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)

7. Chapter 6

©2015

When the porter droid arrived, Chitrah gave it the gift basket, to take to the dress shop, and place it in the kitchen. All perishable items were to be placed in the cooler, the rest can be left on the kitchen table. Mrs. Grimshaw handed the droid the access card to the shop. The droid asked for the access code, Mrs. Grimshaw told the droid that there was no code.

After the droid left Mrs. Grimshaw explained, that with all the women coming in to change, and her having to rush over for the contest. She had to leave the access card behind so no-one would be locked in. She also disabled the access code so that it would be a card only access. She could not expect any of the women to remember the code, or some of them might still be there.

Andriel decided that now was the time to ask her something that she has wanted to know since first meeting her. "Mrs. Grimshaw. Is it too impertinent to ask what your given name is? How would you like us to call you?" Mrs. Grimshaw had a sharp intake of breath, "Do you mean to tell me that I have never told you my full name?" "To me you were always Mrs. Grimshaw. It never bothered me to call you that, because you deserved my respect, and I really do respect you."

"Well Chitrah, you may call me Emily! Andriel, you may call me mother!"

Andriel looked down at the floor like she was a young girl who was caught doing something bad.

"Yes mother!"

They all started laughing, it help them release the tension that had built up last night. Chitrah asked what if he forgot, and accidentally called her mother. She told him that she would have to feel honoured that a forgetful boy knew who she was. Which brought on more laughter.

Andriel and Chitrah got down to packing their belongings. Andriel would have preferred to have everything cleaned before packing it up, but they did not have the time. She would have to have it cleaned on Chalacta. While they were packing, Mrs. Grimshaw went down to the teashop for more tea. Shortly after she returned, the porter droid stopped by to drop off her access card. When they had finished packing, double checking and triple checking, to make sure they had not left anything behind. Chitrah arranged for two porter droids to come to the hotel and collect all their belongings, and deposit them in a secure storage locker. They could have had their luggage taken straight to the freighter, but they no longer trusted the crews on freighters. They were booked on a Siena Fleet Systems Anxarta-class Light Freighter. It had only one crew member, and 6 Passenger Cabins. Chitrah made sure that they had reserved 2 of the cabins. No other passengers were listed.

Andriel went down to the main desk to check that their account was settled and closed.

Mrs. Grimshaw and Chitrah went to the teashop to wait for her, so that they could have their lunch together.

While they waited, Chitrah checked to make sure that they had no meat left in the freezer. After lunch, Mrs. Grimshaw walked them to the spaceport. There were a lot of people in town who would have liked to see them off, but the vendors' at the market convinced everyone, to leave it as a special time for them and Mrs. Grimshaw. Everyone had tears in their eyes as they hugged and said their goodbyes. Chitrah told Mrs. Grimshaw that he owed her a huge debt of gratitude for everything she has done for them. Mrs. Grimshaw told him there is no debt, and Andriel would explain to him why. She watched as they entered the spaceport to collect their luggage, and board the freighter. As the ramp to the freighter was closing, Mr. Radcliff appeared from around one of the side buildings, and stood beside Mrs. Grimshaw. He took her left hand and placed it inside his right elbow. Mrs. Grimshaw displayed no negative feelings towards him. She asked him, "Are they the ones?"

"They are the only couple in the galaxy that we know of, where the husband is blue and the wife is red."

"Yes, but are they the ones?"

"We will know for sure if they pass the next test!"

As the freighter lifted off, suddenly two small balls of light appeared, one came off of Mr. Radcliff, the other off of Mrs. Grimshaw. They both rose straight up a couple of meters, then they shot forward arching upward, then suddenly disappeared, as if they had entered hyperspace. Kenny had been sitting in the repulsor-lift vehicle, watching them. He was happy to see them standing together, and when he saw the bundles of light come off them, he wondered if that was why Mr. Radcliff had been behaving badly.

To Mr. Radcliff it was like he was waking up from a bad dream. He notice that he was standing by Mrs. Grimshaw and her hand was holding his arm.

"Emily?"

Mrs. Grimshaw suddenly noticed him, and started to remove her hand. "Rudy!"

"Please Emily, I prefer that you leave your hand where it is."

Mrs. Grimshaw left her hand where it was. They just stood there for a moment watching the freighter fly out of sight.

"Emily, has the past two months seemed like you spent it, in a fog?"

"Uh-huh!"

"You know that was not me, behaving so poorly?"

"Uh-huh!"

"How can I make it up to you?"

"You can take me to dinner, and send over some nerf cheese."

"I did not know you liked nerf cheese."

"I did not know either, until I tried it."

"My mistake, I'm sorry… Do you think your daughter and her husband will turn out okay?"

"I hope so! They are both lovely people! … What do we tell the people?"

"I'll get Kenny to spread the story that I was testing you. We had gotten close and I was afraid. I wanted to know, which is more important to you, people or money? When I saw that you had developed a relationship with Andriel, I decided to push it, and got a little carried away."

"That story just might work. You know it will take a while for the people to stop hating you?"

"I know, and I do not blame them. I'd hate me too for what I did."

"I think I know why they made you do it."

"Oh! Why?"

"To protect Andriel. With you going full out after her, the regular vermin were too afraid to go near her. They were afraid that if they interfered, you would destroy them."

Hearing that made Mr. Radcliff feel a little better. When they could not see the freighter anymore, they turned to look at each other. Mr. Radcliff took each of Mrs. Grimshaw's hands in his. "Emily Grimshaw will you marry me?"

"Yes Rudy, but not right away."

She than told him about the first lady who bought Andriel's designed outfit, and how she might be pregnant, and gives credit to the outfit. She needs to start training staff, so if she is pregnant, and the story gets around, there will be a demand on that outfit. She could not move to the ranch and abandon the women of Yitabo.

On the mountain of Voss-Ka, in the Tower of Prophecy, in one of their special rooms, two elderly mystics lay naked in the middle of the room, lying head to toe. They are so old, that a human would not have been able to discern that they were naked. Let alone that one was male and the other female. With the coloration pattern of their skin, a human would have thought that they were wearing a camouflage jump suit. On close observation you would have seen a spark of life enter one body through the toes, travel up the body and exit through the mouth. Enter the next body through the toes move up the body, and exit through the mouth. Repeating in a continuous cycle. Above the bodies was a mist, swirling in the opposite direction of the spark of life. The mist was composed of water vapour and crypt-berry extract. To touch it, would be instant death. Yet suspended above the bodies it kept them from dying, as it kept them from living. Two Voss acolytes managed the machine that generated the deadly mist. If the mist was not maintained, in a short time it would completely dissipate. A short time after the mist dissipated the spark of life would abandon the bodies and they would start to decay. Completely surrounding the bodies, at a safe distance from the mist, a group of Voss acolytes were chanting. The acolytes, were continuously being replaced, with fresh acolytes, to make sure that the chanting never ceased, day or night. For more than two months, they have kept their vigil. Suddenly a small group of mystic elders appeared. The mist machine was turned off, and the two acolytes took the machine away to safely dispose of its deadly content. The chanting never stopped. After the mist dissipated, and just as the spark of life was about to abandon the bodies, two small spheres of light entered the room. One descended into each body. They both arched their backs and gasped for air. Life had returned to the bodies, and they started to live.

The chanting continued. A short time later another small group of acolytes entered the room carrying two robes. They placed one robe on each body, and carefully helped each mystic to their feet, and face the other elders. The one mystic reported, "It was as prophesied, I was merely an observer. The subject readily accepted the red lady as her daughter." The act of making the report seemed to drain the mystic of all energy. The acolytes let her slowly descend back down to the ground. They let the other mystic lay down as well, then as a group lifted up their bodies in their robes, and carried them to the room where they would recover. The chanting acolytes followed them, as they were part of the key for their recovery.

At the same time as the freighter lifted off. The technicians in charge of the Ministry's computer, contacted those in charge of Chitrah's projects. Asking them if they had time to analyse all the up-dated computer projections now that they had four streams of viable data. The officials were caught completely off guard, they had thought that there was only one stream of viable data. They quickly called up the computer data and confirmed that there was four steams of raw data. They sent a junior official to each of the three remaining ranches to confirm that the data was coming from those computer systems. That it was not a fancy illusion. Then they looked at the analysis of the data. Harvest was happening in a shorter window then they had anticipated. They have to arrange for every available freighter to come and haul away all residual grain from last harvest, as well as, starting to haul away the new harvest, or they would quickly run out of storage capacity, on Yitabo. Leaving the grain in the fields to rot.

After the junior officials confirmed that the data was coming from the computer systems at each ranch. The officials had to contact the head of the Interior Ministry on Yitabo. They informed him that Chitrah had not invoked clause 43. But had in fact completed all his assignments. They also mentioned that the harvest was happening at a faster pace than anticipated. They needed to arrange transportation of the grain, right now! They also recommended that since Chitrah completed his assignments, 4 months ahead of schedule and, it was anticipated to be at half of the budgeted cost, that he receive two cycles of pay as a bonus. The minister told them that he would talk with the Moff and pass along their recommendation.

The minister recognised the urgency of the situation, and contacted the Moff right away. When talking to the Moff he gave him a full report of the situation, including that Chitrah had completed all his assignments four months ahead of schedule, and at a considerable cost savings, and a recommended bonus. The Moff agreed that Chitrah should be rewarded. He gave the minister permission to contact the Moff that they were transferring Chitrah to, so that he wasn't to be punished. That they were rewarding him with a bonus. He also gave him permission to contact all the transport companies in his name, so that they could arrange to get the freighters they needed for hauling grain. This way none of their systems would be overwhelmed, but handled in an orderly manner, as befits the Interior Ministry.

Chitrah spent his time going over circuit boards and cards, for the captain. Andriel spent her time exploring the ship. She wasn't worried about anyone trying to trap her and rape her. As they knew where the captain was at all times. Every evening they would get together in Andriel's cabin for tea and to talk. Andriel explained how children cannot have a debt burden from their parents.

As Mrs. Grimshaw, Emily, accepts her as her daughter, and she recognises her, as her mother, the burden of debt she felt was no more.

They also talked about the meaning of their names. Andriel means Princess, and Chitrah means Warrior-Hero, or Champion. They were both surprised at how close their last names were. Drashing means Traveler, or literally "One who walks the Skies", Mirrana means Wanderer, or literally "One who walks the Skies". They were both much more comfortable, talking to each other about themselves, and the things they like to do. Chitrah confessed that he would still like to work with leather.

What neither of them knew, was that subconsciously, Chitrah had stopped looking at Andriel as his wife, but rather as a female member of his family, like a younger sister, or more accurately, a sister-in-law. Unfortunately for Andriel, he was now less prone to show outward affection. He did still love her, and if he thought she was in danger, he would quickly turn into a rabid rancor to protect her.

Andriel needed the outward show of affection. When she stopped hating Chitrah, because she never asked his forgiveness, she started hating herself. Her esteem of Chitrah went up, but at the cost of her own self esteem.

On Yitabo, the constant reminder of his love for her, helped to buoy her self-esteem. She was in a sense addicted to it. Now that she wasn't getting it any more, she was heading to a crisis.

Chalacta was a terrestrial planet with large bodies of water, and the land masses were dominated by rolling plains. Their capitol city Jondir, was situated near the equator. Their economy was mixed, with agricultural and light industry in balance, because of their spiritual beliefs. The Chalactans appeared human, but their hair was always black, and their skin was darker, making them appear like they had nice rich tans. Though they were highly spiritual, they would be friendly with foreign visitors to their planet.

Chitrah had been reading the description over Andriel's shoulder. He had intended to remind her that they needed to strap in for docking.

After the freighter docked at the Chalacta spaceport, they took a shuttle down to Jordir. In the shuttle terminal, they checked in at the information kiosk. There they found out at which hotel the Ministry had booked a room for them. From the terminal they were able to take a droid taxi to their hotel. Chitrah had the taxi wait for him, it was still morning local time, after checking in, he wanted to head to the Ministry to see what work assignments they had for him. Andriel would make sure that all their stuff made it to their room, except for Chitrah's computer, which he always took with him. She then scouted around to see what local shops there were, that they could take advantage of, and if there was a local market nearby. She found a local cleaner's, that she was happy about, because she wanted to have all her clothing cleaned, but did not want to do it at the hotel. She felt that they knew too much about her already, and did not want them pawing through her clothes. She took to the independent cleaner's all her clothes and her luggage case, since they said they could sanitize it as well. They promised her that everything would be ready before dinner.

