

Her ears perked up as she sprung the snare. There was absolutely no way he would refuse that.

"Take mjy generrossjitjy jyou ssjilljy sstupjid forrda. jI enjojy jyourr companjy forr ssome rreasson."

[Sanis Prent]

My mouth suddenly got very, very dry. Did she just say what I thought she said? Of course, I understood the ramifications. I'd be under the good lady's paw for a while. But...my own ship??!! She was probably buying me off with the change under her couch, but that was more of a break than I'd caught my entire life.

I carefully sat my half-shucked oyster down, resting a hand on the table.

"I'll be having some of that wine now."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Iesshaauurri laughed at that, nodding to her manservant to fill a glass for Sanis from the carafe. Taataani just rolled her eyes. He was clever, but not too clever.

Plucking her sajoi from her wine, Taa popped it in her mouth, licking in the errant tail as she swallowed. She raised her glass to his, along with Iesshaauurri.

"Ja' ssheefra'ee naiha. To grreat ssuccesss and forrtune."

Iesshaauurri refrained the popular toast in Cizeri.

"Ja' ssheefra'ee naiha"

That saved her from having to pour that much more money into the ship, and she figured what she charged him for interest would still have her in the black after a few years, assuming the forrda didn't just up and die like star pilots sometimes did.

[Sanis Prent]

"Jah sheefrahi nihah."

I aped the Cizeri toast about as best as I could before tipping back the wine. I wasn't really a conoisseur but it wasn't disagreeable and it had alcohol in it. Tasted deep and mineral-ey, and a little sweet.

The rest of the meeting was spent on talking shop. I kept my piloting chops in layman's terms for the two ladies who seemed to be responsible for my paycheck. They were attentive, asked the right sort of questions, and kept me on my toes. How much time had I logged on the Hydian Way lanes? (1000 flight hours, mostly around the Corporate Sector region, which they appreciated) Was I Imperial Certified? (No, but they offered to deal with my certification) Plenty of questions like this came out during the event.

Taataani calmly but firmly held me to no more than two glasses of wine, which was fine. I just wanted that to calm the butterflies in my stomach. My mind, though I was going through all manner of details with the matrons, was still on the YV-666. I helped myself to oysters, even a few of the snails that Iesshaauurri seemed to prefer. No sajoi, no nunas, no tree frogs, and none of the other stuff.

The power lunch lasted a fairly hefty two hours, and afterwards, we retired to a sun-drenched veranda. Two padded cots were laid out in the sun, and the Raurrssatta house matron nodded to the teenage male who'd quietly been our guest at lunch.

"Cirrsseeto, a masssage forr me, and fetch Raathaio forr jyourr motherr, mm?"

She clapped her hands together, as both she and Taa began to work themselves out of their garments for a hands-on session. I stood around like an idiot. Any other place and I'd be looking for a pretty little thing in a two piece to come and rub me up with oil. Not here, nope.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Cirrsseeto was already at work on the Raurrssatta matron. Taa eased onto the massage table as another one of Iesshaauurri's manservants came to take care of her. Belly-down, she looked up at Sanis, propping her chin on her forearms.

"That wjill be all forr now, Ssanjiss. Go and wajit at the sspeederr, jI'll be no morre than an hourr."

She shooed the human away with a dismissive flick of her tail as Raathaio began to knead into her soft curves. Somehow, the massage seemed to only marginally soothe whatever was preoccupying the Meorrrei woman's mind. She watched Iesshaauurri and Cirrsseeto, tilting her head to the side.

[Sanis Prent]

My walk back was uneventful. I even got another canoe-ride back to the island, which was nice. Never could tell when I'd be asked to paddle my own, or worse, find the thing missing and have to consider swimming.

I pulled the gull wing hatch and climbed in the driver's seat, visions of Corellian freighters flying circles in my head as I let my mind wander. The hour, left to my imagination, took forever. Eventually, I saw the boat being boarded, and stepped out of the speeder to greet my boss as she returned.

The boat touched softly at the shore, and Cirrsseeto helped Taataani out. Iesshaauurri, it seemed, had matters elsewhere to attend to. The mother and son shared an embrace, and I saw the Meorrri matron's face melt into a genuine smile as she closed her eyes.

