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)

8. Chapter 7

©2015

The next morning, after Chitrah left, Andriel started moving the furniture around in their suite. Chitrah had agreed to start practising again, she had started to feel that she was getting out of shape. When she was satisfied that they had room to practise, but still be able to use the dining table, and Chitrah could still get to his couch, she stopped and checked the time. She had enough time to find the workshop and meet up with Chitrah before lunch. She remembered Airy encouraging her to meet the guys that Chitrah worked with. His advice had been very good to this point, so why not, she had nothing to lose.

Chitrah was pleasantly surprised to see Andriel walk into the workshop, out of the corner of his eye. He stopped playing on his computer to go and greet her. He asked her what she was doing there. She reminded him that Airy had suggested this. Chitrah remembered, so he started introducing her to each tech. One of the techs mentioned that he had talked about them to his wife, and she would love to meet them. Another tech mentioned that his wife would like to meet them as well. Andriel asked them, where they lived? They told her that they lived in the same residence building as she did. She asked them how they knew where she lived, she had never seen them before. They told her that they had heard the story about the red lady working on the patio under armed guard, and Airy had told them. Andriel suggested that they all meet on the patio for dinner. They all agreed to meet that night, even the two single techs agreed to join them, and they set a time. The married techs' wives also worked for the ministry, they would meet up with them over lunch and tell them about their dinner date. The workshop was really buzzing, when Andriel and Chitrah left for lunch.

After lunch, Andriel went back to the archives. She kept thinking about her fellow Devaronians, if she found herself in a position to help, how could she? She thought that the place to start was to know the flora and the fauna of the planet before the war. The archivists were surprised and happy to see her, they had not expected to see her again.

Chitrah left the workshop early, to keep his promise with Andriel. He found Andriel was already dressed in her practise outfit, waiting for him. He quickly changed into his practise outfit. They started by doing the limbering up exercises that they had been taught to minimise injuries. Then they started with the basic moves and progressed from there. They were really into it when the alarm on Andriel's computer went off. Time to get ready for their dinner date. Andriel let Chitrah shower first since he had agreed to go get their dinners. She would meet up with him on the patio, with the others.

Chitrah had not yet arrived when Andriel showed up. The techs who were there, introduced their spouses to Andriel. The wives mentioned that they had heard a lot about her and Chitrah, and not just from their husbands. She organised everyone into moving the tables and chairs around so everyone would feel comfortable. She started the infrared heater that she knew about, she had the other techs to search the patio in case there were others. They found two more. By the time Chitrah arrived, the patio was nice and toasty. They went through introductions all over again, and sat down to enjoy the company while they ate. One of the techs mentioned that he expected one more person to join them. The wives started to share the gossip they had heard in their own departments. Chitrah was described as being a nerdy-superman, and Andriel was described as being a femme fatal. Suddenly Airy came onto the patio carrying a keg. It was ale that he had smuggled out of the Moff's residence. Dinner turned into a party. Airy told everyone how awesome Andriel and Chitrah looked on the night of the theatre. All the women wanted to see the outfits, the guys were also curious. So Andriel and Chitrah finally agreed to go and dress up for them. Airy kept an eye out for them when he saw them approaching the patio door. He intercepted them, and asked to be allowed to announce them. Andriel thought the idea was humorous, but agreed to humour Airy, Chitrah had no objections. Airy stepped onto the patio and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present the king and queen of Eriadu." Chitrah and Andriel stepped out onto the patio arm in arm, and stood there. It was a while before anyone spoke, they truly felt like they were in the presence of royalty. The women were the first to react, they came up to them and took their hands. Some had teary eyes, they told them that everything they heard about them was true. They were so honoured to meet them. Both Andriel and Chitrah were surprised by this and were uncertain how to take it. One of the ladies saw how uncomfortable they started to look, so she started to explain. They had heard that they have the ability to talk with everyone, and consider themselves beneath no-one, nor do they lord over anyone. They were so used to others lording over them, that they never believed it to be true. Yet here they are, they are just people. They are very beautiful people, but still just people. It doesn't matter what they wear, they are still the same. They are genuine. They don't know how happy they have made them. The guys echoed the wives sentiment, they mentioned how good they looked, yet they knew they could talk to them. Airy walked behind them and whispered, "I told you." He ushered everyone back to their seats and passed around another round of ale. When everyone had a glass, he raised his, and declared, "To the king and queen of Eriadu." Everyone but Andriel and Chitrah raised their glass and repeated, "To the king and queen of Eriadu." When they put their glasses down, Andriel and Chitrah raised their glasses, and stated, "To friends!" Everyone else raised their glasses, and repeated, "To friends!" They all drained their glasses and asked for another round. The women asked if it was true that their outfits were made from three different types of silk. Airy had not told them what types, Andriel was happy to know this. She let them feel the different types, but did not mention which silk was which. The guys asked if they could also touch. Chitrah replied, only in the appropriate places, which drew a laugh from everyone. Airy was the one who suggested that they all head for bed, it would not be appropriate if they all showed up late for work the following day.

The one observing them, did not put in his report where he suspected the ale as coming from, nor did he write in his report a lot of what was said. He did mention that the group bonded well, and this should reflect positively in their work output over the next few days.

The next day Andriel went back to the Archives, Chitrah went back to playing on his computer in the work shop. They had a terrific workout before dinner, and decided to eat dinner on the patio. A lot of the group also had the same idea, a couple they never met before were sitting at another table off to the side. When Andriel and Chitrah showed up this new couple started to panic. The young lady started to get out of her chair and asked Andriel if it was all right for them to be there. She must have heard about Andriel working in the patio under guard.

Andriel told her, "If it's not, then we are all in trouble."

The young lady turned a little red in the cheeks and sat down. The man with her whispered to her, "I told you it was all right!"

Andriel and Chitrah sat down with the group that was already there. They were surprised to see one of the single techs there with them. He told them that this was way more fun than eating alone. One of the ladies asked him if he had a girlfriend. He said he didn't, besides there is no place to take someone on a date, even if he obtained a special pass to the entertainment section, the only places open are the brothels. Not a place you want to take a young lady that you might want to marry, on a first date. Andriel asked him, if he had ever thought of going to the archives? Everyone looked at her as if she suddenly turned a different colour. She told them to think about it. If you both have the afternoon off, it's a nice place to find some solitude. If they don't know what to do, the archivists are always willing to help. "I would believe that they would have entertainment vids, from before the war. Even if only one of you could get down there, you could download something that you could both enjoy watching together. Back at one of your rooms."

One of the ladies asked Andriel, if she had taken Chitrah down there yet? Andriel told her that she had not, but did want to take him down, so that they could start their own entertainment section. Chitrah turned a little purple, everyone laughed at his expense. It has been a while since Andriel has embarrassed him like this. She just looked at him with a smile of sweet innocence, which caused him to smile. The bachelor liked the suggestion, and thanked Andriel for it. One of the ladies asked if he had a special someone in mind, or did he need their help as matchmakers. He turned red, and admitted that he could use some help.

The lady who was unsure about whether they were allowed on the patio spoke up. "Excuse me, but I could not help but overhear. There are a lot of single young ladies working in my department, who are having the same problem as your friend. I would love to help them, and maybe we could help your friend as well."

Andriel invited them to come and join the group. They all took a turn introducing themselves, and welcoming the new couple. The ladies started off by describing their bachelor friend to this new lady, the bachelor felt like he was some prize stud being put up for auction, but was too fascinated by the prospect of a good outcome, to run away. Then they each took turns describing a single young lady they knew that might be a good match. They all took turns analysing the prospects that the other women had mentioned, occasionally asking the bachelor for his input, while at the same time ignoring him. Finally he had enough, and raised his voice for them to stop. All the ladies stopped talking, and stared at him. He told them that all the young ladies they described sounded really interesting. He wanted to know when he could meet them. One of the ladies told him that they would let him know, and turned back to discussing the young ladies with the other women. All the married men had been silent the whole time. One of them patted him on the shoulder as a gesture of sympathy and unity.

Andriel quietly asked Chitrah if all human females behaved like this. To her this was fascinating. Chitrah whispered back that he did not know, but he felt a strange kinship with the men. They decided to retire to their suite, since they did not know how they could be of further assistance to the women, or to the men. Chitrah asked her, how her research was going? She told him it was fascinating. Andriel asked, if there was any word on when the devices would arrive? He replied no.

The next morning Andriel asked the archivists, if they had any information on the first settlers to Eriadu, and any stories on how they survived? They were very helpful in finding some interesting survival stories. The hard part was trying to figure out what was fact and what was fiction.

Chitrah was very excited when he met Andriel for lunch. He was just informed that the ship bringing the devices had docked at the spaceport, and he would be able to start installing them this afternoon. If that was the case he will be finished by tomorrow morning. There was talk that they might be ready to depart by tomorrow evening. Andriel always took this news with mixed emotions, she was starting to feel like a caged animal in a zoo, but they had made so many new friends, it will be hard to say goodbye. Chitrah recognised the look in her eyes, it's always hard to say goodbye. She asked him to let her know if he would be back in time for their practise session, she was still sore from last night and needed a good workout to get rid of the soreness. If he was going to be late, did he want her to get him some supper? Chitrah patted her hand, and told her that one way or the other he would let her know.

When Andriel entered their suite the residence computer informed her that Chitrah was on his way and should be there shortly. She was happy for the news and quickly changed into her workout equipment. As she finished dressing Chitrah entered the suite. She told him that she would wait in the bedroom until he was ready. He was a little out of breath from running up to their suite, but was ready in no time flat. He also had some muscle soreness that he wanted to work out. He told her during the practise, that they would be leaving on the same ship that brought the commercial devices. It was not a freighter, but was used as a courier ship by the Empire. There is not that much room on the ship, so they wouldn't be able to work out. It may have been a luxury yacht before it was seized by the Empire, and given supper fast engines for courier service. They might get to their destination 5 to 8 days sooner, than with a regular freighter. They should plan on having one more good workout tomorrow afternoon, before boarding the ship. Andriel agreed with him, as she swept his feet out from underneath him.

She let him shower first, since he was going down to get their dinners. She would meet him on the patio. It was getting more crowded on the patio. The lady she met yesterday introduced her to some other couples that decided to take advantage of the clean patio. They were pleased to meet her, having heard about her and her husband in their departments. Andriel assured them it was just gossip, unless they heard something good, which made everyone laugh. Someone pointed out that in the cafeteria everyone kind of kept to themselves, but on the patio, it is comfortable to talk with people you hardly know. It wasn't long before Chitrah showed up with dinner. He was introduced to the new couples, and conversation continued around the tables. Andriel had brought her computer since the ladies wanted to see the clothes she designed on Yitabo. She already had copies of the outfit design that helped a lady get pregnant, because she knew they would ask. One of the ladies was so excited about getting a copy that she gave out a little squeal without realising it. She was going to find someone to make it for her. If she has a girl she would call her Andriel, if she has a boy, she would call him Chitrah. Someone asked her, what if she has twins? Then she would call one Andriel and the other Chitrah, if it was alright? Everyone laughed. After everyone finished dinner, Chitrah made the announcement that they would be leaving tomorrow, the techs already knew, but had not yet told their wives. Everyone was silent for a moment. Someone asked if they knew where they were going? He believed they were going to a planet called Lianna in the Tion Cluster. Someone else asked if they would be back? He told them that if they have any major technical problems, he was sure their Moff had enough clout to bring him back. They all said they would miss them. Chitrah said that this was always the hardest part of the job, you meet good friends, than you have to leave. They all saw that his eyes had teared up, they all stood up, and one by one they came by and gave him and Andriel a hug goodbye. Most everyone was teary eyed by the time the last person had given their hugs. Andriel and Chitrah wished them a pleasant evening and went back to their suite. He walked back with one arm around her shoulder, hugging her to himself, and she hugged him around the waist. Back at their suite they talked about their timeline for the following day. Chitrah mentioned that he only had one more location to go to, but it was the farthest away. He could come and find her in the archives, and they could go for an early lunch.

They can come back here after lunch and make sure everything was packed away. They could relax until it was safe for them to work out, so no-one got sick during their workout. They could then move all the furniture back. Shower, change into their traveling outfits, and put away their workout gear. Make sure they have everything. Then head to the shuttle terminal and catch a shuttle to the spaceport, and board their ship.

Aboard ship, they can separate their clean clothes from their dirty clothes so the clean clothes don't smell like dirty clothes. Andriel asked, what time do they need to board the ship? Chitrah thought it was pretty much up to them. She wondered if they could come back here and work out, then have lunch, rest and workout again. Chitrah thought that was a good idea. If he felt they were pushing themselves to much with the second workout, they can always make it lighter and shorter.

The ship they boarded was a Modified WUD-100 Star Yacht, in was only 18.5 metres in length. It had no armament, but was heavily armoured in its stern. Its hyper drive, and in system drives were from a light freighter with 3 times the mass. Its nav computer was the best available in the Sith Empire, for a ship of its size. It had three cabins, one was used by the pilot/captain, one was for passengers, and the third was used for freight. There was only one escape pod left, the other two having been removed as extraneous weight. It would be a tight squeeze for three adults to fit in the remaining escape pod. The passenger cabin was small. The bed was only comfortable for one adult, Andriel and Chitrah would have to sleep in shifts. There was no room to store their luggage in their cabin, they had to store it in the freight cabin. The shower was so small that both Andriel and Chitrah kept bumping their elbows against the walls when they showered. The bridge was more like a cockpit in a starfighter, then a bridge. There was a little jumpseat in the bridge that you could fold down to sit on, while talking to the captain. The plus side was that it was very fast. They were able to get to the edge of the system and jump to hyperspace in half the time it would have taken a freighter, and that was at half speed. The food on the ship was the best that they had ever had on a ship. Much better than what the Ministry fed them on Eriadu. The major negative, was that because they were such a small ship it was relatively easy for pirates to force it out of hyperspace. The good news was that no fighter could keep up with them. That's why it had extra armour in the stern. The captain slept in his pilot seat. He only used his cabin to stow his gear, relieve himself, and shower. He had a daily exercise routine, that he performed in the small common room, to keep from cramping up, when spending so much time in the chair. He suggested that Andriel and Chitrah learn the routine to help them keep in shape on this trip. Unfortunately there was not enough room for them to do the routine with him. They would have to watch him than try it on their own. They could coach one another, to help get the routine right. Chitrah found out that he just came from Deysum III. The Moff on Eriadu had claimed it was a number one priority for them to purchase some devices from a shop there that specialises in communication hardware. This Moff has an uncle who sits on the Dark Council, so pretty much whatever he wants, he gets. The captain had to accompany an official from the Ministry so that the official could pay for it. The guy tried to get as much as he could out of the official, until the official threatened to have an audit done on his business, and they might have to close his store during the audit, so that they can be very thorough, this caused the price to come way down. The official purchased all the stock he had on hand, fortunately it was enough. When they left the shop the official handed everything to him and went back to the Ministry.

Chitrah told Andriel what the captain had told him, he also told her about his debriefing with the Moff, and how he had asked Chitrah very specifically were he could buy the devices. That's the store where Chitrah had bought a lot of the hardware he incorporated into his personal computer. Andriel thought that it was very amusing that they would go that route to get the equipment, when they have so much of their own. Chitrah wondered if he did it to cut red tape. If the device was not on the official list of electronic equipment that could be purchased by the Ministry, it could be months or even years before it would be approved. And he did want him there to make sure it was installed properly.

"I could have become a professional holonet Hutt War player, by the time the devices had made it to Eriadu through conventional channels."

"And I would have opened my own dress shop in the entertainment sector, to dress the prostitutes and actors."

They both laughed at the absurdity of their ideas. They settled into a routine after a few days. Whoever was awake talked with the captain while the other slept. He very much enjoyed their company. They were both awake while the captain slept. They would talk, then play on their computers, then talk some more. Andriel had wondered how she would look in some of the dress designs she had seen when they went to the theatre. She would show him a design she remembered, then she would show him how she would modify it, both for comfort and beauty. He always said her designs looked better. She always watched his face when he said that. He always looked sincere when he said it, so she believed him. She did try to trick him once by saying her design was the one she remembered, and the remembered design was hers. He said the first design looked more like something she would do, the other design looked more like a way to torture women. She thanked him for his honesty. She did not test him anymore.

When they disembarked at the spaceport over Lianna, they felt in good shape, thanks to the routine the captain showed them. It was still not as good as their workouts, but they were not feeling lethargic.

When they passed through local customs to be allowed to take a shuttle down to the surface. Since they were both wearing their Ministry Security ID. The official told them which shuttle terminal was the closest to the Ministry's offices. Lianna was an ecumenopolis, there were 6 public shuttle terminals on the surface. They found the shuttle they wanted and descended to the surface. In the terminal they were not able to find a Ministry communications board, they entered a for-pay communicator and had directory assistance contact the Ministry for them, and asked all charges to be billed to the Ministry. A friendly droid answered the call, and after verifying Chitrah's ID, agreed to accept all charges.

The droid informed them at which hotel they had reservations, and gave them directions on how to go there. Basically telling them where to locate the closest droid taxi stand. The droid also informed Chitrah that they were expecting him in the office right away, so not to dismiss the taxi when they reach the hotel.

Andriel told him that she would be all right, there should be porter droids at the hotel, and she can check-in for both of them. When Chitrah entered the Main Ministry building the droid receptionist was waiting for him and directed him to the office he needed to go to. When he arrived the junior officials in the outer office directed him further in, the local Moff, wanted to speak to him. When Chitrah entered the inner office, they directed him further in. He came to a large office with a holographic communicator platform. He was directed to go stand on it. As he was walking towards the platform he asked if there was a special protocol he needed to follow, like kneeling or something. They told him that they were rather informal here, he would just need to stand and talk when spoken to.

After a few minutes waiting, which felt like a lifetime to Chitrah, the blue image of the Moff materialized before him. "So you are the young technician that has dazzled two Moffs. Welcome to Lianna, the Moff of Eriadu has given you a bonus for the work you have done by doubling your wages, while you were under his employment. Word is getting around and other Moffs are inquiring about you, I may be in a position to hire you out to other sectors. In this sector the Sith Empire has seen fit to allow some planets to remain under Republic control. They expect us to be a shining example of how prosperous, living in the Sith Empire can be. We don't expect to have as difficult challenges as you have already encountered, but we do expect you to tackle every challenge with the same enthusiasm. The officials in your office will fill you in on the important details. It is my pleasure to finally see you." Then the communication was terminated.

