Beyond - Legends Watering the Jade Lotus

Title: Watering the Jade Lotus
Author: Gamiel
Characters: OCs
Era: Sometime after the battle of Endor
Genre: adventure?
Summary: Navigator Kreel give the underlord of the Lahara sector an an offer she can't refuse.
Notes: Written in response to ...the Fanon Yours ’n’ Mine Challenge from the Fanon Thread. The elements of fanon that I have included are (for now):
Athenar (The Lost) by Anedon
The Lahara Sector by me
The Jade Lotus criminal syndicate by me
And some things behind the spoiler because I want to keep the mystery

The heavy slang used by the crew is

Spoiler

mostly based the fictive argot nadsat, from the book A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, with some other words that are listed here

Spoiler regarding Padishar Kreel's species

Spoiler

she is a purple-eyed chiss created by Gahmah Raan

Part 1 (bellow)
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10

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Part 1

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* The planet Pelekay in The Lahara Sector *

As the servant filled the teacups around the table Black-Pink-Fish Mountain-Entrance looked upon Navigator Padishar Kreel’s crew, they were strange group she thought.

Sitting down opposite Mountain-Entrance was Kreel herself, a blue-skinned human, with her eyes hidden by formfitting mirror shades, her face covered in tattoos, on the right side they took the shape of scriptures, written in some alphabet Mountain-Entrance did not recognise, while on the left side they were more of the style common on the skin of many spacemen. She lounged in her chare, like a snake on a warm rook in the sun and also like a snake was there something dangerous about her.
To her right was Echaterin, a devaronian that was the captain of Kreel’s ship. To Kreel’s left was a myke with perfect applied mascara and an elaborated hairstyle, which had been presented as Katsumi, Kreel’s social advice-giver. Standing behind them, near the wall was the shipmates K’atam and Hummer.

K’atam was a mimbanite, a barbarian species from Mimban that only know of thanks to the dramatizations of Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker’s adventure on that planet. He had his red-green crest pulled back in a ponytail showed his barbarian nature by the strange, if ornamented, wooden decoration he had, among them some strange table-tennis rackets like items that were hanging from his wrists. How, and why, Kreel had gotten him as part of her crew was something Mountain-Entrance wanted to know, even if it was unimportant.

Hummer on the other hand was something she had never seen, nor heard of. He (or was it she, or even it? It was hard to tell) was some kind of crustacean, or insectoid, species with a segmented, black-green exoskeleton and four arms, one lower pair of smaller arm with hands and a higher pair that ended in gigantic clawed pincers. It had a par of large, long antennas above where Mountain-Entrance guessed it mouth was (it was hard to tell with all the numerous feelers that gave an impression of a beard) folded backward over its head like some kind of extreme moustache. The way its four eyestalks moved gave the impression of it constantly taking in the whole room. It was obvious why Kreel had him/her/it, the claws and together with its two meter and some height gave a strong impression of danger. Mountain-Entrance was glad for the more than two dozen men she had in the rooms beside if there would be a fight.

They were all dressed in blue/white striped shirts, black snake-skin belt over wide dark-blue trousers and had read-n-yellow bandana tied around the neck. Kreel and Echaterin hade black officers caps and black coats with a serpent in striking position rising from the sea embroider on the back, the same symbol was embroider on the back of the jackets the rest of the crew had while the rest of the crew had jackets and roundhats. All of them had some kind of ornamental snake dagger in their belts.
As the last cup had been filled Mountain-Entrance begun to speak, “I’m thankful for your gift, Navigator Kreel”, referring to the fine Kashyyykian puzzle box in front of her.

“An’ Eh for yars”, said Kreel, touching the bottle of Pelekeian purpa wine before razing her cop “To an agreeable future.”

“To an agreeable future.”

All around the table took a sip.

“Now, what kind of business do you want to discuss.”

