I apologize for the long wait. *gets down on knees and grovels* Well, I defeated Darth Geometry Exam. But, in true Sith tradition, another emerged to take his place: the mighty Darth School (master of all the others), assisted by such dastardly apprentices as: Darth Incomprehensible Chemistry Lessons, Darth English Essay, Darth Quarter Exam, and various others. Either way, I managed to hold them off long enough to write this. And now that I'm on Spring Break for a week *pauses to cheer wildly* I'll be able to update a LOT more. Expect another post sometime this week, probably around Wednesday.
Chapter 5: Heritage
"How did I know how to do that?!"
--Jason Bourne to Dr. Washburn, after "breaking down" a
handgun at record time, in The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
Setting: Two years later (and 3 years after VotF--Rolan is a Junior in high school)
"I hate Art class," Jaec complained, as the teacher launched into another boring explanation of the Nabooian Renaissance and how it affected modern art.
"It's not so bad," Rolan replied, after a moment's pause. "Actually, I think it's...interesting."
Jaec stared at Rolan in mock horror. "Interesting?!" He shook his head. "What—all the dull talks about long-dead artists or the stuff about 'technique', 'artistic metaphor', and a bunch of other junk we can't understand?"
"Well," Rolan began, carefully considering how he could explain his interest to his close-minded friend. He felt a strange need to defend his interests. After all, the only reason they were taking a class like Three-Dimensional Art Technique was because Rolan had said it'd be "fun".
"When you think about it," Rolan continued, "the Nabooian Renaissance artworks show how Naboo's people are changing. You know how Mrs. Klaeh keeps saying how the Renaissance took place during a social revolution when Naboo was getting rid of its caste system and all? Well, the Renaissance sculptures show this: they're more open, more colorful, more free." He paused to take a breath. "I think it's interesting, how art can reveal so much about people."
From the other side of the table, Sorias nodded slowly, still digesting the information. "I've never thought about art that way," he said, inclining his head in the posture that Rolan had come to know meant he was deep in thought.
Jaec just stared at them, his mouth hanging slightly open. "Okay, that just went way over my head there, Rol. Can you slow down a little and run it by me again, in Basic this time and preferably with words of one syllable or less. Not everyone has your superior brain."
"My brain is not superior," Rolan insisted. He had known Jaec for two years, and while his friend often seemed irrational, he was really very intelligent. Perhaps not as much as Rolan, but Jaec was no idiot.
"Yeah and I'm the next prince of Naboo," Jaec replied glibly.
"At your service, Your Majesty," Sorias spoke up, giving an exaggerated bow.
"I don't know if it's your heritage or what," Jaec continued, ignoring the banter. "But you're a genius. You've always done well in school, and you don't even need to try hard. I don't know, maybe your species is born with larger brains than ours."
"Maybe," Rolan admitted. It was a valid hypothesis, despite the fact that it sounded somewhat arrogant. "But I don't know what my species is. You know that, Jaec."
There was a short silence, as the three students pretended to listen to what the teacher was saying.
"We should try to find out," Sorias blurted suddenly, a look of brazen determination on his pale features.
"Try to find out what?" Jaec asked, the darker skin of his forehead furrowed in confusion.
"Rolan's species."
Jaec shook his head. Sorias was too optimistic for his own good. "How many times have we been over this, Sor? If a species isn't found in the Encyclopaedia Galactica, it won't be mentioned on any New Republic database."
Rolan held up a blue-skinned hand. "Let him speak, Jaec."
Jaec immediately stopped talking. When Rolan said something, people tended to obey. Jaec wasn't sure how to explain it, but Rolan had a certain quality about him that made people listen when he spoke.
"My father bought a new computer program," Sorias explained. "It's pretty top-of-the-line--"
"And years ahead of the regular market, I'll bet," Jaec added, grinning. "Expensive too."
"It has special search engine software, so it could work. It's worth a try at least."
"That's great, Sorias," Rolan said, grinning at his friend. He doubted it would work, for they'd already tried every other search engine and database they could find, but Sorias deserved his thanks, at least.
Sorias and Jaec talked enthusiastically for the rest of the class. Sorias was a bit of an idealist, and very optimistic at that. Meanwhile, Rolan was a realist. And while Jaec often professed to being a realist, Rolan knew that, deep down, he was really just as much of an idealist as Sorias.