The senior official invited Chitrah to come and sit at his desk, while he goes over some of the details, other officials stood around the desk to be privy to the information being exchanged, and to provide any details the senior official may have forgotten. He was told that the Ministry would only cover 5 days of accommodations at the hotel where he is currently staying. He is encouraged to find long term accommodations for himself and his wife, as he would always be returning to this planet, no matter where his assignments take him. They will try to let him know how long each assignment will take, since his wife might decide not to join him on the shorter assignments. They will endeavour to help him find suitable accommodations where ever they send him. He is expected to report back to this office within 5 days, ready for work whether or not he finds suitable accommodations. He will be directed to where he can collect his accumulated wages. Does he have any questions? Chitrah did not, he was eager to collect his wages and get back to Andriel. When he stopped in at the pay office, he thought at first they had made a mistake in calculating his wages. Then he remembered that Andriel had them agree to double his wages, then the Moff had doubled them again. He was paid 4 times his regular wage. He signed for the credits, and hurried back to the hotel. He told Andriel about everything, then he showed her all the credits he received. They had more options now concerning accommodations. They could afford to look at unfurnished suites, as well as furnished ones, since they could afford to buy furniture. Andriel liked that idea, since unfurnished apartments were considerably cheaper, and she did not like sleeping in beds, that so many people had slept in them before her.

They looked up apartments for rent, and had the computer display them relative to the Ministry. They noticed that most of them near the Ministry where furnished, obviously catering to Ministry personnel. But there were still some unfurnished ones, and as they suspected, at a much lower rate. She suggested that they go to the shuttle terminal right after breakfast, to deposit half the credits in their account, then they can contact the landlords, from there to arrange to see the apartments.

Andriel made some tea to help them get to sleep. Because their internal clocks were so out of sync with each other and with the planet, she used four times the amount of tea leaves per cup, than what she would normally use. Chitrah had the room computer play some soothing music at a volume level that they could hardly hear it. He also set it to stop after six hours, he was hoping that they both would be asleep by then. Andriel set the alarm on her personal computer to wake them up in the morning, local time.

They both just lay in their beds, willing sleep to come. Andriel was the first to fall asleep as her bio-rhythms were closer to the normal for Lianna. Chitrah started to think of all the people that had touched his life in a positive way, since his life with Andriel began. He first thought of the baker on Yitabo, and was disappointed with himself for never asking his name. He remembered how he had put some bread aside for them when he thought they would be late, and never wanted to be compensated. How he was the one that the other vendors asked to represent them on the last day they were on Yitabo. He thought about the red-neck farmers who stood up for him, when he could not stand up for himself, because he had been drugged. They had accepted him for who he was, no matter the colour of his skin. He remembered the look on the faces of the people, when he was forcing himself through the crowd. He knew they wanted to help, but they all felt helpless, all they could do was make room to let him through. He was sorry that that was the last memory that most of them would have of Andriel and himself on Yitabo. The way that he and Andriel left Eriadu was much more positive. He also thought of Andriel's new mother, Mrs. Grimshaw. In many ways she had been a mother to him as well. He thought of the people on Chalacta, especially the people of the self-defence class. How quickly they had bonded with them. What directions their friendships would have went, if they had been there longer. He thought of Airy and his fellow techs, and their wives. He was just getting to know them when it was time to leave. Then he thought of Andriel and all the positive things she has brought out in his life, she truly is an awesome woman. How can he get her to give her heart to him? He was at a loss. She knows he loves her, and there are lots of signs that she really likes him. He has not been dead to the fact that she is willing to have a sexual relationship with him. There has been a time or two that he almost gave in. Sure they can have fun for a season, they may even be able to stretch it out for a few years, but in the end it would crash and they would be further apart then they are now, with no hope of getting back together. That's not what Chitrah wants. He wants a relationship that would last forever, like the one his parents have, like the one his brother and his wife have. A relationship who's foundation is the love that each partner has for the other. That's the relationship he wants with Andriel. How can he reach her, how can he remove the obstacles in her heart? He can't! He can only wait. How can he wait, can he be vulnerable, and keep exposing his heart to her? It hurts too much, if he knew that this would be resolved in a few days or even a week he would be willing to do it. But this might take months or even years. He must protect his heart. In his mind he prayed, "If there is anyone out there, who is listening, and willing to help us? Please help us! We need your intervention."

Chitrah got up to take a cold shower, thinking of having a physical relationship with Andriel, has made his blood boil. He did not want to harm his sleeping princess. He would rather take a cold shower and stay up all night, than harm her. What was unexpected, was that after the cold shower he fell asleep right away.

The next thing Chitrah heard, was the alarm on Andriel's computer going off. It was not an intrusive alarm. It was just a random selection of notes that did not even make a tune, repeating over and over again, until you woke up and shut it off. When Chitrah woke up he found Andriel sitting at the writing table in their hotel room, watching him. It was obvious that she had already showered and dressed and was now waiting on him. He asked her, how long has the alarm had been going off? She told him maybe twenty minutes, maybe half an hour. This was not like him, Andriel was usually the one who had trouble getting up in the morning. He then asked her, if they were having breakfast here, or going out? She told him that breakfast was on the way, since the Ministry was paying for it. If he took a quick shower, it might still be hot by the time he finished. Chitrah took the hint, and took a quick shower and dressed. Breakfast had come while he was in the shower. Andriel was sipping some hot tea waiting for him to join her. She had gone over the ads again this morning to see if there were any changes from last night, and had downloaded all the info into her computer, without disturbing the alarm. After she had dressed, and was still waiting for him to wake up, she had already contacted a couple of landlords, and made appointments to view their apartments. It was a good thing there is a filter on the hotel room's communicator to eliminate the sound of the alarm, while she was talking.

They went to the shuttle terminal, to the banking kiosk, to deposit half the credits into their account. Andriel thought they had time to walk to the first appointment, it would give them a feel for the neighborhood. Andriel asked all the questions of the landlord, while she showed them the apartment. They were looking at one bedroom apartments, because they knew the Ministry would end up with the full details about the apartment, once they were given the address. They were planning on buying one bed with two dressers, hers and his, for the bedroom. A couch that could be folded down into a bed, a dining table and chairs, for the main room, with the credits they had left, after the deposit and one month's rent. They saw three apartments before they decided to break for lunch. They talked about what they liked and did not like about each apartment. They saw two more after lunch. Then Andriel suggested that they sit down for a tea. She asked Chitrah if they had seen enough to make a decision, or should they look for more. Chitrah thought they had seen enough, and he was sure Andriel thought they had seen enough, or she would not have suggested they stop for tea. Chitrah thought it would be best to let Andriel lead the conversation.

After they had a chance to rest and sip on their tea, Andriel said that she thought the first apartment they saw after lunch was the best choice. She went over the list of likes and dislikes they talked about over lunch. This apartment had everything that they liked about the apartments they saw in the morning. It was not the cheapest, nor was it the most expensive. But when you considered everything that was included, it was the most cost effective. Chitrah agreed, they would have their own kitchen droid, like they did in their hotel room in Yitabo, they had access to a housekeeping droid, one day in seven, included in the rent. The utilities were all included. They had unlimited access to the local net, and the holonet. None of the apartments had a good view. There were high-rise buildings no matter where you looked. There was quick access to public transit, so it did not matter that it was the furthest away from the Ministry, of all the apartments they looked at. There were a number of grocery stores and specialty stores nearby. Not to mention a bakery. They were both getting excited about their choice, so Chitrah said, that they needed to both take deep breaths, and one of them needed to call and see if it was still available. If it was, they needed to place a deposit on it right away and get the paper work done before they could celebrate. Andriel suggested that Chitrah make the call, they might be expecting the guy to be the final decision maker. Chitrah differed to her opinion. She may have been raised in a matriarchal clan, but they did business in a male dominated society. She was pretty good at knowing what was best.

The unit was still available, and they hurried over to place a deposit. They finalised the paperwork, and confirmed that they could start moving in the day after tomorrow. That gave them a whole day to find the furniture they wanted, and arrange delivery. One thing they had in their apartment, which they did not have in Yitabo, was a good sized freezer. This way they could keep a few ship's dinners on hand. In case they were running late, and wanted to eat something, quickly.

Chitrah suggested that they celebrate, by going out for a nice dinner. Andriel liked that idea, but suggested they stop and buy a new shirt for Chitrah's suit. She did not think it would be appropriate for him to wear the Denebrillan Star Silk shirt, and she did not want him wearing his blue-tinted shirt with his suit. Chitrah agreed, so they stopped at a men's clothing store on the way back to the hotel. The good thing was that the gentleman who served them gave them a couple of good suggestions for dinner, and let them use the shop's communicator to make reservations. It was an excellent choice, the maitre d' of the restaurant told them, that he recognised the address of the communicator they called from. They often send their clients to this restaurant, but he can't say if they have ever eaten there themselves. If they had, they did not identify themselves. The restaurant would love to show them their appreciation. Andriel suggested that they send something over during lunch. The maitre d' liked her suggestion, and thanked her for it. The food was good, the service was good, and the ambiance was good. Chitrah would have to remember this place.

Back at the hotel, they looked up the stores that looked like they carried the furniture they were interested in, and made a schedule for the following day. It would be a repeat of today, except they would be looking at furniture instead of apartments. Andriel made them some tea to help them sleep. She did not make it very strong, since they were tired, from traveling around all day. They were still too excited about having their own apartment, and they needed to calm down before they could fall asleep.

When they stopped for lunch the following day, they no longer wanted to look at another piece of furniture. Not one store had all the items they wanted. They would need to buy pieces separately from a number of stores. This meant that they would not be able to negotiate any good deals, from any of the stores. They both thought it was more important to get the pieces they liked, rather than compromise for a good deal, which they would probably end up regretting. They both secretly wanted a larger bed, because they both hoped that at some point in their future, they would both be sleeping on it. But neither of them was willing to bring it up. When they went back to the store to purchase the bed, Andriel told the salesperson she wanted the larger model, and Chitrah did not object. When it came to the couch, Andriel let Chitrah pick whatever design he liked the best, she only got involved when it came to colour and fabric. They picked a dining table that was comfortable for four, but could be expanded to sit six. That's when they both decided that they each wanted their own desk. They would use the two extra chairs that came with their dining table, as desk chairs. Fortunately the store that they bought the dining table from had nice desk designs, and they were able to negotiate a deal on the desks. They were able to arrange for everything to be delivered the following morning. Back at the hotel, they both decided to do the modified exercises that the courier captain had taught them since they did not have the room to do their regular workout. After dinner they decided to go to the building that they would be moving into, and walk around and get a better feel for their new neighborhood. This way they could also see which shops stayed open late, and which ones closed early.

The next morning after breakfast, they packed everything up, and checked out. They were able to leave their luggage in safe storage at the hotel, for no charge, if they picked them up in the afternoon. They both wanted to be present, at their new apartment, when it was transferred to them. They arrived at the landlord's office just as it was opening. They were given, new pass cards and the current code for entering. A landlord's rep did a walkthrough with them, to confirm the condition of everything in the apartment at handover. The first thing Chitrah did after the landlord's rep left, was to access the apartment's computer. The computer was not connected to the net for security reasons. He had noted the manufacturer and model when they first looked at the apartment. He was sure its programs had never been upgraded. So he had downloaded to his computer the best security software for this computer, and was now going to transfer it to the apartment computer. He knew it would eliminate the landlord's master access to the apartment, but he did not want them to come in without his permission anyway. He doubted that they would notice until he inputted them into the computer when they gave the apartment back. The coding for the household droid's access would remain the same, he just expanded the security zone around the droid when it entered. He was horrified to know that there had not been a security zone before he expanded it. The way it had been set up someone could have stood directly behind the droid, and followed it into the apartment when the apartment computer granted the droid access. Now if there is any lifeform detected within 5 meters of the droid when it tried to enter, it would be told to standby until all lifeforms had left the security zone. The other programming adjustment was to record anyone who tried to enter the apartment without the proper coding, and to record any lifeforms in the security zone, when the household droid tried to enter the apartment. Chitrah also had the apartment's computer to have the household droid wait for whoever is in the apartment to let it in, when someone was actually in the apartment. This way they had time to put items away that the droid might consider trash. He had asked Andriel to come up with her own code last night, and she had told him this morning over breakfast. He had thought that they should each have their own code, that they could remember, rather than trying to remember someone else's code. After he let her know that her code had been inputted, she told him that she was going grocery shopping. He could handle all the deliveries on his own. He set his computer on the kitchen counter, and opened the Hutt Wars' program. He would not be able to sit until the dining table and chairs arrived. It wasn't long before the apartment computer told him that access was being requested at the freight entrance to the building for this apartment. Chitrah asked for visual. The bedroom suite had arrived. He authorised access, and could see a couple of droids starting to remove items from the back of the furniture store's truck. They brought the two dressers up first, then the bed. They left the removal of the protective wrapping up to him. That's how he discovered that he would have to assemble the bedframe himself. While he was removing the protective wrapping from the dressers, the apartment computer informed him that access was being requested at the freight entrance for this apartment. This time when he asked for visual, he saw the delivery truck for the couch/bed. He authorised access. Again he was left to remove the protective wrapping from the couch. It was only after he had finished removing the protective wrapping from both dressers, and the couch, and was starting to access the parts to the bed frame. That he was notified of the last delivery, to which he gave access authorisation. By the time Andriel came back with some groceries, she found protective wrapping all over the apartment, and Chitrah sitting on the floor of the bedroom, looking at the diagram of the bedframe, and checking to see if they had all the parts. Andriel told him, that she wasn't sure she was at the right apartment when she first opened the door, than she spotted Chitrah's computer on the kitchen counter. She asked him what happened. He told her that the droids had left everything wrapped in its protective wrapping for delivery, everything looked like it had been wrapped by spiders, and he had not had time to throw it out. She asked him, what are all the parts for? He told her it was the bedframe. After she finished putting away the groceries, she started grabbing armfuls of wrapping and dragging it to the garbage chute. After she cleaned out the main room she wanted to start on the bedroom, but Chitrah told her to be careful, in case she threw out parts to the bedframe with the wrapping. So she left that, and started on preparing lunch. She thought it would be best to wait until the bedframe was assembled, before she started throwing out the protective wrapping in the bedroom.

Chitrah had been trying to understand the diagrams, and whether he had all the parts. The other thing he was trying to figure out was what tools would be required. Andriel had not heard any sound coming out of the bedroom. She started to get concerned. Maybe they needed to contact the furniture store and have someone come out and assemble it for them. Right now it looked like she may need to place the mattress on the floor and sleep that way. She had called and asked Chitrah how it was going, but he did not respond. After a while an excited Chitrah's head appeared in the bedroom's doorway. He claimed that he had it figured out, he had been overthinking it. It did not require tools, the key, was the pins. Chitrah's head disappeared, then Andriel could hear the sound of pieces snapping together. Just as she was about to call out that lunch was ready, Chitrah walked into the main room, and told Andriel the frame is ready, and asked if she wanted to see it. She took a quick glance around the kitchen to make sure nothing was on, she did not want to burn anything, and walked over to the bedroom. The bedframe looked just like the one in the show room. Chitrah said he hoped they sent extra pins, because he had two left over. He asked Andriel to give him a hand, placing the two parts of the mattress on the frame. He literally tore the transport wrap of the mattress pieces, and the bed was finished. Chitrah mentioned that all they needed to do now was to do up the bed, and it would be ready to use. Andriel let out a gasp, and Chitrah asked what was wrong. Andriel said that she was so used to staying at places where the linen and blankets were provided that she forgot to buy some. Chitrah asked if there was enough credits left over to cover the cost. Andriel did not know since she had never had to buy these items before. Chitrah told her that she would have to go after lunch and find out. Than he told her not to forget pillows, and described what type of pillow he wanted. She asked why he wasn't coming with her, and he told her that one of them had to go back to the hotel for their luggage, and he just volunteered. Andriel figured this was his excuse, because he was burnt out from buying stuff, so she did not argue with him. This also meant that she could buy whatever she wanted, and he would have to live with it. She was tempted to buy the linen sold for little boy's beds, for his couch, but wasn't sure if he preferred space combat over battle droids.

Chitrah was back from the hotel with their luggage, before Andriel was back from shopping. He decided that now would be a good time to check out the bakery, since it has been months since he bought her any sweets. They had a decent size treat section, so he bought three different types that seemed to represent all of them. He bought double of everything, one small box for her, and one small box for him. They tied her box with ribbon, his was tied with string. Back at the apartment he got rid of the last pieces of wrapping. Now it was looking like a nice apartment. Then he thought of flowers. He hurried down to the flower shop and bought a bouquet of assorted flowers, and some vases. When he returned to the apartment, she still wasn't back. He started going over all the groceries, she had purchased that morning to see if something would inspire him for dinner. When he decided on what he wanted, he started cooking, he hoped that she would be back by the time he was done. He was just starting to prepare a basic salad to go with their dinner, when Andriel walks through the door followed by two porter droids, loaded down with packages. She directed the two droids to place everything on the couch, and told Chitrah that something smells nice. Andriel went to clean up, while Chitrah started to set the table, at least he wanted to. They had no plates or cutlery. They would have to eat out of the pots and bowls used to prepare the meal. Andriel wasn't phased by this, they could always buy some tomorrow. She was starving, and would eat dinner anyway it was served. They ended up sitting side by side, since they were eating out of the same pot, and salad bowl, and sharing the same utensils. Andriel kept telling Chitrah how good everything tasted. Chitrah thought it was an interesting way to eat dinner. After they had finished, Chitrah put the pot and bowl away. Andriel noticed the bouquet of flowers, but she did not know they were flowers from the way they were wrapped up. When she opened it up and saw the flowers a big smile appeared on her face. Chitrah told her that he hoped she wasn't still hungry, because he did not think they were the edible type. So she stuck her tongue out at him. He then told her that if she was still hungry, he had something for her and handed her the small box of sweets. When she saw what was inside, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on his cheek. He told her he would have made some tea to go with it, but could not find a pot to make tea. Something else they would need to buy. Andriel did her best to clean out the pot and wash it with body soap, since they did not have dish soap to clean it, and she was afraid of activating the kitchen droid. She soon had some water boiling. After turning off the heat she threw in some tea leaves. She chose a type of tea, that it was not important to remove the leaves. She hoped they would sink and not float. After it had steeped long enough, she put the whole pot in the freezer to cool the tea down enough that they could drink it. It was a good thing they had nothing in the freezer. They both took turns sipping from the pot while they were eating their sweets. Chitrah thought he could taste soap, but did not say anything.

Chitrah had shown Andriel the vases he had purchased. They looked identical to the white ones they had on Yitabo. While she was arranging the flowers, she told Chitrah which sweets she liked the best, and why she liked them. Chitrah had started opening the packages, to see what she had bought. Andriel showed him on her computer a picture of the different linens she had thought of buying him, but was not sure which design he would like more, so she settled on a plain design. He told her he would have been happy with whatever design she would have picked, because when you are sleeping, you don't see it. She placed one vase as the center piece of the dining table, and one vase on each of the dressers in her bedroom. When Andriel showed him which linen and blankets, she had purchased for her bed, he helped her do up her bed. With her bed done up she moved all the remaining packages to her bed, so that she could help him do up his bed. The remaining packages contained pillows, and pillow slips. She gave Chitrah the pillow that she thought fit his description. Chitrah wanted to know, why did she buy so many for herself? She told him that she did not know which one she would like the most, so she thought she would try different ones. Before going to bed, they made a list of items they still needed to buy.

