In the City that never sleeps 5

I got word that Thrawn had been sent to the Pakunni sector, aboard the victory class star destroyer Stalwart and was currently engaged in setting up a base there as well as fighting off pirates. His latest letter had described the attacks and his impressions about the mission in general with his usual flair but underneath his eloquence I got the feeling that he was a little bored and that policing the area against pirates was not particularly challenging. The one thing that had been of interest to him, had been a pilot named Stele.

…He’s quite clever, more so than the average Imperial pilot that the Academy spits out these days. While on escort duty he actually used his TIE bomber to defensively beat back an attack. Most impressive when one considers that TIE bombers were never designed with defensive manoeuvres in mind. I found it refreshing to see a young pilot think outside of the box when it comes to combat tactics. He will be reassigned to your favourite Grand Admiral, Zaarin’s command shortly, as I feel he will not get the notice he deserves serving under me. In the meantime we continue to deal with the pirates in this system and serve the Empire as best we can.

You asked if I had heard anything further concerning the rumours about Admiral Harkov and while I have, I am not at liberty to discuss this. You will, I am quite certain, learn what you wish to know soon enough. You are one of the most resourceful people I have ever met when it comes to securing information of any sort, when it piques your interest. …

The rest of his letter had gone on to discuss a set of books I had been reading as well as more personal things which had made me smile. He was one of the few constant and consistently good things in my life. Grand Admiral Zaarin, on the other hand, was not especially when he barged into my office demanding information I was not prepared to give him.

“He’s away.” I said tersely.

Zaarin looked at me crossly. “Away? where?” It was a stupid question because he had high enough clearance he could have found this information out for himself.

I shrugged with one shoulder which irritated him even more. “If you want to speak with him you need to do so via the secure HoloNet.”

“I thought getting in contact with him was your job?”

“No sir, that would be his secretary droid’s job.” I said trying to keep my annoyance out of my voice. “I am not his secretary. I am not one of his aide de camps. I am his personal assistant.”

“What is the difference?” Zaarin asked leaning over my desk.

“I don’t make comm calls to my boss when he’s out in the middle of space on a military engagement.” I told him, it was sort of a lie but I wasn’t playing secretary for Zaarin. “His secretary droid is in the next room.”

He stood up and tugged at his jacket. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to be a bit more polite to me.” He said.

I raised an eyebrow. “I am being polite, Grand Admiral Zaarin.”

Instead of making a scene or getting annoyed he simply smiled. That kind of smile I was used to from Imperial men that said Oh I see, you’re playing hard to get. He stared at me for a moment then said. “I wonder, Miss Gabriel if you would accompany me to the dedication ceremony for the new wing.”

That surprised me. I hesitated just a fraction of a second too long before I said, “No. But thank you for asking.”

This surprised him. “May I ask why? Admiral Thrawn is not in town so you should be free to accompany anyone you wish.”

I arched the other eyebrow because I knew that annoyed people. “I prefer to go alone. I have been the subject of the Daily Digest gossip column enough thanks.”

He stared at me for a moment and then nodded. “Perhaps that is to be expected when you shack up with the Emperor’s pet alien, or is this just another rumour?” He smiled as he said this but his eyes remained stone hard.

I just looked at him, not rising to the bait. “One should not believe all one hears on the gossip nets, Admiral.”

His expression didn’t change. “Well, Miss Gabriel, I hope to see you there. Perhaps you will share a drink with me.”

I smiled coolly. “Perhaps.”

He didn’t react, he just left. He didn’t need to ask me to contact Vader for him; he was quite capable of doing that himself. He just came in to bait and bother me. We both knew it but since this was how Imperials played games there wasn’t much I could do about it. I was glad when the door to my office closed. I sighed and patched a short note through to Lord Vader that Zaarin was looking for him. The last I had heard he was off on a wild bantha chase somewhere out near the Lybeya system. I knew he would not answer any call I put through to him so I just sent a text message.

