Scut: Chapter 1

34 ABY

The Yuuzhan Vong War had been over for about five years now. And yet Viull Gorsat, nicknamed Scut, much to his human mother's chagrin, would still be looked upon as an enemy of the galaxy if he ever stepped outside his adoptive family's apartment on Coruscant without his ooglith masquer on.

Which was why almost all he ever did on an average day like this was lock himself in his room and focus on his studies, which was what he was doing right now. His ooglith masquer was off as he studied for the science test that would take place at the end of the week, and his bedroom window was closed so that no passerby in airspeeders would sneak a peek through to find a Yuuzhan Vong still on Coruscant. After all, all of them, notably the shapers who remained behind to help the Galactic Alliance repair the damage that the late Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane had left prior to his death all those years ago, were supposed to have be on the living world of Zonama Sekot, if not altogether dead, as most of the galaxy's citizens wanted even to this day.

Especially the Bothans, Scut thought in between reading his notes. Especially that blasted True Victory Party. Even after his kind was defeated and Shimrra's rule had been put to an end, shouldn't the Galactic Alliance have officially disbanded that party and made it illegal for anyone to continue being part of that in their drive to exterminate the Yuuzhan Vong, or something along those lines?

Even with those thoughts, and the content of his studies, Scut couldn't help but think of the one person who he felt would be a special friend of his.

~o~

Earlier today in school, in history class, whose overall curriculum covered the years from the Trade Federation crisis on Naboo all the way to the end of the Galactic Civil War, one of the students, a male Bothan by the name of Krant Yer'la, a student who Scut never got along with disguised as a human, rudely asked the teacher why she wouldn't talk about the Yuuzhan Vong War, interrupting her lecture in the process. The teacher told Krant that until the day that the Coruscant Board of Education would allow her to teach the events of the recent war in the class, she would not talk about that war. She obviously had personal issues of even casually bringing up the war like Krant did from the way her voice actually had some sad inflection by what Scut could tell; given that the teacher, Miss Borra, was an elder Ithorian, she obviously grieved for the death of her homeplanet that occurred within the opening months of the invasion.

But Krant wouldn't leave it at that. Abruptly, he actually stood up on his desk and loudly proclaimed, "None of us should cower before the might of the Galactic Alliance when they're protecting the enemy that nearly destroyed us years ago! Least of all you, Miss Borra! Why do you not cry out vengeance for your people, your planet, after all the Vong did!"

"Krant, settle down and return to your seat," Miss Borra said in a calm yet durasteel-firm voice.

"Not until the Yuuzhan Vong have been exterminated, Miss Borra!" Krant loudly proclaimed. "Not until they've paid down to the last of each of their individuals' lives! They must be wiped out for the good of the galaxy! Or else they could return in full force! Even that planet they're on and all other sympathizers, like little ol' goody-two-shoes Viull over there, are detained and faced with punishments for even siding with the enemy!"

Scut felt uncomfortable with being mentioned like that, but not a whole lot of students looked to him; their attention, for better or worse, was focused back on Krant.

"Krant, sit down or I will have to report you to the principal's office!" Borra said even more firmly.

"You can order me around!" Krant pointed to his teacher. "But you can't keep down the True Victory Party! In spite of all that you have put upon us, we will find Zonama Sekot and the Yuuzhan Vong, we will destroy them, and then, and only then, will we win!"

Krant was shortly after sent to the principal's office, and no one ever saw him until after the end of school just a couple hours later. By then, Scut was leaving through the main entrance, the very last student in the building to be leaving since he was having some extra help with his homework with his mathematics teacher. But after he was outside, he had been tackled from the side and pinned to the wall just beside the entrance door by Krant.

"I know about your little secret, Gorsat!" Krant growled in his false face.

Scut's eyes widened considerably. "Huh?!"

"You know what I'm talking about, don't play stupid with me! I announced it to the whole class, you little pathetic Vong-lover!"

Inwardly, Scut exhaled in relief; if that's all that Krant knew about him, then his cover was fine. But outwardly, his masqued face changed from shock to annoyance.

"I don't love the Yuuzhan Vong, you idiot," Scut replied firmly. "But you shouldn't hate them as much as you do. It's pointless now. The Vong are now in a part of the galaxy where they can't hurt anybody, not even themselves. No one but those Ferroans have to see them anymore. You and the rest of those in parties like the True Victory Party should just drop it and move on with the rest of galactic civilization."

Krant's face contorted in rage before he smacked Scut across the face, sending him sprawling on the ground. As he tried to push himself back up, Krant then kicked him in the ribs and sent him crashing into the durasteel wall of the school behind him before he collapsed to the ground again. The Bothan then knelt down beside the disguised Yuuzhan Vong and turned him on his back, leaning in to punch him.

But Scut grabbed the incoming fist and used his free hand to smack Krant right in his muzzle before shoving the Bothan off of him. While Krant was distracted with the pain in his snout, Scut took the time to quickly push himself to his feet and turned tail to run away.

"Get back here, Vong-lover!" Krant called out before he pushed himself to his feet and gave chase to Scut.