The next morning they went out for breakfast. Andriel insisted that he come shopping with her, because he might remember something they need, when she may have forgotten. She was not happy about having to go withdrawal credits from their account, it shows that she is not managing their money properly. Chitrah tried really hard to make her understand that it was not her fault. These are not items you usually budget for. These are items you buy once, and only replace it when it wears out. Part of your incidental costs. Andriel appreciated that he was trying to make her feel better, but she wasn't buying it. Finally she said, "What would my mother say about this mismanagement."

Now Chitrah knew she was really beating herself up inside. So he stopped her, and took both of her hands in his, and made her look at his face. "Your mother would have said, that these are all items you would have received from family and friends on your wedding day, if you had not been forced to marry me."

She looked into his face, and thought about what he just said. She wiped the tears from her eyes because she had envisioned her mother scolding her, but she knew Chitrah spoke correctly. That is exactly what her mother would have said. She thanked him for his words, and assured him that the matter was closed. He brought one of her hands to his lips and kissed it, before letting her hands go.

This unexpected gesture, filled her heart with sunshine. He may have let go with both his hands, but she held onto one of his as they continued walking. They decided to only buy the simple basic designs, for plates and cutlery. They can buy fancier items if they find themselves in a position of entertaining. They did find a store that specialises in household gadgets. Chitrah could not imagine what you would use most of them for. They found a nice durable teapot that they knew would get a lot of use, and some cups to go with it. They also bought some new pots and pans and bowls. They were fortunate that the previous tenants had left the ones behind that they used yesterday, but they wanted their own. After they thought they had everything, they went back to the apartment to make lunch, and to test out their new tools. They first took everything out of the packaging, and left it on the kitchen counter. They made sure the kitchen droid was topped up with dish soap, and activated it. That way everything would be cleaned and they would find out where the droid was programmed to put things away. It worked, they now felt that their apartment was complete. While they were eating lunch, Andriel told Chitrah that they should go buy him a new suit for work. She had noticed that Chitrah was the only male she saw, dressed casual. All the other males were wearing some kind of suit. His blue/black suit was too nice for him to wear to work, and she did not want him standing out for the wrong reason. Chitrah liked wearing his casual clothes, they were comfortable. If he was single, and working here, he would not have bothered, buying a suit. But he is married, what he wore did not just reflect on him, but on his wife as well. For this reason he went along with her.

They went back to the shop where they had bought the dress shirt. The salesman was happy to see them, he even told them that the restaurant, they went to, sent over a lunch platter the other day. He wondered, why did they? Andriel and Chitrah said how they thought it was nice of them, then started talking about why they had returned. After trying on a number of suits, Andriel mentioned that the light charcoal grey seemed to look the best on Chitrah. The salesman agreed. They bought three medium quality shirts, for him to wear with the suit. The light green shirt made Chitrah think about the green grass grain fields on Yitabo, the colour was so similar. They also bought a dark emerald green shirt, and a medium yellow shirt that was the same colour as some of the flowers Andriel likes. The style was to wear the shirt open, so they did not buy anything for his neck. He tried on each shirt with the suit, and found he actually looked good in each one. He jokingly asked, if it was the person or the clothes that made him look good? The salesman and Andriel almost replied in unison, that it was the clothes, which made everyone laugh.

When they returned to the apartment, Andriel asked Chitrah what clothes he wanted washed. Chitrah told her everything, so they did not put any of their clothes away, instead they put on their practise suits, and had their first workout in their apartment. This was one of the reasons they picked this apartment. The way they had placed the furniture still gave them a decent size area to workout in, without having to move things around.

The next day Chitrah reported for work, and Andriel went to find a place to get their clothes cleaned. She then went to check out the local dress shops to see if there was a shop she would want to work in. At the Ministry they welcomed Chitrah back, and had him take a seat in the inner office. They wanted him to connect some farms on Livien as he had done on Yitabo. There were no major farms on Livien, so the computer had selected ten farms, whose data should give an accurate picture of crop yields for the entire planet. Their used to be manufacturing centers on the planet, but most of them have been abandoned or destroyed when the Hutts bombed the planet a number of decades back. Chitrah asked, if there would be any support on the planet, to build the cards and circuit boards he would need? They told him that he would need to build everything on Lianna that he would need, before going to Livien. Chitrah told them that that was not possible. The electronic components available on Lianna were not compatible with agricultural computer systems. No-one there had thought of that. They asked him what he suggested. He told them that the only store that he had come across with the right components was the agricultural supplies store on Yitabo. He did not know where they got their supplies from, but they built most of the cards he had designed, and were responsible for him being able to complete his six months assignment in two months. They asked if he thought they should be contacted to build the cards he needed. He thought they should, and they could start building some of the boards the cards would plug into, and provide the components he would require to complete the assembly on Lianna. They asked him how to get a hold of this business. He told them that if he plugged his computer into the communicator on their desk, and they hooked up with the Ministry on Yitabo, he could then use one of their local lines to connect with the business. He still had their local address in his computer. The official went to his boss in the innermost office to ask permission to do as Chitrah requested. The boss was able to playback the conversation between the official and Chitrah, and gave permission to go ahead and make the connection. The official contacted the communication control center and asked to be connected to the Ministry on Yitabo. Chitrah connected his computer to the communicator on the desk. As the communication control center on Yitabo was automated, Chitrah was able to get an outside line and connect to the office of the manager of the agro-equipment supply center. The manager took the call, he was looking down on some papers on the desk, so did not notice it was Chitrah.

"Harry here."

"Harry its Chitrah. How are things on Yitabo?"

The startled manager looked up. "Chitrah it's good to see you, because of you, the farmers are keeping us busy. What can I do for you?"

"Do you still have on file the details of the cards you built for me?"

"Sure do! Do you want us to build some more?"

"Yes, I'll need ten sets, and ten boards. I'm sending you the diagrams and schematics, and a list of components. I will be completing the boards here on Lianna."

"I've got your information right here…. It looks here like you are ordering three times the number of components as you have space for on the boards."

"That's right. Although all your components are within manufacturing spec. The tolerance on my design is much tighter. I only found one in three to fit my design."

"If you can send back the components that you don't use, in the mail run, I will charge you for every third one."

Chitrah looked at the official, who nodded his head okay.

"It looks like we have a deal. How long do you think it will take you to complete everything?"

"When you consider how long it took us to do four sets, plus the boards, it will probably take us around two and a half to three months to finish."

"That's what I thought. When you know the firm finish date, can you notify the Ministry in Yitabo, so that transportation can be arranged? One more thing, I ran into Mrs. Grimshaw's daughter the other day, I'm sure that she would want to pass along her greetings."

Harry knew who he was talking about, and understood that he was being careful about what he said. "Thought you would want to know that Kenny got Rudy to work properly, once he cleaned off all that Nerf spit."

With that they both terminated the connection. The official asked Chitrah about Rudy. Chitrah told him that it was a Nerf herding droid that the Nerfs would use for target practise. Kenny wanted him to have a look at the circuits, but he would need to clean all the Nerf spit off of it first. "I was not that keen at looking at it, since it was owned by Mr. Radcliff, and I did not what to do him any favours, because of the trouble he caused for my wife and me."

He wanted to know, if Chitrah thought it would really take that long for them to make all those cards? Chitrah told him that they don't have a machine were they can enter the details of the card, and load components in a bin, then in a matter of seconds ten sets of cards would be ready. All the cards had to be assembled by hand, like a custom job, or prototype. So three months was very reasonable. Less than three would be exceptional.

That meant they would have to have him do other work, in the meantime. They told Chitrah that when they took over the planet because of the treaty, the first thing they did was have them cancel the contract with the Republic, to build Talon Starfighters, and have them re-tool to build the new version of Blade-class Starfighters. The main factories and assembly plants are connected to the Ministry computer, but a lot of their suppliers still needed to be connected. It would not be much of a challenge for Chitrah, but a lot of the computer systems are proving difficult for their technicians. Chitrah said he was willing to do it. They gave him a list of businesses that he could start with, and asked him to use public transit for the ones near the Ministry, for the ones further away, he could jump between shuttle terminals, and take public transit from there. There should only be a handful of businesses were he would need to use a taxi. They were marked on his list. They also reminded him to submit his travel expenses at the completion of each job.

Andriel was not having a good day. None of the dress shops she visited did any custom work. They all sold dresses assembled at droid factories. There was very little differences between the designs in the different shops, and none of them knew of a business that did custom work. They all wanted to hire her because of her knowledge of dresses, but as a salesperson, and she would be required to wear their dresses while working. They could not have the customers seeing one of her custom designs. She was starting not to like this planet. When she went to pick up her clothes from the cleaners, the staff came out to meet her. They had never worked on such nice material before, it was a real pleasure for them to work on her clothes. They also did not know of a dress shop that did custom work. At least Andriel was able to make someone happy. When she entered the apartment the computer told her that Chitrah was on his way and he had interesting news. She thought it best that she hang up all the clean clothes before starting dinner.

It was a large closet in the bedroom, divided into four sections. She let Chitrah have one section, and it wasn't even half full. She took the other sections. She would have been able to fill, just over one section, but she spread it out through the three sections to make it look like she had more. Sadly, it did not look like she would be filling the rest of it any time soon. Chitrah arrived when she was half way through preparing dinner. She had him take over the cooking while she prepared a salad. She told Chitrah that she was having trouble finding a proper dress shop. All she had found were stores that sold cookie cutter dresses. Chitrah suggested that she stop looking for dress shops and see if there are any designers on the local net. That might be the way to go. Andriel's mood improved with Chitrah's suggestion, she would see what she could find after dinner, and contact them tomorrow. She asked about the message he left her. He told her about his day, and speaking to Harry the store manager on Yitabo. He told her exactly what he said, and what Harry told him. Andriel did appreciate how smart Chitrah is, and asked him his interpretation of what they said. Chitrah believes that Mrs. Grimshaw was well and that Harry would let her know that he spoke with me. "I would not be surprised if he contacted her as soon as our conversation ended." Andriel felt good about that. Chitrah also believed that Harry was trying to let them know that Mr. Radcliff was back to normal, and it would be safe for them to go back to Yitabo if they get a chance. That's how Andriel understood what Harry said as well.

The next day Andriel contacted some of the designers she found on the local net. They each asked her to stop by their office. Every office she found to be identical to the next.

Because they were using droid factories to manufacture there goods, their designs were restricted by the programming of what the droids were actually capable of doing. None of them ever put together one of their designs themselves. Everything was virtual, like her designs on her computer. If they wanted to see their designs, they just needed to go to one of the stores that carried them. Andriel was not impressed, she had seen little girls design better clothes for their dolls. There was one more thing she could try, she knew that the planet was ruled by some sort of monarchy, so she asked if they knew where the nobility purchased their clothes. All the designers she asked thought they purchased their clothes off planet, because they would know if one of their competitors had a contract with one of the royal houses. This was depressing news for Andriel, she went back to the apartment and started searching for commercial sewing machines. She found some manufactures of sewing machines on the holonet, but a new machine was too expensive. She needed to talk with Chitrah.

Chitrah did call, he wanted to come home early so that they could work out. Andriel told him she would be waiting for him. He could tell that she was still a little down, he hoped a good workout would help cheer her up. The workout did help, while they were preparing dinner Andriel told him about what she found out that day, and how much she wanted to start sewing her own clothes again, but the cost of a new machine was too prohibitive. Chitrah was glad that she was using her business sense when looking at this problem, he could bet that there were women who would insist on buying a machine no matter the cost. He asked her to show him where she went that day. After dinner she showed him on her computer a map of the area, with the locations she visited hi-lighted. He brought up an image of the planet and her hi-lighted map outline on the planet. He told her that where they were, was an area dedicated to catering to the corporate middle class. He showed her where the palaces were, and where manufacturing took place. They were probably in the most boring part of the whole planet. There are no family structures here, no evidence of any clans. She needed to explore more of the planet. Maybe there is a place she might consider to be paradise. As far as finding a good sewing machine, they would just have to keep their eyes open. They get to travel to other planets maybe they will find what she was looking for on one of them. Andriel appreciated Chitrah's pep talk, she knew he cared. Maybe they would find a good sewing machine on another planet.

Right now she had a whole planet to explore. She asked his opinion on how she should get around. He brought up the planet image again and hi-lighted the Ministry, and the businesses where he will be working, he told her about the traveling recommendations they made for each location. He told her that if she wanted to seriously explore the far side of the planet, she should expect to be gone from their apartment for two or three days at a time. She was happy that he was not restricting her in any way. She would of course start with places closer to their apartment. She would also keep him informed of all her plans. She did want to know if there was an exercise regimen he wanted to maintain, because she enjoyed exercising with him. This set the groundwork for a schedule of when they could expect to be together for the next month.

Andriel kept Chitrah appraised of what she found, and of what she did not find. She considered Lianna to be the least creative planet she has been on. She was so surprised that she did not find a live theatre house on the entire planet. She thought it would have been fun, and challenging, to design and build outfits for the theater. The highest class, the royals, lived around the palace and government house. The Ministry offices were found between the upper middle class and the middle class. She wondered what they were before the Treaty of Corusant. The further the people lived from the palace, the lower the standard of living. Most of the shuttle terminals were located in the band of upper middle class to lower middle class, probably to help with the flow of trade goods on and off the planet. She did find a couple of alien enclaves, in the area considered lower class, probably because it was cheaper to purchase property there. In one area she was surprised to find a Nautolan enclave, in another area she found Togruta. There was also a Twi'lek enclave, which she made no attempt to enter, as it was heavily guarded. Next to the slums she found a heavily guarded Balosar enclave. It was rumoured that they had a shuttle landing pad in the middle of the enclave. In the slums it did not matter what species you were, life was bad, and there was always someone who wanted to take advantage of you. She always wore her work clothes outfit on that side of the planet. She was surprised that even in the alien enclaves, she did not find one independent dress shop. The one thing that surprised her most, was that there were no Devaronians. The other thing she noticed, was how prevalent the drug trade was in every level of society. There were a lot of people on this planet who did not like living here, and were willing to try drugs as a way to escape. The Balosar where more prevalent in the middle and upperclass areas, with their death sticks, as they dressed to appear more human. The Twi'leks, more commonly seen in the lower class areas, had recruited human drug dealers, to sell glitteryll in the middle and upper class areas of the planet.

Chitrah let her know that in three days he would be leaving for Ranroon. Did she want to come? He only asked, because they told him he had to. He had already told them she was coming. Her bags were packed and ready long before he asked.

It was a nice short flight. By the evening of the third night from Lianna. They found themselves on the ground, being shown their accommodations in the Ministry's married residence building.

Andriel had the window seat on the shuttle ride down. Chitrah kept hearing her say, it's beautiful. It is so beautiful. She was in love with the planet, even before they landed. The rugged mountain peaks could be seen from quite high up in the atmosphere, growing more beautiful as they descended. As they came closer to the planet's surface, she saw clouds swirling around some of the mountain faces, which reminded her of fish swimming in an ocean, in a vid she saw as a young girl. After landing she was told that there are aeries on the clifftops. What she saw, were the winged creatures flying around their nesting area.

What was peculiar to this planet, was that no one remembered the name of the city they lived in. In the shuttle terminal they were welcomed to The City of Queen Indrexu. That was not its name, that's just what everyone called it, in memory of that heroic queen. At the Ministry they just called it Indrexu. They were warned that the locals were suspicious of outsiders. Andriel and Chitrah were easy to spot as outsiders. They put Chitrah to work the very next day, he was told that they had about a month's worth of work for him. Andriel walked around the city, and was happy to find a number of real dress shops. She found one shop where the designs were complimentary to her own. So she entered the shop, and asked the woman, who she believed to be the owner, if she could work with her for the next month, while she is in town with her husband. The lady asked her, why she picked her dress shop?

"Because you have some of the nicest designs I have seen in the city."

"You have seen better designs than mine?"

"Yes! My own!"

"Show me!"

So Adriel brought out her computer, and showed her the holographic image of all the outfits she designed, and the ones that were sold, and the ones she made for herself. The lady recognised the outfit that Andriel was wearing, as one of the holographic designs. She was curious as to how well the image compared to real life. She took Andriel back into the workshop area. Andriel knew she would need to take parts of her outfit off so this lady could really appreciate the quality of the workmanship. After her close examination the lady stuck out her hand and introduced herself as Krina. Andriel took her hand and introduced herself. She found her work to be comparable to her own, and was willing to take her on for a month. She would not pay her an hourly wage but would pay her for piecemeal work. Andriel told her she did not need to be paid credits, if she could sew her own designs for herself, when Krina had no work for her to do. Krina was very agreeable to this arrangement, plus she had something she had not had for a long time. Someone to talk to, someone who had a deep knowledge of her craft.

Chitrah found with his workload, that he did not have time to meet with Andriel for lunch. So Andriel spent her lunch with Krina. Krina did not mind, nor was she upset that Andriel wanted to pay for her share. So every day they would alternate going to the local market to buy the items they would make lunch with. Andriel was so obvious an outsider that the vendors at the market got to know her quite quickly. Krina had also mentioned that Andriel was working for her for a month. In no time they started treating her as one of their own. Some of Krina's local clients heard about Krina's red skinned helper and made up excuses to come by. The minor alterations Andriel would do on the spot. Since Krina knew that's why they were there, she did not hesitate to charge them a premium price for the service.

When more serious customers came by, she would invite Andriel to sit in on the design consultations, asking for her input. If Andriel ever suggested a design alteration, she always showed how it would work out better for the individual. Whether it would be more comfortable, or emphasize a part of their figure or feature that they wanted emphasized. For the most part she would agree with a lot of the designing Krina was doing. Krina found herself doing something she had not done in a long time. She was learning. After a client would leave she and Andriel would discuss at length any design changes, and the best way to do it. It wasn't a one way street. Andriel was learning as well. After a month of not being able to express her creativity on Lianna, she felt like she had been transported to paradise.

Paradise almost ended when one of Krina's favourite, and wealthy clients came by. She was a Royal from Lianna, the niece of the Queen. She asked Andriel, where she was from? When Andriel told her that she currently lived on Lianna, she asked her, why she did not open her own dress shop there? She would love to be one of her clients. Krina almost lost it when she thought Andriel might steal one of her clients away. Andriel told her that it would not be possible for her to open her own dress shop, since she follows her husband around to the planets he is sent to, for work. Krina started to calm down. The Royal asked her, why she did that? She thought that Devaronian women stayed home, while Devaronian men traveled around. Andriel told her that normally that is true, but she was forced by the Sith Empire to marry someone who was not Devaronian. For that she was forced from her family and her clan. Her husband had the same thing happen to him. Fortunately he is a good man.

