Log:Sisterhood
On a trip to Bootana Shagplan to discover Na'luna's origins, Lira and Nal a connection to each other that they never expected.
OOC Date: October 27, 2023
Location: Bootana Shagplan
Participants: Lira'una, Na'luna
The Tau-Class Assault Shuttle isn't as spacious as a freighter. It's certainly not as fast as something like the Cosmic Drift, but it did have a few advantages...
1) Its transponders were absolutely clean.
2) It was small and would fit /anywhere/ a regular starfighter would fit. They could set down in the middle of a street if they had to.
3) It was.. though Lira hated to think of it this way... disposable. It wasn't 'home' for either of them. If they got into trouble and had to leave it, they could.
4) It was small, maneuverable, and heavily armed. They wouldn't be defenseless.
It does, however, lack some of the basic amenities of a freighter and it requires them to bring everything they need with them. The shuttle wasn't exactly 'stocked.' No spare parts. No spare guns. No spare droids. Just whatever they loaded up for the trip.
The Tau shuttle glides gracefully through the opulent skyline of Bootana Shagplan, a world that mirrors the extravagance of New Vertica -- but even MORE. Everything is MORE. Towering skyscrapers glisten under the twin suns, their designs an audacious blend of architectural genius and blatant grandeur. Speeders, sleek and exorbitantly priced, zip between the spires, their glossy finishes reflecting the city's lavish lifestyle.
Lira guides the shuttle with a steady hand. The control panel's lights flicker in rhythm with the bustling city outside. As the shuttle descends toward a landing pad, its shadow dances over the golden domes and crystal-clear water features that adorn the cityscape below.
The shuttle touches down with a gentle thud and the ramp lowers slowly, unfolding towards the polished durasteel platform. The air is warm, filled with the scent of exotic flowers that are strategically placed throughout the city to add to its allure.
Soon, Lira strides down the ramp, her posture a mix of alertness and ease. Every detail of her attire speaks of practicality, yet there is an undeniable elegance in her simplicity. Her eyes, sharp and observant, scan the surroundings, taking in the lavish display of wealth that Bootana Shagplan wears like a second skin.
Behind her, the 501-Z police droid, affectionately known as "Zee," follows. Towering over Lira, Zee's presence is both imposing and reassuring. His polished, dark metal frame catches the sunlight, casting a protective shadow beside her. Despite his size and the intimidating aura of a law enforcement droid, there is a certain grace in his movements, a testament to his advanced design.
The citizens of Bootana Shagplan, dressed in their extravagant garb, carry their status symbols with an air of nonchalance. Jewels glimmer on their wrists and necks, each piece telling a story of wealth and privilege. Their pets, exotic and rare, strut alongside them, their leashes made of the finest materials.
Lira's presence is a stark contrast to the opulence around her -- poncho and Corellian Swoopsuit, something most here would turn their noses up at. She moves with purpose, her eyes constantly assessing her environment. Zee matches her pace, his sensors discreetly scanning the area, always on alert.
"You okay?" Lira asks, glancing over at Na'luna curiously. She's been an attentive 'little sister' on the trip, knowing a return here might cause some.. unpleasant memories to resurface.
Na'luna's brought a bit of backup, herself, though it's mostly for the translation the military protocol droid can do. That's not even for her. Lira doesn't speak Huttese, and it was Na'luna's first language. If they got separated, the droid would be instructed to go to Lira. Na'luna would be fine, at least translation-wise... The taller twi'lek is wearing her normal boots. She doesn't seem to wear anything that doesn't include those boots...maybe a space suit. Over those boots, it's black, pressed slacks. Tucked into them is a red, button-down shirt. The shirt's sleeves are rolled to nearly her elbows and is unbuttoned enough to look casual, but not enough to show off her assets. Over that shirt is a suit jacket. The jacket hangs open, its sleeves pushed up to just behind the rolled sleeves of the shirt. Her head is unadorned in a more masculine style that makes it easier to speak with her lekku, which is already challenging for her without a head bra. All in all, the woman looks classy, but a bit dangerous. Lira had watched Na'luna get ready. She knew that under that jacket were shoulder holsters with a pair of Relby stunners artfully concealed under her arms. Looking around, the lack of emotional expressiveness of Na'luna's long, heavy lekku was probably good. This place had been home for a long time, but ironically, she'd never really been outside in it; she'd only been able to look out at it from a window as a kept slave. Actually being here was a mixture of nostalgic safety and brutal, mind-numbing fear. "It's weird being back," she says, taking up Lira's arm near the elbow. Her eyes are everywhere, mostly on the people. "Make sure Zee stays close to me, huh? I already feel eyes on me."
