Chapter Title: Besalisk
Series Title: Unlikely Brothers
Ages in this chapter: Tanner (11) Dashen (17)
POV: Dashen
Chapter Summary: When Tanner's Besalisk school friend is threatened, her mother seeks out assistance from Colton to protect her.
Colton stood over us. Imposing. As always. Gigantic. As usual. And maybe the tiniest bit... what... nervous?
Huh. That was new.
"You two better be on your best non-idiot behavior. This meeting is important and for some ridiculous reason, you two were invited. More than invited, you were advised to not refuse the offer."
"I blame Tanner." I pointed to the small Jedi kid next to me. My fake brother who proceeded to give me a face that basically called me an idiot without using the actual word.
Colton agreed with me though on the whole whose-fault-it-was deal. "Yes, he is the one that made friends with her. If this goes sideways... Just keep in mind, she is a voracious eater. She can consume great quantities of food and make it seem like a normal meal. Don't fall into her trap. She'll feed her guests until they explode given the opportunity."
As a well known jewel and spice dealer - an unusual occupation for a Besalisk - Agis Scall, had contacted Colton about a meeting. I'd never stolen from her during the course of my employment as a runner, having been warned to never take any job anywhere near her. Rumor had it,
she'd put a blaster bolt in your chest without a hesitating thought. I didn't see it though. Tanner had given me the lowdown about the Besalisk race; industrious, hard working and generally friendly. He'd even heard of one running a diner on Coruscant. This Agis Scall then? This was perhaps one of those times when a rumor was simply that, a rumor.
Tanner had run into her accidentally. Apparently her daughter shared class with him in the local school and they'd inadvertently become friends. Nothing unexpected, Tanner could make friends with a rock and be perfectly happy with that achievement. The kid was like that, all nice and likable. Go figure.
Agis Scall was my height, but that's the only commonality all we shared. Thick brown nails highlighted her large hands and feet. The bloated stomach was typical as well as the bony, three-pronged head crest, wide mouth, pudgy lips and heavy chin. Her skin was a greenish brown that her earth colored clothing made all the more unremarkable. To me, the Besalisk resembled a big fat upright mutant lizard. I shrugged at my thought and made a mental note to keep that to myself. Less chance of me being strangled to death by Colton later.
She smiled at our small group upon entry into her residence, offering Tanner an open-mouthed toothy grin.
"Tannerlin, it is wonderful to see you. Bru will be delighted that you are here."
Bru was the daughter. Tanner's classmate.
"Hello, Miss Agis, thank your for allowing me to visit."
Tanner. Always polite.
"Indeed. Bru will be here momentarily." Her yellow eyes flicked to me. "Is this that brother of yours that you always rave about."
"Yes. Miss Agis, this is my brother, Dashen."
Unsure of what I should do next here. Did Besalisk shake hands, bow, head bump? No idea how they greeted others. I found out rather quickly as Agis' giant hand slammed down on my shoulder. My left side collapsed under the sudden weight, but I managed to hold myself upright. Strength or weight, didn't know which she possessed more of, but wow!
I straightened myself.
"Sorry there, young man. Tannerlin speaks very highly of you."
I figured that, but I never understood why. I was hardly remarkable by any anyone's estimation. Learning from Tanner though, I accepted the compliment without the usual sensation of putting my foot in my mouth.
"Thank you for the invitation to your home, Agis."
Still, why were we here?
"Colton, my friend. Lovely to see you again. It's been a minute. Come in, please. Have a seat."
Her large stumpy hand held out welcoming us to her common area, living space. It was rather rundown - well, compared to the luxury that was Colton's place - but comfortable all the same. The trio of myself, Tanner and Colton sat side by side on the worn, but soft couch when heavy steps came running in from another room. A smaller version of Agis - still bigger than Tanner's small human height - came hurrying in. Smiling and happy. Her pale yellow eyes immediately found the pale browns of her friend and classmate, Tanner. This was Bru. Agis' daughter. Almost the spitting image of her mother, except for the size and light tufts of black hair on her head.
