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La QooQoo
A Love Story of Two
Tonight was a special night for Ahsoka Tano, former Jedi, and Lux Bonteri, Senator to the Republic Senate for the newly reinstated planet of Onderon. This would be the night they made their engagement public. It had taken time, recriminations, and forgiveness, but in the end, it worked out. Ahsoka felt that a new life awaited her after the betrayal of the Jedi Council, somewhere out of the firing range of a galaxy at war. Not that she was afraid of battle or of dying. She showed that at Carlacc as she bent her head down to take Pre-Visla's sword in the neck, but saved in time by a resourceful droid and a boy she now loved who pushed her would-be executor away to give her space to get free with her lightsabers after R2-D2 tossed them to her.
No, she was not afraid, but if anything, tired. But more than tired, the feelings she got from The Force, although they were not specific, told her to stay away from the Jedi, that something bad was going to come down on the peace of the Galaxy like a Correlian space cruiser on a Tooka cat. There could be only one end of that.
She also didn't want to be alone. She tried meeting other boys and people, but her mind always came back to one, the one with her tonight and the one she knew the longest.
For his part, Lux Bonteri couldn't believe his fortune. He wondered if all guys eventually felt like he did tonight. He had had feelings for Ahsoka since he first saw her but knew that she could not be with anyone, as she was a Jedi. He had made some plans to be with someone since he did feel that though he could not be with the woman he truly loved, that he was afforded some modicum of happiness in this life in being with someone. But he knew that that person wasn't going to be the one he truly loved and to be true to her as well as himself, he didn't think of finding someone again after Steela died.
When he heard that Ahsoka had been falsely accused (he didn't need to hear any reasoning from anyone—he knew in an instant that the Ahsoka Tano he knew would never have done what was said she was accused of), he tried to help her behind the scenes and, using his fledgling connections as a new Republic Senator for the reinstated planet of Onderon, to relentlessly search and seek for any clue to help her. He was, in fact, tracing a call that Commander Foxx told him he saw Ahsoka taking just before she bolted from the prison on that long chase. Interestingly, Ahsoka had forgotten about that call. Lux had traced the call to the Jedi Temple and he was going to follow that lead when he saw Ahsoka's master, Anakin Skywalker, bring in the very person he was tracing.
That wasn't the only reason Senator Bonteri was feeling so happy and lucky to be with Ahsoka tonight. When he went to see Ahsoka after she left the Temple and was staying with Padmé Amidala, Ahsoka's reaction to him was so virulent that he thought they were through, final, done with, over, fini. Perhaps, he thought, so soon after her betrayal by the Jedi Council, she was nursing old wounds as well. Perhaps, he thought, Ahsoka wanted to forget everything that happened and that meant any connection with him. He walked away dejected but was still determined to make amends for Carlacc. This was in no way to attract Ahsoka back to him but to make up for a great wrong he had done to her and others in the nightmare after his mother was killed. He had, in essence, given up on the love game. It would take patience, time, and ingenuity but he would do it—and in doing so, become a better man, if but just to ease his conscious.
His reward for doing so would be sitting next to him at the play tonight in a beautiful dress with an engagement band around her left lekku that he put there a week previous. And now, more than legislation and debate in the senate, he valued in his heart the times he could walk hand-in-hand with Ahsoka, or she would put her hand in the crook of his arm, and they would go to an unpretentious, but good, restaurant where they would order different, but what looked good to them, meals so they could eat a little of what the other ordered—even with the other's utensils. That's what love is, or, at least, one small part.
It wasn't going to be easy and he could tell that the future would be a trial day in and day out. Derision would come their way and there would be many challenges. He could see the stares directed at them when he and Ahsoka went out, and now and then he noticed some rich-looking, high-class human girl glare daggers at her. They were often womanly caustic towards her as well if they were at a Senate party or the like, so they avoided such and mostly went out together or with like-minded friends. The words of Chancellor Palpatine from a few days ago were still ringing in his ears.
—
Lux Bonteri was sitting in the Chancellor's office, with only the Chancellor and his aide present beside him. The Chancellor had been welcoming him and the planet he represented to the Republic for the last few minutes, saying that he, the Chancellor, had high hopes for the young man;
"Yes, yes, young Mr. Bonteri, if you play your sabacc right, as they say," he said jokingly, earning a smile from Senator Bonteri, "You may go a long way in what plans I have for the Republic, a long way indeed."
