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)

13. Chapter 12

©2016

The human friend of Shaak, and her companions, only remembered two of the Togruta women who looked after her when she was on that special bed for the two months. She appreciated all of their care, especially when they had to change her diaper, and clean her up. Shaak would tell her how the girls where doing, the new recipes they taught the girls to purchase and prepare. The new pimp, sounds like the nicest, of any she has ever met. She thinks it's because the Twi'leks are afraid of the Togratu. She likes that the dress shop is doing well, and she hopes to see the new site on the local net. It sounded like the Togratu women and their friends had a good time making it. She was glad that Shaak's father did not embarrass her, and was a proper chaperone. She likes that Shaak made her feel like she was still part of the real world. She tried not to scream from the pain inside of her, when Shaak was there.

The other Togruta woman she remembered, was the one she called the singing Togruta. The first time she noticed her, was when she heard her humming what sounded like a lullaby. It made her think about when she was a little girl. At night before they went to sleep, she would put her head on her mother's lap. Her mother would brush her hair with her fingers, while she hummed a lullaby. The other girls who worked the streets with her mother, said that hearing her mother hum that lullaby help them all to forget their lives, and fall asleep. They were all like mothers to her. She remembers the first time the bad man tried to hurt her, they all made him stop, they told him she was still too young. He was very angry, he told them that he could make more credits from her in one day, than he could make from any four of them. On the street she would find a place to hide, and play, near her mother. When her mother had to go with a man, one of the other girls would come and stand near where she was, to make sure she was okay.

The day the bad man finally hurt her, he had beaten all the other girls, because they again tried to stop him. She was already crying because he had hurt them, he had given his mother a lot of spice beforehand, so she would not interfere. He wanted her to watch the whole thing. She did not understand why he took her clothes off of her. But when he stuck his horn inside of her, she screamed, because it hurt so much. She scream at her mother to help her, but she just sat there like she did not exist. He mocked her mother, asking why she did not help her little girl, than he would laugh at her. She screamed for her other mothers to help her, but they all cried, and looked away. When he finished with her, he gave her some spice, to quiet her down. This was the first time he ever gave her spice.

She was born an addict from her mother's womb. She would get spice through her mother's milk when she was nursing. They said that when her mother stopped nursing her, she became very sick, and almost died. It was because she was going through spice withdrawals. When it was really bad her mother would hold her tight, and put a stick in her mouth, to keep her from biting her tongue. They told her that the man would beat her mother a lot, because she would not leave her to go work on the street. But somehow she survived.

She learnt after the first time she was raped, that she would be given spice after she let a man hurt her. It became so she did not care anymore what anyone did to her, as long as she got some spice. Now when she went to her mother at night and put her head on her lap, her mother would turn her head away from her and cry. She would still brush her hair with her fingers, but she would not hum the lullaby any more.

She noticed that her mother was crying more often when she looked at her. The bad man made her watch when other men would hurt her little girl. Her mother started apologising to her, for not being strong enough to kill her when she was still a baby. She was the only good thing that ever came out of her life, and now she was forced to watch her precious girl being destroyed.

The bad man noticed her mother crying more often, he also noticed the vacant look in her eyes. One day her mother did not come back from the street. Some of the girls were whispering that she killed herself, others said that the bad man murdered her. She thinks it was both. She thinks the bad man stopped giving her spice because she was always crying, then he mocked her, about being an unfit mother, unable to look after and protect her daughter from men like him. She believes that he drove her mother to kill herself.

The singing Togruta would wipe her eyes when she saw that she was crying. She did not stop humming when she tried to scream. She would let her squeeze her fingers as hard as she could when she was hurting, and when they flipped her so that she was lying on her belly, she would massage her back, neck, arms and legs.

When the pain stopped, and they finally took her off the bed. Shaak and the singing Togruta gave her a full body massage, every night, for the next few days. Someone would come for her every morning, and help her get to the common room. She had been off her feet for too long and had trouble walking. They all started calling her Bacgruta. She asked someone what that meant. They told her it meant friend of Togruta. She started crying when she heard that. The lady asked her, why she was crying? She told her that she had never been called someone's friend before. The lady said, "but now you are our friend, you are Bacgruta," and gave her a hug. She accepted that as her name from that day on.

Shaak approached Andriel tentatively, she had just received some good news but wasn't sure how Andriel was going to take it. She had just received word that she and her companions could go to Shili. It was their only chance to go, and to try and find a husband for each of them. It meant that she would not be there for the last few months of Andriel's pregnancy. She is hoping that she would be back on Lianna, before she gave birth.

Andriel understood the significance of what Shaak wanted to do. She told her that she would be disappointed if they did not come back with good husbands. Arrangements were made for another group of companions, to escort Andriel to the dress shop every day.

The hard part was that Shili is still part of the Republic, so they could not go directly there. They would have to travel through Mandelorian space, before they could catch a flight to Shili.

While Shaak was away at Shili, Andriel had an unexpected visitor. A disguised Princess Krinta, came to the dress shop looking for Andriel. When she entered the workshop, she found four Togruta women. One was working at the sewing machine, one was working what looked like a small hand loom. The other two were doing hand embroidery work on some dresses. She asked them if they knew how to get a hold of Andriel Mirranna, the Devaronian woman? It is important that she talk with her. The Togruta women looked to the lady at the sewing machine for direction. The lady at the sewing machine got up and went into the back room, the lady who was weaving followed her. The Princess knew they had a communicator in the back room, she was hoping they would call someplace to get a hold of Andriel. In the back room Andriel had the Togruta lady help her take off the head piece. She removed Shaak's sewing smock, and tried to wash the white makeup off her face, and wipe the gray lipstick off of her lips. She asked the Togruta lady to make them all some tea. Then she went back into the workshop.

The Princess was getting impatient, she did not hear the communicator being activated. She just heard the sound of rushing water. For a minute she wondered if the Togruta understood basic, maybe they thought she had asked for a cup of tea. She was wondering what she should do next, when a pregnant Andriel walked through the back door to the workshop with a little white makeup still on her face.

Andriel bowed and asked Princess Krinta, "Your Majesty! How may I be of service?"

When the two Togruta women who were embroidering, saw Andriel bow before this lady, they quickly got up and bowed themselves.

"Oh my but your pregnant. You can stop calling me, Your Majesty, and you can stop bowing. I'm supposed to be in disguise, but I did not do as good a job of it as you did."

Andriel smiled, stood up and directed the Princess to one of the chairs against the wall, and Andriel sat next to her.

"How would you like me to address you?"

"You can just call me Krinta."

Andriel again asked her, how she could help?

The Princess told Andriel that she would be traveling to Livien, but she did not want the people there to know she is a Princess. She wanted Andriel's advice on what she should wear. Andriel told her that she could not wear any designer outfits, unless she was pretending to be a seamstress.

She told Andriel that she was going as a businessman, looking for opportunities.

Andriel asked her if she had anyone on her staff that was the same size and build as her. Krinta mentioned that she had a body double that was being driven around Lianna in the royal limousine, but she was not the same size as her. She just looked like her. She thought that there were enough women on the palace's staff that someone must be close to her size.

Andriel suggested that she ask the women that were close to her size, to bring in a couple of their outfits. She should try them on, and the one that feels the most comfortable, was probably her size. She should have her go buy her an off the shelf suit. Every businessman needs a suit. She could probably get away with wearing a couple of her more simple designed blouses with the suit. She should also buy Krinta, one or two dresses, two or three skirt/blouse outfits, one of which should have a matching jacket. She suggested that she also purchase her a couple of sweaters, a light jacket, and a heavy jacket.

Andriel mentioned that she was there when they had a stretch of nice weather. She did not know how bad the weather extremes get. If she needed something specific, Uncle could order it in for her. Andriel also suggested that she get someone on the staff to teach her how to hand wash her own clothes, there are no laundry droids on Livien. In fact there were no droids of any kind, except in the Ministry buildings, and the porter droids at the spaceport. The business suit and the blouses she would wear with it, would have to be cleaned by a professional, so they would need to be taken off planet to be cleaned. Except for the suit and blouses she would wear with it, all other garments should be washed at least five times before she left for Livien. Once she was used to hand washing, she could let the laundry staff finish washing them. Andriel told her that it was okay for her to wear her designer footwear, put she needed to limit herself to four pairs, to take with her. If she has Maylee make her some outfits, she should not make her any more than two, or the other ladies will get suspicious. Andriel than went on to tell her which farms produced the best consumables. Since they were starting to get together for community dances, when Andriel and Chitrah left. Andriel did not think she would have any trouble getting her hands on the good items. Andriel could not think of anything else she could pass along.

Princess Krinta thought that all of her ideas were good, and would help her in presenting the image she was looking for, to the people.

Andriel told her that it was okay for her to tell Maylee, that she is her friend.

The Princess was surprised, the only one she considered her friend was her aunt the Queen. She gave Andriel a hug and thanked her. This meant a lot to her.

Andriel asked her if she is still the same size as when she first saw her on Ranroon. The Princes said she is. Andriel went into the front room and came back with seven sets of undergarments. Handing them to Krinta.

"These should be your size, we can leave the workshop, since you should try one on right now, just to be sure."

Princess Krinta told them there was no need for them to leave. She has had staff dressing her and undressing her ever since she was a little girl. They can make themselves useful by helping her right now. So they helped the Princess.

Andriel's memory was very good, the undergarments fit her very well. Andriel told her that she would need to take these undergarments with her to Livien. Her personal ones were too nice. Since she would need to hang everything outside to dry, there is nothing hidden from the other people on Livien.

The Princess wanted to know the value of the undergarments. Andriel told her to consider it a gift to a friend.

The Princess started to complain, because all the information she had already given her was invaluable.

Andriel told her that if she wanted to repay her, than she needed to be nice to Maylee, because she also is her friend.

The Princess agreed and gave Andriel another hug.

Andriel asked one of the Togruta ladies to volunteer, and to go out front and pretend to be a prostitute. Go up to the driver of the vehicle that brought the Princess, and whisper to him, that she is supposed to direct him to the back entrance of the dress shop.

The Princess was surprised to hear that there is a back door, none of the reports mentioned it. They went into the backroom. While they waited, the Princess asked Andriel why her disguise.

Andriel reminded her about the Sith being responsible for her marriage to Chitrah, and how they had been keeping tabs on her. They very much want her to have a baby, and once she has a baby, they very much want to take it from her. She told the Princess that a Devaronian woman has not been seen on Lianna for months.

When they heard the vehicle in the back alley, Princess Krinta gave Andriel, two quick kisses on her cheeks goodbye, and left out the secret backdoor. At the same time they heard a banging on their front door. The ladies helped Andriel put her Togruta headpiece back on, and she went to the front door. Fortunately the Togruta woman who had gone out the front door, had locked it behind her. Andriel found the Twi'lek pimp banging on the front door, and he looked angry. Andriel unlocked the door and asked him how she could help him. He was so angry that he did not notice that this Togruta had no white markings on her face, and her lips were not grey. He complained that they were running prostitutes out of the dress shop. Andriel tried not to laugh. She told him, that what he saw, he was supposed to see. The truth was something different. He looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language. Andriel told him, that all of his girls are friends to the people working in the dress shop. They would not hurt their friends by stealing business away from them. This he understood. Andriel than told him, that if he ever called the Togruta woman a prostitute to her face, she would not hesitate to cut out a piece of his liver and eat it in front of him, while she waited for him to collapse and die, by loss of blood. Now the Twi'lek understood that the woman was only pretending. Something big must have just gone down in the dress shop, and he missed it. Because he thought they were running prostitutes. He could not believe how well they played him, and he had no clue what just went down. He definitely had to be more observant, when watching the dress shop.

Andriel went back into the workshop, and told the ladies who was banging on the front door, and why. They all laughed, and patted their companion on the back, congratulating her on how good an actor she is. Then they threatened to tell her husband how good an actor she is. She told them that if they did, she would cut off one of their head-tails while they slept. This made them all promise to keep her secret.

Nothing else happened until Shaak and her companions came back. From the number of Togruta that came back with them, everyone knew they had to get ready for a big wedding.

Shaak told Andriel about her trip to Shili. They had to take four different freighters to get there. There host clan was very nice to them, she was somehow related to them from her mother's side. They had to spend the first part of their stay, out hunting wild game. They were able to display an impressive number of furs, all killed and processed in a short time. This also gave them the opportunity to send gifts of meat, to neighbouring clans. This helped spread their reputation as being good hunters.

In Togruta society, good hunters meant good marriage material. Once they were sure their reputation was established, it was time to do a different type of hunting. They started hunting male groups of companions, to see if any of them were interested in them. Most of the men they hunted chased them away. They knew that if they took them as mates, they would have to leave Shili. The next month was very discouraging for the three ladies.

Finally they followed a group of companions that did not chase them away. They did not know if they were just teasing them, trying to show off, or if they were interested in them. They followed them for three days. Each day the men would show-off by going after something harder than the previous day. On the fourth day, the men behaved foolishly, they decided to go after an Akul. The fiercest predator on Shili. This orange-furred four footed creature was not afraid of Togruta, and would even attack villages it felt was in its territory. If it was able to lock its jaws on you, you were dead. The men knew of one that had a den about half a day's walk from their village. This Akul already had a reputation of being a Togruta killer, a few groups of companions had gone before them and never returned. It was not hard to find its tracks and follow them back to its den. The three men slipped down into its den, cornering the creature. Togruta pride would not allow them to attack the creature as one unit. They would have to try as individuals to slay the beast. Shaak, Shaas, and Bandaa, watched from the entrance to the den. The first companion made his approach to the beast. It was like the Akul could anticipate his moves. It was able to rip him open with one swipe of his front paw. His companions sprang forward and were able to drag him a safe distance away, before the Akul could get its jaws on him. Another companion approached the Akul. Again the Akul was able to anticipate his moves, and rip him open. Again the healthy companion was able to spring forward and snatch him out of the Akul's jaws. He dragged him to be with the first injured companion. The third companion was not sure what he should do. He had forgotten that they had followed them. He knew if he attacked the Akul and failed. They were all dead. If he left his companions to seek help, they would surely be dead when he returned.

Just than Shaak called out to him. He was very glad to hear her voice. She asked him, if she was able to kill this Akul, would he and his companions agree to take them as their mates. The male Togruta did not hesitate. He accepted her proposal. If she was successful, she would be very well respected on Shili, and it would be a great honour to be mated to her, or to one of her companions. It would be worth it, even if they had to leave Shili. If she failed, at least there would be three healthy Togruta to drag the three injured Togruta back to the village.

Shaak and her companions, slipped down into the den. Shaak reasoned that the Akul had killed enough Togruta to know how the Togruta move when they attack. Something they were all taught when they were young. She also remembered how when she practised with Andriel and Chitrah, they moved differently enough to through her off. She had to attack this Akul, not like Shaak, but like Andriel. She approached the Akul like the men had. When she made her move, she altered her attack enough that she was not where the Akul expected her to be. She was able to slide under the paw, and jab her spear into the creature's heart, killing it.

They saw that the Akul in its death throes, kicked Shaak with one of its hind feet. What no-one noticed was that its claws were extended when it did. It had actually pierced her side. Shaak herself thought that she was going to have a bad bruise in the morning. Between the four of them they were able to quickly build two stretchers. On one they would drag the two injured men back to the village, on the other they would drag the dead body of the Akul.

Two of them pulling each stretcher. Shaak and Bandaa were dragging her kill. None of them noticed Shaak's outfit on her injured side, showing more and more blood on her outfit. Because that side was away from them.

It was only when Shaak finally collapsed, as they reached the village, that they knew something was wrong. The village shaman and his wife treated Shaak first, as they determined her injuries were the most severe. They were amazed that Shaak did not notice the blood running down her side, and down her leg. Later she told them that she thought it was sweat from the exertion of dragging the Akul on the stretcher.

When the two men recovered enough, to hear about the agreement their companion made on their behalf, they ratified the agreement. The hard part would be deciding which woman they would take as their mate. The shaman was glad he had put the injured men in a different building than Shaak. There discussions were very personal, and should not be overheard by the prospective brides. At least one of them was smart enough to ask the shaman's wife if she could find out from the woman if they had any preference concerning the men. Rather than asking them that, since they would all say they had no preference. She took each one aside, and asked them how they would describe each of the men. She then went to the young men and told them how each woman described them, but would not give the woman's name, instead she gave them the name of an animal in their place. To the men, they felt from the descriptions, that the women did indeed have a preference. They were more open in their discussions after that. It turned out that they also had preferences among the three companions, but were afraid to reveal this since one of the other men might prefer that woman. When they finally became honest with one another, they were amazed that they all preferred someone different. They asked for the shaman's wife to come back, and asked if she would confirm the identities of the animals if they guessed correctly. They named each animal, then they named the person the animal represented. She did not say anything until they had named all three women. Then she smiled and told them they were correct. She left happy, knowing there was going to be three good marriages. The partners were well matched.

She went and told the parents of each man, how she had helped them decide who their young men would mate with. But she did not reveal their choices. That was up to the young men. The parents were satisfied that their sons had made good choices, and started making preparations for the engagement party, where the choices would be revealed.

Since Shaak was too injured to deal with the dead Akul. Her companions looked after it for her. The hide would be her cape on her wedding day. After they removed all the teeth from its jaws, they were able to find many volunteers to drill holes into them so that they could make a necklace for her from them. So everyone would know it was she who had killed the beast. When they removed all the claws, they gave them to artisans who would make jewellery from them, for them to wear at their engagement party and wedding. They prepared the meat and made sure they sent portions to all the right people.

First they sent a portion to the shaman and his wife, for treating the injured. Then they sent portions to each of the parents of the young men, because it was with the death of this creature, with which they had purchased the right to marry their sons. Then they sent portions to the head of the village and his companions, because they would be hosting the engagement party. Then they sent portions to the clan that had first accepted them, when they came to Shili. Then they burnt all that remained to a powder, and went outside the village to scatter the ashes. In its death it would help to support new life.

Everyone in the village was pleased, that the women who were not from Shili, had not forgotten its traditions. They respected them even more. They even received word, that some of the young men that had turned them away, now regret their decisions. The women are more honourable then they first thought. On the night of the engagement party. It started with Shaak's companions placing the necklace of Akul teeth around her neck. Then the three men took the jewellery that had been prepared for the women, and each man presented it to the woman he had chosen to be his bride. Then the party started. While the food was being served, the three brides to be got up and danced for the man that had chosen them. Not to be outdone the young men got up and danced for the woman they had chosen. Then the mothers of the young men got up and danced for their husbands. When they finished the husbands got up and danced for their wives. After that anyone could get up and dance for whoever they wanted. Whoever was danced for was required to return the dance. There was good feasting, good music, good singing, and good dancing. Near the end of the festivities, all the single ladies were asked to come up and dance for the engaged couples. Then all the single young men were invited to dance. Then the three couples got up and danced together for the single people, a way of blessing them, so that they too might find their life's mate.

After the engagement party, preparations were started for the trip back to Lianna. The young men had to decide which of their possessions they would be taking with them. None of them were counting on ever returning. The parents of the young men, wanted to be there for the wedding. One of the young men had a young sister, she was still too young to find her own companions, so her parents were still her companions, so she had to come along.

