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A hummed tune drew him towards the engine room, barely audible over that of the engine. Something unfamiliar, at least unfamiliar to the Sith lord. Cheerful, full of heart, festive. When he finally rounded the corner, he found a rather peculiar sight, “What are you doing, exactly?”
The Twi’lek paused before speaking, “Hang on, let me finish this string—”, and on she went, tactfully placing an array of multicolored lights above their heads, few would have dared to put a lord of the Sith on hold, but she was far from ordinary “—there. Just putting up Life Day lights. That’s not a problem, is it?” Vette’s head cocked to the side in a stretch, her back following suit before her arms rolled back. The question seemed as much a challenge as it was seeking permission.
“… Life Day?” Letum looked around, sticking his head past the door frame to further appraise his companion’s work. The entire room was decked in festivities of all sorts, at least where it wouldn’t interfere with ship functions and safety. She had some semblance of common sense. Usually. When she wasn’t cracking half cocked plans and somehow making them work out for the better in the same breath.
“Yeah, y’know, Life Day? Comes around once every cycle? Big celebration, galaxy wide, lots of fun?”
His look was that of a less than amused man, “I know what Life Day is, I just never expected to… partake”
Vette’s eyes shot wide at that, “You mean to tell me you’ve never celebrated Life Day?”
“Yes”
“Not even once?”
“No”
Her head shook as she pinched the bridge of her nose. The lack of belief was rather evident on her face, “Oh come on, even slaves are allowed to enjoy Life Day… sometimes… depending on their master” she chuckled her comment off, not wishing to expand upon that particular piece of her history at the moment, “Surely you did at some point”
Letum took a moment, scratching his chin, “Not that I can remember. The academy on Korriban was never big on holidays. The Overseers saw it as ‘frivolous’ and ‘a waste of valuable time that should be spent training, not playing’”
A frown was all he got in response before another familiar voice sounded behind him, full at attention, “While I am inclined to agree, my lord, I would like to say I have always had a soft spot for Life Day, and I think it would be an excellent morale boost for the crew”
The Sith simply made his way past the officer to call down to the med bay, “That’s a surprise coming from you of all people, captain” Quinn stood ever so slightly straighter as he passed, “Jaesa, will you speak some sense to these people? The Jedi surely don’t celebrate Life Day, they’re so… stoic”
The answer he received was not at all to his liking, “They in fact do, master. Sorry to disappoint, but ever since I went to the Order, they celebrated Life Day, albeit in their own fashion”
Letum threw his hands up, heading to the crew quarters. Treek’s people had no such holiday, at least not the same as Life Day, though she fervently celebrated since her arrival in civilized space and planned to do so until the end of her days. Something about the lights and the colors and the stories. Also gifts. And sweets. Pierce had grown up as an average citizen of the empire, so of course he had celebrated since childhood. He had a soft spot for the sweets as well—sweet puff cookies in particular—though he hated to admit it. Letum sensed something else. Something warm, gentle. Surprising for a man such as he. He had no intention to pry, however, what with the Lieutenant being as he was. He’d sooner bristle up like a jungle cat on the prowl than reveal such information.
Even Broonmark, the Talz, took part in the revelries.
“Truly? Even you?”
Broonmark heaved a sigh, or at least what the crew took to be a sigh. “Yes. Outsiders bring lights, gifts, food. I watch, take, feast. Sometimes on outsiders.” was the closest translation to be had. He got the general gist of the day. Probably. Him eating ‘outsiders’ did little for their confidence. Vette snickered in the background at the irony of killing in the name of Life Day. Another huff from Broonmark transformed the snicker into a cough. Clearing her throat, obviously.
It was Letum’s turn to huff, though, “It seems I’ve been left out of all the fun”
“It seems so… er, my lord” Quinn was keen on not overstepping his bounds again. Rank and protocol, procedure this, regulation that. The Sith never heard the end of it from Vette. Or Pierce. Or Broonmark. In fact, Letum was beginning to believe that he was developing tinnitus from all the complaining and jabbering. Not that they cared. He often reminded the lot of them that he could turn the ship around at any point and drop them back off where he found each of them. That earned him some semblance of silence, but the silence only made the ringing more poignant. Then again, the ringing could simply be from all the wars and battles they’ve waged as of late. They’d probably earned more commendations than would fit on their chests by now, not that they ever received them or ever would. That’s what Vette would like to think anyhow, she was ever waiting for that backpay. Letum didn’t much care on that front.
The only front he cared about was that of their next conflict. He waited a moment, and then another, and when the crew around him began to shift in the quiet he took the opportunity to speak, turning once more to Quinn, “So, Captain, where is our next destination? I’m eager to—”
“Oh no you don’t—” Vette spun him back around, “—you’re not getting out of this that easy”. Quinn began to throw a fuss but was shut down just as quickly by a pointed finger, “Don’t even start with me, this is a conversation we are going to have”
The man within her grasp groaned, “Right now?”
