Chapter 9: Shidar Zhol'skar

Thellus Asteroid, Dressel System

""Vi vasht'durato kor di-en-ey test?" [How long does a DNA test take?]Shidar growled. Her fur now danced with excitement. What were the odds my last client tonight would be Yakis, a cop? Actually, pretty high, she snorted to herself.

[What?] Yakis panted in a breathy voice. He he looked down at her, exhausted. His tan fur began swirling with suspicion.

[How long does a DNA test take?] Shidar growled, this time more cautiously without the excitement.

[Wait!] Yakis gasped. He fell to her side, roaring with laughter. His fur rippled. [You are the one Shidar?! That was you!]

[The one what?] Shidar growled cautiously. Her fur swirled with embarrassment.

[Everyone at the Buli has been talking about you. You are the one who said she kriffed a suspicious Mandalorian right?]

[Yeah,] Shidar growled in a tiny voice.

Yakis scoffed. [Shidar, it… It…] the tan-furred Bothan paused. He reached around Shidar and pulled her closer by the shoulder. [Shidar, this isn't how you are gonna fulfil the Bothan Way. Just keep doing what you're doing. Stay out of police work. That's our job, yeah? Not yours. If they faked their IDs, so what?]

[All right,] Shidar sighed despondently, rolling onto her side. [But when will the results come back?]

With a snort, Yakis snarled [never. They threw it out. Understood?]

[Okay,] Shidar groaned. Her fur twirled unhappily. Ridiculous. There was no reason not to at least test it. At the very least, Pul claimed to be lying about his identity…

[You know what?] Yakis growled thoughtfully.

[What?] Shidar asked, her ears perking up.

[If you want out of this business, you could do comedy. You know? Be a comedian.]

Shidar scowled, showing her teeth. Her violet eyes squinted, flashing angrily.

[Nah, I'm serious. You really are funny and pretty,] Yakis said consolingly as he stood up from the bed.

[Really?] Shidar growled. Her fur danced with renewed excitement at the praise.

[Yep], Yakis replied with a strained muffled voice as he pulled his shirt over his head. [Comedy. Give it a try.]

o-o-o

[You're not booking this room tomorrow?] Fyar, the owner of the Sleepy Hollow, growled incredulously. Her cream-coloured fur swirled with suspicion.

[Nah,] Shidar answered honestly closing her hand in a fist and giving the Spacer hand gesture for no.

[Taking your business elsewhere?] Fyar asked accusingly, narrowing her eyes.

[No, I am taking a…] Shidar's fur swirled guiltily. [Taking time off.] She felt guilty not because her statement was dishonest, but guilty about leaving without much notice.

[Shidar, I could charge you less for your reservations if that's what it takes,] Fyar growled cautiously. [You bring in lots of cops. Good for business, and it keeps this place from being robbed.]

[I really am only going temporarily,] Shidar snarled impatiently. Her fur stopped swirling. [Really not taking my business elsewhere, I just feel guilty.]

[All right,] Fyar sighed. [How long?]

[Not sure,] Shidar answered, looking up at the ceiling deep in thought.

o-o-o

On the walk home, Shidar began thinking how she was going to proceed next. Maybe, if I can get near Pul, I can get a hair sample. But then no one will believe me.

Wait, she thought. I can take it straight to the Marshals, the Marines, or the Navy. Go around my Clan.

Her fur danced by the time she arrived home after two in the morning. So excited with the prospect of busting some stupid Mandalorians faking their identities, she could hardly sleep.

Shidar was too young to have grown up when Thellus was being raided by pirates and mercenaries. She did not quite realise the risk or grasp how dangerous these Mandalorians were to her own safety.