When she met Chitrah for lunch at the hotel, he handed her all of the credits he had received as a bonus for the work he completed on Yitabo. Andriel told him that she was going back to the shuttle terminal to open an account with the Muun controlled Intergalactic Banking Clan. She had noticed that every shuttle terminal and space port had a kiosk. This way they would need to carry less credits on their person. She wanted to set it up in both their names so that either one could access it. Tomorrow they could take their lunch at the terminal, so that he would have the time to have his name put on the account.

Chitrah told her that they only had about 2 cycles worth of work for him. Because of that, they would cover the cost of their basic hotel suite for the duration. If they chose to upgrade to a different suit, they would need to cover the difference.

They both wanted an upgrade. Andriel would find out after lunch, what the hotel had available, and would let Chitrah know, which units, were her top choices. She did not think it worthwhile to find a dress shop. Since they would only be there for two seven day cycles, if he had any errands he needed her to run, she could do it, otherwise she would play tourist and go look at some of the local temples. Being a religious people, they had many beautiful temples.

When Chitrah heard about the local cleaners, he asked, if she could take his stuff over there as well? She promised to do it first thing in the morning. Chitrah did not think that any of his assignments here would be very difficult. He thinks that they asked him to do them, because they did not know what to do with him.

While Andriel was at the shuttle terminal she scanned a display of local advertisements'. She noticed a gym that offered a self-defence course. It started tomorrow evening, and would continue every evening for two cycles. This was one of the things she and Chitrah had discussed on Yitabo. She obtained a copy of the local contact information, then went to a public access communicator, threw in some credits and contacted the gym. It turned out the course was offered by an officer in the local planetary defence organisation. She signed herself and Chitrah up for the course, confirming time and place. She could hardly wait to tell Chitrah.

At dinner she told him, all about the self-defence course she had signed them up for. She hoped he did not mind that she signed him up. Chitrah mentioned that she would probably end up practicing on him, so he might as well go learn how to defend himself from her. Andriel smiled at the comment, she also felt that it was a piece of prophecy that would probably come true. After dinner they checked out the units that Andriel had selected earlier, as good possible upgrades. They both settled on a one bedroom unit that had two beds in the bedroom, with a nice kitchen and dining area. There was a cleaning droid dedicated to the unit. It could clean the kitchen, and the rest of the unit. It knew not to throw everything out that it found. It was intelligent enough to know what items should be placed in the cooler, which should go into the cupboard. It would only throw flowers out that were wilted and needed to be replaced. It would provide fresh linen for the beds every day, and knew how to do the beds. Andriel thought she should record the model and manufacturer of the droid, in case they were able to settle down and have their own place. It might be a handy droid to have around.

They decided to move in, in the morning. Chitrah asked if she could give him a quick tour of the area. While they were walking around, Chitrah handed Andriel a list of electronic components that he would like her to pick up for him, when she had time. When they arrived back at their hotel room, they both got ready for bed. Chitrah found that he was not yet tired enough to go to sleep. He wondered if Andriel felt the same way. When he was younger and slept in the same room as his brother, when he felt like this, he would always end up in a pillow fight with his brother. His parents would always delay coming up, to let them work the energy out of their systems. Then one of them, depending on whose turn it was, would come into their room and scold them. Telling them to stop fighting and go to sleep. They would usually fall asleep right away. So he asked Andriel if she was tired. When she said, No! Womp! He hit her in the side of her head with a pillow. Andriel had never been in a pillow fight before, so she was caught completely by surprise, and she was angry. She grabbed a pillow and hit him smack in the middle of the big grin on his face. The war was on. She quickly stopped being angry, and the two of them were laughing at each other. Chitrah realised he had made a mistake. There was no adult to come walking in to stop the fight, and Andriel was too caught up, to slow down and stop. So he tackled her on her bed and held her until she calmed down.

Andriel suddenly found Chitrah on top of her. They were both breathing heavy from the combat. She had never wanted a man in her life before, but she suddenly found herself wanting him. If he had not pinned her arms to keep her from hitting him with a pillow, she would have started tearing his clothes off. But she could not move, so she dared him with her eyes to take her, she would not have resisted, she would have surrendered herself to him. But his eyes seemed to cloud over. When he felt that she had stopped struggling, he got up off her, and climbed into his own bed and went to sleep. He did not even go take a cold shower.

Andriel knew that he wanted more than just her surrender. A prostitute will surrender their body to you if you pay them enough credits. He did not want her surrender, he wanted her to give herself to him out of love. But something was different, he did not take a cold shower. Andriel was starting to believe that Chitrah may have stopped loving her. This was too much for her. She turned her back to him, and started crying softly, so he would not hear her. She told herself that she wanted to love him, but did not know why she did not, and did not know what to do about it. So she cried herself to sleep. The truth was that she did love him, but the hate she held inside, poisoned her heart, so that she could not feel it.

The next morning when she got up, she decided not to fight it anymore. He was a nice guy, they got along well. Maybe they did not need love in their relationship. Deep in her heart she knew that this was the wrong thing to do, but she found it easy to ignore that feeling.

After breakfast they moved into their new suite. Andriel took everything she could find of Chitrah's stuff to the cleaners. She spent the rest of the morning buying supplies for their new kitchen. There was no baker in the area, so she decided that they would have grain flakes for breakfast, like when she stayed at Mrs. Grimshaw's. She also bought some frozen berries to throw on top, and some blue milk. She was able to find where a flower shop was, to buy flowers for the suite, she even found a shop that sold the components that Chitrah had asked her to get.

When she went to meet Chitrah for lunch at the shuttle terminal, she took the components with her. After lunch it was a simple procedure to put Chitrah's name on the account.

After that was finished, Chitrah told her it was time she had her own computer, so she would not need to borrow his, every time she wanted to design a new outfit. He remembered that there was a computer shop in the terminal. She asked if the components he asked her to get were for her computer, he said yes. Now she was confused inside, did he still love her? She happily went with him to buy her computer. After all, she was the one holding the credits. She picked one that was about half the size of the one Chitrah had. After looking it over carefully, Chitrah smiled and told her that he could make it work. He warned her that he would not have it ready for her until they met for lunch tomorrow. She was so happy that she kissed him on the cheek, which brought a big smile to his face. Maybe there is hope for their relationship, after all.

Andriel had bought some matching outfits for them to wear at the gym, and a couple of small gym-bags to carry their stuff. That way they could take a quick shower after their class. She suspected they would need it.

The instructor wanted to talk with them before the class. He wanted to hear from them, why they wanted to take the class. Andriel told him about the attempted rape. She wanted to be better prepared if she found herself in that situation again. The instructor was happy to hear her story and asked if she would share it with the class, since they had both done so many things that were right. When he asked Chitrah why he was talking the course, he was told that Chitrah wanted to be able to protect himself from Andriel. They all laughed even though they all knew it was true. When class started the instructor called Andriel to the front, Andriel shared her story with the class, when she mentioned that she had kicked the first officer in the butt, after she managed to get behind him, one of the young ladies started to clap. Then she stopped when she heard no-one else, so the rest of the class started to clap to let her know it was okay. After Andriel finished her story, the instructor started to show them the basics of self-defence, he would usually select Chitrah when he wanted to demonstrate something. Since he was the only guy in the class, and all the techniques he was showing them were to be used against guys. When it came time to practise techniques he would watch them closely. He was always telling Andriel that she needed to hold back on her follow through, so that she did not injure the person she practised with. Finally in frustration he stopped the class. He told Andriel in front of the whole class, that if this had been a martial-arts class, he would have asked her to leave. She is too dangerous to practise with, but because it is a self-defence course, he could not ask her to leave, because she deserved to know how to defend herself as much as anyone else. He forbade all the other female students from practising with her. He instructed her that she needed to buy full contact practise gear for Chitrah and herself, from a martial-arts store, before he could let her practise any more. Andriel was a little embarrassed by the rebuke, but Chitrah told her it was alright. He knew that when she made up her mind to do something she did not hold back, this was no different.

After class they found a large number of their classmates were going for dinner, and invited Andriel and Chitrah to join them. One of them knew of an eatery nearby where they could get a decent meal for a decent price. So they went along. Neither Andriel nor Chitrah recognised anything on the menu, so the other students ordered for them. The only question they asked them was how spicy they liked their food. Chitrah did not know, but decided to be cautious, Andriel was feeling adventurous, she felt that she could eat whatever they ate, so they decided to test her. They ordered the same meal for both of them, Chitrah's was fairly bland, hardly any spice, Andriel's was very spicy, hotter than any of the young ladies would order for themselves. To drink, they ordered a local commercial brand of new ale called Marley's Brew. The locals just called it brew. Not to be mistaken for Marley's Orthodox Brew, which is a popular local ale, which they call ox-brew, or hard brew. So the server brought them a round of brew. It was not as good as what Andriel and Chitrah had on Yitabo, but it was still a decent new ale. The ladies wanted to know about their time on Yitabo. They had heard rumours on Chalacta, that Yitabo farmers did not like non-humans, or as they like to call them, sub-humans.

Chitrah let Andriel do most of the talking, the only time they experienced any discrimination was when Chitrah became ill at a dance, and a mechanic from the Ministry started to make fun of him. In fact the local farmers stood up for Chitrah, putting that man in his place. Andriel was careful not to mention anything about Mr. Radcliff directly. When the food arrived one of the young ladies told Chitrah that his dish was rather bland, but he could take some of Andriel's dish and mix it with his own to get the level of taste and spice that he was comfortable with. He had a little taste of Andriel's dish and thought it wasn't bad, until the spice kicked in. He had to take a good swallow of brew to cool his palate, good thing it was chilled. He started mixing some of Andriel's dish with his own, and found a good balance in taste and heat. Andriel thought that she could dig right in to her dish, being immune to most poisons, and having a higher threshold for alcohol consumption. Which is all well and good, when they are already inside you. It was getting it in that was the hard part. It hadn't bothered her that Chitrah had been raiding her plate and mixing it with his own. She stopped talking for a moment and put a big spoonful in her mouth. The ladies were quite surprised on how much Andriel took on her first spoonful. All of a sudden everyone became quiet at their table and they all started watching Andriel. Andriel wondered what all the fuss was about and chewed her food. Suddenly she felt like her mouth was on fire. She quickly swallowed what was in her mouth and reached for her bottle of brew with her left hand. By this time she had streams of tears coming down her face. She drank almost the whole bottle of brew before the fire was out. She had placed her right hand down on the edge of her chair, to help keep her balance while she drank. She felt Chitrah place his hand on hers', to let her know that she did not have to make a point by trying to finish her dish. She took his hand in hers', her Champion had come to her rescue again. When she put the bottle down, Chitrah offered a spoonful of his mix, it was still a little on the hot side, because of the residual heat still in her mouth, but it tasted good. One of the ladies ordered her another bottle of brew. The ladies thought it was romantic that Andriel and Chitrah were holding hands, while he kept feeding her.

Andriel went back to her story telling, telling about collecting nerf wool, about how nice Mrs. Grimshaw was to her. She is now Andriel's mother. How the farmers treated and respected Chitrah. All the while taking a spoonful of food whenever Chitrah brought it to her mouth. The evening went quite well. The ladies were sorry that they set Andriel up like that. Andriel was gracious, she admitted that she had never had spicy-hot food before, and should have been more cautious. They told her that they had watched the portions that Chitrah was mixing and would be better at ordering food for them, that they were comfortable with. They parted company, looking forward to seeing one another at the next class. Some of the ladies had noticed how Andriel had slipped Chitrah the credits that he used to cover their portion of the bill. They had heard that Devaronian women control the purse strings in a relationship, now they knew it to be true.

