Ask Dorumaa, We've Come to Bargain

[Zoella Dorran]

​

Once a frozen wasteland that had drifted too far from its suns, Dorumaa was now a popular destination planet for vacationers in the Expansion Region of space. Jewel-toned oceans, tropical islands surrounded by blissful white beaches, and carefree resorts with employees that catered to your every want and need.

The planet's description reminded Zoella of Vaynai, another resort planet the Sith Acolyte had visited a few months ago. Come to think of it, this was the second tropical paradise she'd been sent to. The teenager examined her pale complexion in the looking glass opposite her, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Maybe her superiors were trying to tell her something. Native to the rainy planet of Arkanis, she'd never stood a chance to be anything less than a vampire look-alike.

With spring break in full swing, Dorumaa's beaches and resorts would inevitably be packed with university students on holiday, sowing their wild oats or whatever. Soleil and Zoella would fit right in, which was why they'd been picked for this assignment. They'd blend in with their surroundings and call no unnecessary attention to themselves. At least, that was the goal. Anything was possible when Acolytes were unsupervised. Zoella had found that out the hard way, back on that cursed party bus. Her stomach twisted at the thought.

Coming out of the refresher, green eyes scanned the Sith transport ship for Soleil. "What do you think?" she asked, staring down at her outfit. "Is it touristy enough?"

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil was more than a little excited to visit Dorumaa. Adventures always seemed to take him to smoggy cities or hot, dry wastelands for some reason. A tropical ocean planet was way more his style. He'd frequently looked out the shuttle's windows on the way down, eyes glimmering with longing for the brilliant oceans below.

In contrast to Zoella's paler self, Sol was native to Wrea and spent time in sunlight when he could, his skin a sun-kissed copper. His choice in fit was similarly more colorful, a sleeveless, tropical-print pink shirt and black, knee-length board shorts. Aside from a series of beads, his left wrist also had a patterned cloth meant to be used as a surfer's headband. His right, as had become common, had a stainless steel chain with 'SOL' engraved on a plate and a cloth neck cover that protected his gills. And, naturally for a beach planet, basic sandals.

He'd blend right in with a bunch of random teens and uni students from across the galaxy.

His gaze broke from a window to look at Zoella when she addressed him. Last they'd seen each other was on a party bus, from which Zoella'd mysteriously disappeared. He walked over to her with a mischievous grin, emoji earrings shining for a moment in the window light, already smelling of sea salt, cypress, and sunscreen. Making a joking show of judging her picks, he nodded approvingly. Then his fingers- less colorful than on the party bus- untied his wrist cloth and made a motion like tying hair before offering it up.

A splash of color would really sell the 'tourist' vibe, in his opinion. It'd also prevent the sea breeze from endlessly slapping her long blond locks back into her face. Soleil was offering to help her with it, but he'd hand the cloth over or accept refusal with equally relaxed energy. Immediately after he'd gesture to a spare table with sunscreen atop it, warily eyeing her pale arms. Sunburn was no joke.

Meanwhile, he'd spent his time double-checking his waterproof bag of stuff and lowering the shuttle's departure ramp. His eagerness was nearly palpable. Maybe there'd even be time for some actual surfing between official activities!

@llamallove

 

[Zoella Dorran]

Soleil looked the part of a university tourist, with his bronze skin, floral top, and beatnik beads. No, scratch that. Sol didn't look like a tourist—he looked like a native of Dorumma, like he'd been catching the waves and lounging in the sunshine his entire life. He gave off serious beach bum vibes, but in a good way. So when he untied his colorful wrist cloth and offered to pull her hair up, she gladly accepted. She would need all the help she could get when it came to fitting in on Dorumma. Arkanis had oceans—lots of oceans, but nothing like this.

"Thanks," Zoella smiled genuinely, the expression reaching her eyes. Since the pair of teenagers were the same height, all she had to do was move closer and turn around to allow him to pull her hair up into a ponytail. Relaxing her shoulders, Zoella closed her eyes and took in a deep, cleansing breath. As a child, she had loved those quiet moments alone with her mother, when they'd sit down at a long dressing table, and her mother would play with her hair, brushing out each tangle and every knot until it was soft and smooth. That felt like a lifetime ago. "I guess my wardrobe could stand to be brightened up a little bit."

Opening her eyes, the teenager's gaze settled on a sling backpack thrown to one corner of the shuttle, mentally reviewing its contents—all similar to what she wore now. A quick stop at a tourist shop might be in order, so long as their prices weren't outrageous. Her gaze drifted to the spare table Sol pointed toward.

"Sunscreen?" she questioned, picking up the bottle with a skeptical expression. "Do you really think I need it?" The look on his face was adamant. Chuckling, she stuffed it into her bag to use later and slung the backpack over her shoulder. "You're probably right."