It's interesting. Some might say... /sisterly/ ... that Lira and Nal both brought along droid companions for /each other/ , rather than themselves. Lira hadn't even been certain about what she could contribute until...
...(well, some would say she 'lucked up' on Zee, and some would say the Force guided their paths together)...
..her path crossed with Zee's, and she accepted his offer of serving her on her journeys. For a girl that had never even owned a droid in her life before, the little lavender Twi'lek was certainly building up quite the collection, each with their own unique skills and abilities.
Zee's abilities were two-fold. One, he was a massive, two-meter-tall, imposing hunk of glistening machine carrying a rifle and the /obvious/ guard of the two Twi'leks that stood in his shadow. Two, he'd been on the police force on Coruscant before the Sith took over, then served a bounty hunter until he came into Lira's employ. What he does is find people, and he's very good at what he does.
The fact that they weren't 'finding someone'.. but rather.. finding out ABOUT someone who wanted that information for herself (but didn't herself own the rights to those records) seemed like a trivial distinction to Lira, at best. They were trying to get information about someone, and that's what Zee was best at.
"Don't worry," Lira assures once her arm is linked with Nal's, looking over and up at her with a little smile. "I've told him to stay with you. No matter what. I'll be fine."
In truth, it was hard to know what the two of them looked like, together. Lira was rare and purple. Na'luna was rarer with four lekku. Either one of them would make a handsome addition to any collection, but neither of them were slaves. Nor did they walk like or act like one of them owned the other.
What Na'luna /would/ be able to surmise is that Lira, for all her easy warmth and confidence, had no idea how much danger she was in here... how easy it would be for her to simply disappear without a trace, never to be heard from again, swept up into some collector's personal harem and disappeared from the galaxy at large with barely a beep. Lira had no idea what slaves faced -- not really. She'd shown adamant disapproval of the trade, which was no surprise, given her species and gender.. but she'd never spent any time around slaves, or even FORMER slaves aside from Na'luna herself. She didn't know anything about the underground, the slave trade, organized crime, or anything else that she didn't just randomly pick up in passing from living on a Hutt-controlled moon. She was naive to /all/ of it.
But she was here. Nal's own personal emotional support Lek. And she was smiling that warm, purple-lipped smile, her blue eyes glinting with such confidence that it might just be infectious.
"You're going to be fine. We've got this. And then we'll know more, and we can piece things together! It's.. an exciting adventure, honestly. /And/ , I get to see some of the places you've spent time..."
Maybe Lira didn't realize /how/ that time was spent, exactly.
"You used to live here, right?"
Na'luna nods. "Not that I spent much time anywhere but my room or my chair or snuggled up against a hutt mostly naked with my back to the audience while he stroked my lekku like they were each an individual pet," she says. "Don't speak Ryl, here," she warns. "Keep your lekku under control as best you can. You need a poker head," she continues. She's said all this before, but it bears repeating, apparently. "Let's avoid what passes for police, here," she continues. "They may not be as bad as what's on Nar Shaddaa, but they're a private company, and they will absolutely sell us out for any rewards they can come up with, including to slavers." She gestures. "Come on. I see taxis. Hope you don't mind hutt smell." Na'luna didn't, having grown up with it all her life, but she knew most people didn't like the odor.
Lira listens intently to Na'luna, her blue eyes sharp with focus. The severity of her words doesn't escape her; the reality of the situation they're in weighs heavily, yet her spirit remains undeterred. "Understood," she replies, her voice steady, betraying none of the apprehension that Nal's warnings might have stirred in someone less resolved. "I'm... sorry you had to go through that."
As they begin to move towards the taxis, Lira's attention momentarily shifts back to the shuttle. With a series of cheerful whistles and beeps, a small, spherical droid that Nal would recognize rolls out of the craft, hurrying to catch up. BB-BB, or "Echo" as Lira fondly calls him, is one of her newest additions -- skittish and clingy at the same time. His piecemeal body, a collection of multi-colored panels molded to fit his spherical chassis, glints in the twin suns of Bootana Shagplan, a stark contrast to the polished urbanity around them. Some might see a 'junker,' but others might see a droid with spirit, personality, resolve, and tenacity.
