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)

3. Chapter 2

©2015

Chitrah put on his new tailored suit, the best he could find. Tailored by a member of his own clan. Fits him like a glove. In the daylight it would appear dark blue. At night it would look black. The dress shirt was white with a blue tint. Around his neck he was wearing a medium blue cravat. His brother calls upstairs that the limo has arrived.

Chitrah goes downstairs to say goodbye to his family. He tries not to think about this being the last time he may see any of them ever again. It would not look good to show up at his bride-to-be's house with tear stains streaming down his face. His brother had told him last night that extended members of the family, had asked to see him off, but father thought it would be inappropriate, since he was leaving the clan. It would have been harder, if they had been here. When he came downstairs his father and mother, brother and sister-in-law where there in the kitchen waiting to say good bye. Their children were at the in-laws, thankfully. They had agreed last night, to say their goodbyes in the kitchen. Chitrah thought that he would crack if someone accompanied him out to the limousine. He came up to each of them, kissed them, and gave them a hug goodbye.

Then he quickly walked through the workshop, through the storefront, and out the front door without looking back. He climbed into the back of the limousine without saying anything, our looking out at anything.

The droid had been programmed last night with the complete itinerary for today. Where the different destinations were, who would be getting in, or getting out. How long of a wait is expected at each location, and any contingencies he and his brother could think of. He had all his documentation with him. Any screw-ups would be at the Ministry of the Interior, by the Ministry themselves. He was full of mixed emotions. To his family he was now dead. He was marrying a young lady he had only met once before, who now hates him, because of this arranged marriage. Arranged by the Ministry. Because he works for this Ministry, she believes that he had something to do with it.

He was taking her away from her family, who will consider her dead, once she leaves her house. And they are to live happily-ever-after.

They arrive at Dreamara's house. After a few minutes Andriel comes out. She is wearing a medium green pant suit with an abstract pattern that looks like a flower garden seen in first light, where you could see the colours but not make out the details of leaves and petals. She looks quite beautiful.

He can see that she has been crying. He doesn't blame her.

After she sits down she takes one good look at him and says, "Is that the best you could do?" He looks at her in bewilderment, "This is the best blue/black suit money can buy. This is the best quality dress shirt you could obtain, and the cravat is made with the best silk!"

"Hmph!"

Chitrah is perplexed. He just sat there thinking, what about what he is wearing is bothering her? Then it dawns on him, "Too much blue?"

"You think!"

"But blue is my favourite colour."

"Hmph!"

Great, this is just the way you want to start a life together.

"It's too late to change now! I could use some help in the future."

"Hmph!"

They were both quiet for the rest of the ride to the Ministry. The droid-limo let them out at the front of the Ministry, then drove around to the side, to the limo parking area, to wait for them. After they climbed out, Chitrah offered Andriel his arm, which he was surprised, but pleased, that she accepted. She only took his arm for appearance sake. After all, this marriage was arranged by the Ministry, and you never knew who might be watching.

They walked to the office were the marriage ceremony would be conducted. It was not a very fancy ceremony. Basically he agreed to be her husband, she agreed to be his wife. Sign the documents and be on your way. Because they were no longer members of their family's they had to make up new family names for each of them. Chitrah called himself Drashing, Chitrah Drashing, and Andriel called herself Mirranna, Andriel Mirranna. They then had to go have new Ministry picture id made, because of their name changes and new marital status. Because Chitrah was working for the Ministry, it had to be Ministry security id.

During the marriage ceremony Chitrah had looked at his wife to be, just before he agreed to be her husband. It was like he could see her without colour, he could see her for who she was. He saw her to be a strong person inside, and confident in her own abilities, yet he also saw a frailty. The future with all of its unknowns, was wearing her down, making her weak. He knew then that not only could he love her, but that he would love her for the rest of his life, no matter the cost. He would be there to add his strength to hers. To claim their place in the future together.

They did a lot of hurrying, then waiting in line, to make sure they had all the proper id, so that they could leave the planet.

As they were walking to the limousine exit, Security had monitored them through their new id, and notified their limousine droid, that they were on their way out. When they came to the exit, the limousine was there waiting for them. They rode to the shuttle terminal without saying a word. When they arrived at the terminal, they collected all their luggage, and caught the next shuttle to the orbiting spaceport.

In the shuttle terminal Chitrah saw Andriel to be a different person then who she was in the limo. This was all new to her, in many ways she was like a child, wanting to take it all in. He wondered if she might have a little of the same wander-lust in her, that the Devaronian men were famous for. He was also envious, that she could be so distracted when she had so much sorrow in her heart. He was also afraid that he might accidentally shatter her distractions, and end up hurting her even more.

Chitrah was so gentle in directing her where she needed to go, that she didn't know she was being led. He had all the papers and tickets, so no-one needed to interrupt her day dream. He seated her by the window of the shuttle, so that she could see the transitions, as they flew up from the surface of the planet, through the atmosphere with its layers of clouds, into the darkness of space. Andriel did not notice, that through the whole flight she had held Chitrah's hand, but he noticed.

When they arrived at the spaceport Andriel suddenly noticed that she was holding Chitrah's hand, and snatched her hand away. Inside the spaceport Chitrah informed her that they still had a few hours before they needed to board the freighter that would be taking them to Yitabo, Chitrah's next work assignment, of which he was only informed of that morning. Of course she wanted to see everything. So they found some lockers were they could store their luggage and carry-on bags. She went off exploring with Chitrah tagging along, ready to answer any question she might pose to him, her personal information kiosk.

As they were wandering around the spaceport, Chitrah noticed that one of the kiosks was selling a copy of the download code for the album Andriel's mother had told him to get. With this code he could download the album into his computer when it was connected to a communication system.