Andriel continued to hold Chitrah's hand on the trip back to their hotel. She thanked him for placing his hand on hers. If he had not, she would have kept trying to eat her dish. He asked her how her mouth was, she told him that it still felt hot when she exhaled. He suggested that they stop for some frozen dessert at the hotel teashop before going up to their suite. She liked that idea. That just might be what her mouth needed.

They had no trouble falling asleep that evening, they were both exhausted from their workout that day. The next morning after breakfast, Andriel went to find the martial-arts store to buy the equipment the instructor recommended. Even though it was bulky to put on, it was mostly trapped air. So it could be packed in a small space. The bags they already had, where good enough. It also meant that they would be able to take it with them on their travels, so that they could keep practising, wherever they were. Chitrah took Andriel's computer with him, to install all the components into it, and download all the software, so that she could work on her designs. When they met at their suite for lunch, Chitrah demonstrated her computer to her. All the files she had generated in his computer where now in hers, and erased from his. He had also scanned his suit into his computer than transferred it to hers, so that she could show-off how he looked when he wore the shirt she made with his suit. Andriel showed him all the equipment she bought, and they practised putting it on and walking around their suite, to get comfortable with it. When they took it off they each tried to see how small they could make it, so that they would have a good idea how much room it would take up in their luggage. Chitrah was very impressed in how little room it actually took up.

When Chitrah left, Andriel spent the rest of the afternoon playing with her computer. She had no idea what time it was, until Chitrah returned and told her it was time to get ready and go to the gym. Andriel wanted to know if it was okay for her to take her computer, so that she can show the ladies all the dress designs she made on Yitabo, when they went for dinner. Chitrah thought that this once, it would be okay, since no-one would know she had it until she pulled it out at dinner and showed everyone how handsome he looked in his suit. But she should not take it to anymore classes. With a big smile she agreed. In class the instructor took advantage of Chitrah's equipment by not holding back as much as he would otherwise. Chitrah was happy that he held something back, or he still could have been injured. Andriel did not hold anything back when she practised with him. A number of the ladies asked her if they could also practise with him, so that they would know what it felt like to not hold back. She let them, and she wasn't bothered by them flirting with Chitrah. She knew that he was her man.

The instructor watched the dynamics with Chitrah in the course. He had never allowed a guy into his course before. He felt if men knew the techniques he taught, it would be harder for the women to defend themselves. Most of his time as a planetary defender, was spent patrolling the streets of Jordir making sure they were safe for the people. He had come across to many victims of rape, and felt he needed to do something about it. His wife fully supported him, she was also an officer in the Planetary Defence. She usually covered his evening shifts when he taught a course. When the city built new training facilities to train their cadets, he was able to convince them to hand this facility over to him as long as he covered all the operating costs. This was the only group of women that seemed so relaxed in his course, yet they were also the best at mastering the techniques. He felt that having a guy in the course that they could throw around, helped. He was not at all blind to them flirting with him, even though his wife was standing right there. This told him they felt safe with him. He wondered if he could recruit some of the defenders, who said they had trouble meeting women, because of their job. To come and be practise dummies for the women. Who knows, it might spark some romance. What he would really like, would be to find someone as passionate about training the women as he is. If his wife ever becomes pregnant, which is what they want, it will be harder to take time away to instruct the women. Without the courses, he would not be able to maintain the building and would lose this facility. It was a good thing that Andriel and Chitrah came along.

When they went for dinner that evening, the women ordered them completely different dishes, so that they could sample each-others. They also knew how spicy to have the chef make it. Andriel proudly showed off all the designs that she made on Yitabo. Of course she had to mention that the lady who bought the first design, claimed that she was pregnant because of the outfit. Mrs. Grimshaw had told her that they had been trying for five years to get pregnant. The ladies all wanted to have a closer look at that first design. They each wondered how they would look in that outfit.

They had settled into a comfortable pattern for their time on Chalacta. They were nice and tired when they went to bed each night. By the end of the two cycles, they were in the best shape they had ever been in. Chitrah had finished his assignments a day and a half before their self-defence course ended.

The Ministry had wanted him to leave the next day. Chitrah explained that he and his wife were taking a course together, and they both wanted to complete it. They contacted the officer teaching the course to see if there was any way that Andriel and Chitrah could finish the course early. He told them that it was not possible to deviate from the course design when they were almost finished. They never asked what the course was. They believed it was important, if an officer of the Planetary Defence Force was teaching it. The Moff's office may have even arranged it. They knew that instructions had come down to them, to treat Chitrah and his wife as if they were high officials in the Ministry. So they contacted the freighter to let them know that they would be down for maintenance for the next standard day.

The captain of the freighter notified the shipping company about the forced delay. The shipping company knew that you don't go against the Ministry. They discussed with the captain, the different things they could do with this time, to improve the ship. One of the office staff suggested that the captain ask the Ministry if they could lend him a computer technician, to help him run diagnostics on his different systems. If they agree then they would have the use of a technician at the Ministries expense. They all agreed that was the best approach to take, in this situation.

The captain contacted the Ministry and asked if they could loan him a computer technician to help with the down time. They knew Chitrah had nothing scheduled, so they agreed. They informed Chitrah that he would need to go up to the freighter to help the captain run diagnostics. Chitrah knew it would not take him that long, based on his experience, so he agreed. While getting ready to go to the gym, Chitrah told Andriel that he needed to go up to the spaceport on the following day, to help a freighter captain run diagnostics. He did not think he would be back in time to have lunch with her, but he should be back in plenty of time to get ready for their final class. When they arrived at the gym to get ready for class, the instructor asked them to step into his office. He told them that the Ministry had called him at work to see if he could accelerate them through the last part of the course. "I told them that it was not possible. That you are here tells me, that they had to accommodate you, which they don't like to do. I am happy that you are important enough to be here. I must say that you have made me rethink the way I present this course. Chitrah is the first male I have allowed into this course. The way the women have responded to you being here, has made them better students then, any I have had before. I don't normally do this, but since you both practise well together, and I may never see you again, I am going to give you the address of a couple of sites on the holonet that will help you progress in self-defence. Don't rush it, one or two new techniques every month will be enough to try and master. Andriel, if you do not learn self-control, you may wind up hurting someone you really want to help. The others are starting to arrive, we need to get ready for class."

The next morning, when Chitrah arrived at the shuttle terminal, he found they were expecting him and ushered him through the maintenance corridor, to get him directly on the shuttle to the spaceport, without all the security hassle. On the spaceport he was directed to a SoroSuub B'zabuu-class Transport, with a crew compliment of two. He recognised it as the one he and Andriel would be leaving on the following day. He introduced himself to the human captain of the ship, as the computer tech sent by the Ministry. The captain was happy to have him aboard. He told him how the Ministry was forcing them to delay their departure to accommodate some important person that they would be taking on board the next day. Chitrah smiled but did not comment. The company decided to catch up on important maintenance procedures that they have been putting off for too long. Chitrah told him that he already has experience running the maintenance, he just needs the captain to lead the way. The captain was thinking that this must be some important passenger they will be transporting, if they sent them a tech with experience. On the bridge the captain logged them onto each system, and let Chitrah run his programs. The whole day he kept talking about these big shots at the Ministry, who liked to throw their weight around, and it was the little guys like them who had to carry the weight. Chitrah found it amusing to just let him talk. After running all the static diagnostics and fine tuning all the adjustments on the equipment, Chitrah informed the captain that he needed to get back planet side, to keep an appointment with his wife. The only test that were left, were the dynamic tests which need to be run while the ship was in motion. The captain had hoped that he would have had time to go over some of the boards and cards that they had that needed a tech to inspect them. Chitrah asked him to put them aside in a secure place, and when he comes back the following day with his wife, he will be happy to look at them. The captain suddenly became afraid, when he realised that Chitrah was the important passenger they were waiting for, and he had been bad mouthing him all day. He asked Chitrah if he was going to report him. Chitrah shrugged his shoulders and said why? Most of the stuff he said was true about Ministry big-shots. He did not know why they had delayed the captain's ship, for him and his wife. The captain suggested that it might be because it could be another cycle or two before another ship would take the same route. Someone on the other end must be anxious to get their hands on him, as soon as possible. They shook hands as Chitrah departed. The captain was a little nervous, until he saw Chitrah the following day, thinking that a couple of security agents might come aboard and escort him to a holding cell.

Chitrah made it down to the surface in plenty of time to meet up with Andriel, and get to the gym on time. This was their big day. The instructor's wife would be there to evaluate everyone on how well they learnt the material, and how well they could execute the different techniques. The instructor himself would be their practise dummy, and he would be fully decked out in his safety equipment. He had told Andriel and Chitrah that they did not need to wear their practise gear today. When the class started, the instructor introduced his wife to the class, then turned the class over to her. She was not special to look at, but the way she carried herself, showed that she was used to issuing commands, and having them carried out right away. She started by demonstrating on her husband all the things that she expected them to know, and would be showing her that day. As the class went on, it was noticeable that the instructor and his wife had a lot of mutual respect for one another, and they did love one another. As they were all new to her, and to help dissipate everyone nerves, she had them each demonstrate the most basic of throws on her husband. Then she had them progress through to different combinations of punches, kicks, and throws. What Andriel had done to the first mate was part of a basic combination, with the assailant ending up face down, and their arm in an arm-lock. Andriel was one of the top students. Chitrah also placed well. He was only penalised for holding back. The instructor objected to Chitrah being penalised, because he could have hurt the instructor. But his wife was the one awarding the grades. Everyone did quite well. The instructor's wife considered them to be the best class she has graded, she complimented her husband on improving as an instructor. He thanked the class for helping him look good. Top grades were awarded to one of the local girls. The instructor told them at the end of class, that a number of tables had been reserved at an eatery as part of their graduation celebration. It turned out to be the same place that they had been taken for dinner every evening. Only this time everyone was coming, including the instructor and his wife.

Everyone had a good time at the party, one of the ladies mentioned to the instructor's wife that Andriel had designed a dress that helped a lady get pregnant. The instructor's wife said she would like to get her hands on that dress. One of the ladies handed her a copy of the design that they had begged from Andriel. The instructor thought his wife would look good in the dress. They finished the night by toasting Andriel and Chitrah. "To good friends that they would like to see again."

Chitrah noticed that the captain seemed to relax a little when he saw them approach the ship. Chitrah introduced the captain as having mistaken him as a Ministry employee, rather than a contractor. The captain introduced his first mate, who is Devaronian. Chitrah than asked if they could secure their luggage in the common room with them while they manoeuvred away from the spaceport. The captain recognised that they must have had dealings with a bad crew in the past, and told them it was all right. After they finished manoeuvring, and Andriel and Chitrah were settled in their cabins. The captain asked Chitrah, if he could come to the bridge to run the dynamic diagnostic programs, that they could not run while docked? He let them know that Andriel could also come and watch. Normally he did not like having passengers in the bridge, but Chitrah was no ordinary passenger, and it would be wrong to exclude his wife.

When they got there, the captain said the first officer left, because he thought it would be too crowded. Over the next few days, Andriel noticed that the first officer would not acknowledge her at all. She wondered if this was because her husband was not Devaronian.

Chitrah had arranged with the captain to take advantage of some free space in one of the bays. For Andriel and himself to practise their self-defence routines. The captain said it was okay, as long as they did not mind the crew watching them. This would be better than anything they could get in this region of space. Since they were so close to Hutt space, about the only thing you could get was the Hutt porn sites. Somehow, they blocked the signals coming from the rest of the galaxy. Andriel did not mind, with their practise suits on, they each looked about 50kg overweight. Not a very sexy picture. While the first mate and captain were watching them from the bridge, the first mate asked, if the captain thought they might be Imperial Intelligence Agents? The captain did not think so. If they were agents they would not have asked permission to practise. They would have disabled the surveillance systems, and practised in secret.