< "Wait for me!" > Echo whistles, his enthusiasm barely contained in his mechanical form. As he catches up to Lira and Na'luna, his photoreceptor flickers with what could only be described as nervousness.
Lira can't help but smile at the droid's antics, a brief moment of levity in an otherwise tense situation. "He's settling in," she remarks to Na'luna, watching as Echo positions himself to roll alongside them, ever watchful and ready.
As they approach the line of taxis, the smell of Hutt is indeed unmistakable. Lira's expression doesn't change, though she takes a subtle, deeper breath, mentally preparing herself. "I can handle a bit of Hutt smell," she assures with a slight grin.
Echo chirps in agreement, rolling close to Lira's side, a small, mobile beacon of support and vigilance. His sensors scan the surroundings, complementing Zee's larger, more imposing presence. Together with Nal's protocol droid, they form a protective circle around Lira and Na'luna until they've all boarded one of the larger taxis together -- its bus-like interior required to support their entire entourage.
Na'luna shrugs at the sympathy. "Hutts are soft and cushy to lay on," she says. "My first crush was--" She stops herself. "You know what? Another time. I want to tell you all about that, but maybe when we're being sisterly back somewhere safe." Na'luna doesn't blush. She's not embarrassed about it. She just is thinking better about all that. Na'luna squats down and runs a hand over the BB droid's dome. "We won't leave you behind," she says. "Stick close to one of us. I don't want to see you thrown out."
Hailing a taxi, Na'luna picks up Echo to carry him inside before setting him back down. The interior is clearly designed for Hutt clientelle with every other species an afterthought. There is a smooth floor taking up a good volume. Na'luna shows she knows what's up as she moves to one side and pushes a long, thin, rectangular section. It slides out from the wall into a rather uncomfortable bench seat. Na'luna sits near the driver and raps on the glass. "duba coo jee-jee jee-jee," she says in flawless Huttese. It is, after all, her most comfortable language. She manages to make it sound classy, given the elocution lessons she got growing up. "duba coo ulwan killee goba mee pankpa ulwan duba hoohah mruishani."
[Language: Huttese]
Lira follows Na'luna's lead, her gaze sweeping over the interior of the taxi with a mixture of curiosity and caution. The design is foreign to her, yet she adapts quickly, sliding into the bench seat with an agile grace. She watches Na'luna converse with the driver in Huttese, admiring her fluency and the elegant way she shapes the guttural sounds of the language.
Zee finds a spot where he can remain vigilant yet unobtrusive, his sensors continuously scanning their surroundings. Echo, now safely inside, beeps softly, his lights blinking in a rhythmic pattern that suggests he's calmed down, reassured by the presence of his companions.
As the taxi begins to move, Lira leans slightly toward Na'luna, her voice low but clear. "Your experiences... they've shaped you into someone strong, and adaptable," she says, her tone carrying a note of respect. "I'm glad you're here to guide us. This place... it's a lot to take in."
She glances out of the window, her eyes reflecting the dazzling lights of Bootana Shagplan. The city sprawls out in all its ostentatious glory, a blend of opulence and danger. "It's hard to believe a place like this exists," she murmurs, her voice tinged with more disdain than outright awe. The entire place had been built on the backs of slaves -- sometimes quite literally. The trade had paid for most of it. Slaves had built it. Slaves worked in it. All so that the rich and powerful could afford to keep their feet from touching an unpolished surface.
Na'luna puts a hand on Lira's thigh. "I'm actually terrified," she whispers. "I'm a desk toy. I'm...an ornament. I have to trust that everything will be okay. That's what this place taught me. I'm not in control, but I'm valuable enough people don't want to damage me." Her brows furrow. "It's not really true, now, though. I'm not property to be sold or traded or stolen. I'm just a free woman." She puts on a smile anyway. "I'm having the driver take us to the hall of slave records and registration. I don't want to go there, but it's the easiest, most public use way to find information about me."
"You... might have been treated that way in the past," Lira says softly, setting her lavender hand on top of Na'luna's green and looking over at her. "But none of those things are anywhere close to being true, anymore. You're not /just/ a free woman... you /are/ a free woman, but you're so much more than /just/ that. Especially to those of us who care about you."
Lira's dark purple lips curl at the corners.
