Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Aug 11, 2012 21:49:59 GMT -5
Character permission Meira
Name: Tashra Gly, aka ‘Sparky’
Race: Togruta
Age: 17
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 115 lbs
Birth place: Tatooine
Appearance:
Tashra “Sparky” Gly is a teenage Togruta girl, who doesn’t exactly stand out in a crowd. She’s on the short side at five feet and three inches, and her body, while adequate, isn’t exactly the curviest. She’s very willowy, without being skinny, and though her build may seem frail or unassuming, she is actually quite deceptively strong.
Her skin is interesting, a light yellow-orange tone, and completely devoid of any hair. It is smooth and healthy, but hardly as much as it would be with the proper care that she never invests in. In fact, most often she can be found with minor bandages for cuts and scrapes, and the almost inevitable dirt and grease on her skin picked up in the course of various mechanical acts.
Tashra’s face is oval in shape, with soft features set into it. Her nose is broad, which if she put any thought into it, might have bothered her. She has almond-shaped eyes, in a lovely golden amber color, which are quite possibly her best feature. She has white markings on her forehead and cheeks, that look as if some bored artist had started a doodle and never finished. Her face is framed by her lekku, or headtails, to the sides, and her montals (horns) above. These are white, with blue markings whose color fluctuates with mood. The lekku themselves only come down to her chest, though they will grow further with age. Similarly, the montrals do not tower or curve particularly, yet.
The teenager is most commonly found wearing earth-tone shorts and a simple shirt bearing a logo, most commonly from one of the major manufacturers in the galaxy, such as SoroSuub or Aratech. They run the gamut in color, but powder blue is her personal favorite. She pairs that ensemble with a select few accessories, namely a pair of black lace-up boots and her prized possession. She always wears a tool-belt around her waist brimming with essential equipment, made of worn leather whose original color has been lost to time.
When cold, she has a serape/pancho/blanket made of homespun, brown, bantha wool. It has simple geometric patterning in beige around the edges, but is quite plain on the whole. She keeps it close, and uses it as a blanket regularly.
She is wholly unprepared for combat, lacking any blasters or vibroblades, and she relies on a trusty wrench in her belt to dissuade would be criminals.
Very often, Tashra can be found in the close company of “Perry,” her Aratech XT-2000 droid. Perry thinks he is an attorney, and as such can usually be relied on for low cost legal advice.
Personality:
Tashra is, in a word, innocent. Something about her amber eyes reveals her nature, as an amiable girl who has an abundance of faith in strangers, and a good deal of naivete. In fact, she is all around quite childlike, a girl who is unaware of just how much she has grown, and who straddles the gap between adult and child. She is equally likely to be watching a children’s show on the holonet as she is to be cursing a storm over a stubbed toe.
In another word, Tashra is a tomboy. She is most definitely not into makeovers, frilly dresses, or high-heeled shoes. When confronted by girly things her instinct is to stare at them in bewilderment, or laugh hysterically at the thought of being caught in them. However, despite all that, she does hold a secret pleasure in soap operas and corny romances, which she tries to conceal wherever possible. Despite all her tomboyish nature and lack of social graces, she harbor the secret desire that someday a handsome prince from a distant world will sweep her away to live happily ever after.
However she still is under the impression Prince Charming will have to deal with her constantly tinkering and getting her hands dirty.
Tinkering is definitely Tashra’s raison d’etre, and her primary passion. Her first instinct upon seeing any kind of technology is to disassemble it to see how it works, then reassemble it. Oftentimes she repeats this process for hours, until she has the function memorized. Almost every piece of technology she owns she has memorized this way.
While this might provide someone with the impression that Tashra’s intelligence is of the highest caliber, they would not be wholly correct. Tashra is, outside of mechanics, rather simple-minded and ignorant. She’d have trouble picking out Coruscant on a map, doesn’t know the capital of the Sith Empire, and speaks no languages apart from Basic and Huttese.
The only artistic endeavor Tashra has is a small wooden flute that she plays assorted tunes on, which is, in the grand scheme of things, not much. She can’t read music and wouldn’t know a classic composer if he walked up to her and said hello.
