A/N: I think I am still exploring the establishing of force bonds and the separation of the bonded. Anyway, more back story. Celia Durasha is not an original character of mine, by the way, but from Tales of the Empire or Tales of the Republic - something like that. I wrote another two stories with her and Choquet D'Var's half brother in case anyone is interested.
Chapter One – Coming of Age
Morning did not exist on Nar Shaddaa.
At least, not the true morning of fire and purple against the horizon as the sun rose over the shadowed forests of Lankashiir. For Perin Durasha, that would always be morning to him, not mere digits changing on a chronometer. On Nar Shaddaa, there was not sunrise, merely the floating city orbiting into view of Nal Hutta's sun.
Still, certain things denoted morning, even without the sunrises and with the chronometer. Waking up with a hangover, for example. Not remembering the events of eight hours before, for another.
Perhaps the ultimate sign was waking up beside a teenaged female Mistryl, her long hair messy and draping over his chest while her forehead pressed into the crook of his neck. Both her arms hugged his torso, not allowing him to move.
Panic flooded his brain and he blinked, taking a hasty inventory. Good. Clothes still on. As much as he prided his scoundrel reputation and as much as he liked her, he knew it would break her heart if they did anything along that line.
Eitn Leesra still held on to that pearl of belief, of hope that Choquet D'Var would find her once again.
Memory quirked.
Yesterday was Eitn's birthday. They'd gone to Shug Ninx's garage where their grizzled friend surprised the young Mistryl with a party. Now that she was legal, the drink flowed like never before. And just this once, Perin didn't attempt to complain or prevent Eitn from imbibing.
He at least backed off from the Wookiee alcohol and remained sober enough to drag Eitn home at about 0300.
Taking the keycard from her pocket, Perin slid it through the door scanner. When it hissed open, he hauled the near-comatose Mistryl through. Her apartment looked lived in, not overly cluttered but not the cleanest. Only one room and a refresher; the kitchenette, fold-out cot, and a bedraggled couch were all in the same area. This part of Nar Shaddaa boasted cheap living space of the miniscule variety.
Continuing inside, the Lankashiirian hefted Eitn onto the cot, stood straight, worked the kinks out of his back. His surroundings swam before his eyes and he swayed, managing to sit on the cot next to her rather than collapse to the cheap carpet. "Stang, where did Draygo get Whyren's Reserve? That vintage should be illegal…" he muttered, shifting his weight, then froze as Eitn rolled over.
"Choc?"
Realizing she was still asleep, Perin didn't have the heart to correct her. Not after the last time this happened. "Yeah? Eitn?" He watched as she lifted her head off the pillow. Even if she was lucid enough to talk, she probably couldn't see what with being drunk and the apartment's low lighting.
This must have been the case because her hands reached up, grasped the collar of his shirt and yanked him down next to her. Digging her nose into his neck, she sighed, arms wrapping around him, her alcohol-laced breath wafting up into his face. "Don't leave, Choc. It wasn't your fault. Is that why you're leaving?" She hugged him tighter. "Choc, it's okay, really…I can still see."
"Eitn, it's all right…"
A warm liquid trickled down his neck, soaked the collar of Perin rough shirt. Eitn's body shook, muffling her sobs against him, and her hands grasping fistfuls of his leather jacket. "Choc, don't. Please. I'll stop stealing your vibroshiv, I swear! Just let me stay by you."
Perin did the only thing he could in his position and ran his fingers through her hair, working apart the braids so it was free and tangled to the touch. "It's okay, Eitn," he shushed her, ignoring the guilt he felt. Normally, the Lankashiirian would have tried to avoid this contact, but the last time she was like this, her cries could be heard all night, even through the metal walls that separated their apartments.
Gradually, her sobs subsided, though her embrace did not. Her tears took a bit longer and she still sniffled now and then. Perin dropped off soon after, unable to move without waking her.
Now, as he gazed into Eitn's sleeping face, noting the pleasant curves of her ears, the smoothness of her skin and the pleasant contrast between it and the cinnamon waves of her hair. Across her left eye, a patch hid most of a scar that crossed from middle forehead to left cheekbone. It did not detract much from her looks but added a bit of impishness to her features.
Perin admitted to himself she was beautiful. He had taken the charge to protect her seriously and had done so over the past two years. While the Lankashiirian became good friends with the young Mistryl, he kept his feelings restricted to an older brother type affection for her. He hated it more than anything when she cried like she had last night.
9191919
Shug Ninx's garage was a land of mechanical wreckage and marvel. From magnetic clamp on the ceiling hung remains of ships. The nose of an X-Wing, the left flight panel from a Tie-Intecepter, and half of an ancient Sorosuub freighter were among the many over the heads of the dozen mechanics crawling over the ships below.
Near the far wall, the Wounded Marnock rested, an R4 unit performing diagnostics on its port engine. While Eitn strode that way, Perin spotted Shug Ninx attending to a sleek Firespray class freighter and went over to talk to him. The mechanic sparked the welding torch and played it over a loose bolt, the fierce blue light bright in his dark goggles. Waiting for him to finish, the Lankashiirian let his gaze wander over the ship.
Freshly painted a glossy black, the Firespray appeared an eighth larger than the older Firespray 31 patrol and attack craft. Above the cockpit and around the perimeter, five maneuvering jets were set into the sides. As for the large tail, instead of twin blaster cannons, a pair of quad lasers flanked either side of the end, set for 360-degree y axis rotation. From the way the light glistened off certain lines on the metal surface, Perin guessed there were a few more surprises within her. Across the side of the ship on the copilot side, silver letters spelled out the name: Togorian Phoenix.
Just to look brought an itch to touch it and Perin passed a hand lightly over the side. "Wow…" he murmured.
"Like it?"