Andriel did not notice when Chitrah disappeared, and then reappeared. Before she knew it, Chitrah had to interrupt her exploration, to tell her they needed to report in, and board their freighter. They went back to their lockers and collected their luggage and carry-on bags. Hers was an oversized purse where she carried all her personal items as well as bags of tea her mother had prepared for her. His was an equipment bag where he had a special portable computer, with attachments. It would mimic any piece of test equipment made. It was like having a state-of-the-art electronics lab, in one computer. He also had a technician's soldering gun, which would only melt metals, and had an adjustable bead width, allowing it to be used on the smallest most delicate electronic circuits, or expanded, capable of doing heavy duty plumbing repairs. It could not be used to heat organic surfaces unless they had sufficient amounts of metals in them to activate the soldering gun. He had leads and probes and clips. Tools for pulling boards, and for pulling components off of boards, and pockets with the most common components that need to be replaced on boards. If it was electronic, he could diagnose and fix it.

The freighter they were taking to Yitabo, was a Barloz medium freighter, built by Corellian Engineering Corporation, with a crew compliment of two and four passenger cabins. When Chitrah received the flight itinerary from the Ministry that morning, he had booked two of the cabins, and as far as he knew, they were the only passengers. When they boarded the freighter they met the captain, a Twi'lek with an orange complexion to his skin. The first mate was also a Twi'lek whose skin was more yellow.

Twi'leks are a graceful humanoid species, indigenous to the Ryloth star system of the outer rim. They average around 1.7 meters in height, their skin colour ranges from red, to orange, yellow, green, and even blue, with red being the rarest. Their most notable visible feature are their two tentacle head-tails that protrude from the upper back of the skull, called both lekku and tchin-tchun. Where tchin means right lekku, and tchun means left lekku. These fatty, tapered, prehensile growths, serve both sensual and cognitive functions, including the storage of memories. The Twi'lek males tend to be self-centered, willing to enslave their own clan members, and use them in the dangerous mining of the mineral, ryll. Which is used in many medicines, but is also an addictive recreational drug. They will even sell their own women to slavers, with Lethan, or red-skinned women commanding the highest price. Twi'lek women tend to be submissive, which combined with their beauty, makes them the ideal slaves.

The captain showed them to their cabins so that they could stow their gear. Then led them to the common room where they had to strap themselves in, while they manoeuvred away from the spaceport.

Since they are a commercial vehicle and not a military one, they could not engage their hyperspace drives until they were close to the edge of the system, which should take close to a standard day. Then they would spend about three days traveling in hyperspace. Then about another day before they reach their destination.

The common room that they were sitting in, would also double as their galley, and an entertainment centre, with a terminal connected to the holonet. One of the crew members would always be on duty in the bridge, if they needed to contact them at any time. The only exception was that the on duty crew members were allowed to take their meals in the galley, with everyone else.

After the manoeuvring, they both informed the crew that they would be retiring to their respective cabins, since they have had a very long day.

When they went to their cabins, Chitrah followed Andriel into her cabin, as she has never been on a freighter before. He explained about time on a ship, and showed Andriel how to setup a wakeup call with the ship's computer. He told her how to block the camera on the computer console so that she could not be seen through the computer, and how to block the mike, so no-one could listen in on her, while she was in the cabin. He informed her that simply telling the ship's computer to turn off the camera and listening equipment was not enough. Because they could override any command she gave, from the bridge, without her knowing. He also showed her how to secure her door, so that no-one could invite themselves in, without her permission, short of breaking down the door.

This was all an eye opener for Andriel. She never had to think about her personal security before. She was very grateful for everything that Chitrah showed her, but was too stubborn to let him know. She still hated him!

When Chitrah entered his own cabin, he knew right away that someone had entered, and gone through his stuff. There was nothing obvious that he could point to as proof. Things just looked like they had been moved slightly from how he left them. He inherited that ability from his father. He carefully went through everything he had, and was grateful nothing was missing, so he decided not to mention anything to Andriel until after they both rested. After all, there was nothing more they could do right now. When he was sure his own cabin was secure, he connected his computer to the ship's communication system and scanned in the code he had purchased at the kiosk to download the album. The download was almost instantaneous. He called up the album and started listening to the lullaby. It was a nice song to fall asleep to. He was glad that he was able to get his hands on a copy of the album so quickly. It gave him a small measure of hope at the end of a dismal day.

The first mate was on duty in the bridge at this moment. The captain wanted to get some rest before they made the jump to hyperspace. He was disappointed that the tech guy had shown his wife how to neutralize the computer's monitoring equipment, he was hoping for a private show. He was also disappointed that he couldn't find any credits in the guy's luggage as they were manoeuvring away from the spaceport. That's how he knew that he was a techie. It was okay to steal credits at the beginning of a flight, people will make up a hundred and one excuses on why they can't find their credits. But not equipment. Equipment you take at the end of the flight, so that they think they left it behind. People are always leaving stuff behind, and he's more than willing to help them. He never had a chance to go through all her stuff. He just had a quick look in her oversized purse. When he first saw all the packets of tea he thought he had hit pay dirt. He thought they were packets of spice or tranquillity or some other street drugs. It was tea, what's with all the different types of tea anyway? Some people just don't know how to live. He had to leave her cabin before he wanted to, because the manoeuvring had stopped, and there was too great of a risk of him being caught, and he needed to make his way to the bridge, without being seen. He was so disappointed that he did not come across any of her underwear. He thought he could better understand a woman if he saw what type of underwear she wore.

