Chapter Four: "My Wife is a Wookiee"
Not long after Marney had returned to his cell, he received news that his father had ordered his release. Why he had done this, Marney was not sure but he suspected that his mother Rallen Marne had probably had something to do with it. She would have been furious at him for jailing his own son and no doubt would have given him a well-deserved scolding.
Regardless of the reason that he had been freed, Raddek felt that it would be a good idea to pass along his good fortune. He offered the chief guard bail money to spring Qualle the quarren from his cell, and promised that he would help him to get back on his feet by making him a member of his crew.
"He's a mad one," the chief told him, "but if you think that you can train him, then I suppose he's better off with you. Just keep him away from the King's Fountain."
"If he pissed in the King's Fountain, then why is being jailed out here on a space-port?" Raddek wanted to know.
"Because he was trying to run away from the police down on the planet," the chief explained, "He tried to take a passenger shuttle to one of the nearby worlds, but of course there was a warrant for his arrest and we recognized his profile. We think he was making a political statement against King Lee-Char and the Calamari Council by doing what he did."
"I doubt it," Raddek replied, "I think he's just a bit off mentally, if you know what I mean...which means he'd be perfect for our crew."
The chief grunted, and went to retrieve the crazy quarren.
"I want to stay here," Qualle objected.
"Come, Qualle, I have somewhere better for you...I can offer you a job," Raddek explained, "and you can be free."
Qualle sighed in resignation and followed his new employer.
As he stepped out from the space-port security station, Lyna was there to greet him.
"What's happened to the kids?" he asked her, "Are they still aboard my father's flagship?"
"Kyara had one of her staff take the mon cal and quarren kids and elders to the planetary social services agency, and she accompanied the others to your father's ship," she explained, "Sal and Rixxi have gone with her to help with the kids. Meanwhile, your mother wants us to come for a visit. Admiral Raddus gave me her contact information, and she says she wants to meet me and our two kids."
"We can't go until we know our other kids are safe," Marney told her, "I'll speak with her and explain it...by the way, Lyna, this is Qualle. He was sharing a cell with me, and I've sprung him. I'm trying to interest him in a job aboard the Polar Carp. Qualle, this is my wife, Lyna Kooloo."
Qualle bowed to Lyna, and she bowed back. This seemed to perk him up a bit, and he looked as though he were more inclined to take Captain Raddek's offer of work. Before any of them could say anything, though, a sandy-haired human with big, bushy facial hair approached them.
"Excuse me, Sir," he said to Raddek, "But are you the captain of The Polar Carp?"
Raddek nodded, wondering what on Dac the hairy man wanted.
"Your father the admiral directed me to you, sir," he explained, "My name is Jalleck Braxton. I'm an engineer, and I'm looking for work on Mon Cala or on a ship that's based there..."
"You're hired!" Marney told him, "When can you start?"
"Uh...don't you want to look at my work record, Captain?" Braxton asked, bemused.
"I'm having the ship overhauled," Raddek elaborated, "and I really need a chief engineer. My last one was a droid who shut down due to a lack of service parts. If you can take charge of the overhaul and help me re-license the Carp, I'll give you half my earnings from the last haul."
"It's a deal, Cap'n!" Braxton enthused, "Thank you. You won't be disappointed. I'm a great fix-it man but no one knows me or my work here on Mon Cala, so I've been having a hard time getting someone to take a chance on me. Oh...uh...there is one more thing. I've got a wife, and she usually helps me with my work..."
"She's hired, too!" Raddek said before Braxton could say any more, "and if you can take Master Qualle here with you and train him, then all three of you can split the earnings with me and my wife Lyna."
"Yes, Sir, of course," Braxton agreed, "But...uh...one more thing about my wife...she's...uh...a wookiee."
Raddek stared at the human, unable to believe his luck.
"Did you say, 'your wife is a wookiee?'" he asked, flabbergasted.
"Yeah," Braxton replied, "But she's very gentle, most of the time...if you don't annoy her. She and I escaped from her home-world, Kashyyk, after the Imperial Forces enslaved the people. Before then, I was just looking for a free world to settle on and I met a wookiee chieftain who insisted that I marry his daughter as a sign of friendship between us. I married Yabecca, and...well, here we are. Yabecca and I like water, so we decided to try this world."
"Do you have any kids?" Marney pressed him.
"No. We're both from related species, but not close enough for us to produce younglings, as they're called on Kashyyk. Yabecca was kind of disappointed...I think she thinks I'm some kind of a dwarf wookiee and that I should be able to impregnate her," Braxton explained, shaking his head sadly.
"You want some kids?" Lyna asked excitedly, "We have two wookiee younglings and about three ewok kits. They're orphans from a prison camp. If Kashyyk is back in the hands of the Empire, then we can't send them there. You and Yabekka can adopt these ones!"
Jalleck Braxton stared at the odd couple, completely thunderstruck.