"That's a good choice. We're on the right path, Nal," she says warmly an confidently, apparently hoping to share some of that relaxed conviction with her stand-in big sister. "I can feel it."
The smaller, lavender girl hadn't yet shared /how/ she had that much confidence.. or that innate ability to remain calm even within the dangerous planet they found themselves in. Any number of things could go wrong -- really wrong -- and they had absolutely no backup except for the little entourage that was traveling together.
Na'luna manages a smile. "I appreciate that," she manages. It's clear she's skeptical, though. She turns her hand over and takes Lira's, giving the small hand a light squeeze of thanks. "It's a fine tactical decision, ma'am," her military protocol droid tries. "Right place to gather intel. Not often you have to gather intel on yourself, but you picked the right place to do it." That makes Na'luna both smile and roll her eyes.
Once they arrive, Na'luna helps Echo out so he doesn't get dented or fall via the gap, then leads the party toward the slave registrar. "It feels really weird to come here," she says. "I've never even seen this place before."
Bureaucracy at its finest. Despite everyone's bluster about the Republic and how bogged down in bureaucracy it became, /every/ system had its rules and processes. The Hutts were no different. If they didn't maintain order, there was absolute chaos. No one would have any recourse for slaves that had been stolen or 'reappropriated.' No one would know who owned what lands. No one would know who was in control of what jurisdictions.
Pirates operated that way, and it always tore them apart, eventually. They consumed themselves from the inside out. There was no order. There was only survival of the fittest.
This place, despite its opulence and it's OBVIOUS flaunting of Republic-era morality, still had order. It was evidenced by the archives all around them, by the droids meticulously caring for those archives, and for the rows of reception-droids greeting guests that came in to register a slave or transfer ownership.
"One impossible task at a time," Lira practically sing-songs when she looks over at Na'luna, still with that reassuring smile.
She didn't have her blasters on her, anymore. Instead, there was a hint of red metal and steel on each of her hips, barely peeking out from underneath her poncho. Blades of some sort. It was hard to tell if that was somehow.. less menacing.. or more menacing.
"Zee? A little help?"
As Echo rolls along after them, chirping gratefully each time Nal picked him up and set him down to help, Zee had been flanking.. at least until Lira beckoned him forward.
"In this situation, it might be helpful if you did the talking for us," she says. "I'm not suggesting you lie. But.. maybe just.. see if you can get the information without providing too many reasons. Given the climate here, a droid might be... better received."
Lira smiles gently at Nal. Besides.. maybe having the droid doing the talking would help her nerves some.
And so Zee moves ahead of them, leading them to an empty reception counter and greeting the droid there with a hard stare from the glowing red horizontal slit of his optical receptor.
"I require a full history on a slave in your registry," he states, his bassy voice unafraid, uncaring, unwarm... it's simply a declarative.
Na'luna listens to Lira speak. She slips a hand half into a pocket and turns to upnod toward a nervous-looking humanoid alien who was staring at her. The alien honks through its long proboscus, flushes deep blue, and shuffles away quickly.
Meanwhile, as the simple EV-like clerical droid's photoreceptors blink, it responds to Zee's inquiry. "Acknowledged. Full registration number or representitive sample of the slave in question, please." Of the party, only Na'luna and M-3P0 would know that the 'please' isn't present in the Huttese conversations. It's a holdover from the basic language module. In Huttese, the statement came out more as a demand.
This part had been rehearsed. On the trip over, Zee had asked for details so he wouldn't be caught off guard during his investigation. He was a /consummate/ professional. He had memorized all of the relevant details -- serial number, any dates that Na'luna could remember, approximate ages for those she couldn't, the names of anyone she might have been registered to.
He had also asked her to prepare a DNA sample to provide them. It could be anything, really.. it didn't have to be blood. Saliva worked just as well. But, he left it up to her to collect it, rather than doing the invasive part himself.
His reasoning had been that, if they could run both analyses, they could reduce the possibility of their investigation being hindered by clerical errors. A typo of the registration number in one record could kill all of their efforts, but matching her DNA against the file stood a much better likelihood of finding her... assuming they still had the record on file. Anyway.. it was better to cover all of the bases.
After Zee provides the number he has, he turns slightly towards Na'luna and beckons her forward to present whatever she collected as a sample of herself.
"We also have a sample from the slave in question."