He was bored, so he hooked up one of the monitors to one of the porn broadcasts the Huttes put out. Technically he's not supposed to, because it can distract him from monitoring all of the equipment. But he wanted to be distracted from this boring job. Besides if the captain, his brother, does catch him, he only gives him another boring lecture on duty and responsibility. He never meets out any real punishment.

When Chitrah's wakeup call came through he was actually surprised that he had not gotten up sooner. Normally he sleeps for just over seven hours before his internal alarm clock goes off, but with all the emotional stress of the previous day he thought he would need to sleep longer and set the ship's computer to wake him after ten hours. He must have really needed his rest. He took a quick shower and dressed, he tried being as quiet as possible because he did not expect there to be much sound proofing between the cabins. He went and had a quick peek in the common room, Andriel wasn't there. So he went back to their cabins and gently knocked on her door. No response. He knocked a little harder and heard a groggy "who's there."

"Chitrah! Can I come in?"

"How long have I slept?"

"More than ten hours."

"Just a minute."

She unlocked the door and let Chitrah in. Chitrah slid through the doorway and closed it behind him. He found her sitting on the edge of her bed, looking like she was still trying to figure out where she was. He went over to the computer panel and asked the ship's computer to play some soft music. He did not want them to be overheard, in case someone was just outside, trying to listen.

Of course, Chitrah's actions aroused Andriel's curiosity, and she suddenly found herself wide awake. Chitrah sat down on one of the two swivel chairs bolted to the floor at the small table in the cabin. He then told her that someone had gone through his stuff while they were manoeuvring away from the spaceport. But that nothing was missing.

Andriel had not noticed anything amiss with her luggage when she was getting ready for bed, but she had not touched her purse since they boarded. She went and got her purse and checked inside. Sure enough, someone had gone through most of her packets of tea, and had not closed them properly, if Chitrah had not warned her, she would have had loose tea leaves all over the inside of her purse. So far, this trip was starting to depress her.

Chitrah told her that he didn't think the person who went through their stuff was after any valuables, because he did not take any of his expensive equipment, but was probably looking for credits or drugs, which is why he opened the bags of tea. Andriel assured him that she kept all her credits on her person. Chitrah told her he did the same. He also suggested that she keep her luggage locked, because the person who did it, might not have had time to go through all her stuff, and might try again.

Chitrah then let her know that he was going for breakfast, she could keep napping and he could come and get her later. She let him know that she was awake now and would be out shortly. Then she asked him if he would like some tea with his breakfast, after all he was helping her with stuff she never would have thought of on her own. But it was very important to her. Chitrah was polite and said yes.

After Chitrah left, Andriel made sure the door was secure the way Chitrah had showed her last night. She also made sure that she could not be seen or heard by the computer panel, as Chitrah had shown her. Before undressing and stepping into the shower stall for a quick shower. She quickly dressed into a casual outfit, made sure everything was locked and secure, made sure she had enough tea to make two cups, then went to the common room for breakfast.

All their food was precooked and packaged. They just needed to heat it up to their preferred temperature. If Chitrah had remembered, they could have ordered all their meals from one of the caterers on the spaceport. They would have delivered the frozen meals to the freighter, to be stored with the freighter's meals, easily called up by the computer. But Chitrah was used to eating what the crew already had in their system. Andriel made a cup of tea for Chitrah before preparing her own breakfast, then wondered why she did that?

After breakfast, she searched the holonet to try and find as much information as she could about the planet they were going to. There wasn't very much. It was a large agriculture planet that produced enough food to feed three sectors of people. There were no cities, no major industries. Just a small town next to the spaceport. There was mention of one hotel, and the largest business sold agricultural equipment. There was also a small cantina between the town and the spaceport. The hotel and agro-business were the only commercial establishments that had connections to the holonet, all other connections were private. Since they had no holoterminal aboard the ship all communication on the holonet had to be done the old fashion way, by keyboard and monitor. She tried contacting the hotel, and after a few minutes received a reply. Now she was excited. She asked, what was the most interesting thing they could do with their time on Yitabo? The reply, "Watching grassgrain grow, or watching insects buzz around nerfs." The reply puzzled her because she did not know what grassgrain was, and she never heard of a nerf. After searching the holonet she contacted the hotel again and wrote "That does not sound interesting", reply "Exactly!" Someone did not sound very happy about living there. So she changed her approach, she was able to get the person at the hotel to tell her what businesses were in town. There was a dress shop, which was good, there was a small farmers market, were they could get fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers and knick-knacks. Once a week the outlying farmers would come in, and the market would be about one hundred times bigger, and if there was a holiday or celebration, there would be a dance afterwards. The hotel was the only place for accommodations. There was a teashop in the hotel were they could purchase meals, but if they were staying in Yitabo for any length of time. They should get a unit with a kitchen so that they could prepare their own meals. Since the menu at the teashop is limited, and they would tire of eating there, very quickly. The kitchen units could be rented for a seven day cycle, they also had rates for bi-cycles which were cheaper than the daily rates. Right now they were booked in a standard room with two beds.

The captain joined them for lunch, and Chitrah informed him that he is a computer technician. If he had any cards that weren't working properly or if he had backup cards that he would like him to inspect during the flight, he would be happy to do so. The captain was both pleased and surprised, saying this would save him a ton of credits. Chitrah knew then, that it was not the captain who had been in their cabins. Before now, he did not know Chitrah was a techie. The captain informed them that they would be jumping to hyperspace after lunch. That they would have to be strapped into their chairs during the jump, just like when they were manoeuvring at the spaceport.