Shaak and her companions, sold half of their furs, to help cover the cost of their return trip. The rest they planned on taking back to Lianna. When they found a freighter to take them. They booked three cabins. One for each of the families. They all slept on the floor of their cabins. The parents of the groom sleeping between the bride and groom to be. They let the crew know that for manoeuvres, they would stay secured in their cabins. For the jumps to and from hyperspace, they would sit two people to a chair. The men would sit down first with their women on their lap, and the straps around both of them. The exception was the daughter who sat on her mother's lap who was sitting on her husband's lap. The freighter's crew knew not to argue with Togruta, and were surprised that there were no injuries. Each freighter's crew after that was easier to convince, since they had already survived the previous trips unharmed. That was how they made it back to Lianna.

Now they had three wedding dresses to design and make. Andriel also needed to design and make a dress for herself, to wear to the wedding. Andriel asked Chitrah if he could help by building a computer for Shaak that was just like hers. Then he could scan the images of the three companions into her computer. This would help her with the designs, since she was so used to using Andriel's computer.

Every courtesy was extended to the young men and their families. They were taken to the dress shop to witness the young ladies at work. They were impressed to find that Shaak is a part owner of the profitable business, and to learn of the clan's investment in the business. They admired the work done by the Togruta men in the building of all the furnishings, and there functionality. The mothers all wanted to come back and talk to the young ladies about some of the things they saw in the shop, things for women not found on Shili. They knew from their village shaman and his wife, that the young ladies wore these things. Since they had to undress Shaak to treat her. Even though they had to burn all her garments because they were covered in blood, she still managed to find and wear undergarments while she was still in their care. Here in the dress shop they found drawers full of the garments the shaman and his wife described. They wanted to understand their purpose. They were also curious about the fourth Togruta. The one everyone called the special Togruta. She had no companions, yet everyone seemed a companion to her. These Lianna Togruta were certainly an interesting bunch.

When they first saw the human female living in the Togruta enclave, they thought at first she was a slave. But you do not name a slave Bacgruta. They found out that she was free to do whatever she wanted, and what she did most was help. They were taken to see the meat plant were most of the men worked, and saw that the Togruta men had set themselves up, to have a readily available supply of fresh meat. The elders of the clan were very intelligent, in how they organised a comfortable life for their people.

They were invited to join some clan members in a business venture. They are called exterminators. Individuals and corporations would regularly hire them to rid their buildings of rats. The guests greatly enjoyed hunting down these rodents. When they caught one, they would bite off its head and drink its blood. It was not as much fun as hunting small thimiar rodents in the grasslands of Shili, and they weren't allowed to eat the bodies, as they were presented as proof of what they have done. They found it amusing that the clan was being paid credits, for its clan members to have fun. What an interesting world.

The Togruta elders took them to visit with their friends the Nautolans. The visitors were given the window seats on the shuttle hop. And they enjoyed the Nautolan's hospitality. They saw how much the Nautolan's thought of their friendship with the Togruta. When the Nautolan elders found out that they had come to Lianna for a wedding. They insisted that their people be given the privilege of serving the Togruta clan, during the wedding feast, so none of the Togruta had to miss out on their festivities. They would even bring some of their favourite dishes. The Togruta enjoyed whenever they came to their enclave for a visit. The Togruta elders were honour with their request, but left the decision up to the visiting families, as it is their sons that were to be married. The families were honoured with being given the privilege of making the decision. Since they had been received so warmly by the Nautolans, and they could see that they were good friends with the Togruta, they had no objection to the Nautolans acting as servers at the wedding feast.

They did find it curious that the same blue man who regularly walked through the Togruta enclave, and was treated with respect by the Togruta, was also seen for a short time talking with some Nautolan elders, and was also shown great respect by the Nautolan people. After returning to the Togruta enclave, the visiting families were satisfied that their sons would have a good life here on Lianna.

When they returned to Shili, they would have to thank the clan that originally hosted the young ladies. They made a wise decision in welcoming them, and they would want to know how they lived on Lianna. This would make it easier in the future, for other companions from Lianna, to come to Shili, to look for mates.

The mothers of the young men enjoyed watching the Togruta women working on the large loom in the common room. They finally got up the courage to ask of them a favour. They asked if the women could weave a cape for each one of them to wear for the wedding, with the symbols of their clan in the design of the cape. The Togruta women felt honoured to be asked, and did not hesitate to agree. After the visitors left, the ladies had a conference at the loom. They agreed to ask for Andriel's help to come up with a design, and to explain the adjustments they would need to make with the loom. They could not ask Andriel to do the weaving, since they felt honour bound to do it themselves. Three of them departed for the dress shop, while the lady presently working on the loom, knew that she needed to complete her work. So that when the three came back they could set up the loom for this new project.

All the preparations for the wedding were going smoothly. It seemed like every contingency was covered, until the unexpected happened.

Andriel woke Chitrah up in the middle of the night. She told him that her water broke, the baby is coming. He should call the midwife from the Togruta enclave, and stay there. He needed to send Shaak and her companions to her, so that she could look like a Togruta, before the midwife came.

Chitrah dressed as fast as he could. He wanted to stay with his wife, during this difficult time. But they did not want the midwife identifying him as the child's father. He did as instructed.

The enclave was dark, and Chitrah wore a hooded cloak. There was not enough light coming off the communicator, for the midwife to recognise him. Even though she was used to being woken in the middle of the night, it still was not easy. The man calling said he was calling on Andriel's behalf. Her water has broken, the baby is on its way.

The midwife knew from the contact number, that the man was calling from the Togruta enclave, but he himself is not Togruta. She would have seen his horns under his hood. She wanted to ask him some questions, but he terminated the call. Maybe he was afraid the Togruta would find him. After terminating the call Chitrah removed his hood and went to the area of the enclave where Shaak and her family, and their companions and their families lived. He knew he would be waking up their guests, but it could not be helped. He knocked on the outside door loud enough, so the people inside could hear him. He hoped he wasn't waking the whole enclave.

Shaak's father came to the door. He recognised Chitrah immediately. Chitrah saw a lot of Togruta heads sticking through doorways wondering what is going on.

Chitrah told him, "It's Andriel, she's having the baby." Immediately three heads pop back from their doorway and they closed the door. Shaak's father offered Chitrah to step into the courtyard, and to seat himself. The wives of his companions got up to prepare some tea and a bite to eat, it was going to be a long night. Shortly Shaak, Shaas, and Bandaa, came out of their rooms fully dressed. They rushed past Chitrah, out the door he came in, they had to go help their good friend.

The visitors asked, what was going on? Why had this blue man disturbed them in the middle of the night? They were told that both he and his wife are special friends of the Lianna Togruta. They did not need to trouble themselves, they could go back to bed. If they still had questions, they would be answered in the morning.

The young girl wanted to run after Shaak and her companions, she had really become attached to the young lady who was going to become her new sister-in-law, and her companions, on the trip back to Lianna. She thought they were the bravest women she had ever met. Her parents had to hold her back, they actually wanted to let her go. They knew that she could find out better than they could, what was going on. But they sensed this was a local Togruta matter, they needed to be good guests. They went back to their sleeping blankets. They placed their inquisitive daughter between them and lay back down to go back to bed. The daughter knew that it was a special thing for her to be allowed to sleep between them. She tried calming down. She did not want to dishonour her parents, or the special privilege they had just given her. In a short time they were all fast asleep. To the young girl, the time before falling asleep seemed like an eternity.

Heshaak, Beshaas, Hendaa, and their wives all sat with Chitrah. After Chitrah described to them what state he had left Andriel in, no-one spoke. They all sipped their tea and munched on the treats the women had prepared. That just sat and waited, hoping for good news to come back with the young ladies.

Chitrah had left the door to Andriel's apartment open, so the three ladies did not hesitate to enter. Andriel was happy that they showed up so quickly. They helped her with the head piece and the facial makeup. They then tried rearranging the bed, and making sure that all evidence of Chitrah living there was removed. They had placed some water on the stove to boil. They wanted to make some nice soothing tea for everyone. They figured the midwife would welcome a nice cup of tea when she came. No-one could predict how long it would take for the baby to come out. Now that it had their attention. It could come out before the midwife arrived, or it could be dramatic, and drag out its arrival by more than a day. It was up to the little one to decide how eager it really was to come out into the world.

When the midwife did come, she was surprised to see the three companions in the apartment. She thought the local Togruta clan tolerated this Togruta prostitute, not supported her. She was happy for the cup of tea, she was also happy for their help, it would make her job easier. She checked Andriel's place of secrets, and she asked Andriel how long has it been since the water broke. She asked if Andriel was feeling any contractions, and what was the time between contractions? After she was told all that she asked for. She told the ladies that the baby is in its proper position. From what she has seen, and from what they told her she expected the baby to be out within the hour. She positioned Shaak to sit behind Andriel, to support her, and this way Andriel could hold onto her hands when she had contractions. Her companions positioned the pillows behind Shaak to make her comfortable. One of them even brought a cushion from a couch. The midwife knew Andriel did not have a couch, but she did not ask her where she got it from. They were Togruta, they probably entered one of the apartments next door to this one, and helped themselves to whatever they thought they would need. At least they would put it back, when they did not need it anymore, so there would be no bad blood between neighbours. After she finished her tea, she checked Andriel. Things were going just like she expected. One of the companions asked if she would like another cup of tea. She agreed, why not, she had time. When the baby finally decided to make an appearance, the midwife started to panic.

Between clinched teeth Andriel asked her what was wrong. She said the baby's head was purple, for Togruta that meant the baby was not getting enough oxygen. But the umbilical was not wrapped around its neck. Andriel told her not to panic, the baby's father has blue skin. The midwife did settle down, she also knew that the father was not Togruta.

After the baby was all the way out, the midwife told Andriel she had a son, she clamped off the umbilical cord and cut it. She then wiped the baby down with a towel that she had sprinkled some salt on it, to help clean the baby. She handed the crying baby to its mother so that she could feed it. This first feeding is so important for the baby. There were special nutrients stored in the mother's milk that the baby could only get on its first feeding. The way the baby nursed was also a good indicator of its health. If it was oxygen deprived, it might not have the strength to feed. Mind you oxygen deprived babies don't cry with the gusto that this one did. The baby had no problems latching onto the nipple at the top of the mountain. He was a hungry little fellow. The midwife was happy to see the baby so healthy. She then delivered the after birth, she handed it to a companion to look after it. She could not remember if the Togruta women ate their after birth, to reabsorb some of the vital nutrients in it. She also wondered why it was so much darker than any she had seen before. Was this what happened when a spice addict, stopped using spice? She then was handed a warm wet towel to wash Andriel in her secret place, and covered her up.

Now came the paperwork. Andriel had told her she needed a copy, because sometimes she traveled, and would need to take the baby with her. The midwife wondered if she might be one of those high paid escorts. She shook that thought out of her head and continued with the paper work. When it came to the father, she already knew he is blue. She was surprised when Andriel did give her the first name of the father, "Chitrah!" What type of name was that? She would not give the last name of the father, either she did not know, or she was hiding it. When it came to species, Andriel told her that the father is a Twi'lek. The companions all giggled, the midwife snorted, it figures, he is blue, and probably is her pimp.

She asked, if Andriel had decided on a name for her son? She had not decided yet. She was sure that she would have a name before the end of the day. The midwife asked her to call her as soon as she had a name, she did not need to file out the paperwork until the next day. She left her a copy so that she could upgrade her travel id to include the baby, she told her it was okay if she wrote in the baby's name on her copy herself.

After she left, the companions made Andriel another cup of tea. They asked Andriel if she had considered a name for the baby. She said they hadn't. Up until now, they did not know whether it would be a girl or a boy. They were told that their baby would be a healer, so that might help them decide on a name. The three companions left after adjusting the pillows on her bed, the baby was contently sleeping with his head between her two mountains. They ran back to the enclave, each one wanting to be the first one to tell everyone the good news. They burst through the door together, and announced, "It's a boy!" Then they giggled and said that Chitrah is now a Twi'lek. Chitrah did not wait to hear the explanation, he was racing out the door to see his wife and his son. Shaak and her companions described everything that happened, including what Andriel had the midwife write on the form. They were truly amazed that the midwife was not able to figure out that Andriel was not a Togruta, after being so close, to a very personal place. They told them they heard her mumbling something about Andriel being a Togruta prostitute, and the father being her Twi'lek pimp. They all wanted to laugh, but Shaak's father quieted them down. He reminded them that they had guests, and there was still a few hours before they needed to get up. They all took the hint and retired to their rooms for some shuteye.

Chitrah quietly walked into Andriel's apartment. He found her resting, being propped up by their pillows, with their son sleeping between her mountains. He saw that his son is a smart little boy. He was sleeping between his food source, and he had found a warm place where he could listen to the familiar sound of his mother's heartbeat. Chitrah just stood in the doorway to the bedroom. He was afraid to enter and disturb their rest. Next to his wedding night, this was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Suddenly Andriel spoke up without opening her eyes. "What are we going to name or son, the healer?"

Chitrah walked over and kissed his wife on her Togruta lips. The Chagrian name for healer is Krillgan. Andriel thought about that for a while. She said that in the early history of her people, there were people who were considered both clanless, yet being part of every clan. They were called Krillgan, the righter of wrongs. If one clan dealt unjustly with another clan, they would set things right. Including executing any individuals they thought were at fault, even if it was the head of the clan. They were both loved, and feared, by everyone. It was said they brought healing to the communities. I guess you could call them healers. It is not a name given lightly to a child.

Chitrah told her, that the only name he could think of in Chagrian, for the righter of wrongs, was Jedi. Andriel opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Do you think he will be a Jedi?"

"No. Neither do I think he will be a Sith. But I do think he will be a Krillgan!"

Andriel smiled at him, then patted the bed beside her. "Come, you need to get some rest. I think Krillgan is going to set his own schedule, for eating and sleeping for the next few days, and we need to adjust to his schedule."

Chitrah called in sick to the Ministry. They could see the dark circles under his eyes, and told him to take a couple of days to rest. Chitrah did most of the housework. While Andriel concentrated on looking after Krillgan. The only time she left her apartment was to call the midwife to give her Krillgan's name. So she wrote Krillgan Mirranna on her papers, since she assumed Andriel would have the baby use her last name.

When the Togruta heard the baby's name they threw an impromptu party, in honour of the new arrival. Shaak passed along some skins that Andriel can use as diapers for the baby while it is still young. They were very soft, very absorbent, and easy to clean. Andriel thanked her, she really needed it right now.

The visitors still had trouble figuring everything out. They knew the blue guy was married to a Devaronian, who just gave birth to a baby boy. Yet the Togruta treated the one they called the special Togruta, as if she had just given birth, and were throwing a party in the baby's honour. They hoped this would not interfere with the preparations for the wedding.

Later that afternoon, Shaak and her companions collected some treats to share with Andriel and Chitrah, from the party held in their son Krillgan's honour. The soon to be sister-in-law went with them. She recognised the blue man as the one who woke them up. They told her that he is a special type of Chagrian. The type that did not have horns. She had never seen a Chagrian before, so she did not know there could be more than one type. He let them go straight back to the bedroom. Krillgan was sleeping on the bed beside his mother with his new diaper on.

The young girl had never met a Devaronian before. She asked Andriel if it hurt. Andriel was puzzled, she asked her if what hurt. She asked if it hurt when they cut off her horns and head-tails. This made everyone laugh.

She said that someone said he is a Twi'lek, pointing at Chitrah. But he has no head-tails, so now he is called Chagrian, but without horns. She looks like she is Togruta, but with her horns and head-tails cut off, so they call her Devaronian. Suddenly the adults could understand the girl's confusion.

Andriel asked her to gently run her fingers along her arm. She did as she was told. Andriel asked her what she was feeling. She said it felt funny, almost like it is short fur. Andriel told her it is fur. Devaronians are born without head-tails, but they are born with fur. That's the way things are.

"You may be Devaronian, but you are nice like a Togruta."

Andriel thanked her for the compliment. Just then Chitrah came into the bedroom with a cup of tea for everyone, and a large plate with all the sweet treats. He rested the tray on Andriel's lap, and went and found chairs for everyone.

The girl ended up sitting between Shaak and Chitrah. Suddenly she reached out and gently touched Chitrah's arm. She looked disappointed, "You don't have fur."

Chitrah replied, "No fur, no horns, and no head-tails, just blue skin. I missed out on all the good stuff."

She gently patted his hand, "That's alright. You still have a good heart. That is what is important."

Shaak gave her a nice squeeze, "You're a very smart girl."

The girl beamed at having received such a nice compliment from the Akul Killer.

Before leaving, the three companions asked Andriel if she was going to be able to make it to the wedding. Andriel told them to make sure her dress is ready, and she would be there. The next day they delivered her completed dress.

On the day of the wedding everyone was understandably excited. The three brides and the three grooms were nervous. The girl kept going to each of them, telling them how excited she is, and every one of them would give her a hug. The three mothers approached the women at the loom and asked if their capes were ready. The women asked if it was okay if they made them cloaks instead of capes. The women were delighted, cloaks are much harder to make, and more versatile. They were told that they have four cloaks ready for them. The puzzled ladies said there were only three of them. The weavers said they understood there are four ladies who came back with the brides from Shili, and the brides would be very disappointed if the youngest lady wasn't standing with them. The mother of the girl had tears in her eyes, she thanked them for reminding them what was important. When the weavers handed over the cloaks. The women were astounded, they had never seen anything of this quality on Shili. The symbols did not stand out, yet were clearly seen as part of the design. They noticed that each one was slightly different, so there would not be any mix-ups later. The one they made for the girl was so cute, that the other mothers wished they had little girls. It was going to be a pleasure standing up in front of this community, as part of the bridal party.

The Nautolans started arriving, many of them bringing containers of food. It seemed like at least a third of the Nautolan clan had come to assist in the wedding. Some of the Nautolan men took up positions at all the entrances to the enclave.

What was unexpected, was that the local human population had heard about the wedding. They had learnt from previous festivals that they were welcome to come, and bring their children along. There were no parks, or any designated areas that were safe for children to play, south of the equator. But coming to a Togruta festival is a safe place to bring children, and the only time that their children could play with so many others. They just assumed that a wedding feast was just another type of festival. The human parents were surprised to encounter Nautolans. The Nautolan men were equally surprised to see the young human families. When the humans explained that they just wanted to enjoy the celebration. The Nautolan men smiled and said any friends of the Togruta were welcome.

The fathers of the grooms questioned an elder about the presence of the humans. The elder told them that this planet was not like Shili, were any child felt safe to play anywhere in the village. These humans have no safe place for their children to play. They have learnt that in our celebrations, we value the presence of children, and this enclave is a safe place for their children to play. They must have heard about the wedding, and they have brought their children here to play. The fathers of the grooms acknowledged that children playing during a celebration was a blessing. If the humans wanted to bless them with their children, they were welcome. The Nautolans brought enough food with them, that food was not going to be a problem.

