Chapter Text
"Basic"
"Sy Bisti"
"Cheunh"
Third eye
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Che'ri vowed not to cry, not in front of the assembled Syndic, who were watching the trial like hungry vultures on a piece of meat, and especially not in front of the patriarchs of the nine ruling families, who would announce their verdict any second. No, she would not shed any tears. But she could not suppress the trembling of her body. From the fear she felt at the prospect of an uncertain future, from the grief of losing everything she had ever known and from the coldness of the handcuffs that held her small hands together, making it impossible for her to move. Thrawn stood next to her right, his face like stone, one hand bound with the same handcuffs as hers. He remained silent, not begging, not trying to squirm into excuses. Everything that needed to be said had already been said. Even at her young age, little Chiss understood that this court hearing was just for show, the decision had already been made long before they were arrested.
"Since the existence of the Ascendancy, we Chiss have defended our territories. Any attacks and blood spilled, we repaid with all our might until our enemies were destroyed. However, there has always been one rule that has always honored our people. The rule that sets us apart from the monsters that threaten us and our children. Never, under any circumstances, do we resort to preemptive strikes." "Trial born Mitth'raw'nuruodo and navigator Che'ri are banned from the Chiss Ascendancy for breaking the highest of our commandments, as well as aiding. Any unauthorized return to the territories of the Ascendancy will be considered an attack on our territories and punished with appropriate severity. The Syndicure has spoken and so it shall be done."
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It was the first time she had seen humans. They resembled the Chiss in many ways and yet they seem so different. The eyes so dull, the foreheads too small, the shoulders narrower, not to mention the pink skin. To Che'ri, they looked like aliens through and through. And yet there was one among them who immediately caught her eye.
He was probably the youngest of the men, at least in rank he was below all the others. His posture gave that away; she had often seen it in newcomers. Looking down and stiff body, older soldiers were usually a little more relaxed. He wasn't wearing one of those funny hats that almost completely obscured the view of the eyes and made Che'ri wonder how anyone could see anything at all with those things on their face. Che'ri could feel those dull human eyes straining to examine their camp, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together while the others waited dully, doing nothing. That was the real reason he stood out, he wasn't just watching, he was seeing.
A blaster shot just inches past her head and drilled into the wood of the tree.
Che'ri cried out in shock. She immediately covered her mouth in the hope that she had not been heard, but she was not so lucky. One of the white soldiers pointed in her direction and fired. The blaster shot missed her by only a few centimetres. Che'ri slipped off the branch and fell to the ground. The impact was hard, but little Chiss quickly managed to pick herself up again and start running.
'Hide and stay down until I come for you,' Thrawn had said. Days in which they had studied the surroundings, in which they had prepared the scarecrow, set the traps. Days of planning and preparation, for nothing. Che'ri ran as fast as her feet could carry her, but a child remained a child, it wasn't long before the white soldiers had them cornered and surrounded, and not much longer before the green soldiers caught up.
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"Captain Parck, she's a child." At first, Eli thought he was dreaming. All this trouble over a child, a girl no older than ten. She was dressed in animal skins and her hair looked a little wild, but that was probably due to her escape. Frightened, she looked back and forth on the verge of tears. The stormtroopers surrounded her, threatening her with their blasters. The moment she realized she was surrounded, she had given up trying to escape.
"If that was her doing, it doesn't matter what she is."
"Sir, with all due respect, you don't seriously believe that a child could manage to attack us undetected, set all those traps and pull a grown man out of a crashed V-wing?"
"Then she's not alone, but she knows something and I want to know what." As if on cue, one of the stormtroopers approached with his weapon drawn. "Well then little one, who or what are you?" There was no answer from the frightened girl. Of course she didn't. What did Parck expect from holding a blaster in front of a child's nose, except that she shut down completely. He felt sorry for the little girl.
"Please Captain, it doesn't have to be like this, I could try to talk to her."
"And why would she talk to you?"
"Because I'm not some faceless monster pointing a gun at her." In one fell swoop, Eli turned white as a sheet. He hasn't really just put his captain in his place, hads he? He, a simple cadet from the wilds of space. Was he tired of living? Of course, once again his mouth had to be faster than his brain, but he couldn't just stand by and watch a child being shot. For a moment, Parck seemed impressed, his challenging gaze daring Eli to continue, if he dared, but the cadet suddenly lacked confidence "....And .... I don't think she speaks Basic. The Chiss-" Eli stammered.
"The what?"
"The Chiss, sir," he repeated. "In the myths of my homeland, it is said that they spoke with traveling Sy Bisti."
