emile fischer

Veckh: A Golden Secret

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["  In the clarity of the night, as the stars silently sang their deadly lullabies, the Golden Cluster left Walalla's orbit and vanished into the black, endless void. On board, Captain Nix Thorn, as usual, observed the stars. No matter how hard he looked, no one possessed a beauty comparable to his beloved. No, not a diamond in space matched the one he loved above all else. His adored princess, the flame of his life, the radiant Sylga.

He had always dreamed of marrying her, and had made it his destiny to bring her all the treasures of the galaxy. With each planet he plundered his hoard of gold grew, and though his men were reasonably paid, they found their captain mad.  : everything that came back to him, came back to Sylga.

So every day he left like a pirate and came back like a prince, and once a year he emptied his fortune at the feet of his eternal love, under the sorry eyes of his crew. But Sylga loved gold, and Nix Thorn loved Sylga. But the poor little captain didn't know that Sylga... was dying.

One sad day, Nix returned from a hunt of ten long years, with in his hold a treasure fifteen times larger than usual, to finally ask for an eternal union with his only idol. But when he was there, the poor captain collapsed on his knees. Sylga, her only love, had passed away.

In tears and wrecked to his core, seized with a sudden, burning madness, he drew his vibroblade and executed his loyal crew members, one by one.

The battle was brief, and after a few minutes there was not a sound aboard the Golden Cluster, other than the crash of a bloody blade falling on the main deck. Nix Thorn, now alone forever, walked to the hold,  loaded its contents overboard, and left the cargo where Sylga had been before, and where a tiny nebula had taken its place.

Yes, Sylga was not a person... Sylga was a star.  »]

"  Wow... Nice story...  exclaimed Andronikos, still a little in the clouds. "  So all these years the guy was throwing his loot in a sun  ? No wonder his crew thought he was crazy...  »

Veckh closed the holo-book she had left on the table, and smirked, a smile that in her husband's eyes screamed something like  : 'I have an idea'.

"  A treasure hunt huh  ?  guessed the pirate. "  I like it... but you're sure it's not just a story  ?  »

The beautiful rattataki's smile did not fade. On the contrary.

"  At first I was skeptical, like you.  began Veckh. "  But I did my research and with the private archives of the Dark Council...  »

"  Wow wow wow, one second. You searched through the Council's archives  ? You're not even sure yet that they'll take you  !  »

"  It won't be long, they'll take me I'm sure... and then no one saw me.  “Assured the witch without letting go of her smile. "  I found astronomical maps there that pinpoint the locations of ancient stars. Calculating the possible routes of the Golden Cluster, starting from the various sufficiently rich planets in the southwest corner of the galaxy, counting Walalla, Korbin, Pendari, Garnib and Rutan, I noticed that there was a pattern. The hunt for Thorn has spread throughout the galaxy, but with this example I believe I've found a clue that may give us a potential location for the Sylga Nebula... and Thorn's final shipment...  »

Andronikos stared at the paper map that his wife spread before him. He scratched his chin as he noticed the accuracy of Veckh's tracings. Maybe she was right. A legend with such precision, it was most likely no coincidence. The planets she had just mentioned formed a perfect circle around an empty area. An epicenter that seemed to be exactly between the planets Lwhekk and Skye.

"  Why not... it will be a nice ride. Just you and me  ?  »

"  Nothing but you and me  !  promised the excited rattataki.

She climbed onto the table and crawled towards the pirate like a feline, dropping the glasses on the floor, to steal a kiss.

The corridor of the library where they were was very empty, only a few guards were waiting at the two entrances, the others were enjoying their free time in their mistress's new fortress.

Veckh had just spent a rather phenomenal sum to buy this palace. And of all the fabulous nooks where she could have had it built, she had chosen this hole in the middle of nowhere, Tatooine. The meeting place between her and Andronikos. A planet that the latter did not particularly carry in his heart but that she had fallen in love with at the same time as him... not as much of course. She had told herself that building a small haven of peace on a planet disputed in the great galactic war that was taking place was not the worst of ideas. Trading pain for comfort, loneliness for family, warmth for drinks. She had even added a small fountain in the middle of the main courtyard, symbolizing the peace and the wealth that she offered...or rather that she intended to offer. So far it was just them. Only Veckh, Andronikos, the crew and some guards provided by the Empire. After the promotion she was soon to receive from the Council, she hoped for the arrival of a good twenty more.

