A History of Trouble (closed)

[Transil Gantar]

Sublevels of Coruscant

"Hey, pretty boy. Whatch doing on our turf?"

He winced slightly. The whole intent of his being there had been to only get home more quickly. He'd hoped that his passage would go unnoticed, but he should have known his hope would account for nothing here. Hope was a shell of solidity meant to keep one afloat. On the inside it was nothing but one's wishes. It was a way of making a wish seem more possible but in the end it got you nowhere.

"I.. I'm just passing through, Devin. Going... home from school."

"Sure ya was, pretty boy. You know what we do to trespassers like you?"

He gulped and shook his head.

"N..no."

"We kill 'em."

The boys behind Devin suddenly held weapons in their hands. Not blasters or knives, but clubs and sticks. They would severely hurt him if he tried to fight them. And if he ran it wouldn't be any better. But he remembered what his mom had said about not getting into any trouble that might destroy his face. She wanted him to be a holodrama actor. He backed away from them slowly.

"L..leave me alone, Devin. I've no trouble with you."

"You calls trespassing no trouble? Whatchu think you are, pretty boy? A diplomat? Sick him boys."

The boys to either side of Devin advanced on him steadily. Transil gave up all hope of making it out without having to run for his life. Turning, he didn't even spare a last look over his shoulder to see if they were falling. Bolting around the corner and into the crowds there, he pushed his way through towards home. As he turned another corner he felt a bat slam into his shoulder, but he kept running. Reaching home he burst through the doors into safety.

"Hey, baby. What's wrong?"

His mother approached him from the kitchen. Her apron was soiled with flour and other baking ingredients and the scent of fresh cookies wafted beneath his nose. If his shoulder didn't hurt as much as it did he would have rushed down the hall to grab one of the cookies while it was still warm. But he sat down in a chair as quickly as he could.

"D..Devin and his goons attacked me. I.. I ran."

"I see. Well don't worry about that. You're safe here. Nothing can happen as long as you're with me."

"Yes, momma."

"Go get a cookie while I get the stuff to tend to your shoulder."

So she had noticed the way he had sat in the chair. He just stood and nodded walking down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Yes, momma. I think a cookie sounds good right now."

[Transil Gantar]

Gantar Home

Transil munched on his cookie as his mother tended to his shoulder. He couldn't see it very well but the way she pressed on him told him enough. If it hurt as much as it did then it had to be bruised at least. He was lucky the bone hadn't been broken by the impact of the bat on his shoulder. The attacker hadn't been seen but he knew the cackling laugh of Devin when he heard it. The devaronian thought he was the smartest around but Transil would show him.

"All done. Want some blue milk with that cookie?"

He nodded politely and kicked his legs in the air from the top of the kitchen stool. For a ten year old he was a lot shorter than normal boys his age. Devin towered over him and that was why Transil never tried to fight him. That and the Devaronian had a bunch of buddies with him including a couple Bothans. Bothans were just too smart to try and out-think. His mother handed him the glass of blue-milk and he sipped on it as he swallowed the last of the cookie.

"Thanks, momma."

"Of course, dear. Would you think any less of your mother?"

He smiled at her slightly as he swung his legs. It was getting close to being dark outside and it was almost time for dinner. The cookie would be the only food he ate until school the next day. He and his mother weren't very well off financially and they were lucky to eat ever. Momma was ungainly thin and spent most of her day working for a few creds to keep them afloat. It was only barely enough.

"I'm going to bed, momma. Big test tomorrow."

"Alright, dear," She gave him a liss on the forehead. "I'll see you in the morning."

He stood from the seat and walked to his room down the short hallway. It's barren walls were empty of practically everything except for a symbol he had painted on the wall. The Imperial symbol. Anybody that saw it would know it for what it was. Any Imperial would be delighted in his interest in the Empire. He flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before his eyes drifted shut and he fell asleep.

Not too long after that a crash shattered the silence of night and something foul smelling filled his nose. It made him cough and hack as he woke up. Finding himself inside a smoke filled room, he crawled on the floor out of the room once he had fallen out of bed. Before he got to the kitchen though, the flames began to move towards him and he could see his mothers body on the floor in there.

"Momma!"

