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Apparently word about her engagement is spreading. When she contacted the authorities about purchasing the warehouse, they told her that people were contacting them all the time, to see if there was a wedding chapel on the planet. She laughed and told the official, that if this was his way of trying to get her to pay more for the warehouse, it won't work. She was in fact, able to purchase it for much less than she first anticipated. She contacted the two maintenance workers from the spaceport. They agreed to meet her at the warehouse, later that morning. First she has to do something she has been dreading, ever since Richard suggested that her house might be bugged. She had one of the kitchen staff go wake the two girls up that were filmed in the videos. They have a right to know what has happened. She suspects that they will volunteer to examine everything in the warehouse.

At the warehouse, Madam told the two maintenance workers, that in looking for a place for her upcoming wedding and reception, they appear to have stumbled across the Rodian's lair. The maintenance workers jaws dropped, when they saw all the crates with the spaceport markings still on them. They told Madam, that they will not be able to arrange to have the crates removed right away. First they need to write down all the details they find on each crate. Some of them were covered by insurance, and the customers paid out. They will initially remove only the ones that were not insured. Then they will have to figure out what to do with the rest. Richard was also looking more closely at all the crates, he was sure he recognised one or two of them as being taken from off of his ship. He had sent Coris back to the brothel, to go bring back Fred and Pula. If they can find all their stolen freight, they will need to contact the rightful owners, to see if they still want it delivered. If they do, this will mean that Andriel, Chitrah, and Krillgan, will be living a few more months on the ship.

When the maintenance workers came up to Madam before they left, they asked if the two girls she has going through the stuff in the office, are all right. They look like they have been crying. Madam told them they have been crying, they received some bad news about their families this morning. She was hoping that by bringing them here, and giving them something to do, they will recover faster. She thanked the men for being concerned about her girls.

As soon as the technician from the communications company, finished installing the communicator, the machine became active, it signalled that there was an incoming call. One of the girls answered, and the other was curious and watched over her shoulder. There was a young couple on the line. They asked if this was Cothia's Wedding Chapel. The girl hesitated, but said yes, than she asked how they got a hold of this address, the technician had only just finished installing the communicator. The couple admitted that they did not know the communicator's address. They were talking with a local official this morning, and he told them about this new wedding chapel that was just starting today. "He gave us enough information for us to contact the communications company. They have kept us on hold since this morning, so that they could put us through as soon as the technician finished hooking you up. We wanted to know if we can book your facility for our wedding." The girl told them she doesn't know, they are only just starting to move in, and the renovations haven't even started. She would have to talk with Madam Cothia about them. The couple thought it was cute that the woman running the facility, called herself Madam Cothia. The girl wrote down all their information, including what dates would be good for their wedding. After they disconnected, they were told of another call coming through. It was a young lady who had just gotten engaged, wanting to know what dates were open for booking, so that she could start planning her wedding. She was another one who has been on hold since this morning. They had four calls in a row from people who have been waiting to talk to them, about booking their facilities for their wedding. They were getting enough calls, that the girls were answering, "Cothia's Wedding Chapel, how may we help you." Madam Cothia overheard one call, and after it was over she went into the office, and asked what was going on. They told her that they have been getting steady calls, since the communicator was hooked up, and showed her the list of calls along with all the information the people left. While she was looking at the list another call came through, and the girl took the list back, so that she could add their name and information to it. After the call finished, Madam Cothia pressed the busy button on the communicator, to let anyone calling know that no-one was available to take their call at the moment. She reminded the girls that no decision have been made on whether they would allow any other weddings, once they were done with theirs. The girls pleaded with her to let them run the business, they are getting enough calls, that it must be a viable business. Madam told them she still was not sure. People were getting married before she bought this place, and if they look on the sheet, they almost all want the same date. Would they take a later date, or would they start looking elsewhere. The girls were downcast. Madam Cothia looked at them for a moment.

"This is not about the wedding business is it? You either don't want to, or are afraid, to go back to the brothel."

The girls looked at the floor and nodded their heads.

"I won't make you go back if you don't want to. I told you that when you first agreed to work in the house."

The girls nodded again, looking down.

"You know you can leave anytime you want to."

The girls looked at her with fear in their eyes, and with tears running down their cheeks.

"Please don't make us go. We have nowhere to go, and if our families see those pictures, we will not have families anymore."

Madam hugged them. "Please don't start crying again, we are doing what we can, to try and track down any videos that were taken of you."

Madam then walked over to the cupboard, and opened it. "Look at all the recordings he made of me. I doubt that he was recording you two, as long as he was recording me."

"But it is not the same. We looked at some of your videos this morning, you are by yourself, in all the ones we saw. We are with men, and we are doing things that most women we know, would be embarrassed to do, and now everyone will know."

They both started crying again. She hugged them both, until they stopped crying. She promised them that she would not throw them out, but they had to do something. She believed that their might be an opening for one of them to train as a Masseuse, would they be interested in that. They asked if they would have to have sex with the clients. She told them that their Masseuse only has sex with her clients if she wants to. The only person that she knows of, that has ever had sex with their Masseuse, is her husband. One of the girls said that she heard the Masseuse has to be topless when she works, is that true. Madam told her that what the Masseuse wears or does not wear is up to her. If she is giving topless massages, than Madam says she feels cheated, because she has never given her a massage when she was topless. The girls giggled. They did find it funny when Madam mentioned it like that. They both mentioned that they would like to learn how to be a Masseuse. Madam told them that she did not know when she would be able to start training anyone. In the meantime, Chef is having trouble with his dough kneading machine. He could use their help in the kitchen kneading his dough for him, until the machine is fixed. It would mean that they would have to move out of their current bedrooms, and move into the woman's dorm room for the kitchen staff. The girls both agreed to that arrangement. Madam Cothia told them that they would have to move after dinner this evening. She then asked them to continue with their work, she has to get back to the house. They asked her, if they should continue taking calls? Madam said yes, and reset the busy button.

At the house, Madam met with Chef, and told him that he would have two girls kneading his dough by hand, starting tomorrow morning. So he should cover the machine when he was finished for the day. Madam has done this before, so he just did as she asked. Madam told the Masseuse that she would like to talk with her in her office, when she has a free moment. When she came to her office, Madam told her about the possibility of her having some new girls to train. She asked her, how long should she leave them kneading dough, before she would know that they have the hands for giving good massages? The Masseuse told her that if their hands are still strong after eight days, then they have the hands of a Masseuse. After she left, the only thing Cothia had to think about, was what to do with them, if they didn't survive the eight days. She knew that most girls give up after three or four days, when their hands start to cramp up. She wished now that the Rodian had suffered before he died.

That evening when Captain Richard, and Madam Cothia, dropped off the last of the prepared meals. They were desperate to hear some news from Chitrah. Cothia noticed the new outfit that Krillgan was wearing, and complimented him on it. The beaming Krillgan was more than willing to show it off, and told her that his mother was making him some more. Andriel asked Krillgan if he would be okay playing with his blocks by himself, the adults needed to go into the ship's bridge to talk. Krillgan could sense the nervousness of the adults, especially from Auntie Cothia. He told her that he would be okay.

Chitrah gave them the bad news first. His computer detected at least 70 sites where the images of the rooms were detected. Cothia had to sit down on one of the captain's jumper seats when she heard that. This was worse than she imagined. Chitrah told her it was not as bad as she is imaging. Many of the sites are duplicate sites were they were simply rebroadcasting the same image as a previous site, but at a time delay. That was little comfort to Cothia. More than 70 sites, she can't tell this to her girls. She was afraid that they might try to kill themselves if they found out. Richard put his hand on her shoulder to show her his support, which she really needed.

Chitrah then started telling them the good news. When he was analysing the signals from some of the sites, he noticed that the Hutts had imbedded a malicious signal in each broadcast, so that if anyone tried to copy the images without the proper equipment, and access codes, their recording equipment would be fried. He expected that that was how the Hutts made their money off of these site. He also noticed a countdown timer, so that you could only watch one site for a predetermined amount of time before the signal becomes scrambled. This was good news for Cothia. Chitrah was also able to dig a little deeper into the sites, trying to find their origin, and found that they were all coming from the same computer system. He felt that the computer that he detected could handle more than 120 sites at one time, but that the other sites had not yet worked their way into that part of the computer's memory. Cothia just heard 120 sites, and wanted to cry. She wanted to know if they could contact the Hutts, and maybe try to buy the videos back. Chitrah told her the Hutts would probably sell the original copies of the videos back to them, at a price that would bankrupt most small governments, but only after making multiple copies for safe keeping. The worst thing you could do was contact the Hutts. He told them that they had only one option, if they want to destroy the images. He told them that he suspected that the Hutts did not download the images into their computer, but simply plugged in the memory chips, because that is what these memory chips were designed for. If he could hook up his computer to a more powerful computer, like the spaceport's main computer. He could create a feedback loop within the Hutts' main computer, using their imbedded malicious signal, which would cause it to permanently fry its own memory chips.

"But there will be a cost."

Cothia asked him how much?

"The cost is unknown. The Hutts will be able to trace the source of their damaged computer, to this spaceport's computer. The Hutts are not the type to forgive or forget. They will feel compelled to strike back. They cannot attack the spaceport's computer like I can attack theirs, because the spaceport's computer is not a Holonet site broadcaster, so they will physically have to send someone to try and damage it."

Cothia asked him, if he was talking about them sending mercenaries? Richard stepped in and backed Chitrah. He was sure that the Hutts would try and send a mercenary team to damage the spaceport computer in retaliation. That was how they do business, and why you had to be so careful when dealing with them. Cothia asked him, if he was talking from experience?

Richard grimaced then nodded his head. Cothia could see he had some bad dealings with them. She asked Chitrah how long he would need to access the spaceport's computer. Chitrah thought that he might be able to do what he needs to do in just over an hour, two hours max. Cothia really wanted him to do it. She looked at Richard. Can you think of any reason why he should not do it? Richard looked at her, "Other than the hit and run mercenary attack, and the potential for innocent civilians getting caught in the crossfire, No!" Cothia told Chitrah she would see what she could arrange. She was feeling better about this, the sooner Chitrah could do his thing, the better she and her two girls will feel.

After dinner at the brothel, Madam Cothia asked the two girls to come to her office, after they have finished moving their stuff. When they showed up in her office, she told them what time in the morning, the kitchen staff would be waking them in the morning to get them started on kneading the dough. This was a shock to the two girls, who would normally wake up just before lunch, to have their breakfast. She also told them that there was more bad news, and some good news. She told them that the Captain had asked a computer tech friend of his, to search the net, to see if he could find any videos of them.

"We now know that the Rodian did sell some videos of them, because he was able to find a site that was broadcasting their videos."

Now the girls had no idea how large the Holonet was. To them six broadcasting sites was a lot. So they were devastated to here that one site was broadcasting their video. Cothia could see that they were going to start crying again.

"Don't you want to hear the good news, before you start crying again?"

They both nodded their heads, they were afraid to open their mouths.

She told them that the Captain's friend knows of a way to destroy the site using a powerful computer. "Because he has let me know what he needs, I am doing what I can, to see that he gets what he needs, as soon as possible."

That was good news! The girls were feeling much better. They told her that they were willing to help her anyway they could, they did not have much credits, but they were willing to give her everything they had if it would help. Madam Cothia knew that they did not have much credits. They sent most of what they earned, back to their families, because most of what they needed, day to day, is covered by the house. Madam Cothia told them that if she needs their help in anyway, she would let them know. The girls were glad that the Madam was doing what she could to help them. They knew she was very resourceful, and were sure that she would do what had to be done.

The next morning Madam Cothia was talking to her lieutenant about all the calls, the girls answered at the warehouse, from people that were looking for a place to marry. Because the two girls would be tied up all day, helping in the kitchen, she was thinking of taking one of the other girls from the house, with her to the warehouse. If they continue to receive calls at a steady pace, it might be worthwhile to actually set up a wedding chapel. Her lieutenant recommended one of the younger girls. She said that she has a very nice voice, and would portray a good image over the communicator. Madam agreed with her suggestion, and asked if she could wake her after their meeting. The lieutenant asked if she wanted to assign some new girls to the empty bedrooms. Madam told her not to assign anyone just yet. Let the girls use the bedrooms, the same as the other rooms that are shared. She wants to see how all this is going to play out, before making decisions that they can't back away from. The lieutenant agree, and went to wake up the girl she recommended to Madam. As she headed back to her room for a nap.