She suspected they were after Azi'skar and was intelligent enough, or perhaps neurotic enough, to tie two very disparate threads together, but far too young and naïve to see the risk. They were after Azi'skar, not her. Besides the fact that he was lying, Pul seemed harmless. The scenario that played out in her mind as she slept, was one where the Mandalorian identities were exposed, those mercenaries were arrested for violating the Bothan Way, and she became her unwise clan leader's favourite Bothan. Grinning in her sleep, she imagined her face appearing on posters next to Azi'skar's.

o-o-o

"Don't worry riduur, we have the ship all to ourselves," Pul said confidently.

Shidar smirked. "Okay rurzask," she growled with an innocent smile. Her fur danced with excitement. If Pul really is the smartest of his siblings—damn. I am gonna have these Mandalorians eating out of the palm of my hand.

"It doesn't look like much," Pul muttered, leading Shidar down the hallway. "But here is a Mandaloriancommand and control centre," he said, emphasising the word 'Mandalorian.'

"Rogue," Shidar growled, blinking in surprise at all of the terminals and stations in the middle of the ship. It was almost like a second bridge. "What type of ship esh this?" she growled curiously.

"Ah, glad you asked," Pul said enthusiastically. "It's a XS Stock Freighter, made by the Corellians."

"Control?" a female voice asked from one of the consoles.

Pul pressed a button. "Control here, what is it Striker?" he asked, holding out one finger in a Spacer sign for shush to Shidar.

Huh. These Mandalorians do those too, Shidar thought.

"Just wanted to give a status update. So, I am clear and have established shelter at Position Chevron. Bobcat has ground transport, so we are all go for ingress and exgress from districts without using public transportation."

"Great," Pul said, recording some things on the console. "I believe though, it is called egress in Galactic Basic not exgress, get your procedure words correct Noble."

"Kriff you," the female voice muttered harshly and hung up.

"Who was that?" Shidar yipped excitedly. I am gonna find out everything!

"Can't tell you that," Pul said gruffly. "There's some secrets a Mando's gotta keep." He eyed Shidar suspiciously, up and down her body.

Shidar's fur swirled nervously.

"So, you really want to bewith me riduur. As in, actually love-bonded to me?" Pul asked frankly.

"Yeah," Shidar growled with a feral grin. "You seem really rogue."

"Huh," Pul smirked, looking fully impressed with himself. "This is a little weird because you are an alien and I barely know you, but hell, why not? I'm still allowed three more riduure after you. It'll have to be approved by my clan leader though. My mom won't like this at all, I'm warnin' you. She hates aliens."

I am never gonna meet your mother. "What do you mean by four more riduurs?" Shidar growled curiously.

"Oh," Pul scratched the back of his neck. "My clan allows warriors to take four riduure maximum. It's a KHGC thing."

These Mandalorians are polygamist.Perhaps unsurprisingly, that fact would not have bothered Shidar in the least, even if she were seriously considering a relationship with this moron. One thing did bother her, however. Her fur swirled with suspicion. "What is KHGC?"

"Well… Kad Ha'rangir is our god," Pul said slowly. "Most of the heretics believe that he only possessed one riduur, but we correctly believe he had four riduure, hence KHGC or Kad Ha'arangir gana cuir," he explained, as if the statement itself, in a language Shidar did not understand, were self-evident. "Have your people never heard of Kad Ha'rangir?"

Shtak. Don't wanna get dragged into some boring religion lecture. "No," Shidar sighed apprehensively with a wince. Then her ears perked up, I suppose though, this is another opportunity to get to the bottom of the mystery. "But Kad Ha'rangir sounds awesome," she growled enthusiastically.

Pul smirked at her enthusiasm. "All right. I suppose we can talk about him then."

o-o-o

Six hours later, while Pul slept soundly, Shidar wandered the ship with a thin vial. She picked up bits of hair with a tweezer. Far too little ultraviolet light was emitted by the human-built lightbulbs, illuminating the ship's interior, for the Bothan to see the bits of hair casting ultraviolet shadows; nonetheless, she still found plenty of samples using her nose. I am going to test not just Pul, but the whole crew.

