Hey, We're Family Now

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Taltimant
- Within the Cizerack Pride -



The fireplace crackled, filling the vaulted living room of the U'arrha'nee Lodge with a diffuse glow and comforting warmth. Even roughing it in the mountains came with a luxurious pedigree for the Meorrrei family. Raa'kwu skin rugs, support columns made from enormous trunks of evergreens from Endor. The smells of evergreen, woodsmoke, leather, sage, hot mocoa, and freshly killed game almost sold the fiction. But this wasn't the frontier. This was a playground. Three hundred thousand acres of private mountainside, set aside for a family that for ten out of twelve months of the year, weren't even here.

But Rai'faani was here today.

She'd called Mother in advance, asking if anyone would be using the ski resort. When she'd said no, Rai asked for it for a week. That lead to the usual boilerplate. How many friends? How many men? Make certain the staff hunted enough game and had provisions. What she didn't do was pry. So much the better. No doubt she thought her daughter was escaping for another week of hedonism in the snow. But Rai had other plans. She took a seat next to the great fireplace, opening up her fur coat once the heat became oppressive.

"Computerr."

A blue light blinked to life with a chime, well-concealed in the stone hearth. As if anyone should ever go to the mountains without the conveniences of home.

"Open a channel to thjiss frrequencjy..."

[Q. Samus Dage]

In orbit over Thule...




It was routine. It was always routine. It was also comfortable, to be honest. Let the young have adventures and near-death experiences; he'd had plenty of those himself. Enough to fill multiple lifetimes, he figured. It wasn't that he was tired of the thrill or anything, but Samus Dage had found himself a rather comfortable spot in his life that he wanted to cultivate. After so many years in old Rebel cells and traipsing about the galaxy on some half-brokedown freighter, cramped between two grizzled commandos that hadn't taken a shower in at least a month, eating nothing but prepackaged nutribars on most days, there was a point that a man just said 'ok, I have found my quiet place, and I want to stay here for a bit'.

His brief foray into captaining his own vesel had been disastrous in his mind - oh, he was considered something of a hero for holding the line at Ossus, but to him it'd been a sign. He was much more satisfied with the rankplate that said 'Commander'.

Which was what brought him here. Khera'Va'ss'io had been slotted to oversee a planetary readiness drill, and Lok had made the necessary arrangements on the duty rosters. It was - in its' own way - a blue milk run, but one that was welcomed.



Thule's sun was just breaking the horizon in a magnificent show of nature, casting brilliant rays out over the planet's atmosphere and across the sleek hull of the Alliance's old Lupine battleship. Inside however, Samus was just stepping from his quarters. It was 0500 according to KHER's internal clock database, and the rangy blonde was still buttoning his uniform tunic. He was one button from the top when his commlink gave a subdued chirp.

The Captain, no doubt, wondering where he was. There were often enough times when he wondered if she actually slept.

"KHER," his voice still held the slightest of scratchy traces from a heavy night's sleep.

Commander Dage.

"Patch my comm to the interdeck holo channel."

There was a pause, as if the damnable ship was silently asking the Commander if that was what he really wanted. Eventually, Are you certain you want that?

Dage gave a sigh as he fastened the top button of his duty jacket.

"Just do it."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Ja irra, Ssamuss."

A hologram emerged of Rai'faani seated in an oversized leather chair. She paused, sipping at the layer of froth on her hot mocoa.

"jI hope jit'ss not too earrljy to talk. jI know jyou mjiljitarrjy tjypess arre earrljy rrjisserrss."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Not exactly who he was expecting, but Samus did not break his stride. Instead, he merely let out an audible sigh.

"Rai'faani."

The rumbling acknowledgement was tinged with a small bit of annoyance as he rounded a bend in the corridor.

"You've a knack for bad timing, girl."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Deep jin the thjick of battle, no doubt."

She replied with a slightly glib tone, noting that Dage's hologram was determinedly on the move. She watched his lanky figure stride in place.

"Who todajy? Zjygerrjian pjirratess? Trrandosshan marrauderrss? jImperrjialss at the borrderr? Food forr worrmss, the lot of them."

[Q. Samus Dage]

A pair of pilots approached, each in their own rituals of last-minute flight-suit inspections. Interdeck holos were common enough on the ship, and they gave no real thought to the XO as he grunted words at the recipient of an early-morning transmission. Each one passed through the projected haze of Rai'faani as they passed Dage, little thought expended on who's form they were disturbing. Though, one of the pilots did turn to look over his shoulder at Samus' back and the form of a Cizerack gal who looked a lot more comfortable than any one of them.

"Drills, Rai'fa. Nothing you'd find particularly exciting."

"Oi Commander," the one pilot had stopped, giving a nod and a gesture with his hand that was currently holding his helmet. "That the ladyfriend?"

A dark cloud descended over Samus' features as he ignored the pilot. He veered to the left, around another turn, and met the closed doors of the lift.

"Unless there is anything pressing," his hand came out to depress the call button, "... I really don't have time for social calls."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai definitely heard the scuttlebutt in passing, and she did nothing except smile knowingly. Gossip on a starship must be a feast for the ears. Dage probably would do nothing to deny it, either. Why correct them to the fact of T'yeellaa when the fiction was a better story.

But just as that funny moment came, it quickly dissolved away. Samus had the patience of a gundark.

"Ugh, fjine. Then when jiss a betterr tjime to call?"

He must have walked three laps around that ship of his by now. If he hadn't gotten to where he needed to be, he never would.

[Q. Samus Dage]

The lift pinged, and the doors opened. Without ceremony he stepped inside, and a quick turn on his heel put him facing the closing doors. He reached out, a finger pressing the button that would take him to the command level.

"Make it quick and now might be that time."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

So time was a luxury and she needed a quick pitch. Well, she could do that.

"jI'm plannjing a ssurrprrjisse bjirrthdajy parrtjy forr T'y at the famjiljy lodge on Taltimant, and jI need jyourr help to make jit perrfect."

Rai held out a hand in caution.

"Not a worrd to anjyone. Sswearr on jit."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Well now. This was... out of the ordinary. Rai'faani thinking of others? A novel concept. It was at least enough to give him pause, and Samus furrowed his brow in careful thought.

"What exactly did you have in mind."

There was a rabbit hole of a question, and he knew it.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Nothjing too grrandjiosse, but ssomethjing sspecjial."

Rai put a stay on Dage's questions with a raised hand.

"We can take carre of the detajilss herre. What arre jyourr coorrdjinatess? jI'll have mjy sshjip ssend forr jyou...well, once jyourr drrjill jiss overr."

[Q. Samus Dage]

The lift slowed to a full stop, and the doors opened to allow him exit. Ahead of him was the corridor that led to the bridge.

"Rai'fa, I can't simply leave the ship because you want to plan a birthday party, even if it's for T'yeellaa. I have responsibilities."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Irritation laced Rai's expression, and she pressed a pair of fingers into her temples to massage the beginnings of a headache away.

"jYou rrealljy arre jimposssjible to plan arround. Okajy, then when?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

His patience was hitting the empty mark, and his distance to the bridge doors was quickly shortening. He did slow his pace though, the closer he got. It wouldn't do to stroll onto the bridge while still talking to Rai'faani.

"I don't know, Hissbot. I really don't. To be honest, you've caught me at an inconvenient time."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The doors to the bridge opened, revealing the short stature of the captain. Her hands were tucked at the small of her back, her features seemingly set in stone. KHER had been open enough about disclosing Samus' incoming transmission, and the Lupine - while normally lax in matters such as this - knew also that the timing was not exceptionally the best. She stared at her XO and the shimmering holo that preceded him.

A holo of Rai'faani Meorrrei.

"Trouble, then?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai's eyes traveled to the left a short distance as another shape carved itself out of the air in holographic hues. A shorter human female with an unfortunate-looking scar. Probably couldn't be helped by makeup. The way she spoke, however, and the number of shiny baubles on her jacket (more than on Samus's) made it easy to guess who she was.

Time to pull rank with the Captain.

"No, no trrouble, Captajin. jI wass onljy trrjyjing to ssee when Ssamuss'ss next perrssonal leave mjight be. Famjiljy matterrss. Rratherr compljicated."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'm more than aware of how complicated matters of the Meorrrei family can become," was the groused reply, but there was no room for the girl to interject before s'Il went on.

"How long are you hoping to deprive me of my XO."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Beneath his glance was a look of almost pained, partial-betrayal. He truly did not want to be thrown to the whims of Rai'fa. Hells, what if she broke a nail during whatever preparatory plans she had, and started crying again?

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai leaned back against her cushioned head-rest, a skew set in her ears. Whatever was that supposed to mean? Was the Captain's familiarity something that T'yeellaa or Cirrsseeto might know of? Or Mother?

Of course, Mother. Always Mother. She collected people like porcelain figurines.

But the Captain had already moved on to the details, and Rai'faani's ears evened out.

"Not long at all, Rrou Captajin. Two dajyss...thrree at mosst. And jI can ssend mjy own sshjip sso jyou arren't jinconvenjienced anjy furrtherr. jI do apologjize, but jyou would be dojing mjy Motherr a kjindnesss."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There was no immediate reply to Rai'faani's last words, and instead the Lupine simply cast a look to Samus.

[Q. Samus Dage]

He knew that look, and with no small amount of defeat, the lanky blonde scowled.

"Fine."

A finger was held up to the holo.

"After my duties are finished here."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai smiled sweetly as she drummed her fingers along her mug of mocoa.

"Of courrsse. jI wouldn't want to jinterrrupt a good drrjill. jI'll have mjy sshjip ssent to jyourr coorrdjinatess. Naa'ne ta, Ssamuss."

She winked, then terminated the link.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

*** Nine hours later ***

A crack of broken realspace flared for a moment as a sliver of motion immediately snapped into view. It was larger than a shuttle, but smaller than a freighter, and beautiful enough to turn every head on duty. The Nubian Star Yacht Aan'thaani was unique, as all Nubian ships were. This one had flowing organic lines that seemed to draw inspiration from avians. There wasn't a hard angle on the ship at all. The light from the local star kissed the vessel's pearlescent hull and it's chromium trim, refracting into a rainbow's array of color. Powerful engine nacelles brought the star yacht fluidly into a matching vector and velocity as the Lupine ship.

A channel promptly opened. A Cizerack woman with salt and pepper hair, wearing a white jacket flickered to life on the screen.

"Crrujisserr Kherra'va'sssjio, thjiss jiss the sstarr yacht Aan'thaani. Rrequesstjing perrmjisssjion to dock."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

From her seat on the bridge, s'Il watched the sleek, rakish Nubian yacht cut through the velvety blackness of space with the same ease as a hot knife through butter. It certainly arrested the attention of all on the bridge; even KHER. Any remarks however were kept to their respective owners, and the Lupine leaned slightly back in her seat. She knew that a return holo of her own form was being sent to the yacht.

"Aan'thaani, this is Khera'Va'ss'io. To whom am I speaking?"

There was no real doubt that she would be sending Samus with this woman, but there were still procedures to follow, and the bare minimum of decorum needed to at least be observed.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The older Cizerack smiled. She had kind eyes, and seemed ever-reluctant to be the object of attention.

"Mjy name jis Niaalettii, rrou'a. jI am Rrou Meorrrei'ss jinterrsstellarr chauffeurr."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She gave a nod, moving past the brief introduction and on to business.

"You're cleared to dock in bay two, Captain. Commander Dage will meet you there."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Aan'thaani barely cleared into bay two by three meters in either direction. The luxury yacht eased to a cushioned landing as her supercharged engines spiraled down into a deceptively quiet purr. The seamless fuselage opened at the side with a clamshell hinge, dropping a boarding ladder quietly to the deck. Moments later, Niaalettii emerged from the ship, ears perked as she scanned the hangar for signs of her passenger. Among the dozen or so pilots and hangar staff moving here and there, she spotted a tall human in officer's attire who matched the given description of her charge.

"Commanderr Dage?"

Even at a purr, Aan'thaani's idling Nubian engines were loud enough to require shouting over.

"jI'm Rrou Meorrrei'ss chauffeurr, Niaalettii. Do jyou have anjy luggage?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

In one hand he held a simple, small duffel. It was scuffed and well-worn, having seen decades of use. It'd been thrown in all manner of cargo bay corners with little thought by its' owner, and the myriad of patches sown onto it gave credence to its' mileage. This was the first time it would see the insides of a Nubian ship, and as Dage approached the chauffeur, he gave a nod.

"That'd be me, Ma'am."

A group of deck hands stood at the periphery, one of them idly holding the glowing batons of a landing technician. Surrounded by his peers, he watched in impressed itnerest as the Commander made short work of the distance to the boarding ramp. All eyes were on the Nubian ship - from maintenance crews to the few pilots that happened to be about.

For his part, Dage ignored the gawkers. He put on an easy smile for Niaalettii, giving her a deferential nod as he hefted his duffel.

"Just this."

He held the canvas handle straps tightly, and with his offhand, gestured that she lead the way up the ramp.

"Ladies first."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Niaalettii made a movement with her hands to reach for his luggage, but it appeared clear that the Commander preferred to handle his articles directly.

"Too kjind, arr'u." She gave a sharp nod, and led him up the stairs into the ship.

Inside the yacht, the ship seemed to open up, giving occupants a deceptively large amount of room. Wall furnishings and carpeting were eggshell white. Richly-polished wood grain accents broke up the monotony. So too did warmly-lit sconces and a pair of aquariums teeming with tropical fish. Nialettii tapped one of the overhead compartments, which yawned open soundlessly.

