A Crude Awakening (Week 2)

When I left the Cluster, I swore to myself that I would act as an average personage, a resident of the Republic and nothing more. Time and again I reminded myself that once I was free, my royal blood would count for nothing, and that I should hide it. I certainly did not think I would count on it to save me from problematic situations. But I fear I have done exactly that, and in dong I have caused harm that may not be mended. It was a mistake I will endeavor never to make again.

We have made port at an agricultural planet, Mandragaard. Having frown tired of seeing nothing but bulkheads and the inside of storage containers for weeks on end, I made my way to the market to get some air. I planned on taking a leisurely stroll to sightsee, but my plans were destroyed by two blaster shots that rang through the crowd, and the chaos that followed. I jerked my head, startled, and saw Kaos on the ground with a blaster drawn. Across from her was a man; unconscious from a new blaster would in his shoulder. My eyes took in the scene – the man’s purse was open and there was a handful of credits clumsily hidden in Kaos’ hand. Apparently she believed the crowded market a ripe filed for honing her skills in picking pockets, which seemed as effective as her healing skills. Security guards were approaching, and I acted without thought, pulling my new shipmate from the ground and urgently ordering her to run. I though, I now realize, that my diplomatic skills and status as a Hapan Royal would be sufficient to deal with the guards. I was gravely mistaken.

Why I exposed myself to help Kaos I do not know exactly. Aboard the ship she was the only one save myself who was willing to tell her story. Perhaps I felt some kind of bond with her for that. Perhaps I didn’t want to loose what mechanical skills she had learned over the last few days. No matter now.

The guards came, and I searched my mind for whatever would lead them furthest away from Kaos. I told them a Twi’lek had robbed the man and shot him, not knowing there was only one such being registered to be on the planet. Their questioning became unfriendly as I balked at identifying the woman as the thief. Without going into uncomfortable detail, I sent the woman to prison to avoid a closer look being taken at my person, origins, and possessions. Had my brother not intervened, perhaps I would have been dragged off for questioning regardless.

I feel as a coward, to use others so. And now an innocent is paying the toll for my fear. Upon further reflection, it occurs to me that there is another self-deception under which I have labored. Aboard the ship, I did not hesitate to tell others details about my past, and when we made port I brazenly appeared in the market with my only valuables so conspicuous, they might as well have been on display. I mistakenly believed that, once I was free of the Consortium, all would be well. I thought I could start a new life, safe as my distance from home increased. This was a dangerous mistake, and while I did not pay the price directly, I feel the burden of guilt settling upon me. My conscience is uneasy, the face of a woman I do not know haunts me.

When I re-boarded the ship, I constructed a wallet for the rainbow gems that I could fasten to myself under my robes. I am loath to give one up this early in the journey, but they are in some ways a weight on me. I thought to gain security… but no matter. Perhaps I can part with one in order to save the Twi’lek and soothe my conscience. Perhaps my greed and send of self-preservation will be too great and I will be unable to part with my only remaining wealth. One thing is certain; I have come out of this incident a more careful individual.

Week 1 - continued

It is not a nice place we have landed in. The shadow port did not look like much on the outside - now I feel I shall have to check myself for disease once we depart from here. I have reminded myself that this is not a vacation, it is an escape, but I admit I'd hoped for something less fragrant with humanoid feculence. My brother is very tight-lipped about our reasons for being here, but I assume we will be switching transports. The journey has been trying; I hope from now I will not have to hide in smuggling compartments and shipping containers. Jean led me into the first bar we came across - a dingy, poorly lit affair with far too many dark corners. There was a man in strange robes tending bar. His garb was familiar, but the name eluded me until I saw the lightsaber at his belt. A Jedi?! What in the seven hells is a Jedi doing in a place like this? I ha heard stories in my childhood - I thought them to be fearsome warriors. Why else would they be so reviled in the Cluster? But perhaps my people's fears had inflated their formidableness; perhaps they were simply normal creatures wielding strange tools. Nonetheless, I sat down and ordered a drink. The last few days I'd barely seen the outside of a cramped container, I certainly needed one. The Jedi poured me some kind of whiskey and an ale - the whiskey burned painfully, but the ale snuffed it nicely an a needed glow began to settle in my belly.

Everyone in the bar seemed uneasy except for the Jedi bartender - someone mentioned a scuffle in the refresher. Apparently a group of pirates had chased a girl in there. Fine with me. With any luck the confrontation would stay in the bathroom. I turned back to my drink.

Luck was not on my side, however, an it was not long before the conflict exploded out into the bar. The noise was deafening, the lights split my head asunder; I had never before been so close to a firefight, and had absolutely no idea what to do. And so, without thinking I dove behind an overturned table, thereby managing to miss most of the fight. I peeked over the edge every so often when the noise would seem to abate - apparently the entire bar was involved except for myself, Jean, an a couple old derelicts who cowered behind tables as I did. Having finally chase the girl out of the bathroom, the pirates found themselves up against not only their quarry, but a human, a Tinnen, a Shistavenan, and even the Jedi! These people must enjoy fighting other people's battles for them. Perhaps the goddess had led us into this unclean place after all.