At the warehouse, the two maintenance workers from the spaceport suddenly show up, and asked Madam if they could speak with her. Madam was planning on calling them later today, and invite them to the brothel for lunch, to see about arranging access to the spaceport's computer for Chitrah. She did not like that they have shown up unexpectedly, this was usually bad news. She did not want to take them to the office, they might be tempted to borrow some of the memory chips they would see there, and the young girl was there, answering the communicator, she did not want her to overhear them talking business. So she asked them to step outside. They were hoping for someplace more secure, but when they saw the young lady in the office, they understood.

When they were outside, they stood very close to Madam, because they did not want anyone overhearing them. They were standing so close that Madam was getting even more nervous. They told her that they suspected as she does, that this was the Rodian's lair, because he was the prime suspect in all the items stolen from the spaceport. No-one has seen the Rodian, since she contacted them, and nothing new has been stolen from the spaceport since then. They believe that the reason she had the garbage disposal unit break down, was because she was getting rid of the Rodian's body. Madam Cothia became angry, and asked them if they were hitting her up for more credits, for them to keep quiet. The two maintenance men look horrified. They told her that it was just the opposite. If they had known she was getting rid of the Rodian's body, they would not have charged her anything for this breakdown. In fact, they would have paid her out of their own pocket, for the bottle for their boss. Madam felt relieved, she asked them what they were trying to say than. They told her that many of the security people were almost fired, because of the Rodian's theft of freight, while they were working. The computer technicians have been written up a number of times, because the Rodian had broken into secure areas, many times, and they did not know how he did it. "What we are trying to say is that there are a lot of people at the spaceport who will bend over backwards, for no charge, if they knew they were helping the person who made the Rodian go away.

The other thing we wanted to talk to you about, is the spaceport freight still in your warehouse. All these items were insured, and the shippers and receivers were paid off with insurance credits. They were sure that many of the shippers would prefer their product back. With her permission, they will contact the shipper, offering to exchange their freight for the insurance credits. They would split the credits with her, and get the product out of her warehouse at no cost to her." Madam Cothia smiled, she liked the way these boys thought. She told them to go ahead and do it, and she needed their help on something else. She needs to give a computer technician access to the spaceport's main computer. The Rodian has recorded some videos in their house, and sold it to the Hutts. This technician can make it disappear, if he has access to the spaceport's computer. She decided to take a chance on these two men she took them into the office and opened the cupboard with the videos of her. They could all see that they were neatly labelled and covered more than three years. The young lady had just ended a call and was watching them. Madam pulled down one of the chips at random, and plugged it into the machine to play back. They saw her undressing. Madam unplugged the chip and put it back. The young lady was standing there with her mouth open. When Madam saw her, she told her, that she better no dare touch anything in this office, except the communicator, and her note pad. The horrified young lady promised. When they were back outside, the men asked her if that was why the young ladies were crying the other day. Madam said it was, they had just discovered the videos he took of them. The maintenance guys were quite upset. The young ladies were always nice to them whenever they came by for lunch. They knew most of the girls that worked there by name. Madam told them that if their computer guy is successful, than the security people need to expect the Hutts to retaliate. This made their eyes go wide.

"You're talking about guys running around firing blasters, and throwing grenades?" Madam nodded.

They both whistled, they asked her, if she was willing to help the security people? She said of course she would, she has mercenary groups stopping by for "F" and "M" all the time, she was thinking of hiring a group, to give them some back up support, for starport security. They asked her what "F" and "M" stood for. Madam laughed, she told them it stood for "Food" and "Massage", what did they think it stood for? They said they did not know, they did not know what anything they do is called. Than they asked if the massage was really that good.

She told them to go straight home after work, and get their wives.

"While one of you is having dinner with your wife, the other one will get a massage with their wife. Then you can trade places. I am sure that your wives will beg you to bring them back, once they have experienced it for themselves. Because they know that they are going to a brothel. Just tell them that you won it in a contest you entered at work."

The guys thought it was a good idea. Their wives knew that they came by the brothel from time to time for lunch, and they did not like it. They thought that if their wives tasted Chef's cooking for themselves, and their wives experience a great massage for themselves, they might not give them a hard time, the next time they hear that they had lunch there. It would be kind of funny if their wives told their friends that they were going to a brothel for their special night out together.

They told Madam that they would do what they could, to get her guy access to the spaceport's computer. They were sure that the security people would be aboard, especially if they know they are getting backup. When they get back to the spaceport, they are going to call their wives, and tell them about the spa evening they won for tonight.

That evening they did come by with their wives. The girl's complimented the guys on how nice they look when they are not wearing coveralls. They told the wives that they were happy to finally meet the special person their husbands were always telling them about. They look better in person, than in the pictures that their husbands showed them. They hung up their coats for them in their walk-in coat rack, and led them to their table. The Masseuse came to their table, and asked which couple she gets to practise on. They ended up flipping a credit coin, to see who would get the first massage. After the Masseuse led the one couple away. A young lady came to their table to serve them. She told them what Chef was preparing for dinner this evening. The wife asked if they get a menu, the young lady told her that they don't do things in the house that way. She told her what meals the chef usually prepares for which day, he tries to make it like a family atmosphere. She asked her if it was the same way for lunch. The young lady said it was, that way you knew what to expect before you came here. The wife asked her husband if he knew what the chef was preparing for dinner tonight. The husband said he did not know, since he has never had dinner here before, but he can tell her what Chef is preparing for lunch tomorrow if she is interested. She told him it was alright. Their server told them that they are entitled to a complimentary bottle of wine with their meal, if they prefer something else, they can show them a list of what they have. To the couple, wine was a rich person's drink, so they both wanted to try it. She told them what bottle Chef has recommended for this meal, would they like to try that one, or are they interested in something else. They both wanted to try Chef's recommendation.

When the Masseuse led the couple into the room where they were getting their massage, she asked them if they were comfortable undressing in front of one another, or should she pull a curtain between them? The wife laughed, she told her that after seven years of marriage they should be comfortable undressing in front of one another. The Masseuse told them where they could place their clothes. She told them that she wanted them face down on the table, and how to position themselves. She showed them the button they had on each table. When they were ready for her, and her assistant for this evening, they should each press their button. She will not come back in if only one button is pressed unless it is an emergency. If something is wrong they should press the one button repeatedly, and she will come right in.

The couple that were eating their meal first, had finished, and were sipping the wine, when the other couple came back with their faces flushed. They were eager to tell them how wonderful the massage was, while the other couple tried telling them how wonderful the meal was. The Masseuse came out, and told the second couple they were ready for them. Madam came over to the couple that had just finished their massage, and told them that she would be serving them this evening. The husband introduced his wife to her, and told her that she owned this place, and quite often has dealings with the spaceport. Which is why she probably offered this spa package as a prize to the spaceport. He told Madam that the computer technicians at the spaceport were looking forward to meeting her technician tomorrow night at seven. "They wanted to see if he was as good as she said he is. Everyone else is on board with her proposal."

The wife asked Madam Cothia, if she really has that much dealings with the spaceport. She told her that Chef regularly prepares meal packages for ships passing through the system.

"If the ship is looking for cheap food, there are a few places that can look after them, but if they want good tasting food they refer them to us. Most of our clients come here by ship. So if there is a large group coming at one time, they will have the spaceport notify us, so that we can get ready. It is not only extra food that needs to be purchased, but we also need to arrange their accommodations. If we cannot handle the whole group ourselves. There are venues nearby, were they can sleep, but they will always come here to eat together. So we are very dependent upon the spaceport, for their cooperation. We also have a lot of import items that we consume here. Like this wine you are having with your meal, so we want to make sure these items are handled properly, especially if it is something that requires temperature control. So it is in my best interest to maintain very good relationships, with the staff working at the spaceport. Offering free perks, helps that along."

The wife asked, if they could come any time to enjoy these perks?

"If you call ahead to make sure we are not overbooked, yes. I don't think you would enjoy it very much if we had twenty mercenaries here. It would be especially hard to get time for a massage. They keep our Masseuse very busy."

She asked Madam about the girls. Madam told her that it was another service they provide. But no-one is obligated to participate, neither the clients, nor the girls.

She asked, if her husband has ever participated?

She told her that her husband is a good man. Even though some of the younger girls have tried to entice him, he has always said, he has someone special at home.

The wife asked her, if she would really have told her if he had been with some of her girls? Madame told her that she would have, because she is his wife. She believes that the fastest way to destroy a marriage is to keep secrets from the one you are married to.

Now if she was his boss, or his girlfriend, she would only share that information, if he had first given permission for her to do so. This gave the wife something to think about. She told the Madam that she was under the impression that most women in her profession were addicts. Madam told her that she is correct, many of them are forced to do this against their will, because of their addictions. Unfortunately, many clients enjoy that about being with them. They are not with them to enjoy sex, they are with them to humiliate them, and to even try to destroy who they are. So the girls have to be careful, and we try to screen our clients.

The wife found Madam to be an interesting person. She was feeling more comfortable being there, and was more comfortable, with her husband eating his lunch there, from time to time. She did not want her husband eating here all the time, too much exposure to any temptation, can wear anyone down. But she would come back with him, if he asked, even if it was just to check up on him. It will be interesting to talk with her friend about her experience here tonight, when they get together for lunch tomorrow.

The next morning Madam went to the spaceport, after dropping off the young lady to answer the incoming calls. She had placed a simple seal on all the cupboards, so that she would know if anyone tried opening them. She thought that the young lady would be less tempted to examine any memory chips, if she knew that she could not hide it from her. She told Chitrah that they have a go ahead, for this evening at seven. She then asked him about the best way to dispose of the memory chips. He told her that other than frying them in a computer, which has the risk of frying the computer itself, there was no foolproof way of disposing of the memory chips. There was always ways, for a patient person to reconstruct the memory chip to access what was stored on them. The only sure fire way to destroy the chips, was to melt them in an extremely hot furnace. What is simpler and safer was to shoot them into a sun. Cothia asked Richard if he would do that for them. Richard told her that he could get Bikto to make two missiles for their missile batteries. Instead of placing explosives in the heads they can watch him fill the heads with the memory chips, then they could take a trip near to the sun, and fire them at the sun. They can watch the missiles disintegrate, on the virtual display, as they approach the surface of the sun. He told her that he would not need the full crew. He would just need Bikto and Coris, because Coris would have to help Bikto load the missiles in the missile launchers. That way she could share his cabin. The two girls would share Andriel's cabin. Andriel and Krillgan would have to share the top bunk in Chitrah's cabin. It should take no more than half a day to get the ship close enough to the sun to fire the missiles, and half a day to get back.

Cothia asked Andriel, if she would mind? She was sure the girls would feel a sense of closure knowing all the memory chips were destroyed.

Andriel asked Krillgan, if he would agree to share the top bunk with her, for a short trip? Krillgan said, "Only if you promise not to push me out." Andriel started tickling him saying how he was the pushy one, that he might push her out. Cothia told Andriel that if she keeps tickling him, they all mighty have to help her. Krillgan laughingly told her that it was not fair, so Andriel stopped. Instead she gave him a kiss on his cheek.

After dropping Cothia off at the warehouse, the Captain went back to the brothel to talk with Bikto. Bikto borrowed Madam's skiff, to drive around and purchase the supplies they would need, then returned with the Captain to the ship, to start assembling the missiles in his workshop. He suspected that Captain Richard was being optimistic when he said they would only need two. He had been to the warehouse, he only saw some of the memory chips, and he was told there were a lot more. He estimated that from what he saw, they could fill two dummy warheads, so he was thinking they might need six or maybe even eight missiles. He was assembling ten just to be safe. If they didn't need them. He knew where to store them. It would not take him long to put real warheads on them if they were needed. Most pirates do not expect missiles flying at them, when they are attacking your ship.

That evening Andriel made sure Chitrah was well covered when he left the ship. It would be hard for anyone to tell what he was. Krillgan was disappointed that he wasn't allowed to go with his father. Cothia told him that it was his job to keep her and his mother company while his father was away.

"Are you going to be talking about dresses?"

"Yes, is that okay?"

"I wanted to watch my father play Hutt Wars on the big computer. That would be more fun than talking about dresses."

Cothia laughed inside, he must have overheard someone talking about his father attacking the Hutt's computer.

