There's a First Time for Everything: Coruscant

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena squirmed in the seat of the speeder, eyes darting from side to side. With Sh'Asur gone it was so...so quiet and Ena felt like she should say something. Yes, idle getting-to-know-you conversation would be socially acceptable at this moment...but Ena was nothing if not socially awkward, and not keen on volunteering information when it wasn't needed. Besides, what did she know about this Captain other than the fact that she was a Captain? Ena didn't want to seem like she was prying. It was enough that Bianca had taken time out to help Ena - a nobody. The teenager fiddled with the zippers on her bag, feeling the need to do something to fill the silence.~

 

[Dmitri]

Barrel decided to take a quick walk around the block, turning the vehicle off before leaving. Bianca turned around, noticing that Ena was a little nervous. She looked like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure what to say.
Bianca decided to start a friendly conversation.
"So, Ena, what brings you out here?" Bianca asked.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

"Oh! Well, erm..." ~Ena's pale skin flushed in embarrassment as she cleared her throat and looked cautiously at Bianca through her curtain of black hair.~ "It was my birthday recently...I'm 16 now...and my parents decided I needed to see more of the galaxy. So they bought me a ticket to Coruscant...as a present."

~Ena looked down for a moment as she struggled to find an appropriate question to respond further with. Oh dear.~ "Do you live here, Bianca? On Coruscant?"

 

[Dmitri]

"No, I don't," answered Bianca. "I was born on Naboo, and ever since I joined the military, I really haven't had a true home. I sometimes visit the Lockhart Estate. It's actually really nice, since the House of Lockhart's one of the nobility families."

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

"Really? Naboo?" ~Ena perked up visibly, her eyes a little brighter, a ghost of a smile on her lips.~ "That's where I'm from! It's...alot more peaceful there...than here. That is..." ~the girl paused, looked around, continued.~ "The Lockheart estate? I haven't heard of that before. I...I'm not very, um. I don't know very much outside of my family."

 

[Dmitri]

"What a coincident," Bianca laughed kindly. "The House of Lockhart is one of the lesser known Houses, due to the fact that it isn't stationed in Theed. While other Houses stay in Theed, Lockhart is headquartered in its own district."

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~A little bit of Ena's shyness was starting to fade. Bianca didn't care that Ena wasn't the most worldly or cultured; what was there to be so anxious about? The press of thoughts and emotions from the force, perhaps, but the psychic 'noise' from the force was dealt with at a subconscious level so that if Ena didn't feel particularly comfortable on Coruscant, she wasn't a nervous wreck, either.~

"Oh, well that's fitting I guess. My family isn't particularly well-known. My father owns a bunch of Cantinas, so we're well off I guess. Do you like traveling for the military? I think, well I guess travel takes some getting used to. But it...sure is interesting." ~Ena dared a smile, a nod back to their auspicious meeting.~

 

[Dmitri]

"Travelling is enjoyable, but it takes out the time to settle down and actually get to know people," Bianca said. She then added, "Well, people you don't work with. It's hard to get to know someone well when either you or them always has to salute."

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

"Yeah, I bet. You always have to be so formal. Um. I don't know if...I don't want to be rude but why'd you join the military? I have a brother who joined to be a pilot. He's older than me. He just wanted to fly all of the starships, so I guess that's the only way he thought to do it. He was always taking speeders from home and just going places. Made my parents mad."

~Ena realized she had been rambling and gasped, looking down at the floor of the speeder, her cheeks flushed with red again.~

 

[Dmitri]

"Growing up at home, I got that pounded into me," said Bianca. She thought about Ena's question. "I got bored of Naboo. I wanted something new. That brought me to the Republic. After that, it's a long story."

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

"Ohh," ~Ena said, oh-so-intelligently. She couldn't really comprehend being bored with home - home had been as stressful as, well not as Coruscant but...she hadn't wanted to leave. Naboo had been more than enough for the teenager; and she didn't have any sorts of stories to tell. Not interesting ones, anyways. Just the trials of being the middle child of nine.~ "My family life was too hectic to be boring."

