Here Comes the Pride

[Kiattaarra Feessaarro]

Sometimes Kia worried that all she did was inspect things. She had inspected her fleet's newest jewel, the Saantarra, and now here she was, delivered safely to Jovan Station so she could view the achievements of the Cizerack Pride and Alliance, working together.

Heavily pregnant with twins, Kei'samaarraa'ssee'jaakreea, Mother of the Cizerack Pride, Blessed by Saanjarra Herself, and her full retinue swept into the station from their shuttle - the Oorru'Gurre'Gurre, her flagship, was much too large to put into port at Jovan and was therefore sitting in space a distance away. Korrtir and rrou'korrta fanned out behind her as her honor guard surrounded her. Kia could barely see the station between the red uniforms.

She wrinkled her nose. "jIt doesss have an unusssual ssmell."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Two hours earlier

The beauty of a high starched collar of a dress uniform was that you never quite got used to it. It was a reinforcement mechanism. A reminder of your place and the behavior demanded of you. That came natural to a Cizerack under service. From the moment you kissed Her Grace's du'arri, you adopted a new life and an entirely new array of convention and mores.

K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei surveyed the crush of Jovan's officer corps pressed onto the command deck. Beyond the biological differences, it was easy to pick out the women under Her Grace's aegis. They too wore their long-tailed jackets. Their epaulets. Their lace cravats. The brilliant liveries of service under the Pride. Like T'yeellaa, they stood a bit taller today. Part of it was pride, but it was also that ingenious programmed obligation, all due to a well-starched high collar.

Spaced between these servicewomen were their new allies, comrades. Commanders. The women and men of the Alliance of Free Planets. Clad in their best, of course, but even that was simply degrees more coarse than the Cizerack aesthetic. That couldn't be helped. It was the new reality.

"When the Hjigh Motherr arrjivess, pleasse be mjindful of jyourrsself. Averrt jyourr ejyess. jYou musst sspeak onljy when sspoken to, and jif jyou do, jyou musst addrresss herr wjith rresspect asss ejitherr Majesstjy orr jYourr Grrace."

High Mother or Pride Mother were reserved for her subjects, and needn't be said. The starch-necked females in the audience knew as well. T'yeellaa's glance met her commanding officer, hoping that Kes Akiena's maverick stylings could tolerate a temporary leash.

"Though sshe majy wjissh to addrresss jyou djirrectljy, thjiss jiss unljikeljy. Herr emjisssarrjy, the Sor'Arr'Fai, howeverr, majy be morre ljikeljy to sspeak to jyou. jYou majy meet hjiss ejyess, and jyou majy addrresss hjim asss Emjisssarrjy."

In the back, T'yeellaa could make out the looming figure of Gradoona, the junior engineer. By some mercy, a tailor had managed to create some semblance of formal attire broad enough to fit her difficult frame. Next to her was the Nehantite chief, Rabeak. He chafed even under the relatively-shabby Alliance uniform, and looked like he'd prefer to excuse himself of these proceedings by means of chewing off a limb.

The K'ohta'rrou couldn't help but feel the clawhoppers in her middle. She expected the Cizerack women to do their duty. Goddess, she'd even come to expect the Alliance forrda were capable, but these were strange new worlds, and the assembled staff of Jovan Station weren't under the High Mother's purview, at least not in whole. It was more than a dignitary visit, but less than a solstice parade. One last pass of her eyes ended up on Commander Akiena.

"Anjy quesstjionss?"

[Kes Akiena]

A single raised eyebrow was all that initially met his first officer's words. Such pomp. Such procedure. One hand came up at that thought, and two fingers dug in between the high neckline of his uniform and the skin of his neck, trying in vain to loosen the noose around his neck. It was a terribly constrictive bit of tailoring, and with an inward sigh of resignation, he supposed that it was his lot in life. But, it didn't mean he had to maintain a defeatist attitude, and though he could wholly understand the seriousness of this visit which T'yeellaa was stressing, the glint of the old card shark shone in his eyes.

