Chapter 16: Lir Sey'les

Coruscant

Their new division, located on the fourth level on the far-left side of the imposing main Naval Intelligence building, was much smaller than their old one. It had one large viewscreen on the back wall instead of three, and only two tables. They would not need more as their Corps of Engineers officers were no longer assigned a part of the division… or whatever the hell it was now.

All of the Rangers stuffed their gear into their new armoury. Tarkin paced angrily about his new office. His furnishings had yet to be moved over.

Unlike the Arcology, the structures at the Republic Center for Military Operations were nearly windowless. It did not bother Sey'les when she was merely visiting the complex, but now that she was here, it did. Sey'les and Ranger Team 2 took seats at the table on the same side of the room they had back in the Arcology.

"All right everyone, take a seat and listen up," Tarkin said once the Rangers had emerged from the armoury.

A Holoprojector displayed the Supreme Chancellor's figure in the centre of the wooden table.

"Citizens of the Republic, as you have probably witnessed for yourselves, our HoloNet security, and the security of the Republic Credit itself have been breached. I do not believe the terrorist, San Hill, when he claims these credits come from the Banking Clan, and neither should you. While we evaluate these threats, I have passed an emergency measure to freeze all currency trading over the weekend, and have passed a three-day Banking Holiday, starting this instant. Of utmost importance in this time is to maintain calm and order. To quarantine the counterfeit credits here, we will also be adding inspection stations in low orbit. All ships leaving Coruscant will be required to submit to inspection and no one will be allowed to carry Credit Chips out of Coruscant."

Sey'les smiled optimistically when Palpatine ended his brief message. On top of an otherwise sad and tedious day, at least the civilian government sounded like they were on top of things.

For the first time ever, Tarkin let everyone off early. Wulf offered Sey'les a ride back on his new speeder, but she wanted to ride the Maglev home herself. She needed time to think.

How is it possible that the first I hear of Archumagh getting killed is from a Holovideo? The question kept running through Sey'les's mind. It really did not make any sense to her.

A pale gaunt human woman sat across from her and scowled. Her shirt read "EAT THE WEALTHY."

Sey'les scowled back. Well, she does look like she might need to eat something, Sey'les supposed. Probably comes from the Underworld.

"Passengers," a robotic voice said from the Maglev's intercom. "Due to protest activity at the Financial District Station, the Maglev will bypass the Financial District Station and Uscru Boulevard Station. Passengers bound for the Financial District or Uscru Boulevard are advised to disembark at Column Common Station and take local lines or walk from there."

Sheesh, that will be a five click walk for them, Sey'les thought.

Unsurprisingly, the woman in front of Sey'les got off at Column Common Station. To the Bothan, that human looked like the trouble-making type.

As the Maglev took a detour on a different line, bypassing Financial District Station and Uscru Boulevard Station, Sey'les looked out the window curiously. Whatever protest was going on in the Financial District was too obscured by the distance and hulking buildings for her to see.

Sey'les got off at her stop, walked out of the station onto the travellator. As she crossed the boulevard between the Maglev station and her apartment, she saw a figure who would certainly get in the way of alone time, but one who had some serious explaining to do: Woshyrryagh.

The black-furred Wookiee sat despondently on the front steps to her apartment complex. I thought he was going to catch a transport back to Kashyyyk, Sey'les thought. Angry tears began flooding her eyes the closer she got as she came to the realisation that Woshyrryagh must have known.

He stood up with hunched sad shoulders, still a meter taller than the Bothan. "Sheylesh," he moaned, pronouncing her name the only way he could. New tears began forming in his yellow eyes. He held out his arms expecting a hug.

With tears in her eyes, Sey'les snarled in Basic and Shyriiwook, "OH WEN-AGHSHO! YOU KNEW!" She could not decide whether she wanted to whack the Wookiee with her backpack, kick the Wookiee in the crotch, bite his arm off, shove him off a ledge into the Underworld, or hug him back.

A group of humans passing by stopped and stared.

Sey'les decided to do the least violent alternative but did it angrily. She snarled in fury as she hugged the Wookiee. "Oh wen-aghsho nyuyag oo inyorgh magugu." [You knew that your friend dead,] she sobbed in her ungrammatical Shyriiwook. She pulled his fur angrily as she hugged him. [You knew yesterday! Your friend dead!]she snarled.