Andriel showed her the dress design she had come up with for her. Andriel had found out that if she manually altered the measurements of her own image, she could force the body to look like the person she was designing the dress for. It made it a lot easier to design outfits for other people, because she was always working with the right dimensions. Cothia was blown away by the design. "Are you saying that this is how it would look like on me, without the special undergarments?" Andriel nodded, she reminded her, that she told her that she has a beautiful body. Cothia really wanted to get married in the dress Andriel had designed. She was also a little embarrassed, that the other ladies did not have access to Andriel. She told Andriel that Bikto and Pula had also proposed to their girlfriends at the brothel. She told her that she would be embarrassed if she was married in this outfit, and her friends were not wearing something equally as nice, when they were married. Richard's rules be damned, she was sending over the other two women tomorrow morning, so that she could come up with something for them. Andriel agreed with her. Then she showed her the other designs she had for her. Some were just alterations to her previous designs, with the right dimensions.

Krillgan liked the idea of more people being allowed to come to the ship, he went up to Cothia, and tugged on her dress. When she turned to him, he asked her, "Aunt Cothia, do you know anyone that is my size that could come and play with me?"

Aunt Cothia told him that she was sorry, she did not know any children. The two women saw that he looked really disappointed as he returned to playing with his blocks. Cothia went and picked him up. She hugged him, than smothered his face with kisses, than hugged him again.

"I wish I was your size, so I could come and play with you all day."

Krillgan wiped her tears away with his hand. "I wish that too, but you don't have to cry. Mother said that someday there will be lots of children for me to play with, and I will have a little brother and a little sister. I am sure that we will have fun playing together."

Cothia gave him a sloppy wet kiss on his cheek, and put him down. Krillgan wiped his cheek with his shirt, and went back to playing with his blocks. Cothia went and sat by Andriel, she saw that she also had tears in her eyes. She took her hand and held it with both of hers. They both sat their watching Krillgan play. After a while Andriel got up and asked Cothia if she would like a cup of tea. Cothia nodded her head as she hugged herself and watched Krillgan play.

In the spaceport control room the two technicians were really enjoying themselves, this was just like the spy stories they both like to read. They could not tell who this stranger was, they could only tell he had blue hands. They were surprised that he did not just use the spaceport computer, but plugged his own computer into it and took control of it that way. They never thought that was possible. They had both salivated earlier, when they saw him open his equipment bag. He was better equipped than they were with their big lab. They could only imagine what he was capable of doing with his computer.

Stories of the blue ghost had not yet reached Republic space. But when they finally heard the stories, they were convinced that that was who was in their spaceport. One of them started mentioning it on one of the chat sites he visited. But his buddy made him stop, and told him that he cannot go back to that site. People get killed for knowing what they know. It was too late, someone had traced his location from the info he had given, to join the site. This was being passed along to the closest field op to that planet. They needed to know what he knew about the blue ghost.

The technicians were surprised that this stranger did not need to actually see the video feed, to do what he was doing. One of the technicians told his buddy that he figured out what he was doing. "You know how we look at video feeds face on. That way we see what they want us to see. He has figured out how to look at it from the side, so that he could see what he wanted to see. No wonder he could see that malicious signal."

Chitrah smiled at his explanation. He was glad they were learning something. When he was ready, Chitrah asked the Captain to ask the technicians to monitor one of the Hutt sites. The technicians tried doing what Chitrah did. As they watched it, the video component disappeared. They went back to see if they could find any video signal. All they found was static. They tried another site, again there was only static. The Captain put his hand on Chitrah's shoulder. He had done it.

On an agricultural world, a farmer was looking at some Hutt sites instead of looking after his farm. His wife was tired of her husband watching those sites, and had started doing his work. They had two children to look after. She may have given up on him, but she could never give up on them. The farmer was very jealous of his neighbour. His oldest daughter had left home. After a hard struggle, she finally found a good paying job, and was helping her family. Her parents could now afford to buy the good, more reliable farming equipment. He had heard him boasting in town that their farm was starting to be profitable, soon he would be able to send his other children away to finish their education. He hated his neighbour and wanted to destroy him. While watching the video stream he thought the young lady performing, looked a lot like his neighbour's daughter. If she wasn't she looked close enough that his neighbour would have a heart attack if he saw it. He would have liked to record it, but had already destroyed his recorder when he tried to record off this site. His neighbour was preparing the field right next to his farm for seeding. He decided to go get his neighbour, and ask him, what does he think of his daughter's performance? He ran out of his house, and flagged down his neighbour, he told him that he had come across a site that had a video with his daughter in it. The sceptical farmer shut off his tractor, and followed his neighbour. He wasn't sure what his daughter did, but he was sure she would tell him if she was acting. If this was her, he was sure his whole family would want to see her. When they came to the farmhouse, the neighbour wondered why he spent so much money on this computer, that won't help them with the farm. When there was so many other things that would make farm life far easier for his wife and kids. The farmer was perplexed, the computer screen was just showing static. He tried getting on to the site again. Only static. He tried accessing another site. Only static. The neighbour asked him, where the video with his daughter in it is? The farmer said he did not know, his computer does not appear to be working. The neighbour asked him what the video was about. The farmer knew his neighbour had a temper, and would kill him if he accused his daughter of being a prostitute, without any proof. He told him that it was about a young couple that had fallen in love. The neighbour said that his daughter was a bit of a romantic, he could see her playing a role like that. The farmer bit his lip, to keep himself from saying any more. He apologised to his neighbour for taking him away from his work. The neighbour told him that it was okay, he had good intentions. The next time he writes his daughter he will ask her if she has been doing any acting. The farmer bit his lip again, and waved goodbye to his neighbour. The farmer went and asked his wife if she had done anything to his computer. She told him that if she did, she would have taken a mallet, and smashed it to little pieces. Since the computer wasn't working, he might as well help his wife with the chores.

When they returned to the ship, Richard grabbed Cothia, and told her he did it. Than he gave her a passionate kiss. Cothia with tears in her eyes, came up to Chitrah and hugged him. Then she kissed him on both his cheeks, and thanked him. Krillgan got up and jumped into his father's arms. "Did you beat the Hutts?"

"Yes I did!"

"I knew you would. You are the best Hutt Wars player I know."

All the adults laughed. Not because Chitrah was the only Hutt Wars player that Krillgan knew. But because what he just accomplished was better than winning a Hutt Wars game. He had given two young ladies back their lives. Andriel asked Chitrah to print off all the designs she had prepared for Auntie Cothia. Richard asked, if he could look at them? Both women said no, then laughed together.

On the way back to the brothel, Cothia told Richard that she was sending Biktor's and Pula's girlfriends to see Andriel, first thing in the morning.

"Her designs are that good."

"They are better than good. She makes me look beautiful, even without the special undergarments."

"But I have always told you, that you look beautiful."

"And so you are supposed to. But she made me look beautiful to myself."

Richard hugged his future wife to himself. He had long ago stopped trying to figure women out.

At the brothel, Madam Cothia asked both girls to come to her office. When they came in to her office. She got up and hugged them. Then she told them he did it. He destroyed the Hutt site. They cried on her shoulders in relief. She held on to them until they were finished, because she was crying herself. After they stopped crying, she told them to sit down. She sat on the front of her desk, while she outlined what the Captain had proposed, for them to be rid of all the memory chips. The girls liked the idea of going on the ship and seeing the chips destroyed as they flew into the sun. They were also excited to meet the man who had helped them without even knowing them. They asked her, how they can thank him? She told them to be nice to his wife, since they would be sleeping in her cabin, and play with his son. She than described his cute son to them. After she finished, the two girls asked her, if the Captain knows that a younger man has stolen her heart? She told them that she thinks he suspects something, but has not shown any signs of jealousy.

After the two girls left, Madam called the sewer to her office. She came in and closed the door and sat down. Madam sat on the chair beside her. She showed her the copies of the designs Andriel had printed for her. When she looked at each design, she said, "This is beautiful." Madam had kept the best design for last. The sewer did not say anything, she looked at Madam with tears in her eyes, "Is this supposed to be your wedding dress?"

Madam nodded her head. The sewer hugged her, "This will look so beautiful on you." Madam asked her if she could sew it. She told Madam that this was more difficult than anything she has ever sewn in her life. But wanted to try it. Madam showed her the order that she wanted her to sew the dresses. The sewer asked Madam, if the designer had suggested it? Madam asked her, what did she mean? She asked, if the designer had suggested the order that she sew the dresses, because each dress is slightly more difficult than the one before it? By the time she came to the wedding dress, she will have the skills of a seamstress. Madam told her that the dresses were designed by a Master Seamstress and Dress Designer. She asked Madam why she didn't just ask her to sew it. The seamstress could do a better job than she ever could. Madam told her that she would not be here to do it, she is just passing through the system. The sewer was disappointed, she would have liked meeting this seamstress. She asked Madam, if it was okay for her to show the designs to the other girls? She said she could, but could not let the Captain see them. Madam could tell that she wanted to ask her something else. She waited until the sewer had the courage to ask. She asked Madam, if she could move the sewing machine into her room? She would be more comfortable with it being there. Madam told her that if she moves the sewing machine into her room, she won't be able to use her room for entertaining clients. The sewer looked down at the floor, and said she knew. She would rather be sewing than entertaining clients. Madam took her hand, so that she would look at her. We do need the room. Would you like to move to the warehouse, with the sewing machine? The sewer's eyes became wide. "Could I? You won't be upset with me?"

"No, of course not!"

"Did you want to stop working with clients altogether, or just while you are sewing?"

"I don't know? I just know that I really want to sew these dresses."

Madam asked her, if there was anything else? She told Madam that they don't have the material here to sew the dresses. Madam guessed what she was really asking. She told her that she did not have the time to go to the market with her, to select the fabric she needs to sew each dress. She has seen what she has sewn for herself and for others. She trusts her good taste, and expects that she will select the right fabric for each design. She will ask her lieutenant to advance her some credits, so that she can buy whatever she thinks she needs. She just needs to make sure her lieutenant gets all the receipts, and any change. The sewer asked her, when she would be able to move into the warehouse? Madam told her that first she will need to take a short trip. Unfortunately, she will not be able to move until after she gets back. She asked, if she could move into the storage room, until she gets back? Madam sighed and told her to move the sewing machine into her room, until they are ready for her to move to the warehouse. After she left, Madam was sure that she had lost her as one of her regular girls. She will need to talk to Andriel, to see if she would recommend a commercial machine for this girl to use. She was now their resident seamstress.

Next she talked to Chef about taking the two girls for a short trip. He told her that if she wants to keep pretending his dough kneader is broken, he will need four girls to replace them. Madam raised her eyebrows at him. Chef explained that their work really was that good, and because of them he has added some items, which means more work. "Next you are going to tell me that you need a new machine, because this one cannot handle the workload."

"I was meaning to talk to you about that."

Madam told him to get out.

Bikto brought his dummy warheads to the warehouse for the girls to fill. Even though they were tired from kneading dough all day. They found the energy to gather all the memory chips in the warehouse, and put them in the warheads. Bikto had brought a metal rod and mallet, so that they could ram as many as they could into each warhead. The girls liked hearing the sound of the memory chips brake, when they hit the metal rod with the mallet. The girls asked Bikto, why they had to load them into the warhead, when they could hear the chips break when they hit the rod with the mallet? He told them that the guy who was able to damage the Hutt computer for them, told them that even though these chips can be damaged, a person who knows what they are doing, can still extract the video data from them. The girls knew that the guy had to be smart, to be able to do what he did, so they better listen to him.

Because the girls liked to hammer on the rod with the mallet. They were able to get every memory chip that they found into six warheads. They told Bikto that they could not find any more chips. Bikto asked if all the cupboards were bare. They said they checked everything in the office. Then they checked everything in the apartment, than they checked everywhere where a scaly rat might try to hide them, and came up with nothing. Bikto informed the captain that they were ready to head to the Fenelar Phoenix. At the Phoenix, Coris helped Bikto carry the missile bodies to the front of the ship. There Bikto attached the dummy warheads that the girls had filled. All three women, whose lives had been damaged by the recordings, supervised the whole procedure. When they were satisfied that the six missiles were properly loaded in the missile launchers, they all went aboard ship. When the girls were introduced to Chitrah, they did not shake his hand, instead they threw their arms around his neck, and kissed him repeatedly. One girl per cheek. After each kiss they said thank you. After about a minute of this, Andriel cleared her throat. When they were introduced to Andriel, they each took one of her hands and apologised to her, telling her how special her husband was. She told them that she thought he was special too. For some reason, both girls blushed. Then they were introduced to Krillgan, they each took a turn, shaking his hand. When the second girl shook his hand, she said, "So you are the young man, who has stolen Madam's heart."

