Again with the Business Unusual

[Zeke]

Storinal used to be nice. It was one of the most common places Zeke visited, along with Thyferra and Imperial Center. Indeed, it had been his favorite because it was usually less trouble than either Thyferra or Imperial Center. Port officials were nicer, security was less uptight, he could do his pick-ups and drop-offs quickly and efficiently and above all he could go into the city and let everyone relax some. And then he'd been put in bacta storage.

He looked out the viewport in the crew lounge and could taste the medical miracle. He couldn't stand it. Carol was down overseeing things to help him get over his discomfiture. The new security guy, Ace, was learning quickly to help where he could while keeping a sharp eye; Zeke was appreciative since he'd lost Slappy a while back. The Captain tipped his head back, shook a can of whipped cream, and ate a glob of it to try and get rid of the taste.

"You're not outside. Why?" Cassandra appeared at his right shoulder, leaning on the wall and looking outside. "What's the matter? Is mom being the man now?" Zeke shook his head.

"Storinal tastes like bacta," he said through another blob of whipped cream as if it were common knowledge, holding the can of whipped cream over his daughter's head, nozzle-down. "Baby bird?" She shook her head and Zeke helped himself to more. "Your loss." Cassandra stuck her tongue out at him and looked out to monitor the progress.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei stumbled into the spaceport as gracefully as he could manage. His vision was blurry from alcohol and he dared not speak. The port officials and the security staff only looked at him in disgust. He had only been stopped once though to check his identification and ask if he had a license to pilot spacecraft.

Wei of course could not pilot a spacecraft. He also had no identification. He had lost it somewhere a while back and couldn't remember where it was he left it. Maybe it was at home. Which planet did he live on again? After a moment or two of circuitous conversation Wei finally decided to Jedi Mind Trick the guard. It must have been easier than he figured on, or maybe the Force was stronger in him when he was drunk, or maybe the guard's desire to just plain get it over with gave the whiskey Jedi an edge. Regardless, the guard accepted Wei's suggestion that all that was needed was to let the drunk get back to his Designated Driver and get off world where he would no longer be the guard's problem.

This of course led Wei to one extra problem: where did Aramis park? It had never occurred to Wei to get the name of the ship, or the make, or the model. He never cared much about space craft.

He walked along looking at ship after ship. They all looked the same to him. At last he stopped at one and looked it over. There were people milling around it for some reason. His head tilted to one side and his body started to follow. He stepped over suddenly to catch himself and wondered why people would be at his ship. It didn't make any sense at all, but for some reason he was sure he needed to be on this ship.

He boarded. Well, he tried to board. Some man put a hand on his chest and held him back. "Boarding pass."

Boarding pass? "This is my ship," Wei said, feeling a bourbon flavored belch threaten to escape him. "I stay on this ship." Then he got quiet. "I do, don't I?"

[Zeke]

"Hey pop, look," Cassandra said idly, jerking her head to the viewport. Zeke turned and looked, then walked out of the lounge very quickly. Cassandra felt intolerant of sudden action without explanation and followed. They could hear Ace and Carol talking from halfway through the cargo area, which meant work had stopped. Zeke could see that not everything was unloaded, so it wasn't because they were done. He set his jaw and listened to the talk.

"Sir, I'm really going to have to ask you to step away from this ship." That was Ace, stretching his patience as far as it could go.

"Would you like one of us to escort you to security? They can take care of you, help you find your ship." That was Carol, trying to defuse a potential scene so she could get the workers going again. Zeke stepped up between them, taking Ace's palm off Wei Wu Wei's chest.

"What's going on out here?" he asked. He could smell the alcohol already. Strange, because he hadn't pegged his fellow former Jedi for a drunk. "Why aren't we working?"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei looked at Zeke. He was familiar. Not Aramis. Still, familiar. "Why are you guys confis--" a false start. "Confis--" another false start. "Taking away the ship?"

The drunk Jedi stood up and felt the lightsaber in his sleeve bump his wrist. That was a familiar comfort. He could fight if he had to. Still, the woman didn't seem to be nasty. Then he remembered her suggestion.

"No, no security. They dealt with me already one time."

His eyebrow twitched and he looked around the cargo hold. Once again his body started to follow his head and he took a step to catch himself again. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be here."

[Zeke]

Zeke knew that Wei was speaking the truth and not simply having a drunken ramble. Well, the braided man was having a drunken ramble, but Zeke felt the larger meaning of the words. The Force had ordained this moment. Wei was meant to board the Curvy Lady.

"You're right," Zeke said, pointing at Wei. He noticed he was still holding the whipped cream, faltered briefly, but raised his hand and pointed with the dessert anyhow. "You're exactly where you need to be."

"But Honey..."
"But Boss..."
"But Dad..."