Oh well. Who was he to spoil their hope? They'd find out soon enough whether Sorias's plan would work.
"We'll meet after school, at Sorias house," Rolan decided. "If that works for you, Sorias."
"Sure," Sorias replied. "My house is always free, mainly because my father's always out on business." His voice contained little bitterness, only resignation. He had accepted the fact that his father spent more time with his company than he had ever spent with him.
Jaec and Rolan looked at each other, and proceeded to change the subject.
"We can go to my house afterwards," Jaec offered. "Rolan, my parents can call the D-C as usual and argue till they let you out for the night."
Rolan grinned slightly in appreciation. "Thanks. Dr. Pryko's on my back again, so I'll need all the adult intervention I can get."
"Pryko again?" Jaec asked sympathetically, having heard of the psychiatrist from Rolan. "Don't worry, my parents'll get you out. Why's that nutcase still on to you, anyway?"
"Same reason as always," Rolan replied. "I am an alien, I am different, and so she assumes I am mentally unstable."
"Just give her the Red Glare of Death," Jaec replied glibly. "Then she'll back off."
" 'Red Glare of Death'?" Rolan asked, raising a blue-black eyebrow in feigned ignorance.
"Yeah," Jaec replied. "You know, that look you get when you're angry. I swear, you don't often show it, but when you're mad your eyes glow brighter. It's kind of creepy. Cool, yes, but creepy too. No offense, of course."
Rolan simply gave Jaec a Look.
"Ah!" Jaec cried, pretending to shield his eyes. "You're doing it again! The Red... Glare of...d-d..." Jaec collapsed on his desk in a dramatic feigned death throe.
Sorias simply glanced from one boy to the other, trying to hide his amusement from the teacher's prying eyes. But she saw it anyway.
"Jaec, Sorias, Rolan, please stop talking," Mrs. Klaeh said. "Perhaps one of you three would like to tell me what type of sculpture this is?" She held up a sculpture, and looked at the trio. Please, Jaec thought desperately. Don't pick me.
"Jaec, identify this style of sculpture."
Oh, great.
"Um...the sculpture is clearly...uh...Nabooian."
"Obviously. But, there are three different types of Nabooian Post-Renaissance sculpture. Which type is this?" She held up the clay model once again.
Oh, what could Jaec guess? He didn't even know what the three types of sculpture were!
"I don't know," Jaec admitted.
"I thought so," Mrs. Klaeh said. "Let's see if another of your little trio can answer. Rolan, perhaps you would be so kind?" Mrs. Klaeh gave a small, triumphant grin, confident that she knew how this would turn out.
"Yes, ma'am," Rolan replied calmly. She was looking at him like he was a dunce—and that was something his pride would not allow. Rolan began to speak, determined to prove her wrong. "The sculpture is Sejari-style, from the latter years of the Nabooian Renaissance. You can tell from the use of color, for Sejari works often incorporated more 'modern' shades like purple and red, along with traditional tones like blue, green, and yellow." Rolan paused, seeing the shocked expression on Mrs. Klaeh's face. He continued on, finding himself speaking in a precise and formal tone, "I think the artist was Keldà Delannen, though I'm not quite sure."
The entire room was silent.
"That is correct," Mrs. Klaeh said quietly. Then, after a moment, she asked, "How are you familiar with Keldà's work?"
The scary thing was, not even Rolan could answer that question. Rolan hadn't even been listening to that part of the lecture—how had he known the different styles of Renaissance art? And he had never even heard of Keldà—or had he? How did he know all this?
It was another one of his random memories, Rolan knew. Something connected to the odd dreams he sometimes had.
Rolan decided to ignore his confusion and focus on the task at hand. Worrying wouldn't help matters.
"A museum," Rolan replied, searching his mind for the best excuse. "I went to an art museum once, and Keldà's work was on display."
"I see," Mrs. Klaeh replied. For a second, she seemed...suspicious, as if she didn't quite believe him. But then she smiled, glad to find a fellow art-lover, and Rolan knew that he had just been paranoid.
