Chapter 49: Tav Mi'zya
Bothawui-4
Tav decided to take the kids to a Holofilm the last night before he was shipping out to remedial training on Krant. The film was titled Pana Dudub ["the Dudub birds."]
Sitting in the darkened theatre, Tav, Ralosk, and Glazir chowed down on crunchy salted Bith bean chips and sipped large Corellia-styled cups of soda.
Relishing the silence, Tav zoned out during the movie, mostly reminiscing about Thellus. I need to write some of this down, Tav thought, then he put a hand on Glazir's mane, mussing her hair. Then he felt something wet. What the… is Glazir crying?
"Pam Glazir, erz-ordask kor zomat?" ["Glazir are you all right?"] Tav growled, then he looked from her to the screen.
Tiny tasty-coloured Dudub birds were viciously swooping down from the sky, attacking crowds of fleeing Bothans. The Dudub birds, usually a source of meat, were now on the attack.
Glazir seemed to be frozen.
Tav swore under his breath then turned to Ralosk and whispered, ["hey, we need to go. Glazir is upset."]
["BUT DAD?!"] Ralosk snarled.
["We are going,"] Tav growled, stepping up from his seat and taking Glazir's hand.
["All right,"] Ralosk sighed, following Tav and Glazir out from the darkened theatre.
["Here honey,"] Tav crowled consolingly, passing her a tissue the moment they entered the brightly lit hall.
["I wish you weren't such a baby,"] Ralosk snarled, fur standing up in anger.
["Ralosk,"] Tav growled in a warning. You are fourteen years old, teasing your eight-year-old little sister. ["The movie was scary."]
["No, it wasn't,"] Ralosk argued in a snort.
["Yes it was,"] Tav said. Tav looked, with his innocent-sparkly amber and gold flecked eyes into Glazir's fierce teary red eyes, and growled earnestly. ["I was very scared too. Probably more scared than you."]
["Really?!"] Ralosk and Glazir asked incredulously.
["Yes,"] Tav answered, fur standing completely still as he told this small lie. As a screeching scream of terror muffled through the wall of the theatre, he scowled, glaring back at the door.
Glazir's fur fell flat.
["Let's go. We can get… Shakolatzhimo, the best thing for being scared."]
["Huh,"] Ralosk growled. ["I guess that sounds like fun."]
o.o.o.o.o
After clambering into Tav's black-painted five-seater Rian-327 (a speeder Nezir had bought him for his thirty-third birthday), the three were off.
Ralosk had protested at first when Glazir climbed into the front passenger seat, but after a promise of five extra Zav for this week's allowance, he calmed down. At this time in the evening, there was not very much traffic to speak of.
Tav's fur swirled as he noticed how many more police lights there were than usual. Boxy TW-4s were zipping around, some hovering in space blaring commands to Bothans on the ground.
Halfway between the theatre and Kob Hill, they hovered over an angry crowd of Bothans holding signs.
["What is going on?"] Glazir asked, leaning over the side of the speeder to look down.
On the driver's side, Tav did the same. Immediately below them, were dozens of Bothans blocking the parking lot. One of them, a brown-furred female, angled her sign so Tav could see what it says: Гин-зэга ўокс "нокиз" до жарн кракрай! ["Say "no" to the war!"]
Tav sighed.
["What war are they talking about? What's "the war"?"] Ralosk asked, leaning over his side of the speeder too.
["Well, I assume they are upset that Botha'ahir dropped some Marines into a town on Krant. You saw the news right?"]
["Yeah,"] Glazir growled thoughtfully. ["What does Shakolatzhimo have to do with war?"]
["The owners of that show are from Botha'ahir,"] Tav muttered.
["Well, it's not like they have anything to do with Krant,"] Ralosk scoffed.
["No, it isn't,"] Tav agreed. ["But I don't think it's safe to eat there tonight."]
