Awful Fancy

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"Trying to," he said with a low chuckle. He looked down at his drink and then up towards the gardens again. "I'm just a bit of a social coward I think. After everything you've had to go through in the last year, you'd think I wouldn't get het up about minor family squabbles. Thank you again, for being here. Tell you what, I'll break Lars other knee in the taxi queue at the end of the evening as a token of my appreciation."

His arm slid around her waist and he moved closer to pull her against him. "Asmus will get the corners knocked off him one way or another. I think perhaps I let him play out his little fantasy version of being a scoundrel a little too long. After getting a taste of military leadership from you and after the run in with the Union, I think he's developed far more self awareness than he had. Now when he says he likes the idea of the navy because of the dashing uniforms I think he's actually just saying it to wind me up."

Kairon sighed. "Tell you what, if you don't mind cigarra smoke there's a casual table as well as a serious one." He didn't need to say that she wasn't allowed near the serious one nor would he leave her when playing. He trusted her, but there was no need to tempt her addiction, not with the sizes if bets on the big table here. Some of the big players did hit the casual tables at times, particularly those who saved themselves for private events when the big money was down. Kairon would love to watch Mal shake a few of them down.

"How are your feet holding up?" he asked, with a grin. He took a long, slow breath in through his nose and affectionately nuzzled against her, trying not to do any damage to hair or make up.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"If anyone is breaking Lars other knee, it's me." She chuckled as they watched the crowded dancers on the floor move to the music, and somewhere she was sure Asmus was telling a completely enthralled girl about the perfect scoundrel he was, flying through the galaxy and stealing hearts.

She considered the idea of slipping to a table and taking a few hands off these stuffed shirts but for the moment, she was content to just be. Kairon was pretty good about keeping her away from the tables. Without Rusty immediately on the ship, she had put money affairs in Kairon's hands. Keeping her to an allotment helped to avoid her frivolous need to feel that power.

"I'm good for right now. Maybe a little later." She let him draw her closer, holding her in the warm evening air. She frowned at the feet question, looking down at the toes of her shoes peeking out from under the hem of her dress.

"I may not wear shoes tomorrow. Be warned."

She looked back into the ballroom, and her eyes fell on Lars and she huffed a sigh.

"How much longer do we have to stay?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

“I’ll break out the emergency decompression masks,” he said with a cheeky smile, accepting the mock shove stoically.

“Eh, that’s a good question,” he said a few moments later, following her line of sight. “I didn’t exactly sign up to a timeslot, but it’s probably a little early to be making our apologies. I have a feeling our delightful relatives are planning another ambush.

“As much as I’d like another dance when my legs are feeling up to it, nothing to prevent us staying out here all evening.” Currently summer in this hemisphere, the sky was clear and the arm warm. Not even a gentle breeze to chill Mal’s shoulders. He wrapped an arm around them anyway.

“An early night would be fine by me,” he said quietly. Asmus probably had enough for a speeder home, assuming he even would be returning to the Warden.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"We're smugglers and scoundrels, who says we give a damn about their stupid social conventions? And I don't need their money. I ain't courting them."

Mal got slightly indignant. The majority of the captains and crews in attendance tonight were smaller ships of less than 100 meters, who could use the more lucrative contracts offered by the merchant princes of Eriadu. However, the Warden was a frigate. Fully crewed up right now, she carried a compliment of just shy of a hundred for rotating shifts on the bridge and engineering. She made a killing on Alliance contracts and companies in GA space using her to haul large loads safely through contested space.

It was dangerous work to be sure, but it was better than scraping by with small little pirate jobs from Hutts. Anything was better than pirate jobs for Hutts. Even if that was how she met Kairon to begin with. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Anyone ever ask you how we met?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"No, they never much took an interest in my afrairs beyond Asmus, they never much asked after you til..." The penny dropped. "Of course. I'm their route to court you."

Kairon bristled at that, the hand on his lap scrunching up a handful of trousers. "Well, feth them."

Yet he didn't leave for a moment, just took his time to breath slowly and let the ice cold anger in his belly fade away. He didn't want to go back through the hall like that. Turning to regard Mal, he unapologetically risked her lipstick by planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

"You were looking for a pirate," he said softly, echoing her words from nearly a year ago. "Come on, crew are mostly enjoying shore leave we should be enjoying ourselves too. I can think of things I'd rather be doing than pandering to this crowd," he said, thinking of slowly drawing down a zip. "There's real food on the Warden too."

For the first time in the evening he had a genuine smile on his face.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Sounds like a plan, my love."