It was a short pursuit as the Bothan chased the disguised Vong child across the artificial playground that was still part of the school property before Krant caught up to Scut and tackled him to the ground on his back. The Bothan then smacked an elbow in between Scut's shoulder blades, causing the Yuuzhan Vong to cry out in pain before Krant smacked him in the back of the head, slamming his the front of his head into the ground. The ooglith masquer took most of the impact, but it still caused a throbbing pain in Scut's forehead.

Krant then turned Scut onto his back again and then punched him several times in the gut before the Bothan was eventually kicked in the side of his head by a human male child of both Scut and Krant's age. The Bothan fell away from Scut before immediately pushing himself to his feet and staring back at his attacker.

"What do you think you're doing, Leniad?" Krant asked the boy.

"Defending Viull from you, obviously," the human boy replied as he stared down Krant.

"Stay out of this," Krant responded defensively. "This is none of your business."

"It is my business when you're bullying the boy I love!" Leniad replied.

Both Scut and Krant looked at Leniad in surprise. "Y-you mean you're gay?" Krant asked, perplexed.

"Somethin' wrong with that?" Leniad retorted with a menacing tone.

"Um... not really," Krant answered nervously.

"Of course it's not," Leniad replied. "But you know what is wrong?"

"What?"

"Bullying Viull," Leniad answered. "Now I'll tell you this one last time. Leave. Him. Alone." His glaring stare helped reinforce his words.

Hesitant, Krant relented after several seconds. "All right," he nodded. "I'll leave him alone. Uh, can I leave now?"

"Be my guest," Leniad politely waved to the playground's exit, as if he didn't just imply a threat of committing any further physical harm on Krant's person.

And with that, Krant left without any further trouble.

"What's this about you loving me, Leniad?" Scut asked as the human boy helped him to his feet.

"Eh, I just figured it might've scared him away a little quicker," Leniad answered nonchalantly once Scut was fully on his feet again. "If I said I loved you, he would have gotten the idea in his head not to mess with either of us; after all, if you know anything about Bothans like I do, Viull, you'd know that when they love each other, they'll do anything to protect their significant other."

"Oh," Scut said with a neutral nod and tone in his voice. "Well, I guess that makes sense."

"Well, you're welcome," Leniad said with an expectant tone.

"Oh, right, I forgot," Scut replied with a titter. "Thanks for helping me out."

"Hey, no problem," Leniad replied as he clasped hands with the disguised Yuuzhan Vong. "So whaddya say to lunch?"

Scut suppressed the urge to commence the action that would have raised one of the two eyebrows that made up his ooglith masquer. Is he asking me out? his first thought was. But then he decided to put it down to Leniad simply asking for lunch as a newfound friend. They seemed to be hitting it off as pals quite well so far in what few things they've said to each other so far in the entirety that they passively noticed each other in the hallways of school and in classes.

"Yeah, sure," Scut replied simply, still shaking Leniad's hand. "Tomorrow."

Leniad nodded with a friendly smile. "I'm buying. My treat."

"Well, my mother makes me lunch, so you don't really have to buy me anything, Leniad," Scut pointed out.

"That's okay, I'll still get you something," Leniad said. "If you want, of course," he added a couple seconds later.

Scut made a wry face. "Considering the food in the cafeteria, I think you'd do better for me if you just save your lunch money for yourself."

Leniad laughed at that, and Scut giggled with him. "All right, all right, I hear ya. But the offer's still on the table if you ever want me to buy you something."

"You're talking like I haven't accepted your lunch proposal yet," Scut pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "I will join you; all it boils down to is, you don't have to get me anything."

"What?" Leniad asked with wonderment. Then a dawning of realization came over his face. "Oh, yeah, right. Of course. Like I said, your decision. So... I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"At lunch, like you said," Scut reminded him.

"Great," Leniad said with a smile before turning to leave. "Later."

"Later," Scut waved as he watched Leniad's departing form.

It was strange the way Leniad spoke to him about lunch, Scut thought as he took his leave out of the school property. Near the end of their short conversation, Scut somehow got a sense that Leniad wasn't talking about lunch when he said that he'd buy something for him.

~o~

During dinnertime, Scut's adoptive family ate in a peaceful silence that didn't seem awkward while the Yuuzhan Vong, his ooglith masquer off, thought about his encounter with Leniad today.

"Something on your mind, Viull?" his father, Dr. Mulus Cheems, asked him, breaking the silence.

"No, Father, nothing is on my mind right now other than my studies," Scut lied before he dug back into his meal again.

Mulus smiled. "Viull, I know when you're lying. So spill it; what happened today?"

After Scut swallowed his food, he sighed in defeat before looking to his father. "Well, I met this guy today. Really nice. I think I might be friends with him."

Mulus nodded with a smile. "Well, that's good, Viull." He then looked to his wife beside him. "Isn't that good, honey? Viull is finally branching socially and meeting new friends."

"My, that is good for you, sweetie," Scut's adoptive mother said to her Yuuzhan Vong son in response. "So what's his name."

"Uh, Leniad," Scut replied.

"Leniad?" Mulus asked.

"Yeah," Scut nodded.

"Why, I've heard of him," Mulus said. "I'm friends with his mom. He talks about him all the time. Good kid from what I hear."

"Yeah, he definitely is," Scut said while his thoughts wandered away from the dinner table.