"jI can sstow jyourr luggage jif jyou'd ljike."

Again, Dage seemed to prefer to do things himself, and the pilot simply hung back to let him do his thing. She then led him down the ship's corridor to the aft compartment. A spacious circular room awaited, ceiling vaulted into a dome shape that was crowned by a relatively demure chandelier. A pair of chairs and end tables that matched the eggshell and wood grain motif rested at the center of the room. Toward the front, a large video screen was mounted. Below that was a fireplace.

"Would the Commanderr carre forr rrefrresshment on the vojyage?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

He gave a shake of his head while letting his eyes travel throughout the yacht's interior.

"I'm fine for right now; thanks though."

A blink, and he let his gaze shift to Niaalettii.

"About how quickly can this bird make the hop from here to Taltimant?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Not one to dawdle and not one to be coddled by creature comforts. Niaalettii nodded. Even in a man, she recognized that sort of no-nonsense behavior from military types.

"Two hourrss, fjifteen mjinutess prrecjisseljy, arr'u. Sshall jI deparrt now?"

The older woman clasped her hands in front of her.

[Q. Samus Dage]

She seemed appreciative of the sort of no-nonsense that was so sparse in her line of work, and Samus couldn't help but acknowledge that. He offered her a smile, and gave the slightest of genial bows; the sort that meant he was placing his well-being and safety explicitly in her hands.

"At your discretion."

But, there was something else, and he couldn't help but offer some form of olive branch no matter the form.

"Please, call me Samus. This arr'u stuff can be saved for when others are around, but... " he seemed to practically flop into one of the chairs, "... it's just us here. Don't hang on formal whatevers."

There was honesty in his tone now.

"Please?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Niaalettii almost smiled. As a compromise, she raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Ssamuss, then."

Glancing at her passenger's accomodations, the pilot made an assumptive course change.

"jIf jyou'd prreferr, Ssamuss, jyou can sspend the jourrnejy jin the copjilot sseat up frront."

She made a slight gesture back in the direction in which they'd come.

"jIt'ss fewerr amenjitjiess, but the vjiew'ss not bad."

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was a tempting option, and one that he ultimately could not say no to. His smile grew wider, and once more he was up on his feet.

"That sounds wonderful."

Not that where they were now was terrible; in fact it was beyond opulent. But for him, there was more beauty to be found in the stars than there were here in such grand comfort.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She lead Samus to the cockpit. Even the most utilitarian section of the yacht couldn't shake the luxury built into every inch. There was more than enough room to get in and out. The seats were made of soft, heated leather. The console and instruments were ensconced in wood grain and chromium, much like the rest of the accents.

"Sstrap jin."

Niaalettii quickly moved through the holographic controls, tapping buttons and swiping displays in the air with one hand as she cinched a handsfree commset over her head with the other. Moments later, the ingress hatch silently sealed shut - giving only a slight pop in the ears as a sign that the cabin had pressurized. As she received departure clearance, the pilot slowly began letting the slack out of the leash, and Aan'thaani glided out on a cushion of air.

"No offensse, Ssamuss, but jyou'rre a bjit olderr than Rrou Meorrrei'ss ussual male guesstss."

Niaalettii flashed a wry but professional grin as she engaged reverse thrust, clearing the atmospheric shielding.

"Majybe the jyoung mjisstrresss hass developed ssome good tasste."

[Q. Samus Dage]

There was a bit of a delayed reaction as he stared out the front viewscreen, but it wasn't too awful long before Niaalettii's words clicked in his mind. And when they did, the blonde couldn't help the look of unexpected surprise as his head twisted to cast a glance her way.

"Oh stars... "

Even just the thought of such a thing made him cringe.

"Nothing like that, Ma'am. No offence to your mistress, but she's not exactly my... " once more he turned to look out at the view before them.

"... type."

Such a lackluster thing to say, he had to admit. But all the same it was the truth.

"Apparently I'm to be some sort of consultant." a shrug.

"Who know."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Niaalettii canted her head slightly, shrugged, and changed course both verbally and literally, putting distance between themselves and the Lupine ship.

"Fjigurred asss much. Not mjy pajy grrade to sspeculate."

A little dead air passed between them, and the pilot shifted a little in her seat. She jerked her head back to their point of origin as she banked.

"Njice sshjip. Don't rrecognjize the make, and jI've sseen morre than mjy fajirr ssharre of crrujisserrss."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Leaning back a little bit in his seat, he was pleasantly surprised to find that there was enough legroom beneath the control dash to stretch his legs some. It was a feature that he took advantage of.

"He's an antique, to put it lightly."

Which was only the tip of the iceberg, really.

"On his good days he only argues with you for a few hours about his bizarre set of protocols."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"He, huh?"

Niaalettii's eyes brightened. She eased off the throttle, taking it nice and slow to get a good look as the yacht lined up for the hyperspace approach vector.

"Alwajyss fjigurred jyourr sshjipss werre ladjiess."

She considered that, then flashed a quick smile.

"jI ljike hjim. Guesss jit takess one antjique wjith a bjizarrre sset of prrotocolss to know anotherr."

Her attention drifted back to Samus. He had a look that you couldn't describe, but only certain people knew.

"Werre jyou a rrebel?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Is it that obvious?"

Sometimes he wondered if he had 'that look'. Not exactly the faraway, thousand-yard stare that some old-timers had, but the more subtle haunted look. Maybe there were some days that he had it.

Any answer she might've had was brushed away with an idle wave of his hand to the air between them.

"Captain s'Ilancy and I were in the same cell, back in the day; planet-hopping and all that other fun stuff that comes with barely-organized insurrection."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She nodded authoritatively.

"Ya'ee a naie. jYou look ljike jyou've sseen actjion. Can alwajyss sspot 'em. jYourr ejyess keep lookjing arround."

The sightseeing tour was coming to an end. Niaalettii took one last look at Khera'va'ssio, then back to Dage.

"Rreadjy forr hjyperrljight?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

A deep breath and a genuine smile. Samus gave a nod to fill out the trio of for-now satisfied reactions.

"The sooner I get there the sooner I can leave."

A pause, then a sideways glance. Her question about those old days brought forth an old memory. A whispered litany that so many in Dan's old cell had muttered before lighting out.

"Angels and ministers of the hypercorridor, defend us."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The stars lengthened, then spun into maelstrom. It cast the pilot and passenger alike in an otherworldly glow. Niaalettii had seen that a few thousand times. Instead, she was glancing back to Samus, an eyebrow raised.

"Nothjing ljike sscrrjipturress and ljitanjiess to get a crrowd cheerrful."

The pilot leaned back slightly in her seat, and jerked a thumb towards a compartment with a sealed canister.

"Want ssome caf?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Caf sounds good, yeah."

He was always mesmerized by the beautiful swirl of starlines and colorful miasma that was hyperspace. Even though he'd seen it countless times, there never ceased to be an almost magical quality surrounding it. Not the sort of mystical qualities that seemed to be hand in hand with the Force, but something else that he couldn't quite pin down.

"It's always beautiful," He couldn't help but smile at the sight of hyperspace before him.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jIt alwajyss made me nerrvouss asss hell durrjing the warr."

Niaalettii took a sip from her own mug, watching the maelstrom with discerning blue eyes.

"Not able to ssee what wass ahead, what wass comjing. jI ussed to hate hjyperrljight."

The pilot slipped a long sigh, then perked her ears.

"jIt'ss a lot prrettjierr when no one'ss trrjyjing to kjill jyou out therre."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Well," there was a distinct tone of sarcasm lacing each word, now.

"... where's the fun in that, then? If you aren't sure if you'll be pulled out of the lane by an interdictor this go-around, then are you really able to appreciate it?"

Punctuating his words with a wink, Dage gratefully accepted the mug of caf from her.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The older woman scoffed, blowing out a breath through a smirk as she flicked the ear nearest the human.

"Chaa'e! jI know. jI ussed to be jyoung and fooljissh wjith the besst of them."

Niaalettii raised both eyebrows with an elaborate shrug, sinking back in her chair.

"Now? jI'm olderr and jI know betterr."

A stitch of curiosity got the best of the pilot, and she flicked her eyes back to him.

"Sso. Conssultjing worrk forr the jyoung Rrou'ani? Sshe'ss not bujildjing a prrjivate arrmjy jI sshould know about, jiss sshe?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Gods I hope not. Heaven help us if she is," he got out while bringing his mug to his nose and taking a good whiff of the swirling aromas that rose from the dark liquid.

There was a certain bit of curiosity though, that had begun to worm its' way into his thoughts. Niaalettii seemed an easy-going sort of gal, but there was something hiding beneath her words, and the blonde sent a sideways look her way as she reclaimed her seat. He took a partial stab in the dark.

"What about you, though? Playing chauffeur seems an odd life choice for someone that's been in the thick of more than a few skirmishes."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

He either wasn't in the know about his upcoming job with the Rrou'ani, or he wasn't in the telling mood. Either way worked.

Samus then turned the tables on Niaalettii, and she finished her own sip to answer.

"Odd? Do jyou have anjy jidea how much monejy jI make carrrjyjing a rrjich gjirrl and herr frrjiendss wherre sshe wantss to go? Let'ss jusst ssajy that even jin the besst of tjimess, the Trrade Navjy neverr touched that. Not even wjith hazarrd pajy...and jit got plentjy hazarrdouss durrjing the warr."

She sighed through a widening smile.

"The adrrenaljine'ss njice, but gettjing sshot at got old rreal qujick, Ssamuss. All thjingss equal, jI'll take the du'arri everrjy tjime. Not that defendjing the motherr worrldss wassn't jimporrtant, but jI'll leave that to the jyoung."

[Q. Samus Dage]

He couldn't help but admire her pragmatism, and taking a tentative first sip, Samus savored the deep flavors.

"Well, at least one of us is the smart one," he grinned.

But still, there was something that nagged at him; made him want to know more. Niaalettii seemed no-nonsense enough. She was driven by what could give her the best safety-net, and he couldn't find any fault in that sort of thinking. It was smart even, in its' own way. It was something that he could respect.

"You ever miss anything about those old days?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jYou mean bessjidess all the ussual jirressponssjible thjingss jyou can do when jyou'rre that age?"

Niaalettii pushed a strand of hair back over an ear.

"jI mjiss mjy crrew. jI flew a Raa'kuura - a bomberr. Me the pjilot, a copjilot, a bombarrdjierr, and thrree gunnerrss. Two and a half jyearrss of warr and jI djidn't losse a ssjingle one of them - Saanjarra blesss. Now thejy'rre grrown up ljike me. Famjiljiess, jyou know."

The wistful smile faded.

"That'ss about jit. We'rre the luckjy oness. A mjilljion of uss fought and djied forr nothjing. jIf that jissn't enough, jI don't ljike to dwell on the people who werre on the rrecejivjing end of all thosse bombss jI carrrjied."

She closed her eyes for a somber moment, then opened them.

"Sso no. Therre'ss not much jI mjisss about jit."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Everyone's experiences are different," he acknowledged.

"There was a mission once, that me an' my mate Kori were on. Sent to Raydonia."

He'd not spoken of their time there for the simple fact that it pained him. He'd hated life so much after that one, and very nearly left Dan's cell. The only reason he'd stayed was because of Kori.

"Your typical supply snatch and grab. For us Rebels, it was one of those necessary things that you had to do to stay afloat."

He could still remember the face in his mind's eye, and too often his dreams had been littered by her agonized cries, his inability to reach out and help, and the soulless inevitability of war.

"Some folks gloss over the details and make the larger scale conflict into some glorious push for what was right at the time."

Another sip.

"But for everyone that actually lived through it, it was anything but glorious. Raydonia was like that," he was lost in the memory now.

"Some find religion when they watch someone they care for meet their maker. Some find anger and vengeance." He scowled then, letting out a long breath. "... and some are taken to a point that they break, and while a few are able to have the pieces put back together, others aren't, and they have to live with the consequences for the rest of their lives."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

There was an expression of empathy to the pilot's face. She'd heard this kind of testimonial before. Too many times.

"Whjich one arre jyou?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

"The kind that tried to forget by drinking an entire concussion missile tube's worth of second-rate home-distilled grain alcohol."

Which was the nicest way of saying that he'd indeed been broken.

"Not exactly my most shiningest moments, believe you me."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Well, jI'm glad jyou cljimbed out of that bottle. jIt hass ssteep edgess. Beljieve me, jI know."

She hadn't been expecting the conversation to get this deep, and Niaalettii rolled her shoulders slightly.

"jIt'ss not worrth one njight of peace, jusst to wake up the next morrnjing and feel nothjing'ss rressolved. Therre'ss onljy one path to that kjind of peace."

[Q. Samus Dage]

And just as soon as he'd spoken of it, he was done. Niaalettii was mostly still a stranger, and despite their shared past circumstances, the old gates refused her access. In the wake of his own mental defenses, he took another light sip of his caf.

"Climbing out of that bottle presents a whole other host of challenges."

And that was that. He was done with the memory.

Another sip.

"Good caf."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

On a yacht like this? Damn right it was good caf. Niaalettii gave a nod, and tapped her mug to his.

"Good talk."



* * *


The rest of the flight passed by quickly. Funny how that worked when you had good conversation to pass the time. Niaalettii showed Dage holos of her three sons. He told her about his homeworld of Myomar, a place she'd never heard of. She asked if he was religious, picked up a standoffish vibe to the question, then dropped the inquiry altogether. That aside, she hadn't had such an interesting flight in a long time.

Funny how fast two hours and fifteen minutes can pass. The proximity alert chimed, and the pilot broke off from the meandering conversation.