Woshyrryagh hugged her back gently, sobbing. "Uma,"he sighed, chuckling slightly as he cried.

"Wuahh ga mahumur?!" [What is so funny?!]

"Oo Shyriiwook." [Your Shyriiwook,]Woshyrryagh laughed and cried at the same time.

"Oh wen-aghsho eshria. You knew yesterday. You knew!" Sey'les repeatedin a stammering gasp mixing Basic and Shyriiwook, then she switched to Basic. "You knew yesterday that Archumagh died. Rather than telling me. You hid it and we kriffed!" she screamed in anguish, continuing her angry hug. "We just kriffed!"

Some of the onlookers gasped in shock.

Sey'les turned around and saw a brick on the ground. Stooping down, she picked it up and attempted to throw it at the onlookers. It landed on the ground two meters in front of them.

"You bitch!" a human male nearest to the brick yelled angrily from the crowd. "Just cuz you're in uniform doesn't mean you can just chuck things at us! You may be in green, but I'm not scared of you Bothan!"

Two Grans stopped walking and joined the onlookers.

"Yeah!" a jeering Gran female agreed. "You can't just throw things in public!"

The humans and Grans seemed to all be in agreement that throwing bricks was a major faux pas and that the tiny sobbing snarling Bothan was, indeed, not scary. They started closing in on her, anger on their faces.

"I say we make a citizen's arrest!" one of them yelled.

Woshyrryagh stepped forward and pulled Sey'les back. He roared so loudly that it echoed off the walls on the other side of the boulevard a hundred meters away. The onlookers screamed. Some of them ran, braver ones cautiously walked away covering their ears.

There was silence for about thirty seconds as the Bothan and Wookiee stared at the retreating crowds.

"KRIFFING FURBALLS! SAVAGES!" a posh Coruscanti accent yelled.

"UNCIVILISED BITCH!" one of the Grans yelled back at them from a safe distance, flashing a rude hand gesture.

Once they had some privacy on the wide boulevard, Woshyrryagh turned back to Sey'les and hugged her again tightly. [I am sorry. I did not think I could deal with your Bothan crying,] he explained in Shyriiwook.

"Ma Mamohan miyag-ana!" [My Bothan Crying!]Sey'les tugged his fur angrily again, snarling angrily.

"Uma." [Yes,]Woshyrryagh admitted. "Oo Mamohan miyag-ana." [Your Bothan crying,] he repeated like it was a basic fact of life.

"Oh ga wagh wawaa." [You are a kriff-head,]Sey'les whispered. "Yako wagh wawaa." [Such a kriff-head,]she yelled in disgust. She again shaking her head. Her tears were now lighter. "Woshyrryagh, you are such an asshole! This is… totally not rogue. Completely unbelievable!" she stammered in basic. "I can't believe that you just had sex and didn't tell me Archumagh died! I would have never done that to you. I would have never done that to anyone!"

[I know,]Woshyrryagh admitted, holding his teary head in shame.

"Ugh! I am not letting you off the hook this easy. Our friend is dead. We are going to grieve," she said sternly. "He may have been an asshole, but he deserves better than you just dropping down to Coruscant, giving me a clip of his death, and then you just jumping back to Kashyyyk. Kriff."

[I brought tea and funeral candles,] Woshyrryagh moaned optimistically sniffling his nose. He pulled a wooden box of some of Sey'les's favourite Wroshyr Tea leaves out of his bag.

"You knew I was going to let you in! I didn't even know I was!" Sey'les gasped. "You knew I wasn't just going to kick you off the ledge into the Underworld or something. How?"

[You are not capable of kicking me off a ledge little Bothan,] the Wookiee growled in Shyriiwook as he gave Sey'les a quizzical look, folding his arms.

Sey'les scowled, then straightened her face and looked into the facial recognition droid's camera.

"Facial pattern not recognised," the droid said.

"Ugh!" Sey'les growled, wiping her tears on her green uniform sleeve. She looked at the droid again.

"Facial pattern not recognised, waiting for voice recognition."

"I am Lir Sey'les," the Bothan said impatiently.

"Voice recognition confirmed. Welcome home, Lir Sey'les."

