The Scenic Route

[Vek Vek]

Vek Vek was in many respects a frugal man. Physicians were normally something of a spendthrift profession, but the Durwi doctor scrimped and saved as a rule. Sure, he could have his own Sorosuub personal transport if he chose, but what if the economy went south and he needed to pay for his tadpoles' education out of his retirement package? What if a relative died, and he needed to help with funeral expenses. A veritable spreadsheet of what-if's and contingencies filled Vek's mind and never fully let go. He was a Durwi. Reasonable. Careful.

That's what led him to Jovan Station Docking Bay 17. It was time to go back to Durwi to visit family, but that didn't mean he was going to shell out premium rates for a large charter and a direct connection. Not when a smaller outfit with several indirect stops could get him there at a fraction of the price. This...Star Tours, it wasn't exactly in the same league as InterSector or Transgalactica. It would take him an extra day and a half round trip. But what he lost in time, he made up for in savings by a good 150 credits off a direct or even a one-stop changeover.

Vek watched the rather small ship outside slow to approach the oversized atmospheric shielded bay, and the doctor sat quietly on the nearest bench with his knees touching, small duffel on his lap, and ticket flimsi in hand. He'd already made arrangements for passage by HoloNet, and wondered if anyone else on Jovan would be making a stop on the Star Tours route.

[Minnie Starshine]

The door to the tiny Star Speeder 1000 slid open, and out came what seemed to be a cloud of perfume. Honestly, if this had been an animated holo, it would have been visible. Shortly followed by Minnie Starshine, the pilot, although she looked more like a stereotypical high school cheerleader as she click clacked down the ramp in towering heels, the aforementioned perfume scent surrounding her, heavily caked in make-up and wearing a stylish, if very pink, mini-dress. She smiled a glossy smile on her hot pink lips as she welcomed her passengers.

"Like, hiya!" She said in a manner that could only be described as cakey. "Welcome aboard!" Truthfully, Minnie was actually very glad to be welcoming them aboard. She didn't see much in this station. It was a bit of a dump she thought. She wanted to get back to her lifestyle of glitz and glamour, and that meant getting out of there as soon as possible. "So, like, totally start to board and stuff, and we'll get out of here as soon as we can." She smiled, thinking she was giving perfect customer service and unaware of the ditziness in her voice.

[Vek Vek]

Something so olfactorially profound as to nearly be humid exited the small ship along with it's pilot, and the Durwi's nictating membranes half-slid over his eyes in defense. It only took half a breath to nearly be overwhelmed, and the amphibious alien gave a small, polite cough into a gloved hand.

"A moment. Diffuse volatile aromatics. With travel, could cause headaches, nausea."

Another soft cough, and Vek's eyes opened a little more.

"Passage to Durwi. I am Vek. My ticket."

He carefully approached through the perfume nebula, extending the holoflimsy for the pilot to inspect.

[Minnie Starshine]

Minnie gave Vek a vague look. Although she wasn't, it was hard not to imagine she was chewing gum and twirling her hair around her finger as she looked at him utterly cluelessly, completely lost by his comment about 'volatile aromatics'.
"Well, like, if you're gonna be sick, use the little cardboard bucket things, 'cause I'm not cleaning it up." She said in a spoiled, ditzy tone. It was obvious this wasn't exactly Minnie's idea of a fun time. A good guess would be her father had forced her to get a job when she didn't want to. The perfect guess, actually. Minnie was happy as the spoiled little rich girl. But Daddy insisted she get a job, and now here she was. At least this time they might stop off at a few shopping malls on the way. They must be landing on at least one good planet for shopping...

"Sure, well, I'm Minnie, I'm your pilot." She said, taking the ticket, and then passing it back, because really, sure, she was meant to scan them or something, but the guy running basic orientation had been like, super hot, and she hadn't been paying any attention. "Well, head on up and take your seat, and we'll be heading out super soon."

[Vek Vek]

A thought crossed the Doctor's mind as he boarded. This flight was bonded and insured, wasn't it? A stitch of worry crossed his features as he stepped past Minnie and into the space-bound sarcophagus of glitter bubblegum fresia hell. Without a fuss, Vek took one of the nearest seats to the door, but not before stowing his meager luggage in the overhead compartment. He settled in, tested the fidelity of his crash webbing, and turned both air vent nozzles above onto his person at full intensity.

