Title: (Not So) Respectable Corulag Citizen

Authors' Note: Jump back in time to the evening Captain Niriz found out Vice Admiral Parck's little secret.

As Parck listened to another of Niriz's and Pellaeon's lady hunting stories during their younger years, he couldn't help but burst into laughter as usual. Oh dear, Niriz always came up with the best stories.

Since there was virtually nothing to do in the Unknown Regions most of the time, and they were cut off from long-range communication and from the holonet as well, the two of them often sat down in the Captain's Ready Room and discussed various topics together. From time to time, Niriz even brought up the stories of his youth, which never failed to make Parck double over in laughter. Oh, Niriz and Pellaeon had been menaces!

Parck would have bet his rank plates the stories of Pellaeon's youth would make the Chiss's sabbac face crack, making Thrawn laugh out loud. Or perhaps it was Niriz's fabulous way of storytelling that added the glamor, making it sound like an episode straight out of his favorite holodrama series.

There was no need for holodrama when Niriz was around.

Parck shook his head and returned to his drink, taking a small sip of the Chandrilan brandy with a soft smile on his lips. From the corner of his eye, he could see Niriz watching him, his brows furrowed in a frown, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening, his lips pressed into a thin line—the same kind of grumpy expression he used to have whenever he wanted to ask something but knew it would be out of line.

"What is it, Niriz?" Parck prompted lightly, suppressing a smirk.

Drop the grumpy lothcat look, Niriz. It doesn't suit you.

Niriz cleared his throat. "Well, it's just... You always seem to find these stories beyond hilarious, sir, but you've never shared any of your own. I, ah, happen to know from Major Covell that respectable Corulag citizens like you, sir, are somewhat conservative when it comes to talking about these things, but..."

Niriz left the sentence hanging in the air, finding a sudden interest in his drink.

Oh, Niriz, you have no idea.

"Well," Parck admitted sheepishly, letting out an innocent shrug, "I am afraid there isn't much to tell, Niriz. Not really, since I prefer the company of fine Core World gentlemen instead."

He spoke as offhandedly as possible, keeping his tone light. There it was.

The timing couldn't have been better. Niriz had just taken a deep sip from his glass, and when he heard the admission, he spluttered the brandy all over his uniform jacket, literally jumping in his seat with an expression of pure, naked shock spreading over his face as his jaw hung wide open.

Oh, it was priceless. Now, where was a holocam when you needed one...?

The good old captain kept gaping at him, and Parck let out a small snort. "You might want to change the jacket of your uniform, Captain," he said nonchalantly, trying his best not to burst into laughter as the other man was taken aback by the revelation.

Seriously, who needed holodrama when there was Niriz around?

Niriz finally snapped out of it, looking down at the state of his uniform. He looked as if he wanted to evaporate into thin air. "I'm sorry, sir, it's just—" he started babbling, at a loss for words. "Ah, it just totally came out of the blue, and well, I never thought... I mean..."

Parck shrugged it off.

"We are a long way from Corulag, Niriz. It hardly matters, anyway." He let out a small sigh. "But now you know. Just don't expect a general ship-wide announcement from me, Captain, it's none of the crew's business."

"By the Emperor," Niriz let out a deep guttural sound, finally putting himself back together. "And Freja has always thought of you as the epitome of a respectable Corulag citizen, displaying the very model of Corulag behavior. He would have never seen it coming."

Parck flashed him an evil smirk. "Compared to me, he is the respectable Corulag citizen. I'm positive his reaction would have been even more hilarious than yours."

Freja Covell of Corulag, son of a performing artist in a deeply conservative, patriarchal society, aka son of a whore. Also, poor as a nerfherder. And to top it all, the head of the Chimaera's rumor mill, an undesirable character trait for a Corulagi man. Still, compared to Parck, Covell was the respectable Corulag citizen.

Parck tapped his fingers nervously at the desk. "What can I say, Niriz? I've always been the black sheep of the family. I guess that's where all the ambition originally came from."

Coming from a wealthy, respectable Corulag family with a long history of military service, his parents weren't exactly overjoyed with his chosen lifestyle; but since he focused solely on his military career, becoming essentially married to his ship, they finally stopped pestering him with finding a wife that would complement his image of a model Corulag citizen. Many starship captains ended up married to their ships, never settling down, never starting a family, straight or otherwise. At least his parents came to accept that sort of life for their son, if nothing else.

So that was the driving force behind his own ambition. That was what made him pull such a daring stunt as to bring a cunning alien right in front of the Emperor. He wanted to beat them all, to show the rest of his uptight, conservative family that he could make it straight to the top, telling them that one day he would return as a military governor and then he would screw the entire House of Citizens, the governing body of Corulag.

