The Melting Pot

[Luno Palono]

Rikva's sudden change in demeanor caught Luno's attention. Interesting. I would love to have a look inside that brain of hers. Perhaps her sensitivity to the force has a negative interaction with her hormones... Luno peered carefully around Tala at Rikva. Two very interesting Twi`leks, indeed. Ufie, keep up your line of inquiry on Tala's mercenary pals.

Ufie slowly turned his head towards Tala, striving with all of his servos to maintain his balance on the stool. "Miss Tala. I do not mean to probe, but Doctor Palono is actually in the market for some good mercenaries. Would you be able to make a recommendation?" The droid's tinny voice was gradually fading, no doubt due to the heat of the planet. Luno, too, found himself beginning to sweat profusely. He probably should have come better prepared for this. They did not often frequent planets that had extreme atmospheres, and so, Luno often forgot that precautions are sometimes necessary.

 

[Outlander]

"Well, I'm not doing anything at the moment. And I'm sure other members of my organisation would be willing to take you up on your offer."

 

[Luno Palono]

Excellent! Luno clasped his hands together excitedly, his blank face not able to express the joy he felt. He then quickly glanced around, a bead of sweat running down his face. When did it get so hot? Ugh. It's too crowded in here. Then again, is i really wise to explain the extent of my proposition to anyone, even if they are a mercenary? If they refuse, who knows what kind of word will get around. I must ask for her confidence. Or, rather, Ufie, you must ask.

Ufie slowly and carefully nodded. "Yes, Doctor. Miss Tala, Doctor Palono would love to give you the details of the operation, to see if it is something you or your company would be capable of aiding us with. However," the droid paused a moment, his head drooping slightly, before suddenly jerking back to life, "he does not want word of the operation getting around. It is quite confidential in nature. Doctor Palono would like to ensure that anything we discuss will be kept in confidence. Can you do this?"

Luno's hands were beginning to itch inside his gloves. It seems some particulates of sand had made their way in. They mixed with the sweat and did what they could to make an unpleasant solution that wove its way between his fingers. Now I'm starting to remember why I hated this planet.

 

[Outlander]

"Hmm." She started, leaning back in her seat. "We can do confidential. Actually, I know the perfect merc to help me out." She started to explain. "He's rather new to our group, and I'm still working on breaking him in."

 

[Hiro]

((Rikva out of character had a frakking hard time typing on the phone.))In character, she had as half as much attention as them, Rikva was dying to rephrase what she is to Cormick. Cormick's a definite friend of hers and possible companion, but she isn't with him now. So what was she?

 

[Luno Palono]

Luno hastily wiped away the several beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead. Let's see where this takes us. I'm serious, I want to be somewhere else right now. Haven't these barbarians ever heard of climate control?! Luno nodded to Tala, trying not to appear too uncomfortable. Ask her if there is somewhere else we can talk. Then again, she doesn't seem too bothered by the heat. Perhaps she has simply adjusted to these conditions. What if there are no other comfortable places?!

Ufie's neck creaked as he turned his head slightly towards the door, not really looking toward anyone in particular. "Doctor Palono would be delighted to hear what your friend has to offer. Regrettably, he is having some difficulty adjusting to the conditions here on Tatooine. Perhaps you know somewhere a bit more temperate where we can discuss things? If not, our ship is quite comfortable, perhaps we could discuss business there."

Good work, Ufie! All this nastiness doesn't have me thinking straight. If we invite her and her friend back to the ship...perhaps a good opportunity will present itself. Invite the albino, too! Luno often wished he had a mouth just so he could smile. This was one of those occasions.

"Of course, Miss Rikva, should we adjourn to our ship, bar any major responsibilities you have, you would be welcome to accompany us. I do believe Doctor Palono has taken a shine to your unique pallet."

 

[Hiro]

She perked up after hearing her name. "What? Oh, sure. I have a pallet?"

 

[Outlander]

Tala throught for a moment. "Well, most places here don't have any air cooling. However, my outpost does. And it helps that it's somewhere that is normally cool."

 

[Luno Palono]

Let's get out of here, Ufie. Ask her to take us there! Luno hopped off of his stool, raising his hands above his head to get some air to his pits.

"I hope I am not being too forward in asking, Miss Tala," Ufie said, now looking at the ground as he considered following Luno away from the bar. "But Doctor Palono is feeling very, very uncomfortable. Is it possible that we could take shelter there, if only for a moment, while we continue our discussion? He could use some time to recover."

 

[Outlander]

She shrugged. "Sure. Follow me." She stood from her seat, tossed some credits on the counter and headed out the back door.

 

[Hiro]

In the end, Rikva never ordered anything. She followed timidly as told.

 

[Luno Palono]

Excellent work, Ufie! Luno clasped his hands together again, quickly following behind Tala. This is going much quicker than I expected. With our business moving along so slowly and all the superb specimens we've encountered so far, I think luck may be working with us! His rubber boots squeaked slightly with each step and, before, passing through the door, Luno took a last quick glance around the cantina. Next time we come to Tatooine, I will have to make something special to deal with these dratted conditions.

Ufie tried to carefully crawl down from his barstool, but didn't get very far before he fell end over end and landed on his head. Struggling to right himself, he cried out, "Doctor, wait for me!" With a fair amount of scraping and several bumps of disgruntled patrons, the pit droid managed to right himself and made haste in catching up with the rest of the group.

