Private It Takes a Family

[Malcoma Hesse]

It was a quiet day in the Guesthouse, perhaps quieter than normal, but that was entirely by design. When they were bought and brought to their new home, slaves were often gawked at. This new home would be different, a good sentence to begin the tabula rasa of another life.

Malcoma stuck the last stem of the bouquet that Damris had fetched her earlier this morning into the vase sat on her desk before her. With a ginger fluff of the arrangement, she then tied a silver and black ribbon around the container’s neck. This was as much a gift from the whole Family as it was from just Malcoma.

She stood and took the vase up in both hands. She’d meet Yu Karloo and the new tenant she had found in the foyer.

 

[Yu Karloo]

Location: The Mynok, a smuggling vessel sitting within range of the guns of Yu Karloo's personal frigate, Pharaoh III

Yu stood over the Sullustan smuggler, Garak. The "Lady" was clad in her black Arx bodysuit, leaning on a short, deactivated electrostaff. Behind her stood four uniformed, armed members of the Pharaoh's security. More were stationed on the bridge and in the hanger with the TIE assault shuttle on which they had arrived. Two of Garak's own men stood behind him armed, but hands well away from their weapons.

"Do explain again, Garak, how a crate of my shipment ended up on a Hutt's freighter? Never mind, it's obvious you are incompetent. You will simply pay for the lost cargo." While Yu would openly lay the blame for the mishandled contraband on the independent smuggler, she knew it was her own misjudgement that lead to the error. Isabelle had warned her about contracting crews as middle men to expand throughput. Now the Nautolan would have to admit to her Major-Domo that she was right, a very hard pill to swallow.

"I don't have that kind of credit readily available." The squirrely Sullustan protested, his lie obvious to the Nautolan. She could smell his dishonesty through her head tendrils.

Suddenly, the doors behind Yu and her guards slid open. They spun around, weapons ready, only to find two more of Yu's security detail standing with a young woman between them. "What is this?" Yu asked curtly.

"She tried to sneak onto the shuttle." The officer holding one of the girl's arms informed their boss.

"Bring her here." Yu commanded. The men complied. The girl was a mess, bruised, disheveled and weak. Yu sensed fear from her, not from the men holding her, or the woman with the head tendrils, but when her eyes lifted slightly to the Sullust. Brushing aside the girl's matted hair, Yu saw the brand on her neck. A slave.

Yu cast her all black glare at Garak. Her green features grimacing in disgust. "I have found the payment for my lost cargo." She growled. In an instant, the electrostaff ignited and the end was thrust at Garak's chest. Set only for stun, the powerful shock sent him flailing like a fish out of water. Yu spit on him. "Prick." She murmured. Stalking out of the room, she commanded. "Bring her. Give the command for the Pharaoh to sufficiently damage the Mynok's engines." The security detail followed in turn. In short order, the shuttle returned to the Pharaoh with an unexpected addition, while several blasts from the frigate's turbolasters disabling the Sullustan smuggler's ship.
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Location: The Guesthouse

Two weeks later...

"I promise, this is the best option for you." Yu assured Eyana. The girl taken from Garak was not, of course, destined to remain a slave under Yu's ownership. As soon as she stepped onto the Pharaoh, Yu gave the woman her freedom. But Eyana was at a loss of what to do with it. Years of abuse had stolen self-identity, self-esteem and self-independence. While the freed slave wanted to remain with Yu, the Nautolan knew she could not provide the support Eyana would need to recover from her experiences. But she knew who could.

Yu wanted to personally escort Eyana to the Guesthouse. The girl looked so much better, clothed properly, cleaned up and most of her bruises healed. There was a glimmer of hope in the girl's once lifeless eyes. Stepping out of the speeder, Yu guided the girl to the entrance and opened the door, allowing Eyana to step inside. Following her, Yu saw Malcoma waiting with a bouquet of flowers. The Nautolan's smile widened at the warm greeting awaiting her waifish charge. "Hello! I have someone here eager to meet you." Yu's hand rested reassuringly on Eyana's shoulder. "This is Eyana. Eyana, this is Headmistress Hesse."

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

Yu Karloo

Malcoma was alone in the foyer, having asked her girls to stay clear of it for the morning. The last thing she wanted to do was overwhelm poor Eyana.

The headmistress smiled back at Yu. When she made the introductions, Mal extended out the vase of flowers. "Lovely to meet you, darling. These are for you. If you're ready, your new roommate would like to meet you..." She knew better than that, so corrected with a smile, "Well, everyone would like to meet you, but let's just start with one, yes?"

