AUTHOR'S NOTE:
1. This story began as a character bio for the Star Wars tabletop role-playing game, which means that you probably won't see any familiar characters in this story. Rather it is an original story set in the Star Wars universe starting at the time right before the Old Republic fell.
2. The story starts on a planet called Kushibah, which most people probably are not familiar with. It is a planet on the Outer Rim of the galaxy, which makes it largely isolated from the hubbub of the Core planets. The native inhabitants - the Kushiban - are small little rabbit like creatures - about 1/2 a meter to one meter tall, they have white fur that can turn black when they are angry and have little hands in place of paws. If you want to learn more about the Kushiban and their planet before reading this story, please check the Wookiepedia entry: wiki/Kushiban
3. Usual disclaimer: I did not create this universe (that was George Lucas), and the setting has been borrowed (thank you Star Wars Alien Anthology and Wookiepedia!)
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The first time Keven saw her, he wasn't sure what to think. Her fur was black, nearly standing on end and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. She was engaged in some sort of conversation with a couple of other Kushiban kits, who were the reknowned bullies among the children in town. She stood still, showing no trace of fear in her eyes as she worked to control her anger that was spilling out in the colour of her fur. Then he heard one of the bullies say something demeaning about her parents. It was the straw that broke her control. "TAKE THAT BACK!" she yelled as she flew her furry rabbit-like body towards the other kit, claws flailing. Keven wasn't sure what to do; should he jump in to break up this fight, or just let it resolve on its own? He was still debating when suddenly a loud voice called out into the street, "Enough!"
Both Keven and the bullies looked up from their respective places to see the source of the voice. An old wizened Kushiban, whom Keven recognized as the town medic, stood at the door of the docking port building. "Shoot!" One of the bullies exclaimed and they quickly broke up the party to flee, leaving the young female Kushiban alone in street. Tears were streaming from her eyes as her fur rippled between shades of black and grey. Keven watched from his perch in fascination as the old doctor walked towards the young girl and pulled her into his arms, hushing her. "B-b-b-but Erdict!" she sputtered, "They said that you shouldn't be here, d-d-doing what you're doing, providing healing services to a criminal! I told them that it doesn't matter who or what the p-p-person is, or has done, that it wouldn't be right to let them suffer to the point that they might die!"
Oh, so that's why Erdict is here! Keven thought to himself as he recalled the rumours that a bounty hunter was passing through the spaceport that day with a wanted criminal in tow who was on the verge of death.
"…and then they started saying bad things about me, which would have been okay, but they said that it was because mom and dad were s-s-stupid that they got eaten by xinkras!" The girl wailed into the chest of the old doctor as he continued to hold her. Gradually her sobs began to abate and her fur faded back into its normal colour. Beautiful fur. Keven thought to himself in awe, as he stared at the lush silver-white fur of the female Kushiban before him. The slight dusty-tinge to his fur made him feel dirty in comparison.
"Quiet now Esuna," Erdict spoke softly as he dried the tears from her eyes. Then the old Kushiban laughed, "That's why you'll make such a good doctor one day! You have such a sense of justice that you won't let anyone suffer. First though you need to really learn to control your temper, or one day you will end up doing something that you regret." The little kit looked slightly ashamed, "I'm sorry Erdict," she said sincerely, her bushy tail drooping somewhat between her legs.
The old doctor smiled again as her ruffled her fur gently, "Then that's that." He stood up, "So, are you coming? I believe we have a criminal to heal." The girl's features brightened considerably, showing her enthusiasm over the thought of observing Erdict at his medical task, "Yeah!"
Erdict turned around and walked back towards the spaceport and the girl moved to follow. For a moment though, she looked up, and her crystal green eyes met Keven's blue ones from where he was perched atop a pile of crates. She gave him a shy smile and then bounded after Erdict. Keven could only stare after her. There was no question about it – he was hooked.
The pretty kit finally turned the corner out of Keven's view and the young male Kushiban squirmed, readjusting his position so he could better observe the activities on the ground. It was a busy day at the docking port, for it wasn't often that two ships came in on the same day. Sometimes the little landing field went for weeks without receiving a single visitor. When a ship did come in though, Keven liked to sit perched on whatever crates were nearby that would provide him a good view of the action. He found it fascinating to watch the huge ships descend into the landing field that had belonged to his family for generations. The aliens that emerged from these ships were just as fascinating, since many of them were furless giants of various colours, which towered over him and the other Kushiban. Maybe that was another reason Keven liked to sit on the crates: being up on them meant that he could look at the aliens from their height, and not have to crane his neck just to be able to see their funny faces.