There was no response but silence from her. The roaring of the flames threatened to overwhelm him, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. His mother needed her son and he stood and ran towards her. The flame licked at him. At his face and everything. It wasn't long before he blacked out completely, falling to his mothers side on the floor.

[Transil Gantar]

When he awoke, the only thing he could see was a huge bank of monitors on the wall and some tubes going into his mouth. And what he saw was very blurry even by his standards. When he lifted his hands to feel his face he wanted to scream and puke at the same time. The skin on them was almost not there at all. Groaning, he pressed a button on the little device at his fingertip. A nurse quickly enetered the room.

"Well, you ARE awake. That is good news."

"M..mirror."

She grimaced when he pointed to a hand-held mirror in the stool next to where she was standing, Picking it up, she moved to stand next to him and held it in front of his face. What he saw made him cry. His beautiful face was nothing but a burned and charred mass of nothing. His nose was gone completely, as were his lips and eyelids. Tears streamed down his face and the nurse looked at him.

"It is unfortunate you are allergic to bacta, young man. We might have saved some of your face then. But we can fix you up. A plastic surgeon can fix the damage."

The tears wouldn't stop coming and he just stared at her.

"M...momma?"

The nurse grimaced again.

"I'm afraid you'll never see your mother again, young man. She died as a result of the fire."

He burst into a thorough bout of big tears that ran rivulets down his face. The sound from his mouth as a mixture of anger, sadness, and pain, but it sounded more like the sadness than any other. They had taken his mother.

"They caught the ones that did it, though. A devaronian and a couple of bothans I think."

"Alienssss...."

"If you call them that yes."

"I hate them."

"Well now, I'm not exactly human myself."

He stared daggers at her and she moved closer to the door.

"Well, umm, yes. The plastic surgeon should come to get you shortly."

Then she was gone and he was all alone again.

[Transil Gantar]

The doctor did indeed come to speak with him about reconstructing his face. And of course the man only spoke in technical terms that he did not understand. Instead of trying to understand, he just nodded a lot and said "uh-huh." The doctor seemed to think he was agreeing with him and then set him up for the operation. It wasn't long before he was unconscious on a table, dreaming about how he would kill every alien in the galaxy. Of course his ten year old mind was too young to understand it was impossible to do that.

As the doctor reformed the face he had lost in the fire and the rest of his burned body, Transil was completely oblivious to what was happening. If he'd been able to smile he would have. The dreams were pleasant ones but they only seemed to last a few minutes. It took the doctor almost a full day to completely rebuild his face and cover his body in new skin tissue. It would take a while after that for him to become adjusted to the point where he could actually move around.

When he woke up he was back in the same ward he'd been in previously. There was still no one there, mainly because he had no family left. His mother had been his only family. The rest of his family, Father and sister, had died in an accident in space years ago when he was only four. He'd barely known either of them, but his sister had always looked after him. Now he was on his own in the greatest city in the galaxy. One he doubted he would ever see all of. A nurse walked in then. A human nurse thankfully.

"Ahh you're awake. Good. That stands for something, you know."

She checked his IV and then stood in front of him.

"Want to see your face now?"

He nodded just slightly. It hurt to move too much. She took the same mirror from the stool the nurse had given him earlier and moved to stand at his side. Holding the mirror in front of his face, he got a good look at his new look. It was perfectly shaped, fine lined and handsome. And he hated it. It was not him. He would never have his true face back. He would hide his face forever if he could. He hated it. A tear rolled down his cheek that the nurse mistook for a tear of joy. She replaced the mirror and, after saying good by and that she'd be around, left. And he began to plan.

[Transil Gantar]

It was late at night and nobody was around. The halls were empty and the only sound he could hear came from his monitors and his own breathing. He'd had enough of the waiting. All of this feeling like he was being taken care of made him sick. If he was going to get his revenge on the alien scum that had done this to him, he was going to need the means to do it. That would require armor, weapons, and something to cover up his hideous face. TO him it was hideous. It probably actually looked quite good.

"Nows as good a time as any."

He pulled the IV out of his arm and pulled off the little tabs that were monitoring him. Standing up, he walked over to a chair where there were clothes that one of the nurses had brought him for when he left. Putting them on, he walked over to the door and peered out. He knew there was money in a nearby bank that he could use to buy the stuff he needed. First, though, he had to gety out of the hospital and that wouldn't be easy.

