Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.
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Interlude: Brothers of Fates
Blue. Everything on this planet was a shade of blue, Vanid mused. Ocean was a deep, dark, cold blue. The buildings were a silvery blue, reflecting the sky and ocean. For Thrawn's sake, even the ships seemed to be blue!
All the blue reminded him of Csilla. The pure white of the snow had a way of invading all other colors and making them look paler than they were. Perhaps it was a trick of the lighting. That was most likely it. He really should discuss it with some of his youngest brother's friends. Loryn did have a habit of finding every single artistically inclined being in a fifty-kilometer diameter.
Speaking of Loryn, little Catch was supposed to be here by now. A sigh escaped him and he peered down at his chronometer. Perhaps being around these outsiders had ruined his sense of punctuality. Another sigh left his lungs heavily.
Sweat trickled down the back of his neck, crawling into his black CEDF uniform. This planet was far too hot. Then again, compared to Csilla, any other planet aside from Hoth was a sauna. He probably should have worn something other than black and a bit more informal. Another drop of sweat trickled down his neck.
"Hey, you! No, not you! The stiff looking guy who looks like he's going to a funeral!"
He wondered who the stiff person was. His natural curiosity really wanted to inspect but his well-trained side had kept him facing the crowd of pedestrians. Then, a hand seized his elbow. Automatically, he grabbed the hand and twisted it but his tight grip was easily broken.
"Sithspit, what was that for?" Perhaps his grip was not that easily broken. "Didn't you hear me calling you?"
"Are you implying that I am the man who is going to a funeral?" He turned and stared at a young man near his own height although he could not be more than seventeen years of age. The young man's face was similar to that of Vanid's brother's girlfriend's but his coloring was different. His hair was a lighter brown with unnatural streaks of electric blue and the young man's eyes reminded Vanid of his father's vintage Corellian brandy from which he used to steal shots. A drink was sounding good right now. He wondered what was taking Catch. Then a thought occurred to him. No, Catch wouldn't have. Aloud, he stated, "Catch didn't. He did not send you to pick me up when he could have done it himself."
"Well… yes and no. His rehearsal ran over so he asked me to come pick you up."
"You're late," Vanid stated.
"Sorry 'bout that. My twin is using the speeder. I had to walk here," the young man said with a grimace.
Despite his annoyance at being regulated to a crazy Jedi adolescent – no one could have that shade of blue in their hair and not be insane – Vanid resigned himself to the change of guides. Inside, he was wishing that he hadn't bullied his way into going. Outwardly, he lifted up his small duffel and held out his hand to the young Jedi in an effort to be polite. "I am Vanid Fel."
"Han Solo." They briefly shook hands and Han gestured for Vanid to follow him.
The walk to Catch's apartment started in silence. Then, no doubt in an effort to act civil, Han commented, "Soo… you haven't seen Catch in how many years?"
"Catch and I have not seen each other face to face in six years."
Han whistled. "Wow. I don't think my family would let me keep to myself for a week much less six years."
"Yes, but it was what he wanted."
"Ahh. You know, I've been meaning to ask him this but you're good enough. Can you tell me why Catch decided to go into acting? I know your grandma was Wynssa Starflare but it just seems strange when the majority of you go into military."
"Someone tried to kidnap my three youngest siblings, Catch being one of those three. He was eleven, there was fighting, and in order to protect our younger sisters he used a charric on them."
"Are you saying that he killed someone at the age of eleven?"
"Yes. Four someones."
"No wonder he didn't want to be in the military."
A frown crawled onto Vanid's face. That wasn't it at all. "Catch was not as traumatized as you think. He was young, yes, he did get upset, but in the Chiss society, you mature early so he recovered quickly. Actually, from that run-in, he realized that he didn't like conflict. He fights if he has to, but he won't go into a profession that requires fighting."
"Is that a nice way of saying he couldn't hit the broad-side of a star destroyer?" Han asked.
Vanid chuckled. "Ask him to go to a shooting range with you sometime. You'll see."
The conversation died off. Vanid started to observe his surroundings so he could make his way back to the hangar. His mental mapping came to a sudden halt when he saw an attractive human female sitting at a café. His pace slowed as his attention was fully directed to observing her.
"Hey, what's the hold up?" Han's rough punch to his arm forced him to respond.
"Nothing, nothing." He ran his fingers contemplatively over the rough stubble on his chin. Should he get her com code? On the other hand, would that seem too forward since he was just a random person from the street? Although, it might be a waste of time to exchange com codes because he was only on planet for a month. Still, maybe she wouldn't mind having a no strings attached relationship for a bit.
"…Emperor Palpatine streaked through the Imperial Palace."