The Ovnine landing field was one of the few docking ports on the planet of Korriban. As such, it received a large portion of the off-world traffic that occurred in the system. Keven considered himself lucky for this reason: many other Kushiban would likely never get the chance to see an alien, but he got to see them on a regular basis. Sometimes, after catching sight of him up on his crates, they would even stop to talk to him for a while. If he got really lucky then they would invite him to see the inside of their ship, or let him follow him to one of the establishments set up in town designed to accommodate large-folk, where he would spend the rest of the day listening to them tell stories amongst each other. Keven had never told anybody this, but it was his dream to one day hop into one of those spaceships himself and take off to see what other kind of interesting things there were out in the universe that he was missing out on. The stories the traders told would often light his imagination on fire and he could just see himself at the helm of a beautiful starship fending off pirates, or maybe transporting an important dignitary or criminal back to their home worlds. Or maybe one day he would become a space pirate himself, or maybe –
"Hey Trance!" A voice cut into Keven's reverie and he blinked out of his daydream in surprise, looking around for the source of the call. "Over here!" The voice said again, and Keven sat up from his reclined position to look behind him. The moment his eyes settled on the being who had called out to him, Keven's face broke out into a large grin. "Captain Belthrak!" he bounded off the crates to rush towards the tall red-skinned alien that had horns protruding out of the top of its head. "Welcome back to Korriban! I thought that landing ship looked like the Devil's Breath." Keven referred to the mid-sized freighter that belonged to the male Devaronian captain. "How long are you in the system for?"
Belthrak chuckled at the young Kushiban's enthusiasm and knelt down to give Keven a small scratch between the ears, an act that put the kit into a near state of bliss. "I'm afraid this visit is all business. We're just here to pick up a shipment and then we'll be on our way again."
Keven's tail drooped a little in disappointment, but he couldn't say that he was surprised. The crew members of the Devil's Breath were small independent traders that made their living by trafficking trade goods from the Outer Rim, like the high quality woven silk that the Kushiban produced, into the Inner Core of the Galaxy. This meant that the crew represented some of the more regular faces that stopped by the Korriban system, often frequenting a visit 2-3 times a year. Keven really enjoyed their visits because whenever they stopped for an extended period of time they would let him explore the ship and even sit with them so he could listen in on their stories as they visited the local sites. The stories that they told were some of the most interesting that Keven had ever heard. More than once he had been caught totally spacing out, lost in his imagination, after a particularly good tale. This was why they had started calling him 'Trance', and the Devil's Breath crew seemed to find this habit of his particularly amusing.
"The crew is just finishing loading the shipment aboard, and then I think we're going to take a moment to visit the Leafy Paw," Belthrak was referring to one of the only establishments in town that was set up to accommodate large-folk; it functioned as an inn, a cantina & restaurant, as well as a resupply storehouse. "If you want to you can tag along."
"Yeah!" Keven grinned to himself; this was why he loved hanging around the docking port!
...half an hour later…
The crew exploded into laughter at the expense of one of their crewmates. The large Wookie looked slightly put out to have the majority of his drink end up in his lap. "Raaawr rgaw," Jowurra made his displeasure known to the group. Keven grinned in spite of himself. Not only was the situation pretty funny, but he had actually been able to understand a bit of what the huge hairy beast in front of him had just said. His careful attention was beginning to pay off!
Just then the door opened at the end of the inn. The crewmates continued to cajole their friend, but Keven was no longer paying attention. Instead he found his eyes inextricably drawn to the radiant creature who stepped inside the entrance, accompanied by his father and the old medical doctor. Belthrak noticed the young Kushiban's stare and followed his gaze towards the door. An understanding grin lit upon the Devaronian's face and he leaned down to whisper into Keven's ear, "Now there's a pretty little kit, eh?" Keven didn't answer; in fact, he acted like he hadn't even heard. Siren, the human female who was sitting at the other end of the table, noticed the exchange and smirked. "Looks like Trance has found something to space out on other than space stories," she remarked. "Huh?" Keven blinked out of his stupor and looked towards his adult friends at the sound of his nickname. When he noticed that they were all peering at him with smug grins on their faces, his nose and the inside of his long floppy ears promptly turned beat red. "W-w-what?!" he stammered, trying to save face.