The father of the girl found her and her mother, so that his daughter would have a chance to greet some human children. When they approached the children they were happy to see some Togruta children playing in their midst. They told their daughter it is okay for her to go play with the other children. They will watch her, and call her when it is time to prepare for the wedding.

When the time came to get ready, the girl had burnt up a lot of the excited, nervous energy, she had in her all day. She would now be able to stand calmly with her parents, as a witness to her brother's wedding.

Andriel decided that she would come to the wedding as her Devaronian self. This was not a time to disguise herself.

The visiting families were surprised that Andriel and Chitrah were invited to be part of the brides' wedding party. They started asking each other if they knew why? The girl answered their question, by stating, "They were invited because in their hearts, they are Togruta." The adults were impressed with her straight forward answer.

The people in the wedding party were divided into four groups. You have the group of elders who were conducting the ceremony. Shaak's father was not allowed to stand with them, because his daughter was one of the brides. You had the brides wedding party that was made up of the families of the brides, and any special guests. Guests were an extreme rarity, so when someone was invited as a guest, the whole community noticed. At the beginning of the ceremony the brides would stand with their families. The next group was the families of the grooms. At the beginning of the ceremony, the grooms stood with their families. The final group would be the brides and grooms standing before the elders.

When the ceremony started the elders asked the grooms to step forward. They would then be instructed to find their brides. The brides would pretend to hide behind their families. The people would encourage the grooms to find a good wife. When they found their bride, she would at first resist following him. The people would then shout out that they have to show them that they love them, they had to give them a kiss. The groom would then kiss his bride on her cheek, and she would willingly follow him, and stand with him in front of the elders. The elders would then ask, who are the witnesses? The brides' party, and the grooms' party would then declare that they are the witnesses. After that, the ceremony would vary, depending on what the brides, grooms, and elders agreed upon.

After the ceremony. Only the bridal parties were allowed to feast. After the feasting the brides and grooms would retire to the bridal suites prepared for each of them. The witnesses and elders would wait outside the suites, it was during this time that the visitors from Shili, asked Shaak's father about Andriel and Chitrah.

He told them that Andriel had found them when they were isolated from everyone else. She found in Shaak a young lady who wanted to design her own clothes. Andriel is a Master Seamstress and Dress Designer. She invited Shaak to come with her to visit another people. This was frightening for Shaak to leave her companions, and follow this lady. Her companions and her, believed in their hearts that this woman was good and could be trusted. She took her to visit the Nautolans, and the friendship between our people was born. We no longer felt isolated, we felt empowered to be a great people.

Andriel would travel to other planets with her husband, because of his work. On one of those trips she found a good sewing machine, and started teaching Shaak how to sew, and how to design clothes. As elders we encouraged them to open their own business, and helped finance the business. Andriel found the loom that sits in our common room, her and her husband repaired it, than she taught all the women that wanted to learn how to use it, how to do so. You are wearing the evidence of her work. This convinced them that the girl had spoken truthfully about them, and were honoured that they were witnesses at the wedding.

After a period of time each couple would open the door to their bridle suite, and hand the virginity blanket to the bride's parents, who would hold it so all the witnesses could see. This was a moving time for all the married couples. The girl asked why all the adults were crying? Her parents told her it was because they were all happy, when her time came, she would understand.

The elders then went out to the waiting people. They announced that the brides and grooms were now husband and wife. It was time to celebrate. The noise of the people cheering, combine with the music starting, woke Krillgan up. The adult witnesses, except Chitrah, were startled to hear the sound of a baby crying coming from Andriel's dress. They had forgotten that she had given birth only a few days before.

The girl was giggling, because she had wondered where the baby was, and now she knew.

Andriel turned her back on everyone so she could reach into her dress and reposition Krillgan so he could start nursing. She had been expecting him to wake up at any moment anyway.

The next morning Andriel sent Chitrah back to work, it wasn't because she did not want him around. He was a big help to her these past few days. She reminded Chitrah that the last time he was sick, they had sent someone to check up on him. If they did that now, they would find out that they no longer live in their apartment in the 'Ambassador Apartments'. Chitrah knew Andriel was right, and contacted the Ministry to let them know he was back on the job.

After Krillgan was born, Chitrah puzzled over how he could initialize the flow of data, from the computers he modified, to the Ministry Computer, without going through the Ministry's computer. Every time he went through their computer, they knew where he was and what time he has there. If he wanted to keep working on computer systems, after severing contact with the Ministry (modifying computers paid better than his work as a cobbler), he needed to be invisible to them until after he was a safe distance away from the computer he modified.

Andriel rarely went to the dress shop after Krillgan was born. Her one big concern, was that she would react to anyone who threatened her, and accidentally injure Krillgan in the process. She was content to spend her time in the Togruta enclave, in the common room, watching the women working on the loom. The weavers liked that she was there. They could turn to her for help when things were not turning out as expected. Shaak did not mind. She knew where Andriel was, if she needed her, and her companions were now used to working with her. They could not sew as well as Shaak, but they could do enough without Shaak's supervision, that she was free to work on more than one project at a time. In fact Shaak had already talked to Andriel about buying another sewing machine. The business was doing well enough that they could afford to pay full price, and have all the warranties, and the free upgrade assistance. They already had a few inquiries about whether they were willing to take apprentices.

Andriel noticed that the human, Bacgruta, enjoyed watching the women weave. She asked her if she would like to learn how, herself. She said she would like to, but did not know if she could. Andriel told her to put her name on the list. When her turn came, Andriel would teach her the basics. Then they could tell if she had the necessary skills for the work. Bacgruta liked that idea, and signed up right away. She hoped to find one thing that she might be good at.

The Togruta were nice, and they liked her helping, wherever she could. She wanted to be more than just a helper. She wanted to find out if she had any skills that she could use to thank the Togrutas for rescuing her. It turned out she was a good pupil. Andriel enjoyed teaching her, and it did not take her too long before she was almost as good as the other weavers. Andriel believed that with enough practise she would be one of the best. Another thing she was good at was learning the Togruta dance moves for women. She did not know that learning the dance moves was the equivalent of learning the basics of self defense. Andriel could do the self defense part, but she was not good at stringing it all together as a dance. So Bacgruta would tutor Andriel in learning the dance moves, when they were not working together on the loom.

One day Bacgruta heard Andriel singing a lullaby for Krillgan, to help him fall asleep, this was her singing Togruta. She was never sure who it was, because when she was strapped to the bed, she could never see who was there with her. Tears came to her eyes, and when Andriel stopped, she went up to her and gently hugged her, thanking her for being her singing Togruta, telling her how much it meant to her, when she was in pain, strapped to the bed.

Andriel's eyes watered up when she realised how much help she was to this woman, when she really needed the help. Andriel told her that she had enjoyed her company when she would stop by the dress shop for tea. She knew she was special when the companions started becoming attached to her. She did what she could when she saw her hurting, and was happy to know that she actually did help. After that, the time Bacgruta spent tutoring Andriel in the Togruta dance moves, became even more special. She was helping someone who had been a big help for her. She enjoyed holding Krillgan when Andriel had to help a weaver. She became the babysitter when Andriel started doing her self-defence training with her husband again. At first she was the only one watching them, since Andriel was still out of shape (she would have been in worse shape if she had not started learning the dance moves). But as Andriel started improving, the Togruta started staying after their practise to watch, because Chitrah started taking her through more advanced moves, some of which were variations on the moves the Togruta practised. Chitrah was pleased to see that they started practising the variations, when he would work out with the men.

Andriel remembered her promise to Uleanna. She asked a special favour of Chitrah, she wanted to make a special self-defence vid and post it on a special site only Uleanna could access. She also put together a parcel of products a teenage girl on Eriadu would appreciate, but could not get herself. She also needed to figure out how to let her know she had a son.

Uleanna was surprised when the porter droid from the Eriadu City shuttle terminal, showed up with a parcel addressed for her. All previous parcels were addressed to Grandmother. She took it up to her room and opened it up. Her room was filled with fragrant smells right away. She found the note that said that it was okay to tell grandmother now. On the bottom of the note, was what looked like some sort of computer address, Aunt Andriel told her about. She ran downstairs and called grandmother. She told her that Aunt Andriel had sent it to her. Grandmother asked her, why she had done that? Everything that Andriel had sent them for the dress shop had been addressed to her. Uleanna told her that Aunt Andriel wanted them to know that she had a baby. Grandmother was good enough with the math to know that Andriel had to have been pregnant the whole time she was with them. She asked Uleanna if she knew, whether it was a girl or boy? Uleanna told her she did not know yet. She had only just opened the parcel, and found the note that said it was okay for her to tell grandmother. Grandmother asked her, if she knew that Andriel was pregnant? Uleanna told her she did. Grandmother asked her, how she knew? Uleanna told her that when she had her first moon cycle, she asked Aunt Andriel, why she never had one? Aunt Andriel made her figure it out. Then made her promise not to tell anyone until after the baby was born. "She said that she would send me a parcel, and from the parcel I would be able to figure out if it was a boy or girl." Grandmother told her that she better go figure it out. They both hurried back upstairs to check everything in the parcel. They opened up every packet and found wonderful items that could not be found on Eriadu. After they opened everything up. Grandmother said it must be a girl, because everything in the packets were for females, unless guys like washing with perfumed soaps. Uleanna laughed and started to agree with grandmother, until she finally noticed the wrapping paper. She started bouncing up and down in excitement and told grandmother it is a boy. Grandmother asked her how she figured that out. She told grandmother that everything in the packets were for her, and she gave enough of some items that she could share. Grandmother was happy to hear that, because she was hoping Uleanna would let her have one of the fragrant pieces of soap. Uleanna had wondered why everything was wrapped in paper that you would wrap presents for a boy in. This must be Andriel's way of letting her know it was a boy. Grandmother was proud of her for figuring it out, Uleanna had done a better job of figuring it out, than she did.

Grandmother sent Uleanna to call all the elders to a meeting at the dress shop. She told Uleanna that she had to be there. Matrucy came with her mother when she found out that Uleanna had to be at the meeting. When all the elders were there, grandmother told them that Andriel had sent a parcel to Uleanna, so that they could know that the clan owes her no debt for what she did for them, during the time that she was there. The elders could not believe what grandmother had just told them. How could there be no debt, when Andriel had taken them single handed, from being a scattered and broken people, barely surviving, to a healthy, prosperous, unified clan? Grandmother asked Uleanna to tell them what she was able to figure out from the parcel. "Aunt Andriel has just given birth to a son." Grandmother said two words after that, "Fair Trade!"

The anniversary of their marriage on Deysum III was approaching. Though they did not celebrate it, it was important to them, because it meant that the Sith would soon be coming for a visit. Chitrah sterilized their apartment in the 'Ambassador Apartments' building. He reset the apartment's computer to how it was when they first moved in. He scrubbed its memory of everything inputted and recorded after they moved in. He recorded noise over all the memory, then deleted that, in case someone tried to do a forensic recovery of its memory. Then he slipped all the access information under the door of the office when it was closed, as well as giving them their one month's notice, to termite their occupancy of the apartment.

Andriel had let him know that they were paid up to that date. She had also notified the utility companies that payment of the utilities would be going back to the company that owned the apartment on that date. She even closed the first account they had opened together on Chalacta, the one the Imperials knew about. What they did not know was that she had opened a number of other accounts, all under the minimum number of credits that the account could hold, without the Imperials being notified of its existence.

Just before the anniversary date, the Ministry sent Chitrah to another planet for assignments. Chitrah had figured out how to use his computer to emulate the Ministry's computer, for the initial, handshake protocol. The modified computer would then start sending data to the Ministry's computer. Chitrah knew the Ministry's computer would accept the data stream even though it had no memory of doing the handshake protocol. He tried it on the last three computers he modified. It worked. Now he would be invisible to the Ministry's computers.

When the Sith showed up at Andriel and Chitrah's apartment, he was disappointed when the apartment's computer informed him that no-one is there. He came back two more times, getting the same message each time. On the third day he went to the apartment building's office and demanded that they let him in.

The management unlocked the door to a vacant apartment. When the management went through the apartment, he asked the Sith to thank them when he sees them next. They did a very good job of cleaning the apartment before vacating it. The Sith asked if they knew that they were leaving. He was told that there was less than half a month left on the rental agreement. But now that they know it's vacant they can start renting it out right away. He asked if they had left a forwarding address. Management told him that when Ministry employees leave, anything sent to the apartment gets forwarded to the Ministry, automatically.

The Sith asked for the computer's memory. The Ministry official with him nodded his affirmation, the manager opened the computer and pulled the chip, he knew they were not going to pay for it, but he had a lot of replacements in the office.

When Chitrah arrived back on Lianna, Andriel took him and Krillgan, to get their regular ids updated. So that Krillgan would be on it. They went to the planetary defense office nearest the dress shop. When she handed the officer the legal document she received from the midwife, the officer looked confused. The document said the mother was a Togruta. Krillgan started fussing at that moment so Andriel started nursing him. Her outfit had what looked like a semi-cloak, so Krillgan was not visible. Still it made the officer nervous. At least he knew she is his mother. Andriel pointed out that Chitrah is not a Twi'lek. She thinks the midwife got her alien species confused.

The officer saw the code beside both Andriel, and Chitrah's names, on his data base. They must have friends in high places. He knew he had to give them the utmost cooperation. So he issued them both new ID's with Krillgan denoted as the accompanying child.

Before he could take their old id's from them, he was called to assist in subduing a thief who was also a spice addict. It took six of them to finally restrain the addict. In the commotion, Andriel and Chitrah, believed they were finished, and left. They now possessed three sets of ids each. By the time the proper restraints were found and placed on the individual. The officer who had issued new ids to Andriel and Chitrah, forgot what he was doing, and did not enter the new ids in the system. He closed their files, and proceeded to help the next person who was waiting for assistance.

The Sith took the memory chip to the tech lab for analysis. He told them it was their number one priority. He wanted to know everything that was on the chip. The technicians applied every technique they could think of, to try and resurrect something from the memory. At the end of the day, they were only able to provide the Sith with, the manufacturer, the date it was manufactured, and its product code. All they found on the chip was noise.

The Sith marched upstairs, and grabbed the official that supervised Chitrah's work by the throat. He asked him if he was sure Chitrah had called in after arriving back on Lianna. The official managed a strangled yes. The official working next to him suggested to the Sith that Chitrah may have actually called from the spaceport, just before he hopped on to a freighter. Being tech savvy, he may have routed the signal through the system in such a way, that it appeared to the official that the call originated on Lianna's surface. The Sith relaxed his hold, the second official had a point. He told the first official that he had better find a record of the call, in communications in the morning (the communications offices were already closed), or he would be back to deal with the official.

After the Sith left, the second official asked the first official, why he just stuck his neck out for the contractor. The first official told him that Chitrah had given him some advice, that not only saved his marriage, but he now had a relationship with his wife that they had both thought only happened in stories. The second official was really interested in hearing this advice. His relationship with his wife wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything else either. The first official suggested they share a drink before going home, and he would tell him all about it.

Later that evening when the first official arrived home. He told his wife about what happened that day at work. How the Sith were looking for the contractor that gave him the advice that saved their marriage. He had told the Sith that the contractor called him when he arrived back on Lianna. The truth is that he cannot remember. If the Sith cannot find any record of it, when they check with communications in the morning. Then she will be in the market, looking for a new husband.

Even though he was being cavalier for her sake, she knew he was very serious. She asked him the date that this contact was supposed to take place? He told her the date, even though he could not see how it would help the situation. She kissed him on the forehead, and told him not to worry about it. She was sure that everything was going to turn out all right.

She then went and contacted her friend who worked in communications. She needed to come over to her place and talk to her right away. It was a good thing her friend lived nearby. She went over and shared everything her husband had told her. His life really was on the line. She needed her to erase all records from that day. Her friend understood why he did what he did. Their lives really had changed since the contractor shared his advice. She told her friend she would do it.

The next morning the friend arrived early to work, and issued a general erasure of the records for the date she was told.

Just after the computer confirmed the erasure. The Sith Master and his apprentice, entered the office of communications. The apprentice had informed his master of everything he had done the previous day. They were now here to find out if the official lied to the apprentice. The Sith Master asked the lady who just erased the record if she could call up the records for that day. She went on her computer and asked it to show the record for that day. The computer informed them that there are no records from that day. The Sith Master asked why there were now records from that day. She said she did not know, but would try to find out, and started typing on her computer.

The head of the department overheard everything between that Sith Master, and his favourite official. He hated the Sith, and accessed her computer to see if he could help her. No wonder she could not find any records, she had just finished erasing them earlier. He quickly manufactured a fake document. He took it to the Sith, and told them that the reason there was no record, was because security was checking if there were any breaches in their firewall. Security had noticed a number of attempted breaches on previous days, and they wanted to be sure that the system is still secure. They do not have a backup system, so when security checks the firewall, they cannot record call data.

The two Sith discussed the situation. Apparently they believed that Chitrah manufactured the attempted breaches. He knew Ministry procedures. By forcing security to verify the integrity of the firewall, he knew any incoming call would have no information recorded with it. So they now had no way of finding out where the call originated. They both turned and left the main office.

The department head, asked the official to come into his private office. When the door was closed, he chewed her out, for her sloppy work. He then told her how to cover her tracks, and to make sure the fake document was recorded as authentic.

She was quite shocked that he was not chewing her out for erasing the records to begin with. Since he obviously knew she did it. Just before she left, he told her that she did not have to worry about them going to security. They keep poor records, and rely on their records as being accurate.

As she was walking back to her desk, she wondered why her boss was still single, he was obviously a nice guy. She wandered if it was okay for her to invite him out for dinner, to thank him for his help?

A few days after Chitrah arrived back on Lianna, he was back on a freighter heading to another planet. He and Andriel decided that the best thing he could do, was to confuse the Sith as to his whereabouts. What he would try to do, is do one job on a planet. Collect payment, than fly off to another planet, for another job. He needed to convince the proprietor to let him work through the night to finish the job as soon as possible, that would keep him from having to take a room at a hotel, where the Sith would have a record of his stay. He would then try to get a flight by offering his computer maintenance service to a freighter's captain, in exchange for a trip to the next planet. This would eliminate any record of him catching a flight.

It would be most advantageous, if he could find freighters were the captain was the only crewmember. They were usually looking for company, so would be more willing to accept the offer. This way Chitrah can catch up on his sleep, while traveling to the next planet.

Chitrah was able to move around like this, for over two months, before heading back to Lianna. He had modified a computer on nearly every planet, controlled by the Sith Empire in that sector. Then for the next few months he kept a low profile on Lianna, doing his cobbler's work.

Word arrived at the Ministry on Lianna that a computer on one of the planets they controlled was suddenly transmitting data, and no-one had been assigned to integrate that computer. The Sith who had been eavesdropping, thought they caught a break. They made arrangements to go to that planet right away. Before they departed, word had come in from a couple more planets, that computers were suddenly transmitting data. When they arrived on the world that had first contacted the Ministry on Lianna, the Sith found out that more than half a dozen worlds were now reporting the same thing. They went to the business where the computer was modified, and talked with the owner. The owner gave a good description of the blue man who did the modification. He had high praise for the professionalism of the worker. He wished everyone at the Ministry was as nice to deal with.

