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Uleanna was the first one to hear the approaching footsteps over the rubble. She looked up and scream, "Auntie!" Andriel automatically stood in a ready position crouch. The first attacker tried to grab her with both his arms. She easily slapped one arm into the other with her left hand, and jabbed him just below the ribcage with her right. Knocking the air right out of him, forcing him to double up. Because she was standing on lower ground, she followed through by bringing her right elbow up, into his face. Causing him to keel over on his back, hitting his head as he fell backwards.
The other two attackers slowed their approach, thinking to try and coordinate their attack. Andriel step back to get onto higher ground, and told Uleanna to get a safe distance behind her. Uleanna saw that what her aunt did was no accident, so she gave her aunt room, and started picking up stones. There was no way she was going to leave her aunt to take on the two remaining attackers without her help. When they were close enough, Uleanna started throwing stones at one of the attackers. This attacker considered the stone thrower to be the more serious threat and started running towards Uleanna. Andriel was able to do a quick sidestep, and swept his feet out from under him, causing him to do a nasty face plant in the rubble. The other attacker thought this was his chance, and he lunged at Andriel. Andriel grabbed his arm and used his momentum to throw him over her shoulder, were he landed softly on his companion, who was getting up after his face plant. Uleanna had run to one side so that her aunt was between her and them. The two would be attackers, had the fight knocked out of them. They slowly got to their feet keeping a wary eye on Andriel. They went over to their companion who was still sprawled on his back, and dragged him away from this dangerous lady. After they were a safe distance away, Andriel and Uleanna picked up all the potato nodules they had dug up, and left the rest of the plants untouched. They quickly left the wasteland, in case the scavengers went for reinforcements, or their fighting attracted other scavenger groups.
There were a couple of people who had watched the whole thing. When they were sure everyone had cleared out of the area, they came out of their hiding place, and went over to see what the two red people were up to. They dug up the rest of the plants that the red people had been digging up. They gathered up all the plant nodules that they found, and headed to the house they saw the two red people enter. They dumped everything on the sidewalk beside the doorway, and started banging on the doorframe with the palms of their hands, to attract the attention of the people inside.
When they got home, Uleanna ran into the kitchen, looking for grandmother. She dumped what she had in her hands on the kitchen table, and started telling grandmother how they were attacked by three scavengers, and how Aunt Andriel had fought them off with her bare hands. When Andriel came into the kitchen. Uleanna stop her animated description, and went up to her aunt and begged Andriel to teach her how she can defend herself.
Grandmother asked her how she knew to do what she did. Grandmother was understandably suspicious. Andriel told them that someone tried to rape her once, but she was able to escape by using the move that her mother had taught her. Andriel demonstrated the move, and grandmother recognised the move, as something her mother had taught her, but because they lived in a peaceful city, and no-one had ever attacked a Devaronian woman, she had failed to teach her daughter. Andriel told them that she was lucky that the only move she knew worked. The first chance she had after that, she enrolled in a self-defence course for women. She wanted to be better prepared the next time something like that happened. Grandmother accepted her explanation. She told Andriel that if she wanted to teach Uleanna, she had her permission. Andriel told them that she was not a good teacher, if she did teach Uleanna, Uleanna would need to find someone to practise with, because if she practised with her, she would hurt Uleanna, because she does not know how to do the moves without hurting someone. Grandmother asked her how she practised, if she did not know how not to hurt someone. She told them that the person she practices with, who is now her instructor, wears a special practise suit, the same as she does. There is still a chance that they can be injured, but it is very small. They do end up bruised more times than she could care to remember. Uleanna told her that Matrucy would be a good practise partner for her.
Before anyone could reply, they heard the banging on their front doorway. Andriel went first, followed by Uleanna and grandmother. Andriel stepped through the doorway, while Uleanna and grandmother stuck their heads through it. The pathetic creatures Andriel faced, pleaded for her help. They showed her that they had dug up what remained of the plants she was interested in. They had seen the three men attack her, and knew that she could protect them from the three, and from others. They are weak and they are starving. She is their only hope.
The other Devaronian women who lived on the square, had heard the banging, and where peeking out their front doors wondering what was going on. After looking carefully, Andriel was able to determine that one is female, the other is male. Andriel looked at grandmother, and mentioned that they did make a payment for their help. Grandmother asked Andriel if she is sure those things are edible. Andriel told her that they are supposed to be, if you cook them until they soften.
Grandmother said that they could come in. They both started to enter the house, but Andriel grabbed the guy by the arm, trying not to hurt him. She told him that this is a dress shop. Men are not allowed to walk through it. He would have to walk around to the back of the house. They could smell that these two had not bathed in a very long time. In the kitchen, grandmother, Andriel, and Uleanna, placed pots of water on the stove top to bring them to a boil. Andriel told Uleanna to let the guy in the back door. Andriel filled two cups with their breakfast broth, and gave one to each of them. Warning them that it is very hot, they would have to sip it carefully. The two humans thought they had been handed the elixir of life, after their first sip. Andriel took some of the potato nodules off of the kitchen table, washed them and placed them in the smallest pot to cook. The couple told them their story. They were newlyweds when the invasion happened. The husband was able to hide his wife and himself from the invading troopers. Their livelihood, the electronics they purchased, was destroyed. They were able to fend for themselves, the first year. Then those three found them. Two of them held him while the third raped his wife before his eyes. They all took their turn raping her, threatening harm to the husband, if she did not cooperate. They controlled the amount of food they ate, by only giving food to the wife. He weakened quickly to the point that they no longer had to hold him while they raped her. Recently, food had become so scares, that they had even stopped sharing their food with her. The other day they had found a place, where they thought they could hide safely. So that night, when they went to sleep, the couple stole all of the food they could find, which were only a few crumbs, and went and hid in their hiding place. Those three men had been looking for them, when they stumbled upon the two young ladies, and decided to take them as their pets instead.
Uleanna was angry that someone wanted to make a pet out of her. Andriel told her to calm down, there are always bad people out there, who don't care who they hurt, for their own sick pleasure. They told them about digging up the plants they had left behind, to show that they are not bad people. They just needed some help. After they finished their cups of broth, it was evident that they wanted another. Andriel asked grandmother if it was safe to give them anymore, they did not want to overload their weakened systems. Grandmother thought one more cup would be safe, so Andriel poured them each another. When the water started boiling, they added it to the tub, and asked the lady if the bath water was a comfortable temperature for her. She had not had a bath in such a long time that she could not take the water too hot. They ended up adding some cold water, to cool it down. When she thought it was good she stripped out of her clothes, and with their help, climbed into the tub. Andriel had at first thought of boiling the clothes, to kill anything that might be living in them. But when she felt how flimsy they were, she knew they would fall apart if she tried. Grandmother suggested that it would be best to take them outside and burn them. Andriel decided that she would have to make something quickly for both of them, since his clothes were no better. She went into the workshop and selected a material that did not feel rough to the touch, but was durable. She basically sewed two rectangular pieces of the material together. Leaving one head hole and two arm holes. The tunics would reach down to their knees. She also sewed two colourful sashes for each of them. One light green, and the other was purple. This way, they could tie it around their waist, so it would resemble clothing, and not a sack. Uleanna was kept busy constantly adding hot water to the tub, because it seemed to cool down quite quickly. When she finished her bath, they helped her out of the tub, and helped her dry off, then she put on the outfit Andriel had sewn for her. She chose the light green sash. Uleanna checked the temperature of the bath water, it felt considerably warmer, than when the lady first climbed in. The man was not shy about undressing in front of the women. He had endured enough shame in his life, and they were helping him, not hurting him. He needed their help to climb into the tub, and had to ease his way into the water, because it felt too hot for him, but he did not want to say anything, because they did not add any water when his wife came out. Once he had finally settled into the tub, he found the water quite bearable. Grandmother checked the pot with the cooking roots in them, they were still firm. She asked Andriel, how long did they need to cook? Andriel told her she did not know. She only knew they would be ready when they are soft. Uleanna took his clothes and added them to his wife's. Once she got a fire going, she piled the clothes on top of the fire. It might have been her imagination, but she swore she saw little things crawl out of the clothes, only to be consumed by the fire. Matrucy came over and asked her what she was doing. Both she and her mother wanted to know what was happening over at their house. Uleanna was staring at the clothes, mesmerized by the flames, so she told her that she was burning some dirty clothes. Matrucy usually found her friend more forthcoming with information. She asked her, why she was doing that? Uleanna told her that they were too soiled to be worn again. Matrucy grabbed her friend and shook her. Who are those two strangers in your house? Uleanna looked at her friend, wondering why she shook her, and told her that they had come to Aunt Andriel for help, after they saw her defend herself, from three men who attacked her.
Matrucy's head started spinning, first she would not give any information, and now she gave two much at once. She wanted to run home and tell her mother what she just heard, but she also wanted to know more.
"Wait did you just say three men attacked your aunt? And she was able to defend herself?"
"You should have seen it. The first guy tries to grab her with his two hands. She just swatted them aside like they were nothing. Then she punches him in the gut, making him double over. She then smacked him in the face with her elbow, making him fall over backwards. He must have hit his head when he fell, because he did not get back up. Aunt Andriel promised me she would teach me what she knows, if you will agree to be my practise partner."
Matrucy ran home and asked her mother if it was okay for her to be Uleanna's practise partner, so that Auntie could teach them what she knows?
Her mother looked at her daughter like she had just come from another world.
"What do you mean what she knows? Did you find out who those people in her house are?"
"Oh they saw three men attack aunt Andriel, but she was able to defend herself, so they asked her for help, and Uleanna said her aunt promised to teach her what she knows, if I can be her training partner. Please, mother!"
Matrucy's mother grabbed her by the arm, this wasn't making any sense to her. She dragged her outside so that they could both talk with Uleanna, only she wasn't there. The clothes had finished burning, so she went back inside. All that was left was a small pile of smoldering ashes. Matrucy's mother wasn't sure what to do next. Was it polite to knock on the door, to ask them about the strangers? She really wanted to know. Finally she took up the courage, and knocked softly on the back door. She did not want to sound too forceful. Grandmother opened the door, when she saw who it was, she invited them in, and told them they were just in time. The roots were ready. She sat them down at the kitchen table, and put a plate in front of each of them. On the plate was this lumpy egg shaped root. Grandmother handed each of them a fork, and warned them it is hot. The two humans were sitting at the table with them. They both had a much smaller portion of the root on their plates. Matrucy's mother wasn't sure what she should do, and said hello to them. They smiled and said hello back, while they nibbled on the root. Matrucy's mother started nibbling too. It was quite a while since she had eaten anything with starch in it. She used her fork to dissect the root, to see if she could figure out what it is. Suddenly Andriel who had been standing there, nibbling on the root on her plate, puts her plate down on the table, and tells Uleanna that they forgot to bring the potato nodules inside. She heads to the front door, with Uleanna right behind her. When the two humans finished their piece of the root, grandmother tells them that the houses right across the square from them are empty. She did not think anyone would mind if they moved into one of them. They both got up and thanked grandmother for everything. Andriel and Uleanna came back into the kitchen, with their arms loaded with potatoes. The two humans thanked them for their help. They then said goodbye to Matrucy and her mother, than left through the back door. Andriel hands Matrucy's mother two of the medium sized roots. She tells her that if she cuts them into quarters, and plants them in the planter on her roof, they should each grow plants from them, and produce more of these nodules. They should be ready to be harvested in three or four months.
Matrucy's mother put her palms flat on the table, and asked, "Can someone please tell me, what is going on?" First there was silence, then the ladies started laughing. Grandmother and Andriel both looked at Uleanna. They had decided that she is the story teller of the family.
Uleanna told them that she had taken her aunt to the wasteland, to show her some plants that she had seen there, when she was looking after the children. "Aunt Andriel had often told her to keep a watch for other plants that might be edible. So she wanted to show her, in case they could eat them. As soon as her aunt saw them she started digging around them with her digging spoon, and finds some of these nodules. When she told me they were edible when cooked, I got down on my knees and started helping her dig up the plants. We were no as careful as we should have been. Three male scavengers spotted us, and wanted to do bad things to us. I heard some footsteps on the rubble, and looked up and screamed 'Auntie'. Aunt Andriel got up and stood in this stance." Uleanna got up from the table and took the stance. She then proceeded to demonstrate how her aunt had dispatched her first assailant.
Matrucy grabbed her mother's hand. "Please mother? Can I practise with Uleanna, so that I can learn to do that?"
"Hush child. She has not finished telling everything." Matrucy pouted, but did not interrupt Uleanna again.
Uleanna told them how the other two men became more cautious, and started to manoeuvre to attack Aunt Andriel at once. "I had picked up a pile of stones, and as soon as one of them came close enough, I started throwing stones at him. He did not like that at all. Instead of attacking Aunt Andriel, he started running for me." She then showed how Aunt Andriel had moved to intercept him, and knocked his feet out from under him. The other guy used that moment to attack her aunt. She than showed how her aunt flipped the guy over her body, like he was nothing, and how he landed on his buddy, whose face was all bloody, and was trying to get up, but was knocked flat again. They then helped each other up, but decided not to attack anymore. They went over to their friend who was still flat on his back, and dragged him away. "Aunt Andriel said we should pick up what we dug up, and leave before more bad people came. We came back home with our arms full. And I started telling grandmother about what Aunt Andriel had just done, and that I wanted her to teach me. Grandmother wanted to know how Aunt Andriel knew all this stuff. Aunt Andriel told her that a bad man had tried to rape her once, but she was able to get away, because of a move her mother taught her. After that, she wanted to learn more, and took a self-defence course for women. She is afraid to teach me because she does not know how to do what she does without hurting me. She thought that if I could practise with Matrucy, instead of her, she might be able to teach us." Uleanna stopped the story, because she thought she was finished.
The mother rolled her eyes, "What about the two humans?"
"Oh, I was about to come over and ask you if Matrucy could be my practise partner. When they came and banged on our front doorway. We all went out to see who was there. They had gathered all the roots we left behind. They told us that the three bad men wanted to hurt them too. They saw what Aunt Andriel did to them. And asked her to help them, and protect them. Since they brought payment, grandmother thought it would be all right. They smelt really bad, so we made them take a bath, and I burnt their stinky clothes. Aunt Andriel made them something real quick to wear, and we all tried eating the potatoes." Now she was sure she was finished.
"Are you saying, he just undressed in front of all of you?
Andriel replied, "He was too weak to get into the tub on his own. He had already suffered so much that he was not ashamed to ask for help."
"What are you going to do with them?"
"We don't know yet. They are both so weak, that they can't look after themselves. We will need to help them get their strength back, than we will have to think of something that they can do, so that they don't have a food debt. Maybe when the other elders come back, we will have to sit down and talk about it."
Matrucy's mother agreed. "You know that because you helped these two, others will come, looking for help."
Aunt Andriel looked sad, "I know, but we cannot just turn our backs on them, there must be some way that they can help us, after we help them."
Matrucy's mother agreed, it did not feel right not to help. They had all suffered so much, there must be a way to rebuild. That would benefit everyone.
The meeting with the Devaronian women went better than the transportation company representatives could have imagined. They were all elders in a new clan that was trying to rebuild their community. They had detailed information on all the families of the workers they employed. They were able to go over the name of each employee, and update their family status. It is going to be hard telling the employees that have lost their families, that there are no survivors.
The women were brave enough to ask, that when the men are told about their loss, that they be told that there are widows that were willing to take a new mate. This could help everyone to heal, after mourning their loss.
The reps saw this as a good strategy. It could help provide an anchor for their men. They had even provided a list of the widows, and their surviving family members. They also talked about scheduling time off for the men, who had families to come back to. The ladies thought that it was too dangerous for the men to try and make their way back to the community. They are not as patient as the women, and could end up in a situation where they might lose their lives. The women thought it would be best if they could establish a safe house in Old Town Factoryville, where they could be with their wives. It would be too dangerous to try and bring children. The transport people thought that would be a good compromise. The women promised that someone from the clan should be by, every seven to ten days, to get updated schedules, for men wanting to take time off, and for widowers wishing to meet with widows, to see if there could be a relationship.
The hardest part was to talk about the men who had given up waiting, and moved on, believing their wives and families dead. The elders told them that they just needed to know where these men currently live. The Devaronian clans have rules about this. It was better that the clans dealt with the situation, and then they would be informed of the outcome. The reps were more than happy to give the elders the information they requested. They were surprised that they had asked for the dates the men had stopped depositing their pay into the accounts they shared with their wife on Eriadu, and if they know whether or not the men had closed the accounts. They could give them the last date of the companies deposit to the old account, but they would not be able to determine the status of the account.
It was quite late when they were finally able to wrap up their meeting. They asked the women what arrangements they had made for accommodations. They were surprised to hear that there was no place for them to stay. Once they left the shuttle terminal, they would be forced to leave the security area, since they were not employed by the Ministry, or the Military. The representatives agreed to let one of them stay in each of their offices. They would be more comfortable than sleeping in an abandoned building. They had bathroom and shower facilities adjacent to each of their offices, and they could get a fresh cup of tea in the morning. The elders asked if it was okay that they not be divided up. They would rather stay together. The reps agreed, than argued amongst themselves about who had the most comfortable office. The elders interrupted them. They asked the first representative that they met that morning, if they could stay in his office, it was comfortable enough for them, and they knew where it is in the building. The reps agreed that this is the best solution.
Before leaving, the representative made sure that shuttle terminal security, knew that the three women would spend the night in his office, and that they had the support of all three transportation companies to be there. The security office said they understood, and would not interfere with the women. The women found the carpeted floor to be quite comfortable. It was nice to take a hot shower, then have a cup of hot tea first thing in the morning. When they arrived back at the truck depot, they were happy to find the porter droid, and all their supplies waiting there for them. When they went into the office to make sure that their transportation for themselves, the droid, and their supplies were paid for, they overheard the office manager complaining that he never had enough trucks, or drivers, to cover all the trips he needed. The elders asked him about that. He told them that he had trucks sitting idle, because he had no drivers for them. He could not get new drivers, because of the mountain of red tape involved, even if he could convince someone to move to Eriadu. The elder who would be opening the general store, asked the manager if it was possible to purchase a truck, and for that person to supply their own driver. Could they then subcontract the truck to him, bypassing all the red tape? The manager liked the idea. He asked them when they would be back. He wanted to look into it, and would like to discuss it with them, when he was sure of the details. They told him that one of them should be back in the next five to ten days. He told them that that was more than enough time for him to come up with sold details.
As they left the office heading to the trucks, the other two elders asked her, what is she thinking? She told them that they would be coming to Eriadu City on a regular basis for supplies, and their men would be traveling from Eriadu City to Old Town Factoryville, and back. "The wives of the working husbands have an excess amount of credits in their accounts that is not being used. If they invested it in the purchase of a truck, they would be paying themselves to transport their own supplies, since transportation was included in the cost. Plus their husbands would be paying them to transport them between cities. The transport company would also be paying them for the daily transportation of goods between the cities."
"What about a driver, and maintenance costs? Would the driver be allowed to stay in the security zone? Or would they have to spend the night outside."
"All good questions. First we need to find out about the cost before we can determine anything else."
They all agreed that it was something worth discussing with the other elders, when they made it back.
The Moff and his Secretary looked over the aerial images of Old Town Factoryville. They noticed an increase in activity in the area of the city controlled by the Nautolans, shortly after the contractor and his wife, left for Lianna. They had read in one of the reports that the Devaronian lady had an encounter with a young Nautolan male. The Moff did not see this as a coincidence. The reports from the sector patrols in that part of the city, state that the Nautolans have seized control of the waterfront, and are now fishing. The Nautolans, who were on the verge of starvation, are now a healthy community. It would not be long before they start reaching out to the communities near them. When they look at the most recent aerial images, there seems to be an increase in activity, in the area of the Devaronian community. The Moff and the Secretary, had read over the most recent reports, from the patrols in that area. One patrol had an encounter with a Devaronian female. Apparently the patrol leader had entered the workshop area of a dress shop, without permission from the seamstress, she had forced the patrol leader out of the workshop, informing them that men were not allowed in the workshop without permission. The patrol leaded recommended, that a patrol unit that has a female trooper, be transferred to the area, if they want a Trooper to enter the workshop without interference. The Moff and his Secretary had fun speculating, how an unarmed female, could force a patrol leader to retreat. The image they kept coming back to, was an angry grandmother with a broom. But that did not correspond to other reports that a young Devaronian female, who appeared in better health then the others, was galvanizing the community. Then there was the report from the quarter master's store that three Devaronian females from Old Town Factoryville, had come to the store to buy supplies. The Moff suggested the Secretary use one of his office underlings, to present this information to the Ministry officials. They are not allowed to make direct contact with the Devaronian community, or interfere with it in any way. Also notify the base commander in Old Town Factoryville, that he is to ensure that the Devaronian women get back to their community safely, but without letting the women know.
When the underling to the Moff's Personal Secretary, presented the information to the Ministry officials, they asked him how the Moff reacted to the knowledge that they had lost track of the Devaronian woman. The underling did not know, he was just given this information to present to them, and he also cautioned them on what they were not allowed to do. After he left, they asked for suggestions from their field man. He told them that he could set up an observation post in the same place as she had, the last time she was there. Only he would use more powerful equipment, and could establish a real time link to their office. He would not stay at the observation post, as he could operate the equipment remotely. That would ensure that they follow the directive, not to make contact or interfere with the community in anyway. The only other option would be to send in a surveillance droid, but then they would risk making contact. They agreed that for the present, the observation post was the best option.