Andriel finally was tired of the first officer avoiding her, and cornered him one day, not letting him move until he talked with her, and explained himself. The captain and Chitrah happened to be walking and talking, and came across the scene. The first officer looked like a helpless trapped animal. The captain told him to tell them why he was behaving the way he was. They deserved to know. The first officer told them he is from Eriadu, the planet they are going to. He has not seen his wife since before the Sith Empire invaded. None of the male Devaronians from that planet, who were working in space have heard anything from their families. They know of two who tried to get back to their families after the invasion. One has never been heard from, and is presumed dead. The other was found by an Imperial patrol that thought they had come across a couple of street gangs fighting. It was just the one Devaronian, trying to defend himself from the street gang, as they robbed him and were trying to beat him to death. The doctors said that if the patrol had come a couple of seconds later, the man would have been found dead. He himself, hasn't seen his wife in over four years and he does not know if she is dead or alive. None of them do! Whenever the first officer sees Andriel, he can only think of how much he misses his wife. Andriel apologized and stopped blocking his way. She told him that she thought he was avoiding her because she was married to a non-Devaronian. When the first Officer realised that he had been hurting her by his actions, he felt real bad and apologized to her. He let her know that since they were not from the same clan, there was no restriction on him to keep him from talking to her. Everyone felt better that the air had been cleared, and they all went their separate ways. The next day the first mate noticed that he actually felt better for opening up to Andriel, so he sought Chitrah out, to ask him if he would give him permission, to talk to his wife. Chitrah was okay with that, but warned him not to get her upset, because he knows what she could do to him. The first officer smiled at that. It was the first time Chitrah had seen him smile. He found Andriel and let her know that he had permission from her husband to talk to her. He wanted to talk to her about his wife, and the life he had with her. He found himself looking forward to talking to her in his free time. He did not know that the captain and Chitrah were watching them from the bridge. It was the best show to watch. The captain did tell Chitrah, that this was the closest he had seen his first officer to being happy in over four years. Andriel was a good listener, and asked very specific questions about were on Eriadu his family lived. She had decided in her mind that she was going to find out if there were still any Devaronian alive on the planet. She knew that she would not be in a position to help them if she did, but she could get word to the shipping companies, to let the men know that worked for them, whether they should keep on hoping, or whether they should move on with their lives. She did not tell Chitrah until they landed on Eriadu, what she planned to do with her time there. She did ask him if it would be difficult for her to get her hands on things like electro-binoculars.

The other thing that was unusual with this trip, was the captain's willingness to take advantage of Chitrah's technological know-how, in case they were attacked by pirates. The captain had discussed it with the first officer, who was very open to the idea. He had the ship's computer invite them to the bridge for a safety meeting. Andriel and Chitrah were a little hesitant about being asked to the bridge for a ship's meeting. The captain and first officer were both there. The captain started by describing the procedure for repelling pirate attacks, he wanted to review this because they would be spending most of their trip next to Hutt Space, since they were forbidden from using the Hydrian Way. Their route would be along the Pabol Sleheyron Trade Route, thru the top tip of Hutt Space to Formos, then they would take the Triellus Trade Route down around the bulk of Hutt Space. Normally an attack would start, with them being forced to drop out of hyperspace, the pirates would then attack, trying to disable the different drive systems, starting with the in-system drives. The first officer would go to one of the two gun turrets hoping to prevent the pirates from doing what they wanted. The captain would try to fly the ship to where the hyperspace drive could be re-engaged, allowing the ship to escape. If the pirates were successful then they would board the ship. If they were near a habited planet, the captain would order everyone to the escape pods, there would be a small chance that one of them could make it to the planet before being captured by the pirates. If they were in deep space, which they would be for most of the trip, there would be no point in trying to use the escape pods to escape. If the pirates were short-handed they might offer one of the crew a chance to join them, more than likely they would all be sold to slave traders, or the Hutt's. What the captain wanted to do was use Chitrah's knowledge of the bridge equipment to engage the hyperspace drive when the ship's computer has flown them to a safe place to do so. This would free up the captain to take the second turret to fight off the pirates. Most pirates know that there are only two ship's personnel on this type of freighter. To have the two turrets working separately, instead of in tandem, one being slaved to the other, should at the least, cause some confusion in their attack strategy. The best situation would be that they would break-off the attack, fearing that the freighter was more than it appeared. Most of them were cowards, and would run from real resistance. The only question that Chitrah had, was what they should do if the computer was disabled, and could not fly the ship. The captain responded, that Chitrah would have to take manual control of the ship. It would be like flying in one of the vid-games he played when he was a kid. Andriel wanted to know what she should do. The captain told her that if Chitrah was flying manually then she would need to scan the instruments and report to her husband any flashing red lights, than follow his instructions. If the computer is flying the ship than she should just stay strapped into the first officer's chair and pray. They were willing to do their bit to help, so the captain explained to Chitrah the procedure for re-engaging the hyper drive in both a computer control, and manual control situation. He also mentioned that he would instruct the computer to initiate two random pirate attack drills. To see how quickly everyone responds. The first drill was initiated when Andriel and Chitrah were right in the middle of a workout. They had to manoeuvre through the ship dressed in their protective gear. The second drill was initiated when everyone was in the common room having breakfast.

Fortunately for everyone, that was the closest they came to encountering real pirates that trip. What it did do is have Andriel open up to Chitrah, about how her father had died. He was a first officer on a ship like this one. It had come under attack by pirates. Her father had successfully held off the pirates, destroying a couple of their fighters. Unfortunately the debris from the last fighter was close enough to the freighter, that when it exploded, some of it took out the turret that father was in, killing him, just before they re-entered hyperspace. To everyone on the ship, and the company, my father was a hero. To her mother, he was a dead hero. It was the saddest day of Andriel's life, when she found out her father would not be coming home anymore. The company to this day still deposits a quarter of his salary in her mother's account to show their appreciation. Andriel appreciated Chitrah holding her in his arms, to comfort her. They sat like that for quite a while, before Andriel suggested that they have a cup of tea. Now Chitrah knew why he had seen sadness in Andriel's heart concerning her father.

On Eriadu, Chitrah was allowed to talk with the sector's Moff via a hologram. He had been instructed to kneel on the pad, and at no time was he allowed to look up when talking to him. The Moff told him that he had been brought here as a favour, this was not his assigned sector. They were having trouble getting the computers from the industrial complexes to communicate with the Ministry's computer. Data was coming through sporadically, and what was coming thru was incomprehensible. They had heard about his communication breakthrough on Yitabo, and were hoping that he could help them here. Chitrah promised that he would do his best to solve the problem. After the communications terminated, Chitrah had the distinct feeling that his life was on the line, if he did not come up with a breakthrough. He was offered whatever resources he wanted, to solve the problem.

Chitrah was not a happy camper when he reunited with Andriel at the Ministry's married personnel residents. He was even less happy when Andriel told him she wanted to see if she could find a Devronian community on Eriadu. She had gone to the quartermaster's office to get all the equipment she had talked to him about. When she showed him what they gave her, just because she had Ministry Security ID, he was even more, unhappy. He warned her not to use any of the equipment inside the Ministry compound. The people here are very paranoid, especially of sub-humans. He showed her one thing about her computer that he never showed her before, the holographic display unit (hdu) could come out and be used as a portable device. There was even a black rubber strap that she could use to attach it to her wrist. She would need to plug it back into her computer every night to make sure it recharged. He explained how to download information like maps from other computers into the hdu. He also showed her how to use the virtual keyboard to take notes. This was all new to Andriel. She wondered why he had not shown her this before. He thought she would have found out on her own, as a pleasant surprise. He realised that it was important that she knew now.

There were no more surprises in her computer. She would need to arrange her own transportation to get wherever she needed to go. She should also expect that someone would follow her wherever she would go. He did not mention, that he was in serious trouble if he could not solve the problem they had brought him here to solve. He hoped that they would let her go back to her mother. Chances are, that she would end up as some official's personal slave. He had to force these thoughts from his mind, or he would be paralyzed in his problem solving abilities.

Chitrah spent the next couple of days being taken around to the different industrial complexes to examine their computer systems. It depressed him, that he saw the Imperials doing little to clean up all the damage they had inflicted on the different cities, when they seized control of this planet in the war. Having a full military escort, everywhere he traveled, did not ease his mind. The people who worked in the industrial complexes were living in high-rise shacks that had been assembled after the fighting stopped. Their personal residents had either been destroyed, or become inaccessible.

Andriel spent the first few days in the Ministry Archives. She was looking for maps and pictures of Old Town Factoryville from before the war, and any recent images so she could compare them and get a feel for the damage, and to see how easy it would be to get around. The archivists were more than willing to help her. Not too many people came down to visit, and they feel pretty much ignored by the rest of the Ministry. They even helped her connect her hdu to the archive computer to download some maps and pictures.

Whenever she returned to their assigned residence, she found Chitrah inside pacing. She knew that he was under more pressure here, then he had been on Yitabo. The only help she could give him was to make him a cup of tea and sit with him in silence as he tried to figure things out. If he looked down she would take his hand and let him know that she was confident that he could figure it out. This always cheered him up.

Andriel also found out, that there were daily supply runs between the different cities to distribute the Imperial resources where they were needed, and the transports were not droid driven. She found the cantina the drivers frequented at the end of the day, and talked with them. She found out that they were willing to take her to whatever city she wanted to go to, in the morning, and bring her back in the evening. They told her what time she would need to be at the depot, to catch a ride. They could not wait for her, because they were traveling under military escort, and the military never waited.

Chitrah was having trouble understanding the problem. All the computers were operating under optimum specs. In theory they should have no trouble communicating. He had them take him back and revisit all the computers. This time he included the Ministry computer. Still nothing. He started pacing the halls of the Ministry, since there was more room to walk around. One day he came across two officials in an office arguing. He could not really hear what they said, nor could he actually see them. He just watched their silhouettes on the frosted glass. He stood there fascinated by their image. They both seemed to be talking at once with their arm and hand gestures, not listening to each other. Then it struck him that that is exactly what the computers were doing. He had to think of a way to test his theory before presenting his solution to the Ministry. He asked them where the workshop was, for him to build components. They hurriedly showed him the workshop in the sub-basement, where all components were made for maintaining all the Ministry's equipment. The technicians there were instructed to give him whatever support he asked for. He was priority number one. Most of what he had in mind he could build himself, the only thing he asked of them was to build a box with a female jack for a communicator on one end, and a male jack at the other. He gave them the dimensions, and recommended that it be built from a composite like most computer cases.

Andriel was able to get dried fruit, nuts, and roasted grain mix from the quartermaster's office, for her to snack on through the day while she was away from the Ministry Compound. The next day she decided to put her plan into action. She caught a ride to Old Town Factoryville, the most polluted piece of dirt on the planet. Which is why the humans allowed the sub-humans to live there. She followed an Imperial foot patrol that appeared to be heading in the direction she wanted to go. Her destination was a partially standing office tower that looked high enough for her to be able to see the neighbourhood she was interested in. She was wearing the same outfit that she wore when she went to get the nerf wool. It was the only outfit that she had, where she did not stand out. Now she was happy that her mother insisted that she have one outfit like this with her. She was hoping that the building would be structurally sound enough for her to use it, and that she would be able to access the upper stories. She was using the hdu to time her trip, so that she would have an idea on when she would have to leave, to get back in time to catch her ride. When she did look back, she thought she caught a glimpse of someone following her. She wasn't worried, she also hoped they had orders to help her, if she ended up over her head. The foot patrol came close to the building that she was interested in, which was fortuitous. She broke off from following them when she thought it was best, and entered the building. She did not know that someone who had been scavenging in the area, and hid when the patrol approached, had also seen her, and followed her into the building. He could see her footprints in the dust, and easily followed her. Andriel had trouble finding her way up to where she wanted to go. The first stairwell she tried, only went up a few floors, before there was a big hole in the wall, probably from an artillery shell, that prevented her from going higher. She did notice that three or four floors up the stairwell continued again. There were no other stairwells connected to the floor she found herself on, and she did not want to attempt to jump the gap to continue on this floor. It would place her in the portion of the building that had no line of site to the part of the city she was interested in. The gap also appeared to be bigger on the higher floors. What she did find was that on the side of the building, that was no longer there, the floor from the floor above had partially collapsed creating a ramp. It seemed to support her weight so she cautiously climbed up it. On the next floor she found a place where part of the outside wall and a part of the ceiling, had created a ramp of debris that she could climb up. Next time she would need to bring gloves. Then she found a portion of the floor above had collapsed on a strong metal desk. There was a metal filing cabinet nearby that had been emptied of all its contents, she was able to drag it over to the desk with the slab of debris on it. Then she pushed it up until it was lying on its side on top of the slab. She was able to climb onto the desk, then onto the slab. Standing on the filling cabinet, that was lying on its side, she was able to climb through the hole in the floor above her. She went to find the stairwell but it had too much debris in front of it for her to get to it. She had to try and find her way up one more floor. She went back to the exposed side of the building hoping to find another debris ramp. What she did find, was that someone had pushed a bunch of office furniture from the floor above to make a ramp, she assumed to try and get down. But now it was covered in rust, and had exposed sharp edges, from being damaged in their fall. She would have to be careful not to cut herself, or her clothes. She was then able to make her way back to the stairwell, and make her way to the top floor.