"Comjing up on Taltimant."

She carefully reached up for the lever, drawing it back at the clearance locus. The stars snapped back into sight. The deceleration from hyperlight was as feather smooth as the entry, and as the yacht banked, a world of brilliant blue, green, and white came into view.

"Hope jyou packed a jacket."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Well... "

His eyes took in every inch of the world below. It was like a gem in black velvet.

"... I hadn't really thought that far."

Turning a sort of innocent boyish look (that he'd never been able to grow out of) to her, Samus couldn't help his next words.

"It's not too cold there, is it?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jI wouldn't sstjick jyourr tongue to anjy ljightposstss."

The clouds broke, offering a beautiful glimpse of below. The approach to the lodge was along a landscape wrinkled with tall, snowy mountains. Below a certain level, the snow fell on big hefty evergreens, creating a patchwork of green and white amid the occasional opalescent lake below.

"Otherr than that, nothjing to worrrjy about. Bjig fjirreplacess, mugss of mocoa, and the jyoung Rrou'ani'ss companjy."

[Q. Samus Dage]

That last bit was almost akin to a worrying sentence of community service, but Samus put on a brave face.

"Well then, I suppose I have nothing to worry about."

A farce of an observation, but still spoken with a touch of humor none-the-less.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The descent began to slow, and through the snow, a large timber lodge could be seen as the yacht rounded a mountainside. Well, a lodge, half a dozen other similar buildings, and a fully functioning tarmac down below.

Far, far down below.

The yacht passed the tree line, dropped out of sight of the lodge, and began the last descent to the tarmac that lay at the base of the mountain. As they descended, a series of poles and cables could be seen that carefully linked the lodge above with the landing site below.

Niaalettii engaged the landing struts, and the yacht touched down with a feathery thump. The oversized nubian engines purred down, and the pilot finished the cool-down procedures for landing. With that done, she unfastened from her crash webbing, pulled her headset away, and headed to the back to liberate Samus's suitcase from stowage.

"Hejy Commanderr!"

As Dage turned back to look, he got a big downy jacket hucked at him.

"Not the fjirrsst tjime jI've had to coverr up a man who underr-drresssed forr the parrty."

Hands on her hips, Niaalettii winked.

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was the sort of thoughtfulness that elicited a hearty laugh, and Samus pulled the thick, wintry jacket on. It fit decently enough, and he returned her wink with a cheshire lothcat's grin.

"You seem ever-ready for all circumstances, Ma'am."

She presented him with his ruck, and he took it gratefully. A deep breath, and he cast a look down the boarding ramp to the crisp expanse beyond. His gaze went back to Niaalettii, and he offered his hand in heartfelt gratitude.

"It's been a real pleasure, Captain."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Alrreadjy lookjing forrwarrd to the trrjip back."

She leaned against the bulkhead next to the egress hatch.

"Have fun."

With that, she saw him off her ship. As Dage cleared the last few steps, the Captain retracted the hatch, gliding it closed with nary a sound.

At the far edge of the tarmac, Dage could see a timber building with a high shingled roof. From the side of the enclosure facing the mountain, the twin cables he'd seen on the way down stretched up to a nearby pole, then up, up, and up much more.

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was like staring up into the abyss, and with a long exhale, Samus put on foot ahead of the other. There was no point in delaying the inevitable, and the blonde finally consigned himself to his fate.

What a silly thing to be pulled away from duty for. He'd have to express his displeasure to T'yeellaa the next time he saw her. Even if this was something that benefited the eldest Meorrrei in that it made her birthday a better event, it was still... well, it was damned awkward. He was doing this for her though, and stowing his discomfort, he picked his way across the tarmac to the lift.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Welcome to Hii'arra'ari Lodge, Arr Dage."

A doorman stood at the gently-swaying entry to the gondola berthed in the lift house. He stepped forward, gently relieving the Commander of his pack, while opening the door for the human to pass.

"The Rrou'eita jiss wajitjing forr jyou up top. Sshall we go?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Do I have a choice?"

By this time such a question was beyond rhetorical, and Samus stepped inside without ceremony.

Again, the sooner he got there, the sooner he could leave.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The gondola took off with a juddering whirr, propelled along by the massive flywheels above. Far from being exposed to the world, the gondola itself was roomy and heated, complete with leather seating, hardwood flooring, and brass railings.

It took five minutes to ascend the mountain. Dage flew over treetops, some feeling close enough that they might kiss the bottom of the car. Nevertheless, there wasn't a single hitch or delay. As the car reached its matching gondola house at the lodge, the view at last was swallowed up.

The gondola operator eased the brake, locked down the car, shouldered Dage's luggage.

"Thjiss wajy, pleasse."

The trek from the gondola house wasn't far, but enough to appreciate the mountain chill. The wind blew a healthy dusting of snow across a landscape that already had a good half foot of accumulation. Fortunately, the walkway had been recently shoveled, and it was cold enough that there was no melt and freeze on the pathing.

The lodge towered overhead, with the same rustic column and high roof motif of the other buildings. The porch was an easy three story vault, supported by logs hewn from old growth trees wide enough so that three men couldn't wrap their arms around.

Arriving at the front door, the attendant turned the heavy and overbuilt latch, giving the solid entryway a good push. A healthy wooden creak filled the air, leading into a room dominated by a massive four story mortar and stone fireplace and hearth.

A woman turned at the sound of the door, wearing a full mink and dangling earrings. She smiled.

"Welcome to Hii'arra'ari, Arr'uhai."

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was all very grand, and more than what he'd been expecting. There was something to be said for displays such as this, but in the moment he was somewhat at a loss for words. Samus instead simply stepped inside, one hand coming up to unlatch the top button of his coat and begin to pull down the zipper.

"Impressive place," he couldn't help but answer as his eyes wandered the expanse of the entry area. It was big enough to hold five times his frumpy old apartment on Dac. Hells, the fireplace alone was larger than his kitchen. Not that that was a difficult thing to be bigger than, though.

The jacket was shrugged off to reveal his uniform, mostly crisp and clean from when he'd put it on earlier that morning.

"Not what I was expecting," he further admitted.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The attendant behind was already drawing Samus's coat clear the rest of the way. He disappeared, carrying that as well as Samus's luggage.

Rai approached him, kissing the air beside each cheek with her hands up around his shoulders. She regained distance, let her hands fall, and then looked around the lodge as if she hadn't noticed.

"Thjiss? jIt'ss tjinjy, and jI have to take the yacht to go anjywherre. Motherr keepss jit becausse jit'ss rrusstjic and therre'ss game anjimalss and huntjing jiss a..."

She cast a look back at him with skewed ears and skeptical smirk.

"...vjirrtuouss passttjime."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Tiny?!

Of course, her estimation of this monstrous chalet made sense, considering his previous interactions with her. She'd been born with both a silver and platinum spoon firmly wedged into her mouth.

"I'm sure it's exhausting," he didn't even bother to roll his eyes.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Don't mock me." Rai warned, recoiling slightly with a pressing of her lips in a straight line.

"jI darressajy jI can hunt and kjill jusst fjine. jI jusst thjink the pageantrrjy jiss pojintless. A meassurre of a woman, what nonssensse. The onljy thjing motherr huntss herre arre mountajin buckss drrjiven to exhausstjion bjy the courrsserrss, sso sshe can do the eassjy parrt."

She gestured up above the mantle, which displayed a dozen taxidermied heads, each with a majestic crown of antlers.

"Brrahh-voh."

[Q. Samus Dage]

At that he did roll his eyes, though in the process moved forward a few steps to look up, following Rai'fa's line of sight.

"Showing off your mother's trophies isn't why I'm here, Rai'fa."

The question of 'did your mother cry when she killed them' didn't have to be asked.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Of courrsse jit'ss not."

She sighed, then glanced at a waiting servant. He disappeared through a doorway.

"jI need jyourr help. jI made a few rrecent purrchassess, and jI need jyou to walk me thrrough a few thjingss."

They moved away from entryway, off to the side of the vaulted living room. There was a round wooden table, fit for small dining uses, pazaak, or any such thing. The servant returned, each hand carrying an oversized black case. Rai stepped back, and allowed him to heft each of the cases onto the table. He did so, then opened each of the four latches on each case. Peeling open the lids revealed the contents within, sandwiched in two layers of form-fitting high density foam.

They were blasters. Everything ranging from snubby compact pistols to larger duty pistols, to carbines, rifles, and more. In total, three dozen different weapons, all pristine and new.

[Q. Samus Dage]

It wasn't what he was expecting. Samus cleared his throat, unsure of how to respond. If Rai'fa was looking for some sort of present for T'yeellaa that had to do with firearms, wouldn't it have been more prudent to take a glance over her sister's duty logs? It was easy enough to see a person's personal bent when it came to blasters when they were staring at the cold, hard facts. Then again, that it was Rai'fa doing the choosing, there was no telling how many directions her thoughts would go.

He reached out to pick up one of the more sleek numbers, a Nubian-inspired handblaster that still retained the sharp lines of Pride craftsmanship.

"This one might be good," he ventured, lifting it to sight along the barrel.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Curiosity weighed Rai's expression as she watched Dage handle the weapon. It had pretty lines. Prettier by far than the awkward thing she'd picked up during the station attack. It was small, but it wasn't the smallest of the choices.

"Anjy of the otherr oness?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

As if disturbed in assessing the gentle lines of a starship, he frowned momentarily before lowering the weapon and casting a gaze to the others laying before him.

"I don't think your sister would be much interested in the small ones," he finally got out. One hand moved to another offering, this one practically a throwback to the blasters that he himself had used in the old days.

"She's much more concerned with the end result than looking pretty."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Confusion stitched Rai's face, and she picked up the first pistol Dage had tried, letting her fingers wrap around the grip before pointing it towards the fireplace.

"jIt'ss not forr T'yeellaa, jit'ss forr me."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Now came the confusion, as Samus turned a look to her.

"You called me here for advice on some party for T'yeellaa's birthday."

There was a growing sense of apprehension that now filled his gut.

A moment of silence between them, as he watched her test the heft of the blaster.

Then the truth began to coalesce.

"You lied to me."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"What?"

She was busy sighting down the irons of the pistol, squeezing one eye shut. Dage's words brought her out of it, and Rai opened her eye, a look of recollection on her face as she turned back to the human.

"Oh, that. jI ljied. jI djidn't thjink jyou'd come herre jif jI told jyou the trruth."

She returned her attention to the pistol, sighting it again. Her ears perked.

"Not too heavjy...that'ss njice."

[Q. Samus Dage]

There was a brief moment that he hoped it wasn't true, but that moment melted away to show the truth of the matter, and Samus felt his features melt into a scowl. He gave an angry growl almost, and laid one hand one the girl's shoulder, fingers tightening into a near-strangling grip as he twisted her waifish form around to face him. His face was an angry mask now, as he leaned into her personal space and made her listen.

"You. Lied."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She blinked in surprise, ears twitching as the blaster was forgotten.

"Well, how elsse wass jI ssuppossed to get jyou to come herre and help me wjith thjiss? jI couldn't tell the trruth, jyou'd ssajy no."

She played with a strand of hair, averting her eyes from his angry gaze.

"Forr whateverr rreasson, jI've neverr thought that jyou ljiked me verrjy much."

[Q. Samus Dage]

No shit.

The words that had immediately risen to the forefront went unspoken, instead vented out through his eyes in a look of indignant impatience.

"Rai'faani."

Just the act of saying her name was enough to send grinding wheels alight.

But there was also one overriding question that burning angrily in his mind, and this he verbalized in one word. A word that demanded an answer beyond 'oh I wanted you to visit for some bizarre reason of picking out blasters'.

"Why."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Her attention was back on him. Now her eyes were serious, her lips pressed thin. She pivoted, glancing back to the servant still standing at the ready in the living room.

"Leave uss."

"jYess, rrou'a."

The servant tactfully exited, gently closing the door behind him. Now they were alone, and Rai'faani could stop pretending.

"jYou know whjy!"

A look of troubled insecurity crept onto the heiress's face. She pushed back a strand of hair, then threw the mink from her shoulders to the floor.

"jI'm not weak, Ssamuss. jI'm not."

She clutched the pistol in both hands, looking down at it's sleek housing, the slender knurled wood grips.

"jI know who jyou ssaw on Jovan Sstatjion. jI wass sscarred to death."

[Q. Samus Dage]

There was a moment that he almost felt sorry for her - the baby of a family that had literally everything at their fingertips, raised for want of nothing at all in the galaxy. Nothing, except a notion of how to survive, and even that was tinged with wide-eyed and 'glorious' displays of empty triumph. The trophies of Taataani's kills was testament enough of that fact. Rai'faani was a victim of circumstance he supposed. She was swept along the currents of privilage into a life of whatever she wanted.

The look that she gave him now, in relative privacy, was enough to show him that she had bared a part of herself that she did not like to show. It was enough to make him release her, and the lanky blonde stepped back a half-pace.

"There's more to knowing how to pull the trigger on a blaster than just holding the thing," he ground out. She almost looked ready to wilt beneath him, and drawing his shoulders back, Samus gave her a deepset frown.

"Lying to people is not the best way to start lessons," he finally offered as an olive branch.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She conceded that point, nodding quietly as she knit her troubled thoughts together.

"jI'm out of prractjice wjith the trruth. jI'm prrobabljy betterr wjith thjiss."

Rai held up the blaster for emphasis, shaking her head.

"Ssajyjing what jyou mean jissn't exactljy a Meorrrei famjiljy value."

She sighed, letting the blaster slide back onto the table. Rai paced the edge, dragging her fingertips along the stained wood.