Because he is her only family now, she goes where he goes. This story was quite shocking to both the Royal and Krina. They had heard rumours about some of the things that the Empire does, but now they have a living witness before them. Andriel told them that they can change nothing for them, but they can share in the joy of her helping to design a new dress. The ladies followed her lead and went back to talking about the things they enjoy.

When the Royal returned to Lianna, she told her aunt about her experience on Ranroon, and cautioned her about her dealings with the Sith Empire. She warned her that they were like the last tree on Lianna that her father had cut done while they were little girls. On the outside it looked lovely, but on the inside it was rotten to the core. It was a danger to anyone who was near it. The Queen would remember this analogy whenever she had to deal with a representative from the Sith Empire.

Krina had forgotten to keep track of all the work Andriel had done. Andriel did not keep track either. So as the end of the month approached, Krina found herself helping Andriel finish her second dress. She asked if the two dresses were fair compensation for her work on Ranroon. Andriel thought it was, and proudly wore the second dress to show off to Chitrah, after saying goodbye to Krina. She made a point of stopping by the market on the way back to the residence, to pick up some items that she could not get on Lianna. The vendors complimented her on the new dress, and asked if it was one she worked on with Krina? She told them it was, then she told them all goodbye, since she had to leave with her husband. The vendors were sad to see her go.

After she left, Krina shared with them Andriel's story about her being forced to marry, and having to leave her family and clan. The good thing was that she loved her husband. The vendors were happy for her that she loved her husband, but they were even more suspicious of the Sith Empire, than before. Which they were more than willing to share with their regular customers.

Back on Lianna, Chitrah was asked if there was anything he could do in preparation of the cards and boards coming from Yitabo. He told them that he had about half a month's worth of work that he could do in preparation, and another half month of work once they arrived. They left him alone to his work.

Andriel felt herself drawn to the Togruta enclave. The Togruta are from the planet Shili, they stand an average of 1.7 metres in height. Their skin is predominantly a deep red with white markings. Long white hollow horns with black chevron stripping, curve upward from the top of their skulls. From the base of the horns, appearing to be an extension of them, three head-tails, similar to a Twi'lek's lekku, drape down. The two thinner ones come down the sides of the head, and drape over the chest. The thickest head-tail is centered at the rear base of their skull, hanging down the back. The pattern found on the horns continue down the head-tails. Their eyes are dark, and their lips are grey, whose appearance is further embellished by the white markings around their eyes and on their forehead. Vertical red and white stripes cover the skin of their chest and backs, but is not as visible on their arms and legs. Which gave them a natural camouflage when hunting in the turu-grass planes of Shili. Andriel found them to be a very sociable people. She did not pry into why they were on Lianna. What she did find out, was that some tragedy had befallen their family on Shili, and they were forced to leave. She found a young lady in their midst called Shaak Chi, who had a longing to design her own outfits. Andriel encouraged her to draw her designs, and shared some of her own designs with her. She liked how Shaak liked to incorporate fur in her designs. Andriel had never worked with fur before, so the designs intrigued her. Shaak even showed her the fur pelts she would be able to work with, if the opportunity presented itself. Andriel was surprised by how soft they felt, and how warm. The only thing she found hard getting used to, was how Togruta liked to eat their meat raw, and the fresher the better. Many of the men of the clan worked in a butcher shop, so they had ready access to fresh meat. Andriel would buy meat from them, before she would head back to the apartment to prepare dinner.

One cycle into his preparations, Chitrah was told that his cards and boards would be departing Yitabo in two days.

Andriel found out that Shaak had never been out of their enclave. She asked Shaak if it would be okay for her to go with her to the Nautolan enclave. Shaak was learning to trust Andriel, and she had heard that Nautolan were an empathic people. It would be good for her to get some experience outside the dwellings of her people.

At dinner that evening Andriel told Chitrah about her plans for the following day. She would be getting up early, and leaving before he gets up. She would grab breakfast in a shop so as not to disturb him. She would be escorting her friend Shaak, who had never be out of her enclave before, to the Nautolan enclave. Chitrah asked Andriel, if she knew what she was doing? Togruta are not as independent as Devaronians, Andriel acknowledged there would be risks. But the Nautolan enclave was a safe place to take her. She then explained to Chitrah what her long range plan was. She found Shaak to be a creative individual, who has similar desires as her, in wanting to express her creativity through designing and creating clothes. If Andriel can find a good sewing machine, then she would train her to be a seamstress. The Nautolans don't like the cookie-cutter clothes on Lianna, they want to be more expressive in what they wear. If Shaak gets along well with the Nautolans, then the Togruta, and Nautolans combined might provide a large enough client base for Shaak to open her own dressmaking shop. Her inexperience would not bother them, allowing her skill to grow with the business. Chitrah pointed out that it would also give Andriel a place where she could always go to practise her vocation. Andriel smiled and said, that's why it would be a win, win, win, situation for everyone involved. Chitrah reminded her that this all depended on her finding a good sewing machine that they could afford, and they already struck out on Ranroon. That was Andriel's only disappointment in their trip to Ranroon. That reminded Chitrah, he told her that she needed to be ready to leave in less than a month's time.

Shaak was both excited and afraid when Andriel showed up early the next morning. Andriel had explained that if they only used the public transit to take them to the Nautolan enclave, they would be traveling most of the day just to get there. What they would do was take transit to the closest shuttle terminal. Take a shuttle hop to the shuttle terminal closest to the Nautolans. Then take transit to their enclave. That way they could relax for a few hours with the Nautolans before they need to head back. Shaak told her to lead the way. She followed Andriel so close that she was like a shadow. If Andriel stopped suddenly, while they were walking, Shaak would bump into her. Andriel let Shaak have the window seat on the shuttle. Shaak held her hand so tight, that Andriel lost feeling in it during the flight, and it felt like pins and needles when Shaak finally let go.

The Nautolans were very hospitable. They don't often get outside visitors. Andriel was the first in many years. So for Andriel to come back with a friend was a special occasion. They shared their food, various seafood dishes, and they sang and danced for them. Andriel was happy that Shaak was willing to try so many strange dishes. They clapped when everyone else clapped, and generally had a good time. Shaak was enjoying herself so much, that she was surprised when Andriel told her it was time to go back. She invited them all to come and visit with her at the Togruta enclave. She was sure that her family would want to show them the same hospitality that they had shown her. Before they left one of the elders pulled Andriel aside to thank her for being a positive influence on his people. Since her last visit the people had felt less isolated, and now she has presented them with an opportunity to develop a friendship with another people. Andriel told him it was her pleasure, she enjoys returning to places where she has felt welcome. Shaak did not squeeze her hand quite as strong on the return flight. When she arrived back at the Togruta enclave, she could hardly wait to tell her family about her trip and about how well the Nautolans received her, and how they promised to come and visit her here. Andriel excused herself from their company. She let Shaak know that she would not come to visit her tomorrow because she was planning on sleeping in. She would try to come back for a visit on the day after. Shaak told her that she was already looking forward to her next visit.

Andriel enjoyed her visits with Shaak, it was almost like having a younger sister. But when the time came for her to leave she was ready, and she made sure Shaak understood that she would be gone for a number of months.

The flight to Livien was uneventful. The residence they were assigned was small and dingy, it depressed Andriel to think they would be spending the next few months living there. Their used to be a town next to the spaceport, but the only buildings being used, were a general store and an apothecary. Since they had nothing to do for the rest of the day, Andriel and Chitrah decided to check out the general store. They found it to be a smaller version of the agro-equipment supply store on Yitabo, except there was no electronic section. The proprietor told them that they were the main address for the planet. If a farmer ordered something it would be delivered to the general store and they would hold on to it for a small fee, until the farmer came to get it. Andriel asked him if he had any commercial quality sewing machines. The owner wanted to know why she was asking. She told him she was a seamstress by trade, but was lacking her own machine. The owner told her that he did have such a machine, but wanted to make a deal with her. He went in the back and brought it out. It was what Andriel was looking for. She looked it over very carefully. The more she looked, the more she wanted the machine. Before she asked him what deal he wanted to make, she called Chitrah over to show him the machine. When Chitrah came over Andriel whispered that that was the machine she wanted, but the proprietor wanted to make some sort of deal. Chitrah looked the machine over, it looked to be in good condition, so he told Andriel to ask him what he wanted. So she asked. The proprietor knew they would be around for at least two months, so this is what he asked.

The daughter of the owner of the apothecary was not suited to follow in her father's footsteps, she was a creative individual that needed a channel to express her creativity. He believed she would make a fine seamstress if someone would take the time to train her. If Andriel would take her under her wing and train her, and she was willing to learn, then the machine would not be for sale. But if she proved that this was not the way she wanted to express her talents, then the machine would be sold to Andriel for a very good price. To help with the training, he was willing to let them live in the building that used to belong to a seamstress, at no cost to them, and he was willing to absorb the cost of the material used during the training. Andriel asked him why he was willing to go to all this trouble for someone else's daughter. He told her that the girl's mother was his sister, now she was the only blood relative he has left. He felt he owed his sister this debt. She asked to see the property they would be allowed to live in. He went in the back and threw a major switch, apparently he controlled the utilities to all the buildings in this ghost town. He came back with an old fashion key in his hand. Andriel and Chitrah were curious to see what type of lock it fit into. The first building across from the store was the one they were going to. The proprietor put the key in the lock in the door and turned it. They could hear the mechanical sound of a lock opening. No access card, no entry code, just a key. They followed the proprietor into the building. It was a little dusty, showing it had not been used for a long time. It was a decent sized storefront they entered. There were even old manikins in the windows that you could hang outfits on. They went back to the workshop area, it would have been comfortable for three or four seamstress's to work together, or a couple with all the equipment mother had. They went into the kitchen in the back. Pots, pans, dishes, knives, forks, and spoons. It was all there. He showed them how to activate the stove, it ran off of some sort of gas. Andriel did not think it would take her long to get used to. They went up to the living quarters. The hot water took a while to heat up, but it was nice and hot when it reached temperature. The bathroom was not automated. There were no droids anywhere. They would have to clean everything themselves. They were shown a closet that had all the cleaning supplies, even the soap to wash the pots and pans and dishes in the kitchen. All the furniture was covered with linen to protect it from the dust. There were two bedrooms, the master bedroom with a full sized bed, and a guest bedroom, the bed was only slightly smaller. They could sleep in either bedroom, or both if they chose. He would send over a basket of food, first thing in the morning, so that they would have enough to eat for the first day, after that they were responsible for their own groceries, he wasn't running a charity. There was no communicator, there was no computer in the building, except what they brought in. There were power outlets that they could plug their computers into, provided they had the right adapters. "Do we have a deal?"

Andriel and Chitrah went off to the side and conversed softly. Andriel believed they could have the place shipshape before they went to bed that evening. It was much nicer than the place they had been assigned. Chitrah asked her if she was willing to risk losing the sewing machine. Andriel told him, "If this young lady will take pleasure in using this machine, than it was never mine to buy. We will need to find one somewhere else." Chitrah could see that Andriel was torn by this decision, but he was so proud of her that he gave her a hug. She asked him what that was about, and he told her that he was proud of her. She felt much better after that, and told the proprietor that they had a deal. The proprietor gave her the key, and told her that he would send his niece over in the morning, so that she could evaluate her. Andriel went to work right away cleaning up the place. Chitrah had to go back to inform the Ministry that they had changed their accommodations. He would get a couple of porter droids from the spaceport to bring over all their stuff. It was a good thing they had not unpacked yet. He asked Andriel if he should grab them some dinner from the Ministry's cafeteria. She thought he should, since they would not get any food until the morning.

When he informed the officials in the Ministry where they were staying, they were quite surprised. Other couples had asked to stay in town, but the owner of the general store had always turned them away. He told them that they did not have what he wanted. So they asked Chitrah, what did he want? He told them that his wife is a seamstress. He asked that she teach the apothecary's daughter how to sew. The officials looked at each other, than asked about the rent. Chitrah told them it was very reasonable, he did not think they would believe him if he told them it was free. They had a paging device that they gave him, so that they could signal him if they needed to talk with him. There was a communicator in the general store he could use to call them back.

Before leaving, he confirmed what time he had to be at the spaceport to meet the military transport that would fly him around to do his initial inspection of all the farms.

When he arrived back at the dress shop he was able to convince Andriel to take a break and have dinner with him while it was still hot. He was quite impressed with what she had already accomplished. While they ate, Andriel asked him, if she was doing the right thing? She would hate to find that this had been her only chance at getting a good sewing machine, and she had thrown it away. Chitrah reminded her, that her mother had told him that she has good instincts. That he was supposed to trust her instincts. He asked her to tell him what her instincts were telling her. She thought about it for a few minutes, then told him that her instincts tell her that everything will work out in the end.

"Should we trust your instincts?"

"Yes, but I'm scared."

"Then this will be a good test."

He reached across the table and took one of her hands in his. "I trust what your mother said about you. I trust you."

She looked into his eyes and knew he believed what he said. She smiled at him and said, "Thank you!"

Chitrah pitched in and did what he could to help. It was still early by the time they finished. They agreed that Andriel would have the Master bedroom and Chitrah would have the guest room. Since it was not yet time for them to go to bed. They sat on the couch in the living room. Andriel snuggled against Chitrah. They did not talk, they just sat there each lost in their own thoughts. After a while Chitrah noticed that Andriel had already fallen asleep. He gently picked her up and carried her to the master bedroom, and lay her on her bed. He made sure that her clothing was loose. Unfastening anything that seemed constrictive. The only thing he removed was her footwear. He covered her with a light blanket, put out the lights and went to his room, and went to sleep. Andriel woke up in the middle of the night. She partially undressed, then climbed under the covers and went back to bed.

Chitrah was woken by the alarm on his computer. He learnt that morning, that he had to wait for the water to warm up, before entering the shower. He was wide awake because of his mistake. He hoped he did not make too much noise when he jumped out of the shower when the cold water hit his body. After he dressed he decided to look out the front door and found a basket of provisions there. He placed it on the kitchen table, than thought he should check and see if Andriel was awake. The bathroom was empty so he went and tapped on her bedroom door. After a while of tapping he heard a sleepy voice. "Yes."

"The food basket has arrived. Do you want to get up?"

"I'll be down in a minute."

So Chitrah went back down to the kitchen. He found a teapot that whistled when the water boiled. He put it on the stove to warm up. Maybe the sound of the teapot whistle will bring her down, if she is not down beforehand. Andriel just threw a housecoat overtop of what she was wearing. She came down to the kitchen just after Chitrah had put the teapot on the stove to boil. She went to the basket and started taking everything out and placing it on the table to see what they had to work with. They both felt that the bread was intended for breakfast, but they were not sure what was to go with it. There was a container with tea in it. They decided to have that with their breakfast instead of using one of Andriel's. They found a block of what they thought was cheese. They decided to cut that in slices and have it with the bread for breakfast. They but everything else in the cooler, Andriel would ask the young lady about the food when she stopped by later that morning. Chitrah did not know how long it would take him to fly around to all the farms. He anticipated that he would be back quite late. Andriel went to take a shower after Chitrah left. She also made the same mistake he did. She felt herself too awake when she dressed later that morning.

Andriel was sitting in the kitchen, enjoying her second cup of tea that day, when the bell to the shop sounded. She got up and took her tea with her, Chitrah must have relocked the door after picking up the food basket. There was a young lady with space black hair standing just outside the door. Andriel figured out how to unlock the door, and opened it for the young lady. She introduced herself as Maylee but most people called her May. Andriel introduced herself to May, and invited her to come back to the kitchen and have a cup of tea. When they were comfortably seated, Andriel asked May why she was there, was this her idea, or her uncle's idea? May said it was more her mother's idea. Andriel asked her to explain. May told her, that her mother desired to make her own clothes. She had drawn outfits for herself that she wanted to make and wear. She approached the seamstress that lived here, and asked her if she would teach her how to make her own designs. The lady agreed, and they developed a good friendship. "Then my mother became sick with the illness that took her life." May was just a young girl of 5, and could not understand why her mother would not get up and play with her, but spend all day in bed. Her father used all his skill as an apothecary to try and come up with a cure. Her friend the seamstress came by a few times at the beginning of the illness. But would leave the house crying. "I could not understand why my mother would hurt her friend. It was only when I was older that I knew she was crying because my mother was dying. When my mother finally passed away, my father was devastated. He blamed himself, for not being able to save my mother's life. He said he let her down. Neither my father nor my mother's friend could look at me without starting to cry. Eventual she handed my uncle the key to the dress shop and left the planet. During this time my uncle was the only person who would talk to me. He was my only friend. He told me that the reason everyone cried when they saw me was because I looked so much like my mother. Not just in the way I looked, but in the way I talked, and in the way I did things. I asked him why he did not cry like everyone else. He told me that he knew my mother when she was my age, and she was his best friend, and she made him happy. So when he saw me, he remembered how happy my mother made him, and he knew it was his job to make me happy too, so he did."

Andriel handed May a napkin, and took one for herself.

"Eventually my father realised that he had to stop grieving, and had to start living, to make a good home for me. I believe my uncle helped him to reach this point. My father said he forced him to be a father to me, for the sake of his wife's memory. Once in a while he will look at me, and I can still see a sadness in his eyes, but he no longer cries. A while ago I found my mother's drawings, and I told my uncle that I wanted to learn how to make the designs. He told me that he would see what he could do to help me. Last night he told me that he found someone to help me. So here I am."

