AN: I re-use a few OCs from my Edge of Doom series. This is a separate story which, eventually, will have a slight overlap with my Edge of Doom Series. Reading that series isn't necessary to understanding this story, but my OCs and use of canon/Legends characters are consistent between the series. They take place in the same story universe.
Lir Sey'les is an OC from my Edge of Doom series (a bit more on her is here: s/13633055/5/Edge-of-Doom-Part-1-the-Judicials ). If you like, you can skip all the non-"Lir Sey'les" chapters in my fic Judicials of the Republic and get her story. Her story merges with that of my other OC points of view in my sequel Fractured Republic.
The other OCs thus far are all new to this fic.
Chapter 3: Rio Durant
Sluis Van
While Meratos and Rio Durant conducted their post-landing check of the Nu-Class shuttle, one of the Ardennian's other friends, Ujorhen Sochu, chatted animatedly with the pilots. Sochu was a well-built, orange skinned, Twi'lek in the Diplomatic Security Corps, with blue tattoos on his Lekku. Rio and Sochu had been friends since the Twi'lek was first assigned as part of the 37th's security team six years ago.
"Nine days?!" Rio yelled exasperatedly.
"That's what the rumours are," Sochu said in a hushed tone, leaning on one of the Nu-Class transport's wings.
"You can't always believe the rumours," Meratos snorted, holding a clipboard while she stood on the same wing. Plastering the front of the nacelle above the wing were scratch marks where a bird had collided with one of the Nu-Class's laser turrets. "We're going to have to run a test."
"Yeah," Rio sighed, distracted by the prospect of remaining on Sluis Van another nine days. "Let's leave an S-57 for the maintenance crew."
"All right." Meratos pulled a giant yellow and black sticker from her clipboard and stuck it onto the side of the nacelle. On it were the Aurebesh letters S-57.
"Sweet!" Sochu exclaimed, slapping Rio on the back. "Leave it for the maintenance crews! I love your style. It's kriffing hot out here. Let's go inside and play some Sabaac."
Sabacc, Rio thought with a sigh. It's only 1700 and he already wants to play Sabacc. The Ardennian looked beyond the chain-link fence surrounding Cresh Base to the tapcafé across the street that specialised in frosty treats. "How about we get some ice cream?"
"I'm up for that," Meratos sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"It's settled then," Rio said with a grin. "Ice cream."
While the Judicials were not supposed to leave Cresh Base without approval from Jedi Master Knol Ven'nari, the Sluissi security forces manning the base's perimeter never seemed to care. As long as we keep close to the base, that mangy Bothan probably won't care, the Ardennnian had told himself on many occasions.
Rio and Meratos had left the base almost every day, sometimes with Ujorhen Sochu and some of the other Diplomatic Security personnel. They would walk just across the street, unarmed, less than 20 meters beyond the base guard post—to the tapcafé amidst the bloc of worn-out stucco cracked buildings and metal shacks, the type of structure that made up most of this part of Sluissi City.
"All right," Sochu sighed defeatedly. "Let's go—"
"—Mind if I accompany you?" a Knol Ven'nari's voice growled.
Gasping in alarm, Rio turned around, spinning to face the Bothan. Unlike most Bothans, Knol wasn't just about Rio's height—She towered over the Ardennian. Right now, her green eyes looked innocently curious, her pointy ears poking up through her dark red mane. Her scarred snout was open, tongue lolling out slightly, panting desperately in the humidity.
Well, she does look like she could use a frosty treat, Rio thought guiltily to himself. How can I say no to that? "Uh… Yeah—I mean no, yeah you can accompany us, Master Jedi," the Ardennian stammered nervously.
Knol sniffed the air curiously for a moment, twitching her soft wet nose. She then spoke quickly, turning from the Ardennian, to the Twi'lek, to the human, then back, making eye contact with each. "Good. Ready up for an off-base reconnoiter. To the armoury!"
"The—the armoury?" Meratos asked, surprise and shock crossing her sweaty face. "Master Jedi, we are just getting ice cream."
"To. The. Armoury," Knol snarled biting the air each word. Her fur seemed to stand up, bristling.
"Yes ma'am," Rio said as enthusiastically as he could. Kriff everything. She is every bit as insane as the rest of her pathologically narcissistic species.