("Goodbye, Cirrsseeto. Be a good servant to Iesshaauurri. She cares for you deeply.")

I looked on as she spoke to the big guy in Cizeri. Wasn't any of my business anyway. He said what I assumed were his goodbyes too, and they parted.

"Cirrsseeto, nice meeting you."

I held my hand out lamely, forgetting that the guy didn't seem to speak much basic and that not all gestures are universal. He held my hand up to his face, sniffed at it, gave me a look like I was an idiot, and shook his head.

No worries, I was in starship land! I eased Madame Meorrrei into her seat, shut the door behind, and we were off again.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

The mirth evaporated in her mood, Taa busied herself with an etched silver case, pulling out a stim before lighting it, causing the automatic air scrubber to get to work pulling the residual smoke from the cab's interior as she took a few deep drags. Her expression was perturbed to put it mildly.

"Drrjive me home, Ssanjiss. jI'm not jin the mood forr chatterr."

It took another three long drags and short angry exhalations of smoke for her to rescind her own vow of silence.

"Whateverr that woman ssajyss to jyou, jyou rrun jit bjy me. Whateverr sshe prromjissess jyou, jyou clearr that thrrough me. jYou worrk forr me, and not herr. Don't jyou darre trrusst that arrgha'ee raafeei bjitch orr jI'll fjind anotherr pjilot jin the ssame hearrtbeat."

She caught her breath in a low growl, paused, and ashed into the door's ash tray.

"Whjy am jI talkjing to jyou anjywajy?"

[Sanis Prent]

And again, my dignity is a casualty of Taataani's mauling.

"You like the company?"

It was starting to become a little clearer to me.

"Is this about your son?"

Honestly, I probably should have kept my fucking mouth shut on that one.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jI don't pajy jyou forr jyourr jinssjight on mjy famjiljy sso keep jyourr mouth sshut, jyou sstupjid forrda!"

Her ears switched back, she realized she was bringing a lot more emotion out than she ever cared to expose, much less to a human. That was almost as upsetting as the real cause of her tantrum. She continued to smoke her stim in silence, hand switching over to ash periodically as her hand shook faintly.

"Jusst drrjive."

[Sanis Prent]

Well then, the drive was really uncomfortable. I didn't like having Taataani behind me when she wasn't filling the air with talk about something or other. I pushed the speed limits to Haiee'rathee', just wanting to get the lady home and get out of her way. After nearly 45 minutes, we finally touched down. I ran the power-downs, popped my door, and went to open Taa's door. She stepped out, again not a word, and allowed me to escort her to the villa.

I'd learned my lesson. I wasn't saying another damn thing today.

We reached the diverging hallways that would lead me to my quarters and her to her master's chambers, when I felt a hand on my wrist, and she pulled me along her way.

"Something else you'll be needing then, mum?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She pulled Sanis along with long and purposeful strides, a faint scowl still etched on her face.

"Ssex."

[Sanis Prent]

I stiffened my resistance a bit, bringing us to a halt in the hallway. I could feel eyes upon me here and there, and all of them were glad they weren't me right now.

"It's not in my contract, mum."

I was risking literal death with that one, but everything else I could possibly say to protest was going to come out extremely lame.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Her ears ticked back and she ground her teeth a little.

"Do jit asss a favorr forr me."

Her eyes bored into the back of Sanis's head and there was no mistaking that she wasn't asking a question.

[Sanis Prent]

I tugged a bit forcefully at my collar as my eyebrows raised.

"You know, I didn't want to say this, and maybe I shouldn't, but I don't think you're approaching this whole thing in a positive state of mind. Frankly, I'm concerned for my well being.

If I say yes, are you going to hurt me?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa sucked on her bottom lip a moment, and nodded her head to Sanis's question. Before he could offer up another line of resistance, she had his wrist again, this time with claws.

She marched toward her chambers again, followed by Sanis hopping along and cursing at her claws in his skin. Opening the door, she shoved him inside, sending him sprawling along one side of the bed. She slammed the door, marched over to the other side, sat at the corner, and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Mjy...poorr...cubljing...mjy babjy Cirrsseeto..."