"What would jyou have ssajid? jIf jI told jyou overr that hologrram asss jI'm telljing jyou now? Betterr jyet, what sshould jI tell people about what happened?"

She doubled back, standing close to Samus.

"jYou ssaw me crrjy."

Rai shook her head.

"Tearrss. Me. Hejirresss of the Barronjy."

She ground her teeth.

"Neverr agajin."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"If you'd said that, I might have told you yes, but not immediately," he conceded.

She looked a right mess in her own way, valiantly standing against the truth of what had happened on Jovan. It was noble in a sense, but not anything he hadn't seen before.

"Rai'faani, what happened to you on Jovan was something that not many in your station have to worry about."

It was a dumb thing to say, and he immediately knew it. To assuage, Samus tried to smooth over the more rough-tone edges of his meaning. He lifted a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose, attempting to alleviate a nagging pain that'd begun.

"I want you to understand something."

His hand fell away to rest on her shoulder once more, this time in a grip of gentle reassurance.

"I can only be honest with you if you're honest with me, ok?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai'faani tensed when Samus patronized her experience based solely on his plebeian vantage point. What did he know? But before she could snap back, he put his hand on her shoulder, urgently changing tact. Rai simmered, shoulders raising and lowering with a deep breath. She swallowed hard.

"Okajy. Honesstjy."

She sniffed, closing her eyes for a moment, opening when she was ready.

"Trrjy me. We'rre almosst famjiljy, ne?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was a strange thing to put out there, the notion that they were close to being family. Sure, he enjoyed his time with T'yeellaa and was - as of late - having a hard time seeing himself without her, but... family? It was enough to make him give a sniff and cough.

"Well, in a way."

Still, there was a common ground that he needed to find with this girl, and he was having a hell of a time trying to think of it. Sure, they'd both been through a hell of a time during the attack on Jovan, but...

... it hit him in that moment.

"Grain alcohol. I think we need some."

He kept a hand on her shoulder in gentle yet firm reassurance, letting his other hand come up, a single finger extending upward.

"Not the namana pie bullshit that's been going around."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Therre'ss trruth jin blood wjine."

Less a suggestion and more of a parable. Rai'faani scoffed. She gave Dage a hard look, trying to tease out an angle or whatever he was about. She was ready for this now, but maybe he wasn't...for whatever reason.

"Wajit herre, and prrajy jI don't losse mjy nerrve."

Rai stooped, retrieved her mink, then promptly exited the living room, leaving Dage alone with a crackling fireplace and a small armory on the table.



* * *

Down the hall, right, then left. Past the slaughter room.

Rai pulled the creaking cellar door open, giving the butcher a glance as he worked at skinning a fresh ruuk'tak. She took the stairs down. The cellar went down well into the mountain, and like any cellar worth the du'arri, it was dark and chilly. Rai passed by racks and racks of wine and potables from a hundred worlds before turning around a load-bearing post to a small prayer hole. She opened a dusty crate, pulling out a dull-looking bottle.

[Q. Samus Dage]

Alone, Samus couldn't help but return his eyes to the array of handblasters laid out before him on the table like some sort of prized kills. It was enough to deepen the frown he already wore, but in light of Rai'faani's admission, there was a sort of understanding that he could feel creeping into things.

There was a chair, off to the side and facing the great fireplace. Taking a Coruscanti blaster in hand, he moved to sit. The firearm was laid in his lap like some loved pet, and letting out a long breath the blonde allowed his head to angle back. His eyes closed, then opened once more as he stared upward. Whatever it was that Rai'faani was getting at, he could weather it. If he could survive Raydonia, he could survive this.

One hand went to his lap then, fingers wrapping around the molded handgrip of the small weapon.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

After fifteen minutes, Rai'faani returned. She placed the dusty bottle she'd procured on the table in front of Samus, then wordlessly moved to the stocked bar at the periphery of the room. Two crystal tumblers were procured, and plonked audibly to the table in turn.

Rai took her seat in the chair opposite Samus, took the bottle, and wrenched the cork free. What decanted into the glasses wasn't clear grain alcohol. It was black as midnight.

"Prra'rruuk. Thjiss ussed to be jillegal. A djisstjillerr who wass caught would be beheaded."

With that, she pushed a glass toward Samus, picked up her own, then leaned back in her seat as if to say: Now what?

[Q. Samus Dage]

In answer, he lifted the blaster from his lap to level the barrel-end at her face. Eyes half-lidded, the blonde held an expression of unimpressed indifference. He stared at her lazily from behind the business end of a rather expensive firearm that had seen less action than he had, yet would deliver the same amount of decisive finality as any scuffed and scarred weapon he'd ever held.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai's eyes fixated on the gun barrel. She didn't panic, flinch, or cry. There was only a consistent and deep rise and fall in her chest as she stared the gun down, fully aware of what it could do. Everything was crystal clear.

[Q. Samus Dage]

"I've seen a lot of shit," came the low, rumbled growl. He'd not sugar coat anything for her.

"I've seen men and women beg for death, crying at me to put a blasterbolt into their brainpans so's they could keep from having to imagine phantom, blown-off limbs. I was asked once to pray to some god for a man's eternal soul as he lay dying, his arms and one leg blown off by a roadside plasma mine. He cried like an innocent babe, asking for a deliverance that I could only give with a shot to the head. I've watched children... children... scream and beg for death because their parents are gone and they've been robbed of any semblance of a normal life."

There was a deadness to the eyes that now stared at Rai'faani down the length of the blaster's snubnose barrel.

"So tell me. Why should I teach you anything on the subject of ending any one person's life."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

In. Out. In. Out.

Rai's breath was consistent and deep. She didn't blink. Didn't dare look at the man behind the gun, or do something as small as have a drink.

There was her and there was death. And Samus asked why she wanted this kind of power over someone.

In. Out. In. Out.

"Mjy fatherr wass murrderred."

And in saying it, Rai breathed life into the thing. Gave it form and made it flesh. That moment where it became clear to her that this sort of thing did indeed happen - even to a family like hers.

There aren't words for that kind of anger.

[Q. Samus Dage]

For a moment he allowed himself to feel a modicum of sympathy, but it was only a fleeting moment. She had to understand. His voice stayed constant; that low, barely pent-up growl of an animal that was ready to simply end everything.

"A lot of fathers are murdered."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jIt wass mjy fjirrsst tasste of death."

Still, Rai'faani fixated. Her breathing slowed, but it was just as deep.

"jYou'rre wrrong about me and mjy sstatjion."

At this, she finally did look past the gun to see the man holding it. But she still didn't blink.

"Therre'ss dangerr cjirrcljing mjy famjiljy. Majybe we'rre currssed forr bejing a famjiljy of ljiarrss, but the thrreat jiss rreal and jit'ss cjirrcljing uss, wantjing ourr blood.

Mjy motherr jiss one of the mosst powerrful people jin the galaxjy. A tarrget pajinted on herr back, and no sshorrtage of people who mjight take thejirr sshot, no matterr how poorr thejirr ajim mjight be."

She was quavering now, nerves raw and exposed. But still, she remained focused and calm.

"jI know jyou've thought about thjiss. jI know who jyou ssleep next to at njight."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"jYou'rre wrrong about me and mjy sstatjion."

They were words that caused his brow to furrow even more, and Samus allowed the barrel of the blaster to angle upward so that it was pointed straight up.

"How am I wrong, if your family is no stranger to terrible happenstance, yet you let some old soldier like me into your home to look over a buffet of blasters and ask him to teach you how to kill, then expect anything less?"

The disappointment in his eyes was palpable, as if it floated the distance between them to slap her in the face.

"Did you even look up my service record?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai'faani's silence was deafening. She understood in that moment that he was trying to tell her something. That all the blasters in the galaxy wouldn't be enough if she was careless, even in making an assumption she was certain of. Samus had saved her life. He was T'yeellaa's gai'tou. But did she know him? Was she willing to bet her life on it?

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

"jIf jyou wanted me dead, jyou would've done jit a long tjime ago."

[Q. Samus Dage]

He gave her that, at least.

A nod, and the blonde depressed a locking button with his thumb. The power pack ejected itself, clattering to the hardwood flooring as he tossed the blaster aside. It smacked to the lacquered floor, skittering along the slick surface before coming to a rattling stop.

"Lucky for you I'd rather not have another dead daughter on my conscious," he intoned, staring at her with the intensity of the blaster bolt that had not been fired.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

It was now time for that drink.

Calmly, Rai'faani eased her tumbler to her lips. She tipped in a sip, which became a gulp, which became two gulps, which drained the glass entirely. She closed her eyes, resting the rim of the glass at her mouth, teething the crystal slightly with her fangs. She then slowly eased her glass back to the table with a trembling hand.

A long breath passed through her lips as she looked at her guest.

"Ssamuss..."

[Q. Samus Dage]

He ignored his own glass, and instead stayed just as he was. The harsh lines that creased his features did not leave, and only seemed to accentuate the creases and folds of his uniform. The very same uniform that he'd put on and stepped from his quarters in that morning; the same uniform that Rai'faani had seen when she'd first called him.

"I'm not going anywhere," he finally spoke, his voice deep and sure. For all of her faults, there was something that she'd said to him earlier that struck a primal chord deep inside.

jI wass sscarred to death.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She eased back to sit up fully, placing her hands in her lap.

"jI thjink jyou sshould know, mjy famjiljy callss me Netaali."

It was an unspoken invitation. A statement that she saw what he and her sister were, even if they didn't.

"And Ssamuss?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

He still watched her; watched her posture and the way she held herself. That she would go so far as to speak her second name... it opened up a whole new world of concerns. And when he spoke next there was a cautious tone to his words. Nothing on the order of impatient sarcasm, but more of a reassuring, deep note. Still though, his eyes lost none of their intensity as they stayed rooted onto her.

"Still here, Little One."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai rose from her seat.

"Don't ever pojint a gun at me agajin."

This time, she wasn't quavering. She'd already gotten enough of a dose of fear. Now was time to develop antibodies.

"Therre'ss meat jin the kjitchen. The thjirrd bedrroom hass been prreparred forr jyou."

She moved to leave the room, pausing just before the door.

"jI want to sstarrt trrajinjing earrljy jin the morrnjing. And Ssamuss?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

There was a lot to say for her stamina in the face of a blaster barrel. It was bolstering and worrisome all at once. Still though he gave her her due, and rising to stand as she paused at the door, the old Rebel kept his eyes trained to her, and only her.

There was no need to speak, as he knew she would speak her mind no matter what.

All he had to do was wait.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She paused at the door, choosing her words carefully. Thank You?

"Not a worrd of thjiss to mjy ssjissterr."

Rai'faani opened the door, passing through the threshold to the hallway beyond.

"Good njight."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Not a word to her sister.

In a way it was curious, but understandable. It was also a request that he could respect.

He gave only a wordless nod as she made her exit, sweeping through the doorway with determination 8n her step. And when she'd left, Samus couldn't help the smile that pulled back one corner of his lips.

And then his shoulders squared back as his hands came together in expectation of a real plate of food.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai'faani followed the hallway down to her room as if she were in a trance. The moment she was alone, she kicked off her boots, threw aside her mink, and fell into bed. As much as she wanted to sleep, the sound of her heart beating in her ears at a quickened pace ensured that she wasn't going to get that luxury for a while.

"Ljightss."

The array of gilded floating lamps in the room dimmed, then winked out, leaving the heiress in the dark, save for the snow reflecting moonlight out her window. She tightened a fist around a handful of covers, turning on her side to watch the downy flakes fall.



* * * The Next Morning * * *


Poor sleep. Dreadfully poor sleep. Didn't people holiday up in the mountains for a restful stay?

Rai'faani sat in the kitchen, fully dressed. Gone was her usual ostentatious wardrobe, replaced today by an alpine jacket and thermal gear. Mind you, fashionable to the letter, but with function being priority today. The butcher had arranged a spread from last evening's kill, and she was...picking, doing little more than getting blood on her hands.

[Q. Samus Dage]

He'd been up for at least an hour, taking a short amount of time to simply lay in bed, staring at the high-vaulted ceiling above. It wasn't long before he'd pulled back the downy comforter, swinging long legs over the side and planting bare feet on the polished lacquered wood floor.

Rummaging through his duffel, he pulled on an old duty undershirt and a pair of worn trousers, followed by socks and finally his boots. Nothing particularly fashion-conscious, but it was comfortable.

Ten minutes later found the blonde stepping through the doorway into the kitchen to join a particularly glum-looking Rai'fa.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jI alwajyss manage to forrget how ljittle humjidjitjy therre jiss up herre."

Rai cleaned her right hand, then reached for the carafe of water at the table, filling her glass for the second time.

"Doess wonderrss forr mjy hajirr, but ssleep jiss a mjisserrjy."

She paused to sip, looking Samus over. He was wearing something unspeakably plain, and yet he looked appealingly handsome even in his disdainful way. Rai gestured to the seat across.

"Ssjit, arr'uhai."

[Q. Samus Dage]

He did as asked. Well, it was more of a soft order, but he chose to interpret it as a request. It was better for his patience that way.

"You look like you slept for shit," came the frank assessment of her appearance. Oh, the girl was still dressed in the sorts of clothing that he expected someone with her kind of credits had, but there was a distinct lack of baubles and bangles on wrists and fingers.

The butcher gave him a silent nod in greeting, though there was a hint of inner agony in those blue eyes, as he went about stoking a fire in the middle of the kitchen. The night before, Samus had insisted on his dinner being well done. And not the sort of well-done with pink meat and slight blood that some of the forrda who visited asked for. No. This tall, rangy human had insisted that his meat was solid brown all the way through; and on top of that, had asked for some sort of tangy sauce to smear all atop the over-cooked steak.

