Take Off The Mask

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Empress Teta is very important." That wasn't just ego talking either, his homeworld was pretty much a 'little' Coruscant. The two Core worlds had competed for millenia, though of course Coruscant always came out on top.

Still, the planet was a valuable center of trade, luxury items, and a fuel depot for those venturing further and further into the Deep Core. The planet he;d value enough that it had it's own defensive fleets, and the fact that it was invaded thrice in the last five decades was pretty telling of its important. Then again, perhaps he just had a little bit of pride for his homeworld, but there was no shame in that. Everyone loved where they came from, Danger certainly did.

"Besides." He gently booped her nose as she looked at the statues. "Let's not pretend you don't like to be involved when it comes to new business opportunities."

That was part of why he loved her, she saw an opportunity, and she took it. "Once you heard there was a dashing new Emperor seeking to expand commerce..."

He trailed off.

"You'd be all over him-" He grinned. "It. I mean it."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"A dashing new Emperor?" an eyebrow in avid amusement rose up high, the woman taking another bite of her fruit.

"I thought you didn't have a claim to the throne at all." she added, finding a hole in his little plotline. She even followed through with a distinctive poke along his arm, the pair continuing on to observe the Corellian Flame Light Statues. Perhaps I will buy one.

"I'll have you know, Mistah Kuhn, is that the Danger of back then didn't mix business with pleasure." a scrunch of her nose and a small poke of her tongue out at him assured that she was going along with the teasing.

"What do you think of the statues? Should we get one?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"I don't." In theory anyway. "It would have been an obstacle to overcome."

His father would have insisted on it of course. The Ultimate position of authority on his homeworld was that of Emperor. It was a spot that his daughter now occupied and one that she was doing fairly well in. She'd managed it mostly through a combination of popularity and political pull, largely coming from Alric's own work. In theory it would have been possible for him to ascend as well, but during that time things would have been far more...complicated.

"Did she now? I a moment of much mixing..." He smirked at her.

Granted what he was talking about had been a bit...different, but he would still count it.

"I don't think so." Alric said. "Where would we put it?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"They come in various sizes," Danger would elaborate on the Corellian flame light sculptures. "Some say that the artist can capture the true essence of the Force within these tiny little glowing spheres." An arch of her brows suggested she wasn't too naive to believe it; then again, with as so much hoodoo out there that those with the Force can do, she couldn't put it past a fraction of the mysterious energy perhaps being caught within the fine glass of the light sculpture.

"I don't know if you are keen on maybe buying one." It honestly didn't matter. The time spent now was just in quiet contemplation and with each others company.

"We're at the age where we can practically buy what we want for any given desire."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"I think we've always been at that age." He pointed out.

At least for the last few decades anyway. He and Danger were two of the richest beings in the entire galaxy. Their wealth was the very definition of 'frak you' money. If they really wanted to they could walk into a hotel, trash the entire place, punch the nearest bell-boy and then just throw money at the whole problem to make it all go away. They were unbelievably wealthy, and at times it was hard not to simply show that amount of wealth.

Of course in that regard Danger had always shown much more restraint than he. "If you want one we can get it."

He told her simply.

"Maybe replace the chandelier in the ball-room." Perhaps that would be a bit extravagant. "Commission something...big."

Alric shrugged. His ideas were always on the grander side.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Why does everything have to be so grand for you?" amusement would color Danger's inquiry, the Queen of Trade peering up at her husband from behind her wide brim hat and dark sunglasses. Danger's sense of style had a tendency to lean towards the rugged. To be fair, the Stronghold on Tatooine displayed the various collections of the paraphernalia of the Twin Suns. For comparison, the Farm that Alric had bought and build for their family was a mixture of both of their tastes.

"Grand gestures... you show your hand with those." she teased him, curling her arm around his again, encouraging him to continue on their little stroll. Whether or not they bought a Corellian Flame statue right now didn't matter. They could always come back.

"I appreciate them though." she added, moving in close to brush a kiss along his bearded cheek.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"I'm a grand person." He countered with a small smile.

He felt her lips brush against his bearded cheek.

"I have a big personality." That was most certainly true. Alric didn't really do 'small' or 'subtle'. He was known the galaxy over for being loud, slightly obnoxious, and entirely over the top. The two corporations that he'd helped build had constructed some of the grandest and most terrifying things the galaxy had ever seen. Half of that was a legacy he could be proud of, the other half? Well probably not so much, but it was still who he was. "You knew that when you agreed to marry me."