Walking out of his room and down the hall towards the end of building, he kept his eyes peeled for any sign of movement. As he neared a corner, he heard the soft patter of feet walking down that hall towards him. Looking around frantically, he ducked behind a cart and wiated for the orderly that was coming to walk by. One he had, he ran down the hall again and out the door into the night. Looking around, he waved for a taxi and then climbed in.

"Where to kid?"

"Imperial bank, please."

"Sure thing. Hold on tight. It's gonna be a bumpy ride in this old thing."

[Transil Gantar]

They flew through the city and sure enough it was a bumpy ride. When they finally stopped he had to rub his head and his butt because they hurt so much. A goose egg was forming on his head and his butt felt like he'd fallen forty stories onto duracrete. Nonetheless he paid the man with the little he had in his pocket. Sure it wasn't much but it paid the fare. Besides he was about to get some more.

"You weren't kidding."

The driver just smiled and pulled off as Transil turned to look at the building in front of him. It was huge and guarded by more than one soldier. He expected as much. This bank was the main bank of the Empire and had to be sufficiently guarded against rebel theft. Otherwise the Empire would be in serious trouble from lack of sufficient funds. He began to walk up the steps slowly and then went inside past the guards.

On the inside it was much bigger than it had looked. It had a central emptiness all the way up to the ceiling with a set of turbolifts off to one side. Along the walls were floors of what were probably vaults and offices. Deciding it would be best if he didn't gawk so much, he walked over to a free teller and stuck his head above the bar as much as he could.

"I'd like to withdraw all of my money."

The woman at the teller turned and looked straight ahead before finally looking down at him. A smile blossomed on her face, and she laughed slightly.

"Sure, son. What's your number?"

He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote it down on the paper. Sliding it across to her, he waited patiently as she checked it out. A slight whistle escaped her lips.

"That's a hefty sum. Shouldn't your mother and father be here to help you?"

"They're dead."

"Oh.. I'm so sorry."

He shrugged it off and looked at her.

"Can I have my money?"

"Someone's on the way down with it. You can wait over in one of those chairs."

She pointed him over to a set of chairs and he went over and sat down. Already he knew what he was going to do with it. He also knew what he was going to do to the alien scum that had done this to him and too every other alien in the galaxy. They were all scum.

"Mr. Gantar?"

He looked up at a man who appeared to be in his fifties that was holding a briefcase.

"I have your money, sir."

He handed it to him.

"Thank you. Good bye."

And he left.

[Transil Gantar]

Transil was in such a hurry that he was practically running. Taking flights of stairs in a building that went all the way two two levels above ground level, he lugged the case of money along with him. By the time he stepped out of the building he was sweating so profusely it was almost impossible to tell his age. Leaning against the wall, he stopped to catch his breath. Many people were hurrying by, but none gave him a second glance. Some didn't even give him a first glance.

"Only a block, now."

He pushed away from the wall and trotted slowly down the sidewalk towards a small hole-in-the-wall place where he was positive he could get what he wanted. He stepped into the empty parlor and walked up to the counter. Banging on the ringer a few times, he called out for the shop owner, a man named Black. Transil knew him from when his dad had been in here to buy some things. The man came out and smiled at him.

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

"Stupid face. It's me, Transil Gantar, Mr. Black. I had ot have reconstructive surgery."

"Ahh. I though I recognized that voice. What can I do for you Transil?"

"I need some armor and weapons made."

Black laughed.

"You're only a kid!"

"Yeah, afull grown one. Doctors said I won't get any taller than I am. Good thing I grew early. Anyways, I want this armor to be good against knives and stuff. Blasters don't matter. I want a helmet too. And two swords shaped like batons."

Black goggled.

"That'll cost ya."

Transil laid the briefcase on the counter and opened it up to face Black. Black's eyes goggled at the amount of money in front of him.

"That's more than enough! I'll get right on it. You have your dimensions?"

Transil slid him a piece of paper.

"You can stay here till it's done. It'll be a few days. Room upstairs on the left is free."

And then black was gone.

At least I have a place to stay.