#nr.8

(These are not my pictures, i found them on pinterest and across the internet, the credits belong to the original owners)

Return Gown Naboo

Another of Amidala's traveling gowns, the somber outfit recognized her people's flight from Naboo. It was made with dark purple velvet pieces that were fastened on and folded back to reveal colorful flashes of the purple silk underdress. The outer sleeves were made of cerlin. Her headdress combined an antique tiara, a mauve hair veil made of chersilk, and criss-crossed drapa bindings. She wore it as she returned to retake her homeworld from Trade Federation, and again at the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn.

(Via Wookieepedia)

Doubts regarding whether or not the Terran liked me where certainly and indisputably diminished at the beginning of the next cycle.

Quinn seemed to have predicted my intention of speaking to her as soon as possible, given that she sought me out shortly after the new cycle had begun. She was walking towards me in a rather strange manner, faster than normal walking, practically jumping with small flying phases in between taking the next step. I could not discern the purpose it was supposed to serve, but I was not given time to put too much thought into it.

She bared her teeth at me once again, although this time I did not recoil. One of her hands hit me languidly slightly above the juncture where my first pair of legs joined my upper body. I was uncertain what this gesture was supposed to convey. Was it an attack? Was she trying to notify me of an imminent danger approaching?

"I wanna show you something", she informed me. She waved her hand from my direction towards her body, which, if I inferred correctly out of the previous records, was supposed to signify me to follow her.

I trailed after her, letting her lead me to the emergency in question. As it turned out, there was no immediate emergency. The Terran came to a halt in front of one of the few windows built into the outer layer of the SIIR Noxos. She pointed to it as I joined her side, leaving a (as I aimed) respectful distance between the two of us. I followed her extended arm with my visual organs, ending up staring out of the window. 

I blinked. If there was an immediate threat outside the window in close proximity, I was not able to glimpse it. The human spoke up: "It‘s beautiful, isn‘t it?"

She had sunken to the floor, a rather alarming sight at first, but she seemed unharmed. 

I searched for an appropriate response, but in the end, I simply answered: "I suppose. Although my species does not linger in the beauty of transient things."

The human‘s face morphed into a grimace of displeasure. "Then what‘s the point in life?"

"My species believes that there is more to life than oneself, and that intelligent life is supposed to be dedicated to the exploration of science.", I eludicated.

"Hm. I guess y‘all aren‘t too different from some humans. Y‘know, we humans have the phrase 'Appreciate the little things'. I mean, the universe isn‘t exactly small, but…it‘s definitely nice to look at." "I suppose", I repeated.

I lowered myself onto the floor as well, as it seemed appropriate. I gazed upon the universe outside the window. I suppose there was something quite beautiful about it. 

Eventually, I broke the silence.

"May I ask a question?", I requested, careful not to be impolite. 

"Yeah, sure", she answered.

"I watched the video recording of your work in Sector 3, simply to control your work, and you…seemingly began to sing? While continuing to work? I am merely trying to understand the reasoning behind this. Does it serve a religious or cultural purpose?You were not bored by your task, were you?" My front pliers rattled quietly. Something about the thought of the human being bored made me…rather uneasy. Perhaps it was due to my mind imagining what the human might come up with to pass the time in case of boredom.

The Terran blew air out of her nostrils rather aggressively, but there were no other signs of irritation.

"Oh, no", she answered. "No, it‘s actually just because…well, my dad taught me everything he knows about handling machines, so when I used to help him out in the workshop in the afternoons, and we‘d be like…fixing a car engine or whatever, we always used to turn up the radio and sing along. It was kind of our thing. So nowadays, when I‘m working on something, I might start singing. Not out of boredom, just a habit."

"Your…dad.", I repeated, uncertain what that term was supposed to mean. 

She looked at me in a indiscernible manner. "Yeah, my father, my parent, whatever you wanna call it."

"I apologize. I was unfamiliar with that term.", I stated.

"Oh. Sure."

She opened her mouth once again to say: "Y‘know, um…I mainly just wanted to show you this and also thank you, y‘know, for…giving me something to work on."

"It was my pleasure. I admit I might have given you a rather simple task to begin with, but that was merely because, while the Vitrichl stated you were competent, he and I have…differentiating views on the word 'competent'."

She bared her teeth once again, although shortly, before raising to her full height and, for some inexplicable reason patting down her clothes as if to remove any dust, although her clothing was perfectly clean.

"Well, Cap wants to see me again today, so, I guess I‘ll see ya tomorrow."

"Indeed.", I retorted.

@confortember2020

Nova could feel the anger rising through his body like a heatwave.  His hands balled into tight fists as he slowly stepped forward.

“Nova” Gale said through clenched teeth “Don’t do this”

“Don’t do this?” Nova asked in a low growl “DON’T DO THIS?  You bloody started this, so don’t tell me not to do it!”

Max flinched as he listened to his brothers.  Nova been agitated and jumpy and worse than even since the mission they forced him to work with the girls.  He hasn’t forgiven any of them for that.  

“Dammit Nova, would just stop being asshole for just a second and let us talk about this?”

“NO!” Nova scream and Gale took a step back.  Power rose from Nova’s body like steam.  He pressed a hand against his chest, right where he was shot as pain flashed over his expression.

“Nova, don’t fight me over this”

“Just STOP!” Nova snapped “I cannot take this anymore!  I’m not stupid, I know what’s going on.  I know I lost time.  You don’t have to keep on reminding me about that!”

“That’s not what I’m doing”

“Yes, it is!  Do you think I’m blind or something?  I know Amilia saved my life, but I cannot remember it, so it doesn’t count for me at the moment”

“Then just listen to me, you moron!” Gale snapped, starting to lose his own temper “This is not about her saving your life.  This is about you not being ready to go out on your own yet!”

“Screw you, Gale” Nova growled, hands clenching into even tighter fists “You have no idea what I’m ready for”

“Do you want me to call Dad and make him force you?  Because he will side with me on this and you know that”

“Don’t you dare...  Don’t you bloody dare...”

For a moment nothing happened and then Nova shot forward, tackling Gale to the ground.  Max let out a groan.  This was not going to end well for any of them.  They were going to hurt each other, or break the house, again.

***