And this morning would be no different, he just knew it.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"That tendss to happen afterr a njight wjith a gun jin jyourr face."

It was said so plainly and matter-of-fact. Rai pinched a morsel of slivered kidney off her plate and chewed it slowly, as if she was considering the mystery of the void in her breakfast.

"The fjirrsst tjime jI experrjienced jit, that next dajy, everrjythjing felt new. Djifferrent. Food tassted betterr. Colorr sseemed morre vjivjid. jI had plajin ssex wjith ssomeone unrremarrkable and jit wass the grreatesst jI could rrememberr."

The Heiress sipped her water, eyes unblinking.

"But then, ljike now, jI djidn't ssleep. Almosst ljike jI djidn't want to wasste the tjime."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Most folks have the same reaction," came the rumbled acknowledgment.

A mug of steaming caf and a small plate of assorted fruit were set in front of him so he could at least have something to tide him over until his breakfast steak, slathered in whatever tangy concoction the butcher had been able to make the night before. It was good, that was for sure.

A nod in thanks, and Samus let his eyes shift back to Rai'fa as he lifted the mug up to give the lazy tendrils of steam a gentle blow.

"It's a fairly common thing."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Common. What an ugly word. As much as it pained her to admit, it fit the situation perfectly. There was nothing in the exuberance against death that Rai'faani believed she owned whole cloth. It felt like the sort of response that was written into genetic code.

Rai'faani licked a slick line of crimson off the back of her fingers and returned to teasing at her offal.

"jIt sseemss alsso that jit'ss the ssorrt of thjing onljy sspoken of when jyou actualljy have jit jin common."

In her head, the Meorrrei heiress had tried to conceive of a situation where she could talk about this to Benita, to any of her social club or university friends about this. How would that even happen?

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Mmm."

A tentative first sip at his caf, and Samus gave a half-shrug as the mug was returned to the table.

"It's certainly a way to connect with a person, I suppose."

A translucent blue naai'o grape was popped into his mouth, and he chewed thoughtfully.

"It changes though, when you end up being the reason someone doesn't go home. Being on the business end of a blaster is sometimes better than being the one that pulls the trigger."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

It was something that she'd spent a discomforting amount of time thinking about. Murder. Taking a life. How to kill another living being. The more she thought about it, the more Rai'faani figured that it was always going to be for the most earnest of reasons. Self defense. Me vs. Them. But there was something unresolved down deep in her belly, smoldering and terrible.

"jI don't even know the jidentjitjy of the pjirrate who kjilled mjy fatherr. jIt wass jimperrssonal. A sshjip to sshjip attack, jin hjigh orrbjit overr ssome moon no one knowss. jI don't even get to put a face to hjiss murrderrerr."

Rai sponged a few blood spatters on her plate with a slice of deer brain, but turned the morsel over and over with her fingers as she talked.

"jI've had drreamss wherre jI've caught up wjith them. Found them out, and hunted them down. jIt'ss them on the grround, and me sstandjing overr them. Thejy alwajyss have a helmet jin mjy drream. A crreaturre jin a massk."

She relinquished the parcel of brain, drawing an idle bloody swirl on the white plate with her finger.

"Everrjy tjime jI go to take jit off, jI wake up."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Sometimes dreams are better than reality."

Still he looked at her, his gaze level and unflinching. He knew that she was trying to impart something deep, and give him a window into her motivations, but there was still something that pulled at him. He could understand her desires to have the ability to defend herself, and in the face of what'd happened on Jovan, there was a part of him that really couldn't blame her. Which, in a way it made this little endeavor of hers almost predictable.

Another grape was chewed on, then swallowed as Samus finally turned his eyes from her to the butcher's turned back.

"What will you do if you don't wake up when you take the helmet off."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She drew in a breath, held it for a beat, then let it out slowly.

"Mjy fatherr wass a good man. A grreat man. Grreat men don't get tjitless herre, Ssamuss. Thejy don't have sstatuess bujilt forr them. Mjy motherr mjight sstand above half the galaxjy now, but ssomewherre on the wajy, sshe sstood on mjy fatherr'ss sshoulderrss to get therre. And he wass happjy to be that ssupporrt forr uss all."

Rai'faani stared at her bloody hands, watching the lines of crimson start to set. The wet luster started to fade in places.

"A parrt of me djied that dajy when fatherr djidn't come back home. The ssjilence left bjy hjiss mjisssjing vojice deafenss me, and jI've sspent sso much tjime trrjyjing to fjill the abssence. Sso what happenss when that helmet comess off? When jI can actualljy put a face to that feeljing?"

She returned her attention to Samus. There was something disquieting and cold in the way she looked at him.

"Do jyou thjink therre jiss ssomethjing jI'd ssee therre to even make a djifferrence jin the outcome?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

In the early morning haze of hot coffee, fruit, and waiting on substantial food, Samus gave a slight frown at her answer. He wanted something simple; something plain in answer. But, her question at the end of her rambling bit of subdued soul-baring was enough to make him forge ahead and not dwell on the misunderstanding.

"I have no idea if there would be something that would make a difference."

Another sip of caf.

"Is there?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She reached for her water, taking the last remaining swallow in her glass before returning it to the table. The laced crystal glass retained just enough blood on it to refract shades of red through the light.

"No. Therre'ss nothjing that jI'd ssee to sstop me.


Nothjing."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Another mumbled "Mm," unable to be truly translated or read. His features were a neutral mask as Samus plucked up a different kind of fruit; deep purple flesh with a yellow-green rind. It was rather beautiful, with the pulp forming large clumps of tightly contained juiciness. Turning it over to give the piece a once over before taking a bite. It had a robust flavor that practically filled the mouth and overwhelmed the tastebuds, but melted away to a slightly tangy taste that seemed to leave one wanting more immediately after swallowing.

"You know, that's a dangerous thing, if there is nothing that can stop you from taking a life."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai'faani exhaled, as if shrugging away the heavy gravity from their breakfast conversation. She snatched up her napkin and began to fastidiously clean away every trace of red from her hands.

"The galaxjy hass rremjinded me - rrepeatedljy - that jit'ss a dangerrouss place."

The last red spot finally buffed out, and the heiress primly folded her soiled napkin, laying it squarely over her plate. She squared her attention back to her teacher, and upturned her hands on the table, as if to show the hand that was forced.

"jI am not Barronesss, Ssamuss. But one dajy? jI wjill be."

She nodded once in determined assurance.

"jI wjill contrrol bjilljionss of crredjitss, and have jinfluence overr mjilljionss of ljivess. But be that asss jit majy, jit onljy matterrss sso long asss jyou keep jit. Motherr taught me manjy thjingss to get wherre jI am. None morre jimporrtant than Ei'chaa Hua'rrari."

Rai'faani raised one palm....

"Adapt..."

...then the other.

"...orr djie."

She leaned back in her seat.

"A fjigurratjive prroverrb among mjy people. Majybe not fjigurratjive enough."

Rai drew her hands together, lacing her fingers. Then just as suddenly, she parted them, laying palms down as she rose from the table.

"jI've had mjy man pack ourr gearr. The ssnowsspeederr jiss wajitjing."

[Q. Samus Dage]

The butcher walked with the gait of a condemned man, and had set the plate of well-done meat in front of Samus as Rai'fa was rising to her feet. The blonde clutched his knife and fork with both hands, looking across the table to his host.

"Hey now," there was a trace of wounded hunger in his tone.

"I'd like to eat my breakfast."

A gesture with his fork to her.

"We can't all push bloody bits of offal around on a plate and still expect to function for a day."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

That halted her. Rai opened her mouth, then closed it. She'd barely given Samus much thought - some hostess she was. Maybe it was his unsettling display of lethality. He could just wing a creature of the forest on the way to the shooting range with his particular set of skills.

Of course that rare moment of empathy evaporated about the same time that something acrid invaded the heiress's nostrils. She fixated on the carbonized pucks the butcher had set in front of the human.

"jIt lookss ljike a burrnt offerrjing at temple."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"The temple of my stomach," came the easy answer as the fork speared into the well-done steak, followed by the knife as it sliced through to reveal a very grey-brown interior.

The butcher returned with a small dipping bowl, half-full of a brownish sauce.

Cutting himself a bite, Samus gave the morsel a liberal dunking before disappearing it into his mouth.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai'faani's questioning gaze fixed the butcher as he returned. Ever mindful of which direction the ladies of the house fixed their attention, the male Cizerack gestured to the condiment.

"Correlljian Terrsshjirre ssauce, rrou'a."

Whatever that was. Rai'faani stared at the man blankly until he disappeared again. She returned her attention to Samus, or more particularly his plate. There was a concerning amount of residue left from his labored sawing of the meat into bites. Granular and black.

"jI ssupposse jit won't pojisson jyou. Sshould be enough charrcoal jin jyourr sstomach to counterract anjythjing."

Snippy banter had a soothing effect on previous raw nerves. She even tried on a smile for size.

"Bjy the wajy, the twentjy-fjirrsst dajy of Ku'arraali."

Rai helped herself to the teapot that she'd neglected earlier, tipping a dainty amount into a cup on a saucer for herself.

"T'yeellaa'ss bjirrthdajy. jIt'ss obvjiouss sshe hassn't told jyou the dajy, orr jI wouldn't have been able to convjince jyou to come."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Chewing thoughtfully, Samus allowed his brow to furrow as the gears in his mind went to work. Whatever Ku'arraali was, he had no idea. But the offering was appreciated and he gave a thankful nod while swallowing.

"Good to know."

Another forkful of well-overdone steak was dredged through the sauce before vanishing down his gullet.

"I bet," he got out between gnawing chews, "... you've got a decent line on something she'd like that's not some giftcard to a military tailor or a reservation to some sort of fancy bird eatery."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She had to tear herself away from looking at Samus and his carbon-scored breakfast. She fixed her eyes on the corner of the kitchen table, sipping her tea as she ignored the concerning amount of crunching sounds.

"A gjift jidea on jyourr budget?"

That sounded piggish. Rai's ears lowered as she raised a hand in quiet apology.

"Ssorrjy, jI'm jusst not accusstomed to thrrjift. jI got herr a horrsse lasst jyearr. jI'm not ssurre sshe'ss even rrode jit jyet."

She traced a claw tip along her teacup as she thought it over.

"Sshe doess ljike to pajint. Qujite a lot, rrealljy."

[Q. Samus Dage]

The thought of T'yeellaa on a horse was an odd one, and Samus almost couldn't help the partially blank stare as he tried to imagine such an image. He supposed that it was possible she could ride - given her background - but it was the fact that the notion had simply never occurred to him. He remembered Dan once saying something (well complaining, really) about how Lok was much better in a saddle than in a cockpit. It was bizarre then, and even now the blonde had a hard time trying to imagine the Captain atop any sort of beast of burden.

"Well, yeah she does like to paint," he finally got out after his thoughts had moved on to the next bit of information.

"But she's pretty particular about what she uses. I think."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Oh. Well, of course he'd know. Rai blinked, tugging at an ear tuft as she thought over other gift ideas.

"Sshe'ss not eassjy. Could alwajyss bujy herr clothess. Goddesss knowss sshe'd let herrsself go to rragss jif jI djidn't take herr sshoppjing. But sshe'ss neverr carred much forr fasshjion, sso jit'ss not meanjingful orr terrrjibljy thoughtful."

The younger Meorrrei propped her chin in a hand as she hovered over her steaming cup.

"What about a model? One of the galleonss, ljike the one sshe ussed to command?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

Not a half-bad idea.

Chewing thoughtfully, Samus made sure to dunk another forkful of meat into his dipping sauce while swallowing his current bite.

"The girl has unexpected, thoughtful depths," he grinned playfully.

"It's a good idea," came the agreement before she could voice any contrary words, "... I like it."

His smirk turned genuine then, and the blonde leaned back in his seat while satisfying his need for another forkful. He chewed, and swallowed.

"Best place to get something like that?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

He damned her with praise while raking his cremated abomination through muck. Rai glanced to him, then looked away with a scoff and a puff of exhaled breath.

"jI don't know, prrobabljy the Rrojyal Naval Musseum on Cana'darri."

She shook her head, dispensing the thought with a wave of a hand.

"But whjy botherr when we can jusst have one deljiverred, unlesss jyou'rre jusst sstarrved forr the tourrjisst experrjience."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Delivery is good," he mumbled around the last bite.

As he chewed, Samus trailed the tines of his fork through the remains of his dipping sauce.

The butcher returned from wherever he'd disappeared to, taking up both empty plate and bowl. One last lick of the sauce from his fork, and the silverware was set atop the waiting plate.

"Good sauce," a pass of a napkin as he rose to his feet.

"What was it called again?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai raised a hand to the butcher, who paused before heading back to the kitchen. She daintily swiped a fingertip along the trace leavings, collecting enough residue to sample. She passed her fingertip between her lips, and her ears instantly skewed.

The butcher, for his part, simply repeated himself - this time to Samus.

"Corrrelljian Terrshjirre ssauce, arr'u."

She glanced back to Samus. Either he was an idiot, or he was the sort of epicure at the bleeding edge of taste. Either way, it wasn't for her.

"Tasstess ljike babjy food."

[Q. Samus Dage]

He couldn't help the shrug.

"It's an acquired taste. We used to put any sauce we could find on whatever food we could trap back in the day."