"  Jan harfeim im dahndak adi oldahagh, bista  ? Waherym jodv maag invicadadevos yhac oati hesteheim  ?  (Are you sure you want to go without us, Master  ? Who am I going to devour in this too quiet place where you leave me?)

Veckh thought for a few moments then gently boxed the torso of the big dashade who looked down on her.

"  But I'm sure Xalek will do... if you can catch him before I get back.  she offered, winking at the kaleesh, who rolled his eyes when he heard her.

"  Hrrrrr... Attu.  (Hmmm... be it.), Khem said, convinced. It is true that Xalek was an opponent in his size who never refused a good brutal fight.

"  Have a good trip  !  Talos called out from behind the sofa before Ashara could do so.

Moments later, Veckh's beautiful custom Fury soared above the hangar and lifted off toward the two large sky twins, then higher still, and exited the atmosphere. When the purple patterns emblazoned on his wings disappeared over the horizon, Khem Val shot a hungry look at the kaleesh, the exact same one he would send to a certain zabrak, a few years later, from the same exact location...

"  Okay then... between Lwhekk and Skye if I understood correctly... I throw the coordinates... to the South-West, Forn-18, then North-West. That's about... 18 kiloparsecs. Engines OK, calculations... OK. We can go to light speed.  »

"  Let's go  !  said the rattataki, lowering the lever.

Space so black turned white, while the stars stretched all around the cockpit, like lightning seeking the shortest way to the ground. Then following the brief retreat of the jump, the bluish light invades the pupils of the young couple, spinning in an eternal typhoon of energy.

There was something comforting about hyperspace. No risk of crashing into a planet, ship or asteroid on the way thanks to the installed safety, no need to pilot or watch in front of the cockpit, and this for several hours. As long as the calculations were well done, the occupants of the interceptor got carried away and could enjoy the free time offered to them, or even imposed on them, alone, the two of them.

Tenderly summoned by his young wife, the pirate smiled, rose from his steel chair, and followed the sith to their room. Interstellar travel is a wonderful thing to tell, but let's stick to the stars...

The alarm is ringing. The mighty Fury exits hyperspace in minutes. Veckh and Andronikos rush to the front of the ship, both excited to see through the thick transparisteel window what they came for. The man sits halfway in the main chair, one hand on the controls of the hyperdrive. At his side, the white witch taps on the armrest, impatient. All the stories of pirates and treasure hunting that she fed on when she was little, all her dreams of journeys far from Dathomir, the adventures that her imagination proposed to her, all of this fell into line at this kind of moment. As in a race, feet behind the line, the stories of his childhood against the adventure of his life.

"  That's it. I hope your maps are accurate enough, we'll find out soon...  thinks the skull-tattooed pilot out loud.

The red dial lights up under their gentle, hopeful eyes. Andronikos pushes the lever, and in the fire, presses a pedal by turning the controls to the right. The Fury roars out of hyperspace and skids into nothingness for a few meters, then comes to rest and finally huffs.

Veckh loses his balance slightly and can't help but fall into the arms of the amused man to his left. When she looks up, he smiles at her, calm as a wise grandfather. But she gets up and pushes him away like the rascal he is, while he's now smiling like a child who knows he's done something stupid and is proud of it.

"  Rhaa, I told you not to do that. It screws up the repulsors  !  »

"  I know I know...  he sneers.

Veckh approached the large window. At the other end, nothing but emptiness. An infinite void, dark, and pierced by distant stars. As far as his pupils allowed him to see, not a sound, not a movement, nothing. His nose has grown accustomed to the faint scent of Almak's apple, diffused through the air ducts of the ship, and it is neither too hot nor too cold. None of her five original senses seem to remind her that she is alive, not even the sixth which she sometimes still calls the Zogën'ra. When her husband comes to stand behind her, crossing his reassuring arms over her bare stomach, her state of hypnosis is finally broken.

"  You didn't believe that we were going to fall on it on the first try  ?  asked the pirate in his soft voice.

"  I know...  Veckh confessed in an almost disappointed tone.

"  We must have a few dozen astronomical units to cover in the area. We have scans and digital tags but it should take a while...  »

Veckh patted his head against Andronikos' shoulder and freed his arm to press a button near the controls. A soft but lively music then echoed in the interceptor, mixing light vibrano with the sound of a calm flute of Alderaan. The couple closed their eyes and stood still for a moment, swaying to the slow rhythm of the graceful melody.

