Interlude: The Fury
It didn’t take him long to settle into the ship. It was a quiet place, which suited him fine. Vette, the Twi’lek, spent most of her time in the engine room doing who knew what. She seemed to consider him rather boring, which was acceptable, as he considered her voice rather annoying. He himself spent most of his time in the cockpit, making the controls of this beautiful ship second-nature, and Akuliina prowled as she pleased, though she spent a lot of time training herself in the cargo hold. It was going to take them four days to reach Nar Shaddaa. It was going to be a bit slow until then. A short breather before his life got really interesting.
Though he was curious about his new master and her companion. It would make good tactical sense to know more about them before they ventured into the field together. Fortunately, Vette liked to talk over dinner, and Akuliina liked to oblige her. They alternated ‘cooking’ dinner – apparently neither of the women actually knew how to cook and were surviving off prepared frozen meals. He might have to address that, but he had no materials until they stopped at a planet. It wasn’t a high priority.
In any case, he learned that Vette had been a mining slave, and then had entertained a sordid youth – no surprise, given her appearance and demeanour – before turning grave robber and being caught on Korriban, when she was given to Akuliina as a slave. Akuliina had freed her for services rendered. Interesting. He wasn’t certain what their relationship was now. Friends, perhaps? But Akuliina was still definitely the one in charge.
“But enough about me,” Vette said. “I still don’t even know how old you are, Lina!”
“Lina?” Akuliina stiffened in her seat, as if trying to decide whether to be angry or not. “Fine. Very well. Lina. You may call me that, if you’re too lazy to use my full name.” Her glance slid over to Quinn. “You may not call me Lina.”
“Understood, my lord,” he said.
“Pfft, as if he would,” Vette said. “A-ku-lii-na is such a long name, though. Where does that come from?”
“So many questions.”
“I’m incorrigible!”
“At least you acknowledge it.” Akuliina smirked at the Twi’lek, who was grinning like a little kid. “My father is a Count of Kuat. Akuliina is an old and dignified name in my family. Someday I will go back and claim my heritage from them. I was raised to rule even as I was groomed to be Sith. It is my destiny.” She was from Kuat? That was only a few light-years from Balmorra, practically next door. What a small galaxy.
“Ooh, so you’re actual nobility? I didn’t know. You know, blowing up everything in your path doesn’t seem very noble.”
“Domination and destruction are my favourite pastimes,” she said archly.
“It’s nice to enjoy what you’re good at,” Vette said sarcastically. Akuliina gave her the eyebrow again. “Okay, okay, so how old are you, Lady Countess?”
“I’m not a Countess yet,” Akuliina said. “But you may call me ‘my lady’. I still rank higher as a Sith Count’s daughter than as a Sith apprentice, as yet, even as the apprentice of Darth Baras. At least until I become a Sith Lord.” She wasn’t looking at him, yet he made a mental note to try the gendered title in future.
“Ooookay, that was a bit more specific than I was going for,” Vette said. “Anyway, I was just teasing, and you haven’t answered the question yet. Lady-Countess-to-be. Li-li.” She stuck out her tongue.
“Li-li is out,” Akuliina snapped, glaring, and Vette shrugged, a placating smile on her face.
“Okay, won’t do that again. But.”
“Must I?”
“Yeah!”
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s impolite to ask a lady’s age?”
“Yeah, I bet you’re not even as old as I am. Also, nope, no one told me that! Sounds silly. C’mooon Lina.”
Akuliina rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’m twenty.”
Twenty!? He would have guessed her to be twenty-five, twenty-six at least. But that exlained a few things; her inexperience, her arrogance, her boundless confidence, the aura of invincibility.
It also was a relief, in a way. She was a bit young for him. He was thirty-two; what was that rule again? Half one’s age plus seven? When she realized it, she would cease her flirtations with him.
Unless she didn’t care, or didn’t know about that rule, and continued anyway, in which case, it was up to him to somehow impart that information to her without making her angry. You’re doomed, the little voice in his head whispered. He shook it away.
“Aha!” Vette exclaimed. “I’m nineteen. I think. It’s hard to keep track of years as a slave-turned-pirate-turned-treasure-hunter. So you beat me by one.”
Children. He was shipping with children. If he hadn’t already seen them in action, he would have been intensely regretting his decision to join her right now.
Though he saw little of Vette during the day, Akuliina came to check on him rather frequently, several times. She’d stay a few minutes to talk, and sometimes she’d drop innuendos and inappropriate insinuations into her conversation, and sometimes she wouldn’t. He was quite sure she was only trying to get a rise out of him, after the way he’d reacted to her first come-on, but now he was prepared and managed – though sometimes barely – to retain his professional dead-pan.
Fortunately she seemed amused with that as well. “If you dodge enemy fire as well as you dodge my advances, you’ll fare well under my command.”
“I’m here to do a job, my lady.”
He could feel her restraining an eye roll at his stoic response.
“Actually, permission to speak freely, my lady?”
“Go ahead, Captain,” she said, spinning her command chair in the cockpit to face him, legs crossed elegantly.
He’d learned something about her, after all. It was only polite to return the favour. But this wasn’t for Vette’s ears. “Perhaps you were wondering why I was languishing on Balmorra before you arrived; why I owe so much to Darth Baras. About a decade ago, I served under Moff Broysc and was present at the Battle of Druckenwell.” He kept his voice as dry and conversational as possible. “Moff Broysc made a critical oversight that brought the fleet to the brink of complete defeat. I ignored his order and turned the tide to victory.”
“I take it the Moff took exception to that,” she commented.
“Precisely, my lady. Broysc took credit for the reversal… which is fine…” he’d mostly expected that “-but he then court-martialed me. Darth Baras assigned me to Balmorra or my career would have been over. Moff Broysc had blocked every transfer and promotion I’ve been up for since.”
“Broysc sounds like a petty idiot. I have no tolerance for such fools.”
“I could say more about him, my lady-” and he wanted to, wanted to vent a decade’s worth of frustration “- but my point is made. I serve you, now. I have no regrets.” None worth talking about, anyway.
“Good,” she said. She stared into space for a moment, and he could see her thinking. “Druckenwell was a decade ago. My father mentioned it, I recall. Said he was amazed the Empire had won, but I didn’t think much of his saying so at the time. Now I know why, I suppose.” She would have been a child; it was surprising she remembered at all. “I wonder what I would have done with you, were I in charge. I’d like to think I’d give credit where it was due. Although I would try not to make critical oversights in the first place.” A brief smile graced her lips before she suddenly frowned at him. “So then, unless you were a truly remarkable prodigy, you must be older than you appear.”
He looked young? How flattering. “I’m thirty-two, my lady.”
“Hm. And you managed to turn a rout into a slaughter at twenty-two. Impressive. If you’ve managed to keep your skills sharp on little Balmorra, you’re even more competent than you’ve sold yourself to be.” She smiled lazily. “I like competence.”
“I do my best, my lady.”