This is a story set shortly after Command Decision, and features Commander Parck, Captain Niriz and Admiral Thrawn. I've always felt they haven't had enough written about their adventures, so I thought I'd make up own of my own!
The dull looking planet of Raza held many a glittering jewel upon its surface of raging seas and crowded jungles. The Emperor's capital city of Preeya was currently in the process of welcoming its newest guests, the starship Admonitor and her crew.
The higher ranking officers had been granted chambers within the palace, and free roam domain to roam her sprawling walls. Commander Voss Parck happened to be one of these officers, and whilst he was pleased with the pleasantries given to him by the Emperor, the gulf between riches and poor on this world gave him the slightest ill feeling that all was not as good as it seemed on the surface.
He looked out of the balcony that adjoined his room, the views were simply breathtaking, and it amazed him how close the palace's golden and ivory walls were to the jungle, and how the horticulturists had bore this in mind when designing the labyrinthine gardens with their oversized magnificent plants.
Sighing, he placed down his spiced melange drink that had been delivered to him by a nervous looking attendant with an equally as rattled looking tray. Currently, he was unaware of the Admiral's intentions regarding Raza, but then no one was ever sure of Admiral Thrawn's intentions, as Captain Niriz had only been made well aware of a few weeks earlier with Operation Command Decision, a little joke as it were testing his loyalties to not only Admiral Thrawn, but himself.
The welcoming from Raza and its Emperor Sitkh III had been most pleasant, and certainly a breath of fresh air as far as welcoming from outside planets was concerned. The only slight annoyance Parck had found was the language barrier. Of course, Admiral Thrawn had encountered minimal problems, his Sy Bisti had acted as an intermediary, and was perfectly formed, each syllable pronounced as if it were his own tongue. Unfortunately for Commander Parck and even Captain Niriz, things had been a lot harder, with emphasised hand actions taking over when something important needed to be dealt with.
Emperor Sitkh III on noticing this small error of ways had apologised to Admiral Thrawn most vehemently, even assigning his eldest daughter General Maedi to teach both Parck and Niriz of Raza's militarial ways, but so far, Voss couldn't help but feel the frustration that emanated from the young woman as both the Captain and himself looked on at her like lost banthas in a marketplace. She had tried many different methods, from the hands on approach of leading them and showing them technologies they had never heard of, and most lately, handing them children's illustrated novels, a ruse of hers after Captain Niriz had ruffled her feathers, after storming off in an irritated fashion after meeting the Emperor's prize horses. Niriz had never been much of an animal man, Voss laughed.
Voss shook his head and walked into the main bedchambers of his spacious quarters. Fumbling, he grabbed a towel and walked into the gold plated monstrosity that was his bathroom.
Delightfully flamboyant.
He smiled to himself as he placed his towel on a rail carved to mimic a dragon's claw. Everything in Raza, he mused, was a display of wealth. Whether it was the meek farmer displaying his prize totlee cattle in a small pen, or the Emperor gilding his bathrooms in gold, Raza was very much the human world, and the humans of this world were no different to those in the Core Galaxy under the Empire's rule. Should Raza agree to be part of the Empire, they, the citizens, would find no trouble in fitting in.
Twisting the taps of the bath, Voss was amused to find out that today's water had been perfumed less harshly. The day before when he had bathed, the minty essence had caused his eyes to water for half an hour afterwards, and the redness had been very much the same to the Admirals, he had joked.
Stripping, he quickly plunged himself in the hot water, gasping loudly when he found that he had perhaps let the hot water run on for too long. They had only been on Raza's surface for 3 standard Razaiin days, and already Voss found himself accustomed to the luxury of bathing in real water. On the Admonitor, showers were the only form of bathing, even for officers, in an effort to conserve the water. Here on Raza, Voss bathed in deep, hot and bubble filled perfumed baths. Niriz too it seemed, did the same, for he always smelt of the same essence. Admiral Thrawn it seemed, was the only person to still have the self discipline to use the old showering system, a marker perhaps of his military ways, Voss had always thought.
Tonight they had been told that all officers on the ship were to enjoy a feast and show of culture, something most officers had been looking forward to, at least, the ones who had understood Sy Bisti. Voss was annoyed that he hadn't paid more attention to learning the language in his schooling days, as the Razaii people were fascinating, quite simply and extraordinarily different.
They were human, that much was evident. Some of the richer members of court had the telltale signs of spice indulgence, the orange coated eyes with broken capillaries striking the appearance immediately; nonetheless however, they were ultimately human. Curiously enough, they were the only humans it seemed, in the entire Galaxy who did not speak Basic. Voss had thought about this at great length, coming up with theories that perhaps aeons ago Razaii ancestors had been placed on this jungle planet as some form of exile, but instead of dying had flourished and built a community, the language evolving with the times. That was his best musing on the subject, he had no doubts that tonight's extravagance would shed some light on the subject for Thrawn, who he suspected, possibly already knew the real reason these humans did not speak Basic. Or if they were just deceptively looking near humans, with their outward appearance being identical. Now however, was a time for preening, not thoughts. Voss was a high ranking officer, and as such, was expected to uphold the Empire in not only his work, but outward appearance to the new species they encountered on their quest in the Unknown Regions.
Tonight would be the pinnacle of their stay here on Raza, but the officer's of the Admonitor were blissfully unaware of the situation they would soon come to face.
All that is, but one.