He spoke out of the side of his mouth, his voice low enough that only she could hear him.

"I suppose it would be unbecoming to wax poetic about the old days of insurrection and guerrilla warfare, and fighting against the power?"

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

I should name all of my migraines Kes.

T'yeellaa blinked, wincing away the phantom pain that arose when her commander decided to Joke At The Wrong Time once more. She tried on a smile to humor him, though it came out as more of a grimace.

"Commanderr, the rrebelljion hass neverr ssounded sso allurrjing. jIf we ssurrjive, jI majy well have a newfound djissdajin forr authorrjitjy."

The K'ohta'rrou rolled back her shoulders, trying to work out some of her nerves. Just repeat the mantra this is a great honor, this is a great honor, this is a great honor.

[Li Ho Fook]

OP Present


Some bigwig, self-important, high-falutin' someone or other was coming to Jovan Station, Li Ho Fook was told, and it was for that reason that he was not allowed to wander about with a pair of blasters on his hip. The Wah didn't see what the big deal was. He didn't know who this lady was, so how could he care? He was a bounty hunter, bounty hunters needed to be armed at all times.

They also needed functional ships, and contracts to work, but at the moment Fook had neither of those, so being short arms only seemed to make sense. And so he sat, unarmed, nursing a Namana Colada out of a coconut shell, complete with curly straw, fruit on a skewer, and a little paper umbrella, watching re-runs of some network holovision show, bored out of his mind.

There had to be something interesting to do, he told himself. Surely there was some sort of criminal element aboard the station that he could be paid to take down, but no, station security said it was against the rules to have a non-union security officer on the payroll. He'd seen a good dozen small ships that needed mild repair, and he knew he could make a pretty penny working on them, but no, station maintenance said it was against the rules to have a non-union tech on the payroll. Even the wrestlers in one of the seedier establishments had to be union. The entirety of Jovan Station seemed to hate the idea of a man working for himself. And so Fook sat, sipping on his drink, until he was bored, and succumbed to the call of video poker in the bar across the main thoroughfare.

Drink paid for, and there not being a law about alcohol in public in the hospitality section, the short Wah slipped off his barstool, straightened his shirt, and started across the way in baggy trousers, large sneakers, and an open, short-sleeved shirt over a tee with a picture of a blaster on it. His belt buckle, wrist chrono, and even his semi-rounded, furry ears glittered with diamonds - possibly synthetic - while a simple, houdstooth flat cap sat perched upon his head. The thoroughfare seemed busier than normal, and full of Cizerack, so the Wah sighed. Such attention could only mean that one of those bimbo sisters from Keeping Up With the Carrshoulians was the important guest. Taking another sip of his drink, Fook made right for the group of red uniforms, knowing that they would be in his way as he crossed the thoroughfare.

Let's see what that ho thinks of a real playa. He thought to himself, ridiculous drink in paw.

[Keerrourri Feessaarro]

Adjacent to Her Grace, the Sor'Arr'Fai Keerrourri Feessarro stood in attendance to his queen. At the epicenter of the royal procession, he had a fantastic vantage across the area of Jovan's concourse that had been cordoned off to mark the High Mother's visit to the jointly-run Alliance and Cizerack station. Unlike the austere greeting that met the minimums of decorum aboard Saantaurra, the welcome of Jovan was befitting a queen. Red and gold liveries arrayed across nearly everything the eyes surveyed. From the officers clad gayly in parade dress to the equally resplendent Jaanni'saari, and to the high standards and banners held at predetermined intervals to mark each of the fourteen (Calan included) crown worlds of the Carshoulis Cluster, the royal colors brought regal warmth to the background of Imperial Grey that manifested itself in the station's design. That wasn't the only foreign vulgarity. The various forrda races of the Alliance also stood at parade form, contingents of the less visually appealing uniforms checkering through Her Grace's loyals. It diminished the visual effect somewhat, but that was made up for by the unified swell of men and women under uniform from untold star systems, bearing High Mother Feessaarro's witness.