Once affirmation was given, Malcoma would lead Eyana and Yu back up the staircase. They turned left from the landing and walked down a medium-length hallway, stopping just before it made a sharp right turn. Doors lined only the left wall, only one slightly open. Malcoma knocked lightly at it anyway. "Your sister is here," she called out softly.

The door opened wide and another young woman stepped out into the hall. She was a mirialan; had long, dark hair; and appeared older than Eyana. She turned towards Eyana. "Hi, I'm Vahleet," she began. "I hope you like sweets. I made you some welcome cookies. They're in here." In fact, they were set on the empty table beside a made bed.

Malcoma backpedaled in the hall to make room for Vahleet to retreat into her room again and for Eyana to follow. She glanced over to Yu, mouthing, Thank you.

 

[Yu Karloo]

Eyana, seemed surprised at the kind greeting, and especially the flowers. She took them shyly, but the corner of her mouth curled in the faintest smile as she looked at the beautiful arrangement. She looked up at the equally beautiful and kind woman that offered them. "Thank you, Headmistress Hesse.," The timid girl replied.

At the suggest they introduce her roommate, Eyana glanced up to Yu. The Nautolan gave a slight nod of reassurance, and they both followed Malcoma up the stairway. Yu appreciated how delicately Mal managed the newcomer, she sensed how sincerely the woman cared for the girls in her charge.

At the ajar door, they paused as Malcoma knocked and announced their arrival. She had used the term 'sister.' Yu Eyana had been without family for a very long time. The girl looked up again at Yu, her smile more pronounced. Then the Mirialan stepped out and greeted Eyana directly.

"Hi, I'm... Eyana. The flaxen-haired girl replied. She leaned forward enough to peak into the room and see the cookies. Once last glance was lifted to Yu, who smiled and nodded once again. "Go on, hon, this is your new home. Don't worry, its not the last time you will see me around." She brushed her hand on the girl's shoulder to encourage her to go with Vahleet. Seeing Mal's mouth words, Yu only offered a wider smile. She could not deny the pleasure of seeing a life turning around before her eyes.


Malcoma Hesse

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

"Get to know each other, girls," Mal said into the room. "Vahleet and I will help you settle in later, Eyana, if you would feel up to a little shopping spree."

Then, it was her turn to glance at Yu before motioning back down the hall towards the elevator. "This was very good of you, Yu," she mused as they entered into it. Up three more floors, they arrived with a soft ding to the penthouse. It was a little small relative to the other penthouses that Galactic City boasted, but it was just as luxuriously decorated, fitting of a Made Woman indeed. She led the way down a short entryway which split off into a kitchen to one side and a living space to the other. "Would you like something for your...trouble, for lack of a better word?"

Mal doubted the associated would accept, much less ask, for monetary payment. "Perhaps a homecooked meal?" she suggested instead. "How do you eat on the Pharaoh?"

Yu Karloo

 

[Yu Karloo]

Seeing how well Eyana would be cared for, Yu felt relief. Malcoma was a saint, the Nautolan decided, to care for so many wayward young women. To bear the concern and responsibility for one was enough for Yu. She could run a business or an illicit operation without blinking. But Eyana quickly brought out emotions in the former con woman, and emotions changed things. Those ties with the former slave girl would not just snap when Yu left Eyana behind at the Guesthouse, and the Nautolan would certainly check in with her from time to time.

Yu followed Malcoma up to her penthouse. It was very well appointed. Yu knew Mal was involved with the Family, but to what depth and extent she was not familiar. Yu's ties to Ivory and the Donna's organization were strengthening, especially with her appointment to the board of Moonveil. But beyond familiarity with Marcella's operations, the wisely compartmentalized workings of the Family were still vague at best to the smuggler/entrepreneur.

At Malcoma's offer, Yu waved a graceful green hand. "No, freeing Eyana was compensation in itself. Well, that and the look of her former owner when I told him I was taking her as a payment." She grinned. "But a meal would be lovely. I have a chef of sorts on the Pharaoh, so we eat pretty well. I would love for you to visit her. I have fit her with very comfortable accommodations. You may bring your girls as well, I can even arrange some entertainment." Yu had fit her frigate not only as a space faring hub for smuggling, but for hosting VIPs and guests in comfort.


Malcoma Hesse

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

Ha.

Malcoma could imagine what that look on the slaver's face had been. Yes, it was always amusing to humiliate those types, like a drug that never seemed to loose its kick.