The bed shook slightly with the quakes of her sobs as she hunched over, finally letting out her pent up angst the day had accumulated.

[Sanis Prent]

I think I would've rather had the anger sex I was sure I was doomed to rather than to hear what was, I had to assume, real actual crying coming from a woman I otherwise assumed had complete dominion over everything she surveyed. It's not that I'm particularly perturbed over crying, it's just that unexpected things like this tend to be scary.

I sucked on the bleeding claw marks at my wrist a bit as I watched her give into it. Limpid tears welled up at the base of her luminous blue eyes as she looked at me, her face twisted in agony that seemed far too uncomfortable to be faked.

Her ears sagged as it seemed her strength to wail any further was waning.

"jI wjill neverr forrgjive mjysself forr gjivjing mjy darrljing to herr. What sshe hass done to hjim, to mjy famjiljy...jI would ssee herr djie a thoussand tjimess and neverr be ssatjissfjied!"

The anger caused a growl to cascade through the weakened sobs that still occassionally shook her. She sniffed a bit, briefly aware that the base of her nose was wet, just as her cheeks were.

Suddenly, I was of use. I carefully extended to her the kerchief from my jacket. She pulled it from my grasp, placed it at her nose, and let it fly.

"You don't want to talk about family with me, remember mum?"

I was hoping to use that as a way to excuse myself. This was agonizing.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"FTTTTHHHHP!"

Taa blew her nose into the handkerchief, demurely folding it as she used an edge to try her eyes. She looked at Sanis, and fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as she kicked off her shoes, which clattered to the hardwoods below.

"jI do to jyou."

A plan was forming in her head, but it was still too early for her to speak of it.

"jYou can sstarrt bjy bejing honesst wjith me. jYou'rre a maaiha'akaai, a crrjimjinal, jyess?"

[Sanis Prent]

I grimaced.

"You know, that's a really harsh word, and not the nicest thing to insinuate on your homeworld, might I add?"

It was a lame defense. By this time I was pretty much helpless against the woman's ability to extract whatever she needed to know out of me, whether I cared to help or not.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taa rolled her eyes with impatience.

"Rrelax jyou jidjiot, we wouldn't even be talkjing about thjiss jif jI had a prroblem wjith jyourr passt. jYou'rre the onljy one jI can talk to, becausse what jI'm gojing to djisscusss wjith jyou jiss jillegal."

She patted the side of the bed next to her.

"Come ssjit bjy me."

[Sanis Prent]

I did as asked, slowly.

"Yeah mum. I used to steal ships on Nar Shadaa. Don't expect you to know or care, but we were poor and that was about the only way to earn a living, or better yet, escape the situation."

I declined to talk about my more recent and less-successful ventures in that regard.

"Course, turns out not everything's all smiles in the galaxy beyond either, so stealing here and there got me by in a pinch. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't."

I shook my head.

"I have no idea why I'm telling you this."

Something in the rare bit of honesty the Meorrrei clan matron had displayed was disturbingly contagious.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She reached over, patting him on his thigh in a consoling manner.

"jI alrreadjy knew jyou trrjied to ssteal mjy sshjip. jI jusst hope that wass a bad dajy forr jyou and that jyou'rre betterr at jit ussualljy."

[Sanis Prent]

"My ship."

I amended the statement, scavenging what little wounded pride I had that she hadn't ravaged. Of course we both knew it was still hers until paid in full, but...

I crossed my arms.

"I'm as good as I need to be."

Where was this going, exactly.

"And I supposed you have use of the skill set I have then?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She nodded, looking back to the ceiling again.

"jI want jyou to keep dojing the worrk jyou agrreed to forr mjysself and Iesshaauurri. Get to become a parrt of dajiljy ljife forr both ourr houssess, but know who jyou worrk forr."

Licking her lips just barely to moisten them, she looked to Sanis with a serious expression.

"And when the tjime jiss rrrjight, jI want jyou to take Cirrsseeto...farr frrom that woman. He desserrvess morre than sshe can gjive, and jI won't tolerrate jit anjy longerr."

She waited for the human to show the dawning realization at what she was asking, and continued.

