Culture Shook

[Ndonsa]

"I have already eaten," Ndonsa said, clutching her empty plate on the table with both paws, and forcing her stare from the fish person back to Joey.

She tried out a smile, trying to ignore Gradoona as she destroyed her meal.

[Joey Rabeak]

Joey vanished another piece of sushi while Gradoona was eating, leaving just one piece left on his own plate. The news was a lot to take in, and his mind bounced back and forth between his excitement as a Nehantite, and his duty to the Alliance.

"It... actually is pretty big news," he stated. "There are so few Jedi left, and you're the second ever Nehantite Jedi, and they've trusted you to come out here, to the frontier, to represent the Jedi to the rest of the galaxy? That's massive news!"

The brown-furred gym-rat practically bounced in his seat with excitement. "Have they got you a place lined up? Will you have some sort of official office?"

[Ndonsa]

Caught between the fish person's gaping mouth and Joey Rabeak's increasing questions, Ndonsa felt increasingly uncomfortable. The casual mention of Halajiin made her pause.

"I am not an official representative. Everything I do will reflect on the Jedi," she added, almost a recitation of what she'd been instructed, "But this is more like ...shore leave?"

Ndonsa raised an eyebrow quizzically, hoping they understood the words.

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Well heck, why didn't yaa saay soo earlier?!"

Gradoona plonked another half-eaten nuna back in its bucket.

"Tiime's a'waastin', sister! Yaknoo ya gaatta use every minute aaf shoore leave to the fullest! See the siiights get in a little trouble but naat tooo muuuch..."

The Herglic was thinking and thinking fast, her small eyes flicking back and forth as she steepled her meaty fingers together.

"Yaknoo, we coooould throow a heckin' raager pub crawl. Hit every spaat aan the caancourse from the staart aaf the evenin' cycle t' the end. Thaat'll cook yoour penguin for suure!"

[Joey Rabeak]

The pilot's pink eyes widened, as did his smile. Pub crawl? Party night? With the second ever Nehantite Jedi? It had to happen!

"Oh yeah! We could totally do that!" he readily concurred. "It'd really break the ice, get you to know everyone, and have a good time while doing it! Maybe even cap it off with a bit of cross-cultural introductions with a stop at the Cizerack tea house at the end of the night!"

Thoughts about where Ndonsa was going to stay, Jedi propriety, and his early flight run scheduled for the next morning were dashed at the idea if drinking, dancing, and checking out handsome eye-candy with the girls.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa had no idea what Gradoona was talking about - the words barely sounded like Basic. When Joey agreed with the fish person, Ndonsa nodded slowly. Getting to know people sounded like what she should be doing, and she had experience with the Cizerack already.

Both pairs of eyes turned to look at her, expectantly, and she realized they wanted her to say something.

"Okay, if this is what is done here. I will break the ice with you."

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Yeeeaaaah!" Gradoona drummed her tray energetically with her fingers. She stood up, popped another nuna in her mouth, then wiped the residual grease on her work pants.

"C'maan, we'd better staart aan the loow-key soorta drinkin', yaknoo, soo we set ouur pace. Whoo's joonesin' foor a shaandy?"

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa stood, her spear snapping into her paw and leaning casually on her shoulder. The Cizerack in the red uniforms had 'peace bonded' the spear, after a few long conversations about the implications of allowing a Jedi padawan to carry a giant stick around their metal box in space. She had agreed to leave it in her room, but she had not been to her room yet.

"What is a 'shaandy?'" she asked, her lips curling around the unfamiliar syllables.

[Joey Rabeak]

"A shandy is beer and lemonade, usually in equal mix," Joey chimed in. "Better known as really nasty."

Spotting the side-eye he was getting from Gradoona, the metrosexual mongoose clarified, "At least to our palates. Don't worry, I'll hook you up with something good. C'mon, I know a nice place we can get things going in!"

Sushi finished, Joey stood, picking up his nearly-empty stimcaff cup, and his shopping bags. While he'd have preferred to take them, and their potentially embarrassing contents, home first, he figured he could carry them for a bit, and at least be able to check them once they started hitting the clubs later. While Jovan itself was a large station, most of the good places on the promenade were only a short walk, and it wasn't long before Joey led the trio a small, unassuming, yet respectable casual bar.

"Pitcher of shandy, and two buiberry wine coolers," he grinned as he walked through the door, then turned to the others. "Tab's on me, tonight. All of it."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa looked curiously around the bar Joey had led them to, and subtly checked his person for whatever this 'tab' was. Perhaps it was a clothing item.

"Cold wine?" She maneuvered so that he stood between her and the Gradoona. "What is a buiberry?"

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Youu haaven't haad a buuiberry? Yaknoo, there abouut the size aaf youur noose and a really louud shaade aaf bluue. There uused to be a buuiberry festival aan Roodia, aand we'd all goo when we were kids and pick 'em. They'd let ya keep haalf aaf what ya picked, soo we'd eat' em till ouur tongues turned tootally bluue and we gaat sick!"

When that didn't elicit any comprehension, the Herglic shrugged.

"Noo? Well, I knoow they've gaat buuiberry muffins at Spunky Dunkers! Buuiberry muffins, buuiberry fritters, buuiberry jam doonuts, buuiberry pie, buuiberry koolaachis, kinda the whoole buuiberry experience, minus the boozy soort!"

