Quoted By:
“But we’ll be meeting Swan and Choi in the room we’ve checked into. We only need enough time to refuel the <span class="mu-i">Albatross</span> and buy ‘medicine’ for Potkin before we head back on the beaten path.”
“And how soon until they get here?”
“A few hours. Last I heard from them, they got waylaid trying to make a detour from Formos. But they’ll be here, and we’ve got some time to kill until then. And I promise not to turn it into a training exercise."
She nods…then sighs. “Maybe it’s Suzel getting to me, but I really wish we could stay longer.”
“It’s only been a couple of months, and you already want a vacation?”
She snorts, then opens her mouth to reply…
>>Rolled a goddamned 99 on the Encounter Roll…
“Ren? Ren! Is that you?”
But it isn’t your apprentice who spoke. Even before you’ve completely turned around, you already recognize the voice who called your name. And it takes every ounce of self-control to not otherwise betray anything but pure, unabashed surprise as its owner comes towards you at top speed. Her eyes are as bright as a binary star, and her smile is wide in pleasant surprise.
“I thought it was you!”
With a wide and unabashed grin on her lips, Nomiana Whrul pushes through the crowd, looking no different than she had been on the night of your mutual meeting – flight suit and all. Then, she pulls you in for a tight hug.
For a moment, it’s as if you’ve been struck by lightning. It takes a moment for your thoughts to start working. Tentatively, and ever-so-slowly, you return the gesture. But the surprise in your voice isn’t faked in the god-damned slightest.
“Nomiana!”
Ceyla’s mouth remains open, but her eyebrows shoot up past her goggles and into her hairline. Shock is the predominant emotion you feel through the Force bond, then an avalanche of questions. But before she can say anything, you make a frantic gesture for her to shut up.
The Mandalorian pulls away, looking you up and down with an analytical eye. “I thought I recognized you! Your Rionish clothes…well, I think I liked the other ones better from the <span class="mu-i">Toffer</span>. But what are you doing here? Mylus is on the other side of the galaxy!”
Before you can even think about formulating a coherent answer, the communicator on her wrist beeps. She lets you go, muttering something in Mando’a that you vaguely know is an obscenity. “Ah, <span class="mu-i">haar’chak!</span>. Sorry, I’ve got something time-sensitive to take care of so I can’t talk now. But if you wanna go for a dance later, Tana’s flown in the Max Rebo Band for the next few days, and we can pick up where we left off.”
Suddenly, Nomiana then leans your ear. Gooseflesh breaks across your skin as she breathily whispers: “Did you think of me every time you shot my gun?”
Almost as quick as she came, she pulls away. Nomiana waves as she sprints down the road. "Ten-nineteen east if you don't wanna wait for nightfall. Don't be a stranger, Ren!"
(cont.)