Tanner stood and hugged his friend.
Agis gaped a grin, pleased to see the young ones enjoying their company.
"Bru, please take your friend and show him around. Enjoy yourselves. Dinner will be soon. Your favorite zwieback biscuits and quahog clams.
"Yes, Momma. Tanner, come on! I'll show you my favorite window that overlooks the big hills!"
With a quick glance to get the okay, Tanner accepted my nod and hurried off. I turned back to Agis and Colton, still unclear what we were here for. I mean, I was hungry, but biscuits and clams? My stomach rolled at the thought of that combination. Colton and Agis weren't close. They were old acquaintances, but I never got the feeling they were anything more and he'd never done anything to shoot down the rumors about her violent ways, which were apparently false. Could be I was completely off the mark, certainly wouldn't be the first time. Generally though I had decent enough instincts about certain things. Agis was not the violent type.
"Colton," she began, "You're wondering why I invited you."
Always on guard and alert for the out-of-sorts, Colton agreed, "I am. It's curious. Last we spoke was years ago."
"Indeed. You were always cordial and kind to me when Bru was younger. It's why I admit to needing your help now. My Bru, she is being threatened. I have yet to determine the true reason for it or the exact source of the threat. There have been several incidents so far. She has been unhurt, but I fear that the lack of actual violence will not last."
"Agis, I am sorry to hear that. However, I am not in the service of personal protection. Have you notified the Local?"
Well, technically he did do personal protection - when it came to Tanner and me. This wasn't that. Not family or fake family. This was something that if word got out, he'd have every citizen of Kaolin knocking on his door for help.
But still... this was a kid. A sweet kid from the looks of it. Tanner's friend. I gave Colton a look, bit sorrowful, a little pleading. Maybe, just this once?
His return glare basically called me an idiot.
Tanner and Bru came skipping out of wherever they'd been. Yes, skipping. I don't think I'd ever skipped in my life. I know for damn sure that Colton never did. Skipping was happiness and joyfulness and... it was innocent kids trying to live a life free of all the crap going on in the galaxy around them.
The pair plopped down (yes, skipping and plopping in the same sixty seconds) on the couch in unison, giggling as they did it. Skipping, plopping, giggling. Come on, even Colton's oversized body had a heart. The man wasn't ice cold, I'd seen evidence of that more than a few times.
"Hey, Colt, can we talk for a minute?" I asked. "Outside?"
He watched the young friends nearby, Tanner and Bru, before excusing himself and stepping out.
I stood looking up at the large blonde man. I was tall. Colton was taller. It never made me feel small, but it alway made me feel inferior. That wasn't Colton himself doing that, it was my own inadequacies. Another story, another time. For now, I had one job. Convince one of the most powerful persons on the planet of Terra to help a little Besalisk girl and for him to gain nothing from it except the knowledge that she'd be okay.
"Dashen, I help this girl and word gets out... you know what happens."
Yup. Just what I thought earlier and the last thing he wanted. But I couldn't keep my eyes off Tanner and Bru through the open doorway. It spurred my rare pleading that was about to happen in three... two... one...
"I know that, Colt, but maybe you can keep this low key. I mean, she's just a kid. And for stars sake, look at them!" I motioned to the happy pair inside. "Tanner's lost enough in his life. And Agis? She's just a worried mom trying to look after her daughter. Those ridiculously big shoes, I was in them. Worried to death that I'd lose Kossi after my folks died. Then I did lose him. That was my fault and failure to keep him safe. I relive that failure and loss every damn day in my head. Every day. My mistake is that I didn't reach out of help when I really needed it the most. Agis is doing that. She says there are threats against her daughter. They are probably escalating more than she realizes. She's a mom wanting to keep her daughter safe. Just... can you help them?"