"Kriff it! This is too depressing," Sey'les yelled in exasperation.

Woshyrryagh and Sey'les now snuggled on her couch, looking at the funeral candles burning on her tiny table.

[Archumagh died Sey'les,] Woshyrryagh sighed, petting the Bothan gently as if afraid she might spontaneously combust without constant attention.

"Egh aghsho nyuyag." [I know that,] Sey'les growled impatiently. She laid her head back on Woshyrryagh's chest. [There isn't a funeral for Archumagh on Kashyyyk?] Sey'les growled sadly.

"Na," Woshyrryagh sighed. [Even if they wanted to have a funeral, Murkhana did not give us his body.]

While Sey'les had never been to Kashyyyk, she did know that Wookiee funerals, as a matter of custom, required a body.

"Nyuyag ga…" [This is…]Sey'les started in Shyriiwook then changed her mind, deciding to say it in Basic. "It is messed up that we are the only two here Woshyrryagh."

"Oh na hua kanahay ghisharr." [You can't quantify grief,] Woshyrryagh growled cautiously.

Sey'les scowled. "Yarrgh oh hua. Egh hua." [Yes, you can. I can,]she growled sternly then began quantifying grief in her ungrammatical Shyriiwook. "Ga ah-ah nyrr-rargh. Egh hua milargh wyoorg ah-ah. Nughug Ga ah-ah wyoorg ah nyrr-rargh." [There are two of us. I can bring seven more. Then there are nine of us.]

Woshyrryagh shook his head. "Nughug wy-ga ah-ah wyoorg ah nyrr-rargh." [Then there would be nine of us,]he corrected her with subjunctive again.

"FINE! Wy-ga," Sey'les snarled. "Wy-ga wagh wawaa." [You would be a kriff-head.]

Woshyrryagh chuckled wearily. [Quantifying grief! Bothans are always so silly. Sillier than any other species.]

[I don't want your opinion,]Sey'les snarled. She pulled out her datapad and began entering Wulf and Oc'nel's numbers.

"Wulhh? Ognel?" Woshyrryagh asked.

"Yes, I am calling Wulf, he lives like one stop away and Oc'nel has a speeder."

The Wookie began whining at the idea. [Ugh! Your place is small, there is not—]

"—That's enough Woshyrryagh. I don't care if you are on Yarua's cabinet, I don't care if you are the Chancellor himself. You don't get to boss me around after what you pulled," Sey'les snarled in Basic. "Never. Again."

Wulf's face appeared on the left half of Sey'les screen. He was in a dark room with a blue glow from a Holoprojector. Oc'nel was on the right half and appeared to be seated in a bar, much to Sey'les's surprise.

"Hey, I was wondering if you guys could come to my place and—"

"—Yep, I'll be right over," Wulf said reassuringly and hung up. Oc'nel's face expanded to cover the screen.

"I'm a little busy ma'am," Oc'nel winced. She could see his fur swirling guiltily.

"All right," Sey'les sighed.

"Ensign, we should go over to the Captain's," Dub's voice said from somewhere.

"Dub?!" Sey'les gasped in shock. What is Oc'nel doing hanging out with the Clones?

"Oh yeah, Dub is here with Fojo and I along with the other Clones. We are at 79's, it's directly across Republica Parade from the AstroBar. Lots of Clones… As you can see," Oc'nel said awkwardly. He waved the camera around taking in the dozens of drunk Clones.

Woshyrryagh sat up curiously and looked into the screen over Sey'les's shoulder. He laughed.

"Huh. Wyaaaaa, egh na wen-aghsho nyuyag oh wuhu wachugh." [Huh. I didn't know you had a visitor,]Oc'nel growled with a sly grin in his own Shyriiwook. "Eghhr, egh wen-aghsho." [Actually, I knew,] he said, showing some fangs.

"Oh wen-aghsho wuahh, glin Moha?" [You knew what, tiny Bothan?] Woshyrryagh growled cautiously.

The Clones gathered curiously around Oc'nel once he began speaking in another language. Oc'nel and the four Clones all looked through the screen at Sey'les and Woshyrryagh.

Sey'les scowled at him. "Uma. Ryuyag ga nyrr." [Yes. This is the one,]Sey'les admitted.