"I did not steal it, she gave it to me, willingly."

This made all the adults laugh.

"Well I willingly give you my heart!"

"As do I!"

Krillgan smiled, this should be a fun trip. The girls were very tired. It had been a long day for them. So Andriel led them to her cabin. Because it was supposed to be a short trip, she had left her clothes hanging in the closet, and her other luggage packed away. She had only taken what she would wear when she went to sleep, and what Krillgan would wear when he went to sleep. Andriel noticed that they had not brought anything with them. She asked them if they needed anything to sleep in, they were close to the same size, so her clothes should fit them. They were embarrassed and told her that they don't sleep with anything on. Andriel wasn't phased. She told them that the Togruta sleep like that. The one girl asked the other girl who the Togruta were. Her friend told her that she believes they are red like Andriel, but have horns and headtails.

"Aren't they called Twi'leks?"

"No! Twi'leks can be most any colour, and have two headtails. Togruta have three."

"And horns."

"Yes Togruta have horns."

"Are they comfortable?"

"Are who comfortable?"

"The Togruta! If I had three headtails, and horns. I don't know if I would be comfortable?"

"Her friend asked her, if she was comfortable with her hair?"

"Why shouldn't I be, I've had hair all my life."

"Well Andriel might think you are uncomfortable, since you have hair, and she doesn't. Just like you think that the Togruta might be uncomfortable, when they have had their horns and headtails all their life."

"But she looks so pretty."

"Who looks pretty?"

"Andriel does, even though she has no hair."

Andriel wanted to laugh, they were just like two children who had been up too long. She told them that they had to be quiet, because she was putting Krillgan to bed now as well. They said okay, and started undressing in front of her. Andriel dimmed the lights, and left the cabin. She went to the crew lounge and told Krillgan that he needs to get ready for bed. He complained, he said that everyone has just got here. She told him that the two young ladies have already gone to bed, and they are much older than he is. He pleaded with his mother. She told him that he needed to change, and then they would see. He did as he was told. Now after all the introductions had been made. Captain Richard had gone to the bridge with Bikto. He had taken the pilot's seat, and Bikto had taken the captain's chair. Captain Richard had told the computer, that this was a silent departure, no notification was necessary. The computer asked him, if he was stealing his own ship? The Captain said no, he just wanted the people who were aboard to feel as comfortable as possible. When they reached orbit, Richard told Bikto which heading to input into the ship's navigational system, then headed to the crew lounge. When he came to the lounge he found Andriel sitting with a sleeping Krillgan on her lap. She asked him when they would be taking off. He told her that they had already reached orbit, and navigational control has been turned over to the ship. With Engineer Bikto, taking the first watch. Andriel told him that she did not feel him lift off. He smiled and told her that that means he has not lost his piloting skills. Chitrah got up and carried Krillgan to the top bunk in his cabin. Andriel got up to make everyone a cup of tea. Coris asked Andriel and Chitrah about their time on Uvena Prime. Chitrah told everyone (because they were all listening) about going to Uvena Prime with some electronic technicians from the Interior Ministry's office on Eriadu, to continue their training as field computer technicians. They were not well received by the locals. He knew that was part of the job. He was fascinated by their computer systems, since it was so different from anything he had encountered before. A lot of their work was being done in research labs, and he started asking the local technicians about their computer systems. Apparently he was asking questions that no one had asked before, because the local technicians started answering him. They started asking questions about his life, and he told them how he was forced by the Sith to marry his wife. (This really caught Cothia's attention.) Then they found out that he had training in self-defence, because his wife was almost raped. "One of them was a member of a martial-arts institute, and he contacted the head instructor, and told him my story. The head instructor wanted to see what I knew, so he asked the technician to invite me to come to the institute with him after work, when he came for his class. I readily agreed, and grabbed some loose clothes to take with me. The instructor introduced me to his class, and asked me to demonstrate what I knew. I showed them as much as I could on my own, than asked him, if someone from his class, would volunteer to help me. He volunteered. Then I proceeded to show him two different techniques for the same thing. I had practiced with some Togruta, and found that they did some things similar, and they did some things different. He was very impressed that I could understand the difference. He told me that my abilities were not yet up to the level of his class, but he would let me sit and watch, because he was sure that I could learn something. After the class he thanked me for my cooperation. He told me that foreigners were usually not as forth coming as I was. He also told me that I was allowed to come back and watch his class, if I wished. I thanked him and told him I would be back. I came back every evening after that with the technician. Even though I was not allowed to participate in his class, I learnt something new every day. When I went back to the residence where I was staying. I tried to practice some of what I learnt before going to bed. The next time I was in Uvena Prime, we were on the run from the Sith because of Krillgan. This time the instructor let me participate in his class because he said my skill level had increased, he even invited my family to live with his family, while we were there."

Cothia wanted to ask him about being forced to marry Andriel, but Richard told her that it was late, everyone was tired. Her question could wait until the morning. She asked Richard if he had heard their story, he told her that he had not, but really wanted to, when he was awake enough to listen. She was pacified, and followed him to bed. Andriel decided to sleep with Chitrah on the bottom bunk, even though the bunk was narrower, than the bed in her cabin. They were both too tired to do more than kiss before falling asleep.

Krillgan woke up in the middle of the night, and found he was sleeping alone. He reached out with the force to see if he could find his mother. He found that she was sleeping with his father on the bottom bunk. He woke his father up by continuously saying "father", until his father woke up. He told his father that he had to go to the bathroom. Chitrah got up and lifted him off the top bunk, and took him by the hand to take him into the crews' washroom. Krillgan had never been in there before, because he always used the washroom in his mother's cabin. After he was finished, he asked for some water. Than they both went back to bed.

The two girls woke up before everyone else, and dressed. They were feeling a little hungry so they checked out the food that was available to eat. They food some meals that were labelled child, breakfast. Since they did not want to eat too much, they both decided this was the right portion size for them. They heated it up, and after they were finished, since no one else was awake, they decided to see what was in Andriel's cabin. When they found all her outfits hanging in the closet, they just had to try them on. They had each tried on every outfit that Andriel had, before anyone else woke up, and they loved them. They hoped that Andriel would let them have one. They spent the rest of the morning before everyone else got up trying to decide which of Andriel's outfit they wanted most. They also found Krillgan's bag of fresh fruit and vegetables, and decided to have some fruit. Breakfast was not as filling as they had hoped. When they heard someone stirring in the crew lounge, they each put on the outfit they wanted most, and went to the crew lounge. It was Chitrah he was preparing his breakfast. They asked him if he could make them some tea. He said he would, without looking at them. When he did turn to hand them their tea. He noticed that there was something familiar about what they were wearing, but could not put his finger on it. Then he noticed they were eating fruit. He asked them, if they had asked anyone's permission, before starting to eat Krillgan's fruit? They were both embarrassed. They did not know they were supposed to. Chitrah sighed, then went and had his breakfast. The girls did not know what to do. They really wanted this man to like them, after helping them so much. After he finished his breakfast, he went and woke Andriel and Krillgan, so that they could get up and have their breakfast. He went to make some tea for both of them. He always cooled Krillgan's tea down before letting him drink it. Andriel came out first. When she saw the two girls. She was a little annoyed because they had tried on some of her outfits without first asking her permission. She asked them, if they liked her outfits? They could tell that she was upset with them. In very small voices, they said that the outfits were lovely, and they really, really love them. Than Andriel noticed they were eating fruit, the protective mother in her came out. She demanded to know, who gave them permission to eat her son's fruit? At the same time Krillgan came out of the meal storage area and told his mother that someone ate two of his breakfasts. He was not a happy child. The two girls got up crying and ran to Andriel's cabin. This woke up everyone else on the ship. Both Cothia and Andriel went to their cabin to talk with them. Cothia asked them, why they were crying? They told her that they really wanted Chitrah to like them because he really helped them without knowing them, and if he liked them, then he would feel even better. But he was upset with them because they ate Krillgan's fruit without asking anyone's permission. They really love all of Andriel's outfits, they are all so lovely, and had each decided to wear the one they loved the most, so that she could see how well it fit them. But Andriel was upset because they did not ask her permission. She was even more upset when she saw that they were eating her son's fruit. "We were hungry when we woke up this morning, but did not want to eat too much, we both thought that the child's breakfast was the right size for us, and we each had one. Now Krillgan is upset with them because we are eating all his food." The girls were really sobbing now. "We have done everything wrong this morning. Chitrah probably hates us for eating all of his son's food, and making his wife and his son upset. He probably wishes he had never helped us." Andriel went up to them and gently put a hand on each girls shoulder. She patiently waited until the girls calmed down enough to notice who was touching them. When they noticed it was her hand on their shoulder, they each took her hand in both of theirs, crying on it, telling her how very, very sorry they were. She told them that she does not hate them, her son does not hate them, and her husband does not hate them. Yes they were upset with them, because they behaved like spoiled little school girls. "Remember that you freely gave your hearts to my son, and he loves you. I love you, and I know that my husband loves you. Please stop crying, and come out and talk to the people you hurt. You are not monsters to them. They just want everything to be right, between us and you." Cothia thanked Andriel, she was sure the girls overreacted, because they have been on an emotional rollercoaster these past few days. The girl's looked quite contrite, when they walked into the crews' lounge. Captain Richard had overheard some of what was said in Andriel's cabin, since the door was ajar. He asked the girls to sit down, and told them that a lot of what they did this morning was really his fault. He did not take the time to explain to them, why this family is on this ship, and why they have never seen them at Auntie Cothia's house. He was about to say Madam Cothia's brothel, than saw Krillgan out of the corner of his eye, and realised it would create some difficult questions for Andriel and Chitrah to answer. He told the two girls that this family is on the run from the Sith. "For them to be seen, is dangerous for them, and it is dangerous for whoever sees them. I have foolishly put your lives at risk, by letting you come aboard this ship, thinking I was helping you. For this I must apologise. I am sorry. This family is very dependent upon me, and my crew, to provide everything they need. In this regard, we have been a little negligent. So the parents are very protective of the nourishment their son receives, not only in his specially prepared meals, but also the fresh fruits and vegetables that he needs, to help him grow strong and healthy." The girls wanted to disappear into their seats, as they realised the hurt they had inflicted on this family. "If I had taken the time to brief you properly, I am sure that you would have behaved quite differently regarding Krillgan's food." They both nodded their heads vigorously, they would have, had they known. "Concerning wearing Andriel's clothes, I cannot make up an excuse for you." The girls both turned red. Andriel spoke up, "I too must apologise. I knew better than to leave the bag of fruits and vegetables in the cabin. Even I will reach in from time to time, to grab a piece of fruit." Chitrah acknowledged that he has as well. Krillgan smiled, he had suspected his parents did, but now he knew for sure.

Madam Cothia asked them what they had to say about the clothes. One of the girls spoke up. "After we ate Krillgan's breakfast, no one else was up yet, and we were bored. We did not want to explore the ship even though it is so much different than any we have been on before, because we were afraid we might touch something, and get into trouble. So we went back to the cabin to snoop around. When we opened the closet, we thought we found a Queen's wardrobe. We remembered that Andriel had said last night that we were all close to the same size. So we thought we had permission to try it on." Andriel laughed, they were stretching it, but you have to give them the benefit of the doubt. "We each took turns trying on every outfit, and we loved them all. We were hoping that we could talk Andriel into letting us each have one. We took a long time trying to decide which one we would ask her for. When we finally decided, we each put or choice on, so that she could see how well they fit us." They then both got down on their knees, and clasped their hands together. "Please! Oh Please! Can we have them?"

"Won't that make the other girls jealous?"

"Oh Yes! Very much so!"

The adults could not help but laugh. Andriel told them how much she charged on Lianna for one of her outfits. She asked Krillgan, what did he think? Even though Krillgan was playing with his blocks, he had been listening very carefully to everything.

"They don't fit right, but they do look nice on them. I think they should pay for them."