He listened and that was a win. Colton didn't often listen to my ideas. His eyes found Tanner and Bru inside, still carrying on, smiling and laughing. Colton had a soft spot for Tanner. Would he admit it? No. But he did. And I was right when I'd said Tanner had lost enough in his life. I mean the slaughter of the entire Jedi Order, unable to ever return to his home, watchful every day that the Empire's goons don't fill him full of blaster bolts. You know, all that good stuff that any eleven year old should enjoy on a daily basis, right?
"I mean, by the stars, Colt, they were skipping and giggling. Who skips and giggles these days? Or any days? No one except for those two. You have the power and ability to keep that innocence between them. Come on, please help this girl? You know I ask for very little and yes, I'm an idiot, I know, but I don't ask favors. Can I get just this one?"
Was I thinking more of Tanner or more of Bru, I couldn't really say, but in a span of minutes I'd suddenly become passionate about something. And that wasn't like me. Most things around me just happened and that's it; they happened. People died. People lived. The core of my existence didn't change.
Inside the house, Agis walked toward the young friends and offered them a drink. Bru pushed a shoulder into Tanner after she sniffed the contents of the cup and they started again into another giggling fit. They were an odd and unexpected pair in every way imaginable, but neither cared about any differences between them. These kids had a friendship that was pure.
Colton watched them too. I caught his glance moving in that direction when the sounds of their laughter carried toward us. And it was then
that his facial expressions changed from determined defiance to understanding.
Heh. Yup. I had him.
"Colt?"
"I will help Agis and her daughter," is all he said before striding back into the house. I stayed behind for a second to smile to myself. Had it been my words that got him or had it been the joyfulness of the kids and did it really matter? Nope. Bru would get help. She'd get protection from whoever was threatening her. It wasn't a guarantee of absolute safety, but it was damn close.
"Dashen, in here please." Colton called to me and asked me to take the kids and disappear for a few minutes. He and Agis had business to discuss (although I highly suspected he would be doing this job for free or at a severely reduced rate - not that he had a rate for random protection services that he didn't actually offer as a service). Basically, it was business that the young ones didn't need to be a part of.
I approached the kids. "Hey Bru, can you show Tanner and me that dessert you make? He raved about it that one time you brought it for school lunch."
Okay, weak excuse. It worked.
"Yes! I have some made too." Bru said, "We can have some! Come on!"
I gave Colton a nod and we vanished. By the time we'd gotten back, the adults in the room had finished with their discussion. Agis looked ten times more relaxed. Even her daughter noticed, she ran over and hugged her mom. The Besalisk people were a friendly and hugging bunch. No wonder Tanner got along with the girl.
The rest of the evening was relaxed. Colton had excused himself for ten minutes before dinner, I assume to start setting up protection and investigation or whatever all of this would consist of. His world.
Bru wouldn't notice the protection, of that I was sure. The idea was to keep her as far out of this as possible. As it should be. I'd keep Tanner out of it too. If he was oblivious to any or all of it, all for the better. His job was to be a kid, not be worried about threats against his fellow ten year olds. I'd take the worry for him. I worried at the highest of levels most of my days anyway, what was one more anxiety added on?
It was nice watching Tanner and Bru. Pretty sure we all enjoyed seeing them having such a great time together. Tanner made friends, it's what he did. In all those things he and I were opposites on, that was one of the most noticeable. And that was okay. Freely, I admit that there was a minuscule part of me jealous of that ability. So easy going, never assuming the worst, knowing there was still good in the galaxy and not afraid to grab it. Yep, he was a rare one.
It could play against him too of course, if he wasn't watchful and if he was too trusting, but he was pretty good at using this Jedi magic at feeling people out, at least initially. It's what he told me they learned in the crèche at the Jedi Temple. How to feel outward and get a general idea of a person even if you didn't know them. It wasn't a perfect science, though he'd been rather spot on since I'd known him. Barring any interference from a decent con man, he'd do all right.
There was a feeling of relief over dinner, at least on the adult side of the table. The weird biscuit-clam combination thing wasn't as horribly disgusting as I thought it would be based on the idea of biscuits and clams on the same plate at the same time. The culinary duo was actually quite tasty once I got past the smell. Tanner and Bru had a time making fun of me for the faces I made before managing to scarf down the meal. Between the silly eyebrows and the not-well-hidden giggles behind their hands, they had quite an entertaining evening.
