Paula-A City on the Outer Rim
Kamikaze looked up from her weapons magazine, noticing a mouthwatering smell coming from the kitchen. Maybe it would be pizza, chicken wings, maybe even something more delicious. She stood up stretched with her arms over her head, and yawned. Well, I guess sitting down in a cockpit for 12 hours, has to take its toll eventually. The con thought to herself. Then she stood up, flipped the ships controls on to auto-pilot and followed the delightful smell, through the common room, and into the kitchen. There she found Goana cooking away, sauteing, demi glazing, basting, browning, searing, and more. Her eyes and mind focused on cooking like her life depended on it. If there was a galactic masterchef, the winner would definitely be Goana Grey. No doubt. Kamikaze decided to walk back into the common room, careful to not disturb the chef at work.
Soon enough, Goana arrived at the table carrying two full bowls of . . .
"Ramen!" Kamikaze screeched excitedly , all her willpower destroyed. Goana smiled.
"You-the merciless, destructive, notorious bounty hunter who is wanted in over a123 systems, likes ramen?" Goana probed.
"For one, don't embarrass me. I'm wanted in over 158 systems." Kamikaze mused. " Two, what's not to like? "
"I will never understand you." Goana said with a sigh.
"You don't have to." Kamikaze remarked, but it was barely audible over the noisy slurps of ramen she was eating.
"Well you better eat that all up, it's the last of the food. " Goana said, as she politely took a bite of the ramen.
"I'll look at the closest route to a planet after dinner. Do you know what other than food we need?" Kamikaze asked.
"We should get some more water, also more fuel, the ship was low on it when we-um,uh -"
"Borrowed it." Kamikaze filled in.
"Yeah, also some tools, for me to improve the ship, and maybe some blankets and sleeping bags as well as some more paint, I want to customize our ship a bit. It looks to generic. "
"Agreed". Kamikaze nodded. "Let's get to bed early, I don't want to run in to any more Nova officers, or worse." She said placing her bowl in the sink, and walking back to the cockpit.
"Alright, well, see you in the morning. " And with that Goana went to explore her new bunk. She walked inside. Again, like a blank canvas. That got her thinking. One Bunk bed, and a desk area. She rummaged through her messenger bag, and found what she was looking for. Finally. She thought, as she pulled out a paintbrush and paints from the depths of her pack. She did not waste any time. She painted a mural of a space battle, on her wall above her bed. Painted meadows, and grasslands, rainforests and tundras, with brilliant shades of blues, and greens. But the masterpiece was a beautiful realistic portrait of Princess Allura, positioned above her desk- so Goana could see her from all angles of the square shaped room. Her Altean marks highlighting her dark tones of her sharp face. The princess's hair flowing like a waterfall. She sighed satisfied with her work, flopped down on her bed and soon was fast asleep.
As Goana awoke, she realized that the ship had stopped moving. That must mean we're there. She thought. Goana was surprised to find that when she entered the cockpit to find Kamikaze sound asleep. She chuckled to herself-of all the people in the galaxy . . . Anyway I might as well leave her be. I can do all the shopping on my own. Right?
She quietly tiptoed into the common room and grabbed her musket and shoved it into her bag. Then she quietly exited out of the aircraft. It was only then did she notice that they were extremely far away from the city. It was still pretty, quite amazing at that. There were rolling hills, grassy meadows, with plants slowly swaying in the wind. The tops of buildings rose just from the trees. The sun was shining down above her, warming her to the perfect temperature. She wondered what it might be like to live a peaceful life out in the countryside, not a care in the world. No Nova corporation officers coming after you, no life of danger, no excitement. She laughed to herself. And with that Goana Grey turned from the meadow, and began to trek down to the city.
The city of Paula was a hub of street vendors, carts, and people. The streets were crowded-it seemed easy to get lost. She was careful to hide her iconic read coat from the prey of the public eye, hoping to avoid a run in with any unwanted attention. At this point she had picked up fuel and mechanical tools from a old man who lived on the outskirts of town, for only 2 credits. It seemed that their money went far on the outer rim. She was also able to grab paint from a wealthy artist, and once Goanna had painted a portrait of her, she recognized Goana's skill immediately, and generously gave her about 30 paint tubes, a pallet, and more brushes. She also played for mattresses, sleeping bags, and pillows, as well as blankets from the same vendor. She bought Kamikaze a pistol too. All that was left was food.
While she was exchanging her credits for some vegetables, a salesman got her attention.
"All right! Step on up! If you can beat Chef Gordon RamsBottom, you will earn 2000 credits worth of kitchenware, utensils, and other glorious items! C'mon don't be shy! " Yelled the salesman. Goana heard this and immediately was attracted like a moth to a lamp. This was what she needed.
"I would like to challenge him. "Goanna exclaimed, confidence radiating off her voice.