They would feel it when they were settled into hyperspace so he would not need to tell them when it was safe to unbuckle the straps. Chitrah asked, if both crew members needed to be on the bridge for the jump, as they needed to be during the manoeuvring? The captain looked confused at first, then said that only the captain had to be on the bridge during manoeuvres, the first mate had to make sure all the electromagnetic fasteners had unfastened and were clear of the ship. During the jump to hyperspace, all crewmembers had to be at their stations, on the bridge. After the captain had left for the bridge Chitrah leaned over and told Andriel that he just wanted to be sure it wasn't the captain who had been in their cabins. Andriel whispered back, "That's what I thought you were doing." When they sat in their seats and secured their harnesses, they heard the ship's computer inform the captain that all passengers were secure. The captain then engaged the hyperspace drive countdown. They heard the ship report "hyperspace drive engaged in three, two, one, hyperspace drive engaged. They felt a huge weight force them into their chairs as far as they could go. Then they felt a gradual release of the weight. When he could not feel any more weight, Chitrah told Andriel that it was safe to unfasten the harnesses.

Chitrah could see the excitement back in Andriel's face. She had just experienced something new. Andriel asked, when it came time to leave hyperspace won't they feel uncomfortable being forced against the harness? Chitrah smiled, while he told her that the ship will turn their chairs around so that it will feel the same as when they jumped into hyperspace.

Andriel went back to the holonet because she had a lot more questions and she did not want to keep asking Chitrah. She felt that she may be getting too dependent on him.

After the jump, the captain brought Chitrah some circuit boards, and cards, that he wanted him to examine. Chitrah knew that while he was examining the boards, and cards, that no-one would dare touch his equipment. So he went to his cabin and got his bag. One of the cards he examined had a hairline crack in one of the circuits. The integrity of the card was sound, so Chitrah went ahead and repaired it. Next time he saw the captain he informed him of what he had found. When the captain looked closely at the board, and was able to identify where it had come from, he told Chitrah that it had always worked intermittently when they were first given the ship. They replaced it, and kept forgetting to take it in to get examined.

Meanwhile Andriel had found a schematic of the ship, and realised that no-one had shown her where the escape pods were. Something she would rectify after dinner. It would give her an excuse to explore the ship.

After dinner she told Chitrah that she was going to locate the escape pods. Chitrah said it was a good idea. He knew that what she really said was I'm going exploring. What they did not know was that the first mate had just gone off-duty, and was approaching the common room, when he heard her tell her husband that she was going to go look for the escape pods. He stopped in his tracks before they could see him in the common room. He had originally planned on getting some rest, but decided he wanted a little fun first. He was able to get around the common room without being seen, and started back towards where the escape pods were. Hoping to trap the pretty lady.

Andriel found one of the escape pods. Checked over the controls to make sure she understood them then peeked inside. It would be really cramped if three adults tried to squeeze inside it, but would probably be comfortable for two adults and one child. Then she had a cold chill run down her spine, she was not alone.

She straightened up and spun around, and found the first mate blocking her way, with one arm resting on the bulkhead, and a stupid grin on his face, like he had won some prize. He stroked her cheek with one of his lekku and asked her, "Why don't we head back to your cabin, and have some fun?" She knew in her gut that he wanted to rape her. Ever since puberty, her mother had warned her that some bad men would try to trap her, and hurt her, and she had to act fast to get away from them. It became a tradition of theirs that she would show her mother the manoeuvre that she had been taught.

So she put all her force into a punch, catching him just below the diaphragm. Just as her mother had taught her. This caused the first mate to double over and to try and catch his breath. He had been expecting her to try to kick him between the legs, but not this. She quickly manoeuvred around him, and since she had the advantage, she kicked him hard in the backside, causing him to slam his head into the door of the escape pod, and crash onto the floor. When he turned his head slowly in unbelief at what she had just done to him. She told him, "touch me again and I'll have my husband tear out all your fingernails." Then she ran.

She didn't run to her cabin, because she did not feel safe being by herself. Instead she ran to the common room. Seeing Chitrah working on one of the cards, she said, "Darling! Coming?"

Chitrah knew right away something was wrong, she still hated him and would never called him darling. He quickly threw all the small pieces of test equipment into his bag, so that they would not be lost. Left everything else lying where it was, and followed Andriel back to her cabin.

Chitrah secured the door behind him, and told the ship's computer to play some soft music. Then he noticed that Andriel was shaking. She sat on her bed and hugged her legs to her chest as if this would protect her. Then she described in detail what had just happened. Chitrah asked if he could make some tea for her. She nodded her head yes, and almost bit her lip trying hard not to cry. Chitrah asked her which tea was best for calming her down, and how long he should brew it. For some reason his gut told him to keep her engaged on mundane things, to help her keep her mind off of what just happened. One thing about a transport, there is usually scalding hot water available everywhere, all the time. So he did not have to leave Andriel by herself, and go to the common room for it. Fortunately there was an aerator on the nozzle so the water would not taste bad. When the tea was brewed he scooped out the leaves and gave the cup to Andriel, it was still hot, but sip-able. Andriel took the cup in both her hands and had a couple of quick sips then relaxed. Chitrah took his hands and cupped them gently around hers, and looked her right in her eyes.

"You know I'll do anything to protect you, don't you?"

She wondered why she hated him, when he's only been good to her. His hands enveloping hers felt so secure. It was almost like he was hugging her, and she stopped shaking, and nodded her head, yes.

Chitrah took his hands away, and started to shake himself. He was so angry with this nerf herder. That he wanted to grab him, and rip his head off. He decided that he better make himself a cup of tea, to calm himself down.

He sat himself down on the floor in front of her cabin door with his cup of tea. He wanted her to know he's on watch, she's safe.