Shidar, of course, had no idea of the proper procedures for evidence gathering. She just plucked up everything she could find and stuffed it into one vial, not having even cleaned the tweezer beforehand.

Pocketing the vial, Shidar quietly returned to Pul's quarters. Thanks to her night-time schedule, Shidar did not usually begin to feel tired until the early hours of the morning.

As she rummaged frantically through her duffel bag, Shidar realised she had no attire that was suitable. I absolutely do not want to look like a prostitute where I am going, she thought. Don't want to raise any suspicions. She hmm'd when she saw Pul's flight-suit. It was dark green with white lining, a one piece, with the name Jomwritten on the chest in High Galactic and Aurebesh.

o-o-o

Shidar now walked towards Gal'skar Docks maglev station wearing Pul's clothes. They were far too big, but she had tightened the sleeves, legs, and waste with a series of hook and loop fastened belts. To most beings, she would have looked like a misfit cargo hauler wearing a second-hand flight-suit. Perhaps the victim of a practical joke.

Eyeing her reflection in a window, Shidar blinked her violet eyes and pursed her lips. Rogue, I look so awesome! Her fur danced with excitement. I need to buy myself some flight-suits!

o-o-o

"Zon ka woks?" [What are you wearing?] a familiar voice yelped in terror and alarm.

A dark brown-furred Bothan male with a dyed green mane, dressed in a leather trench-coat and black pants, approached her seat.

"Dhųskh thręfą khų thą." [Nice to see you too,] Shidar growled wryly.

"For-for esh you wearin' a space suit?" Thokorsk whispered in Askar Creole. His fur swirled nervously.

"Eh, I need to go to the Manda Cantina," Shidar sighed, looking around to see if anyone was listening in. "Nokiz want to look like I am uh… yeah—no."

"Esh on my way to New Aroo District too," Thokorsk muttered. He looked over his shoulder as he sat next to Shidar and whispered, "house call."

Shidar smirked.

"You know you are supposed to wear clothes under flight-suits, right?" Thokorsk growled with a feral grin, blinking his curly eyelashes. He tugged a tuft of her shoulder fur poking above the collar.

Shidar groaned despondently. Her fur swirled with embarrassment. Kriff I am going to look like a weirdo. The window next to her seat was misted by her breath as she laid her head against it and continued groaning in despair.

"Rubbing the window with your face too now?" Thokorsk chuckled.

Withdrawing her head from the window's surface, Shidar glared at him.

"No one'll notice the flight-suit wardrobe malfunction," Thokorsk growled unconvincingly as he clipped on a fake earring.

o-o-o

While Thellus Station was far safer than it had been decades ago, and murder was quite rare, it was still the crime capital of Bothan Space.

After several Bothan Marshals were robbed or injured in fights while enjoying a drink at one of the Thellus's many seedy establishments, the Bothan Diplomatic Corps put all cantinas on a permanent no-travel alert. Marshals, members of the military, and all Federal employees were thereby banned from frequenting any cantina on Thellus. Any cantina except for two.

The Manda Cantina was one of the two. Situated across the street from Thellus Station's police headquarters, it was the station's official police bar. Unofficially, it was the safe bar for off-world dignitaries, intelligence personnel, contractors, business leaders, and ambassadors. Needless to say, prostitutes from the space-docks were not allowed in.

o-o-o

"I esh gonna have to test you for drugs and alcohol," growled the Bothan cop manning the security station at the entryway to the cantina. He sniffed the air and scowled disapprovingly. In his hand was a breathalyser capable of detecting alcohol and anything made from glitterstim.

"Kiz. Horseya ko." [Yes, I understand,] Shidar sighed as she walked past the metal detector. She approached the security station, put her jaws around the breathalyser and blew a deep breath.

"All right…" the cop muttered, awkwardly withdrawing the breathalyser.

A few Bothawui Marines wearing green-coloured camouflage were let in. Shidar winced as one of them pointed at her in astonishment.

