Muunraker/Chapter 8

Muunraker

Chapter 8 Zeltron Men

Valeria's ship touched down in front of her home on Dantooine. It was a quaint little farmhouse. Simple, but cute. A couple windmills dotted the expanding plains beyond the house. Nothing of any interest grew on her land. She didn't live there to make use of the farm land. She instead wanted to live there so that she was "out of the way" and difficult to find. In her early days as a mercenary, she made many enemies, so staying in an inconspicuous place like the outbacks of Dantooine was perfect.

Bacta had been applied to Bont and Europa's wounds on the way there, so they headed into the farmhouse to get some rest. As the three of them entered, a BD-3000 luxury droid greeted them.

"Welcome home, ma'am," the droid's feminine voice said.

"Thank you, Anna," Valeria responded with a smile.

"I take it these nice beings are our guests you mentioned?" the droid asked.

"Yes. They'll need some rest."

"The spare beds are ready for use, ma'am."

Jace Bont glanced at Europa, then to Valeria. "You've got a luxury droid?" he questioned.

"Yes," Valeria said, watching the droid exit the room. "I acquired her a few years back during a job on Coruscant. I reprogrammed Anna to be a maid and a nanny."

"Nanny?" Europa asked curiously.

"Mommy!" A young Human girl, looking to be about six years old, came running into the room with a huge smile on her face. The little girl leaped into Valeria's arms. Valeria hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheek.

Bont and Europa glanced at each other. They were taken aback when they saw that the little girl had pink hair.

"I missed you, mommy."

"I missed you too, sweetie." Valeria put her back on the floor. Motioning to the MI5 agents, she said, "Kayla, this is Jace and Europa. They're gonna be staying with us for a little while."

"Hi, Kayla," Europa said with a smile. "You are so cute, you know that?"

"Me and Anna are gonna have a tea party. You wanna come?" Kayla asked, looking up at Europa.

"They actually need to get some rest, sweetie," Valeria said. "How about a little later?"

"Okay," the little girl said and scampered off.

"Wow, she is so precious," Europa commented happily.

"Thanks," Valeria said.

Bont watched the girl run out of the room. She was fair-skinned, but had pink hair. He didn't quite understand why. Human's were not known for having pink hair. Unless it was purposely colored that way. But why do that to a child? He glanced toward Valeria. "A daughter?"

"Adopted," Valeria explained.

Before Bont could question further, the luxury droid reentered. "Pardon me, ma'am. Are there any other duties before the tea party?"

Valeria gave a slight chuckle. "No, Anna. Thank you."

As the droid left again, Valeria ushered the MI5 operatives to the spare bedrooms.

- - - - - - - - - -

Later that evening, when Agents Bont and Kapanen were well-rested, they sat in the dining room while the droid served them food and drinks. Europa could see the little girl sitting on the floor in the next room playing with her dolls. Europa couldn't help but smile. Seeing that cute little girl made her feel warm inside, a stark contrast from the holding cell and the torture she endured. She felt a sense of warmth, of happiness, here at Valeria's farmhouse.

"I talked to Shasta while you guys were asleep," Valeria said. "She and some other agents are on their way here."

Bont took a bite of the food and said, "I guess since you grew up with Shasta that's why she can trust you. I've only known her for a short time and, even though I'm a fellow MI5 agent, she seems to hate me."

"Well," Valeria started. "Shasta has some history with Zeltron men." She could see Bont was interested now. "A few years back, before she joined MI5, she met this Zeltron named Jyn Landeskog. He was an assassin, like her. Long story short, they ended up falling in love, or so Shasta thought. Once she found out she was pregnant, Landeskog disappeared from her life. Turns out, he was only using his pheromones to get what he wanted. He didn't actually love her."

"Oh, my," Europa muttered.

"So after she had the baby, Shasta started training to resist pheromones, not just from Zeltrons, but all species. She was manipulated by them, and she vowed never to let that happen again. Hence, the hatred toward Zeltrons."

Bont nodded. Now he understood. It wasn't just him, it was his whole species... But it was still difficult to picture Shasta with a baby.

"What happened to the baby?" Europa asked.

Valeria said nothing. She just glanced over toward the little girl Kayla.

"She's Shasta's daughter?" Europa asked, surprised.

"That explains the pink hair," Bont added. He figured the red-haired Zeltron DNA reacted strangely to the blond Human DNA. Maybe some kind of genetic defect? In hybrids, anything could happen. She had the Human skin coloring, but it was unclear if she possessed the use of pheromones.

"Her legal name is Moonreaper," Valeria added.

"Does Shasta know you're telling us all this?" Europa asked. "She's real secretive about her personal life."

Valeria nodded. "Since she asked me to rescue you and bring you here, she knew the story of Kayla would get out. She sacrificed those secrets to save your lives." She glanced at Jace Bont. "Even if you are a Zeltron." She smiled.

Still infatuated with Kayla, Europa asked, "This place seems so far from everything. Are there any other kids she plays with?"

Valeria said, "There's a little boy she plays with on the neighboring farm. Onayim Ekim is his name. They're about the same age."

"That's cute," Europa added, smiling.

Bont refrained from rolling his eyes. He liked Europa. She was certainly a great person, not to mention attractive. But he just couldn't stand all this girly, gushy stuff. He was more interested in the "assassin" side of Valeria.

Then, as if on cue, the sounds of a ship were heard outside. The three of them exited the farmhouse to see the ramp of the Durasteel Rancor extend outward. Shasta Moonreaper, Pandolfo Taproot and Gruu Funkistann stepped down the ramp.

"It's good to be seein' you-sa okey-day," Gruu said to Bont and Europa. "We-sa feared da worst."

Shasta approached Valeria and hugged her. "Good to see you, Val."

"Good to see you, too. It's been too long."

Bont walked up to Shasta and said, "Thanks for the rescue."

Shasta gave a slight nod. They looked at each other for a moment. Now that Bont knew the story... "Listen," Shasta started, "I'm sorry for treating you--"

"Don't worry about it," Bont interrupted her. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. I'd feel the same way in your position."

Shasta gave a half smile then turned toward the farmhouse. Passing Valeria, Shasta said, "I'm gonna see Kayla for a minute before we head out."

Pandolfo looked back and forth between Bont and Europa. "Who's Kayla?"

Bont said, "My little diminutive friend, I've got a story to tell you about our tough-as-nails Shasta."

Chapters: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Epilogue