Andriel asked her if she brought the designs with her, she said she didn't, did Andriel need to see them. Andriel told her it was not necessary, just yet, but she would need to see them at some time to know what to teach her. She has only 2 months to try and teach her what she has learnt over her entire life. May was disappointed with herself for not bringing the drawings. Andriel told her that if she trains her to be a seamstress, this is not a skill that she can keep to herself. It is a skill that must be shared with the community. Was May prepared to do that? May said she was. It meant that if she married she could not abandon the dress shop to go live with her husband, he would need to come live with her. May told her that she has a boyfriend who is the younger son of a farmer. He is presently being trained by her father to become an apothecary. If they marry then he would be more than happy to come and live here with her. Just don't tell her father about their relationship. He does not want her father to know, until after his training is complete. Andriel asked if her uncle knows about her relationship. May said he does, he was the one who suggested that her father should not know. Andriel felt she knew enough about this young lady to start training her. After they finished their tea, Andriel suggested that they go to her uncle's store and get the sewing machine. While at the store May's uncle showed her all the material he keeps in stock. She found two fabrics that she told him were easy for a novice to learn to sew on. While the two ladies carried the sewing machine to the dress shop, the uncle carried two bolts of the material Andriel had selected. Andriel found a set of shears in the workshop and cut off a small piece of cloth from one of the bolts. She told May that the important thing in anything she did was to learn the basics. When you know the basics, you can build on them to accomplish most anything. In sewing, the basics involve knowing your machine, knowing what you can do with it, and being comfortable using it. After she set up the machine the way she wanted it, she showed May some basic exercises she can do, using the piece of cloth she had cut off. May went to reach for the material Andriel was holding, but Andriel stepped back and told her to go cut her own piece of cloth. After May cut her piece of cloth, Andriel let her have the piece she had sewn as both a template and example of what she wanted her to do. May attempted to do what Andriel had done. When she finished, she showed Andriel. Andriel told her it was a good first attempt. She told her to try again. Andriel took every attempt that May finished and placed it on the worktable, in the order that she gave them to her. Andriel also used this time to make herself another cup of tea. When Andriel thought it was time to stop for lunch. She took the last piece of material and lay it on the table next to the others. She asked May to look at what she had accomplished that morning. May was able to see that her first attempt was not as good as she first thought. She did not see much change between one patch of material and the neighbour. But when she looked at them all together she could see that she was getting better with each try. She was greatly encouraged by what she saw, and by Andriel's ability to teach her. When they went into the kitchen, Andriel took everything out of the cooler, and asked May if she could tell her what meal, the different food items were used for. May was surprised to see the vegetable patties untouched, along with the salted meat. She told Andriel that these items were eaten for breakfast. She asked Andriel, what did they have for breakfast? Andriel told her that they ate the bread and cheese, along with cups of tea. May told her that the bread and cheese was something they usually ate for lunch along with juice or new ale. May decided to prepare the breakfast items for their lunch, so that Andriel would know how they prepared it. She fried it up in a pan. The vegetable patties came out a nice golden brown. The salted meat when cut into thin slices and fried, lost a lot of the salted fluid and gave the meat a nice taste that complimented the golden patties. May told Andriel that what they usually did was prepare enough vegetable mush to make vegetable patties for a cycle. The mush was placed on trays in the shape of patties. It was then baked in an oven so that the patties would hold their shape, and kept in the cooler until they were fried for breakfast. Andriel asked May if she could show her how to make the patties. May told Andriel that they should go to her uncle's store after lunch and purchase the ingredients they needed, then she could show her how to make it. May's uncle was surprised to see the two young ladies back in his store. He thought that they should have been busy in the dress shop doing whatever they should do, but he did not say anything. He noticed what they bought, and noticed that they talked like old friends. Uncle was satisfied that May was in good hands.

Chitrah was being flown from location to location in a troop transport, the only vehicle the Ministry could provide on this planet. It came complete with its own squad of troops. The plus was that it was much faster than a repulsor-lift vehicle, there was a good chance that he might get to visit all ten farms today. The minus was the view, he could not see outside, he could only look at the metal walls and the troops. The other minus, was that the troops spent too much time in their armour. He was in no position to tell them they need to clean the insides of their armour, better than they clean the outside. He knew that overtime he would get used to it.

They kept going right through lunch, the squad leader gave him a spare ration pack. After his quick lunch, they encountered their first snag. The computer system used by this farmer was a newer, more razzle dazzle, less substance in the programs, type. He did not believe it was compatible with what he designed. He used the farm's communicator to notify the officials in the Ministry what he had found. They would have to notify the Ministry on Lianna. They may need to assign another farm to be connected in its place. Before the end of the day, he found another farm with the same computer system, and notified the Ministry. They asked if he could drop by their office after he was dropped off by the transport.

At the office they had him stand on a holographic projector, and connected him with the office in Lianna. They wanted to know why he could not connect his equipment to the computer system on the two farms. He told them the computers operated at a higher frequency, then the computers that his system was designed for. He knew next to nothing about this system, and how it worked. They asked him how long would it take for him to learn this new system and make the necessary adjustments to his design. He told them that there was not as much data available on these newer systems, because they were not a popular model when they were first introduced. It would probably take him a month's worth of searching for him to find enough information to start understanding the system. Chances are that the components used in his design would be incompatible with this system, he would have to find a source for the components he needed, and come up with a totally new design.

This was news they did not want to hear. It would be faster to program the Ministry computer to find alternate farms, than to try and bring the two farms on line. They told him to start connecting the farms he could connect, and they would try to find alternatives for him, and terminated the transmission.

The officials asked him, what will his next move be? He told them that he first needed to check all the equipment he brought with him, to make certain that nothing was damaged in transport, then he needed to adjust his design to fit a specific computer, he had scans of all the computers, then he needed to go back out to each site and connect the equipment. He asked them how much notice they needed to get use of the transport again. They told him that the transport has been assigned to him for the entire time that he is on Livien. It is on standby until they call and say they need it. This gave Chitrah a better idea on how to organise his time. He told them that he should be able to tell them in the evening that he would be needing the transport the following morning. They could tell the military that they can take the transport down from standby, they will be able to give them between eight to twelve hours' notice, for when the transport was needed. Chitrah wondered if Andriel would still be awake when he made it back to the dress shop.

Andriel had decided to wait up for Chitrah, she did not know if he had anything to eat since breakfast. May had shown her how to make a nice dinner from the ingredients her uncle had left them. She was able to get a few more hours of practise in that afternoon, between the preparation and cooking going on in the kitchen. Andriel assured her that this was normal in the life of a seamstress. You cannot ignore life just because you are sewing. At the end of the day May realised that Andriel had used the work in the kitchen, as part of her training. She would need to be at her top performance at all times with Andriel. Uncle would be pleased to hear that.

Chitrah was happy that Andriel was still up, he did not have to worry about waking her. He was even happier that she had saved him some dinner, he was starved. She offered to warm it up for him, but he could not wait, he started eating it the way it was, and assured her between mouthfuls that it tasted good. She gave him a hot cup of tea to enjoy with his dinner. While he was eating, she told him Maylee's story. She knew he was listening because he slowed down on his eating. Then she told him how her day went. He was looking forward to trying these vegetable patties that she made this afternoon for breakfast. When he finished dinner and washed it down with tea, he told her about his day. He said that there was a slight chance that they may be there longer than two months. As they were heading upstairs for bed, Andriel thanked Chitrah for carrying her to her bedroom. She said that next time if it happens, it would be okay for him to wake her up, so that she could undress for bed, she told him that she would let him know if she needed help undressing, and would try not to embarrass him too much. She was rewarded by seeing him blush, so she kissed him on the cheek goodnight.

Chitrah was more relaxed the next morning, since he did not have to rush to the spaceport to catch a transport, he even volunteered to wash the dishes after breakfast, while Andriel brewed some more tea. He offered to wash the dishes because the dinner dishes were still in the sink, and Andriel had saved some dinner for him.

May came by while he was doing the dishes. Andriel introduced them to each other. May was a little perplexed, she knew that Andriel was married, but she expected her husband to be red like her, not blue. Chitrah ignored her confusion, he told her that he would normally shake her hand, but his were a little wet. She recovered enough to tell him how pleased she was to meet him, and how honoured she was to have his wife train her. Chitrah told her that a person could not help but learn something when they were around Andriel. Andriel thanked him for his compliment. May told her that she has her mother's drawings. Andriel asked Chitrah if he could copy them to her computer before he left and make some hard copies for her. Chitrah did as she asked before he left. Andriel gave the original drawings back to May so that she could keep them safe. Then she pinned the copies to the wall next to the sewing station, so that she could see her goal. Then had her go back to her practising. While she was practising, Andriel went to the general store to do some shopping, she expected Chitrah to return for lunch, and she wanted to start stocking up on supplies. There was no reason she should come back every day for groceries. Uncle mentioned that May thought she had unusual teaching methods. Andriel told him that her mother had taught her that if you use something when it comes your way, the lesson is easier to remember. Uncle told her that he wished she had been his teacher when he was in school, he might have learnt something. Andriel accepted that as a compliment.

Chitrah discovered that he had no workshop to set up and test everything, so he commandeered a couple of empty desks next to the storage locker where everything had been placed, and set up his own electronics lab. Work output from that office dropped, since everyone was trying to figure out what the blue guy was up to, and why none of the more senior officials did not reprimand him, and have him put everything back the way it was.

Andriel tried to keep building on the things she had May do. So May had to keep practicing what she learnt on the first day, as well as the stuff Andriel would add to it each day. Andriel had told her that she would not teach her much needle work, though it was important for a seamstress to master, she believed that there were enough ladies on this planet who were used to handling needle and thread, that would be willing to share their expertise with her. Her goal was to make her a master of this sewing machine.

May was busy with her practising, when Chitrah came home early from work. Andriel had already invited her to join them for dinner, but Andriel had disappeared when Chitrah came home, and there were no smells of cooking coming from the kitchen. Then she heard them coming down the stairs from the living area, she took a peak, and saw that they were wearing these gordo suits. They slipped outside into the backyard. She tried to continue with her practising, until she heard one of them yell, and then there was a thump, another yell, than another thump. She had to get up and see what the two of them were up to. She peaked out the back door as there was another yell, and she saw one body being thrown over the other body than landing with a thump on the ground. She saw that it was Chitrah that was getting up off the ground, so Andriel must have thrown him. Then she saw Chitrah kind of waddle towards Andriel and stand like he was ready for something to happen. May was surprised on how quickly Andriel suddenly moved, and this time Chitrah yelled and threw Andriel over his body, and she landed with a thump. May went back to her practising. When dinner was ready she did not say anything about what she heard or saw. Both Andriel and Chitrah thought she would have said something, but when she did not, neither did they. Maybe her level of concentration was so high that she did not hear them.

After dinner, May went straight to her uncle, and asked if it was normal for couples to throw each other around? Was this a form of therapy so that they don't actually hurt each other when they do fight? Of course Uncle could not understand this question, so he asked her to describe what she saw, that would make her ask this question. After she described everything she saw, her uncle asked her to come and get him when they do it again, so he could see for himself.

Two days later, Chitrah had let the officials know that he would be needing the transport the next day. At the dress shop he went to his bedroom and put on his practise suit. Andriel had seen him, so he was sure she was putting hers on as well. When he was ready, he knocked on Andriel's bedroom door and told her he would be waiting for her in the backyard. She called back that she would be down in a minute. When May saw Chitrah in the gordo suit, she snuck out the front, and went and got her uncle. He came back to the dress shop with her. When they entered they both heard a yell and a thump. When uncle looked out the back door, he saw what May had described. What he did next, embarrassed May. Uncle took two of the kitchen chairs and put them outside, against the back of the building, and sat down on one. May felt obligated to sit beside her uncle, but her face had turned quite red. Andriel and Chitrah had seen them, but ignored them as they continued with their routine. When they had finished, Uncle got up and clapped. He said it was the best martial-arts display he had seen in a long time. Andriel told him it wasn't really martial-arts, it was self-defence. He said it was close enough, and he has a confused niece who needs to understand.

Andriel and Chitrah both started to laugh when they thought of how strange this must look to May. Andriel told May and Uncle, that she had been attacked once, but had been able to defeat her attacked with a simple move her mother had taught her. Later she had found a self-defence course being offered on one of the planets they had visited, and signed herself and Chitrah up for the course. The instructor made them buy these practise suits so they did not hurt each other, and they have been practising together ever since. Not only does it keep them ready to defend themselves, but they both found that it helps them to stay in shape. May told them that she thought it was some form of therapy for married couples, so that they would not fight. She was worried because neither she nor her boyfriend knew how to do what they did, and maybe the Sith Empire would not let them marry until they did. Andriel assured her that it wasn't a requirement for marriage. Uncle was invited to stay and have dinner with them. He said he would like that, but first he needs to lock up the store, he had left it open when May came and got him.

The next day when Chitrah arrived at the first farm to install his device, he let the farmer know that he can check any cards and boards the farmer might have that needs looking at. The farmer had a whole box of electronic stuff that needed looking at. He never threw anything away, in case it was still good, or could be fixed. He asked Chitrah, how he knew about this computer system? Chitrah told him he needed to study it, to connect the same devices on Yitabo. The farmer knew about Yitabo, because that's where he gets his replacement cards and boards from. Chitrah told him about how much he enjoyed his time there. He told him about the weekly market, and all the items they used to buy there. Now he can't find homemade noodles and sauce, or jams and jellies, or preserves on any planet that comes even close. The farmer told Chitrah that his wife makes excellent noodles and makes a nice sauce to go with them. He will ask her if she can make some for their lunch. Chitrah said he would enjoy that. He was halfway through the box when he was called to join them for lunch. She had even taken a pot of noodles and sauce out to the soldiers, for them to have with their lunch. After lunch Chitrah explained to the farmer what he tested so far, and what needs to be done with each card. He asked if he was able to ship the cards and boards to the store on Yitabo to get them repaired. The farmer did not know that they could repair the cards on Yitabo. Chitrah assured him that they could, and that he would attach a note to each card and board that would make repairing them faster and easier. The farmer asked him how much he charges to do all this. Chitrah told him that he doesn't charge anything, he enjoys doing it while he's waiting for the results from some of the tests he is running. Otherwise he gets bored easily. The farmer went and had a talk with his wife. Chitrah was able to finish analysing everything in the box about the same time as he had finished the installation, and confirmed it was operating properly. There were only a couple of cards that were irreparable, he suggested that the farmer send them to Yitabo, with the other stuff. If they can pull useful components off those cards, they might give him credit towards the repairs. The farmer asked him, if he was sure that the cards that Chitrah had been able to repair himself would really work, and he did not need to do anything else to them? Chitrah told him that he could plug them in and see for himself. The farmer called his wife, she brought out a big box with homemade noodles, and sauces, that Chitrah and his wife could cook up and enjoy. There were other items in the box that he might enjoy. He knew that it did not compare in value to what Chitrah did for them today, but it was the best they could do. Chitrah told them that to him this was worth more than any credits they could have paid him. Which made the farmer and his wife feel better about giving him the food items.

When he was in the transport, Chitrah found himself sitting next to the squad leader. The squad leader asked him, if he expected to be treated so well, at the other farms they would go to? Chitrah told him he did not know, but he hoped that this would be the case. He let Chitrah know that they had all enjoyed the noodles the lady had brought out for them. It was better than any they had at their mess.

Andriel was excited to see everything Chitrah had brought in the box. Like him she had missed the food items they took for granted while on Yitabo.

Chitrah was well received at the next farm as well. This farmer specialised in making new-ale. He had brought out four, four litre jugs for Chitrah to take back with him. He had also slipped two one litre bottles of his special ale into Chitrah's case, so the soldiers would not see it. Chitrah was grateful for the gift, and assured him that he and his wife would really enjoy it. He told Chitrah not to store the new ale in a warm place, or it could continue to brew. The soldiers heard this warning. Chitrah offered to let the soldiers take half the jugs, but they would not do it. What Chitrah did not know was that they had talked to the farmer when he brought out some new-ale for them to have with their lunch. He had agreed to sell them some jugs of new ale, and would have the next batch ready for them in four or five days, which is the time frame Chitrah expected for their next trip.

Andriel had Chitrah open a jug right away, so that she could taste the new-ale. Even though it was a little warm, she could still taste that it was close to what they enjoyed on Yitabo. She helped Chitrah rearrange everything in the cooler so that they could fit all four jugs in. Chitrah reminded Andriel that since they did not have a dispenser, they would need to consume the contents of the open jug quite quickly. Andriel told Chitrah that she would stop by the store tomorrow, to see if they sold a dispenser for the jugs, she would like to have them last as long as possible, so did Chitrah.

Andriel decided it was time for May to sew her first garment. She had Chitrah print off a number of designing sheets. It had the outline of a female body, as seen from the front on one half, as seen from the back on the other half. What she wanted May to draw and put together was a work smock. She would need to wear it when working with a customer. There were places on the smock where you could stick pins and needles and not stick yourself. When you are done with using pins and needles, you can hang the smock up and not worry about pins or needles in your own clothing. It was a simple design that helped you with the sewing basics you have already learnt.

Now Andriel measured May, as if she was going to sew her a full outfit, since May needed to learn how to take measurements. Each time she took a measurement she made sure May could feel where she was measuring from to where she was measuring to, especially when she could not see where the measurement was being taken. She reminded her that when you take measurements of new clients, or of young children, that you have to ask permission from them, to touch them. Children are more comfortable with you, if they know they have authority to have you stop touching them. She also explained how you need to manipulate the clothing the client is wearing to make sure you get accurate measurements. For example, it is easy to measure the bust, but it is very difficult to measure under the bust, because of the gap between the clothing and the skin. You may need to pull the top up a little at the bust to eliminate the gap. Some clients who are comfortable with you, will strip down naked, for you to get the best measurements, especially when they want you to design an outfit that hugs their body, but does not restrict their motion. May took in the lecture as well as recording the measurements. Each time Andriel did something, she understood it takes a skilled individual to make something look easy. Andriel let her choose which fabric she wanted to use to sew the smock. She sketched a quick design of a smock on the next design sheet. So they had a front view and a back view. She showed May which of her measurements, would be used where, in the making of the smock. Then she took a piece of chalk, and started drawing the panels, using the measurements on the fabric. Then she drew on outline of each panel, one centimeter larger. That would be the size they would cut. The one centimeter was what they had to work with when putting the panels together. She had her cut out pieces to make pockets and to make the pin padding, reminding her to give herself the extra centimeter to work with. She also showed her that many fabrics had a good side which is what you would see when someone wore it, and a work side, that was used by the seamstress when putting things together. After everything was cut out, Andriel showed her how to pin the pieces together, and start sewing. May was quite surprised on how quickly things came together, once she started sewing, and how the sewing seemed second nature to her after all the practising. The pockets and the pin padding were much harder to do, since you could not hide the sewing. How neat the sewing appeared would be the first impression that your customers would have of your abilities as a seamstress. Fortunately for May all that practise helped her to sew on some nice looking pockets, and some nice looking pads to stick pins and needles. When she finally tried it on, it fit her comfortably. When she looking at herself in the mirror, she said, "It's like it was made for me!" Then laughed because it was.

Andriel suggested that they go to the store to show it off to her uncle. May ran over and was already twirling in front of her uncle, by the time Andriel got there. She had sewn it together, she had done all the sewing, and it looked nice. Uncle was proud of her and let her know. She then decided that she was going to go to the apothecary to show her father and anyone who might be with him. They knew who she was talking about. May said she would meet Andriel back at the dress shop. Uncle showed Andriel on his monitor some of the accessories he could order in for her. She looked at some shawls, and thought to herself that if she had her weavers loom, she could have made nicer ones than what she was looking at. Then she saw a lovely white shawl, and asked uncle how long it would take, to bring it to Livien. He told her that he could have it here in less than a month, or he would tell the supplier that he would ship it back for a full refund and the supplier would have to pay for all the shipping. Andriel told him to go ahead and order it. She then went and picked out a bolt of fabric. It was a natural fibre that had not been bleached or dyed. It was a creamy off white, with gold overtones. This was what she needed. Then she remembered to ask if he sold dispensers for jugs of new-ale. He had just what she needed.

