Decisions Part 1 Is this a love story?

by Jules Cesar

At the time of the old Republic. During Sith Occupation in the Cold War. A couple, being different species, was forced to marry by the Sith. He thought she was too red, but was interesting. She thought he was too blue, and hated him. How they overcame their differences, and outwitted the Sith, for a life together. (Mature after chapter 7)

2. Chapter 1

DESCISIONS ©2015

A Star Wars story, set in the time of the Old Republic

By Jules Cesar.

Dragnoor – Capital City of Deysum III

Chitrah, was furious. If there had not been an automatic door on the entrance to the office, he would have slammed it shut on his way out. He was so furious that he didn't remember anything about his walk through the Ministry of the Interior. Nor walking down the broad steps out front, nor boarding the local transit system. He didn't remember men, women and droids giving him a wide berth. So that they would not be the one he would vent his fury upon.

In the Sith Empire, you have to ask permission for everything. You needed permission to marry, before you could apply for a marriage license.

He had just been to the Ministry to get permission to marry. They said that he could marry, but only to the person they chose for him, and they had chosen a Devaronian. He did not think that they were even compatible. They were red, his is blue, even their blood was different.

These Imperials have gone too far.

During his transit ride home, Chitrah recalled the history of his people on this world. His family has descended from the Chagrian who were brought to this world as slaves by the Rakata during the Eternal Empire to work in the open pit mines. When the Rakata first found Deysum III it was a barren world with mineral outcrops at the surface. There were a few pools of water on the surface, none of which was drinkable. There were no sentient species for them to enslave and mine the deposits. So they brought millions of slaves from the worlds they conquered. One third of the slaves were responsible for taking the brackish water from deep underground, and purifying it, so that it was drinkable, and using it for growing the food required for all the slaves. The rest were responsible for the mining, smelting and refining of the deposits so that it was useable for the Rakata. The Rakata found the world too barren to live there themselves, so they left the running of the operations to slave overseers. They would come by on a regular basis, to receive the materials prepared for them. If there was sufficient product they would just leave the planet. If they believed it to be insufficient, they would torture the overseers, and walk through the living quarters killing any infirm, and randomly killing the infants of slaves. Claiming they were taking away from their productivity. The slaves would eventually hide their offspring in caves and holes they dug in the rocks, when the Rakata were scheduled to visit.

Many of the open pit mines were deep enough for the brackish ground water to seep through the porous rocks to accumulate in the bottoms of the mines, causing an increase in humidity planet wide, making it easier for all the slave species to breath, and an increase in the flora and fauna planet wide. The native plants survived by drawing what moisture they could from the atmosphere, with higher humidity, came more plants. More plants meant more animals that ate them. More animals meant more predators/scavengers, and an increase in violent encounters with them.

When the Rakata stopped showing up, the slaves had no way to return to their home worlds, so they did what they could to sustain themselves. The population growth became stagnant, since they could not grow beyond what drinking water they could produce to sustain them. They survived like this for millennia, until the first human colony ships arrived with modern more efficient equipment for water purification, allowing the population to start growing once again.

Compared to Champala this was a desolate world for the Chagrian. There wasn't enough water to build pools for the tadpoles to swim in that the Chagrian women gave birth to. There was just enough for a small basin to keep the tadpoles' wet by covering them in wet rags. The Chagrian on Champala were a tall noble creature, standing an average of 2 meters tall, standing head and shoulder above most other species. They had developed the blue pigment in their skin to protect them when their sun went into a cycle emitting deadly radiation. Both the males and females had two lethorns, that started at the top of the head, came down the sides of head, dropping down over the chest. The base of the lethorns remained sheathed in flesh for up to half of the length of the horn. The lethorns were believed to be used to protect the body when they were still water dwelling creatures. The male Chagrin had another set of horns that protruded upward from their foreheads. These horns were used in underwater competitions were they would attempt to impale their rivals, while competing for a mate.

Only one in twenty tadpoles born on Deysum III survived in that first generation to where they could leave the water. To compensate for the high mortality rate the Chagrian women of child bearing years were almost always pregnant. Still the population dropped by more than 50% from the first generation to the next. The poor quality of food also caused the first generation of Chagrian born on Deysum III to stand less than 1.5 meters tall when fully mature. The other thing the women tried, was to not do any strenuous activity in the final few months of their pregnancy, so the tadpole would stay in the womb and develop for as long as possible before giving birth. Which is a hard thing to do when you are a slave. Fortunately the overseers were not Rakata. They understood the plight of the Chagrian, being slaves themselves, and did what they could to help.