“Well then, madam Mountain-Entrance. It’s an open secret that ya’re the head of the Jade Lotus krim family, what’s a bit more secret’s that ya’re by boo-coo in the business considered the underlord of the Lahara sector. What’s even less known, even among the people in the business, is that the Jade Lotus’s having trouble. Ya drug factories on Djörenrött’re being threatened by Raygorn’s Roughnecks; ya have lost your friendship with the Han Saa trade-clan so ya can na longer use their ships for ya smuggling; the Zann Consortium has shown interest in moving into the Lahara sector an’ has already converted two of yar outlying nak-niks to their side. If things continue as they’re now ya an’ ya family will fall.”

Silence filled the room for a short time after Kreel had stopped speaking, and not just because Mountain-Entrance needed to process her accent and word choice.

“Navigator Kreel, even if what you said was true I would deny it. As for now, you have insulted me and my people. Give me a reason to why I should not just throw you out?”

Kreel smilled in a way that was a bit too predatory, showing redish teeth, “Good answer, to bad ya’re lying through yar teeth. Eh’m offering ya the chance to stop yar downward spiral, think of me as Old Turner here to raise ya ship from the void with crew and all.”

Mountain-Entrance gave the illtraveller a hard stare, “And how do you plan to do that”, she asked. She could always kill her afterward if the tattooed mynock did not give a good answer.
Kreel’s grin seemed to widen, “Katsumi.”

At the mention of her name the myke plucked the black flower that was inserted in her hair and placed it before Mountain-Entrance who looked at it wondering before realising, “Black lotus.”

“Stygian black lotus”, corrected Kreel “of the finest kind ya’l ever find. Give it to ya labboys, they’ll agree.”

“Are you implying that you know where to find Stygian black lotus?”

“Yebo, Eh also know how to make Han Saa yar friends again an’ Eh have maps over hyperlanes that few know of. All this Eh’m willing to give ya. Eh’ll even throw in some help against the Zann Consortium”

“For a price. Just like Old Turner who did not return the ship to her captain for free.”

“True.”

“What’s your price?”

“Ya third daughter, Spring-Tree-Blossom.”

 

Intresting start.
Its rare to see a story that focuses on the criminal underworld of the galaxy. I´ve just recently played Empire at War again so liked the reference to the Zann Consortium.
I´m looking forward how you bring the Athenar into the story.

 

Part 2

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There were five members of the Jade Lotus in the room (and probably more than four times that amount on the other side of the walls) – underlord Black-Pink-Fish Mountain-Entrance, her second Sea-Rift Sun-Shark, her first daughter Albatross Mountain-Entrance and the two guards (no name given) – and they were all starring at her with ambivalence on their face. Something that warmed navigator Kreel, it was always nice when she was able to make people not know how to react to her.

Kreel allowed her hidden eyes to roam over the people she would have commit something they never thought they would do:

Black-Pink-Fish, who was a green skinned human with a broad nose, almond shaped eyes and a face that was on the pretty side of plane, even if the hard, brown eye’s revealed the core of iron. Albatross, who was to her left, was visibly her mother’s daughter, if with a bit more notable cheekbones. They were both dressed in flowery, red-n’-white samues, blue waistcoats with a discreet waive pattern, dark trousers and a pink scarf with some kind of flower/leaf pattern hanging around their shoulders. A jade brooch of a styled lotus flowers proudly declared their belongings on the left side of their samues.

Sun-Shark - a karkarodon built like a gamorrean with a surprisingly fatherly face, sat on Black-Pink-Fish’s right side. Dressed in a loos (but wrinkle free) yukata with the same flowery, red-n’-white pattern as the Mountain-Entrences’ samues and wide pants - was probably the physically most dangerous of the five and the one with most controlled expression (or maybe she was just bad at reading karkarodon’s faces).

The guard, who was standing near the wall, behind their superiors, were both green humans in flowery, short sleeved samues with brown waistcoats, and dark green, knee covering short. Short sabres hang from their hips and they probably had more weapons hidden behind their waistcoats. Their eyes hidden by round lensed sunglasses made their faces hard to read but their body language, when she named her price, made up for that.

After at least half a minute Black-Pink-Fish found her tongue “You want my daughter.”

“Yebo, as payment of me service.”

“You want me to give up not just one of my family! But also my own flesh and blood!”