 

[FallenKeeper]

Sh'Asur returned to the vehicle after some time had passed. His orders were received and soon he would deploy. In a couple of days he was going to board a shuttle and would be sent off to an undisclosed location for a priority operation. Until then he was going to enjoy this last day of leave and follow that with training.

A smile found its way to his face as he leaned to look through the vehicles window. "Hello, ladies."

 

[Dmitri]

Bianca grinned right back, a little mockingly. "Now, now, Colonel, sexual harassment is not something you want on your record."
Bianca wasn't serious, only trying to lighten the mood. She made sure to say it jokingly, so that Sh'Asur didn't take her seriously.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena smiled at the Colonel's returned and giggled at the exchange between Bianca and Sh'Asur. It was comforting to see that even they could relax at least a little bit. The mood overall between Bianca and Sh'Asur was light, if not happy, at least calm and teasing, and so Ena drew from that, their relaxation coloring her own emotion.~

"Off to the hotel now?" ~Ena said hopefully. Though conversation was nice, all she really wanted was a bed to sleep in.~

 

[FallenKeeper]

"If you have a complaint just send it to the appropriate offices. I'll die of old age before they get to it." Sh'Asur joked in kind as he opened the passenger side door and slipped in with a grunt. When Ena spoke about heading to the hotel the Colonel noticed Barrel was missing. "Sure, when he comes back." he gestured to the driver's seat.

 

[Dmitri]

It was less than a minute before Barrel returned. Bianca relayed the request to the driver. The Lamia drove them to The Elite, one of the Coruscanti hotels. The luxurious hotel stood proudly as the passengers disembarked from Barrel's ride.
"Well, this is my hotel," said Bianca. "I generally use the Diplomat Hotel but The Elite was closer to the military base. I hope it's to your liking." She seemed oblivious to the fact that she had brought them to Coruscant's more luxurious and expensive hotels.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Ena's jaw dropped as the vehicle stopped. Surely this couldn't be the hotel - this was...this was a palace! For a good long minute Ena simply stood and looked up the many levels of shining luxury. The hotel was easily on par with some of the tallest towers in the area. Ena paled. This made her family's estate on Naboo seem poor! If Ena had been on her own she certainly would not have found something like this. Not ever. She gulped.~

"This is amazing!"

 

[FallenKeeper]

Sh'Asur hunched forward and looked out the window. What he saw simply shocked him when Bianca commented on it in such a casual voice. The hotel seemed like something he'd seen on holovids on royal architecture! He was already humbled by his upbringing but this was quite numbing. Rarely did he visit hotels, opting to stay on base instead, and the ones he did stay at were inexpensive and modest. "Really," he said as he stepped out and made room for Ena to exit the vehicle, "this is a nice place, Ena."

 

[Dmitri]

"My father, Lord Lockhart, is a patron here, so I am able to piggyback his reputation," explained Bianca as she and Barrel began unloading the vehicle. Her own bag was small, a pink dufflebag.
"So, shall we go to the room first or try out the dinner? Meals are expensive but suite-owners like myself are allowed to eat for free. You two might be able to get on that deal, though I'm unsure."

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

~Now that Bianca mentioned it, Ena was hungry. She slid out of the vehicle and put her small, nondescript black backpack over her shoulders and stood on the sidewalk looking up at the hotel.~

"I have credits...if it's not too much trouble...I am a little hungry. But whatever you want is fine."

~By which, of course, Ena meant she could eat a whole Dewback. But she didn't want to force herself on Biana and Sh'Asur any more than she already had. They were important people, surely they had important things to be doing besides babysitting her. She was still in shock,a little bit, by the hotel. Suite-owner? Bianca had said she spent time at the Lockheart estate, but not that Lord Lockheart was her father. ~