Before Glazir could begin pouting, Tav raised his finger and said, ["we can get some at Primosh."]
o.o.o.o.o
As the biggest grocery chain on Bothawu, Primosh had all sorts of odds and ends. Normally, at 2000 hours, the parking lot would have been empty. This evening however, as millions of residents of Drev'shtarn now expected an imminent nuclear attack from Botha'ahir, it was packed.
Tav's fur swirled nervously as he set the speeder down into one of the only empty spots.
All around, Bothans were packing their speeders with groceries. A grey furred elderly Bothan pushed a cart filled with nothing but refresher paper. What the kriff is everyone doing? If Botha'ahir is really going to hit us with an interplanetary ballistic missile, should getting refresher paper really be your top priority?
As Tav and the kids crossed the parking lot and approached the entrance, it was clear that many Bothans had completely lost their minds. In the checkout aisle, two Bothans were fighting over a large squeezer of K&R Orange Sauce. Snarling and helping, they squeezed the sauce container so hard the sauce sprayed into the air like a fountain.
A Bothan near Tav pulled out her datapad and began calling the Department of Criminal Disencouragment.
Tav opened his mouth—
["—I want to go home,"] Glazir growled crossly, folding her arms.
["Me too,"] Ralosk muttered bitterly.
Sighing in relief, Tav nodded in agreement. ["I was about to say the same thing."]
o.o.o.o.o
["Honey, we're—"]
—Nezir shushed him loudly, returning back into her office at the top of the stairs.
Tav's ears perked up as he heard a conversation.
["I am sure Krant will be safe for Tav. The violence is happening on the other side of the planet. If anything does happen here, Fort Proy'skin has contingencies in place. Shields that can withstand many gigatons of bombardment."]
In the corner of the room, on the HoloNews, scenes of a bridge being destroyed by turbolaser fire played, with yammering arguing talking heads discussing it. Ralosk and Glazir walked up to the Holoterminal, fur swirling nervously.
Tav on the other hand began walking up the stairs, fur twirling with suspicion.
["I will hold you responsible for Tav's safety, General,"] Nezir growled sternly.
["I wouldn't have it any other way, Grum,"] the voice on the other end said formally.
Tav's fur swirled with embarrassment. Nezir... This is completely unnecessary. He peeked his head into the doorway.
["Nice to see you again, Sergeant,"] snorted General Burt Gyar'lab. Liska's much younger half-brother wore a Bothawui Marine outfit with a general rank.
Tav stood up straighter. ["Nice to hear from you again sir,"] he sighed, fur swirling faster than before.
["Well, we look forward to having you Tav Mi,"] he growled wryly.
Replying automatically, Tav stammered ["I look forward to going."]
["All right, Grum, have a good evening."]
["You too,"] Nezir said.
The instant Burt Gyar'lab's holopresence faded away, Nezir spoke urgently. "Tav, I need to know about your investigation. The one that you said got interrupted. Something about a Bothan named 'Shidar,' does it ring a bell?"
After a quick intake of breath, Tav started working his mouth silently. What do I say… 'Nezir, before I start, can this be the one thing you overlook in our entire marriage?' No, no! I don't have to say how I know Shidar! "Long story," he said simply.
"Tav…" Nezir growled impatiently. Her eyes flashed dangerously. She was clearly not in the mood for jokes.
"I am thinking," Tav said reassuringly, his fur calm and fluffy with relief. "It all started when one of our assets…" our asset, not my asset, "…approached Klayer To, Kolo Ga, and me with information."
o.o.o.o.o
The next morning, standing near the front door, Tav hugged his kids tightly in a goodbye embrace. Nezir squeezed him tightly in a teary hug.
["I am sorry I have to go,"] Tav sniffled. ["I am sorry about the Kelsh copper and for being… for being such a degenerate,"] he added looking into Nezir's eyes. He ended his apology with his ears perked up in anticipation.
'No honey, I don't think you are a degenerate,' is what Tav expected his wife, Grum of Clan Otrek, to say.
