MEMORIES II

Vigan'ara

"Five minutes," General Ba'kif gasped, looking down through the observation port. "She finished the course in five minutes."

Among the collected surprise of the room, Admiral Ar'alani kept her reaction much more subdued. She'd practiced the technique for many years within the Chiss Ascendancy's military hierarchy, a place in which even the most subtle reaction could be later levied against her…and in the most extreme cases, end her career. This occurrence, however, was perhaps as safe as it got to let her true feelings show. Even with a naval background, she'd only seen the man standing just behind her complete a training course with such surgical precision and lethal speed. Already, the murmurs of cheating accusations were beginning to circle among the observers, mostly from the aristocra of rival families as they scowled toward the head of House Vigan.

If there wasn't already enough bad blood out for the notorious ancient house, Vigan'ara'hro had only just made it worse.

"The next contestant has not even reached the final phase," Thrawn noted from behind her, easily the calmest person in the room. "Impressive."

"Very," Ar'alani agreed, keeping her tone flat. "Your clairvoyance for danger seems to have found its dichotomy in the form of this girl."

"That is no girl," Thrawn corrected. "I believe we have come across a true prodigy in the art of ground combat. She will serve the Ascendancy quite well."

"Perhaps," Ar'alani kept her gaze fixed on the rest of the combatants, watching a male take a stun bolt from a floating drone waiting around a corridor. Thrawn was, as always, getting ahead of himself. Vigan'ara'hro was about to become the Ascendancy's most sought-after merit adoptive, and only at ten years old. She may have the body and heart of a fully matured chiss woman, but her mind may be another matter. Physical maturity was one thing…maturity itself was certainly another. These were things Thrawn tended to omit from his analysis, things Ar'alani found herself making up for.

The other issue was the fact that Vigan'ara'hro was a house blood, and while the Vigan family no longer had a seat at the Syndicure, it was no secret that its influence was on par with the ruling nine. Ar'alani wouldn't put it past them to genetically alter their members…bloods especially.

It hardly mattered now. The damage had been done. Narah would be tossed around the nine families like a bone until someone finally offered House Vigan something so ridiculous, it wouldn't even be worth the addition to their family any longer. Her talent would be wasted, and she would like many others fade into obscurity once her life was utterly ruined.

Unless…

"I think it might be prudent that we pay her a visit," Ar'alani suggested, finally turning to Thrawn. "And make sure she can serve the Ascendancy at all."


Vigan'ara'hro never minded a large crowd, but an entire crowd devoted to speaking to only her was a dream come true. Before she even sat down at the mess hall, multiple aristocra had stopped her along the way to congratulate her on her performance. By the time she began to slurp on the bowl of noodles she had scooped out, she'd said thank you so many times it had become second nature.

It was amazing.

"How did you do it that quickly?" her twin sister, Nerah, asked, sitting directly across from her after her father finally pulled the attention of the aristocra away from her…and security had escorted the civilian leaders out of the military wing.

"Trade secret," Narah winked with her mouth full.

"Trade sec—" Nerah began, and then looked upon her with disgust. "Do you even know what that means?"

"Nope," Narah smiled, taking a sip of her drink. "Always thought it sounded mysterious."

"Narah…" her sister protested, her jaw clenching somewhat. "Why can't you just answer my question?"

Narah swallowed her bite and set her utensils aside, leaning forward. "You want to know why I finished a minute ahead of you? You're too cautious. You turn every corner too slow, thinking it's the best way to avoid getting shot," she explained. "It's better to blaze around corners too fast for your enemies to hit you, then you just think on your feet. Simple."

"But that's all determined by luck!" Nerah narrowed her eyes. "You can't tell me it's worked for you every time."

Narah shrugged. "What if it has?"

Her smile only grew as Nerah's scowl deepened, and her sister finally realized she wasn't going to get any real information out of this exchange. Nerah's problem was that she overthought everything, believing that every action taken has a purpose. The reality was that randomness was a factor of life itself, and randomness had no purpose by definition. Narah's ability to race around a training course stemmed almost entirely from her mental sharpness, as well as her adept use of weaponry and quick movement. Her enemies only ever saw a virtual blur, and were quickly silenced by an expertly placed headshot before they even realized they were under attack.

It was all too easy, and even her overly proud father knew when his daughter had done something so incredible that there was nothing to criticize. It was so typical of Nerah to be jealous, staring her way with insistence of caution and being overly nitpicky about her miniscule mistakes.

Whatever. Her sister could sulk all she wanted. Narah was going to celebrate this moment of peace, and she wouldn't let anyone tell her otherwise.

There was a shadow of a standing form in front of the large window that lined the back wall of the mess hall, and Narah rolled her eyes. More admirers that could stare at the back of her head as she sucked the noodles out of the bowl and into her throat.

"Thank you, thank you," she said out of habit, pointing away towards the door. "If you'd like to talk to me about recruitment, my father is through that door."

In a sudden move, Nerah vaulted from her seat and clicked her feet together. A salute? Typical Nerah…giving all those pitiful excuses for drill instructors the satisfaction of making her run scared.

"Narah…" her sister whispered through clenched teeth in warning, giving her enough time to slurp up another bundle of noodles, and finally indulge her fear.

White uniform. Naval wing, Defense Force. Sharp expression. Long, black hair…flanked by a man in black, his expression about as blank as she'd ever seen.

Unimpressive.

Narah looked back down to her bowl.