The three boys were sprawled around Sorias's personal living room, their eyes fixed on Sorias's latest HoloGame. It was called Galactic Commander II. The case it came in was covered with pictures of spaceships and large text proclaiming: "The best strategy game around! Control an entire fleet and blast your way to dominion over the galaxy!"
Jaec took the Karrde Smuggler's Consortium, as usual. Sorias, of course, played with the New Republic. And Rolan--
"Hey, Rolan," Jaec asked as Rolan's Star Destroyers obliterated yet another one of his spaceports. "Why do you always play the Empire?"
Rolan frowned in thought. Truth be told, he had randomly picked the Empire the first time he played Galactic Commander I, and simply stuck with them for the sake of familiarity.
"Because my Star Destroyers can take your smugglers' corsairs any day!" Rolan replied, grinning.
After one of Sorias's Mon Calamari cruisers was obliterated, Jaec complained again.
"You always win, Rolan."
"It would appear that way," Rolan replied neutrally, hiding a smile.
"But the good guys are supposed to win!" Jaec went on. "You'd think the New Republic or the smugglers is supposed to come in first."
"But here the Empire always does!" Sorias finished, laughing at the irony of it.
Rolan grinned at that. "Hey, you two were the ones who took the 'good guys'. What was I supposed to do, play the Hapan Royal Fleet?"
"But you win every time," Jaec replied. "It's unnatural. I think you've rigged the game to help the Empire," he said, narrowing his eyes with feigned suspicion.
Rolan only laughed. "I don't cheat."
"Oh yeah? Then prove it. Switch game controls with me. We'll see just how lucky the Empire is."
It took Rolan a few minutes to get used to controlling the Smugglers' Consortium. After all, smugglers' ships were small and not as powerful as of, say, a Star Destroyer. But they had their advantages. Smugglers' corsairs were small, fast, and very maneuverable.
(Quite useful for quick hit-and-run raiding missions.)
And as five of Rolan's ships took down one of Jaec's Star Destroyers, Rolan gave a rare laugh. "I don't need luck. I have skill."
"How'd you--?" Jaec began, trailing off as he lost a squadron of TIE fighters.
"I like these smugglers," Rolan continued, his tone perfectly serious.
"You've created a monster, Jaec," Sorias murmured as Rolan turned his guns on a Mon Cal cruiser.
Jaec laughed. "Rolan, it looks like we've made a smuggler out of you."
Rolan only grinned as his ships emerged victorious once again.
"Now that we've wasted three hours playing Galactic Commander, let's do what we came to do," Jaec said, his tone unusually businesslike.
"Okay," Sorias agreed, cheerfully setting up the computer terminal. "We'll start in the Exobiology database."
"Very well," said Rolan, hiding his pessimism.
"How can we search for Rolan's species?" asked Jaec. "We don't even know the name!"
Sorias pointed to the computer screen. "The search engine doesn't need a name to work. We just need to type a basic description."
"Oh."
Sorias grinned as he typed on the console, clearly in his element. "We'll start with something simple.
"Try those DROOLEAN search protocols we learned about in class," Jaec suggested, trying to be helpful.
"You mean BOOLEAN?" Rolan asked, raising a dark blue eyebrow and hiding a laugh.
"Same thing," Jaec replied, shrugging his shoulders with teenage dignity.
"Hmmm...description, let's see," Sorias went on, ignoring the other two. Once Sorias got in front of a computer he seemed to go into a sort of trance, ignoring everything around him and staring at the screen like someone hypnotized.
Kinda like Rolan when he concentrates at HoloGames, Jaec thought for a second. He turned the thought around in his head for a few moments, thinking about Rolan's occasional odd behavior. Then his attention-span was spent and he once again turned to look at Sorias's work.
"Well, I think the skin's the most noticeable difference," Sorias was babbling. "Now how do we phrase this academically?"
"Say 'blue pigmentation'," Rolan directed. "That should work."
"Okay," Sorias said, hitting the SEARCH key. "Hey, look at all the hits we have!" The computer terminal showed the names of some thirty-seven species. "All right, now we're getting somewhere!" Sorias grinned, his bright blue eyes eagerly moving down the list.
"Great," Jaec muttered, his tone less than enthusiastic. "This will take us forever."
Some forty minutes and one computer crash later...