In short, Tashra is an amiable kid, eager to please, but not particular intelligent or wise, straddling the line between youth and adulthood, and competency and foolishness
Occupation: Mechanic
Rank: Semi-professional
Skills: Mechanics (of anything), basic vehicle operation
Ships/Vehicles: None (yet)
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 6
Leadership: 3
Unarmed: 2
Melee Weapons: 3
Ranged Weapons: 2
Bio:
In the Beginning
Tashra’s story begins long before her birth, in 3625 BBY, with a brilliant young Togruta scientist, named Rasha Gly. She was always an overachiever, and from her earliest days wasn’t content with a provincial life on Shili. She’d grown up in the outskirts of Corvala, the capital. Her parents were both loosely affiliated with a tribe, from which their surname was derived, and they carried out semi-traditional jobs while their daughter proved a voracious learner.
Racing through college, Rasha proved deeply talented at the sciences, gaining a degree quickly and seeking notoriety in the field of geology, which she had chosen and carefully started a career hunt for. She was confident that with her talent and high marks she could get a great job for any company in the galaxy, and she looked forward to exotic locales and adventures. However, shortly before she took a contract and departed there was a complication.
Love could affect even students, and those with promising careers. Rasha fell in love with a Togruta hunter from the Gly tribe named Pel. However, she expected it to end as she was sent to a posting by the mining corporation that hired her. Much to her surprise, Pel and her became mates, and he pledged to follow her.
Together they boarded the company ship and left Shili behind.
When they arrived, they stepped out onto the mystery planet and blinked in surprise. There were two massive suns, whirling sands, and mud buildings. They were on Tatooine, the latest prospectors in a long history of failed prospecting.
They began their new life in the city of Anchorhead, not far from a highland area that the company hoped would have useable ore. Rasha was tasked with analyzing samples, and though her first instinct was to quit, the pay was good enough for her five year contract to make her stick around. Between her income and her husband’s hunting trophies for sale, they got by well.
Just two years later, she was pregnant, and Tashra was born soon after in 3618 BBY. From an early date it was obvious she was her mother’s child, with the same insatiable curiosity and fascination for the world. Her toys captivated her, and at times she only seemed peripherally interested in the rest of the world.
By the time she was a very old and precocious two, her rapid growth was admired by both her parents, and the best friends they’d acquired. Those were a gruff human man, a shopkeeper named Darrin, and his wife, a mail-order bride from Ryloth named Sinya. He was a brown-haired man with a goatee and a paunch, and she was a pale grey Twi’lek, slender in figure and plain of features. They were both quite young.
The Turning Point
Tragedy struck however within one week of Tashra’s third birthday. First Rasha was called to the highlands for field work, and taken via sandcrawler, and Pel went out to hunt. Rasha’s sandcrawler was raided by sand people, and Pel was severely wounded by a Wraid and died before he could make it to safety.
When neither returned, Darrin and Sinya stepped in and took care of Tashra, purely intending it to be temporary until their Togruta friends came back. No one did however, and they couldn’t answer when Tashra or “Toshy” as she then went by, asked where mommy and daddy were. They settled for saying that she was away on a long trip, with the knowledge that eventually they would be able to tell her the truth.
Poor Tashra didn’t react well though. She felt abandoned and alone, and while gradually she became used to her new guardians, she couldn’t quite think of them as parents. They were kind to her, and provided her with toys. She delved deeply into these, to the point of obsession.
The young Togruta never showed any interest in the pink items Sinya bought for her, but the building blocks and tool toys that Darrin gave her were highly valued, and Tashra was quickly making strides in primitive architecture and getting a gold star in imaginary uses of tools. However, as she grew she wasn’t content to settle for imaginary tools, and she took to stealing away real tools and items, trying to disassemble them, oftentimes getting mild shocks that resulted in teary confessions of theft and a desire for hugs, which Darrin smiled at and Sinya dotingly provided. Darrin decided though that it wouldn’t be that bad to have a spare pair of hands in the shop someday, so he started the girl out with some basics and gradually built up her skills over the years.
It was sometime after her fourth year when she truly woke up and realized that droids were amazing. Darrin was repairing one, and before her eyes this larger-than-life toy beeped and came to life, even speaking real words. She had a short conversation with it, and was in amazement over the interaction. She wanted one of these toys.
It was in her fifth year that she got one of her own, scrap salvaged from a wrecked sandcrawler brought in by Jawas. Darrin bought it in hopes of getting it running, but much to his dismay it was in terrible shape, so he left it in a corner of the shop to gather dust. Tashra, however, was captivated with the design, so she pestered Darrin until he ‘gave’ it to her. After that, he was her droid, and she was his person. She named him Perry, though no one could say why.
She resolved to fix him.
It was a long path that took Tashra down the road of meeting her goal, and Darrin insisted she start small, which was something a child had trouble understanding. Luckily Tashra was precocious, and she managed to catch on to the idea that she had to learn on something small first.
