An Orphan's Tale
A/N: Here is a little thing I had on the back burner and thought I would share it with you readers. It will be about a pair of Twi'leks who are searching the planet Lasan for survivors and end up finding a baby. This takes place a few days after the attack on the planet. (I will be finishing the story "The Hunted" but have writer's block right now concerning it.)
Chapter 1: Orphan Found
Smoke still hung over the ruins of homes, shops and buildings of every kind. The smoke smelled of decay, death, and sorrow. Two people, a Twi'lek male and female walked amongst the devistation their faces in expressions of shock and sadness.
"Oh...Petra," the blue-skinned female said to her companion who was also her husband.
"I know, T'Pell," he answered his green lekku twitching with uneasiness.
"What the Empire did is nothing short of...genocide!" T'Pell said and turned to stare at the ruins of once was a home.
"I agree with you," Petra answered, "I don't know if any Lasat survived...this atrocity! These people didn't deserve being...murdered like this!"
T'Pell felt tears come to her eyes at the thought of living beings gunned down like they were. It made her sick to her stomach and her hatred for the Empire grew. The couple continued walking when all of a sudden they heard something from the ruins of a small Lasat dwelling.
The sound was a mewling and whimper combined. T'Pell followed the sound and bent down to a pile of rocks. She gasped at what she saw! There laying on a dirty blanket was a Lasat...a baby Lasat. The infant opened it's eyes and saw T'Pell looking down at it. A wail escaped it's tiny mouth. The Twi'lek female bent down and gathered the baby up blanket and all. The infant Lasat let out a wail and it's eyes opened showing T'Pell the luminous green color.
"Oh...you poor thing," she said hugging the baby close hoping to calm it down.
"What did you find?" Petra asked as he turned over a few large rocks.
T'Pell turned around showing her husband the furry baby fussing in her arms.
"Why...that's a Lasat! A baby Lasat!"
The baby fussed more and T'Pell tried to calm it down, but to no avail.
"Let's get it aboard," Petra said gesturing to T'Pell to go aboard their small freighter the FREEDOM.
Petra sat at the controls and turned to the astromech droid called R1N1 and gave him instructions for a hyperspace jump back to Ryloth. The droid who had an attitude, grumbled a bit but obeyed his master. As the ship left Lasan's orbit, Petra pushed the 'com button to see how T'Pell was doing in the medbay.
"Honey, how is our little visitor doing?"
T'Pell after she boarded, went straight to the medbay to run a scanner over the baby to see if it were all right after being outside for awhile.
"He's still fussy and won't calm down," she answered.
"He?"
"Yes, dear, our little one is a boy."
"Take care of him. We'll reach Ryloth in about six hours."
T'Pell turned off the 'com and turned to the baby who was squirming on the medbay bed that was five times his size. She looked down at him feeling her heart go out to the baby despite his species being different than hers. He was a helpless baby and needed her help and care.
"Let's get you cleaned up, little one," she said getting some water, soap and a cloth ready. The baby Lasat squirmed more jabbing little fists into his teary eyes. Sobs shook the little furry body.
"Oh...don't cry...sweetheart," she said feeling a surge of maternal feelings go through her. She began to wash the dust and grime off of his body and he looked up at her blinking his green eyes that had long eyelashes on them. The tears began to ease up and he thrust a thumb into his mouth making her smile. He was finally calming down.
"That's it. I won't hurt you and neither will Petra. We're good people...not the ones who killed your parents."
The baby let out a gurgle and a dimpled smile formed past his thumb. T'Pell continued to wash him off and got to his genital area surprised that the baby's tiny penis was hairless and a deep purple color. While she washed him, a stream of urine shot up in the air nearly getting her in the face. She ducked in time and chuckled. The baby let out a giggle making her laugh more.
"Whoops!" T'Pell said and finished washing him off and got a diaper on him before he had another accident. She picked him up feeling how soft his fur was and also that it had a faint musky scent to it. The baby made a purring sound and nuzzled up to her chest where her breasts were and tried to suckle through the material of her flight suit.
"Uh...little one, I can't feed you that way. Maybe your mother could...but she's gone. I'll have to make do with a bottle of nuna milk. We have a crate full of children's supplies in our quarters that we picked up when we helped transport some Ithorian orphans to Naboo. Knew they would come in handy again...someday."