Eventually the Chagrian on the world evolved to the point that they no longer gave birth to tadpoles, but to babies similar to other humanoid species, not requiring the birthing pools any more. They also lost the ability to grow horns as they were not required on this world. Only stubs remained on their skulls as the roots of what would have been horns. The only physical characteristics that remained of their Chagrian DNA, were their blue skin, giving them the ability to withstand higher levels of radiation, their powerful legs, and the eyesight that allows them to see in colour even in dim light, and the ability to see farther than other species. They were able to rebound in height after the human colonist arrived and the quality of food improved, to where the average height of the Chagrian on present day Deysum III was an average of 1.85 meters.

On this world they used their legs for running, not swimming. This allowed them to avoid being dinner for the local predators. Who would go after the slower, easier prey. What was interesting, was that without horns, they started to grow hair on their bodies, and the tops of their heads like humans. With only a few being able to grow any amount of facial hair.

Still from the more than one million Chagrian that the Rakata had originally brought to this world, the population was reduced to mere hundreds before they had evolved enough to survive on this world.

By this time the empire of the Rakata was overthrown by their slaves, and there was no way for any of them to return to the worlds of their ancestors.

It was at this time that Chitrah's ancestors took up the trade of cobbler. A trade he has been denied by the Imperials. They made him take an aptitude test and told him that he was better suited as a computer technician. Surprise, surprise! Probably 95% of the people forced to take the test were told the same thing.

After the treaty of Corusant, with all the new worlds the Republic surrendered to them, now part of the Sith Empire, the Imperials wanted to be connected to every computer on every planet they controlled. They wanted to be connected through their own systems, with their own controls in place. Most computers were already connected through the Holonet, but the Imperials thought that that system was too porous. They also believed it to be controlled by the Hutts, even though it was built by the Republic. The Imperials did not want to share their information with no-one, no-where, no-time, no-how. So to connect all these computers to their system, they would need an army of computer technicians, and Chitrah had been unwittingly drafted.

Chitrah had worked for the Ministry of the Interior for about a year and a half now, after completing his initial training. He had earned the reputation of being able to handle the more difficult computer modifications. He would have thought that that would have earned him a favoured person status with other departments in the Ministry. Not this! Not being forced to marry, not just outside of his clan, but outside of his species.

Somehow Chitrah got off at the right transit stop. His getting off without any incidents, was a tremendous relief to the other transit riders.

Chitrah lived in a commercial/residential district. Every building looked pretty much like the next. So much so, that the entire block looked like one building. You had the storefront open to the street with pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Behind the storefront was the workshop where most tradespeople worked their craft. Behind that would be the washroom and kitchen area, with a door off the kitchen to the back alley. The alley was broader then an ally you would find in the business district downtown, and there was no vehicle traffic allowed. This doorway was considered the front door to the residents, by the tradespeople who lived there, and the alley was were their children played if they had to stay close to home. As he started walking through the alley way, the few blocks to his home, he started thinking less of how unfair the Imperials were, and more about how he was going to tell his family about the restrictions placed by the Imperials on his getting married.

During this past year, the Imperials had started flying him to other planets to tackle the more difficult computer modifications. This last set of days off, his father had approached him about the possibility of getting married, and Chitrah was very receptive to the idea. In fact when he was supposed to arrive home with the permission to marry. His father was going to announce who his bride would be, and would start the serious negotiations to secure a marriage contract, and setting a date for the wedding. Chitrah was sure his father had already approached the family of the prospective bride to make sure they would be amicable with the arrangement. Now this!

These Imperials have gone too far!

As Chitrah opened the door to the kitchen, all the adults could see that something was not right. His mother, Challana, had her daughter-in-law, Brunewa, roundup her children, while she made up a basket with the treats that were supposed to be for their party. She gave the basket to Brunewa to take to her parents' house with her children. They would be notified when it would be okay for them to come back home.

After the children had left, Chitrah spoke to the family. "Papa, they will only give me permission to marry one person, and she's a Devaronian."

The family stood there in stunned silence. After a time, Chitrah's father, Cabrera, was able to regain enough composure to ask Chitrah to take a walk to the park to settle down, and to take his mother with him. So Chitrah left the house with his mother in tow. He really did not want any company right now, but he could not say no to his father, any more then he could ask his mother to leave him alone. As they neared the park, Chitrah started to think less about his permission to marry, and more about why father had sent his mother with him.