Andriel decided to rest when she reached the top floor. It was quite a climb and she was feeling a little winded. As she was checking her hdu, to see her elapsed time, she heard some scraping, coming from lower down in the stairwell. As she looked back the way she had come she was surprised to see how visible her tracks were in the dust. She may have heard the person from the Ministry, who was trailing her, or it could be someone else. She did not have the luxury to ask. She decided the best course of action was to walk all over the room coming off the stairwell to confuse whoever is following her, so they could not sneak up behind her. Then she would wait in the shadows for them.

She did not have to wait long before she saw some pathetic hooded creature, covered in rags. They had a metal bar in one hand, like a weapon. She thought her best course of action was to confront the person, and rely on her self-defence training. She stepped into the light and asked the person why they were following her. They replied by screaming, and charging her. It was very easy for her to reach past the bar and quickly turn, tossing him over her shoulder. He did not land well and had the wind knocked out of him, dropping the bar. Again she asked in basic, why he was following her.

This time when he got his wind back, he said, "Please, I am hungry. I saw that you were well dressed, and believed that you would have some food on you."

By this time Andriel was standing next to him and had kicked the metal bar away. She told him, "Should not you be doing something, to make your mother proud she brought you into this world, and not something that would make your mother sorry that she had endured so much pain for you."

It sounded like something his mother would have said, and it brought tears to his eyes. He told her he was sorry. She offered her hand and helped him to his feet. That's when she noticed that he was only a Nautolan teenager. Nautolans have a green hue to their skin, coming from a world of wetlands, tidal pools and swamps, next to the interconnected seas. They averaged about 1.8 metres in height, had black, fish like eyes that enabled them to see well in low light conditions, in or out of the water. They had webbed fingers and toes making them expert swimmers. Their head has covered in long tendrils about ½ meter in length that resembled a smaller version of Twi'lek lekku. The tendrils are sensory organs that help them read pheromones emitted by people around them, making them sensitive to their emotions. Often letting those emotions become their own. The way he got up seemed to tell her that he had no broken bones, but he would be pretty sore for the next couple of days. She reluctantly gave him a handful of the mix she had brought to munch on. He only ate a little at a time, like he wanted to savour every portion. He was smart enough not to put it all in his mouth at once. After a few nibbles he told her that he was thirsty. She had a canteen of chilled tea. She did not trust his hygiene, because it was not hard for her to smell him from where she stood. So she held the canteen above his head, when he looked up and opened his mouth she poured some tea in. He thanked her and left, munching on the last of the mix she had given him. She felt that he was no longer a threat, and went to find a window opening that would give her a view of the part of the city she was interested in. She made herself comfortable, and got out the electro-binoculars. It took her a while to get used to them, and to be sure she was looking at the right group of buildings. She slowly panned back and forth. She was quite disappointed that there were still buildings standing that were partially blocking her view. Every once and a while she would catch some movement, but when she would move the binoculars to get a better look, whatever had caught her attention was gone. She did not know if it was a person or debris being blown in the wind. She found that she could not look through the binoculars for too long of a period of time. Her eyes just were not used to them. She would have to put them down and just look with her regular eyes. That's how she noticed the street gangs. They would disappear whenever a patrol came by, then reappear after they had gone by. She took note of how much distance they liked to put between themselves and the patrol. That was the space you had to be in to get past them. The street gangs were not that friendly to their own. It was not that uncommon to see them fight, when one of them found something that they thought was of value. Then someone who was stronger than both of them would come over and take it from them. It was more than an hour into her surveillance that Andriel finally saw someone that she thought might be Devaronian. They were dressed no better than the boy who attacked her. Whoever they were, they weren't living, but surviving. She had set an alarm on her hdu to warn her about when she should start getting ready to go back. It was a soft alarm so that you had to be close to the hdu to hear it. She did not want to attract attention to herself in this place. After her first sighting of someone who may be Devaronian, she increased the frequency of looking through the binoculars. After a while she saw someone else. They looked different enough that she knew they were a different person, but their dress was similar. It was another hour before she was satisfied that there was a community of Devaronian there, but they weren't doing very well, and it would be very hard to get to them. By this time her alarm had sounded. She packed everything up and started heading down. When she came to the stairwell she noticed that there were three sets of footprints heading up the stairs and two heading down. Whoever had followed her from the Ministry had come up, saw what she was doing, and headed down. Probably waiting at street level for her to reappear. As she went down the stairwell, she found a few floors down, a scuffle in the prints. It would appear that her follower had ambushed her attacker, then let him go. There was no blood, and two sets of tracks continued from the ambush point. She saw no other signs in the footprints to give her concern. When she got to the entrance of the building, she waited in the shadows for a patrol going by, heading in the right direction. She was able to make it back to the depot with plenty of time to spare. The driver was happy to see that she was alright. He was much more talkative on the return trip. He even shared what he had observed about the patrols going to and from the barracks.

When Andriel opened the door to their suite, she found Chitrah sitting at the dining table working on his computer. He wasn't pacing, that was a good sign. He told her that her dinner was in the cooler, she just needed to heat it up. He had gone to the building cafeteria and purchased two take away dinners, for both of them, since he did not know when she would be back. She went up to him and kissed him on the cheek to thank him for thinking of her. With a big smile, he told her that that may have been premature, she might not like what he got her. She did not recognise what it was. It tasted like cafeteria food, but it was hot, and she was starving. She still appreciated Chitrah getting it for her. While she was eating she asked Chitrah to tell her his story. He coyly asked her what she meant. "You are not pacing! Why?" He told her about walking the halls of the Ministry, and coming across two officials arguing. From their gestures, he could see that they were not listening to each other. That's when he had the insight, that that is what the computers were doing. He should have his test box ready early tomorrow afternoon. Once he installs it, he will know for sure. She was happy for him. Then she told him that she wanted to go back tomorrow. He thought she might. Did she find anything interesting today? She told him that she believes she saw evidence of a Devaronian community, but they were not living, they were existing. They were isolated, it would almost be impossible to get to them. Even if she could, she probably would not be able to help them. She wanted to study them, before notifying the freight companies, that they can tell their employees, that there still are Devaronians alive on Eriadu, don't give up hope! Chitrah liked that Andriel had found something worthwhile to keep her occupied, he just wished it wasn't so dangerous. The next morning they both left to work on their projects. Andriel was able to borrow a pair of work gloves from the driver. There were no problems getting to her observation point. Now that she knew where to look, she was able to spot Devaronian people more quickly. Today she wanted to see if she could get a sense of how many there were. She also wanted to have a sense of how often that area was patrolled.

Chitrah had his test box ready that afternoon. He asked to be taken to the closest industrial complex. He was always accompanied by a ministry official when he was taken. He unplugged the dedicated line used by the computer to communicate with the Ministry. He plugged the box into the computer in its place and plugged the line into the box. He then asked the Ministry official to contact the Ministry, and ask the computer techs if they were now getting proper data from this computer.

The officials did as he was asked. He was told that the data was coming through. The Ministry official, then asked the computer technician, to transfer him to another line. When the person answered, he just said, "He's found a solution."

He told Chitrah that they were receiving the correct data, and that they needed to return to the Ministry right away. At the Ministry he was informed that he would be making his report directly to their Moff, and he would have to follow the same directions as before.

Kneeling on the holographic communicator he heard the Moff ask him to report. He told the Moff that he had theorised that the problem with the communication between the computers, was that they were each trying to treat the other computer like a peripheral device. Since that was the way they were designed. To test this, he had to build a component that would appear to be taking commands from both computers, facilitating the flow of data between them. The device he connected works, confirming his theory. The Moff wanted to know if this was a permanent solution. Chitrah informed him that it was not. The component he designed, was too fragile to work over a long period of time. Any irregular energy flux on the line, any electro-magnetic storm in the area, even the discharge of a solar flare in the planets direction, would knock out the component. The permanent solution was to purchase a commercial model, and he gave the Moff the specifications of the component, and to build a shield around it. He did admit that he did not know if this component was on the approved list of Ministry components. The Moff asked where the component could be obtained. He told him that he knew a shop on Deysum III, where he was from, that sold it. He believed that any outlet that specialised in communicator components should carry this item. In the meantime, the technicians at the Ministry could reproduce the component he built, and they could design and build the shielding necessary. They are very competent. The Moff told him to work with the technicians, to build what they could, to get all the industrial complexes on line. He would see to getting the commercial variety of the component. He would be keeping Chitrah on Eriadu to supervise their installation, when they arrive. In the meantime, he would like Chitrah and his wife to use his box at the main theatre in Eriadu City. He will be unable to attend, and does not want his box to be empty. With this he terminated the connection.

The officials witnessing the debriefing, congratulated him, telling him that he had been given a great honour. They hoped that he had a formal outfit. He told them that he did. They also asked him, if he had a turban? Since he would be mixing with Eriadu City's high society. They also asked, if his wife had a veil she could wear with her outfit? He told them they did not. They told him not to worry they had these items for visiting dignitaries, and were willing to lend them to them. He was informed that there will be a repulsor-lift limousine, with a human driver, at their resident building at 6:30 standard hours, the following evening. To pick them up and drive them to the theatre, in the renovated entertainment section of Eriadu City, which was next to the residents compound were all the top Ministry officials lived, including the Moff's personal resident's. They would not need to worry about food or drink as this was provided with the box. They would be served a snack during the mid-performance break, and there would be cocktails afterwards, and a chance to mingle with the locals, if they chose.

To Chitrah, this sounded more like punishment, than reward, for solving their problem. He went down to the workshop in the sub-basement to download his design onto their design computer, so that they could start building the units, first thing in the morning. He was surprised to find most of them were still there. They wanted to thank him personally, for putting in a good word for them, to the Moff. Word travels very fast in this Ministry building. They mentioned that most people they have worked with, would not give them the time of day. It was nice to get some notice, but not the notice that Chitrah was getting. Chitrah felt better that they understood. He then went to the cafeteria in his resident building, to pick up a couple of takeaway dinners for Andriel and himself. This time he decided to wait for Andriel, so that they could eat dinner together.

When Andriel entered their suite, she found Chitrah playing a popular board strategy game on his computer, called Hutt Wars. She had never seen him play any games on his computer before. Chitrah turned off his computer and went to get their dinners out of the cooler, to heat them up. He asked her, how her day went? She told him that she had seen enough individuals to speculate, that there were enough Devaronians for a decent sized clan. The patrols seemed to appear at predictable intervals, which did not surprise her. She asked how his experiment went. He told her that it garnered some unexpected results. She could tell that he was hiding something again, so she asked him to stop playing around, and just tell her. He explained that the experiment went the way he expected, but then he had to be debriefed by the Moff. At the end of the debriefing, the Moff decided to reward him by letting them have his box in the main theater in Eriadu City, for tomorrow night's performance. It will be a formal affair. He will need to wear a turban, she will need to wear a veil. The Ministry has some on hand for visiting dignitaries. They will send them over sometime tomorrow for us to select which ones would look best with what we will wear.