When the elders arrived in the truck compound, in Old Town Factoryville, the porter Droid complained, that it was not able to carry all three of their bags because they would cover its optical sensors, making it impossible for it to walk through all the rubble. The elders had to repack the bags, trying to place the heaviest items in the two bags that the droid would be carrying. Two of them would have to carry the third bag, with them all taking a turn so that one of them was always resting, while they were walking, they could not afford, to not keep up, with any patrol they followed, or they would become prey to the street gangs.
Chitrah found that more of the male friends, of the secretary and her female friends, were joining them for dinner, and any activities they did afterwards. He felt that they were trying to analyse his every move. He casually mentioned to a couple of them in passing, that what they needed to know was found in their heart, not their head. Only one of the men from the group pulled him aside, and asked him to explain what he meant, when he spoke to the other guys. "It seems obvious to me, that the women have told you that they like the way I interact with them. I don't think about how I should treat them. I care about each one of them, and I let my heart decide my actions. That is what they are responding to."
"Isn't it dangerous to expose your heart to so many women?"
"Only if you have something to hide from them. I rather enjoy the way they respect me, and they know I will do my best to answer any question they may pose to me. They also know that I am very much in love with my wife. So that makes me a safe man to interact with."
The young man thanked him, he had given him a lot to ponder.
When the elders saw that the patrol they were following, was going a different way, than they needed to go, they took shelter in the building that Andriel had told them about. To wait for the next patrol that would go the direction they needed to go.
The street gang that had been shadowing them through the rubble, were happy to see that they had stopped following the patrol, they could hardly wait to get their hands on what they were carrying. What the street gang could not understand was why the patrol stopped, when the women broke off from them. Patrols don't just stop unless they are waiting for something. Some of them started saying that the three women and the droid, were just a decoy to try and flush them out. The leaders of the gang did not buy that. They have never attacked a patrol, and the patrols have never bothered them as long as they keep their distance. It was only the pilots in the three-legged walkers that were trigger happy. So they patiently waited to see what would happen. Suddenly the patrol started moving on. The leaders started telling their people where they wanted them to move. They wanted to surround the building, so that the ladies had nowhere to run. Just when their people were starting to move, there was a warning whistle. Another patrol was coming down the road. The leaders signalled everyone to take cover.
After the patrol walked past the building, the ladies and the droid came out to follow them. The gang followed them for a while, but they started to enter unfamiliar territory. The leaders called of the pursuit. It was becoming too dangerous for the gang to continue. They would have to find smaller easier prey elsewhere. They all knew they would be dreaming tonight about what the ladies may have been carrying.
The elders had become quite nervous when the porter droid told them there was a large group of people out in the rubble watching them. They had no idea what they would do if attacked. They could not understand what was holding them back. They stopped thinking about it when the next patrol showed up, going in the direction they wanted to go. When they were near their community the patrol suddenly left the road and started going through the rubble. The elders had never seen a patrol leave the road before. They didn't question it, how could they, the only thing that mattered to them, was that soon they would be safely in their own homes.
The children were the first ones to spot them, and came running to them, hollering to whoever could hear them, that the elders are back. The elders told the children to call all the women to a meeting in the square, in front of the general store. Andriel, grandmother, and Uleanna brought out small plates of food, for each of the elders. The elders recognised the small chunk of chinchawwa, and the sweetweed leaves, but they did not know what the other thing was. They were quite hungry, so they decided to eat first, and ask later. Uleanna ran back to the house to get them some tea.
Andriel instructed the droid, where to leave all the bags. Then she instructed the droid how to get safely back to the truck compound. The droid asked how closely it should get to the patrol. Andriel told the droid that it was safe for it to get as close as it wanted to, to the patrol. They would not consider it a threat.
When Andriel saw a patrol going in the right direction, she instructed it to follow them.
When the patrol leader saw that the droid was following them. He instructed one of his men to drop back and tell the droid he wanted to speak to it. When the droid approached, the patrol leader asked it what it was doing out there, and why it was following them. The droid told the patrol leader that it had just help deliver some supplies that three Devaronian women had purchased from the quartermaster's store in Eriadu City. A Devaronian woman had instructed the droid to follow them, that they would bring it back safely to their barracks, which was a safe walk to the truck compound, where it would get a ride back to the quartermaster's store, in Eriadu City. The patrol leader told it to fall in, two meters behind the last trooper.
The elders were refreshed by the small meal and tea. They told grandmother that they would like her and Andriel to be present when they met with the other elders that evening. When all the women gathered. The elders stood at the entrance to the general store and briefly told them what they were able to accomplish that trip. They have been able to purchase tea, salt, a variety of legumes, flour, oil, and three types of soap. Soap for bathing, soap for laundry, and dish soap. The laundry soap would be at the cleaners, they would be open first thing in the morning. The general store would not be open until the afternoon, since they had more things to organise. The ladies were disappointed that they would have to wait so long. The elders also told them that they would have a list in the general store where they could write down items they would like to see brought in. They were planning on sending another group in five days, to go purchase more supplies. The elders than singled out four women, and asked if they could talk with them. When the women agreed, the elders suggested they meet at the dress shop for tea. As the ladies walked over, the elder in charge of the general store, appointed someone to start unpacking the bags, and making sure the laundry soap was delivered to the cleaners. Then she walked over to the dress shop. The other two elders made sure that the three elders who had stayed behind, were coming to the meeting. When they arrived one of the elders politely told grandmother and Andriel that they would not be needed for the first part of the meeting. Grandmother told the elder that they would be in the kitchen waiting to hear from them. Grandmother and Andriel found Uleanna and Matrucy waiting for them. Matrucy told them that her mother thought it was best if she did not listen in on the first part of the meeting. Suddenly they heard the four ladies with the elders sobbing and wailing.
Andriel asked grandmother, if she knew what was going on in the meeting? Grandmother made sure they were all sitting down. Her guess is that the four women had just been told that their husbands had stopped waiting for them. Presuming they were dead, they had found a clan that allowed them to marry one of their women. Andriel asked grandmother what the women could do. They are not allowed by clan law to divorce. Grandmother told her that it is actually quite clear in clan law what they can do. First they have to establish, how many credits is owed them by their husbands. Then they have two options. The first option is to place a bounty on their husbands head. The clan that allowed the husband to marry one of their women, would be liable for the cost of the bounty, and would be responsible to pay the first wife the credits her husband owes her. The second option, would be for the elders of this clan to contact the elders of the clan that the husband married into. They would inform the husband that his first wife is still alive. Than the husband would have to decide what he is going to do. He could go back to his first wife. The clan he is leaving would consider him dead and his second wife a widow. They would pay half of the dowry the husband would have had to give them before he would have been allowed to marry. The other half would be used as a bounty for his head if he was foolish enough to ever return to that planet. The second option would be for him to stay with his second wife, but not give her any credits. He would pay his first wife as he did before. He would be allowed to visit with his first wife, once a year as a husband, and the clan that had received the dowry, would make sure the first wife received the balance of the money her husband owes her. It is very rare that the second wife would agree to this option. The third option is for the husband to stay with his second wife, and find employment where he can pay both his wives. That usually means signing onto a toxic transport, they usually pay 2 ½ times the standard wage. Usually Devaronian men are one of the few species that can survive for any length of time on such a ship. The down side is, if he ever gets one of his two wives pregnant, there is a 95% chance she will miscarry. Of the pregnancies that make it to full term, 99% will have some form of birth defect. The last option would be for the husband to do nothing, causing the clan he has married into to put a bounty on his head. Most law enforcement personnel do not like these bounty contracts, not only are they not allowed to arrest the person who carries out the contract, but they also have to be the witness, that the contract was fulfilled. The only unknown would be whether the Sith Empire will recognise Devaronian clan law, as the Republic does.
Now Andriel understood why the Devaronian men were so stressed about the situation on Eriadu. For most of them their lives were in limbo, until they found out whether their wife was alive or not. It wasn't long after grandmother gave her explanation that Matrucy's mother came into the kitchen for grandmother and Andriel. She told the girls that they could come and listen in, but they might find it boring. When grandmother and Andriel entered the store front, they found the other elders quite sad. They were good friends with the four women that had been there, and would have preferred to be the ones to comfort them, instead of delivering the news they just did. When Uleanna and Matrucy joined them, they decided to get on with their meeting. They told about meeting with the representatives of the transportation companies. They wanted to start arranging time off for their Devaronian workers, they were able to get them to hold off for the time being, until they could establish a safe haven for couples to meet. The elders that had stayed, told the other elders about the human couple that had approached Andriel for help. They would have to talk about that too. Andriel told them she had an idea for a safe haven. First they would need to talk to the Base Commander about acquiring property near his base. They don't want to establish something only to have someone else claim that it belongs to them. All the elders agreed that this is the prudent thing to do. What Andriel proposed was that one of the women of the clan, be asked to move to the property near the base, the goal would be to establish an inn, and a cantina. She was sure the Troopers on the base were bored with their facilities, and would jump at a chance to go somewhere else, even if they only served water. The inn would be the safe haven, and a warehouse for goods coming from Eriadu City. The cantina would supply the credits to support everything. The person who should look after this place, would need to be a good cook, and get along well with people. The elders liked her idea, they could see it as being a profitable venture. Andriel also suggested they approach the drivers in the compound, to see if they would be willing to help with the construction work that would need to be done. Andriel imagined that many of them must be bored with nothing to do, until they drove back to Eriadu City for the evening. When Andriel talked about using the truck drivers as construction workers, one of the elders had an idea. Why don't they rebuild the bakery? The widows who don't have a source of income, could be employed, along with any foreigner. Once the bakery is repaired and running, then they could continue to employ people to clean up and rebuild other things.
There was some lively discussion going on. The family that had run the bakery was killed when the bakery was destroyed. It turns out that Matrucy's mother was best friends with the lady who had taken over the bakery. When she was Matrucy's age, she had helped out quite a bit in the bakery, and felt she could operate it, if it was rebuilt. The end result of all the discussion, was that the general store would also act as the local bank. They would hold all the IOUs' for everyone. Anyone hired for rebuilding and clean up, would be given IOUs that they could take to the general store, where they would be redeemed for supplies, charged against the clan's account.
When all the mothers found out that Andriel was going to start teaching Uleanna and Matrucy self-defence, they all wanted their daughters to be taught as well, none of them wanted their daughters to experience what they did. The young girls that were violated during the invasion, pleaded with Andriel to teach them, so that they would never experience the violation of their bodies again. Andriel had originally planned on teaching Uleanna and Matrucy in the living room upstairs, after cleaning it up, and removing all the furniture. But it was too small to be used to train all the girls. When she mentioned the problem to grandmother during lunch, Uleanna spoke up. She knew of a building nearby that had been badly damaged during the invasion. Most of the upper structure had collapsed, but the floor from the main floor still seems to be good, and a hole has been blown into the basement wall that they can crawl into. The basement is the entire length of what was the house, and because it was never used it has a dirt floor. Uleanna was sure it is big enough for all the girls. The only problem was that there was no natural light coming in. Andriel asked Uleanna to show it to her after lunch. With grandmother's permission, Uleanna took the only lamp they had in the house. An oil lamp that was hardly ever used, and took her aunt to see the house. Uleanna crawled through the hole in the wall first and got the lamp going. When her aunt entered, they looked over every inch of the basement. The good news was, that there were no signs that Eriadu rats had ever nested in it. The access to the room was small and easy to cover up so that nosey boys could not spy on them. It was definitely large enough to train all the girls. The bad news was that it was dusty and dark. They would need a lot of lamps to light the room up. Andriel had Uleanna and Matrucy round up all the girls that would be training, to come to the dress shop for a meeting. When they arrived Andriel told them that Uleanna has found a place for them to train. It is dark and it is dusty. Every household would need to supply a lamp, and a cloth for gathering dust. They would also need a piece of cloth to cover their mouth and nose, so that they don't choke on the dust while they are cleaning. She sent them all home to get what they need, then to meet back at the dress shop. When they all came back, they followed Uleanna to their new training site. Before they went in, Andriel divided them up into two groups, one group would stay outside to bang out the dust cloths that would be handed to them. The other group would try to wipe up the dust as carefully as they could, without causing it to rise in the air. Uleanna and Matrucy were the first to enter the room, and lit their lamps, every girl that entered after them lit their lamps, and were directed to where they should place their lamp, that would also be the area that they would start cleaning. When their dust cloth was full they would take it to the entrance hole, where they would exchange it for a cleaner one. With all the girls working together, it wasn't long before they had removed most of the dust. Andriel thought that the air was too dusty for them to start practising that day. She wanted them to start the next day in the late afternoon, so that they would be going home for dinner afterward because they would be hungry. The last thing she did was to remind them to come back with their lamps. Later that day Andriel returned with a big container of water, and a rag. She washed down all the walls to get all the dust off of them. Then she took the dirty water and sprinkled it all over the dirt floor so any remaining dust would bond to the dirt in the floor. It would not get rid of all the dust, but they should be able to practise without having their faces covered. The next day when the girls met to train, some of the boys wanted to come in and watch them. Andriel came out and talked to the boys. She told them that the only way she could let them come down and watch, was if she could use them for demonstration purposes. The boys wanted to know why she did not use the girls for demonstrations. Andriel told them that she would hurt the girls if she did that. They asked her, if she would hurt them? She told them she would, and more than likely the girls would have to carry them home. The boys did not like that, so they left the area. Andriel covered the entrance hole with a cloth, so that they could not come back and spy on them. The boys who did come back, were frustrated because they could hear everything but see nothing. Andriel started, by teaching them the move that her mother taught her. She told them it was effective as a basic move, because most attackers would be expecting them to try and kick them between the legs, which they would be ready to block. The kick between the legs was effective, if they first distracted the attacker by throwing something at their face first. While they were trying to protect their face, that was when you kick them between the legs. She then taught them the basic fundamentals of kicking and punching, because she was doing it against the air. But everything else she had to use Uleanna and Matrucy, taking turns as victim and attacker, to talk them through different attack situations, to explain what the victim should try to do. The girls were both good at taking instruction, and could show the rest of the girls what to do, so that they could practise with their training partner.
The Nosaurian male that was beaten, was tired of hearing his wives complain about how he is not helping his family to survive. The first wife would be gone for two or three days at a time to get to an area where the Nosaurian males had not hunted yet, so that she would have a chance to kill some chinchawwas. She would be gone for two days but would only come back with one day's worth of food for the whole family. So even though he was not healed, he felt he had to get up and get out of the house. The second wife made sure his ribs were properly wrapped up, before he left, and told him not to come back empty handed.
There was no way he could hunt, so he decided to indulge himself, and go see what the Devaronians are up to. He was surprised to see a human couple working with the Devaronians, so he went down to ask them what they are doing. They told him, that the Devaronians are paying them with food supplies from their store, for the work they do for them. He felt that he could do some work, even though he was injured, and it would get his wives off his back, if he came home with something. So he asked them who is in charge, and approached the woman to offer himself for work.
The woman mentioned that she saw that he is injured. She told him they would have to evaluate his work, before they could agree on how much they would pay him. He agreed to that condition. She also told him, that any food he found, he could keep. Any combustible material he found, he could only keep half. Everything else is the property of the clan, he could not keep it. If he found any human remains, he is to notify them at once so that they could deal with it. He said that he agreed to their terms. So she appointed him an area to start cleaning it up.
He found because of his injury that he could not lift the heavier pieces of rubble, and would seek out the human male, for him to remove them. He was surprised that the human male had trouble removing them, he was pathetically weak, but he did not say anything. At the end of the day he went to be paid. They told him that because the human male did all the hard work in his area, they were only going to pay him half of what they paid the human male. He did not like it, but felt he had to accept it. In his own mind, he was worth just as much as the weak human. He took the chit they gave him and went to the store for his food. He was surprised by what he saw in the store, there was enough food to feed his entire clan for a week. He presented his chit expecting to get a big bag of food. They gave him a little bit of salt, a little bit of flour, and a little bit of legumes. He felt cheated, but did not say anything, he certainly felt he deserved more.
He took what they gave him and went home. Both his wives were surprised that he actually had something that could help the family. They asked him where he got it. He told them he had gone to see the Devaronians, and was surprised to see a human couple working for them. He talked to them and found out that the Devaronians were paying them in food supplies, in exchange for their work. His wives were impressed with how much food he had brought home. They felt that they could make a stew with what he brought. Combined with the chinchawwas the first wife had killed, they would eat comfortably for two days. They were delighted that he was able to get some salt, they desperately needed it in their diet. He promised them that he would go back the following day to get more. His wives told him that they were proud of him, that even though he is injured, he is still able to contribute to the wellbeing of the family. He liked it when his wives praised him. The next day the second wife was able to trade what he brought home, with another family, for a chinchawwa the husband had killed. They inquired about where the food supplies came from? The second wife told them that her injured husband was working for the Devaronians, and this was how they paid him. Word spread through the Nosaurian clan. The men who were not good hunters, went to work for the Devaronians, so that they could help their families better than they could before. They also told the elders that they had seen Devaronian children eating the poisonous sweetweed. The elders knew the Devaronians could tolerate a certain amount of poison, but the people asked the elders if it might not be poisonous to them. A lot of it grew around their homes, it would be good for their community if they could also eat it.
The elders approached the oldest person in their clan, and asked her if she was willing to risk her life for the clan. She said she would, so they brought her some sweetweed to eat. She took a few leaves, chewed them well, than swallowed. One of the elders asked her, how she felt? She told him she felt disappointed. The elder asked her, why she was disappointed? She said she was disappointed that she could still see his ugly face, she was hoping that she would be with their ancestors. The elder informed everyone that the sweetweed was safe for everyone to eat, there was nothing wrong with the old lady. Even her eyesight is good.
The injured Nosaurian was jealous about how much food the other Nosaurians were taking home. They were all there because of him, yet none of them were willing to share with him. They all told him that they worked harder than he did, so deserved more than what he got. One day the injured Nosaurian saw something that looked like it was shiny metal, and put it in his pocket, he was hoping that he might be able to trade it to an Imperial Trooper for food. Another Nosaurian saw him and told the Devaronians, he did not like that he was dishonouring his agreement with the Devaronians. It could reflect badly on all the Nosaurians working there. One of the Devaronian women confronted him, demanding that he turn over the clan's property. It was a cheap souvenir, from someone's vacation. It was plastic with a metallic finish. The sad thing is, that if he had showed it to them and asked if he could have it, they would have let him keep it. Instead they only paid him half of what they normally paid him, and told him never to return.
When he went home that day, he had to tell his wives why he brought home so little. They were so ashamed of him, he had broken his word to the Devaronians. He told his wives that giving his word to a Devaronian woman, was the same as not giving his word at all. The wives did not know what to do, they had become dependent upon the little he brought home every day, and now they no longer had that. He was not well enough to go hunting, and he could not go back to the Devaronians. The only thing he could do was pick sweetweed and find combustibles. Something that their children were already doing.
The elders asked Andriel if she could accompany them as far as the truck compound, they were hoping to talk with the base commander about acquiring property near his base. They were hoping that she would talk to the truck drivers about getting their help with the construction work, they were also hoping that she would have time to set up some snares while she was there, to help them to start to move forward on the project. Andriel had been working late the last few days completing all the outfits for all the ladies going on this trip. She was quite tired, but agreed to go. Grandmother and Uleanna would be able to handle the increase in work that was coming their way. Some of the ladies had written on the list in the general store that they would like them to start stocking undergarments. The elder responded by showing them the undergarments made for them in the dress shop. They were far superior to anything they could purchase at the quartermaster's store. So everyone was coming to the dress shop to have undergarments made. She had already told the elders that she needs more material so that she can continue to make outfits for the women making the trip to Eriadu City. She doubted that the quartermaster's store would have the nice fine material needed to make the undergarments. When they ran out, that would be all they could do.
On the day that Andriel went to the truck compound with the elders, Uleanna decided to check the area between where the Nosaurians live, and the Devaronian section. She thought it would be safe. The scavengers do not go there because the Nosaurians will drive them away. It was getting harder and harder to find combustibles to burn in the stove.
The injured Nosaurian spotted her. His wives were complaining to him constantly about his inability to provide for his family, and how no-one wants to trade with them, because he was not a man of his word.
Normally it would be hard enough for a man, when one woman to complains about a man's short comings. But this guy was getting it in stereo. To him it was the Devaronians fault he was injured in the first place. Now it was the treacherous Devaronian women that were denying him the opportunity to provide for his family. So when he saw Uleanna by herself, he thought this was the perfect opportunity to get the Devaronians back.
He lowered his head and charged at Uleanna, wanting to impale her on his horns. When Uleanna had first seen the Nosaurian, she was not concerned. She found if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. Just don't make any loud noises if they are hunting. But then she heard him roar, and she heard him running towards her. When she turned to look at him, she saw him running towards her with his head down. Andriel's training kicked in. She grabbed the most prominent horns as he approached her. She went down backwards, planting one of her feet on his chest, and catapulted him over her. He flew through the air more than three meters, screaming because of her unexpected reaction.