When he arrived at the park it was pretty much deserted. Even though the sun hadn't quite set, the children had all gone home for their dinner, and any evening chores that still needed to be done. He found an empty bench and sat down, his mother sitting down right beside him.

"Mama, why did Papa send you with me?"

"Because he knew you would stop thinking about this marriage situation, and start wondering about why he sent me."

The reply brought a smile to Chitrah's face. "Is that the only reason?"

His mother gave a little mischievous laugh, "No! He did not want either one of us to see how upset he really is."

"But it's okay for my older brother, Achram, to see him angry?"

"Achram will someday be the head of the clan, he has to see Papa when he's angry, just as much as seeing him when he's happy, or when he's proud. So that he can learn to be a good leader for the clan." His mother's answers helped comfort him, as he once again realised how well his parents knew him.

Chitrah felt ready to go home. He was sure that his father had figured something out. After all he was the smartest man Chitrah has ever known.

Chitrah gave his mother's hand a gentle squeeze then stood up. He decided to walk down the main street back to their home instead of the alleyways. He took her hand in his, and started reminiscing about all the times mother had come to the park, when he was a little boy, to bring him home for dinner, and how safe he always felt when she took his hand.

His mother was thinking about much the same thing. Except she was thinking how safe she felt leaning on the arm of this handsome young man.

When they entered the shop, Chitrah made sure that it was obvious that they are closed, and the storefront door was locked. Now was not the time for interruptions by customers.

When they made their way back to the workshop, they found his father sitting at his workbench with an outward sense of calm, like he was expecting them. His brother was also sitting at father's bench, but his skin was a shade of pale blue that Chitrah had never seen before.

Chitrah's brother was very meticulous, and only worked on one project at a time, and always did good work. His father on the other hand, a true Master craftsman, usually had many projects going at the same time, and no one was allowed to touch anything on his bench, because he knew where everything was. If you touched something, it could wreck a project.

Chitrah had never seen the top of his father's workbench bare, until now. It looked like his father had taken his arm, and wiped the top of his workbench. Throwing pieces of leather and rubber and unfinished shoes and boots and tools all over the shop. His brother later told him that that is pretty much what happened. Even though his father appeared to be sitting serenely, he still looked like a volcano ready to erupt. He had never seen his father so upset. Chitrah noticed that two additional chairs had been placed around the workbench, apparently they were going to have a family meeting here. Mother said she was going to make some tea for everyone. No-one said anything until mother came back with tea, along a plate of sweets, intended for the party.

When she sat down Papa thanked her, then turned to Chitrah and asked, "What do you think are our options?"

"I could stay single!"

"Not an option, you would eventually hook up with some woman somewhere and take her as your mistress. Word would eventually get back to us as bad news always does, and we would be forced to kick you out of the clan, and I would be forced to step down as head of the clan, and one of the other families would take over."

"So I guess taking a mistress option is off the table?"

"Not funny Chitrah." Chitrah's father was actually happy that his son could keep a sense of humour in this situation.

"What about having you go ahead and arrange a marriage with the young lady you have selected for me."

"At the least. The Imperials would do nothing. Which is about as likely as the Emperor going to the light side of the force. Realistically they would have all the families arrested. They would probably let you go, under the condition that you do everything they ask of you, or we would suffer horribly. The worst case scenario would be them using this as an excuse to enslave all the sub-human species, as they consider us, on this world. Not only would this be the end of the clans, but the Deysum Chagrian might not survive this time, as a people."

"And if I do what the Imperials want?"

"We would be forced to kick you out of the clan, and more than likely her family would have to do the same with her. The only difference between this scenario and the others, is that no-one could force me to resign as head of the clan."

This was even worse than Chitrah had imagined. He never considered that he would be forced to leave his family.

Truly these Imperials have gone too far.

He looked his father in the eye and asked the question he was now afraid to ask, "Are there any other options?" His father looked down and shook his head. He could not bring himself to say the word, no!

Chitrah knew now that the Imperials had given him a death sentence.

For a long time they sat in silence. Then Mother got up and started picking things up off of the floor, and placing them on what used to be Chitrah's workbench. When her two sons got up to help her, she had them go into the kitchen to bring the kitchen table into the workshop, so that they could spread everything out, making it easier to see everything. That way Father would have an easier time of organising his workbench again. Father just sat there, going over in his mind every scenario. Hoping there was something he had missed. Hoping there was some way they could save his son.