“To save the rest of yer family, yebo.”

“What make you think I would even consider it and, if what you have said is true, just kill you for just suggesting it!”

“Because ye need what Eh’m offering an’ drating me won’t make ye trouble go away.”

Before Black-Pink-Fish could spit out something in her self-righteous anger Sun-Shark intervened by whispering in her ear. Black-Pink-Fish listened to him and then took a deep breathed in and breathed out.

Good, thought Kreel, she may have had underestimate the underlord’s temper.

“I’ll admit that some of the things you have said are true”, said Black-Pink-Fish after she had centred herself, “and the service you’re offering would be of help. But as for now I have only your word that you can provide them. Or that the price you ask is worth it.”

“Fully pony. Eh don’t expect ya to pay for services jet receive”, Kreel smirked, “Eh’m willing to fulfil me part of the bargain before ya’ve to handover me payment.”

For nearly a minute everything was quiet until Black-Pink-Fish took a deep breath, “I need to think this over and talk with my people.”

“Of course, the offer stands until Eh leave and Eh’ll be here for atleast seven days.”

“I’ll tell you my decision before the week’s end.”

“Izrin. Well then, by yar leave”, Kreel and her crew rose from their seats as one. As they turned their back to the table and begun to walk out they showed Black-Pink-Fish and her folks the serpent in striking position rising from the sea embroider on their backs.

 

Oooh, this is very intriguing indeed. The participants in the high adventure are colorful literally and otherwise. Fascinating things behind the spoilers.

 

I was inspired by business “uniforms” on Hawaii, some of the patterns I have seen on kimonos and general South Sea attire (or the pop-cultural idea of South Sea attires). Since bright colours and flower pathers seemed to be common on those I useded that. I also did not want to make the Jade Lotus to look like your usual bunch of mafia or yakuza expies.

 

Part 3

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“Izrin. Well then, by yar leave” the recording stopped, showing Illtraveller Kreel just as she was begin to rise.

“What do you think”, asked Black-Pink-Fish her third daughter, Spring-Tree-Blossom.

“Do she speak truth?”

“I don’t know, but if I know she was lying would she be dead.”

“I mean about the situation Jade Lotus is in.”

Black-Pink-Fish was quiet for a short time before answering heavy, “Yes”, the word taste wrong on her tongue, and she realised that she herself had not fully accepted the truth.

“Oh.”

For a time they both was quiet until Spring-Tree-Blossom once again spoke, “Why has I not been told about this? Dose Albatross and Sandbank know?”

“Yes, they know. I did not tell you since I did not want to worry you. Albatross and Sandbank needed to know since they were working with it. You did not need to know, and I believed that the problem would be fixed before you would ever need to know.”

“You don’t need to protect me mother, I would had been able to handle it. You said that you believed that the problem would be fixed, do you still believe that?”

“No. When that mynock Kreel listed all our problems it made me realise that the Jade Lotus was being bleeded dry by many small cuts. Each of them where no real problem but together they are killing us.”

“Do you know of any ways we can overcome those menaces?”

“All of them? No.”

“Then mother, we need to agree on Kreel’s conditions.”

Black-Pink-Fish was filled with pride and sorrow, “You make me proud, daughter. Without your consent I could never had accepted.”

 

Yikes, a very difficult decision. Hope it turns out for the best.

 

A late update and sadly not such a long one

Part 4

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“Katsumi of the Black Sea’s Serpent?”

Katsumi looked up from under her sunhat and the book she was reading. In front of her was a tall karkarodon dressed in a flowery, short sleeved samues, a jade green sunhat and dark green, knee covering shorts. A short sabre hang from her belt, with bells attached to the scaber and the handle, like all blade weapons on Pelekay.

“Yes, and who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

“I’m Yaddle Beach-Tumbler. I’m here to inform navigator Kreel about mistress Mountain-Entrance decision.”

Going by the karkarodon’s size, name and the light mascara around the eyes, corners of the mouth and knuckles Katsumi deducted that she was dealing with a woman.