"Why are you speaking Bothese with the Captain and that Wookiee sir?" Grath asked suspiciously.

"Oh Trooper, I'm not speaking Bothese," Oc'nel said. "We'll be on our way. Who wants to ride in the way back of my speeder this time? Actually… I think Wulf needs to come by."

"Yeah," Fojo's voice cut in. "There are six of us. I'd like to see Wulf's speeder anyways."

Itoll Oc'nel

"How do you make those sounds?" Dubs asked curiously.

Dubs and Grath rode in Oc'nel's TW-2 with Fojo, while Dub and Knot rode in Wulf's brand-new five-seater B-14. Both speeders had their new personal police lights installed and were flying in the emergency vehicle lane.

"The Wookiee 'r'-sound? Bunch your tongue back and go rrrrrr," Oc'nel growled.

"Oh aghsho-yag, nyuyag Clone-n nagoaghsho nyuyag Sey'les wagh Woshyrryagh?" [Do you think that the Clones will figure out that Sey'les is kriffing Woshyrryagh?]Fojo asked, in a slight mix of Shyriiwook and Basic.

"Hahahaha!" Oc'nel roared with laughter. "Hell naaaaahh."

"So sir, you can both speak Wookieese?" Grath asked curiously.

"Yep," Oc'nel said with a cocky grin. "But this totally different way of talking the Wook-Wooks have is called 'Shyriiwook' Grath."

"Shyriiwook," Grath mumbled to himself, as if trying to decide how the name for the language tasted.

"Actually Grath, Dubs, everyone except you Clones and Wulf can speak Shyriiwook," Fojo said matter of factly. "We used to have an asshole on our team, Awerl, and he was a Wookiee so it would have been impossible to do anything if you couldn't at least understand Shyriiwook."

"The Captain though takes her Shyriiwook a lot more seriously than the rest of us," Oc'nel said with a toothy innuendo-laced Bothan grin. He straightened his face when Fojo glared at him. "But, if I were you, I wouldn't… Well, just be careful what you say. She lost someone and there's a sad Wookiee there too. I would be really sad too if I found out a friend died from a briefing."

"Yeah, Clones, be on your best behaviour," Fojo added. "Bothans bite, but Wookiees can literally rip off limbs," he said matter of factly.

Oc'nel scowled.

"Copy that sir," Grath said.

As the speeder crossed from the Federal District to CoCo Town, loud police and fire sirens drew nearer to them from behind. The Clones spun around curiously and looked through the rear window.

"Oc'nel you better—"

"I'm on it," Oc'nel said as he pulled his speeder into the rightmost corner of the emergency lane, yielding the right of way to those actually responding to an emergency. He felt his steering wheel shudder slightly from the breeze as three police speeders passed, each going at least a few hundred kilometres per hour.

In a few spots along the evening cityscape, large groups of police vehicles hovered in place. Oc'nel presumed they must be monitoring the protests below.

Since Palpatine's address, some of areas of Coruscant had received mass protests either for or against the Banking Clan. Last Oc'nel had heard, thousands of Clones from the Coruscant Guard had now been deployed to defend the Muunilinst Embassy.

"I really hope things stay calm, at least until Primeday," Fojo sighed. "I don't want to have to get called in this weekend."

"Yeah, that'll be kriffing awful," Oc'nel agreed.

"Sir," Dubs said, "I for one hope for some excitement. We've been doing nothing but sitting around. I really want to see battle."

"Clones," Oc'nel growled cautiously. "We really don't want a battle here. This is our home. This is your home now too."

"Still sir," Grath said, folding his arms. "I for one am getting bored of this."

Fojo sighed despondently and gave Oc'nel a worried look.

Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously. Absolutely fantastic. These Clones may have different personalities, but they are predisposed to be bored and violent. Just great.

"Hey Fojo! Take a picture of that!" Oc'nel yelled, pointing forwards to a group of Lurmen standing atop an apartment. Their fur shining in the light from the sunset. Each one held a bag, no doubt full of Republic Credit Chips.

"On it," Fojo said, activating the camera on his datapad.

Lir Sey'les

Sey'les directed Oc'nel and Wulf to land their speeders in the public alleyway parking around the back of her apartment. Soon, they were all in her apartment.

