Note: This story is written about my character, Eleni Benecor, in a Sci Fi Roleplaying game that incorporates Star Wars, Dune, the stories of Lois McMaster Bujold, and is constantly being added to and improved. This is Fanfic, of a sort, and I don’t own anything about the RP universe but my characters and my imagination.

The Company You Keep

Captain Eleni Benecor sat alone in a shadowed part of the Tapani Sector’s shabbiest cantina, dressed for business and waiting. The place had never had a name. Most people were referred to it by the jab of a thumb over a shoulder in its direction. After that, it was always “you know where to meet me”. Eleni had been introduced to the little place when she had first struck out on her own. From that one meeting, she’d made a name for herself of being quiet, effective and capable. She liked it that way.

Eleni let the glass move in a circular pattern under her fingers as her eyes wandered about the bar, as aimless as her thoughts. So far, word had not spread of her recent involvement with the Vor and his small group of variants. That is the only word she could come up with to describe them as a whole. Individually, she mused over them as she sipped her ale. Most promising of all was Vanya Ysadora, a headstrong young woman who, under other circumstances would have been a welcome addition to the Bene Gesserit sisterhood. She had proven to Eleni that she was far above animal. The braid was interesting. She wondered at the young woman’s acquaintance with Darth Feyd, and then shook her head as she realized her thoughts were better left not traveling down that road. The Vor, Danar Vorpadaran, seemed the definition of his noble race. He was a capable copilot, and excepting his tendency to think for everyone, he seemed nice enough.. His detachment of bodyguards held a certain intrigue. Captain Lod Zarad was quite capable, and she reminded herself to look about for Steiner PPC while she was in this more nefarious area. Clones were nothing new to her, although she had been taught that they were inferior to the original, Captain Zarad and his group surely were a mark above. They had been made without past memories, and each seemed to strive for individuality and pride in his tasks. It was more that they were quintuplets than clones. Cloning was an archaic practice to her: to have multiple copies of one man, holding all of that genetic promise, but forced to contain it in order to serve. Were they even capable of breeding, she mused.

Her pale blue gaze slipped into sharp focus as her date entered, flanked by four of the ugliest bodyguards she had ever seen. Eleni briefly entertained the idea that they might be Reaver rejects as they dispersed, finding places to be less conspicuous. Their boss, Parnell Makola, noted Black Sun operative and current mentor, settled in the chair opposite her. His cobalt blue leather suit, possibly the skin of a sentient species, complimented his trimmed black van dyke and long hair. Disturbingly handsome, she thought. Just gorgeous enough to slide in for the kill, staring with those green eyes. Eleni noted the smug attitude of his jaw, and found no reassurance in the way he leaned forward.

“Benecor.. did I keep you waiting? I had a few contracts to cash in before our meeting. Things got a bit bloody.” He grinned. “Couldn’t meet my protégé with blood on my hands” He started to reach for her hand, but thought better of it, and turned the motion into a show of his clean palms.

“Fashionably late, which means right on time, Makola.” Her eyes looked him over admiringly, but the tightness of her jaw betrayed her unease. Best to get it over with quickly. “Look.. I had a problem with the last cargo you gave me. Seems that two crates of spice ended up in my hold marked as weapons. Now how would that happen, Mak? You know I don’t run spice.”

Makola’s eyes narrowed, realizing Eleni was all business. “What I know is I know I’m missing 85,000 credits, and we’re not talking useless Tapani trell, either.” His large fist banged the table, making her glass tip. She caught it without even looking.

“Of course you are. I went through Imperial occupied space with that drek. I was lucky that I didn’t get boarded. Relax, Mak, you got paid for the rest of it. The spice is all floating out there somewhere, if you really want it..” She met his eyes evenly. It was all she had asked from this guy, not to get her into drugs, which would entangle her with Empire and even the Bene Gesserit if she weren’t lucky, and he couldn’t be trusted with even that much.

Makola’s face slipped from enraged to mildly amused, and it was an ugly ride. “see, Pretty.. I’m not the one you have to deal with now. That shipment got mixed with my own from on high. You’d better start clinging to me like plastape, because I’m the only one that can keep you safe now.”

She watched as he pulled a datapad from his pocket “See this?” he let it catch the light “orders for a sector-wide blood hunt on your sexy ass. Confiscate the Mismatch and all goods, no need to bring back more than your head. Putting this bounty on you would save me the 170,000 creds I’d have to pay for the lost spice. Even has the Black Sun seal on it. Just gotta post it on the net.”