 

[Outlander]

The convoy didn't have to walk very far. Two turns and a few dark alleyways later, they'd arrived at the medium sized sewage inlet. She rolled the hatch aside, getting down on her hands and knees and beginning to crawl down. "Come on guys!" She called back, almost disappearing into the dark.

 

[Hiro]

Rikva was hesitant, to say the least. Dark hatch in a small place. She regretfully kneeled down, thankful she wore pants and not a skirt. Crawl after crawl, she followed Tala.

 

[Luno Palono]

Luno eyes the inlet warily. He was not a fan of the idea of calling through who knows what kind of gunk. He felt gross enough with all the sweat and sand that was trickling all over his body. Very slowly and carefully, he crouched down. He could just make it in without having to kneel and get his nice white labcoat dirty. Making much slower progress than the ladies ahead of him, he shuffled slowly down the pipe. I guess this is the price I pay for being so lucky. It will totally be worth it if I can complete my business and get a solid specimen or two, though. I'll have to make sure of it.

Ufie, with only a slight bend of his head, could walk almost fully upright through the tunnel. "Doctor, why are you moving so slowly? We will fall behind."

Ufie, I couldn't expect you to understand, being a rusty droid. I'd rather not roll around in the filth. Luno held his hands out to either side to keep his balance as he walked.

Ufie put his hands on his hips. "I have a perfect understanding of the aversion you hold against being unclean. Do not sell me short, Doctor. I think it's safe to say I know you better than anyone."

 

[Outlander]

The pipeway began to tilt downward, eventually approaching a steep incline. Tala held the sides to keep her balance before sliding downwards. Seconds past as she skidded down, before light poured in above her. She braced herself, hitting the end of the makeshift slide with a thud. Around her, she saw the familiar site of the Outpost. This room in particular was only used to house the inlet entrance.

 

[Hiro]

Rikva could feel the slow incline. It wasn't too much of a bother, she probably thought it would get better. Each step got harder though, and she squeaked in surprise when she lost her footing, cascading down and possibly hitting Tala when she got down assuming Tala hadn't moved out of the way.

 

[Luno Palono]

As Luno slowly made his way forward, he heard a squeak accompanied by a small thud and some splishes. Oh, no. It sounds like there is something up ahead. I don't like this, Ufie. He continued moving forward, but his steps were much more careful, slowing him down even further.

"Oh, please, Doctor," Ufie said, standing behind Luno and impatiently tapping his foot. "Sometimes you act like such a child. You should move faster, we risk falling behind. You can always clean your coat afterwards."

Quiet, Ufie! I do what I want! I'll ask for your opinion when and if I need it...which is considerably not-often. The floor began to slope slightly, but Luno didn't seem to notice. I should run a diagnostic on you when we get back to "The Lab", you are awfully surly today. Maybe I should just take you apart completely to see what's wrong. Luno paused as he nearly pitched over the slide. Fortunately, he flung his hands out and stopped himself from falling by bracing himself on the top of the tunnel.

"Doctor, this must be what you were talking about." Ufie said idly as he pushed around Luno to take a look down the slide. "I will go first to ensure it's safety."

Good idea. Hopefully, this was not all an elaborate trick. Luno slowly pushed himself into a steady position at the top of the slide, moving out of Ufie's way. The pit droid sat down at the top of the slide and glanced back towards Luno before pushing off. His thin body cut through the grime on the floor of the sewer with a slooshing sound that made Luno feel a bit queasy.

Ufie reached the bottom of the slide and took a quick look around. "Everything looks clear to me, Doctor."

I am going to regret this later... Luno hesitantly readied himself before launching his body down the slide in much the same way as Ufie had done. His coat spread out underneath him, gathering all manner of filth and soaking it up in an almost sponge-like manner. When Luno reached the bottom, he frantically began to wipe all that he could from the back of his labcoat. This better be worth it!

 

[Outlander]

Tala turned back and chuckled at the antics of the scientist and his droid. "You two could go on the road." She commented, opening the door to the base. "You'd make a great comedy act." She smirked, stepping through the door into the base proper. They stood on a overhang looking down into an old spillway. To the right was a control box where a group of support staff operated equipment. Below, staff moved between crates of supplies, cataloging them and shifting them.

 

[Luno Palono]

Luno's shoulders slumped as he finally gave up trying to wipe the grime from his coat. Comedy, eh? That's a compliment, right?

Ufie seemed much less concerned with cleaning off his rear end, where a decent glob of gloop had accumulated. "Yes, Doctor, I do believe so. At least we have a back-up plan should-"

Don't talk like that! Luno rapped harshly with his fist on the droid's dome-shaped head. There are no need for back-up plans. The front-up plan will succeed. If not, I do not deserve the adoration of billions. Ufie ran his hands over his head as Luno turned to look through the doorway. Some kind of warehouse. Interesting. He glanced back towards Rikva. Make sure the albino is still in decent condition.

Ufie was still rubbing his head. "You should be more careful, Doctor, you could have made a dent." He shrugged his little droidy shoulders and turned to Rikva. "Miss Rikva, are you still in good health after your spill? I know Doctor Palono would be glad to check you over if you feel any pain or discomfort."