"  Go on. Let's look for our Sylga.  Veckh offered, breaking free from the pleasant embrace. "  Let's go straight to start, then we'll go around in circles all over the place. Put tags in the computer every ten minutes, no...twenty. Keep the scanner running and let's stay tuned.  »

"  Yes, my captain  !  joked the man as he took his seat.

Time in space can look a little different, quite strange. No sun to inform the passing of time, at full speed or at the speed of a lame dewback. No time clock remains logical in the void separating the worlds, because the night is omnipresent while millions of suns scrutinize everything that happens around like gods. The temperature remains freezing while the air is absent and the wind remains a memory. Especially for the pilot, the lack of ups and downs can confuse the mind, and if it weren't for the interactive galactic maps, the void of space would be just an endless, terrifying and dark maze, ready to swallow you up. in its absolute eternity at the slightest error.

"  Aaaah, I'm bored  !!  grumbled the alarmed rattataki, on the verge of collapsing into her chair.

Six hours of research. It had been six hours since the ship had emerged from hyperspace, and at least half an hour since not a word, not a sound, not even a gesture other than the comings and goings of the witch had disturbed the heavy sense of unnecessary waiting on board. Veckh had long since turned off the music, which sounded too much like a lullaby from listening to it on repeat. When she finally sat down and turned to her husband, he was dozing deeply, slumped in his seat, his mouth wide open.

It was long, it was boring, most likely futile and far less romantic than she had imagined. Veckh didn't like to fail, and when her ideas were hatched and then acted upon, little could hold her back. But looking at Andronikos, she realized that she had made a mistake in offering him this expedition. An impossible hunt with a very disappointing ending. Another fantasy adventure to add to his childhood shelf.

Discreetly, she stood up, placed a kiss on the skull of her sleeping pirate, and entered the coordinates for a ride home.

As the large vehicle slowly turned to line up with distant Tatooine, Veckh sat down on the armrest next to Andronikos. Disappointed but resolute, she looked up to witness the jump and already imagined herself back in her fortress, lying comfortably with a hot drink, falling asleep in the sand at the end of a double sunset, her husband at its ratings.

The stars were shifting in symbiosis down the left corner of the window opposite, the hyperdrive was already purring with impatience, and Andronikos remained drowsy, like a baby in its mother's arms.

Veckh suddenly jumped. In front of his eyes, a large, colored mass, very different from the small stars, shifted outside at the same time, trying to slip away under his gaze among the stars.

Sylga...

The young sith jumped on the controls and smashed the stop button. The Fury froze in place.

"  Andronikos  ! Honey, wake up  ! That's it  ! That's it... Here it is...  »

His arm shaking like in an earthquake, the pirate woke up and looked at his wife with a lost look, then his tired face turned to the glass. He lost his language.

The cloud of gas and dust barely extended for a few kilometers, and sported strange shapes in magenta, red and amber colors. Like a frozen spatial aurora, its random curves and waves posed for a veritable light show. In the background, the stars decorated the dark canvas and, with a little imagination, one could have believed that they tinkled like ceramic coming out of the oven.

"  That's wonderful  !...  they both said at the same time, their eyes hypnotized outward.

After a few moments of silence and admiration, Veckh felt the excitement return to her. She dove towards the controls.

"  Let's go  !  »

In just a few minutes, the ship was already beginning to enter the colorful ghost. The dathomirian could not suppress her soft laugh in the joy of the moment. Gripping the controls, she danced the Fury through the cloud, moving in seconds from a blood-red environment to an orange world like the Tatooine sky at dusk. It was only after about ten minutes of crazy pleasure that she slowed down the vehicle and regained her seriousness.

"  Veckh... you won't believe it... I analyzed the gases in the different regions of the cloud... The amber part... it's gold. Gold in gas...  »

"  The legend was true...  shuddered the rattataki, as surprised as amazed.

"  It must be the remains of the treasure that old Thorn deposited during all these years... Unfortunately it is unrecoverable. If his last shipment is here, it's our only chance to come home with a lot of money.  »

Andronikos left the wall console and returned to the glass, intrigued.

"  It's weird... How could a star end up in such a small nebula?  ?  »

"  Maybe by dint of being stuffed with gold the star has lost its power...  ?  joked the Sith at the controls.

