Chapter 24: Moactan Teels (2/3)
Even though there was nothing inappropriate about walking arm-in-arm, Sarreti felt relieved that the hallway was deserted and that there were only a few soldiers scattered around the cafeteria at this hour.
Unfortunately, as Governor Tarkin's law stated, whatever could go wrong, would go wrong, because one of the soldiers turned out to be no one else than Commander Stent. Wonderful. Just what they needed right now.
Sarreti quickly released Miat's arm.
Thankfully the leader of the rogue warriors seemed preoccupied, quietly sipping a cup of caf while typing something on a personal datapad.
"Miss Temm. Governor Sarreti. What brings you to the cafeteria at this hour?" Commander Stent called as they walked past his table.
He raised his head from the dapapad and leaned forward, steepling his hands in front of his face in a manner which reminded Sarreti of the late Grand Admiral Thrawn from Admiral Pellaeon's tales. According to the old Corellian, Grand Admiral Thrawn had assumed this pose when he'd been formulating his strategies or analyzing his opponents.
Sarreti gritted his teeth. If the pale blue wonder ruined their date he would declare a war with the Empire of the Hand.
"Jump-lag." Miat explained, putting her hands firmly behind her back. "Our bodies need a couple of days to adjust. Local time is the opposite of the Central Bastion Time. We figured we could look around and see what food this establishment has to offer."
"I see." The Chiss stated in a tone which suggested that he didn't find Miat's explanation convincing at all.
"Is there a problem, Commander Stent?" Sarreti said in a challenge. "As far as I know, we've been given freedom of movement."
Commander Stent evaluated them with a long, piercing glance. "True. Purely out of curiosity, Miss Temm, where else have you been tonight?"
Miat tensed. "Only to the hangar. I'm sorry, Commander Stent, I merely wished to see the clawcraft with my own eyes. I haven't been spying on anyone."
The pale blue lips twitched in a smile. "I believe you. I asked because I am interested to know if you were able to locate the remaining ysalamiri."
Miat's mouth opened, her eyes widening in surprise. "Oh. I didn't realize … That's why I felt so strange in General Fel's greenhouse! I thought it was due to the humidity."
Earlier today, Miat had accompanied Admiral Pellaeon on his visit to General Fel's gardens—an unlikely hobby the two military leaders shared—and excused herself in the middle of the tour, claiming to be suffering from a sudden headache.
Sarreti's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What is the meaning of this, Commander?"
"We've been keeping ysalamiri as a security measure for more than a decade. Given your adverse reaction in the glasshouse, I assumed that you became aware of their presence and sneaked around in an attempt to locate the rest."
Miat shook her head resolutely. "No, I wasn't."
Who did the damn alien think he was? A ISB agent? Very well. Two could play this game. "And what are you doing here at this hour, Commander Stent?" Sarreti retorted.
The alien lazily lifted an eyebrow. "I'm composing a message to my second-in-command."
"In the cafeteria?" Saretti asked skeptically.
Commander Stent flashed him a small smirk. "I didn't want to disturb Voss."
Sarreti groaned; the overly familiar form of address was a clear attempt to throw him off balance. "And it couldn't wait until morning?"
"I promised Prard'aif'ineiro that I would summarize my experience in the Imperial Remnant at the first possible opportunity." The Chiss let out a noncommittal shrug. "This was the first possible opportunity."
"Praar'day…" Miat tried but eventually gave up, shaking her head in resignation.
"Prard'aif'ineiro." Commander Stent repeated slowly. "Core-name Daifi."
Miat let out a small whimper. "That's the most complicated Chiss name I've heard."
Miat was fascinated by the blue-skinned aliens. She even tried to engage a few in a casual conversation but they quickly excused themselves after exchanging greetings and pleasantries, coming up with blaster-proof excuses as to why they should be attending their duties instead.
Much to Sarreti's chagrin, the pale blue wonder was the only one who didn't mind small talk, which made Miat wonder whether it was a character trait or whether it was a result of being in a long-term relationship with a human. Sarreti couldn't care less.
"Oh, there are far more complicated names. However, it is true that I have yet to meet a human who is able to pronounce Prard'aif'ineiro's name perfectly."
"What about Admiral Parck?" Miat asked.
Stent paused. "Admiral Parck's pronunciation comes close, or as close as possible for a human. Unfortunately, there are certain sounds which human vocal cords are unable to reproduce. Especially when it comes to aspirated and unaspirated "P" sounds."
"Can you give us an example of such names?"
"Essri'tha'uophe, Rithau. Piwez'esn'arirro, Zesna. Pureg'ink'hucon, Ginkh."
It sounds as if a tooka walked over a datapad... Sarreti kept the opinion to himself.
"Was it difficult for you to learn Basic, Commander?" Miat sat down next to the alien. Swallowing a curse, Sarreti followed suit.