"Omwati," Sorias read, his normally cheerful demeanor beginning to sound strained. "Let's try this one."
A large chart appeared on the screen, giving information like Average Height, Average Age, and Typical Eating Habits. Sorias scrolled through the list.
"We need a picture," Rolan reminded him. Sorias obediently clinked on a MediaLink.
"Here's one of a woman named Qwi Xux. She's a scientist, I think."
"She helped design the Death Star," Rolan clarified absently.
"She did?" Sorias asked, shocked. "I never heard anything like that. All I know is that she's an engineer for the New Republic. And it doesn't say anything about her ever working for the Empire here."
"Then...perhaps I was wrong," Rolan replied slowly, wondering why something deep within him seemed to believe otherwise. You heard Sorias, Rolan told himself. If there was nothing on the database that said Xux once worked for the Empire, then it wasn't likely to be true.
(Unless her employment was very highly classified.)
Rolan pushed the thought out of his mind. How would he know classified information anyway?
"Rolan wrong?" Jaec asked from where he sat slouched on the couch. "Call the reporters! Get a holocamera! I never thought I'd see this moment!"
Rolan threw a precisely-aimed couch cushion in his direction. Jaec fumbled to catch it and proceeded to retaliate.
"Check out the picture," Sorias said, but the other two ignored him. "Oh well," Sorias sighed. "Her skin's too light of a blue and her eyes aren't close to being red." He continued to search. "Let's try the Ksssssggg. Hey, their skin's almost the exact shade of blue...oh no, wait, that's fur..."
Jaec snickered as he prepared to launch a cylindrically-shaped pillow at Rolan's face. Rolan, however, outwitted his friend by running out of the room and entering through another door, catching Jaec by surprise as he threw a large cushion at Jaec's unprotected back.
Jaec and Rolan were pretty evenly matched. Jaec was the more athletic. But Rolan was taller with a longer reach (apparently Rolan's species matured faster than humans). And so the Great Pillow War continued.
"Don't break anything, okay?" Sorias pleaded from his seat by the computer. "My dad would kill me. No, actually he probably wouldn't notice but...just don't break a lamp, alright?
"We won't," Rolan assured him. "Come on, Sor, join the fight!"
"I will in a second. I've only got one more record to check." Sorias turned back to the computer.
"That's weird," he muttered to himself. "This one's listed as 'Species Unknown'." He clicked on the link.
Rolan and Jaec were in the middle of a vicious battle when Sorias started screaming.
"I FOUND IT! I FOUND IT!" Sorias shouted urgently. "C'mon, come in here! I found a picture of a guy that looks exactly like Rolan!"
Rolan froze, unable to believe it. Then he shot up, not even taking the time to reply before he was at Sorias's side, his red eyes gazing intently at the screen.
From the HoloTerminal, pair of identical red pupils peered back at them.
"I don't believe it..." Rolan whispered. Sorias had never seen him sound so awed. "He looks just like me...the eyes, the skin...everything."
"Whoa..." Jaec murmured. "It's your species, Rolan."
There was a stunned silence.
"This is amazing!" Rolan cried, throwing a jubilant blue fist into the air. Jaec had never seen him so enthusiastic. "You did it, Sorias."
"We all did," Sorias protested humbly.
"No," Rolan insisted, always giving credit where it was due. "You did it."
"Uh...you might want to see this," Jaec said suddenly, interrupting their celebration. He pointed wildly at the screen. "You really want to see this." He jabbed Rolan in the shoulder, and motioned toward the picture. "Look."
Rolan turned his crimson eyes to examine it. His smile disappeared, his brow furrowed, and one dark blue eyebrow rose in confusion.
"Hey, why are there stormtroopers in the background?" Sorias asked, knowing the answer perfectly well. "And why's Rolan's look-alike wearing an Imperial uniform?"
Cliffhanger! *laughs maniacally* Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
No, no, I'm not this evil. Really! I have the next part written and I'll finish typing it by Wednesday, I promise! Maybe even sooner, if you're nice and give me a lovely review or two. (Yes, I love feedback.) And speaking of feedback, thanks for all those nice reviews from last chapter! Greetings, Scheherezade and Neila, and welcome to the nightmare--er, story.
