Chapter 2

Shlekfest

"There is absolutely nothing we can do!" Mission cried in dismay.

The crew of the Ebon Hawk had already left the ship at the docking port, either in small groups or individually. Mission naturally decided to pair up with Zalbaar, hoping together they would find something entertaining. However, it had already been a few hours for the Twi'lek and the Wookiee, and there appeared to be nothing of interest in the enclosed city of Ahto.

"I mean, Big Z, look at this movie theater, it's only showing three (wow, count them), three movies. And look at the choices: A Gizka Love Story (which was voted the worst movie of the century next to My Beautiful Droid), A Wookiee with a Lightsaber (which offended both Wookiees and Jedi), and what they call their 'newest feature', Living Yesterday to Die Today—released about a year ago on Taris!"

"Perhaps we can eat something?" Zaalbar suggested.

"Eat something? Do you know what they eat on this planet?"

"I'm not certain."

"Look at what he's eating," Mission said, gesturing toward a Selkath on a bench.

Zaalbar looked, noticing that he had what at first glance seemed like a green popsicle, except that it was a discolored, moldy green that had lumps all over it. One of the lumps popped, but the Selkath took no notice and continued to eat.

"Eww!" Zaalbar roared. "But that can't be what everyone eats!"

"Well, look over there."

Zaalbar turned and noticed a group of young Selkath, all eating brown fish pellets.

"There must be some normal food around here!"

"There is, but it's too expensive. I mean, that one restaurant that we saw back there a while ago was very fancy and when I caught a glimpse of their menu it was selling a bowl of old Rodian stew for 45 credits! We might as well starve to death or eat the food that we have on the Ebon Hawk."

"It's a wonder why the Selkath don't all kill themselves!"

"Don't be so dramatic."

They walked a little wihile longer until something caught Mission's eye.

"Hey," she said, nudging Zaalbar, "look at this."

Zaalbar looked in Mission's direction and saw a small sign. He moved in closer in order to have a better look. It showed a group of aliens of all races dancing in pairs. The sign read:

Come to Shlekfest

We are looking forward to seeing you there

"I wonder what that is," Mission asked herself.

"You do not know about Shlekfest?" a voice said in disbelief.

They turned to notice a Twi'lek woman standing behind them.

"We're new," Mission explained.

"Well," the young Twi'lek continued, "let me introduce myself. My name is Yesta and I'm coordinating the Shlekfest dance this year. Shlekfest is a festival held annually in which everyone appreciates being alive, lasting another year. It is the time for making amendments for any wrong doings and for doing things you always wanted to do, like asking that certain special someone to the dance. Businesses and schools are closed so that everyone can have a fun time—even our security can be a bit more lenient on Shlekfest!"

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Zaalbar whispered to Mission.

"Our biggest event, though, is the dance," Yesta continued. "There will be food, live entertainment, a beauty contest, and a dancing competition. Practically everyone is going. Interested?"

"Yeah," Mission said, excited at the prospect of something actually happening on Manaan.

"Great! Now tickets cost 160 single and 180 couple so it is far better to go with someone else than by yourself. The dance is formal with a strict dress code so you can check the list to see what you can wear."

"Where's the list?" Mission asked.

"The list is posted right in front of our dance hall."

"And where is that?"

"It's right by our movie theater."

"You mean the one showing A Gizka Love Story?"

"Which other movie theater is there? So . . . you want to go?"

"Oh, yeah! I have friends who might want to come, too!"

Zaalbar cleared his throat. "Will there be normal food?"

"Of course," Yesta replied. "We are trying to be more 'foreign friendly' so there will probably be some items on the menu that you would enjoy."

"All right," Mission said. "Oh, and one more thing, when will this dance be?"

"The dance takes place in four days from now."

"Hm. And three days beginning with tomorrow."

Yesta hesitated for a moment. "Um, yes?"

Mission turned to Zaalbar. "Isn't that some coincidence? The last day of our break is the same as the dance."

Zaalbar scratched the back of his head.

"Well . . ." Yesta said, beginning to inch away from the Twi'lek and the Wookiee, "if there's nothing else, I need to see to some things."

"Oh, sure. Thanks!"

Yesta gave a small smile at the two new potential attendees, then walked off.

"Did you see that?" Zaalbar asked in a whiny growl.

"See what?" Mission questioned.

"That woman spoke only to you. She didn't even look at me until I asked about the food."

"So?"

"I can tell, Mission. I can tell that she doesn't like Wookiees."

"Zaalbar, that's one of the dumbest things I ever heard you say. She was just talking to me because you weren't saying anything for the longest time."

"I bet she has lots of Wookiee slaves, too."

"Quit being silly. Now, come on! We have to try to contact the others and tell them about this!"

"So, what'd you guys think?"

Mission had returned to the Ebon Hawk with the intention of contacting everyone. However, when she discovered that a majority of the crew was already there, eating their own rations for dinner, she decided not to bother with sending a message. Instead, she held her own meeting with the crew members present right outside the Ebon Hawk.

"What's this dance about?" Carth asked.

Mission took a deep breath, realizing that she was not the best person at explaining thing clearly when excited. "It has something to do with one of their holidays, Shakefast or something like that. Supposedly, you don't do any work and you change your life."

"What do you mean by 'change your life'?" Ayla questioned.

"Well," Mission said, "it means you do things differently or things that you always wanted to do."

"So it's a major change," Juhani said.

"Not exactly, what I mean is . . . well . . . this is our big chance to go to a dance and since it is a strange holiday and since the tickets cost only a few credits more for a couple than two people going on different tickets, then I was thinking that, you know, we should all try to go and bring someone that we like."

"That's a great idea!" Jolee complimented. "Now, who wants to go with me, eh?"

No one spoke.

"You women here are just so stubborn!"

"Too bad, Jolee," Mission laughed.

"Well, I knew that no one would jump in, but if anyone gets desperate . . . besides, not everyone is here."

"You're right!" Mission said, sounding amazed. "Now, who isn't here?"

"Well, the HK-47 appears to be missing," Ayla said. "Bastila is missing as well. And Canderous."

"Are those the only three?"

Everyone looked around for a moment.

"So it seems," Carth said.

"If anyone comes across them, we should tell them about this," Ayla commented.

"I don't think any of them would be interested," Carth laughed.

"You never know," Ayla said with a smile.

"Come on," Carth retorted, "a Jedi would never attend."

"I'm a Jedi."

"I meant a serious, conservative Jedi would never attend, and neither would a Mandalorian. And I doubt that a droid would be interested."

The T3-M4 beeped wildly but was ignored.

"Alright then," Mission said with finality. "Remember: formal, three days, and right next to the movie theater."