That night they all went to bed, with sorrow heavy in their hearts. The next morning mother made Chitrah's favourite breakfast and served it upstairs in their dining room. No-one called Chitrah to breakfast, until everything was ready, and no-one said anything about him still being in his pyjamas.

After breakfast, Chitrah's father contacted the mother of the young lady (Andriel) that the Imperials wanted Chitrah to marry. As she was the head of her family and the head of her clan, he thought it was wise that they get together and talk. As this was the first she had heard of this situation. She told him that she would call him back. Chitrah's father understood from her reaction, and let her end the call, knowing that she would call back.

Andriel's mother, Dreamara, just sat there for a few minutes thinking about the call she had just received. She knew Chitrah's father, Cabrera, they were both members of the executive council of the business association. She knew that he was not one to pull practical jokes, and she could see it in his face that he was dead serious, which frightened her. She pulled her wits together, and started contacting members of her clan to see which young men were in town to run an errand. She did not say anything to Andriel that morning, because she first wanted to confirm what she was just told.

When Andriel's mother did not come into the workshop to help with the special order they were working on, she went to look for her. She found her talking on the communicator to her cousin who had just arrived back in town for a short leave from his job on a transport. She overheard her mother asking him to go to the Ministry of the Interior and obtain permission to marry Andriel. Andriel screamed "Mother". Her mother quickly concluded the call by telling the young man to go now and I'll explain later.

"Mother you know I don't like him. He has no ambition and will never amount to anything more than a helper on a transport."

"Calm down Andriel, things are not as they seem. Besides you are not supposed to eavesdrop on your mother's communications."

"What do you mean things are not as they seem?"

Andriel's mother walked into the kitchen and proceeded to make some tea for Andriel and herself, and refused to say anything else, until they both sat down with their tea.

This just caused Andriel to worry even more. This meant that the truth was worse than what she had overheard.

After her mother had a sip of her tea, she proceeded to tell her daughter about the strange communiqué she had that morning, from a highly respected member of the business community. Apparently she, Andriel, will only be allowed to marry a Chagrian, specifically his son Chitrah. If the information is correct, the cousin will not be able to get the permission she asked him to get. If he does get it, than someone has played a very bad joke on Cabrera's family, and she can always tell her cousin that she has changed her mind, after all, he did hear Andriel scream.

"So we just sit and wait?"

"No, I sit and wait, you go back and finish weaving the material for the dress we are making!"

Andriel did not think that was fair, but she didn't argue with her mother. She thought she would have trouble concentrating on her work, but the material she was weaving, was very difficult to work with, and she soon forgot about everything else until she finished. She knew the wearer would not only look stunningly beautiful but she would also be impervious to an attack with a vibro-blade knife.

Shortly after she finished weaving the material, she heard a knock on the door from the alley to the kitchen. Before she could get up to answer it, mother had already let the person in the house. That's right, mother was in the kitchen with her tea. Instead of going into the kitchen. Andriel stayed just outside the doorway from the workshop to the kitchen. So that she could hear everything without being noticed.

It was her cousin, he came here straight from the Ministry instead of calling in. This was not good. He told of his attempts to try to get permission to marry Andriel. They would give him permission to marry just about anyone but Andriel.

When they would not give him an explanation, he looked up another cousin who worked in the records department of the Ministry, to see if she could find out what was going on. (Great now everyone in the clan is going to hear about this). She regularly had lunch with the people from that office. She was confident that they would tell her what was going on. So she went and talked to the people in the department about Andriel, and they told her that they had received orders from someone high up in the ministry, that Andriel was only to be given permission to marry a Chagrian named Chitrah.

Mother thanked him for his help, and ushered him out the door.

Just before he left, he turned back to mother and said, "I would have been proud to marry Andriel, even though she doesn't like me very much!" Then he walked out.

After the door was closed, mother asked Andriel, if she wanted another cup of tea? Mother figured that she was just outside the doorway listening. She came in and sat at the kitchen table ready for a cup of tea, and asked her mother what this meant. Her mother answered by saying, "You know that there are bad dreams and then there are nightmares. Well this is a nightmare. As near as I can understand, you have no choice but to marry this guy, Chitrah! When you marry him, you will no longer be able to remain a member of this clan!"