He stopped screaming when he landed on his back, on a big piece of rubble. Now he moaned. Two of his cracked ribs are now broken. One had pierced his skin, the other had pierced his lung. He just lay there in shock.
Uleanna ran to the square. She told the Devaronian women that a Nosaurian male had just attacked her. They asked her, if she was all right? She told them she was fine, but the Nosaurian had landed on some large pieces of rubble, and was just lying there moaning. The women told her to go home to grandmother, tell her what happened, and have a cup of tea.
One of the Nosaurian men working there, told the ladies that he overheard what the young lady said, he asked their permission to leave his work, and to check his clansman. He said he would understand if they only paid him for part of the day. They told him that they considered him a valuable worker. It would be wrong to punish him for what his clansman did. They asked him to check on the clansman and see if he could find out what happened, and to come back. They would pay him at the end of the day like they always do. He found his delirious clansman coughing up blood, saying how all female Devaronians are treacherous, even the young ones. He helped him get to his feet even though he was in much pain. That's when he noticed the blood on the wrap his wife had wrapped him with, to try and keep his rips stable. He helped him slowly walk back to his home. When he was close, he called out for help. The man's second wife came out of their home and helped him support her husband, she asked him if he knew what happen. He said he wasn't sure, but the Devaronian girl that lived at the dress shop, had come running into the square saying she had been attacked by a Nosaurian male. The second wife was worried upon hearing this, and asked if the girl was alright. He told her that she said she was all right, but she was really upset. He asked permission to go find his clansman, and all he has been mumbling, is how all Devaronian women are treacherous, even the young ones.
When they got him to his bed, she unwound the wrap. That was when they found a piece of a rib had pierced his skin. They assumed his lung was also pierced, because he kept coughing up blood. The only thing they could do was to rewrap him, and lay him down in the bed.
The Devaronian grandmother, was the closest thing to a healer they had in that region. So the second wife walked back with the man who helped her husband. She needed to find out if there was anything she could do.
While the elders went to see if they could talk to the base commander, Andriel went to find Orlo. When she found him, he was very happy to see she was all right. She told him about the Devaronians plan to build an inn, where the husbands and wives could spend some time together when they had some free time, because it was too dangerous to try to take them all the way home. To make the project viable as a business, they also wanted it to have a cantina. She told him that the elders went to talk with the Base Commander about acquiring property near the base, for this project. If they are able to get some buildings, they would need to get a lot of help to get the buildings renovated for their purpose. She was hoping that the truck drivers that were not busy, could help with the renovations. Orlo introduced her to a fellow truck driver, he used to be a building contractor before the invasion. The builder asked if they had picked the buildings yet. Andriel told him that the elders had just gone to the Base Commander, they don't even know if they will get permission. The builder told them that a number of drivers used to work construction. He was sure he could talk them into helping, if Orlo and the mechanic, could cover all the maintenance they needed to do on their trucks. Andriel said they would need to talk with the elders to make sure everyone was compensated with credits.
It was a change in his routine, to have civilians actually want to talk to him. He had one of his staff get some tea for them. When they told him what they wanted to do, the Commander could see right away that having a cantina nearby, would boost morale on the base. He told them, that as far as he is concerned, all the property is considered abandoned. If they took some property and improved it, he thought that they should have clear and legal title to it. He would need to clarify this with the Moff. After they had chosen the properties they wanted to improve, they should come back and see him, with a description of the properties location, before starting any improvements. By that time, he should have clarification from the Moff, about property rights.
At first Uleanna was excited about how well she had defended herself. She described in detail the whole incident to grandmother, while grandmother made them both tea. They went and sat in the storefront. It was nice and bright, since Andriel had oiled the white cloth that she had used to cover up the display windows. They could actually see images of people working in the square.
When they were sipping their tea, Uleanna asked grandmother, if she thought the Nosaurian man was going to be all right? Grandmother told her she did not know, she just knew from her description that the man was injured. Uleanna asked grandmother, why he attacked her? Again grandmother had to tell her she did not know. Uleanna was glad grandmother did not send her away to do stuff. They did have a lot to do, but right now she needed to be near grandmother. Their alone time was interrupted by a timid knocking on the doorframe. Grandmother asked the person to come into the storefront. It was a female Nosaurian, she asked grandmother for her help, her husband was badly injured. As she described the injuries, she suddenly noticed Uleanna sitting with grandmother. She stopped describing the injuries, and asked Uleanna if she is the girl that her husband attacked?
Uleanna nodded her head, then she asked her why her husband attacked her?
The lady was clearly embarrassed by this question. She told Uleanna, she did not know for sure. Her husband will not respond to any questions people have asked him. He keeps mumbling that all Devaronian women are devious, even the young ones. She begged Uleanna to not think that all Nosaurian people are like her husband, his actions have shamed the whole clan.
Uleanna told her that she has never had a bad incident with any Nosaurian until today. She is sorry she caused him such bad injuries.
The Nosaurian woman told her that as far as she is concerned, he had really injured himself. She is glad that Uleanna is not injured. She must be a better warrior than she looks.
Grandmother asked her to describe the injuries again. Grandmother told her the injuries are very serious. If he had only one broken rib, that broke the skin, they might try to either pull the broken piece right out, or push it back in, so the skin could seal itself. But it sounds like there is a second broken rib that has pierced the lung. She has nothing that can be used as a disinfectant, to keep the wound clean. She could buy some soap from the general store. Soap and water can be used to clean the wound, but it would not prevent it from becoming infected. The big problem was the wound in the lung. They can't tell how bad it is, and there is a chance that it could get worse every time he moved. The Nosaurian woman thanked grandmother, for sharing her wisdom with her, and left. After the woman left, Uleanna asked grandmother how bad she thought his injuries are. Grandmother told her, that if he doesn't get real medical attention right away, chances are good that he will die. If his wounds become inflamed, then it will be a slow painful death. Uleanna asked grandmother to hold her. She told grandmother that if auntie had not come, she would be the one dying. Grandmother told her that she was very happy Auntie came. Uleanna told her she is glad as well.
The elders met with Andriel and the truckers in the truck compound lunch room. They purchased their lunch from the food dispenser, and told them about their meeting with the Base Commander. The building contractor suggested that after lunch they go look at buildings, and try to determine which would be the best ones, for what they had in mind. The elders wanted to know if the truckers had tools, or did they need to buy some from the quartermaster's store. The builder did not think that anyone had tools, and started making a list of the basics of what he thought they would need, while they finished their lunch.
When they looked at the buildings, they were surprised by how much furniture they found in the buildings closer to the base. They believed the scavengers were afraid to come that close. The buildings that were further away were stripped bare. At least they would be able to fully furnish the inn, and cantina, once the construction was finished. The elders, and building contractor, found three buildings adjacent to each other, with very little damage. They all agreed that they would be the perfect site. The lady that had agreed to run the inn and cantina, and one of the elders decided to move in right away, as a way of staking claim to the property. The builder said that he would come up with a drawing, that they could take to the base commander, to describe the location. Between the two ladies moving in, and himself, they should be able to come up with a design for each floor. Once that was completed he could come up with a time, for getting the work done. Then they could establish a cost estimate for the work. He reminded them that they would have to pay a gift, to the man in charge of the compound, to look the other way, while Orlo and the mechanic do all the maintenance on all the vehicles, while everyone else works on the project.
The lady who had agreed to look after it, asked how long he thought it would be, before they could let their husbands come. The builder told them that they had some nice bedrooms right now that would not need to be touched. They could start bringing their husbands right away. He doubted they would mind being in a construction zone. One of the elders spotted a patrol, and asked Andriel if that is her boyfriend. Orlo gave her a strange look, Andriel laughed and told him that the ladies that were staying would explain everything. In the meantime, everyone who was heading back home needed to follow that patrol. The ladies that stayed behind told Orlo how Andriel had forced the patrol leader out of the dress shop's workshop, by beating on his helmet with her bare fists. Because men are not allowed in a workshop without permission. Since they had such an intimate first encounter, everyone calls him, her boyfriend. Orlo and the builder had a good laugh at the picture of Andriel forcing the poor guy to back up, by beating him on his helmet. That was something he could picture Andriel doing. Two elders, and two of the ladies whose husbands had given up on them, caught a ride to Eriadu City. The two ladies staying behind, purchased what they were going to have for dinner from the food dispenser in the truck compound, and went to the buildings they would start calling home. After dinner they checked out the area for placing snares. They would bait them in the morning.
When Andriel arrived back at the dress shop, Uleanna ran up to her and hugged her, and told her how glad she is that she was back. Then when they sat down for dinner, Uleanna told her all that had happened while she was gone. Andriel was quite concerned for Uleanna, a glancing blow from just one of the horns could have cut a deep gash in her flesh. Uleanna assured her that she had no physical injuries. Andriel gave her a big hug and told her she was proud of her. Uleanna did not tell her how grateful she was, for Andriel training her. She just hugged her back.
When the first wife came home from hunting that evening, the second wife told her everything that happened that day. How the Devaronian grandmother did not send her away, even though it was her own granddaughter that was attacked by their husband. She told her how she met a patrol on the way home, and asked if they could do anything for their husband. They told her that their medical staff would not look at any non-military personnel. Now she did not know what to do. The two of them went to the home of one of the elders, who sent out his children, to bring all the other elders to his home. After a long talk, when they looked at all their options, and considered the words the Devaronian grandmother had shared. They agreed that the two wives had only one course of action they could follow. The next morning the two wives sent out all of their children, except for the oldest, to gather all the long dry grass they could find, to make a nest for their father. The two wives and the oldest son, pulled the mattress with the father on it, off of the bed frame, trying not to injure the father as they did so. They broke the long wooden boards in half, and started stacking all the pieces of wood, on a flat place behind their house, the wives had prepared. They also had a large wooden dresser that the two wives, shared with their husband. They pulled out all the drawers with the contents still in them, stacking them in the same order that they had been in the dresser. They then broke the dresser up, and stacked it on top of their broken bed frame. When the children all came back they were able to make a nice nest on top of the broken furniture. The wives than sent the oldest to get all the elders. The rest of the children were instructed to say goodbye to their father, and go wait in the one bedroom used for all the children. When the oldest came back with the elders, he too was instructed to go say goodbye to his father, and to wait in the bedroom with the other children. The two wives then removed every article of clothing off of their husband, and helped him to walk outside and to climb up onto the nest that was made for him. The first wife then went back in the house and retrieved the largest knife they have in the kitchen. The elders signalled her to proceed. She came up beside her husband, and plunged the knife into his heart. The last word the husband said was "No", which he screamed when he saw the knife descend towards his heart.
The elders had purchased most of the oil, the Devaronians had in their general store. As the first wife took the knife back to the kitchen, the second wife accompanied her, so that they could both get the children. The elders took all the oil they purchased and poured it all over the body and the nest. When the family came out, the oldest was instructed to get a hot ember from the stove, and place it on the nest. The nest and the body caught on fire right away. When the neighbours saw the fire they came over to comfort the family, on the loss of their breadwinner. The first wife heard the oldest son mutter that he would get even with the Devaronians, because of the death of his father. The mother grabbed her son by one of his horns, and dragged him into the house. She closed the door behind her, so that everyone would know that this is a private matter, and they did not want to be disturbed. The mother asked her son to repeat what she had heard him say outside. He said he was going to make them pay for killing his father. The mother went into the kitchen and came back with the bloody knife. She told her son that they did not kill his father, she did, with that knife. She knelt before her son and unbuttoned her blouse and placed the tip of the knife against her skin, over her heart. She told him, "If you want to kill someone to avenge the death of your father, than kill me!" The son was horrified at the idea of killing his mother. He started crying, and asked his mother, why she did it? She told him, that the injuries that his father had, could not be healed, except by a skilled healer. They have no healer in their clan, nor is there one in all the neighboring clans. They had no way, to stop his wounds from becoming infected. He would have died a slow painful death. To make things worse, he would have required constant care, and they have no-one to care for him, if the family wanted to eat. They had to put the family first. When they talked to the elders last night, they all agreed, that this was the only thing they could do. The son complained that the Devaronians caused his injuries. The mother told him that the Devaronians have only been good to them. She asked him if he remembered when they ate chinchawwa stew. The boy nodded his head, he really enjoyed that stew, and they let him eat as much as he wanted. His mother told him that they had that stew because his father worked for the Devaronians. His father had given his word to the Devaronians, so they let him work. Later he broke his word, bringing shame on himself, on his family, and on his clan. The boy repeated what his father said, that giving your word to a Devaronian, is the same as not giving your word at all. His mother told him that that is not true. "The value of a person's word is dependent on the person giving it, not on the person receiving it. Your father had given his word to people he thought were less than him, which was a noble thing, and the family was rewarded. He broke his word, and the ancestors became angry. The ancestors enticed your father to attack that Devaronian girl to punish him. Because she was innocent, they protected her. She did not even have one scratch on her, but you saw how badly your father was injured. If we are to survive as a family, it is because the Devaronians are willing to help us. Do you want your family to survive?"
The boy nodded yes. "Then promise me that you will give the Devaronians, the honour they deserve. That you will put your family first."
"I promise."
The mother did her blouse back up, and returned the knife to the kitchen. She came back and looked at her son, than gave him a hug.
"You are now the man of the house. Where you lead the other children will follow."
They both went back out to re-join their family.
After all the neighbours had left, and the funeral pyre had burnt down to ashes. The two wives agreed that they would alternate working for the Devaronians if they would have them. The first wife had arranged with her brother to have him take the oldest with him hunting. It is time he learnt how to hunt.
The first wife went to the Devaronians and asked if she could work for them, her husband is dead, and would no longer be a bother to them. They were surprised to hear about the husband, and gave her their condolences. They told her that they would have no problem having her work for them, as long as she obeys the rules.
When the women arrived in Eriadu City, the manager of the truck depot told them that he would like to meet with them, first thing in the morning. After spending the night in the same house they did before. They went to meet with the manager of the truck depot. He told them that they could buy a truck, and equip it with their own driver. He quoted them a price for the truck. He also told them how much the Imperials pay, for every load they would carry to Old Town Factoryville, he also told them the cost, for maintaining each truck. The only bad news is, that he would not be able to provide their driver with accommodations. The driver would have to spend the night outside the security zone, just like they do. He can let the driver have access to their lounge for breakfast, he led them to the lounge. They had the same food dispensing machines as were at the compound. He told them that they could also have access to the lounge. The one elder told him that they need to talk to their partners in this venture, hopefully, they will be back in a few days, and agree to a firm contract. The manager left them, while they had their breakfast. The other ladies asked the elder who their partners are in this venture. The elder responded by asking them, "Who is going to drive the truck?" None of them had any idea, but they could tell by the way the elder was smiling, that she already had someone in mind.
After breakfast, they went to the quartermaster's store. They ordered more than they did last time, as far as the food was concerned, they also bought all the tools the builder asked for, as well as shovels, to help them with the work they were doing at home. Instead of duffel bags for carrying the food supplies, they purchased backpacks. They are more expensive, but they are easier to carry. The store clerk asked them if they needed the porter droid again. He was surprised to hear that they thought they could get along without it. He did remember to thank them that the droid returned to them unharmed.
After purchasing their supplies, they went to the shuttle terminal to access their accounts. Fortunately for the two ladies, their husbands had not closed their accounts, and they were able to determine when their husbands had made their last deposit. After generating the paperwork the elders asked for, they withdrew some credits for their own needs. The two elders asked the two ladies to wait a while, while they go and talk with the reps from the transport companies. They did not think the ladies wanted to hear them discussing the schedule for the arriving husbands. They were able to meet with the three reps again. They let them know that they now have a place where husbands and wives can reunite. Each company gave them a list of when the husbands were scheduled for time off on Eriadu, over the next two months. They suggested that someone should meet them at the truck depot, and take them where they need to go. The one rep told them that after they were finished all their business that day, they could come back and spend the night in his office again. They let him know there were four of them this time. He let them know it was alright. They told him they would be back.
When word of the attack on Uleanna traveled through the clan. Older women started approaching Andriel about self-defence training. All the young mothers, and all the young married women without children, were interested, as well as a few of the older mothers. Andriel had to start alternating the days the different groups would get together for practise. She did encourage their daughters to come with their mothers, in case they needed to help their mothers. She kept Uleanna and Matrucy coming every day, so that they could demonstrate what she wanted everyone to learn.
On their last day on Seswenna, Chitrah finished the work assignments off, while the two technicians went shopping for all the items that had been requested. When he finished the last assignment, he joined up with the other technicians. After they bought what they could find, they all went back to the Ministry together. They left their purchases with their secretary friend in the outer office, who could not help but snoop through their purchases. In the inner office Chitrah handed over his list with all the completed jobs on it. The office was impressed. He had accomplished everything he said he would. What they did not tell him, was that he had connected some important systems for them, which they had thought they would not be able to handle, since they were only training. The ones that were still left to do had no urgency attached to them. They could be done anytime the Moff released one of the technicians to them.
They told Chitrah and the two technicians that they were already booked on a freighter that is departing Seswenna that evening, heading to Luptoom. They would have enough time to have an early dinner, pack, and head for the shuttle terminal. They went back to the outer office to retrieve their purchases, and told the secretary they would be leaving that evening for their next assignment. Because they would be packing while she was having dinner with her friends, she told them she would pass along their goodbyes for them.
When they returned to Old Town Factoryville, the four Devaronian women transferred all their purchases, to the buildings they were claiming as their own, with the help of all the truck drivers. Armed with the drawings, and a description the builder had prepared for them. The two elders who just came back from Eriadu City, and the elder who had been staying in their inn, went to the military base to speak with the Base Commander. They were ushered into his outer office, where they were served tea, and some hard biscuits, while they waited for an opportunity to speak with the Commander. The women found the biscuits almost impossible to eat, they were so hard, until they soaked them in the hot tea first. Then they were quite appetising. They found it interesting to see how the Commander operated his office. They did not notice the passage of time, until one of his subordinates approached them, and told them he is ready to see them. The Commander welcomed them, and complimented them on how quickly they had mastered the art of eating hard-tac. It had not occurred to the elders that they were being watched, while they were watching the activities of the office, it was a little unnerving.
They presented the Commander with the property description. He looked up the properties on his computer, using the information taken from the cities records during the invasion. He asked them if they would like to know who owned the properties before the war, and what they were used for. The elders out of curiosity said they would, it would also help them identify people who were trying to scam them, as opposed to people who were trying to recover their past. The Commander told them that the Moff and his office considers the buildings abandoned, and can be claimed by anyone who occupies and improves them, provided they register their claim with a small fee. Because they are the first to approach the city's administration (the Base Commander's office), the fee is being waived. The Commander told them that this also applied to all commercial and industrial sites. The only properties that were considered exempt, were properties previously owned by any level of government, they are still considered government property. The elders thanked the Commander for his co-operation. After they signed the forms they were presented, as representatives of the Devaronian clan, they were on their way.
They were elated, and when they met with the truck drivers, they told them everything the Base Commander had told them. They had already seen the tools the ladies had purchased for them. They said they could start with the improvements right after lunch, they would leave the builder with the elders to hammer out all the details, including the cost. After all the details were agreed to, the elders left a substantial deposit of credits with the builder. They went to the inn to pack up what they were comfortable carrying, of the supplies they had purchased. The good thing about having a place close to the truck compound, was that they could leave some supplies there. They did not have to bring everything with them on one trip, they could do it in two or three trips if they wanted to.
The street gangs along their route were getting quite irked. There was an increase in foot traffic through their territories. People carrying supplies which they desperately wanted, but could not get because of the presence of the Imperial Troopers.
The returning elders met with grandmother and Andriel and the rest of the elders. The one elder finally shared her vision with the rest, about the trucking business she wanted them to get involved with. She thought it would be best if they did a joint venture with the Nosaurian clan. They would provide the driver, they would also look after and maintain an inn for everyone coming from Old Town Factoryville, to Eriadu City. The elder believed the rules for property ownership would apply in Eriadu City, as they applied there. The other elders with grandmother and Andriel liked the idea, and gave the go ahead to contact the elders of the Nosaurians, to see if they were interested in a partnership.
One of the elders approached the female Nosaurian working for them, and asked if she could arrange a meeting for the Devaronian clan elders, to meet with the Nosaurian clan elders. They have some business to discuss. The lady left right away to contact her elders. She had talked with the man that had helped her husband get home after he was injured. He told her that the Devaronians treated him justly. They did not withhold any of his wages, even though he had left to help a clan member who had just tried to injure one of their own. She hoped they would do the same with her. Since her family's survival depended on what food she could bring home. They had much less meat in their diet, but they were eating regularly, and the children were starting to act like children again.
The Nosaurian elders were troubled by the news that the Devaronian elders wanted to meet with them. They could not refuse them, and agreed to meet with them on the following day, in the abandoned building, half way between the Nosaurian and Devaronian people.
They thought it was best if they met on neutral ground. They assumed the Devaronians wanted to be compensated for the fact that a Nosaurian clan member, had attacked one of theirs. They hoped the Devaronians would not be outrages in their demands, for them to cover their shame. When the Nosaurian female returned to the Devaronians, she informed them where and when the elders would meet with them. The Devaronians seemed too excited about this meeting, for the Nosaurian to believe it was about compensation, unless her husband was right, and they are an evil people. When she went home that evening with her full day's compensation, she went to the elder's home after leaving the food with the second wife. She told the elder not to expect the meeting to be about compensation. She told the elder how the Devaronians had not deducted anything from the man who left his work to help her husband get home. She told him how much the Devaronian elders were looking forward to meeting with them, and she told him that she had received a full day's compensation for work, even though she had actually only worked part of the day, because she had come to them on their behalf to arrange the meeting.