The Clones all had beer breath and so did Fojo. Unsurprisingly, Oc'nel did not. The four Clones, Oc'nel, and Fojo sat at Sey'les's table around the glowing funeral candles. Sey'les, Wulf, and Woshyrryagh sat on her sofa.

She could not figure out why the two Ensigns were hanging out with Clones in their spare time. With the exception of Grath and his cute haircut, to Sey'les, the Clones were all tedious and uninteresting. Even to the immature thirty-year-old Bothan, the massive chunk of knowledge and experiences the Clones were missing was painful. Hanging out with them felt like she was hanging out with children.

Nonetheless, Sey'les was glad that four more beings could show up to her sad little gathering, even if they were Clones—to the Bothan, this was a quantity of four more units of sadness to add to the mix. It made Archumagh's existence and influence more important by four more beings; even if they did not know him and probably would not have liked him. Oc'nel understood this too.

To the Woshyrryagh though, this was just silly.To Wulf and Fojo, this was baffling, but they accepted her Bothan craziness. The Clones seemed somewhat sad to see Sey'les grieving, but also annoyingly excited to meet a Wookiee.

"Ryuyag Klow-n ga… ga hul-n." [These Clones are… are fools,] Woshyrryagh said sadly.

"So Sey'les, you are sure you don't want an Adumari Beer?" Wulf asked hopefully, holding a can.

"Nope Wulf, I have to stop drinking for now," Sey'les said.

Woshyrryagh took the can from one of Wulf's hands without asking, opened it with his huge fingers, and started gulping it.

Wulf scowled.

After a huge gulp, Woshyrryagh laughed. "Magrighen nyrr yako Moha!" [It smells like a Bothan,] he exclaimed, then continued chugging it, crushing the can with one hand.

"He says thank you," Sey'les lied with an awkward embarrassed wince.

"Tell him you are welcome," Wulf said with a big Ardennian smile.

"Oh ga wagh wawaa." [You are a kriff-head,]Sey'les growled to Woshyrryagh with a scowl on her face.

Woshyrryagh shrugged his shoulders sadly. "Sharghug." [Sorry,] he moaned, patting Wulf on the head.

Wulf looked terrified for a moment, then just apprehensive. He looked at Sey'les as if to ask what is going on?!

"Woshyrryagh is sorry for being such a kriff-head Wulf," Sey'les said with a sad smile.

"Oh Woshyrryagh, you don't seem like a kriff-head to me," Wulf said matter confidently.

Woshyrryagh started laughing.

Sey'les scowled. "Trust me Wulf, he's a huge kriff-head. The kriff-headedness is so extreme that it is just not amusing," she added, glaring at the Wookiee.

Woshyrryagh growled neutrally.

An hour later, Woshyrryagh moaned and gargled a spontaneous eulogy. It was mostly about Archumagh's accomplishments, which, Sey'les realised, mostly amounted to not being afraid and killing things. Fojo volunteered to translate for Wulf and the Clones.

She began sobbing in earnest when Woshyrryagh recounted the time Archumagh "wen-gugu Wyyyshogh," [slew a Wyyyshogh.]The Bothan had no idea what type of animal that was. The fact his accomplishments were nothing more than a string of hunts and successful missions, while his companions and social circle and influence grew smaller and smaller until his death, really did make the Wookiee's life seem pathetic to the Bothan.

"Archumagh," she sighed with teary eyes.

"Well, he really sounds like a badass captain," Dubs said in an awestruck voice. "Merc captain and killed all those creatures?!"

"Umamahan," Woshyrryagh growled.

"Indeed," Fojo translated.

Sey'les sobbed in earnest. If it weren't for her using her own influence to get more beings to mourn Archumagh, then his memorial would have only had two beings in attendance.

"Sey'les," Oc'nel growled cautiously walking up to her. "I know it's sad that Archumagh didn't have much influence, but... well Wookiees live a long time."

"So?" Sey'les snarled through her tears.

Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously. He looked like he needed to do something he did not want to do. Nervously reaching forward, he hugged Sey'les. "Wookiees live a long time," he sighed patting her back. "They get most of their influence when they are hundreds of years old. Archumagh dying is sad because it would be a bit like if a Bothan who never got along with his family died at age twenty."

Sey'les hugged him back considering this for a moment.