"You. A little girl. Thinks she has what it takes to beat Ramsbottom? In your dreams! " He roared.
"You haven't seen me cook!" Goana returned, fire in her eyes.
"Fine! Just don't be disappointed when all your hopes are crushed. "He said with a smirk.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that." Said a voice from behind her. Kamikaze. Kisaragi was comfortably sitting on top of a tree, legs folded, perfectly calm. Joana almost burst into a grin when she saw her partner in crime backing her up. As far as anyone knew, Kamikaze never stood up for anyone but herself. Maybe not all the rumors about her were true.
"And who must you be?" The salesman sneered.
"Someone who could kick your *Beep in about 2 minutes. Tops." Kamikaze unsheathed her sword out of it's scabbard a bit, just so he could see the light shining off the silver blade.
"Was that a threat? Is that supposed to be threatening?" The salesman remarked, visibly scared.
"It depends." Kamikaze retorted. "Are you gonna let this girl cook or not?"
Soon enough Joana was inside a noisy kitchen facing off one of the top chefs in the galaxy. The challenge was deserts. Both Joana and Ramsbottom were sweating, and working their hardest. This was what Joana had lived for, and prepared for her entire life. She could not lose. The challenge went by in a blur, and in the blink of an eye both chef RamsButt and Joana Grey were presenting their desserts to the judges.
"Today judges I have prepared for you a dark chocolate brownie, with a chocolate dome, warm caramel sauce, and a rich chocolate ganache. Enjoy." Goana elaborated.
"The whole dish is extremely rich and decadent. I love it. " One of the Judges exclaimed.
"I am blown away by the chocolate dome! You really thought out of the box here! " Another judge complemented.
"The combination of a classic caramel and chocolate was perfect, well done." The last judge praised. Goana was beaming like she was on cloud 9. Now it was the time for RamsBottom to present his desert.
"Judges I have made a pear, and fig mascarpone tartlet. " Ramsbottom explained.
"Elegant and very sophisticated. " The first judge commended.
"However, the mascarpone filling is very wet, and therefore made your tart have a soggy bottom, and is not very pleasant to eat. " The second judge critiqued.
"I have to agree with my fellow judge it was very soggy, and the fruit did not blend well together. "
"Now we will find out the winner shortly. The judges must deliberate for a bit. " The salesman yelled.
"Today the judges agreed unanimously, that the winner is - " Goana closed her eyes, and hoped, and dreamed it would be her. She could not lose. Never. "GOANA GREY! " Goana jumped up and down, overcome with happiness. She pinched herself once to make sure it was not a dream.
"My God! I just beat Chef Gordon Ramsbottom!" She muttered to herself, while over the celebration in the busy streets she could hear Kamikaze screaming-
"That's my friend! Ha Ha Ha! "
After they had claimed Goana's prize, both of them had begun to walk up the hill. "Hey so why didn't you get up at the right time? Your alarm was set, right? " Goana asked curious why her comrade didn't come into town with her immediately.
" Well, I wanted some more information about the paladins and their ship. I found out that their leader is shiro, the leader of the black lion, therefore voltron. Also some more info about the other paladins, for example, that Lance likes girls-a little too much, and more. And, that they are going to be making landfall on the forest moon of Kaysheen soon. So that will be our first stop. "
"So when do we start?" Goana wondered.
"When we get these supplies into the ship. Then it will be about 3 decathebes to get to Kaysheen, if i'm gonna pilot the whole way. Anyway, the space near Kaysheen is heavily Nova occupied, so I'll have to find us routes- ". Kamikaze explained. While opening the bay doors with a 'whoosh' 'click'. She motioned for Goana to get inside.
"What if I flew a bit? " Goana questioned. Hope in her voice.
"No. Now get in the ship. I've got to chart the course, I'm the only one who has been there before. " Kamikaze replied blankly.
"Fine. I guess it's true" Goana sighed. As she hopped into the aircraft.
"Could you mind-I mean, I saw your paintings in your room, and I was wondering if you could do some art in rest of the ship? 'Cause I mean your room- and well that was amazing! " Kamikaze smiled, and walked into the cockpit.
"Sure!" Goana grinned, following her comrade into the control room.
"Ok, so back to the task at hand-we will get to Kaysheen in about three decatheebes, then find a place to ambush the padins. " Kamikaze elaborated, as she Flipped a switch, which then illuminated the control panel. "You should probably get back into your room, take off in five. If you would like to get the kitchen set up, or cook dinner it would be perfect as well. " Kisaragi directed.
"Alright. " Goana replied, and moved quickly into her bedroom. When she opened the door she was pleasantly surprised by the bright colors, she had painted earlier. She took her seat at her desk with the portrait of Allura over it. The pale light bulb shining a dull glow around the room. "Dinner can wait. You can't. Don't worry princess, i'm coming. "