She wrinkled her nose. "jIt doesss have an unusssual ssmell."

Keerrourri's eyes tracked down the long path of red carpet that led two Jovan Station's senior staff. The Commander, a human named Akiena, stood adjacent to his K'ohta'rrou, the eldest daughter of Senator Meorrrei. He struck a handsome visage as he viewed their hosts from afar, not averting his polite eyes as he spoke low for his queen's benefit.

"Ssauce forr the djissh, jYourr Grrace. No otherr Queen hass attended overr ssuch a cossmopoljitan thrrong."

Yes, cosmopolitan. A very polite word for their new forrda friends.

"Not even jyourr motherr durrjing the warr."

[Daanarri Meorrrei]

Fourteen year old Daanarri Meorrrei stood as tall as she could, diaphanous layers of fabric arranged just so on her slim body, creating the illusion of more being shown than actually was. All the rrou'korrta were dressed in the same yellow golds and red as the rest of the entourage, the older females toward the front and dressed as demurely as the younger ones, their hair, arms, and legs all fully concealed under their clothing. The Pride Mother was the jewel of their presentation; they were the plain golden band that showed off her glittering diamond.

The Pride Mother was also getting pretty fat. Well, from behind she looked normal enough, but the side view was getting bigger every day, it seemed like. Daani had been very small when her younger brother had been born, and didn't really remember her mother being pregnant. It appeared extremely uncomfortable, but she couldn't stop being fascinated by the process. In a few years she would be of mating age and her mother would probably find her an appropriate manservant, and then she would be in the same boat as the Pride Mother.

Not that she was thinking of herself as on the same level as Kei'samaarraa'ssee'jaakreea, far from it. Daani inwardly quailed, worried her improper thoughts would somehow be found out, but she managed to keep standing tall and to follow along with the rest of the rrou'korrta and korrtir as they filed into Jovan Station, awaiting the Pride Mother's reception. She couldn't help looking into the amassed crowd of uniformed Cizerack and Alliance, looking for any familiar faces.

[Kes Akiena]

The Emissary stared, and without shame Kes stared right back. He blinked owlishly, but otherwise his gaze remained on the other man who stood beside the Pride Mother.

And, just as the Emissary leaned over to speak to the Pride Mother, so too did Kes lean over to give a hushed whisper to T'yeellaa.

"He's taller than I thought he'd be... "

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

T'yeellaa didn't waver her eyes-forward disposition at Kes' words, and when the Royal Choral Battalion began their rousing rendition of the Cizeri Anthem, she spoke within earshot carefully.

"He'ss the fjirrsst conssorrt," she reminded, as if he needed to know more about exactly what benefits the queen enjoyed, "of a multji-mjilljion man harrem."

Her ears raised a bit at the thought. If T'yeellaa had her pick of several million husbands, she probably could find dazzling eyecandy as well.

"Sshe doessn't have to ssettle forr anjythjing."

Just then, a familar face appeared in the background of the royal procession. It was hard to tell, but T'yeellaa was sure that she saw...

"Daanarri?"

A surprised blink. She'd entered into the High Mother's court, that she knew. T'yeellaa didn't know she was a part of the royal procession itself. A wave of pride buoyed in the elder Meorrrei's heart, and she smiled across the divide.



* * *

Meanwhile, at the outer threshold of the rally...

A few Jaanni'saari posted to guard the cordon looked down at a hirsute alien who had ignored the more polite roped barrier that was to keep the civilians away. One of the marines gestured back to the divide.

"The rralljy jiss clossed to the publjic. Pleasse sstep behjind the ljine."

[Kiattaarra Feessaarro]

The procession had paused, and the Pride Mother awaited her reception. She looked steadily across the way toward the station commanders as the hyu-mann male spoke quietly to his Cizeri counterpart.

After a moment, Kia looked up at her Emissary. "Announce me."