Andriel could tell that Chitrah did not sound too happy about this arrangement, and she was sure that it was for the same reasons that she was bothered by this. They were warned by the crew of the freighter, that the human populace on Eriadu, were the most racist in all the galaxy, which was quite something to hear from the human captain. Now they would be forced to mingle with them, as a reward. Now she understood why Chitrah had been reluctant to tell her this. It was a good thing they had their outfits properly cleaned on Chalacta. She doubted that she could find a place on Eriadu that could clean them. She was a little curious on how she would look in a veil. It was too bad that she did not have any tease clothe with her, it would have made a wonderful veil. This also meant that she would not have enough time to travel to Old Town Factoryville tomorrow. She hoped they would bring the turbans and veils around in the morning so that she could check them out, and do any alterations she thought would improve their appearance. That way she would have time to go and talk with one of the freight companies, to let them know about the isolated Devronian community.

The next morning after Chitrah left for the Ministry, a junior official showed up at their door with a porter droid in tow. They had a number of boxes between them. The larger boxes were labelled Turban. The smaller ones were labelled Veil. She had them place them all on the dining table. After they finished, he said that he would return the following morning with the droid to retrieve them. Before he could leave, Andriel stopped him to ask a question. Why is this porter droid the first droid she has seen on Eriadu? The young official told her that as a result of the war, it was cheaper, to hire humans, than to try and replace, and maintain droids. The only exception was the porter droids which are very rugged, and cheap to maintain. The only other droids they would find would be the household droids still being used in the Ministry residents, and in the homes of the well to do. After they left she decided to inspect the boxes. The first thing she noticed when she opened the first box was the smell, she doubted the turban had ever been clean. She quickly closed the box, and tried another. The smell was just as bad. She closed and opened every turban box. The smell from each box was the same. She could not let Chitrah wear one of these turbans, it was humiliating. She thought she should check out all veil boxes. They did not smell as bad, but when she brought a veil close to her face, she thought she could smell the breath of every lady who wore the veil. This just would not do.

She contacted Chitrah on the Ministry's communicator. Security had told her he was in the workshop, and put her through. She told Chitrah that he needed to return to the suite right away. She did not want to tell him on the communicator what was wrong, because she expected it to be monitored. Chitrah could tell that something had upset Andriel, so he told her he was on the way. Before leaving he told the techs to contact him as soon as they have one of the devices ready. One of them would need to go with him to the industrial complex to install it. They can decide amongst themselves who it would be.

When he entered the suite, Andriel did not look happy, she looked like she might start crying. She asked him to open one of the turban boxes, he did as he was told. Right away he smelt the odour coming from the turban, and closed the box. He looked at Andriel and asked if they all smelt that bad, she nodded yes. What about the veils? She told him they did not smell as bad, but when she brought one close to her face, she could smell the breath of everyone who wore it. Chitrah was not happy with what he just found out. He did not think that they did this intentionally, nor from lack of diligence on their part. He was sure it is due to the lack of facilities on this planet to properly maintain them. There was no place they could purchase any new ones. Nor could Andriel get her hands on any material to make them any. Chitrah told her that there was a patio on the roof of this residence building that was open to the outside air. She would need to select the best looking turban and veil, take a bed sheet up to the patio, because of the dust, and let the turban air out up there, at least the smell should be somewhat diminished by this evening. She should check with the quartermaster's office to see what chemicals they had in stock that could be used for cleaning the veil she selected. He gently reminded her that she was a fine seamstress who understood materials, and the best ways to clean them. Andriel gave Chitrah a hug and kissed him on the cheek. She thanked him for the pep talk, she did feel much better, and she would do her best to make sure everything was ready for this evening. As a Devaronian she could handle the smell of chemicals better than the smell of everyone's breath. The communicator to the suite indicated that someone was trying to contact them. When Chitrah activated it he saw that it was a technician from the workshop. He informed Chitrah that one of the devices was ready. Chitrah asked him if they selected someone to go with him. He told Chitrah that he had been volunteered. Chitrah smiled at his choice of words, he then told him that he would contact the office so that they could arrange a convoy to take them. He had the communicator transfer him to the office, they told him they had a convoy on standby, expecting his call. He told them he would be ready to leave in five minutes. He figured that's how long it would take him to get to the workshop then back up to the front of the Ministry.

Before leaving he asked Andriel if he could call her when he came back. So that they could have lunch together. She said she would like that. After he left Andriel told the suites computer to exhaust the maximum amount of air from the suite. When she felt the air flow, she opened all the boxes. She took out each turban and gave it a good look to imagine it on Chitrah. She had referred to her computer to verify Chitrah's hat size from his scanned image. The white turban looked nice and clean from the outside, and she found no creepy crawlies on the inside. This was the one for Chitrah. She closed up all the other boxes, and stacked them against the wall out of their way. She then went through all the veils, most of them were connected to a metal tiara, she did not bother looking at the ones with hats. She found two silver coloured ones that should complement her outfit. The one she chose would depend on what they had in stock at the quartermaster's office, since they would each required different chemicals to clean them. She asked the suite's computer, if it could have extra linen delivered to their suite? It responded that it would be arranged right away.

Andriel took the linen that Chitrah was using on the couch. She figured he could have the clean one to sleep on. She found her way to the patio. It was dusty, just like Chitrah thought it would be. It looked like no-one used it. She spread the linen on one of the tables, and manoeuvred it to the middle of the patio. She did not want a sudden wind gust to blow everything off the building. She used the chairs to help keep the cloth anchored in place. She put the turban on the cloth upside down. Maybe the sun's rays would sterilise it inside. She left the veils next to it so that they could also air out before she had a chance to clean them. She went to the quartermaster's office, and they showed her a list of everything they had on hand, that could be used for cleaning. She noticed that the smallest container on any of the chemicals was 4 litres. They told her not to worry about that, she could use what she needed, then bring the container back, they would just mark it as being opened. She found everything she thought she could use, and they had a couple of porter droids carry everything, since they were all bulky and heavy. They even had the small brushes that she would need, along with a bundle of clean absorbent rags. Since she found everything she had been looking for she decided to clean both veils. Then she would decide which one she would wear depending on how well they clean up. Just as she was finishing up, the communicator on the patio activated. It was Chitrah he was back already. He asked her if she could come to the Ministry, since they had better food, then the residents. She told him that she would meet him at the main entrance, and he could show her where to go.

When Chitrah had arrived at the industrial complex, he explained to the ministry official, that he needed to show the technician, how to install the device, and they did not need everyone crowding them. So they left the two of them alone. Chitrah took him to the computer and pointed out the dedicated line for communicating with the Ministry computer, he unplugged the line. He plugged a small jumper line between the computer and the device the techs had completed that morning. He then plugged the main line into the other side of the device, and told the tech that that was all there is to it. The tech started to laugh. Chitrah told him that if he had not personally trained him, their Moff might not have allowed him to leave when the time came. The tech sobered up right away, he knew that what Chitrah said was true, they all knew, that they had to be careful about everything they did, or they could get into big trouble over the silliest things. His respect for Chitrah grew, this fella was both smart and easy to get along with. He let Chitrah know that he would not let him down.

Andriel let Chitrah know, over lunch, everything she had done to help them for this evening. He complimented her on her smart thinking to use the sunlight to help them. The compliment felt really nice, after she had almost fallen apart that morning. She was much more confident, that she and Chitrah did complement one another, when faced with a difficult situation. She believed in her heart that her mother had seen that about them. Tears came to her eyes as she thought about her mother. Chitrah asked her why the tears. She told him that she had just thought about her mother. He took her hand in his, but did not say anything. She saw that he had tears in his eyes as well.

After lunch Chitrah went back to the workshop, and told them he needed a couple of them to start building metal spheres, to shield the devices. Two of the techs volunteered to build them.

Andriel contacted the quartermaster's office to have the two porter droids to come and retrieve all the chemicals, she kept the spare brushes and rags in case she needed them for something else. After the droids left, she went to the shuttle terminal to talk with one of the freight companies' representative. The rep she met with, was very conscious of the Ministry Security ID hanging from her neck. She told him that she had found out on her trip to Eriadu that the male Devaronians from Eriadu had not heard anything from their families, or about their communities for more than 4 years. She made it a point of finding out what she could about the Devaronian community on Eriadu. She was able to find someone, who was able to help her. They observed that there was an isolated community in Old Town Factoryville, they told her that it was quite isolated, and there appeared to be enough individuals to form one clan. The rep told her that this was mixed news. He had Devaronians from three clans working for them. Andriel was quite surprised by this news, if that was true, that would explain why they had not organised to improve their situation. She replied that she could only share what was shared with her. The person who gave her the information was not able to get to the community, so there may be more than they had observed. The rep thanked her, this was more information than any of them had received in four years. They all knew that there was a good chance of heavy losses to the community, because of all the fighting. This was a small measure of hope for them, but it was better than the no hope situation they had up to this point. He also promised that he would share it with his competitors, since they were all in the same boat. After Andriel left, the rep formulated a message to share with the other companies and to post on the message board. "Devaronian community sighted. Isolated! Too dangerous to get to. About one clan strong. Will notify if further updates are available."

Chitrah went out that afternoon and was able to convince another tech to come with him. After they returned the techs working on the spheres brought him one hollow ball of metal. They asked him if they should drill out the holes that the cables should go through. He told them the edge of the hole would be too sharp and might damage the cable. They had already marked where the cable should go, and the hole's diameter. He took one of the soldering torches from a nearby bench, it was the same design as his. He left the flame diameter for what they used for soldering, he just increased the temperature until it started to melt the metal. He had them slowly turn the sphere around the hole's axis. They saw the molten metal bead around the hole's edge. As they spun the sphere Chitrah was able to make the hole bigger and bigger, until he was able to get it to the diameter that they wanted. There was nothing there that could damage the cable. They were impressed. The other techs had stopped to watch what he was doing. There was no doubt this guy knew his stuff.

Before going to the residents, Chitrah thought he would stop by the office to see if the officials knew when the commercial devices would be arriving. As he drew near, he heard the officials talking about Andriel and himself. They were talking about how racist the local high society Eriadus were, and how they would snub them if they found out he was only a contractor working for the Ministry. This would also cause a deterioration in the relationship between them and the Moff himself. Chitrah stayed outside the office listening to the conversation. When he was sure he heard enough, he quietly walked away, and headed for the residents. Andriel had arrived first and was making sure that everything was laid out, for both their outfits for this evening. She had already checked the turban and veils, they were still there. When Chitrah walked through the door, he saw that Andriel was more nervous about this evening than he was. She will definitely not like to hear, what he had overheard.

He sat her down, and told her everything. She sat there silently trying to process this new information, part of her wanted to laugh, part of her wanted to cry, part of her was getting angry with the influential people of this planet. They are going to introduce Chitrah as coming from the Chiss Ascendancy, which is an ally of the Sith Empire. She was his concubine, which he had won on one of the planets they conquered. She wondered if her mother had to go through anything like this with her work on the council. Why can't people accept other people the way they are? If Chitrah ever tells her he wants to work in politics, she will slap him silly. Andriel finally let Chitrah know, that if that is the way things have to be, than let them be. Chitrah let her know that he will remind the officials that they owe her big time, by making her do this. Andriel took Chitrah up to the patio to show him his turban, and the two veils. They collected everything and returned to the suite, it was time to get ready. Andriel decided to wear the veil that had a single silver metal band as the tiara. She wanted the emphasis to be on their outfits, not the accessories that had to wear with it.

After they dressed they went down to the front entrance of the resident, and found the limousine and driver waiting. He graciously held the door open for them, and sniffed them as they entered the vehicle. Andriel and Chitrah were not sure how to take this odd behaviour. After he closed the door, and got into the driver's seat, he lowered the privacy panel between them. He introduced himself as Airy, and that he had special instructions to take care of them. Chitrah asked if these instructions came from the Moff, or the Ministry officials? Airy told him it was from neither. The Moff did not care abought them one bit, he was just happy that he could get someone to go to this boring play in his place. The Ministry officials only cared about their public image, he had heard how they were going to introduce them to the high society types. Than who was it that gave him these instructions? He told them it was those who, respected him and would like to consider him as their friend. Chitrah's eyes went wide, the techs from the workshop. Airy smiled, the very same. He told them how he was responsible for maintaining this vehicle. He can take everything apart and put it back together, but to make sure it runs smoothly, he needs the techs and their electronics know-how. They have developed a good friendship over the years, and contacted him when they knew about this circus. Andriel asked him why he sniffed them. He told them that he knew, the turbans and veils were never cleaned, and he wanted to know how bad they smelt. Normally he could smell them without trying, even when he did not want to. But he had trouble smelling them, so he had to sniff. He could not smell anything from the veil, so whoever cleaned it did a really good job. He could smell the turban, but it wasn't very strong, so they did a good job on it. He pointed to a compartment in front of them, and told Chitrah if he wanted to reduce the smell anymore, there is a spray in the compartment that will help. Next to the spray there is a cologne, a couple of drops in the turban will make it smell nice. "Don't overdo it like the high society people do, their turbans either smell bad, because they have never been cleaned since the planet was conquered, or they overdo it with the cologne, making your eyes water when you stand near them. When we go through the checkpoints don't worry about getting out your id, as soon as the guards recognise me they will wave us through. This is the Moff's vehicle, any trooper who has dared stop this vehicle to check id, has found himself on foot patrol in the Old Town Factoryville the next day."