"I'm not one to turn down a cruise," she said as she walked behind the black granite kitchen island, then ducked below it to get out a frying pan. She set it on one of the countertop induction burners. "Scallops with lemon butter?" If that recipe was agreeable to Yu, Mal would go about the rest of the kitchen gathering its ingredients.

Yu Karloo

 

[Yu Karloo]

"Scallops? That would be wonderful!" Yu replied with a grin. Seafood was her favorite. Nautolan as an aquatic race favored sea fare. "And I would love for you to join us sometime. And the crew would love to see Eyana again too."

Yu idly paced around the penthouse living room, her hand tracing the back of a luxurious chair on her way to the window, peering out on the city. "I am sure you spend a lot of time caring for these girls, I can see it in Vahleet." By 'see' Yu meant 'sense'. Her head tendrils were sensitive to bio-chemicals, like hormones. Yu could read the genuine happiness of the Mirialan she had just met.

"Eden's seems to be flourishing." Yu commented idly, thinking it was time to pay the club another social visit. "And I heard about a new initiative you were working on, now that the Guesthouse is up and running?"


Malcoma Hesse

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

After preparing her mise en place, the headmistress began heating the pan. She leaning forward on the counter, waiting to panfry. "Yes. I do as much as I can. When I'm not here, Damris looks after them. He's a man, of course, which can be distressing for some of our tenants here, but he cares a great deal and does his very best to present as inoffensively as possible.

"Somewhat inexplicably so," Mal replied to the comment about the current state of her club. "When I decided to discontinue the...extra services, I had fully expected Eden's to flounder." It was a loss she was more than willing to take. The CSF was cracking down on that flavor of crime. If Mal wanted to continue helping former slaves, which she did, she realized that she had to find another way to give them autonomy over their lives again.

That's where the new initiative that Yu had heard about came into play. "It turns out that I should give the greasy men and women—" but most the men, "—of Coruscant some more credit," she continued. "Their commitment to vice is almost commendable; they barely noticed that one was taken away. It's been very good for business."

She dropped a bit of butter in the pan and swirled it around to coat the metal. The seasoned scallops went in next. "But yes. Since moving here, I've tried branching out. The Donna was very generous to give this estate away, but something was missing. Without Eden's as it was, the girls were missing an outlet. A catalyst for growth. You see, that's what the club really was. As a former slave myself, I have always felt like reclaiming your own body is an necessary part of recovery. I still do but, as I said, the CSF has closed off that door." A sigh. "I suppose that's for the best? If their policies actually helped destitute women, I'd be out of a job."

She flipped the scallops over with a pair of cooking tongs. Butter sizzled on the lightly browned tops. "I'm starting up the Hestia Project." A stack of business cards were set on the mantle in an angled holder made of a knot of metallic roots. "It's a foundation that will provide venues of healing to everyone who comes to live here, mostly through education and employment. My hope is for the Guesthouse to be self-sufficient, such that we are not a financial burden to rest of the Family." Funding Malcoma and her growing wardship was important to the Family, given their anti-slave sentiments, but it was even more important to the headmistress to prove to her girls that a former slave did not need to have powerful friends in her corner in order to succeed.

Yu Karloo

 

[Yu Karloo]

Yu nodded, Malcoma seemed as pleasantly surprised as many other supporters that Eden's didn't suffer from the change of policies. There was a majority of patrons, it seemed, that were well satisfied with the atmosphere and dancers that had not changed. Eden's was, after all, a cut above other 'vice' clubs in the district, in Yu's opinion.

The aroma of the seasoned shellfish hitting the hot butter was nearly intoxicating. Yu inhaled the pleasant scent as Mal explained the new venture and its genesis. She strolled to the mantle and plucked one of the cards from the holder. Her gaze slid over the words, her head nodding slightly. She tucked the cared in a small pocket.

"That is a wonderful idea." Yu replied, moving to the island where Mal was cooking, leaning casually on the dark granite. She watched as her host turned the sizzling scallops over in the pan. A hand idly caressed one of her head tendrils. "Its a very worthwhile effort. I would like to help, in any way I could. A donation, employment opportunities for the girls, whatever you think. Let me know what I can do." The Nautolan offered.

Malcoma Hesse

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

After taking the scallops out of the pan and placing them on two plates, she melted even more butter in the pan. A little flour, lemon juice, and fresh herbs made it into a sauce.

"That is very thoughtful, Yu. I will keep that in mind."

She spooned the sauce over the plated scallops, then produced a fork out of a drawer for the nautolan. "Buon appetito," Mal said as she took up her own fork. On Yu's side of the island, there were a few stools tucked neatly underneath the counter's recess. Mal motioned for her to pull out one of them and take a seat, but she herself stayed put. It'd be easier to talk this way. Plus, she tended to sit for long periods in her downstairs office anyway.