Chitrah joined them for lunch, and was able to help Andriel install the ale dispenser on the opened jug. They then celebrated May's first sewing project. Andriel told her that she already had a design in mind for her next project. She did not have the skills she needed to complete the project, but she did know enough to start it. Chitrah toasted them and the new design, than went back to the Ministry, to prepare for the next installation. May volunteered to do the dishes while Andriel went into the workshop to sketch out her next design. When May came into the workshop the first thing she noticed was that Andriel had pinned the sheet with her measurements next to her mother's designs. Andriel then showed May the design they would work on next. She showed her the front view and the back view, then she flipped over the sheet, and showed her the side view. May gave a little gasp, the dress would have a small train. She asked Andriel if she thought that she could really sew that outfit. Andriel was certain that before she left Livien this outfit would be done. She told her that when the dress was finished, she could consider that she had graduated from Andriel's training. This time Andriel would be the model. Andriel stripped down to her undergarments to make it easier for May to take all the measurements. She reminded May, just like she had done for her that morning, and pointed to the sheet with her measurements. May started with the upper body measurements, when she had them all recorded, Andriel stepped up onto the platform, for May to complete the measurements. May appreciated the value of the platform, it would have been much more difficult to get the lower body measurements if Andriel had been standing on the floor, along with the increase in difficulty, was a greater chance of making an error, and ruining the design. After May had recorded all the measurements, Andriel dressed, then she showed May the fabric they would make the dress from. Andriel then cut some pieces of the fabric from the bolt and gave them to May to practise everything she had learnt so far. May smiled because she knew that Andriel was teasing her.

Chitrah was looking forward to working at this next farm. The last time he was there he noticed a lot of berry bushes near the farmhouse. He was hoping that he could get some jams or jellies from them. He was tired of eating cheese and bread for lunch. He would probably still eat the cheese, but he would like to follow it up with some nice jam on a thick slice of bread. When they arrived on location, Chitrah was the only one who got out of the transport. The squad leader told Chitrah that they had to take a side trip, and would be back shortly. Chitrah wished them well and proceeded to the farmhouse. They had three children at the farm, two girls and one boy. Chitrah was introduced to them last time he was there. They didn't say anything then. He was sure he was the first blue skinned person they saw. The girl was the oldest, teenager probably around sixteen years of age. Pretty, takes after her mother. The son was next, about one and a half years younger. Handsome lad, Chitrah could see features of both parents in him. The youngest was only around six or seven. Right now she looks more like her father, a little tomboyish. Chitrah hoped that she would show more of her mother as she grew older. They welcomed him into their home, and Chitrah let the father know that he would have time to go over any cards or boards while he was there. The farmer had already placed them next to the computer system. Word must be getting around that Chitrah was willing to help. This time the children did not stand around and watch him. The mother had work assignments for each of them to do. The father brought two cups of tea over, and offered one to Chitrah. He knew that Chitrah did not mind talking while he was working. It was not often that he had a chance to talk to someone who was from off planet. Usually the people he met from off planet considered him an inferior being, thinking if they talk to him, they might catch something contagious. So it was nice to talk to someone who accepted him like he was a fellow human being. Not only that, but he had been to Yitabo, every farmer on Livien had heard of Yitabo. Between the work and the conversation, Chitrah hardly noticed when the transport came back. Apparently the teenage girl did, she was out there talking with the soldiers. When her mother noticed, she was upset and called her into the house, and scolded her for talking to strangers. The teenager was upset by this, she was probably upset that she had been scolded in front of Chitrah. After her mother finished with her she just stood there red cheeked, staring at the floor. Chitrah spoke up. "Young lady, can I talk to you for a second." She had nowhere to hide, so she came over to Chitrah. "Because of my work, I travel a lot, and my wife travels with me. On one of our trips, someone tried to rape my wife." Now the young lady was staring at Chitrah with wide eyes. "Fortunately my wife had been able to defend herself and get away. When she came and found me she was shaking real bad. She told me what had happened, and it took a long time for her to calm down. Knowing my wife, if she had been raped, I don't think she would have come and told me, she would have felt too ashamed. Which would have hurt our relationship. My wife knew that she had allowed herself to get trapped by a predator. There was no-one there to help her out. Fortunately she escaped. My wife loves to flirt, even more when she knows I am watching. What is important to me is that now, she only flirts if she feels safe. I don't mind her teasing me if I know she is safe. Out here there are lots of bushes and other obstacles where a stranger could drag you, to hurt you without being seen by anyone else. It's important that you not allow yourself to be placed in that situation. Your parents love you very much, and so does your younger brother, who is a pain in the butt. I know because I was a younger brother once. I considered it my vocation to make my older brother's life miserable. But if I saw someone trying to hurt my brother or my parents, I would be there right away, to help them the best that I could. So don't try to hide from the family. You are a young lady, you are going to flirt. Make sure that someone from your family can see you, and can come and help you if you need help. Be smart! Be safe!" The teenage girl, liked the way this man spoke to her, he gave good advice. "Thank you, sir." She held her head up as she walked away to see if her mother needed help in the kitchen. The farmer thanked Chitrah for taking to his daughter like that. Sometimes they will listen to a stranger, when they won't listen to their parents. Chitrah asked the farmer why they don't get together with the other farmers, like they do on Yitabo. He told him about the market gathering they have every week, and once a month they would have a dance after the market. Some of the families would have to travel all night to get to the market, and it would be another all night trip to get back home. The farmer asked how they did that. Chitrah told him that they all had droid drivers. They probably used skiffs like they do here for hauling things around on the farm. They probably built capsules to load on their skiffs for the trip to the market, for the families to ride in. The women told Chitrah's wife that they call them "love nests". That way everyone is rested when they return home, and they don't miss any work. The farmer liked that idea, it would be nice for his children to talk with the children of other families. Chitrah warned him that the down side would be that once they made friends with other families, they will want to talk to them all the time on the communicator. The farmer had to think about that for a while. Chitrah did tell him that he could set it up, that when his computer was ready to send data to the Ministry. It would have top priority over the communicator, and have it disconnect any call, so that it could transmit its data. The farmer asked how often it transmits, Chitrah told him he can adjust it to around every thirty minutes, depending on how much data it was sending. He wanted to know, how long did it take to transmit? "Less than a second once connected." The farmer would let him know what he decides.

The wife called them to come to lunch. She had cooked up a pot of fruit filled dumplings. The daughter had cooked up a second pot, and she and her brother took it outside to share with the soldiers, and came right back in. While they were eating, the youngest asked Chitrah if he had always been so blue. Chitrah told her that when he was her age, he was just as pink as she was. But one day his mother had cooked up a big pot of fruit filled dumplings. He was a bad boy and stole the pot, and ate the dumplings, all by himself, even though his tummy hurt to eat all the dumplings. The next thing he knew, his skin had turned blue. This story made the parents and teenagers start to laugh. The young girl made a face at Chitrah and asked if he was fibbing her. Chitrah admitted that he had told a lie. He has been blue all his life, and both his parents are blue. She asked him if his wife was also blue. He told her no, she is red. The little girl made another face at Chitrah, and asked if he was fibbing her again. He told her no, his wife really is red. The little girl believed him, and asked what colour his children are? He told her that they did not have any children yet, and he does not know what colour they will be. She told him that she bet they would be purple, because when she mixes blue with red in her colouring, she always gets purple. Chitrah told her that she may be right. When it was time to leave, the family gave Chitrah a box of goodies. It had the jams and jellies that he was hoping for. There were also bags of frozen fruit dumplings. The little girl said they were all for his wife, so that she would turn blue. Chitrah thanked her for being so understanding, and for wanting to help his wife. The teenage girl gave him a peck on his cheek, for giving her some good advice.

In the transport, the squad leader passed him a jug of new ale. Now he knew where they had gone on their trip. At the spaceport Chitrah had to hire a porter droid to carry the box and the jug. He could not carry them both. Andriel had waited up for him again. She was always excited now, when he returned from a farm. He would have preferred it was because he was back, but he knew it was because she wanted to see what was in the boxes. He ate what she had left him for dinner. He told her the story he told the little girl on why his skin was blue, so she told him that all of the dumplings where for her so that her skin will turn blue too. Andriel told him to remember that, in case he ever asks her to cook up some dumplings.

The next day in the Ministry the officials told Chitrah that Lianna had contacted them and given them the coordinates for farms that could be used as alternatives for the two he could not connect. They gave three alternatives for each of the locations, with the top farm on each list as being the best alternative. Chitrah told them that he should go out first thing in the morning, to check out the farms. If the first farm on each list was compatible, then he would not check any further. They said they would arrange the transport. They did not tell him that one of the farmers, from a location he would not be returning to, had called and asked to speak to the blue technician. They told him to call the store in the evening and ask them to get him. They don't put through personal calls at the Ministry, unless it is a close family member that was on their approved list. They could not understand why a farmer would want to speak with him anyway.

The farmer was able to get through to Chitrah that evening. He was a little upset, because he had heard about all the good that he was doing, at the farms that he was able to do the installations. Chitrah had to explain that he was not that familiar with his particular computer system, to help him with that. He could still check out his cards and boards but would not be able to do any adjustments, because he did not know the specs. He would contact him tomorrow night to let him know which farm closest to his he will be at, and what date to meet him there. The farmer was grateful that he was willing to help, and asked if he could also call his friend, who also has the same system, to let him know when he would be in his area, and passed along the contact information. Chitrah told him that he would contact his friend tomorrow night as well. When Chitrah closed the connection, Uncle told him that he was making a favourable impression with the farmers. They had already contacted him to help them get together for a dance. Chitrah suggested that he time it to correspond with his niece completing her training. The celebration of a new dress shop opening. Uncle liked that idea. He told Chitrah that he had good business sense. If Andriel and Chitrah had lived on Livien, he would have considered them an important couple to be allied with.

Fortunately for Chitrah, the first farm on each list had the right computer system. From the way he had been received, the farmers must have felt they just won a huge prize in some sort of lottery.

This did not cut into his time at the ministry very much. Now that he knew all the remaining locations, he could talk to Andriel about how much longer they needed to be on Livien. Andriel would want to make sure she had enough time to complete May's training. He had to be careful he did not drag his work so long that the officials might become suspicious.

May liked the way Andriel would reward her by letting her cut and sew a new panel for the dress, each time she demonstrated mastery with a certain set of skills. It was the encouragement she needed to keep her trying her hardest, and it was a pleasure to learn how to take a drawing, and turning it into a wearable work of art. Now when she looked at her mother's designs, she could envision how she could make part of what she saw into reality. It seemed like each day there was more of each design that she could actually do.

Before Chitrah called the farmers, he had a good talk with Andriel, about their timeline here. He showed her how much time he could give her, without drawing suspicion. She told him how much time she would need. He took her time, added a couple of days, just in case, and still came under what he considered his maximum amount of time. He could work at a comfortable pace, and everyone would be happy.

Uncle was expecting him, and he let him use the stores communicator. The farmers were both happy to get his call. After terminating the second call, Uncle asked him if it would take him too much time, to accommodate the farmers at the same time as doing his job. Chitrah told him that he could not do as deep an analysis on these cards and boards, as he can do on the computer systems he was already familiar with. He did not expect it to take more than an hour extra of his time. He would try to leave a half hour earlier on those days, and be back a half hour later. He knew he could count on the military's cooperation. Uncle asked him how he could be so sure. Chitrah told him that they were taking advantage of his flights for personal perks. They want him to be happy, so that they can be happy.

Uncle appreciated that Chitrah kept things vague enough that he did not know what they were doing. But giving just enough information, to make his point. He was not a man to betray people who trusted in him. He was sure that Andriel was the same way. He would be really sorry when it was time for them to leave. Livien could really use a couple like them around here, if it would ever rise again to its former glory, as head of the Livien League. Rather than a bombed out, backward, agricultural planet.

The next day, Chitrah gave the officials a tentative schedule for the remaining work that needed to be done. They said that they would send a copy to the military, so that they knew what days the transport would be required, in case they needed to schedule it for maintenance. They did not tell him that they would be forwarding a copy to Lianna, so that they could assess his job progress, and be aware of the estimated date of his return back.

On the next trip to the country, Chitrah showed the squad leader the dates that he wanted to leave early, and warned them that they would probably be returning late. He asked the squad leader if that would be a problem, the squad leader smiled and told him it would not be a problem. Again they told him that they needed to make a side trip, and took off after he had safely exited the transport.

When all the work was done, Chitrah walked back to the transport with a box of goodies from the happy farmer and his family. The squad leader passed over another jug of new ale, plus another box of noodles, and other homemade food items. Chitrah asked the squad leader, what he was going to do, when he was no longer around to take advantage of the regular trips to the farms. The squad leader told him that he had already started working on the brass, to set up regular patrols to the farms. With the good will Chitrah has established with the locals, it would be a disappointment if the opportunity was wasted.

Chitrah wished him success in his endeavours. The squad leader told him that if they do get permission to set up a regular patrol, the guys plan on setting up a section in their K-P, to sell the local goods to all the enlisted men.

Andriel's work with May was progressing as she anticipated. She had already warned Chitrah that they were getting more food from the farms then they could possibly eat in the time they had left. Chitrah suggested that she start to pack up what she could, to take back with them to Lianna. This was not like Yitabo where they did not know where they would be going next. They have their own apartment. Why shouldn't they stock up on foods they enjoy, and may never see again? Andriel could not fault his reasoning. Anything she thought could not survive the trip to Lianna, was placed high on the list of items to be consumed here. Everything else was packed away in the boxes they were starting to accumulate.

One day Uncle came by with a package for her, it had just arrived. She called May out to the store front. Men should not get the idea that they would be invited into the workshop area of a dress shop. Something else she needed to teach May. When May came out front, Andriel opened the package. It was the white shawl that she had asked Uncle to order for her. It was just as lovely as she had imagined. She told May that this was for the dress. She reminded her that the accessories for an outfit can be just as important as the outfit itself. If they complement each other, the whole look is enhanced. Uncle had not seen the dress design, but he could tell that she was pleased with the shawl. He delivered just as he promised. Andriel took the shawl into the workshop after Uncle left, and hung it up by the dress design. Now when May looked at a design, she could picture it in 3-D. She could see how the shawl would look with the dress, and it gave her goosebumps.

The day finally came when Andriel could teach nothing new about the sewing machine. There was still much about being a seamstress that she needed to learn, but Andriel would not be able to teach her. Andriel would try to teach her what she could before she left. Now was the time to finish the dress. In less than an hour it was complete. May helped Andriel the best that she could, to help her undress, then she helped her put the dress on. It fit perfectly. Andriel slowly turned on the platform, so that May could see her from every angle. May had been holding her breath, and Andriel had to remind her to breath. She wouldn't be able to help her out of the dress if she fainted. After May had a good look, and told Andriel that it was flawless. Andriel had her hand her the shawl, and she draped it over her shoulders. In May's eyes Andriel had transformed into an image of royalty. Andriel stepped off the platform and went to stand in front of the full length mirror. She opened up its wings so that she could see as much of herself from different angles. May did not know the mirror could open like that, she thought it was just flat on the wall. Andriel told May that they needed to have a dinner party. It would be tomorrow night in celebration of May's achievement. They would hold it in the dining room upstairs. After everyone was seated with their appetizer and a drink, May and Andriel would go into Andriel's bedroom, where she would help Andriel change into this dress. Then Andriel would come out, so everyone there could see what May has achieved.

May did not know if she should laugh or cry, she just held her hands before her face not believing what was in front of her. When Andriel's words finally registered, she said, "Let's do it!" She helped Andriel out of the dress, and back into her own outfit. They took the shawl and the dress upstairs to Andriel's bedroom and hung it in a closet that was not being used. May left to invite everyone to tomorrow's dinner party, Andriel had asked her to come back with every piece of clothing she owned. After inviting her uncle, her father and his apprentice, May came back with an armful of clothing. She told Andriel that this was it. Andriel told her that over the next few days they would take everything she owned and make it fit her as if it was made for her. Most of her work as a seamstress would be doing just that.

At that moment Chitrah came in the back door. He was ready for a workout. May was invited to stay and watch, than she could join them for dinner. May had started watching them from time to time, now that she knew what they were doing. She even believed that if she was ever attacked, she could defend herself just from watching them, even though she never tried it. At dinner Andriel told Chitrah that May had completed her training on the sewing machine, and that they were having a dinner party upstairs tomorrow night to celebrate. Everyone in town was invited. Chitrah suggested they hold it at a larger venue, fire regulations might prevent them from having everyone from town in one room. Andriel was ready to smack him, but restrained herself. She told him that it would be his job to make sure that no-one was burnt. Chitrah told her that he was willing to do whatever she needed him to do. She replied, "Good!" And left it at that. She ignored him, while she and May planned what they would do the following day.

After May left, Andriel rebuked Chitrah for making that remark about the town. She grew up here, she knows that they come from cities, and live on a planet that seems to be one big city. Maylee may be a little self-conscious of that fact. Chitrah apologized to Andriel, he should have been more sensitive. He got up and helped Andriel with the dishes. He asked her what she thought he should do. She told him that right now while there is still sunlight, he should help her pick wildflowers. Tomorrow, when he gets a chance, he should pull May aside and apologise to her. They don't want to leave this place with any bad feelings between them.

The next morning Andriel helped May start adjusting the first piece of clothing she selected. Andriel wore May's smock. They talked about where it should be lose and where it should be tight. Andriel pinned it so that it fit comfortably. After they were both satisfied, May took the piece off. Andriel showed her how to open the seam where she had pinned it. Then she took it to the sewing machine and sewed a new seam along the pins. After removing the pins from where she had sewn, she handed the garment to May and told her to do the same thing to the other side, where Andriel had pinned the garment. After May finished sewing, with all the pins removed, May tried it on again. May noticed right away that it fit her better. Then she had May stand in front of the mirror, and she pulled the wings out, so that May could see herself better. May could see that it even looked better on her. Andriel reminded her that as a seamstress she was always advertising her quality of work by the way she wore her clothes. May asked her if that was why she always looked so beautiful in everything she wore. Andriel thanked her for the compliment, but yes, that is why she looked so nice in her clothes. Her mother was a Master Seamstress, and she had been training all her life to be as good as her mother.

They spent the rest of the day preparing for the dinner party. Since it was May's party, she was in charge of the kitchen, and Andriel was her assistant. After cooking up a storm. Chitrah showed up just in time to set the table properly. May confided in Andriel that she felt self-conscious about her clothes. She did not think she had anything nice enough to wear to the dinner party. Since the cooking was finished, they just needed to keep things warm, it was safe to leave the kitchen and change for dinner. Andriel told May to get her smock and meet her in her bedroom. Andriel believed she had an outfit that would look good on May. It would be easy to pin it up, and if she wore her smock overtop, she would hide the pins and look like a seamstress. She had asked Chitrah to go keep an eye on the kitchen while they changed. Chitrah intercepted May on her way to the bedroom and apologised to her for speaking inappropriately the other day. She told him it was alright, she knew that he was not trying to hurt her feelings, but if anyone was burnt before the end of the night, then she would be upset. They both had a laugh at Andriel's expense, and continued with what they were doing.