His attention was reluctantly removed from the woman as the unbidden image of Emperor Palpatine running – with underwear on thankfully – through the halls of a building came into his brain. Furiously, he rubbed the heels of his palms against his eyes to try to efface the image from his mind. When that didn't work, he imagined anything but that. It took the image of a belly-dancing Hutt to get it out.
"Judging from your expression that image has just appeared in your mind. Maybe you'll pay attention, now."
"That was the most mentally disturbing thing I have happened to me in a while."
"But it got your attention."
"Yes, it did. The end justified the means." After several moments of no comments from the Solo, Vanid turned to see Han have a dark look on his face. Wondering how those words could have brought on the change in demeanor, he asked, "Are you all right?"
Catch would not be pleased if he offended one of his likely in-laws on first meeting.
Han shook it off and stated more than asked, "You were looking at that girl over there, correct?"
"Yes, I was," Vanid said, turning slightly. He was disappointed to see that his potential date was joined by a male and acting in a more-than-friendly fashion. There went part of his vacation plans.
"You know, Mon Calamari has a very nice party scene. My friends and I could introduce you around," Han offered. Vanid wondered if he should be jealous that a man barely out of boyhood knew more about a planet's nightlife than him. "Catch won't be much help. He either spends his free time with Maeve or thinking of her."
His thoughts now turned to his little brother's girlfriend. Catch had one or two when he had been at Csilla but they were never as serious as he was about this one. Vanid could practically recite the girl's life story just from the messages his brother sent home. Eighty-three percent of the messages were about Maeve Solo, the other seventeen percent about his schooling and day-to-day life but one could clearly tell that he'd rather speak about Maeve. Catch had even enclosed some holograms, many of them including Maeve. However, it was one thing to hear about a person through their admirer and another to hear about them from their family. Therefore, he decided that it would be a wise topic to bring up with her sibling, especially a younger one. Younger ones always provided the best information since they normally knew the real personalities of their older siblings.
"Perhaps you could tell me a bit about your sister?" Vanid suggested. At Han's raised eyebrow, he elaborated, "Catch gave us her life story, but it's better to hear about someone from a view unclouded by…" He could not think of a word to describe his brother's affection for Maeve Solo.
"Obsessive devotion?" Han suggested with a grin.
Vanid nodded, a smile growing on his face as well. His smile turned roguish when he spotted a trio of girls walking by. They giggled and twittered, boosting his ego quite nicely. A moment later, he turned back to Han with a polite smile on his face, saying that he was all ears now.
"Sit– I mean Force! What Catch lacks in noticing the fairer sex, you certainly make up for," Han commented with a lop-sided grin before changing the subject. "Anyway, I take it you want to know what Maeve is really like and not Catch's fanatically biased point of view."
He suddenly realized that the younger Solo might have taken offence at that statement. Immediately, he sought to remedy his error. "Pardon my question. It was rude of me to ask, especially since you're related to her. I wasn't thinking."
Han held up a hand. "Don't worry about it. I understand. You have no idea what Maeve is really like. You're only looking out for your sibling. I can understand that.
"Maeve drinks out of the carton of blue milk. She leaves her boots out where people can trip over them and has a habit of using most of the hot water even though her hair is short. She's stubborn, willful, sometimes has a short temper, and whenever she eats the last of something, she'll put the container back in its spot for other people to throw away," Han listed casually.
Vanid snorted and couldn't restrain a stream of laughter. The list of vices was not exactly what he was looking for. He was sure that Han knew he wanted a description of her character instead of a list of her shortcomings. Nonetheless, it was amusing. He could see why Catch and Maeve would make a good couple. Catch used to drink out of the milk container as well.
"Seriously though, you have nothing to worry about. Maeve's nice. She takes after my dad so she can handle Catch's drama. Force knows he goes through enough of it just taking the whole family on a trip." Han shuddered a bit before continuing. "Maeve is calm compared to most of my family members. I was being serious, though, when I said she was willful, stubborn, and has a short temper. Nearly everyone in our family has a bad temper but it takes them time to show it. Maeve's like that. You have to get her annoyed enough to scream. I should know."
The response wasn't up to Chiss standards. It too was biased, now that he thought of it. He was her brother after all. Vanid would have done the same for his own family unless it was an official report. Then he would try to be as impartial as he could. Still, if his brother liked this girl than he would wait and see before he made any final decisions. After all, his mother would kill him if he didn't give a thorough report on her.
"So… What are Catch's little vices? Anything that I can blackmail him with?" Han asked with a mischievous grin.