"Thank you, Chancellor Palpatine. I feel my family and our planet have been too long away from the Republic. I hope to make amends for our absence."
"Very good, young man," then a pause. "But I feel that you have already started off on the wrong foot. I know that young people seek companionship, and you, who have lost your mother (he said while turned away from Senator Bonteri and an evil smile on his face) so young, but I feel you should choose your friendships better."
The senator was rather stunned by this statement from the Chancellor, "What do you mean, Chancellor Palpatine?"
"In this Republic, well, like should seek like. There is more understanding and less daily difficulty when those who are similar are together. You will find yourself going less far otherwise."
"I, I don't understand."
"Take a few days off. Look around. I am sure there is someone who can be a good companion for you."
"Yes, Chancellor, I have been so busy I feel I need a few extra hands just to get ready for the day," the young senator said laughingly. "But I am not lonely, Chancellor. Thank you for your thoughts," Senator Bonteri said as he rose, readying himself to leave, but not yet dismissed by the Chancellor.
"Be careful, boy," the Chancellor shot back somewhat venomously, "You can go far or be stopped in your tracks by the choices you make now." Senator Bonteri had a look of not understanding on his face. "Can the boy be so dense?" retorted the Chancellor.
"In other words, Senator Bonteri," Mas Amadda tried to calm the waters, but the Chancellor was too quick. With a quick wave of his hand he stopped Mas Amadda and went very closely to the young senator, saying only for his ears,
"In other words, dump the tailhead if you know what's good for you."
There was a deafening silence. Senator Bonteri stood straight as a lightsaber, too stunned to speak. The Chancellor walked to behind his large desk.
"You may go, young man. Heed my words."
— —
And the words still stung him, causing the buzz still in his ears. He vowed he would never tell Ahsoka what was said to him that time, and he didn't, for a very long time, not until after the destruction of the second Death Star. But tonight he was too happy and those words seemed to be getting further and further away.
Ahsoka herself was enjoying this time in her life. She would later look back on this time as a time of bliss, a bliss just before the storm. She herself had found a job almost two rotations from the dusk she left the Jedi Temple consulting for a security company. The company was a small one but with her guidance, the company came back from the verge of bankruptcy and was even able to land a few contracts with the Republic Senate (with, of course, the young senator from Onderon and his staff the first to sign one). She liked the work and she felt she was actually now helping to protect others rather than capturing them. When General Grievous was to attack Coruscant shortly from this time, all of the charges under Ahsoka and the company were safe without a scratch.
Tonight was not for work, though, but to enjoy with others during this short respite of peace the activities of the play night. Tonight was the opening night of a live-action play to celebrate the re-admittance of Onderon into the Republic Senate.
Ahsoka was wearing a very long, flowing red dress. The color of the dress matched her own skin color well and though the top of the dress ended in a sweetheart neckline, from there to the neckband around her neck was white lace that matched the color of her face markings with a blue stone here and there that complimented her eyes. Her arms were bare except for above-elbow length gloves the same color of the dress and in her hands was a small white purse. Lastly, although she usually wore sturdy footwear, her petite feet were adorned in slippers of white that were more akin to supple dancing slippers than sturdy heels or sandals. Around her left lekku was the aforementioned engagement band, albeit without the usual Akul tooth that would usually adorn such a band. But on and around her montrals was the most beautifully intricate pattern of silver lace. Lux had bought these for her and it was a most involved process getting Ahsoka to sit long enough to get a mold of her montrals, but in the end she was impressed with their beauty.
She had come to appreciate and take care of possessions, but to not lust for and horde them. This could have been something taught to the Jedi, she thought; to take care of things, as she saw many at the Temple were careless with equipment and things the Republic bought by taking them for granted and by also constantly losing their lightsabers.
As for Lux, he was wearing a nice tuxedo, appropriate for men to wear on such an occasion, not drawing attention from Ahsoka, but elegant in its own right. They were accompanied by Ahsoka's old master from the Jedi Temple, Master Skywalker, and his secret wife, Padmè.