Andriel agreed, but told them that credits were useless to her, since she was not allowed to go out shopping. So they would have to do the shopping for her. She told them that she needed sewing supplies. She would give them a list. More fresh fruits and vegetables, since Krillgan was eating a lot more than she expected. Chitrah stared at the floor and did not say anything. Some more of the pre-packaged food, because it is absolutely delicious, and some fabrics, she will give them samples. She told them that she will not have time to do any alterations on the outfits, as it was evident that their mountains were different sizes. The girls said it was alright, they can put some padding in them. They have done it before, than they giggled. They looked at Madam Cothia, because they did not have that much credits. They could only do it, if she was willing to help. Madam sighed, than nodded her head. The two girls squealed, then got up and hugged and kissed Andriel, thanking her, then they ran over to Madam Cothia and did the same. Then the one girl hugged her friend, "I knew you were the better talker. Thank you!"

At that moment Coris walks into the crew's lounge, and tells everyone, that the computer said they reached their destination. Every one rushed for the bridge. Even Krillgan was allowed in. Captain Richard, let Cothia take the captain's chair, and the girls each take the jumper seat on either side. Bikto is at the Engineer's station, surrounded by Chitrah, Krillgan, Coris, and Andriel. The captain is in the pilot's seat. The sun is too bright for them to see what is happening outside the ship, even with the polarized darkening filters in the windows. The captain orders the computer to transform the ship to battle mode. They hear the whir of mechanical equipment moving. Soon they see the ship's armour coming up and covering the glass. Krillgan runs off the bridge, and Chitrah runs after him, asking him where he is going. Krillgan calls back that he wants to see what else is changing on the ship. Chitrah calls back that it is not safe to move in a ship, when it is transforming. Krillgan stops running when he reaches the cargo bays. Chitrah catches up to him. As Krillgan walks toward the back of the ship, he points to the back and tells his father that they have lost the tail section. There is the large area beyond the cargo bays, then there is nothing. He asks his father if they can breathe in space, because their does not appear to be anything between them and space. Chitrah tells him that there is a force field keeping the air in the ship, because space is a vacuum, where no one can breathe. Krillgan asks him, if he knows what happened to the tail of the ship? Chitrah tells him that the tail has swung down beneath them. The second gun turret that used to be on top of this ship, is now just below this opening, to protect it. The third gun turret that used to be far back under the tail, is now in a good position to protect the under part of the ship. Krillgan asks him, if he had been in the tail would he still be able to breath? Chitrah tells him that the air that is in the tail is still trapped there, when it transforms into battle mode. He then tells Krillgan that they should get back to the bridge, or they would miss the missile launch. Krillgan races back with his father right behind him.

Shortly after Krillgan raced off the bridge, the ship's computer tells the Captain that the ship is now in battle mode. Both missile launchers are now active. Captain Richard tells Cothia, that it is now safe to launch the missiles. The three women press a button together, and they see bursts of laser fire shooting out from either side of the bridge, streaming towards the sun in the virtual display. Coris laughs and tells the ladies that he thinks they just killed the sun. Captain Richard tells them that they just fired the turbo lasers, they did not harm anything. Cothia asks him, which is the missile launch button? Richard tells her that it is the only double button, because there are two missile launchers. One of Cothia's girls point to a button, "I think it is this one, it has "missiles" spelt underneath it." Richard tells them, "That's the one." Cothia positions her finger over the button, "Ready Girls?" The three women, press the button together. Krillgan and Chitrah arrive back at the bridge, just in time to see six missiles streak away from the ship, like starfighters in flying formation, on the virtual display. They watch as one by one the missiles disappear, disintegrated by the heat of the sun. When the last missile disappeared, the people on the bridge could hear a "whoosh" sound coming from the three women. They had been holding their breath. The three women got up to have a group hug. They had tears in their eyes. This dreadful event in their lives is over. They each went around to everyone on the bridge, thanking each of them. When they thanked Krillgan, he asked them why they were thanking him, he did not do anything. The one girl said that if he had not been born, his parents would not have been here to help them, and they would be dead. That is when both girls confessed that they were seriously considering suicide, knowing how hurt their parents would feel, if they discovered what they really did for a living. The only thing that stopped them was when Madam Cothia told them, that Captain Richard knows a computer technician that claims he can shut down the Hutt's site. The other girl said that she wishes the Rodian was dead. Krillgan was about to say something, when he saw Auntie Cothia holding a finger to her lips. Auntie Cothia then told the girls, "The spaceport maintenance workers, are convinced that the Rodian is dead. There is no ship that has left our planet in the past month that would be willing to take him on board. He was last seen just before the "Fenelar Phoenix" had arrived. We have found his lair, and he was not there to try and defend it. So they believed that someone must have killed him."

"Well that someone is a big hero to us, and we wish there was some way we could thank them."

Chitrah had placed a firm hand on Krillgan's shoulder. Krillgan knew that it meant he should only listen, and let the adults speak. Chitrah told the girls that he was sure that whoever killed him, already knew that they had done something good for them, and done the community a big favour. Andriel suggested that they all go eat lunch. Captain Richard told the computer to transform the ship back to transport mode. They heard the whirring of the mechanical systems again, and the bridge was getting brighter and brighter, as the armour covering the windows slid back down to cover the missile launchers. As they walked to the crew lounge, Krillgan now understood that his killing the Rodian, was a good thing. It was okay to kill a bad person, to help a good person. Just like the Great Mother, helped his family by killing the bad bounty hunter. He knew he had a lot to learn about good people and bad people. He knew that the reason his parents had taken him on this journey, was to keep him from the Sith, because they wanted to make him into a bad person. Which means that a good person can become a bad person. Does that mean a bad person can become a good person? If they can, then he should not kill them. He had a lot of things to learn about, so he does not kill the wrong people, and become a bad person himself. At lunch Krillgan asked his father what the two women did for a living. Chitrah told him that they work in the entertainment business. "Is that a bad business to work in, because the ladies were afraid that their parents might find out?"

"There are many sides to entertainment. What someone might consider bad, someone else would consider good."

Krillgan wanted to ask him more, but was not sure what to ask him. Finally he asked, "Will I understand when I am older?"

Chitrah hugged him, "I hope so, son." The girls were embarrassed because they had put Chitrah in an awkward situation, but remained very quiet. Cothia spoke up, "Chitrah, you said last night, that the Sith forced you and Andriel to marry, can you tell us your story?" This was news to the two girls, they perked right up, because this was something they both wanted to hear. Chitrah looked at Andriel. Andriel told him to start. They spent the rest of the trip back, sharing their story. Everyone was spell bound, even Krillgan. He had only heard parts of it before. He did not know that at one time his mother hated his father, until now. It is a good thing they have a very good ship's computer, because no one was on watch on the bridge, for the whole trip back. When the ship informed them that they had entered orbit. Captain Richard asked Cothia to strap herself into the captain's chair, and her girls can be strapped into the jump seats on either side of her. He told the computer to tell everyone to prepare for landing. "Crew to your stations, passengers to the crew lounge. The girls had started to turn to go back to the lounge, when Madam grabbed their arms, and told them they were crew now. Now they knew why they were going to the bridge. Captain Richard had strapped himself into the pilot's seat. Bikto was strapped in at the Engineer's Station. Coris was in the Crew Lounge, strapped in with the family. As they were entering the atmosphere, one of the girls said it was a shame that they could not tell anyone, it was such an interesting story.

"On the contrary, I had not told Bikto and Pula's girlfriends about them, when I sent them to see Andriel, to see if she could design a wedding dress for each of them, they need to be warned, not to tell anyone about them, so you can share their story with them, as soon as we get back. But with no one else. When they departed the ship, the two girls were wearing Andriel's outfits, and had their own clothes in what used to be the fruit and vegetable bag.

As they were riding back to the brothel, the one girl asked Madam if she could have her old room back, she was ready to go back to work. Then the other girl asked her the same thing. She told them that their rooms were probably being used tonight, and Chef might need them again, in the morning. So it might be best if they sleep in the dorm tonight, after talking with Bikto and Pula's girlfriends. She would see what can be done in the morning. Both girls realised that they were probably not going to get any sleep tonight. By the time they finish talking with their friends, Chef would be sending one of his staff to go look for them.

At the brothel, her lieutenant told her that the calls to Cothia's Wedding Chapel, were still coming in steady. There were only two call backs, asking if any decision had been made yet. Back in her office she asked Richard for his opinion, on whether she should open a wedding chapel, or not. He told her she was the business woman, from the number of calls they were getting, it might make a profit. She also had to consider the number of headaches, a business like this could cause her. It would also provide a cover for her girls, if a family member suddenly showed up, wanting to see where she worked. That clinched it for Madam. It was always an awkward situation, when family wanted to visit. It would also keep her new seamstress busy and happy. She told Richard that they need to set a firm date for their own wedding, because she was not going to let the public use it, until after her own wedding. Richard told her he had to talk with Fred first, to see how many of his clients, want the stolen freight back that they were able to recover. Than he could give her a firm date, when to expect him to return. She asked him, what was he planning on wearing to their wedding? He told her that he wanted to dust off his old dress uniform, from when he was a Captain in the last Mandalorian War. It should still fit him, if not there is a tailor in town that could do alterations. She asked him if he still keeps in touch with his Commodore, from the war. Maybe he should invite him. He told her that he lives on Yitabo in Sith Space. He wonders if Chitrah and Andriel met him, when they were there. He is very resourceful. After he confirms a date with her, he will send him a message through their old network. If he wants to come, he will be there.

The next morning Madam Cothia, arranged with her lieutenant for the two girls to get their bedrooms back that day. She also wanted to move their new seamstress to the warehouse this afternoon, after she has gone there herself, to see what type of condition it was in, now that it was almost empty. The lieutenant asked her what sort of pep talk she gave her, because the girls in the next room, hear the whirring of the sewing machine, day and night. Madam asked if any of the girls complained. She said no one complained, but some of the girls are now homesick. Madam laughed and told her that they will need to get someone to check out the soundproofing between the rooms.

Captain Richard met with Fred, his First Officer. Now Fred was not a happy person. He was not happy that the Captain made him work, while he took a cruise around the system with his girlfriend. He was unhappy from a few days before, when Coris found out that they could get meals from the brothel for the ship. Now he, Bikto, and Pula, come up to him on a regular basis, asking him to purchase prepared meals for them from the brothel. Every time one of them came up to him, it upset the emotional ambiance he had set up with his harem of girls. Forcing him to work harder to keep their focus on him, and not on his distracting crew mates. Now because he had to do what the Captain asked him, he has lost his harem, and doesn't know if any of them will come back. It was also a very frustrating day trying to get a hold of the customers, whose stolen freight was recovered. Whenever he went into the warehouse office, the communicator was always being used. He had to wait on average of fifteen to twenty minutes, before there was a break from the incoming calls so that he could use it to contact the customers. The young lady that was there, instead of soothing him while he was on the communicator, would bolt out of the office, taking advantage of the break to look after her own needs. Fred did not tell the Captain any of this. When he first complained to the Captain about the crew wanting the more expensive meals, the Captain told him he was on their side. He could not understand why he was not buying their meals from the brothel, when they clearly could afford it. He was afraid if he complained to the Captain again, he might decide to have a closer look at how he was spending the money he was allocated, for maintaining the ship (which basically meant buying food, because it was Bikto who actually maintained the ship). He thought the Captain would not understand that he had to buy bobbles for the girls, because pheromones by themselves, were not enough to keep the girls fixated on him. Now that he had committed to buying the food, he had next to no credits left over to buy more bobbles.

While the Captain looked over the list of what he had been able to accomplish. He praised Fred for being able to deal with every piece of freight they were able to recover. There were five pieces of freight that the customers no longer needed, but were happy to hear they had recovered it. Those now belonged to Cothia. There were six pieces of freight that the customers did want back, fortunately, three of them where on planets they had already agreed to visit. That meant only three additional stops before he could drop the family off. Unfortunately, one of those stops was on a Sith occupied planet. They would have to be careful. He told Fred to pass the word along to the crew that they need to be ready to leave in two days, and to make sure that all the freight was loaded on the ship. Fred would have to get Coris to help him, along with some porter droids from the spaceport. He told the Captain he was happy to do it.

The Captain wondered why? Whenever he saw the reptile smile, he had chills run up and down his spine.