"Very well, try your luck, Cadet Vanto, but if she makes one false move, the stormtroopers have orders to fire."
"Thank you, sir." Her eyes shifted wildly between the different men, even as Eli knelt on the ground in front of her to be at eye level with her. She couldn't manage to focus on just him. She did indeed resemble the descriptions of the Chiss from the legends, the blue skin, the glowing red eyes, perhaps this too was a truth among many myths. "Do you speak Sy Bisti?" She fixed him with a glare, the others no longer seemed interested in her and yet she nodded shyly. So the legends were true after all "What is your name?"
"Che'ri." She spoke slowly, her words laden with a thick accent, but he understood her.
"Che'ri. A beautiful name. I am Eli Vanto. Why are you here, Che'ri?" She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. Her eyes flickered past him for a brief moment, almost as if she was asking someone's permission, but there was no one behind Eli. Perhaps it was more a question of what she was allowed to say? Eli had to agree with the captain on this point, she was not alone on this planet.
"Pu-punishment."
"A punishment? For what?" She didn't answer and Eli sighed, "I can help you, but only if you tell me what's going on."
Parck paced up and down impatiently "So, what does she say?" He asked, annoyed.
"Not much. Just that she was punished, but not for what."
"I don't have time for this nonsense. We're getting off this rock."
"Sir, the camp, the unknown alien protocol demands-"
"We'll take the camp with us. I'm not going to endanger my people unnecessarily, not if there's an maniac of her kind running around out there." Parck leaned down a little towards the girl. "If she doesn't want to talk, she'll come with you. Does that satisfy your chivalry, Cadet Vanto?" Eli doesn't answer. One of the stormtroopers grabbed Che'ri, lifted her in probably the worst way Eli had ever seen someone lift a child and, with heavy protests, loaded her onto the Stikefast. The girl swung her fists around, kicking, crying and screaming, but the stormtrooper was unimpressed and Eli could do nothing but stand by and watch. As the last of the stormtroopers returned from scouting, Parck turned to him one last time. "Oh yes," it was a mocking tone that Eli didn't like at all, something like that always meant trouble. "Since you seem to be so fond of this little beast, you'll take care of her while she's on board."
Babysitter. Now Eli got to play babysitter too, this day really couldn't get any worse. And then for a Chiss he had thought only a few hours ago was nothing but legends. Was it really too much to ask to finish his training in peace? Apparently not. First this stupid field mission and now this. He only wanted to become supply officer, nothing more. It was enough that he was attracting the hatred of the crew because of this training trip, he didn't need another reason. A tug on his jacket brought Eli back to reality. Che'ri looked up at him in fear, as if she sensed what was going on inside the human. She had simply been dropped off in the hangar with him. Eli took a deep breath. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn't take his anger out on her, Che'ri was the least to blame of all of them, she was a victim of the situation, nothing more. The girl relaxed a little, her gaze lowered, and yet she didn't let go of his jacket. She seemed so lost. No wonder, first she was attacked by unknown soldiers and then kidnapped. But maybe there was something good about it, maybe the Empire could help her find her parents. Surely this punishment she had talked about was just a misunderstanding. Who would abandon a child on a deserted jungle planet?
The Empire would do that, that and probably much worse. Eli wasn't naive enough to justify the Empire's atrocities. It was a job, nothing more.
Eli shook off those thoughts and took Che'ri's hand in his. It was about time this child got some food, a warm shower and sleep, she would surely feel better after that.
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After she had finished showering, she immediately looked much more relaxed. Logically, there were no child-sized clothes on a Star Destroyer, so Eli had to improvise with the help of a uniform tunic and a belt. However, the result was impressive. Provided you were blind. In both eyes. Che'ri didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about her makeshift dress either. She eyed herself skeptically, but didn't complain. He then led her to the canteen, and once they had entered, everyone's eyes were on them and the whispering began. That alone was enough to make Che'ri hide behind his legs. This was already off to a good start. Calm on the outside, but not really feeling well himself on the inside, he took the little girl to an empty secluded table while he got them both something to eat, always making sure to keep an eye on them in case something happened.
"Hey Vanto." Eli was startled by the sudden salutation. It was Brick and Elena, two cadets who went to the academy with Eli. "Who's the girl, did they demote you to babysitter now?"
"Shut up, Brick."
"Wow, is that girl a Chiss? So they're real. Does she speak Basic?" Elena asked without taking her eyes off the little Chiss, which wasn't particularly surprising. Everyone who grew up on Lsatra knew the stories by heart, even if only a few actually believed them. Eli himself had always believed them; after all, there was a spark of truth in every lie. But actually having her in front of him seemed so surreal.
