Ask Bars, Sabada And Nar Shaddaa

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music OOC

It was just another day on Nar Shaddaa. Wasn’t a great place to be by any means. Things could be pretty tricky in this city-moon. Moon-city. Something-something. With a nickname like ‘Smuggler’s Moon’ well you’d be pretty much an idiot to come here for a vacation on a beach. Nope. Sorry. The only beach anybody would find was probably limited to the holovision or television or whozitwotzit.

Whatevs. One particular person wasn’t interested in any of that nonsense at the moment. She definitely wasn’t on Stinky Mooncheese for pleasure to begin with. She had business in this city and, whether it was finished or a work in progress, well, even a Jedi Padawan needed a break. Besides, whatever she was, whether a Jedi of a different kind, on this world she was just a girl.

“All right! That’s FINE!” Leh’Min’Ayd cried a healthy few feet in front of a doorway in a busy city street. “I don’t wanna drink yucky Muddy Berries or eat Chooka-Moogu Eggs ANYWAY!” She promptly stomped her feet. “Sounds like it tastes like…like…” Pinched her chin that instant. Just give her a minute.

A girl looked like a girl. That was given with her appearance. She was kinda small, kinda skinny, definitely purple but that admittedly had nothing to do with whether she was a girl and she did have white highlights on her tentacles. Lekku. Fun name to boot. She had boots too. Black pants. And a yellow jacket. And—

“...Like somethin’ that...um...doesn’t taste good or…sommat!”

“Go to school you fool!” A voice called from inside the establishment.

“Why I oughta! I can’t even believe it!” Leh’Min scowled and shook her fist at he who kicked her out. “I shake my fist!”

“THAT’S IT”

“SABADA! I’m'a zippin’!” Lemon zipped up her jacket, turned, ran and crossed the street with speeders suddenly zipping in between.

“WAAAAAHHHHH!” She began frantically flapping her arms like a purple peacock or sommat but managed to cross it to the other side without getting squashed like an egg.

She ended up in a shipyard hangar thingamajig where people park ships and fix ‘em. What adventure could she uncover here? Better yet—

“HOLY ROLY POLY A HOT DOG STAND”

She promptly skipped over to it but didn't roll and asked the server if they served burgers with bird egg between the meat and the buns because yum.

@Interdictor / @Lexta Kato

 

[Lexta Kato]

Lexta held out her hand towards her droid as she lay under the parked landspeeder. Safen had gotten her a job fixing speeders at the spaceport, and it was decent. "<Genau afa d'hydrospanner,>" she said. Her MSE droid searched in the toolbox for a moment and then handed it over. With a grunt the Twi'lek tightened the last panel on the underbelly of the vehicle and handed back the hydrospanner. "<Daka,>" Lexta said as she scooted out from under the speeder and rose tiredly to her feet, stretching. Her purple face was dark with engine grease and her exposed fingers-uncovered by her gloves-were similarly blackened. A pair of work goggles were still over her eyes, a few drops of fuel and oil on them. A few feet away a Togruta was yelling energetically in Basic. "<Eseua!>" she greeted awkwardly in Togruti, accent still highly obvious. After all, making friends never hurt…right?
@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

“Sorry, we don’t serve burgers,” said the hotdog vendor.

“What the hett? Whaddya mean ya don’t serve burgers!?” Leh’Min asked, appropriately perplexed.

“This stall is for hotdogs only.” He politely pointed to the sign. “Might I offer you a hotdog?”

“Awwwww but I want a burger!” She pouted, sighing.

“You’ll need to venture a little further for a burger.” He pointed down the street.

Lemon blew threw her lips at this predicament, looking between hotdog man and down the street.
Wonder how far it is? Wonder if if there’s another closer? Wonder if a hotdog is better? Wonder if Angry Bar Owner forgot me already. Wonder if—

“Sabada!” It wasn't Togruti. Somebody suddenly said hello to her and it wasn’t a Togruta as she turned to her but it was definitely a greeting in Togruti. A girl. Purple-skinned. Yet a Twi’lek!

“Hey!” Lem waved. She didn’t exchange greetings in Togruti but stayed in Basic. “Sorry, buddy, but if ya came for burgers well this guy says he only serves hotdogs.”

“...It’s a hotdog stall…I’m a hotdog vendor…”

Lem looked left, looked right, pointed at the hotdog sign for the Twi’lek. “Also, he doesn’t have eggs. What the hett!?”

"..."