Skirting the table, the blonde stepped past Rai'fa while giving her a raised eyebrow partnered with a somewhat seditious sideways look.

"Usually crispy womprat bits or boiled dewback sausages."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai looked wounded just in the telling of it. She sunk back in her chair, retreating her hands from her teacup and saucer.

"Next, jyou'll tell me jyou took up cannjibaljissm. Ssome grrjissljy warr sstorrjy of gnawwjing the asshen entrrajilss of jyourr fallen enemjiess. Everrjy forrajy jinto human cujissjine ssoundss ljike orrganjized torrturre. jYou don't need Correlljian Terrshjirre ssauce to coverr up Tiia'haa'ko."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"No cannibalism, I promise."

Words spoken with a shake of his head.

"Got a lot of stories, but none that involve eating Imperials."

Rolling his shoulders, Samus angled his head just so until a crack sounded from his neck, followed by a soft sigh of relief.

"I suppose we should get things started then, yes?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She didn't need a second prodding. Rai was up to her feet, potential energy being put to work before Samus could change his mind and opt for seconds. One of the lodgemen approached, providing the heiress with an insulated parka. She shouldered the heavy jacket, but didn't bother with the zipper or hood.

"Let'ss go then."



* * *

By the time they were on the mountain path, Rai had tended to the rest of her bundling, zipping up the parka as she tucked her ears into the fur-lined hood. She slipped on a pair of orange-tinted sunglasses that mitigated the glare of the snow in the sunlight. The speeder they rode on was open canopy, exposing all to nature and all it's glory. The blue of the alpine sky was broken up at regular intervals by thin copses of evergreens. Ahead, a trail of cleared snow could be seen hugging a series of switchbacks, approaching the terminus of the tree line.

Before they ascended that far, however, the driver made a detour that carried them back into the forest.

"We sshouldn't be long now." Rai called over the engine, the wind whipping her fur lining. "Therre's a tjimberr fall ahead the men clearred forr fjirrewood. jI had them sset up a sshootjing pavjiljion. jI looked jit up on the Holonet, sso jit sshould be ssujitable. The fall ljiess jin a sshallow rravjine, wjith the mountajinssjide asss a backsstop."

[Q. Samus Dage]

She'd had a shooting range put together just for this? It wasn't exactly what he was expecting to hear, and as they continued on, Samus gave a look that was something between impressed and worried. She acted as though constructing a pavilion was nothing to even worry over; and he supposed that she really didn't need to think twice about having one built. The curse of too many credits, was his final summation.

That wasn't to say that the drive itself was anything to shake a stick at. The mountains and forest all around was gorgeous, pristine with snow and the occasional jutting outcropping of rock and conifer. Every so often there was a break in the trees and he could spy a pristine stretch of glittering white pasture that ended only at the foot of another hill - which in turn became a much steeper mountain that stretched upward to meet blue sky.

"So much for the old ways of just putting cans on a fence," he couldn't help but mumble.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jIss that how the Alljiance trrajinss?" She asked with a pointed flick of her nearest ear, watching her spoken breath fly past in a puff of steam.

"Thjiss jissn't a passsjing fancjy, brrotherr. jIf jI'm gojing to learrn how to sshoot, jI'm gojing to learrn how to do jit ljike the besst. Therre arren't medalss forr ssecond place jin a fjirrefjight."

Rai beset Samus with a serious face, then rolled her shoulders in a shrug.

"Bessjidess, jI don't want the ssnow falljing all overr everrjythjing. Jusst becausse we'rre out jin the wjilderrnesss doessn't mean we have to devolve jinto ssavagess."

The snowspeeder crested another hill, and they finally caught sight of the shooting range. A shaded pavilion stood at one end, furnished with benches and a prep table. At the end closest to the mountain face, a series of posts with reactive targets had been erected, ranging from ten meters from the center line all the way up to one hundred. Their approach slowed, and eventually the speeder feathered to a halt. The driver exited, helping Rai out of the craft first before attending to the gun cases and ammunition tins. The heiress watched him work, shivering slightly as the wind picked up.

[Q. Samus Dage]

He stood beside her, hands stuffed into the pockets of the downy jacket he wore. His breath puffed out from between his lips to escape up into the clear air.

"Well, it's not like we had many options back then, you know."

To think; he'd gone from some backwater existence on a bumfuck world to traipsing across the galaxy in a rebellion that barely had its' act together, then on to something more solid with the Alliance, and now... now he felt almost like a babysitter. Well, a teacher in some respect, but still a watcher that'd been roped into something he'd not ever really anticipated.

"You ever get a notion in your head to actually learn something, I might have a fair bit to show you."

A gesture was made to the pavilion. Nice as it was, it was a dressing.

"That right there ain't anything but a sterile, controlled existence. A person doesn't get to know the real thing with... that."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She squared to Dage, tipping her orange shades down enough for her blue eyes to peer above them. Her tail stilled its sway completely, save for the tuft that flicked up and down.

"Korrdarro, knock the pavjilljion down."

The driver had finished setting the crates on the table when he heard the summons. Ears perked, he addressed his employer.

"Rrou'a?"

"Wjith an axe, ssaw, whateverr jyou have. Burrn jit."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Ignore her."

The voice that now spoke to the driver was growled out in frustrated exasperation. Looming over Rai'fa, Samus scowled down at her for a brief moment before one arm lifted, a finger extended to point to the pavilion.

"Let's go."

He didn't have to necessarily like the range that'd been brought into being for the only purpose of satisfying some fancy of hers, but it was decent enough to at least begin teaching her to not put an eyeball into the blaster barrel to check if the damn thing was loaded. It would have to do for the basics, and he intended to use it for just that. Anything more would have to be learned elsewhere.

"If you're going to learn from me, you're going to do what I say," stepping back, the blonde turned on a heel to start heading toward the pavilion.

"And that means there won't be any more unnecessary constructing things or tearing them down."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Korrdarro, for his part, seemed relieved that the toil and effort he'd gone through in erecting the shooting pavilion wasn't going to be undone. He began to unlatch the gun cases, displaying the full array of firepower for the Rrou'ani and her guest to use.

Rai'faani, however, was incensed. She followed along with Samus, but the switch in her tail betrayed her piqued irritation.

"jYou can tell me what to do herre, and jI'll do jit becausse jI'm sserrjiouss about wantjing to learrn frrom jyou."

She pointed to Korrdarro and another of the lodgemen standing a distance away.

"But jyou don't tell them what to do. Onljy jI do that."

Her voice was low, kept purposefully out of earshot of the other men.

"jIt's unsseemljy to have a man outssjide the famjily gjive otherr men orrderrss."

Stepping closer, the heiress lowered her voice even further. "Pleasse."

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was strange, still, to hear earnest tones to her voice, and Samus slowed to a stop as he looked down at her. Eyes narrowed against the glint of the sun off snow, he paused in thought for a few moments before finally giving a nod.

"Fine."

His voice stayed low as well, so that only she could hear.

"I'm only doing this because you seem sincere enough about learning, but the moment you stop caring is the moment I stop teaching."

He frowned, hands stuffed into the pockets of his downy jacket, and after another moment the blonde turned to look up to the mountains, and then the pavilion.

"Your men went to a lot of trouble to build this thing; don't shortchange their craftmanship by telling them to knock it down."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The Heiress nodded reluctantly, bracing as the wind whipped up slightly.

"jI ssupposse thejy arren't the onljy oness who've gone thrrough a lot of trrouble.

She looked up at her instructor, coming just short of saying thank you. Her lips parted as if she might, but she turned sharply in the direction of the table.

"Sso, wherre sshould jI sstarrt?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

One hand reaching down to pull up a small, narrow-barreled Nubian number, he let his thumb slide over the power pack ejection toggle. It deposited a compact silver casing into his waiting opposite hand. A glance to make sure that it was at full capacity, and he handed the firearm to Rai'fa while still keeping a holdof the power pack.

"First things first, I suppose," he started.

"Always take a visual and tactile inspection any time someone hands you a blaster."

The blonde mimed what he was telling her with his free hand.

"Even if the power pack isn't loaded, run your finger into the chamber to make sure there's no priming residue on the contact points."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She looked at Samus with a degree of skepticism. Was this necessary? She never saw this level of paranoia in the holos. But even as she was opening her mouth to ask a question, she promptly shut it. Brow knit in serious thought, Rai turned the weapon over in her hand, watching sunbeams dance on the chromium plating. She pivoted open the focus chamber, swiping the pad of her pinky along the studded metal leads closest to the power pack's port. She held up the digit for inspection.

"Clean."

Easy enough. Rai passed the weapon back to her dominant right hand, awaiting what she hoped would be the magazine.

[Q. Samus Dage]

A silent nod was the only acknowledgement of her assessment. His own inspection had yielded the same result, and that she had seen the same was good enough.

Letting his eyes shift down the range, Samus eyed the targets that'd been placed at a decent distance from where they now stood. Nothing particularly fanciful, which at this point in time was just fine. No need to get annoying with cutout shapes of animals or anything like that. Garbage like that was unnecessary.

The power pack was extended to Rai'fa as his free hand moved to seek shelter in the pocket of his coat.

"It's all very simple," his voice remained level as he spoke.

"But there's a foundation one has to learn in order to be the most effective. My Da taught me how to shoot and how to take care of my guns, so I guess I'll teach you the same as he taught me."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The metal of the power pack still held trace residual warmth from where Samus had held it, and Rai gripped it full-fingered to rob the heat with her cold extremities. There was something in his explanation that was dangerously folksy, but she'd be doing none of them any favors by mentioning that she could just as easily buy a replacement after a single use, or farm out the maintenance to someone else.

But he was serious about this. Goddess, there was some reason why. Samus's Da was probably a flannel-wearing nerf herder who'd never traveled off the planet he was born on, but maybe when you grew up that humble, all the goalposts shifted backwards. And beyond that, the heiress had to remember the seriousness of what she was embarking on. It wasn't difficult to stray from that frozen moment in time, sharing a close orbit around death itself.

"Jusst ljike thjiss, then?"

She carefully angled the lead-side of the power pack to the pistol's intake port, then pressed it along the guides until she felt a brief resistance and click.

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Aye."

It was the sort of click that conveyed terrible finality. It was the sort of click that he'd heard so many times before in so many campaigns on so many worlds. There was never any constant so true as the death knell of a powerpack slipping past the point of no return, waiting to unleash its' terrible contents on the black and white masses of the enemy. Only, they weren't such an outright enemy anymore; rather, the Empire had become...

Samus blinked, then gave a slight shake of his head as if to banish the beginnings of a headache.

"It's basic stuff, but the basics will make sure that your understanding later on down the way is thorough. I know it might seem boring and overkill, and nothing like what you might see on a holo, but real life is usually less glamorous than the things we watch."

A slight hmph then, as if he was evaluating his own words, and he gestured to one of the targets that had been set up down the line.

"Sight to the target."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Less glamorous. It was almost worth a laugh, if the seriousness didn't outweigh the absurdity. Rai couldn't possibly approach this with less glamor than her first foray. It shouldn't matter, but even the stylistic failing of that terrible day chafed at her most basic sensibilities.

"One dajy at a tjime, Ssamuss. Todajy jI learrn how to sshoot. Tomorrrow..."

She pivoted her head slightly to square him in her gaze, arching a brow.

"jI learrn to sshoot wjith sstjyle."

Rai chewed on a small grin as she returned her sights to the nearest target. She stood with her heels together, blading her shoulders downrange as she raised the pistol one-handed in a straight line. Her tail hiked behind her, straightening nearly horizontally to offer as much counterbalance as she might need.

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was like looking at some poncy statue in some ridiculous dueling stance, and Samus couldn't help the obvious cringe as his head shook imperceptibly from side to side.

"Ehhh... "

He reached out to slowly bring the blaster back down.

"Not exactly," his free hand went to a shoulder, turning her body to face downrange a small bit more, and a foot wedged itself between her ankles to pry them apart.

"Feet at shoulder width, shoulders back, both hands on the blaster."

He spoke while doing his best to pose her like some bizarre, spindly-legged doll.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai briefly resisted the first correcting hand, but quickly relented to let the human pose her into a stance of his choosing. Moveable in this way, she felt ridiculous - like putty to a sculptor. As he kicked her stance open, she passively retaliated with a soft tail swat against his leg, but retreated before it might be construed as being obstructionist.

"Ljike thjiss? Rrealljy?"

Toes in, butt out. Shoulders rolled as forward as she could. Nothing felt natural. Without needing the counter-balance, Rai's tail swish-swatted air as she puffed out a steamy breath.

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Basics first," was his only rumbled answer.

He further helped her hand placement, shifting the left so that it slightly cupped the right. To finish, a single finger gently pushed at her left temple, encouraging her to angle her head to the right.

"Now. Sight down, following your arm as it becomes the blaster. You want as straight of a line as you can get."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

I was a straight line before you posed me like an idiot, Rai grumbled internally. Externally, she followed instructions as best she could. Straight line. Follow your arm.

The heiress held her breath, squeezing her left eye closed as her right eye focused down the length of her arm, to the sights at the top of her pistol, and the basic target standing several meters downfield from that. Her field of vision shifted, bringing the target into focus, framed by the blurred posts of her gunsights. Her tail crept to a halt as she made the decision to commit. With a sudden break, she squeezed the trigger.

BZAT!

For a moment, she eagerly searched for the tell-tale scorch mark on the target, only to realize a moment later that her blaster bolt had hit only snowy ground behind and to the left.

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Well," he couldn't help the amusement from trickling out in his tone.

"It's certainly a start."

"I'd be worried if you actually hit the target on your first go-round," his hand gave her shoulder a reassuring pat.