His arms slowly slipped around her as he pulled her close.

The Tetan smiled at his wife, slowly nuzzling his nose against her. "If you wanted small you should have married a Jawa."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

The tiny bristles of his beard would tickle along her lips and nose where the Tetan had placed a delicate kiss. Of course, Danger brought her hand up to bat the man gently away with a wave of her hand, adding, "A Jawa?" a heavy snort.

"Please...do I look like Rave Merrill?" it had been well known that the late Rave Merril had specific preferences when it came to those she found attractive. Apparently Jawas were quite the hit on getting the old fool hot and bothered. Personally, Danger never understood it, but one cannot fault the other on their kinks and preferences.

Rocking in his embrace, Danger took a deep breath in. The air smelled sweet, green even. Tinged with the spice of the faint cologne Alric wore. The brim of her hat went sliding back, revealing a bit more of the silver streaked hair underneath. Still not quite visible to discern who she was, but take off the glasses and the hat and that could potentially change rather quickly.

"Would you want to go anywhere?" came Dangers wandering mull. " Not just here, but I mean... anywhere in particular?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He shrugged.

In truth Vineta wasn't really where he had wanted to go on vacation. His true desire had been to go somewhere more far away, somewhere remote. It wasn't something that he could tell Danger, not now. She would feel inevitably guilty about it which would then only ruin the entire trip. Alric didn't want that, especially since he hoped this little vacation was only the first and more were yet to come when his wife realized they could leave their little daughter alone.

"Not really." He shook his head. "The opera of course."

That was at least one thing he wanted to attend. "But that isn't until a few hours."

They had plenty of time to move and meander about Vineta as they pleased. That was part of why they had come here in the first place, to relax and just sort of do their own thing for a time instead of being tied down to a stressful schedule.

"We could go down to the water, finally teach you how to swim." A smile pulled at his lips.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]


Now both brows rose high.

“Swimming?” there had been a few times that the Queen of Trade had managed to wade through the liquid, those few episodes, while enjoyable, had also almost seen her plop right on her rump onto the sand. Had it not been for Judah Dashiell or Makai, she’d likely had found herself swallowing a mouthful of sea water.

“Me? I don’t have anything to wear for such a thing.” and it would also make them a little bit more visible. “I could take a few steps or two in the water.” well something to try at least. Vineta had several pools, waterfalls, and pristine stretches of beaches for its patrons.

“Maybe sit out and take in the sun a bit.” it might not be as hot as on Tatooine, but feeling the warmth of those rays upon their faces might be nice.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

It was something.

The beaches along Vineta werent actually natural beaches. Most of the city was actually more of a floating dock than an actual beach. To get to the sands one had to first take a boat or a speeder and get to the other side of the lake.

This was done for multiple reasons, the largest of which was simply to keep traffic moving throughout Vineta.

Those that wanted to go to the beach could easily do so by hopping onto a boat and heading across the lake. This meant people on the beach werent bothered by others and the tourists in the city could just as easily move around without bothering anyone. Of course if one really wanted to they could just go swimming in the half a dozen pools that were everywhere.

It was smart really. "Okay lets head to the beach then."

He pressed a Kiss on Dangers forehead then turned to lead her towards the docks.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Hand in hand, the pair continued their slow amble, enjoying the afternoon sun and simply being together. It was warm, but not too warm, yet as they neared the beaches they could both feel the cooling sensation of the breeze dip. There was a salty sweetness to the air, a crisp synergy. Off to their right would be a long pier with a pergola at the end. A couple of Vineta tourists lounged around, a few in bathing suits and others similar summer dresses as Danger.

Observing the pier, she caught sight of a young teenager fishing. To her that seemed a bit odd. Vineta was more geared for adults, but there could be the occasional youngling or teenager accompanying their parents. It might be a classier Zeltros, but it wasn't really a family environment. Or perhaps it was and Alric had yet to show her.

"Have you ever gone fishing?" an abrupt question, but if the Tetan would follow her gaze, he would understand why.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He did follow her gaze, eyebroe lifting for a moment.

"Way back." It hadnt really occured to him that of course Danger would never have gone fishing before. Swimming of course was the first thing hed always thought of, but with no major lakes or oceans there of course wouldn't be any fishing on Tatooine either. He frowned for a moment.

Perhaps that was something theyd have to do back home.