She raised an eyebrow, grabbing the hand with the datapad to hold it steady as she read it. “What happened to our agreement? You could have sent it by any other .. “ and then Eleni Benecor did something she rarely did. She turned pale. “the entire sector, you say?”

Makola nodded, grinning, “of course.. I might easily lose this if you did me a favor.”

She shifted slightly toward him, letting his wrist go. “I might be interested”

He chuckled, and moved a shipping invoice across the table towards her “See, I’m in a bit of a bind. I lost a bet, yes Sabaac – ok I cheated at Sabaac. Who knew they’d get so mad about hustling? Turns out the guy had Imperial friends, too. I ended up agreeing to take one of his marathon runs that cost as much in fuel as you get for payment. It’s remote – Glanzen IV. Ever heard of it?”

Her fingers moved along the invoice, pulling it closer “That’s the mining camp, right? Imperials took it over and started feeding prisoners to it not long ago.” She looked at the thin datastrip, “so what’s the big deal? I mean, besides three weeks of hyperspace. You got 100 ore extractors and a few crates of supplies. Not bad for 170k, even with the fuel expense.” Something wasn’t right.

He looked relieved “Great! You make the drop, get the money, and we’re even, Pretty”

“Wait.. what aren’t you telling me?” Her right hand slowly flexed, which was a stopgap measure to remind her not to use the voice. It was instinct, and she quickly controlled herself.

Parnell held up his hands in a gesture of innocence “Nothing that’s gonna make doing it any easier. I gotta make an example of you, ‘leni, one way or the other. Don’t forget the other option” he noticed the second twitch of her fingers, and managed a nervous smile. “Soon as the credits clear, we’re even” He stood quickly, and motioned to his bodyguards, who joined him at the exit. It all happened fast, and she was left to think about the consequences and watch the ice melt in her drink.

Eleni paid her check, then headed for the commercial landing platforms. Hers was a small ship, so she was always able to get a closer docking bay than the bulk cruisers. She got in sight of her ship, and stared. The landing ramp was down. Those dinkers had broken into her ship! Quickly, she hurried to the cargo bay, bypassing a small potted fireblossom plant sitting in her chair. An attempt at sorry, she mused, her eyes going over every inch of her ship as she continued on her way. A sad attempt at sorry, but a definite marker to call in later. The cargo hold loomed before her. Moving the small metal panel in the door to one side, Eleni let out a long sigh at what she found there. .

“Oh Frell Ore extractors… That’s it, Parnell… I’m gonna .. “ she left the sentence hanging as she shut the little window. “I’m gonna find someone to watch my triggin’ back.. “ With that, headed back into town.

Twice in one day, Eleni found herself waiting in a cantina. This one was closer to the docking bays, and much more friendly. She sipped her fruity drink, glancing at the door occasionally as the new faces wandered in. After a few hours, a young man stepped through the doors. She took his measure: broad build, tanned, straw-colored hair that ended around his shoulders. His clothes were right for smuggling, but brand new. The way his eyes looked around, blatantly taking in the exotic sights told her that he had not been mugged yet in an alleyway. That meant he’d just arrived. Eleni smiled slowly, her eyes catching and holding his interest as she motioned over to him. Perfect.
Two hours later, Tik Sandrell, new recruit to the Mismatch crew, climbed aboard. He was more excited at the prospect of flying with Eleni than she could have dreamed. It almost bothered her that he had offered to go along just for the experience, but she promised herself that he would leave her service with a hefty tip. As Eleni gave him the guided tour, she pointed out important parts of the ship, but avoided the cargo area. He wouldn’t understand. Maybe he wouldn’t even need to know. The two returned to the cockpit.

“So.. That is my ship, Tik, and this is my chair. That is your chair. Pilot, co pilot. Don’t touch that.”

Tik retracted his hand sheepishly “why? Whatsit do?” He looked at her expectantly, smiling.

“It turns on the afterburners.” She managed, then couldn’t help but laugh at the worried look on his face “It’s ok. Just .. don’t touch anything until you know what it is.”

Tik nodded in agreement, and slid cautiously into the copilot’s seat. Eleni gave a thorough run-down of the ship’s controls, and took him through several trials of running the nav computer and using the various devices. He was a quick study, and soon knew enough to get them into space.

“As I told you in the cantina, it will be a long trip – 12 days there, 12 days back. Now is the time to tell me if you have changed your mind.”

The boy looked her over with a lopsided grin. He was counting himself as the luckiest guy in the galaxy at the moment. “Piece of cake”

Eleni leaned against the bulkhead near his chair, crossing her arms “Business only. You said you could handle a blaster, right?”

“Oh. Right. Business only. I swear! And after the trip, you promise to take me somewhere exciting, right? I want to see the galaxy.”