Instead, her teary eyes hardened. Her fur stiffened. ["Apology accepted, Tav."]
Tav's fur twirled unhappily. Damn. Well, that was brutal.
["What's a degenerate?"] Ralosk growled curiously.
Nezir snorted.
The hulking olive green V-35 landspeeder parked in front of their manor honked angrily.
["Tav, you've better hurry. They look like they are getting mad,"] Nezir urged.
Leaning forward, Tav kissed Nezir on the cheek and mussed the fur Ralosk and Glazir's heads. ["I love you, see you in four months."]
After one last embrace, Tav walked down the stone path in his Marshalcy uniform, now with the rank of sergeant. His fur twirled more unhappily as he walked past the driveway, to the street. The V-35's driver, a Bothawui sailor, glared down at him impatiently.
["Good afternoon sir,"] Tav growled to the much younger Bothan.
He ignored Tav, fur continuing to twitch impatiently.
Hurrying aboard, Tav looked despondently down the aisle. The occupants were the roughest-looking enlisted Bothan military he had ever seen collected in one place. The one nearest to the door, a sun-bleached furred Bothan, had rolled up his Marine sleeves, revealing a brand mark on the bottom of his wrist. The two across the aisle from him, both sailors, had patchy fur and looked like they had yet to kick a spice habit. Then at the back of the speeder, looking far less seedy than the other occupants and equally out of place, was Kilar.
Tav was the only Marshal on the speeder, and the only one on the speeder who was middle aged.
["Sit the kriff down!"] the driver snarled.
Sighing despondently, Tav sat down next to the Marine Corporal with a branded wrist.
["Is that really your house Sergeant?"] he grunted.
Tav's fur swirled nervously. ["Yes, it's… well yes."]
["How the hell did you end up here?!"]
o.o.o.o.o
There were two primary reasons Krant was selected to be the location where the Bothawui Marshalcy, Navy, and Marines conducted their remedial training. The first reason was that the planet was sparsely populated. This allowed for not only the construction of a military base, but the purchase of land hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Fort Proy'skin was hundreds of kilometres from the nearest civilian settlement—thus there would be no spice dealers, cantinas, brothels, casinos, any of the distractions that frequently popped up around any Bothan military base.
The second reason was that the Marines, Sailors, and Marshals sent here comprised the worst of the Bothan military. The ones who were not criminal were sent here because they were incompetent, extremely clumsy, accident prone, stupid, or all of the above. Unlike Bothawui, which hosted numerous predatory species—species Bothans had evolved some defences against but imperfect ones nonetheless—Krant had no predators larger than a slicehound. The drill instructors could leave trainees in the woods, relatively unsupervised, for days on end without fearing they would be eaten by predators. Thanks to the maritime climate, there was little risk of them being killed by the elements.
Fort Proyskin was built on the coast of the Southern Hemisphere Continent, Mabon. With forests to the north and ocean to the south, the primary accident to befall trainees was, unsurprisingly, drowning.
o.o.o.o.o
After a twelve-hour flight through hyperspace, Tav and the other trainees arrived in orbit of Krant. Dozens of Bothan Marshals ships were now in orbit too, responding to the ongoing crisis on the other side of the planet.
Their transport stayed clear of that mess, assuming a non-threatening flightpath directly down into the Southern Hemisphere.
Before the transport finally reached the ground, Tav's fur swirled nervously as he, once again, caught Kilar staring at him. They broke eye-contact, looking away from each other on opposite sides of the seating area.
["All right everyone,"] the Captain's voice came over the comm. ["We will be landing in a minute. Be sure to bring all of your belongings. Do not forget anything, other than spice and other contraband. Major Marok Tan will be coming through with a bucket for contraband. Anyone who comes forward and throws away their contraband now will have amnesty. Anyone who sneaks contraband into the training centre will be sent to prison, or for some of you, back to prison."]