It was at that moment that his father caught sight of the young Kushiban sequestered among the group of aliens. "Ah Keven, good, there you are! Could you come over here for a minute?" Neightan Ovnine called out to his son. For second Keven froze, immobile, until Belthrak let out a brief chuckle and patted him gently forward. "Go for it kid. We got to get out of here soon anyways." He shot a meaningful glance towards the rest of the crew. Keven nodded dumbly, half-hearing the captain's words, and started walking stiffly over to where his father was waiting with Erdict and the pretty female kit.
"Erdict I think you've met Keven before right?" Keven's father began to officiate, "Esuna, this is my third son, Keven. He's about your age, maybe a couple of seasons older. Keven, this is Esuna Nym. Her parents died a couple of months back, so Erdict has decided to become her guardian and has taken her on as an apprentice as well."
Keven gaped. To be taken in as Erdict's apprentice was a rare and special privilege that was not offered to many. It was common knowledge that Erdict had a special connection to the Great Spirit that Binds Everything Together, and that he could call upon and borrow its power. Keven couldn't help but wonder if Esuna had that gift too.
"Pleased to meet you!" A furry hand thrust its way towards his body. Keven blankly looked at it for a second. Then his thoughts caught up with him, and he realized the young girl was still waiting for a response. He peeked cautiously upward, and was completely taken aback by the genuine enthusiasm that was radiating from her smiling face and crystal green eyes. Her warmth was contagious, and Keven couldn't help but give a small smile back of his own as he reached out to touch her hand, "Yes, nice to meet you."
"See you next season Trance!" Belthrak's voice boomed out across the room. Keven spun a look over his shoulder to see the crewmembers of the Devil's Breath exiting the building, on the way back to their ship. A few of them gave him a brief wave, which Keven responded to in kind, and Belthrak winked slyly at him before ducking out the door.
"Trance?" Esuna asked a puzzled look on her face. Keven could feel his whiskers go warm. "It's their nickname for me," he explained. Then he was struck by an idea. "Hey! Have you ever watched a ship take off from the landing field before?"
Esuna shook her head.
"Do you want to see it happen?"
The female kit looked up at Erdict for permission, who gave her an indulgent nod. "I'll come and get you when we are done," he said, indicating that he and Neightan had more to discuss before his work at the docking port was finished.
"Come on then!" Keven quickly grabbed Esuna's hand and led her out the door.
The two kits rushed out towards the edge of the landing field and clambered up onto another pile of crates, which gave the most excellent view of the docked ships. The crew of the Devil's Breath was already prepping for takeoff. As they watched from the boxes Keven explained to Esuna what the crew was doing, walking her through the launch preparation process step by step. Finally the crew was done, and the two Kushiban watched in awe and wonder as the huge freighter rose up off the ground and began to ascend in the air. The spaceship was soon out of sight as it got lost in the haziness of the upper atmosphere.
"That was so cool," Esuna breathed.
Keven nodded, and a determined look came on his face, "One day that will be me up there."
"You want to leave Korriban?" Esuna crouched down on all fours and stared up at him in surprise. Obviously such an outlandish thought had never even crossed her mind.
"No, it's not that I want to leave. …" Keven fumbled for the right explanation. "It's just that, well, that there might be so much out there for me to experience. Who knows what adventurers could be up there in the stars? I watch the spaceships take off and I get this feeling of excitement and anticipation, like some day I want that to be me."
"Hmmm, I think I know what you mean. I think I feel that way whenever I watch Erdict borrows the power of the Great Spirit that Binds Everything Together. The wounds he treats close up so quickly and neatly it's like magic! One day I really want to be like him," Esuna sighed wistfully as she turned her head to watch the smoke from the fires in town curl up lazily into the sky.
Movement from the entrance of the Leafy Paw caught Keven's attention and he watched as the old Kushiban doctor emerged from the building. "There's Eridct. Looks like he's ready to go," Keven remarked even as Erdict caught sight of them and proceeded to give a beckoning wave. Esuna peered over in the same direction before standing up, "I guess I better get going then. It was nice to meet you Keven," she gave him a cute grin, and hopped gracefully down off the crates. Turning back around towards Keven she said, "Let's do this again!"
"… Uh yeah! Let's do this again! You can come and visit anytime!" Keven offered eagerly, after a moment of speechlessness.
Esuna giggled, "You can come and visit me anytime you want too!" She gave him one last encouraging grin and then bounded off towards Erdict. Keven gazed after her in admiration. The light from the setting sun really brought out the silver in her fur.