Andriel and Chitrah, both started feeling better, knowing they have a safe haven this evening. Airy engaged the vehicle, and told them he was going to put the privacy barrier back up for appearance sake, he would continue to talk to them through the intercom system. He told them it would be safe for them to eat as much as they want during the break in the play, the caterers will be assuming they are preparing food for the Moff, so it will be the best on the planet. The food that will be available after the play will be questionable in quality, and in the quality of the hygiene of the people who prepared it. If they like fish eggs, make sure you eat the ones who are bright and shiny, do not eat them if they are dull and cloudy. For everything else the risk was up to them to decide. They were able to watch their outside progress on the monitors hanging down from the ceiling. They had been flat on the ceiling until Airy had activated them. They passed through every checkpoint, just as he said. The only time they had to slow down was when there was another vehicle in front of them. Even then the guards would make the vehicles pull off to the side to let them through. They drove slowly through the entertainment sector. Most of the buildings had brothels in them. Most of the madams were Balosar, which confused them, since the majority of the prostitutes both male and female are human. It became clear when they noticed some of them smoking death sticks. They are all slaves, they weren't held there with chains of metal, or slave collars. They were enslaved with their addiction, and the Balosar controlled the supply. Since it served the Empire for things to be run this way, they did nothing about it. They appreciated Airy letting them see the truth about this place, they knew he risked his job by doing this. They were not getting the standard diplomatic tour.

When they arrived at the theatre, Airy came around to open the door for them, they were told they had to wait for him. When they got out of the vehicle a small throng of Ministry officials surrounded them, and told them how they would be introduced. Chitrah pointed out to them that this was an indignity to his wife, and they would have to find a way to make it up to her. The officials were clearly embarrassed, they did not know the nature of their relationship, they knew that Andriel was a strong natured person, because of the reports they had of her going off to Old Town Factoryville by herself, and placing herself in harm's way. Yet they sensed that Chitrah felt he had to protect her honour. They thought that since she was a Devaronian female, that she ruled the roost, and she needed to be put in her place from time to time for his sake. Chitrah was showing that it was not the case, and she deserved their respect. Someone screwed up in their relationship analysis, and now they had to find a way out of this dilemma. Fortunately for them there were no high society people nearby. They all apologized to her profusely, letting her know that they would think of something to repay her, if she would only indulge them this evening. She let them know that for her husband's sake she would co-operate with them. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief. They would have to update their files. This was not a couple to be trifled with.

One of the officials handed Chitrah some tinted glasses. Since his eyes were not red like a Chiss, he would need to keep them covered while out in public. He could take them off when they were in the box. Some of them would be in the box with them, the rest would be in boxes on either side. What was comical, was that as they entered the theatre and walked to their box, the officials had established a defensive perimeter around them, as if they were bodyguards. Andriel was sure that she could protect herself better than they could. When they came to the box, Andriel and Chitrah were given the best seats. They were very comfortable, and gave an excellent view of the stage. The other patrons in the theatre would be able to see that they were there, yet not have a clear view of them. It would be okay if they fell asleep, as long as they did not snore.

The play was about how the Emperor was a god, and the Moff, his loyal servant, that always looked after the welfare of his people. It was truly hard for Andriel and Chitrah to stay awake. When Intermission came, their eyes felt so heavy, they could hardly keep them open. As the lights were turned up in the theatre, the chairs they were sitting on were spun around. With the increased light, the sleep seemed to vanish from their eyes. Then they noticed Airy standing at the back of the box right by the door. The only man in the whole theatre without a turban on. To most people he was invisible, but to Andriel and Chitrah, seeing him made them smile. When he saw their smiles he smiled back. In a very short time the servers started coming through the door. First they brought Chitrah a bottle of wine to sample, if he approved it would be served with their food. It tasted like wine to Chitrah, it wasn't spoiled, so he approved. Andriel was sure he did not know what to taste for, but it had to be good quality wine from the briefing Airy had given them. They started bringing them little tasty treats. There was spicy meat balls made from reek meat. There was Banta tartare for the more adventurous. There were black fish eggs on small pieces of pink lettuce, which tasted a little salty. There were little medallions of fried nerf meat, with a bed of fried vegetables. Chitrah and Andriel were given, long silver tooth picks, with which they could skewer the delicacies to place on their small plate. Airy suddenly appeared beside Chitrah with a bottle of spring water. He suggested to Chitrah that he may be dehydrated, and be tempted to drink too much wine for the body to compensate, which would impair his ability to socialise later. When Andriel saw Chitrah mixing water with the wine she decided to try it as well. When she took a sip she recognised how much her body craved the water. The servers also brought a tray of raw vegetables with a sauce to dip them in. They remembered Airy's advice, to try and fill up on this food, so that they would not be as tempted to eat what was served after the play. They were both quite hungry as it was, and everything they tried tasted delicious. All too soon the servers started taking everything away, the only thing left was the wine and the water. It was politely suggested that they visit the Moff's private bathroom. It would be impolite to get up in the middle of the performance. Airy showed them the way, and stood guard outside the door. It was a unisex design, so they each entered a stall to relieve themselves. When they got back to their box and sat on their chairs, the lights in the theatre started to dim, and their chairs were turned to face the stage, this time with a glass of wine in each holder. Andriel and Chitrah both suspected that the theatre was not allowed to turn down the lights until they were seated in their chairs. They were latter able to confirm this when they spoke with Airy on the trip back to their residence. Playing with their glass of wine made the second half more bearable, sipping the wine made them more tired. They politely clapped when the play was over. When the lights were turned up, they were surprised to see some of the Ministry officials with teary eyes. They did not know if they were truly moved by the play, or if they were doing this for show.

Chitrah put on the tinted glasses he was given, now it was time for the real show. The servers were circulating through the crowd with trays of jellied canron on slices of d'il pyykkle, enyak bob over teerlop-zikody, fambaa delight, lobster bisellian paste on small pieces of crusty bread, and trays of fish eggs, of every colour of the rainbow, served on edibles to enhance the colour and compliment their taste. As well as all the dishes they had been served during intermission. He was introduced to a number of key members of Eriadu high society. Now the Ministry officials did not know that the shirt that Chitrah was wearing, and Andriel's blouse, were made of Denebrillan Star Silk. But the members of Eriadu high society did. It was a material that they all lusted after. They did not believe the story that they were being told about Chitrah and Andriel. They instinctively called Chitrah, Ambassador. They suspected Andriel to be more than a concubine, more like an illicit lover. They believed Chitrah to be a member of royalty in the Chiss Ascendancy, probably having to leave, so he could pursue a relationship with this woman. This suspicion was further enhanced when one of the servers brought them fresh glasses for the bottle of wine they had opened during the intermission. The Moff himself had selected this wine from his wine cellar. He did not know anything about the wines in his cellar. He just knew that they were his by right, as Moff, when he seized the property for himself. When he knew that the previous owners had all perished in the war. He grabbed the first bottle he came across in the cellar, when the caterers came by to verify the menu for intermission. The people Chitrah had just been introduced to, recognised it as a much sought after vintage of wine, it could easily fetch 1000 credits in the open market, and could go much higher in the right auction. They assumed that the Moff had selected this bottle for them, as an indication of his respect. They were by far the best dressed couple, even though they wore no rings, or jewellery. Every one of the Eriadu citizens present would gladly have given up their jewellery for a Denebrillan Star Silk shirt or blouse. The officials did not know how to take this. Chitrah and Andriel were being received far better than they would have expected by such a racist group. At first they thought they were being received as equals, but as they carefully observed the interactions, they realised that Chitrah and Andriel were being regarded as superiors. Not even the Moff gets this respect. Chitrah patiently talked with the people he was introduced to, with Andriel standing silently at his side. He cautiously skirted around any question asked him of the Chiss, and the Chiss Ascendancy. Not knowing, that that is exactly what a true Chiss would have done. Which made him more believable to the nobility of Eriadu. When he started feeling tired, or maybe it was the effect of the wine, he started to excuse himself from the people. He did this so naturally that the officials felt compelled to surround him and escort him to the front of the building, where their limousine was waiting. Airy held the door open for them as they climbed in. The officials huddled at the front of the building, comparing notes, wondering how they were going to write their reports, and wondering how much they should tell the Moff. They knew that they could not tell him that they were better received than he was. They had to give a good report, but not too good.

Airy was amazed by what he had witnessed in the theatre. He had never seen people who were not human, being treated so well by the high society types. He gushed on how amazing they were, and asked them what their secret was? Andriel told him that it had to do with the cut of their cloth. Airy thought she was speaking metaphorically, Andriel had to correct him by pointing out that they were both wearing Denebrillan Star Silk. The rarest and most expensive natural fibre in the galaxy. She could feel the people drooling over their shirt and blouse. Airy did think they were the best looking couple there, but he knew nothing about the silk she talked about. When he stopped to let them out, he came around to open the door for them. It would not look right if someone saw them get out of the limousines on their own. When Andriel got out she encouraged Airy to touch the sleeve of her blouse, to let him have a feel for the silk. Then she had him touch the sleeve of her jacket, which was shimmer silk. Then she had him touch the sleeve of Chitrah's Blue/Black suit, which was Kidron silk. Airy was able to detect a slight difference in the way they felt, and could see a difference in the way they looked. Andriel explained to him, that as a seamstress she had to know the difference between different types of materials. She even knew about the Denebrillan Star Silk, even though she had only encountered it for the first time a few months ago. But these people recognised it for different reasons. To them it represented money and power. Airy thanked them for the privilege of being their chauffeur, he now understood why the techs thought so highly of Chitrah. He encouraged Chitrah to introduce Andriel to them. Together, they were a wonderful team, and it would be a shame if the techs were not given the opportunity to see that for themselves. Andriel and Chitrah both thanked him for his compliment, and for being the help they needed, in a difficult situation. As tired as they were, they were sorry to see him drive away.

The next morning the resident's computer woke Chitrah to inform him that the cafeteria would be closing from breakfast in 15 minutes. They had both slept in. Chitrah hastily threw on some clothes and went down to the cafeteria to grab breakfast for Andriel and himself, all they had left was grainmush, so he took two servings. He also found the last cup of fresh fruit, and a small container of Dantooine cane sugar. He also grabbed a couple of cups of what they called hot cocoa, a beverage he had come to like.