The Sith contacted the Interior Ministry on Lianna. They insisted that high priority be given to investigate every computer that had suddenly started transmitting data. They wanted to try and establish a timeline for when the work was done, to see if they could identify any pattern that might indicate Chitrah's whereabouts. They also asked them to access the passenger logs from all of the freight companies.

Establishing a timeline was harder than you would think. Each planet orbited its sun for a different length of time to make up one year. So each planet had a different calendar, and the length of day was also different. It was only the spaceports that kept a universal time, the length of their day, and the calendar they used, was set by the length of day and calendar year on Dromund Kaas.

The interior Ministry did not like that they would be losing valuable production time from their technical employees. But because three Ministries were now involved in trying to find Chitrah and his wife, they were forced to comply with the request.

The first Ministry involved in locating Chitrah was the Interior Ministry. He was a contractor that they had lost control of, and the Interior Ministry was all about control. As time went on and the Interior Ministry noticed that Chitrah was still doing work for them, and was working on the computers that would have been very difficult for any of their other contractors. The urgency to find Chitrah diminished.

The Sith were very interested in finding Andriel and Chitrah, since they believed that Andriel was pregnant, and that is why they disappeared.

Interior Ministry Security had to report to Imperial Intelligence, that Chitrah had been able to get into their computer undetected. The counter-intelligence wing of Imperial Intelligence wanted to interrogate Chitrah, to find out how he was able to get into the Ministry's computer undetected, so that they could stop spies from the Republic from accessing their computers in the same manner. They decided it was in their best interest to let the Sith lead the search, but that they would keep a very close eye on them, in case they had to mobilize resources in a hurry.

Chitrah enjoyed the normalcy of going to work every day at the shoe shop. He enjoyed coming home and being able to play with his son. He was there when his son tried walking for the first time. But it was Bacgruta who had caught him when he looked like he was going to fall.

Krillgan was a fearless child, in a few short days, from learning how to walk, he was running around the enclave. Andriel and Chitrah had to remind the Togruta adults to keep their doors closed, if they did not want a visit from their son, and to prevent their son from escaping the enclave.

Andriel and Chitrah were asked to come to a meeting with the Togruta elders. They were relieved to find out that Krillgan was not the topic of discussion.

The elders wanted to talk to them about Bacgruta. Everyone knew she would be an addict for the rest of her life. She no longer had cravings, and as long as she stayed in the Togruta enclave, they could keep the spice dealers from her. Their concern was that it was not going to be much of a life for her. It would be very easy for them to let their guard down and let Bacgruta get into a situation where she has access to spice again. They wanted to know if Andriel and Chitrah had come across a world where it would be safe for her to live, and where she would have a nice enough life. There were a couple of worlds that Andriel and Chitrah thought were still free of spice. But the world they both thought would be best for Bacgruta was Yitabo.

Andriel's mother, Mrs. Grimshaw, would have no trouble taking her under her wing. Mrs. Grimshaw was the only one who had a loom, and Bacgruta loved to weave. The elders thought it would be a good solution, and they called Bacgruta to their meeting. They told Bacgruta, that they did not think it would be fair to her, if she lived the rest of her life isolated in their enclave. They were worried what it would do to their community, if she found herself in a place where she started using spice again. They were afraid the people would not have the strength to help her get rid of the cravings again. They also did not think she would survive if they tried to do it again. Their only choice would be to ask Shaak to kill her, since she would do it as quickly and as painlessly as possible.

Bacgruta agreed that that would be the best solution if she found herself using spice again. The elders told her that even though it would be the best solution, it would tear the heart out of their clan, since everyone loves her. Bacgruta was happy to hear them say that everyone loved her, since she loved all the Togruta. The elders told her that they want to send her away to a world where they have no spice, because they want her to live a normal, happy life. They would not send her if she did not want to go. Before she decides, they want her to talk with Andriel and Chitrah about this world, because they spent some time living on this world. If this is a world where she thinks she would be happy to live, then they would make the arrangements for her to go to this world.

Bacgruta was sad that the elders wanted her to leave, even though she understood their reasoning. She was also sad to find out that there were no Togruta on this world they wanted to send her to. She did talk to Andriel and Chitrah about this world. She was curious about seeing plants grow, she never thought about where the food they eat comes from. The only plants she has seen was the occasional weed trying to grow through the cracks of the sidewalk. She did not know that the fruits and vegetables she eats, grew on plants. Or that bread is made from the seeds of plants that have been ground into dust. Both Andriel and Chitrah thought it was best not to talk about the things that affected their personal relationship. They did tell her about Mrs. Grimshaw and her dress shop, and how she has a nice loom that is completely mechanical. No computer assistance at all. They told her about the farmer's market, and about some of the nice people she would find there. They told her about the dance they have every month. It was not the same as Togruta dancing, but Chitrah might be able to teacher her how they dance. Bacgruta liked Mrs. Grimshaw right away, and she was sure that she would like all the people at the market that they told her about. She even thought she would like the stinky nerfs. She would like to try and harvest their wool and make things out of it. It would be a life completely different than what she has ever experienced, but it would be a life where she could do as much or as little as she wanted, and not have to worry about spice.

She knew that Togruta would be sad to see her go, but happy to let her grow. She did not want to risk hurting them by staying there. She went to the elders and told them, that she would be willing to go to the world that Andriel and Chitrah talked about.

Andriel had sent Chitrah to go revisit all the worlds that he had worked on before. They felt they needed to disorientate the Sith once more. Andriel let the elders know, that when Chitrah came back, he could help escort Bacgruta to Yitabo. Now they needed to make sure that Bacgruta had all the right documents for traveling.

The hard part would be getting her to the planetary defence office, without her being exposed to spice. Heshaak asked Shaak to make a special outfit for Bacgruta. It would need to have a hood, and a veil. The veil would need to completely obscure Bacgruta's ability to see. If she cannot see the spice, she won't take it. It would require Bacgruta to be completely dependent on the person leading her, but it would be the safest way to move her around outside of the enclave.

Once the outfit was ready, Shaak's father planned on getting Bacgruta used to him leading her around in the enclave, so that she would be comfortable having him lead her outside of the enclave.

Andriel also talked to Shaak to see if she could get the street performers to do them a favour.

Shaak asked the actors, if they could make the blue man look like a Twi'lek? He has been invited to a party, and he needs to wear a disguise. The entertainers loved it when the blue man came to watch their show. The groups' leader felt they still owed him for giving him the idea that helped them travel to Lianna. They have been well received by everyone. They were told that the Queen has even seen one of their live performances remotely. The Planetary Defence Force provided them with bleachers, so that more people could attend each performance, and be seated, and still have a good view. (They did this because they noticed that the majority of the people were teenagers, and young adults. They would rather have them watching the performance, then getting into trouble with their spare time). Someone else was talking to them about setting up a school for them to teach acting. So if they can do anything to repay the blue man, they definitely wanted to do it.

When Chitrah got off the freighter at Lianna's spaceport, he noticed that security was doing a more intensive screening of passengers going to the surface. If they are looking for him, his electronics equipment would surely give him away. If they weren't looking for him, and he tried boarding a shuttle with just regular id. They might confiscate his electronic equipment, since he is an alien. He would need to use his Ministry id to get past security. But not when they are looking for him. So Chitrah decided to put his equipment in storage. The problem is that there is a time limit to how long you can store items. If time expires, security is notified, and they open the locker. Chances are the items in the locker are contraband. He had 18 hours to get someone up here to remove his equipment. Chitrah used his regular id, and took the first shuttle to the surface. He did not care which terminal, as long as he was off of the spaceport. On the surface he took a shuttle hop to the terminal near the Nautolan enclave.

When he arrived it was already late in the evening local time. That meant he would have to wake up the old cobbler, the only human he knew that he could trust to retrieve his equipment, and not become a person of suspicion. He went to the alley entrance of the shoe shop, the employee entrance, and hit the signal button, to notify the owner that an employee wants access. It took a while, but the owner finally came to the door. He was grumpy from being woken up from a nice sleep. The problem with older people, is once you get woken up, it's very hard to fall back asleep.

He was not happy to see that it was Chitrah that woke him. He hadn't seen him for more than two months. Chitrah had just told the cobbler that he would only be gone for a while. Work was piled up on his bench, and customers were already complaining about the work not being done. The only saving grace was that there was no-one else on Lianna that could do the work they wanted him to do. When it came to Chitrah's work, the owner never mentioned when a project would be done.

The owner reluctantly let Chitrah in the kitchen, and put water on to boil for some tea. He asked Chitrah, how long is he back for this time?

Chitrah told him he expected he was back for a while. He did not know that he had been promised to escort Bacgruta to Yitabo.

The owner asked him why he had to wake him up then, why could he not have come in the morning like a civilised person.

Chitrah told him that it was important that he get up to the spaceport as soon as possible, to retrieve some equipment he had to leave there. Morning would be too late. The equipment would be lost by then.

The old man had never been to the spaceport. The reps from the companies he dealt with, always came to him, and he only dealt with companies that were situated on Lianna. He could not even remember if he had ever been on a shuttle. Because it was Chitrah who was asking, and he knew he would not be able to get back to sleep until the situation would be resolved. He agreed to do it.

After finishing his tea, he went to wash-up, and dress. He was hoping he would be more alert, to understand all the instructions Chitrah had started to tell him. When he was told he had to retrieve electronic equipment, he almost backed out. He knew nothing about electronics, and if security was as tight as Chitrah said, they would want some demonstration, to prove to them, the equipment is his.

Chitrah told him, that as long as he followed his instructions, he would have no problem. The third time Chitrah ran through all the instructions, the old cobbler started understanding them. It was actually harder to get into the locker to access the equipment, than it was to do the demonstration Chitrah had prepared for him. To show he could operate the equipment.

Chitrah walked him to the shuttle terminal, and pointed out its name, so that he knew where to come back to. Chitrah went back to the shoe shop. He decided to start working on the projects piled on his bench, he would be too stressed to just sit in the kitchen sipping tea waiting for the old man to come back.

The old cobbler had no trouble getting to the spaceport, he had taken Chitrah's advice and sat by a window. The view was worth the price of a ticket. On the spaceport he was able to use Chitrah's description, to find where the storage lockers were situated. He found the right locker, and inserted the card Chitrah gave him, then he input the code he had trouble remembering. The locker popped open. There was still two hours left before the locker's time had expired, but an alarm had already sounded in security, indicating that time was running out on the locker. So someone had been watching the locker, and now they were watching him.

The old cobbler went to the security checkpoint. They asked him about his equipment. He told them that he had lent it to a friend to run some equipment checks on his freighter. When he was finished he left it in the storage lockers and sent the card down to him on the surface. He would have been up here quicker if the delivery had not woken him up out of a sound sleep.

They asked him, if he could give them, a demonstration of his equipment. He opened the computer, and input what Chitrah had told him, he certainly hoped that whatever Chitrah had set up would work. Suddenly a 3D animated figure of Chitrah appeared, projected above the computer. It pleaded with those who had disturbed him, not to anger his master, or they too would be scanned into his computer, trapped forever as his slave. The old man had trouble keeping a straight face. The security personnel laughed and told him he could be on his way. When he sat down on his seat in the shuttle, clutching the electronic equipment to his chest, he burst out laughing. He should have expected Chitrah to do something like that.

He did not notice that the person who was watching him at the lockers had followed him.

On the surface, it was already morning. The old cobbler decided not to go straight to his shop. Next door to his shop was an electronics shop. The owner who was a friend of his, had always kidded him that he was an old relic from the past. He wanted to show this equipment to the owner, and show him what he could do with it.

The person following the old man, heard what he had told security at the checkpoint. Now it was his job to see whether this old man was legitimate, or whether he was a mule working for someone else. He was ready to contact Imperial Security to raid, whatever shop he entered. He was surprised that he actually entered an electronics shop. He waited around for an hour but the old man did not come out. Maybe his story was true. So he headed back to the shuttle terminal, to catch a shuttle back to the spaceport.

The old cobbler walked straight back to his friend's workshop. His friend was impressed with the sophisticated hardware he was carrying. They both laughed when Chitrah's image appeared and pleaded with him. His friend told the old cobbler that there might be hope for him after all. He asked him, where he got it? The cobbler told him that it belongs to the guy who does the special work for him. He also dabbles in electronics. He let the cobbler borrow it so he could show his friend that he was not totally clueless when it came to electronics. The old cobbler then asked his friend if he could exit out his back door, it was a shorter trip to his kitchen, and he had not yet had breakfast.

The friend reminded him that he knew the way. The friend was a little jealous of the cobbler. That was some fancy equipment he was carrying in that case, it made the equipment he had in his workshop look like they belonged in a museum.

Chitrah was glad to get his electronic equipment back. The apprentice had arrived earlier and when he heard his boss was out, he prepared breakfast for all three of them, using up some of what he had brought for his own lunch. The old cobbler was pleased to see breakfast was ready. He told Chitrah he had no problems following his instructions. He even played the animation for the apprentice to see. He told Chitrah that next time he did something like that, to warn him. He almost burst out laughing when he first started playing it for security. That would have ruined everything.

Chitrah told him he should consider himself warned as he exited out to the alley after breakfast. The old man went into the workshop, and found two of Chitrah's projects, completed and sitting on his bench.

It was lunchtime when Chitrah arrived in the Togruta enclave. He thought he would have lunch in the common room with Andriel and Krillgan, then head to his apartment for a much needed nap. Andriel asked him to take Krillgan with him, he needed to take a nap as well.

Krillgan was excited that daddy was going to spend time with him. It had been a long time since he last saw daddy. A quarter of his life had just taken place without his father. Chitrah placed Krillgan on their bed and lay down beside him. He made sure Krillgan was asleep before he allowed himself to drift off. The next thing he knew Krillgan was shaking him awake. He had a dirty diaper that needed replacing, and it was time to play. After Chitrah cleaned Krillgan up, Krillgan clapped his hands and said mommy, then he reached out to Chitrah. Chitrah understood that Krillgan wanted him to carry him to mommy.

When they arrived back at the common room, Andriel commented on the long nap. Chitrah thought he had only closed his eyes. Krillgan gave his mother a kiss, when Chitrah handed him to her. Then he wriggled out of her arms. He had some serious playing to do.

Andriel told Chitrah that he would be escorting Bacgruta to Yitabo. She told him that Shaak's father had taken her to the planetary defence office after lunch, to make sure she had all the right documentation. Chitrah was a little concerned, they would need to walk through some drug dealers' territories to get to that office. If they knew she is an addict they would not hesitate to show her their wares.

Andriel told him it was all taken care of. She then outlined the strategy that she wanted him to take on this trip. He told her that he had a pile of work to do at the shoe shop. She told him that he would have to figure out what was the best use of his time. The priority was to get Bacgruta away from Lianna, away from the spice. He would have to juggle his other priorities around that.

It was strange for Bacgruta not being able to see. She knew it was for the best, and she trusted Heshaak to guide her. She had mixed emotions about him. She absolutely trusted him with her life. He was so good to her, and she loved him, she knew she was bonding to him, but did not know if it was good or bad, she hoped it was good. Bacgruta never had a good male role model in her life. All the men in her life up until now were pimps or clients, and most of them had hurt her. Some of her clients did bring her food when she was hungry, but they also expected something in return. Heshaak was the first male that had been nice to her, and expressed concern about her wellbeing. He was the first man to treat her the way a father should. This is why Bacgruta was confused. She never had a father before.

On the way to the planetary defense office, Heshaak had sent Beshaas to scout out ahead. If he came across any drug dealers, he would literally stand in their face, and growl at them, until they got off the street, they would usually retreat into the nearest alley, and stay there until the other Togruta had passed. The Twi'leks had been told by their boss that the Togruta would not hurt them if they did not react violently to them. If they felt intimidated, they should just get out of their way. When they got to the office, Heshaak let his eyes first adjust to the lighting in the building, and looked around, before telling Bacgruta it was okay for her to take off her veil.

When her turn came to talk to the officer, she had no form of id on her. She had to fill out a form and swear that she had been born on Lianna. He captured her image and ran a facial recognition of her through the system.

They had a record of her in the system, but it was old. She had been arrested once for prostitution, but was let go, as it was her first offense. When the officer mentioned her name, Bacgruta told him that that person no longer existed, she was dead. She is now Bacgruta. The officer updated her file listing her as a former prostitute, and also noted the name change. He asked her what her family name was, she looked confused. So he asked her once again who her family was. She told him that the Togruta were her family, so he listed her name as Bacgruta Togruta. He asked what her occupation was, what did she do with her time. She told him that she weaves cloth. He marked her current occupation as weaver. He asked her if she did custom work, or was she under contract. She told him that she had no contract. He asked her how his wife can get a hold of her, because she had always wanted something made but could never find anyone to make it. She told the officer that there is a group of them that worked in the Togruta enclave's common room, if she came down, they could see if one of them could make what his wife wanted. He asked her if they were a guild. She answered yes and no. She recognised the word guild. She told him that they were a guild, but they were not registered. He said that would explain why his wife never found them. He told her the procedure the women needed to go through, to be officially recognised as a guild. He even handed her some brochures, to help them. Then he finished processing her paperwork. She was the first prostitute he had ever met, that had made it off the streets. He wanted to do what he could to help her.

As she left, the officer noticed the three Togruta men acting as her bodyguards. He had heard from the squads out on patrol that the Togruta keep the area around their enclave clean of drug dealers and thieves. That the local humans highly respect them. He decided to encourage his wife to go to the enclave, to find out their story. He would even accompany her if she wanted.

When Bacgruta returned to the enclave, she told all the weavers about her conversation with the officer. They all went to talk to the elders. The elders came to talk with Andriel. Andriel thought it was a good idea, she did not know how large of a revenue source it would be. But it would mean more humans coming to the enclave. She suspected that some of them would want to stay and become members of the weavers' guild.

The elders and weavers took Andriel's advice, and discussed it at length. The one elder who was reluctant to approve the request, said he envisioned the one wall in the common room having nothing but looms all along it, and human and Togruta working side by side upon them. The other elders asked him, if it was a bad thing? He meditated on the image for a few minutes, while everyone waited, then he announced that it would not be a bad thing. They only stipulation the elders made, was if they did register. They would need to keep someone near the communicator all day, since most of the incoming calls would be for them. This they agreed to. Later when Chitrah came back from Yitabo, Andriel asked him to set up a site on the local net for the new Weavers' Guild.

Chitrah went to bed very early the one evening. He planned on getting up while it was still dark, so that he could get to the shoe shop in time for breakfast. Normally, by the time he arrived, it was almost noon, only putting in a half day.

Krillgan was disappointed that daddy was gone when he got up, he wanted to play with daddy.

Andriel told him that daddy would be back later that day. She did not tell him that daddy would probably be too tired to play. She was wondering if she was doing the right thing. The more things she committed him to, the less time he would have for his son. Was it better for him to be in space or another planet, where his son would not see him, and not think about him? Or was it better for him to be here and disappoint his son, because he does not have the time or energy to play with him. She hugged Krillgan, she hoped they were doing the right things for him.

