Ask Dessert in the Desert

[Quin Leonkri]

The Jedi’s ship would soon arrive back at town, but this time there were far fewer people to greet them. Not that it mattered to Quin— the less people that were in his way, the better. He lifted Nikko up again, pressed the button to lower the ramp, then got her as fast as he could to the hospital.

“She’s been shot. I need a medic. Stat!” He didn’t wait for anyone to ask, but a woman wearing doctor’s garb came walking briskly up followed by a team with a stretcher. Once Nikko was ready to head into treatment and Quin made to follow, the woman shook her head and stopped him.

“She needs rest. So do you. We’ll take care of her.”

“I’ll rest here.”

“I’m afraid you can’t do that, sir—” The look in Quin’s eyes made her think twice. “Fine. But be quiet. Don’t get in the way of my job.”

“That won’t be a problem.” With that, he would follow the medics to the room, take his seat in the corner, watch the doctors carefully as they worked, and wait for Nikko to wake up.

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Where am I? Nikko's mind questioned groggily. Whatever she was lying on was much softer than the hard durasteel of the ship where she had fallen asleep. And there was an incessant, repetitive beeping that almost made her go back to sleep, although she stopped herself. With a groan her eyes fluttered open and she tried to sit up. "Don't try to move," an unfamiliar voice said tersely. "Wha…" the Pantoran mumbled, looking around from her limited point of view. She was in a hospital room-she recognized it from pictures she had seen-with a doctor working on her shoulder. Quin was sitting in the corner, watching her intently. "Hey, Quin," Nikko greeted quietly, locking eyes with him. "How long was I out?"
@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Although Quin was intent on keeping an eye on the doctors, at times he could feel sleep catching up to him. Waiting for Nikko to come to was excruciating. Even if the doctors had told him that the wound wasn’t going to be fatal in the slightest, he was still worried that somehow, the Padawan might never wake up.

So, he stayed awake until she did.

“Hey, Nikko.” Quin nearly jumped at the sound of her voice, but boy was he glad to hear it. As for her question, though, “umm… it’s past dinnertime now, that’s for sure. A few hours, maybe?” It felt like years to him, but she didn’t need to know that. She would be able to see that it was fairly dark outside too, though whether that helped or not Quin wouldn’t know.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, getting up from his seat and approaching the side of the bed so that Nikko wouldn’t have to crane her head to see him. “Does it still hurt?”

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Nikko let out a woosh of breath as she looked out the window and noticed how dark it was. When he mentioned dinner, she smiled. "I just realized how hungry I am," she said. And, wow, had she been out for a long time.

"So, uh…did you learn anything?" it wasn't exactly 'on topic,' but hey, who cared. "I've been better," the Pantoran replied. There was a pause before Niko spoke again. "How long have you been a Knight? You're not much older than I am, and I'm a Padawan."
@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin half-smiled that Nikko shared his sentiments about missing dinner. Hearing her patient’s remark, the nurse from earlier quickly chimed in.

“I’ll bring you two something to eat,” she said before taking her leave. Quin gave her a nod of appreciation, turning back to the Padawan. Her next question made him pause for a bit. And made him want to hit himself in the head.

“Unfortunately, no.” He had been too busy watching her and the doctors to even think about the pirates, let alone learn anything new about them. That would have been the smarter thing to do, in hindsight, but it was a little late for that now. He was glad that she was better now, though. That was one good thing that came out of today. He smiled at that.

Then, she caught him off guard with yet another question. A normal one, he supposed.

“About a year. Not long,” Quin answered. Just then, the nurse came back with two warm stews, handing one to each of them.

“Thanks,” said Quin. But he would wait for Nikko to eat first before he started. Just to be sure she was really feeling okay.

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Nikko gave a nod of gratitude toward the nurse, then refocused her attention on Quin. "Oh. Well, don't feel bad. I probably wouldn't have looked for info either." She made a mental note to work on her encouragement skills when she got back to the temple. When he answered her second question, she nodded thoughtfully. "That's what I guessed." Any further comments either she or Quin would have made were interrupted by the return of the nurse, bearing two delicious-looking bowls of soup. Sitting up, Nikko accepted the dish and, after giving it a quick check for poison, eagerly dug in. It. Was. Incredible. She made a mental note to find the recipe for this soup. It seemed similar to the usual chcoken noodle soup, but the broth had a perfect texture and the meat was cooked just right. At least if this soup is poisoned, I'll die happy, she thought to herself. Not that it was, of course.
@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Given today’s events, Quin appreciated that Nikko didn’t seem to blame him at all for what had happened, even if he did. So he just smiled in response. Seeing that her shoulder wasn’t preventing her from eating, Quin dug into his stew.

“Thish—” he commented, nodding down at the bowl as he chewed, “ish gurd shtuff.” Quin was always a sucker for good food, and this local hospital food was better than anything he’d had before. Food was the cure to so many things in his mind, and this could probably bring someone back to life. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but it didn’t change the fact that it was excellent. Eggcelent.