[You are clean. Amazing. Who'd have known?] the cop muttered in surprise a few seconds later.

For an awkward moment, Shidar looked down at the ground, then back up.

[I really would avoid drinking if I were you,] the cop growled wryly in Bothese, staring into her violet eyes. [You got yourself like this sober.] He flashed the two-handed Spacer hand gesture for it's all messed up.

[Thank you,] Shidar growled nervously. [I won't drink,] she added in a promise.

The cop chuckled gleefully as she entered the cantina with a solemn promise not drink.

On the right, a large crowd of rowdy Marines and younger Marshals, mostly from Bothawui, sat at a long table, many of them yipping loudly at some joke Shidar had missed.

A few young Askars were mingling with them. One was nodding enthusiastically with a smile at everything one of the Marines was saying. Smirking, Shidar recognised the look: 'Oh yeah, I'll show you the Dressel Belt tonight! Please take me with you to Bothawui.'

Realising she was getting distracted, Shidar stopped focusing on her own people and squinted at the off-worlders, trying to ascertain if she was familiar with any of the younger ones, mostly enlisted. Nope. She looked to the centre. There sat two humans with braided hair, one dark-skinned female, and a bearded male, definitely not from here. Too foreign for me. Further to the right were many higher-ranking officers and a few cops. None of the Thellus cops will take me seriously, she scowled, then smirked.

"Pam Medzhor Tav Mi'zya?!" [Major Tav Mi'zya?!] she yipped with excitement. She had not seen him in over a year but could recognise him anywhere.

A blonde-furred middle-aged Marshal in a blue uniform turned around and gasped. His fur fell flat. The other two younger Marshals at his table glared at him suspiciously.

Shidar's fur swirled nervously. Shtak, I didn't want to out one of my clients. She approached the table. [I have a DNA sample for you Major,] she growled nervously.

Tav's fur relaxed. [Thank you,] he said in a relieved and very surprised chuckle, taking the vial of hair. [Thank you for the DNA sample Shidar! It's 'Colonel' now though, not Major.]

[Oh, Colonel. Sorry sir,] Shidar corrected herself, completely oblivious to how Bothan rank pendants worked.

[Sir?] one of the Bothans at the table growled, [who is this civilian and why is she calling you 'sir'?]

[Shidar, meet Lieutenant Klayer To'lya. She is my top crime scene analyst, smartest Bothan in the whole Marshalcy. Meet Lieutenant Kolo Ga'huk, best fighter pilot I have ever had under my command.]

Klayer and Kolo beamed in delight at the praise. Their fur stopped swirling and now danced.

Then Klayer's smile fell from her snout. She sniffed the air in Shidar's direction with a renewed scowl, repeating, the question: [Sir, who is she?]

[Uh… Shidar is my asset. As you can see, she gave me a sample of DNA which you will… analyse.] He looked into the vial curiously and frowned at all of the multi-coloured hair, clearly coming from different individuals.

[Your asset?] Kolo asked incredulously.

[Take a seat Shidar,] Tav growled wearily.

[Thank you, sir,] Shidar smiled.

One of the enlisted Marines at the rowdy table had turned around. He was staring at the officers who had welcomed such an unsavoury-looking individual to their table. The Marine awkwardly locked eyes with the Colonel, then quickly looked away. His fur swirling nervously.

"Sįr, nųkįz aghrąsą kų yągh męshą wųks phąnąn ąsęth." [Sir, I didn't know you had assets,] Klayer growled, lacing the word 'assets' with innuendo.

The very calm Colonel maintained a straight face and avoided allowing his fur to swirl. However, he did adjust his wedding ring with a fidget. "Nu, rasa woks yag mesha ko pan aset, pam Leytenant." [Well, now you do know I have an asset Lieutenant,] he muttered emphasising the singularity.

Klayer's fur swirled nervously as she looked to Shidar, then back to Tav, clearly doing some internal calculations. After likely deciding that asking further questions of the Colonel would be potentially career damaging, she focused on Shidar. [Are you all right?] she growled, now with an earnestly worried look.