It was an evening I wanted them to have again.
Hopefully Colton's inclusion into the fray would ensure that.
—-
The next days were busy. Well, not for me, though my brain seemed to be working overtime with worry. If Bru was being threatened, then technically the class and school could be in the same line of fire. That included Tanner. I wasn't in the know on the exact manner of the threats Bru had received (apparently there had been another since our dinner invite), and me not having all the details was fine. My line of work wasn't Colton's and in no way would I ever pretend that it was. The details and intricacies of his world, I kept at a distance. As long as the girl was okay - and my little brother by default - that's what mattered.
Most of Colton's protection was invisible. If you knew how he operated, I mean how really operated, you maybe had an idea of what to look for. The barest of hints. Even then… well, he and his people were the best at what they did. The only problem in this case, was determining where the threat was actually coming from. That fact that Bru was friends with Tanner was concerning. I mean sure, if someone came for him, they wouldn't have a clue about his safety net, so a flat out grab-and-run would be the most obvious way to snatch and return him to the Empire for reward. But a blaster bolt to the head and tossing a non-breathing Jedi on the doorsteps of the Empire might also get you something. So, any threat to a friend of Tanner's would technically be a threat to him.
But, I would fret over my little brother, Colton would deal with the actual issue - keeping an innocent little girl safe and eliminating whatever was threatening her.
She, thankfully, was still oblivious to any threats or protections around her. A bit of research had told me that Besalisk tended to look for the good, they were a positive people. Probably what attracted Tanner to Bru in the first place, he was very much the same. That might work to her advantage in not making her nervous. Tanner on the other hand... he was starting to get suspicious. I blame myself. Certainly I was giving off anxiety vibes that he could sense. I'd tried not to, but I can't change who I am.
One morning before breakfast, he called me on it.
"Dash, am I in danger?"
Always right to the point. I weighed my words. I had never got in the habit of lying to my brothers. I'd never really lied to Kossi. I'd never (yet) lied to Tanner. Stretched the truth, danced around it, sure. You had to do these things to maintain a shell of safety around younger siblings. It came with the big brother territory. My only question here was could I trust Tanner to not put Bru on notice - either voluntarily or by accident - and keep her in the dark.
Tanner said truth. He was easily the most honest person I knew. Lying wasn't a big part of Jedi life and definitely not a big part of his life. But this wasn't so much lying as it was withholding information.
I decided to trust my brother to do the right thing.
"You are not in danger. At least, it doesn't appear so. It's your friend, Bru. Dinner the other evening, Agis asked Colton to assist in finding where the threat is coming from. But you can't..."
He jumped in, naturally catching on faster than I would have. "Okay. I can't let Bru know what's going on or it might endanger her more."
Wise kid.
"Right. You can't even let on that you sense something or give her any idea that Colton's people are watching her."
"I won't. Swear it. Does Agis know who is threatening Bru?" Determined and confident. Sometimes Tanner switched from kid mode to semi-adult mode so quickly, it made me blink.
"No. Very little is known." I told him honestly. "Well, at least as the time Agis reached out. I'm not in the loop, so whatever may have surfaced in these few days since, I don't know. All I do know is that she has invisible protection around her constantly. If whoever takes that next step and tries to do her physical harm, there will be consequences. Just keep your cool and go about your days normal. If you see or sense a threat of any type, you know Colton's emergency com code."
Tanner assured me he'd do exactly as asked. And barring complications, he would. The last thing he'd ever want was for his friend to get hurt.
I only hoped all of this was over soon. Several days of me on edge and it wasn't even my own family in danger - not directly. Unless... unless the threats toward Bru were a way to get close to Tanner. What if this wasn't about the girl, but it was all about Tanner... And... no. No. No, come on, Dash, damn it! There went my mind again, to all the wrong places. Ugh! I needed a hobby.