Wulf stepped forward and hugged them both, then Woshyrryagh squeezed the trio tightly between his arms, moaning and crying.

The Clones looked at the group awkwardly. Fojo chuckled and shook his head.

"Eghhr?" [Really?]Sey'les asked Woshyrryagh in the middle of their hug.

"Eghhr wuahh?" [Really what?]Woshyrryagh asked.

"Nyuyag Woohiee-n wuhu inyorghanar ariwag-rugh huma narghmana." [That Wookiees have more influence later in life,]Sey'les sighed.

Woshyrryagh let go of the group. He gave a dark chuckle, mussing Sey'les's shaggy hair. "Oh na wuhu iyea Moha." [You have no idea Bothan.]

The next morning was once again filled with whining Wookiee.

[I didn't think we had to wake up early on the weekend,] Woshyrryagh moaned in Shyriiwook.

After the spontaneous memorial, everyone but Woshyrryagh had gone home. Woshyrryagh and Sey'les went to bed fairly late.

"I am getting a call," Sey'les yawned. "Lir Sey'les speaking who—"

"—Captain, we need you at Center for Military Operations now," Dub's voice came through her line urgently. "There's a situation. The Coruscant Guard will be coming by to pick you up in twenty minutes, the Maglevs have been shut down."

Sey'les sniffed the air. It smelled like burning rubber. Kriff. It smells like Antar 4.

"All right Dub, I'll get dressed," Sey'les said as she snapped wide awake. "KRIFF!" she snarled as the line hung up.

"Wuahh—"

"—egh-rargh na wuhu mo!" [We don't have time,] Sey'les snarled then switched to Basic. "Woshyrryagh, is there any place you need to be today?"

Woshyrryagh looked so tired that he was disoriented. "Wuahh? Egh righ—"

"—Yeah yeah, you smell smoke," Sey'les growled impatiently. "The building isn't on fire, but Coruscant isn't safe right now outside. I just got called in to work, on a weeknend, because it is an emergency. If you need to be anywhere, then this ride I have in…" Sey'les looked at her chronometer, "seventeen minutes, that'll be the last hop out of here till I come home this evening." She started putting on her black undershirt, then pulling up her green pants.

Woshyrryagh growled in a defeated voice. "Ma shayl." [My house,] he moaned.

"Your apartment in 500 Republica? You need to be there?"

"Uma," Woshyrryagh sighed.

"All right, I'll get you dropped off there on my way to base. Now get out of bed!" Sey'les began fruitlessly pulling on the huge Wookiee. He laughed.

"This isn't kriffing funny!" she snarled, twisting his fur.

The Wookiee shrugged it off, staring up at her, blinking.

Sey'les left her apartment with Woshyrryagh once she heard the sound of an LAAT landing outside. She blinked as she stepped into the bright sunlight. Despite the smell, it did not look particularly smoky outside. Wulf and Fojo, both already aboard the LAAT, waved to her. There was also one Corps of Engineers officer aboard, whom she had never met.

A Clone in red and white Coruscant Guard armour stood in front of the transport holding a datapad. "Captain Sey'les! Ma'am, we are here to pick up all the officers in CoCo Town. We were only told to expect—"

"—Meet Woshyrryagh, Senator Yarua's Cabinet Minister of Foreign Affairs," Sey'les growled impatiently, gesturing to the large black-furred Wookiee. "I'm taking him with us."

"Cabinet… Senator—" the Clone began stammering.

"He's coming with us. He might not be safe in CoCo Town, Sergeant," Sey'les said sternly.

"Yes ma'am," the Clone agreed. He pulled out his datapad and scanned Sey'les's retina, then scanned Woshyrryagh's. "It all checks out. Huh, really a Wookiee cabinet at your domicile. I don't understand."

"Some of us have interesting lives," Sey'les said vaguely.

Woshyrryagh laughed in a tired morning Wookiee voice.

"If you say so, ma'am," the Clone said scratching his helmet. "Welcome aboard sir! We have two more officers to pick up, it'll be cramped but we have room for you."

"Ur oh," Worshyrryagh growled politely.

"He says thanks," Sey'les sighed. "He wants be dropped off at 500 Republica, not the Center for Military Operations."

"Very well ma'am. We will get him there right away."