Life has been a blur lately, everything moving at breakneck speed. Living at the Dashiell Estate on Joiol has been a grounding experience, though. It's given me the chance to really connect with Dad and Makai. Plus, meeting more of my family—Myra and Persephone Dashiell—has been this unexpected, wonderful surprise. I never thought I had more family than the small circle I grew up knowing, but now, here we are. The fact that Myra and Makai are expecting a child adds a whole new layer of excitement. I don't know exactly how far along Myra is, but the idea that I'm going to be an uncle is both surreal and thrilling. Maybe someday, when the little one grows up, I'll get to be a guide for them, much like Makai has been for me.
On the professional front, things have shifted massively. I've dived headfirst into the family business, establishing my own subsidiary, Dashiell Retrofit. We specialize in salvaging old tech and giving it new life before putting it back on the market. Right now, we're still laying the foundation—getting the production lines ready for the Galactic Market—but we've already had some significant commissions. One from Crown Dream Lines was especially profitable and gave us a boost. The work is fulfilling, but it's also been demanding, often pulling me away from my responsibilities with the Tingel Arm Coalition. Fortunately, being an Aquilian Ranger comes with the luxury of choosing how much I want to contribute. The Nest is well-managed, so they don't need me there all the time.
Before all this, my life revolved around Maldra IV and the Coalition, but Dashiell Retrofit has given me a new passion. There's a deep sense of fulfillment in creating and leading a company where the risks don't involve life and death. With Dad's guidance—and the trust fund he set up for me—I was able to get the company off the ground, even securing a Starship Manufacturing Yard in orbit around Kesh, where Dashiell Incorporated operates. It's still a lot to wrap my head around. If someone had told me a year ago that I'd be here—eighteen years old and already running my own company—I wouldn't have believed them. Credits aren't even a concern anymore, as long as I keep the contracts rolling in and the business growing. Sure, the trust fund would've been enough, but I wanted to earn my place, and contributing to the family business gives me this sense of pride that I never thought I'd feel.
And as if life wasn't complicated enough, things between me and Nouqai have taken an unexpected turn. We've always been close, but during a carnival in Sith Space recently, we had a few drinks, made a gamble at one of the stalls, and after winning… well, we kissed. It wasn't just a casual kiss either—it felt like so much more. When I tried to talk about what it meant, Nouqai wisely pointed out that we were drunk and should discuss it sober. Makai and Iona had both suggested there might be more between us, but I never believed it until that night. Ever since, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. It wasn't just the alcohol; there was something real there. But it's risky. We've been best friends our entire lives, and if things go wrong, it could get awkward. But if it turns out to be something real, it could be the start of something amazing.