They both sat their quietly for a few minutes then Andriel finally asked the question that had been tearing at her heart, ever since she found out that she had to marry him. Why he went to the Ministry to get permission to marry? Did some Imperial suggest that he do it?

Chitrah was surprised and told her "No", then proceeded to tell her what really did happen. He told her about his conversations with his father. How he let his father know he felt ready to marry, and how his father had already scouted out a potential mate for him. He needed to get permission to marry, before his father could officially enter negotiations for a marriage contract. He told her he felt sure that his father had already approached her parents to make sure they would be agreeable to arranging a marriage. Andriel felt real bad. She suddenly realised that Chitrah was hurting as much about this whole thing as she was, maybe even more. She felt so ashamed of herself, but was too embarrassed, and too proud, to say I'm sorry for hating you. She asked him, if he knew who the young lady was? He said he didn't but he was sure his mother did. Father would never do anything like that without her full support. It was probably mother who first noticed her and told him she's the one for Chitrah. That's what happened when they decided to arrange a marriage for his brother, and she's a really nice lady. They sat there for a few minutes, before Chitrah asked Andriel, if there had been someone special in her life. She told him no, none of the men in her clan interested her. She had not had that mother, daughter, talk yet. Then she told him how her mother decided to verify what his father had told her. Chitrah could imagine how shocked she felt when her mother asked her cousin to see if he could get permission to marry Andriel.

After sitting there quietly for a while, each one lost in his or her thoughts. Chitrah suggested that Andriel should get some sleep. He could stay there all night, if it would make her feel better. Andriel told Chitrah she would be fine, he could return to his cabin to get his rest. After all, he did teach her how to secure her door. He said alright, "But if you have a bad dream, or have trouble sleeping, get the computer to wake me. I will let the computer know that you can contact me anytime, anywhere."

Later on in life, when Andriel and Chitrah look back at this moment in their lives, they agreed that this conversation would have happened on this trip anyway, because of Andriel being so outgoing, and needing to talk things out. The attempted rape just caused it to happen sooner than later.

For the rest of the trip, after dinner, Andriel would stand at the entrance of the common room and say "Darling! Coming?" Meaning it's time to come and talk. They took turns making the tea for each other. For Chitrah, these conversations were very much in line with the conversations he would have expected to have, with anyone his parents would have selected as a potential mate. The only different was, he always had the option to say no, to the person his parents would have selected. With Andriel he was stuck, for better, or for worse.

The day after the attempted rape, the captain noticed that his brother had a gash over one eye, from when he smashed his head into the door of the escape pod, and he did a poor job of patching it up. He asked his brother if he was having trouble with the passengers. His brother told him there was a small misunderstanding. "As Captain I order you confined to quarters when not on duty, until after these passengers disembark. Computer take note, and inform me if there is a breach of this order!" The first mate saluted, and said, "Yes brother". He knew his brother hated it when he called him brother, instead of Captain, when they were both on duty. Later that day when he was walking from the bridge to the common room, he encountered Chitrah walking the other way, probably going to talk to his brother about one of the cards. Suddenly Chitrah slams his shoulder into the middle of his chest smashing him hard against the bulkhead. Then pinning him there with his elbow and forearm on his chest, making it hard for him to breath. Through gritted teeth, Chitrah informed him, "My wife told me what you did last night. Touch her again, and you'll find out how hard it is to pick things up without fingernails." Chitrah thought it was best to continue on with the threat his wife had made.

The first mate was upset and genuinely afraid. He had never had people stand up like that to him before. For the rest of the trip he was either on the bridge or in his cabin. When he went to the common room to heat up his meals, he would take them to the bridge when they were ready, and eat them there. Chitrah let Andriel know, that it was safe for her to explore the ship to her heart's content.

She believed him, and she did. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and the drop from hyperspace went just as Chitrah predicted.

The captain never had his brother so diligently carryout an order before, and he suspected that Chitrah had something to do with it. He would invite him to the bridge when his brother was off-duty. Asking if he could help him run diagnostics on some of the systems. He really did need help in that regard. He could get into the systems with captains authority, but he deeded a computer technician to help him run the diagnoses. These systems had never been checked for as long as he has been captain, and there is no record of them ever being checked. The real reason he had invited Chitrah to the bridge, was to get to know him better. Maybe there was something about him that he could learn that would help him deal with his brother.

When they were ready to start their decent to Yitabo, the captain routed a camera feed from the forward camera, which was normally used when landing on a landing pad, so that his passengers could watch their decent on the large viewing screen in the common room, while strapped in their seats. He did this because of all the help Chitrah gave him, and because he knew Andriel had a very healthy curiosity. Of course Andriel was thrilled. They saw the heat buildup on the shields during entry into the atmosphere. Then the heat dissipate as they slowed down and the frigid temperature of the upper atmosphere cooled them. They saw the fields of Ebla, Quinto, Grassgrain, and other commercial grains, as blotches of shades of green and yellow. As they approached the planet's surface the blotches grew into a quilt of organised rectangles. Then they could make out the details of the buildings in the town next to the spaceport. Then the feed was cut off, as the captain needed it to put down his ship on the right landing pad. They quickly unhitched their harnesses when they felt the freighter touch down, and went to their cabins to double check, and triple check, that they had everything.

They wore the same outfits that they wore when they first boarded the freighter. The outfits they wore to their wedding. When they walked down the ramp to the planet's surface, the captain was there to see them off. There was no sign of the first mate, for which they were grateful.