Tav could not help but scowl as he heard several objects rustling the plastic lining of the bin as the Major walked through. They are a disgrace to all Bothans. He glared at one of them dropping an eyedropper into the bin.
["What are you staring at?"] a patchy thinning-furred Marine snarled to Tav.
["Nothing. Sorry,"] Tav stammered, fur flat in fear.
["If there's one thing I hate more than a crooked kriffing cop,"] he snarled, flicking the shirt collar of Tav's Marshalcy uniform.
Tav recoiled up against the window.
["It's a kriffing busy body!"]
o.o.o.o.o
Soon after disembarking from the transport, Tav found himself undergoing a thorough physical at the trainee intake clinic. His fur fell flat during the test for Bothan Nether Rot and Bothan Redrash. The doctor, a grey-blue furred Marshal, seemed intrigued by something.
Holy shtak. I have a sexually transmitted disease or something. I am dead! ["Sir,"] Tav yelped, golden-speckled eyes dilated in terror. ["Is something wrong with me?!"]
["Oh, it's not you,"] the doctor hmm'd, staring at a clinical chart. ["This is intriguing though. Anyways, Sergeant, you can go."]
["Thank you, sir,"] Tav sighed relief. He briskly hurried from the office.
o.o.o.o.o
Tav seemed to be the only Marshal in remedial training. The sole blue uniform in a sea of sea of solid green Navy uniforms and camouflaged Marine uniforms. Out of the forty members of his class, about half were Bothawui Marines and the other half Bothawui Navy. At age thirty-five, Tav was by far the oldest Bothan present. The second oldest Bothan present, their first drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Kifo Ay'nok, was a cream-furred Bothan who looked to be at least five years younger than Tav.
["Well, well. I am pleased to inform class 229 that we have a celebrity amongst us,"] Kifo growled wryly, staring up and down the line of trainees at the front formation.
Tav's fur swirled nervously, knowing the only being Kifo was possibly referring to was him.
["Oh! Oh! Who is it?!"] yipped a red and brown furred Bothan female.
["Private Hala Ka'jia!"] Kifo snarled furiously.
Tav fought the urge to snort and stood perfectly still. At least there'll be Bothans like her to get in constant trouble—distract everyone from me.
["Yes Gunny!"] Hala yelped in alarm, her fur flat.
Kifo briskly walked right in front of her, snarling. ["How long have you been a Marine?"]
["Four years Gunny!"] Hala answered loudly.
["And you still cannot control your excitement while in formation!"]
["No Gunny—I mean yes Gunny,"] Hala stammered.
["All right, let's practice!"] Kifo snarled toothily. ["What is your question Private?"]
["Gunny,"] she yelled. ["Who is the celebrity in our class?"]
["Tav Mi'zya,"] Kifo yelled to the sky. ["Tav Mi'zya?"]
["Here, Gunny!"] Tav yelled, fur swirling nervously. Kriff is he going to—
["—Tav Mi, fall out, front and centre!"]
Tav stepped back into the space between the rows, turned right, and ran down the line out and around. The blue uniformed Marshal stood at attention next to Kifo.
["At ease,"] Kifo ordered. ["Face the class so they can get a look at you."]
Tav blinked incredulously at the sea of onlookers. His fur rippled hopefully for a moment. Does he want me to give a speech?
["Meet Sergeant Tav Mi'zya,"] Kifo yelled. ["As you no doubt have noticed, he is wearing a blue uniform."]
A few Bothans in the crowd chuckled. ["Did I say something funny?"] Kifo snarled in a dangerous tone.
["No Gunny!"] a few Bothans yelped, others stammered.
["Good, now Tav Mi is our first Marshal in two years. Most Marshals are pretty well behaved,"] Kifo explained. ["But some,"] he gestured to Tav, causing Tav to gulp nervously. ["Some Marshals, apparently even favourites of Clan Leaders, aren't. Tav Mi here…"]
Tav exhaled, trying to think about something else. He was fairly certain that nowhere in the Galaxy could anyone be having a worse day.