When Richard met with Cothia later that day, he was able to give her a safe date, for when he should be back, barring some unforeseen breakdown of the ship. He also told her that he has already told his crew to be ready to depart in two days, and he gave her a list of freight items that were now hers. She asked him what she was supposed to do with these. He told her that if she can't use it, sell it. She made a mental note to talk to the maintenance workers, maybe they know of people who might be willing to pay for them. She asked Richard if she could go ahead and purchase the land, and start building their home. Richard had mentioned that he always imagined his crew living next to him. They need to talk with Bikto, Pula, and their girlfriends, they might want to live there as well. She asked him about Fred and Coris. The Captain was certain that Fred would want to go back to his home planet of Falleen, once he knew his Captain was retiring, and he would not be given control of the ship. Coris on the other hand might be interested, he has been too long from the Uvena System, and might find it too hard to try and live in their society again. Cothia thought it would be cheaper, if they could buy a whole parcel of land together, and then they could set up their own private perimeter security. They had both made many friends over the years. They have also made a few enemies. She told Richard she wanted to talk with him about house designs after she came back for lunch. She asked if he could arrange for everyone to get together for a meeting this afternoon, about purchasing the land. That way she would know exactly what they are dealing with, and how she could get it.

While the Richard was going around, scheduling a meeting. The Masseuse got wind of it, and asked if she and her husband could also join in with them. Richard had always imagined five homes on top of that bluff, so he told her what time to be in Madam's office for the meeting.

Before leaving for the warehouse, Madam Cothia called the maintenance workers, and asked them to meet her at the warehouse. When she arrived at the warehouse, she asked the young lady answering the communicator to start calling people back, and gave her a firm date from when she could start booking the wedding chapel. The young lady put the communicator to busy, and ran for the bathroom. When she came back, she told Madam, that when she told her the good news, she became so excited she almost peed herself. She hugged Madam, and told her, that she will do her best, to help make this happen. Madam smiled, she could hear a happier tone in her voice, when she now spoke on the communicator. While she was in the warehouse, the maintenance workers came in. They told her that they had already moved the stuff out of her warehouse that customers were willing to buy back. They told her how many credits she could expect from the deal. They gave her a list of the items that now belonged to her. They also indicated all the items that no one knew where they came from. They believe the Rodian stole them from other freighters passing through their system, and they had no way of getting a hold of the rightful owners. Madam Cothia told them she has to get rid of all of it. She has finally decided to open up the warehouse as Cothia's Wedding Chapel. She needs the space to start renovations, and she needs the credits from the sale of the items, to help pay for it. She asked if they would agree to a 70/30 split, if they sold the items. She would get the larger share. They went outside to talk for a few minutes. They knew they could find buyers for most of it, really fast. That would be easy credits. The 70/30 split would be fair, but for the stuff that was going to be harder to move, they should ask for a clean 50/50. They were also higher end products, so when they are sold, they would bring them both more money. They went back in to talk with Madam. They pointed out which items would be harder to move. On those items they wanted an even split, on everything else they would do the 70/30. Madam agreed, and they shook hands on the agreement. Madam then went to the apartment beside the office. She wanted to clean it up the best she could, so that it would be easier for her seamstress to move in. She was wondering if she should split the apartment into two, when they are doing renovations, she could see the need to have a place to crash, when things were busy. She also thought they should construct a proper workshop for the seamstress, so that she was not working in the same room that she was eating and sleeping. She wanted to talk to Andriel about that one. When she was satisfied, she went into the office and asked the young lady if she wanted to come back with her, to the brothel for lunch. When she completed the next call, she put the communicator on busy, she could really use a lunch break. On the ride back, she told madam that 60% of the customers she has called back have agreed to a date, and want to come in, and sign a contract, and discuss the costs. 30% said they will keep looking, because the date they wanted, is already booked. 10% said that they already made other arrangements. Then she asked Madam how much they were charging for the chapel. Madam blushed, she told her she did not know yet. She has not taken the time to figure it out. She told Madam that she needs to figure it out quickly, because she already has two months' worth of contracts that people would be coming in to sign. She is also still getting new calls. She also thinks that many of the people who said they were still looking, will call back and settle for another date. Madam knew she was right, she wasn't prepared for this response. Now she has a lot of catching up to do, before she can even start thinking of getting ahead in this new business. She needs help, and her lieutenant might be too busy to help her. She might need to pull another couple of girls out of the brothel, to help with the business. Maybe she could figure out a sharing system, where they would work afternoons at the chapel, and nights at the brothel. They will want to get paid more. But if this works, it would be worth it.

After lunch, Madam found Coris, and asked him if he could get a couple of the guys, to help a pretty young lady pack up all her stuff, and move to the warehouse. Coris smiled, he knew she said pretty young lady for the benefit of the young men that were listening. She asked the young lady that was handling the communicator, if she could show the gentlemen where to go. Please knock before entering, we do not want to scare her half to death, by having all these men barge into her room. Coris, try to be the first guy in the room, because she knows you, and will feel better because of it. This surprised Coris, he did not know he had a calming influence on women. On the way to her office, with Richard in tow, she stopped at the kitchen, and told Chef, that they had another order for meals for a family with a child. The crew asked if you could make some extra breakfasts for the child, since other passengers were taking his breakfasts thinking they were the perfect snack size. Madam was the only one who saw her two girls turn bright red, as they were kneading the dough.

In her office, Madam did not go behind her desk, instead she sat beside Richard, and held his hand. She asked him if he could share his vision of his house on the bluff with her. He already said that he saw five houses on the bluff, she wants to know what his house looked like. Richard asked her if she has ever imagined a house she wants to live in. Cothia turned her head no. She told him that this house was the only house she ever imagined. When he proposed to her, and asked her to move in with him, she was very excited about living in a new house, but nothing came to her imagination. She asked Richard to share his vision with her. Richard saw tears in her eyes, he realised that this was important to her, he was also happy he could share his vision with her. At that moment, he loved her more, than he ever had before. He shared his vision of not only his house, but the other houses he envisioned on the bluff. She asked if he had ever shared this with anyone else. "Only with Bikto, when we had free time, or if we were working on a system together, to get it operational, we would share our visions of the type of house we want to live in. He helped me reshape my vision, and I helped him reshape his." She kissed his hand and told him that his vision was now theirs. They were alone in her office for only a short time after that. When Coris knocked on her door to tell her that he was back. They could start the meeting.

Madam Cothia was surprised to see the Masseuse and her husband, with the captain's crew, until she realised there were five groups present. She told them of the Captain's desire that they all share the bluff, and that it would be easier and cheaper to purchase if they do it together. The only thing they need to determine is where everyone should build their house and how big they should build it. She showed an aerial view of the bluff, than she drew on it where the captain envisioned, the houses should sit. She then indicated which house the captain preferred, he wanted the small one, on one end. Coris said he would take the small one on the other end, it would suit his purpose to build it in the Shistavanen style, like the one he grew up in. Bikto, who already knew the captain's vision, said he would take the larger one beside the Captain. The Masseuse said that she would take the house between her furry friends. Pula and his fiancé, were surprised that everyone wanted them to have the largest house in the middle. They asked why? Richard told them that he and Bikto had overheard him, sharing with his girlfriend, the things he wants in his house. Everyone knows that their house will be special, shielded from a wide range of electromagnetic radiation. So inside it will be a simple, peaceful house. "The garden and pool you want in your house will be very difficult to maintain by yourself, but if you are willing to share them with us, then we will be willing to help you maintain them. That way the main floor of your house will be our community room. The rest of the house is yours." The Masseuse said that she would even have a massage table there, to help everyone relax. Pula was floored, the garden and pool was something they argued about. They were not young Gotal anymore. She was afraid, that trying to maintain them, might kill him. But if they all help, they can have many happy years together. Pula said he could buy into this vision. His girlfriend said she could as well. They all agreed to hand over some credits to Madam Cothia. This way she could purchase the land and build the security perimeter. The women agreed that they would be responsible for the construction of their own houses. They asked Coris if they wanted them to start construction on his house. He told them he will look after it himself. They asked him, where he would live in the mean time? He told them he would move in with Pula and his wife, that way no one will be upset if they find fur on the couch. Everyone laughed. Pula told him he would sleep outside, if he starts shedding. They wanted to know what he was going to do, after he finished his house. He told them he would go back to the Uvena System to find the young lady he fell in love with, in their escape pod. When they fled the ship they were on, which was attacked by pirates. Everyone aboard was killed by the pirates, including their parents. They only escaped, because their escape pod flew through a Republic patrol, which was supposed to defend their system from pirates. Everyone knew, Coris hated pirates, and the more pirates he killed, the happier he was. Now they knew why.

"What will you do, if you find her?"

"I will ask her to come live with me."

That evening Cothia went to the "Fenelar Phoenix" with a hot dinner, accompanied by Richard. She needed to talk with Andriel and Chitrah. They were always happy for their company, and appreciated the hot meal. A fresh meal always tasted better than the prepared ones. She told Andriel about the young lady who was becoming a seamstress because of her designs. Which brought a smile to Andriel's face. She told them about finally agreeing to open a wedding chapel, the young lady has just moved into the apartment that is in the warehouse, but she was thinking that they should make her a proper workshop, so she is not sewing, were she eats and sleeps. Andriel agreed with her, and told her about the three basic pieces needed in a seamstresses' workshop, besides the sewing machine. She also had Chitrah print something off for her, and gave it to Cothia. She saw that they were rules, and asked Andriel what they were rules for. "Every professional seamstress knows these rules, and lives by these rules. If your young lady wants to be a seamstress, then she needs to know the rules." Cothia than asked Chitrah if he could do a search on the net for wedding chapels. Since she has agreed to let the public in, she has two months' worth of bookings. And everyone wants to come over and sign a contract to confirm the bookings. Not only does she not know what to charge, she does not know how to right up a contract. She desperately needs help. After dinner, while Chitrah was conducting his search, Andriel drew two sketches. One was of her workshop on Lianna, the other one was of Mrs. Grimshaw's workshop on Yitabo. Cothia thanked her, then asked her about purchasing a professional grade sewing machine for the new seamstress. Andriel liked that Cothia really cared about the women that worked for her. She told her that there were two professional sewing machines that were good for the seamstress that was just starting out. She used her computer to call them up, and the prices they go for brand new. She told her they were the main workhorse in most of the dress shops around the galaxy. If you can find a used one, you have to snap it up right away, because if you blink, it is gone. Cothia jotted down all the information Andriel shared with her. She suspected that she would buy a new one, because she did not have the time to hunt around for a used one. Chitrah returned to the crew lounge with a huge stack of paper. The top five pages were a copies of the main page of popular wedding chapels. You can see that they all have their prices prominently displayed. The people who booked with her must have visited these sites before, so knew what price to expect when booking. The next number of pages are a copy of their booking contracts, at a quick glance, they all looked the same to him. The rest of the pile are helps, and instructions, for planning weddings, including, "Wedding Planning For Dummies." Cothia kissed Chitrah on the lips, she was so happy. Then she became embarrassed, and apologised to both Andriel and Richard. Who just laughed! On the ride back to the brothel. Cothia snuggled up to Richard, who put his arm around her.

"I wish they could stay."

"You know that can't happen."

"I know, but everything that was going wrong, ends up going right when they are around."

The next morning, before Madam Cothia woke up her lieutenant, for their meeting. The young lady living at the warehouse contacted her, she looked like she had been up all night. She told Madam Cothia that she needs to come over right away. Madam asked what was wrong. She said nothing was wrong, she just finished the first dress. She has to come over and try it on right away. Madam told her she will be right there, and bolted out the door, and hopped onto the skiff, like she was a woman half her age. She burst into the apartment at the warehouse and asked the young lady to help her undress. She said that the seamstress who designed the dress said she would not need to wear any of her special undergarments. The young lady was quite surprised to see all that Madam wore, she just thought she had a very youthful body. Now she knew that that was a lie. She did however have a nicely toned body that most women her age would die for. After helping her out of the special equipment, she helped her into the dress. This was definitely a different woman, than the one who burst in here. She was older, maybe not what you would call more beautiful, but definitely attractive. She would still turn heads, but it was all natural. Cothia liked this look. If she looked this good in all of Andriel's designs, then she would not need the special underwear anymore. She gave the young lady a hug, and thanked her for finishing the dress. She than told her to get some sleep, because she looked a mess. She will make sure that no-one will bother her until it was time for her to come back to the brothel for lunch. The young lady asked her a special favour. She asked if she could sew a dress for herself based on this design. She was sure that she knew what alterations she needs to make, so that it would fit her body. Madam held her hands, and looked into her eyes. She asked her why she had stayed up all night, finishing this dress. The young lady blushed, and told her that she knew from her conversations with her friends before Madam came back from her trip. That they had met with the woman who designed this dress, and were expecting her to design some wedding dresses for them. But after Madam came back, they would not talk to her anymore about the seamstress. She knew she still had to be in town, because she hasn't seen any new dress designs yet. She wanted the seamstress to know that she was up to the challenge. Madam Cothia told her, "To know this lady exists is dangerous to your life."