“Yes, right now”
All that followed was his own dread and the inhuman laughter of the two fuzziest shipmates. The Dark Lord was beginning to agree with Quinn that the crew was becoming a bit too familiar with him. Or at least when it suited him to. Only Vette could get away with laying a hand on him.
“What’s there to say? I was an acolyte, spent half my time in the tombs, and most of the rest in training, instruction, or fending off aggressors. It’s that simple”
“Y’see, that’s the problem—” Vette had a belief that it was her job to put things into perspective. He would be hard pressed to say she was wrong, “—that ain’t healthy. That ain’t normal. It’s a wonder how you lot don’t see that”
“We’re Sith. It’s a cultural thing.”
“You know me, I’m all for cultural relativity, but that’s a bit much—” she looked to the others for support, “—right? Pierce? Quinn?” Broonmark went to say something, but she cut him off. He was arguably more bloodthirsty than Letum. Not the kind of help that would win this argument.
Pierce shuffled a tad, scratching the back of his neck. Quinn merely raised an eyebrow to her as if to say you really think I would go against him on this? (oh the irony to come). It was fair to say that, by this point, Vette was exasperated. How could she win? Imperials were all the same.
“Oh, come on! No one?”
“I’ll admit, she has a point” voiced an opinion from the hallway entrance. The group was surprised that it was none other than Jaesa to Vette’s rescue, “I mean, even the Sith could use a little fun, as much as I enjoy bloodshed”
“Thanks, Jaesa, that’s… nice of you?”
“We girls have to stick together, right?” They exchanged a wink to the perplexion of the men.
“Yep! And like the good captain said, it’ll improve morale! Even you can’t argue with that—” she leaned in to speak a softer tone, her breath dancing along Letum’s ear, “—and I know how much of a softy you really are. Promise not to tell though” and with that she backed away with a peck to his cheek. The rest of the crew were more or less accustomed to the more open displays of affection by now, though it did take a few weeks for the commando to stop snickering. Quinn gave up the battle against the impropriety of it almost from the get-go, deciding it was a fight best not to pick even if he could win, though Jaesa still reserved a side eyed glance for them every now and then. Freed-slave-turned-partner-turned-lover. Who’d’ve thunk?
“So, what, are you expecting me to condone presents and treats and, Force forbid, a holo-tree?”
“I don’t expect you will, I know you will”
“Where would we even put the blasted—?” as he spoke, Vette pulled up a palm sized projector, “—you’ve already planned this, of course you have”
“Well, since you mentioned it, I was thinking in the corner by the door to your (though she planned on soon making that ‘our’) quarters! I took the liberty of ‘procuring’ one”
“I don’t like those air quotes; they never mean anything good”
“And I ‘procured’ plenty more lights to string around the lounge! A few other decorations too” again with the air quotes “At first, I was thinking just the upper and mid walls, but why not around the console too? And maybe—”
Vette made a point to trail on and on and on. The rest of the crew thought about zoning out, or perhaps flat out walking off to their previous activities and duties, but they knew better. It wasn’t long before she had ‘recruited’ everyone to help, handing out lights and tasks alike. Pierce and Quinn groaned, though ultimately submitted. How does one argue with their boss’ girlfriend on the matter when even he himself can’t? Broonmark was given leave from light duty. Instead, he was charged with the task of baking. Vette merely grinned at the astoundment when she told them she had taught the Talz to be a far more than competent baker. The pride was unmistakable from the both of them. Pierce had little shame in making a special request of the warrior. As he said before, he did so love his sweet puff cookies, and they only came into season once a cycle. Jaesa had agreed to tackle the other end of the lounge. Treek was… somewhere. She had a habit of wondering off, though at least one set of lights had gone missing. 2V was more than thrilled to decorate, which Vette appreciated and admired to equal degree, but X2’s enthusiasm was a shocker. A few beeps and whirls confirmed that, while he enjoyed the holiday, he enjoyed annoying Quinn and Letum far more. As always, Vette gave him her approval. She had a habit of encouraging him, really. Not much appreciated by most everyone else.
Letum was maintaining the steadiness of the chair used by Vette as a sort of step ladder. None on board didn’t swirl and swivel for whatever reason, even the ones not bolted to the deck. How did he end up the one serving and not the other way around? She made sure to bend an extra bit forward every now and then, even if it made his job that much more difficult. The Twi’lek was ever the teaser, not that Letum minded the view or the proximity. It was then, however, that it struck Vette, “This will be your first Life Day ever”
“Yes, I thought we had already established this”
“In over twenty years, you’ve not had a single holiday…” she trailed off, barely able to finish with a string of lights before stepping down.
Letum tried to lean around for a peek at her face with little success, “As I said—” before he could finish he was met with a firm hug, arms thrown around his shoulders with a face nuzzled into his neck. In instinct, he wrapped his own arms around her waist, simply standing there with her for a good few moments.
“Speaking of Life Day, what about your other Life Day?”
“My… other Life Day?”
“The day you were born?”
“I don’t know when I was born. Why, is that important?”
She pulled her head away to gaze into his eyes, her face lighting up into the most devious of grins with a single sentence, “Oh, we’re gonna have a hell of a time.”