[Li Ho Fook]

Fook scowled as he looked up at those who would stop him from simply crossing the main thoroughfare. "Well, I ain't the public, dawg. I'm Li Ho Fook, the Grandmaster, feel me? And right now the Grandmaster be wantin' to cross the damn road, so best be steppin', foo'."

His comically festooned drink waved in his paw before the Wah simply pushed on through. It was a matter of maybe fifteen paces to the other side. Surely no one could begrudge him for that.

[Keerrourri Feessaarro]

"Wjith pleassure, Majesstjy."

The Emissary nodded at his queen's command, taking her gently by the hand as he escorted her two steps forward. Every eye on the concourse was fixed upon the royal couple, and Keerrourri spoke in a loud, clear, and pleasant baritone.

"Ssubjectss of the Cizerack Prrjide. Essteemed alljiess. Honorred guesstss. jI prressent beforre jyou Herr Grrace, the Kei'samaarraa'ssee'jaakreea, jyourr Hjigh Motherr Kiattaarra Feessaarro, everr long majy sshe rrule."

The Emissary met the eyes of the station's commander, and he afforded the human a polite bow of his head.

"Herr Grrace extendss jinfjinjite grratjitude to Commanderr Kess Akjiena forr hjiss demonsstrratjion of hosspjitaljitjy. He, wjith the help of a crrew frrom hundrredss of sstarr ssjysstemss, have upljifted thjiss sspace sstatjion, once an emblem of jImperrjial tjyrranjy, jinto a ssjymbol of unjitjy, hope, and communal kjinsshjip."

The queen's handsome first consort raised a beckoning hand to the Commander and his K'ohta'rrou.

"Pleasse apprroach Herr Grrace."

[Kes Akiena]

Never one to be asked twice, Kes took a single step forward, making sure that his K'ohta'rrou was in lockstep. It took less than a split second to know that yes, she was, and so he kept his gait unbroken. Despite his arguably short stature, the Commander of Jovan cut a stern figure, his red hair combed neatly back. His eyes went from the Pride Mother's First Consort to the Pride Mother herself. She looked so young, he couldn't help but wonder exactly how old she was.

Slowing to a stop then, Kes allowed an easy smile to grace his features as he gave a genteel bow.

"Welcome to Jovan Station, your Grace."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

I gave an entire speech. You were there for it! Were you even listening to a word I said? Why couldn't I just put a protocol droid in an ugly uniform with a red wig on it? Or a Gungan?! Oh Goddess, this is what a stroke feels like. Kes Akiena you killed me with your stupidity!

Somehow, T'yeellaa managed to keep her expression unchanged, albeit that came with biting the insides of her cheeks.



* * *



Dondaarro glanced at Rei'kuurri, then glanced back at the diminutive Wah that had moved past the cordon. They spoke in Cizeri, glancing back and forth.

"What do we do?"

"What do you mean, what do we do? We take him into custody."

Rei'kuurri made a face at that suggestion.

"Really? It's a talking picnic. I don't think we have stun cuffs that size."

Dondaarro was getting irritated with his partner.

"What about a nuna cage?"

"You laser brain, do you think I have a nuna cage?"

"Can we call one of the humans to do this? I don't want to touch it."

[Kiattaarra Feessaarro]

There was a pause in the proceedings as the red haired forrda bowed, and Kia blinked. She didn't know if she was shocked, or offended, or perhaps both. There was a layer of intrigue in there as well, making for an uncomfortable mix. Somehow she was even slightly taller than the human commander, which made him seem more feminine compared to the towering Cizeri males she was usually surrounded by. Perhaps a point in his favor? Or maybe not.

She did not dare say anything in reply, and the Emissary stepped in smoothly to intercept the greeting on her behalf as she stood still with her back straight and chin raised.

[Keerrourri Feessaarro]

There were many matters in which the Sor'Arr'Fai was particularly suited to handling. Etiquette, protocol, - and the breach of both -, were high on the list. As was with so many such matters, the context was the most important - and often most hidden variable. In the presence of the sun throne, such a lapse might be a covert sign of intended disrespect. A challenge to authority raised at a high enough pitch to be unheard by vulgar masses. For such instances, the breakdown of protocol merited action. Here, however?