—-
There was a scare that next day. Thankfully, it turned out to be some chemistry experiments gone wrong. Mix this chemical to that chemical and BOOM! No one hurt, no harm done. Except my heart rate accelerated five times beyond the normal limit when I saw the school-alert code go off on my com.
Yup, took me a few hours to come down off that ledge.
Colton, who was a million times less anxiety ridden than I was, hadn't been phased. His people were on it (still invisible) and knew this was unrelated to the threats toward Bru. Although blowing up the entire school was definitely a way to go if you wanted to be sure. But no, that would raise too many alarms and create too much attention. And then... no, ugh, damn it! I really did need a hobby.
—-
Day eight of protection duty and Colton's crew picked up the scent. Two threats hovered over Bru that day. The first was on her way to school. She walked the fifteen minute walk. Her mother had work responsibilities and couldn't afford to miss a day. Colton had assured her to go about her regular affairs. He had a someone with eyes on Bru every step she took during her walk to school. This threat though, rather than coming from
the street or the air, came from under the ground. Those damn sewer tunnels. I knew them well. Tanner and I had used them to escape and hide from troopers way back when. Colton knew of them too, but it was much more difficult to be invisible in empty underground hollow pipes than on a busy street.
So when the threat propelled from the ground five seconds after Bru walked past, those five seconds were just enough time for Colton's speeder-bike guard to make the sweep between villain and girl, creating enough dust to obscure her.
Bru noticed something behind her, but hadn't taken it so much as a threat against her, but more of a indication to hurry along. She'd made it to school safely. As I said, the Besalisk were a good people. They didn't look for or assume trouble as a regular thing, especially at such a young age.
It was the second part of the day that brought the threat into true light. It also sent danger to not only the girl, but also to Tanner, their teacher and the entire class of kids.
I'm somewhat fuzzy on the details, Colton had relayed them to me as I was busy hugging the breath out of my brother for not dying during the kidnapping attempt of Bru Scall, Besalisk adolescent school girl.
It's why the threats, that disturbed me more than anything.
Kidnapping. Slavers from planet whatever on the hunt and prowl for fresh labor.
Besalisk as a species grow tall and broad when they reach adulthood. Their strength is considerable in both sexes, making them solid specimens for various uses. Prime targets for slavers if there is a need. The younger the better. Steal them, commit them to their ways and you have a manual laborer for life. Left behind are the horrified and heartbroken families never to see that child again. Lives left in tatters. Good times.
Colton had limits. Stealing children for slavery was one of those.
With the failed attempt earlier in the day, no one had counted on a second same-day attempt. No one except Colton. And really, what my anxiety ridden brain remembered from his explanation was that there was an explosion at the school, a decoy to lure the kids from the safety of the building into the courtyard. There, the kidnappers dressed as school personnel used vibro-whips to pin every child onto the ground. Bru was snatched. They'd had her in their dirty grasp. But at the same time, Tanner also had her. He'd latched a death grip onto her leg and refused to let go. Of course, in the less than thirty seconds it took Colton's people to surround the courtyard, the kidnappers had successfully stomped on my brother's face to detach him from his friend. He'd have two black eyes for a month and a headache to match, but to him it had been worth it. That slight little delay he created gave Colton's crew the extra seconds needed.
What happened after, I had no intent of hearing. It's always been that violent part of Colton's profession that I just didn't need to know about. My place was here hugging the hell out of my brother and hanging onto Bru's hand until her mom arrived. She hugged Tanner too. To her credit, the Besalisk girl was relatively calm given the circumstances. Once Agis arrived though, all bets were off as she hurried to her mom's embrace. The four of us were escorted to the hospital by Colton's must trusted, Sydenious Greyer. The extra-extra large, extra tall, extra dark-skinned man with the personality of an angry tree stump, would protect his friend Colton literally with his own life, blood and all. So, yeah, we were in the safest of hands.