Former slave, but Lira had been explicit on not sharing details. He was following orders.. and doing it well.
Na'luna was screaming, internally. Not just one, but a repeated, constant, agonizing scream of abject terror. If anyone was going to grab her again, it was going to be here. On the outside, however, the well-dressed twi'lek walks up and draws a flat, transparent slide-like sample container from a pocket without taking her other hand out of where it rested half inside her pocket. She puts it down into the counter drawer like it's a credit chit and slides it through. The droid opens it from the other side. The sample is slid into a reader. The transparisteel security window between the droid and the customers lights up with information. It's in Huttese, of course, but it includes a picture. Thank the maker it's not a recent picture. The young girl's face is smiling enthusiastically at the viewer. Na'luna remembers when that picture was taken. She remembers the droid who took it. He was nice. They were usually nice to her. She looks so happy, there. There's a plethora of information on the screen.
NALUNA 1.8m estimated final height 80-90kg estimated adult weight Genetic Abnormality High value slave
STATUS: DEAD
There's a lot more information. Na'luna's eyes snag briefly on the status. However, without missing more than a beat, she points a finger at the picture on the screen. "That's her," she says, following the current language being spoken and speaking in Basic. "Slave status is deceased," the droid offers, as if they can't read. "No further recordings will be made. Please insert transaction payment." Na'luna thumps the back of her hand gently against Zee's chest plating before pointing at the screen. It's more of a conversational hand-off than anything else. "Get her pedigree. We'll see if we can get another like her." She's a buyer, at least for now. She has to say SOMETHING other than, 'OMG, that's me!' She walks back to Lira and just briefly lets the panic in her eyes show before looking away and resuming her stony aloofness.
Lira had never done anything at all like this, before. She'd never interacted with slaves, never seen so many in one place (despite living on Nar Shaddaa), never thought about registering a slave, never thought about keeping or transferring slave registrations.
She'd never even realized that taking off a slave's collar was a BAD thing until her boyfriend had explained to her that you couldn't just let a ship full of slaves loose. In her mind, it had been as simple as just lowering the ramp and letting them all go. It turned out, it wasn't that simple for slaves to escape or be freed even if you /could/ get them to try it, but most of them had been conditioned not to.
Go figure.
"That's... her," Lira echoes softly, her voice /so/ quiet. She was part of this, but she wasn't part of this. She was standing there, stoically watching the screen, her hands folded in front of her, but she looked so small... so young.
Her eyes shifted to Na'luna when the green-skinned girl turned back to her, and though there's an obvious want to offer more reassurance, Lira manages to restrain herself for the sake of their task. There would be time later, and in the grand scheme of things, Nal was doing MUCH better than she could ever have hoped, given everything she'd seen so far.
NALUNA. STATUS: DEAD.
These things hung in her mind, nagging at her. Questions for later.
"We require official records of parentage and copies of all additional documentation you have on file," Zee intones in that same, non-nonsense way. All business. Just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts.
He raises a hand, curls his fingers and extends the index. It becomes a universal computer interface, which he lowers towards a convenient data-port.
"I am ready to receive copies and transmit payment."
Lira had linked up her account information. It was tied back to her 'trading company.' She probably could have had Gar try to work out something a little more secure... funneled it through some shady back-world black market bank or something. It didn't seem worth it to even ask. All they were after were records.
Na'luna's back is to the screen when her childhood picture disappears and two other young adults blip onto the screen. The picture is monochrome amber from at least 22 years ago. They appear side by side.
RELIN STATUS: RUNAWAY
NON STATUS: DEAD
There's a LONG list of names that pop up, branching in a tree under each side. A lot of ancestor names, more than likely. After a certain point, for obvious reasons, they're all deceased. Na'luna doesn't look any more, however. Even assuming it's still that young girl on the screen, she barely recognizes her, anymore. She's doing well just to hold it together, internally. Externally, somehow, she's cool as a cucumber. "You wanna get lunch after this?" she asks calmly. "I know a place--" she lies, going on about some Hutt dish she hasn't had in years.
"Go back."
They were the first words that Lira had spoken purposefully since they'd begun this interaction, and they were said /over/ whatever Nal was talking about. It wasn't even clear that Lira had heard the faux lunch invitation. Instead, she stepped forward purposefully towards the screen, drawing the attention of the reception droid /and/ Zee all of a sudden.
"Show me that picture again."