"No, just Sy Bisti." She sighed, a little disappointed. "Is it true that she killed soldiers?" came from Bick, and Eli couldn't help but look at him as if he'd asked if Corusant was something to eat.
"Look at her, she's what, ten years old?" how could anyone with a working brain believe she could kill someone?
"Yeah, but she's an alien, you can trust them."
A deep sigh was released "You should spend less time in the holonet and more time with people." That was the end of the conversation for Eli and he was glad when he could pick up their food and get away from them.
Throughout the meal, the little Chiss didn't say a word, answering questions only with a nod or a shake of her head, yet Eli noticed how she was furtively observing her entire surroundings. Being around so many strangers didn't seem to be new to her, and yet he could tell that something was bothering her. "Are you all right?" he asked cautiously, catching her attention again, which was currently focused everywhere but on her plate.
"Yeah, I've never been to a canteen before. It's kind of scary." she replied for the first time. It was only half the truth, but he left it at that. If he probed further, she would probably just shut down even more.
"We can leave if you want." he asked instead. Che'ri shook her head
"No, it's fine." she replied and continued to poke at her vegetables.
"You like the food?"
"It's ok."
"You're not exactly talkative, are you?" no answer "Can I ask you something anyway?" Again, she didn't move, which Eli took as a silent sign that she didn't mind. "Where are your parents?" Eli regretted the question the moment it left his lips as little Che'ri dropped her fork in shock. "Che'ri?" he tried to reach her, but the girl wouldn't budge. He was about to go over to her when she jumped up and ran out of the canteen without responding to his shouts and all eyes were on the cadet for the second time that day. Too perplexed to react, Eli looked after her. How could he have been so stupid?
Eli followed her, but when he was out of the canteen, he realized that she was no longer in sight. It had taken him less than 24 hours to lose her. He asked everyone he came across if they had seen the little alien, even though most of them only gave him a gruff 'no' or no answer at all. He wandered aimlessly for a good hour until he heard a quiet sob. He followed the sound to a droid camp. She was sitting there alone in the dark, crying barely audibly. You could tell how hard she was trying to hold back her tears when she realized he had come in, and even though he barely knew her, it somehow broke his heart to watch. Eli sat down on the floor with her "I'm sorry. But you can't just run away like that."
Che'ri didn't look at him. "I want to go home." she said, her voice ever so slightly raspy from crying. "I miss Thalias."
Thalias? Maybe her sister, Eli wanted to ask, but finally left it. It would probably only do more harm than good. "I'm sure the Empire will find a way to bring you home."
"You're lying." The accusation surprised Eli,
"Why do you think that?"
Che'ri cocked her head to the side, looking like she didn't quite know how she knew herself "You feel like it. All adults feel like this when they lie." she tried to explain. She found it hard to find the right words, or maybe she just didn't know the words in Sy Bisti.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Forget it."
"Che'ri-"
"I said forget it!"
Eli sighed again. It had been a long day for Che'ri, she'd been through a lot. Maybe she was just stressed and tired. That would probably be it. "You look pretty tired. How about we go to bed and I'm sure the world will look better tomorrow." He held out his hand to help her get up. At first she looked as if she wanted to object, but then something changed in her expression. Maybe it was tiredness, maybe it was the realization that she was alone, maybe it was the hope that he was right. Eli didn't know, but she agreed and grabbed his hand.
"Okay."
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Eli was glad when they reached the quarters. Due to a lack of options, she would be sleeping in his room. Fortunately, there were two beds, because he didn't think Che'ri would like sharing a bed with a stranger. She was already snuggled up in the blanket when he came out of the bathroom in his pyjamas. "You've hardly eaten anything. If you want, I can get you something quick."
"No, thanks."
"You sure?" He asked again.
"I don't need anything." With one movement, she pulled the blanket over her head and disappeared under the white sheets. Eli had to smile a little at that, it reminded him of himself when he was her age.
"If you say so. If you need anything, just wake me up, okay?" There was no reply, but Eli was sure she'd heard him. At the latest, when her stomach growled, she would come. He listened to her steady breaths for a while. She was sleeping peacefully. Basically, the Chiss weren't much different from humans, Eli thought to himself as he lay awake in bed for a good while longer. In the legends, they were always described as warriors, but Che'ri was a normal girl. She was no little murderess, he was sure of that. So despite everything, the question of who had killed the soldiers remained unanswered and Eli fervently hoped that he would never have to meet the creature that had done this.