"jI'm takjing a rrjissk on jyou, Ssanjiss. Onljy Saanjarra knowss whjy. And ssjince jI know jyou'll assk forr compenssatjion forr thjiss, conssjiderr anotherr thjirrd of jyourr frrejighterr debt forrgjiven jif jyou do jit."

Her voice softened somewhat.

"Morre valuable, jyou would have mjy grratjitude. jYou'll fjind that jit'ss a valuable commodjitjy. jI can open a lot of doorrss forr jyou, forrda."

Now feeling tired, she turned onto her side, back away from the human.

"Don't make thjiss decjissjion ljightljy. What jI assk wjill put jyou at qujite ssome rrjissk. Tell me jyourr decjissjion jin the morrnjing."

[Sanis Prent]

It dawned on me that the whole notion of concocting a premise to drag me into her bedroom was, if anything, to bring me into the most private space she could manage to discuss this with me. That she'd backstopped my loyalty with the promise of my own ship was somewhat ingenious. There was no way she'd trust somebody so recently on the payroll were it otherwise, and especially when she could essentially put her word against mine if I ever decided to turn on her.

Still, it was more diplomacy than I was used to, getting this sort of choice.

I stood from the bed, and headed toward the door.

"Don't need the morning, mum. You've got your feelings, I've got mine. The opportunity you've given me, I've waited my whole life for. To be a pilot, not of somebody else's ship, but mine. It's about the only way I'll ever be able to call shots in my life."

I put my hand on the door latch, and paused.

"You can count on me."

It sounded so damn corny coming out of my mouth. I wasn't used to actually promising something and meaning to keep my word. What passed for sincerity anymore? I didn't bother even trying to explain myself. I was pretty sure Taataani already knew.

"I'll be out fueling the speeder. Be needing me for the rest of the day?"

She shook her head at that, and I nodded, parting the door, but not before knowingly undoing the top two buttons of my shirt, partially un-tucking it, and mussing my hair.

"Then if you need me, I'll be having a few beers and a turnover."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Present Day

The alcohol was now redolent in both of their systems, and with the bottle over half-spent, the chatter died down in Cirr's teeth.

"So, mama had you jin mjind to get me out frrom that day?"

That took Cirr by surprise, and Sanis confirmed it with a nod. As he contemplated this, the bottle turned to his turn again, and he took a drink, his tongue now a bit resistant to the burn of the liquor.

"jI thought jit took herr longerr to get to that pojint. jI rrememberr everrythjing leadjing up. Can't say jI'm surrprrjised, jI suppose."

[Sanis Prent]

I was definitely drunk at this point, but there wasn't any point stopping. I was finally starting to feel a little less frozen.

"Didn't think it would be almost a year into the job though. Trained one batch of pilots, turned around, trained another, and another. They pay was good, they both kept me on. Probably was for the best, because I got to know the lay of the land pretty well. My Cizeri still sucks, but I was almost fluent."

I shrugged at that, receiving the bottle again.

"Your old lady never really cared for me."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr nodded in agreement, interrupted by a small burp.

"That's Ieesshaauurri. Nothjing at all ljike mama. She neverr saw past yourr pjink skjin, shorrt earrs, and all the rrest. jI thjink the otherr prroblem was that Saarreeaa thought you werre the best thjing that came to the clusterr sjince HoloNet."

The thought of his mistress's young daughter caused him to shake his head a bit.

"jI thjink half of jit was because Ieesshaauurri djidn't ljike you. jIt made you that morre fun. Vjicjious cycle."

[Sanis Prent]

Instantly I remembered. Lanky girl for her age, impish, instantly curious and tons of energy. She'd been my shadow for months and even insisted (after Ieesshaauurri gave her exasperated permission) that I teach her how to fly.

"That's my only regret about it all, I guess. She seemed like a genuinely decent kid, and I got to know her pretty well during the work I did for the two families. I know that probably cut her pretty deep, when we both left. If so, I hope she's learned to move on."

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

Eight Years Ago


"What arrre jyou dojing?" Saarrreeaa leaned over and stared into the compartment, her blonde hair tied back in many tiny braids and dangling over her shoulders. She poked a claw at a set of loose wires, only to have Sanis gently slap her hand away.