[Yeah Shidar, is everything all right?] Tav Mi'zya echoed, finally getting over his apprehension at her sudden appearance. His look of relief replaced with renewed worry. [I did not expect to see you here. Who is 'Jom'?] Tav poked the name tag on Shidar's flight-suit. [Is he the human I can uh… smell?]

[No sir, this is Pul's uniform. You smell Pul,] Shidar said matter of factly with a spacer hand shrug. [Jom is not his real name. It's why I gave you the DNA test,] she stammered. Damn this sounds crazy. [At least, I am not ready… Well… I think he's Mandalorian and…] her voice died.

[Mandlorian? Hmm. Well, I'll get this tested as soon as possible,] Tav promised. [Here Shidar, you look like you could use something to eat. On me.] He slid a plastic menu in her direction.

[Really sir?] Shidar's fur swirled with excitement. It will beat the canned shtak I was gonna have. Huh. What the kriff is Abragaedo Tart?

o-o-o

After an hour of conversation and the most flavourful food Shidar had eaten in her entire life, she departed the Manda Cantina, still able to smell the Abragaedo Tart.

As she returned to New Aroo Maglev Station, the crowds thinned. The only sound off the distance was that of a late-night street cleaning speeder, twirling mops and spitting hot water as it hovered around the district.

Shidar strained slightly as she walked up the grav-plated wall, the Maglev Station was in sight, a few hundred meters away.

"Psst, ravo to buy a bishel zolorax?" [Psst, do you want to buy some zolorax?] a human voice whispered from an alleyway in Askar Creole.

Shidar glanced over. A gaunt male Thellus human and a grey Bothan with patches of fur missing sat on the steps to a dwelling. Both of them had hideous puss around their eyes, tell-tale signs of abusing those eyedrops.

"Nokiz thikoyu." [No thank you,] Shidar whispered in Bothese, adding a layer of social distance between her and them by not responding in Askar Creole.

"Come on!" the Bothan snarled. "You reek of at least three Bothans and a human."

The Thellus human chortled incredulously. "Really?!"

"Kiz," the Bothan spicehead whispered. "A wild kakawarz like you esh kriffin' four people in a day, but esh afraid of a little zolorax?"

"Męshą khų khųrn sphąys thęsth yąyąlųm." [I have a spice test tomorrow,] Shidar snarled. Her fur twitched guiltily. It was actually next Primeday. For reasons she did not understand, she felt uneasy admitting that she really just did not want to use spice.

"You esh lying," the human chuckled.

"Ghįn-khrįfą wų yųv!" [Kriff yourselves,] Shidar snarled, storming away from the two spiceheads. Their roars of laughter echoed off the walls of the buildings for a few moments but became more distant as she hurried away.

Shidar gave a sigh of relief when they didn't follow her. Silence settled over the scenery, allowing her to unwind from the cacophony in the Manda Cantina. Shidar smiled to herself, collecting her thoughts.

The silence lasted only thirty seconds, broken by the sound of a land speeder drawing nearer. Shidar's ears perked up. She now could hear a voice.

"I am following the signal to Control's location," a human female voice muttered in an exotic accent in fluent Basic. "Still no word from Control?"

The reply to the human's question was inaudible, even to the Bothan.

"All right well, tell me when you arrive on site," the human replied.

Shidar's fur swirled nervously, she had heard that voice on the comm earlier when Pul was speaking with the others.

"HOLY SHAB!" the voice yelled.

Shidar turned around, her fur swirling faster than before. The tallest human woman Shidar had ever seen was angrily disembarking from an XP-38 landspeeder.

"HOLY SHAB!" the human repeated in a scream. She began yelling angrily into her wrist comm, "I have visual. A kriffing furball is wearing Control's flight-suit! A—NO STAY WHERE YOU ARE! FURBALL!"