She waits for the screen to flash.
"No -- the one... yes. That one."
Another step forward.
"Zoom in on the man's face."
Lira stares in silence for a moment. She wouldn't have recognized Na'luna from her younger photo. She didn't know her that well. She hadn't seen her through various stages of life.
But she would recognize her father from a time not long before she was born. There were pictures of him holding Tarn as a baby, and he was even younger then than he was when Lira was born.
"Miss?" the droid behind the counter finally breaks her concentration. Miss, apparently, because she didn't have a collar on.
Lira looks up at Z-3. "You have the whole tree? The pictures?"
Zee's big head nods, the red eyes-lit bobbing down and up once.
Lira nods in response, turning and moving back beside Na'luna without looking at her. She was lost in though, her eyes moving as if she was doing math in her head.
"I believe our business is concluded," Zee offers to the other droid. "Thank you for your cooperation."
Na'luna doesn't look. She stops when Lira interrupts her. She just waits and keeps looking away. When Lira returns to her, she looks at the other twi'lek, though Lira seems lost in thought. Placing a hand in the small of Lira's back, she guides her back to a taxi, which she enters much the same as last time. She orders the return trip to the spaceport, after which, she buries her face in her hands. "I don't know any of these people," she confesses to Lira. Her facade is beginning to crack, and she looks like she's only just barely not crying. "I don't know where to go from here," she admits. Sitting up, she leans her lekku back against the window behind her. "Maybe if we can get a hold of a purchase history," she tries. "If we can trace it back to where I was born, we could--"
Why did Lira /insist/ on going on these damn fool adventures without Qutha?
The least she could have done was told him where she was going and /why/ she was going. That was just common courtesy. Master/Padawan 101. Give him an opportunity to be like, "No. That's a bad idea. You shouldn't go." But then, maybe that's why she didn't tell Qutha everything. She still had a bit of... rebelliousness in her. She didn't like being told what to do, and she liked being told what /not/ to do even less.
Still, sometimes it was helpful to have his counsel, though. Sometimes, without it, she did stupid things... like sit in parks and chat with Sith Lords about the Jedi teachings... like /actually/ taking instruction from them.
Or like going off to find out that she had another sister without /any/ sort of mental preparation for that.
Not a sister from another mister. Another actual, biological sister.
That news should have delighted her, and other than the fact that she wasn't expecting it in the least, it /did/ delight her. What she couldn't get past was that a picture of her father with his name above it -- granted, mis-spelled, but still his name -- had been in a database of slaves. Underneath it? A simple status... RUNAWAY.
There was still more to do to prove that Na'luna was, in fact, her sister.. but Lira didn't need any more convincing to believe that her father had been a slave.
And he'd never told her.
Granted, she'd never asked. By the time she'd been old enough to start digging into the family history, Selara had been killed, and everything had been thrown into turmoil. Lira had withdrawn. Tarn had stepped up to take over the 'family business' of helping run the circus. She'd barely given any thought, even in later years, to asking her parents what their lives were like before having children. They were always just.... her parents.
Lira had been lost in her own mind since they'd walked out to the taxi, but slowly, Na'luna's pain was re-entering her conscious mind, and she scooted closer, reaching out to take the girl's green hands in her own.
"We don't need to," she interrupts gently. "Not... right away. I have to tell you something, but I need you to... I need you to not freak out." Which, of course, is the /best/ way to get someone to not freak out. "Nal... I believe that, sometimes, things can happen for reasons that we don't fully understand. Like the universe guiding us to be in a certain place at a certain time. Does that.. make sense to you?"
Na'luna furrows her brow with some confusion. She's not expecting any of that. As far as she can tell, Lira'una, her biggest supporter in this, is basically telling her to give up. Well, maybe give up, maybe just calm down for a second to make sure their trail goes a bit colder before digging more? It's hard to follow what the smaller twi'lek is trying to say, honestly. Thus, Na'luna lifts her head from the window and shakes it no, subtly. "What are you getting at?" she asks. "Why are you telling me not to freak out? Why should I freak out?" she says, already mentally prepping for a freakout at the knowledge there's something to freak out about.
"When we get back to Nar Shaddaa, I have a datapad that you should see," Lira says softly, giving Na'luna's hands a gentle squeeze. "Pictures.. from when I was little. And, before anyone rushes to any conclusions, I think there's more evidence to collect... more testing to be done."