But they needed some wine before she finally settled down.

Yu Karloo

 

[Yu Karloo]

Yu was not usually the philanthropic sort. She was a criminal, but not a particularly cruel one, and one with some virtues, or so she believed. Her But Eyana had changed that. Spending time with the girl, and realizing what she had saved the girl from, gave Yu a feeling she very much liked. Hence the offer to help with the Hestia Project.

Yu's mouth watered at the smell and sight of the rich scallops and sauce Malcoma prepared on plates for each of them. She pulled out a stool and took a seat, receiving the offered meal with a wide grin. "Thanks Mal, it looks and smells divine." The Nautolan crooned, barely noticing she had used a nickname for Malcoma. She had not intended to, but the formality between them had seemed to melt, and they were just two girls sharing a meal and chatting. "Oh, sorry, It just came out. I didn't mean to take liberties." Yu offered in apology, a bit embarrassed.

Eager to taste the scallops, Yu immediately took a bite. She was not disappointed, they were delicious. "Mmmm... amazing." She mouthed around the bite in an unladylike fashion.

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

Malcoma smiled behind the rim of her wine glass as she watched Yu taste the meal. "Good," she replied. "And never you mind that. Liberties can be taken up here."

Still, not many people were allowed to call her Mal. Even less were tolerated.

A few moments of silence passed, at least from her, as she took a few bites of scallop. Then she took to dabbing butter off her lips with a napkin as she finished chewing, like she was about to say something.

"Speaking of...let me take my own. I have a secret of sorts and I have to tell someone." Well, someone bot associated with the Family to one degree or another, and outside of her nuclear circle. She had learned her lesson from last time. "I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable, but considering your unique position and what you've done for me today, I think that telling you is safe."

She paused, looking to Yu and expecting a confirmation with bated breath.

Yu Karloo

 

[Yu Karloo]

Malcoma was gracious regarding Yu's faux pas, and the Nautolan decided to refrain from using the nickname until the time she could say that she and the Headmistress were truly friends. Perhaps the meal they shared would be the beginning of such a relationship.

Yu continued to enjoy the meal, savoring each bite with reserve. When it appeared Malcoma was about to speak again, Yu finished chewing her morsel to offer her attention.

Malcoma sought to take her guest into her confidence. As one who had come to grow closer to the workings of the Family, Yu understood the necessity of discretion and discernment. To fail to employ them could lead to dire consequences. So when Malcoma mentioned a secret, Yu took the matter seriously.

The smugger/exec laid her fork aside and set her elbows on the counter top, leaning forward slightly. "I understand the power of secrets. I will keep yours as my own." She vowed. While it was difficult to read a Nautolan's large, dark eyes, the set of the rest of her features portrayed her sincerity.

Malcoma Hesse

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

"Good," she repeated. She did hate being wrong about someone's character.

"A ghost that I did not know I had in my past recently caught up to me..." Mal glanced out the nearest window, looking in equal parts down at the enclosure of Mount Umate's peak in the center of the plaza outside and her own reflection in the glass. After a few seconds, she look back to Yu, unable to stomach her own image.

The last time that happened was the first few months after she had bought her freedom from her Mandalorian owner.

It hinted to her, as it had then, that something had deeply upset the foundations of her life, that something was slowly chipping away parts of her conception of herself to build it anew. Although, this time, that something wasn't a mystery; she knew what it was, even if she still couldn't really believe it. What a growing pain.

"A member of a royal Hapan house says that I'm a Duch'da. The true heir to a planet." As she finished that line, she did all she could to not run a hand through her hair in exasperation but the urge ran out. She was rarely this nervous and she thoroughly hated it, not because she was worried that Yu would betray her confidence but because the gravity of the greater situation was finally settling.

Yu Karloo

 

[Yu Karloo]

The sudden wave of sensation that brushed across the sensitive skin of Yu's head tendrils coincided with Malcoma's lingering glance out the window. Those senses tasted sudden, strong anxiety emanating from Malcoma. This was no small secret she would reveal. The Nautolan's dark gaze did not follow Malcoma's, but remained on the suddenly somber blonde.

A ghost from the past. Yu's first thought was some sort of threat. Someone, some crime, something that threatened her life, her business, the Guesthouse...

But no, it was something far more unexpected. malcoma was a Duchess, or so someone had told her. As a former con-artist who infiltrated high society for several years, Yu was skeptical. Was someone conning Malcoma? The green-woman didn't know her companion well only having heard that she was once a slave. Anything was possible, she supposed.