The nine year old cub pouted and stuck the finger in her mouth as though he'd hurt her. "Mama sajid jI'm to have mjy lesssson ssoon. Orrr ssshe won't let me trrrjy jit." Saa leaned back theatrically, a hand to her forehead as she'd seen in the holo operas. "And jI'm desssperrrate to learrrn!"

[Sanis Prent]

"Watch your eyes."

For emphasis, I pushed the curious kid slightly away from the compartment I was working on, so she wouldn't catch the arc welder I used. I slid a pair of goggles from my forehead over my eyes, and gave a quick series of zaps to the frame of the charge distributor I'd installed. Done as soon as I started, I snatched my goggles off, and gave a quick sniff at the ozone redolent in the air.

"Got repairs to do, Saa."

Saarrreeaa Raurrssatta, daughter of Ieesshaauurri, had been my shadow for a good two months now. Young enough to not be biased by the alien in the house, but still aware enough to think I was infinitely weird and interesting, she'd made it her full time job to constantly be wherever I was. Her mother didn't like it, but probably tolerated it because I was sure the kid talked to her non-stop about anything and everything I was doing. Who needed a spy when the little felinoid was omnipresent?

That work done, I slid out from where I was working.

"After this, we can go swoop riding though."

It was a consolation. The girl had a pilot's instinct from everything I'd seen. The family owned a good half dozen swoops that were nicer than anything I'd cruised on Nar Shadaa. We'd taken those along the northern lagoon path several times. I always liked to ride, and so did Saa, but I knew she was getting less and less of a kick from it. She wanted to fly.

The sight of Corellian YT's moving more or less daily around the Raurrssatta properties probably didn't help. I'd gotten used to a morning routine of flight lectures, afternoons of one-on-one's, and then having the rest of the day to spend either putting my paycheck into parts for my freighter, or finding a beer at some bar or another. Unless the Meorrrei's or Raurrssatta's had something they needed from me, I was invisible. The only two people who broke that convention were Taataani, and Saarrreeaa.

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

"Sswoopss arrre kjid sstuff," Saa complained, but then grinned in anticipation. "What rrrepajirrrss arrre jyou dojing?"

She peeked back into the compartment. "jIss jis gonna take a long tjime?"

[Sanis Prent]

"Just about done, for now."

I grunted, twisting free a coupler that had a little rust in the threading. I'd have to buff it out later, I reminded myself.

"Can't really afford many repairs at once."

I freed up the coupler, pulling a wire out from inside, unthreading it, and clipping a regulator onto it before I stuffed the rest of the coil back into the tube, and threaded the coupler back into place.

Sliding back, I rose to my feet, wiping my hands on a dirty work rag.

"How about a 'how things work' lesson?"

I looked at the kid with a half smile, and pointed foredeck toward the ladder.

"Let's go to the cockpit. I'll show you what I just did."

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

Saa's eyes lit up and she hopped up to her feet as well, bouncing a little as Sanis tossed the rag into his work bag. "Tranjirra, jI'd love to!" She blushed a little at the swear word, but was proud of being able to work it into the conversation. Her mama would have a fit if she heard it!

"Ssso, what djid you do!? Sssomethjing to the hjyperrrdrrrjive?" Saa scampered up the passageway behind Sanis' long legs.

[Sanis Prent]

"Nope, not yet. Can't do anything but a computer and visual diagnostic on that until we're spacebound. Maybe one day I'll let you come with me and try it out, as long as your Keiiffaa (Cizeri term for mother) agrees."

We climbed the next three decks up to the cockpit level, and I helped her up at the top. I took my seat in the pilot's seat, and gestured for her to park it in the copilot's chair.

"Alright."

I looked at her in a moment of silence, making sure she was paying attention to this bit of piecemeal education.

"You're my copilot. That means you run the pre-flight checklist."

I pointed to her side of the console, where a terminal glowed with green text. Next to it were four buttons, arranged vertically.

"Punch each of those in order, but read what it says. It'll let you know all the stuff you've got to see, and if there's anything that needs tending to before launch, it'll be in red."