“Well meet”, she said as she rose up, “Kreel is inside”, referring to the massage palor that she had been resting her back against, “I will take you to her. Hacchan, stay here”, the last was directed to the TDL-nanny droid that had been keeling beside Katsumi, playing on a sitar. Of some reason it was dressed in a fine dress and had an elaborated peruke with hair-ornaments on.

Inside Yaddle found Kreel dressed in a short bathrobe, half-siting, half-laying in a chare while four masseurs was working on her, one of each arm, one for her head, and one massaging her left leg-stump and cleaning the peg-leg plugins. Kreel’s right leg was wraped in a towel.

“Greeting Navigator Kreel, I’m Yaddle Beach-Tumbler, I speak for mistress Mountain-Entrance.”

“Well meet. Ya’ve to appypolly-loggy my appearance but my ship’s being”, she stopped and made a grimace, “serviced right now, an’ Eh feel every repair being made, every veshch of the Serpent that’s being changed. Eh feel it in my skin an’ in me bones. The masseurs‘re here ta distract me an’ make the sudden spikes of pain or discomfort more bearable. Pleness?”

It was not clear to Yaddle, nor why the blue-skinned human had a pair of goggles on while being massaged but she did not need to know nor wanted to waste time finding out. “I’m here to inform you that mistress Mountain-Entrance have decided to accept your offer.”

“Esalacha. Me ship will be finished by… Ah, ah, Do my jaw. Sorry-lorry, it’ll be finished by tomorrow dusk. Send ya boss-ma’am my invite to dine an’ discuss how we’re going ta do my part of the agreement. Katsumi will help ya with the details.”

“That means that we should leave”, said Katsumi from just beside Yaddle. The karkarodon prevented herself from flinching, how had that socialite get within her reach without her realising it.

“Now”, continued the myke as she moved toward the door, unaware or at least not showing any knowledge of the effect she had on the Jade Lotus agent, “I have seen the most perfect little teahouse, with a lovely balcony where we can talk business undisturbed and you can tell me where you have brought that nice mascara you are using. It really compliments your knuckles and fit your eyes.”

 

Since I'm not certain I have been clear on, all the parts posted have been taking place on the planet Pelekay - A tropical waterworld with many island with sandy beaches. The population is mainly karkarodon and green humans. It's culturally inspired by the South sea islands and coastal Japan. Pelekay is my own creation and lay in the The Lahara Sector

People from Pelekay are known as Pelek/s

Not much happens in this part but I felt that it would be better to post it now then spend months adding the "happening" stuff (I write slow after all) and then post.

EDIT: have fixed some words and added some links

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Part 5

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Black-Pink-Fish looked upon the Black Sea’s Serpent they entered the hangar where she rested, she had of course seen picts of it but it was a bit different to see it in real life. Kreel’s ship was a Duro Hammarhaj trader, from the outside no notably different from other Duro Hammarhaj traders that travelled the deep void. The ship was completely black painted with some highlights and patterns here and there in dark blue, dark green and silver that gave the impression of stylized water. The serpent in striking position rising from the sea, that had been embroider on the jackets of Kreel and her crew, was painted on the side of the ship, and below it was its name written three times – In Basic, Duros and Huttes.

Waiting beside the ships main entrance was Katsumi, the Black Sea’s Serpent’s ‘social advice-giver’, now dressed in a black áo dài with embroider snake patterns, that appeared and disappeared depending on the light, a blue/white striped maru obi, dark blue trousers and her hair in an elaborated hairstyle that incorporated the red-n-yellow neckerchief that she had worn earlier as a bow.

The social advice-giver bowed gracefully as they come near the entrance.

“Welcome, master Kreel awaits you inside. If you would follow me.”

Inside the ship was there a small shrine directly beside the airlock and medallions was hanging beside the door (maybe some kind of protective fetishes or something). The air was cold and smelled recycled and of… tar? As she heard the floor creak below her feet Black-Pink-Fish realized that the hips floor was covered in wooden planks, similar to the ones used on piers and it was from them the tar smell came from.