Veckh smiled and closed his eyes for a few seconds. A deep sense of accomplishment washed over him. That was it for her, a great adventure. An impossible hunt in an infinite and unknown place with her husband as companion, a pirate who shared her passions and with whom she regretted nothing. What happiness  ! What...

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP...

The small alarm, quiet but fast-paced, snapped him out of his thoughts. Something went under the scanner. There, not far, hidden in the nebula, just in front of the interceptor is a rectangular, long, and metallic shape.

"  Ah ha ha  !  shouted Andronikos in delight, pointing to the object straight ahead.

"  Nix Thorn's Treasure...  whispered the rattataki, on the edge of her seat.

"  Well done Veckh  !  he confessed, looking at her so proudly.

As they approached, they noticed that the big box with very simple shapes had reactors, some pipes and boxes on the hull, and was larger than it seemed, about fifty meters long, on a fifteen wide and no more than five meters high. The few windows, present only on one side, showed only a dark interior, far too dark to see anything. When Veckh positioned the Fury forward of what was actually a flyable freighter, almost a real ship, she noticed the shattered cockpit glass and a small asteroid lodged in the dead controls.

At the front, on the nose of the strange craft, were engraved the words  :

"For you Sylga.

                              -Nix"

The screeching noise the Fury made as it hit the side of the space container made the two adventurers grit their teeth, but only one of them cared more about the patterns on the bodywork than the shell itself. When the two heavy objects became one, both floating in the belly of the nebula, Veckh did not wait and ran towards the airlock, grabbing his lightsaber.

The ship's boarding lock had also been personalized, and once it was firmly stuck against the wall of a structure in space, it was possible to clog it. All that remained was to cut through a wall and one could move between the two without any danger. However, it was necessary to remember to fill in and repair the cut wall, otherwise, on takeoff, the remaining occupants of the boarded ship would be sucked into an icy death. But it also had its advantages, against the machines of the Republic for example...

A second unpleasant noise echoed in the corridors of the ship, that of steel being devoured by the heat. The scarlet-edged pink blade of Veckh's lightsaber slammed into the freighter's hull as soon as the airlock was opened and ready. Andronikos arrived but didn't approach too close, letting the expert do it. He had only touched this diabolical tool once when it was on, and preferred to forget the consequences. He couldn't hide a slight smirk when he thought about it.

A quarter... By cutting the small wall which separated it from its treasure Veckh felt its small heart speeding up.

Two quarters... The plasma blade melted the alloy like wax, and the resulting widening arc dripped with viscous lava.

Three quarters... Hoping his wife wasn't liquefying some of the booty, Andronikos uncrossed his arms for the big moment.

Four quarters... That's it  !

Veckh sheathed his blade without sheathing the sword, and thrust his hand forward. The heavy smoking disc flew through the dark room waiting for them on the other side.

Slowly, the beautiful rattataki stepped into the darkness. She paused for a moment, and raised her finger to signal her husband to wait.

Something was wrong...

Silence invades them again. Dead silence this time. And darkness, like a sea monster lurking at the bottom of the deepest ocean, awaited its prey.

Sheathing her weapon in a flash, Veckh felt the weight of a vibroblade and her warrior crash down on her from her left. Blocking the blow at the last moment, she looked up at a multitude of fine teeth, topped by a pair of very strange eyes.

Her blood boiled, and the witch roared, pushing the beast back to the back of the room, exactly where her door had crashed. The monster flew away, helpless against the Force, hitting the scrap metal and losing its weapon, or so the violent then metallic sounds suggested from the pitch black.

The fearless sith advanced her second foot, then stopped again to her left. Another figure, much smaller this time, watched him in the dark. A silhouette... much less filled with hatred than the first, or even with terror. Her small hand was resting against the wall, above her head, and with a flick of her finger, she flipped a switch.

The room and the entire freighter lit up in seconds, as neon lights flashed one after another, and Veckh covered his eyes. After a few moments, the rattataki gazed into the light, and her eyes widened.

Rakata...  ?

Before her stood a group, a multitude, a colony of rakata. Males, females, children, almost all had a terrified look. The male warriors protected their wives by holding them back with their arms outstretched. The mothers, holding their young in their arms, already seemed to implore mercy. Two more rakata were helping the defeated warrior to his feet, and he had lost all his fury. Only the little girl to Veckh's left looked calm and puzzled. As for the room, it was white and empty of objects. Only rakata.