Fortunately, I'd done this a hundred times before, and everything was lit green. It was mainly procedure if anything at this point.

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

Saa solemnly poked at the first button, looking for any tell-tale red text, and then the next. Her little claw clicked on them as she pushed the third and fourth, her mouth moving slowly as she read the green text.

"OK, jI djid jit! Everrrjythjing jis 'good to go,' Captajin!" She grinned and swiveled her chair completely around.

[Sanis Prent]

I leaned over to get a vantage of her screen and nodded.

"Alright. The last line, that's what's important."

It showed the integrity of the repulsor coil and power distribution.

"That means we're go for clearing ground."

I hit the power drive start-up, and the ship began to thrum as the power plant warmed up over the auxilliaries. It was a robust plant, to the tune that you could feel the slightest of reverberation in the deck panels at your feet.

I looked at Saa, and gestured to the lever at my right.

"That's the repulsor control. We're grounded at a zero clearance, see. Take us up to a ten meter clearance."

It was the first time I would clear ground in Layla. The XY lock was engaged, which would stabilize our ascent squarely on the Z axis until I disengaged it.

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

Eyes big, Saa reached over and grabbed the lever, using both hands to pull up on it gently. Too gently. The ship thrummed louder, but didn't move.

Biting her lip, the cubling narrowed her eyes and pulled up as hard as she could. Layla coughed, and shot upward.

[Sanis Prent]

"Easy! Easy!"

I was pushed into my seat as we went well beyond ten meters. Fifty, one hundred, one hundred fifty, until the repulsor reached its effective z-axis mass terminus, which meant we were buffetted about on a fickle column of gravity, neither quite strong enough to ease us higher or weak enough to cause us to fall. Instead, we gently swayed and jostled plus or minus thirty meters, which if not corrected, would have my stomach doing somersaults.

I would have to delay my elation that the damn thing worked. Instead I put a firm hand over Saa's paw as she controlled Z, and guided her down axis.

"Follow those notches, you can see your altitude. It's only gonna move where you move it."

Gradually, I let her have full control again, and she worked the control with better confidence. Our rickety ride calmed down a bit, and we floated back to a comfortable ten meters. I exhaled, not realizing I'd held my breath at all.

"Alright, paw off that Z axis. It'll hold. Now, if you get a feel for the stick's weight, I'll unlock the X-Y and let you glide a little."

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

"Wheee!" Saa whooped a bit, very unladylike, and nodded at Sanis. "jI'm rrreadjy! Thjiss jiss eassjy!"

She pouted when he held off on unlocking the whatever-it-was and instead gave her a Look. She sighed, and took a deep breath. "Okajy, jI'll ssettle down. Ssorrrrjy, jit was jusst sso excjitjing."

After a few moments of her testing out the stick, Sanis unlocked the sideways motion and she was able to send the freighter porrrt. Saa's eyes lit up. "Hejy, jI could fljy mjyssself home!"

[Sanis Prent]

"Can you?"

She was giving pretty gentle port thrust, so it seemed like she was getting a feel for the stick's weight. I let a smile linger on her confident expression.

"Show me."

With a few keystrokes on the HUD, I pulled up the waypoint of the Raurrssatta villa, which was conveniently just a few kilometers down the valley from the Meorrrei ranch I happened to be tooling around in. The holographic guide didn't show a waypoint on center view, but Saa could see an arrow to her right.

"Okay, rotate where that arrow's pointing...slowly."

We very gently eased in that direction, and the waypoint dot appeared up top.

"Alright, slow and steady, and we'll do an overflight."

I checked our altitude, just to make sure we weren't going to scrape any trees or worse, and gave Saa a nod. She eased it on, shaky at first, but she gained her confidence as we puttered along on thrust.

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

Her eyes shining, Saa flew the freighter along the waypoints, quickly becoming accustomed to the way Layla handled. "Sshe'ss jusst ljike a bjig sswoop." The eight year old narrowed her eyes a bit and accelerated as they overflew her mother's estate.