"A Duch'da? That must have come as quite a shock." Yu replied, wrapping her mind around it. Yu felt suddenly protective of her host, especially seeing how nervous it made Malcoma. "Did this Hapan provide any proof, of either who they were or of their claim? Its quite a thing to show up out of the blue and deliver." Yu asked, sipping at her wine. She hoped the fact that Malcoma trusted her with the secret meant she also welcomed Yu's probing questions.

Malcoma Hesse

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

A shock? That was an understatement.

"Both," Malcoma replied. "He's a butler to House Kri. A..." Attempting to describe Wynter Rackham always seemed to trip her up. If he knew that, then the level of amusement that he'd draw from that fact would surely drive her to something drastic. "...friend and I met him at a slave auction. He said that I was the spitting image of the late Ducha, apparently my real mother, and," she waved a hand expressively, "lo and behold, when we later checked the Holonet, I look like, well, I could be the current Ducha's sister."

Plus, they had also found out Betal's long-dead, if those circumstances were to be believed, sister's birth name was Hesse. What was the chance of that, really? A name like that?

"Then he took us to Terephon," she continued. "We—" Her mind was turning ideas over so fast that the words began to slip away. A new tactic was in order. No more play-by-play. Cut to the chase. "Yu, a whole entire planet's coffers could free so many slaves around the galaxy."

Maybe, with that, her guest would pick up on the reason that this was a secret: Malcoma would naturally want to fund her Project, not the Family, with her newfound wealth.

Yu Karloo

 

[Yu Karloo]

So it was indeed confirmed. Yu was sitting with nobility. The Nautolan was beginning to realize, even feel, the weight of what Malcoma had revealed. It seemed to be a universal stereotype that every little girl dreamed of being a princess. But the reality of something like that had landed in Ms. Hesse's lap, almost literally. The scope of responsibility alone must have been overwhelming. And for someone who was once a slave, and may still struggle with the humility of that, to realize they were nobility? Well, it was a lot for one to wrap their brain around.

But Malcoma's follow up statement spoke so much about her character. She didn't mention the privilege of rulership, or even responsibility to the Hapan people, but to the cause held so close to her heart... the freeing of slaves. A measure of admiration for Malcoma touched the smugger. She could see where true hope lay in the blonde's vision.

Yu looked thoughtfully at Malcoma. "Your new project could be so much more with that sort of backing." She mused. Still, Yu's criminal mind prompted an additon. "It could do a lot of things." A wry grin touched the corner of her lips briefly, before regaining sincerity. Yu straightened, taking up her glass of wine for another sip. "So, what now? What happens next?" Her host had not mentioned actually accepting the role.

Malcoma Hesse

 

[Malcoma Hesse]

A beat after Yu had asked her questions and Mal had swallowed her own sip of wine, she said, "I suppose coronation?" For once in a long, long while, she didn't have the answers. "But before I do, I ought figure a way to broach this with the Donna." Which probably meant that the first wasn't going to happen for quite some time yet. "Then again, maybe not.

"A regent ruled for my sister as she came of age," continued Mal thoughtfully, resigned to speak of this as it was, not if it was. "A woman who is still alive and I've met. I don't see why I couldn't have a stand-in as well, either for the time being or more permanently. To offer me some...flexibility?" Another question, but this time one that sought Yu's feedback, a desire made clear by carefully tinted eyebrows raised over the lip of her wine glass before she partook once more.

Yu Karloo

 

[Yu Karloo]

Coronation. The word was so... regal. Yu's all-black eyes took in Malcoma, trying to reconcile the club-owning altruist who just cooked her a meal with the idea that she was ruling royalty. But the Nautolan could see it. Like most with Hapan blood, Malcoma was beautiful, and she had a good heart. Yes, Yu could see it.

But the mention of Ivory Stroud clouded that regal mental image. Yu wondered what the Donna's view of Malcoma's revelation would be. Would she see it as a boon for her organization, or a liability? Yu didn't know Ivory well enough to foretell that. The smuggler exec could see both.

"That would buy you some time. There's precedent for it, seems like you would have the authority to have a regent of sorts." Yu affirmed. "And as far as the Donna, go ugly early, dear." She quipped some campy counsel. "The sooner she knows the better. Ivory is a master strategist, she will want to be well ahead of whatever this may mean for the organization, and your relationship, so she can fold it into her plans." The wine glass lifted again with a tiny heft to emphasize her advice, then another sip of the excellent drink passed her lips.

Malcoma Hesse