Katsumi lead them to the galley where Kreel was sitting at the table, together with Echaterin, K’atam and Jocasta Reddwarf, a dark-drown skinned human who was written up as the ships quartermaster. No sight of the ship’s two mechanics or the crustacean–insectoid, which they had found out was named Hummer and belonged to the worrite species.

Kreel and her crew was dressed more relaxed then last time the underlord had seen them: no jackets, coats or hats, K’atam had let his crest free and he and Joe used the neckerchief as a headband while Kreel had hers tied around her head as a kerchief.

“Welcome to my domy, bolshy boss-ma’am Black-Pink-Fish”, greeted Kreel

Said the spider to the fly, thought Black-Pink-Fish.

“This ‘ere”, Kreel gesticulated toward Reddwarf, “is my quartermaster Corellian Joe. The rest here ya already meet.”

“Yes I have. May I present my advisors Albatross Surf”, an older female karkarodon dressed similar to her underloard but with a high collared coat in bark blue and white, “and Einar Skywalker”, a dark skinned human with long, greying hair and beard, dressed in a business kimono of Coruscantian cut.

“And this is my third daughter, Spring-Tree-Blossom.”

The young Pelek took a step forward. She was a teenager, a head-and-some-more shorter than her mother, with baby fat still on her cheek and a determined look on her face, whatever happened she would go through with this without bringing shame on her family. Dressed like her mother but with her long, fine hair hanging lose along her back, save for perfectly level bangs trimmed just above the upper eyelids, and side locks trimmed to shoulder level.

Standing just behind her, and not presented, was a green-skinned women in a traditional Faye bodyguard outfit, her face hidden by the protective mask, with a shortsword/longsword combo and a dagger hanging from her belt. Small bells hanging from the pommels and the scabbards, like all blade weapons on Pelekay. The Serpent’s crew know her name, Starclam Sea-Scum, young Spring-Tree-Blossom’s combined lady-in-waiting and bodyguard.

“Now, with all us gathered, please take a seat an’ some refreshment an’ we can govoreet business.”

 

Thanks

Thanks, I try to incorporate different things so they are not obviously a SW version of a real life culture/nation. I was actually originally planning to have Katsumi dressed up similar to a geisha or a oiran but realised that it would make her a bit to much Japanese overall especially since she is the most anime inspired of the crew.

We will see.

 

Part 6

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A TDL-nanny droid dressed as a traditional Corellian serving-maid with an elaborated wig was serving them Sevren blue tea as Kreel begun to talk:

“First of, here”, she pushed a datacube over to Pink-Black-Fish, “in it all the secret an’ unknown ruts in the sector that Eh have been able to find. A king’s ransom in knowledge that a oomny ptitsas like ye know how to use.
Now if ye labboys have done a good job ye know that the lotus Eh gave ye is the same high quality as the lotus brokered by the Scarlet Reavers. There’s a dobro reason for that: it’s the same. My departed master”, Kreel made the elder sign, “made the deal between the lotus growers an’ the Scarlet Reavers for distributing rights, but the Reavers have broken their part of the deal an’ now there‘re lots of unshipped lotus viddying for a distributer.”

“Are you saying that the Scarlet Reavers will not get any more black lotus?”

“Yebo. Or at least nemo more high quality Stygian black lotus.”

Pink-Black-Fish thought that over, the Scarlet Reavers had given no indications to that their supply of Stygian black lotus suddenly had been stopped but if it was true – which it most likely was if Kreel’s unnamed lotus growers did appear with the goods – that was information that would be really useful if the Jade Lotus wanted to negotiate with or go to war against them.

“And when can we meet those lotus growers of yours and what are they going to want for their product?”

“Here’s what they want”, Kreel pushed over a dataslate, “an’ ye get to meet them once ye have the payment ready.”

Pink-Black-Fish looked over the items on the dataslate – no money or gemstones, most of it was high-tech parts and more unusual materials used for buildings or technology.

She handed it over to Einar, “How fast do you think we would be able to gather it all?”

Einar hummed as he looked over the list, “A month, maybe a bit more, if we care about secrecy. A week or two if we don’t.”

“You hear master Kreel. What would you, who know our new business partners, suggest?”