@Interdictor / @Lexta Kato

 

[Lexta Kato]

The Togruta was emoting and speaking in an offended tone in Basic, while the vendor seemed perplexed. "Uhhh..." Why can't I understand them...oh, right. She reached down and activated the T-series miniature protocol droid on her workbelt. It beeped to life and then silenced itself. "<So kenta?>" The translator device dutifully translated the Twi'leki words into Basic. Lexta walked a little closer, crouching down for a moment to accept a small towel from her MSE droid. With it she wiped the motor oil and grease from her hand and face. Although she missed a few spots and her face was still darker than usual, it was nothing a short wash in the refresher wouldn't fix. Handing the now-grimy towel back to the droid, she raised her goggles up onto her headpiece and blinked. She was very self-conscious about the fact that she probably had a goggle-shaped spot around her eyes that had no dirt or oil on it whatsoever. "<Do nomen so Lexta.>"
@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Tempted as Leh’Min might have been to kick the nearest object in frustration which just might be an MSE-Series maintenance droid she made a better choice.

“Welllll I don’t really feel like walkin’ allllll the way over to another vendor just to fetch a burger better than whatever your hotdog tastes like even though I won’t ever get an egg—”

The Twi’lek spoke again just then and stole the Lemon’s attention. The former proceeded to speak in another language instead of Basic but to be honest Leh’Min had been too busy attending to the vendor to notice the reason for it.

Lem looked between the girl’s droid and the girl. The latter had a dirty face but that wasn’t surprising given that they were located in a starport where guys and gals with goggles like this kid’s got grimey fingers and visages fixin' their ships. Dirty business!

“Leh’Min’Ayd!”

“Comin’ right up.”

“Hm'what? Oh! No! That’s my name! Leh’Min’Ayd!”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Hey! Ya wanna hotdog?” Lem asked her new Twi’lek friend. “Orrrr ya wanna head over to a vendor who sells burgers?”

Whatever. The Togruta was leaning either way at this point and certainly wasn’t nervous about making a new friend. Two kids with purple skin? Isn’t racially discriminatin’ or anythin' but that was kinda awesome if she’s bein’ honest!

@Interdictor @Lexta Kato

 

[Lexta Kato]

The Togruta, without answering Lexta's question, somehow confused her more. It also didn't help that her miniature translator droid translated everything in a very dry tone that didnt convey the urgency or tone of the original speaker. From what the droid did translate, she was able to figure out that there seemed to be a misunderstanding about what the vendor sold. The first time the Togruta gave her name the translator made it sound like the Twi'leki word for 'lemonade,' which added additional confusion. Fortunately the second time the droid pronounced it correctly. Leh'Mun'Ayd. Odd name. Then again, Leh seemed like an odd person. "<Afa ta'brila jest sota uza hotdog,>" she finally decided inTwi'leki. It took a moment for the message to get translated, but when it did Lexta handed over a few credits to the vendor in exchange for a hot dog. After thanking the man she turned back to Leh. "<Afa, uh…>" she said, unsure of what to do.
@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

As Lexta spoke Lemon just blinked at her in confusion. Suddenly she was speaking Togruti one moment and the next she was speaking…was that Twi’leki?

Leh’Min had been instructed in the ways of language but only to an extent. Her tutor tended to teach her other abilities some consider to be…unnatural.

“Heyo that’s a handful!” Lem had at least managed to catch ‘hotdog’ within the other chick’s speech so that was progress at least. Then again Lexta’s trusty droidy companion thingy-wingy had the ability of translation so yippee!

Lexta turned to Lemon and said somethin’ but Lemon turned to the vendor ‘cause she’s hungry.

“I, uh…” Pinch chin. Drum fingers on it. Ponder on whether to get her hotdog hot as a chop shop or swap that thought for a whopping of other toppings.

“I’ll geeeeeeeeeeeeet—” Tilts head to the left. “—I’ll haaaaaaaaaaave—” To the right. "—I waaaaaaaaaaant—” Give her a minute she's got this. “—Think I’ll piiiiiiiiiiick—”

“Please make it quick. I have other customers, miss.”

“I GOT IT!” -Finger-click!- “Gimme a custom cut, sir! Peppers! Mustard! Ketchup! Relish! Onions! Cilantro! Tomato! No potato! Sauerkraut! BACON! Mustard! Ketchup! Relish—”

“You already said this.”

Lemon breaks into a bit of a jig and, after her hotdog order was served and delivered, turned her attention to her Twi’lek friend.

“You got a ship? Wanna eat on your ship? Were you fixin’ your ship? Wanna fix the goggle spot on your face or wait till we’ve eaten in your ship or on top of it?”