"I suspected that that is why they stopped talking to me."

"You really want to meet her don't you?"

"With all my heart!"

"We will be saying goodbye to her this evening. You can come with us."

As Madam turned to leave, she said, "It can't be the same colour." The young lady collapsed onto her bed, with a smile on her face. She was asleep before her body stopped bouncing.

After lunch the young seamstress was sent to the market with one of the two girls. They were sent to buy all the supplies that were promised to Andriel. When Chef passed along the last of the prepared meals, he made sure that everyone knew which meals were labeled for passengers, and which ones for the crew, he did not want them taking the meals to the wrong ship. He also pulled Madam Cothia aside, he told her that one of her girls was in the kitchen to knead dough, even though she knew the machine was working again, she said that she was disappointed by how weak her hands had become. When she was home working on her parents farm, this used to be real easy. Now it was hard. Madam asked him to let her know if she continues, and not to discourage her. Chef was flabbergasted, "The dough kneaded by hand is always better than what the machine can produce." The next time Madam saw the Masseuse, she let her know what her girl was doing. The Masseuse told her, that if she continues for a few more days, than she will start training her to massage. On the trip to the spaceport. Madam told her girls that they have to brief the new seamstress when they return to the brothel, the girls were happy that there would be one more person in their group they could talk to. It was especially nice, since she was a close friend, and because they were hopping that she could sew them some outfits, as nice as the one she had sewn for Madam. At the spaceport, all the girls followed Madam up the ramp, into the ship. Madam introduced their new budding seamstress, to the Master Seamstress and Dress Designer. The young lady grabbed Andriel, and started crying on her shoulder. Between her tears she told Andriel how happy she was to finally meet her.

Krillgan pulled on his mother's dress, until she turned and looked at him. He saw that his mother had tears in her eyes as well.

"Do all ladies cry when they are happy?"

"No! And Yes!"

Krillgan look at his father. He just raised his hands close to shoulder height, and shook his head.

Krillgan crossed his arms in disappointment, how was he supposed to learn anything if his parents don't know. After she finished crying, the young lady kneeled down and gave Krillgan a hug.

"They never told me there was such a handsome young man aboard."

Krillgan blushed, and said, "Don't cry on me. But I am happy to meet you too."

All the ladies giggled. Madam told Andriel that they have brought everything, according to her agreement with her two girls. One girl handed Andriel a large bag, filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. The other handed Krillgan a bag of fresh berries. "We heard that you love these." Krillgan look at his mother. "After you are finished your dinner." He quickly popped two berries into his mouth. Then handed the bag to his father, they were too great a temptation. His father promptly popped a couple of berries into his mouth, and patted his son on his head. Krillgan wanted to say something to his mother, but could not, because of the berries in his mouth. He just crossed his arms again. The girls tried to hide their smiles. Andriel handed the new seamstress two new designs. They were the wedding dresses. Andriel had even drawn two horns on the figure with the design for Pula's girlfriend. She could see little flowers around the base of the horns, it looked so cute. All the ladies crowded around her, because they wanted to see the designs for themselves. One of the girls asked Andriel how they could get a hold of her, when it was their turn to marry. Andriel smiled, she told them they won't need to. Their seamstress will have her own designs by then. This made the young lady blush, it also made her feel very proud. Her friends just hugged her. They all told her that they could hardly wait to see her designs. After they finished loading the extra freight, the whole crew came aboard. It was time to say goodbye. The girls went around and hugged everyone. The young lady knelt down to hug Krillgan, but instead, started crying on his shoulder.

"Are you happy again?"

"No. I'm sad. You're leaving, and I've only just met you."

Krillgan hugged her. "It is okay to cry then."

After takeoff, Chitrah approached the Captain, he told him that he had conducted a search on the net, and found these places that where offering non-powered cobbler equipment for sale. He told him that this one was interesting, it looked like an estate sale, and the survivors were trying to get as much as they could for everything, without knowing its value, which means no one will come look at the equipment, because it is way overpriced. They will probably accept the first offer made to them. This is the maximum, it should go for, and Chitrah handed the captain some credits. Now Chitrah knew what planet they were on, because he had been inside the spaceport's main building. He knew that the planet he indicated as having the Cobbler's Equipment, was in a system nearby. What he did not know, was that was their next destination.

After they landed on the next planet. The Captain told Fred that he was in charge, and left the ship. The crew assumed that he was going to sell vials of Kolto to the apothecary, and maybe buy some extra vials. Which was true, but he was also running an errand for Chitrah. The crew had started being very creative in how they packed the freight into the one cargo bay, because they did not want any cargo going into the cargo bay that they had set up as a workout room. They had nice mats on the floor, so that they could practice all the martial-arts that Chitrah taught them, with little worry of being injured. If they were injured, Krillgan was right there to heal them. In the one corner they had set up a sand filled bag, so that they could practise their punches and kicks. At the far end was Andriel's sewing machine. Bikto had a hard time bringing in some new lighting for her. So no one on the crew wanted any containers of freight ruining it. They had just finished fitting in the last piece of freight into the cargo bay. There was not even enough room for Krillgan to stand, when they were finally able to close the doors to the cargo bay. You can imagine how they felt when the Captain returned with a skiff, stacked with crates on it. Even Fred approached the Captain and told him they had no more room in their cargo bay. Captain Richard ignored him, and walked up to Chitrah. He handed him a fist full of credits. "You were right! They accepted the first offer." He then told the crew to put the crates wherever Chitrah wants them. All the crew felt better knowing this was Chitrah's stuff. Except Bikto. He knew that it would be his responsibility to make sure that whatever equipment is in those crates, gets securely fastened to the deck of the cargo bay. The empty crates would need to be secured against the back bulkhead of the cargo bay, alongside the crate that Andriel's sewing machine came in. More than likely he would have to run more lights to the back of the cargo bay, so Chitrah can see what he is doing. One thing he has learnt over the years, as the ship's engineer, is, he is usually too busy, to get bored.

Chitrah had the crew carry the crates into their cargo bay. Everyone but the Captain was there, to watch him open the crates, because they wanted to see what was inside. Chitrah assumed that the three crates that were the same size would contain workshop benches. He opened them up, and let Andriel pick one for herself, since she had no workbench, and was using the deck of the cargo bay as her workbench. She picked the one with the least nicks, scratches, and scuffs. And showed the crew where she wanted it. Every time a crate was emptied, Bikto made sure it was placed against the back bulkhead. Of the two remaining work benches, Chitrah selected one for him to work on, the other would be to store all the jigs, and tools, and the materials, since there were no shelves or storage compartments, in the cargo bay. The jigs and tools were just as he hoped. He could tell that they were used by a man who loved his work, and made sure that all his equipment was in top working order. It was a shame that no one in his family was willing to share his passion. Chitrah then opened the tallest of the crates. The crew was surprised to see a giant sewing machine inside, when compared to the one Andriel was using. It was also much heavier. The crew really had to work together to get it out of its crate, and position it where Chitrah wanted it. Fred commented that he did not want to meet the lady, Chitrah would be sewing dresses for. This made everyone laugh. Fred was surprised, they had never laughed at anything he had said before. He wondered if using pheromones actually stops people from laughing, because other emotions were being stimulated. After everything was unpacked, Chitrah thanked everyone for their help. He also talked with Bikto, giving his estimate on how much each item weighed. So Bikto would know how best to secure it. He also showed him where the lights should be positioned. The next day Krillgan was seen running around the ship, in his brand new slippers. Over the next few days, Chitrah made slippers for almost everyone on the crew. Only they did not like calling them slippers. They preferred to call them deck shoes. Because Coris did not wear footwear, Chitrah made him fingerless workout gloves, for both his hand paws, and his foot paws. Coris liked them so much, he wore them everywhere, even when he left the ship. He found strangers giving him a wider berth when he was off the ship, and he asked Pula about it. Pula told him that they are giving him more room, because he looks like he is ready for a fight. Coris saw that, as they were giving him more respect, and liked that idea.

The rest of the students in Chitrah's martial-arts class, also asked him to make workout gloves for them. Andriel mentioned she would like some too. The ones that were the most difficult to make were the pair for Krillgan, because his hands were so small, and the equipment he was using, did not have the precision that the equipment he worked with on Lianna did.

During this time, Krillgan came upon Fred trying to persuade Pula to do something for him, and was emitting pheromones. Fred had gotten used to emitting pheromones again, during their time at the brothel, and did not know he was doing it now. Krillgan told him to stop, and reminder him what the Captain said. The embarrassed Fred just walked away.

Pula thanked him, and patted him on the head, he was about to give in to the First Officer's persuasions.

Kenny was in Mr. Radcliff's office. They were discussing the last communiqué they had received from the Cerean Bounty Hunter. She had mentioned that she was on her way to Yitabo, to make her final report in person. They were trying to determine if this was good news or bad news. Her previous communiqué was from Mandalore. In it, she said that she was going to kill the Mandalorian, for what he had his people do to her ship. They knew that her killing the Mandalorian would not bring an end to the contract, unless she killed the family in the process. Mr. Radcliff told Kenny to contact the spaceport, and let them know that she has their permission, to land next to their ranch house. Tell them that she will not be taking anything off of her ship, but herself. Remind them, that we know they are monitoring our ranch house from space, and will be able to see this for themselves.

The senior official in charge of the spaceport, was not happy to read the junior official's report. Indicating that Mr. Radcliff knew about their satellite surveillance. He ordered the junior official to delete that from his report, before he passed it along.

Kenny met the Cerean as she climbed out of her ship. He asked her if Andriel's mother would want to hear her report. "Most definitely! It is important for her, to hear what I have to say." Kenny started breathing easier, it was not bad news. He asked her to give him 15 minutes to get everyone together. She will be presenting her report in the family room, rather than in Mr. Radcliff's office.

Kenny rushed into the kitchen, and asked Bacgruta to prepare some refreshments for everyone including the bounty hunter, they will be meeting in the family room. He then went to Mr. Radcliff's office. He found Emily sitting on Mr. Radcliff's desk, talking with her husband. He smiled because he knew she was the only one ever allowed to do it. Not even Mr. Radcliff ever sat of his own desk. Kenny told them that the meeting would be in the family room in ten minutes, and Bacgruta was preparing refreshments. Kenny could see that both of their faces appeared more relaxed, they also had been expecting bad news.

The Bounty Hunter started her report, right from the moment she was hired, she gave them detailed descriptions of everything she observed, details she could not pass along in her reports. She apologised to Mrs. Radcliff, for leading the Mandalorian Bounty Hunter to her daughter and her family, when Mr. Radcliff revealed to her where she was. Mrs. Radcliff told her she forgave her, and too continue her report. Mrs. Radcliff and Bacgruta had tears in her eyes, hearing how many strangers went out of their way to help her daughter and her family. The Cerean skipped over the part where she killed some of the Mandalorian's people, and destroyed his hanger. Mr. Radcliff had that in his report from her, when she sent it from Mandalore. If he needed more details she could give it to him afterwards. She told them how she was able to persuade the Selkath elders to share some information with her. They refused to tell her what happened on Manaan. But they were willing to say that the family was safe, and confessed that they did not know where they are, or where they are going. They were not willing to share what happened to the Mandalorian Bounty Hunter, but she is pretty sure he is dead. She told them about stopping off on Mandalore on her way back, and gave them just enough information for them to believe their Bounty Hunter had betrayed them and sold himself out to the Republic, or some third party that wanted to get their hands on the family. They would not have believed her, if she told them that their Bounty Hunter was dead, and she did not kill him. They even paid her to stay on Mandalore, while they confirmed what they could of her information. They ended up placing a bounty on the Mandalorian's head, and even asked her if she was willing to accept the contract. She told them it would take too much of her time, and she felt it would take a much better tracker than her to find the Mandalorian Bounty Hunter. She also told them that the bounty on the family is now double what it first was.