Feeling all that needless fear, the young Sith put her saber away and raised her hands slightly in peace, though that wasn't a very well-liked word among her people.

"  Honey, put down your guns.  she whispered to the extremely disturbed man behind her.

The tiny rakata came forward, asking in a high voice for something unpronounceable and above all incomprehensible.

Veckh, graceful and calm, bent down to her level. The kid was the size of a four or five year old human child, but she was the boldest.

"  I don't understand what you are telling me...  tried to explain the rattataki in a low voice.

In the crowd, a slight commotion was heard, then an old rakata, dressed in a long red toga with fine silver patterns advanced towards the newcomer. He stared at her for a few moments, seeming to think, then bowed, pronouncing in a strange accent  :

"  Daan'hathaa, grimt'ekeuhl rattataki. Nekkel'edd miktahshaenn g'kaahns' o'un Zogen'ra deah... Morgatih Sen'ghoss, drahak Hek...  (Welcome, rattataki stranger. We bow to your power and to the sacred Force... My name is Sen'ghoss, I am the Mystic...)

The young witch winced as she listened to her Rattatak accent, much rougher than Dathomir's rattataki. It was still surprising though. The little old man had pulled out quite a large vocabulary in a language foreign to his own people, just by noticing Veckh's species. How many other languages did he know  ?

"  Daan'heethaä Hek Sen'ghoss, prän'thah... mën thrabak' Dathomir. Morgätih Veckh, o drahag Andronikos. Thrabedd anväetehn.  (Hello Mystique Sen'ghoss, thank you...but I'm from Dathomir. My name is Veckh, and this is Andronikos. We come in peace.)

"  Gäethi Basih, kehäna't Veckh  ?  (Do you speak Basic, Lady Veckh?), the old man asked in an accent matching that of the impressed Sith.

"  What is he saying  ?  whispered Andronikos, still one foot in his own ship.

The rakata leaned to the side like an old tree about to crumble, watching the pirate with interest with two small, tired eyes that drooped limply under the weight of gravity. He concluded the answer to his question and continued  :

"  My people only speak Rakata, I'm sorry. I learned thirty languages and a maximum of culture via the holonet box that was on board. Unfortunately without connection, impossible to contact anyone with. You came to save us  ?  »

Andronikos stepped forward a little more confidently and pushed half the crowd back.

"  Uh, no actually we came for the treasure of Nix Thorn... That means something to you  ?  he asked insistently.

"  The treasure  ? I learned about the legend indeed... The captain who sent all his gold into the sun... I'm sorry, but we are the last shipment...  »

"I beg your pardon...  ?  stammered the pirate, frightened at the thought of having already understood.

Veckh closed his eyes for a few moments, but held back his words.

“Once we were all children of the Force. Our mighty Infinite Empire was spreading across the galaxy. And then came the plague. The strange disease that plagued our people killing most and severing everyone else's connection to the Force. She started on Lehon. The majority of rakata wanted to hide underground, but we decided to board this stolen cargo, and to isolate ourselves in quarantine so as not to succumb. After a hyperdrive problem space debris killed the pilot and doomed the cockpit. And then, many years later, Thorn came…”

Sen'ghoss took back the attention of the pirate who was turning in circles, rubbing his head as if he wanted to wake up from a bad dream. Veckh remained attentive, already intrigued, and forgot the bad news about gold.

“He saw our distress, and made us his own. His men loaded our ship, and some time later we were thrown into this strange place lost in space. »

That Veckh was easily captivated by the magic of a storytelling was no surprise. The images flashed through her imagination, and she finally understood the hidden truth of the legend.

“We have waited so long, we have lost so many of our people to hunger and cold. Our survival in this prison was tied to our ability to adapt and understand technology. We beat the cold by getting closer to each other. We put an end to cannibalism by cultivating in the ship itself, and at the same time created a source of oxygen. We challenged ignorance by cultivating ourselves on the holonet…um, me basically. »

The alien paused, caught his weak breath, and continued:

"Have you come to rescue us from our prison, Sith…?" »

Veckh looked at the old man with a serious expression, then turned his head towards the little rakata. It was surely what she had asked him not long ago…

"One minute, one minute…" Andronikos interrupts. “The Rakata plague was more than 24,000 years ago! You're saying you've had I don't know how many generations just in this freighter?! It's ridiculous… "