"Don't be too disappointed. Just line up and try again."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The initial tone in Samus's voice hadn't gone unnoticed, and Rai gave him a fiery glance before he defused her. She shook her head, ridding herself of that sense of frustration. He was right. If it was as easy as point and shoot, she wouldn't have bothered going through all of this.

"What djid jI do wrrong?"

It wasn't said out of self-pity. Rai glanced back to Dage, looking for some input that was more than wash, rinse, repeat.

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Your breathing is off."

He gestured for her to resume her stance.

"You have to measure your breaths, and keep them steady. In, out, in, out, and when you pull the trigger, do it at the end of your exhale."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"End of mjy exhale."

Rai nodded, inwardly trying to work out the why of it. Something as small as when she was breathing could send a shot astray? If that was the case, how did anyone hit anything when it mattered?

She swallowed, rolled her shoulders, then resumed her stance, making a point to prime herself for the shot by taking a big breath of cold mountain air. She let that breath out slowly as she repeated the ritual of forming into her shooting stance. By the time she was comfortably on sight again, she was ready to draw in another breath. Rai held the breath for a moment, then gradually let it all out. The iron sights drifted, quavered, and then as she finished exhaling, they stopped on target.

She squeezed the trigger.

[Q. Samus Dage]

It was a small improvement, helped along by the fact that - though she was unimpressed it seemed with what he was telling her - she still made sure to obey. Most folks felt strange during the first times, and even he had questioned his Da those first few times. But, his Da had been right, and had made sure that a young Samus did as instructed.

And Rai'fa, for all of her grumbling, at least was doing the same as he had decades ago.

It was a blackened patch of blast residue that discolored the very bottom edge of the target, and Samus gave an approving nod.

"See there? When you breath out, and fire at the bottom of your breath, you reduce the waver as much as possible. Holding your breath only makes it worse, but when you synchronize pulling the trigger with the rest of your body it gives you the ability to be as steady as possible."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jI got jit."

Rai sucked in a breath through her grin, realizing a moment late that she'd piped up slightly more elated than cool. Her tail had flip-looped in a high arc, and the heiress took a moment to gather herself so that it returned to a lethargic sway behind her ankles. Rather than meet Samus's eyes for a mildly embarassing moment, Rai'faani turned an aloof eye to her sidearm, pretending to notice some small detail before she tactically withdrew - returning to a combat pose to try her luck again.

[Q. Samus Dage]

He'd heard the bit of excitement in her voice before the normal unimpressed behavior draped back over the top of it. It was something he wasn't about to let go quite so easily, and with a reassuring pat to Rai'fa's shoulder, Samus gave a light grin and a nod.

"You got it, no doubt. Not many folks hit the target on their first round," he gave her a wink, "... no need to hide any excitement over it."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai at least humored him with a smile. It was less an earnest expression of her previous elation, and more a practiced and polite face.

"A Meorrrei jiss expected to act ljike we expect everrjy sshot to hjit."

The heiress wondered in that moment if Samus had truly not understood that before. Had he not seen the same imprinted behavior in her older sister?

"Metaphorrjicalljy, at leasst. We sshould be the besst and tolerrate no lesss."

Rai's smile faded somewhat. She glanced back down to her weapon.

"Onljy one wajy to go frrom the top, ne?"

Her tail began to pick up its pace, and Rai's smile resumed as she looked up.

"A sajoi to that. jI'll be pleassed wjith mjysself. jI've had morre decadent jindulgencess."

[Q. Samus Dage]

His eyes left her then, to look down the length of the range to the target.

"Square up and start again."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

The thrill of a connected target took the tension out of Rai's shoulders, and she found the posture easier now. Rai sighted down her weapon, pulling until the break of the trigger surprised her with a sharp bark. It went against her every instinct to find that calm before the shot, but the more she tried it, the more it felt natural.

A few shots went wide, but more and more were hitting the target. The heiress rolled her shoulders, raised her tail, and squeezed again. A dull click signaled an empty chamber. Rai drew in a chilly breath, taking a step away from the line as she opened the power port the way Samus had shown her.

"Tell me ssomethjing, Ssamusss. jIss mjy ssjissterr happjy?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

He continued to stare at the target, and the blackened burn scores that marked the shots that had connected. He thought on the question posed to him, unsure exactly on how to best respond. It was a strangely deep question, and one that he'd not expected to hear. Of course, it was also something he'd never considered; he'd never felt the need to ask since every time that he was on Jovan, T'yeellaa was usually only ever all-smiles. And so naturally he'd never brought the matter up.

"Well, I suppose she is?"

Finally his eyes left the target, going to Rai'fa.

"Why do you ask?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Somehow, the act of talking during the act made shooting even more normal of an action, and Rai continued to plink as she spoke.

"jI would've thought that wass obvjiouss. Sshe took a demotjion frrom Suunda'rrou and gave up herr galleon command to sserrve ssecond on a sspace sstatjion."

BZAT! BZAT!

"Sshe'ss ambjtjiouss. We all arre. jI'm ssurre ssomeone ssold jit to herr, but jit'ss harrd to ssee that asss anjythjing lesss than a ssljight."

Rai glanced back at Samus, and her focused look softened a little.

"Sshe'ss alwajyss jinssjissted on herr own wajy. Sshe could eassjiljy be jin ljine forr ssuccesssjion jif sshe wanted that, but jI thjink sshe'ss alwajyss taken jit perrssonalljy when ssomeone trrjiess to help herr."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"She's certainly more stubborn than a ronto," he agreed with a nod.

But it was still a surprising question in terms of who was asking it. In most of his interactions with Rai'fa, Samus was not so sure she saw very far beyond her own needs and wants; and when she did do that, it was only to manipulate. The fact that he was right here, right now...

The girl had a lot of ground to cover before he would start thinking that she was the sort to inquire after others out of genuine care. He wondered if she'd ever really even get to that point. Or if she wanted to.

"Your sister works hard to show people that having a name isn't the sole reason she has the things she does. If she's unhappy on Jovan, she's certainly not talked to me about it."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Again with an irritatingly-folksy provincial idiom. Did Samus reverse-personify every mood into the disposition of a farm animal? Fortunately, the human had something more substantial to add to it. Well, slightly substantial.

"Of courrsse sshe wouldn't talk about jit. Not to me, and not to jyou ejitherr. But jyou'rre the one ssharrjing a bed wjith herr, and ssjince jyou'rre not a passsjing fancjy jI fjigurred jyou'd have enough perrspectjive."

Rai glanced down to her weapon. Checking the safety, she handed it to her instructor.

"jI want to trrjy a djifferrent one."

[Q. Samus Dage]

There was really nothing he cared to say in the face of her words, and accepting the firearm with a shrug, Samus turned back to the table. Most on display were polished and sleek; designer weapons at first and second glance. Oh, they did the job sure enough, but they were still brand new and without any character.

A slight frown tipped the corners of his mouth down then, as he continued to look at the offerings before him. Nothing. But, at least his own small carrypack had been brought out. It rested on the ground, propped against one of the display table's legs. The blonde let out a light groan as he bent down to pick it up, and setting it atop the table, unzipped the heavy duty zipper-tab. Reaching in, he pulled out a scarred brown leather holster. Fingers snapped open the strap that held the thing closed up, and Samus slid out an old Imperial service blaster; a much older model than the other shiny offerings present. It'd been heavily modified, but there was no mistaking the care that had been given to it over the years.

His free hand reached in to pull out the power pack, and balancing his personal firearm for a moment, held it out to Rai'fa.

"Try this."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She glanced from the offered weapon, then back up to Dage again, with an uncertain skew to her ears.

"jYourrss?"

Rai'faani examined the blaster more closely. There were bits of wear plainly visible, noticeably around the edges where the blueing had eroded to reveal a glint of silvery metal hidden just beneath. Not a spot of oxidation could be seen though. The pistol smelled of mineral oil. The stacked polymer hand grip had eroded almost to the point where it was a contiguous smooth surface. It was heavier than her previous choice, bulkier, but nothing that seemed too large for the purpose. Still, she wasn't sure what Samus was intending here. Should she be thankful that he was letting her handle his own weapon?

She tried not to think about the obviously macabre things, such as the likelihood that this weapon had killed before and she wasn't sure she wanted to know how many times. Instead, Rai fixated on something else.

"jYourr gun hass a name, doessn't jit?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

He wasn't entirely expecting that question, and blinking, Samus slowly shook his head.

"No name. I like it and it's got history, but you don't name things you like. In my experience once you do that, you lose them."

A gesture was sent downrange to the target.

"Learning to shoot means learning to use all different types of blasters."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Oh, well, wjith all the otherr folkssjy thjingss jyou ssajid, jI thought that..."

She pulled an all-stop, cutting off her words as she felt heat surge into the tips of her ears. Her tail swished hard left and right, as if to banish the moment altogether.

"...forrget jit."

Rai returned her attention to the weapon itself. She remembered her first lessons, clearing the port with the tip of her finger to inspect it before closing the action. Compared to her previous weapon, the catches and levers gave way with a nearly silken break, surprising her expectations.

Her interest piqued at the piece of durasteel in her hands, the Meorrrei heiress forgave herself of her prior gaffe, and squared to the target once more. The weight of the weapon and the profile of the sights were different, but it pointed like an extension of her arm. A warm puff of air passed through her lips as steam as she squeezed the trigger, surprised at how suddenly it broke. That surprise took her eyes off target, but when they returned, she found a sparking and smoldering circle dead in the middle of it.

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Not bad."

Samus allowed his arms to cross over his chest as he stared at the hole in the target. She took easily to instruction, that much was easy to see. But, she was also aided in a well-cared-for machine.

But, he'd not bring her down now. That would be foolish.

"When I first got that thing, I'd pulled it off of a dead Imperial officer. Nothing glorious about it, but it was all I had to fight with at that time, and you make do with what you have. When you take care of those things, they become as much of a friend as the closest breathing body beside you in a trench."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

And it was perfectly clear he'd taken care of it. Rai ejected the pack again to inspect the machining. She worked the action dry, repeating the action several times.

"jIt'ss ssmooth."

And there was a pang of envy. With a single shot, she enjoyed firing this pistol more than the shining new one she had. The action was smoother, the trigger broke light as a feather.

"How much do jyou want forr jit?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

Still with his arms over his chest, Samus finally let his eyes shift from the target to her. There was no accusation or biting anger in his next words, just simple honesty and a hurt that was both old and new. It was a longing ache that the timbre of his voice gave life to, a tone of sadness that held the finality of a mortal existence.

"Can you bring the dead back to life?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. It was worth a shot. Tidying up, Rai checked the weapon a second time, and returned it to it's owner.

"jIf jI could do that, jyou wouldn't be herre."

Rai turned to survey the array of pristine weapons in front of her, each waiting its turn to be chosen.

"jI ssupposse anjy one of thesse could become what that jiss to jyou. But jif thejy everr look the wajy jyourrss doess, what wjill that ssajy about me? jI can't manufacturre brravado, and jI know jI'll neverr be the kjind of perrsson jyou arre."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"You don't want to be the person that I am."

His tone was level, without a hint of amusement as he let his own gaze traverse the offering of firearms on the table. Even as he accepted his old blaster from her, instinctively checking the chamber and priming stud.

"You need to find the person you want to be; I can only teach you to shoot, not how to be you."

Satisfied with the state of his weapon, he returning it to its' holster before gesturing to the myriad of blasters.

"I can only give you recommendations. Whether you follow them or not is up to you."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jI know how to be me." Rai'faani coolly countered, sizing up the line of weapons at her disposal. "jI jusst want to make cerrtajin jI'm aljive long enough to be that perrson."

She paused, fingers hovering over a cutting edge carbine as she glanced back to Samus.

"That'ss funnjy, me even thjinkjing about becomjing jyou. Have we even conssjiderred that jI mjight have jit all backwarrdss?"

Rai hefted the weapon, slapping open the port with the heel of her palm in a manner that indicated she'd learned the mechanics quickly.

"What jif jyou become uss? T'yeellaa mjight not be favorred bjy motherr to become Rrou'fai, but sshe'll prrobabljy enterr the Admjirraltjy asss a conssolatjion, and be the eldesst jin the mosst powerrful housse jin the Clussterr. And whateverr jyou arre to each otherr, that makess jyou farr morre than a Commanderr orr a natjive sson frrom that planet jyou'rre frrom, whateverr jit'ss called."

After inspecting the port, the heiress palmed a power pack, slapping it into the carbine's port.

"Majybe jyou've alrreadjy notjiced. Majybe jyou haven't. jI guarrantee people arre watchjing."

[Q. Samus Dage]

It wasn't exactly a notion that he'd ever considered, and with a cool look her way, Samus offered only a single raised eyebrow. People were watching? It wouldn't be much of a shock to think that T'yeellaa's mother was doing just that, if he had to bet. He still remembered well his first meeting with Senator Meorrrei.

"Myomar," came the gravelly mumble, "I'm from Myomar."

Then again, he knew Rai'fa well enough to know that it wouldn't much matter. Still, there was a part deep inside that needed to make the clarification. Home was still home.

"And as for whoever may be watching, it's not anything I really care to waste thought on. It's not anything that I can change, so there's no reason to fret over it."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai rolled her eyes slightly, blowing a strand of hair away from her face with a puff of steamy breath.

"Who'ss frrettjing? jYou sshouldn't. People sscheme and plan thejirr entjirre ljivess to gajin the kjind of accesss and jinfluence jyou could get sso eassjiljy. jYou mjight be frrom Mjyomarr, but we could bujy jit."