The drinks arrived, causing a delighted squee to sound from Gradoona's blowhole. She took up her pitcher of shandy, wrapping one hand around the entire thing.

"Ookay, Ndaansa, youu gaat the tooast since youu're the new gaal and aall. Sooo what's it gaanna be?"

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa had had alcohol before, but only mixed in a glass, never in a bottle like this one. And just the one time. There had been singing involved on the part of her companions then. A lot of singing. And some toasts, which had nothing to do with burnt bread.

She thought for a moment, trying to remember one she'd heard that night, then lifted the bottle in her hand.

"Let us live while we live...any port in a storm."

Satisfied at her memory, she lifted the bottle to her lips and tasted the cold wine. Her eyebrows raised as the liquid bubbled on her tongue, and she pulled the drink away to stare at it.

"It tickles."

[Joey Rabeak]

"That's the carbonation," Joey grinned after a swig from his own bottle. "Love these things. Nice and fruity, feels like a fizzy-drink, but they'll still get you in the mood."

He said nothing about the toast, though it was a thoroughly... unusual one. He'd never met a Jedi before, despite hearing about them at the Academy, and he'd never expected to meet an actual Nehantite Jedi! As far as he was aware, there had only ever been one, before, and that was over a century ago, so this was a special treat. A special treat not to be rushed, but possibly to be taken advantage of.

If he could get in good with a Jedi, that could go a long way with his cred in the Alliance. Playing the race card was the start, but a slow, steadily ramping approach of alcohol and good experiences would engrain him well with this... Ndonsa, right? Yeah, it was Ndonsa.

Taking another swig, he leaned back casually in his seat, and asked, "Is it true that all you Jedi have those neat plasma swords? Lightsabers, I think they're called?"

He knew they were called that. He knew full well, and could probably build one, if given time and a focusing crystal. But there were times it paid to play dumb, and let others talk. Get them talking, and they think you're on for the ride, when they were really on yours. Party Social Dynamics 101.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa wrinkled her nose against the carbon-nation, taking another sip of her drink.

"It is true that the lightsaber is the weapon of the Jedi, but I have not built mine yet."

Her eyes caught sight of the Gradoona, wide mouth around the pitcher of drink in her hands, and Ndonsa tipped her own bottle back. Her eyes watered as she swallowed the bubbling liquid, and when she set down the empty bottle she coughed.

[Gradoona Pod-Floewander]

"Oooh yaaah, I've aalwaays waanted to haave a look at a liightsaaber. Yaknoo, aan the insiide and aall. I mean heck, aanytiime ya put a kyyyber crystaal in foor a foocus and poower step, that's some heckin engineeering!"

Gradoona drained the last of her pitcher, careful to let all the dregs out before up-ending the entire receptacle on the table with one hand as she twirled a finger in the air at the waitron droid with her other hand.

"I waander how they doo it, yaknoo? Kyyber's a reeeal tricky penguin. It's naat a lineaar poower step, it's geoometric. Baad refraaction? Naat enoough shiiielding...woooh! Thaaat'll cook youur pieroogi!"

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa shook her head, headfur falling into her eyes before she pushed it back.

“I do not know what any of that means,” she said truthfully. “I am from Kuf. My tribe had no technology at all, so I am learning.”

[Joey Rabeak]

Joey flashed a wide, disarming smile, forgetting what manner of teeth were around Ndonsa's neck. "What she means is that it's not easy to build one. You'll probably need a mentor for that stage, when you get there," he said.

His drink was still half-full, while the ladies had polished theirs off in record time. "Gar, really tippin' em back, huh? Don't have to go so fast. Gotta take a bit of time, enjoy life, and all that."

The brown-furred Nehantite's pink eyes sparkled as he took a long, slow pull from his own drink, before leaning an elbow on the table. "It's an awful long way from Kuf to Ossus. How'd you wind up making that journey? I didn't hear about the government trying to do another talent search, as it were. That's how they found our first Jedi. Hamaljiin Rabeak, I think his name was. No relation, of course." A light chuckle and he tipped back the remainder of his drink, then raised his empty bottle to the bartender for another round.

[Ndonsa]

“Halajiin,” said Ndonsa softly, her ears tipping back as her tail drooped mournfully. “He was a powerful Jedi.”

She looked down, one paw going to the little pouch of bones at her waist. When Hal had been reported missing, and then presumed dead, she had thrown the bones to scry his fate. The Force had not whispered the meaning of the patterns to her, and she feared her talent had finally failed her.

Still, she had not received confirmation of his death from the bones.

”I miss him.”

[Joey Rabeak]

"Miss him?" Joey asked, ears cocking in two different directions in confusion. "He's been dead for like, a century. How could you... ooh, is it some sort of Jedi thing?"

That had to be it. The Force was like magic, so clearly current Jedi could connect to the magic of the old Jedi. Or something. Maybe? Joey really had no clue at that point, as all his understanding of magic came from a competitive card game, fantasy holonovels, or Crypts & Kryats.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa’s ears twitched, nearly matching Joey’s in their position. “No, he -“

A pink flush crept up the soft skin inside her ears as her mouth snapped shut on what she had been about to say. Was she betraying Hal if she revealed his existence to someone from their planet? She tried to remember if he had said why he had not done so himself, but could not.

”It is a Jedi thing, yes.” Ndonsa looked at Joey and the Gradoona with the unreadable expression she had learned as a shaman on Kuf.