When they went through security with their Ministry id, they were only stopped so that the Ministry's building could be pointed out to them, as well as were the hotel was. Chitrah hired a porter droid to take all their luggage to the hotel, except for Chitrah's equipment bag, which Chitrah kept with him. They both thought it was best if Andriel went straight to the hotel, and checked in. Once she was settled, she could then go out and get a lay of the land. Chitrah would go straight to the Ministry office to get the details of his assignment on Yitabo. They could meet up at the tea shop in the hotel for dinner, and talk about what they would do next.

The building that the Ministry occupied was a basic block building with small windows. The people inside would die, if there was no air conditioning system. It turned out the air conditioning system, was not that great. No-one working in the building wore a jacket, and most employees had their sleeves rolled up hoping it might help cool them down.

Chitrah had no trouble finding the office he needed. They were expecting him. They had heard that he was good at working with difficult systems, and they had a challenge for him. There were four major agribusinesses on the planet that produced about 75 to 80 percent of all the food on this planet, and the Ministry desperately needed them to be connected to their computer system, so that they would have accurate information, for predicting harvest size, and time. Than they could distribute the planet's resources in the most timely, and cost efficient manor, to the sectors where it was needed. The problem is, the computer systems used by these businesses, were ancient.

When computer systems first came out, the farmers were all over them. They saw the potential for large scale improvement in every part of their industry using computers. There was a lot of co-operation between farmers, and the system software engineers. For the first number of years, there was excellent programs being written for the farming community. Then the computer designers became cocky, and thought that bells, and whistles, was the way for them to expand their business. The new computers and their programs with bells, and whistles, were a disappointment to the farming community, because the core of the programs were worse then what they already had in their older systems. So they stopped buying the new computers and software, and were soon forgotten by the computer industry.

Now they have computers that operate at the speed of a bantha. (Banthas are large agricultural animals that are commonly used as beasts of burden, throughout the galaxy, and are known for their slow steady pace.) These computers need to interact with a computer system that operates at the speed of a podracer. (Podracers are very fast, dangerous machines that are driven over various terrain types, in races).

They were told that he could solve this problem, and their computer estimates that he could have it completed in six months. Where four, seven day cycles make up one month. They are placing a droid operated repulsor-lift vehicle at his disposal, for the duration of his stay here on Yitabo.

As he has changed status from single to married. They have a new contract for Chitrah to sign, with a pay increase to reflect that status. The down side is that married personnel are required to cover their own accommodation expenses. So they can only cover the room they booked for them at the hotel, for a total of three days. They also don't have any openings in the Ministry's married personnel residents, where they would normally house long term visiting personnel. They recommend that once he and his wife have settled, that he go out and inspect the computers he will be modifying. So that he can come up with a workable plan.

After signing the new contract, and downloading a copy into his computer, one of the staff members told him that they don't have the capability of issuing the Ministry security id that he has. The id they produce on Yitabo is just the standard used in this sector of space for generations. It might be a good idea for him and his wife to come in and get a copy of this id, since there are some places, on some worlds, were you would be targeted, if displaying Ministry id.

Chitrah thought that was a very good idea, since he was already concerned about that. This would be one of the things, on the list of things he needed to talk to Andriel about.

Chitrah had the droid drive him over to the hotel, and the droid gave him a code that he could enter on any communicator on the planet, and he would come and pick him up. When he entered the tea shop he found Andriel sitting at a table being served tea by the waitress. That was a good sign, it means she hasn't been waiting very long. He walked over and sat down. She let him know that she had only just arrived and hadn't ordered anything yet. The town is just as was described. She found the dress shop, and would like to go over tomorrow, to see if she can assist the owner in any way. If she can, it will make living here for her much better.

After they ordered dinner, he showed her his copy of the new contract he had to sign. Knowing she had business training, she should have no trouble understanding the contract. While she was reading, he told her the status of their current accommodations. He told her about how long they expected him to take to complete his job assignment, he also mentioned the offer to be issued standard id for their safety.

While he was talking she would nod her head at the appropriate places, to let him know she was listening. After she finished reading the contract she handed his computer back to him. "So you don't work directly for the Ministry, but are a subcontractor working for them, but being extended the same benefit package, as an employee?"

Chitrah nodded his head, and said "Yes" wondering where this was going.

"That means that you are not an Imperial, which means that I'm not married to an Imperial"

Chitrah saw that this was important to her. "Yes, and by extension it also means that if I chose, I could bill the customers directly, and submit an expense claim to the Ministry."

"Interesting."

Andriel thought it would be best if they looked at the accommodations the hotel had to offer, first thing in the morning. It shouldn't take too long, they did not expect there to be a large choice. After they transferred their luggage, they can go get the new id. Then after lunch she can go and talk with the dress shop owner, while he drives out to the businesses to check their computers.

"Leave a message at the hotel, if you are not going to be back in time for dinner."

When they had finished their dinner Andriel took him to their hotel room so that he could drop off his equipment bag, and so that he knew which bed she claimed as hers. Then they went for a walk through the town, so that he knew where the various businesses were.

When they walked past the market, Chitrah noticed that some of the stalls were still open. He asked Andriel if they should stop in and get some flowers, or wait until they got their new accommodations. Andriel said she would get some on the way back from the dress shop tomorrow. Was there anything in particular he wanted? He told her to get whatever she wanted, he trusted her judgement. She did not know how to respond to that comment. Why did he say he could trust her, yet had not surrendered his credits to her? So she kept quiet as they walked back to the hotel.

When they got to their room Chitrah asked Andriel if she wanted him to stay outside while she prepared for bed. Andriel said that it was nice of him to ask, but he has already seen her in her nightgown and house coat, besides she can change in the bathroom, as she expected he would. They both got ready for bed. Chitrah informed the hotel computer when to wake them. Both of them drifted off to sleep, each lost in their own thoughts.