While Chitrah was out getting their breakfast, Andriel was woken by the resident computer to tell her that there was a junior official waiting outside their door. She realised that he must have come for the turbans and veils. She threw on a housecoat and checked to make sure she looked presentable. She opened the door to the suite and found the junior official that had brought the turbans and veil standing there with a porter droid. She suddenly had an idea. She asked the official to take one of the boxes of turbans out into the hall and open it. He wanted to know why he could not open it there in the suite. Andriel told him that if he did, she would find a stick and beat him with it. The young official was taken a little aback by this threat of violence. So he took a turban box out into the hall and cautiously opened it, not knowing what to expect. When the smell hit his nose, he closed the box right away. Now he knew why she did not want him to open it in the suite. He came back to Andriel and asked if they all smelt as bad. Andriel assured him that they did, and she was very upset that they expected her husband to wear something that smelt so bad. Then she handed him the box with the turban that Chitrah had worn last night and asked him to open it. He asked if it was okay to open it right there, he did not want to be beaten by this lady. She let him know that it was alright, so he opened it. He could hardly detect the bad smell, but did smell something sweet. She told him that they managed to get most of the bad smell out, and her husband had put a couple of drops of cologne in the turban, to mask the rest. It still needed to be cleaned by a professional. Then she asked him to take one of the box of veils out into the hall and open it. This time he knew the drill. As much as he anticipated it, it still smelt bad. When he came back to Andriel she handed him the box of the veil she wore last night. When he opened it he could still smell something. She told him that was her breath along with every food item she had consumed last night. It needed to be cleaned again. Then she handed him the box with the alternate veil. He could not detect any odour. She told him that she had cleaned two veils, because she had been undecided as to which one she would wear. She reminded him that they have visiting diplomats and their wives coming to this planet all the time out of respect to their Moff. "What do you think their impressions of the Ministry here is, after wearing one of their turbans or veils?" The official literally turned white when he thought about it. Fortunately he was a smart lad so he asked her what she was proposing, she let him know that she could reduce the odour of the turbans, and clean the veils if they met her conditions. He asked her what these conditions are. She told him that she needed the patio on this building cleaned and all the tables moved to the centre of the patio, and covered in bed linen. He told her that would be no problem. Her next condition was that they cover the cost of all the chemicals she would need from the quartermaster's office. He told her that that would be no problem. Her final condition was that they double her husband's wages for the entire duration that he was working on Eriadu. He told her that he would need to talk with senior Ministry officials to get their approval for the last condition. She told him that he knew where to find her. He left with the droid carrying one box with a turban that needed to be cleaned, and one veil in the same condition. He carried the turban box that Chitrah wore last night, and the two veils that Andriel had cleaned for herself.

Chitrah came back just after they had left and wondered why they did not take all the boxes with them. Andriel told him that they were in the middle of a negotiation. The grainmush wasn't too bad when you added the fresh fruit and syrup. The hot cocoa was a nice complimentary drink. Andriel told Chitrah, that she had offered to clean all their veils if they agreed to her terms. Chitrah wondered if he should feel sorry for the officials she was negotiating with, then dismissed the idea. They deserved what they got. He asked her if she wanted to get together with him for lunch. She told him that if she got this agreement, she would not, since she would smell from the chemicals she would work with. If they did not agree to her terms, she would contact him to let him know she was available.

In the Ministry, the junior official made his presentation to his immediate seniors. Pretty much the way Andriel had presented it to him. They in turn took him to present it to officials more senior than them. And so they went up the ladder until they finally came to a senior official who had the authority to make the decision. After the presentation the junior official reminded everyone, that Andriel was the only person they knew, who could reduce the odours in the turbans, and clean the veils. When she leaves, so does the opportunity to get this done. The senior official asked all the other officials to step out of his office and wait for a decision. He made a conference call to all the other senior officials, because he did not want to make this call on his own. The other officials asked if they really smelt that bad. He assured them they did, and told them that theirs would smell just as bad if they did not keep adding drops of cologne every time they wore theirs. One of them reminded them that they still needed a way to apologize to Andriel and Chitrah, by placing her in a humiliating situation. They all agreed that this looked like their best option. They all agreed to back up whoever placed their signature on the order. The senior official called the officials that were waiting for his decision to come back into his office. He told them that they can inform Andriel that they agree to all her conditions, he also made the junior official aware to tell Andriel that this was part of their apology to her and Chitrah. None of the officials in the office knew what he was talking about, and the look on his face made them think that their careers would be on the line if they did. All of the officials went back their offices to do their part to see that it was done. One contacted the residence computer to redirect all household droids in the building, to stop what they were doing. That cleaning the patio was priority number one. Once that was done they could return to their regular tasks. Another arranged for a small group of labourers that they kept employed, to stop what they were doing, to go to the patio on the top of the residents to move all the tables into the middle, and all chairs and benches around the perimeter. The junior official was told that he would need to arrange the linen once the tables were in place, and transfer all the boxes to the patio when Andriel instructed them to do so. Another called the quartermaster's office to let them know that they would be covering the costs of all the chemicals Andriel would be getting from them that day. Another called to have a guard posted at the door to the patio, allowing the droid the junior official and Andriel as the only ones allowed onto the patio, while the turbans and veils were still there. These items were very expensive to begin with, and right now they were irreplaceable, as there was no-one on Eriadu making any new ones.

Andriel had time to shower and dress in what she now considered her work clothes, after Chitrah left, but before the junior official returned. In fact she was enjoying a nice cup of tea, and was toying with some designs on her computer when the resident's computer informed her that someone was at her door. When she opened the door the official blurted out that they had met all her requests, and passed on the part about the apology. Andriel smiled, because she expected that that would be the case. The official asked her what he should do next. She asked him what the status of the patio was. He told her that the household droids were almost done cleaning it. There was a work crew on the way to move all the tables and chairs. As soon as they were done the resident computer would have bed linen delivered to the patio. When he finished, Andriel told him that after they had covered the tables with the linen, they should transport all the boxes and place them on the floor beside the tables. Making sure the door to the suit is locked after they have removed all the boxes.

She was heading to the quartermaster's office, to arrange for all her supplies to be delivered. She placed her computer in her bedroom and closed the door. Out of sight, out of mind! At the quartermaster's office they asked her why she had arranged for the Ministry to pick up her costs. She told them that she appreciated them letting her have the stuff at no charge, when she needed it. She knew that it was not the best situation as far as book keeping was concerned. This way it would be written off their books, but still be available if someone else needed it. They appreciated that she looked out for them, and were willing to help her in any way she needed. She told them that she just needed to borrow their droids to carry everything for her, and she would need them later, to return what was not used. When she arrived at the door to the patio, she was surprised to find a guard there. The guard told her that she had permission to go in, but the droids did not. The junior official who was waiting for her, quickly stepped out and assured the guard that it was okay to let the droids in, since they were carrying the supplies that Andriel needed. The guard backed down and let them all go into the patio. After they had dropped everything off and left, Andriel informed the guard that they would be returning later in the day to retrieve any supplies she had not used. He told her that he would tell his replacement, since he was scheduled to be off at noon. The junior official asked if there was anything else he could do. She told him that she would not be there in the morning when he came to pick up the turbans and veils. He would have to make sure that each item was placed in its correct box. Then he could inform the resident's computer that the linen sheets could be taken to the laundry. As he was going out the door, Andriel stopped him and asked for two more things, she asked if someone could send her a bottle of cheap cologne so that she could place a couple of drops in each turban at the end of the day. She would leave the bottle for him, as part of the turban's maintenance, and she asked if it was possible for the cafeteria to send her up a sandwich and tea for lunch, since she would be working straight through. He asked if she had any preference, she let him know that it would not matter, with the chemicals she would be working with, she doubted she would be able to taste anything today.

After he left, the first thing she did was to take out all the turbans so that the sunlight could get inside of them. The first veil she cleaned was the one she wore. It would be the quickest and the easiest. Before she knew it the new guard stuck his head through the door to let her know that her lunch had arrived. One of the ladies that worked in the cafeteria was standing there with a tray in her hands, she had brought her a sandwich and a cup of fresh tea. She was hoping that she would be invited onto the patio, the residents was already buzzing with excitement about what could be going on up there. She knew that she would have a wave of questions when she returned, and she was curious to know herself. It was the red lady who came through the patio door. She had heard of her, but had never seen her before. Now she was looking at her face to face. She smelt of cleaning chemicals that she remembered from before the war, at the cleaners. She smiled and thanked her, took the tray, and retreated back to the patio. She could not see what was in the patio, before the guard closed the door. At least she could tell everyone that the red lady was involved.

Now that they had shielding spheres, Chitrah would take one whenever he went to install a new device. He always took a different technician, when he went out. They were no longer nervous about going out with him, he was so easy to work with. He pointed out that the proper placement of the shield was more important than anything else. They could not ground the shield through the computer, it had to be grounded externally. If they had grounded the shielding through the computer, and it had absorbed an emp, the grounded pulse traveling through the computer could fry circuits that would normally have been protected by its own shielding. Then they would be in trouble with the company as well as the Ministry.

Chitrah had not received a call from Andriel, so she must have been successful. He took a quick lunch and continued working through the day. When he arrived back at the residence, he did not find Andriel in their suite. He decided to check the patio, and was surprised to find a guard at the door. He politely asked the guard if his wife was still working on the patio. The guard could not believe that this blue guy was married to the beautiful red lady working on the patio, but he stuck his head through the door to tell the lady that there was a blue guy out here claiming to be her husband. She surprised him by saying that she would be right out. So he told the blue guy that she would be right out. Maybe he is the husband. He's been a soldier long enough to know that stranger things have happened in the galaxy. She came to the door, and told the blue guy that she was almost finished. Then she would have to wait for the droids from the quartermaster's office to return all the material that wasn't used. She needed to shower to get the smell of chemicals off her, before she ate, otherwise she might not be able to taste what she was eating.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"You know the cafeteria food is not that bad."

Yes, they talk like a married couple.

Andriel told Chitrah that she would be returning to Old Town Factoryville the following day. He reminded her that every time she went, she also put the life of whoever follows her at risk. She realised that she had never thought of that before. She promised him that it would be the last time.

Chitrah installed the last sphere that day, now he waited for the commercial devices to arrive. He helped when asked, most of the time he sat in the corner playing Hutt Wars, on his computer. They knew what they were doing, they did not need him anymore.

Andriel did not know that she still had a strong chemical smell on her clothes. Today it saved her. Scavengers do not like things with a strong chemical odour, they can make you very sick. They saw her enter the building, and started following her trail. The closer they got to her, the stronger the chemical smell. They started arguing with themselves, what good was it to take anything from her, if it would make you sick? They knew from experience that being sick was only a step away, from being dead. So they left her alone. The follower observed them leaving the building. After they left, he entered to see if Andriel was alright. He stopped when he reached the point where the scavengers turned back, he was confused. Why did they turn back? Andriel's tracks were easy to follow, so he followed them to the top floor. He could smell the chemical smell now. He watched her now as he did the other day while she was cleaning that material. His only thought, "Woman, you live a charmed life!" He returned to his hiding place on the street level. He decided not to mention the scavengers in his report. How do you say that she scared them away by the way she smelt.

Andriel decided to change when she got back to the residence, the driver, Orlo, had told her that she still had a chemical smell on her clothes. While she was changing, Chitrah warmed up their dinners. She asked Chitrah if they could eat on the patio. She noticed an infrared heater up there, so they would not attract any unwanted attention, she doubted that anyone else would be up there. He liked the idea, a change of scenery can sometimes bring unexpected benefits. He carried their dinners while she carried their tea. She pointed out the heater, and went to fire it up, he dragged a table over to it. She found a chair to sit on, there was already a bench there. He just positioned it so that he could sit at the table. He told her that he was basically finished, he was just waiting for them to bring some commercial devices to replace the ones he had made. She told him that nothing exciting happened to her today, except the driver told her that she smelled of chemicals. Now he knew why she changed before dinner. There was a sudden gust of wind, and Andriel felt chilled. She asked Chitrah if he felt the wind. He did, but it was heated by the heater and felt nice. So she told him that she needs to sit with him because she felt chilled. She sat beside Chitrah and snuggled up to him. In his mind alarm bells started going off, but he silenced them by telling himself that she has a right. He put his arm around her like a blanket. She felt really comfortable sitting next to him, and wished that he would do more, but did not want to do anything to wreck this moment. It felt good to Chitrah to have her snuggle against him. She told him about what conditions she had made to clean the veils for them. He gave her a squeeze to let her know how much he appreciated her. He told her that she was one smart lady. She told him that the officials consider their debt paid for humiliating her. He was sure that next time they would think twice before they messed with her again. They just kept talking, like they did aboard ship, neither of them wanting to leave. The person watching them through electro-binoculars was satisfied that they were a young couple in love. Very dangerous for the Ministry to cross, they made friends easily, so any negative action against them, could have long felt negative consequences to the Ministry. He was sorry that they were not facing him, he would have enjoyed listening in on their conversation.