Zoella descended the ramp alongside Sol, sensing the excitement in the latter and aware of her own. Hopefully they'd get to have a little bit of fun along the way. The shuttle had landed on one of Dorumaa's largest islands, Tropix Island.

A slender Twi'lek stood waiting to greet them, his skin a deep purple beneath the Tropix Resorts uniform he wore. The name tag pinned across his chest read Emip, probably an abbreviation of his actual name. "Welcome to Dorumaa," he smiled with practice.

During Sol and Zoella's briefing a few days ago, the resort's reputation for service with a smile had been mentioned in passing, but Zoella hadn't expected it to be true, especially for a couple of supposed university students. She certainly hadn't expected a resort employee to greet them upon arrival.

"Please, follow me," Emip continued, setting off at a brisk pace and expecting them to follow. "I'll show you to your rooms."

The Twi'lek led them past the cobblestone walkway leading toward the resort, down a wooden slated pathway along the edges of the jungle. To their right, the ocean, its waters as clear and as blue as a crystal.

Eventually, a small cottage came into view, nestled alongside the edge of the jungle and facing the ocean. "This is one of our more... humble cottages available, but I am sure you will be very comfortable during your stay," he assured them with a confident smile.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol returned Zoella's smile, sunny and with great ease in the simple, honest expression.

When she turned, Zoella's hair was pulled back with a familiar sort of gentle but confident care of someone used to doing it for someone else. Blond locks were gently gathered to pull them up and back. Nimble fingers got it neatly set behind her head before the cloth was slung overtop Zoella's head, ends drawn under to tie a bow beneath the hanging hair. Delicately, he undid a small knot in the blond hair's ends before stepping back. Nice and neat!

He patted her shoulder to show he was done and walked around her, turning and shrugging a little while half-heartedly trying to suppress a grin from her wardrobe color commentary. It was true, the ribbon really did brighten everything else up. Something told Sol she'd look good in reds.

Visibly pleased when Zoella picked up the sunscreen, they marched out together into the sun and sea air. Almost immediately Soleil perked up, eyes shining nearly as bright as the ocean. He looked over the handsome purple Twi'lek and his fake as hell smile. Sol realized it was only a customer service smile, though, and returned one of his own.

Still, Emip could've just said their cottage was smaller or cheaper. Soleil looked almost fondly at it and decidedly ignored how forced some of the Twi'lek's word choice sounded. The Wrean wouldn't mind staying here longer, with jungle on one side and ocean on the other. He turned back to Emip with an appreciative look, signing a basic <Thank you> they would've been told of a sign-using guest- and shook his hand. A tip from the mission funds was also passed along.

Always best to make a good impression on the staff no one paid much attention to. Probably underpaid, anyway. "The pleasure is all mine, of course," Emip said, still smiling as relentlessly as before, smoothly pocketing the tip and handing Soleil a list of numbers to use from the room comms for different services, along with a pair of keys. "I, or someone else, will only be a call away if either of you needs anything. We hope you enjoy your stay at Tropix Resort!" And with a final smile, he left.

Soleil thought the poor guy's face must hurt. Still, he'd been perfectly nice and Sol was eager to see the inside. Turning to smile eagerly at Zoella, he jerked his head toward the cottage and went up the few steps and through the door. It was small, but not distressingly so. He almost tossed his bag on the bed closest to an ocean-side window, then interrupted himself mid-swing to swing the bag back like a pendulum. Looking to Zoella, he offered it to her first with a gesture.

Either way, the first thing he got from his pack was the datapad with mission details. Allegedly there was some weird, ancient site on Dorumaa they were supposed to track down. It might be a clue to other old things the archives only hinted at. For all anyone knew it could be underwater, so Soleil was picked as one of all of like four other aquatic acolytes on Drommund Kaas that qualified for active missions.

He turned the pad to face Zoella, showing a map of potential locations to start looking or asking questions. Guest services may even know something. Sol also pointed out a seafood place nearby with a sly, not-at-all subtle little smile.

@llamallove

 

[Zoella Dorran]

Now that they were alone, Zoella allowed her eyes to wander over the seaside cottage in inspection. The cottage was small, with only one room and a bathroom, but it was still larger than the dormitories back on Dromund Kaas. Hopefully Soleil would prove himself to be a better roommate than Vanessa, her roommate back at the academy. Somehow, the girl managed to acquire a new outfit and boyfriend on the daily. Soleil didn't strike her as the type to have that problem.

Already, he was a gentleman, offering her the bed closest to the front facing window. "No," she insisted, not oblivious to his reaction earlier upon spotting the ocean. "I'll take this one. But thanks."