"Y-you must forgive my sister," Nerah spoke up, visually trembling. "She never was good at recognizing superior officers…"

"I believe I can offer benefit of the doubt for one instance," the white-uniformed woman said, her accent rather thick…and a little familiar. "I wanted to congratulate your sister on her performance, but it appears she has more important matters to attend to rather than entertain a…Defense Force Admiral."

Narah looked up. Now she was getting somewhere.

"Excuse me," Narah cleared her throat, giving her the most informal salute possible. "Sorry…eyes are a little foggy from my heat. What can I do for you, Admiral…?"

The woman offered her a thin smile. "Ar'alani. And this is Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo," she introduced. "We would like to speak to you."

Narah chuckled. "Well, as I said, if it's offers about joining a family, you can speak with my fa—"

"I wish to speak to you, Vigan'ara'hro," Ar'alani interrupted, and this time it seemed her patience had been spent. Narah considered contesting it…but ultimately decided she didn't want to put up with an Admiral in her grill after her brilliant performance. "Personally."

Narah slowly nodded. "I see…well, I guess I could hear out an Admiral…although I'm a little at a loss for why you have to bring your sidekick around."

"Narah!" her sister shout-whispered.

Thrawn waved it off. "That's alright. Cadet Nerah, if you don't mind, but I'd like you to take a walk with me. I have comments about your own heat, if you'll have them."

"O-of course, sir!" Nerah nodded. "Not a problem."

"Excellent," Thrawn inclined his head to Ar'alani, and with that, her sister was finally gone…leaving her alone with the Admiral.

Ar'alani turned out to be far more intimidating when she took a seat, her eyes enforcing their own will upon Narah's feverish resistance. Quickly, she found herself entranced, unable to even look back down at her steaming bowl of noodles that she desperately wanted to finish.

"You have quite the mouth on you, Cadet," Ar'alani said with the hint of a scold. "You are lucky you are as good as you've proven."

"I really am the best," Narah shrugged, trying to shake off the Admiral's gaze.

It didn't work.

"So it may seem," she admitted. "Who taught you to move that way? Your awareness and accuracy is virtually unprecedented among the chiss as a whole…and it makes me wonder how…legitimate it actually is."

Legitimate? Was this Admiral calling her a…a cheater?

"Hey, don't blame the test-taker, blame the test," Narah protested. "Whoever designed that thing is an idiot. It's too easy."

"It was created to test a Cadet's ability to think on their feet, and also to expose carelessness. What I cannot understand is how you were able to move that quickly, and not fall prey to the traps that the course laid out. You couldn't have known they were coming."

"Sure I could," Narah denied. "The shapes of the panels are slightly thicker for a trap, meaning there's about a ninety percent chance of one being there when I make the deduction. The firing drones also announce themselves before they deploy, and I just trace the sound with my blaster. It's not that hard."

Ar'alani granted her nothing. "You're saying you could discern the vibrations of the drones from the rest of the combat noise to pinpoint when and where they would be?"

Narah nodded, and then imitated the sound of a firing gun with her mouth. "Ker-pew."

"I see," Ar'alani deadpanned. "How stupid do you think I look?"

Narah gulped, looking away. "To be honest, Admiral…you seem to be smarter than all the other instructors I've ever had."

The Admiral retracted a bit, but reaffirmed her position with a huff. "That isn't what I'm asking, Cadet. It is obvious to be that you've received some kind of…physical alteration. Would that be correct?"

And there it was…the one thing that could strip away all her joy at this moment. How this Admiral had been able to figure that out when none of her other drill instructors had was another question…but it hardly mattered. She could deny it all she wanted, but she meant what she had said before. Ar'alani was one of the best the Chiss had to offer, and Narah was plenty smart enough to recognize that.

No use but to come clean.

"And if it wasn't my choice?" Narah kept her voice down. "If it had been my father threatening to disown me that had me go along with it?"

To her surprise, Ar'alani didn't seem the least bit angry…in fact, she looked as if she understood, that or already knew. "I am aware of your father's…antics," she revealed. "You hide your fear and displeasure behind carelessness and disrespect for those around you."

Right again…

"But I know real talent when I see it," Ar'alani assured her. "I am prepared to make you an offer, but it must be one you decide on your own."

Narah pursed her lips in thought, but eventually nodded.

"I would like to add you to my marine division. There, myself and my chosen officers could continue your training in a more controlled environment. It would take some of my political favors to make work, but it is yours if you want it," she said, pulling out her questis, and sending the file to Narah's own. Rising to her feet, and leaving Narah with a shell-shocked gaze, the Admiral gave her one last look. "You have two days to decide. If you accept, my contact information is in that file. Good day to you, Cadet."

Narah swallowed, giving her a much more formal salute as she left her to her table.

Immediate appointment to an Admiral's personal marine division? For a cadet, that was utterly unheard of, as far as Narah knew…and honestly, she didn't think there would be a better deal. Personal training, officer's quarters, groomed to command in four to six years? It was a no brainer.

A no brainer her father would never let her accept…and while Ar'alani's stature could possibly protect her, she would be leaving her sister alone to fend for herself. Nerah was capable…but she wasn't strong, not like her "big" sister. Narah had always been there to protect her, and after Mother died, they had needed each other just to survive their father's utterly immoral and impossible demands. To him, they were nothing more than a means to an end, an end that resulted in his exaltation into Ascendancy history.

Narah had always hated him, and had tried to hide that hate behind a certain smugness and her superior wit…and it seemed this Admiral Ar'alani had been the only one to see through that guise. Without a doubt, she could keep Narah safe, and that thought was more than enticing.

But Nerah…

What would happen to Nerah?