Quin Kalis, chief healer extraordinaire saw to the kids immediately. The rest of the class we'd left behind were safe and uninjured, but a healer would be sent to verify. I was pretty certain that Bru was mostly okay too. She did have a few scrapes and probably some bruising where they'd punched at her as she fought. Pretty damned good effort for a girl so young. I was proud of Tanner too for fighting like he did for his friend. I was also furious at him for getting the snot kicked out of him when he could have been killed. That was a conversation for later though. For now, I had to bring myself to actually release him from my arms long enough for Quin to see to him.
Yup. Two black eyes. One was worse than the other and might actually swell shut for a few days. No permanent damage. The almost immediate headache would disappear too. She shot him up with a hypo for the pain and told me to take him home, clean him up and put him to bed. No school for a few days. Bed rest and calm. He'd be fine.
Agis Scall kept a hand on her daughter's shoulder during her exam. Explaining the transpired events, how she had asked Colton for help and so on. It would have been perfectly acceptable had Bru been upset for her mother withholding that information from her, but as child and parent, theirs was a close relationship. All they had was each other. Bru was accepting and grateful that her mother loved her that much to go to such extremes for assistance.
As instructed, I got Tanner home, cleaned up and in bed. He felt like crap for three days before things began improving. Black eyes aside, he was almost back to his normal self when we got the end-of-week invite for dinner with Agis and Bru. A thank you dinner.
Yes, you guessed it, more biscuits and clams. But this time, sided with Tanner's personal favorite, sweet pala cream cakes.
Of which he ate four before sprawling himself onto the couch, stomach side up, to show how full he was. Bru had done the same and the two had a good giggle over it all.
Agis tried hard to repay Colton for his actions. Colton refused, saying only that these particular kidnappers would never again threaten or harm Bru Scall.
And that was that.
Besalisk were an odd creature, but when they smiled, it was big and joyful. Colton took no payment for the safety of the girl. He called it nothing more than an errand for a friend. Because that's what I'd call this whole thing. The tracking, the surveillance, the protection... and an end game in which the bad guys would never see the light of day (or breath) again.
But, sure. Just an errand for a friend.
Virgil Colton. Giant mushy-hearted criminal that he was.
That mushy-hearted criminal was currently pounding me on my back as I was busy choking on a clam. Don't ask. I coughed it up, downed one of the few pala cakes left (Tanner was nice enough to leave me one) then join the giggling kids on the couch.
They hadn't lost what made them so worth fighting for. Their innocence. Their joy in life. Their friendship.
This pair. Different in so many ways, but the same in so many others.
I sat and ruffled Tanner's long hair. It was late. It had been a week. We were all tired.
"Time to go, Mouse. Back to school tomorrow." True. He'd been out for three days and despite the black eye thing and the headache, Tanner was anxious to return. The kid loved school and learning. There had to be something seriously wrong with him, right? Probably Bru too. She seemed much the same. Another reason why these two became friends.
"Tanner, I'm going back tomorrow too." She said to him. "Meet you at Dec's and we can walk in together?
For all his courage in defending his friend against her would-be kidnappers, Tanner looked to me for approval for something as simple as meeting his friend at the corner and walking to school together. Sure, I'd be watching his every step for the rest of the week and checking on him three times a day (yes, I was in overkill mode), but it felt good to be wanted.
"Works for me, little brother. Just keep eyes and ears open always. You know that. Both of you."
"We will." That was Bru and Tanner together. Smiling but serious.
Agis ended the evening with a gigantic four-armed hug around Colton. He wasn't usually that into hugging as an event and then here came this new friend into his life. Unexpected.
No, Colton and Agis would not be as tight a pair as Tanner and Bru, but the respect and appreciation was there and would remain so.
I got my own hug from Bru. Joined by Tanner. Then I fell over backwards. Well.. fell? More like they pushed me over, on purpose. I figured it was intentional, because they sat there practically on top of me giggling behind their hands again.
These two.
These two were contagious.
Of course seconds later, their laughter became infectious through the entire house. And yes, I started giggling too.
END