With a yelp, Shidar ran as fast as she could towards the Maglev station. No one was visible besides the crazy human now chasing her. No witnesses, Shidar thought with a panic. The bulky flight-suit rustled with every step, slowing her down.

A human hand roughly grabbed Shidar's jet-black head hair. She yelped in terror, her fur fell flat, slipping out of the human's grip. Thanks to millions of years of evolution, it was now too flat and coarse to be grabbed.

The human swore under her breath as Shidar escaped, running again.

Shidar began panting as she ran faster and faster. I am going to escape. Holy shtak what do I do though? I can't go back. I need to tell the police I was attacked. I need—

Shidar yelped in agony, collapsing on the ground. Tears streamed out of her eyes. An electric shock burned her skin in two prongs under her fur on the back of her neck, her muscles spasmed, writhing in agony.

"Gotcha," the human muttered, holding a taser. "Filthy Bothan is not even wearing clothes under the flight-suit!" she yelled onto her comm, then screamed "What did you do with Jom?!"

"I—I nokiz did—" Shidar stammered but was cut short.

The crazy human suddenly put her in a headlock.

Turning her snout sideways to slip under the woman's armpit, Shidar yelped. It was useless. She could breathe, as most of the pressure was not on her throat, but on her veins on the sides of her neck. However, the periphery of her vision began growing dark.

o-o-o

"Ugh," Shidar groaned. She blinked, then winced from a terrible headache. After trying to move her hands, her fur fell flat. Her hands were tied behind her and she was on the floor of the backseat of a landspeeder. Even before she looked up, she could smell the human.

"I nokiz… I didn't do anythin' to him,'" Shidar croaked.

"She woke up," the woman muttered into the comm. "Bobcat still oscar mike. ETA in ten minutes."

"Glad to hear Bobcat, at least we have some good news. Keep the Bothan alive for now. No word from Control yet," the voice muttered solemnly into the comm.

"If I find out you ate him," the woman hissed, "I will skin you alive, you hear me! You kriffing animal!"

"I nokiz ate him," Shidar gasped. Tears streamed from her eyes. "I would never eat a human. Pul esh on the ship. I jus' wore his uniform. He is still on the ship."

"How do you know his name?!" the woman screamed.

"I am his riduur," Shidar croaked.

The woman swore under her breath. She punched the steering wheel screaming "KRIFFING MORON! Going local and getting himself killed on his first mission!"

"Pul esh alive! I swear!" Shidar yelped desperately. For the first time in her life, Shidar was genuinely afraid she was going to be killed. "Please, he esh alive! Probably sleepin' in the ship."

The woman continued swearing under her breath, yelling obscenities, honking angrily at Bothans she saw crossing the roads. Several times she ruthlessly slammed the brakes, causing Shidar to roll around on the floor, bouncing off the undersides of the seats.

After what felt like an eternity, a male voice came onto the radio in an exotic accent, muttering "Overlord to Bobcat, you'll never believe this."

Pul's voice then came on the radio. "This is Control to Bobcat," he croaked.

"HOLY SHAB!" the woman screamed. "You scared me to death Control!"

"So, you have Shidar?" Pul asked.

"Yeah, she kriffing stole your clothes like a shab-headed mother-druking animal! Stole your clothes!"

"Hi Pul," Shidar growled. Her fur relaxed slightly and swirled nervously. A wave of relief rushed over her. For a wild moment, the Bothan had thought maybe Pul actually had died somehow. "Could you tell your friends to go easier on me rurzask? I really didn't mean to worry you. I am very sorry. This esh all a big misunderstanding yeah?" she croaked, wincing guiltily.

Pul sighed so close his comm that it created static.

"This is a major security breach," another male voice cut in. "Take her to the kriffing safehouse."

Shidar's fur fell flat again. "What esh gonna happen to me?" she growled.

The human muttered angrily under her breath again, this time in a language Shidar did not understand.