It started with datapads, disassembling them and learning the components, then reassembling them. Tashra felt like she must have wrecked a hundred of them before she was fully successful, but by the time she was eight she had that part understood and moved on to more complicated pieces of hardware.
By this time, she was reading technical manuals from every source she could find, studying the way things worked and fit together, constantly expressing interest in the mechanics of anything that had moving parts. It was a perpetual lecture by Sinya to not read at the meal table, one that she didn’t always win.
It was one of many small skirmishes between Sinya and Tashra, though they never lasted long. They merely had different priorities and outlooks on life. It was natural their personalities would clash from time to time, but it was just the stubbornness of children, and that faded with time.
Tashra was shaping up to be a fine child by ten, but she craved more experience, so she asked for and received Darrin’s permission to make herself scarce during the mornings and continue her studies under him in the evenings. So it was that she would spirit herself away from breakfast to lunch, and lunch to dinner.
Ambitions
Tashra’s fixation on mechanics had inspired her to head to the natural place, a garage. There were two big ones in Mos Espa, but her heart lay with one of the smaller ones in Anchorhead. It was run by a cranky Rodian man, but on his staff were two mechanics in particular who became Tashra’s first role models.
One was a human man who reminded her of Darrin, his name was Tye Bardulla, and he was a tough man. Everything about him screamed awesomeness, from his messy shoulder-length black hair to his tattooed biceps and his bandanas. And next to him was Yasinda. She was a Mirialan, and equally awesome. Like Tye, she was covered in tattoos, each one with a story. They cascaded over her bare, muscular forearms, and up her cheeks. She always wore a grin, and she had a tool belt Tashra always admired, made of some kind of worn leather. She too had awesome hair.
Even more fortunately, these two unlikely role models were perfectly content to have a skinny ten year old Togruta haunt their work and movements. They considered her to be a lively shadow, some kind of little orange sprite who played a part in seemingly every interaction, and they even took the time to explain everything they were doing. Much to their surprise, Tashra understood more often than not, though sometimes it took a little coaching.
They saw quite the bright future mechanic in her. They also enjoyed her lively energy, and it was Yasinda who christened the child ‘Sparky.’ It stuck, and Tashra wore the nickname like a badge of pride.
While at home, ‘Sparky’ delved just as deeply into her ‘studies, ’ building up to the topic of droids, which she dearly loved. She learned from Darrin about different types of droids, all the different power sources, some of the makers, and everything within her grasp. She disassembled some models, and with guidance reassembled them. She learned to troubleshoot, to diagnose problems with them, and even learned about cosmetic repairs.
Tashra gleefully started the daunting repairs to Perry.
The young Togruta’s body started to change, and she didn’t even notice. Work was too important, but those around her noticed. Sinya started asking in her musical voice “who is this lovely young lady?” Yasinda cheekily advised her to “watch out for all the boys” and Tye just grinned.
Boys her own age did notice, but she didn’t notice them. There was an occasional glance or two, and the feelings that they were handsome. But by and large what she grew addicted to was the romantic ideal, which happened when she started recreational reading.
She picked up her first romance novel at 13, and read it every night in her room by candlelight. It was a tale of romance on Coruscant between a gallant young Senator from a rich family whose unrelenting father was scornful of love, and a hard-working Twi’lek maid from a poor family. Despite his father’s disapproval, Senator Alistair Stareyes wooed the poor maid and married her, finally winning over his father in the end.
This simple story had a profound impact for Tashra, setting her preconceptions for the ways stories had to end. There were good endings, and there was someone perfect for someone else out there, without exception. She became convinced she had a Senator Stareyes waiting for her somewhere.
But, for the time being she was content to work on Perry.
She had discovered her droid was an Aratech XT-2000, renowned for quirky personalities, even factory fresh. The Togruta girl eagerly looked forward to seeing what personality Perry would have. The very idea of wiping his memory, as Darrin suggested, made her frown. She wanted hers to have a strong personality, and to bond with her. Even inanimate he was still the best friend of her childhood, and she wanted to expand on that.
He came alive on her sixteenth birthday, after eleven years of study, scrounging, and toil.
Perry woke up, and upon being told his name, he readily agreed. And made one more revelation. He was an attorney. And a very good one. Surprisingly, at some point in his checkered past he had a legal service module installed, one that had survived in his databanks. He was very adamant that strangers call him Counselor, and he insisted on referring to Tashra as ‘your honor.’ He did, upon learning the facts of his rebirth, insist on the Togruta girl holding that position of honor, as the judge in his little courtroom.