The entertainers contacted Shaak, they needed Chitrah to come for his final fitting. Shaak told them that she would try to get him to them the following day. She confirmed what time they considered the best time for him to meet with them.

Chitrah was not happy that now someone else was making commitments for him. He had already talked to the old cobbler, letting him know that he was being shipped off again, and asked him not to accept any more projects for him until he gets back.

The old cobbler could see that Chitrah was upset that he was leaving so soon after getting back. He was doing a wonderful job cleaning up the backlog on his bench. He did not know he had a son and wife at home, whom he wanted to spend time with.

Chitrah knew Shaak did not intend anything bad by it. She was just trying to do her bit to help them.

He felt that he would have no time to go to the shoe shop the coming day. That meant he had time to stay up just a little longer. He asked Andriel what he could eat or drink that would give him a little more energy for tonight.

Andriel asked him, if he wanted to stay up and snuggle?

Chitrah looked downcast, he had not spent any alone time with Andriel since coming back, he told her that he wanted to play with Krillgan before he fell asleep.

Andriel made him a blend of juice and a special tea. It should give him some energy, but not interfere with his sleep, once he fell asleep. While he was sipping his drink, she hugged him from behind, and told him that he was a good man. He was a good father to his son, and a good husband to his wife.

Chitrah needed to hear that. That confirmation from Andriel, probably gave him more energy than the drink did. He had a fun time with his son, hunting for all his ticklish spots. Then they had a cool down time, where he told his son a story. Krillgan could not understand a lot of what his father said, but the sound of his father's voice helped him calm down, after the giggle fest. His father helped him get ready for bed that evening. Then mother came and sang her lullaby.

He was asleep before anyone knew it. Since mother and father were hugging and kissing beside their sleeping baby.

Chitrah made his rendezvous with the entertainers. They had to do very little adjustments to get his head piece to fit. They told Chitrah that Twi'leks call their head-tails lekku, and part of their communication, involves the way they use their lekku. So most Twi'leks he meets will consider him a snob, for not communicating with them.

Chitrah told them it would not bother him in the least. He did not tell them that most of the Twi'leks he has met, were either, prostitutes, pimps, or drug dealers.

They showed him how to put on the headpiece, and how to tactfully apply makeup, to hide how the headpiece sits on his head. When they were finished, they let him look at himself.

He looked more like a Twi'lek, than Andriel looked like a Togruta, with her headpiece on. He thanked them, shaking everyone's hand. They truly outdid themselves. They handed him a bag of everything he would need to maintain the look. They asked him how long before the party. He told them that he would not need to wear it for almost a month. But he was going off planet in a few days, so this may have been the last chance he had to get this done.

They were happy they could help him, and happy they could get it done in time.

He wore it back to the Togruta enclave. He wanted to see how people reacted to him as a Twi'lek. He found that people ignored him no matter what he looked like. The two Twi'leks he did meet, gave him dirty looks before they parted.

He got a different reaction when he entered the Togruta enclave. Children hid, and carefully watched him, expecting some adult to challenge him. Bacgruta turned white when she first saw him, until Krillgan came up to him and reached out, showing he wanted to be picked up. Andriel noticed her reaction, and asked her what was wrong. She told her, that he looked just like her old pimp, the one Shaak had killed.

Krillgan, hit and bit Chitrah's new head-tails. He was disappointed, they were like his mother's head-tails. They had no life in them. If he bit anyone else's head-tails, they would smack him to let him know it hurt. When he learnt not to hurt the head-tails of the Togruta women who held him, they would let him suck on their tips.

When Heshaak saw him, he was impressed. He grabbed his two companions. The four of them headed to the Twi'lek enclave, to purchase fake id. As they approached the enclave the two guards wondered why the Twi'lek with the three Togruta, did not respond to them. Like before, Heshaak gave each of his companions, one of his knives. Like before they each stood in front of a Twi'lek guard. This time, from time to time they would each smile, then sniff the air. The Twi'lek guards were thoroughly embarrassed by this. They both remembered what they had done the last time they faced these two Togruta.

Inside the enclave, the Twi'lek boss got up off his throne. Which surprised his lieutenants. He slowly walked around Chitrah, studying him, before asking the Togruta, who he was? Heshaak simply said he was a friend. The boss was satisfied with his answer, and asked him what he wanted? Heshaak asked him if he could make up some fake id for his friend. The boss told him that there was no need for fake id, he would sell him the real stuff. He signalled one of his lieutenants, he got up and left the room, a short time later he returned and handed some id to Heshaak. He looked at the id, then he looked at Chitrah, he was holding a picture of Chitrah's Twi'lek twin in his hand. The boss told him that it used to belong to the Twi'lek pimp that his daughter executed. Since he did not need it anymore, there was no problem selling it to them.

The boss quoted him the standard rate for procuring fake id. Heshaak paid the lieutenant the credits that were asked for. Then he and Chitrah turned and left. After they departed, the boss turned to another lieutenant, and asked him to find out what they could about the one who looked like a Twi'lek. There must be a good reason why the Togruta were willing to help someone who was not one of theirs.

When Heshaak and Chitrah exited the building, Beshaas and Hendaa were disappointed that they did not smell any foul odours this time. As they walked away they told Chitrah about their last encounter, and all had a good laugh.

The Twi'lek guards could not hear what they said, but were pretty sure the Togruta were laughing at them, again.

Heshaak showed the id to his companions. The companions said that was really fast for fake id. Heshaak told them it was not fake, it belonged to the Twi'lek fool his daughter killed. They told Chitrah that he was a handsome pimp. Heshaak told Chitrah that he needed to remove the headpiece as soon as they enter the enclave. If Shaak and her companions are there, they may feel the need to execute him a second time.

Chitrah told them about Bacgruta's reaction to him, when she first saw him. It was only because his son came up to him, asking to be picked up, that she did not kill him herself.

Chitrah told Andriel that he was not taking his equipment on this trip, he was taking hers. He was also able to find some music similar to what they play on Yitabo during the dance. He downloaded it onto Andriel's computer. He would use it to teach Bacgruta some of the dance moves he learnt on Yitabo. That was at least one thing they could do with their time during the flight.

Chitrah had been practising with Bacgruta, leading her around the enclave, so that she would be comfortable with his style of leading.

Krillgan thought that what they were doing was fun, so he would come up to her and grab her hand, so she would lead him. The first time he did it, she did not know who grabbed her hand, so she snatched it away. He sat down on the ground and started crying.

Bacgruta told Chitrah to stop and removed her veil. She picked Krillgan up and told him she was sorry. She did not know it was him who wanted to play. He stopped crying and wiggled to be put down, then he grabbed her hand and looked at her. She sighed and put her veil back on, grabbed Chitrah's elbow and told him to lead on. She learnt to quickly check the size of the hand that had grabbed hers.

The elders told Bacgruta and Chitrah, that they were sending three Togruta young men with them, just in case. After reaching Yitabo they could all go their separate ways.

On the day they left, the young men did as Heshaak's companions did when they took her to the planetary defence office. One would scout ahead to make sure there were no drug dealers on the street. Because they were going to the shuttle terminal, they would be going by the dress shop, and by the girls she used to work with.

Bacgruta asked Chitrah if it would be alright if she talked to the girls. Chitrah told her that it should be okay, as long as they did not get too close to her. They are still users, and their smell might affect her. She thanked Chitrah for the warning, it was not something she thought about. She hoped the veil could block out smells as well as it blocks out light.

When the first Togruta young man approached the pimp, he spoke to him. "Because you have been treating your women well, I will speak to you. The woman wearing a veil is their friend, let your men know not to interfere, and we will be on or way as quickly as possible."

The Twi'lek listened to him, and signal the bodyguards to rest. The Togruta man stood beside him, but did not try to intimidate him. The other two Togruta took up positions between Bacgruta and the bodyguards. The ladies noticed this manoeuvring and asked the blue man what was going on. Instead of answering, Bacgruta spoke to the ladies.

"Hello girls, I just wanted to say goodbye. Each one of you has a special place in my heart. The Togruta have been good to me, and are sending me to a place that is safer for me. I am still an addict, but right now I have no cravings, and I want to stay that way. If you have any questions, the girl's in the dress shop can answer them for you."

With that she asked Chitrah to lead on. The ladies had all recognised her voice. It had been so long since they heard anything about her, that they had forgotten her. They remembered that she was the oldest, she did what she could to help them. Sometimes she deflected the pimp's anger away from them, to her. She was the closest thing any of them had to a real mother. They wanted to hug her and kiss her but the blue man motioned them to keep back. It was almost like their friend had a contagious disease or something. Then some of them understood. They were the ones that were diseased, and they could make her sick again. They blew her kisses and wished her well wherever she was going.

When they got on the shuttle, Chitrah positioned her so that she had a window seat. He told her it was okay for her to look out the window if she wanted to. She had never been on a shuttle before. She knew he was giving her a special treat. She hoped he did not mind her holding his hand. She knew Andriel would understand.

When they arrived at the spaceport, she put her veil back on. It was only when they were at a security checkpoint that she removed her veil, so that they could see her face. Since the man guiding her had Ministry id, they let them pass.

They were very interested in checking the three Togruta men behind them. They had always been told that Togruta always had knives on their bodies, but no security has ever been able to detect them. They gave them a thorough pat down, but could not detect anything. None of their detectors picked up on anything as they walked through it. They were convinced that what they had been told was a myth. So they let them go through. The next passenger in line asked them how they could let a guy go through who had a knife on him. They asked him what he meant. He told them that after they had let the aliens through, one of them pulled out a knife, and started cleaning his fingernails. They turned and looked at the Togruta, one of them looked back and smiled. Then the three of them walked away laughing.

The security officers thoroughly checked all the remaining passengers. Chitrah checked all the freighters currently docked at the Lianna spaceport. They were all staying within the sector. He selected one bound for Reaver Station. Even though Lianna's spaceport was one of the busiest. Reaver Station had more freighters from out of the sector.

Chitrah showed Bacgruta, how she could have privacy in her cabin, without anyone watching or listening to her. Then he showed the Togruta men. They asked him if he knew where all the other cameras on the freighter were located. He did not know where they all were, but he did know where some of them were. He promised to show the cameras to them after he settled in.

When Chitrah showed them the cameras he knew about, the Togruta had no trouble spotting all the rest. Chitrah did not know the orders the elders had given the men. Basically they were instructed to keep spice away from Bacgruta, at all costs. Once they knew were all the cameras were located on each freighter, they would go through the crew's cabins. They were trying to determine if a crew member was an addict, or a dealer, or a drug smuggler. Fortunately none of the crews they encountered showed any evidence of spice in their possession. They did tell Chitrah that they were not allowed to go on a freighter where one or more of the crew members were Twi'lek, the risk that spice would be on the ship was too high. Chitrah agreed with them, and kept that in mind when choosing a freighter.

On Reaver Station, Chitrah selected a freighter that was taking the Perlemian Trade Route to Lantillies.

At the Lantillies spaceport they decided to take another freighter, since the one they were on was offloading a considerable portion of their cargo. Which meant they would be sitting and waiting for close to a day, before the freighter would move on.

Chitrah found a freighter taking the Randon Run, making a quick stop at Kashyyyk, then traveling on to Randon. The Togruta stepped off the freighter during the quick stop at the Kashyyyk spaceport, because they wanted to see a Wookiee. They had heard many stories of their physical prowess, and wanted to see one close up. Fortunately spaceport security employed some of the locals. So the Togruta were able to watch their interaction with other races. Their curiosity satisfied, they got back on the freighter. They told Chitrah that the other Togruta men would now be jealous of them. They could now see why it would be difficult for the three of them to take on one Wookiee, if they had to.

At the Randon spaceport, they had to wait a day, before they could find a freighter that was taking the Pabol Sleheyron to Yitabo.

Chitrah took advantage of this break to improve on Andriel and Shaak's plan. This is where he transformed himself from a Chagrian from Deysum III, to a Twi'lek from Lianna. He had found a pair of googles that the Kel Dor wear. He had Bacgruta wear it over her veil, and with a little creative application of theatrical makeup, the veil resembled a breathing apparatus.

Bacgruta also refused to let Chitrah lead her when he was dressed as a Twi'lek. She said it made him look like her pimp, and that life was behind her. One of the Togruta men would have to lead her.

Chitrah was confident that Bacgruta now knew enough of the dance steps, that she would enjoy herself at the dances on Yitabo. She had even taught the Togruta men to dance with her. When they landed on Yitabo's spaceport. The three Togruta disembarked with Bacgruta. Their instructions were to make sure she was delivered safely to Mrs. Grimshaw.

Chitrah stayed on the freighter, which was taking the Durkteel Loop back to Kashyyyk, then on to Lantillies. After the freighter departed Yitabo, the crew asked Chitrah, why he chose to take the long way to Lantillies. Chitrah told them he had some time on his hands, and he wanted to see what the female looked like under her mask. The crew of course asked if he saw her. Chitrah told them the mask is a great improvement to what he saw underneath, which made the crew laugh.

On Yitabo, Bacgruta had no trouble finding the dress shop. Now that she was here, she appreciated the detail of Andriel's description of this place. She felt she could go anywhere in this town, and not get lost. The Togruta men waited outside the dress shop while she went inside. For their sake she did not enter the workshop, but stayed in the storefront, where the Togruta could see her.

The young lady who now ran the dress shop for Mrs. Radcliff, came out front and asked her how she could be of service. Bacgruta asked if she could talk with Mrs. Grimshaw. The young lady told her that there no longer was a Mrs. Grimshaw, she was now Mrs. Radcliff, and she lived at her husband's ranch house.

Bacgruta asked her if she could give her directions, so that she could walk out to the ranch house. The young lady asked her if she would like to come into the workshop, and wait, while she calls Mrs. Radcliff. Bacgruta told her that she could not leave the sight of the men outside, because they had taken an oath to keep her safe, until she had met with Mrs. Grimshaw or rather, Mrs. Radcliff.

That was when the young lady noticed the three Togruta young men outside. They did look like they were guarding the place. She thought for aliens, they looked rather handsome. She asked her to wait where she was, and she would be right back. She contacted the ranch house, and asked Kenny if she could talk with Emily. When Mrs. Radcliff appeared, the young lady told her that a strange lady came into the dress shop, asking to speak with a Mrs. Grimshaw. What was even stranger is that she has three bodyguards, she says they are Togruta. Mrs. Radcliff asked about the lady. The young lady said she is human. She had never seen her before, and she is very polite. She also told her that the bodyguards were respectful of the dress shop, and did not come in. The lady would not go into the workshop, because she wanted to stay where the men could see her. Mrs. Radcliff told her that she would get Kenny to take her into town. She would be there shortly. The young lady went and told Bacgruta that Mrs. Radcliff was coming into town to see her.

Bacgruta asked her if it was alright if she waited in her backyard. The weather outside is lovely, and she had never seen so much green in her life. The young lady gave her permission, and apologised, because she does not maintain it as well as Mrs. Radcliff did. Bacgruta went out the storefront door, and walked around back, the Togruta following her. Bacgruta thought she stepped into paradise when she saw the ill kept garden. She could identify the different types of lettuce growing there, and other edible plants that she was used to preparing in the Togruta enclave.

The young men also found it fascinating. This was the first time they had been off Lianna. They could feel the life of this planet through their bare feet. If they could hunt prey here, then they would want to come back, or maybe even live here.

The young lady made some tea for everyone, and she got a couple of the Togruta men to come into the kitchen and grab some extra chairs, so they all had a place to sit. She would have liked to stay outside and chat with them, but she had too much to do, there was a dance coming up.

After the young lady left, no-one spoke, it was as if they were all enjoying the life energy of this world. Even time seemed to have no meaning, until Mrs. Radcliff opened the kitchen door and introduced herself. The Togruta young men all got up and shook her hand. Their duty was fulfilled, now they can depart the planet. Mrs. Radcliff asked them what they going to do now. They said they were going to go back to the spaceport and wait for the next freighter. Mrs. Radcliff told them that it might be a couple of days or more before the next freighter arrives. The Togruta men just shrugged their shoulders, like it was no big deal. Mrs. Radcliff told them to sit back down, until they knew when the next freighter was scheduled to arrive, and then they would decide what to do. The Togruta men told her that they had been told she is a good woman, so they will wait to hear her advice.

Mrs. Radcliff blushed, she was curious about who had told them stories about her. She went around the side of the building. When Kenny saw her, he got out of the vehicle. Mrs. Radcliff asked him to check when the next freighter is scheduled to arrive, and when it would depart. She has a funny feeling, they were going to have some strange guests at the ranch. Kenny drove off to the spaceport, to get the information Mrs. Radcliff asked for. He also established a computer link through the Ministry that they did not know about, to get some basic information about Togruta. He wanted to know if there were any security concerns he should be aware of.

Mrs. Radcliff told Bacgruta to call her Emily, and invited her up to the living room to talk, since the apartment is still hers. She asked, if one of the ladies in the workshop could bring them some tea when it was ready? Bacgruta told Emily her whole story, she did not hold anything back, as Andriel had instructed her. The only time she stopped was when Emily stopped her, when she heard someone coming up the stairs. She did not want the young lady's mother to hear any of this, since she was notorious as the town's gossip. After she left, and Emily could hear her going down the stairs, she let Bacgruta continue. After she had finished, Emily questioned her more about the special Togruta called Andriel. Bacruta told her everything she knew including that her husband was not Togruta, was blue, and was called Chitrah. In fact he was the one who brought them here, but remained on the freighter. She told her that they were hiding from the Sith, and she told her about their son Krillgan.

Bacgruta noticed Emily had become emotional, while she talked about Andriel and her family. She apologised to Emily if she said anything that hurt her. Emily told her that Andriel is her daughter, she is Devaronian, not Togruta. She was only disguised as Togruta.

When she left Yitabo with Chitrah, their marriage was not alright. Now she knows it is, and they even have a baby. This was very good news for her.

Bacgruta asked her how she was her daughter and not human? Emily told her that when Chitrah brought her here with him because of his work, they were newlyweds. Andriel is a seamstress and dress designer, just like she is. When she came here to work with her, they bonded, and she ended up adopting Andriel as her daughter, because she meant so much to her. Bacgruta told Emily that Andriel was like a mother to her, when she knew her as the singing Togruta, while she was overcoming her addiction to spice. Does that make Emily her grandmother? Emily laughed, and told her that she would just be another daughter. Bacgruta liked the sound of that. They had talked quite a long time. The dress shop was already closed when they went downstairs, and the sun had already set. The Togruta men were still waiting for her out back, and Kenny was sitting with them. He knew better than to interrupt Mrs. Radcliff when she was talking with someone. Kenny was a little concerned that it was late and no-one had prepared dinner for Mr. Radcliff. Emily told him not to worry, and introduced her new daughter, Bacgruta, to him.

Bacgruta blushed at her bold statement. This saying pleased the young men very much. They will have a very good report to share with the elders and the clan. Andriel was right in sending them here.