She looked surprised but delighted when he suggested they leave but as for the moment she was wondering why his family would want to court her at all. She stood, interlacing their fingers together as they deliberately walked across the hall headed for the exit.

In truth, Mal was proud of Kairon in this moment. He spent so much effort to beat himself up for the mistakes of his past, he let people who had no business passing judgment on him continue to do so. He was a treasure they most certainly didn't deserve.

They were stopped a couple times on their obvious path to the exit by people Kairon knew from childhood but there was a grin to Mal's face that seemed to light her up. It could have had something to do with getting out of her heels soon.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

The exit drew near and Kairon found himself in a very strange mood. It had been a long time since he'd been to one of these events and things had changed a great deal since then. Not the balls, obviously. Musical tastes and fashion changed, but the merchants here and their customs almost seemed frozen in time.

He showed to a stop on the steps up, turning back to the main hall. The hardwood floor was polished to such a degree that every seemed accompanied by a doppelganger as they glided along. He was different, not them. Kairon didn't fit in here, but maybe his exclusion had been more in his own mind than theirs. He'd been almost constantly on edge back then, jumpy, quick to anger.

I'm a very different person now, he thought to himself as he gave Malia's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Let's get..."

"Kairon, Malia!" came a sweet call from above. Anara was barely maintaining her grace as she rushed down the stairs from the first floor. "Kairon, I was wondering if you could talk to Pilth about Asmus' progress on his coursework for a moment before you leave. And Malia, I was hoping we could quickly talk business before you all shoot off."

 

[Malia Afredane]

So close. Mal raised an eyebrow as Anara ambushed them with excuses. Business? She wanted to discuss business. Last she knew, the Schmidt & Rees had a fleet of vessels. She wasn't sure what kind of business Anara had in mind, but she extricated her fingers from Kairon's while she smiled easily.

"Go ahead, Kai. I'm sure this won't take long."

She followed Anara to a quiet corner of the main floor, where they would be somewhat sheltered from the sight and sound of others. No chances of being overheard in this spot. Mal's clutch hung from her wrist as she knitted her fingers together in front of her, her face fairly relaxed although her mind was shrewdly analyzing the situation already.

"What can I do for you Anara?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Anara had a remarkably plain expression as she sat down opposite Malia. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as if considering out to start the conversation. Her eyes briefly glanced across to follow Pilth and Kairon who were heading for Asmus. Her eyes lingered on her son. So dashing in his outfit for the evening; too much potential to be wasted.

“You’ve garnered quite the reputation around here recently Malia,” she said, turning to meet the smuggler’s eyes. “Please don’t think I’m belittling you, I have genuine respect for the operation you’ve built. I work enough with merchant captains to have just a hint of a notion how difficult it can be in that world not being a man.”

Her eyes again wondered to the smugglers who had gathered in one corner of the room, as if noting how few women stood among them.

“We need to adapt to changing times. The overheads on getting cargo across fiercely contested borders is becoming unmanageable for us, yet you’ve built a business on doing do. I need to understand how to do the same, to become more flexible, more agile to change,” she explained slowly. Her eyes flicked to Kairon. She’d also heard that he kept an enviable collection of quiet little hyperspace lanes that had been forgotten during the Gulag plague.

“I have two propositions for your consideration. Firstly, I have a broad manifest of items I need shifting on a regular basis. I would appreciate if you’d take a look. Given the overheads I’m currently suffering, we could be quite generous on the payments. Secondly I’m looking for a new COO.”





Meanwhile, Kairon had set his mind on a demonstration after Pilth had expressed a belief that Asmus required more secondary modules. After all, he’d studied High Correllian, Philosophy and
Music during his own studies. Apparently it wasn't good enough for the boy just to take the astronavigation and technical exams.

“Sorry to interrupt Asmus,” Kairon said, stepping up to the group. Asmus looked aghast as his uncle and father getting in the middle of his socialising. “Few questions.”

“Sure?”

“What’s rule number one when negotiating with a Houk?”

“Er…never complement them? They get all suspicious about it.”

“Right, right. You’re taking powercells from tatooine to the core. What’s your route?”

“Corellian Run, but turn off at Denon. Swing past Rendili with a parts licence through the back road to avoid patrols, then make a straight run into the core,” Asmus replied incredulously, as if being asked particular stupid questions.

“That a rounded enough education for you?” Kairon asked Pilth from behind a wry smile/

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal listened to Anara attempt to butter her up with gracious compliments of knowing how difficult it was to be in her shoes. Mal was fairly certain that Anara had never had a hard day of labor in her life, so what it meant to be a captain out in the galaxy was so far beyond her comprehension as to be laughable. However Mal still maintained her silence while Anara mentioned two proposals.