Sanis seemed about to say something when she punched it and swung the freighter's back end about in a quick about turn that tested the limits of its maneuverability. "Wooo!" Saa was facing the way she'd come, but she wasn't done yet. Layla shot forward and then around in a circle, repulsors kicking up dirt and dust in front of her mama's house as manservants scattered and a few brave ones waved their arms at the ship.

[Sanis Prent]

"Easy, easy Saa!"

I winced at the thought of having to explain to Iesshaauurri a wild couple of donuts turned over her ranch, and all of the debris kicked into her garden.

"Like a swoop, yeah. A hundred fifty ton swoop, heh. Feel a little resistance in the stick? It's got a little more mass on it, so watch your turns."

I looked for a blissful exit to take, and pointed to the landing pad at the side of the house.

"No speeders are put down, wanna try for a landing?"

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

"Okajy!"

Saa beamed as she brought the freighter down for a landing. A little heavy, but not too bad, considering it was her first time. "Not too bad forrr a hunk o' junk." She grinned at Sanis, and patted the console.

[Sanis Prent]

She'd definitely figured out the give and take of the ship in the time it took to land. We rocked a bit heavy on the pad, but it was certainly a clean landing. I honestly was impressed.

"You've got some real chops for flight, Saa. Keep that up, and I bet your mother will buy you tuition into the pilot's guild. Gonna be off to join the Pride Navy when you're older, or you got it in you to be a real spacer, like me?"

It struck me then. I saw something of myself in the energetic girl. The same sort of hungry look in her eye was in mine when I was stealing speeders on Nar Shadaa. Yeah, it was partly about making enough ends for the next day, but it was also about more than that. It was about controlling your destiny.

I was a slave to Nar Shadaa for years. I imagine that more than a little of what put Saa in the seat next to me was to push back against the rules inherent in the life of a priviledged Cizerack heiress. Two completely different worlds, and the same sort of escapism.

Or maybe I was just reading too much into a girl who was crazy about danger and engines. That was equally understandable.

Punching the gangplank, I hit the power-down sequence.

"Come on, scout. Let's head to the house before your mother kills me for your little fly-over."

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

Saa giggled, hopping out of the seat and standing next to Sanis before he could get up. She kissed him on the cheek, throwing her arms around his neck in a childish hug. "Thank jyou. Sshe'ss not gonna kjill jyou asss long asss jI'm arrround!"

The cub dashed out of the cockpit, running down the gangplank and laughing.

[Sanis Prent]

"What kjind of darredevjil pjilot arre jyou, human?"

Iesshaauurri was at the bottom of the gangplank, flanked by a pair of manservants, and the trio of them looking none too happy about our mutual little stunt. One of her men, I recognized from the little social outing we'd had weeks ago. What was his name again...? Oh yeah, Cirrsseeto.

"Sorry for the fly-by, mum, Saa wanted to see a little bit of Corellian handiwork in action."

Still not impressed, Iesshaauurri glanced to Saarrreeaa, and back to the human.

"Don't do jit agajin. Now, come jin, the both of jyou. jYou'rre behjind on jyourr sstudjiess Saarrreeaa, and jI have worrk for jyou to fjinjissh, Mjissterr Prrent."

The entourage returned to the Raurrssaatta villa, and I followed along with them. Work had developed a bit of a routine in me.

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

Saa kicked Cirrsseeto in the shin as she ran by, and dashed across the grounds in front of her mother and her manservants, laughing madly.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Ow!"

Cirr winced at the kick that Saa gave him, which was punctuated by Iesshaauurri giving his ear a brusque tug as she pulled him closer, speaking in Cizeri.

("Watch where you're going you clumsy thing! Go prepare Saarrreeaa's room so she can do her homework. Make sure she does it this time. I won't tolerate any horseplay from her, and especially from you.")

Cirr, recovering from the rough treatment, gave a nod to his mistress's demands.

("Yes Mistress.")

[Sanis Prent]

I frowned at the exchange unknowingly, seeing in person just a hint of the sort of treatment Taataani was so vexed about. It made sense now, thinking back on our first meeting. He had a sad look about him, and seeing a hint of his life here, it was easy to imagine why. A far contrast to Taataani's manservants, Cirrsseeto, under Iesshaauurri, was treated with some kind of distant contempt.