From the electric manner in which the hair raised on K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei's tail, Keerrourri could surmise that she was instantly mortified by the lapse. To the officer's credit, she gave no further tell. From Commander Akiena's close enough approach, it appeared that he'd approached his queen with good intentions, delivered hamfistedly.

Though his queen held a notion that humans, like most forrda, were dim-witted barbarians, the Emissary had years of experience in his rarefied position of privilege. He'd dealt with humans of the Republic, and humans of the Empire. Powerful scions who controlled the vast majority of the galaxy that so dwarfed their cherished star cluster. The humans of the Alliance were a different breed from these. They had waged insurrection against the Empire often without any formal training in war. They came from all walks of life to rally to that cause. It was an alien and egalitarian worldview to most Cizerack, but Keerrourri could see that penchant for rebellion on display, even in something as little as stumbling on a salutation.

Keerrourri's tail slipped along the back of his Queen's ankles, the tuft, resting along an insole. It was a silent sign of patience. A sign that nuance may better serve than dogma, at least for now.

"Mjy Queen jiss thankful forr jyourr hosspjitaljitjy, Commanderr Akjiena. Sshe lookss forrwarrd to sseejing thjiss...grreat jewel that ourr peopless have worrked togetherr to bujild."

Nothing but gracious and polite tones, the Emissary again stole a glance at Meorrrei. The one-time heiress of Baroness Meorrrei's empire. How her fortunes had diminished.

[Kes Akiena]

A wry smile was all he offered, and both hands once more went to rest at the small of his back. Despite his small stature, Kes Akiena held himself with a certain amount of suredness that only came from someone who had both seen and done a fair amount.

He angled he gaze from the Pride Mother to her Emissary, and eventually he nodded in agreement.

"There is much to be proud of."

The tour that'd been planned would be taken at the Pride Mother's discretion, and Kes mentally prepared himself for any eventuality that might crop up. Of course, he knew enough that usually in times like these whatever could go wrong, would. All he could do would be to weather the storm, and the redhead steeled himself for that very real eventuality.

"Jovan is not much to look at on the outside, I will give you that."

A fleeting look back to the Pride Mother before returning to the Emissary.

"... but as with most things, the beauty is found within."

[Kiattaarra Feessaarro]

She did not miss the human Commander's glance as he spoke about beauty, finding it dismissive and insulting. Her ears twitched, and her back straightened even more as she put her hand on her stomach where the cubs were wrestling. Kia looked at the Meorrrei female, who was doing a remarkable job of presenting a calm face while standing in front of the Great Mother of the Pride.

"K'ohta'rrou Meorrrei," she said. "jYou have been gjiven ljittle, and accompljisshed much. Saanjarra ssmjiless upon jyou, ass Sshe doess on uss all."

Kia's tail signed subtly to her Emmissary that he had better get the human out of her face before she took his own off of him.

[Li Ho Fook]

Whoever was throwing this party, they had serious whack taste, Fook thought to himself as he glanced around while crossing the wide, carpeted walkway. Red and gold, with more red and gold? Hella old-school, and not in a floss way. Gotta pop some green in there, dawg, or some blue for that royal touch. Limiting yourself to two colors showed serious lack of imagination, and lack of imagination was straight trippin'. Ignoring the guards entirely, the Wah drank from his chalice and continued on his way. The Shatterstar sounded like the joint, from what had reached his ears, and being on the other side of the promenade, the Grandmaster had little choice but to be steppin', and if the guards didn't like that, well, they just better recognize.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Unlike her Commander, T'yeellaa stuck to social protocol completely, her head bowing in response to the Pride Mother's words. Eyes fixed prostrate to the deck, the K'ohta'rrou accepted the Queen's words with the utmost humility.

"Herr Majesstjy jiss mosst kjind."

She hoped that a display of her proper station might salve the situation, and smooth over any perceived slights caused by Commander Akiena's cavalier course of action.