She let a moment of silence hang in between them before she answered, her eyes flitting across the room then back to Anara's face.

"On the first bit, send me the cargo lists and I'll send you a quote but I wouldn't hold my breath since I'm booked fairly solid. Secondly, I'm a ship captain, not a headhunter."

She waited for Anara's response, as she was certain that the perfectly coiffed maven would have a rebuttal.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Anara gave a little shrug. "You're more than that really. You're a business women who's steered her operation through very difficult times," she asserted. "You've more guts and a kenner instinct than anyone on my board. However, I can't ask for anything more from you. Send me the quotes, but supply and demand is what it is. Don't be afraid to come in high if it hastens your availability."

Her eyes once again drifted to where Asmus was engaged in conversation with his father and uncle. Pilth wasn't the bravest man at the best of times and he was positively terrified of Kairon. They'd all sensed that in in when he'd returned. Something dark lingering beneath the surface. Sure, he slouched, but he was a very large man, towering over her husband. Her loving brother had come back to them a killer. Asmus wasn't like that. Whatever work they did, Kairon seemed to have shielded him from the worst of it. He hadn't been through what Kairon had and - in that regard at least - she could be thankful.

"Wouldn't hurt for Asmus to get a chance to socialise back here once in a while," she sighed.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"You're forgetting something here, something that is vitally crucial to what you think you know of me. I did not get to where I am alone. While I oversee the daily operations of the Grey Warden, I am in the position I am because I have a business partner who is equally as savvy. Just because he is not currently on the ship doesn't mean he isn't involved in the running of the affairs. Rusty is just as much to credit in the success of our endeavors."

She followed Anara's gaze to her son and watched the wistful look soften her eyes for a moment, but Mal wasn't going to subscribe to Anara's family issues.

"Asmus is a free man who can use his shore leave how he pleases. I cannot make him visit Eriadu if he wishes to be elsewhere. I'm his boss, not his nanny."

It was starting to look a little different to Mal though. She wanted Asmus near her. If the Warden was working for Schmidt and Rees, he would be home much more often and more accessible to the doting mother, something she was certain neither Kairon nor Asmus would be particularly thrilled about.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Anara looked almost guilty as the faced the floor, gently biting her lower lip. She'd been too forward. When she looked up again there was pain in her eyes. This was no act. There was nothing false about the faint quiver in her lips as she spoke.

"Is it so bad of me to want him to have the opportunity to be near his home more?" she asked quietly, genuinely. "He's an adult now, but he wasn't Malia. Not when Kairon filled his head with daft stories of adventure. Not when he took him from me," every muscle in her face seemed to twitch as Anara tried to regain control of herself. She swallowed, taking a deep breath as her composure returned.

"I wouldn't put my business at risk for personal matters. That would be unprofessional of me. Both offers stand, and on the latter arrangements you'd have free reign to bring in your own team. No one gets where they are alone, but it doesn't take away from the choices they made. Give both consideration, that's all I ask. I apologise for my outburst." Anara's hand came up to her face, a curled finger briefly rubbing the corner of each eye to smudge her make up. Was this the last she'd see of her son in person for another year?

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal looked at Anara a moment and then back to Asmus and Kairon before she started to speak.

"Asmus might have been taken from you, but so was Kairon. The horrible things that he endured as a captive of pirates and then in their service haunts him now and probably will for the rest of his life. However, Asmus stowing away on that ship saved him from making a horrible choice. Maybe you should stop blaming your brother and start thanking your son for having a brother to guilt trip about his transgressions. As for Asmus..."

She took a deep breath and blew it out her lips audibly.

"I recently lost my mother when the Alliance invaded Balmorra. She was forever trying to get me to take over her business, to follow her path and the harder she pushed, the farther I ran. If you want Asmus to be here more, let him pick his own path. He's a talented young man, an asset to my crew. He has a sharp mind and he's blasting through these courses in an astounding speed. He's looked at the naval academy. He's looked at becoming a licensed navigator. He's utterly bored by the rote of sitting at desk every day. If you want to see him more, meet him halfway Anara."

It was surprisingly candid of Mal, but she figured if Anara was going to be sincere, then she could as well.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Anara was bright enough to follow Malia's implication. Kairon had done terrible things during his time away from them. He must have been considering doing something awful and the presence of the innocent youth stopped him. Asmus had a fierce intellect behind his ditzy exterior and it could have come from either parent. She found herself wondering what could have become of Kairon if that ship had never been stolen.