Lira was trying to pace this information.. trying to slow down the panic.. even though all it was likely doing was building the suspense.
"When I saw your bio-page... something bothered me. I couldn't tell what it was. Part of it was that you were listed as deceased, and I didn't understand that. But that wasn't the only thing. It was just... /nagging/ at me. But then I realized -- it was your name... they didn't separate out your given name from your house name. It was all just run together."
She finally takes a breath.
"And then they showed pictures of your parents. The man listed as your father... Ralen... is /my/ father. Zee has a copy of the picture. I have pictures of my father holding us when we were little. It's... it's him. His name was spelled differently, but phonetically, it was the same. That /was/ my father..."
Na'luna listens, furrowing her brow. She listens to everything. Every single thing. She looks between the various droids and twi'lek in the taxi. This is a lot. She tries to unpack one thing at a time. The first is easy. "The ship I was being transported on blew up," Na'luna says. "I got to an escape pod over Tatooine. Got picked up by Jawas. I...I mean, I know they think I'm dead. That's why I speak the Jawa trade language. They saw my fancy slave clothes and thought I was rich." As she's explaining, something pings in her brain. She stops talking for a few moments and stares at the floor boards. Her gaze jerks back to Lira. "What do you mean he's your father?" she asks. "Please explain."
It's Lira's turn to listen, and she nods as she does. Okay. That /was/ easy to explain. It made sense. That's how she got out. That's how she ended up on Tatooine. But then there's that question, and suddenly the pressure was back on her, again.
"Um.. so.. my father's name is Ralen'una." Beat. "And according to those records, so is yours."
There's a pause, then, when Lira didn't seem to know what else to say. Her mind was racing.
"Hold on."
She lets go of Nal's hands and moves her poncho aside, pulling out a datastick from a pouch and handing it over to Zee. "I.. I need a copy of that picture. The one of her father." Then her gaze shifts to the BB-droid. "Echo, those contacts I gave you? Can you hit the long-range transmitters on the shuttle from here to reach Tarn? I need you to call him."
There's an affirmative few beeps, and then the little spherical droid rolls back a little from them, preparing to make room to display the holo-projection.
Lira looks back at Nal, lifting her eyebrows hopefully.
"Just... bear with me for a few minutes, okay? I can explain..."
Na'luna watches Lira prep things for a moment. She looks at Echo. She rebuilt that droid around his droid brain. She knows everything he's capable of. She looks at Zee. She knows his model. She's got a decent idea just from looking at him what his hardware is doing. She knows the droids. This thing with family? She expected to find slaves that needed freed. Family maybe. Half brothers and sisters. Cousins. Distant cousins. This? She had no idea how to process this. She just waits. This is a big claim, and she intends to verify it. She's not going to let herself fall into this if it's just a trap.
It takes a few seconds of tense silence, BB-BB just sitting there ready to transmit, before suddenly a shimmering blue hologram about two-feet tall of what ends up looking like a miniature Twi'lek male resolves before them. He looks between them for a second before settling his gaze on Lira with a big grin.
"Hey, Freak!" he calls jovially.
"King of the Dorks," Lira banters back easily. "Nal, this is my brother. Tarn, this is Na'luna..."
"Ohhh.. Hey there," he says with a sort of exaggerated sleaziness, shifting his attention to the other girl, smoothing his lekku, opening his posture, and widening his smile.
"Calm down, Captain Lovemuffin. She's not interested and you may regret that /whole/ thing later," Lira says. "I need a favor from you."
"Name it," Tarn prompts, seeming to have quickly regained his composure with a kind of laissez faire, entirely unconcerned with being corrected by his little sister.
"I need you to send me a picture of dad when you were little-little. Like, baby-little. Full face. The best picture of him you have."
"Uhhh... genealogy project?"
"Something like that," Lira answers. "The sooner the better."
"I'm sort of in the middle of a really important business--"
"Now is best," Lira interrupts.
Tarn laughs. "You got it, sis. I'll have Tee-Three beam it over."
"Thanks, Tarn. You're literally the worst."
"At least I don't smell like Bantha Butt," Tarn says, thumb to nose, wiggling his fingers.
Lira rolls her eyes. "Love you bye!"
Finally, the transmission ends, and Lira reaches out to take the datastick back from Zee. "Alright. Open up, Echo," she says, feeding the stick into a port that slides open on the little ball-droid.