I didn't have time to think about it for long. Iesshaauurri put a hand across my shoulder and urged me along a different path. We moved along an outdoor path to a gazebo of a sort, commanding a view around well-manicured gardens and hedges. Already awaiting us were drinks, and Iesshaauurri, without pomp, gestured for me to sit, and I did.

She seemed to be loathe to speak basic, but lowered herself to deal with me. At least, that's how I took it. It was certainly uncomfortable to talk to her.

"Mjissterr Prrent, jyou've done adequate worrk for Taataani and mjysself. jI trrusst jyou fjind jyourr pajy acceptjible?"

I reached for a nearby snifter, pulling the stopper to find the unmistakable scent of Corellian Whisky inside. I started to get the feeling I was being buttered up in preparation for something, even if the Raurrssatta matron had the personality of an acklay.

"It's been good pay, Madam Raurrssatta."

I'd even learned to speak like one of them. Did I detect some amount of a smile that I was jumping through her little hoops?

"Too generrouss bjy mjy esstjimatjion, but jI thjink Taataani prreferrss to sspojil jyou. Neverrthelesss, jI have morre worrk forr jyou, outssjide of jyourr current contrract, and wjill pajy jyou even morre to do jit."

Prepping a tumbler with ice, and tipping some whisky into the glass, I laced my fingers together to wait for the ice to melt somewhat.

"I don't turn down work, Madam. What do you have for me?"

She made a gesture, and a manservant appeared from seemingly out of nowhere to press a datapad into my hands. Sometimes, I hated how they managed to do that. Giving the big servant a curt nod as I took the device, I began to thumb through it, at last taking a drink.

"Okay, you want to go to Muunilinst, and you want me to take you there...on my freighter?"

So there was a silver lining, at least. Taataani could barely stomach the notion of looking in the same direction as the YV-666. It seemed Iesshaauurri had no such distaste.

"jI have jimporrtant carrgo jI need deljiverred therre, and wjill come wjith jyou perrssonalljy to do jit."

Thoughts of why me began to fill my head, but I nodded along with her. After all, I was getting paid yet again. No reason to shrug that off.

"I'd be glad to, madam, but my ship is still in a, uh, transition phase. I've got a good two thousand credits worth of work to put into it for it to be ready for space outright."

Another manservant appeared, with yet again another datapad. I took that one too, and as I skimmed over it, my eyes shot up to meet hers.

"You're kidding me."

With an impatient huff, Ieesshaauurri sipped her wine and set it aside.

"Mjissterr Prrent, mjy tjime jiss to valuable to tojy wjith jyourr emotjionss. jIt'ss cheaperr jin the long rrun to get jyourr sshjip jin worrkjing orrderr, becausse we wjill need cerrtajin errrandss rrun jin the futurre. That, and jI thjink the parrtss and laborr on that sshjip arre morre than enough pajy forr thjiss tassk."

I nodded, probably a bit quickly, which betrayed my eagerness. The felinoid matriarch already knew she had bought me with that. She was nearly bored with this little encounter.

"jI've alrreadjy put mjy men to worrk on jyourr sshjip, jI knew jyou would agrree."

She gestured flippantly back to the landing pad.

"jIf jyou carre to ssuperrvjisse, jI have no furrtherr need of jyou todajy. jIf not, jI could alwajyss *fjind* a need."

Heh, I knew that look. I was already on my feet, whisky in hand.

"I'll go make sure things are taken care of on Layla."

Her face took on a bemused expression, no doubt finding my name for my ship to be borderline childish.

"Lajyla?"

I bristled a bit, taking another drink.

"That's a story you're honestly not paying me to tell, Madam Raurrssatta."

With no further demands from my second employer, I left the gazebo. Ieesshaauurri finished her wine, and looked mirthlessly at a manservant who appeared in my absence.

[Saarrreeaa Raurrssaatta]

"jI'm not dojing mjy homeworrrk." Saa stated, staring up at her mother's newest manservant. "jYou'rrre gojing to do jit forrr me."

She folded her arms tightly across her chest and stood firm, rooted into the thick carpets. "jIf jyou don't do asss jI ssajy, jI'll tell Motherrr that jyou hurrrt me."