This last statement floored Andriel, it was the same as if someone had plunged a dagger in her heart. She heard her mother walk over to the communicator and talk with Chitrah's father. They agreed to come over tomorrow evening. He also asked if two other members from the business council could attend as observers, Krintall and Grea-ba. When he mentioned their names she was quite surprised because the one member, Grea-ba, hated him. When she asked why them, he replied that they were also heads of their respective clans, and this situation might also be important to them. Then he asked her to contact Grea-ba because he doubted he would accept a communiqué from him. She agreed, after she ended the communiqué she appreciated just how sharp Chitrah's father was, and if anyone could figure a way out for their children, he could!

When she walked back into the kitchen she mentioned to Andriel that she probably heard that they would be having guests tomorrow evening, that means they needed to finish the dress so that they could have the day, tomorrow, to make the place shine. Andriel figured she would be doing most of the work.

When they arrived for the meeting the next day, Chitrah was surprised to see that the buildings in Andriel's neighbourhood looked exactly like his own. Either it was the same developer or it must have been a very popular design, certainly a practical one. He would have felt right at home except for the pile of fabric on one of the benches, and the smell was all wrong.

They were obviously having their meeting in the workshop. He wondered if this was where business people felt most comfortable holding their meetings. It took him awhile to realize that there was no smell of shoe leather, only flowers, that's why it smelt wrong.

Chitrah's father introduced the members of his family. Himself as the patriarch, the next in line to the patriarch, and finally Chitrah. Chitrah's mother did not come because she did not feel that she could contribute any more to the discussion then those who needed to be there, even though she was dying to see the young lady that Chitrah was supposed to marry, and space in the house would be at a premium. When Chitrah was introduced, Andriel thought he would have been a handsome young man, if he wasn't so blue. Then Andriel's mother introduced the members of her family. Herself as the matriarch, the next in line to the matriarch, Andriel's older sister Lindream, who was briefed just last night over the communicator, and was told that she had to be there, and finally Andriel. When Chitrah realized who Andriel was he thought she cut a nice figure, but man was she red.

When Chitrah was being introduced, the proud father tried to highlight his achievements to date. Because of the aptitude test, he now worked for the Ministry of the Interior.

Andriel commented that because of the aptitude test the Imperials thought they had a flunky they could push around. That he would do whatever they said. She on the other hand, she made sure that she bombed that test.

To which Chitrah replied that the Imperials thought they found in her a girl who would be just too happy to marry whomever the Imperials chose for her, not being smart enough to think for herself.

Their respective parents rebuked them for their comments.

Yet Chitrah's father and Andriel's mother both thought the same thing, they are willing to argue that's a good sign.

Chitrah's father spoke up, "Now, children this is not the time to hurl accusations that cannot be proven, but can only demean. (After a pause) I believe that someone in our business association has betrayed us." When no-one said anything. He continued, "Do you remember how at one of our meetings we all mentioned, how we have each inherited the ability to tell when someone who can use the force is in our presence, and therefore cannot use their abilities to manipulate our minds into getting better deals. I believe someone passed this information on to the Imperials. Even though there is no history of force users in any of our families, I think that the Imperials are hoping that by shaking up our DNA. They would have a force user appear in one of our offspring. They are desperate to supplement the ranks of the Sith, who were decimated in the Great Galactic War. We know this, because they are accepting people into their ranks who they previously considered sub-human, including slaves."

Grea-ba was clearly upset by this pronouncement and asked what they could do?

Chitrah's father replied, "Nothing!"

"But what of my girls, soon they will be of marrying age?"

"For now, they will be safe. But if the Imperials get the results they are hoping for, then they will be next."

While everyone sat lost in their thoughts Andriel's mother got up and made more tea.

After she came back she spoke to everyone. "I guess that settles it. We can do nothing to help our children. Chitrah and Andriel must marry, just like the Imperials want."

Everyone in the room nodded their agreement except Andriel and Chitrah, who did not want to believe that this was happening to them.

Krintall and Grea-ba excused themselves and left. Anything left to discuss would just be between the two families.

After a while Chitrah's father spoke, "It was my fault!"

"What was your fault Papa?"

"It was my fault you did well on that test. I thought this would be a good way for you to get a job as a civil servant. Good pay, lots of benefits, job security, and even paid vacation time, whatever that is."

