VIP Treatment

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Aboard Whaladon

"Ugh..."


"Uuuuugh...."


It was no use. She couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning over and over for three hours in this tiny, spartan little room, Taataani had come to a couple of conclusions.

1. The mattress was too thin. She could count the spring coils with her bottom as she shifted around to try and find a comfortable spot.

2. It was too cold in here! Usually one to sleep in the nude, she was forced to keep her underclothes on and cocoon herself in three blankets, which complicated item number 1.

3. What was that noise? That thrumming and clanging? Was that the ship? Should she be worried it was going to explode? Why couldn't it be quiet like every other decent ship.

4. There wasn't even a window in these quarters. Not even a little one!

She sat up from bed in a huff, her tuft of real hair quite askew from her hours of violent tossing and turning.

Not one to take a bad situation lying down, Taataani was determined to find whoever was in charge of seeing to things like this, and correct them. After all, if she was uncomfortable, everybody else must be down-right miserable. She would do the noble thing, and speak on their behalf.

Rising from bed, she briefly attended to setting her wig back on and adjusting her clothing to be somewhat presentable in public. That done, she padded barefood outside of her quarters, looking for the closest thing to a figure of authority on this glorified pirate ship.

[Abarai Loki]

By anyone's standards, Abarai Loki's idea of an early start was somewhat obscene, but today, he was pushing the boundaries. In recent weeks, the number of passengers aboard the Whaladon had multiplied to the extent that living conditions were in decline. Padawans fought for training space in the cargo bays while the corridors swarmed with bodies. On economy starships, simple comforts were about as lacking as the hygiene levels but lately, the daily life of a Jedi was fast becoming a sad undignified affair. So, to spare himself the inevitable chaos of the morning rush, Loki ensured he had a sonic shower long before the queues started to form.

Stepping out from the cubicle, Loki paused to align himself with a protruding bulkhead, and located a familiar mark in the metal. Standing flush with the wall, he rested a hand atop his head and compared his height with the scratch in the bulkhead. He frowned. Next he turned to the mirror and stared in long appraisal of his reflection. First he squeezed his nose and released, hoping that by some force of will it would remain in place, but instead his nostrils ballooned in rebellion. Then he turned slowly on the spot, inspecting his torso from all angles, head swiveling, neck craned in feverish desperation to uncover a new flaw. His physique was muscular and lean, up to a point, but despite his training with Cirrsseeto there was simply no real definition. He flexed, and glanced over his shoulder to inspect his biceps.

In the mirror's reflection he saw a second face and froze. His stomach knotted and mouth turned dry at the shame of it. But... no, he was still alone. The second person in the room was him. A cold calculating glare leapt out from behind his eyes and the look of gawkish curiosity vanished from his face. Everything was suddenly different, and at once, the same. Promptly, he gathered his Jedi robes and dressed, leaving the room without giving the mirror a second glance.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Excusse me, jyoung man. Wherre mjight jI fjind jyourr Captajin'ss quarrterrss?"

Taataani gave Loki a tug at the sleeve, indicating she wanted his attention. She did her best to appear as alert as he did, though she was still blinking sleep from her eyes, and not quite there. She considered abandoning her efforts at once and trying to just suffer through it to salvage some sleep. At this rate, she'd only get eight hours tonight, and none of it of any quality.

[Abarai Loki]

First his eyes tracked slowly down to his sleeve and then, once the criminal mishandling of his robes was over, he turned. He wasn't surprised to find a Cizerack female stood before him, the accent was a dead give away, but the delay in his response hinted at some degree of confusion buried beneath his cool exterior. She had asked him a question about the captain, he ignored it.

"Who exactly are you?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jI'm Taataani Fai'sheea Igaarrai Meorrrei, Rrou'fai of Housse Meorrrei, and chjief executjive of MeorrreiCorp."

She crossed her arms at the brusque treatment she got from the teenager, raising an eyebrow.

"jIss that exact enough forr jyou?"

He still hadn't answered her question, but she wasn't going to suffer some moody teenager's snotty attitude, especially when running on little sleep.

[Abarai Loki]

"Taataani Meorrrei," he began, filtering through her extensive introduction, "I am going to presume you are not an intruder on this vessel and therefore not a security risk. However..."

Here, he turned fully on the Cizerack woman and folded his arms, an unmistakable edge to his voice:

"That would imply you are a passenger, and I'm here to tell you that aboard the Whaladon we have something of a dress code in operation, whereby..."

A strategic pause, as he tilted his gaze down towards her bare feet, and up, scrutinizing the length of the nightgown until, at last, their eyes met.

"We remember to get dressed."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jYess, that..."

She glanced down to Loki's Jedi garb, looking unimpressed.