A few days after Bacgruta left, Krillgan came up to his mother and tugged on her dress, to get her attention. When she looked down at her son, he said "Baa-goo", she wasn't sure what he wanted, and looked around to see if there was something he might want to play with. He tugged a little harder, and when she looked down at him, he repeated what he said, "Baa-goo!" This time she picked him up, and asked him if he was asking about Bacgruta. He smiled and said "Baa-goo" again. Andriel told him that she left with daddy to take a trip to a place that would be good for her.

Krillgan was satisfied with her explanation. Basically he understood that Bacgruta was with daddy, and daddy was away. He let his mother know that he wanted to be put down now, and ran off to play.

When Chitrah arrived back, Krillgan looked around to see if anyone else was with him. When he did not see Bacgruta, he started to cry. Chitrah picked him up and asked him what was wrong? In a mournful tone Krillgan said "Baa-goo".

Andriel had approached them wanting to welcome her husband back, and overheard them. She told Chitrah that she had told him that Bacgruta had gone away with him, and now he was back, but Bucgruta was not with him.

Chitrah kissed his son on his forehead, and told him not to cry. He told him that he had left Bacgruta in a place that is good for her, where good people would look after her. He left three Togruta men to make sure she is all right, when they come back, they can tell him about Bacgruta. Krillgan hugged his father around his neck, then kissed him on his cheek, because he could not reach his forehead. He was content to have his father carry him to mother's apartment.

When the three Togruta young men came back from Yitabo, they reported first to the elders, then to the whole clan. After they finished their report, Andriel approached them, and told them not to go anywhere, because they have one more report to make.

Andriel disappeared, then reappeared, carrying a sleepy Krillgan, whom she had just awaken from his nap. She told Krillgan that these three Togruta just returned from Bacgruta. Krillgan reached for the closest of them, so he would take him in his arms, and said "Baa-goo". The Togruta told Krillgan that they left her on a planet with lots of green plants that people can eat. There are some animals there that are good to eat. But you cannot hunt them, and they are stinky. He pinched his own nose when he said the word "stinky". Krillgan pinched his own nose and said "stinggy" The Togruta handed Krillgan back to Andriel, and told him that the people there are nice to Bacgruta, and took them to a dance while they were there, he proceeded to take his one companion and started to dance with him. He told Krillgan that the people made Bacgruta happy. Krillgan clapped his hands and said "Baa-goo happy."

The Togruta's dance partner spoke, "We finally found someone who can actually understand you."

His companion pushed him away and crossed his arms, "Just for that I won't dance with you anymore."

Which caused all the people who had been watching and listening, to start laughing. Krillgan had his mother put him down, and he turned around like he was pretending to dance with someone, and repeated, "Baa-goo happy." Andriel stroked him on his head with her hand. "Bacgruta is happy."

The Sith had heard that Chitrah had left the planet with a woman who had a veil covering her face. When they questioned the security officers that examined her, they asked them if she could have been Devaronian. The officers told them that she looked human, but her complexion appeared redder than normal. They asked if she looked pregnant at all. They said she was wearing a loose fitting outfit. They could not tell if she was pregnant or not.

The Sith were convinced that the woman was Andriel in disguise. They were able to track where they went, all the way to Randon's spaceport. There they lost track of them. They decided to go to Deysum III, and visit their parents, since they were so close.

They went to visit Chitrah's parents first. As soon as Chitrah's father came out of the workshop, he knew who they were, Master and apprentice. He had trouble being courteous to them. He asked them if they were looking for some new footwear. The master came right out and asked him where his son was? He told him that he was working in the workshop. Did he want to speak with him? The master started getting angry with him, and asked him where his other son was? Chitrah's father became equally as angry. "Because of you, he is dead. If that is all you came here to ask me, than get out." The Master regained control of his emotions, and asked him if he has ever seen his dead son? He told the Master that he had seen him once, a couple of years ago. He was quite disappointed with him. The master asked him why? Chitrah's father explained, that he had stopped by the shop to buy a pair of shoes for his wife. He actually payed the asking price, he did not even try to negotiate. The master asked him what type of shoes? Chitrah's father pulled a pair of traveling shoes out of the display window. He told the master they are called traveling shoes. Women find them comfortable to wear when they travel. He did not explain why women found them comfortable. The apprentice took the shoes from him. Chitrah's father quoted him a price, three times the normal asking price. The master asked if he has seen him since. Chitrah's father told him, "The dead don't come back." The Sith turned to leave the store. Chitrah father told them that his dead son payed the asking price for the shoes, he expected the same from them. The apprenticed tossed the credits on the counter, then he used the force to slam Chitrah's father against the wall. Chitrah'a father collapsed to the floor with a little trickle of blood coming out of his mouth. He had bitten his lip when he was slammed against the wall.

As the Sith walked away from the shop, they could hear the old man laughing. The apprentice turned to go back, but the master stopped him. "You did not instil fear in him the first time, what makes you think you could do better now." The Master's words stung just as much as the old man's laughter. He followed his Master.

The rest of the family heard the bang when father was slammed against the wall. They all dropped what they were doing, and rushed into the storefront. They found father sitting on the ground laughing. Mother bent over and wiped the blood away from around his mouth, and asked why he was laughing? He told them that he just got the Sith to pay three times the price for a cheap pair of shoes. Then he frowned, "I should have quoted them a higher price." Which caused everyone else to laugh.

Next, the Sith went to visit Andriel's mother. She welcomed them as warmly as Chitrah's father. She too reminded them, that the daughter they are seeking is dead to her. She did admit that she had been to the store about two years back to buy a traveling dress. The Master had heard enough, and went to leave. The apprentice asked if he should get the dress before leaving. "Why? Do you want to embarrass yourself here, like you did at the shoe store? Andriel's mother hid her smile. She could hardly wait until the next businessmen's meeting to find out what happened at the shoe store.

The Sith were perplexed. It was obvious that Andriel and Chitrah had not come to Deysum III, to seek help from their parents. With no further clues, and no idea where they might be, they headed back to Lianna, to wait for something else to turn up.

For Andriel and Chitrah, the next few months, were the best they could hope for. Andriel knew they could not last, so after talking with Heshaak, she went with him and his companions to the Balosar enclave. Shaak's father handed over his knives to his two companions, before entering the enclave with Andriel. The companions stood in front of the two Balosar guards as they had to the Twi'leks.

These guards were not as easily intimidated by the Togruta as the Twi'leks had been. First they were used to most humanoid races being slightly taller than them. Second, they were high on death sticks. Death sticks were not as addictive as Glitteryll, yet quite toxic to many species. You could actually break its addiction. But why bother when it was so easy to obtain, and quite cheap when compared to Glitteryll. Heshaak seemed to know where he was going, so Andriel just followed him. They came into their common room, even though there were many Balosar couples, Shaak's father went up to the Balosar male that had a Balosar female in one arm, and a human female in the other. He ignored the fact that he was interrupting them, and told the man that he wished to purchase some id for the Togruta female with him, and the id needs to stipulate that she is being accompanied by a child, and gave the child's birthdate.

The man snapped his fingers at someone, and a short time later, someone came over to capture her image. The man told Shaak's father when the id would be ready and how much it was going to cost. Before Heshaak turned to leave, the man asked him what name needs to be on the id. Shaak's father thought about it for a minute, he said that the First name should be Andriel, the last name did not matter. Then they left.

They found the two companions standing more than a meter away from the two Balosar guards, when they left the enclave. The reason for the distance. The guards were smoking death sticks.

Inside the common room of the Balosar enclave. The man asked everyone, what was wrong with this picture? One of the women asked, where are her companions? It was rare for a Togruta to travel alone, especially with a child. The man asked them, what that meant? Another man said, that it meant that she was probably not Togruta, or they went to the Twi'leks to get id for the companions. That could also mean that they did not trust the Twi'leks with too much information. The man reminded them that information meant power, they needed to find out as much about this Andriel as possible.

One day the Twi'lek came to the Togruta enclave. They were surprised to see no guards at the entrance. They were not surprised to find themselves surrounded by Togruta after setting foot in the enclave. The Twi'lek boss asked to speak with the elder. He was told that he could stay where he is, but the others with him would have to stay outside the enclave.

His lieutenants who were also doubling as his bodyguards this trip. Complained that they need to protect their boss. This did not sit well with the Togruta. One of them asked if they really felt the Togruta could not protect their boss while he was a guest of the Togruta. The Twi'lek lieutenants realised they had just delivered a major insult to the Togruta, not a good way to start talks.

The Togruta brought out chairs onto the street coming into the enclave. They placed them where it would be hard for the Twi'leks outside the enclave to hear, but where their boss could be clearly seen. The Twi'lek boss was asked to take his seat. Sitting facing him was Heshaak who would act as the voice of the elders. Directly behind Heshaak sitting in a row facing the boss were all the other elders. All their companions stood at the entrance way to the enclave facing the rest of the Twi'lek. The lieutenants quickly realised that the Togruta could do whatever they wanted to their boss, and all they could do is watch.

They did this because they had insulted the Togruta. The boss asked Heshaak why the other people were sitting behind him. Heshaak told him that they are all elders, he was just acting as the voice. The boss than asked why they were meeting out on the street, instead of in their common room. Shaak's father looked him straight in the eye and said, "Apparently your people don't trust us." The Twi'lek boss understood that he was receiving the blame for this. Heshaak asked him, why he had come to the Togruta? They do not offer any of the services his organization usually requires. On the surface that was true, but the Twi'leks did hire them from time to time when they had a rat infestation in one of their warehouses. Usually one of the boss's subordinates would come to the Togruta, by himself, to arrange the contract. The Togruta were known as the best rat exterminators on Lianna.

The boss told him that he needed their help with a different matter. He wanted to hire from them the man who came dressed as a Twi'lek, to their enclave, looking for id. They have discovered from their sources that the man is very gifted with computers, and can hide sensitive data, on computers that are connected to the Interior Ministry's computer. They have data that they want to keep hidden from the Imperials, and they wanted to hire him to do it. Heshaak told the boss that they have no power to tell the man what work he should or should not do. The Twi'lek said that they heard the Togruta were protecting him from the Imperials, surely that gave them some power over him. Heshaak told him they heard wrong. He is a friend, and a guest. He gets the same protection as any other friend, or guest of the Togruta would receive.

The boss was perplexed, this was not how he imagined these talks would go. He asked, how could he talk with him? Heshaak told him face to face, as one man talks to another. The Twi'lek boss, did not know how to take this answer.

Suddenly he heard a commotion at the entrance of the enclave. Some Togruta men went out and forced an opening in the Twi'lek's ranks. The Twi'leks did not like being manhandled. They knew it wasn't an attack, because the Togruta did not rush them, or draw any weapons. A blue guy walked through the path the Togruta cleared for him, through the Twi'leks. Then he walked through the path the Togruta at the entrance made in their midst. The only impediment he had, were the Togruta children who swarmed him. He took something out of one pocket, and a small sharp knife out of another, and cut off pieces for all the children, who left him as fast as they swarmed him.

Heshaak stood up and waved Chitrah over. When Chitrah came up to him, Heshaak told him that the Twi'lek boss, wanted to speak to him, and offered Chitrah his seat. Chitrah sat down, and Heshaak stood beside him.

The Twi'lek was stunned that such a valuable person was walking the streets unescorted. First he asked Chitrah what he had just given the children, was it some form of sweets? Chitrah laughed, he said to the Togruta children it was something better. It was raw hide. The children knew he had access to some, and they would chew it for hours. The Twi'lek boss told Chitrah what he would like him to do, and how much they would like to pay him, and how much they would give to the Togruta clan, as he was their guest. Chitrah wanted to know what type of computer systems he was talking about, because not all computers were created equal. He also wanted to know the actual locations of the computers, since different locations, had a greater risk of him being spotted. He was almost guaranteed he would be spotted, if he was asked to work on a computer right next door to the Ministry.

The Twi'lek handed him a small memory chip, he could plug into his computer, which had all the information. The Twi'lek asked him when he would know if he was willing to do it. He told the boss that first he had to determine a risk factor for each location, then he needed to discuss it with his partner. The Twi'lek asked if Heshaak was his partner. Chitrah said his partner was much better looking than him. Heshaak sighed, "He speaks the truth." The other elders had a hard time trying to supress their desire to laugh. Chitrah promised that he would get an answer to him within the next five to seven days. The Twi'lek boss accepted that. He stood up and left the enclave.

After he left, Heshaak asked Chitrah if the Twi'leks would inform the Imperials, if he turned them down. Chitrah told him that he did not think so. While he was here, there was always room to negotiate. If the Imperials came and seized him, or they had to flee because of the Imperials, that door would forever be closed.

That night Chitrah talked to Andriel about the Twi'lek's offer. He asked Andriel to check with Shaak, maybe she knew if one of the girls working the streets has any knowledge about computers or data entry. Andriel asked him, if he was hoping to train her? He said yes, it would get her off the street into a safer environment.

She would already be loyal to the Twi'leks, because of her addiction, and it would give her a chance at a safer future than she has now. Andriel gave her husband a hug and a kiss, she loved the way he looked out, to help others.

Three days later the Balosar showed up with a similar offer. They asked to speak with Andriel's husband. They let the Balosar man into the common room with his two women, it turned out they were his chief advisors. The other Balosar where pushed back from the enclave with brooms, so that the Togruta did not have to inhale any smoke from their death sticks.

When Chitrah had decided what he was going to do, Heshaak and his companions went with Chitrah to see the Twi'leks. When Chitrah explained to them about the necessity of having an assistant at the first job. They agreed it was a prudent thing to do. When he mentioned who he wanted as his assistant, they were not as happy. When he told them he had already checked her qualifications, at first they laughed. Then they saw he was serious. They asked him how he knew she was qualified for this work.

Heshaak answered that question. He told them that his daughter told Chitrah. His daughter knows all the girls on her street better than they do. When Chitrah mentioned the qualifications for the candidate, she already had someone in mind. Chitrah told them that they need to consider, whether he should be training someone new for each computer, or should he take the same assistant to every location. The lieutenants started debating the issue right away, the boss had to remind them they still had guests present.

The Twi'leks were not happy when they heard that the Balosar had also asked for his help. He would start by working for them every other day. Once he was satisfied with the quality of the work the assistants were providing, then he would be cutting back to continue his work on previous commitments. The boss noticed that Chitrah used the plural, when referring to assistants, he knew where his preference lies. He did wonder what his other commitments were, and why no-one told him about them. His men's work was too sloppy. He could use a lieutenant like Chitrah.

The Balosar were already expecting him. Chitrah suspected they had a bug planted in the Twi'lek's enclave. They gave him the location of one of their brothels.

Unlike the Twi'leks, none of their girls worked the streets, and they charged more. They told him the Madam had been instructed to present him with her five most qualified candidates.

The pimp was surprised when he received word that one of his girls was going to do a new job. He asked if he was getting any replacements, but he received no reply. He was surprised that he had to send her to the dress shop first thing in the morning, so that they could help her to get ready for her new position. The problem was she would need to get up hours before anyone else would. How was he going to make sure she got up, without disturbing everyone else's sleep, especially his? He explained to her what was happening, she did not seem surprised. She told him not to worry about waking her up, he should leave the door to the apartment unlocked. She was sure the Togruta would come for her when it was time for her to go.

The girls seemed to know more about what was happening than he did. They congratulated her when she went to lay down early. He thought he heard her say to one of the other girls not to worry, she would be next. When he got up for breakfast the next morning, the place where she had slept last night was empty.

When Shaak came for her she was a bit drowsy, she had never woken up this early since she was a little girl. The Togruta gave her some bitter tea to drink in the morning, they told her that it would help open the pores in her skin up. The bitter taste did help her wake up. They then gave her what she thought was grass to chew, they told her it would help to bring the smell of spice out of her pores. They then had her strip out of her clothes in the back room. She noticed that they sealed her clothes away as they made her stand in a small tub in the middle of the room. There was no shower or tub feature in the dress shop's bathroom. They poured warm water all over her body, then helped her suds up. Then they rinsed her off with even warmer water. They had her step out of the little tub into a huge towel. It was the softest towel she had ever felt. They wrapped her in the towel, and rubbed her down to make sure she was dry. They led her wrapped in the towel to the workshop, where she saw some fresh undergarments and a nice outfit laid out for her.

She asked them what was going to become of her old clothes. They told her they were going to burn them. That girl does not exist anymore. She had tears in her eyes as she thanked them. They reminded her that she was still an addict, because of that she was still a slave of the Twi'leks. She told them that did not matter, now she had a future, where she did not have one yesterday. She will accept it, with its strings attached.

When she was dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like some rich man's personal secretary, or even a well, heeled, businessman. Chitrah was waiting for her in the storefront sipping a cup of tea. He handed her a brand new pair of shoes he had made for her, she forgot that she only had stockings on her feet. The shoes fit like a well, made, pair of gloves. How did he know the size of her feet? The Togruta had all followed her into the front room and gave her a hug, wishing her well in her new job. As they walked together to the shuttle terminal, and as they flew together on the shuttle hop, Chitrah explained in detail what he expected from her on the job. He let her know that she could expect to be slow and clumsy when she first started. Because she was reacquainting herself with some old skills that she has not used in years. But once she had the feel of it once again, she will be surprised at how quick and accurate she will become. The first location was a sweatshop, were they make covers for the seats of military vehicles, from synth-leather. The sewing machines were larger more durable then the dress shop's sewing machine, but not as strong or durable as the machine Chitrah uses on real leather. The computer is located in the office, which has transparent sheeting, so the owner can watch over the production floor. The day went pretty much, how Chitrah had described it would go to his new trainee.

When they took their lunch break, she wanted to cry. She was afraid that they were going to send her back out on the street again. By the end of the day, she was starting to get the hang of it. Chitrah gave her detailed instructions on what she was to do the next day.

Chitrah told her that the Twi'leks had arranged for her to stay with the sweatshop's owner, who had an apartment over the office. He also had her supply of spice. Chitrah went upstairs to show her, her bedroom. There was a small case on the bed. When she opened it she found a change of outfits, a few changes of undergarments, a night shirt, and some toiletries. The sweatshop owner, an older man, showed her the rest of the apartment, and asked her if she could cook? She told him that she only cooked porridge for breakfast. He grumbled, then said that was a start. He asked her to cook them some porridge for dinner. Chitrah left, telling her he would see her in two days. While she was cooking their dinner, the shop owner called the Twi'lek enclave. He told them she had a shaky start, put by the end of the day, she was doing stuff he could not understand. Chitrah had left her with a list of things he expects her to accomplish tomorrow, and it did not phase her. The Twi'lek who had taken the call, asked if there was anything else. The shop owner told him that the next time they send him someone to babysit, they should make sure they can cook more than porridge. The Twi'lek laughed, then told him that it was an improvement over what he normally ate. The Twi'lek was right, it was an improvement over nut butter sandwiches.