"No, he's going to get on this ship," Zeke said, taking an authoritative tone that cut across the protests of his family and security officer. "Cassandra, help him to a room. Carol, Ace, if you'd please keep working." Carol chewed her lip, but waved the men to keep on cycling the goods in and out of the hold. She'd protest him later. Ace, ever professional, simply grunted an affirmative and turned back to his security detail.

"But Dad, he's going to puke on me!" Cassandra protested further. She watched Wei wobble with a look of distaste. "And he stinks like homeless people."

"Cassandra Nicole," Zeke stated firmly, and his daughter looped Wei's left arm over her slender shoulders and started to help him up the ramp. Zeke took three fast shots of whipped cream. "Tastes like bacta," he grumbled to himself.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"I do not throw up anymore," Wei said with a lopsided grin. "And homeless people don't smell as nice as me."

Cassandra did not seem very amused by the drunk. Wei stumbled along with her, allowing her to guide him. He took most of his own weight though and walked along beside her as easily as he could manage.

A minute later they stopped at a door. Cassandra turned Wei towards it and he felt the ship continue to turn long after he had stopped.

"Ok." He said. "Ok. Let me in and I'll be fine. It was nice of you to help me."

The door slid open and he entered the room. The light was on: he turned it off. Lights hurt him at the moment. He half tripped and flopped on the bed and held very still until the room finally caught on and did the same.

"Charissa," he whispered. His face flashed pain for a moment despite the alcohol, but soon the booze numbed his anguish and he fell asleep. He would wake up later about like usual: stomach lightly lurching, temples throbbing, hands shaking, and the pain of loss returned one hundred fold. He'd need a shot of something to steady him out. And lots and lots of water.

[Zeke]

The Captain's daughter went immediately to shower. Zeke and Carol finished the cargo and started towards the bridge to get clearance to exit atmosphere. Ace returned to his quarters, and once she was sure he wasn't in earshot, Carol opened up on her husband.

"Why would you just let a drunk on board the ship? You don't even know him, what if he can't pay his fare? And what do you want to do if he goes into a withdrawal and becomes violent?" She took the can of whipped cream and had some herself. Zeke tried to take it back, but she kept it out of reach. "No, not until you answer me!"

Zeke sighed and rubbed his eyes. "We do know him, baby. He was one of our passengers to Zeltros, remember? I got injured going into the city when that crazy person went on a rampage in the square? He helped me back to the ship."

Carol thought hard, blinked, and passed the can back to Zeke. "You're right. I didn't recognize him at all. So this is returning a favor, then?"

"Yes, baby," Zeke answered, kissing his wife's cheek. "Gonna go get us cleared. You go do whatever you like." He felt bad for not telling Carol the true reason that he'd let Wei come back, but he hadn't lied, either. Wait, is it lying if you adopt someone else's reason as your own? He hadn't thought about repaying the favor Wei had done him. He supposed it was as good a reason as any for letting the drunk sleep off his hangover.

"Captain on deck!"

Zeke took his seat in the captain's chair and opened a channel to port security. A brief exchange later and the aging Action VI rose into the air. Twenty minutes til they broke atmosphere, and another thirty or so to get past the gravity well at "safe" speeds as set down by galactic law. Zeke put up his booted feet and tried to stay patient. He needed to wait for Wei's recovery.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Several hours later Wei woke up like he had expected. He got up very slowly and moved into the refresher area. He made use of the facility and washed his hands and face. He dried himself off and then bent down very carefully in front of the sink and turned it back on. He took several gulps of water from it until he had enough.

His stomach lurched: he was hungry, but it didn't seem to like the idea of food. He needed some bread. Something basic. He walked out through the cabin and into the hallway.

Which way to the galley? He stood in the hallway with his knees knocking and his hands shaking. His body really wanted a taste of anything 80 proof or higher.

He just needed to eat and be still. He leaned against the metal wall and waited until a passerby said something that sounded like they wanted to get food.

[Zeke]

Dinner was on in the galley. Zeke stood by the door greeting passengers as they filed in for something to fill their stomachs with, encouraging his guests to mingle with his crew, though knew full well they wouldn't. A blue-clad man stumbled in and Zeke caught the arm of Wei Wu Wei.

"Been waiting to see if you'd show up. Thought you'd slept through the call for chow. You want something, or are you just here to be social?"

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Yeah, food would be very good."

Wei allowed Zeke to guide him through the process of getting food and drink. He wasn't sure how much of the food his stomach would take. The food looked really good, but his hangover was giving him trouble.

"So where do I sit?" He asked.

[Zeke]

"Well, that depends. Do we need to discuss certain forceful matters now or later?"

He placed a certain sort of emphasis on the word "forceful", certain that Wei would get his meaning. In the meantime he set their trays full of all the foods needed to maintain a healthy diet. After all, if they were gonna be taking care of forceful matters, they'd need to be in top shape.