And it took the same cunning alien to make him realize how childish and immature his petty grudge against Corulag society had been, that he should simply concentrate on the things he did best, and the recognition would eventually follow. Or not. Any true warrior would have given up everything for the chance to serve under Thrawn, even if it meant literally going into the middle of nowhere.

He shook his head, noticing that Niriz was watching him with a brooding look on his face. Niriz, too, came from a proud Core World family with a long history of military service. He even served in the Coruscant Defense Fleet, a most prestigious assignment, the dream job of all wealthy Core Worlders—until he ended up noticed by a certain someone who had him transferred to the Seventh Fleet. It was a change Niriz actually welcomed, since he saw the potential in the cunning alien as well, hoping to finally get his hands on a Star Destroyer of his own. The Coruscant Defense Fleet was full of prestigious sons and daughters with connections in the highest places, which gave them precedence.

On the other hand, when Niriz found that his dream ship would be tasked with mapping uncharted space, he had almost broken down in tears. Parck had to take him aside and explain to him that no, this was by no means intended to be viewed as a punishment, for they had a very different task from Admiral Thrawn: to search and destroy the threats to Thrawn's people as well as to the people of the galaxy.

"Ah, well, anyway..." Niriz cleared his throat. "Something tells me you've got far more hilarious stories than I have..." He left the sentence hanging in the air once more, clearly giving him an opportunity to back off, and at the same time trying to show he had no problem with his superior. After all, it wasn't exactly a model behavior of a commanding officer either; while it wasn't illegal, military men like him were dismissed as soft and weak. And it went double for Imperial military men. They were the laughingstock of the entire Fleet.

Parck released the breath he had no idea he was holding. Thrawn couldn't have found a better captain for him, a stalwart supporter of order and obedience in naval service, taking his position seriously, while at the same time having a bright, open mind.

"You mean, like if I ever got asked out by a woman or if I ever asked out a straight man?" Parck let out a small chuckle. "Oh, more times than I'd like to admit, but those kinds of stories are rather embarrassing. But hey, you're going to love this one." He shot Niriz a wide, evil smirk. "I hit on a COMPNOR agent."

Niriz flinched, his expression becoming chalk white. "Kriff."

Parck's evil smirk widened even further. "Oh, relax, Niriz, it's not what you think. They didn't come to ruin my 'image of a respectable Corulag citizen,' though it was quite clear that such would have followed if I hadn't cooperated. I told them what they wanted to know, and we all went our separate ways. Still, I couldn't resist taunting them a little."

Niriz exhaled deeply, some of the color returning to his face. "Those people are really dangerous. They would have dragged you down had you crossed the line."

Parck crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "Well, they followed me into a gay bar, keeping tabs on me all night, I presume. I had actually noticed them, but since they kept to themselves, I assumed they were a thing. And then they finally approached me on my way back, showing their COMPNOR badges and inviting me out for a beer."

He flashed Niriz a sly wink. "So I told them I was really flattered by their interest in me."

Niriz guffawed with open amusement. "I don't think there are many people around who can say they mocked COMPNOR and lived to tell the tale."

Parck's expression turned very smug. Oh no, he wouldn't let those buggers screw him. If anything, it would be the opposite way around.

"Ah, the best part is about to come, Niriz. They both flinched when I said that, barking out sharply that they were straight. And I told them, 'So is Zeltron spaghetti until you heat it up.'"

THE END

Authors' Note: I've wondered how the issue would be viewed in the galaxy far, far away, and came to the conclusion that it would be different from planet to planet.

In Legends, Corulag has always been portrayed as a wealthy, conservative world even during the days of the Republic, and later it became extremely loyal to Palpatine, fully embracing the New Order, to the point the New Republic wasn't exactly overjoyed in offering aid to the devastated world once the Empire fell apart and left it to its fate… On the other hand, I can easily imagine no one would even blink twice on, let's say, Alderaan.

While the Empire ruled with an iron fist, the member systems still had their own governments (though often they became puppet governments answering to the moffs, such was the case with the House of Citizens on Corulag), therefore they must have had their own sets of laws and their own sets of morals.

Captain Dagon Niriz's actual homeworld is never mentioned officially, but I thought Chandrila (= Mon Mothma's planet) would fit nicely with his personality and with the introduction of same-sex relationships in the new Canon.

Wookieepedia on Chandrila/Canon: Chandrilans were regarded as peaceful but slightly haughty, pedantic, and interested in politics. Chandrilans had a reputation for being tolerant of same-sex relationships.