"jI'll be ssurre to rrememberr mjy bathrrobe next tjime. jYoung man, jit'ss late, jI'm tjirred, and we sshould both be jin bed at thjiss hourr jinsstead of exchangjing fasshjion commentarrjy, becausse jI asssurre jyou jit'ss a contesst jyou'll losse."

[Abarai Loki]

"That is irrelevant. This is a military ship and if we wished to have semi-naked personnel wandering the corridors there would be a protocol in place for it."

There were a host of questions that would go unspoken; first, Loki wanted to know what this strange civillian woman was doing on a ship which, for all intents and purposes, wasn't supposed to exist, and secondly, why she displayed such flagrant disregard for standards of decency when in the presence of Jedi. His brow knit with irritation.

"The captain is asleep," he conceded at last, "And nothing short of a red alert will wake him. How can I help you?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Ssound a rred alerrt."

The Meorrrei matron smoothed out a wrinkle in her night gown, and shook her head.

"Mjy ssleepjing arrangement jiss completeljy unacceptjible, and jI wjissh to fjile a forrmal complajint."

[Abarai Loki]

For a second, there was a flicker of disbelief in his eyes, then they glazed over with indifference. He took a breath, allowing the true absurdity of her words to take root, and then headed off towards the mess hall.

"Excuse me, I have matters of importance with which to deal."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Her blue eyes narrowed as her ears switched back.

"Thjiss jiss a matterr of jimporrtance!"

She took a few strides ahead of the young Jedi, heading him off to stand in his path to the mess hall.

"Ssleep jiss a bassjic ljife functjion, and wjithout jit, we all perrforrm poorrljy."

She prodded Loki in the chest with a sheathed claw-tip.

"Even Jedji."

[Abarai Loki]

"You are not a Jedi," he managed, staring a hole through her chest and into the mess hall beyond, "And nor is this a luxury yacht."

He glanced up at her at last, "Perhaps you are lost."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Ssleep jiss not a luxurjy, and jif jyou thjink that the casse, therre'ss no telljing what torrturre jyou'll put jyourrsself thrrough."

She was prepared to launch into some new offense, when something strange caught her notice. She sniffed. Brow knitting, she leaned toward Loki, and sniffed again. That smell...and his face...Saanjarra! he was the spitting image of Kallum!

"What'ss jyourr name, jyoung man?"

[Abarai Loki]

Sniffed. He was being sniffed! He retreated a step, hints of outraged crept into his face, and he folded his arms to ward off the urge to start gesturing wildly.

"My name is Abarai Loki," he said, labouring over the words, "And there is another basic life function to attend to just beyond these doors. Please remove yourself."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Not a name she was expecting, but then again, knowing Kallum, she suspected an alias here and there might be in the works. She tapped an index finger at the side of her face as she thought about this little wrinkle.

"Not rrelated to anjy Rromanochss, bjy anjy chance?"

Her insistence on waylaying the Jedi was probably limited, and she couldn't keep up the pretense for long. Now that he mentioned it, she was long in need of another basic life function as well. She hadn't had anything resembling real food since her brazen kidnapping by Barton Henning.

[Abarai Loki]

"I am related to no-one."

This new, inane line of questioning was an affront to his very nature and the only thing stopping Loki from using the Force to pluck this bizarre felinoid from his path was the chance that, in her flimsy undergarments, she would be rendered even more indecent. Instead, he found a spot on the wall behind her and stared, something told him his Jedi patience was about to be put to the test.

"And you. You don't strike me as a Raurrssatta."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jI would hope not!"

Taken aback, she rested a hand on her hip as she phsyically recoiled from the insinuation. At the same time, she triangulated on Loki's accusation, as he probably had no knowledge of her hated rivals, and instead...

"jYou know mjy sson, then?"

[Abarai Loki]

"Your-"

He stumbled over the words, and his eyes suddenly snapped in her direction. Brow knitted, and unable to hide his surprise, he leaned closer to inspect her features.

"Cirrsseeto is your son?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Well that answered her question.

"One of them, jyess. Pojint jin fact, parrt of the rreasson jI'm herre. jIf not forr hjim, no doubt jI would be on mjy wajy to bejing rranssomed off bjy that sscurrrjillouss pjirrate, Barrton Hennjing. Turrnss out, he'ss jin league wjith jyourr rrag-tag ljittle bunch of rrebelss, sso thejy ssparred me the humjiljiatjion of bejing a prrjissonerr jin deep sspace."

[Abarai Loki]

The innitial surprise from the revelation subsided, and as the scantily clad matron divulged her outlandish tale, Loki's interest waned. Substantially. Barton Henning, the pirate? He was beginning to think Cirrsseeto's mother was truly unhinged.

"Taataani Meorrrei," he said, taking on a weary tone, "Once again you have successfully steered this conversation into the realms of true stupidity. Please, move."