Master Skywalker had tried hard to get Ahsoka to change her mind and return to the Jedi Order, for he truly believed that that was where she belonged, but over time he had relented. Ahsoka's never told him about her own fears of what she was feeling from The Force. She also never tried to convince him to act on his own feelings of wanting to leave the Order because she knew that an Anakin Skywalker not in the center of action was not an Anakin Skywalker. That seemed to be how he was formed.
So they both continued on their own paths, Anakin continuing to work often with Obi-Wan Kenobi saving the galaxy and Ahsoka finding her own place in it. In truth, contrary to the feelings she was getting from The Force about the Jedi Order, she also felt a positive—push perhaps?—from The Force as well to be with the Senator. So here she was wearing the engagement band with no regrets now that she knew she could not go back to the Order, and with the typical optimism and an able-to-do-anything attitude possessed by the young just starting out in adult life.
The group seated themselves for the performance in a somewhat comfortable but not ostentatious box with the women seated in the middle and Master Skywalker on the right and Senator Bonteri bookending the left. While they were waiting for the performance to start, a few levels below them, a slight acquaintance of Lux's from Onderon had just entered. The man wondered if the Senator could help him get some tickets and since Senator Bonteri was helping to support the play (albeit not privy to the content of the play), he was able to direct the man, a ruggedly handsome human a few decades older than him, with his introduction to a person who could help him.
As the man entered, he waved to the senator with a smile and saw who he was with, which produced an even bigger smile on the man. The man came in, counted out several seats for some reason and then went back to the entrance. Then he saw the man go to a Shili woman a little older than Master Ti. He gestured to Senator Bonteri and Ahsoka and the woman smiled at them as well. While the woman stayed where she was at the entrance, the man went to the very end of the row. Soon a tall child who was obviously their oldest entered and went to the seat next to the man. Ahsoka raised her eye markings at that. And then another child entered, this one younger, and then another, and then another; each getting younger and younger until their mother finally entered holding a small baby. Soon, almost the whole row was filled with the children of this couple and with each one entering, Padmé smiled bigger and bigger at Ahsoka but Master Skywalker was starting to scowl. Senator Bonteri, however, sunk deeper and deeper into his seat as his eyes got bigger and bigger with each child that entered so that by the time all the children entered, he was positively smaller. His three other companions in the box looked over to him. Padmé genuinely smiled and said, "Oh, how sweet," while Ahsoka looked a little sheepishly and shy at him. Master Skywalker, however, raised an eyebrow with an, "If you ever put our Ahsoka through that, that will be the end of you," kind of expression.
After the rebellion on Onderon, during the mop-up operations, Lux had found a newborn girl in horrifying circumstances, some months before the terrible ordeal Ahsoka went through and just before he was to be appointed to Coruscant as Onderon's representative. So much did his heart go out to the little girl that he decided to try his best to take care of her. When Ahsoka came to him of her own free will, she saw the child and, like him, her heart went out to the little girl—and, if truth be told, made more solid her decision to be with him. But for tonight, the little four-month old was with Ahsoka's parents. Little did they know how hard a time they would have getting little Zeri, for that is what Ahsoka's parents named her, back from them they adored her so much. But now, with the engagement and the wedding plans, Ahsoka's parents had more chances to keep the little blond-headed girl (and to make sure that her first language was not going to be Basic but Togruti-B—older people are kind of like that with grandchildren).
After a time, the theater filled. In addition to many couples and families from Shili and Ryloth, there was also a smattering of couples of partners from different planets, many of them with one member a Togruta, either male or female. Lux looked around at the crowd after he recovered from the shock of his friend's family. He saw some other senators as well; Riyo Chuchi and her boyfriend Ion from the same planet, Orn Free Taa, with his usual bevy of Twi'lek beauties, the senator from Rodia, and some others. Most of the senators he could see were like-minded colleagues to Senator Amidala and himself. He was a little surprised not to see Senator Bail Organa this opening night. The senator usually attended such events. He also didn't see the Chancellor but he did see Mas Amadda. This person looked at Lux with what seemed to him a look of regret. However, if it was because who he was with or because what had happened some days earlier, it was hard to say. Lux had an inkling that he would have to tell the Chancellor of what he saw, and thinking that, Senator Bonteri put on a look of pride and nudged a little closer to Ahsoka. She turned when he touched her and could see the confrontation of looks between the two men. She was puzzled, but put it out of her mind.