The next morning they went down to the tea shop for breakfast. Then they went and inquired about the suites that were available, and what their bi-cycle rate would be, since Chitrah was paid on a bi-cycle schedule.

In each suite that they checked out, Chitrah would check out the couch, when he thought Andriel was not looking. Andriel wanted to laugh but pretended not to see. At least he knows where he'll be sleeping.

They both agreed on the unit with a full sized kitchen and a dedicated kitchen droid, to clean up after them, when they were done in the kitchen. It also offered a nice view of the town from their dining area. The regular household droid would still come in at daily intervals, to vacuum the floor and replace towels and linen. They would be required to make their own bed, when the droid brought new linen, since the droid would be too busy with the regular suits in the hotel. Andriel believed that the droid was only programmed for cleaning, and it was the hotel owners, that were making the beds. The bathroom was self-cleaning, much like the bathrooms on the freighter, so the last one out the door in the morning, would need to put the bathroom on its cleaning cycle. After Chitrah placed a deposit on the unit, they both went and got their luggage, and moved into their new apartment.

When Andriel came out of the bedroom, Chitrah stopped her and handed over half the credits he had. Andriel wanted to know why she was getting only half, and why now. Chitrah told her that her mother told him, that Andriel would be expecting to be handling all their finances. That she was only getting half because there were still some items he needed to buy. That he did not give it to her on the freighter, because he knew she hated him then, and he did not know if he could trust her with all the credits he had on him. Now she seems to have stopped hating him. Andriel bowed her head, and replied that she accepted the rebuke. He could have given her the credits on the freighter, even though she hated him, because to not handle the credits properly would have been an insult to her mother. Chitrah's face turned purple, he was sorry she felt he rebuked her, it was not intended. He told her that in his clan, it was usually the man who handled the finances. But in some families, like with his own parents, they treated it as a shared responsibility. It was hard for him to hand that responsibility, over to someone he was still getting to know.

Andriel thought about what he had said, and tried to see it from his perspective. "So you intended this as a compliment, and not as a rebuke."

With relief he nodded he's head and said "Yes!" Another disaster narrowly avoided.

"Good, shall we go get our new ids?"

Things went better after that. They got their new id cards, then had lunch together. After lunch he called the droid to drive him out to the businesses, to inspect their computer systems, she went to the dress shop.

When she arrived at the dress shop she found a human proprietor, who was around the same age as her mother. She told the lady that she has grown up in a dress shop, helping her mother. She is newly married, and is traveling with her husband, where his work takes him. She was hoping that she would be able to assist her in any way possible. The owner asked her if she knew how to weave. Andriel assured her that they often had to custom weave fabric, to make the custom dresses their clients expected of them. In recent years her mother left the weaving completely up to her, while she worked on other aspects of the dress. The owner replied, "We don't do the fancy dresses people in big cities expect, but it's important for a dressmaker to know how to weave her own material, when it's needed. Let's see how well you can handle my loom." She showed Andriel her loom in the workshop area. It was completely mechanical. There was no electronic computer assist with this getup. Andriel walked slowly around the loom, taking it all in. She knew the basic principles had to be the same. She just needed to understand how everything worked together. The owner was getting ready to put a stop to this experiment. She figured Andriel to be all talk. Suddenly, Andriel sat down at the loom and started working it, like she had been doing it all her life. The owner was definitely impressed. She told Andriel that she made it look easy. Andriel replied that it was easy, the hard part was setting it up properly and getting it started, which is what the owner had done. The owner had her stop, then formally introduced herself. She is Mrs. Grimshaw, a widow, and she would be pleased to have her help out in the shop. Would she like a cup of flushberry tea, she was just going into the kitchen to make some? Andriel introduced herself as Mrs. Andriel Marranna, and yes, she would like a cup of tea.

While they were drinking their tea, Andriel told her that she saw picture of a shaggy creature, that's raised on this planet, called a nerf. "Is the wool from this creature used to make anything?"

"Why of course. If I had access to a vehicle I'd take you right out to a herd in the country, so that you could gather some wool, come back to town, so that we could clean it out back. Spin it into thread and twine. Then we could knit whatever you wanted."

This all sounded very interesting to Andriel. The idea of getting wool from a live creature. Making her own thread and twine, would be like a dream come true. Knitting is something she has always wanted to try, but mother would always sub-contract that part out, because they had too much to do. She told Mrs. Grimshaw that her husband had access to a droid driven vehicle, maybe he would let her borrow it, when he was not using it.

"If he does. Make sure you wear something that you don't mind getting stinky, because the nerf's do smell something awful. Bring a washable bag that you can carry the wool in, because it will need to be washed out too, to get rid of the smell."

After tea, Mrs. Grimshaw asked Andriel if she could continue weaving, while she went and bought some supplies. She did not notice Mrs. Grimshaw put a sign in the window that read "Stepped out! Will be back shortly." She did not want any of her customers coming in, and being surprised, by meeting a stranger with very red skin. They might not take it well.

Mrs. Grimshaw went to the big agro-equipment supplies store to get the chemicals they would need to clean nerf wool, she was pretty certain Andriel would not have any trouble getting her hands on her husband's vehicle. She paid for the supplies, and arranged to have them delivered. There was no-way that she could lift even one of the chemical containers by herself, but she was sure Andriel could. It was so nice to have someone around, who was so eager to learn. She was eager to teach.

Things did not go as smoothly as Chitrah wanted. The businesses were further away from town then he hoped. He only had time to visit two of them, before he had to return to town. If he wanted to be back in time to have dinner with Andriel.