The elder asked her what she thought the Devaronians wanted to talk to them about. She told him that they said that they wanted to talk business. Maybe they need more people to help with their rebuilding projects. The building they were currently working on used to be a bakery. Once they finished cleaning it out, they planned on rebuilding it, and start baking again. The elder said he would like a fresh baked loaf of bread. The woman ignored him, she suggested that the Devaronians may also be considering expanding their general store, by opening a store in the heart of their community. The only thing she knew for sure, is the Devaronians would expect to profit by what they would discuss, over a long period. The elder thanked her for her information. After she left, the elder contacted some of the other elders, and shared with them, the information he was given. They were still at a loss as to what the Devaronians wanted to talk about, but now they knew they had to be ready to talk about anything. They had to do what is best for the clan.
The next day the Devaronian elders arrived first. They had brought Uleanna with them. Just after they arrived an Imperial patrol showed up. The one elder borrowed a page from the book the Base Commander used in treating his Troopers. If you issue orders, and not give them time to think, they will do what is asked of them. She approached the patrol and told them it was good that the Nosaurians had sent them (she had seen the Devaronian female hiding in the rubble, watching them. She believed the Troopers were their because of her). She told the Troopers to check the building, to make sure it is safe for their meeting. Then they should take up guard positions around the building, to make sure they are not disturbed. The patrol did as they were told, because they could not explain what they were doing there, outside of their patrol area. They hoped the Devaronian would still be there when they had finished securing the building, but when they told the Devaronian group that the building was secure for their meeting, she was gone. They established a defensive perimeter like they were asked, and did not interfere with the Nosaurian group when they arrived. One of the members of the patrol even told the Nosaurians that the Devaronians were waiting inside.
Seeing the Imperial Troopers guarding the building, caught the Nosaurian elders off guard. These must be quite serious talks if Imperial Troopers were guarding them. Inside they found the Devaronians waiting for them in a room on the top floor. There were obvious signs the Devaronians had tried cleaning it, before they arrived. From here, not even the Troopers would be able to overhear them, unless they started shouting. The sat on the floor facing each other.
A Devaronian elder was the first to speak. She asked Uleanna to go and stand before the Nosaurians. She told the Nosaurian elders that this is the young lady that one of their clan members had attacked. As they can see, she is completely unharmed, so it would be wrong of them to ask the Nosaurian clan to compensate the Devaronian clan. One of the Nosaurian elders asked Uleanna to come closer. Uleanna came right up to them. They talked briefly amongst themselves, than the elder said to her that she did not look like a warrior, how was she able to defend herself. Uleanna described in detail what had happened, when she finished, the elder told her that she has their apology, and their respect. The Devaronian elder told Uleanna that she is free to leave. When Uleanna left the building, she did not like the way the troopers looked at her. It was similar to the way those three men had looked at her and Auntie before they attacked, the ones who wanted to make her their toy. She ran home as fast as she could, she always felt safe when she was near Auntie.
The Nosaurian elder asked the Devaronians why they had asked for the meeting if they were not seeking compensation. She told them about going to Eriadu City, to buy supplies from the quartermaster's store, (oh no, they were going to ask for a store). What the Nosaurians heard next got their full attention, they were all leaning forward listening carefully to everything the Devaronian elder was saying, they could not believe, that they were being asked to form a business partnership, with the Devaronians. The foolish Nosaurian male got it part right. Devaronian females are a tricky bunch, but in a very business savvy way. The Nosaurian elders had to confess that they did not have the credits to partnership in this type of investment. The Devaronians told them they had the credits for the investment, what they don't have is a driver. Surely the people who were famous for driving things as dangerous as podracers, could find someone who could drive a truck. The elders told them they could find someone to drive the truck. The Devaronian elder outlined the program for them to repay the Devaronian Clan from their share of the profits, until they were both equally invested in the truck. They hammered out the details about the driver's wages, the cost for the Devaronians to ship the supplies for their store. The Nosaurian elder said that they would pay the same for when they shipped supplies for their store. The other Nosaurian elders looked at him, as if all his horns had transformed to hair. He told them in Nosaurian that it would be foolish for them not to take advantage of this, and not open their own store. The other elders agreed to talk further on this later. After all was said and done, the final condition the Nosaurian elders asked for, was to go with the Devaronians, for the purchase of the truck. This way they could check the vehicle out first. After all, you cannot be a good podracer, if you know nothing about how a vehicle works. They also wanted to help the driver and his family get set up, with a place to live in Eriadu City. The Devaronian elders felt they had asked the right people to partner with them. They agreed that in two mornings they would meet to head out to Eriadu City.
On the way out of the building the Devaronian elders thanked the Nosaurian elders for sending the patrol, to make sure they had a secure place for their meeting. The confused Nosaurians, tried not to show that they had no idea what the Devaronians were talking about. One of them went so far as to thank the Troopers for their co-operation. The patrol took that as their cue to leave, and marched off as quickly as they could. The patrol leader knew he should write this up in his report, but knew he could not, it would raise too many questions.
The Devaronian elders went straight to the dress shop. They had tea with grandmother, telling her all about the meeting. When Andriel heard them come in, she stopped sewing, and signalled Uleanna that she could stop what she was doing, and join them. The one elder remembered to give Andriel a copy of the scheduled days off, the transport companies were arranging for the Devaronian husbands. She believed the wives would want to visit the dress shop, before they left for the inn. They then talked about what they should be doing next. Andriel asked if it would be a good idea, for Matrucy's mother to talk with the builder about rebuilding the bakery, they did not want the building to collapse, when they were taking bread from the oven, it would ruin the loaves. Even Matrucy's mother laughed at that one. She said that she thought it would be good if she talked with the builder. She wasn't planning on rebuilding the living accommodations, over the bakery, they would continue to live where they are, but she did not want to pick rubble out of her fresh baked loaves.
The trip to Luptoom was uneventful, the only excited person was the Devaronian crewman. He had received word from the company that his wife on Eriadu is alive, and they would be able to get together on his next scheduled days off.
Chitrah found Luptoom to be quite an interesting place. The government had capitulated to the Sith after Eriadu, then Seswenna, were invaded. Sparing them from the ravishes of war. They are a textile planet. With the abundance of myriads of different materials, colours and patterns, the local populace excelled at both outrageous, and intricate, designs of their outfits. Neither sex was immune. Chitrah could not help to think Andriel would have loved it here. Fortunately, she would not have worn some of the outfits he saw, but she would have been inspired by their freedom of design. The employees of the Ministry, were much more conservative in what they wore, making them easy to spot outside of the Ministry. When Chitrah entered the office, they did not try and tell him which jobs he should do. They heard about what happened on Seswenna, and did not want to be in the bad books of the Moff's office. They just showed him the list of all available assignments. They asked him, if his wife accompanied him? He told them that she was tied up with her own assignment, so could not come. It was a shame she wasn't here because she would have really enjoyed herself. They asked if he preferred staying in the married quarters, or with the singles. He told them he had no preference, as long as they are comfortable accommodations.
They put the three of them up with the singles, were they found out that they enjoyed wearing the extravagant outfits, when they were not at work. Chitrah went through the list with two things in mind. He wanted to visit as many textile mills as he could, to get samples for Andriel, he also wanted to find assignments that would be somewhat challenging for the two technicians. After dropping off his luggage in his assigned apartment, he returned to the office to finish going over the list. When he was finished, he told them it was a tentative list. If they had other assignments that were higher priority, he could see about putting them on the list. For them the textile mills were the highest priority, as they are the life blood of Luptoom's economy. They noticed that he had them all on his list, so they said they were satisfied with his selection. They gave him a communicator device, so that he could communicate directly with his driver droid. The device had a built in homing beacon, so that the driver could always locate him. Chitrah told the technicians that he wanted them to stay together on the assignments for the first few days, because it is a new planet, with a different culture. Once they acclimatised, he would have no problem sending them out individually. They liked the way Chitrah thought, they did feel slightly intimidated outside of the Ministry. They wondered if it was okay to stare, at some of the outfits they saw.
The evening of the meeting, the Nosaurian woman, who worked for the Devaronians, came by the dress shop with a Nosaurian man. He had given up his food payment for his work, so that she could buy material from the dress shop for the elders, and the couple traveling with them. They did not want them to look like they were wearing rags when they stood next to the Devaronians in their new suits. He knew men are not allowed in the workshop, which is why he asked her to come with him. He waited in the front room, while she went with Andriel to check out the different materials. Andriel showed her what she was making the outfits out of for the Devaronian women. She also mentioned that she did not have much left. The Nosaurian said it was okay, it would be better if they were not all the same colour. She showed her different fabrics that were almost as durable. She picked a number of fabrics, with stronger colours, than Andriel would have picked for the Devaronians. The Nosaurian told her that she understood her dressing her people in colours that were hard to be seen in. Her people are colour blind so they like to wear things with wide contrasts, because they want to be seen. Andriel did not know they were colour blind. That would explain some of the colour combinations she saw them wear. She now understood why she had picked the fabrics she did, they made more sense when you consider contrasts. She cut off the amount that she requested of each fabric. Andriel calculated a sale price, and gave it to the woman to take to the store, they would let them know if the day's wages were enough to cover the purchase.
There was quite a crowd of people that departed the square heading to the truck compound. All six Devaronian Elders plus the remaining two women that were abandoned by their husbands, all seven of the Nosaurian Elders, plus a young couple, which Andriel had assumed was the driver to be, and his wife. Andriel did think the ladies of the Nosaurian clan should be praised, with how well their delegation looked today. The Nosaurian woman saw Andriel watching the people leave. When Andriel saw her, she said they all looked good. The lady knew that from the woman working in a dress shop. That is a great compliment. The group was large enough, that they did not need to stay close to a patrol, the street gangs would have thought twice about taking on such a large group. They had heard about what happened when three scavengers tried to attack one Devaronian woman accompanied by a young girl. There are eight Devaronian women in the group. They also knew about the reputation of the Nosaurians, in keeping outsiders away from their hunting grounds. With their quick reflexes and those sharp horns, they could create havoc for any street gang, and there are nine of them.
As the saying goes, "Leave them in peace and they will leave you in peace."
When they arrived at the truck compound, the compound supervisor told them that there is not enough room for them all to ride to Eriadu City in the cabs. Some would have to ride in the back of the trucks. They returned empty so it should not be too great of a problem. They bought their lunch from the food dispensing machines. One of the Nosaurian elders mentioned how much different their lives would have been if they had one of these machines near their clan. After lunch the Devaronians took the Nosaurians to see their inn, and what would become a cantina. They mentioned how they also use it as a small warehouse, where they store the provisions, they cannot carry with them, to come back for them on another day. The Nosaurians asked if they could also do that. The lady in charge of the inn, said it would be no problem, as long as they paid the storage fee. The Nosaurians smiled, with the Devaronians, there was a cost for everything. One of the Devaronian elders introduced the Nosaurian truck driver, to the guys working on the building. One of the Nosaurian elders asked a Devaronian elder why she did that. The Devaronian told her that all of the men working on their building, are truck drivers. One of their women had convinced the truck drivers to help them, since they are usually idle for most of the day. She asked if their driver would be required to work on the property. The Devaronian elder told her that he would only do so if he wanted too. Once he completed any maintenance work that the truck might need, he has free to do with his time, whatever is best for him. As long as he was ready to depart with the convoy, when they departed. He could even spend the day hunting if he wanted to. After the tour they went back to the compound to wait for the trip to Eriadu City.
Andriel had to ask a young mother to stop coming to their self-defence classes. Her son, the one who knew no clan when he was in the womb, is a brat. While she was in the class, he would bang on the barrier demanding to be let in. He had no respect for anyone, and would not listen to anyone. The other women complained to Andriel, that he is too much of a distraction. The young mother understood, she tried not to show her disappointment. It was hard for her to do anything she liked, without her son interfering. Sometimes she thought he took pleasure in doing so. Andriel told her that if she needed to come by the dress shop for a cup of tea, she was welcome. The young mother appreciated that, there were not too many places where she felt welcome.
In Eriadu City, the Devaronian elders took the rest of the group to the building were they normally spend the night. They let the Nosaurian Elders decide which buildings they thought would be best for the driver and his wife to live in, and for them to use as an inn. They said that once they decided, they would register it with the local authorities, so that it would be recognised as Nosaurian Clan property. The elders were surprised they could do that. The building beside the one they are in was rubble, but the next two buildings were adjacent to each other, and could easily be converted into one large building, so they decided on those two. The Devaronians thought they chose well, they all helped to clean up a room, and they spent the night together in that room. They did not post a watch, because they are a large enough group that they did not think they would be bothered. As it turned out there were enough light sleepers in the group, that they had an informal watch anyway.
The next morning they all had breakfast at the truck depot. After all the trucks had left, they all sat down with the manager to discuss the truck purchase. The manager was surprised by the large group until it was explained to him that they were all elders of two clans that were coming together for this business. That made more sense to the manager. He took them out to the garage, and pointed out the trucks that were available to be purchased. To the Devaronians they all looked the same. The Nosaurians were able to quickly determine which ones were in the best shape. They left the final decision up to the man who would be driving it. When he made his pick, the manager recorded all the id numbers, to complete the paperwork, to make the sale official. He had the driver move the truck from the storage garage to where the trucks were parked overnight, so that they could be loaded, and ready to go first thing in the morning. They completed the paperwork for the truck purchase, then they started on the contract that the truck would be operated under. The manager asked them if they had a name for their company. None of them thought of naming their company. The manager suggested that they call it, "Red and Horn Transport", since no-one had a better suggestion, they agreed to that name. All the paperwork was completed, everyone signed were they needed to sign. The manager shook everyone's hand, and reminded the driver he starts work first thing in the morning. From there they went to the quartermaster's store. The Devaronian elders asked the Nosaurians if they needed any supplies to help them get started on renovating the buildings, they would add the cost of the supplies to the purchase price of the truck. The Nosaurians were relieved, because they had used up most of their credits, in purchasing breakfast that morning. They gave the Devaronians a list of what they thought they needed. The Devaronian women added some food supplies to the list, they did not believe the Nosaurians could afford to purchase their meals at the truck depot every day, and it would be seven days before the first profit payment would be made. The Nosaurians were embarrassed that they forgot to include food on their list. Since the Devaronians did not say anything, neither did they.
After all supplies were purchased, they asked the clerk who they should talk to about administration of Eriadu City. In Old Town Factoryville, they talked to the Base Commander. The clerk suggested an office that they could try, if it was the wrong office, they could at least tell them the right office. They were able to register the properties to the Nosaurian Clan. They then went to the shuttle terminal, for the two Devaronian women to check their accounts, and to set up three accounts. One for each of the clans, and one for the truck driver. The truck driver would be responsible for depositing the credits in all three accounts, then passing along all the paperwork to the Innkeeper in Old Town Factoryville, who would forward it to the general store, where it would be verified, and a copy sent to the Nosaurian Elders. After all that, they left for the buildings that were now the property of the Nosaurian clan, with all the supplies that were purchased. While most of them helped in cleaning up, some of the Nosaurian men went out to gather combustibles for the stove, and hoping they could come across a chinchawwa or two to add to their dinner. It turned out that since that area had never been hunted, they were actually able to kill three chinchawwas. When the men came back with fuel for the stove and chinchawwas to add to their dinner. Two of the Nosaurian women started preparing dinner. When the stew was ready, the Devaronian women shared four to a bowl, and the Nosaurians shared three to a bowl. There was enough stew for everyone, just not enough bowls. The next morning all the Devaronian women went with the truck driver to the truck depot, to catch a ride back to Old Town Factoryville. Two of the women rode with their truck driver and paid him directly for the ride. He was able to use the credits to buy himself breakfast and still have some credits left over for lunch. Along with the regular Imperial cargo going with them, they were also able to load their supplies on their own truck, for the trip to Old Town Factoryville. Since transportation is included in the purchase of supplies, there was already a bonus in profits for the first trip.
One morning while Andriel and Uleanna were taking their shower. A shocked Uleanna tells her aunt that she is bleeding, but she does not know where she is bleeding from. Sure enough the water at her feet has blood in it. Andriel examines Uleanna carefully, she fines a little blood dripping down one leg, and is quickly able to determine its source. She asked Uleanna how old she is. Uleanna told her that she turned 15 last winter. Andriel asked her if she had ever bled like this before. Uleanna assured her she had not. Andriel told her that she was just experiencing her first moon cycle. Uleanna asked what that meant. Andriel told her that she was starting to become a woman. Uleanna still seemed confused. Andriel told her that her body was changing so that she will be able to conceive, and bring new life into the world. Uleanna wanted to know what other changes she could expect. Andriel told her that the mountains of her womenhood will become larger, her hips will become wider, and she might even start liking boys. Uleanna did not think she would start liking boys, but she wondered if her mountains would grow as big as her aunt's, and asked her. Andriel told her that her body will start looking like her mother's. Since grandmother thought she looked like Uleanna's mother, in a few years they might look like twins. Uleanna asked Aunt Andriel, why she asked how old she is. Andriel told her that normally this starts happening at a much younger age, but because she has been on a starvation diet for more than four years, her body has delayed her development, until her diet had improved. She asked her aunt whey she has not had her moon cycle since she has been here? Her body is healthy! Andriel asked her to think about what might cause the moon cycle to stop. Uleanna said that she now knew that starvation could interrupt the moon cycle, but she wasn't starving. She than asked if being sick could stop the moon cycle. Andriel told her that she was correct in her thinking, but she wasn't sick. Uleanna's eyes suddenly became very big, but before she could scream out, Andriel covered her mouth. Andriel asked the excited Uleanna to promise her she wouldn't scream. Uleanna nodded her head in agreement, and Andriel removed her hand. Uleanna asked, "Are you having a baby?" Andriel told her "Yes", but that she was not allowed to tell anyone just yet. Uleanna wanted to know why not? She wanted to run downstairs dripping wet and tell grandmother, she was so excited. Andriel told her that when people find out you are pregnant, they start asking all sorts of personnel questions. Questions she was not ready to answer right now. Uleanna asked her if she is trying to hide from the man who made her pregnant. Andriel told her that she very much loves her husband, and he gave his permission for her to come here, because he loves her and trusts her. "So why can't we tell people about the baby?" Andriel told her that many in the clan would not accept her husband, and it could cause the clan to fragment again, just when it was getting stronger. She did not want to be the cause of their collapse, and the loss of the clan. Uleanna understood that her aunt is serious, and agreed to keep her secret. Andriel promised her that she would not have to keep it too long. It was important for the wellbeing of the clan that they eventually find out. Andriel promised Uleanna that when the baby was born she would send her a gift, so that she and grandmother could celebrate with her. "If she is smart she would be able to tell from the gift, whether she had a boy or a girl."
Andriel had often teased her with that phrase "if she was smart", before presenting her with a puzzle, which she always managed to figure out. After their shower, Andriel gave Uleanna some padding, to place in her underwear to absorb the blood from her bleeding. She showed her were in the drawer she kept them, so that she could replace it when she needed to. Uleanna asked her why she brought so much, when she knew she is pregnant. Andriel told her, that there is always the chance that she could lose the baby, especially in the first two cycles, of her being there. Often when that happens there can be severe blood loss, she wanted to be ready in case that happened. Uleanna asked her, if she is still at risk? Andriel told her that a woman is always at risk, but the risk for her right now was very small. Uleanna hugged her Auntie, and told her that she would do anything to help her.
When they went down for breakfast. Andriel told grandmother that she needs to start teaching Uleanna the traditions, she just started her first moon cycle. She also suggested that she start teaching Matrucy as well. They are close to the same age, and she would not be surprised if she starts experiencing her first moon cycle soon. Grandmother agreed, as the oldest female in the clan, it is her responsibility to teach the young girls about their traditions. Uleanna told Matrucy's mother that Grandmother was going to start teaching her the traditions, because her first moon cycle had started. When Matrucy found out what it was, she asked Uleanna, if it is painful? Uleanna told her she did not feel anything, but was surprised to see her blood when she showered. Matrucy's mother could not help but brag that Grandmother was going to start teaching her daughter the traditions. Word spread through the clan, and before the end of the day, every mother with a teenage daughter, or a daughter who had been a teenager when the invasion occurred, approached grandmother about teaching their daughters the traditions.
Grandmother had agreed to start teaching the traditions the following day, after dinner. She then called a meeting of the Elders. They have a high number of young ladies that are of marrying age. Many of them have been raped, but Devaronian Law allowed them to still be considered virgins when seeking eligible suitors. Unfortunately, all the male teenagers were killed trying to protect their mothers and sisters during the invasion. So they have no eligible young men for their young ladies. They have to start reaching out to all the other clans, to help find suitable young men. The elders protested, they did not have that type of funds, to help their young women. Grandmother agreed that this is not a burden for 'the One Clan'. But it was a burden for the old clans, they all had contingency funds, in case a situation like this arouse. She then explained how to access the funds. They needed two individuals from each clan who are direct descendants of an elder of that clan, except her clan, because she was an elder, she would only need one direct descendant to accompany her. Clan accounts were always set up so that any two survivors could access them. She also told them that they needed to send someone right away to the quartermaster's store, to purchase enough feminine hygiene products for the entire clan. Women were starting to get healthy, and going into their moon cycles. The elders would let her know when they would be ready to go access the funds of the old clans. Since all the elders were direct descendants of the elders of the old clans, they did not have to hunt for volunteers, they knew their duty.
