Chapter 9: My Friends Call Me Ephin

"This will be your suite, Admiral Parck," Sarreti pointed at the door at the beginning of a long hallway. After Pellaeon and Miat had departed, Sarreti was left alone with his guests.

He had arranged accommodation in one of the Bastion's tallest buildings, which offered a breathtaking view of the cityscape below. They might have been located in the Outer Rim, but Sarreti took pride in transforming the once backwater world of Sartinaynian into a regional center of interstellar trade and commerce.

Of course, at the time he had made the reservations, he had no idea that the two men were … together.

"And Commander Stent's room is located at the end of the corridor." Sarreti let out a small cough. "If he needs one."

"I do not require a room." The near-human alien shook his head. "And I will be standing guard outside the Admiral's suite."

One could hardly blame Pellaeon for assuming that the blue-skinned alien had been Parck's bodyguard. He certainly behaved as such.

"You should get some sleep, Commander." Sarreti suggested diplomatically. "I expect that the Moff Council will demand another hearing tomorrow."

The alien scanned their surroundings with his strange, hypnotizing gaze. "I do not trust these Stormtroopers. In any case, Chiss require less sleep than humans."

"Really, Commander, you think I'd have risked such a high-profile guest's safety by assigning fresh recruits with the task?" Sarreti raised his chin in a challenge. "These are members of my personal guard. I vouch for their discretion and their marksmanship skills."

The alien seemed to be considering his words, the expression on the near-human face carved from a pale blue marble. Too bad Saretti couldn't read him with the Force like Miat.

"In that case I shall carry out an inspection of the Admiral's suite."

Without waiting for acknowledgement or permission, the alien pressed a button at the side of the wall and marched inside.

"You have an innate talent in dealing with the Chiss, Governor," Parck said in an amused tone.

"Do I?" Sarreti wondered aloud. "Earlier it didn't seem so…"

"Chiss need to be approached from a position of strength and respect. They never deal with weaklings, and they definitely wouldn't talk to you if you sounded anything but professional." Parck explained.

"Your prejudice against men like me is a weakness which Stent naturally exploited and used against you. It's as simple as that. However, Chiss do respond to reason. And you've presented Stent with a blaster-proof argument as to why he should rest. Let's just hope that your stormtroopers' marksmanship skills pass the pale blue wonder's mark of approval in case Moff Flennic gets a stupid idea, or else tomorrow you'll have a very angry Chiss breathing down your neck."

Sarreti responded with a faux smile straight from the diplomatic protocol of the Imperial Court.

The door opened with a hissing sound.

"The suite is secure." The alien announced, throwing him a long, piercing look, presumably wondering whether the room was truly free of listening devices or whether the Imperial Remnant had access to technology unknown to the alien's scanners.

Sarreti tried to meet the hypnotizing gaze to the best of his abilities. He came to a decision; if the Far Outsiders were as dangerous as Parck had claimed, the Imperial Remnant would have to do more than maintain the fragile truce with the New Republic.

They would have to put aside their differences and cooperate.

Which meant that Sarreti would eventually have to shake hands with human-alien hybrids and various human minorities, which were widely represented in the New Republic's government but remained unacknowledged by the Imperial Remnant.

He might as well start today.

He cleared his throat, offering Parck his right hand.

"My friends call me Ephin."

THE END

Bonus No#1:

The smell of freshly ground caf roused Parck from sleep.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of high quality coffee beans produced in the 'Colonies', the region of the galaxy between the Core Worlds and the Inner Rim. The Admonitor's supply of caf had run out years ago, and its substitute tasted like lukewarm water in comparison.

"Where did you get that?" Parck murmured softly without opening his eyes.

The Chiss chuckled. "From the Stormtroopers."

"You played hide and seek with Sarreti's bodyguards?" Although Parck wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer.

"His Stormtroopers proved to be far more competent than I had originally thought. They caught me wandering around the kitchen."

Parck sighed. "I just hope it didn't result in any broken bones."

"It did not." Stent said in an innocent tone. "They were really good at falling down."

Parck groaned. "You'll explain that to Sarreti yourself."

"Gladly." Came an amused reply. Without a doubt there was a smile at the pale blue lips.

The smell of freshly ground caf grew closer.

Parck slowly opened his eyes. "You're really intent on waking me up, Mister."

Stent's smile grew predatory. "I am bored."

Bonus No#2:

"Why the long face, Ephin? Coming from him it's basically a glowing review." Parck couldn't resist rubbing salt into the wound. The expression on the governor's face was priceless.

"Indeed. Their sergeant, in particular, deserves a commendation. He proved to be a challenging opponent." The pale blue wonder supplied. "And his caf was highly appetizing."

Sarreti's jaw clenched. "I can't believe he single-handedly incapacitated the entire unit of my best soldiers... Over a cup of caf."

Parck smirked. "Chiss are the galaxy's finest warriors."

Sarreti nodded in resignation. "Too bad I can't share this tale with other Moffs. Just how would I look..."

Bonus No#3:

Shortly after they returned from another long, taxing meeting with the Moff Council, Parck heard a cautious knock at the door. Given the timing, Parck decided to take pity on the poor soul who was unfortunate enough to drop by at such an inconvenient moment.

"Is Commander Stent there, sir?" The stormtrooper leader asked, hesitation in his voice apparent even through the mask's filter.

Parck frowned. "Is something the matter, sergeant?"

"No, sir." The stormtrooper straightened into military-parade attention. "I merely thought that Commander Stent might need a cup of caf after listening to the Moffs all day."

While the sergeant didn't accompany them, as Sarreti's chief bodyguard he must have been present enough times to draw an accurate conclusion. Probably the reason why he spent a considerable portion of his salary on the galaxy's finest caf.

Parck gave him a grave nod.

The Stormtrooper sighed. "Two cups?"

"Thank you, sergeant. I'll make sure that you receive compensation."

The stormtrooper shook his head. "That's hardly necessary, Admiral. Just tell Commander Stent that he didn't need to fight me or my men over a cup of caf. I would have offered it to him myself as a gesture of goodwill. As one bodyguard to another."

Parck chuckled. "I see that you've spent enough time in Sarreti's service that his diplomatic skills rubbed off on you."

The stormtrooper sighed again. "It also made me addicted to caffeine."

Parck grinned. "Oh, I can imagine."

Then suddenly an idea came to his mind. There was one more drink the Chiss might be interested in...

"Do you think it would be possible to fetch us a cup of hot chocolate?"

THE END (?)

Hot chocolate exists in SW universe. Luke Skywalker drinks it in the Heir to the Empire :-P