Of course, in true odd fashion for an XT 2000, he insisted on every scenario being carried out like a trial, including objections, which he expected Tashra to rule on. As such, the teenager wound up learning a lot about the legal system.
Perry also proved quite handy at mechanical work as well, and Tashra decided to do a little freelance work with him when she wasn’t haunting the garage or home. Of course it wasn’t glamorous work, mostly simple grunt labor for a credit or two, sometimes merely deliveries, but every extra credit was great, and after a little saving she had enough money for a new pair of boots or a shirt.
Mixed Blessings
Mixed blessings came at the age of 15, when Yasinda and Tye made an announcement. Yasinda had a sapphire ring on her finger, and looked pleased. The two were getting married. Tashra, the romantic at heart, was thrilled over it. She was less thrilled to hear the newlywed couple would be moving away and leaving her alone. But she was not forgotten.
Yasinda took off her tool belt and gave it to Sparky, and Tye gave her a new set of tools. They patted her on the head, told her to be good, and boarded a ship headed off of Tatooine. Tashra wished them well, but missed them.
In their absence, she stopped hanging around the garage, which finally made the Rodian owner happy. Instead, Tashra took Perry and her new tools and did more and more mechanical work freelance, even branching into spacecraft mechanics. She picked up a few manuals on the subject and submerged herself in them. From time to time she found a few more romance novels to read, which she kept secret.
She did gather more and more money to herself, hiding it away in a drawer rather than spending it. It did stack up, since her hobby was also her work. She didn’t keep company with others her age, instead preferring the company of things. And Perry. Always Perry.
With her faithful friend around, she didn’t feel as alone as she used to, and working jobs kept her busy. Time flew by, and her seventeenth birthday arrived. It seemed to Tashra like mere days had passed by. Already she was a skilled mechanic, and useful both at home and on her own. But she had no social life and was rarely at home.
Sinya in particular felt poorly over the absence, and remembered when Tashra was little, sleeping under blankets at night. It had been in memory of that experience that prompted Sinya to make a special gift. It was a brown bantha-wool serape/pancho to be worn in the cold of night, so no matter what Tashra would stay warm.
Surprisingly, the Togruta teenager understood the significance and gave a heartfelt thank you that mad her adoptive mother extremely pleased. Their relationship was on good footing, and the stage was set for the next part of Tashra’s life.
RP Sample:
This was great, Tashra had decided approximately two hours ago, and had reaffirmed just now. It was her very first time watching holonet programming, and while she’d sampled the offerings earlier like a tray of appetizers at a fancy party, nibbling at each one, only now had she found the true glory to revel in. It wasn’t the twenty four hour news coverage or the shopping networks, and it wasn’t even the children’s programming. It was the magnificent thing called ‘soap operas.’
“No Alan, I can’t. You see, I’m pregnant with Jal’s child.”
“How could you Astia? I trusted you with my secret!”
“But Jal knows. He’s always known.”
“How does he knooow?” Tashra whispered intently.
“Objection your honor, calls for a conclusion by the witness,” a mechanical voice interrupted. It was Perry, Tashra’s droid. He was an XT-2000, by Aratech. Fine machinery, would run for ages. But they were known for being slightly eccentric.
“Overruled Counselor,” Tashra said as she swatted the droid affectionately. You just had to know how to deal with Perry. Luckily she was always the judge in his eyes. That was the nice thing about droids, you knew exactly where they stood. No duplicity,
Unlike that snake Astia.
”But Astia, you know I’ve always loved you, since we were children in school together. How did Jal know? Did you… tell him?”
“Yes Alan, but it was for your own good. Jal had to know about your brother.
“Oh no!” Tashra stared with troubled expression. “Oh you so did not do that Astia.”
“Hold her in contempt,” Perry suggested.
Tashra ignored him, enthralled by the drama unfolding on the screen as a ruggedly handsome man stood across from a statuesque woman. It was like one of those novels she read had come to life, only slightly different. This was darker, edgier. There was some serious funny business going on with Astia. Such a snake in the grass. Not that there was grass on Tatooine.
Or snakes for that matter…
Tashra dismissed those trifling concerns and directed her full attention back to the events unfolding. This was serious business, Astia was cheating on Alan! And he was such a nice guy too! Plus, he had amazing eyes. And for Jal? Pffft. Jal.
Wait. Who was Jal again?