Lemon didn’t wait as she bit into her very yummy and delicious hotdog and gave the vendor her thumbs-up.

@Interdictor | @Lexta Kato

 

[Lexta Kato]

Lexta watched in amusement as Leh tried to order her hotdog. It was certainly entertaining. Mouse rolled up to her and bumped into the Twi'lek's leg with a beep. The little droid had her toolbox on top of it, so she knelt down and picked up the container by the handle. "<Arni,>" she said, then turned back to the Togruta. Leh had recieved her hotdog and was talking to Lexta as she listened. In fact, Leh was talking so fast that it took about three seconds after she was actually done for the translation to be complete. After a moment, Lexta nodded hesitantly. "<Emsa, afa sota an airspeeder, koa uza starship. Lii'te sure, sha bez eati aben eti. eti so direc circoo.>" She pointed past the speeder she had been fixing at her T-47, parked at the edge of the spaceport. The Rebel Alliance-era paint scheme was scratched, dented, and blackened near the exhaust and engine areas. In other words, worn. Still, the ship worked and worked well thanks to Lexta's constant maintenance. Walking over to in, she sat on the right stabilizer next to the laser cannon and motioned for Lemon to sit next to her as she took a bite of her hot dog.
@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Leh’Min’Ayd’s eyes went wide after taking a bite of her hotdog and went wide again as they landed on her friend’s airspeeder.

It was close so they didn’t have to go far and didn’t need to really walk and talk or eat their hotdogs so Lemon held off ‘cause she wanted to experience her lunch in the vehicle. There was just something about it that was kinda difficult to describe.

“Oh wow wow COOL.”

Even without the RebAl paint job Lemon’s immediate thought was of said Rebel Alliance and the Battle of Hoth. She wasn’t much of a history buff to be honest but she did like guys like Luke Skywalker and Qui-Gon Jinn—even if ‘Skywalker’ sounded like a ride at an amusement park and ‘Qui-Gon Jinn’ sounded like some kind of fish.

Ready to climb into the it’s-not-a-starship alongside her companion, Leh’Min’Ayd suddenly paused just then. Memories. Sometimes they could bleed.
What she didn’t like was the name ‘Kayden Skyler’. Leh’Min was a Jedi. From the darkness. Of the light. She didn’t have time for guys from and of the dark side.

Quickly dismissing those memories and that train of thinking, she hopped onto the ship beside Lexta and began to gently sway her legs as she chomped on her hotdog.

“Mm-mm-mmmmm thish ish sho delicioush.”

A mouthful of meat and vegetables and other scrumptious things made it hard to speak so she promptly swallowed.

“How’s yours? Sabada! I shoulda got a soda!"

@Interdictor | @Lexta Kato

 

[Lexta Kato]

Lexta was about halfway through finishing her hotdog, and next to her Lemon was diving into her own. It tasted great. With a sigh, the Twi'lek placed her hotdog on its cardboard plate and leaned back, resting her head on the cold durasteel of the cannon barrel with her lekku draped over it. "<Eti so ozanta, arni.>" Her mouse droid beeped urgently as it weaved around the Togruta's swinging legs, trying to deliver Lexta's toolbox to her. Lekta sat back up and, taking to kit from the droid, heaved the durasteel container up and into the airspeeder's cockpit. Once it was in place, the Twi'lek looked back at Lemon. "<Sakko…abth neesha?>"
@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

It was a long, long hotdog that Leh'Min happily chomped away on and it didn’t take long for her to finish it. She was halfway through when Lexta was a quarter of the way through. When Lexta was halfway through Leh’Min was burping the remnants of her feast from her stomach.

“Oops. ‘Scuse me. Hee.” Innocent grin. “What the hett-oo-skee!” Lem squeaked as her friend’s droid beeped and weaved beneath her feet. “Cute little thing! What’s its name? What’s your ship’s name?”

As Lexta would answer and sat back up, Leh’Min leaned back and sighed to the sky, relaxed. Hand pats the stomach. Was famished. No longer wants a burger. Hotdog was the perfect decision all things considered. Could do with that soda though!

“Hummm… Nar’s kinda like an armpit of the galaxy if I’m bein’ totally honest but there’s prolly gotta be an aquarium or a soda factory we could check out maybe?” What else was there to do in any city really?

“Oh I know! An amusement park! Catch a movie! Go to the park! Go-karts! They’re amazing! Could go to a maze maybe!”

