Ah, Zeltros! Zavii's mind buzzed with the incredible degree of sheer revelry in the tropical atmosphere. All around her, beings from across the Galaxy had flocked into the capitol city- and likely across the globe- to participate in the monumental festivities that invariably came with the coronation of a new monarch. It was the kind of party that only came around once or twice in a normal lifetime, and this young Jedi wouldn't have missed it for a fortune. Luckily for her, the world was along a major trade route that didn't take a fortune to traverse from Kashyyyk, and so had convinced the Grand Master to let her attend.
The ceremony itself was lovely, if surprising due to the fact that the new Queen was in fact Twi'lek, but being a little less than twenty years old, Zavii didn't think it her place to question the political workings of such a stable and well-established world. Instead, she watched the ceremony from the viewscreens in a cantina with her friend [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] and her more-than-a-friend [member="Tanaski Yumi"]. Once the new Queen had been throned and given a speech to the Zeltron people, the real party started, and it didn't show any signs of letting up.
Part of the Padawan's mind was perfectly content just to enjoy the immensely good vibes of the world on such a day, but part of her was anxious for the rambunctious people to calm a bit and reopen their airports. Her other reason for coming to Zeltros had been to finally visit her parents for the first time since they had relinquished her into the care of the Silver Jedi. They were the ones who had alerted her to the event in the first place, after all, and ever since landing onworld she had been checking her commlink for any new messages from the career musicians in between singing with the other partygoers, dancing with Asaraa and openly making out with Tana.
After one particularly long kiss that left her feeling much hotter and out-of-breath than she should have, the Zabrak got up from the booth seat where they had been resting their legs and patted the boy on the hand, making eye-contact with the pink-haired human that she was still having trouble thinking of as Asaraa. "I'm gonna step out f'some air," she shouted over the nearly-deafening music, tilting her head in the direction of the exit. She had met a few Zeltrons in the past and knew about their pheromones that could affect the minds of everyone around them, but being in such close proximity to so many of the ruby-skinned people for so long had become dizzying. With a quick spin that made her new celebratory red-and-gold shimmersilk robes flutter and flash under the bar's colorful lights, she made her way outside.
As soon as the warm night air hit her face, Zavii felt ten times better. Her head seemed to clear up considerably, causing the violet-eyed young woman to sigh audibly in relief. "You alright there, kid?" a gruff man's voice asked from over her shoulder. "Fine," she replied as her eyes settled on an older Zabrak, one with skin and eyes just as red as any Zeltron's and far more tattoos than Zavii had. He was dressed down in the way that spacers do whenever they want everyone to know that they're this generation's Han Solo and they can get from Nal Hutta to Nar Shadaa faster than a snakebite can kill.
"These folks sure know howd'a throw a ho-down, don't they?" The man puffed at a cigar and gave Zavii a crooked grin that would have creeped her out had she not been high on airborne hormones, or Jedi trained. "Don't worry, I saw ya with yer little boyfriend in there, I don't want nuthin' like that from ya." He jerked his head toward the interior of the cantina and leaned against the wall, bracing himself with one boot. "Just wonderin' if you got somewhere t'be. I noticed you checkin' yer comm a whole bunch, figured you might be tryin'a get some business done too while you're on-world."
"You see quite a bit, don't you?" the younger Zabrak relaxed her posture and crossed her arms with an appraising smile. The spacer puffed at his cigar again and nodded. "Man's gotta keep'is eyes peeled for the next job. Name's Dax, Cap'n of the Midnight Express. Due to the... cland'stine nature of my business I got my own dock that ain't part of the main spaceport in Zeltros City, so the local closures don't tend to affect me as much. Business is always boomin' here and I can't afford to let it suffer every time these hooligans wanna cut a rug, ye'understand. Anyway, here's my card, gimme a buzz if you need me in the next couple'a days." With that, the man handed Zavii an actual business card, made from actual cardstock, before walking off down the street after a Twi'lek woman who could almost be mistaken for the new Zeltron Queen, if only she'd been covering more of her emerald skin.
As her violet eyes followed the man out of sight, a whisper in the Force told them to shift just a little to the right, toward the street corner. As soon as they did, a Human appeared from around a food cart. He was sporting a beard and a distracted glaze in his seafoam green eyes that Zavii instantly recognized. Her hand shot to her belly and for one horrible instant she was back in the Rest, hot blood pouring from the wound punched into her shirt. She remembered the pain, the fear. In a flash it was over and she was gliding through the crowd back inside the cantina. The music and smoke and laughter disoriented her once again and there were a few seconds of panic before she found her companions at the table again. Sitting down quickly, Zavii leaned low over the table and looked at each of her fellow Padawans conspiratorially. "He's here! Rright outside! He's coming!" She hadn't expected this at all, not so soon, but deep in the pit of her stomach she knew that weather [member="Kei Raxis"] had seen her or not, the Force would drive him into this very bar, and when he walked inside they would have to act.
So much for an easy vacation.