The Ardennian had yet to meet a Bothan he liked. The few Bothans he knew, he had met while a cadet at the Judicial Academy on Coruscant. They were competitive, greedy, intense in an overwhelming neurotic canine hyperactive sort of way, and not too bright. From what he had observed of Master Knol Ven'nari, she was no different—only older and taller.
o.o.o.o.o
Knol Ven'nari
Knol Ven'nari smiled contently to herself as she slipped a navy-blue peacekeeper Judicial-style vest on over tattered sleeveless tank-top. On the front of the vest was a white insignia in the shape of a Republic Sigil, on the back was a black billowing cape.
Sochu sighed unhappily as he donned a black helmet, wide slots cut into the sides fit his orange Lekku.
Rio groaned in anguish as he pulled grey socks over his dirty handlike feet. He whimpered as he slipped his feet into a pair of combat boots. With her Bothan ears, Knol could hear the Ardennian swearing under his breath. "Psychotic Bothan bitch."
The human, Meratos, was already dressed. Over her navy-blue uniform was a black blaster-resistant vest and she wore a matching black helmet, with a tinted blue visor pulled down over her eyes.
"You can do it," Knol growled in a sarcastically consoling voice. Walking across the armoury, she stood next to Rio's bench, putting her furred hand on the Ardennian's shoulder.
"Sorry ma'am," Rio gulped. She could sense fear and nervousness.
Knol flashed her fangs, brushing her ears with the palm of her hand. Yes, I could hear you. Without warning, she spun around, turning back to Meratos, scowling. "Human, where is your blaster?"
"Bla—Blaster ma'am?" Meratos stammered.
"Yes, we are going to be combat ready," Knol growled matter of factly, danger sense still making her fur swirl.
o.o.o.o.o
Rio Durant
Rio hadn't worn shoes in at least six months. He always flew barefoot and only ever wore shoes during land navigation exercises, or when deployed to a particularly inhospitable world.
The Ardennian's feet were already chafing, compressed in his hot synthleather boots as he walked. Neck already exhausted, his head sagged under his helmet, and his visor steamed in the humidity. Slung in holsters on all three of the Judicials' waists were DH-17 blaster pistols.
Knol's lightsaber was visible on her belt. Unlike almost every other Jedi, the Bothan normally dressed like a vagabond. The only difference now was she was in armour.
The two Sluissi guards at the edge of Cresh Base saluted as the group approached "Good afternoon Master Jedi, good afternoon gentlemen, good afternoon ma'am."
Rio and Meratos saluted back with in sweaty, unenthusiastic sighs. "Good afternoon."
Sochu did not even bother saluting. He just frowned at the two slithering reptilian guards, tensing up slightly.
Knol, like most Jedi, probably did not know how to salute. "It's so nice to get outside," she panted, trotting along behind Rio.
"Yeah," Rio agreed, shifting uncomfortably in his blast resistant vest. This is punishment. Knol is either the most neurotic Bothan in the Galaxy, or she is trying to teach us that we shouldn't leave the base. Probably a combination of the two.
After carefully walking across fifteen meters of cracked concrete, they arrived on the other side of the street at the door of a gaudy stucco building with a few windows. The Judicials sighed in relief as an airconditioned breeze gushed out the door.
Rio smiled as he stepped forward to the counter. The tapcafé was emptier than usual, with only two Sluissi sitting in the corner of the room at a table near the refresher. On the flatscreen, a panel of five Sluissi news anchors and pundits yammered away in a language the Ardennian could not understand.
"Am I under arrest?" Nandib, the shopkeeper, a female Sluissi with a flat face, asked the heavily armed Judicials in a disconcerted tone.
"Ah, no," Rio smiled. Pulling his visor up, he wiped his forehead under his helmet with one of his upper arms. "Just doing things a little different today. Jedi, you know?" He tried scratching his head, but his fingers touched the cloth of his helmet cover.
"Jedi," Nandib hmm'd to herself, looking to the robed Bothan at the back of the group. "Pleased to meet you, Master Jedi."
"Oh, just call me Knol," the Bothan growled, fur seeming to ripple as her ears perked up. "Pilots? You go here a lot. Recommend a frosty treat!"
"Uh," Meratos said hesitantly. "I recommend the mint cone."
"Mint!" Knol snarled in disgust, ears folded down defensively. "Toothpaste as dessert?"
Feeling like he needed more than his usual dose of caffeine to survive this, Rio leaned forward. "I'll take a caf-flavoured frost in a cone, please"
"How many scoops?" Nandib asked.
"Four," Rio answered firmly.