“Eh but a humble one ship owner, Eh don’t know the fineries of controlling bolshy korp like ye do”, she once again did her predatory smile, “but now since ye asked, Eh would suggest to care about secrecy. Ye new business partners care about secrecy. Especially their own, that’s what made the Reavers lose their favour, they wanted to know a lomtick too much about our growers an’ tried to kopatet more than they had the right to.”

“Well then”, Pink-Black-Fish stroke her chin, “one month and a week. We will have it ready by that. Tell your lotus growers to have a place and a time and their goods ready for us then.”

“Eh’ll tell them. Oh, an’ something Eh want’s that as long we’re doing this ye travel with me whenever ye travel outside of Pelekay an’ Spring-Tree-Blossom travel with us. Ye can take as many people a ye want an’ even have ye ships escorting us.”

“Why?”

“Because once all this is over she’ll travel with me an’ she should know her new home before moving in”, she took a sip of her tea, “Eh think our first travel should go to Satarla an’ as quickly as possible to govoreet the high represented of the Han Saa that’s stationed there.”

 

Part 7

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“I hope ye know what ye doing Padja”, said Echaterin when the Jade Lotus had left them, “Mountain-Entrance did good job hiding it but she flinched, if so-so malenky, every raz ye reminded her of yer price.”

“No worries”, answered Padishar, “boss-ma’am Mountain-Entrance is a ptitsa of honour an’ honour demands the she saves the Jade Lotus, no matter the personal price. The same sense of honour will also make her keep her part of the agreement, as long as Eh keep mine. Now it would probably been a bit lomtick if Eh had asked for her first born an’ hirer but now Eh only asked for her third child. Malenky Spring-Tree-Blossom is too molodoy to be a true subordinate or possible hire, that’s less bandas of honour to stop Mountain-Entrance to sacrifice her for the good of the krim-clan. That Spring-Tree-Blossom’s a well raised devotchka, that Eh think made no complains for her role once it was explained what her sacrifice would pay for, likely helpt. Maybe she even fully agreed that it was necessary. Now that’s the kind of veshches that fills an honourable parent’s hearth with pride. Making all this easier for her, an’ for me.”

“Oh well, ye boss-ma’am, boss-ma’am.”

“I agree with our malefic mistress”, said Katsumi, who had just returned after escorting the Jae Lotus out, “underlord Mountain-Entrance is to honourable to back down on this deal if we keep our end of the agreement but she will most likely try to find some kind of loophole if possible”

“Well then me kvinns, then we better ain't give her any”, said Padishar grinning, “Now, let’s eat up an’ then hide away everything we ain’t want them to viddy.”

 

Yep, but I would really not call Mountain-Entrance's earnest, she is after all the sectors underlord, as in the bolshyest, baddest crime lord in the sector.

Well it makes it easier. I have mostly modelled the Jade Lotus after the Yakuza (or at least their pop-cultural depiction) and Spring-Tree-Blossom is "just" a family member and not a subordinate, thereby making it so that she and madam Mountain-Entrance only have one bound of loyalty binding themselves together. And since she is the third child there has not been as much "investment", from a training and positioning stand point if not from an emotional one, in her as in her older siblings.

It all come downs to loyalty ans where the priority lay. Loyalty to the cause/organisation/your group or loyalty to your close kin and what you are willing to sacrifice for the cause and what you can get away with.

We will see

Maybe, maybe not

Thanks

 

Adding this here since I realise I forgot to say that it's also about honour - personal honour, the Jade Lotus' honour, family honour - and the question about what is the most honourable thing to do for madam Mountain-Entrance and Spring-Tree-Blossom. And right now Kreel is betting that both think that the most honourable thing is to sacrifice Spring-Tree-Blossom to the Black Sea’s Serpent's crew to save the Jade Lotus.

 

Part 8

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Spring-Tree-Blossom had heard stories with Illtravelers long before Navigator Kreel had contacted her mother. They were a standard component in many fairy tales, often used as a obstacle or strange helper for the Jedi or princess out to save the prince/planet, sometime they had the role as a villain. With all the stories she had heard and seen with them she could not say that Kreel disappointed her: strange tattoos, strange way of speaking, red teeth and eyes that was constantly hidden. Black Sea’s Serpent, her ship on the other hand…

“What’re you thinking”, asked Starclam, her bodyguard and best friend.