Another man walked in on the screen.
”Jal!”
Oh. So that was Jal. Also ruggedly handsome, but he wasn’t as nice.
“Pick Alan!” Tashra said urgently to the screen. But Astia seemed completely ambivalent.
”You see Alan, Astia told me about your twin brother. And now I think I’ll tell the police. Unless you give up here and now, and let me have her.”
The screen changed to a commercial and Tashra sighed loudly.
“I hold you in contempt!” She said pointedly to the viewing screen.
Name: Tashra Gly, aka ‘Sparky’
Race: Togruta
Age: 17
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 115 lbs
Birth place: Tatooine
Appearance:
Tashra “Sparky” Gly is a teenage Togruta girl, who doesn’t exactly stand out in a crowd. She’s on the short side at five feet and three inches, and her body, while adequate, isn’t exactly the curviest. She’s very willowy, without being skinny, and though her build may seem frail or unassuming, she is actually quite deceptively strong.
Her skin is interesting, a light yellow-orange tone, and completely devoid of any hair. It is smooth and healthy, but hardly as much as it would be with the proper care that she never invests in. In fact, most often she can be found with minor bandages for cuts and scrapes, and the almost inevitable dirt and grease on her skin picked up in the course of various mechanical acts.
Tashra’s face is oval in shape, with soft features set into it. Her nose is broad, which if she put any thought into it, might have bothered her. She has almond-shaped eyes, in a lovely golden amber color, which are quite possibly her best feature. She has white markings on her forehead and cheeks, that look as if some bored artist had started a doodle and never finished. Her face is framed by her lekku, or headtails, to the sides, and her montals (horns) above. These are white, with blue markings whose color fluctuates with mood. The lekku themselves only come down to her chest, though they will grow further with age. Similarly, the montrals do not tower or curve particularly, yet.
The teenager is most commonly found wearing earth-tone shorts and a simple shirt bearing a logo, most commonly from one of the major manufacturers in the galaxy, such as SoroSuub or Aratech. They run the gamut in color, but powder blue is her personal favorite. She pairs that ensemble with a select few accessories, namely a pair of black lace-up boots and her prized possession. She always wears a tool-belt around her waist brimming with essential equipment, made of worn leather whose original color has been lost to time.
When cold, she has a serape/pancho/blanket made of homespun, brown, bantha wool. It has simple geometric patterning in beige around the edges, but is quite plain on the whole. She keeps it close, and uses it as a blanket regularly.
She is wholly unprepared for combat, lacking any blasters or vibroblades, and she relies on a trusty wrench in her belt to dissuade would be criminals.
Very often, Tashra can be found in the close company of “Perry,” her Aratech XT-2000 droid. Perry thinks he is an attorney, and as such can usually be relied on for low cost legal advice.
Personality:
Tashra is, in a word, innocent. Something about her amber eyes reveals her nature, as an amiable girl who has an abundance of faith in strangers, and a good deal of naivete. In fact, she is all around quite childlike, a girl who is unaware of just how much she has grown, and who straddles the gap between adult and child. She is equally likely to be watching a children’s show on the holonet as she is to be cursing a storm over a stubbed toe.
In another word, Tashra is a tomboy. She is most definitely not into makeovers, frilly dresses, or high-heeled shoes. When confronted by girly things her instinct is to stare at them in bewilderment, or laugh hysterically at the thought of being caught in them. However, despite all that, she does hold a secret pleasure in soap operas and corny romances, which she tries to conceal wherever possible. Despite all her tomboyish nature and lack of social graces, she harbor the secret desire that someday a handsome prince from a distant world will sweep her away to live happily ever after.
However she still is under the impression Prince Charming will have to deal with her constantly tinkering and getting her hands dirty.
Tinkering is definitely Tashra’s raison d’etre, and her primary passion. Her first instinct upon seeing any kind of technology is to disassemble it to see how it works, then reassemble it. Oftentimes she repeats this process for hours, until she has the function memorized. Almost every piece of technology she owns she has memorized this way.
While this might provide someone with the impression that Tashra’s intelligence is of the highest caliber, they would not be wholly correct. Tashra is, outside of mechanics, rather simple-minded and ignorant. She’d have trouble picking out Coruscant on a map, doesn’t know the capital of the Sith Empire, and speaks no languages apart from Basic and Huttese.
The only artistic endeavor Tashra has is a small wooden flute that she plays assorted tunes on, which is, in the grand scheme of things, not much. She can’t read music and wouldn’t know a classic composer if he walked up to her and said hello.