This wasn't so bad. It wasn't like the flu shot clinic on Gamorr, certainly. Outside, he saw more passengers lining up to board. A young Cizerack male with smart attire and well-coiffed hair walked hand-in-hand with a cherubic young Cizerack cub who couldn't have been older than three or four years of age. The youngster looked restless as she pulled at the tether she was bound to, pointing and squealing in gibberish at the ship, at the pilot, at some disposed chewing gum on the deck, which she tried to pick up, only to be pulled back at the last moment by her ward.

[Yon the Butcher]

Yon waited peacefully in the queue for his turn to arrive. Not calmly, peacefully, surrounded by a pleasant aura of zen tranquillity. Yon loved voyages, and journeys. Yon loved the transition and the change, the way that the people around, their emotions and moods, felt as they buffed against Yon's Findsman senses. The Gand knew that not all beings enjoyed passage such as this, but that was part of the taste, part of the sensation, the bitter undertone of someone reluctant to leave in sharp contrast with the sweet honeyed optimism of someone longing to be home.

As the queue moved forward, Yon wandered amiably along a few steps at a time, the helmet of Yon's exosuit bopping from side to side as a song that Yon had overheard from the Shatterstar Lounge during the previous evening clung to the edges of Yon's mind. Another few shuffled steps. Another few bars of melody. Beneath Yon's mask, mouthparts clicked idly along with the rhythm; were it not for Yon's gloved hands, Yon would have clacked along with a set of claws as well.

As Yon's turn finally arrived, Yon waddled eagerly forward, a slight slurp of the atmosphere recyclers in the Gand's exosuit getting caught in the background as Yon's helmet comm clicked on to allow Yon to speak.

"Hello!" Yon offered with all the enthusiasm that the Gand's accent could muster. "Yon is called as Yon. Happy Yon is to be boarding of your ship!"

Yon tilted Yon's head to the side, craning up to look at the vastly taller human woman; a gesture that, Yon had come to understand, caused other beings to believe that Yon was smiling.

[Kazahan]

"Kazahan has never been on a Star Tours flight before," Kazahan the nearly seven foot tall Trianii admitted to the person next to him in line. The Zeltronian woman slowly looked up and up and up until she saw his face, his eyes closed in his closest approximation of a smile. "Have you?"

The Zeltronian woman shook her head slowly.

"Oh! So this is a first for the both of us! Kazahan is pleased by this. Oh, Kazahan did not introduce himself. This one is called Kazahan, and Trianii is Trianii, from the Trianii worlds, and training to become a Jedi. This one thinks his promotion is imminent," Kazahan confided, placing a clawed hand up to his snout as if to share that information just to the Zeltronian woman, but he spoke loudly enough to render the gesture futile. "As Kazahan is quite good."

Kazahan was about to offer to show her his lightsaber, but then remembered the time security had been called on him when someone thought that he was going to show his genitalia to him. Sometimes Kazahan did not understand non Trianii. He thought his genitalia looked and smelled rather nice, but then he'd not had a Trianii female in heat around to remark on it. But he hadn't been about to do that in the first place.

The Zeltronian woman just stared at him wide eyed. Kazahan smiled wider, this time showing some teeth. The woman squeaked and ran.

"Hm," Kazahan said, watching her thoughtfully as she ran away. "She must need to use the restroom. If she had waited, she could have used the facilities on board the ship!"

He stepped forward and waited his turn to board.

[Rruko Sa'raathi]

Rruko was already in his seat. Towards the front of the transport. That's where he liked to travel - up front. Rolling well-muscled shoulders, the Cizerack gave a damn near haughty look around him at the beings still boarding. It wasn't long before he lost interest; though his eyes strayed a moment longer on the pilot. She was dressed in just the way he liked, and the pungent body perfume she wore tickled his nostrils in magnificent fashion.

Miranda 5S. 5S. There was a delicate note that the other Miranda perfume lines didn't have that the 5S possessed. Perhaps it was that lovely ability to attract just the right person?

No matter, really. Her clothes spoke also to the level of her taste, and Rruko licked his lips slightly. He'd do so many things for her if she'd only just let him...

But, he was a passenger. Trying to move further and further away from the Cluster. And the claws of Kai'taali Vaashaato. The old hag wasn't worthy of him. She wasn't worthy of anything but crumbling bones. He'd been promised to her, as some sort of trophy husband, but in a fit of rebellion, Rruko Sa'raathi had fled. He was destined for more than some old hag's harem. He was destined for greatness...

... and a much younger woman's bed.

Idly, the Cizerack male fitted his crashbelt over his lap, eyeing the Star Tours pilot with a sideways look as she continued to check in passengers.