“So,” he said in between bites, “how long have you been a Padawan? You have a master?”

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Nikko nodded. "Yeah, it really is," she said in between bites of soup. It seemed Quin shared the same love of food that she did. The second question caused her to fiddle with a few strands of her lilac hair, using her injured arm to hold the soup. "A few years," she replied. "As for my master, well, I kind of…drift around? My first master was reassigned, my second went missing, and my third left the Order. Right now, I don't have one." the Pantoran sighed. "It's been rough." Then she took another bite of her soup. The truth was, she hated how much her masters seemed to vanish. It made her life extremely and unnecessarily difficult. Not to mention her emotions, which hadn't been helped by the unstable nature of her mentorship.
@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin stopped eating for a moment so that he could listen to Nikko as she talked about her past teachers. He knew how it felt for a master to leave— his first one had been reassigned, too. But to have three consecutive teachers vanish one way or another and be left with no one? That would be rough for anyone.

“Oh. I’m… sorry.” Quin didn’t know what to say as he met Nikko’s gaze. “I hope you’ll find the right one. I’m sure they’re out there somewhere.” He gave her a smile. “For me, it happened to be my second master. Once you meet them… you’ll know.” He was being as honest as he could. He wouldn’t trade Master Mirror for anyone.

Quin finished up his soup, leaving it on the empty tray that the nurse had left for them. He would wait for Nikko to be done before offering to take hers, too. Though it didn’t matter how short or long she took— he was just glad that she was healing.

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Nikko gave another small smile, although this one was more forced. "It's fine, really," she mumbled half-heartedly. She looked down into her bowl and realized she had finished her soup, so when Quin held out his hand to take her bowl, she handed it over to him with a nod of thanks. "So," she said, laying back down on her side so she could look at Quin, "What are we going to do about the pirates? I'm pretty sure the mayor is working with them, considering he was the only person other than us who knew about those coordinates." Currently, her gut instincts went with 'let's chop him up and end this.' Not that she would be allowed to. Jedi rules and stuff. Plus, he deserved to rot in prison.
@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

After Quin placed Nikko’s bowl back onto the tray, he went back to her side at the bed. He could tell that she wasn’t her usual self now after the talk of masters, but before he could say anything to try and comfort her she changed the subject. Right. Back to business.

“You’re right about the mayor.” Quin rubbed his cheek. “But we have no concrete proof against him. He might just be… well, careless, for lack of a better term.” An idiot, more like. He began to pace.

“If he was working for the pirates, then he’d have to have contact with them. They’d be asking about us right now. So there goes investigating him.” For the time being, at least. “Or, since the pirates come so often, we could wait until their next raid.” The warehouse he’d been to had been near the mayor’s office, so maybe they would be able to catch him in the act if not stop the raiders all together.

“That’ll give you some time to recover,” Quin concluded, “and time to figure out what they put in this stew of theirs.” He winked at the Padawan, feeling better already. Food really was a cure. “What do you say?”

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Nikko raised an eyebrow at Quin's comment about how the mayor might be careless. "He'd have to be pretty careless to let supposedly secret coordinates slip, especially when he didn't even actually say them and just wrote it down. My bets are on him being in cahoots with those scumbags." She was about to continue when Quin started talking again. Hmm…wait for the next raid? "Yeah, guess we'll have to wait," the Pantoran said. When Quin mentioned the stew, though, her eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah, I do want to find out how they make it. I would love to try and-" she stopped suddenly. "…Sorry, I'm rambling," Nikko mumbled.@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin nodded at Nikko’s words. What she said was true, and he’d only been playing devil’s advocate. Either way though, they’d need evidence if they wanted to remove him from office, and the best way to do that would be keeping a close eye on him in anticipation for the next raid.

Quin grinned at Nikko’s remark about rambling. Clearly she hadn’t met him.

“You call that a ramble?” he teased before letting out a chuckle. “I’m all for it.” He loved when people were passionate about something, and for Nikko it seemed like cooking. Quin respected that.

For now, though, the doctors were right that she needed rest. And he did too, as much as he didn’t want to admit it.

“Okay. I’m going back to the ship to check on Viper and make sure our mayor hasn’t done anything to it. I’ll be back in the morning.” He met her gaze, smiling. “Let me know what you find out about that soup.”

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Apparently, Quin didn't consider her cooking talk a ramble. Which, in Nikko's opinion, was good. "Good to know," she said, smiling a little. Her body was becoming more relaxed, and her breath was beginning to slow. "Mhm…make sure to tell Viper I said thanks," the Pantoran said, nestling into the blankets and closing her eyes. Soon after Quin left she would be asleep, and when Quin returned he would find Nikko curled up in a ball under the covers, sleeping peacefully. Her dreams were of treacherous mayors and funny Quins and helpful probe droids.
@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“Will do, cap’n.” With a mini salute, Quin would exit the room and make his way back to the ship. His dreams would be none of peace, but rather of screaming lemons, lightning, and Sith red. When the morning came, he was all too eager to be out of bed.