"Four?!" the Sluissi exclaimed in amazement. "All right, four scoops coming up."
"Caf flavoured?" Knol growled, ears perked up.
o.o.o.o.o
Now seated at a table directly across from the flatscreen, the Jedi and the three Judicials awkwardly shared a table.
For a few minutes, no one said anything. Finally breaking the silence, Knol growled firmly "You know? I've been watching you for a while."
Rio was not quite sure how to respond to that. He licked his caf-flavoured ice cream nervously.
"Watching us?" Sochu asked, his Lekku poked out from under his helmet slots, pointing at the Bothan. "You have been watching us?"
"Well, we are the only non-humans on the Base," Knol explained, staring at her ice cream with deep suspicion. She turned to Meratos, waving her hand dismissively. "Present company excluded of course." The Bothan slowly stuck her exceedingly long tongue out of her snout, taking an inefficient lick of ice cream.
Unable to take his eyes off what her snout was doing, Rio stared to the Jedi across the table. Knol's pink and black tongue was so long it slid around the entire circumference of the ice cream, taking very small amounts of frost with it. She brought the cone in closer to her snout, licking more rapidly.
Rio found the Bothan's manner of eating oddly gratifying, in a way that disturbed him as much as he found it impossible to ignore. His mouth hung open in shock as he reached up to scratch his head. Once again, his fingers touched fabric covering the cold hard material of his helmet. Looking beyond Knol's tongue and ice cream, the Ardennian saw her huge canine teeth. He shuddered, observing a silver-coloured filling on her right fang. At least she visits the dentist.
"So," Knol mumbled, snout full of ice cream, facing no one in particular as she licked her lips. "Have you ever thought of having a child?"
The two men at the table gasped.
"Uh, what?" Meratos asked, blushing in surprise.
"A child," Knol repeated, spinning to face the human.
"I—I haven't… like—Uh—Given it much thought," Meratos stammered, adjusting her helmet which was sliding forwards with her posture. Regaining her composure, she asked a question of her own. "Master Jedi, have you thought of having a Padawan?"
Knol scrunched her snout, visibly shocked by the proposal. "While some Jedi do engage in sexual intercourse for pleasure, we don't reproduce like that," she explained, as if teaching a child. "It is strictly against the Jedi Code."
Meratos laughed nervously, her dark face blushing beat red. "I didn't—I didn't mean—"
"—Huh," Knol growled. Her ears perked up as she turned, staring intently at the flastscreen. "Shhh!"
In spite of himself, Rio began laughing aloud at Meratos. The laughter spread like a contagion, and soon, Sochu laughed too.
"I SAID BE QUIET!" Knol yelped. "SHHH!"
The Ardennian and Twi'lek struggled to suppress their laughter. After five seconds of giggling quietly, they silenced themselves.
"Sorry ma'am, I didn't—"
"—SHHHHHH!" Knol hissed. "It's the Khedive-elect."
On the flatscreen, a wrinkly toadlike tan-green Sluissi stood at a podium. He had four rings around his fat, slug-like tail, and wore a bronze chest-plate. His speech seemed to vary between yelling and hissing in a language Rio and the other Judicials could not understand. Whatever he was saying sounded quite angry.
Rio took a nervous lick of ice cream, blinking his almond-shaped eyes.
As if sensing their confusion, the Jedi Master began growling, translating the gist of what was happening. "The Khedive is saying that they have had a great triumph of the votes. In spite of the Judicials stuffing the ballots with millions of fake votes, they have won. He says they would have theoretically won by a greater margin, had the Judicials not stuffed the ballots."
Rio snorted derisively to himself. If we had stuffed the ballot boxes, that kriff-head wouldn't have won, period.
"One moment," Knol said, ears perking up. Raising a finger, she looked at the three Judicials, then to Rio in particular. "I will be in the refresher, wait for me. Be wary."
"Uh… Yes ma'am," Rio grunted awkwardly, breaking eye contact with the Bothan.
Once Knol's billowing black cape disappeared down the hallway, Sochu broke out laughing. "Holy shassa that was awkward!"
"You're telling me," Rio sighed in a relief.
"I can't believe… I can't believe how ignorant she thinks I am," Meratos croaked. "Have a Padawan? She thought I meant—"
"—Have a Padawan!" Rio guffawed loudly. "Give birth to a Padawan! Hell, I think this Knol, this kriffing Jedi is dumber than Sey'les."