The systems he found, were both the same, and totally different. The one system was close to original, with only a few upgrades. There was still enough room inside the main computer's box, that he could install what he needed, and have it fully secured. The other system was the same basic computer, but with probably every major upgrade, and expansion package, ever made for this system. There wasn't enough room for a flea to fart. Chitrah could not remember who taught him that expression, but it certainly applied here. He would need to attach an external box, with the equipment he needed inside, yet have secure connections to the main computer, without compromising anything, or leaving it open to be compromised. It is a headache, but he felt confident that he could figure it out. He was able to scan images of the computers into his computer, which was able to generate good quality 3D images that he would be able to use for his hardware designs. He will have to visit the last two businesses tomorrow morning, but from what he has seen from today, every system will require its very own custom solution.

Chitrah was also able to download all the programs common to both computers. The programs won't run on his computer, but there might be commands buried in the programs that will help with the software side of what he needs to build. He might be able to eliminate some of the programs he would have to go through, if they were not being used on either of the other two computer systems, he would be examining tomorrow.

Chitrah arrived at the hotel before Andriel, so he took a quick shower to wash all the road grime off his body, and put on something casual, but nice enough to go to dinner in.

Just as he finished dressing Andriel came through the door. He could see that she is excited about something, but somehow manages to restrain herself. When she sees that Chitrah has showered and changed into something casual but nice. She decides to do the same. Chitrah lets her know that he will wait for her in the lobby. During dinner, Andriel tells Chitrah how nice Mrs. Grimshaw has been to her, and what she would like to teach her, but that they would need to borrow a vehicle to facilitate it. Chitrah told her that he needed to go out first thing in the morning, but on his way back he needs to stop at the Ministry, to ask them some questions. He will also ask them about the vehicle, if they have no objections, she can have it tomorrow after lunch. Andriel was so excited that she did not know if she should kiss him, or clap her hands. She thought kissing him might send him the wrong signal, and for some reason she didn't clap her hands either, she just bounced in her chair which brought a big smile to Chitrah's face.

After dinner they both went back to their apartment. Chitrah wanted to go over the 3D images and see if he could come up with the start of some designs, Andriel wanted to tell him what she wanted to make with the wool. While Andriel was telling him about the wool vest she wanted to knit for him, but with short sleeves so that it would be comfortable to put on, over whatever he was wearing, on cold chilly evenings. Chitrah asked Andriel, if Mrs. Grimshaw was going to pay her for helping her in the dress shop? Well, Andriel got all furious, "Mr. Chitrah Drashing, to receive the same training back on Deysum III, I would need to enrol in a liberal arts college, pay three months' worth of wages just for the course, and buy all the material and basic equipment I would need, and she is offering to do this for free."

Chitrah quickly back tracked. "Okay, so you know a good deal when you see one. I did not mean to upset you."

Andriel really wanted this to happen, and she was afraid something would happen to stop it. So she was feeling a little edgy. She knew Chitrah did not mean anything by what he said, it was a valid question that he asked her. So she calmed down and let it slide.

She watched Chitrah play with the 3D image of the computer, which his computer was displaying holographically. She asked him what he was doing. He told her that he had captured the 3D images of the computers he had looked at that afternoon, and he was trying to design something to connect to them. She asked, if she could scan him into the computer and use it to design something for him to wear? He said it would be no problem for his computer. He handed her what looked like a plastic block with what looked like a light emitter at one end. He told her that he would stand still and she should point the plastic thing at him and press the button while she was doing it, and the computer would generate a 3D image of him that could be used for designing clothing for him.

He stood in the middle of the room and stuck his arms straight out horizontally, Andriel told him to bring his arms down to a 45 degree angle or the clothing would not fit him properly around the shoulders. Chitrah did as he was told and she slowly walked around him, scanning him from head to toe. When she was finished, he had the computer bring up his 3D image.

Andriel wanted him to walk her through how she would design a vest with short sleeves. She was good at following his instruction and came up with a nice design. She then wanted to be scanned into his computer, but first she wanted to change.

Chitrah said, "Great now I've created a monster." He really did not mean to say that out loud, but Andriel heard him and smiled. She came back wearing a tight form fitting top and tight pants. While Chitrah scanned her into the computer he mumbled that she might as well be naked. Andriel heard him and her cheeks went dark. She asked him what he said, he replied that maybe he should scan her in, naked. After he finished scanning her, he walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. It suddenly dawned on Andriel that Chitrah was taking a cold shower because of her. She had heard of guys doing it, but this was the first time that she actually knew. She felt both embarrassed and complimented by what she had done. She went into the bedroom and changed out of what she was wearing into something looser, and more comfortable. By the time Chitrah came out of the shower she had designed a vest with short sleeves for herself, it also made her 3D image less revealing. She asked Chitrah how she could get a hard copy of the dimensions of what she designed. Chitrah printed her a copy of both designs with the dimensions marked. Andriel saw that this was better than if she had used a tape measure.

Andriel was happy, Chitrah was not. He knew that he could not leave his computer lying around in the apartment. Or someone would get their hands on it. It was time for bed.

The next morning Chitrah had the droid drive him out to the last two businesses. On his way back to town, he stopped in at the Ministry and asked if they had the facility to manufacture custom work on site. They told him they did not, but the agro-equipment dealer did. They could setup an account for him in his name, billed to the Ministry. He said he would not need it for a couple of days, but it would be perfect for what he needed to do. They also told him to check out their electronic components section. He could build a brand new computer with what they have on hand. He then asked if it was okay for his wife to borrow the vehicle. They reminded him that the vehicle was his to use as he saw fit. He felt better about letting Andriel borrow the vehicle.