A moment later, there are two holographic images displayed side-by-side. One of the record of Na'luna's parentage, one the picture that Echo just received from Tarn -- Ralen holding a baby Twi'lek boy.
They're definitely the same man.
"Nal... this is.. my father... Ralen'una... holding my brother, who you just saw. And /that/ picture we just downloaded from your record."
Na'luna accepts the sleazy attempt at flirting with a polite smile and a demure wave. "Hey," she says. Well, being seen as a hottie was nicer than being an object on a shelf. She didn't need to bust his bubble that she had a girlfriend, not over holo. Just hello was fine. Plus...well, there would be...complications if what Lira was implying was true. She'd shoot him down hardcore if it was verified and he still tried anything. Maybe slap him, even...no...give him a noogie. That was the sibling way. The conversation between Lira'una and Tarn'una makes her smile as she listens to it. It's gross and rude and loving and wonderful all at once. When the call is ended, however, she has to face reality again instead of watching someone else's family drama play out. And then the holoprojection bursts forth. Ralen'una. Not Rel'in or Re'lin or Relin'something-else. Ralen'una. Na'luna slides off the bench onto her knees. She reaches out with her arms wide. Thankfully, Echo recognizes the gesture and shrinks things down. Na'luna holds her hands at the edges of the projection frame. Ralen'una. Ralen...una... Not Naluna, not Na'luna, Nal'una. Ralen'una, Nal'una. The green-skinned, four-lekku'd twi'lek looks over at Lira. Ralen'una, Nal'una, Lira'una. She doesn't seem to realize in her shock that she's got tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please don't be lying to me," she says. "Please," she begs. "Please don't be lying to me," she says, silent tears turning to sobbing.
"Hey," Lira coos softly, her smile lingering, the word carried on a soft huff of a laugh as she sinks down beside Nal, reaching out a hand to set on her back. It's an offering of a hug, but she doesn't push it.. and she doesn't seem to want to pull her away from the projection of the two men until she's ready.
"No one's lying. I promise. But we /do/ need to do some tests on both of us, and if it confirms all this... you and I are going to have to have a very difficult conversation with our father."
There's a pause, then, and a lingering look from Lira.
"But Nal, even if it doesn't... I'm not going anywhere. You're sort of stuck being my big sister, now, no matter what happens." She smiles a bit. "Deal?"
/OUR/ father. Both of them. Sisters, no matter what. Na'luna...Nal'una turns and buries her face against Lira's shoulder, grabbing at her poncho and accepting the hug. She just focuses on breathing. Breathing is important. Is this real? Is any of this real? Surely, she's just dreaming. She wraps her arms around her little sister, hooking them up and onto her shoulders under that poncho...angles were tricky to do otherwise. She's trying so hard. This is such a new thing. "Test," Nal'una finally says. "Verification, yes. The bigger the claim, the stronger the evidence required to back it up." She sits up and looks at the little purple girl. "How?!" she blurts out. She holds up an arm to Lira'una's. There's a distinctly 'opposite' skin tone going on. If you took the negative of one, you'd get the other. "I...how can we verify this? We need a medical droid," she says, her first thoughts usually going to droids.
"We'll figure it out."
Lira hugs her back -- her sister. Not Selara. Someone new.
The odds were so unlikely, that anyone could /gain/ a big sister in the middle of their lifetime, and yet... it had happened. A miracle? The will of the Force? A quirk of fate? Pure unadulterated happenstance? There would never be any way to know for sure. This was one of those situations that was left up to faith. Even the Jedi, in all their wisdom, couldn't be absolutely certain of 'the will of the Force.'
Yet, that was Lira's belief. It was the Force that had guided her to Nal'una. It was the Force that brought her back with BB-BB's parts. It was the Force that led them both here. It was the Force that brought two sisters, separated for most of their lives by a whole galaxy, back together again.
Maybe one day she would explain that to her sister. But, for now, there was more to be done. They would need to find a facility to do the tests... one that they could both trust. Nal would find Lira less than receptive to having her blood sampled by Imperial or even Hutt-aligned medical facilities, which was really going to limit their possibilities unless they went to the Rebel Fleet and used their medical droids.
But that too was going to require a lot of explaining. And a lot of trust.
The road forward wasn't easy. But it would be worth it, no matter happened. Sisterhood always was.