Andriel showed May the outfit that she selected for her. After she put it on, Andriel showed her how to pin it so she did not stick herself when she moved. This pinning did not have to be as accurate as what they did that morning. After she was done May put the smock on. No pins were visible, and nothing stuck her as she moved. She thanked Andriel for her help. Andriel told her to go downstairs and receive her guests. Make sure that none of the men go into the workshop. Make them walk around.

The evening went just as May had envisioned it. Uncle came to the back door without being told. Chitrah had let him in. May was able to intercept her father and his apprentice in the storefront. The apprentice had a bouquet of flowers he had picked for her. May was careful to give him the appropriate thank you, as her father was present. She told them Andriel's orders that men were not allowed in the workshop, father remembered that her mother had told him the same thing. They left out the front door, and walked around back. When May let her father in, he looked at her and told her how beautiful she looked this evening. This was the first time he had ever said that to her, so she gave him a kiss on the cheek, and thanked him. The apprenticed asked, if he told her she looked beautiful, would he get a kiss on the cheek as well? She said only if he meant it. So he told her she looked beautiful, and he meant it. So she gave him a kiss as well. Uncle came up to her and told her that she looked beautiful, then he tapped his finger to his cheek, so she kissed him as well. Chitrah spoke up and told May that she looked beautiful but she did not need to kiss him because his wife was here. Which made everyone laugh. Andriel showed up at this point and asked if she missed anything. Chitrah told her that they were all just saying how lovely May looked, and Andriel you look beautiful. Andriel agreed that May did look beautiful, then she kissed Chitrah on the cheek and thanked him for the compliment. She promptly turned around and went back upstairs before anyone could ask her for a kiss, and asked if they were coming? They all followed her up the stairs, except Chitrah, who was looking for a vase for May, to put her flowers in. When he found one that he thought would work, he put a little water in it and raced up the stairs. He had May put her bouquet of flowers in it, and set it as the centerpiece of the table removing the flowers that had been there. He saw Andriel smile, and knew that she approved. He took the other flowers and put them on a small table in the living room. May told everyone where they should sit. She asked Andriel if she could keep them company while Chitrah helped her bring everything upstairs. Andriel acknowledged that she was the wiser choice to sit with the men, so she agreed. Chitrah followed May down to the kitchen, and helped her load the appetizers onto a tray. He asked her if he should bring out the bottles of ale now or for the main meal. She told him that they should serve the new-ale with the appetizers, and the good ale with the main meal. As she took the tray of appetizers upstairs, Chitrah loaded a tray full of mugs of new ale, and followed her. May overheard her father ask Andriel if she had a talent for this work. Andriel coyly replied that he shall see. After all the appetizers were placed, and everyone had a mug of new-ale, May asked if they would not mind excusing the ladies for a moment. Only Chitrah asked if it was alright for them to eat while they were gone. May told them to go ahead. Most had already started, so they felt relieved when May told them to go ahead.

May helped Andriel to change, she wasn't sure how much help she was, because her hands were shaking. Andriel had to tell her to take a few deep breathes to help her calm down. Andriel had to take a few deep breathes herself. When she was finally ready, they asked each other what they should do now. Finally Andriel told her to go out and announcer her. The latest creation from the dress shop. So May did as she was told, when Andriel was close enough that the men could see her, they all stood up. Chitrah, being the gentleman that he is, walked over to Andriel and offered his arm to escort her to the table. After she was seated, all the men sat down except for her father. He walked over to his daughter and placed his hands on her shoulders. He told her that her mother would be so proud of her today, and started crying. Then he told her that he was so proud of her, then he hugged her, then gave her a big kiss on her forehead and hugged her again, and told her not to worry about the tears, because they were good tears. May was crying as well and was wiping the tears on her father's face and wiping the tears on her own face. Since Chitrah was in the best seat to move around he got up and handed May a couple of Napkins. Everyone had tears in their eyes. May was so happy that neither she nor her father were pricked when he hugged her. Her father sat down, as he passed Andriel he patted her on the shoulder and bent over and whispered "Thank you" into her ear. She patted his hand on her shoulder in response. After everyone finished their appetizer, Chitrah helped May clear the plates off the table. Then he helped her bring up the main course, followed by the bottles of ale. He mentioned that if someone wanted to stick to the new-ale, he had more than enough to go around. Everyone asked if Andriel helped with the sewing? Andriel assured everyone that the dress was completely sewn by May. May told everyone that it was Andriel's design, she just put it together. Uncle asked her if she designed something, could she put it together without Andriel's help. May told everyone that Andriel was an excellent teacher. "Before designs were just dreams. Andriel has taught me how to make the dreams come true. Yes I can take a design and make it into a dress."

After dinner Uncle asked Andriel and Chitrah to walk with him back to the store, he had something that he wanted to show them. Uncle has been nice to them, so they both agreed. Uncle unlocked the door and asked them to wait at the counter, he had to go into the back to retrieve something. He came back carrying a crafted wooden box. It was a bit heavy for him but he managed to get it on the counter. As soon as Andriel saw the wooden box, she started to squeeze Chitrah's arm with both her hands. It did hurt, but Chitrah did not say anything. Uncle unfastened the top part of the box from its base, and removed it. Inside was a sewing machine in pristine condition. The exact same model as the one in the dress shop. He told them for the right price it was theirs. Andriel started jumping up and down saying "yes, yes, yes," then she started kissing Chitrah all over his face, then she looked back at the machine and started crying.

Chitrah had to grab her and hold her to himself, because her knees started to buckle. He whispered in her ear, "Your mother knows you pretty good."

Which helped Andriel to calm down and settle down. When she had stopped crying, she whispered back, "She knows me very well."

They were able to get from Uncle the story behind the machine. He was going to present it to Mays mother as a gift, when the seamstress told him that she knew her stuff well enough to sew her own designs, he had thought of keeping it for spare parts, but a quick search showed him that there were a lot of spare parts out there. Tonight, when he saw Andriel in this dress, knowing his niece had sewn it, he knew who deserved this machine. He told them his asking price. It was much lower than Andriel expected, lower than she had hoped. So she did not quibble, she just accepted his price. She went over and started touching the machine, making sure it was real and not a dream. Chitrah knew that he would have to be the one to walk over to the spaceport, to the banking kiosk, to access the credits, he hoped he could do it at this hour, or Andriel would be spending all night in the store. He also knew, that he would have to get way more than the asking price, Andriel had already told him that Uncle had some nice material in his store. Now that she had a sewing machine, she will want everything to go with it. Uncle still had the crate that it had been shipped in. He helped Chitrah crate it up properly, so that it would not be damaged in transport. Andriel ended up buying a third of his stock. She bought the same stuff that she used to train May, and she bought some of his more expensive cloth. She never looked at the price until after she selected it. To her it was all about the feel. She went through all of his sewing supplies. Selecting spools of thread, containers of pins, and supplies of needles, both for the machine, and to sew by hand, and a thimble. At first Chitrah wasn't sure this was a good idea. He thought it was too much like letting a kid loose in a shop of sweets. So he had to keep reminding himself that she is a business woman who knew how to handle money. When the final bill was tallied, he had enough credits on hand to cover the cost. Not only did uncle do a good job wrapping it up, but he even promised to have it all crated up, ready for shipping.

The next morning Andriel brought the dress that she wore and the dress that May wore and hung them in the workshop. Chitrah had already left for the final installation of his system. She heated some water to make a pot of tea. May showed up all excited, Uncle had told her that morning that there had been a second sewing machine in the storage area at the back of his store, and he sold it to Andriel. When she found Andriel in the kitchen, she gave her a hug and a quick kiss, and told her how happy she was for her. She asked, if Andriel was planning on opening her own dress shop on Lianna? Andriel told her that she would not be able to, because of her traveling to be with Chitrah, but she has met a young lady on Lianna, that she believes would make an excellent seamstress. May was excited for Andriel. She would have another student. She told Andriel that she was glad that she had not discouraged her from teaching. Andriel told her, that she had taught her the opposite. It can be quite exciting teaching a gifted student. May thanked her for the compliment. They both headed for the workshop to do whatever Andriel had planned for them today. May knew that Chitrah was away, so this would be the last day that she would have Andriel all to herself. The first outfit they worked on was the dress that May wore to the dinner party, Andriel told her that it looked so good on her that she could not take it back to Lianna. May liked the way the dress looked on her. Secretly, she liked all the compliments. After Andriel helped her with all the alterations, she just kept turning around in front of the mirror, she really felt like a seamstress. She asked Andriel why the other dress was hanging there. Andriel told her it was to reminder her what she could do. On the days when nothing seems to be going right, she wants May to look at this dress and know that she can do whatever she wants to do. There may come a day when she may want to make the alterations, and wear the dress herself.

May did wear the dress, but only once, on her wedding day. She walked down the aisle in this dress, her uncle on her right arm, her father on her left. After that day she hung it back up in the workshop, and would draw inspiration from it for the rest of her life. They were able to finish the alteration on all the rest of May's clothing, that day. When they were done, May was not ready to leave and say goodbye to Andriel. She insisted that she help Andriel pack up, as much she could. Uncle had even donated some shipping crates, when May approached him. If they filled them with boxes, he would make sure that the crates would be properly sealed and shipped with the other items he had of theirs. Andriel was happy, she also did not want to say goodbye to May. They enjoyed dinner together, and went through the dress shop from top to bottom, making sure that nothing was forgotten. This was when May found out that Andriel and Chitrah did not sleep together. She thought that was very strange, she did not say anything, but hoped their relationship was alright. She loved them both very much, they seemed like the ideal couple, she would hate to see them separate. She was still there when Chitrah finally arrived back. She kept them company while Chitrah ate his dinner. She noticed how much like a child Andriel was when she went through the box of goodies, Chitrah brought back. She hoped that she would have the same childlike outlook when people gave her presents. After Chitrah finished his dinner May thought it was time for her to leave. She gave them each a hug and kiss goodbye, Chitrah gave her a kiss back. She saw that they were all teary eyed. Andriel reminded her that she needs to be back bright and early in the morning. It was her opening day, and farmer's wives don't dally. She promised to join them for breakfast.

After May left Chitrah told Andriel that the Ministry had already booked them on a freighter heading back to Lianna. They would be leaving tomorrow afternoon. He only found out when he had returned, and was told in the military transport that there was a message for him in the Ministry.

Andriel was right, all the farming families had arrived early, even though the dance was this evening. Many of the ladies were just as interested in checking out the new dress shop as they were in seeing the computer technician's wife. They knew she was red, and had been helping Maylee get the dress shop ready. May wore the dress that Andriel had given her, and the ladies waiting outside the dress shop all complimented her on how beautiful she looked. When she went inside, she overheard them telling each other that the last time they saw her she was wearing one of her father's old shirts as a dress. Now she is all grown up, and a proper young lady to boot. May stifled a laugh, and walked through the workshop to the kitchen, to have breakfast with Andriel and Chitrah. That's when she found out that they would not be coming to the dance, they would be leaving that afternoon. She held back her tears while she gave them each a hug. When Chitrah hugged her back she could not help herself, and started crying on his shoulder.

"You promised me you would dance with me at the dance."

"I was looking forward to it myself. I'm sorry I can't keep my promise."

Andriel handed May a wash cloth, so that she could wash her face. She reminded her that she needs to open the shop, she has customers waiting. May went to the workshop and put on her smock, then she went out front and let the ladies in. The ladies knew right away that May was troubled by something, and asked her what was wrong. She told them that they can't stay for the dance, they have to leave this afternoon. The ladies knew right away that the 'they' she was referring to was the computer tech and his wife. Obviously May had become quite attached to both of them. The ladies were even more motivated to meet the wife. May led them into the workshop and introduced them to Andriel, they were struck by how beautiful she looked, even without any hair on her head. They all noticed the beautiful dress hanging on the wall, and asked about it. Andriel told them it was put together by May. May told them that Andriel had designed it. They all promised themselves that they would take a closer look at it when they had time. Andriel got down to business, "Ladies, how can we help you." They all remembered where they stood in line while they were waiting outside. So they took that order when they told them what they would like done. May had the first lady stand on the platform. They both talked about what needed to be tighten, and what needed to be let out. When they were in agreement they both went to work with pins and chalk. When the outfit was ready for the sewing machine, May handled the sewing while Andriel started with the next lady. All the women were impressed with how professional Andriel was. This was the type of treatment they would expect from a top end dress shop on a major planet. They were also impressed that she was helping May out when she should be preparing to depart the planet. To them it meant that she cared about May.

Through the morning more ladies came in, the ones who were comfortable hand sewing, helped out where they could. Once and a while, Andriel would come up to her and whisper, you need to learn that. May would look up from her sewing to see what Andriel was talking about, and who was doing it.

Chitrah had no time to do anything. The farmers figured out that he lived at the dress shop and knocked on the back door to talk with him. He went outside with his computer and tried to answer as many questions as possible.

Andriel was wearing the mobile part of her computer. She anticipated that they would all lose track of time and had set her alarm. When her alarm went off she excused herself from the workshop. May would not let her leave until she gave her a hug goodbye. The ladies told her not to worry about lunch, they would send some over for them. Uncle had opened every house in town so that the ladies all had access to a kitchen. Andriel had to pull Chitrah away from the farmers. The farmers were disappointed, but when they met up with their spouses, and found out that he was heading out this afternoon, they were impressed that he had given them the time that he did. The farmers all approached Uncle about arranging to ship their cards and boards to the store in Yitabo. Uncle told them that it would be cheaper for them if they could ship everything in one container. He would contact the store to let them know it was coming.

When it was time for lunch, the ladies were true to their word and sent some food over. Andriel went into the workshop and asked the ladies that were present if it was alright for May to take a lunch break, it would be a shame if she fainted the first day she opened her business. They all said they would go have lunch with their families, and come back. Andriel noticed they were a younger crowd then this morning, she guessed that they must be the daughters. Andriel helped May to finish the work she had started. She did not want anyone sitting around in their underwear while they were eating in the kitchen. Andriel told May that she could only join them if she promised not to cry.

May told her that she would promise, but it might not prevent her from crying. Andriel hugged her, and rubbed her back with one arm, assuring her that she would be all right. All through lunch, people had been knocking on the back door and giving them gifts to take back with them to Lianna. At first Chitrah had been answering the door, until Andriel noticed he did not have any time to eat. So they took turns. They ended up with a few more boxes than they already had. Chitrah ending up contacting the spaceport to send him some porter droids, to do multiple trips. He hoped the freighter captain would not be upset with all the extra luggage. May had kept her promise and did not cry, when they said their final goodbye. She did go to her uncle after they left, and cried on his shoulder.

He told her that that was the problem with good people, they always seem to find their way into your heart. That's how May knew that he was upset at their departure. When she went back to the dress shop she found the ladies more interested in hearing all about the red lady, than in having work done.

The freighter captain was understanding about the extra luggage. Since they were his only passengers, and they were paying for two cabins, he let them put their extra boxes in one of the empty cabins. He was delighted with Chitrah's offer to help him with the electronics on his ship. He was glad he had not asked them to pay for using the extra cabin. When they entered Lianna's system they asked him if he had any suggestions to help them get their extra boxes to their residence on the surface. He told them that some shuttle terminals were short staffed when it came to porter droids. They should book porter droids with the shuttle crew before boarding, in case they needed to take some porter droids from the spaceport, down to the surface. He would arrange for enough porter droids to meet the ship, before they finished docking. What he did not tell them, was that he would get the company to cover the cost of the porter droids as payment for what he had done. He knew they traveled often, so he would get the company to flag them, so that future captains would know he offered this service free of charge.

The shuttle was not able to book any porter droids for them. The ones at the terminal were all being used. They did not have enough room in their cargo hold for all of the droids coming with them. They asked if he would mind paying for two more seats on the shuttle, and they would be able to stack all the droids on the two seats. Chitrah thought it was a cheap and convenient way to get everything they needed, so Andriel agreed. When she was going over their costs on the flight to the surface, Chitrah pointed out that for some reason they were not charged for the use of the droids from the spaceport. He told her how much he had to pay for the droids on Livien to load everything on the ship. She concluded like Chitrah had, that they were getting a bargain in using the droids. So she stared out the window and enjoyed the rest of the flight.

On the surface it was quite a procession following Andriel and Chitrah. The locals had never seen anything like it, they figured that Andriel and Chitrah must be important people. Someone mentioned that they must be Ambassadors, look at how well they are dressed, Chitrah was in his favourite casual outfit, look at the colour of their skin. So word started spreading that they were Ambassadors. When they arrived at their apartment building, they saw them go in, but only the droids came back out. The people speculated that they must be ambassadors from different planets, who were having an affair, and had set up a love nest in the apartment building, away from the scrutiny of their respective consulates. So people started calling it the Ambassador Apartments. Some young teenagers with nothing to do, started a site on the holo-net, called the Ambassador Sightings. They would record when they would see one of the ambassadors, and make note of the direction they were heading, and anything significant about what they were wearing.

A few hours after Andriel and Chitrah had arrived back at their apartment, the computer notified them that a vehicle had arrived at the freight access doors, with freight addressed to their apartment. Chitrah did the visual confirmation, he told Andriel that it was everything they had shipped from Uncle's store. Andriel was excited, Chitrah heard her say, "My sewing machine." The shipping droids brought everything up to the apartment. They opened the crates for Andriel and Chitrah to confirm the contents. The largest crate would not fit through the apartment's door so it had to be opened in the hall. Chitrah asked a droid what they were supposed to do with the shipping crates. The droid responded that if he wanted them to unload the crates they would take them back with them. Chitrah gave them permission. But Andriel told them to stop! She did not want them to touch anything until they had located the sewing machine, and Chitrah removed it from its crate. Chitrah found it in one of the crates in the apartment. He removed it, and Andriel gave the droids permission to proceed. After the droids left Chitrah surveyed the pile of boxes in their apartment, he asked Andriel where they were going to put everything. She reminded him that it was his idea to box everything up and take it back with them. He acknowledged that, but in his defence he only thought there would only be a few boxes. Andriel laughingly told him that they must have bred on their way over. Chitrah told her she had a point, so they need to separate them as quickly as possible to stop them from breeding, or they would not be able to get into the apartment. Andriel agreed. Chitrah was sure everything from the large crate was sewing supplies. Andriel told him that that could be placed in her bedroom, she would go through it and put it all away. After he moved that pile to the bedroom, the rest looked more manageable. Before he went any further Andriel ask if he could place her sewing machine on her desk. He thought it was a good idea, it would have been a dangerous thing to trip over. Back in the main room he walked into the kitchen and opened all the cupboard doors. He asked Andriel which food items should go where. She walked into the main room, and looked at the kitchen. She pointed to one cupboard, and told Chitrah to put all the noodles in that cupboard, the sauces should go into the one beside it. The jams and jellies should go in the pantry, the dry ingredients should go in that cupboard over there. Chitrah asked her how he would recognise the dry ingredients. Andriel sighed, she told him that he should put anything he did not know what it was, on the counter, "and don't you dare activate the kitchen droid". Chitrah laughed at the idea of the kitchen droid throwing out everything they were careful to bring with them. Then he got down to the work of unpacking and sorting through the boxes. Andriel decided to boil some water for tea. It will be a long time before they could sit down and relax. After everything was put away, Andriel cooked some noodles and sauce, it was a quick and easy meal to make, and they hadn't eaten in a long time. She couldn't remember if this would have been breakfast, or lunch, or dinner. After their meal they both decided to retire, even though it was still early by local time. They were both quite tired from all the work they did that day.