When all had been seated, at the stated starting time the lights dimmed and all attention was on the stage. It was a very advanced stage that would turn to the set of each scene as the play progressed. At the moment, it was a blank stage. Then, a tall human man came out.
Act I Prologue
CHORUS: That we could have a time machine, bringing us all here back to the time of our play, a time long, long ago. We must ask for your indulgence, good people; an indulgence that is not often asked of you. In this small compass of a stage, we ask that you use your imagination to see the infinity of outer space. But, we also ask you to imagine a time long ago; a time when not only was the Republic a fledgling enterprise, and the Jedi were known as "Je'daii," but also of a time when the invention of hyperspace travel was new. For then the times were bold. Adventure was everywhere, and each step onwards, each parsec forwards brought new discovery and new hope. Imagine those times when the spirit was daunting and travelers came back with new stories of strange planets.
Tonight is a love story between two from different planets. A story of romance and dejection and of a new beginning, and from that a new hope. It is a love story that should not have been but irrevocably, eternally, was.
Now, let us start our story, and imagine yourselves in a time long, long ago.
Act I Scene I
The scene is a large viewport of an older-styled ship. (Master Skywalker sort of smirked at how primative it was.) Outside the viewport, the blue of hyperspace can be seen. There are some control panels on either side of the viewport. At the left edge of the viewport, a young human man with officer insignia, with his left hand on the edge of the viewport, is looking out into the blue swirls, with a face and stature of contentment. He is outfitted in a stylish, white uniform and a smart cap. To the right side of the large viewport there is a group of three burly human men, one insigniaed as a Chief Petty Officer and two as First Class Shipmen, talking amongst themselves.
1st Shipman: I can't wait to get out of this ugly blue. It unnerves me.
2nd Shipman: How much longer do you think it will be?
1st Shipman: Who's to say. We all got the briefing.
Chief Petty Officer: It shouldn't be long I suppose. We picked up our pilot the last inter-hyperspace leg.
1st Shipman: I wonder what kind of planet it will be.
Chief Petty Officer: Well, we all got the same briefing. There's not much danger unless you go out into the tall grasslands. That's where that big cat is, what's it called?
2nd Shipman: The Akul
Chief Petty Officer: Right, the Akul. Otherwise, we'll be OK.
2nd Shipman: All right chief. [Turning to the other shipman] Hey, you gonna get another [a little sarcastically] arranged temporary marriage there like you did on Ryloth?
1st Shipman: I dunno. I asked the guy who did it for me on Ryloth, RouKan, about where we're going and he didn't know of anyone.
2nd Shipman: Knowing you, you'll find someone.
[All three laugh at the comment.]
Chief Petty Officer: We won't be there long enough anyways.
[Just then the young officer on the other side of the viewport starts to go towards these three men.]
1st Shipman: D'ya think the girls there are pretty?
2nd Shipman: Dunno. I heard SparkyJohnny say that they're prettier than Twi'leks.
1st Shipman & Chief Petty Officer: Prettier than Twi'leks?
[There is a silence between the speakers, and then almost speaking on top of each other.]
1st Shipman: Impossible!
Chief Petty Officer: No Way! Nothing in this universe is prettier than a girl from Ryloth!
(There are audible cheers from the audience in the theater.)
2nd Shipman: [laughingly] Gotta agree with you there. But SparkyJohnny said . . .
1st Shipman: SparkyJohnny! What does he know? 'Prettier than Twi'leks.' Humph. Besides, did you get a glance at our pilot? What's he called?
Chief Petty Officer: A Togruta.
1st Shipman: A Togruta. Right. Did you see him? Those big horn-thingeys? [The Chief Petty Officer looks a little indignant.]
2nd Shipman: [also a little indignant] Yeah, I did.
1st Shipman: Well, let me tell you, if the girls there are as ugly as h— (Lux put on a very indignant face.)
Lieutenant: What are men talking about?
Chief Petty Officer: Sorry sir. We were just reviewing our briefing on the flora and fauna of our destination.
Lieutenant: Flora and fauna, um Chief? Well, if you're going to do that, be more respectful. We are guests on his planet. Act like it.
Chief Petty Officer: Yes, sir.
1st Shipman: Yes, sir
2nd Shipman: Understood sir.
Lieutenant: Good. I am glad we understand each other.