"Yeah," Sochu agreed, pounding the table as he laughed harder. "She—"
"—Wait," Meratos interrupted, "who?"
"Ah," Rio sighed. "Grey furred Bothan in my class. A year past Sochu's class so you wouldn't have met her. A Team Leader in some ground-pounder unit right now, she wanted to be a pilot at one point."
"Well, what did she do that's so… Dumb?" Meratos asked.
"Lots of things, but let's just say, she cheated on a piloting assessment," Sochu snorted.
"Yeah, tried to," Rio guffawed in agreement.
"Cheated?!" Meratos exclaimed in shock. "How do you even cheat at flying?"
The door to the tapcafé swung open. Six huge Trandoshans entered through the door in a single file line. Unusually, they carried what appeared to be giant butterfly nets. Rio stared at them curiously. Butterfly nets in a tapcafé? What are they planning on catching?
"Durant?" Meratos asked. "DURANT!" she yelled, slugging the Ardennian on the shoulder.
"Ouch!" Rio yelled indignantly.
"Sorry sir," Meratos stammered. "I am just curious. How could she cheat at flying?"
Rio sighed, scrunching his eyes in a nervous Ardennian wince. Do I want to gossip about another Judicial, possibly ruining her reputation? Can I trust— "Can I trust you to keep this between us, Meratos? Not to tell a soul?"
"Yes sir," the human replied eagerly.
"All right," Rio muttered in a hushed tone, holding his helmet still with his upper arms as he leaned forward into the centre of the table. The Ardennian used his lower hands to display his usual animated conversational hand gestures. "Lir Sey'les, totally crazy Bothan, was my partner in… In well, several courses. She was always a slacker, didn't do much, but still managed to try and be super competitive, focusing on getting me to do better than the rest of the class. By our second year, I had enough. In the flight programming course, we weren't partners anymore, so her grade didn't really affect mine."
Rio looked over his shoulder suspiciously at the Trandoshans. They seemed to be walking up closer to their table.
Suspecting they were approaching to listen in, the Ardennian lowered his voice to a whisper and continued the story. "Sey'les got a bit… Desperate. She could handle the flying part good enough, better than me in fact, but she never figured out the flight computers. I honestly found it really funny. The impatient Bothan would snarl, punching the flight computers, throwing a hissy fit rather than calming down and spending enough time to diagnose the error. Every time she ran a flight program, it would throw up dozens of error messages. I mean… Maybe more than dozens. Maybe hundreds. It was a mess. Anyways," the Ardennian paused, scratching his helmet. "She approached me during class, said we'd known each other for a long time. I was like 'yeah we have.' And then, she casually offered to quote 'give me snout' if I reprogrammed the flight computer for her this week."
Sochu laughed, pounding the table again, then buried his helmet in his arms. His Lekkus quivered as he continued laughing.
"Give you snout?" Meratos asked curiously. "What does that mean?"
"Um…" Rio muttered, then sighed. Kriff this is awkward. "It's when—"
—Meratos gasped, brown eyes going wide. "EWW! GROSS!" she exclaimed, hissing in shock. "Flight computers! That's not even hard! Did you? Did you let her give you snout then?!"
"No!" Rio scoffed, folding his arms indignantly. "Are you kidding me? I told the Commandant. After a hearing, they gave her a fail and banned her from ever retaking the course. She lost her pilot's licence and had to graduate into a different specialty. Honestly, with how unethical she was, I am amazed they didn't just expel her. If Sey'les were human, or Twi'lek, I am sure they would have just thrown her ass out. It's completely—"
—At that moment, the Ardennian's startled eyes went wide. Something was very wrong. Two Trandoshans were approaching, much closer than eavesdropping range. They now stood behind Meratos and Sochu, holding their giant butterfly nets up into the air.
Raising his blaster, Rio yelled "GET BACK! I WILL—AAHH!" he screamed in surprise as a net came down on his head, clanging on his helmet.
In a panic, he dropped his blaster, reaching his lanky lower arms out from under the net. The Ardennian desperately tried grabbing the outside of the net. "GET THIS THING OFF ME! I AM A JUDICIAL OF THE GALACTIC—"
—The Ardennian screamed in agony, every muscle in his body spasming. An electric jolt ran from the net into his face. Every part of his face felt like it was on fire. Even his teeth hurt as he collapsed to the ground gasping for air.
Meratos and Sochu too began wailing in pain, their screams mixed with the sound of electric zaps.