That was why, when he arrived at the hospital at the break of dawn, he found Nikko still wrapped under her covers. Not wanting to intrude, he would wait outside until he heard movement that indicated she was awake.

“Morning.” Quin would stand by the entrance of the room, right where he’d been the night before, the same smile on his face. “Bacta treat you well?” If she was feeling better already, maybe they’d be able to get a head start.

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Nikko awoke to see Quin in the exact same spot and position as last night. "Did you even move?" She asked groggily, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "Morning. And yeah, I'm feeling better." She rolled her bandaged shoulder and winced. "Still hurts a little, might even leave a scar. And my robes are going to need replacing." The Pantoran smiled mischievously. "Or should I just keep using these ones? Kind of a red badge of courage," she said, repeating a phrase she had heard once. Something told her that most Padawans didn't get shot by live rounds.
It would show what she had survived easily, and it showed she could survive even more. "I think I can do mission stuff, if you're ready. Might want to check with the nurse."

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Would it have made a difference if he’d stayed overnight? Maybe he could have— it would have spared him the horrors of sleep. Either way, he was glad to hear that she was feeling better. As for new robes, Quin smiled.

“You’d look good in either,” he answered. “Since we’re going to be seeing the mayor, though… you might want to make yourself look presentable.” Frankly, Quin wouldn’t mind however she decided to dress, since she’d probably make it look good anyway. The mission was what mattered.

“That’d be best.” The nurse would know whether Nikko was free to go. “You want to check with her and get ready? I have to… take care of a few things.” Quin glanced at the clock on the wall. Really he just needed to move the ship— one, they’d get a parking ticket if they stayed much longer, and two, the pirates needed to at least think that the Jedi had gone. He didn’t want to say as much with the nurse in earshot, though. “I’ll keep you updated, and meet you back here once you’re ready.”

It didn’t take too long given he had both a speeder and a ship, and he was back within an hour.

“You look good,” he commented to Nikko with a smile.

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Nikko's blue face deepened to a dark violet blush when Quin said she would look good in either. "Thanks, Quin." Internally, though, she was struggling to wipe the blush off of her face. Quin saved her the trouble by mentioning she should look presentable when meeting the mayor. "I think I'll keep these-" she gestured to her current robes- "on. I'd like to see that man's face when he sees the blaster burn. Plus, it might intimidate him. If I survived getting shot and was back in action a few hours later, who knows what else I can survive." She gave a thumbs up to his comment about getting some things dealt with, and after he left, the nurse came in and pronounced that Nikko was well enough to leave, although she should take it easy and get plenty of rest. While Quin was gone, Nikko took a short wash in the hospital's refresher and talked with the nurse about the soup, writing down the recipe on a slip of flimsi and tucking it onto a pouch on her belt. She was standing outside when Quin pulled up in the speeder. She slid into the speeder, running her hand through her still-wet lilac hair and hopping into the landspeeder. When he complimented her appearance again, her blush returned in full force. "Quin," she said in a lighthearted tone, trying-and failing-to clear the blush from her face, "You need to stop complimenting my appearance, or everyone is going to think my face has permanently turned purple."
@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin couldn’t help noticing that Nikko was blushing quite a lot when she got into the speeder. What did I do? Not knowing what to say, he remained silent for a moment, trying to rack up a response. If she didn’t want to be complimented, what was he supposed to say?

Girls are so complicated. He really needed to ask Lemon about these things someday.

“Uh… sorry” was all his brain could come up with. Clearing his voice to alleviate some of the awkwardness in the air, he pointed in the direction of the mayor’s office.

“Now that our ship is nice and hidden, we’re going to keep an eye on the mayor. If the raiders don’t come, the townspeople will suspect something. If they do, we can see how our mayor reacts. Or how the pirates react to him.” He looked over at Nikko in the passenger seat, his usual grin back on his face. “I forgot to mention. I also got us jobs as his personal guards.”

If he really was a traitor, Nikko’s tattered robes would surely give him a scare.

@Interdictor

 

[Nikko Ivita]

Nikko let out a little laugh and finally suppressed the flush of her cheeks until it was a barely-noticeable tint. "I'm just messing with you, Quin. And you look nice too." Her face stayed unchanged this time, aside from a small smile. She listened with interest as Quin described his plan. It seemed pretty good. "Yeah. If he's the mayor, they'll want to raid his property since he is the richest man in the vil-hold up, you what?" Her surprise came as she registered his last sentence. "Does he know it is us, or does he think it's just some random people?" Although, now that she thought about it, there wasn't really a better spot to watch the mayor from. "Good plan, though. He won't have an excuse to make us leave him alone if we work as his security force."
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