“That Illtraveler Kreel’s ship isn’t what I expected.”

“How so?”

“It’s so normal. I mean, it’s a bit eccentric thanks to the wooden floor, and the strange symbols here and there, the large shrine, and the medallions hang beside every door/opening. But it’s not… as the stories.”

“Made up by different ships jury-rigged together? Full of the remains of her enemies like skulls, shrunken heads and similar? The lightning does work and shadows don’t move? That kind of things?”

“Yes. Force, yes. The ship is not like that.”

“Ay 'ope ay don’t be 'ear'n yous openly speak ill o' de ship you’re travell'n in, matés”, said the voice of Corellian Joe a bit behind them, “It’s bad fortune ye nah.”

Starclam moved her hand away from her dagger, the unfamiliar ships noise had hidden Corellian Joe’s approach, surprising her. She needed to fix that, Spring-Tree-Blossom security depended on her being able to notice that kind of things.

“Speaking ill of your ship… no, we did nothing like that”, answered Spring-Tree-Blossom the brown skinned woman.

“That’s sound as a-pound, but it ain’t me ship. It’s navigati Kreel’s an’ she wants yous at de bridge young mistress Spring-Tree-Blossom. We’re enti'n realspace quick sticks an’ she wants yous ter see it.”

The bridge viewport was still showing the hyperspace aurora when Corellian Joe, Spring-Tree-Blossom and Starclam entered the bridge. As Corellian Joe went to one of the sets, the two Peleks stopped just beside the door way, from the back of the hyperspace sextant chair, that was where usually the captain’s chair would be, a blue arm in a blue/white striped sleeve appeared – how she could dress so light was a mystery to the two Peleks who was wearing three layers aboard the cold ship – followed by Navigator Kreel’s voice: “Came-close molodoy mistress Spring-Tree-Blossom. Eh want ya by my side right n’ tight now.”

Spring-Tree-Blossom and Starclam shared a look before walking forward, stopping beside Kreel’s side. Trying to look like she was not looking, Spring-Tree-Blossom tried to take in Kreel as she sat – it made her feel surprisingly comfortable to notice that the blue skinned woman was wearing a woollen vest and slippers, so she was not that untouchable from the cold. There was also a half empty cup of tea in a cup holder at the end of the arm rest. Suddenly Kreel was a bit less creepy to Spring-Tree-Blossom.

“Now, devotchka. Smotret”, Kreel pointed at the bridge’s window where the hyperspace aurora made way for star lines and star lines made way for real space. “Behold. The Satarla system.”

It was a sight: the left part of the bridge viewport was take up by Satarla’s red-orange gas giant form but in front of it, and taking up the rest of the viewport, was four moons and more ships and space-stations than the two Peleks had ever seen in real life. Two of the moons was visibly habituated, Kreel pointed at the upper one, “There, Sem. Our destination.”

 

As usual a late update and sadly not such a long one


Part 9

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There was nine of them that left the ship – Black-Pink-Fish, Albatross Surf, Spring-Tree-Blossom, Starclam, and Black-Pink-Fish’s bodyguards, from the Jade Lotus; and Navigator Kreel, Katsumi, Corellian Joe, from ‘the Black Sea’s Serpent’. The corridor that lead from the upper hangar, where they had landed, lead out into the upper mezzanine of a large indoor square. Even here the air smelled lightly of salt.