The battle was done in short order, with the pirates fleeing back to their ship, leaving only their companions who'd been welded into the refresher by the Tinnen. I listened to their conversation without speaking at first, and it seemed the Tinnen and his human companion were the crew of their own ship! Given the obvious need for us to change our transport, I quickly ordered my brother to pay for both our passage. As it happened, the Shistavenan, Jedi, and the strange pirate girl came along as well. The captain, once introductions were made, urged us towards the hangar. It would not do for us to stay there long. The Jedi led the way - apparently he was familiar with this shadow port. On his way out he grabbed several bottles from the bar and secreted them into his robes. His demeanor puzzled me - when he drew his lightsaber on the pirates (saving the wolf boy's life) he seemed fiercely powerful, eyes glittering with experience and deadly threat. Now he had folded in on himself, seeming weary and embittered. There is a story behind that one, I think. In any case, I followed his lead and took a bottle of my own. I was looking for the whiskey he'd poured me earlier, but couldn't find it. It was until later, when I'd completely failed to get drunk, that I realized the cordial I'd lifted was not alcoholic. A pity, I'm sure I could have used the relief from my troubles, but there wasn't any way I was going to admit my mistake and ask the Jedi for some of his.

What Came Before (Week One)

I am Maelisaandii, the second-born daughter of the royal family of Gallinore, of the Hapes Consortium. I have no doubt that my flight from the cluster will be chronicled in the histories as the desperate final move of a scheming power monger. The reasons for this memoir are unclear to me even as I write it, as the likelihood of its propagation is slim. And, too, I know in my soul that I have done no wrong, save perhaps being born in the wrong place among my sisters. However, write it I do, and perhaps someone will find some amusement in it in the future.

There is a legend among my people, of Mazikeen, the Blight Mother. Thousands of years ago, she ruled for fifty years, every one of them bringing pain and suffering to the people of Gallinore. It was rumored she worshipped a dark power, pulling people from the streets to be victims in her unholy rituals. She never seemed to age, and it appeared she would not die until an army of angry citizens finally rallied against her. Mazikeen was deep in her final pledge to evil as the triumphant cries of angry raiders reached the chamber, and finished it just as the mob swarmed in to end her. Standing in a bath of the blood of second-born girl-children, she cut her own throat and sealed her spirit to the bowels of the palace. There she lurks, and when a Queen of sufficient power takes the throne she returns and claims her soul. A few hundred years ago, there was a Queen who, it was told, had the power to heal the sick. She would move among her people, and in the wake of her touch their ailments would vanish. The Blight Mother returned and possessed her, turning her gift on its head. A plague came then, and reduced the population of the planet by almost half.

But that is a version of the story not widely told on Gallinore. My people do not believe the legend to be true, and instead credit some unknown natural pathogen for the plague. Until recently, I myself did not believe the story of Mazikeen to be anything more than fable.

It is odd, though, that they do not believe, for there is a remnant of the legend engraved in our culture. It is believed that the second-born daughter of every family is always delivered under a malevolent star, and grows up nursing dreams of revenge against her family for some unspecified wrong. This tradition is not connected to the myth, not in the collective minds of the people. It simply exists, and the group of us live under constant suspicion of treachery.

I grew up alone, ignored by all the members of my family save my brothers. We shared a bond, superficial thought it was, of being traditionally discarded, I for my position and they for their sex. Beyond the royal training I was required to endure, I was left to my own devices. I was not discontented – the intrigues of the palace held no interest for me and I was happy to distance myself from it. And until a year ago, I would have ascribed the story of the Blight Mother to nothing more than myth along with the rest of my people. No longer.

My mother, the queen, fell ill and it seemed to most that she would not live to see the next lunar cycle. Months passed while we waited for her to leave us, and then a series of events fell into place that shocked us all. My older sister, Palell, died during a meeting of state officials. It was completely sudden, literally without cause. Our physicians were mystified – it was as though she dropped dead from nothing more than breathing. The following day, I was summoned to the Royal audience chamber. Being the second-born, I had never entered that room. It was cavernous. My mother beckoned me closer, telling me that I would be the one to ascend the throne. This was unprecedented – generally speaking, if the firstborn daughter dies the second is assassinated as a matter of course and the third takes the throne. I approached her in puzzlement – and reaching close enough to see her I realized that it was Blight standing before me. Understand, my mother was a wasted form last I saw her, desiccated from her illness. When she called me, I saw her whole again, but not alone. Something was with her, glittering behind her eyes, occupying the same space. I did not know why, but it wanted me to be the ruler. It seemed to be that it would claim my soul. And so I ran. I fled the chamber, and went directly to my older brother. I begged him, blind with fear, to get me off-planet any way he could. He assented, and engineered a kidnapping that took us both far from the Cluster. To support us on our way, I removed a few of the most mature Gallinorian rainbow gems from the treasury. No doubt there are tales of the murderous second-born thief already spreading over the planet. The future, for me, is completely uncertain. Perhaps this asteroid before us will hold a path for me to take.