Though, the last maze she went to included a Pyke named Helmet Head, a bush eerily reminiscent of Bush Jade and a Herglic who couldn’t see a little lemon head over the counter but whatever.

@Interdictor | @Lexta Kato

 

[Lexta Kato]

"<Do ship sota koa naye,>" Lexta said, "<Plie droid so naye so Mouse.>" A Lambda shuttle thundered overhead, twin condensation lines trailing from the wingtips as it glided past the spaceport. "<Circoo so uza este museums plie solu aquarium, lii'te afa sota uza ozanta idez.>" The Twi'lek gestured towards the T-47's closed canopy, seing if the Togruta would get it.
@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Ship had no name, huh? Maybe that would change if Leh’Min’Ayd had any say in it! She probably didn’t but what the hett! Translator droidicus had a name anyhow and its name was Mouse!

“Oh that’s as cool as it is adorable!” She might have hugged Mouse if it wasn’t so blocky. Then again, maybe that’s what made it so charming and huggable?

Lexta pointed at the starship above them and Lemon didn’t need as many moments to get it as Mouse needed to translate conversation. “Awwww yeah! Now you’re speaking my language, buddy!”

At that, the Togruta stretched like a yoga pro and hold the soda and slapped a hand on the Twi’lek’s shoulder.

“Lexta, my friend, this is gonna be a flight to remember!”

She similarly slapped Mouse on its body-head head-body somethinwotzit with a chuckle and promptly climbed into the cockpit.

“Now let’s go chase that shuttle! IT’S A RACE. Ahem.”

That hotdog had hit the spot and yeah hold the soda but suddenly a thirsty Leh’Min’Ayd wished she had some lemonade!

@Interdictor | @Lexta Kato

 

[Lexta Kato]

Lexta nodded as the Togruta looked down happily at Mouse. The little droid beeped and rolled over to Lexta's foot, allowing the Twi'lek to pick him up, pop the canopy, and dump the diminutive droid into the cockpit. As she was about to rise and drop into the pilot's seat when Leh's hand came down on her shoulder. She yelped in suprise, "<Mhm, Afa so suye eti ta'brila sei,>" She replied, standing and, stuffing down her hotdog, slid into the pilot seat. The engines hummed steadily to life, and once Leh was in the gunner's seat, she pulled the canopy closed, letting it seal with a hiss that made her fel like she was at the Battle of Hoth. Speaking of battles… "<Afa defisae esa weffe ketra. Sotan koa wan tun ta poteski kocci ships,>" She said in Twi'leki, pushing a few buttons on her control panel. Leh would see all her targeting displays shut down and the controls go slack in her hands.
@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music IC (OpTiOnAlLy)

With or without Mouse around to play translate, Leh’Min’Ayd apparently had enough ability from her seat to read the computer screen thingy at least. Assuming this, words would appear onscreen after being translated from Twi’leki that read: “I disabled your systems. Don’t want you taking potshots at other ships.”

“Awwwwww maaaaaaaaaan!”

Leh’Min slapped the dashboard and blew through her lips as if already bored.

“That’s it. Lemme out. I only got in to blow up ships to begin with.” Give her a second. “KIDDING!”

She drummed her fingers, pressed this button, pressed that one, turned on some music and if she didn’t then it emitted from her datapad at least because maybe it couldn’t be synced.

“Whaddya think I am some kinda lunatic? A purple girl who chronologically and chronically goes on missions of assassination or somethin’ even if they're totally unrelated to present activity or who goes around takin’ other ships out somehow like I’m poundin’ them into the ground all the way downtown pressin’ buttons of -pew!-pew!- and -pow!-pow!- till they’re gone like food in my stomach like a hotdog and fallin’ down in a shower of clouds like my sauerkraut and a— SABADA!”

Amid the Lemon’s incessant rambling, apparently Lexta wasn’t going to wait for her to shut up as the nameless ship would begin to take off the next moment. That would make Leh’Min sigh and smile wide.