The human male that Andriel had helped, sought her out. He was helping with the rebuilding of the bakery. He told her that he had overheard two Devaronian women talking. They are quite concerned, that even with the bakery rebuilt, they did not have enough combustibles to fuel the ovens. During his time with the scavengers, they had come across what looked like a woodland in the city. He believed it was a park at one time. But since the invasion, it has grown wild and overgrown. There is enough dead branches on the ground, that they could fuel the bread ovens for a couple of months. Once that was consumed, if they had some axes and saws, they could cut back the underbrush, and fuel the ovens to the end of the year. Andriel asked him, what he would need, to get to this fuel source? He told her that there were a lot of scavengers, between here and the park. If they had a large enough group of people go, the scavengers would probably leave them alone. He suggested that most of the children should go, since it was their job to gather combustibles. Some of the Devaronian women, and a number of Nosaurian hunters, should also come, to show they meant business. Andriel told him, that she would talk with the elders, to see what they could organise. The elders gave Andriel permission to approach the Nosaurians in their name. As soon as they indicated they would go, they would have the Devaronians ready to go with them. Andriel approached the Nosaurian woman, about getting aid from her people, to go to where there is a large amount of combustibles lying on the ground. The Nosaurian mother grabbed Andriel's hand, and almost dragged her back to the Nosaurian dwellings. They were also having trouble finding fuel for their stoves. When they arrived at the home of an elder. The Nosaurian woman told the elder that she is the Devaronian warrior that everyone has talked about. Listen to what she has to say, and agree to help her. With that she left, and went back to the Devaronians.
The elder invited Andriel in and offered her tea. Something he hasn't been able to do for years. He invited her to speak, then stopped her, while he rounded up family members to go get the other elders. While they waited, he asked her whether she trusted the human male or not. Andriel told him about how they met. She embellished on Uleanna's use of her stones, in defeating the three scavengers. The elder had heard the story second hand from a number of sources, and understood he was talking to a modest woman, who was dangerous to underestimate. When the other elders arrived they had quite an entourage with them. This was the first time a Devaronian female had come to their dwellings. This must be something serious. Andriel was asked to tell them of her request. Before the elders could give their reply, everyone else told Andriel that of course they would help them. The elder had to quiet everyone, and remind them of their place. They asked her if she would be going. Andriel told them that she had too much to do, to go herself, but all the young women, and most of the adults, had received training from her, and they would be going. The elders were satisfied with her response. They asked her how soon the Devaronians would be ready to go. She told them, that they were waiting to hear from the Nosaurians. They would be ready when the Nosaurians, would agree to come. All the Nosaurians started talking to the elder, in their own language. Andriel could not understand what they were saying, but believed they were saying the sooner the better. After the elder quieted everyone down. He told Andriel that they would be ready to leave first thing in the morning. The people cheered, Andriel smiled, she liked this style of negotiations. When Andriel went back, she told the human to be ready to leave in the morning. She then told the elders, who scrambled to organise a group, for the morning.
The chinchawwas that they harvested that evening, were deboned, cut into strips and heavily seasoned. They were baked at a lower temperature for a longer period, until they almost dried out. Andriel told Uleanna that it was okay for her to share her food and water with the humans, since they were helping them a lot. Grandmother also cooked some flatbread on the stove for her to take on the trip. Andriel told her to pick sweetweed along the way, so that she could have it with her lunch. When Uleanna saw how much food they were preparing, she wondered, how many people she was expected to feed? She would probably be bringing most of it back with her. Andriel and Uleanna went through grandmother's store room, looking for rope and anything else that could be used to carry the sticks and brush, back with them. The next morning, when they went out to the square after breakfast, (they were now eating a porridge, using the meat stock to cook it in, and washing it down with tea,) they saw most of the Nosaurian children, and five hunters, coming down the hill towards the square. Most of the Devaronian children greeted them, since they were also going. All of the teenage Devaronian girls, and four Devaronian adults were also going with them. It was quite the parade, to see everyone following a human couple. Andriel was sure she read a story that started like this when she was a little girl. She hoped it had a happy ending.
The Nosaurian hunters were surprised that they were able to kill more chinchawwas along the way, than if they would have, if they stayed home. They actually had to stop themselves from hunting. The abundance of combustible materials, was just as the human described it. Everyone gathered as much as they could carry, except the Nosaurian hunters, who had fanned out to watch over everyone. The only incidents were the Devaronian children, stopping the Nosaurian children from stripping all the sweetweed patches bare. The Devaronian children taught them, that if you leave some, the plant will grow back, and they can pick some more, the next time they come this way. The Nosaurian understood, because all the sweetweed plants near their homes had died, now they knew what to do. The next incident happened while they broke for lunch. Some scavengers were seen approaching their group, and some overzealous young ladies knocked them to the ground, the Nosaurian hunters ran over in case they needed help. The Nosaurian hunters were impressed with how well the girls handled themselves. The scavengers pleaded with them to allow them to talk to the two humans with them. They meant no one any harm. The Nosaurian hunters told the girls to let them up, and one of the girls ran over to get the two humans. They did not want the scavengers getting any closer to the rest of their group. The scavengers told them that they had heard that they had escaped from the three bullies, with the help of the Devaronians. "Was it true?" The human couple told them it was true, than they pointed out Uleanna, and told them her aunt had saved their lives. The scavengers asked them if they thought she would help them. They were tired of fighting over scraps, they wanted to settle down and be families, again. The human man asked if they were by themselves, or if there were more. The scavengers said there were more. One of them whistled and waved his hand. A large group of scavengers, male and female of every age group appeared out of the rubble. They were almost half as large as the group who had come for sticks. They asked Uleanna if she thought her aunt would help them. Uleanna thought she would, but they cannot come empty handed. Uleanna and Matrucy shared what was left of their lunch with them. They made sure they each had a small piece of dried meat to chew on, and a piece of flatbread. Their own leaders told them to pick up as many sticks as they could carry. Uleanna asked the human male, if he could ask them to walk behind them, because they stank. The guy asked Uleanna if he smelt as bad when he came to their home. She nodded her head, which made him wince, because he could smell them. He asked them if they could stay in a group behind them, because the Nosaurian hunters were still suspicious of them. He did not have the heart to tell them that they stank.
When they came close to the Devaronian homes, the Devaronian children all ran home with their bundles of firewood, and to tell their mothers about the stinky humans that followed them. Of course they all wanted to see this. When they went outside they found the humans lined up behind the dress shop in two lines. Male and female, oldest to youngest. They were not in as bad a shape as the first couple who had sought Andriel's help, but they were all one meal away from starvation. The other thing everyone noticed was the big pile of firewood behind the dress shop.
Before the Nosaurians headed home. The Nosaurian hunters told the Devaronian elders that they would be back in seven days to do this again. Grandmother had sent Uleanna to the general store to buy some soap. She did not want to use up the soap Andriel had brought with her, because it was of a better quality, then what was available from the quartermaster's store. Andriel counted all the bodies, and broke them down into groups of about the same size, so that she could make them emergency outfits, because none of their clothes looked salvageable. She decided to use the military grey fabric, the elders had brought back for her, on their last trip to Eriadu City. Grandmother had poured out most of their broth into another pot, and added an equal amount of water, and started heating it up. She felt that the broth was about twice as strong as it was, when they helped the first couple. By watering it down it would not be too much for their systems. She also added water to the first pot, so that they would have enough for breakfast. The stove was full of pots as she was also boiling water for the tub. When Uleanna came back with the soap, grandmother sent her to ask Matrucy's mother if she had any water to spare, they cannot expect to use the same bath water for all of them. Ask Matrucy if she can go around asking the other households if they had any water to spare, and come right back. When Uleanna came back, grandmother poured the broth water mixture into a pitcher, and handed it to Uleanna to serve to their guests, along with a cup. Grandmother told her to start with the youngest children, and work her way up to the adults. Uleanna asked her why? Grandmother told her that she has no place to put the pot, so it was going to get hotter, adults can handle hotter temperatures then children can. Uleanna tried to be as quick as possible so the broth water mixture on the stove would not get too hot before she served the next full pitcher. After Uleanna had served everyone once, grandmother dumped what was left of the broth water mixture, back into the first pot. She then put another pot of water in its place. She suspected that she was going to go through a lot of the firewood Uleanna brought back, before the night was through. Uleanna went back outside to where she had lit her first fire. She had found a couple of handfuls of dry grass. She then started placing twigs, then sticks, on top of that. One of the children asked her, what is she doing? She told them that she was getting ready to start a fire. They asked her why? She told them that she would be burning stuff that was dirty, and stinky. They asked, if they could watch? She told them no, they would probably be inside by then. When the water started to boil. Grandmother called Andriel and Uleanna to the kitchen to start filling the tub. When it was comfortably warm. They brought the first woman into the kitchen. She undressed, and they helped her into the tub. Uleanna took her clothes outside, and placed them on top of the sticks. It did not take the older people long to figure out, what the dirty and stinky things were, that the girl was going to burn. When Uleanna came back in, grandmother handed her an empty pot and sent her over to Matrucy's house, for some water. Grandmother had started a fire in the potbellied stove in the store front, so that she could heat up some water for some tea. She wanted to give everyone who came out of the tub a nice hot cup of tea, so their bodies did not cool down too fast, and they became sick. When the women were washing their hair grandmother suggested that they submerge their heads completely under water, for as long as they could. That way if there is something in their hair that did not like being under warm soapy water, it would come out. If something did come out, grandmother would scoop it out of the water and kill it. No-one asked grandmother if anything came out. After every third person. They took about 1/3 of the water out of the tub, so the tub water would not get too dirty. After all the females were bathed. They were ushered into the workshop. The tub was completely drained and refilled with fresh warm water. The whole process was started all over with the men. No one objected to the three Devaronian ladies helping them, even though some of the young boys asked them not to look when they climbed in and out of the tub. Andriel found that all of the females had fallen asleep, to the sound of the hum of the sewing machine. She left them were they lay, wishing she had enough blankets to cover them. She was tempted to unroll one of the rolls of material to cover them. It would be close to impossible to roll it back up afterwards, not to mention all the wrinkles and creases that would be in it afterwards. The next time she was in the kitchen, she told grandmother that everyone in the workshop is sleeping. Grandmother told her to take all of the blankets off her bed. Andriel's special blanket was enough for her. So Andriel and Uleanna went up to grandmother's room and took all her blankets. In the workshop they were able to position the bodies closer together, so that they were able to cover a group with one blanket, and had a couple of blankets to spare. After all the males had finished bathing. They were told that all the females were fast asleep in the dress shop's workshop, and men were not allowed to enter. So they might as well make themselves comfortable and spend the night in the kitchen. Andriel handed them the two remaining blankets. They were also told about the urn in the kitchen, in case they had to get up to pee in the middle off the night. Grandmother and Andriel joined Uleanna outside, as she was still looking after the fire. They had a group hug, because it had been a long day. When the fire had burnt down to embers. They snuck back into the kitchen because all the guys were sleeping, and took potfulls of dirty water from the tub, pouring them over the embers, to put the fire out. When they were sure it was out, they all went to bed. In the morning Andriel and Uleanna went straight downstairs with grandmother. They did not feel comfortable taking a shower, when so many strange people were in the house. They found that some of the young children were already up, exploring this new place. Grandmother started cooking a big pot of porridge, hopefully enough to feed everyone. Andriel went into the workshop, to wake everyone up that was there, and to retrieve grandmother's blankets. They all followed Andriel and Uleanna, back into the kitchen. The young boys were happy to be reunited with their mothers and hugged them. The young girls went to wake up their fathers. With all the blankets retrieved, Andriel and Uleanna took them back to grandmother's room, and did up her bed for her. During breakfast the group told their story.
They had all lived in one neighbourhood. They often socialized together, and were all good friends. When the invasion happened, they were able to hide all the women and children in an old abandoned well, behind one of the properties. The Imperial Troopers, beat them severely, because they wanted to know where their women were. One of them was beaten so bad that he was bedridden for a month, everyone else did what they could to look after him. They found that by keeping together they were able to fight off those who would try to abuse them, like the three bullies. The hard part was finding enough food for everyone to eat, especially with three of the women still breastfeeding infants. Every day, they expected someone to come and help, and rebuild the city. Every day, they were disappointed. Not long ago, the three bullies came to them for help. They claimed they were waylaid by a strong female Devaronian and her brat, and they stole their two friends away. The group chased them away, and told them to go find someone who would believe their story. They knew what kind of friends they were to that couple. They were glad for them that they were able to get away from the three bullies. When one of their group spotted them in the middle of Devaronians and Nosaurians, they hoped that this meant the group's hardships were over. Last night was the first night in more than four years, where the adults were able to fall asleep without being afraid that they might be attacked in the middle of the night. They don't know how good that feels.
Grandmother told them that there were empty buildings across the square from them, right next to the building the young couple had moved into. If they stay they can register the building as theirs, with the Imperial Base Commander. Right now the Devaronian clan was starting to rebuild, they are paying people who are working for them with vouchers that they can redeem at the general store, for food. Andriel led them all to the roof to show them her garden. She picked some sweetweed for them to try, she told them what it was, and that it was poisonous for Twi'leks, but very nutritious for everyone else. Uleanna spoke up, and told everyone that it was especially good for young children and pregnant women. Then she became all embarrassed, because she thought she may have given Andriel's secret away, and went to her room, hoping Aunt Andriel was not angry with her.
Grandmother could not figure out Uleanna's actions, and asked Andriel to talk with her after their guests had left. Andriel entered Uleanna's room and found her crying. She closed the door to the room, so that no one could overhear them talking. She went over to Uleanna and gently rubbed her back, like her mother did when she was upset as a little girl, and asked her what was wrong. Uleanna apologized to her for almost giving away her secret. Andriel hugged her, and kissed her, and told her she did nothing wrong, and she did not need to apologize. Uleanna felt much better, and thanked her aunt for being so nice to her. Andriel thanked her for being such a good friend. Uleanna really felt good, and told her that she is going outside to check the snares. Grandmother saw a jubilant Uleanna come down the stairs and exit out the back door. When Andriel came downstairs, grandmother asked her what that was all about. Andriel told her that Uleanna thought she had spoken out of turn, and embarrassed her in front of all those new people. I reassured her that she did nothing wrong. Grandmother mentioned that Uleanna tries so hard to please her. Andriel said she knew, that is why she just told her that she is a good friend. Grandmother was very pleased with the way Andriel had handled the situation. Just then Uleanna stuck her head through the back door, and said, "Auntie come quickly it's a ratporcus." Andriel quickly grabbed a sharp knife, and a bowl, and rushed after Uleanna. In the second set of snares, Andriel saw that a juvenile ratporcus had chased a chinchawwa, and got its foot caught in a snare. A full grown ratporcus would have been strong enough to yank the snare right out of the ground. They had to hurry, because this one still might. Andriel told Uleanna to get the ratporcus' attention. Uleanna started shouting and jumping up and down waving her arms. Andriel grabbed a large piece of rubble, and hurled it at the ratporcus' head, as hard as she could, hoping to stun it. Right after she hit it in the head, she jumped onto the ratporcus, slit its throat, than jumped away before it could take a retaliatory bite. She then instructed Uleanna to place the bowl under the wound to catch the blood, but to be careful. It can crush her arm with one bite. Uleanna told her, that she believed the ratporcus is dead. Andriel had crushed its skull, when she hit it with the piece of rubble. When Andriel went to see for herself, she saw some movement. She told Uleanna to look. There is the chinchawwa, the ratporcus was chasing. She told Uleanna to go home and get another bowl.
The poor chinchawwa did not know if the red creature was friend or foe. It had just seen it kill its enemy, and now it was looking at it, it did not move, it just looked. The chinchawwa hoped that meant it was safe.
When Uleanna came back, Andriel approached the chinchawwa, with her left hand high. As the curious chinchawwa tried to see what was in the left hand, Andriel struck with her right. Uleanna quickly jumped down to try and catch as much of the blood as she could in the bowl. It always amazed Uleanna, how quickly her aunt can move. Andriel asked her if she had checked all the snares. Uleanna jumped up because she still needed to check one more set, and water the bait. When Uleanna came back and reported no activity at the other snares, Andriel handed her the knife. It was time she learnt to dress the chinchawwa herself. Uleanna had watched her aunt do this dozens of times. She was thrilled, for the chance to show she is a good student. It also reinforced the talk they had earlier. Her aunt no longer looked on her as a frail little girl, she liked being called her friend. After she had finished, Andriel asked her to take her chinchawwa to grandmother, and come back with a couple of bowls and a large pot. Uleanna handed the knife back to her aunt, and ran off to do as she was told. With all the extra kitchenware, Uleanna understood that dressing the ratporcus, was different, than dressing the chinchawwa. She hurried back, because she did not want to miss a thing. Matrucy had seen the two of them at one of their snare sites, when she had come back from checking hers. When she saw Uleanna come out of the house with a pot, she knew something was different, so she ran to catch up with Uleanna, who was running to her aunt. Matrucy called out asking her to slow down. Uleanna did not slow down, she called back that her aunt had killed a ratpocus. This news made Matrucy try to run even faster. When the two friends showed up panting, Andriel stifled an urge to start laughing. They must have a way of communicating, when one of them sees something interesting, the other is not far behind. She asked the two girls to run their hands over the fur. They did and told her how soft it felt, Andriel told her that she was going to try and preserve the softness of the fur, by using the techniques a friend had told her about. She cut open the belly just like she did on the chinchawwa, but then she cut from the belly to each leg and up each leg to where the fur stopped, she peeled back the skin slowly, because she did not want to take any of the flesh with it. She removed the guts and placed them in one bowl by themselves. She told them that they could not use the contents of the guts directly in the garden, because this creature eats meat as well as vegetation. If they just left it, it would attract rats. If they were really hungry, they could boil it and extract the nutrients that way, but they were not that hungry. So they were going to burn it, and use the ashes in the garden. Andriel placed the internal organs in another bowl. They could cook up most of them or add them to their broth pot. Andriel took the cut she had done to the throat earlier, and extended it around the neck. They were not going to try and preserve the fur from the head, because Andriel had damaged part of it when she crushed the creature's skull. Now Andriel had the fur separated completely from the body, but was using it as a blanket, to keep the meat from touching the rubble. She started cutting up the meat of the creature, and putting chunks of it in the pot. She asked Uleanna if she was able to lift the pot. It was too heavy for Uleanna, but when Matrucy helped her, they were able to lift it together. Andriel asked them to take the pot to grandmother, and to return with an empty one. They made a couple more trips, taking the meat and bone to grandmother. Grandmother already had Uleanna's chinchawwa baking in the oven. What she was doing with the meat the girls brought in, was to separate the meat from the bones, except for the ribs. Andriel was able to get the neck meat, right up to the base of the skull, and placed it in the pot. Andriel then carefully removed the crushed pieces of skull, placing them in the bowl with the guts. She then removed the brain from the skull, and found it was pretty much intact. She checked that all the bone fragments were removed from the brain, and placed it in the bowl with the internal organs. She then removed the tongue from the head and placed that with the internal organs. She placed what was left of the head in the bowl with the guts to be burnt. She ran over the inside of the hide with the sharp blade of the knife, to make sure there was nothing clinging to the underside of the skin. She then took a rough rock and buffed the skin to rough it up a bit. She draped the skin over one shoulder and picked up the pot of meat. She instructed Uleanna and Matrucy to grab the remaining bowls. Uleanna and Matrucy, were impressed that Auntie was able to pick up the pot by herself. Inside the kitchen, Andriel took the brain and put it in a small pot. She added an equal amount of water to the pot, and mushed up the brain with her hand, to make up a brain water mixture. She let the pot come to a boil, while she went over to help grandmother deboned the meat. After the meat was deboned. They put the bones in a pot and added water to the pot, to try and get the nutrients out of the bones. They would use the broth to make a stew. Grandmother had Andriel bring a large ceramic pot out of her storage closet. After giving it a quick wash they took the meat and covered the bottom of the pot. Grandmother than took some of her spices and sprinkled them over the meat, over this she sprinkled a healthy portion of salt. They placed another layer of meat on top of the salt, and repeated the process. Grandmother sent Uleanna to the store to buy as much salt as they would let her have. By this time Andriel believed the water brain mixture had boiled long enough and removed it from the stove top, to let it cool. She and grandmother had finished layering all the meat in the ceramic pot, with the spices. Grandmother completely covered the top layer of meat with salt, so that you could not see the meat. Then she put the ceramic lid on the pot. Because they had no working cooler unit, this was the only way they could preserve all that meat.