Tossing the sling backpack onto her bed, Zoella began to unpack a few things, green eyes still roaming the room. It was not what she had been accustomed to as the Princess of Arkanis, but she had to remind herself that she was no longer a princess. Not here. Here, she was just another Acolyte. Not always a very good one, at that. Still, the cottage was cozy. She liked it and found herself hoping they could stay several days extra, even after the mission was over.

"Look at this," she chuckled, picking up a stack a waivers that had been left on the bedside table for them to sign. "'Tropix Resorts cannot be held responsible for any death, injury, damage, or other untoward incident cause by, or relating to, hunting, fishing, or exploration in any area more than ten meters offshore, or beyond a depth of fifty meters.' Huh. I guess even tropical paradises have their secrets."

The waivers were cast onto her bed without any real care, unsigned. Zoella gave her full attention to Soleil and the datapad in his hand, sucking on her bottom lip in thought. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us." Still, if there was one thing Zoella could do well, it was carve out time in her schedule for relaxation. The Acolyte opened the blinds and allowed a gentle breeze to wander in, the smell of the sea and the seafood filling the room.

"Hungry?" Neither of them had eaten since last night. "Me too. Let's go."

The restaurant, called One-Eyed Bill's, had outdoor seating with a great view of the ocean. Zoella slid into a seat across from Soleil and began perusing the menu, her green eyes locking onto one item in particular. Dried Squid.

That triggered memories—most unpleasant ones. Zoella placed the menu down on the table, staring at Soleil with resolution in her eyes. "What was in those brownies?" The question had come out of the blue, but Soleil would know exactly what she was talking about.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil grinned at his companion and cheerfully tossed his stuff on the window-side bed, plopping himself into it and taking in the fresh, salty sea air. His roommate back on Drommund Kaas wasn't much better than Zoella's, although the Nautolan dude was nice enough. As for Sol himself, well, he wasn't one to talk about what he got up to in his spare time.

He seemed perfectly comfortable in the space he and Zoella shared for now, though. While unpacking some stuff from his bag he looked over, snorting at the waivers. Somehow it was typical of a big place like Tropix Resort. All in all, though, he just nodded at the idea of food and hopped back off the bed, clearly eager to go.

At the seafood place, a foot quietly bouncing beneath the table, Soleil was deep in the decision-making process when Zoella asked about the brownies. He looked up, blinked twice, tilted his head slowly to one side, and then seemed to catch on. She must not've known at the time, resulting in a sheepish expression on the Wrean's face.

Sol touched his smartpad, kept atop the table facing Zoella, and letters typed themselves quickly across the screen.

>Marcan herb butter
>Did you not know?
>Sorry

@llamallove

 

[Zoella Dorran]

"Marcan herb butter?" Zoella read aloud, emerald eyes glazed over in a daze. She stared at the smartpad, unblinking. An awkward moment of silence would pass between the pair of Acolytes before realization founds its place on her features. "Oh. Isn't that what Hutts stuff down their pipes?"

That sounded like a euphemism. The teenager pressed on. "You actually put that in the brownies?" She should have realized it was something like that a long time ago, but something about falling off a party bus and landing in some stranger's pool had a way of making you fuzzy on the details. The half-dressed Rakata stumbling out of his bedroom with blaster pistol in hand and the sounds of a whaling baby in the background was definitely the most memorable part of the evening.

"Well, I guess there really is a first time for everything," Zoella chuckled, chewing on the bottom of her lip. "I don't know if I should be mad at you or at myself..." Green eyes evaluated Soleil with a steady gaze, but there was an undeniable glint to her eyes. "But one thing's for certain—I'm going to have to keep a watchful eye on you from now on."

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol nodded, trying to move past the euphemism without grinning with only partial success. He wiggled his fingers like he was doing magic, in reference to the brownies. Where Zoella'd disappeared to had been a point of concern, but Sol'd assumed she'd kinda just wandered off somewhere. It'd been a big-ass bus.

He blinked twice about keeping an eye on him, mouth slowly curling into a mischievous grin while Zoella met Sol's eyes, holding a spark of their own. Sol touched his chest with a thumb and made a faux-shocked expression, pretending to be offended at the very idea. His grin widened and the text on his smartpad changed.

>With eyes like yours, I won't mind

Grin still in place, Sol slipped his glinting gaze down to Zoella's menu and tapped a finger on some kind of local prawn dish. From what he remembered, the prawns on Dorumaa were stupidly huge, as evidenced by a picture on the menu. He decided his own was some kind of squid stirfry thing- after making sure it didn't have any dairy or anything- but they still had to wait for a server to show back up.

>Where'd you go at that party, anyway? Sol asked by holding up his phone with new text and a curious look. >Did you get away okay? From the cops. He meant from the cops.

@llamallove