"My friends and I used to go." He commented. "There was a creek down right by the walls of the estate."

The fish had never been very big but it had alwayd been something to do.

Boyhood memories.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Were you any good at it?" in her mind, Danger thought back to Makai Dashiell and how he had shown her how to go crabbing. Of course, the adventure had been a bit more entertaining than dealing with the finicky little creatures with the big pinchers. Needless to say, getting pinched wasn't the most delightful of sensations. Those things could grab hold with the fiercest of grips!

"I tried a bit of it myself. Makai tried to teach me. A rather lengthy process." it was a day affair. Not much in terms of actual doing as much as waiting. However, spending that time with Makai had been precious to Danger. So in that, it had been an afternoon well spent on Dac.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"I don't think you ever get good at fishing." He said with a smile.

The idea of practicing fishing just didn't really...well work. Sure you could get more knowledgeable, learn what the fish liked, but at the end of the dya you were still throwing a line in the water trying to get an animal to bite onto it. There was a science to it, but really no actual skill.

"I think it's more luck." He told her as they wandered down the dock towards one of the boats. "So to answer your question."

He glanced around, trying to find the right craft for them. "No I was not very good at it."

The Tetan grinned.

"But it was never really about catching Fish anyway." A shrug rolled over his shoulders. "It was more about spending time together."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Take me out to the Wastes and I'll show you that I'm better with a gun than with a fishing pole." that wasn't to say that the woman wouldn't understand what the Tetan meant. Reflecting back on her time with Makai, her smile at the corners of her mouth broadened.

"But I can see that." she added, taking a deep breath. They were now making their way towards the pier. Perhaps walking along the water and over it would be nice. There were a few small sailing ships out in the wide lake. This area had the lake dammed in from the sea, with a small entry way for those who would like to make it out into open water.

"Myra sure enjoys spending time with Makai when we visit Dac doing just that."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Well a Blaster is something you can get better at." He well understood the point of her saying, but he couldn't help but pick at it just a little bit. "Not much improving to do when you're just throwing some string into the ocean."

Or a stream, or a lake.

It wasn't that he hated fishing, it was just that he clearly disliked that he apparently couldn't get any better at it. Alric always liked to improve, always liked to do things better, but sometimes there just wasn't anything that could be done. He smiled as they finally made it to a small boat, the engine on the back looking as though it were barely big enough to move the tiny thing. "It's a nice way to spend time with people."

Alric said as he stepped into the boat, offering Danger his hand to help her get in.

"Less thinking." He shrugged. "Don't really have to concentrate to do it."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Well Makai did some sea fishing." Danger explained, thinking back on just how that turned out and what the lessons were. Fishing on the Sea is an entirely different animal than in calmer freshwater. The Tetan likely had more familiarity in that.

Scrunching up her face, Danger would recall how the boat had been rather, well rocky. Although to an extend, it had been a bit more active than she had originally thought.

"Did you do so on boats?" the rocking of the sea had not been the best for Danger. She had mild bouts of nausea at the rocking motions.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Nope." He said as he slowly lead Danger down towards one of the plush seats at the end of the boat, knowing she would likely get seasick.

"There aren't many oceans on Empress Teta." The world, like Coruscant, was a city. There were a few lakes, massive reservoirs, and even a few privately constructed beaches, but most of the time people weren't allowed to drive boats around them. There was a good reason for that, mostly pollution but also appearance. Everyone on Empress Teta, even the rich, were held to a standard. They had to appear to be regal at all times. "My father didn't like me traveling off world."

As ironic as that was given that going off-world had saved his life.

He shifted over towards the end of the boat and undid the ropes that tied them to the docks. "First time I went on a boat was when I was eighteen, I took a University trip to Spira and we have a vacation there."

The Tetan turned towards his wife.

"No fishing there though." He told her. "Just other...stuff."

Alric quickly turned and switched the boat on, smirking to himself for a moment.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]


"Well I imagine that this boat won't be rocking too much. A lot less waves than there were on Dac." taking his hand, Danger carefully made her way in.

"So whose boat is this?" likely Alric would say theirs, but hey, never knew. Could be one of the ones offered for guests. Speaking of... were there any attendants?

"And I bet you had quite your fill of entertainment without the fishing on Spira." she mused, taking off her wide brim hat. Her right hand rose, fingers threading through her silver-streaked auburn hair to push it away from her face.

"So where are we going?"