In The Spirit Of Life Day

[Ke Pasa]

Unknown Space Station,
Standard Day Cycle Before Life Day,

Durasteel-tiled floor clang underneath him with every footstep, Ke Pasa had little need for stealth at the moment. The metal felt cold against his mostly bare feet, only covered in layers of wraps to shield his golden chitin from direct contact with the uncomfortably cool surface he walked on. Still, the fabric was too thin to insulate him fully and his large, black claws protruded freely, giving off additional taps against the metal with each footstep. Ke Pasa strode through those utilitarian hallways in casual, confident gait, clad in his usual traveling rags- a once crimson robe now stained with grime and faded with exposure to environments, leather hunting vest over his torso keeping the fabric from shifting too loosely around his thin, tall body, and wraps over his limbs as another layer of protection and decency. Over one shoulder he had the strap of his hunting blaster, the weapon hanging along his back and dancing in light movements to the rhythm of his steps, over the other he had a duffel-bag-equivalent with a change of clothes, some miscellaneous personal possessions, and a gift or two. On his belt there was that long, slender vibrosword in its sheath covered in tribal markings and Blood Carver decorations, as well as the holstered Westar-1 pistol, a hunting vibroblade, and a pouch for more trinkets he might find useful on the road. At the moment that summarized everything the alien hunter possessed.

Although he carried his weapons with him, it was not because his duty brought him to the station, in fact the opposite. Ke Pasa was currently on a shore leave of sorts, and the station was just one of the few waypoints he had to stop at to attend to his personal business. The weapons were there out of practicality, as a means of defense but also because it was easier to bring them along than to find a place to store them safely. He would have considered leaving the weapons with his fellow Sand Devil Nebulae Outriders, but this shore leave was their idea in the first place, as such they were each undergoing a similar journey at the same time or spending their free time in a different manner that still didn't allow them to look after his possessions. They informed Ke Pasa of some tradition they referred to as "the Life Day," a holiday he never heard of but it seemed important to them as they insisted on taking an extended shore leave to celebrate it, or at least they were intent on finding any old excuse to get a break from their duties. Their commanding officers didn't seem to mind, or care, and after some convincing Ke Pasa agreed to take that shore leave as well, especially once they promised to help him cover the cost of journey back to his planet.

It may have not been a celebration he was familiar with, but if it was within the spirit of Life Day to reunite with his family, then he certainly did not mind it. It's been a while since he saw them last, although he would not be able to set his foot down on their home planet and see them at their own home, the prolonged Extension he was banished to by their tribe forbid it. Instead, they managed to arrange for them to come up to the closest space station in their planet's vicinity, it was their he would meet them for few hours to catch up and share a meal before he would need to return back to his duties. It wouldn't last long but that was all his shore leave allowed for once the travel time to reach them was accounted for.

He still had one more trip before he would reach his destination, and his last shuttle wasn't scheduled to leave for few more hours, so until then Ke Pasa thought he would deal with his growing hunger and get a meal to eat at the local cantina. The cold durasteel tiles finally lead him to its doorway, an automatic door opening up with a hiss to allow him entrance, neon sign on the wall next to it read "Void Skillet." He entered and scanned over the interior. The cantina was as utilitarian and nondescript as the rest of the station- few communal, durasteel long tables filled its interior, flanked by durasteel, long benches for patrons to sit on as they ate their meals, a small bar area was being currently wiped by a droid bartender, one of the waitresses was currently occupying a stool by it. They both looked up at the new arrival, there were no other patrons in the establishment at the time, perhaps Ke Pasa would be their only one, perhaps he was just one of few travelers that would stop by the cantina before the day was over.

Either way, the alien gave them a soft nod, making his way over to the communal long table and slipping himself onto the bench as the waitress came up to bring him a holo-menu. He pulled his rifle off of his back, placing it over his lap and pointing to the list of dishes they offered once he recognized a list of ingredients he liked. She asked him if he would like something to drink, he squawked out an answer in Basic and she nodded, taking his order and moving away to pass it to the kitchen, the bartender droid already moving around to prepare his drink. Ke Pasa looked over the long communal table and the empty establishment, usually he preferred to eat alone in peace but this time he thought he might have been willing to make an exception and offer a conversation and friendly company to any other travelers who might come and join him.

After all, such things were in the spirit of Life Day.

 

[Eoto Vrisor]

"It's a yes or no question Eoto…" Nyir said with clear frustration, the image of a middle-aged Bothan female flickering on the small, outdated holoprojector. Eoto sat in his quarters aboard his starship, currently docked for refueling at some space station in the middle of nowhere. The aging Bothan rubbed the back of his head, unable to make eye contact with his wife. Seeing as he was not on a job currently he had taken off his armor and was wearing a simple blue shirt and dark pants.

"The packages for Ony and Jes are in the mail..." He started sheepishly, avoiding her again. "They should be there in time for the celebration."

"They're not interested in presents," Nyir replied. "They want to see their father." There was a long pause. Eoto looked at her ashamedly.

"How's Ma doing?" He asked.

"She wants to see her son." Nyir answered, crossing her arms in annoyance. Eoto grumbled miserably.

"What do you want from me Nyny?" He asked. "I'm on the other side of the galaxy. No, I won't be home for Life Day."

"You're always on the other side of the galaxy." Nyir replied, unsympathetic. "Is it too much to ask you take some time off to visit the family you keep insisting you care so much about?"

"I'll visit next month I promise." Eoto said, drawing an unconvinced look from his wife. "I love you." He said dismally. There was another long pause.

"Happy Life Day Eoto." Nyir responded simply, and killed the transmission. Eoto released an enormous sigh as he sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.