"Are you kidding? Of course I have blackmail material. What kind of older sibling do you take me for? By the time we get to Catch's apartment, you could enslave him for life," Vanid started with a grin that matched Han's.
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The streets were more crowded. That was the first thing Vanid noticed when they grew closer to the government provided apartment buildings. That, and there was a large building nearby that had a neon orange and neon pink rebel insignia painted on it. The streets were also slippery from the nearby ocean. Didn't this planet have a dry spot? In the distance he could see a building that Han told him was the Ackbar School of Arts, where Catch had attended. It seemed to be about a thirty minute walk from this area.
He was surprised to notice that they were headed towards the building with the rebel insignia painted on it. Why were they going there? Catch said that his apartment building was closer to the ocean and was painted to look like a desert. A memory teased the edges of his mind. After waiting patiently, he finally realized what the memory was. This was the building where the Solos lived. He knew so because he went with his father to pick up Catch when they visited Mon Calamari six years ago.
Still, he couldn't figure out why they were going there. In his message, Catch said that he would pick him up from the docking bays, get something to eat, and then go to his apartment to watch pod-racing. Then again, Catch did not pick him up at the docking bays so it fit with how the rest of the plan was going.
Han punched in the outer door's code and the two were admitted to a small, but efficient lobby. The turbolift was slower than Vanid was used to, but it was an older model than what he was used to.
Down the hall and around the corner on the twelfth floor, there seemed to be some sort of commotion going on. Vanid instantly recognized the voice of one participant as his brother. Judging from the delivery of words and mocking tone, the argument was anything but serious. The other voice, it was feminine, had to be Maeve.
As they rounded the corner, Vanid learned that his guesses were right. Maeve Solo flashed them a smile and waved before returning to the mock-argument. Catch, since his back was turned, was slower on the uptake, changing the subject to why Maeve was waving at no one.
"Maeve, I'm right here, there's no one you need to wave at. Why are you smirking at me like that? What do you know that I don't?" Catch demanded. His brother was becoming impatient. He could tell from the way Catch kept fidgeting and rocking on his feet.
"I know a lot of things that you don't. Which one were you speaking of?" Maeve countered.
Catch abruptly stopped fidgeting and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. Why don't you just tell me one?"
"Well…" Maeve tapped her chin with one finger, the mischievous smirk growing on her face. "My brother and your brother are standing behind you."
"Huh?" Catch awkwardly twisted around to look at them, making his back crack. The other three people in the hallway winced. A smile grew on Catch's face, he turned the rest of his body around, closed the distance between them, and gathered Vanid in a hug. He was slightly dismayed to realize that Catch had grown another centimeter. Catch pulled back and grinned. "I almost forgot you were coming!"
Vanid wrapped one arm around his brother's neck, tucked him under it while tugging him down to his height, and noogied Catch's head. There were many muffled protests, and Catch was persistently poking him in the back, attempting to find Vanid's ticklish spot before his hair was ruined. When Vanid released Catch, his brother's hair was ruined and he knew Catch would be distinctly feeling a burning sensation on the top of his head. He nodded in pride of his handiwork and turned to Maeve, ignoring Catch's unhappy grunt.
To Maeve, he gave a quick half-bow before shaking her hand. "It's nice to finally meet the girl who my brother dictated an informal biography."
"From what I remember, we've met before, when 'Ryn got lost," Maeve pointed out.
Both of them ignored the Catch's indignant hey's.
"'Ryn?" Vanid echoed. He looked back at his little brother. "Did your vocabulary revert to one word again during your stay here?"
Catch shook his head, his sloppily rearranged hair falling into his eyes, frowning at Vanid. "No, she came up with it. I like it. It's better than Catch."
"Nah, I'm for the classics." Vanid slung one arm around his brother and another around Maeve, looking between the two. "So, which one of you is going to introduce me to my future-in-laws?"
He reveled in the red stain rising on their cheeks. His parents would be very pleased with his report on Catch's well-being.
TBC
Well… here's the last interlude. Enjoy. At least, I think it will be the last one. R&R if you want. Kudos to any of you that do.
Furyan Jedi 13: Hope you don't remind responding to your review this way. I have no other way to really do it. Thanks! Catch and Maeve are really hard to get right. I didn't want them to be exactly like their parents but I wanted them to hold some of their qualities. I want to work on their families reactions a bit mroe soon, but I'm not sure where that would fit in. I basically have Jaina and Zekk's but the Fels are being a mystery. Hopefully these new editions filled up some of your desires.
Another J/Z shipper! Yay! It's so nice to find others. This story has caused me to like Jag very much against my will. I think I'm going to fit in a little background on Loryn's mother sometime in the next bit. At least, that's what I'm hoping for.