The next morning, Chitrah went to the brothel the Balosar had sent him to. There were six ladies waiting for him. The Madam introduced herself, then she introduced each of the five candidates. Chitrah could not help but notice the prevailing stale odour of death sticks. After talking with the candidates about their experience. Chitrah selected one of them, and asked the Madame, if she had anything more business orientated to wear. The Madame gave him the name of a woman's clothing shop down the street. He could take her there to have her buy an outfit. Chitrah asked if they also sold undergarments. The Madame gave him a strange look. Chitrah told her that his wife is a seamstress. She was always saying that the undergarments need to fit comfortably, before the outfit can fit comfortably. The Balosar Madame said she now understands. The lady at the woman's clothing store will be able to tell them where to get good women's undergarments. The candidate followed Chitrah out of the brothel, she told him that he was unlike any man she has ever met. Chitrah asked, her if that was a good thing? She told him that he is the first man she has met that she felt she could trust. Chitrah was not sure if she was saying that because it was true, or because she wanted to get on his good side. He warned her that her opinion of him might change before the end of the day. She said she hoped not.

The lady at the women's clothing store told them where to buy undergarments, and tell them to have them send the bill to the dress shop. The lady at the lingerie shop did not know how to fit undergarments properly, and invited Chitrah to come back into the fitting room to help. Chitrah became embarrassed and asked to use their communicator. He called the "Elegant You" dress shop. When Shaak responded, he asked her if she could give instructions over the communicator, on how to make sure that undergarments fit properly. Shaak said she would try. Chitrah told the candidate to follow her instructions, he was going to wait for her outside, since the communicator was not in the fitting room, and he was sure Shaak would need to see if she was following her instructions. When she came out of the store she thanked him for his help.

At the women's clothing store, Chitrah picked out a business suit that he thought would look nice on her. The sales lady checked that she had the right size. When she came out, it looked nice on her, for a cookie cutter suit, as Andriel called them. The candidate asked Chitrah if he helped his wife pick out her outfits when they go shopping. Chitrah laughed, he told her that his wife designs and sews all of her own outfits. Sometimes she will ask him his opinion on a design. The candidate told Chitrah that she wished she could do that. Again Chitrah did not know if she was saying that for his benefit, or did she really mean it.

They arrived at the small factory that produced parts for the landing systems of starfighters, with the computer system that the Balosar wanted him to work on. Chitrah was all business, he wanted to see if she was truthful about her abilities. She was not as good as the girl he worked with yesterday, but there was a glimmer of talent. At the end of the day, Chitrah had a different opinion of her, and was able to leave her with detailed instructions, concerning what he expected her to do the following day.

He did not know what accommodations the Balosar had made for her. She thought that she was supposed to return to the brothel. Chitrah was concerned, he asked if she would be able to get some rest there, since he expected her to be back first thing in the morning.

When she arrived back at the brothel the Madame handed her a death stick, and asked her how her day went. She puffed on the death stick, than told the Madame that the guy really knows what he was doing. She asked the Madame how much longer she needs to put on this charade, before she can tell him that she actually is a computer technician, just not at the same caliber as him. The Madame said that they shall see, as she took the death stick and took a puff, before handing it back. She told the Madame that the guy was also right about the undergarments.

The next morning Chitrah was surprised that the sweatshop owner was not as grumpy as he was the first day. The lady told him that Shaak and her companions came by yesterday afternoon, and took her grocery shopping, than came back and helped her cook dinner. The shop owner was more than happy to reimburse the cost of the groceries after he tasted dinner. Because Shaak had come by, she was not able to finish everything he had assigned her.

Chitrah asked her to show him what she had accomplished. She had completed a great deal more than he expected. Chitrah was happy that they had accomplished a lot more before breaking for lunch. After lunch the sweatshop owner brought them a stack of books. They were accounting ledgers, with all data entries done by hand. He told them that this is the information the Twi'leks wanted entered. He mentioned that it was all encoded. From the way the books were organised, Chitrah had guessed right in how to start setting up the computer to start receiving data. There were only a few more things that they needed to do, to make this section of the computer invisible to the Ministry. Chitrah thanked the owner for letting him see the books. He asked that he keep them locked up, until they were ready to start inputting the data.

The owner smiled, Chitrah had passed the test the Twi'leks devised for him, to see if they could actually trust him with their data. Especially since he was also working for the Balosar.

That evening Chitrah talked with Andriel about his feelings, when he was working for the Balosar. He felt that he was not being given the right information, and he felt the girl he was training was trying to play him. Andriel stroked his hair, and told him that she was not the only one in the family with good intuition.

Chitrah was sure now what he must do. The next morning when he showed up at the factory, he asked the girl to show him what she accomplished the previous day. When she wasn't looking he moved some of what she had done to a different section of the memory. He called her attention to the fact that some of what she entered was in the wrong place. Then he used a computer term that she should not know, given what she said was the extent of her training. He told her that what she had done, had put the computer in a position where it could set up a schizoid-loop. It would not cause the data in the upper section of the memory to become visible to the Imperials, but it would corrupt some of the data being transmitted to the Ministry. Given the algorithms the Ministry was always running on their input data, they would spot the corrupted data pretty quickly, and it would be top priority for them to send someone out to determine the cause of the corruption, and they would easily discover what they were trying to keep hidden.

The girl stared at what Chitrah had shown her, then proclaimed that she could see it. Chitrah asked her to fix it, but did not explain how. She started right away manipulating the computer entries.

Chitrah went to the factory owner's office, and asked if he could use his communicator. The owner told him to help himself, and started to get up from his desk. Chitrah told him he could stay, and asked him to contact the Balosar enclave. The factory owner did as he was asked, and Chitrah walked over to the part of his desk, where he would be clearly seen on the communicator. When a Balosar answered, Chitrah came right asked and asked why he should keep on working for them? The Balosar asked him to wait one moment and disappeared. A short moment later the Balosar that had negotiated the agreement with Chitrah appeared on the communicator, all smiles.

"Chitrah, what is this that I hear you threatening to stop working for us?"

"I don't like it when employers play games with me. If you cannot trust me, to be honest and forthright with me. Then I cannot trust you, and cannot work for you."

The guy tried to placate Chitrah telling him there must be some misunderstanding.

Chitrah told him the misunderstanding was on their part, when they thought they could play games with him. He told Chitrah that they were not playing games, they were just trying to see how much he really knew. Chitrah told him that they had a good idea about how much he knew from his first day. The rest was smoke and mirrors. He did not know how to respond to Chitrah.

Chitrah saw him gesturing to someone to come over. Chitrah terminated the call, since he made no attempt to be truthful. Chitrah walked out of the office and told the girl what she needed to accomplish by the end of the day. Chitrah left the factory, heading to the shuttle terminal, he was hoping to get to the Togruta enclave to have lunch with Andriel. He really needed her help, to help him figure out what to do next.

At the shuttle terminal, Chitrah did not jump on the next shuttle as he had originally planned, instead he looked up a supplier for products for people that have to work with toxic waste. He made a side trip to the supplier, before heading to the Togruta enclave.

When he arrived at the enclave, he walked into the common room carrying a big box. He opened the box to reveal that he had purchased enough respirators for everyone in the enclave, including the children. These respirators could filter the deadliest of toxins out of the air. The filters started to buzz when there was less than 5 minutes worth of filtration available.

He had also purchased some suits for them to wear when they enter a deadly toxic environment. Chitrah had found out after his visit to the Balosar enclave, that Togruta are one of the few species that cannot become addicted to death sticks. The smoke is so toxic to them that it would kill them before they could develop an addiction.

Chitrah knew that he would have to go back to the Balosar enclave to talk with them. He wanted the backing of the Togruta, but he did not want them to risk their lives for him. He also wanted to let the Balosar know that if they ever went to war with the Togruta, the Togruta were ready for them.

He had a nice long talk with Andriel over lunch. After lunch the two of them met with the Togruta elders, to talk with them about the Balosar situation, since they also were supposed to benefit financially, from the Balosar agreement. Chitrah told them that the Balosar did not need his help as much as they let on. They had their own computer technicians. They only needed his help with the initial setup, and maybe some consulting from time to time. What they really wanted to do with him, was to tie up his time, so that he could not spend much time helping the Twi'leks.

Andriel told the elders that she agreed with Chitrah's assessment of the situation. After their talk, the elders agreed that Heshaak should accompany Chitrah to the Balosar enclave, to renegotiate an agreement. Chitrah insisted that Heshaak and his companions wear the full toxic environment suits when they go to the Balosar enclave. He told them that they did not have to put the booties over their bare feet until just before they reached the enclave.

At the enclave, Shaak's father's companions were much more comfortable standing in the face of the Balosar guards. They also snatched from them any death sticks they produced, before they could light it. This made the guards irritable and jittery. They also felt fear since their death sticks could no longer cause the Togruta to back away from them.

Inside the enclave, the Balosar took note that Shaak's father was dressed head to toe in a toxic waste handling suit. He had the respirator around his neck, but could put it on, faster than any of them could react. Chitrah told them that he was there to renegotiate if they were willing to be honest and upfront with him.

The Balosar man who seemed to be in charge, could not understand why Chitrah was upset. Chitrah told him his terms, he would meet with the three computer technicians in two days' time. Chitrah was correct in believing that three of the five candidates he met at the brothel with similar credentials, were all computer technicians. He would find out from them what they needed from him, than they would go on from there, with him as a consultant. He expected that he and the Togruta would still be paid the same, even though time wise he would working less with them, since now he would be working as a consultant.

The Balosarian man did not say anything, he just looked at Chitrah. So Chitrah signalled Heshaak that they were leaving, and they left. Outside the Balosar enclave, the two companions dumped all the death sticks they had taken from the guards, on the ground, and fell in behind Chitrah and Heshaak.

At the Togruta enclave, Chitrah gave Heshaak and his companions, time to change out of the toxic waste handling suits. Before he handed his equipment to Heshaak, and grabbed Andriel's computer. Then they headed to the Twi'lek enclave. When they arrived at the enclave, the two Twi'lek guards waved them all to go inside, which was a bit of a disappointment for the companions. They had come to enjoy watching the two guards squirm. Inside the main room, Chitrah opened Andriel's computer, and started playing the music he had taught Bacgruta to dance to, at maximum volume. Even though it distorted the music. He then approached the Twi'lek boss, and told him he had audio bugs planted in the room. Did he want Chitrah to find them and destroy them?

Meanwhile, in the Balosar enclave the Madame from the brothel showed up, because the computer technician had contacted her, telling her that Chitrah had left the factory, after contacting the Balosar enclave, and not receiving a satisfactory response.

She wanted to know what was being done to bring Chitrah back on board. The technician monitoring the audio bugs, signalled the Balosar man to come over and pick up the headphones. When he did he asked the technician to put it on speaker so everyone could listen. When he did, the technician forgot the speakers had been turned to maximum, and had to turn it down quickly so that they could still hear it, but could also talk. The Balosar man asked what the sound was. The female human advisor, spoke up and said, that she believed it was called Hoe-Down Music. Quite popular in human agricultural communities. It derives its name from an ancient manual tool still used today in garden plots across the galaxy for herbs and vegetables. The admonition is for the human to put their hoe down, or stop working, and come and dance and play. Many Social Archaeologists, believe that Hoe-Down Music is the chief reason that birthrates in human agricultural communities are much higher than the birthrates in an urban human population.

The Balosar man wondered why advisors always gave more information than what was needed. He spoke up and asked the audio technician to turn it down, it was giving him a headache. Before the technician could comply, the signal strength weakened. He said that he believed someone had just disabled one of the bugs, a moment later the signal strength weakened again. The technician claimed another bug had been disabled. Then the music stopped altogether. The technician did not say anything he just powered down all his equipment. The Balosar male asked them, if this meant that the humans were now working with the Twi'leks? The female Balosar said that it meant that the Twi'lek lieutenant, that they had worked so hard to compromise, and plant the bugs, is probably now dead. The Madame said that this was probably the Chagrian male, Chitrah's response, to not getting the assurances he wanted from them. The Balosar man, said it could not be him since he had just been there. The human female advisor quickly filled in the Madame about the meeting that had just happened, including how the Togruta were dressed. The Madame was furious. She pulled out a vibro-blade knife and gutted the Balosar man. "The Togruta came dressed for war. The Chagrian wanted reassurances, and you gave him none. What would happen to us, if we went to war with the Togruta? We have no warriors here of their calibre. We would have been annihilated, and this is all because you ignored the sound advice given you by your advisors, because you wanted to play your silly games."

The Madame powered off the knife so that she could wipe it clean on the dying man's clothes before putting it away. She told the two advisors, that they should continue as advisors, their advice has been solid. She pointed to a Balosar male, "You have always wanted his position, so lead." He asked her what to do about Chitrah. "If he shows up for a meeting in two days, as he said he would, do whatever he asks. He has never made any unreasonable demands. If he is willing to work with us, than we should be willing to work with him. He has shown us that he is very resourceful. We underestimated him, and it has cost us. Don't make that mistake again."

After Chitrah was satisfied that he had found and disabled all of the bugs. He shut the music off. The Twi'lek boss told the lieutenants beside the lieutenant responsible for keeping the room clean of spying equipment to seize him. He instructed two others to go and search his room. They came back with a container of death sticks.

Chitrah asked the boss if he could have a word with him in private, before he decided the man's fate. He told all the Twi'leks to leave the room. The Togruta turned to leave as well, but the boss told them to stay. Chitrah told the Twi'lek that he understood that the death stick addiction could be broken. In the process the man would suffer more than if the Sith were trying to extract information from him. After his addiction was broken, the man would know that he could never be trusted again. Just to keep alive, he will strive harder than any of his other lieutenants to fulfill the bosses every command.

The boss thought about it for a moment, then told Chitrah that they did not have the facilities they needed to restrain the man, until his addiction was broken.

Chitrah told him that the Togruta do, but none of the Togruta could work with the man for health reasons. The boss could supply some of the women off the street, to look after him, but that would cost him lost income, or he could let the Togruta hire some people they know to look after the man until he recovers.

This is one of the things Andriel and Chitrah talked to the Togruta elders about. The Togruta had contacted the Nautolans, who said they had the people who were willing to come to the Togruta enclave, to do this work for them.

The boss saw the value in what Chitrah was suggesting. He could see the other lieutenants working harder, so that they would not be shamed by him. He asked Heshaak what the Togruta would charge for this service. Shaak's father quoted him a price. The boss thought it was reasonable, and agreed to follow Chitrah's advice.

Chitrah then told the boss that he was falling way behind the Balosar. In taking advantage of his people's brain trust. He told him that the Balosar have three computer technicians working on taking advantage of their computer systems, he only has one computer clerk, who can setup and input his data, but would not know what to do if something went wrong. This news really disturbed the boss. It was not good to fall behind your major competitor in any way. That gave them a chance to exploit your weaknesses. He asked Chitrah what he would suggest. He told the boss that he needed to release the second computer clerk to him right away, so that he could start familiarizing her with the computer work she would be required to do. He also needed to find a computer technician, either amongst his own people. One of the prostitutes working on one of the other crews might have been a computer technician before her addiction forced her into prostitution. Or he would have to hire an outside computer technician. Which would mean exposing an outsider to some very sensitive information.

The boss agreed that he would need to try and find someone internally, before going through the headache of trying to find someone they could trust, outside their organization. He asked Chitrah what he wanted in exchange for the information he just shared. Chitrah told him that he knew the girls could not work on the street forever. He did not know what normally happened to the girls that could not bring in the customers any more. He would ask that when a girl did reach that point in her life, let the Togruta in the dress shop teach them how to sew, so that they could work for them in one of their sweat shops, to try and cover the cost of their addiction.

The boss saw that this was important to Chitrah. He suspected that it was also important to the Togruta women in the dress shop, who had befriended the girls working on their street. Because he knew that Chitrah could have charged him way more than he did, and to help keep the peace with the Togruta. He told Chitrah that he would try to comply with his wishes.

He had to be careful not to appear soft to his lieutenants, or one of them might try to seize control from him. Chitrah told him he understood, which is why he did not ask him to promise that he would. Again the boss wished that Chitrah was one of his lieutenants. There were many areas of the business that he would like to hear his advice. The boss called all the Twi'leks to return. He shared with them, what Chitrah had shared with him about the Balosar and their abilities, and how they need to rectify that situation right away. They need to find out if any of their people have any training as computer technicians. He told them that he had to give Chitrah some concessions to get that information from him, but did not tell them what those concessions were.

He asked his former lieutenant if he is addicted to death sticks. The man hung his head in shame, and admitted that he is. The boss told him that he is going to make him suffer so much, that he was going to wish he was dead, then he was going to make him his slave, so that he would be an example to the others. He then told the lieutenants that were restraining him that they needed to take the Balosar scum, and follow the Togruta when they leave. They have a special place for him.

He then gave instructions to be passed along to the pimp that was working the area near the Togruta's dress shop. With that Chitrah and the Togruta returned to their enclave with the three Twi'leks following.

The pimp did not like that he was losing another girl, and had not been given any indication that he would be getting a replacement. He was also told that one of the bodyguards he hired, would be accompanying her. He had to choose which one of them could better be trusted to keep his hands off of her. She was now considered too valuable to be a prostitute. At least he was given permission to hire another bodyguard to replace him. He wondered what she would be doing, now that she was classified as being too valuable.

When the Twi'leks who took their prisoner to the Togruta returned to their enclave, they informed the other lieutenants that the Togruta have a special torture chamber, and they have hired specialists to work on the disgraced lieutenant. The boss had to run out of the room, so they could not hear him when he burst out laughing.

The next morning Shaak and her companions came for the new recruit. She told them that she had not slept well, because she was afraid they would not come, and she would have to go back out on the street. They each gave her a hug, than they let her nap in the workshop for an hour. It would not look good for her to fall asleep her first day on her new job.

The bodyguard was not sure he had his directions right, when he showed up at the pimp's apartment and found everyone was still asleep. He looked around the apartment carefully, and found an empty spot by the door. He swore softly, when he realised the girl he was supposed to look after was already gone. He quickly went outside and looked up and down the street. That was when he saw the blue guy enter the dress shop. He ran over to the dress shop, to ask the guy if he had seen a girl on the street that morning.

When he opened the door to the dress shop, he hear the blue guy tell someone that he was going to need another cup. The blue guy than handed him the cup of tea he had just received, and was told that he would have to wait outside, it does not look good for the dress shop, to have too many guys waiting inside. The bodyguard thanked the blue guy for the tea, apparently he was at the right spot. When he finished the tea he took it back to the blue guy, and asked if they were going to be much longer, he thought they were supposed to be at a sweatshop. The blue guy told him he did not know how much longer, the ladies had told him they were running a little behind this morning. A short time later the blue guy comes outside with another cup of tea for him, this time he offered him some biscuits as well, he said the ladies scrounged them up for him, if he wants them. The bodyguard thanked him, he had skipped his breakfast to make sure he was here on time, and was starting to feel hungry.

After a while the blue guy comes out of the dress shop with a young lady dressed in a business suit. It took him a moment before he realised who she was. Now he knew he really was in the right place, he complimented her on how well she looked in the business suit, that he almost did not recognise her. The blue guy said something mushy about how he was looking at a new woman. The old her was no more. He was not sure what that meant, but he did know that he would not be ashamed to walk down the street with her on his arm, in fact he would feel rather proud.

The blue guy seemed to know where they were going, so he fell in behind them. That view was nice too.