"We have enough cobblers in our family, not that your work was in question. You could have been better than me. I just thought this would be good for the family and good for the clan."

Andriel's mother commented, "That's why I encourage Andriel's cousin to apply for that position in record keeping, in the Ministry."

There was no negotiation for a dowry, no talk about a wedding contract. Both families agreed that this was painful enough that they should not put it off for too long.

Chitrah informed everyone that he would be leaving in two days and would probably be back in about a month and a half. They could get married then. The date was set.

Before leaving Chabrea asked Dreamara if he could have a word with her. It was after midnight. They stepped out through the alley entrance. Beside the door was a big urn full of colourful flowers. Chabrea recognised that this was the source of the vases of flowers in the house. Next to the urn below the kitchen window Dreamara had a bench on which they both sat. Chabrea felt it was important that Dreamara know as much as she could about Chitrah.

Now the kitchen window was open, so everyone inside could hear their parents talking, since no-one was talking inside the house.

Chitrah was mesmerised by what his father was saying about him. He had heard most of the stories before, but never altogether like this, and he could tell from his father's voice that he was very proud of him.

After Chabrea had finished describing Chitrah's life, Dreamara proceeded to tell him about Andriel. Andriel had the same reaction to her mother's storytelling, as Chitrah had to his father's. She really loved her mother and she knew her mother loved her.

After they were both done, Chambrea told Dreamara that he would send his wife Challana by later this afternoon to talk with her. They both knew that this was an excuse for Challana to see Andriel for herself.

The sun was just getting ready to rise by the time Chitrah and his family said goodnight to Andriel and her family.

The next few days were harder for Andriel then for Chitrah. Thanks to her gossiping cousin, the whole clan did know about her situation, and everyone kept calling on the communicator, asking how she was doing, which only made her angrier and angrier. She started to hate Chitrah, and was encouraged to do so by certain members of her clan (members who were jealous of her family's position in the clan), because there was no-one else that she could think of blaming.

The Imperials were a faceless entity, and after all, Chitrah did work for them. So he must be one of them. Andriel's mother realized that this was going to be the worst way for her daughter to start her relationship with Chitrah and refused to let her talk on the communicator any more. In fact she routed the signal from their communicator to go to her daughter, Lindream's home. So that she would take all the calls for them. If there was something important, her daughter would send one of her children over with a message.

She also closed the storefront. Only allowing the clients in that had orders that were ready for them. She was able to get from Chitrah the size of suitcase they were allowed to bring with them on the space liners, as well as what they were permitted to carry on, knowing that Andriel would be living out of her suitcase for the next couple of years. She then went to Andriel's closet, and with Andriel helping her, took out all her clothes and donated them to charity. Which helped shock Andriel out of her self-pity and forced her to start dealing with her new reality.

Dreamara made her design all the clothes that she would be taking when she left home. Then the two of them started making them. She made her think of every possible situation they could think of, and with all the different types of material they had in their workshop, what would be best for the design. Andriel could not understand why her mother was pushing her so hard. She even made her daughter prepare for the possibility that she might get pregnant, even though Andriel was sure that she would never let him lay one finger on her body. It was only later in her life that she understood what her mother had done for her, and she had no-way to say thank you.

They both believed that Chitrah was not the type of man that would force himself on a woman.

Chitrah did not have the hassles that Andriel experienced, mainly because the clan was not told anything, until after he left for his next work assignments. He was already used to living out of his suitcase. The only major difference was that he would not be able to bring his dirty laundry home, to get his mother to wash them for him.

After he said his goodbyes and left to catch a shuttle to the orbiting spaceport, his mother broke down and started to cry. Father had trouble holding her up as he was also crying. Father and son had to help her upstairs to the family room, where husband and wife could sit down and cry together.

The grandchildren who had come home the night of the meeting, could not understand their grandparents' behaviour, asking their parents why Grandpa and Baba were crying. The youngest even going so far as trying to console her grandparents. Which they both very much appreciated.

The next day Chitrah's mother started going through the whole house. Starting to remove all evidence of Chitrah. Normally when someone is removed from the clan all evidence of them is destroyed, but Chitrah's mother could not do that. After talking it over with her husband she started to box the items that were important to her. When Chitrah's father saw how much she accumulated, he went out and bought some lumber, which was considered a premium item on their world, and the hardware to make a good, strong, lockable, wooden box. He wasn't a carpenter but his wife was very impressed with the quality of the workmanship. The box was kept in their bedroom. Only Chitrah's mother was allowed to open it, after they had placed all the items she selected in it. She kept the key hidden away in a special place. Father eventually attached a cushion to the top of it, and everyone thought it was a bench that he sat on while he dressed, which he did. But only Mother and Father remembered what was inside.