Grandmother cut up most of the internal organs and added them to their broth pot. Grandmother took a stick and shoved one end into the tongue, and placed that in the broth pot. The stick was to make it easy for her to fish it out later. She took the liver and cut it into slices, and seasoned them. She took some sticks and placed them in a pot of cold water to soak. She took a table with no top and a screen and went to the rooftop. She had Andriel place some pieces of rubble around the stove pipe sticking out of the roof she placed the table on the pieces of rubble so the top of it was about ½ meter above the top of the stove pipe she had everyone go back down to the kitchen to get all the slices of liver. She placed the screen over the table and placed all the slices of liver on the screen. This way all the smoke coming from what they were burning in the stove would come up through the screen around the slices of liver. When grandmother went down to the kitchen, she took some of the sticks that were soaking, and added them to the sticks that were already burning in the stove. This caused the amount of smoke going up the stovepipe to increase dramatically. By this time the brain water mixture had cooled down enough that Andriel could put her hand in it. She took this mixture and rubbed it into the skin on the underside of the ratporcus hide. She did it one more time before she went to bed. After each rubbing she covered the hide with a wet towel so it would not dry out completely.
Because they did not have a meat saw to cut the rib bones. Grandmother covered the ribcage of the ratporcus with a towel, and placed a board on top of the towel. She asked Andriel to sit on the board to see if she could break the ribs. She wasn't heavy enough, so Uleanna got up onto her lap and bounced up and down, until the ribs finally broke, they came close to falling off of the table, onto the floor, and breaking some ribs of their own. Grandmother cut the meat along were the ribs broke, and had Andriel cut through the sternum. They now had three racks of ribs. The back rack with most of the meat, was a double rack because they could not cut through the back bone, and the two sections of the front ribs. Grandmother seasoned them up, and asked Matrucy to invite her mother to join them for lunch. Uleanna and Matrucy, where mesmerized, watching everything that grandmother and Andriel were doing. How did they know how to do all this stuff? They were acting like they did it all the time, but this was the first time either of them had seen this done. Matrucy went home to tell her mother that they were invited to Uleanna's for lunch. Matrucy's mother asked her, if she had found out anything about the human strangers that came back with them yesterday? Matrucy sheepishly told her mother that she forgot. Her mother asked her, how she could have forgotten? Matrucy told her that Auntie had killed a ratporcus, and proceeded to tell her mother about everything she saw. Her mother made her stop, there was too much information. She asked her, how Auntie had killed the ratporcus? Matrucy told her she did not know, because it was already dead when she saw it, but she did mention that auntie had crushed its skull. Even Matrucy's mother forgot about the people, as she was trying to figure out, how auntie killed the ratporcus. Mother asked her if she was supposed to come over right now, or later. Matrucy thought it was okay for her to come over right now, but she did not think lunch would be ready for a while. Just at that moment Uleanna knocked on the back door. When Matrucy's mother opened it. She saw Uleanna and Andriel standing there with armloads of sticks. Uleanna told her that they were for the bakery, where did they want them to put them. If they left them piled up behind the dress shop the children will take them so they do not have to go hunting for combustibles, when they start running out of sticks. Matrucy's mother hesitated, then told them that they could pile them in her kitchen, because the bakery was not secure with the construction, that was still going on. So they piled the sticks against the wall, and told them there was a lot more. Matrucy and her mother followed them, to help bring in all the sticks. Andriel asked her when the bakery would be ready. Matrucy's mother thought all the construction would be completed in three days. Then they would have to spend a day washing everything down before they could fire up the ovens and start baking bread. Andriel asked her how many people she would need to help her in the bakery. Matrucy's mother thought she would need at least two other women to help her get started. They might even need more if they cannot keep up with demand. Then Matrucy's mother stopped moving. She just realized that she had not asked anyone to help out in the bakery. It was a good thing Andriel asked, or she would have been opening the bakery with only Matrucy helping her. After moving the pile of sticks, they all went to the dress shop kitchen to see if lunch was ready. Grandmother had them set the table, then sent them to the roof to pick sweetweed, to have with their legumes and ribs. When they came back down, grandmother already had the ribs on the table, and cut them into groups of two or three ribs so that it would be easier to eat. They found that they were all full, yet half the ribs were still untouched. Grandmother put the rest of the ribs in the oven to dry out. That way they could snack on them if they became hungry. While they were enjoying their after meal tea. Matrucy' mother mentioned, all the preparation work they did that morning, processing the ratporcus meat. Would it be alright for her to see what they did? Grandmother told her that there was not much to see, now that most of the work was done, but Uleanna can show her where everything is. Uleanna showed her the ceramic pot with all the meat in it. When Matrucy's mother lifted the lid, she was disappointed, because all she saw was salt. The bones simmering in the pot smelt nice, but they were not much to look at. Uleanna grabbed the tip of the stick to take the tongue out of the broth. Matrucy's mother wrinkled her nose and told her to put it back. Uleanna then took her up to the rooftop to see the slices of liver in the smoke coming from the stove pipe. Matrucy's mother asked her how long they needed to be up there, Uleanna replied that they will be there until grandmother tells them to take them down. She nodded her head and followed Uleanna down to the kitchen. In the kitchen Matrucy's mother told grandmother and Andriel, that they still had one problem with the bakery, that she doesn't know how to overcome. Everyone is used to getting up when the sun comes up. It is the only clock they have. The bakery needs to have the bread baked, and ready to sell, when everyone wakes up. They have no way of getting up before then.
Grandmother told her that she regularly wakes up in the middle of the night. She walks around, makes sure everything is all right, then goes back to sleep. If she wants, she can come by and wake her up, before she goes back to sleep. Uleanna started to giggle, she thought it was funny that the whole community would be dependent on grandmother not being able to sleep through the night.
The next morning, after Uleanna had finished checking all the snares. Andriel asked her if she could get Matrucy for a job she wants them to do. When they both came back to the kitchen, Andriel handed them the fur, which was still moist, and asked them if they could stretch it between them until it was dry to the touch. Both girls decided to make a game of it. They sat on the kitchen floor, and braced their legs against each other. Then they tugged on the fur as hard as they could trying to pull the other person towards them. After ten seconds they would stop. Rotate the fur slightly and try again. By the time they completed one full rotation of the fur they were pretty tired. So they tried something new. They decided to use one of the chants they used in another game, as a form of timing. One girl would say something, and the other girl would respond. They would keep going until one of them messed up the timing. They used the timing to tug the fur, turn it, and tug it again. Andriel found an excuse to stay in the kitchen to watch the girls play as they worked. The girls were so caught up in their play that they did not notice that the fur had dried. Andriel had to stop them to check the fur. She then took the girls to the roof with her. She had them remove all the sliced pieces of liver smoking on the screen. She placed the fur skin side down on the screen, so that it could cure in the smoke. When they all went back to the kitchen, Andriel put some of the sticks that were still soaking in water, into the stove, to generate more smoke. Andriel asked grandmother if it was okay for Matrucy to stay for lunch, as payment for the work she did. Grandmother said she could, and her mother could join them if she wanted. Grandmother had made a nice stew the previous evening, from the broth she made by cooking the bones. It had some of the potatoes they still had, some roasted grains, the tongue was skinned, then cut into pieces. So was the heart. Grandmother also added the legumes that had been left over from yesterday's lunch. She had made some flat bread to go with it, and everyone found it very filling. Grandmother had added some water to what was left, so it could simmer all night, without burning. They were going to have what was left of the stew, with fresh flatbread, and sweetweed salad. Matrucy's mother joined then, and brought a chinchawwa, that she had baked that morning for their lunch, to share with everyone. She really liked grandmother's stew, and asked her what meat she had put in it, that tasted so good. Grandmother told her, "ratporcus", but did not mentioned what parts. Uleanna giggled, because she knew what parts, and remembered how she reacted to the tongue she had shown her. After lunch, Andriel brought the fur down, for everyone to feel how nice and soft it is. Matrucy's mother asked Andriel what she was going to do with it. Andriel told her that she was going to give it to her friend. She likes to design outfits, using furs in the design. Maybe she will design something for Andriel, using this fur.
When Chitrah returned to Eriadu from Luptoom, he felt both pleased, and tired. The two technicians performed admirably. He left the sample catalogues he had obtained from the different textile mills, on the dining table. Andriel was sure to spot them when she came back. He missed her so much, that his heart ached. Instead of going to sleep on the bed, he made a bed out of the couch, like he did before. He thought that if he slept on the bed, he would miss her too much. He arranged for the computer to wake him, first thing in the morning. He wanted to see if he could find the truck driver Andriel had mentioned, Orlo. He wanted to see if he could pass a message along to Andriel. He could not write down what he wanted to, but it was important that she got it. He was expecting to fly out with his two new trainees, either tomorrow afternoon or evening. The next morning, Chitrah dressed right away when he was awaken by the computer. He figured he could shower and have breakfast, after he came back from the truck depot.
When he entered the lounge at the depot, he saw a number of people eating the breakfast they had purchased from the machines. He went up to the first person he saw, and told them he was looking for Orlo. They guy turned and shouted across the room, "Hey Orlo! This guy wants to talk to you." A heavy set gentleman, who fit Andriel's description, got up from his breakfast, and walked up to Chitrah. He extended his hand, and introduced himself. Chitrah shook his hand, giving his name, then mentioned that he is Andriel's husband. Orlo invited him to come and sit with him, while he ate his breakfast. He bought Chitrah a hot beverage from the machine. He told him that it was something new they recently, included, it's called coffee. He doesn't know if it will be permanent, because it tastes funny. Chitrah tried a sip, he knew what Orlo meant, but he could see people getting used to the bitter taste. After sitting down, Chitrah asked him if he could pass along a note to Andriel, and handed the note to Orlo. It was just an unsealed, folded piece of paper. Orlo opened it and read it, it just said, "1 month". He put it in his pocket, and told Chitrah, he believes he knows how to get it to her. He told Chitrah that he has quite the wife, all the drivers are in love with her. Chitrah smiled, he told Orlo that he knows she has that effect on men. Orlo smiled at that comment, he heard good things about this contractor. Now he believes that they are true. He told Chitrah that he had seen her not too long ago. "She is in good health, and is doing good work with her people." Orlo noticed his eyes water a little from the news. He does look a little love sick, maybe the news was what he needed to hear. Chitrah thanked him for the information, and left him to finish his breakfast. Orlo noticed that he had only drunk half the cup that he purchased him, so Orlo had the rest with his breakfast. He thought they made a good couple. He did not know why Andriel was doing what she is doing, but he knew that she was not trying to get away from him. In his heart, he hoped things would work out for both of them.
In Old Town Factoryville, Orlo hung around near the entrance to the base. Most of the sentries knew he drove truck, so they did not try to chase him away. When Orlo saw the patrol he was looking for, he asked the patrol leader if he could have a word with him. The patrol leader halted the patrol and stepped aside to talk with this man. Orlo asked him if he could pass along a note to (he cleared his throat), his girlfriend. Then handed the note to him. The patrol leader read the note, then put it away, he knew who this guy was talking about, and was grateful that none of his men heard him, or they would be mocking him again, on today's patrol. The patrol leader told him that he would try, and went back to his men. He led them straight to the dress shop, and told them to wait outside. When he entered the storefront one of the ladies having tea with the old one, called out to Andriel that her boyfriend is here. When Andriel stuck her head through the curtain, he asked her permission to enter the workshop. Andriel asked him to wait one minute. As it was only her and Uleanna in the workshop, she waited a few moments before opening the curtain to let him in. He made a pretence of looking around, dropped the note on the sewing machine and left. Andriel saw the note right away, and was sure Uleanna had not seen it, since the sewing machine would have blocked her view. She read the note, than hid it. She asked Uleanna if she would like some tea. Uleanna said that she would, so Andriel went into the kitchen to get them both a cup of tea. While she was there she burnt the note. She knew it was Chitrah's hand writing, and suddenly missed him very much. She looked sad when she came back with the tea. Uleanna asked her if she was alright, she stroked Uleanna's head and told her she just misses someone. The lady who called out that her boyfriend was there, entered the workshop, and asked what he wanted? Andriel told her that he just wanted to look around. The lady went back to the storefront, they were talking about how salty the bread was the first day, the bakery opened. It turned out that all three ladies had thought the other ladies had forgotten to add salt. No one complained, because it had been such a long time since anyone had a loaf of bread, it wasn't until they took a break, and shared a loaf that the ladies realised how salty it was. It was only after each one admitted that they had added salt to the bread that they figured out what had happened. They were embarrassed, but still had a good laugh. One of the Nosaurian elders, had sent one of his relatives to ask them when they were going to bake the salty bread again. So now they make one loaf with extra salt sprinkled on top, just for him.
A lot of things were happening in the community. The children thought, that with this new source of combustibles, they would have more time to play. The mothers had decided that they now had time to be instructed. Up until now, everyone was using all of their time just to survive, now that things were being organised, and they were starting to have some spare time. There was almost five years of education that they needed to learn quickly. Every time they went out to gather more firewood, scavenger families would follow them back. One such family, had previous experience in the hospitality industry. When they found out that the Devaronians had an inn and cantina. They moved into the building next to the inn, so that they could work in occupations they were already familiar with. Andriel had stopped sewing. She was now leaving all the sewing to Uleanna. Ever since, she received the note, she felt a greater urgency, to try and teach, as much as possible, to Uleanna. A lot of the sewing was repetitive, so it was similar to practicing on practise patches. The difference was, that Uleanna would be seeing her mistakes, walk around, for a very long time. Uleanna was also given an assignment. She needed to design, and sew an outfit for grandmother. Grandmother liked that assignment, she could hardly wait to see what her granddaughter would make for her. She knew this also meant that Uleanna's training was going well. She knew from the beginning, that Andriel would be with them for only a short time. The more of the basics, Uleanna could learn from Andriel, the easier it would be for grandmother to teach her the rest.
The first planet Chitrah went to, with his new trainees, was Phelarion. It was a mining planet. In many ways it reminded Chitrah of Deysum III. It had sent a large part of its planetary defence force to Seswenna, to help battle the Sith Empire Invasion. So when Seswenna fell, it automatically capitulated to the Sith Empire. Here again they let him pick and choose which assignments he wanted to take on. They just indicated which assignments were more urgent to them. He was able to incorporate all the more urgent assignments, into his training schedule for the technicians.
A few days after receiving Chitrah's note, Andriel and Uleanna were working in the workshop, and grandmother was having tea in the storefront. Suddenly there was an urgent banging on the doorframe of the storefront. Andriel was the first one to the door followed closely by both Uleanna and grandmother. They found two Nautolans standing there, with two Nosaurians standing behind them. One of the Nautolans addressed Andriel. He told her that she must hurry and follow them. Their party, which was coming to meet her, was attacked by a street gang. Their elder was severely injured, and may be dying. Instead of following them, Andriel ran back into the dress shop, up to Uleanna's room. She grabbed one of the two medi-kits she had purchased at the quartermaster's store. Andriel ran back downstairs and out the door, telling the Nautolan to lead the way. Grandmother noticed the medi-kit, in Andriel's hand, and was taken by surprise that Andriel had a medi-kit. Then she reproved herself for being surprised, Andriel can apparently retrieve whatever she needed out of thin air. That is why the chinchawwas were always so intent on watching her left hand, they too wanted to see what she was going to come up with next.
As they were jogging along, the Nautolan told Andriel that they were attacked by a street gang on their way here. "The elder had placed himself between us and the street gang to try to buy us some time to get away. But we could not leave the elder, he is the heart of our community. One of the Nosaurian hunters had seen the street gang getting ready to attack us, and ran back to his dwelling to muster as many Nosaurians as he could, male and female, to come to our rescue. When they were close enough, they let fly with their slings, quickly grabbing the attention of the street gang. This gave us the opportunity to rally around our fallen elder, pushing the street gang back. The Nosaurians continued to pelt the street gang with stones from their slings as they approached, causing some of the street gang to stop fighting, and run away. When they were close enough, the Nosaurian males lowered their heads and charged. The rest of the street gang panicked, and ran away. Not wanting to be impaled on the Nosaurians' horns. Our elder had enough strength to ask the Nosaurians, if they knew of the Devaronian warrior female, who had brought the Devaronians together. They said they did, and these two brought us to you. The elder wanted to see you one more time, before he passed away."
Andriel did not remember meeting a Nautolan elder, except on Lianna. Had one of them traveled to Eriadu to help his people, and heard that she was also there, if so, why did he call her a warrior female, none of them knew about her practising self-defence. As they jogged on, Andriel saw a group of Nosaurians up ahead. As they came closer the Nosaurians parted to let her and the two Nautolan men through. She saw that they had been standing around two Nautolans. One was lying on his back, the other was kneeling beside his companion, trying to do what he could to help his fallen comrade. The one on his knees spotted the medi-kit in Andriel's hand. He asked her if she knew how to use it? Andriel confessed that she didn't. He said he did, so Andriel handed it to him. Andriel wondered why they called the injured Nautolan the elder, he was clearly younger than the other three. As she knelt down beside his head, she suddenly recognised who he is. This was the young Nautolan who had followed her up the building, and attacked her, because he was hungry. She remembered reprimanding him, then sharing her food with him. He promised that he would start doing things that would make his mother proud. Tears came to her eyes, and ran down her face as she remembered. She gently lifted his head and cradled it in her lap, as a pillow for his head. He somehow revived himself, and looked up into her eyes, telling her all that he accomplished, since he last met her. She told him that she is proud of him, and was sure his mother is proud of him. She also said that she was sure his mother would say this was a good beginning. He asked her what she meant. She told him that his friends had told her, that he was the heart of their community. Their two communities, needed to work together, if they wanted to continue to improve the lot of their people. If he died, his community would not only lose its heart, it would also lose its will to reach out and help those around them. This would cause his community to die. He promised her that he would continue to fight to live, so his people would continue to live and to grow.
While they were talking, the medic was working. First he sniffed each puncture wound, he was trying to determine if the intestine had been punctured. When he could not detect any bad odours, he would disinfect the wound, than seal it up. He gave him an injection to relieve the pain, which happened at the same moment that Andriel had told him she was proud of him. He administered a general injection of the kolto compound when Andriel told him that his work isn't finished. Which is why he had the confidence to promise to keep fighting to live. After he had gone back to sleep, the medic informed everyone that it was safe to move him now. A Nosaurian elder said that their homes were the closest. All the Nosaurians lifted him as one. Each Nautolan lifted their own heavy back pack. Andriel took the pack that the elder had been carrying. Her nose told her why the street gang would risk attacking the group, so close to the Nosaurians. She could smell the distinct odour of smoked fish. It would have been worth the risks, if they could have gotten their hands on just one backpack. At the hut the elder led them to, the medic opened the elder's back pack, and gave a large smoked fish to every household. He did not think it fair to only give it to the ones who came to their rescue. To him the community rescued them, so the community should be rewarded. The elder praised his wisdom, because they had to leave some behind to protect their homes, and their children. The medic wanted to give some to Andriel for her help. Andriel told him that she would wait until the elder could give it to her himself. She was sure that was what the elder wanted to do, by risking this trip. The medic agree, and told Andriel that she had saved the elder's life twice today. She had saved his life by bringing the medi-kit. More importantly, she had saved his life by giving him the will to live. He had only clung onto life, because he wanted to see her before he died. She had given him a reason to keep holding on, before he let go.
That night was a special feast night for the Nosaurians, they loved fish. So this treat was special for them. They also talked about what the Nautolan elder claimed he accomplished, after meeting the Devaronian woman. His accomplishments were praiseworthy, but to credit them to her, was amazing. She definitely must be a special woman to have that much of an influence over so many people, and so many communities. They had already attributed the improvement in the health and wellbeing of their own community to her. Now they were enjoying this special treat because of her. Andriel went home to her family that night. She knew they would be concerned about her wellbeing, and they would want to know why she was asked to go with the group. She also did not want to be a burden on the Nosaurians, when she did not have to. All the elders were waiting with grandmother and Uleanna. Andriel told them a very condensed version about meeting a Nautolan male the last time she was on Eriadu. She had not yet figured out a way to them, which is why she never came to them. She had encouraged him to do those things that would make his mother proud of him. Somehow he had figured out that she was back, and wanted to meet with her, to tell her all he was able to accomplish, since last meeting her. She told them what she was told about the street gang attacking them, and how the Nosaurians rescued them. The Nautolan medic was able to save the elder's life using the medi-kit, she had brought him. They carried him to a Nosaurian home, were he will spend time recovering. The reason they were attacked, was because their back packs were full of smoked fish. She believes that they were coming to trade them for supplies. Everyone was excited about the prospect of eating smoked fish. The elders were able to figure out, that if Andriel was here before, and had to leave, than chances are that she would have to leave again, sometime soon. Fortunately Uleanna had not figured it out, she was so proud of her aunt, that people would risk their lives, just to see her. The one thing the Nautolans brought, that truly delighted Andriel, were fish eggs that had been smoked while still in the sacks they were stored in, in the female fish's body. She broke the sacs open, mixed a little oil with them, and spread it on a fresh slice of bread, and she was in heaven. Even the Nautolans tried it her way, and enjoyed it. She told them all how the nobility in Eriadu City would give their arm and leg, just to sample what they were eating. Grandmother wondered how Andriel knew this about the nobility, Andriel was not the type to make empty statements.
From Phelarion, they flew to Uvena Prime. Here Chitrah found they were dealing with more sophisticated computer systems. The Sith Empire was very interested in the Shistavanens technology, and research.
