Private Lost in Translation

[Eloise Dinn]

Shouldn’t this kid be in school?

The thought had plagued Eloise from the moment she decided to accept the mission. Not that she’d had much choice in the matter—Amani had more or less drafted her, insisting that her daughter needed an escort. And who could be more perfect for the role than Amani’s apprentice?

She probably thought it was gonna be some great bonding experience between them. Instead Eloise had spent the majority of their time en route staying away from Liana, all while seriously questioning her master’s parenting. Who sends their teenaged daughter on a diplomatic mission? So what if she was the daughter of the King and Queen of Alderaan—

Her grumbling was interrupted by a sudden bout of stomach-turning turbulence. Liana’s corvette, the Lao, had just entered the atmosphere of their destination: Pylos Satnik. Located in a system just beyond the edge of Sith space, the Pylantians were very concerned about the possibility of invasion. With the GA having collapsed, they had decided to pursue an alliance with Alderaan, homeworld of the former Chancellor and one of the few planets in the galaxy which could lay claim to being a superpower on par with Naboo or Coruscant.

At least, that was what Amani said in the debriefing. Eloise had never heard of these people, despite her master insisting that the Chief Librarian of the NJO had been a Pylantian. Needless to say, the Padawan had not been a frequent patron of the Temple archives.

The ship continued to lurch and shake. Eloise reached over and slid up the visor covering the nearest viewport, trying to see what was going on. They were flying through a storm, it seemed—a bolt of blue lightning forked across a green-hued sky. The planet's surface below seemed weirdly featureless, save for the dark rivers cutting through the landscape like strokes of dark oil paint. This was definitely an alien planet, its biome utterly unknown and strange. They were lucky the atmosphere was breathable for humanoids.

"Hey, Liana!" she called to the princess. "We're almost there. You better be ready to go!"

Liana Organa​

 

[Liana Organa]

Eloise Dinn​

The mission to Pylos Satnik was supposed to be a gimme. That's why Liana was given the assignment as a chance to flex her diplomatic know-how. The Pylantians were a peaceful, idyllic people, with little worry or even concept of the many strifes that plagued the rest of the galaxy. If any people would be gentle with a first time ambassador, it would surely be them. Besides, Liana had Jaynine and Eloise for backup. Jaynine could help smooth over the talks. Eloise was there just in case any fresh trouble arrived. Pylos Satnik was, ultimately, a little too close to Sith territory for Amani's comfort. So of course she trusted her apprentice to keep them safe.

"I'm ready, I'm ready!" Liana assured, walking out toward the cockpit with her head in her datapad. Her attention was split between researching the people she would be dealing with and… typical teenager distractions. She glanced up just enough to see the surface below from the transparisteel windows, "Huh. Looks weird."

The protocol droid shuffled in a few moments later. He huffed impatiently, as if he had somewhere else to be, "Let's hope this doesn't take all day." He looked to Liana, "And I hope your mother is right that you can handle this, Princess Organa."

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise continued to peer out the window, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Unlike some people, she hadn’t thought to do any research beforehand on Pylos Satnik or its inhabitants, and so was going in completely blind. After all, she was just the hired muscle, not a diplomat.

I wish I was getting paid for this, she thought glumly as Liana entered the room. The teen had her head up her datapad’s ass and didn’t even look up until she was right by the window.

"Huh. Looks weird."

“You gonna talk like that around the Pylantians?” Eloise muttered. “I’m sure they’d appreciate you saying that about their home.”

Hot on Liana’s heels, of course, was Jaynine. The protocol droid was never far from the Princess’ side, having been assigned to serve as her translator and aide. Dude lowkey seemed to absolutely hate his job, despite having been literally made for it. Eloise wondered who had programmed that aspect of his personality.

“What, we aren’t staying for the whole week?” Eloise held up her hands in mock dismay. “But I was gonna go sightseeing!”