The heiress moved a few paces down the line, squaring off against a target farther downrange. She tested her footing, then pressed the stock of the carbine against her shoulder to get a feel for it, raising the weapon so that the irons drifted into blurry superposition over the mark a good 100 meters down.

"Am jI dojing thjiss rrjight?"

[Q. Samus Dage]

A dark look descended upon his features once more as Samus stared down at her. No one in the past had ever seen fit to halt her condescending behavior, and it had finally worn his patience too thin to bear anymore weight. Whatever question she'd asked of him was ignored as his arms crossed over his chest. When he spoke, his voice was low so that only she could hear.

"Do you even listen to the words that you say?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai disengaged her cheek weld from the weapon, lowering the barrel as she glanced back.

"What djid jI ssajy?"

Her tail twitched in genuine bewilderment. For someone who killed people for a living, Quentin Samus Dage had a disturbingly thin skin.

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Nothing particularly tactful."

His dark look remained, but there was a creeping sort of stern expressing that fell on his features.

"I understand you tricked me into coming out here so that I could teach you how to shoot, but I'm thinking you also need to be taught how to talk to folks. And in some cases, it's sometimes much more prudent to simply say nothing."

For a fleeting moment his eyes darted up to cast a glance down the length of the shooting lane before once more settling onto her.

"Whatever riches your family has, and whatever political pull and clout that the Meorrrei name has, none of that is going to do you any good if you get a vibroblade buried in your back. If you're looking to take revenge on whoever planted your father in the ground, it's a lot harder from the inside of a coffin."

He sorely hoped that she would understand the beginning of the point he was trying to pass along.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jI know how to kjisss mjy enemjiess." Rai retorted flatly, finally shifting her weight to stand flat-footed as she eased the carbine fully downward. "jIt'ss ssomethjing of a famjiljy trradjitjion."

Less guarded now, the heiress's ears eased a degree lower.

"jI djidn't mean to offend jyou. jI onljy meant to ssajy that jyou sshould thjink carrefulljy about what jyou'rre dojing wjith mjy ssjissterr. jI thjink jyou'rre both sserrjiouss, and jif jyou werren't, we wouldn't be havjing thjiss converrssatjion. Sshe wjill change jyou. We wjill change jyou. jYou can thjink jI'm rrude orr arrrogant, but jif jyou werren't alrreadjy thjiss closse, jI wouldn't be ssajyjing anjythjing at all."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"I've been changed enough to know that it's not the end of who I am," came the grunted answer as he took the carbine from her. The lever was pulled back in a swift inspection, then slammed forward once more as his opposite hand dumper the power pack for a quick look-over.

"You keep saying these words from your little pedestal of riches and insular importance, but when you actually get out into the galaxy, out where not everyone is ready to lick your toes, where no one really cares about where you come from or how white your teeth are or how much money you say you have, there won't be any safety net to fall in to. Your mother's money won't mean anything but a trail of dewback spit to an Umbaran, or a Ssi-Ruuk. And a Sith damn sure won't care about whatever long line you come from. There are more, but honestly it's not worth the time to name off the folks that just. Don't. Care."

The power pack was shoved back to clack into place, and he held the weapon with a hitched shoulder, his body angled toward the target down the way. The muzzle remained pointed down.

"Everyone changes everyone else; I know that well enough. But if you think that the only change you'll be making is to hit a little closer to the center of the target with a fancy blaster, then you need more than my help."

And then he disengaged, lifting the carbine up to sight down along the barrel. He knew where he needed to aim, where his shoulders needed to be to absorb the recoil. Blue energy lanced outward at the first pull of the trigger, striking the target in the upper center portion first, the tracking downward as he fired in rapid succession. When the bolts found the middle, he held and continued to empty the power pack.

When it depleted, the lanky blonde straightened. The barrel of the carbine was lifted so that he could glare at the still-smoking muzzle and its' few bleed-off holes.

"I'm not a nice person, Rai'faani. And I know that you aren't either."

Finally he turned his eyes back to her, brow furrowed in a stern visage.

"But the difference between us is that I know I'm only still around because I don't rely on money or stature. I trust my friends, sometimes my family, and always myself. There is nothing else that will help you when it comes down to that line between life and death."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jIt musst be njice to be able to trrusst sso eassjiljy."

Less a retort and more a sobering admission, Rai avoided eye contact initially, then made herself meet Dage's eyes.

"jI trrjied jit once orr twjice. Majybe even morre than that. Each and everrjy tjime jI djid, jI wass hurrt - and deepljy. Sso jI hope jyou forrgjive mjy sskeptjicjissm when we talk about jintangjibless ljike trrusst. That'ss one luxurrjy jI don't have."

[Q. Samus Dage]

She hadn't understood.

"No one said it was easy to do so," he corrected.

"But everything in life, you trust with conditions. The only thing you put your full trust in is yourself."

He held out the carbine for her to take. When her hand came out to grasp it, his arm pulled back almost impossibly fast, drawing the weapon out of her reach.

"Do. You. Understand?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"How to trrusst mjysself? Whjy wouldn't jI?"

Rai frowned at the games he was playing with her, and she withdrew her hand that tried to grasp the carbine to rest on her hip.

"jYou thjink jI'd go thrrough all thjiss botherr jif jI djidn't? jI could pajy forr a bodjyguarrd. Ten bodjyguarrdss. jIf that wass the ljife jI wanted, jI could have jit, but jit's not! jI want to ljive, not hjide jin ssome bunkerr afrrajid of the darrk! Sso, jyess jI trrusst mjysself, sscarred asss jI mjight be, becausse therre'ss no ljife worrth ljivjing jif jI don't. Now gjive me the damned blassterr!"

[Q. Samus Dage]

She was close. Almost close enough, even.

Still holding the carbine out of her reach, Samus thought for a moment as his eyes stared down at her. She was certainly getting mad. Good.

"All of this is still in your safety net, though. You still have people to drive you all about, to build you a shooting range, to watch over you, prepare your food, and make sure your bed is made everyday. On Jovan there was none of that. All you had was only me, Anauri, and the Vraska woman."

He paused then, guessing that it didn't matter how much he talked; she was still going to come out of all this thinking that she could take care of herself; still surrounded by her servants and hangers-on. He frowned, knowing that this would be a fruitless endeavor in the end.

Finally, he presented her the carbine.

"Keep shooting if you wish. I'm done for the morning as is."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jYou want to hearr that jI trrusst jyou? jIss that jit?"

She clutched the rifle against her middle, fingers tightening around the handgrip and buttstock.

"jI trusst jyou, Ssamuss Dage!"

[Q. Samus Dage]

What she took away from everything spoken to her was... not what he had intended.

"That's not what I want to hear," came the gruff response.

Turning about, the rangy blonde began the trek back to the speeder.

"I really don't want to hear anything, to be honest," he finished from over his shoulder.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Still toting the carbine, Rai tromped after him in the snow, kicking up powdery spray as she made up the gap.

"Then what do jyou want frrom me, Ssamuss? Ssome kind of what, confesssjion, that jI'm rrjich, that jI have all thjiss accesss and prrjivjilege that otherr people don't have? jI am awarre, beljieve jit orr not!"

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Don't want a confession, either. I'm well enough aware that you know you're rich. Doesn't take a Jedi mystic to figure that one out."

The speeder in the distance was growing closer; he had every intention of sitting in the back seat and wishing he was back at his post.

"What I want right now, is for you to close your mouth and stop talking."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

For once, she did just that. Rai pressed her lips taut and stood her ground, watching Samus walk off. When it looked like he wasn't turning back, she did. The heiress went back the way she came, towards the shooting pavilion.

[Q. Samus Dage]

* * *

For him, the afternoon brought a return to the lodge, and Samus was content enough to sit in quiet thought, inhabiting one of the many comfortably large lounging chairs that were ensconced in the back den. A fire occupied the massive hearth along the back wall, hungry tendrils licking the air above in the vain attempt to consume all around.

He stared at the flames, his mind elsewhere as his thoughts took him far away from this richly decorated vacation home.

A drink was set on the small round table beside his chair, but he made no move to take it up. His arms remained crossed over his chest, and he blinked slowly as his musings took him elsewhere.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Night came early in the Taltimant alps, and Rai'faani returned to the lodge just past the point that the sun had fallen below the peaks. She was cold, sore, and exhausted. She'd fired thousands of shots through dozens of weapons - from pistols to carbines to rifles to slugthrowers. Her ears rang. Her fingers ached. She learned by doing, it was her only teacher. She could tell that her accuracy improved, but without a guiding influence, she couldn't tell if it really mattered. Whatever Samus was looking for in her, he hadn't found it. That knowledge fueled anger and resentment, and the heiress pushed herself well past her coddled limits.

The servants took the weapon and ammo cases from the speeder, leaving Rai at the porch, shivering in her drawn parka. Ever prideful, she pulled down the fur-lined hood, made certain that her hair wasn't a mess, then entered the heavy wooden doors.

He was sitting there by the fireplace, looking every bit as comfortable as she wasn't. Rai resisted the urge to shiver or to draw closer to the heat. Instead, she shouldered away her parka, passing it off to another servant.

[Q. Samus Dage]

He heard her, but did not look at her. Still somewhat lost in his own thoughts, the blonde returned enough of his immediate awareness to ask a question.

"d'You fire enough blasters?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"Do jyou carre?"

There wasn't a pointed tone to her question. Rai didn't have the energy to argue anymore. She pressed her hands against her stomach, trying to sustain herself off her own body heat to get feeling back in her extremities.

"jI'll jinsstrruct mjy pjilot to be rreadjy to deparrt. jYou can leave wheneverr jyou want."

[Q. Samus Dage]

He listened to those words. They sounded almost defeated; coated in indignant anger, but still defeated.

"You're giving up, then?"

Finally his hand moved, closing around the drink that'd been left for him. It was a simple bit of some sort of local concoction, with two cubes of ice swirling within.

"Didn't figure you for a quitter."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

"jIss that a joke?"

She breathed a laugh, but put no more energy into mirth. Of all the cheek of him, to throw that back in her face.

"jI've been on the rrange forr hourrss, feeljing mjy wajy on mjy own. jI assked jyou forr help, and jyou've taken everrjy opporrtunjitjy to cut me down jin the prrocesss and left me to mjy own devjicesss. jIf that'ss jyourr teachjing plan, we'rre both wasstjing each otherr'ss tjime."

The heat was returning in a flush to her ears and banishing the cold. Rai slid her hands down to her sides.

"jYou ssaved mjy ljife on Jovan. jI owe jyou forr that, but clearrljy therre jissn't anjy amount of monejy that ssatjissfjiess what'ss due, and jI know jyou wouldn't accept jif jI offerred. Sso wherre doess that leave uss? jYou clearrljy djissljike ssomethjing verrjy fundamental about me, but jyou'rre sso comforrtable jin jyourr contempt that jyou'd rratherr ssee me wallow jin jyourr djissapprroval than actualljy talk to me djirrectljy about jit. Well, jI'm not gojing to do that. jI'm a Meorrrei. T'yeellaa mjight do a good job of passsjing jin jyourr companjy, but jI am not mjy ssjissterr."

The Heiress still kept a comfortable berth away from Samus and the fireplace, her face grim.

"jIf jyou have no betterr wajy to teach me, then leave. jIf jI can't learrn frrom jyou, jI'll ssettle forr ssomeone elsse who won't prreach to me, even jif jI have to sspend a forrtune to do jit. But what jI won't do jiss qujit. jYou'rre rrjight about that. jI don't qujit."

[Q. Samus Dage]

"Well that's a consolation," came the rumbled response as he sipped from his glass. All of this, here and now... in this lodge and on this planet... it was a crutch. It was a safe haven that shouldn't exist. Not in his mind, at any rate.

"And you're right. You're not your sister. But frankly, that really has no bearing on things as they stand right now. You asked for my help, and I'll give it in my own way."

Finally he lumbered to his feet, drawing up to his full lanky height before turning to face her.

"You want to learn. I can teach. But we do this my way, and you learn how to do this without the shortcuts."

He stared down at her, ignoring for the time being the crackling flames of the fire.

"Deal?"

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

Rai closed the distance between them. She presented an upturned hand, then unsheathed the claws of her other hand, drawing the wickedly-hooked thumb claw over the flesh of her palm until a red line appeared, and lazily began to fill the adjacent creases with blood.

"On mjy grreat grrandmotherr'ss asshess."

[Q. Samus Dage]

Finally, she seemed to be serious about this, and Samus offered only a silent nod as he lifted his own hand, palm upturned and waiting.

He would take her solemn offering and return it with his own in a rare show (to her at least) of reverence and honor.

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She eyed his offered palm, unsure of the next step. But when he didn't produce a knife Rai inferred that he was submitting to her to seal the agreement. Claws again extended, and Rai pressed the tip of her thumb claw into his calloused palm, relenting just as she felt the skin break. A bead of crimson formed, then began to swell before Rai covered his palm with her own bloodied hand.

"Therre." she glanced up at him with a somber expression. "We'rre marrrjied."

[Q. Samus Dage]

His fingers wrapped around hers, his grip firm and unforgiving. Sinew and tendon held fast, unwilling to allow one inch as he held her hand in his own. Her words managed to cause a good-natured grimace to flit across his otherwise stony expression, and the rangy blonde angled his neck to the side, his free hand coming up and around to lightly box the girl's ear.

"Don't press your luck, Peep."

[Rai'faani Meorrrei]

She pivoted her head, but didn't flinch. Didn't break the embrace either.

"Had jyou gojing therre forr a mjinute, though."