"Happy Life Day..." He muttered under his breath, then got up and strapped his belt on, his blaster pistol holstered at his side. He doubted he'd need it here, but bounty hunting had taught him to expect the unexpected. "I'm grabbing something to eat L5," He called to his droid as he made to exit the ship. "Don't burn down the ship while I'm gone." An indignant beep was his only reply as he shambled down the loading ramp.

The cold, uninspiring architecture of the space station did nothing to raise his spirits. The Bothan was tempted to simply drink himself into forgetfulness, perhaps start a needless bar fight to blow off some steam. He entered the cantina to find it too was practically deserted. Everyone seemed to be celebrating Life Day but him. He spotted the strange alien and eyed it curiously for a moment. He had been from one edge of the galaxy to the other but never seen anything quite like it. Still, he wasn't in a mood to strike up a conversation so with another sigh he walked to a table on the opposite side of the room and sat down, thanking the waitress politely as she handed him a menu then falling to silence as he scanned over the contents. What an awful day...


@Manufactorium

 

[Ke Pasa]

@Reyn,

Ke Pasa just had his food brought to him by the waitress; a self-heating skilled of various meats, vegetables, and grains; when the door to the cantina opened and another patron walked in. The insectoid's pale blue eyes sized up the stranger at the same time as Eoto eyed him and something seized up within Ke Pasa. It wasn't disgust or hatred towards another alien, although Ke Pasa's time off his home-world was still relatively short and he has never seen a Bothan before, but it was fear and anxiety at confrontation with another stranger. It was easy to make plan on striking up a conversation with someone, or just being sociable in general, but when push came to shove and he was looking a stranger in the eyes as he was now, things were quite different. Perhaps he spent too much time alone, whether in his bunk during patrols, surrounded by the hum of technology he hated so much, or out in the wilds during missions or shore leaves. Either way, even before the Extension, he wasn't the most social or graceful when it came to dealing with people he didn't knew.

But he was not going to give up so easily, that would not be in the spirit of Life Day after all, so Ke Pasa decided to at least say hello to the stranger,
"Hraaahr~"
Was all that Ke Pasa managed to sound out, realizing just how dry his mouth was the moment he attempted to speak. He gulped lightly, hoping that the stranger would just chalk that up as some random noise Ke Pasa's species might make sometimes. He inclined his head towards Eoto, settling on just giving the stranger a light nod in a greeting as the Bothan went over to the far side of the room, sitting by one of the distant communal tables and making his own order.

Ke Pasa looked down, focusing on the food before him instead. He did his best and now was the time to give up. One hand moved to grab a fork, the other to grab the glass of sugared water he ordered, taking a long drink to ease the dryness in his mouth and throat.

 

[Eoto Vrisor]

Eoto gave the alien a confused and somewhat concerned look at his... greeting? Before nodding tentatively in return. There was something very odd about this creature. It seemed almost dejected. Or maybe nervous? Perhaps Eoto was just imagining things, different species expressed themselves in different ways after all and it may have been nothing. Still as he sat at his table silently looking over his menu he couldn't help but glance back at the alien from time to time.

"Excuse me," He asked the waitress as she passed by to give him his meal. "Is that... thing here alone?" The waitress looked in Ke Pasa's direction before speaking to Eoto lowly so as not to be overheard or offend.

"I think so," She answered him. "And I think it's a he..." She glanced back at the alien. "I think..." The waitress walked away again, leaving the Bothan to stare thoughtfully at his fellow patron for a few moments before finally getting up. What the hell. It was Life Day. No one should be alone on Life Day.

"I have to say I've never seen anything like you before," He said bluntly as he approached and sat down across from the alien without waiting for an invitation. "And I must have seen a thousand different species in my time. Just where do you come from? If you don't mind me asking." It didn't seem like he particularly cared whether or not Ke Pasa minded him asking, but at least the question didn't carry the intonation of some kind of mocking. It sounded like a genuine curiosity. The diminutive Bothan sat looking up at Ke Pasa expectantly as he picked up some food from his plate and started eating.


@Manufactorium

 

[Ke Pasa]

@Reyn,

Ke Pasa was just clamping down his beak-like mouth on some pieces of meat and vegetables from the skillet of food he ordered when Eoto sat down closer to him. The food wasn't the best, bland taste of station rations only somewhat hidden beneath layers of spice, so at least having some friendly company would make the meal better. The insectoid swallowed, the twin flaps of his beak relaxing and pulling out away from his skull to elongate his face into a sharp snout-like shape as he chewed.
"My kind tends to keep to them-seelves."
The creature groaned out from within his gullet in strange intonations of alien voice cords attempting to adjust to the sounds of Galactic Basic,
"Few can pro-noonce what we call our-seelves, but huemons call us the Blad-carvaars."
The tall, skeletal alien croaked out as his towering form hunched on the bench and he shoveled more meat and vegetables into his maw, the twin flaps of his beak slipping open briefly to reveal rows of small, sharp teeth lining the inside. The bites were small enough that he didn't had to do much chewing, his back straightening back up once more as the pieces went down his throat.
"Same for the planet I'm froom, but the Repu-blik has no naame for it, and I never boothered to learn what the Coolon-ists call it."
He added in another series of croaking moans, his break twitching and shifting sightly with each word as the sounds were made,
"I am caaled Ke Pasa."
The Blood Carver introduced himself, although he decided to skip mentioning his current occupation within the Galactic Alliance, the way he understood some people might disagree with that political affiliation due to the wars the Alliance was currently involved in.
"I have neever seen one of your kiind either."
He added honestly, although on his part this might have been more tied to him being isolated from the rest of the Galaxy for most of his life, rather than Bothan presence in the greater Galactic society.