* * *

Dondaarro didn't have time to discuss the finer points of detaining oddly diminuitive and hirsute forrda with Rei'kuurri, and the situation had quickly turned from talk to action. Slipping through the cordon, the Jaani'saarri brushed past a few alliance officers with a brusque shoulder and badly-accented apologies, darting around a pair of uniforms to catch the scrambling Wah by the scruff of his neck. A second hand quickly moved in to clamp around the creature's muzzle - primarily to keep the loud-mouth quiet but also to prevent it from biting in case it had some kind of a disease.

Rei'kuurri watched his squadmate struggle with the tiny bundle as he quickly made himself scarce behind the cordon again. He could feel a laugh starting to quaver at his cheeks, but swallowed it down quickly as he spoke to his partner in Cizeri.

"It looks like a baby! Look at it's little clothes!"

"Would you actually help instead of joking, you water-brain?!" Dondaarro snapped as they hustled away from the rally as discretely as they could with a fidgeting prisoner. "Do you have any tape?"

"Why would I carry tape?" Rei'kuurri tugged at an ear with confusion as he shifted the strap on his blaster rifle to his other shoulder.

"For taping things!"

"I don't have anything that needs taping, Dondaarro."

"Ugh, idiot!" Dondaarro's ears sagged in resignation as he glanced around. They were now a good distance removed from the action. Beyond the nosebleeds, the crowd was mainly a group of gawkers, rubberneckers, and low-tier Alliance personnel. Dondaarro's scanning eyes fixated on one very conspicuous forrda, who he had seen before. It was hard not to have seen them before.

"Excusse me."

The huge creature in front of him didn't hear him maybe? He cleared his throat.

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Hmm?" Gradoona queried, the sound coming in half harmonics through her blowhole as she turned. The Herglic's eyes moved from the pair of Cizerack marines, down to the bundle carried by one of them, and then the dots started to connect.

"Oh! Penguins! Li??"

The engineer grimaced.

"Is there a praablem?"

[Li Ho Fook]

The moment a hand came down on the scruff of his neck, Li's mouth opened to deliver a sick burn and set this sucka straight, but immediately his mouth was slammed shut and held that way before he felt himself lifted from the ground. Were they trippin'? Didn't they know who the Grandmaster was? He'd only parted the velvet ropes because they hadn't parted themselves for him as they clearly should have - that's simply what velvet ropes do, after all.

A dozen thoughts ran through the Wah's mind in that moment, and the urge to unleash the five deady venoms on this sucka was mad strong, but the sight of blasters on other guards made him chill that notion. A mild struggle was put up, simply for show, as he was turned around and taken away from the Shatterstar, and its premium libations, VIP lounge, and strippers - all things his current side of the promenade lacked in the most whack of ways. Whatever the puff-tailed po-po's were talking about, he didn't know, but he could hear the laughter in their voices.

Back, back and back through the crowd he was pulled, skillfully balancing his drink in one paw while he ensured that his captor felt like he truly was overcoming the Wah's struggle for freedom, until at last he saw his moment. Gradoona, his starship savior and potential holovid hottie, was between himself and wherever the Cizerack were taking him, and yet they were also far enough away from the main concentration of guards that he could act.

Time slowed down, the Wah's sharp eyes calculating the correct angle and force with which to fling his cup, and its liquid contents glittered like the illest ice as its ariborne bling factor splashed directly into the face of the second guard, while gleaming black claws emerged from his fingertips to pierce and scratch at both hands holding him, fingers moving faster than the eye could follow as Fook became a blur of motion. He could feel those grasping hands release automatically, and smell the mild tinge of blood in the air from his shallow scratches.

He touched down on light feet, his sneakers finding immediate purchase before he spun and delivered a kick to his manhandler's left shin which felt like it should have come from a Wookie, not a 4'2", 78 lb Wah.

"Dag, yo!" Fook snapped. "Why you gots to be jackin' me, dawgs! Playa just wanted to cross the damn street, yo!"