Although as they descended closer to the planet’s surface, it only got less appealing. The topography of Pylos Satnik was even more bizarre up close, as bubbling mud pits, oily rivers, and fungi the size of skyscrapers came into view. Finally, the Lao circled around what appeared to be a modern city rising out of the muck. At least it’s not some wild jungle, Eloise mused. She may have grown up on a primitive world, but she wasn’t afraid to admit she much preferred the creature comforts of indoor plumbing and Holonet access.

Just before they landed, the intercom buzzed to life. An alien voice spoke in what Eloise assumed to be the local dialect. Jaynine was quick to translate: the Pylantians had prepared a welcoming party to greet them at the starport. “We better not keep them waiting, Your Highness,” Eloise said, smirking at Liana. “Don’t want to make a bad first impression.”

Liana Organa​

 

[Liana Organa]

"N-no!" Liana stammered, "Just making an observation, jeez…" Eloise was probably right, but she seemed to have quite the stick up her ass about this job, which just served to make Liana more anxious. She thought her mother's padawan was pretty cool in her youth, and on some level she still did. It was this fact that probably made it all the worse when her trademark crabbiness was suddenly directed at Liana.

"Oh Master Eloise, I am sure no one aboard would cavil about marooning you here for an extended holiday," Jaynine droned, "Unfortunately, we cannot risk sabotaging our rapport with the Pylantians so deliberately."

Liana stood at attention when the intercom buzzed as if whoever was on the other end could see her. The Pylantians were merely confirming their clearance to land, and designating a dock for them to take, "Right." She muttered, smoothing out her dress.

The exit ramp opened, and immediately flooded their alien senses. Liana's nostrils flared as the atmosphere's musty, fungal fragrance entered uninvited, "What an incredible smell we've discovered," She mused, thankfully before entering earshot of the welcoming committee. She stepped down with Jaynine close behind, blinking as she bore witness to the vivid colors and exotic, non-euclidean architecture of Pylos Satnik. It was undoubtedly strange, but in a way that inspired wonder more than distaste.

The first delegate Liana saw was a conventionally handsome humanoid man, then right behind him was a roiling mass of pseudopods, which blubbered welcomingly in spite of its alarming appearance. Liana stumbled on the last step, but recovered convincingly enough.

"The delegate graciously welcomes you to Ry'lyeh, capital of Pylos Stanik. They are most pleased to make acquaintanceship with the Princess of exalted Alderaan."

Liana looked at the eclectic party laid before them, and smiled awkwardly, "...Hello." There was a pregnant pause, and Jaynine's head swiveled in her direction, as if to say 'Is that it?'

"Um… I am honored… to be the first to grace your homeworld on behalf of my people." She dipped her head in polite greeting, "You may call me Liana. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking today?"

Jaynine translated accordingly.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise headed for the airlock with a confident smirk on her face. Despite the inconvenience of having to babysit Liana, at least this diplomacy stuff would be easier than some of her other recent adventures. Misadventures, really.

The smell that wafted in when the airlock slid open almost wiped the smile from her face, but it was what she saw which had her gawping. She had read the boring dossier about Pylantians, so she kinda knew what to expect. But reading about their bizarre sexual dimorphism can’t compare with seeing it in person. How does that even work?!... On second thought, maybe don’t think about it.

The roiling mass of pseudopods introduced herself as Yselda Ungoliant, the delegate from Ry’lyeh. Pylos Satnik had no central planetary government, but representatives from each of the world’s nations would be in attendance at the meeting.

It was hard to look away from Ms. Ungoliant, but Eloise’s gaze was inevitably drawn to the handsome male standing in front of her. Dark haired and strapping, with a medium olive skin tone and green eyes, he was obscenely hot. He bowed respectfully to the princess. “Welcome, Your Highness,” he said in perfect unaccented Basic. “I am Mylak Cthylla, Ms. Ungoliant’s aide and translator.”