Grand Admiral Zaarin had been seen around the palace on and off, despite the fact that official reports placed him permanently placed in the Vilonis Sector doing research on new versions of TIEs. I assumed that he was back for briefings and planning sessions that had to do with the second space station the Emperor was having built and other military issues I was not in the least bit interested in. I had seen more than one White uniform running around so his presence was of little surprise. I supposed that the Emperor would also want an update on the projects Zaarin had been working on, after all his funding was worth millions of credits. He had spoken to me about his research some time ago at one of the Grand balls but since then I had not heard any more about the development of these designs.

I had to fight to keep my loathing of the man from surfacing every time he was near me. He had tried to kill me in order to disgrace Thrawn and when that had failed he had tried to get rid of Thrawn by means of a cloaked ship which had attacked the shuttle we were on en route to rendezvous with the Avenger, neither tactic had worked and I wondered what he would do for the third encore. If Zaarin had any inkling that I knew what he had done, he never gave it away, I suspected he didn’t. Like so many men who worked for the Empire he made the standard mistake of assuming I was not terribly smart or perhaps it was just that he felt he was smarter. Either way, I wasn’t about to try and educate him on the error of his ways. With a sigh I went back to reading the mail.


TO: Office of Lord Darth Vader
FROM: Human Resources and Development Department
RE: Notice of Employment Termination

Pleased be advised that effective immediately Agaddi ren’Nor, palace horticulturalist, will no longer be working for the Imperial Palace Botanical Gardens. Please join us in wishing Mr. ren’Nor all the best in his new position with Prince Xizor.

Yvett Tourne,
Assistant Manager
Human Resources Development Department

That raised my eyebrows. I had met Agaddi ren’Nor a couple of times and had chatted to him while he had been working in the gardens. He was very good at his job and it surprised me that he would accept a position with the Prince. I guessed that the offer Agaddi had been given must have been worth it. I would miss seeing him around; he was a quiet man with a gentle nature. The Imperial palace did not generall have a quick turn over in jobs, unless one worked under Lord vader. Most people tended to keep the jobs they had. I was never sure exactly why that was but I suspected it was partly out of fear and partly because working for the Empire had a great benefits package.

TO: Miss Merlyn Ty’Erijann Gabriel
FROM: The Imperial Palace Social Department
RE: Dedication Ceremony for New Palace Wing

Miss Gabriel, Please find enclosed your personal invitation to attend the Dedication Ceremony for the New Assemblage Wing of the palace. This invitation is for the closed reception which will follow the public dedication and will be held in the Tarkin Conference Room.

Please note that the reception is formal dress and / or dress uniform with no exceptions. There will be no admittance without the invitation. Should you wish to bring a guest you must register his or her name and pertinent details with the Palace Events Coordination team twenty-four hours prior to attendance.

The reception will be catered by Ta’lucci and Frolla, there will be an open bar. Music provided by the Imperial City String Quartet. The reception begins at 21:00 hrs and ends at 00:00 hrs CST.

Marlann Taralae
Palace Events Coordinator

I looked at the invitation that had been tucked inside the form letter that had arrived on my desk along with a dozen other memos and letters. I set both my invitation and the one for Lord Vader to one side. I had reminded him about the dedication ceremony but I wasn’t sure if he would be back in time for it. I confirmed my dress fitting appointment with Cati and then set about dealing with the daily barrage of nonsense that never seemed to end. I was fairly certain that if Lord Vader had to deal with and answer all the mail he received himself there would be a lot less bureaucrats in the Empire. I was in the middle of replying to the last memo when Shiv poked his nose in my office.

“Lunch?” he asked.

“Only if it’s very quick, I have a dress fitting in half an hour, or can we do lunch afterwards?”

“Sure that works for me, I need to find a new suit for this dedication reception. Are you heading to Cati’s? I take it you got your invite? Share a taxi?”

I nodded to all of his questions. “Yep. Formal dress required means I need to show up in a dress I haven’t worn before.”

He grinned. “Don’t make that face Rim-Girl, you love being a fashion plate.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t but I do like Cati’s dresses.” I slung my satchel across my shoulder and followed Shiv out of the office locking the door behind me.