[The officer then started to walk away. Unbeknownst to the four, the captain of the ship and an admiral, off to the side, had overheard the conversation. The young officer, as he walks away, touches a control console of the ship in an almost reverential way.]
Chief Petty Officer: He's a good kind of officer, but I sometimes feel a little sorry for him.
2nd Shipman: I know what you mean. He seems a little lonely. Do you think he'll ever find a woman?
1st Shipman: Find a woman? He wouldn't know what to do with a woman even if one ripped off her clothes in front of him and—
Captain: Don't you men have some duty to do?
[The three shipmates stand at attention a little nervous.]
Chief Petty Officer: Yes, sir
1st Shipman: Yes, sir
2nd Shipman: Right away, sir.
Captain: Then get to it.
Chief Petty Officer: Yes, sir. Right away, sir.
Captain: Chief, you stay here.
Chief Petty Officer: Yes sir.
[The two shipmen scurry off in separate directions while the captain and the admiral look after them. Then they look at the young officer off a distance.]
Admiral: They were right though.
Captain: About Makepeace? Yes, I know what you mean. Lieutenant Makepeace does love this ship.
Admiral: But not in the way we do. We were both the same way before. I loved my ship before I was married but when I came to it love as if it was her, feeling her in every sound and shudder of my ship, only then, could I really love my ship. That is part and parcel of being an officer of the line.
Captain: Yes, I know what you mean. [solemnly] If I were ever to lose my wife, I would go down with my ship to meet her, to be with her again. [looking towards the young officer] Lieutenant Makepeace is good officer material. I do hope he can find someone. Maybe some leave after we get back from this excursion.
Exeunt the three men, leaving the young officer looking out into hyperspace.
Act I Scene II
The scene is in a large, comfy room in a house on Shili. Its makeup is rustic but refined, having a sense of elegance. From outside, the sounds of the kuli bugs, which have the relaxing sound of someone walking through the snow of Hoth, reach into the house. There are two rugs from the skins of the Akul on the floor and other trophies of the hunt displayed here and there around the room.
There are two women of Shili in the room, one sitting on a chair and another standing off to one side. By the shape and color of their montrals and lekku and the color of their skin and by their face markings, it can be seen they are not related. The woman sitting seems more relaxed in her posture and is slouching a little but the one standing, perhaps a few years younger than the one sitting, stands with a straight posture. Her movements are refined, telling of a woman yet young with some innocence of life but more ladylike. Around her face are the teeth of the Akul placed on the face-edge of her montrals. Her face-markings highlight her beauty. She is wearing a dress that goes to the floor and is somewhat stiff while the woman sitting is wearing a much shorter dress of lighter fabric. Both are wearing the Togruta sash. The woman sitting has no Akul teeth but has a simple decoration of silka beads down the center in the dip between the horns of her montrals. Her face is the more elongated shape common with Togruta women, but her younger companion's face is more square with a stronger jaw. They are speaking in a language of their planet (Togruti-B; the Togruti langauge variant for those without montrals) while the translation is showing on the screen above the set. The woman sitting starts the conversation.
Yayi: Ja, Onderon nogemin otuden ituh amesinka? /so, you are going to the reception for the onderon ship?/
QooQoo: [contemplatively] Bele. Dadah aminh amesint osiretru. minh ahewa muchirka. minh achiw oberkana? /yes. my father insists i go. i'm a little anxious. what shall i see?/
Yayi: Miriv wobehrizu baraka? /haven't you ever seen a human?/
QooQoo: Nana. Sifetsaem ozu. Ehwanachalih akhoqebet ogweda. (A small laugh from Ahsoka.) /no. not even a picture. i have heard said they are very ugly./
Yayi: [while tittering] Mah, brekgelh arast, [then wistfully] belam brekgel . . . /well, some i can't account for, but some . . . /
QooQoo: A! Iwaqh apeshbertaka? Chin okalib nano? /so you've seen one? what do they look like?