“Right. I can definitely take you somewhere exciting” Eleni fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Luckily, she saw the arrival of two new crates, and hurried to load them, but not before getting Tik preoccupied with a flight simulator program. She maneuvered the repulsorlift up the landing ramp and into the crowded cargo bay. Eleni avoided looking at the other cargo as she set the crates down. She placed a pry bar on the nearest crate, then left without a second glance.

It had been a comfortable journey. Eleni and Tik had quickly become friends over the eleven days it took to reach tiny, frozen Glanzen IV. Not once had Tik asked about the cargo hold, although he had asked about everything else. Eleni was glad of her sisterhood training, and used it a great deal when explaining matters of the universe. In truth, she did not have many years of experience, but this boy was young enough not to see through the time gaps of her stories, or pick up on her references to Bene Gesserit training. Tik had shown her a few new card games, and now had a small pile of credits to call his own.

In turn, he had repaid Eleni with the long version of his life on the farm. She was only surprised that it was less interesting than her first years in the sisterhood. Tik had been explaining the tenth way to tell if a fuirndall was pregnant when the ship beeped, notifying the crew of two that they were approaching the mining planet. Eleni nearly leapt to the captain’s chair to take them out of hyperspace and signal the Empire’s best that they had arrived.

Tik stretched as he saw her jump into action, and headed towards the back of the ship “I’ll check on the cargo.. How many crates are they takin’ again?”

She was distracted by a stern official asking for her code “100 plus 2” she said, sending the code in. Her eyes looked out of the windscreen, realizing suddenly that she had never explained. “Tik.?!”

Silence.

Eleni received word to get into close orbit, and cut off the monitor, running back to the cargo hold “Tik I can explain..”

Tik’s face was ashen with betrayal as he stared at her. “What are all these people doing here, ‘leni? You said equipment.. “

Eleni glanced around, nodding at the prisoners. There were a hundred in all, men and women, all dressed in various uniforms. All were on the verge of being in rags. Each sported a shiny set of binders. A few nodded to Eleni as she looked at them, but most avoided her gaze. One approached, and she watched him carefully. Tik was still washing her with guilt.

“Are you the captain?” the man asked. He was dressed completely in black, and carried himself with an air of resigned defeat, although rips in his vest and the knee of his pants showed Eleni that he had not been caught easily.

“Captain Benecor” she nodded “This is Tik. Excuse me for not getting too personal, but it’s hard enough getting through this job.”

“If you’re worried about us attacking, don’t” he moved his bound hands up to his neck, revealing a small scar “implants.. we all have them.. If we don’t show up at the mines, we stop breathing”

Eleni sighed, hating this situation even more. “Once in the mines, are they deactivated?”

“That is the rumor.. We can only hope” he glanced over at Tik again “Don’t blame her, son.”

She interrupted “.. but.. you did look in the crates?”

“Yes, Captain.. thank you.. The… food.. helped a lot. I’m sure we’ll last longer now. We even had some to take with us for the others.” He was pointedly moving away from them now.

She looked the prisoner in the eye for a long moment, then nodded “Good.” With that, Eleni shoved Tik out of the hold, and locked the door behind her “come on.. they are probably getting ready to blast us out of the sky by now.”

Tik followed her quickly, anger causing his voice to break slightly “You never said anything about prisoners! I thought you were better than that!”

Eleni flipped some switches to begin her descent as she muttered “You never asked.. and I am better than that. You don’t need to know any more right now, my friend. It would only get you killed.”

Tik pulled his blaster out “Murderer! Don’t you know what kind of life they are going to have on that iceball? I’ve heard stories.. about Imperial prisoners. No trial, no justice! Just an influential word against enemies and enough credits and anyone can be taken! Do you know what that kind of mine does to a person?” His hand was shaking, the blaster veering wildly, but still Eleni let him hold it. She slowly turned to look at him, her face calm.

“Don’t call me that again, Tik.. “ she said softly, “You know what will happen if they don’t arrive. I have done what I can.”

“I can.. I can.. “ Tik blinked for a moment, then lowered the blaster a fraction “I can go with them! Maybe there’s someone we can bribe!” he started to head for the landing.

In one moment, Eleni was out of her chair, her hand in a vise grip on Tik’s arm. She grabbed the blaster, threw it on the ground, and shoved the boy against the wall, pinning him there. “Now, Tik.. that is suicide. Have you lost all faith in me?”

He was already nodding before the words came out “you better believe I have! You’re a murderer! You’re sending all those people to their deaths!”

Eleni growled, using the voice “I said DO NOT call me that again!”