“IT IS TIME”

 

[Lexta Kato]

Lexta sighed. Lemon probably meant well, but wow, was she energetic. The Twi'lek's poor mini-translator was struggling to translate the near-incoherent strings of Basic. Once the entirety of the message was translated, she nodded. [abbr='That's fair. However, one wrong button press and you might accidentally fire.]"<Thesa so fama. Aber, uza incogo befem so prese, plie tun mi acidae tol.>"[/abbr]

Momentarily, she wondered why her Togruta companion had been so adamant about her lack of participation in such activities. Was she trying to hide something or just being honest? Well, it wasn't her job to find out, and Leh seemed nice enough. Plus, matching skin color, which wasn't exactly common in a galaxy with so many species. Then, grinning, she slammed the throttle forward and pulled back on the stick. The little airspeeder roared to life, shooting straight up into the air, then spun on a dime (not literally, of course) to follow the shuttle. "<Woohoooo!>" she cheered, embracing the feeling of flying. Mouse had slid on his side all the way back to Leh's seat when they had climbed and then back towards Lexta when they leveled out, screeching and beeping all the way. The T-47 was maintaining a respectful distance, least likely to get them fried. Now she was genuinely curious about the business and destination of the shuttle. Was it a Hutt? Or maybe a senator? Maybe just a charter flight? She really wanted to know. She had to know.
@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

“Oh hey buddy!” Lemon happily patted Mouse as he landed in her lap before going back to his mistress.

Lexta definitely knew how to pilot her ship. There wasn’t much for Leh’Min to do at this moment but she was content to just sit back and enjoy the ride and try not to press any button that might cause both young women and their metallic companion to explode.

“Toot toooooooooooooot!” As Lexta woohoo’d Leh’Min pulled on thin air as if she was in one of them ancient train engine thingy-wingy’s. Having fun. Definitely!

On her monitor she spotted the shuttle suddenly turn. Was it in a hurry? Or did its own pilot catch onto the ship behind it? No, the Nameless was keeping her distance so that couldn’t be it. Maybe they’re just hungry for hotdogs or whozitwotzit!

“You’re pretty good at this! No wonder you can fix your ship ‘cause you can also fly it! I’m no pilot to be honest. I like playing space games though! Hummm let’s see…”

Lemon began counting on her fingers.

“VEV Online. No Woman’s Sky. Stellar. Supreme Cautious. Hyperdrive. Planet Citizen. Planetfield. Vast Impact.”

On and on Leh’Min went unless somebody promptly shut her up the next moment.

@Interdictor | @Lexta Kato

 

[Lexta Kato]

Lexta banked the T-47 into a gentle turn to keep behind the shuttle. The other pilot seemed to be making a standard maneuver, not trying to evade, so she assumed that they were safe for now. "<Arni,>" she said to Leh, pride welling in her chest. She had always considered herself a decent pilot and the compliment made her feel better. Immediately afterwards Lemon began listing games she played. The Twi'lek listened, half-interested. She had never played video games to any great extent. "<Ka, lii'te flia... so an acti koa relat in amika aan measure,>" Lexta said, and to prove her point slammed the airspeeder into a high yo-yo maneuver. As they reached the pinnacle of the climb and the T-47 was rolled upside-down, Lexta looked up (or was it down now?) through the canopy at the shuttle, which was completing its turn and was blissfully unaware of the two purple-skinned, lekku-sporting girls now pulling up behind them. They ended the maneuver much closer than anticipated, and Lexta throttled back to stretch the distance. Now this is fun.

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music IC

The music shifted in the cockpit/canopy wotzitwhozit. It happens.

“Replicable?”

Leh’Min chewed on that word as surely as one chews on a hotdog.

“Liiiiiike…when you replicate lemonade—”

And here comes that bank!

“WAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHOOOOOOOOO!”

Leh’Min’Ayd began to laugh like a maniac!

High fives and high yo-yo’s all around!

“PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!” She shouts!

Obviously not actually firing at any enemy!

“SPINNY-WINNY! CIRCLE SO ROUND!” Sings!

“YIPPY YIPPY!” While she’s hanging upside down!

The moment passes. One moment turns into another.

“FASTER!” Lemon giggled. “OH PLEASE PLEASE GO FASTER!”

 

[Lexta Kato]

Lexta smiled. Lemonade's enthusiasm was infectious. "<Amifa, circaa eti genta!>" she said, pushing the throttle lever forward. The petite airspeeder jumped forward, causing the Twi'lek to yelp in surprise. No matter how many times she did it, zipping through the air at top speed was always thrilling. The T-47 blew past the Lambda, barely avoiding a collision. "Oops..." she said, using one of the few Basic words she knew. Suddenly, a light on her console blinked on, and a frantic beeping filled the cockpit. Lexta looked at her center display screen. "<Daden sentec cona...TIEs! mussa sei escort. Afa shesen sha flaque uza mina zu clana.>" Lovely. "Unidentified airspeeder, you have closed within a dangerous distance of shuttle Tamache. Stand down and land at platform 66-B immediately." Lexta glanced back at Leh. This...might end badly.
@Die Shize