Yayi: Mah, ehwanachalih atutomint ohemendag airah ajuda. [she gestures around her montrals] /well, they look like you and me, except for here./
QooQoo: Chig ajudaka? /what's so different?/
Yayi: Sa, tutomint ohemandag aehwanachalig amontralt oserduvg azu. Otuh abirzang [gesturing with a finger] nipor ehwanachalih akellahn oherchi. /well, they don't have the montrals and lekku like you and me. what you have on your eyelash, they have all over their heads, called "hair"./
QooQoo: Ehwanachalih amontral ganebunka? Akul wochongwedaka? /they don't have montrals? how can they hear the akul?/
Yayi: Ehwanachaliha "Iiyaaz" gahene. /they have what they call "ears."/
QooQoo: "Iiyaaz?" /ears?/
Yayi: Ya. Sern ipichukn achalda. /yeah. like little holes in their heads./
QooQoo: Maama, Sern ipichuk'ka. /oh my. little holes in their heads./
Yayi: Belam por dekaz. /but a lot of them cover it with their hair./
QooQoo: "Iiyaaz." porg azorda. [shakes her head] Khor-sosret. /"ears." all that hair. how weird./
Yayi: [laughingly] Otug aista wofermun. [again wistfully] Tilid eshanahmade kirdin. /you say that now. wait until you've run your fingers through some./
(The audience laughs here and there. Ahsoka reaches up and gently grabs some hair on the back of Lux's head. He turns and smiles at her. The Shili wife of his acquaintance a few rows down, now sitting next to him, and some other mixed-race Human and Togruta/Twi'lek couples in the audience do the like.)
QooQoo: A! Otuh ayekekut otushbuntaka? /oh! so you've met one before?/
Yayi: [a little sadly] Kewaw ofermuneru. /you could say that./
QooQoo: Ehwanachalin ozuban womin niwutne'eru? /could you teach me some of their language?/
Yayi: [breaking out of her thoughts] Mochida. Chig anasintai? /sure. what do you want to know?/
QooQoo: Sa, asand eserata, umm, wenah, mah, min nodest wochifermunka? [she points to her hand] /well, let's start simple, like umm, well, what do you call my hand?/
Yayi: Za hand
QooQoo: Za hand. Penjaha? /the fingers?/
Yayi: Za fingers
QooQoo: Za fingers. Toehmanha? /and these?/
Yayi: Za nails
QooQoo: Za nails. Toehmha? /and this?/
Yayi: Za forearm
QooQoo: Za forearm. Toehmto? /and this?/
Yayi: Bichukn odemah. Chiw okardake? A! Ya. Za bilbow. (Some titters in the audience) /let me think. what was that called? oh yes, . . ./
QooQoo: Za bilbow? Kewah akenin akar. Tecrib wocardinru. [while pointing to each part] Za bilbow, za forearm, za nails, za fingers, za hand. /that's a funny name. let me try again./
Yayi: Khochakah. Khochakah. Otuh achakan ateleba! /very good. very good. you're a good student!/
QooQoo: Otuh achakan adaersdar. Demahdrezh. Otug aehman wochifermunka? /i have a good teacher. let's go on. what do you call these?/
Yayi: Za lekku
QooQoo: Za lekku? Serduvn okar'ruka? /they have a word for headtails?/
Yayi: Mm. Rylothen okarda. /it's a word from ryloth./
QooQoo: A, ming ageyin. Uehmanha? /oh, i see. and these?/
Yayi: Za montrals
QooQoo: A, ehwah aTogrutin okarda. Ehwah abereweriasanda. Demahdrezh. Irah achifermunka? [gesturing around her face] /oh, that's a word from togruti. that should be easy to remember. let's go on. how about here?/
Yayi: Za face
QooQoo: Za face. Toehmanka? /and these?/
Yayi: Za eyes
QooQoo: Za eyes. Ehwanachalim ochawrenruka? /do they have color in their eyes like us?/
Yayi: Mm. Geljudarenru. Brekinsang akhoqesheng nashinaru. [with a small smile] /yeah. all different kinds. some have a real pretty blue./
QooQoo: [Looks at her friend for a short time, seemingly wanting to ask a question. She doesn't but continues the lesson.] A, ehwah akhosh. Kunelut hachifermunka? /oh, that's nice. how about the nose?/
Yayi: Za nose
QooQoo: Za nose. Toehwah? /and here?/
Yayi: Za cheek
QooQoo: Za cheek. Tolic'ha? /the lips?/
Yayi: Za lips.