Eloise observed the exchange of formal introductions, mostly staring at the hunky aide. I wonder if I look like a man to him, she thought. But just in case he was into that, she stood up a little straighter and gave him what was supposed to be a flirtatious smile.

Mylak seemed either oblivious to her antics or was deliberately ignoring her. He turned to Liana and gestured toward the door. “If you would please follow us this way…”

An explosion of color and sound awaited them in the starport entryway, where a large crowd of civilians and reporters had gathered behind partition ropes. Eloise blinked in surprise. On virtually any other planet, taking such a route through a throng of random people would be dangerous. But the Pylantians were among the most peaceful species in the galaxy and apparently unconcerned about security breaches. She nonetheless positioned herself between Liana and the crowd, just in case.

With all the cheering and cameras flashing, Eloise felt like she was escorting a holo star rather than the daughter of a government official. People were dancing and singing and smiling. Wreaths of pungent smelling fungi and cube-shaped candy—though upon further examination, they appeared to be flowers that just looked like candy—were looped around the necks of the Princess of Alderaan and her companions. Even Jaynine got one.

Liana Organa​

 

[Liana Organa]

Liana acknowledged Mylak with a gracious smile and nod. Jaynine took the liberty of introducing himself, interrupting Liana just before she could do it for him, “And I am J9-L5, aide and translator for Junior Ambassador Organa.” The two exchanged a sharp glance, then Mylak invited them toward the exit.

The welcoming party, it turned out, was much larger than the primary delegation. An entire crowd had gathered around the starport to welcome the Alderaanians to their home. The throngs of Pylantians were loud and excited, but held themselves to a degree of restraint that kept things from becoming too overwhelming. Liana sensed the barrage of camera flashes before they even stepped out into the crowd, and took to the scene naturally. She wasn’t unused to the attention, given her youth as a royal child of House Organa. The princess dipped downward to let one of the Pylantians drape a wreath around her neck. She lifted the cube-shaped flower to her nose for a sniff, determining that it was indeed not candy.

For Jaynine’s part, he could hardly resist the forced decoration, though he scoffed like an aristocrat whose hand accidentally graced a peasant. In spite of his huffing and puffing, he enjoyed the attention where it was given, “The Pylantians are certainly an… ebullient people.”

“Where are we heading?” Liana asked Mylak and Yselda.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

The diplomats were brought via speeder to the Agora, located closer to the center of the city. Like most of the architecture of Ry'lyeh, the building had a fungal shape, albeit with an unfurling flower or star-like shape at the top of the spire. That was their destination, for at the center of the flower was a large meeting chamber full of various Pylantian representatives. Camdroids hovered around the table, recording the meeting and broadcasting the raw unedited footage far and wide. For the Pylantians were a guileless people, and very curious to see what would happen during this unprecedented visit from Alderaan.

Eloise sort of zoned out as each Pylantian introduced themselves. She stayed alert enough to do her job, of course, but much of her focus was on Mylak. Was he single? She hoped so.

"Now, let us begin the discussion," Yselda said, letting her words be translated by Jaynine. "Pylos Satnik has never been visited by a galactic faction. Our planet has few resources of use to offworlders, nor does it possess any particular strategic significance. Yet we have been told by our Jedi advisors, Masters Oukranos and Kassogtha Cthylla , that a faction known as the Sith Empire is expanding their borders, and will soon likely attempt to add us to their list of owned worlds."

Oukranos and Kassogtha were present at the meeting, albeit via hologram. As one might expect of Eloise, though she had no recollection of Kass, she definitely recognized Oukranos. He had been disgraced by his actions on Hapes and went into exile - which apparently meant he had simply returned to his home planet. He was also, much like Mylak, extremely hot. Wait a second... they both had the same last name. Were they related? Did that mean Kass was Mylak's mother?!

"What exactly would happen if the Sith were to own us?" another Pylantian representative asked, directing his question at the Princess of Alderaan.

Liana Organa​