The next morning Chitrah went to the Ministry to see if they had any new work assignments for him. Andriel told him that she was going to visit with Shaak, maybe she could convince her to come back with her to see the sewing machine, and all the sewing supplies they brought back with them from Livien.

Chitrah was told they had about half a month's worth of work lined up for him. There was a possibility that he would be going off planet after that.

Shaak was very happy to see Andriel again. It wasn't until she saw her, that she realised how much she had missed her. She told Andriel that things were improving for their community. A couple of Nautolan families had come by to visit, and were well received by her people. Some groups of her Togruta have gone over to visit with them, after hearing how well she was received by them, and have their own good stories to share. The communities are starting to really get along. She heard people from both communities say that they don't feel isolated any more. Andriel shared her own good news with Shaak. When Andriel invited her to come to her place to see everything, Shaak let her know that she was ready to go right now. Shaak was at a loss for words, when she saw everything. It was like she had to touch everything to make sure it was all real. She loved touching the fabric that Andriel had purchased. Andriel even thought that she heard a low pitched hum coming from Shaak.

Shaak could see that Andriel had enough of what was needed to open her own dress shop. When she finally spoke, she asked Andriel, "Now will you teach me?"

Andriel responded, "Of course! When do you want to start?"

Shaak replied, "Now!"

Andriel thought, why not? And started right in, in training her. She expected that she would have more time training Shaak, than she had training May, so she started her with hand sewing techniques. Shaak was already familiar with repairing clothing, so she picked up on the techniques quite quickly. Before they knew it, Chitrah had returned from the Ministry. When he found Shaak with Andriel, sewing, he decided that he should prepare dinner. He asked, if Shaak was staying for dinner? Shaak said she would. Andriel asked if she wanted them to put aside some raw meat for her, she shook her had no, and said, "I eat, what you eat." So she left Chitrah to decide on his own, what to make for dinner.

To accompany dinner, Chitrah served some of the new-ale they brought back from Livien. He did not know if Shaak had tried it before, because they had not found any place on Lianna that sold it. When she tried it she told them that this is like a drink that some of the families will buy from time to time, from a bakery shop near their enclave. Andriel told her that someday she would have to take her there. During dinner, Chitrah told Andriel, that they only had half a month's worth of work lined up for him. They said that they might be sending him to another planet after that. Andriel asked if he knew where and for how long. Chitrah said he did not know.

Shaak knew that that was not enough time for her training, and she really did want to learn as much as she could before Andriel left again. So she asked them if she could live with them, so that Andriel, could teach her as much as she could before she left. She told them that she did not mind sleeping on the couch. When she saw them looking at each other kind of funny. She told them she could even sleep on the floor. She believed for some reason, she would not be allowed to sleep on the couch.

Andriel looked at Chitrah and said that Shaak could sleep with her on the bed, and Chitrah could sleep on the couch. Shaak said it was not right for her to chase a man out of his bed. Chitrah told her it would be alright. He bought a couch that was comfortable to sleep on. Shaak could not understand the looks they were giving each other. Maybe Andriel was worried that Chitrah would try to sleep with her if she was out in the main room. Shaak asked Andriel if she would go with her back to the enclave, so that she could get a few items, so that she could stay at her place. Andriel knew that she did not like being alone, so she agreed to accompany her.

On the way Shaak told Andriel that if the reason she did not want her to sleep on the couch was because she was worried that Chitrah might try to sleep with her, she could rest assured that she would not let him.

This made Andriel start to laugh. She told Shaak that Chitrah is not that type of man. He is sensitive, he does not like to see her undress. So, having another woman in the house, who he might accidentally see undress, is not a comfortable situation for him. Shaak had never thought that there was such a man, who would not want to see a woman undress. But if that was the case, then it would be better for her to be in the bedroom with Andriel, and him in the main room on the couch. She did not mention it anymore. Andriel was surprised at how little Shaak took back with her. She suspected the real reason she returned, was to tell her family what her plans were, so that they would not worry. The family knew that Andriel was a good friend to Shaak. They trusted her to be a good companion to their daughter. They arrived back at the apartment quite late. Chitrah was already asleep, Shaak noticed that he seemed quite comfortable. So she no longer worried that she was inconveniencing him. They quietly made their way to the bedroom. Shaak told Andriel that she normally did not wear anything when she went to sleep, but if that bothered her she was prepared to wear something. Andriel told her that she wasn't bothered, but she needed to remember to put a house coat on when she went to the bathroom. She told her she would, because she did not want to upset Chitrah.

Chitrah thought he was the first one up. He showered and started preparing for breakfast. He thought he would introduce Shaak to the type of breakfast they had enjoyed on Livien, there were enough vegetable patties in the cooler. He would have to let Andriel know it was time to make another batch. He knocked on the bedroom door to let them know he had started preparing breakfast. Andriel woke up to find she was the only one in bed. She looked around the bedroom and found Shaak sitting on the bedroom floor meditating. She could not tell if it was a blanket or robe she wrapped around her, she probably did that in case Chitrah had to come into the room to get something. Andriel quietly asked her if she was ready for breakfast, she wasn't sure if she should interrupt her. Shaak looked up from her meditation, and told her she was ready, and quickly dressed. Andriel found a housecoat and threw it over what she wore. As soon as the bedroom door opened Andriel could smell what Chitrah prepared for breakfast. Shaak had never had this before. It was a new experience. Chitrah explained that they never had it before, until Livien. This is the traditional meal they have there for breakfast. They asked Shaak what she usually had for breakfast. He was expecting her to say sliced raw meat with bread and cheese. What she did say was grainmush, or sometimes the flakes. Chitrah asked Andriel, if they had the ingredients to make grainmush? She could not remember, she would have to check the pantry, but they did have a box of flakes. Shaak told them that this breakfast was fine, she did not need to eat anything else. Chitrah told her he was just asking, in case he wanted grainmush for breakfast. He had not had it for a long time, and they had some nice jellies from Livien that would probably go good with grainmush. Shaak told him she had never tried jellies with grainmush, but she would like to try. Chitrah asked Andriel if grainmush sounded like a good breakfast choice for tomorrow. Andriel said that she would also like to try it with the jellies. If there is nothing in the pantry she would go out and buy some today. Chitrah also told her that he had fried up their last vegetable patties for breakfast. Andriel asked Shaak, if she could remind her to bake a batch this afternoon. Shaak told her that she would remind her.

Shaak was not used to breakfast chatter. Everyone ate their breakfast quietly at home, breaking the silence, only if they needed someone to pass something. She found the chatter relaxing.

Andriel decided to start Shaak on the sewing machine. By noon she had mastered the first technique, Andriel was impressed. After lunch, she had Shaak start practising some new techniques. Andriel took the opportunity to do some shopping. There was not enough grainmush in the pantry for the three of them for next morning, and she needed some fresh vegetables to grate for the vegetable patties. When she arrived back at the apartment she placed her groceries on the kitchen counter, than went to check how Shaak was doing with the new techniques. She was progressing quite nicely. She asked her if she wanted to take a break from sewing, and help her prepare the vegetable patties for baking. Shaak was torn she wanted to keep practicing her sewing, but she also wanted to learn how to make the vegetable patties. She finally decided to help with the patties, since she might not have a second chance. The sewing will still be there.

After helping Andriel, she went back to sewing. When she heard Chitrah enter the apartment she started to panic, dinner time already and she had done so little. She was surprised that Andriel did not go and help Chitrah get dinner ready, instead she closed the door and changed into a different outfit. Then she started putting on this strange suit, which made her look like a fat person. Shaak asked her why she had dressed up like a fat person. Andriel told her that she was going to practice some exercises with Chitrah, and the suit is to help her from being hurt.

"So it is not time for dinner?"

"No! We will prepare dinner after we cool down after the exercise."

Now Shaak's curiosity was aroused, "Can I watch?"

"Yes! You can watch us from the couch."

Andriel knocked on the bedroom door and asked Chitrah if it was safe to come out. He told her it was, and they both came out of the bedroom. Chitrah was dressed in a similar suit. First they helped each other with stretching, then they did some simple exercises to get the blood flowing through the body. Then they started to fight. Shaak's heart rate jumped up when they started fighting, until she realised that it was a rehearsed fight. She started watching more carefully, and recognised that their technique was similar to what she had been taught, but in other ways it was different. She did not stay on the couch, instead she started walking around the edge of the room. Trying to get the best view of the fighting. After a while, a panting Andriel asked what she was doing. She said she was trying to understand what they were doing. Some was the same, and some was different, from what she was taught. They asked her how she knew what they did. She told them that all Togruta know how to fight. They are taught when they are still young. In the wilds of Shili, if you cannot fight, you die. The beasts will eat you. This was news to Andriel and Chitrah, they did not know that the self-defence techniques could be used against wild animals. Chitrah asked Shaak if she could use some of her techniques against him. So she showed him, he realised that it was different enough that he could get hurt. He was expecting to go one way, and she would send him flying another. Fortunately he was able to react fast enough that he wasn't hurt. Now she wanted Chitrah to use what he knew against her. He told her that he could not. The only padding they had was in the suit, not on the floor or the walls. If he tried, he would hurt her. Andriel suggested that Shaak change into her suit, because she wanted to watch the two techniques being used. So the two ladies went into the bedroom to exchange the practise suit. While Andriel took off the practise suit, Shaak took off her outfit. Under her outfit she was completely naked. Andriel told her that it was a good thing they came into the bedroom to change. When she realised Andriel was referring to Chitrah, her red face became even red. Andriel asked her, if she ever wore under garments? Shaak admitted that she was not familiar with them or their purpose. They were not common items on Shili. Andriel told her that there main purpose was hygiene. When you wear a dress or a skirt you do not want the moving air to blow dust, dirt, or pollutants, up to your place of secrets. Nor do you want any small creature to be able to climb up to there. When the moon cycle is upon you, panties hold the pads that absorb your bleeding. How do they hold the pads in place on Shili? Shaak told her that they don't have pads. When the bleeding starts they just sit on a stole until it stops.

"What about at night when you sleep?"

"You sit on the stool until it stops."

Andriel was incredulous. She asked if anyone wore anything to support the mountains of their womanhood. The simple answer was, no! Andriel told her that some women who had small mountains would wear padding to appear bigger. Some women who thought their mountains were too big, would wear something to flatten their mountains, so that they would not feel as big. "She likes the way her mountains are supported, so that they move with her rather than after her. When you are breast feeding, you can place cabbage leaves in your bra to soothe your nipples, if they start to hurt from the continuous feeding. If you don't have a bra on, the fabric of your blouse or dress would rub against your hurting nipples, making them worse, so that you would end up afraid to feed your baby, instead of bonding with it." Shaak knew that some Togruta women would go around topless when they were breastfeeding their baby, to prevent that problem. She did not know that you could put something on them to soothe them. Now Andriel had been helping Shaak into the practice suit, the whole time she had been giving her lecture. As Shaak went out to fight with Chitrah, Andriel put on a house coat. The outfit she wore in the practise suit was the same one she wore when Chitrah had scanned her into his computer. It was even more revealing now that it was wet with sweat. She ended up doing what Shaak had done, walking around the edge of the room trying to get a good view of the fighting. It was apparent to Andriel that the two of them were getting used to each other's techniques.

Chitrah finally had to ask to rest. He was starting to tire when Andriel and Shaak had swapped the practise suit. Now he was dehydrated, and tired. Shaak sat beside him on the floor, resting slightly against him. Andriel asked if they wanted water or new-ale. They both wanted new-ale, so she filled three glasses from the jug in the cooler. The three of them sat on the floor drinking new-ale and resting. Andriel mentioned that it looked like they were starting to get used to each other's techniques. Chitrah nodded his head yes. He told Andriel that he was familiar enough with her technique that he could start teaching her. Shaak asked how often they practised fighting. Andriel told her that they try to practise every other day.

Shaak asked her where she could get a suit like this, because she would like to practise with them. She really enjoyed herself. Andriel told her that she did not know if a suit like this could be purchased on Lianna. Shaak looked disappointed, she was really hoping she could fight with them. She really wanted to test Andriel. She knew that Chitrah could handle himself. She saw that sometimes he held back when he was practising with Andriel. She wanted to know if Andriel really needed it, or was he doing it instinctively, so he did not hurt her. If she did not need it, he needs to be told, so that Andriel can improve. Andriel told her that she did not mind sharing the suit with her, that way they both got to beat Chitrah up. Chitrah told her that he did not like the way that sounded. They all laughed. Shaak thanked Andriel, but she would also like the opportunity to test her. Chitrah asked her if he could have one practise with Andriel, to help her become familiar with her technique, then he would let them have his suit so that they could test each other. Andriel thought it would be best if she used his suit since she was larger than Shaak, but she would send it out to be cleaned first. Chitrah told her that she probably smelt as bad as he did, after a practise session, in fact he was surprised that Shaak had not yet fainted. Andriel kicked him for that comment. Chitrah rolled around on the ground as if he really was hurt. Which made them all laugh.

They let Chitrah take the first shower while they went into the bedroom to help Shaak out of the suit. Shaak asked Andriel if she had any undergarments that would fit her. Andriel looked at her body with the eye of a seamstress. She told her that for hygiene reasons, it was not good to share undergarments, but she might have some old ones that might fit her. She went through her drawer until she found what she was looking for. She asked Shaak to try them on. It wasn't a perfect fit, but they were good enough to get by. She took off her garments to let Shaak see how her undergarments fit her. Compared to what she had just given Shaak to try. Shaak believed that she understood the difference. She also liked that Andriel did not look down on her for having dressed different, but used it as another opportunity to teach her something new, and would leave it up to her whether she would change, or stay the same.

The next morning while they were having breakfast, the communicator sounded. It was the Ministry. Chitrah had positioned the communicator so it only showed the back of the kitchen and not the whole apartment when it was turned on. He liked his privacy, and he knew how nosey the Ministry was. He was sure they would have called him more often if they could have seen the whole apartment. He was asked to come to the office before proceeding to the business he would be working at today. He told them he was on his way, than went back to his breakfast, after the call was terminated. Shaak asked him why he said he was on his way, when he was really finishing his breakfast. He told them that he said that, because that is what they wanted to hear. Unfortunately with the Ministry what you say is often more important than what you do. Shaak nodded her head like she understood, but she did not. Chitrah told her that Andriel should be able to help her understand. Shaak blushed because Chitrah had been able to read her.

At the Ministry he was told that a package had arrived for him from Yitabo. Chitrah checked the transit slip, it was from the agro-equipment supply store. He wondered what Harry was up to. Someone handed him a pen knife to cut it open. He was sure that that was not how they opened it before calling him. They did not do a good job resealing it. But he humoured them and cut it open, it was not in his best interest to point out how sloppy they were, because they might improve.

Inside he found the whole box was full of tins of pickled meat. He did not know they had pickled meat on Yitabo. They may have only had it for export, since fresh meat was very easy to get. There was a note. "Thanks for the extra business. Harry." They must have received the container of cards and boards from Livien. Chitrah was impressed with how quickly the package took to arrive.

When Chitrah put the note back in the package, the official, whose desk the package was on, told Chitrah that he was sorry but he was going to have to confiscate the package. Ministry officials were not allowed to accept gifts. Chitrah told them that that was true, but he wasn't a Ministry official, he was a contractor, so he was keeping the package.

Everyone in the office was staring at him with their mouths open, like he had just committed the unpardonable sin. So he grabbed the package and left. The head official for that department was furious, he was looking forward to trying that pickled meat, he swore that he would find some way to punish Chitrah, but he would have to be careful, the Moff liked him. In the outer office Chitrah noticed that the junior officials were trying really hard not to smile, none of them dared to make eye contact with him, in case it betrayed how they really felt. Chitrah had to laugh when he went out the door. Which caused a lot of people to look at him. Laughter is not something usually heard in the Ministry, unless it was hysterical.

Chitrah went straight back to the apartment to show Andriel what Harry had sent him from Yitabo, and to tell her the poor excuse they tried to use to take it from him. He told her that he might be late for dinner, since he will need to make up the time he used to go to the Ministry and back. She told him that she would put something aside for him. After he left, Shaak came into the main room and asked if she had heard Chitrah's voice. Andriel told her that she did, and showed her what he dropped off.

"This will serve you well for many breakfasts."

"Why wait for breakfast we can have it for dinner tonight."

After Andriel finished putting all the tins of pickled meat away, she went to check how Shaak was doing. She asked Shaak, if she would like to go shopping for undergarments? Shaak said she would, so she took her to a shop nearby. The sales lady was more than happy to let Andriel take charge and make sure they got the right fit for Shaak. She just made sure to get her whatever she asked for. She knew what she was doing, obviously she was an important person.

After they left a young teen couple came into her store, normally she would not tolerate young teenagers in her store, without their parents. But they did not sneak around, they came straight up to her, and asked her if they could ask her about the Ambassador. Now it made sense, she had heard rumours that there were two Ambassadors living together in a nearby apartment building. The way she was dressed, the way she carried herself, it all fit. They asked her if she detected a sexual relationship between the Ambassador and the other red woman. There was a lot of speculation on what role this third woman played in the relationship between the two Ambassadors and this third woman. Someone speculated that the blue Ambassador was into red women. Since she had never been sighted with the blue Ambassador, only with the red one. Some thought that the blue Ambassador was not enough for her, and she kept the young red lady as dessert, so to speak. Some thought there had to be another reason. The sales lady told them there was nothing sexual about them, she has had women in her shop that were into that, so she would know. She told them that the Ambassador was very professional and treated the other lady like she was training her, something like an assistant or apprentice. To confirm that they were talking about the same women, they showed her a picture they had taken earlier. She confirmed that that was them. When the teenage couple left, she heard the young lady tell her partner, that she told him. Why do guys always think of sex?

A few days later Chitrah was again asked to come to the Ministry, again he told them he was on his way. Only this time he really was. He had just finished breakfast and was on his way out the door, when the call came in. Andriel asked him, if he knew what this was about? He told her he hoped they were going to tell him were they were going next, he hated when they waited to the last minute, then they had to rush to catch their flight. When he arrived at the office he was ushered right in and sent to the inner office, in the inner office they waved him to keep going. He made it all the back to the high official's office. Every official who thought he was someone was crowded into it. The high official handed him an envelope of fancy paper and what looked like a royal seal on the back, there was a slight scent coming from it. The official's hand was trembling when he handed it to Chitrah. Chitrah asked if this was a joke. The high official assured him this was no joke. He also told him that they had never received one like it in their office, before now.