Their date was officially ruined and the declaration of war could wait until morning. He might as well humor the lady and engage in small talk with Commander Stent. At least the Chiss was gay. He didn't need to feel jealous of an alien who wasn't interested in women.
"It was." Stent admitted casually. "Fortunately, Admiral Parck was the most patient teacher."
"Oh. Is that how you ended up together?" Miat asked with open curiosity.
The Chiss tilted his head to a side. "I am greatly interested to hear if you can extract the information from me with your Force."
Miat straightened in her seat. "Once again I'm sorry for probing you with the Force, Commander Stent, and the answer is no, I can't. I don't have that skill."
Stent gave her another long, pondering glance.
"The reason why all the Chiss have been avoiding you, Miss Temm, is because they found your presence highly uncomfortable. They could tell you were … interested in them in a manner they couldn't possibly interpret, which made them feel deeply uneasy. Asking questions of a personal nature is considered a serious breach of good manners and etiquette in our culture. Such information is reserved for friends. It isn't shared with complete strangers."
Miat blushed, lowering her eyes in shame.
Sarreti's hand found hers under the table, giving her a gentle squeeze. If it hadn't been for the alien, he would have placed a hand on her shoulder in a gesture of support.
But then, maybe the Chiss would finally take the hint and leave. Taking a calculated risk, Sarreti placed the hand on her shoulder affectionately. However, the Chiss didn't excuse himself.
"Hello there, Commander Stent."
Sarreti jerked in shock at NX-2207's natural, unfiltered voice from behind. As did Miat.
Not only that his chief bodyguard wasn't wearing his helmet, he wasn't wearing his white armor either. He was dressed only in the black bodysuit the stormtroopers wore underneath.
"Sergeant Nexu, is that you?" Miat breathed out, staring wide-eyed at the man's ghastly complexion caused by little exposure to sunlight. Unlike Sarreti, Miat had never seen his face.
"Yes, Ma'am." NX-2207 drew himself up to military-parade attention.
"What are you doing here, NX-2207?" Sarreti's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"I couldn't sleep so I wandered around the base, sir, and then I decided to visit the cafeteria since it's open nonstop. When I noticed Commander Stent… I wondered if he would be willing to teach me the moves he had used to defeat me. "
In other words, the stormtrooper had followed them incognito; he must have sneaked into the cafeteria by the staff entrance and listened to the entire exchange with Commander Stent until he finally decided to reveal his presence in a desperate attempt to lure the Chiss away.
"Why not? This time I might even use the full force. It would be very unfortunate if the white armor broke from the impact..." The Chiss said ominously. "But please, sit down and join us, Sergeant. We are in the middle of the most interesting conversation."
TO BE CONTINUED
Will curiosity kill the nexu?
And don't worry, I didn't forget about Korlm and Rhia. Korlm is given a pineapple (which really exists in SW) and isn't quite sure what to make of it...
Tonight's mating session with Rhia Meiral earned Korlm yet another gift; a large, oval-shaped plant—or was it a seed?—with thick green leaves at the top. The human female presumably tried to explain how to grow this plant but unfortunately Korlm couldn't understand a word she'd said.
In order to avoid accidental offense, he'd accepted the most unusual gift with a thank you which resulted in a wide grin. It made her happy. Good.
Now the real question was what to do with the strange plant and how to explain its presence to his roommate. There was little point in lying so he decided to tell him the truth.
[What is this?] Selik'rif'feromu asked when he noticed the unfamiliar object in Korlm's hand, moving from his bunk to take a closer look. [Where did you get this?]
[It's a gift I've been given.] Korlm placed the strange plant on the bedside table. It was well balanced; it stood on its own without any support. Perhaps it served as a room decoration?
[Gift?] His roommate echoed faintly. [From whom?]
Korlm sighed. [From a human female.]
Selik'rif'feromu's face clouded in confusion. [Why would a human female give you a gift? You saved her life or something?]
Korlm shook his head. [No. We merely engaged in recreation.]
His roommate stared at him incredulously. [Have you lost your mind? You know nothing about their mating habits! What if you accidentally entered a marriage contract with her by accepting this seed? It could have been a proposal!]
[I think I need to sit down.] Kolrm felt his body go numb. In agricultural alien cultures, seeds were commonly associated with fertility. Before his knees gave up on him, he'd managed to crawl onto his bunk and grew arms around himself protectively.
[Kolrm?] His roommate asked worriedly. [Are you alright?]
[I fear you are correct, Kriff. She'd been invoking deities during our mating sessions.]
[Ancestors!] Selik'rif'feromu exclaimed in horror. [What exactly did she say?]
Korlm pursed his lips. [She kept repeating a phrase which I was unfamiliar with so I looked it up in the ship's database. It turned out to be a name of a deity from her homeworld. I should have it realized back then.]
His roommate sighed as he sat down on the bed next to Kolrm and roughly grabbed his hair. [You're such a moactan teel, Korlm. And congratulations are in order, I suppose.]
THE END(?)