When they arrived at the sweatshop, the old guy waves the bodyguard into the office and asked him why they were late. He said he did not know, he was just told that the ladies in the dress shop were running behind schedule. The old guy complained that he does not like to be kept waiting, and they had been sitting there waiting for more than 15 minutes. All he could say was it was out of his control. The old guy introduced him to the other guy waiting in his office. He asked them both if they had any objections about being on a regular payroll. There would be benefits, and of course tax deductions. They would be officially listed as office supervisors, their real job was to make sure nothing happened to the girls out there. The girl that arrived this morning will be assigned to another office during the day, but that won't happen for a few days. When it does, it will be someone else's responsibility to come get her in the morning, and bring her back in the evening. The girls would both be staying with him in his apartment at night. They were strictly hands off.

"If the Twi'leks find out you have been messing with one of them, you will find yourselves with something missing between your legs. If the girls go out for any reason, whoever is working would have to accompany them. Whether they are going grocery shopping, or the blue guy is taking them for lunch." The old guy then takes them up to the apartment, so they could get themselves orientated. He points out the bedrooms the girls would stay in, and that their doors do lock. The kitchen, the bathroom, and then takes them back down to the office. He tells them that the door from the office to the apartment will remain unlocked so that they could have access to the apartment if they thought they needed to. When the shop is closed, it was their responsibility to make sure all doors leading to the office are locked. He mentioned that there were 27 hours to the day, they needed to decide between them how they were going to divide that day, and they needed to let him know. He asked, if there were any questions? The other bodyguard asked, what happens if one of the girls came onto him? The old guy said, "Just don't let yourself get caught, or you will find something missing."

The next day Chitrah arrived at the brothel first thing in the morning, he was not sure where he was supposed to be meeting with the three computer technicians. When he entered, he found the Madame waiting for him. She told him that they were not sure if he was going to come, since he had not received a satisfactory answer in the Balosar enclave. Chitrah told her that he said he would be here, and that was more important than getting an answer at that time. She told him that there has been a shakeup in their organizational structure. He should find things more straightforward from now on.

She led him to a meeting room that was also used for throwing parties. The three technicians were waiting inside. Chitrah went to the room's computer to have it increase the flow of outside air, to try and get rid of the odour of stale death sticks' smoke. As he had casually walked around the room he had secretly scanned for any spying devices. Just like he did whenever he entered a new apartment with Andriel. He had moved a couple of chairs around to make it look like he was selecting the one he thought was the most comfortable. There were no spying devices in the room.

He started the meeting by asking each of the technicians to tell him what their real credentials were. When the girl he had worked with started, she first apologised for not being honest with him. It was not her idea. He still could not get a sense of whether she was being truthful, or whether she was just placating him.

From their descriptions, Chitrah had a sense of what they should be capable of. He then asked them if they had any questions for him. The morning progressed quite well. When it was time to break for lunch the Madame came in and asked if they wanted her to order anything for them. Chitrah said he would like to go out so that he could stretch his legs, but he did ask her if there were any good restaurants in the area were they could go. The one technician asked him if that meant he wanted them to come with him. He told them that he found nothing wrong with their company. The Madame took that as a good sign. She did recommend a good restaurant not too far from the brothel. She told him they would be picking up the tab, so if he decided to continue the meeting there, it was all right.

Chitrah told her that for now he wanted to keep social and business separate. At the end of the day, they all agreed to meet again in 7 days' time. If something came up, and they needed to get in touch with him before hand, they could contact the Togruta enclave, and they would get a message to him.

When he left the room, the Madame was standing there with two bags. She handed him the first bag and told him it was his consulting fees, when she handed him the second bag, she said this was for the Togruta. She thanked him for keeping his word. When the Togruta took the bag, they emptied its contents into a pot of boiling water, and added special salts to neutralise any traces of death sticks, or its smoke. They do this regularly with their credits. It is amazing how much residue they find from death sticks, and from glitteryll, on credit pieces. Chitrah could see a scum forming on the surface of the boiling water. He was wondering if he should talk with Andriel about doing that to their credits. They don't want Krillgan to become an addict, just because he stuck some credit pieces in his mouth.

When Chitrah arrived at the sweatshop the next morning he found a new girl there, she was still dressed in her street clothes. The Twi'leks had found a computer technician. The other girls took her upstairs to the apartment to shower and to see if any of their clothes would fit her. Her two bodyguards wanted to follow them but the old guy stood in their way. He said to leave the girls alone, they were safe up there. All their clothes were a little baggy on her. Chitrah found out later that she was slightly malnourished. When they took her upstairs, they prepared a bowl of porridge for her. She gobbled it down quickly in case they changed their mind and took it away from her. Chitrah took her straight to the dress shop, to get some outfits made for her. He found out from the bodyguards that she was now considered too valuable to the organization, to be allowed to stay at the sweatshop apartment. An apartment was being prepared for her in the Twi'lek enclave. When she went outside the enclave, they were not allowed to let her out of their sight.

Chitrah told them that when they reach the dress shop they better be ready to let her out of their sight, or they will be embarrassed by three Togruta ladies. Men were not allowed in the workshop. The computer technician was happy to hear that, she did not like the two bodyguards. She was constantly afraid, that they were going to drag her into an alley, and abuse her. She did like Chitrah, she could sense he was kind, and the girls at the sweatshop had only good things to say about him, when she asked them.

On the way to the dress shop, Chitrah started asking her about her computer technician experience. He found out that she had worked for six months as a computer technician, before she became depressed and had self-medicated herself on glitteryll. She did not know it was an addictive spice, and she thought the person who gave it to her was a friend, who was trying to help her. It turned out that her friend was a pusher, and when she became addicted and could no longer pay for her addiction, her friend turned her over to other friends who could help her pay. She lost her job, her family threw her out. Her new friends had full control of her life, and she had to do whatever they asked of her, even if it made her sick. She asked Chitrah if it was true she would not have to do those things anymore. Chitrah did not sugar coat it. He told her that she was still a slave, only her masters had found out that her mind was worth more than her body. She started crying. Chitrah asked her if it was alright for him to put his arm around her. She nodded her head and said yes. Chitrah held her to himself, and let her cry. So many hurting people, so few who were willing to help. Of the ones who were willing, the resources were not there for them to be effective.

At the dress shop the bodyguards were made to wait outside. They were given tea and biscuits, and were told that if they disturbed the ladies they would find themselves face down on the pavement.

Chitrah told them they did not want to know what the ladies would do to them, if they made them really upset. It would only give them nightmares when they slept. Chitrah told them that if they did not believe him they could ask the bodyguard looking after the girls on the street. They went up to this guy he was beefier than them, and asked him about what they had been hearing about the Togruta ladies. The guy told them what happened to the pimp who used to be here and about his two bodyguards, after the pimp beat up one of the girls the Togruta considered their friend. The bodyguards got tossed like they were just rag dolls, and the pimp was slapped silly. When he tried later to get revenge. One Togruta lady, who had been left behind to guard the shop, knocked them both out cold. The next thing they know a Togruta elder is dragging them before the Twi'leks, because the guards were their problem. The last thing that was heard about them, was that they were sold to the Balosar, and are now working as male prostitutes. The one bodyguard thought it was not a bad thing to be paid by women to have sex. His partner called him an idiot, it wasn't women who were paying to have sex with them. After thinking about it for a minute the bodyguard rushes over to the closest building to hold onto it as he upchucks the content of his stomach.

Shaak called Andriel at the Togruta enclave, she wanted her advice, about making some outfits for this poor girl who is malnourished. Now that she is no longer on the street, she will be eating better, and is sure to gain weight. Andriel told her what she did for the Devaronian ladies on Eriadu who were in the same condition. She would have to make special undergarments for her until her weight stabilizes, and then she could be fitted with commercial ones. The whole while she was in the workshop, Chitrah could still talk to her. To the other ladies coming into the workshop, it was like Chitrah was giving her a verbal exam, except they would discuss her answer after she gave it. The ladies were used to seeing Chitrah in the dress shop from time to time. They also knew that both he and his wife would not hesitate to help someone. So this scene did not bother them. Before leaving the dress shop Shaak talked to Chitrah about what was safe for her to eat the next few days. If she eats too much of the wrong things, she could become constipated. With her intestines clogged up, she will be in worse shape than she is now. She did not tell Chitrah that the closest outfit they had to her size was the pregnancy dress. Chitrah recognised it right away and looked a Shaak. She just shrugged her shoulders. She had a bag with all the clothes the other girls had lent her. She loved the way the outfit felt on her. She would twirl just to see the skirt bellow out. When she came out to Chitrah she was feeling a bit flirtatious. Chitrah reminded her that he is a married man, she said that was alright because she felt safe around him. At the shuttle terminal he bought her a salad, and told her to save some room, because they would be going out to lunch with the other girls. At the sweatshop he asked the other girls how they were doing, they both pouted, they told him that they were afraid, that now that he had found a new girl (she was clinging to his arm), that he wasn't coming back. The new girl said it was alright, he was nice enough to share. Which made them all giggle, and embarrassed Chitrah.

Chitrah told the old guy where he was taking them for lunch, and the three bodyguards followed. For the next three days Chitrah went over the computer system with the technician, at the same time supervising the other two girls. The technician watched how he handled them, because soon it would be her job.

Chitrah spent the next day at the shoe shop, because he needed a day off. When this whole thing started he had asked that no new jobs be put on his bench, and he started whittling away at the work that was there. He also wanted to make a new pair of shoes for the computer technician. Just like he had done for the other girls. Shaak had slipped him an outline of her feet.

The day after presenting her the new shoes, Chitrah told the old guy that they were going to the factory. The old guy asked if this would be a permanent move for the one girl, because he still needed to arrange the bodyguard for her. Chitrah told him it would be permanent, and he would be her bodyguard for the day.

The one guard laughed and took a swing at Chitrah. He stopped laughing when Chitrah offered him his hand so he could get up off the floor. The girls bravely held back their laughter, while everyone else in the office stared at him with their mouths open.

Chitrah just shrugged. He said he hangs out a lot with the Togruta. He was bound to pick up a few things from them. The girls could not hold back anymore, and broke out laughing. The one bodyguard asked the old guy if he knew that Chitrah could do that. The old guy shook his head, he mumbled that he needs to look into hiring the Togruta as bodyguards. Another guard said he could not afford them. The old guy told Chitrah that he was satisfied that he could be her bodyguard today.

The factory they went to was a parts supplier for starfighter's landing gear. Chitrah did not know it, but there was someone who worked there, who both knew him by sight and hated him. The young official that had tried to ride him, to get him to improve his performance record. His name is Luk Skywonder. Well he was kicked out of the department, and since no other department would take him, he was let go by the Ministry. He was heavily in debt, and had to find a job quickly. None of the large corporations would even consider him, when they found out he was released by the Ministry. The only position he could find was in this old rundown small factory that supplied parts for starfighter's. He took a position as a floor supervisor for the afternoon/evening shift. His job was to make sure the employees met their quota. The job had both bonuses and penalties. If his shift met their quota, he would get his full day's wages. If his shift exceeded their quota, he would receive a bonus depending on how many units he was able to get them to exceed their quota. He would get a 10% bonus for every unit over his quota. The penalties were more severe. He would lose 20% of his wage if his shift was short one unit of their quota, he would lose 50% if it was short two units of their quota.

Luk learnt early on, that the best way to motivate his workers, was to slap around the women. The first time he found a woman slacking off, he slapped her around. He did not care that she was feeling sick. She wasn't doing her job, and she was slowing everyone else down. He felt a sense of power after he did that. He did not care that she was crying and could hardly see what she was doing, and almost lost a finger. All he cared about was that production increased and he was able to keep his quota. The second time he did that, one of the men tried to intervene. He told the man that if he interfered, he would have him fired. He knew that like himself, everyone who worked there was desperate to find work. The man backed off, and the woman tried harder to do her work. One of the guys slacked off the next day, daring him to try and slap him. Instead of slapping him, he slapped the woman next to him. He told him that if he wanted to protect her, he needed to improve his work, or he would come back and slap her some more. Through his motivation technique, he was regularly able to get 20% bonus days.

The day before Chitrah showed up at the factory. When the shift was over and Luk left the factory, someone hit him from behind, knocking him to the ground. The next thing he knew he was surrounded by people, stomping and kicking him. It was dark out, so he could not tell who it was. He would not have been surprised if someone had told him it was his whole crew.

Luk spent most of the night lying there on the ground. He was finally able to get up and make his way to his apartment. When he got there he had just enough time to shower and change, and go back to work.

The first day Chitrah spent at the factory, Luk spent in his office, with his head down on his desk. He was hurting too bad to leave. His crew would have made their quota that day, but the factory owner came down to the floor, and confiscated one of the units. He claimed it was bad, that it did not meet all the tolerances. The next day Luc spent all day in his office, again. This day the factory owner came down and confiscated two units, claiming they were bad. The day after that Luc did come out of his office. His face was discoloured and swollen. He noticed the two new women working in the office, but did not see Chitrah, because he was meeting with the Balosar computer technicians (they were all actually human). It was not until the next day, that he saw Chitrah working in the office with the two new women.

Luk had heard that this blue guy had disappeared, and the Ministry was looking for him. Maybe he was back with the Ministry, and was here on assignment. He decided to go into the office and find out. One of the bodyguards noticed him approaching the office and went to intercept him at the top of the stairs. Luk noticed that his tag read office supervisor. He told him that he is the floor supervisor. Maybe they could help each other out, to meet their quotas. The bodyguard grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him up in the air. He told him he was out of his league and tossed him down the stairs. The women on the floor had to restrain themselves, to keep from cheering.

When Luc looked back at his crew, they all had their heads down, concentrating on their work. What he did not see was that they all had big smiles on their faces.

Luk spent a lot of his time looking through the office windows, staring at Chitrah. One of the bodyguards noticed. He told the factory owner there might be a problem, and asked that he contact the Twi'lek enclave, he also asked him to look up the file of this floor supervisor. When he spoke to the enclave, he told them that the floor supervisor was staring at Chitrah, and not because he is blue. His employment record shows that he worked at one time for the Interior Ministry. He may have recognised Chitrah. They need someone to keep an eye on this guy.

After work when Luk was in his apartment, he could not stop thinking about Chitrah. He decided to contact one of his former co-workers at the Ministry, the closest person he knew, to being a friend. He would be able to find out from him if Chitrah was still a fugitive. If he is, maybe he could leverage his knowledge into getting his old job back.

Luk got up early the next morning, to head to the shuttle terminal, to contact his former co-worker, before heading to work. He had to go to the terminal, because he could not afford to have a communicator installed in his apartment. When he got through to him at the Ministry. The guy did not recognise him at first, not until he called him by his name, Ben Knab-Bi, and identified himself as Luk Skywonder.

Ben asked him what happened to him, he looked like he was hit by a vehicle while crossing the street.

Luk told him that there was a disagreement at work over his motivational style. Then he asked him if he could meet with him? It was important. They talked about their schedules. It turned out the Ministry worker was already at home in bed, by the time Luk was finishing his shift. They only thing that might work, was if they could meet somewhere during Ben's lunch break. Luk felt he had to risk it, even though there might be a chance he would be late for work. They were to meet the next day, at a place they both knew.

The guy following Luk, told the factory owner that he talked with someone over a communicator. He was not close enough to hear their whole conversation, but he did hear enough to know they were arranging to meet. The factory owner told him when the young man's shift was over. So if he needed to rest, now was the time to do it. The guy asked him if there was any place nearby where he could crash. The factory owner gave him the access card to the room next to the office, it had a couch in there he could use.

The next morning Luk got up early again, he was going to have to burn most of his credit reserves, to have this meeting today. He hoped it would be worth it. He took a shuttle hop to get to where he needed to be. He was early, he wanted to make sure he did not miss meeting Ben. When Ben did show up, he thought the young man still looked pretty bad, even in the dim lighting of the cantina. He ordered what he wanted for his lunch right away, he did not need to check the menu. Luk asked him right away if the Ministry was still looking for the blue contractor, named Chitrah. He told him the Ministry had stopped looking, because the Sith were now in charge of the search. Luk asked him if he thought the Ministry would give him his old job back, if he gave them information on where to find the contractor. Ben told him that there was little chance that they would give him his old job back. No-one wanted to work with him. Chances are if he gave the information to the wrong person, the information would get buried, because the contractor still had many friends, and they all wanted him to get away from the Sith. Besides the Sith believe he is in another sector, and they are just waiting for a lead to pop up. This was not what Luk wanted to hear. He really wanted his old job back. He asked Ben, if he contacted the Sith, could they arrange for him to get his old job back? Ben told him that he had to be very careful, when dealing with the Sith. They are the type that will promise you whatever it is that you wanted to hear. Once they got all the information out of you they want, they would rather kill you, than keep their promises. The safest thing was just to ask for credits. They will pay you if they think you might be of use to them in the future. Luk asked him how he could get a hold of the Sith. Ben told him, that if he really wanted that information, he could call in a few favours to get it. They arranged to meet back at the cantina in three days' time. Ben's lunch came just as Luk got up and left. Ben was too absorbed with his meal to notice that someone followed Luk out of the cantina.

Luk just barely made it to the factory on time for his shift. He was so fixated on watching Chitrah, that he did not notice the factory owner, come down onto the floor and confiscate one of the finished units.

Andriel had a feeling that they would be traveling as a family, soon. She had already weaned Krillgan off of her milk, and had started his potty training. She was comfortable enough to leave him in the care of the ladies in the common room. While she went to the dress shop to make some travel outfits for herself, and for Krillgan. She had already taken the outfits, she and Chitrah wore, when they had dinner with Princess Krista, to the dress shop. Shaak had the carpenters make up two special cases, so that the outfits could be displayed in the workshop, yet kept preserved in a vacuum.

At their next meeting, Ben passed along the information he had to Luk. He warned him once again, not to try and bargain with the Sith. What he wanted to do, could cost him his life. Luk thanked him, and left the cantina. This time Ben did notice that someone had been watching them, and now that person was following Luk. He had no way to warn Luk, so he stilled his instinct to act, and waited for someone to bring him his lunch. He suspected that he would never see Luk again, which made him a little angry. He had burnt a couple of favours getting that information, and now it looked like he would not be able to collect from Luk to get the value of the favours back. He should have terminated the first call, as soon as he recognised who was calling him.

Luk could hardly wait for the shift to be over, he paced the factory floor, not really seeing anything. Again the factory owner, came down onto the floor, and confiscated a completed unit. Not being challenged at all by the floor supervisor.

After the shift was over, Luk made his way as quick as possible to the shuttle terminal. He put a call through to the number he was given. The Sith apprentice answered the communicator. Luc right away gave him his name, and told him that he used to work for the Interior Ministry, and he wanted his job back.

"How did you get this number?"

"That does not matter. What matters is that you are looking for a blue contractor, named Chitrah, and I can help you find him. Do we have a deal?"

The Sith apprentice had already forgotten what he had asked for. "Yes, of course. Is he on Lianna?"

Luk hesitated a moment, this was too easy. "Yes." Then the connection went dead.