The square and mezzanines was filled with people and languages seemingly from all over the galaxy: a group of Satiar Mandalorains, bearing the marks of pilgrims returning from Jedha, drinking tea outside a ‘The Lotus Dragon’ teahouse; a trandoshan in the green-blue colours of Alpharius Trading, flanked by kaleesh bodyguards;a Yam'rii lady, her identity hidden by layers of embroidered silk and perfume, guarded by two whiphid spearcatchers and a chadra-fan threat-detector; a xexto street-musician showing of how masterly a four-armed instrumentalist can play a twin necked kora; a trio of neti tourists in garish shirts, snapping pictures seemingly every ten meter; groups of voidsmen from the sector’s military respectively its security fleet on shoreleave, both groups keeping themselves away from the other one; robed and masked Xand-Nxor tradesmen, their possible species only guessable by their different silhouettes; Beggar Knights, dressed in rags but with their equipment being well-cared, squatting beside a ‘Don-a-Karan’s New Jedi’ store, asking for alms or missions; and so many more. But the largest groups was the native duros and ishi tib, recognizable by their knee long vests and/or coloured wigs (with variations of the page cut being most popular).

The groups taking in of the sight was disturbed by the arrival of a duros in the local version of a business kimono with the traditional knee long vest, and an copper-coloured beehive wig.

“I’m Temondu Kirabash, here on behalf of underboss Stardust. I’m sorry I was not here to great you when you arrived, me lady.”

“Nemo-problem”, answered Kreel for the group, irritating all the members of the Jade Lotus, “It was us that did inform ya where we land too late. Now, will ya take us to the Buru-Buru theatre, we’ve seats at first show of red watch.”

Kirabash looked at Mountain-Entrance who gave her a nod.

“Ehm, then, if you would follow me.”

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Authors note: 'Don-a-Karan’s New Jedi' belongs to @Chyntuck

 

As usual a late update and sadly not such a long one.

Since I'm experimenting my way forward with how I write this so would I love to hear what people think and what parts are hard to read or I should change.

Part 10

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Nho theatre, at least the version played by the Buru-Buru Ryns, is highly formalistic. The actors move in a highly stylised way, speak in rhythm or chants and wore masks, with each mask representing a different kind of role or architype. There are usually one or two narrators that comment what’s going on, discuss what just happened on the stage, or just tell the audience what’s happening on the stage. Wordplays and puns are returning parts of the dialog.

All this was explained by Katsumi to the Jade Lotus members, while they waited for the first show of the red watch, The Tragedy in Cloud City, to begin. The reason why they were here was not really for the play, even if Katsumi did praise the theatre troop’s talent, but because the Han Saa trade-clan was the theatre’s main patron and the trade-clan’s local leader, Ilrik Reval, who was also one of the members of the clan-committee, was there.

They had actually meet Ilrik Reval, a duros dressed in the traditional green and yellow robes of a Han Saa representant, in the foyer. He was guarded by one of Buru-Buru ryn’s elite warriors, with wooden demon masks both on its face and its back. Nothing but simple pleasantries had been exchanged between them but then Kreel had joined Ilrik Reval in his loge.

Looking down from their own loge (with pamphlets in their hands explaining the masks and symbolism that would appear) the group saw the spotlights illuminate the stage and two ryn walked into the stage – one with an Male Noble Administrator-mask, the other with a Male Calculating Adviser-mask and a borg construct “head band” prop – their dialog introduced them as Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian and his aide Lobot.

As the two actors rhythmically discussed the going on of the Cloud City and what was threatening it, thereby introducing the setting, Ilrik turned to Kreel:

“So you want to me once again allow the Jade Lotus to use our ships for their trade without too much questions regarding the content being shipped?”
“Jebo."
“Then I do it. After all you where the one who asked me to begin with the interfering.”
“Good. Na, Eh suggest that we enjoy the show an’ act loike we be 'ard neging the whole raz after.”
“Pardon?”
“We should enjoy the show an’ act like we was negotiating hard the whole time after.”
“Aha, that a good suggestion.”

 

Okay-dokey, read the first three.

They are very well written, and you have crafted an intriguing story, and done some excellent family names, descriptions, and definitely some non-standard castings.

I am thankful and relieved that Black-Pink-Fish Mountain-Entrance would not have given consent without her third daughter's approval. It is a heck of a risk for your flesh and blood.

I don't think I have reviewed anything of yours before, and am only here this time as I try and find someone to tag for the OC Revolution Ask Game, recalled that you had an all-female starship crew, but found this first.

Glad I found it. This was excellent, and well imagined.