"I'm so sorry Malia, I didn't know," she said quietly. She leaned across and briefly placed a hand on hers. She sighed audibly and didn't even pretend she was watching her son. Denarris' daughter seemed quite amused at a story he was telling.

"We haven't had a military man in the family for a few generations I think," she mused in an off hand manner. As any mother did, she immediately had concerns over his safety, but little more than she had already. Asmus could be an officer, she could picture that. "You all shouldn't be strangers though," she said, meeting Malia's gaze. "I saw you and Kairon enjoying a dance," she said with a genuine smile. "You've very graceful. You'd both be welcome at any of our gatherings."

 

[Malia Afredane]

"My life is mine to tell, Kairon wouldn't speak of something like that. Needless to say, if you want your brother and your son to be closer, meeting Kairon halfway would help. If he is distant, it is because your family has put expectations on him without consideration for him. For what he's been through, what they did to him. Kairon is one of the finest men I've ever known. But he's never going to be his father. He's never going to be merchant lord with a taste for fancy dress balls or society functions. But he reads incessantly. He studies philosophy and pours over the classics. He is kind and principled."

She let the silence fall and watched the feelings play across Anara's eyes. She moved to stand up, a soft acceptance in her own eyes.

"Love the brother you got. Stop mourning the one he could have been. As for dress balls, welcome and comfortable are two different things. Now if you'll excuse me, he promised me a drink out and some quiet time."

She looked towards Asmus again, and down at Anara with a grin.

"Take the kid home with you tonight. We don't need him on the Warden for 2 days. Same advice. Love the man he's growing into and don't mourn for the one you want him to be."

Mal took her leave, heading for Kairon although she could see that look behind his eyes of questioning what Anara had wanted.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Anara merely sighed and nodded. Their father had retreated back inside himself some time ago. He was a stubborn man, not one to change his views once he had made them known. Oh she had cursed him many times since Asmus had left them. If his attitude had been different, she might have had more luck enticing them back to Eriadu. That's when she'd turned to desperate measures with the Bounty Hunters. After all, Asmus hadn't been of age, he hadn't legally been allowed to leave the family home permanently on his own back then. She'd been left with a lot to consider. But, efficient as ever, she tapped a quick message into her datapad to remind her PA to send over the cargo lists first thing.


Kairon wasn't sure exactly what had transpired, but he could see the introspective look on Anara's features from a distance. He had a slightly smug smile on his face at how easily he had deflected Pilth's line of questions. "I do hope that wasn't too painful?" he asked, as he looped his arm through hers and turned for the exit. His eyebrows came together in sympathy.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"She's Izzy in a nice dress who worries too much about a child who seems to be living in a completely different world. Nothing I couldn't handle."

She leaned her head on Kairon's shoulder as they descended the stairs to the street level outside. She was already looking forward to taking off her shoes, and getting into something a little more comfortable.

"I told her she gets the boy for two days. I can spare the kid while we make the short swing out and pick him up on the return. Asmus will be pissed at being left but he'll get over it. Say, since we're in port, want to catch a movie and drink?"

The idea of a date night out sounded like heaven right now.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"Didn't expect you wouldn't," he said."And yeah we'll be good, Tavot is punishing a couple of the lads for misdeeds on the trip by keeping them in to strip the capacitors. He's doing a top job. You know, on the Quin if I didn't fix it it didn't work again. It's nice having a whole rotating team in engineering." Kairon moved to the airspeeder sat at the front of the line, opening the door and offering his hand to Mal.

"Shall we head back and get in a quick change? Why don't I book a hotel?" he asked. Used to the tight confines of a merchant vessel, fresh food followed by a queen sized bed would be a welcome change. He hadn't known what to expect at the start of the evening, but he got the sense that things hadn't panned out as badly as his neuroticism had led him to believe. His family hadn't pulled anything stupid. If anything, they'd seemed more relieved that they'd actually all turned up for once. Disappointing that it took a cultural shift to make it acceptable, but it was perhaps progress.

"Thank you again," he said quietly.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Don't wanna be jammed up in our cabin tonight?" She chuckled, nudging him with her elbow as they got into the cab. All in all, the night had not been nearly has bad as he had dreaded even if they were thrown for a loop by the appearance of her father. She laid against him in the back of the speeder, wrapping her arms around him.

"You don't have to thank me. I love you, Kai. It's just part of the package."

She watched the cityscape go by as the taxi carried them back to the spaceport.

"I can't believe Lars was here."

[member="Kairon Rees"]