The Shistavanens are a hairy, canine bipeds. Uvena Prime is their home world. They have high-set dog like ears, and long muzzles. They have large sharp canine teeth, and sharp claws on both their hands and feet. Their bodies are covered in a thick brown or black fur. They can walk either on all fours, or upright on two legs. Upright they reach an average height of 1.8 meters. Their most notable feature are their eyes, which glow red. They are isolationist, and do not like outsiders. The Shistavanens, had a treaty with the Republic. They would not build large ships, and the Republic would keep the system free of pirates and slavers. (The Republic was interested in limiting competition for their ship builders.) When the Sith Empire appeared in their system with their massive fleet, the Shistavanens hoped they could get the same treaty. The Sith did not care what size of ships they built, considering that all their ship building occurred on the planet's surface. They forced them to start constructing a space station over Uvena Prime, so that they could dock their large ships. They made them build Ministry buildings on all of their planets, including the housing. Then staffed them all with humans. They demanded full access to their technology, and all their research, then they would keep the pirates and slavers out of their system.
One of the Shistavanens' great passions, is martial arts. When they found out that Chitrah had self-defence training, they were more accepting of him, then of the two technicians, he was training. They had invited him to a martial arts class to assess his skill level. They could tell right away that he was familiar with more than one technique. Though he was no-where near the level of a master, they were willing to share some of their technique with him, if he was willing to share with them. They encouraged him to deepen his pursuit of the martial arts, because he had a natural aptitude to instruct. Chitrah was sorry he would only be on Uvena Prime for half a month. The short time he was with them, he was really getting into their style of martial arts. The other thing that fascinated Chitrah was their computer systems. He had contemplated building a whole new computer for himself, based on their systems and components. It would have been lighter and more compact. The only drawback, was he would not have been able to maintain it, without a whole shipment of components from Uvena Prime.
The inn and cantina were a big hit for the Imperial Troopers in Old Town Factoryville, when it opened. The builder and his workers did an excellent job with the construction. They had been able to salvage all the furniture that was needed from the buildings nearby. They had installed a fully furnished commercial kitchen, complete with walk-in cooler and freezer units, next to the cantina. All that was needed was a power source. They had even set up a water tower on the roof, so that there would be running water in the inn, all day long. The base's engineers convinced the Base Commander, that it was in the best interest of base morale, to transmit power to the inn. When the Base Commander gave them permission, they installed a tower on the roof of the inn, as far as possible from the water tower, with a receiver disc, to absorb the power transmitted to it from the base, making all the equipment the builder and his crew installed, operational. Since they had no metering system at the base, the Base Commander charged the inn a flat fee every month, for the power. Since there was no cashier on base to receive the credits, the Base Commander put it in his own pocket. Matrucy's mother would go to the inn, every seven days, for one day, to bake bread. She would arrive in the late afternoon, and go right to bed. Because they had power, the hotel computer would wake her at the designated time. And she would go straight to the commercial kitchen. At least one of the human staff, would come in and help her. By sunrise they were pulling fresh loaves out of the oven. That morning the cantina would be packed for breakfast. By lunch time Matrucy's mother had prepared enough loaves, that they kept some in the cooler, so they could cook them all day, and they had more in the freezer, so they could bake them every morning, until Matrucy's mother returned.
She would usually have lunch in the inn, and always found a patrol heading towards the Devaronian neighbourhood, when she was ready to go home. She did not know at first that they had been waiting for her. When the Nosaurian elders saw what the builder had accomplished with the inn in Old Town Factoryville, they asked the builder's help, to design a water system for their inn in Eriadu City. He showed them the basics, for building a water tower. He also showed them how to use the sun's energy, so that they would at least have warm water for the morning shower. Following the advice from the Devaronians, they paid him for his help. They followed his plans, the best that they could, and were rewarded with the results they wanted. Having warm water in the morning for showering, was something the Devaronians appreciated more than the Nosaurians.
To find inspiration for designing grandmother's outfit, Uleanna started looking through designs her mother had drawn, that she had found one day in the workshop. She was a very happy young lady the day she found them, and Andriel was a good source in explaining some of the sewing techniques required to produce the designs. Unfortunately there was only so much she could do with the manual sewing machine. The more intricate sewing, she would need to do, for some of the designs, would require the computer assisted sewing machine, which she could not use until they were connected to a power source again. Knowing her limitations actually helped her in coming up with her final design. As Andriel had instructed her, she not only drew how she thought it would look from the front, but she had to draw how she thought it would look from the side, and from the back. This forced her to have a 3D image in her mind.
When she was finished with the drawings, she had to get Aunt Andriel's approval, before she could start sewing. When she presented the drawings to Aunt Andriel, she studied them like they were very important documents. Then Andriel asked her how she planned on achieving certain aspects of the drawings. When Andriel was satisfied with her answers, she gave her the go ahead, to get started. This produced a new sensation in Uleanna, she was actually going to produce her very own design. Uleanna learnt the art of balancing her time, between what she needed to do for their customers, and the project she wanted to work on herself. She found that they had to call her from the workshop to make sure she would get all the other things done that she was responsible for. She loved the self defense workouts, and demonstrating self-defence techniques to the older women, but if Matrucy did not come by to get her, she would have forgotten about them entirely. She wondered if grandmother and Aunt Andriel had the same problem when they worked on one of their designs.
The big day came, Uleanna had finished her first design. Grandmother came into the dress shop for her granddaughter to dress her. Andriel was there, ready to assist Uleanna, in any way she needed, this was her show, Uleanna was the one in charge. Matrucy and her mother were eagerly waiting in the storefront, waiting for the big reveal. Uleanna wanted her grandmother to look like the astute businessman that she is, but elegant at the same time. She settled on a business suit design. She started with a white blouse. It looked like a simple white blouse, but as you came closer, you could see a white on white design. Elegant white flowers hand stitched into the blouse. It gave a richness and elegance to the blouse. In a sense warning anyone wanting to deal with her that she was not a simple lady you can easily push around. Tread carefully, or risk being destroyed. The suit itself was between a medium to dark brown. Uleanna was inspired by the colour of the ratporcus fur, and liked the way it looked against grandmother's natural tones. It looked like grandmother was wearing a full length skirt with multiple creases or pleats. It was only with close examination, that you could see this affect was produced by sewing, not a hot iron. Making the outfit easier to maintain. The pleats were continued up into the short jacket, giving it a continuous vertical look. It was only when grandmother moved that you noticed the skirt was not a skirt at all, but pants. Grandmother was delighted with the look, and let her granddaughter know. Andriel liked how well it showed Uleanna's sewing prowess, both by hand, and with the machine. Uleanna was ecstatic, it was exactly like she imagined it. When grandmother went through the curtain to the storefront, she was pleased to see a small crowd had gathered. Word had spread that this was Uleanna's big reveal. A number of older girls had shown up to support her. They liked how Uleanna carried herself, always encouraging others, more mature than her years. Yet like her aunt, still a kid at heart. They were not as close to her as Matrucy, but they were proud that she was their friend. Everyone applauded when grandmother came out, they made room, so that grandmother could walk up and down, showing how well it fit. Andriel than pushed Uleanna into the front room, and again everyone applauded. The future of the dress shop is in good hands. Uleanna invited everyone into the workshop where they could celebrate with her. Andriel came out of the kitchen, with a large tray of food in her hand. Matrucy's mother had made some special loaves for this occasion, they were ¼ the diameter of a regular loaf, but twice as long. The bread was then cut widthwise, into 2cm slices. There were pieces of smoked fish on fresh bread, there was oil and fish eggs on fresh bread. There was also fried pieces of salted ratporcus meat on fresh bread. Which were the first to disappear, since no one had tried it before. Then there was the smoked chinchawwa meat on fresh bread (this was grandmother's experiment after trying the smoked fish), when they realised what it was, everyone had to try it, then asked grandmother how she did it. There were also generous amount of sweetweed on every tray as an edible garnish. Most of the people found it was good to eat the sweetweed, before trying something new. The other thing that was new, was Andriel's attempt at trying to make new ale. Andriel had been a little impatient, when trying to make it, so it came out tasting more watery than Andriel would have liked. It was something new, and everyone liked it, because it was different from the tea and water they were used to. Both grandmother and Uleanna had helped her make it, and they were confident that they could do a better job of it next time.
A couple of mornings later, found a tearful Andriel, and a tearful Uleanna, in Uleanna's room. Andriel was dressed in an outfit that Uleanna had made for her. The same outfit she made for every Devaronian, who was going to the inn. This morning during breakfast, she had broken the news that she is leaving today. Uleanna had started crying right away, the two older women started crying because she was crying. They both came over and hugged her. She whispered to Andriel that she did not want her to go. Andriel told her she had to go. Now she was showing her everything she was leaving behind. Now they were hers. The only thing she was taking back with her, was the outfit she was wearing, with her Ministry security id, sewn into a safe place, after Uleanna had given her the finished product. She had her bag, and the fur that they had cured. They both went downstairs, and Andriel explained to grandmother all of the features of the thermal blanket she is leaving. Grandmother asked her why she wasn't taking it with her. Andriel told her that she suspected that all her belongings were going to be searched when she left Eriadu, and she did not want the Sith Empire getting their hands on it. That is when grandmother understood how special of a blanket it is. Andriel told grandmother that she knew a lingerie manufacturer, who had a lot of discontinued stock. She would place a personal guarantee on the first shipment, so she hopes grandmother remembers to pay for it. If they want anymore, they will have to order it themselves. There was a knock on the back door, it was Matrucy, she noticed that Uleanna had not come out to check her snares, she was just checking to see if she was all right. Uleanna started crying again, "No! Everything is not all right! Auntie is leaving!" Matrucy came running into the kitchen, crying as she came, she hugged Andriel and asked her not to leave because they love her. Andriel hugged her back, and told her that she loves them all too, that is why it was so hard for her to go, but she had to go. Matrucy ran home crying to her mother, soon they were both back, at the back door. It was evident that Matrucy's mother had also been crying. Uleanna told them to come in. Matrucy's mother asked if it was true that she is going. Andriel told her it is true. Matrucy's mother went up to Andriel and hugged her, telling her how much they were all going to miss her. Then she did something surprising, she rubbed her cheek against Andriel's, because she wanted her to know how important she is to her. Then all the other women wanted to do the same, and asked Andriel if they could. Andriel looked at grandmother, she nodded her consent, than she looked at Matrucy's mother. How could she say no when she had done it herself. So Andriel started with Matrucy, who thanked her for coming to them. Then she did it with Uleanna, who kissed her on the cheek after they rubbed cheeks. The she did it with grandmother, who was trying to be strong for everyone, but broke down crying in Andriel's arms. Andriel rubbed her cheek again and hugged her, then she whispered in her ear, "I'm going to miss you all, Dreamara." They all went out front to wait with her, for a patrol that would be going in the right direction. Soon word started spreading, that Andriel was leaving. Everyone stopped working, Devaronian, Nosaurian, and Human, to come up to her and say goodbye. A patrol came by, seeing all the people gathered in front of the dress shop, they asked what was going on. They told them that the lady who saved their lives, was leaving, and everyone was lining up to say goodbye, so the patrol lined up like everyone else. It turned out that the patrol leader was the one they nicknamed the boyfriend, his whole patrol respected and admired her. He asked her for the privilege of having her walk with his patrol, rather than following them as they walked to their base. Andriel turned to grandmother, and asked her if she should trust them. Grandmother laughed, she told her that she did not have to trust them. She was perfectly capable of keeping them in their place. This made everyone laugh, even the patrol. Andriel agreed to walk with them, and they headed out right away. When they neared the base, Andriel indicated that she was going to break off from them. They stopped and saluted her. The best compliment they could give a civilian. The other patrols noticed, and later asked them about it. They told them that she was responsible for all the development they had seen in Old Town Factoryville, including the cantina they like going to, when they have free time.
Orlo was particularly happy to see her, and gave her a big hug. He told her that when he saw her husband, he could tell he was really missing her. Andriel told him that he gave his note to the right person. Orlo smiled, he had been sure he had picked the right man.
As they were approaching Eriadu, Chitrah hoped that Andriel had gotten his note, and would be at the apartment when he returned. He was not leaving Eriadu without her. The captain of the ship was the human captain that had originally brought Chitrah and Andriel to Eriadu on the first visit. His Devaronian first officer, was presently on days off on Eriadu, so Chitrah was the acting first officer. The captain had told him that he was sure they would be taking them to Lianna. Chitrah had already asked if they could go to Seswenna first. He was sure there was something on the planet that Andriel really wanted. The captain had already contacted his office, about permission to alter his route. When he had told them it would be for the female Devaronian passenger, they replied that he had permission to do whatever they want. Usually his office would issue specific, conditions, and demand extra pay. So he was surprised at the latitude they were giving him, on her behalf.
Andriel did not see the last minute passenger climb aboard one of the trucks. She was already sitting in Orlo's truck waiting for them to leave. On the ride back to Eriadu City, Andriel finally took her Ministry id out of its special place and but it on. When they finally arrived at the truck depot, Andriel did not notice the other passenger, leave his truck and head straight to the shuttle terminal. She was too busy saying goodbye to all the truck drivers, and thanking them for all the work they did on the inn. They asked her when her next project would be, because they were already bored. When Andriel entered the apartment, she spotted the sample books from the textile mills on Luptoom. She had originally planned on taking a shower, then putting on something comfortable. She started looking through the sample books instead. She started taking notes because she was finding similar materials to the ones that were used in the dress shop these past two months. She was hopping that she could place an order, and have it all replaced. She did not hear the door open, she was so engrossed with the books. She just heard, "Andriel?" She turns her head, and screams, "Chitrah!" She knocks over the chair she was sitting on and runs to him. He drops everything in his hands in time to catch her as she jumps into his arms and starts kissing him. After a few minutes, Chitrah kicks the door shut to their apartment. Picks her up in his arms to carry her to their bed. Andriel starts undoing their clothes, and whispers into Chitrah's ear not to rip them off, because she does not think she will have time to repair them before they leave. Chitrah whispers back that he understands. He put her down beside the bed, so that they can both undress quickly, and get into bed. Chitrah noticed that Andriel has lost some weight. He asks if this was safe for the baby. Andriel assures him that it was perfectly safe. Chitrah is still hesitant to put any of his weight on her body, so she knocks him over, and climbs on top of him. The fact that they missed each other was evident in their love making. After collapsing in his arms, Andriel realised that they just experienced something that was normal for most Devaronian couples. After catching their breath, Chitrah decided to put some clothes on and go downstairs, to see if the cafeteria is still open. They were both hungry. Andriel decided to take a quick shower, while he was gone. Chitrah found only one employee in the cafeteria, cleaning up. He was able to get their attention. He asked her if it was too late for him and his wife to get a bite to eat. She told him that normally it is too late. But one of the residence had bought dinner for him and his wife. They assured them that one of them would be down to get it. They kept it warm for them in the back, she will get it for them. She came back with a tray and two covered plates on it. She reminded Chitrah to grab some utensils before heading back to their room. Chitrah asked her if she remembered who it was. She did not know them personally, she just knew they lived in this building. What she did not tell Chitrah, was there were two of them. She had the feeling that they all worked together, but did not want him to know who paid for the meal. When Chitrah returned, Andriel was still in the shower, she had forgotten how enjoyable a hot shower can be, and had lost track of the time. Chitrah noticed that the door to the bathroom was ajar, so he took that as an invitation. He needed to shower anyway. He left the tray of food on the dining table, then stuck his head in the bathroom and asks Andriel if he can join her. She did not know she had left the door ajar, must have been one of those subconscious reflexes. She tells him that he is more than welcome. He undresses and comes in behind her. He starts giving her a little back massage, he doesn't like that he can feel more bone than normal, so he tries really hard not to hurt her. Andriel is having trouble standing up. With the hot water massaging her front, and Chitrah massaging her back, she just wanted to melt. To keep from collapsing, Andriel turns around and puts her arms around his neck and kisses him. She tells him that if he would have massaged her anymore, she would have collapsed into a puddle on the floor. But she can tell that he was standing up well enough for both of them. It may not have been the greatest sex they ever had, but it was certainly the cleanest. By the time they finished showering, their dinner was cold. Neither one was interested in reheating it. They both wanted to consume it, as quick as possible, and move onto better things. Special Devaronian fare it was not, they both fell asleep after their next bout of lovemaking. Because neither of them had specified a wakeup time, the apartment computer woke them up at its default programmed time. Chitrah got up first, he needed to file a report, on how well the last two technicians did in their training. He told Andriel that they should meet in the Ministry's cafeteria for lunch, then they could come back to the apartment together, collect their stuff and head to the shuttle terminal together. Andriel agreed, she wanted to talk to someone in the Ministry before leaving. After breakfast Andriel headed to the shuttle terminal. She used their holonet terminal to contact the textile mills in Luptoom. She told them that she wanted to place an order, for a dress shop in Old Town Factoryville, on Eriadu. They could tell that she was calling from Eriadu, and they had an old account from that location. They asked her to wait one moment, while they looked up the account. They asked her how the chief person on the account was. Andriel recognised Uleanna's mother's name. She told them that she was killed during the invasion on Eriadu. Her mother, and she gave Dreamara's name, and her daughter, and she gave them Uleanna's name, are now running the business. They had the grandmother's name on file, and they added Uleanna's name to the file. They made a notation indicating that Uleanna's mother was deceased. They asked Andriel if her name should be added to the account. Andriel told them no, she had just been helping them with the dress shop for the past two months, now she was heading back to her own dress shop on Lianna. They asked her if she had ordered from them before, she told them that she had not, but was considering it, once she was back home, and had a better look at their sample book. They could see that their sample book was open before her, they told her if she wanted they could open a new account for her. Since she was family to another account member, they would even wave the restrictions normally placed on the first new order. Andriel gave them all the information they asked for, including naming Shaak Chi as her partner, and giving the shop's communicator address on the local, Lianna net. After placing the order using the codes for the material in their samples book, they asked if there were any restrictions on delivery. Andriel told them, that because of the unreliability of delivery to the dress shop. The local transportation company's office would have to receive it on their behalf. They asked her if they were aware of this, Andriel said yes, even though she had not yet cleared it with them. She repeated this with every textile mill she ordered from. She then went to the office of one of the transport companies, she asked them if it would be a problem for them to receive shipments of material, for the dress shop in Old Town Factoryville, they told her there would be no problem. Andriel told them that that was what she had expected, and gave them details of all the shipments coming from Luptoom. Andriel then wrote up a note for grandmother, detailing what she had ordered including a new samples book, and what the cost of each order was going to be. She sealed it, and on the outside wrote, "To Grandmother, Devaronian Dress Shop", she asked that this note be given to any Devaronian passing through their office, it will get to the right person. The company's representative was impressed with the way this woman did things. No wonder the Devaronians were able to rise up out of the ashes. When Andriel was finished with what she wanted to do in the shuttle terminal, she headed to the Ministry. When she arrived she sought out the official she had negotiated with concerning the turbans and veils. When she found him, she told him that she has met someone that is fully certified for cleaning all the turbans and veils he has in his care. She gave him full details on where to find this woman's store, even going so far as calling up an old map of Old Town Factoryville, and highlighting the store. The official was impressed, he did not know that the old maps were still in the system. She told him the restrictions the woman was working under, not having any power for her equipment, and having running water for a short time every morning. She did not have any of the cleaning chemicals Andriel had used, so if he was going to contact her, he would have to bring them with him. He asked her for a list of chemicals. She told him it was not necessary, he just needed to go to the quartermaster's store, and ask them for all the chemicals the red lady used, they have it all recorded.
The official relayed all the information that Andriel had provided, about a qualified person having been found on Eriadu, who could fully clean all turbans and veils. Passing it up the chain of command. The officials directly over him, did not care, but they knew the high officials would, so they kept passing it up until the right officials noticed.
It was still relatively early to go for lunch, so rather than wait for Chitrah in the cafeteria, she went down to the electronics lab. She found Chitrah in the corner playing on his computer. He had finished all his paperwork. They had no questions for him after looking over his reports, so now he was just passing time. Andriel asked him if he was finished. He was, so Andriel grabbed him by the hand, and led him to the archives. The archivist recognised Andriel from before. They had also heard that she was the one who made them popular with the singles in the Ministry. Andriel asked them what they had for two people in love who want to make out, she looked at what time it was, and told them how much time they had. The lady blushed the old man laughed, and Chitrah smiled. The lady led them to a small studio, she placed a vid in the machine, and told them the lights would automatically dim once it started. When she left Andriel started kissing Chitrah, but found him distracted, he was actually watching the vid. She laughed, he looked at her sheepishly. He could not help it, that the lady had picked a topic he was interested in. They were able to move the armrests between them out of the way, so they cuddled while they watched the vid. After it was over, the lady asked them, how they liked their experience? Andriel smiled, and said she was disappointed, the lady had actually picked a topic her mate was interested in. The lady smiled, she still knew how to pick them. They thanked the archivist, and went for lunch.
After lunch they had trouble packing everything. Andriel insisted that they take all the sample books. Because of what she left behind with Uleanna, she had room to take most of them. She was trying really hard to convince Chitrah to take the last two. Chitrah wanted to ship them and be done with it. Andriel wanted to go through them all, on their trip home, which she can't do if they ship them. Chitrah had a smaller luggage case than Andriel, but it was almost always full. Chitrah asked her if she had room to take some of his small stuff, and he would try to make room for the books. Andriel thought she still had room for little things, so Chitrah gave her all his socks and underwear. Andriel was able to find little spaces between all the sample books. Both their luggage cases were packed pretty tight. It would be a big nuisance if they had to open them, before they got aboard the freighter.