When Chitrah came home from his last work assignment, he noticed the difference in the house right away. Especially when he walked into his bedroom. It was no longer his. He felt like a guest staying at his parent's house. He had a sit down with his mother and father in the kitchen. He went over everything he had in his suitcase, knowing this would probably be the last time he could ask for their advice. They told him to make sure he had a very nice suit so that Andriel would not be embarrassed if they ever attended any functions. To listen very carefully to any advice she would give him, because of the way she feels about him right now, the advice would be given reluctantly. Finally, to have a good long talk with her mother, so that he can understand and appreciated the things that make Andriel happy.

Chitrah contacted Andriel's mother to make sure he would have all the information he needed to get permission to marry her, and have the marriage license ready so that Andriel would not have to go to the Ministry until the day they would actually marry.

They would have to have a civil ceremony at the Ministry. Being clanless, they knew of no other place they could have it, and no-one from the clans could stand with them as witnesses.

He also took his parents advice to meet with her so that he could be a good husband to his new wife.

They arranged through Lindream to meet at a Tea shop that Andriel's mother knew about. In the business district downtown. There was very little chance that anyone from either of their clans would run into them there. When he asked her about what makes Andriel happy, she cautioned him not to throw money at her, because it would only make her feel like a prostitute. "Being a Devaronian she will expect to handle all financial matters. She will give you an allowance for all your personal needs. You will have to let her know if the allowance is adequate. She loves flowers, but don't just buy a bouquet expecting her to be pleased with you. It is better to go with her to the market and select flowers with her that you think would look nice in the place you will be staying, but don't argue over it. It is better if she has her own way. She has good tastes, trust them. Now if you do come across these flowers", and she gave him a list. "Don't hesitate to buy them no matter the cost. They are in bloom a very short season, and she loves them. She will also want to know where you bought them, in case she wants to buy more. She loves sweets but do not buy them for her regularly or she will stop appreciating them. Buy them every pay cycle, on the way home. That way she will look forward to them, and appreciate you for getting them for her. Try not to buy the same thing for her each time. The mystery of what you bought this time, is very powerful. Don't forget to get feedback on how much she enjoyed the treats. If there was something she did not particularly like, you know not to get that again or something like it. Don't be surprised if she asks you to get something you thought she did not like. She may still not like it, but is looking for a reminder."

"When she was sick I used to sing her a lullaby, which was a comfort to her. There is a very famous songstress who has recorded this lullaby", she handed him a note with the songstress name on it, "Get a copy of it for yourself and play it for her when she is sick, I believe she will be grateful to you for it."

Chitrah started to believe that Andriel's mother had been thinking about this for a long time and was just waiting for the right time to pass all this information along to him. His parent's advice has paid off for him big time. The last suggestion that she made, was to feed Andriel soup made from poultry when she is sick. It is comfort food, and she will get well quicker.

Then Andriel's mother looked him straight in the eye. "You know that right now she hates you. She blames you for what is happening to her. What will happen to her if you can't persuade her to start thinking well of you."

Chitrah looked right back at her. "Chagrian marry for life. I promise you that I would never do anything that would intentionally harm your daughter. If I cannot get her to fall in love with me, I will find some way that she would return to you unfettered."

Andriel's mother, still looking in his eyes, told him that she hopes her daughter discovers for herself, the true nature of the man she marries, before it is too late for both of them. This brought a little colour to his cheeks as they started to get a purple hue. He knew he had her full support, and he would try hard to vindicate her, even though she may never find out.

Before leaving, Dreamara told Chitrah that if there was anything that would affect both of them, trust her instincts. They are good, and they will guide them.

On the day he was to marry, Chitrah had arranged for porter droids to pick up their luggage, and take them to the shuttle terminal, so that they would not have to drag it around with them when they went to the Ministry. He also arranged for a droid luxury taxi to pick him up, and take him to Andriel's mother's home, where Andriel would join him.

They would then be taken to the Ministry to be married. From there they would be taken to the shuttle terminal, reunited with their luggage, then fly up to the spaceport in orbit, where they would catch a transport to his next work assignment.