While Shiv was searching for a decent suit to wear I was standing on the platform which I had dubbed Cati’s alter of pain while the Rodian seamstress pinned the final adjustments to the dress she had designed for me.

“So, will your gentleman be there?” she asked casually as she took the delicate fabric in at the waist.

“I hope so but I don’t know.” I told her. “It’s just a reception for the new wing dedication but you know the Empire, all fuss and fanfare.”

Cati managed a shrug. “I don’t complain, Miss Gabriel, it keeps me in business.” She let out a little sigh. “You need to stop losing weight. This is the third time I have had to take this dress in for you. I’ll never get it finished in time if you keep that up. Have you been ill or something?”

I looked at her and the dress she was taking in. “No, not really.”

The look she gave me said ‘Uh huh. I don’t believe a word of it.’

“I don’t sleep well because I have constant bad dreams and I have no appetite to speak of.” I told her tartly, anything to get her to stop looking at me in that manner.

“Well, you might want to stop that particular bad habit, this dress is for showing off curves not bones.” She chided. “Your gentleman will not like to come home to find you withering away. The skinny waif look is very passé.” She said.

“Well don’t pin too tight then, I’m going to B’schu’le’s for lunch with Shiv. I plan on eating lots because I’m famished. I didn’t think I had lost that much weight.”

“Enough it shows, you are not at the wasting away stage yet. Are you having your hair done at Bam’s for the event?”

“Hadn’t planned on it, I have an appointment for a wash and trim tomorrow though. I made the appointment ages ago.”

She nodded and stepped back to take a look at her work. “Smart, he’s booked solid.” She said. “So, what do you think?”

I turned around and looked at my reflection in the mirror. She was right, I looked as though I had been ill but mostly this was a product of sleepless nights. The dress she had created was lovely. She had found the perfect shade of pink that matched my skin tone and hair colour. The fabric was soft and supple, and clung to what it touched. In difference to most of the dresses she had designed for me in the past, this one had a back and a pretty, not too indecent, sweetheart neckline. It also had both slender shoulder straps and flowing off the shoulder sleeves. It was very pretty.

“You should wear Corellian Sweetheart rose buds in your hair, the colour would go perfectly wit this dress.” Cati said casually and she took in her handy work.

I glanced at her and nodded. I had long since given up arguing with her in the area of accessories. I had come a long way from tying my hair back with bits of routing wire. I was about to step off the fitting platform when Shiv came in.

“Wow.” He said, setting down his new suit which was all carefully wrapped up in a garment bag and another huge shopping bag whose contents I couldn’t see.

Cati grinned. “Show him the shoes.”

I did as I was asked and lifted the dress so he could see the matching shoes.

Shiv grinned, “Oh the little bows on the open toes are very cute.” He teased.

I made a face at him. I felt a little like a prized eopie at an auction.

“Okay, that’s it, get out of the dress so I can finish it off and get it sent over to you. Don’t lose any more weight between now and the event!” Cati scolded. “Because if I have to re pin this dress one more time, I shall hurt you.”

I nodded, and went to get out of the dress and back into clothes than made sense. While a part of me loved the elegance of the Empire, it was just so unreal. I much preferred my standard Tatooine chic.

While I was changing I heard Shiv ask if she wanted to join us for lunch but true to Cati form she refused politely stating a busy fitting schedule. She had made time for me and I was grateful, while Thrawn wasn’t back yet I knew he would be and I wanted the dress to look perfect. I hadn’t told her this but she had figured that out anyway. I was a bit sad that she would not come with us because on the few rare occasions when she had joined us it had been a lot of fun. Their conversation had ended with Cati telling Shiv in not so uncertain terms ‘For goodness sakes Shiv, feed that girl before she fades away to nothing!’ I walked out of the changing room pretending I hadn’t heard a thing.

With a brief hug and the traditional kiss-kiss both Shiv and I said our goodbyes and headed off to B’schu’le’s.