QooQoo: Za lips. Zureha? [pointing to her teeth] /and inside?/
Yayi: Bichukn odemah. Ehwana chiw okardake? Oh. Za tooths. /let me see. what were those called./
QooQoo: Za tooths. [pointing to her chin] Toehmha? /and this?/
Yayi: Za shin
QooQoo: Za shin. (Some titters from the audience) Ma. Khozor wozanatta. Tezede wofermunroo. [pointing to each as she says them] Za nails, za fingers, za hand, za forearm, za- za- za- /oh I've learned so much. let me say them again./
Yayi: Za bilbow
QooQoo: Za bilbow. Supas. Za face, za lekku, za nose, za eyes, za cheek, za chin-. /thank you./
Yayi: A! Na na na na. [with emphasis and a gesture] Za shin (laughs from the audience) /oh! no no no./
QooQoo: Za shin. Supasdisa. Za lips, za tooths. /thank you again./
Yayi: Khochakah! Otuh ahinehwanachalihemen. [sighs] Otuh akhoqeshengda. Janakute, 'Prit'tiy.' /perfect! you speak like one of them. . . . you are so pretty. i mean pretty.
QooQoo: 'Prit'tiy'? /pretty?/
[They both laugh.]
Yayi: [more seriously] Omirm oteshirihenanka? /will the prince be there too?/
QooQoo: [quickly losing her smile] Berekewi. [sighs] /probably/
Yayi: Omir wowekzurou. /you don't like him, do you?/
QooQoo: Omirh akhezan nobirdarnde wekuzunai. Kechi, Omirt oe'vinyarid elekniziyan wozinyarig akhatirjamzu. Derekn i'ziyatirlag arutofirkinda. /he is a friend of the family, so I like him. but to spend a life together pretending to love him, i don't know. i just know there is more than that for me somewhere./
Yayi: Kechi, Omir tokirinsu? /but you will marry him?/
QooQoo: Khezan noabrun oleber, Dadan obrun oleber, beli. Omirg amin nimeshleg arut odilkhush. /for the honor of my family, for the honor of my father, yes. he is very proud of me that i interest the prince./
Yayi: Zun ikirinsu? /you will marry soon?/
QooQoo: [nods sadly]
Yayi: [solemnly] Sa. Jinkirin hacinned egerantat ofermunda. Sa, ehmn oselifnaserbestiw oghaznedar! Dilkerewahkamo. /well, they say marriages are made in heaven. well then, treasure this last bit of freedom! you may enjoy it./
QooQoo: Minh awafikrinzu. Ehwah ha'zemetn oahengde piremerd topirezeng aminwokulyasu. Dadah amingatada insangachendkhoqebet ofirkinsu. (Another smile from Ahsoka. 'No,' she thought while glancing at the young man next to her, 'Some are not so ugly.') /i don't think so. it will probably be just a boring party with a bunch of old men and ladies and they will fret over me. i think my father wants me to go just to see how ugly humans are./
Yayi: [laughs lightly] Ma, minh aecebkamo. /well, you may be surprised./
(During the last part of this conversation, Senator Bonteri was listening intently, understanding a few of the nuances of Togruti-B because, unbeknownst to Ahsoka, he had been studying it.)
Act I Scene III
On the ship, the Captain and Admiral are showing the Togruta pilot around the ship. They come to an area where Officer Makepeace is standing, next to a console. While the others in the ship are taken aback by the man from Shili, the young officer smiles at him, seeing the kind face of the pilot. He nods with a smile, the pilot acknowledges it with a nod as well.
Pilot: You have a very nice ship, Captain. Better than many I have seen.
Captain: Thank you sir.
Pilot: Yes, very nice indeed. [turning to the Admiral] Will you be going to the reception tonight?
Admiral: Yes, I and my wife will. Captain Bitherspace and his wife will be coming as well. She is from Ryloth, is she not?
Captain Bitherspace: She was born on Correlia but her roots are from Ryloth though she doesn't speak the language.
Pilot: Very good, very good. [turning to the young officer] And how about you, young man?
Lieutenant Makepeace: Me sir? Oh no sir, I had not planned on it. I was intending to help with some things on the ship since I had not been invited.
Pilot: Well, you are invited now. Just tell them I invited you and it will be all right. [with a gesture]
Lieutenant Makepeace: Thank you sir, but I—
Captain Bitherspace: Lieutenant Makepeace, [a little sternly] you have been invited. [gesturing to the man next to him] The Chief Petty Officer can do the job as well. Shall I make it an order?