Turning, Perin coughed in surprise. "Aunt Celia?!"
With a short laugh, the short, scarlet-haired woman embraced him, the top of her head barely reaching his chin. "How are you, Perin? The last time I saw you was, what…on Ord Mantell?"
A sheepish grin falling across his face, the younger Lankashiirian broke away and rubbed his hand along the side of his neck. "Oh, yeah. That time." He felt the skin under his fingertips heat up as he blushed.
Her emerald eyes narrowed with an amused smirk. "So, does your lady friend know about your 'souvenir?'" she prodded, tilting her head to where Eitn chattered with a group of mechanics and pilots clustering around the Wounded Marnock.
By the way Perin's grin melted, Celia immediately realized she had said the wrong thing.
Throwing a glance over toward the young Mistryl, the pirate bit his lip. "Uh, can I talk to you?" He motioned at the Firespray. "In private?"
One of her eyebrows arched. "Ah. Why do I detect an ominous aura surrounding that statement?" Her gaze glinted, a fragment of steel appearing. "I do hope my nephew has been a gentleman…"
"No fear." Perin followed her up the ramp.
The interior of the ship was sparse, possessing only necessary amenities to free up more cargo space. For the same reason, the cages and holding cells customary to the Firespray class had been removed as well. Stacks of cargo containers and cylinders littered the hold. "Oh, I see you've been doing well for yourself," he remarked.
"Yes. The Freedom Alliance has us flying escort and smuggling both." Celia nudged two containers together and sat down on one, her black dewback-hide jacket squeaking. "Have a seat." Reaching down, she opened a footlocker and pulled out two bottles of Elba water. "So, Perin, what's new?"
The young Lankashiirian cracked the seal on the bottle she gave him and took an extended draught. "Well, you know back when Coruscant fell?"
"How could I forget?" Wincing, Celia also drank deep. "Imril lost his parents and sister in that attack."
"Sorry, I didn't know." After a respectful silence, Perin continued. "I was on Coruscant that day, too. While the Imps were picking over the remains of the Jedi Temple, I snuck on site in typical arrogant overlord disguise, scared off two techs, and downloaded about half of the library archives and destroyed the rest."
With a chuckle, Celia nodded. "Sounds like something your father would do."
"After that, I bugged out. A few dozen blocks away, this freighter lands right next to me. Guess who was on board?"
Celia shrugged.
"Did Uncle Imril tell you he had a brother?"
Her look of astonishment was priceless.
"Choquet D'Var. He knew how you met Imril and his nickname in the Imperial Fleet. Went on to say he was Imril's illegitimate brother."
Shaking her head, Celia grinned. "So I have a half brother-in-law? Better than a full one, I suppose. What's he like?"
"Abrupt. Blond-reddish hair. Tanned. Tall. Looked ex-Imperial."
"Wow," His aunt leaned back, stretching out her legs. "That seems to run in both our families. Imril defected, I defected, this Choquet defected. I had no idea I was related to so many do-gooders."
"Anyway, he was traveling with her," went on Perin, motioning through the ramp opening at Eitn, the young Mistryl climbing on top of the Wounded Marnock. "She was unconscious so he told me to fly her to Nar Shaddaa and lay low for awhile."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
Celia stared at him. "Why?"
"Hey." Perin shrugged. "If you were a guy and someone asked you to take care of a young, beautiful Mistryl, wouldn't you? I admit I thought I had a chance at first, but then…" Drawing a hand over the side of his jaw, the younger Lankashiirian shook his head "It seems like there's something missing inside her. I know that sounds dumb, but it's true."
The woman dug her fingers into her shoulder and kneaded the muscle there. "Huh. Interesting."
"And from one of the guys who knew him and actually copiloted the 'Marnock once or twice told me someone told him that he's Force sensitive."
"The copilot?"
"No. Choc."
"So you think the Mistryl kid's attraction is a Force thing?"
Chuckling ruefully, Perin raised an eyebrow. "Dunno as she'd put it that way, but it's possible. Not that I'm an expert." The memory of Eitn's tears trickling down his collar sobered him and his jaw tightened.
Celia chucked her empty bottle down the ramp and watched it bounce out into the bay. A passing smuggler glanced down as it tapped against his boots and kicked it out of the way. "What about the records you stole?"
"Stole?!" Perin's voice rose to indignant squeak level.
"Rescued, then," amended his aunt. "Do you still have them?"
"No, when I met the copilot, he was part of the Freedom Alliance. He was on friendly terms with a Republic senator and assured me he could get the data into Jedi hands."
Her jacket creaking, Celia shifted on the container. She shot him a knowing glance and did not say anything. Silence stretched between them.
Then, from an inner pocket, Perin took a handful of datachips and jingled them in his palm. "I really am a scoundrel," he mused, turning over one or two. "But I did give them a better deal than usual, so I was entitled. And I did keep the data out of the hands of Evil Sith Overlords."
"Think of it as a medal for your actions, eh?" From a pouch in her belt, Celia produced a slim datapad and switched it on. "Copies of Jedi Jargon and History in exchange for depriving Emperor Xarkun of bedtime reading material."
"Get comfy," warned her nephew. "This could take hours." He got up and poked his head out of the ship. Across the way, Eitn stood on top of the Wounded Marnock, rubbing the corrosion off the microwave dish. As he watched, the young Mistryl dodged a rag thrown up at her from a mechanic and stuck out her tongue. "Well, that'll give a few aspiring young men enough time to get their hearts broken by a female Mistryl with the looks of a goddess and personality of Sparkling Lankashiirian Cider."
A/N: Well, what do you think? Good so far? Choc will leave Yavin IV in the next chapter. I am still unsure as to where he will go, however. This chapter dedicated to the Eitn fans.