When they arrived at the spaceport, security asked them to step aside to have their luggage checked. Normally, when they see the Ministry id, they just wave them through. Chitrah noticed two senior officials from the Ministry, watching over the security personnel. Chitrah did not recognise them, but he had heard rumours that a department had gotten into trouble, because they had lost track of Andriel. He assumed they were trying to pay them back for that. Ministry officials can be very petty. The Ministry officials were trying to find some evidence, of how Andriel escaped their observations. They were hoping it would help them save face in their final report to the Moff. Chitrah noticed that they had a full sized body scanner, it was like his little scanner, but could take a full body scan at once. Yes it could see right into the body, in case a person was trying to smuggle something. Put it also had the filters, so the operator could see a naked 3D image of the person scanned. Once the scan was made, they could come back at their leisure and apply the filters. Chitrah turned his scanner on, and left it in his electronics case. It they threatened to scan Andriel, he would turn his case so his scanner was pointed at the machine. He was hoping the signal emitted by his scanner would trigger a signal overload, forcing the machine to go into self-diagnostic mode, shutting the machine down for a number of minutes. They asked Andriel to place her luggage case on the table, so that they could examine its contents. Andriel refused, not because she did not want them to examine it, but because with all the sample books inside, it was very heavy. She did not know if she could lift it up onto the table, it was hard enough dragging it. She told them, that if they want to examine it, they could lift it themselves. The security personnel came around to lift it onto the table. He swore when he lifted it, not because she was making him do it, but because it was so heavy. He asked her to unlock it. She told him it was open. So he undid the fasteners, and opened her case. It was full of sample books, no wonder the case was so heavy. He took out a sample book and shook it to see if anything would fall out. Nothing did. He did this with every sample book in her bag. Everyone became excited when something did fall out of one of the sample books, until they identified it as a man's sock. Andriel noticed the way the security guard was touching her clothing. She asked him, if he enjoyed touching women's personal garments? He turned almost as red as Andriel, because he did. He did not reply to her comment, because he was afraid he might give himself away to the other guards, he thought to humiliate her by holding up a pair of undergarments for everyone to see. It was a pair of men's underwear. Andriel burst out laughing, because she knew what he wanted to do. He was even more embarrassed than he was before. He turned to the two Ministry officials, and shook his head, he could not find anything unusual in her luggage case. They nodded their heads towards the body scanner. Chitrah saw their nod and shifted the position of his electronics case. The operator noticed that Chitrah had moved something, and now his machine was acting up. He asked Chitrah what he did. Chitrah ignored him. He told Chitrah to let him see his case. Chitrah told him he is a contractor for the Ministry, not even those officials over their have the authority, to let the security guard examine his electronic equipment. He would need written permission from the Moff himself, to be able to examine the equipment, and he had every right to protect his equipment. The guard made an attempt to grab the equipment. Chitrah smashed his elbow into the guard's chest, stopping him dead in his tracks. Then Chitrah drop kicked him, sending the guard flying. He was back on his feet before anyone could react.
One of the transportation companies' rep was talking on the communicator with the Moff's Personal Secretary, telling him how the security personnel were making fools of themselves, trying to detain and search the contractor's wife. He stopped talking, when he saw Chitrah send the one guard flying. The Personal Secretary saw the look of shock, on the man's face. He demanded that he turn the communicator around, so that he could see what was happening. The communicator was turn around just in time for him to see a guard charge at Chitrah, and ended up flying through the air. At the same time another guard tried to grab Andriel by the arm. She broke free, and in the process turned him around, and side kicked him in the back, so he ended up in the arms of another guard. The Secretary told him to connect him to the speaker. The rep connected him to the PA system. "Attention, all security personnel, stop what you are doing immediately, I repeat again, stop what you are doing immediately! Security, call the office of the Moff, immediately!" The Secretary terminated the call and the rep turned it back around. The Head of Security recognised the voice of the Personal Secretary of the Moff, and he was not happy. He called the Moff's office right away, and was put straight through to the Secretary, he asked him why the contractor and his wife were being detained. The Head of Security told him that two senior officials from the Ministry, came and ordered them to search their belongings. The Secretary told him that the officials had overstepped their authority. They were to be arrested, and brought to the Moff's office, he would deal with them personally. The security personnel, who assaulted the contractor and his wife, were to be detained in his own detention cells, until it was decided what to do with them. The Head of Security was to apologize to the contractor and his wife, on the Moff's behalf. Since he was present on Eriadu as a personal favour to the Moff. The Head of Security was shaken up by that revelation. By all rights the Secretary could have asked him, to take up residence in one of his detention cells. The Head of Security ordered copies be made of all recordings, were the Ministry officials were heard or seen, upon entering the shuttle terminal, as well as copies of all recordings where the contractor and his wife were visible. These copies were to be sent to the office of the Moff. He was glad he left the cameras and microphones on, when they came to his office. One of the office personnel, asked if that also included the time when she was in the terminal in the morning. The Head of Security made note of who asked that question, he told them that only the recordings of when they were together was needed. He went to the guard's room and ordered all the guards to follow him. When they got to where the contractor and his wife were. He had four of his guards arrest the two Ministry officials, and escort them to the Moff's office. He then told the security guards to hand over their firearms, and security id. He was going to let them report to the detention cells on their own honour. The one guard complained that Chitrah messed with the equipment. Chitrah told the Head of Security that there was nothing wrong with his equipment. The Head of Security than apologized to Chitrah and Andriel in the Moff's name. When the guards heard the apology, they realised how much trouble they were in. The Head of Security asked Andriel if they could help her repack her case. Andriel replied that there were enough strange hands touching her personal items that day, she would rather repack her luggage herself. The Head of Security and all the guards that came with him were embarrassed by her rebuke, but they said nothing. They watched her repack everything, then escorted them to the shuttle that had been kept waiting for them.
On the trip to the spaceport Andriel critiqued Chitrah's form, when dealing with the guards. Chitrah complained that he was a little rusty, since he did not have her, to throw him around. They both laughed at his comment.
When they boarded the freighter, the captain and first officer looked concerned, they had heard about the incident on the surface. Chitrah and Andriel both assured them that they were all right. There was just some miscommunication. Chitrah had to explain to some guards, the consequences of trying to mess with his equipment. The captain raised his eyebrows and asked what the consequences were. Andriel told him that they get free flying lessons. Which made the crew laugh.
When they were alone, Chitrah asked Andriel how she managed to leave the residence, and get all the way to the Devaronian community undetected. She told him about the special thermal blanket she bought, and that she was sure the Queen authorised the sale. To the thermal scanners she would appear as a small creature not an adult human. She told him how Orlo helped her, and how she was safe, as long as she stayed close to a patrol. When they were in the common room, Chitrah had her to open up about her time with the Devaronian community. The first officer would listen as best he could without appearing nosey. Before they knew, it they arrived at Seswenna. Andriel did not know they were making this trip, just for her. Chitrah told her that the captain said they had time to go down to the surface. So they left their luggage in their cabins. Chitrah had done some research, into the weaver's loom he wanted to show Andriel. He expected that it would take two porter droids to carry it back to the shuttle terminal. He hired three in case there was something else that caught Andriel's eye. They were told where they were going, and to keep a discrete distance behind him. They should only approach, if he approached them first. He also stop at the banking kiosk, to make sure he had enough credits on hand for anything Andriel might decide to purchase. Andriel was caught up with the newness of the terminal, and did not notice that Chitrah had run off to do his errands. She knew that the planet was invaded shortly after Eriadu was conquered. But they were so far ahead of Eriadu in rebuilding everything. Chitrah caught up with her and hailed a droid taxi, to take them to the market. When they found the right vendor, Chitrah was happy to see that the loom was still there. Chitrah told Andriel, how she had asked him to keep an eye out for interesting pieces of junk. He may have found something that might interest her. The vendor heard the exchange, and hoped he might have an interested buyer. When Andriel saw what Chitrah was trying to show her, her heart skipped a beat. She asked the vendor if he knew what the item is, that her friend had just pointed out. He did not know, but said it was in pretty good shape. Andriel told him it wasn't. She could see something heavy had fallen on it. Chitrah asked her, if she thought she could make something of it? Andriel told him that she wasn't sure, there are a lot of moving parts. Maybe she could dismantle it and make something to entertain children. Parents were always ready to spend good credits to keep their children entertained. She asked the vendor how much he was willing to accept to part with it. He quoted a price, wanting to see how interested she really was in buying it. Andriel told him it was too much, and offered him half. The vendor complained that he could get that much from the scrap dealer. Andriel told him that that may be all that it was worth. So the vendor countered her offer. Andriel told him that for that price (she randomly picked out three items) she expected those items to be included. Now one of the items, the vendor knew he could move easily, and at a good price. The other two had been in his stall for almost as long as the loom. So he lowered his price once again, but said he would throw in the two items. Andriel agreed, what happened next, shocked the vendor. The blue friend discreetly gave the Devaronian lady the credits she needed to make the deal. He had never seen that happen before. It was usually the Devaronian woman handing credits to the man she was with. Has something changed in the universe?
The vendor was not much of a puzzle person, he did not care who paid him, as long as he got paid. Chitrah went and got the porter droids. Two of them were able to carry the loom, and Chitrah told them which transport company would look after arranging to have it shipped to the freighter they were on. The third droid picked up the other two pieces. On its way out of the market, a customer stopped it and asked it where it got the one piece. The droid told him that a lady had just bought it, and he was taking it to the shuttle terminal. The customer asked the droid if he had seen any others. The droid told him he had not, but maybe the lady who purchased it had. So the droid led him to Andriel. The customer asked Andriel, if she had seen anymore pieces, like the one the droid was holding. Andriel asked the droid to wait. She told the interested customer that it was the only one she had seen. The customer was really disappointed, he had been looking around for it for quite some time, and apparently, she found it first. Andriel asked him what it was worth to him. The customer quoted her a price. Andriel told him to double the offer, and he could have both pieces the droid is carrying, and the droid would deliver them. The customer readily agreed, and paid Andriel the price she asked for, and instructed the droid were to take it. Andriel felt like she was walking on clouds, she had just purchased a professional seamstress weaver's loom for less than 10% of its listed price if new. Yes there was some damage, but it would not be hard for her to repair, and she was sure that Chitrah would have no problem checking out all the electronic components. On top of that, she was paid good credits for a couple of items she was going to throw away.
When she sat in the taxi, she did not hear Chitrah tell the droid to take them to the Interior Ministry. When they arrived at the Ministry, Andriel asked Chitrah what they were doing there. Chitrah told her that he wanted her to meet a friend he had made. That way if he talks about her, she would at least know who he was talking about. Andriel was curious about meeting this lady. Since Chitrah was calling her his friend, that meant she means something to him, and Chitrah was not the type to hide anything from her. They approached a young lady who was busy working at her desk. When they arrived at her desk, Chitrah mentioned her name and told her, he would like her to meet his wife. The startled young lady got up and curtsied, like she had just been introduced to royalty. She told Andriel how pleased she is to finally meet her, and how jealous she was of her. Andriel asked her why she would make her jealous. She told Andriel that she wished she was the one married to Chitrah. Andriel told her she understood. Chitrah is quite a charmer. "Did he tell you that when we first married, I hated him?" This was news to the secretary, the way Chitrah loved her, she was sure Andriel loved him just as much. Andriel told her that they were forced into marriage by the Sith Empire. Because of the marriage, they were forced to give up their clans and their families. She thought he was partly to blame because he works for the Ministry. It was only after they were together for a while, that she knew he was really a good person, and just as much a victim of the marriage as she was. To rid herself of the poison that had infected her heart through hate, she had to seek forgiveness for her hatred, and let his love wash the poison out of her heart, so that she could start loving him back. The secretary's admiration for Chitrah grew even more. Chitrah told Andriel, that because she had not been able to come with him to his work assignment here, the secretary and her friends, did their best to comfort him. The secretary turned red, she did not know how Andriel would take that, it was so easy to flirt with Chitrah. Andriel started laughing, and told her that she would have to try harder if she was trying to turn as red as her. This made the secretary laugh. She realised that Andriel was not jealous in the least. She knew her man loved her, and she loved him. And that was that! Chitrah mentioned that they had to catch the freighter that was taking them home, so would have to leave. The secretary said goodbye, and wished them a safe trip. She could hardly wait to meet up with her friends. She had met the contractor's wife, and she loved her.
When Andriel and Chitrah arrived back at the shuttle terminal, they went straight to the transportation company's office, to pay for the cost of packaging the loom, and shipping it up to their freighter. The transportation company representative told them it was already taken care of, they needed to hurry to catch the next shuttle to the spaceport. Andriel wanted to protest, but Chitrah grabbed her hand, and told her they needed to go. Andriel told him that it was not the Devaronian way to accept charity. Chitrah told her that they were not accepting charity, the transportation company was just trying to pay her back for a debt they felt they owed her. She asked him what debt? He told her to ask the first officer what he was doing on Eriadu. After the freighter finished its manoeuvres, Andriel did get up and talk to the first officer. Telling him that Chitrah mentioned that he had just been on Eriadu. He told her that he had just seen his wife for the first time in five years. He told Andriel his wife's name.
Andriel knew a woman by that name, she had gone to the inn to meet her husband, before Uleanna had finished grandmother's outfit. It did not take long for Andriel to figure out who the husband and wife were. The first officer told her that his wife did not believe him, when he told her that he knew Andriel. Andriel asked him if he told her about Chitrah. The first officer told her that he had mentioned some stuff about Chitrah. "How he was a contractor for the Ministry, who does difficult work for them, which is how I met you, because you came to Eriadu with him." He was sure he did not mention anything else, like he is not Devaronian. Andriel told him that it might not be a good idea, to talk to his wife about Chitrah. The clan is new, and not very strong, they had accepted her as part of the clan, and by clan law her husband should also be accepted. They might be uncomfortable when they find out they had accepted a non-Devaronian into their clan. The first officer understood what Andriel was talking about. His wife had told him how the new clan was formed, and how everyone wanted to make her an elder, but Grandmother said she was not a candidate, because she had not been there during the invasion. He also mentioned that he cannot hide the information from her. Andriel told him that he did not have to. His wife would probably bring it up when the clan is stronger, and he will need to share everything he knows about her and her husband, with the clan elders. He has planted the seed, let it grow when the conditions are right for it. The first officer said he understood what she was saying. He also mentioned how happy he is for having met her. He knows that the company will do what it can, to repay her for what she has done to help all the Devaronians that work for it. Now Andriel understood, why the company's help was not charity. They felt they had a debt of honour.
Andriel and Chitrah soon fell into their regular ship routine. They made sure to workout together, every day. Chitrah did the modified exercise routine. Andriel did some self-defence training, combined with the modified exercises. She did not want to get carried away, because she did not know what would be good, and what would be bad for the baby. She realised that she needed to talk to Shaak about this, since her people had been doing their form of self defense for generations. They should know what would be safe for the baby. The captain asked if they were willing to take part in the pirate defence, as they did before, and ran a couple of drills. Andriel and Chitrah, got into the habit of talking about what Chitrah did while Andriel was away, when they were together in Andriel's cabin. Then they would talk about Andriel's time in Old Town Factoryville, when they were in the common room. The first officer would no longer pretend to be occupied with something else, they let him sit in when they were talking. What Andriel had experienced, she was still experiencing. The first officer was pleased to hear that his daughter was a very good student in her self-defence class, and was even helping her mother learn the moves. He felt better knowing the women he loved were better able to take care of themselves. The first day he spent with his wife, was not a wild flurry of sex, it was getting to know her again. It was her being able to tell him about the invasion. About how all the Devaronian men and teenage boys were killed trying to protect their wives, their mothers and their sisters. How all the women were raped, how she was raped, and how sorry she was. He had to tell her that she did no wrong, but she wouldn't listen. So he told her that he forgave her for enduring the rape, he forgave her for choosing to live, and helping their daughter survive, he forgave her for being there for him to come home to. Than he helped her to forgive herself. He let her know that yes he had been dreaming for a long time, to pick her up in his arms and make mad passionate love to her. But he wasn't just going to have sex with her. She was not an object just to satisfy his needs, she is his wife, and he loved her. At first she cried when he just touched her. But he did not push her, and was so happy when she chose to come into his arms, and he could hug her and kiss her, and she did not cry, because of his touch. The second night, all they did, was she let him hold her in his arms, and she fell asleep listening to his beating heart. She kissed him, when she woke up still in his arms, thankful that he was so understanding. Eventually they did make love. She enjoyed his touch once again, and the passion was back in her heart, and in her eyes. Then he had to leave. He just about missed the truck convoy back to Eriadu city, than he had to hurry to catch the last shuttle to the station. But it was all worth it.
Suddenly the alarm sounded, they were dropping out of hyperspace. The first officer knew this was no drill. He made straight for his gun turret. Andriel and Chitrah headed to the bridge, passing the captain heading the other way, to the second gun turret. It looked like the pirates had five fighters altogether, fortunately only two were close enough. A Sith Blade-class starfighter, (the captain was pretty sure they did not have a Sith pilot) and a regular Sith starfighter. Both armed with blaster cannons. It was the mass of a Mandalorian Cruiser, that caused them to drop out of hyperspace, but they were already well beyond the range of its guns. The other fighters appeared to be a CX-133 Chaos fighter, also known as a suicide fighter, an Aurek-class tactical strikefighter (known as an A-wing), and an old Star Sabre XC-01. But they were far enough away, that the freighter should be back in hyperspace before they could attack it. The Blade-class starfighter, came in first, it was the more manoeuvrable of the two. The captain was sure the plan was for it to attract the defensive fire. The captain left his turret slaved to the first officer's. He wanted to see what the Sith starfighter would do. When he saw that it was going to line up for a run on their in-system drive. He took control of his turret, he spun his twin laser cannons around, ready to meet this threat. He doubted that the pilot of the Sith starfighter even noticed that his turrent had stopped firing. When the starfighter was lined up, and starting his run. Bam, Bam, he let him have it. Direct hit, the captain yelled he got one. The pilot of the Blade-class starfigher, must have hesitated, when he saw his partner's fighter destroyed, because, Bam, Bam, the first officer got him. While the crew was celebrating their kills, the autopilot informed Chitrah that the hyperspace drive was ready to be engaged, so Chitrah engaged it. Everyone on the freighter was giddy, from having escaped death. The captain told Andriel and Chitrah, that if the A-wing strikefighter had been closer, and had torpedos, they would be sitting dead in the water right now. They were hugging and dancing, it's good to be alive. With all that adrenaline in their blood, Andriel and Chitrah went to work out, the captain and first officer went to the bridge, they were both laughing at how the adrenaline in their blood was making their hands shake. The rest of the trip was uneventful.
The first officer was sure his wife would be proud of him, when he told her that he helped Andriel to get home safely. He was already looking forward to his next set of days off. He was hoping that his daughter would be able to come, he had a lot of cuddling time to catch up with her. He was hoping that she did not feel too old to cuddle with her father.
Andriel and Chitrah, hired porter droids, and went straight to the dress shop with the loom. Shaak and her two companions, were so excited when Andriel and Chitrah came through the door, that they did not notice the two droids carrying the big box. Andriel had to calm them down, to ask if it was okay for Chitrah and the droids to enter the workshop. Shaak and the others had to hurry back into the workshop to finish with the client, so that she could dress and leave. The client did not like that she was being rushed out. But when she encountered Chitrah, in the storefront, on her way out, and saw the two droids carrying the big box, she could understand why the ladies were excited. She asked what was in the big box. Andriel told her, it is a damaged weaver's loom that would be used for weaving special materials, used in certain designs. The curious lady asked if she could see it. Since she had been rushed out of the workshop, Andriel let her stay to see the unveiling. After the droids put the box down where Andriel told them, they left, and Shaak went into the back room, to see if they had any tools to take apart the box. They managed to get the box open. The loom was still dusty, from once having been under a pile of rubble, and for having sat so long in the market. Chitrah just wanted to blow the dust away with his compressed air bomb, but Andriel told him there would be too much dust in the workshop. Andriel got a damp cloth, and started wiping down what she could. It was like she was bringing the machine to life. All the details, of the electronics, and mechanical components, were now visible for everyone to see. This was no children's toy, it would require a skilled craftsman, to operate it. Once the lady saw that it was a special piece of equipment, she was satisfied, and left. Chitrah opened up the electronics section after Andriel had wiped it down, and started examining it. He found one board that had started developing a hairline crack, he recorded its serial number, so that he could have it replaced. He put it back in because the crack had not yet propagated to the point where it was interfering with any circuits. Andriel told the ladies that she would have to dismantle the mechanical portion of the loom. To clean it properly, and to straighten the damaged portions, if it was going to operate properly. She did not think, any of the mechanical components, would have to be replaced. Shaak asked her, how long she thought it would take to disassemble the loom, then to reassemble it again. She said that with the right help, she could do it in two days. The ladies all asked if they were the right help. Andriel told them she was counting on it. That night, when they were in their own bed, Andriel told Chitrah that she wanted to move to some place were the Sith can't come barging in. Chitrah agreed with her, but told her it would take some planning. Eventually they would need to disappear.