She immediately regretted it, but watched as Tik’s eyes widened, and he slid slowly down the wall to the floor, unable to respond. The captain spun on her heel, and returned to the pilot’s chair. It was time to land and get things underway.

Piece of cake, Eleni mused as the officer in charge swiped Makola’s credit slip, depositing the payment for the transfer of her cargo. Piece of cake filled with maggots and slime. The captain could barely look at the prisoners as they were shuffled down the cargo ramp, headed to their doom. She shivered. The sooner she was off planet, the better for everyone.

The captain turned down the offer of a drink at the officer’s lounge, and quickly returned to her ship, powering it up. Tik flopped into the co pilot’s chair as she finished the preflight tests. For a change, he had chosen the smart path and stayed on board during the transaction. Eleni would have rather he did so out of loyalty than fear, but she took what she could get. He strapped in sullenly, making more than pointed jerks to the straps as he fastened them around him for takeoff.

“So it’s going to be twelve more days of this?” she asked, not looking at him.

“What did you expect? You told me all of these stories of your life, about how heroic a spacer’s life can be, and then it turns out you’re just another slaver.. just another smuggler..” he moped, crossing his arms.

She started to say something, but pulled the throttle down instead, getting the Mismatch into space quickly. As they left Glanzen IV’s atmosphere, she started calculating the jump to hyperdrive. Tik was still pouting. He’d get over it, she mused “So where do you want to be put off? There’s a dozen places that could use a good shot like you.”

“Just take me back. I think I’d rather be a farmer.” Tik couldn’t look at her. It was obvious that she’d turned his joy ride into the stuff of nightmares.

As she punched in the numbers for the hyperdrive, a call came up on subspace. Eleni checked her watch, then flipped the screen. The man in black, a bit worse for wear, but standing, smiled at her “We’ve taken the prison! There were only a dozen Imperial guards topside. They went down like bricks! We’re routing the others out now.”

Tik perked, and sat forward, looking at the screen “Wha?”

Eleni smiled in return “I was glad to help.”

“Thanks again for the blasters, Captain.” He nodded “The implants deactivated like we thought, so we’re not staying here for long. There’s a shuttle that will take us to the Mrisst system where we’ll refuel and get to the bypass. The rebellion is in your debt.” He gave a meaningful salute to her.

“The best way to thank me is to forget my name.” Eleni replied. He nodded, but said “never. “ and then closed communications.

She turned to look at Tik with a raised eyebrow.

“but.. you.. blasters? You gave them blasters!” he beemed. “You instigated a revolt on a prison planet!” he unstrapped and swooped her up in his arms, swinging her around. “I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t let them die!”

Eleni laughed, and smiled as he set her down again “I’m glad you’re smiling again. Sorry I couldn’t tell you more.”

“Oh.. that.. well, I would have mucked up the whole thing, probably. So do I still get paid?”

She nodded, waving Parnell Makola’s credit slip “we all get paid. By the time the Empire finds out about the prison, the money will be transferred, and that little rebellion will have erased any trace of our landing there.”

Tik hugged her again, and Eleni cleared her throat “so, where did you want to be dropped off?”

Tik whispered in her ear, and she looked to the sky. Alisandor II? Heaven help us all.

Epilogue

Fourteen days later, Eleni found herself in another cantina, slowly swirling her drink as she waited for her date. The trip to Alisandor II had been uneventful, but she had sent Tik off with the name of a Rebellion contact and a pocket full of poker winnings. He had gone so far as to kiss her on the mouth when he left, Eleni pondered. She wondered how long he would last out there on his own.

Parnell cleared his throat behind her seat, and she turned to look at him. No bodyguards this time. Only Parnell Makola, dressed in a moderate red suit.

“Were you waiting for me?” he asked, a twinkle in his eye.

“Fashionably late again.” She stood, and faced him, challenge in her eyes “You tested my honor. I almost lost it“ her voice was a whisper at the moment, but he knew what she meant.

“But you didn’t..” he offered, taking her hands and leading her out onto the dance floor. The music was slow, and his hand moved around her waist in a familiar manner “did you? I knew you’d find a way out, Pretty.”

“Only because you couldn’t handle the guilt” she accused.

Parnell shrugged. “yeah.. you caught me.. I have a heart.. just .. don’t let it get around, ok?” He spun her around to the music, and pulled her in, so that she was wrapped in his arms. “So.. are you going to tell me what happened out there?”

Eleni smiled her courtesan’s smile “no. “ She turned, her back to his front now, and felt his warm breath on her ear

“You will.. “

She closed her eyes, and enjoyed the dancing. No, she wouldn’t.

(the end)