Lieutenant Makepeace: [showing a small bit of dejection] No sir. [to the pilot] Thank you sir.
Pilot: You're welcome young man. [Starting to continue on his walk but then turning to the young man.] I think you may find something there you haven't been looking for.
Lieutenant Makepeace: [a little unsure of the meaning] Yes, sir. Thank you sir.
[A junior officer comes up to the Captain]
Junior Officer: Sir, we are approaching the point of hyperspace exit.
Captain Bitherspace: Very good. [to the pilot] Shall we?
Pilot: Certainly. After you.
Exeunt the higher officers and the pilot. Whilst the officers are gesturing around the ship, the pilot is looking to where they are pointing, nodding his head. The crewmen stand at attention as they pass but then stare at the pilot as he has gone by them. They then go a viewport, each vying to get a first look at the new planet. The young officer looks a little sad and his head is down, looking at the deck, remaining where he was.
The curtain falls on the first act.
Ahsoka and Padmè stand up together to go to the powder room, leaving the senator and the Jedi alone with each other. While the women are gone, there is a silence between the men. Then, Senator Bonteri broke the chilly ice,
"Anak-"
"Don't 'Anakin' me, Bonteri. It's 'Master Skywalker' to you.
"Yes," he returned very quietly, "Master Skywalker."
"Just because Ahsoka calls me Anakin, doesn't mean you can."
"Yes, Master Skywalker. I understand." There was more silence between the men. "Master Skywalker, I know you and Senator Amidala love Ahsoka very much. I will do what I can to take care of her, to keep her safe."
Master Skywalker relented in his attitude somewhat after more silence. "I trust you will or I would never have given my permission as her father did. Her father gave his permission because he saw something in you." The young man he was talking to relaxed a bit. "I gave mine because I admire you for how you made up for Carlacc—but if I ever hear you've hurt Ahsoka in any way . . . I don't think I need to say more."
"The hurt I caused her I think will haunt me forever."
"Don't let it haunt you. Just don't do it again."
"No sir. I shan't," Lux Bonteri said decisively. Just then the women returned. They both could feel some tension in the air. 'Must be some sort of guy thing,' Ahsoka thought. As they reseated themselves and as others in the audience did the same, the curtain rose for the second act.
——
Thank you very much for reading this. I hope you liked it.
Please, by all means, tell me if how I have formatted this with all the stage directions, audience reactions, and Togruti-B translations confuses you or ruins the flow of your reading. I will try to make it more readable.
For the language Togruti-B, I have more information about it in Chapter Six of my story, An Oasis in a Sea of Hate. It is sematically Kurdish on Japanese syntax (and Japanese verb inflections). For Oasis, the Kurdish dictionary was of the Kurmanji dialect but I also got a Soranji dialect dictionary recently. I have been using both for this fanfiction. I had to use some creative transliterations and I apologize in advance for any bad feelings I may have caused.
I am having a little trouble with the names. "Qu" in Kurdish means swan, so QooQoo (following rules of pidginization) means very swan-like, i.e., very beautiful. It sounds kind of funny but I liked because it was close to the Japanese for 'butterfly,' chocho (as in Chocho-Fujin for 'Madam Butterfly.') I originally had her name as "Nehi," which is from "innocence" in Kurdish. Should I keep the original name? What do you think? ("Yayi," by the way, is the same for, um, "experienced.")
This fiction had inspiration from many sources. For the thing about the 'temporary arranged marriage,' see Madam Chrysanthème (Loti), Madam Butterfly (Long) and Madam Butterfly (Puccini). This was apparently common in the late 1800s and Loti tells a story of such a 'marriage' in Japan during that time as a sailor on a French sail man-of-war during a visit to Nagasaki. (The 'RouKan' comes from the go-betweens for Loti {Kangorou} and Pinkerton {Goro}.)
If you want to say that Palpatine is out-of-character (amongst others), I would not disagree. I doubt that he would reveal his prejudices so early, but perhaps he thinks Lux is so insignificant (and so young) that he can be so blunt.
I don't know if I will be able to update this story as well as Oasis (18 chapters in 6 months) but I will try.
Next up, The Rescue of Luminara Unduli. (Oh my gosh, can I handle two multi-chapter stories at the same time?)
Thanks,
johnt