T'Pell went down to the quarters she shared with her husband and found the crate and to her relief there were several baby bottles and a large container of powdered nuna milk inside. With the baby cradled in one arm and grabbing a bottle and the nuna powder, she made her way to the ship's galley where she mixed up some nuna milk for the baby hoping he would drink it.
Getting comfortable on the soft booth seat, she cradled the baby Lasat and held the bottle up to his mouth, a little nuna milk dribbling off the nipple. She watched as the baby's tongue came out to taste the milk and he let out a gurgle and began to suckle on the bottle. T'Pell sighed with relief as he drank eagerly at the bottle showing he was hungry. His big green eyes began to close as he relaxed from the warm milk and she walked back up to the cockpit where Petra was checking readouts on the console in front of him. He turned at seeing her come through the doorway.
"How's he doing?" he asked seeing her sit down in the co-pilot's seat with the baby Lasat suckling on a bottle of powdered nuna milk.
"Much better since I washed him off and got him a bottle," T'Pell answered, "He was really hungry. He tried to nurse at my breast through the flight suit."
Petra laughed getting an annoyed look from her then got serious.
"We'll have to find a Lasat female to take care of him or possibly a pair of Lasat. He can't stay with us."
"What if we can's find any Lasat?" she asked holding the infant closer. Petra saw that she was quickly becoming attached to the baby and that could become a problem, "You saw his homeworld and what the Empire did to his people! There are no Lasat left! He may very well be the last of his species and needs someone to care for him. Petra, he's just a baby!"
"I don't know, T'Pell. Do you know how to take care of a baby Lasat? Well...I don't and neither do you!"
"Petra, he's just a baby and needs us! He can live with us on Ryloth! We'll raise him as our son! We've always wanted a child and you know I can't have any, so now we can have a child to raise and...love as our own."
"T'Pell, he's different than us. He's a Lasat and will be the only one on a planet full of Twi'lek."
The Twi'lek female didn't answer and held the now sleeping baby up to her shoulder rubbing his little back. Petra knew that he couldn't change her mind. The damage had been done and she was in love with the Lasat baby as only a mother could be. Seeing her rocking the infant in her arms showed him his wife wouldn't budge. She could be very stubborn! He smiled beginning to grow fond of the furry baby as well.
"Well, little guy," he said reaching over to caress one of the baby's pointed ears, "You now have a new papa and mama."
T'Pell smiled, tears in her eyes. The baby whimpered and she rocked him in her arms while humming a lullabye her own mother sang to her when she was a baby.
"We'll have to name him if he is to be our son," Petra said.
"Why not, D'Aris after your father? That is a noble name." T'Pell suggested.
"Yes, that would make him proud even though if he were still alive to see he'd have a Lasat grandson. Father would indeed be pleased."
The baby strirred awake and looked over at Petra. A big smile crossed the baby's Lasat features. T'Pell lifted the baby up so she could get a good look at his face.
"Your name is D'Aris, little one," she said giving him a kiss on a furry cheek, "D'Aris Gronek."
The baby let out a giggle that got them both laughing.
"You know for a Lasat...he's kinda cute," Petra added.
"He is beautiful," T'Pell said the baby looking up at her and cuddling up to her chest.
The FREEDOM arrived on Ryloth and when the Gronek family disembarked, they were met with stares.
"By the Ryloth gods!" an elder said, "That is a Lasat child!"
Soon a group of Twi'leks surrounded Petra and T'Pell. They stared at the infant who was becoming scared of so many people staring at him. He began to cry.
"Please!" T'Pell pleaded hugging the baby close, "You're scaring him! Please back off!"
She hugged him more rocking him in her arms. The sobs eased off and he sucked his thumb. The other Twi'leks backed off realizing that they were frightening the infant.
"We will have to locate his parents," another elder said.
"They are dead!" T'Pell said her voice a bit harsh, "He's our son now; mine and Petra's. We have named him D'Aris...D'Aris Gronek. We will raise him in our home as if he were a regular Twi'lek child. I know he is a Lasat and looks a lot different, but he is an innocent child who may be the last of his species! We couldn't let him die on that burned out planet! That would've been too cruel! We had to save him, that was the right thing to do! If you elders don't like it, then fine! We'll never have dealings with you ever again!"
The two elders who had spoken up lowered their heads in shame and walked over to give little D'Aris pats on his furry head. The baby's green eyes widened but he didn't cry seeing the big Twi'lek men meant him no harm. Petra and T'Pell felt a great weight leave their shoulders knowing that their tiny fur-covered son was now a part of Twi'lek society...