She asked Mrs. Radcliff if she knew if her daughter Andriel had another mother. The Selkath were very keen on finding out. They had a prophecy that they are supposed to help a woman who has three mothers, and her family. After I told them that Andriel had more than one mother, they were very excited, they believe that Andriel may be the woman mentioned in their prophecy. Mrs. Radcliff told her that she was sorry she did not know. Bacgruta spoke up, and said that she knew who would know. Her good friend Shaak Chi, on Lianna, was also a close friend of Andriel. She was sure that she and her companions would know. When she heard that she had companions, she asked Bacgruta, if Shaak Chi is Togruta? Bacgruta said she is, and her father was one of the clan elders.

After the Cerean finished her report. Mr. Radcliff invited her to his office to speak with her. She was not surprised that his man, Kenny, joined them. He first assured her that Kenny would make the arrangements for the final payment to be made to her account. She assured him that she was not worried about that, since they had a solid reputation, except when it came to the performing arts. Mr. Radcliff turned red, and Kenny tried not to smile. Mr. Radcliff asked her if she was willing to share what she was planning on doing next. She told them that following his stepdaughter and her family, had awaken her own maternal instincts. She was planning on returning to Cerea, to see if she could join with a family, and find a job in R&D. He told her that he wanted to offer her a job bonus. He could arrange for her to have an interview, with the head of Santhe Corporation. He knows from his contacts, that she was keeping an eye on Andriel and Chitrah, while they were on Lianna. He was sure that she would be interested in hearing her final report. They also have a very good Research and Development Department, for weapons and starcraft systems. He was sure they would be very interested in her weapons, and the modifications she made to her own ship. He suggested that she fly there first, before heading to Cerea. The Cerean knew that Santhe Corporation had a very good reputation, in developing technologies. It was in her best interest to check this out first, this could be a good fall back option, if things don't work out on Cerea. She accepted his offer, since she was heading to Lianna anyway. He handed her an envelope. It was made from very expensive stationary. When she glanced at what was handwritten on the outside, she smiled, she knew he was ex-military.

After escorting her to her ship, Kenny went to the communicator to arrange the fund transfer. He noticed that there was a message on their special line. After listening to it, he went straight to Mr. Radcliff's office. He told him that one of their former captains is getting married, and they have been invited to the wedding. Mr. Radcliff asked him, if he was going? "You know I can't take Bacgruta on that type of trip, the risk is too great, and I will not leave my new bride to be here by herself. You should take Emily and go, if only to renew old contacts." Mr. Radcliff agreed, and asked him if he could make the arrangements. He also asked him to let Emily know, he is counting on her for suggestions for wedding presents.

As soon as the Cerean Bounty Hunter was close enough to contact Lianna's spaceport, she asked for permission to land on Lianna, at Santhe Corporation Headquarters. They asked her the reason for her request. She said that she was carrying a personnel letter from Commodore Radcliff, retired, to Madam Santhe, Head of Santhe Corporation. After quite a few minutes of silence, the traffic co-ordinator reconnected with her. Her request had been approved, planetary co-ordinates are being beamed to her navigational system. When the system indicated it had new co-ordinates, she called back. "Confirm, co-ordinates received."

There was quite the reception for her at the surface spaceport. As soon as the ship landed, it was immediately surrounded by Santhe Security. When the officer in charge saw that the pilot was a female Cerean, he ordered his forces further away. More than doubling the distance between them and the ship. The Bounty Hunter laughed, she knew it was because of the reputation Cerean's have of booby-trapping their own ships. She decided to play along, instead of getting out of her ship right away, she decided to eat some of the wonderful baked goods Mrs. Radcliff, and Bacgruta, baked for her. She was sure security would think she was arming her booby-traps. After enough time had passed, she climbed out of her ship. The officer in charge approached her and asked to see the letter. She told him that she was instructed to personally deliver it.

"Not without us first testing it, you're not."

After she handed it over, he instructed her to follow him. He placed it in a special container. To the Bounty Hunter, it looked like he was putting a piece of smoked meat, between two slices of bread. A piston of inert gas was forced through the envelope. Then this gas was passed through a spectral analyser. If there was anything in the envelope, that could harm Madam Santhe, this machine could detect it. Then they ran a special sniffer over her body, looking for chemical or biological agents. They asked her if she was carrying any weapons on her. She told them she had left all her weapons on her ship. They asked her if there was any metals on her person. She told them which pieces of her outfit had metals. What the metals were, and approximately how much metal there was. They told her that they had programmed the metal content of her clothing into their security computer, every time she goes from one section of the building to another, her body will be scanned. If the scans are within the parameters she has given, the computer will let her proceed. For her own personal knowledge, the computer is not allowed to do a body scan, because they have female personnel, so creating images is not allowed. At this time a non-security person, approached her, and asked her to follow him. She was handed the envelope back, before she turned to follow. She counted going through six scanners before reaching Madam Santhe's office. The scanners did not bother her, because everyone had to go through them. She liked their security operations, no wonder it was so highly respected throughout the galaxy. Madam Santhe just looked like another upper management employee, except the cut of her suit was a class above everyone else. What you would expect from a Queen. When she entered the office, she asked her, how she preferred to be addressed?

"Madam Santhe is fine."

"Yes Madam Santhe."

She handed over the envelope, and Madam Santhe asked her to be seated. She asked her if she knew what was written in the letter. She told her she did not, she was only allowed to read what was written on the outside. Mr. Radcliff told her that Madam Santhe would want to hear her last report on the job assignment she just completed for him. She did not know he held the position of Commodore, until she read it on the envelope.

After reading the letter inside, Madam Santhe, asked her office computer to seal her door. Then she asked the bounty hunter to give her report. Half way through the report, Madam Santhe stopped her, and asked her if she would like something to drink. After she made her request, Madam Santhe asked her office computer to contact her secretary, and told her what beverages to bring them. After the beverages were brought and the door was resealed, Madam Santhe asked her to continue.

What the bounty hunter did not know is that Madam Santhe can only spend a specific amount of time alone in her office with non-company personnel. If she exceeds the allotted time, than her office computer automatically issues a hostage crisis alert, which is why she had to stop her, and find an excuse to unseal her door. After the report was finished, Madam Santhe asked her, if she believes the bounty hunter is dead? She said she did. She asked her if Andriel and Chitrah killed him, or if something else happened? She told Madam Santhe that the Selkath were in awe of the family, which means that the adults did not kill the bounty hunter. So either Krillgan killed the bounty hunter, or something else did, that had grabbed the attention of the Selkath. Because they just don't behave that way towards outsiders. Madam Santhe was surprised that she would consider Krillgan as the one who killed the bounty hunter. The Cerean told her, that there was enough evidence that Krillgan is a force user. Even though he is a very friendly, and thoughtful child. If he thought his parents were in imminent danger, he could probably unleash enough raw energy from the force, that he could kill a man. After all the Sith claim that their Emperor was only slightly older than Krillgan, when he used the force to kill both his parents. The thought that a child could have that much power, sent chills up Madam Santhe's spine. She asked the bounty hunter, of the two scenarios she just presented, which was the most likely? The Cerean Bounty Hunter said she believed that the later scenario was the most likely. The reason being, that the Bounty Hunter was trying to capture them alive, so the imminent danger of them being killed, is highly unlikely. On top of that, Krillgan knows that both his parents are highly skilled in self-defence, so the only way the Bounty Hunter could capture them is to immobilise them. I believe that the Bounty Hunter was arrogant enough, that if he did manage to immobilise one of them, he would leave himself exposed to the other, which would be his downfall. Madam Santhe asked if she was sure that that did not happen. She told her, that if the parents had killed the Bounty Hunter, the Selkath would respect them, but not go out of their way to help them, and they would not hide what happened to outsiders like her.

Madam could not argue with her analysis of the situation. She then asked about her weapons and her ship? After the Cerean described what modifications and upgrades she has done, Madam Santhe asked if she would mind if her R&D team could analyse her stuff. If they confirm everything she has shared, she would like to offer her a position. The Cerean said she had no objection. Madam Santhe asked if she needs to go back to her ship, to dismantle her booby-traps, or can she pass along instructions from here? She told her that her ship was not booby-trapped, her security had shown her enough respect that she did not feel she had to set any. Madam Santee wanted to know, what did she do in her ship, while they were waiting for her to come out? She told Madam Santhe about the wonderful baked goods Mrs. Radcliff, and her other daughter, Bacgruta, prepared for her. She just had to have a snack before climbing out of the ship. Because Madam Santhe had already unsealed her door, everyone in the officer heard her, when she started laughing. She called down to security and told them there were no traps set, it was safe to tow the ship into the R&D hanger. Madam Santhe then led her to the R&D department to introduce her to the personnel working there. On the way, Madam Santhe told her that half her department were Cerean like herself, the other half were human. She asked Madam Santhe if the Cerean were all females. Madam Santhe said the Cerean's were all one family. There was one husband and three wives. The Bounty Hunters heart started to beat harder, was it possible that she did not have to go to Cerea to find a family that would accept her as one of the wives. She hardly noticed the humans that Madam Santhe introduced her to. She was looking at the Cereans. Apparently they were sitting around a round table taking a break. The husband was a young handsome Cerean, and his three wives were approximately the same age as she was. She would have no trouble fitting in with this family. They all stood up when they saw Madam Santhe approaching with a new Cerean female. After Madam Santhe introduced them, letting them know she was thinking of hiring her. The husband asked her, "Would you care to join us?" Her heart skipped a beat, he had just proposed marriage to her. One by one the other women spoke, "We would love to have you join us!" That was the bond wife, giving her permission to marry her husband. "Yes, please do." "Please join us." Those were his honour wives, also giving their permission. "I would love to, but she has not hired me yet." She just told them that she agrees to the marriage, but it is contingent upon her being hired.

Madam Santhe was astute enough to know that there was more communicating going on here, than she was hearing. The bond wife asked her, what did she need, before she was willing to hire the new Cerean? Madam Santhe told her that hiring the new Cerean was contingent upon them receiving a favourable report from them, after they examine her weapons, and ship. When the Bounty Hunter heard that the Cereans and not the humans, would be examining her equipment. She told Madam Santhe that she would be expecting a contract from her outlining her terms of employment. Madam asked her why? Did she expect more favourable treatment from her own people? "On the contrary. I expect them to be more critical. Therefore their report will be more thorough and unbiased, and you will see that I did not exaggerate on any of my claims." Madam Santhe really liked this Cerean. "In that case, why don't we head over to the Personnel Department, and start working on the paperwork, so we don't waste time after they confirm what you told me.

All the wives hugged the new comer, the husband planted a kiss on her lips. The agreement is sealed, soon there will be a wedding. Madam Santhe arranged for the Bounty Hunter to be put up in the company's singles residence, she did not want her being in contact with the other Cereans, so that the rest of the department could not accuse her of coaching them, when they wrote up their report.

The wives worked through the night, it was important to them to do as thorough, and as quick a job as possible. It was not good for their husband to wait too long for his new bride.

Before the end of the next workday. Madam Santhe was surprised to see two reports on her desk. One was an analysis of the weapons, the other was a report on the ship. Madam Santhe called the Head of R&D, a human, and asked him, if he has had time to read the reports. He told her that he read the report on the weapons, and is still reading the report on the ship. She asked him, what did he think? She did not exaggerate with the weapons. From what he has read so far about the ship. Her modifications can be applied to the new hyperspace drive they are designing, which would greatly increase its speed through hyperspace. She asked him what his recommendation was concerning her. "Definitely hire her. She has already agreed to a demonstration tomorrow, of her rocket launcher and her rockets." Next Madam Santhe contacted the head of Personnel, inquiring if the Cerean Bounty Hunter is still waiting in his department? When she found out she was. She told him to have her sign all the papers, she now worked for Santhe Corporation. She has permission to move in with the family. That evening, right after their dinner. The Cereans had a private wedding ceremony. Because it was her wedding night, the Bounty Hunter had her husband all to herself, for the night. The other wives retired shortly after the wedding ceremony, they were exhausted from all the hard work they did the past two days.