“At first it was easy, there were only six of us, and we had five cryogenic capsules. When Thorn and his gang arrived a little over two centuries ago, the five had been frozen for millennia and the pilot had long been dead. We were awakened from our slumber to be tossed about like garbage. Without the extra food we were given for the Golden Cluster trip we wouldn't have survived… I was one of the five. Everyone else here is our children, or our children's children. This is little Ilma'ti. he said, looking at the little girl. “These two centuries passed slowly after the passage of Thorn. We lost all but one of our pods, and decided to all continue our lives in the present, not the future. The only one left is occupied by a seriously injured, our young doctor, ironically. He wanted to repair the capsules and got an explosion that ravaged his face. The poor thing is blind and very weak…”

As he shifted, the rakata pointed to a capsule at the bottom of the ship, alone apart.

Andronikos, still disturbed by this turn of events, stopped pacing and rubbed his face, then went to lean against the wall, next to the circular hole. His wife did not move. She looked carefully at the kneeling rakata people, and didn't seem that disappointed.

"  All these years... locked in a box... without a glimmer of hope...  she concludes in a weak voice.

"  We have built a legend over the years among our strange and unique people here. A legend of the coming of a savior, far from greed but as full of passion as the fearsome Thorn... A saviour, guided by the Force... I beg you... Is that why you are come so far  ?  »

Veckh lifted his chin, such a serious look on his sweet face. Nix Thorn's gold no longer existed...

"  No.  »

The rakata people, though rakata, understood what it was all about, and while some faces looked down, others became blank and pale. The little girl simply lowered her head, and the Mystic remained silent, and deeply disappointed.

"  ...But that's what I'll do.  »

The silence in the ranks of the castaways on the freighter broke into multiple murmurs, while the colors returned to their faces.

"  I own a fortress, a big house on Tatooine, a sand planet. If you want to stay there, it will be my great pleasure to welcome you all. There is plenty of room for everyone. You will be at home there.  »

The sound effects grew louder in the background, mothers hugging their children, and husbands kissing their wives. Apparently the old man had taught them a minimum of Basic after all... A few soldiers were hitting their comrades friendly, then a corner of the crowd parted to make way for a rakata religiously holding something wrapped in a red scarf. He gave it to old Sen'ghoss, who opened the cloth to reveal his gift to the radiant rattataki.

"  In that case, Mistress Veckh... please accept, as a token of our eternal and irrefutable loyalty, this present.  »

There, in the old sage's scarlet cloth-covered hands, lay a strange but beautiful crown. Simple in shape but engraved with multiple small spirals, the quadanium steel diadem, with the appearance of gray and raw iron, was mounted by an ornament of the same material, in the simple shape of an arrow, pointing downwards, and covered with the same reasons.

"  The crown of our army. Forged right here, as the legend of our savior grew. Wear it, and you will honor the Nebula People, who in turn will serve you eternally. Our families will become yours, our soldiers will fight to the death for you, and this until the end of time.  »

Veckh put his little white fingers on the tiara, stood in awe for a few moments before saying a word, then took it in his hands. It was very light.

"  Thank you Sen'ghoss, thank you to your people.  she says, bowing. "  We will find a solution to bring you back... How much are you  ?  »

"  We are 72, including the Doc in the capsule. Thank you mistress. I'll go and explain the details to my people.  »

The old alien turned and walked slowly towards his people, who almost welcomed him as a hero. When Veckh turned to Andronikos, he was making a funny face.

"  We won't have room for everyone on board. It will be too heavy. I think that with the steel cables in the hold we can pull them, but we will have to be very careful when leaving hyperspace. And don't forget to close their door.  “, he specified.

Veckh hugged him, putting his free hand on his cheek. When he was disturbed or frustrated, he preferred to immerse himself in solving technical problems. It was cute.

"  You look very pale, naär... it will be fine  ?  she asked.

The pirate had long known of his wife's plans for the fortress, but remained disappointed for the treasure. They were so close...

"  Yeah, so much for the gold, but hey, that's how it is... At least we won an army, not bad...  »

"  …And a family...  Veckh added, turning back to the castaways as little Ilma'ti was picked up by one of the warriors.

The sith kissed her pirate for a long time. He understood everything, and did not allow himself to be corrupted by the power of gold and promises of riches. She loved him more than anything, and that was not going to change.

Resting her heels on the ground, she withdrew her arms from Andronikos' neck, raised them above her own head, and finally placed the crown there.

"  Yeah... it really suits you...  he confessed.