In short, Tashra is an amiable kid, eager to please, but not particular intelligent or wise, straddling the line between youth and adulthood, and competency and foolishness
Occupation: Mechanic
Rank: Semi-professional
Skills: Mechanics (of anything), basic vehicle operation
Ships/Vehicles: None (yet)
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 6
Leadership: 3
Unarmed: 2
Melee Weapons: 3
Ranged Weapons: 2
Bio:
In the Beginning
Tashra’s story begins long before her birth, in 3625 BBY, with a brilliant young Togruta scientist, named Rasha Gly. She was always an overachiever, and from her earliest days wasn’t content with a provincial life on Shili. She’d grown up in the outskirts of Corvala, the capital. Her parents were both loosely affiliated with a tribe, from which their surname was derived, and they carried out semi-traditional jobs while their daughter proved a voracious learner.
Racing through college, Rasha proved deeply talented at the sciences, gaining a degree quickly and seeking notoriety in the field of geology, which she had chosen and carefully started a career hunt for. She was confident that with her talent and high marks she could get a great job for any company in the galaxy, and she looked forward to exotic locales and adventures. However, shortly before she took a contract and departed there was a complication.
Love could affect even students, and those with promising careers. Rasha fell in love with a Togruta hunter from the Gly tribe named Pel. However, she expected it to end as she was sent to a posting by the mining corporation that hired her. Much to her surprise, Pel and her became mates, and he pledged to follow her.
Together they boarded the company ship and left Shili behind.
When they arrived, they stepped out onto the mystery planet and blinked in surprise. There were two massive suns, whirling sands, and mud buildings. They were on Tatooine, the latest prospectors in a long history of failed prospecting.
They began their new life in the city of Anchorhead, not far from a highland area that the company hoped would have useable ore. Rasha was tasked with analyzing samples, and though her first instinct was to quit, the pay was good enough for her five year contract to make her stick around. Between her income and her husband’s hunting trophies for sale, they got by well.
Just two years later, she was pregnant, and Tashra was born soon after in 3618 BBY. From an early date it was obvious she was her mother’s child, with the same insatiable curiosity and fascination for the world. Her toys captivated her, and at times she only seemed peripherally interested in the rest of the world.
By the time she was a very old and precocious two, her rapid growth was admired by both her parents, and the best friends they’d acquired. Those were a gruff human man, a shopkeeper named Darrin, and his wife, a mail-order bride from Ryloth named Sinya. He was a brown-haired man with a goatee and a paunch, and she was a pale grey Twi’lek, slender in figure and plain of features. They were both quite young.
The Turning Point
Tragedy struck however within one week of Tashra’s third birthday. First Rasha was called to the highlands for field work, and taken via sandcrawler, and Pel went out to hunt. Rasha’s sandcrawler was raided by sand people, and Pel was severely wounded by a Wraid and died before he could make it to safety.
When neither returned, Darrin and Sinya stepped in and took care of Tashra, purely intending it to be temporary until their Togruta friends came back. No one did however, and they couldn’t answer when Tashra or “Toshy” as she then went by, asked where mommy and daddy were. They settled for saying that she was away on a long trip, with the knowledge that eventually they would be able to tell her the truth.
Poor Tashra didn’t react well though. She felt abandoned and alone, and while gradually she became used to her new guardians, she couldn’t quite think of them as parents. They were kind to her, and provided her with toys. She delved deeply into these, to the point of obsession.
The young Togruta never showed any interest in the pink items Sinya bought for her, but the building blocks and tool toys that Darrin gave her were highly valued, and Tashra was quickly making strides in primitive architecture and getting a gold star in imaginary uses of tools. However, as she grew she wasn’t content to settle for imaginary tools, and she took to stealing away real tools and items, trying to disassemble them, oftentimes getting mild shocks that resulted in teary confessions of theft and a desire for hugs, which Darrin smiled at and Sinya dotingly provided. Darrin decided though that it wouldn’t be that bad to have a spare pair of hands in the shop someday, so he started the girl out with some basics and gradually built up her skills over the years.
It was sometime after her fourth year when she truly woke up and realized that droids were amazing. Darrin was repairing one, and before her eyes this larger-than-life toy beeped and came to life, even speaking real words. She had a short conversation with it, and was in amazement over the interaction. She wanted one of these toys.
It was in her fifth year that she got one of her own, scrap salvaged from a wrecked sandcrawler brought in by Jawas. Darrin bought it in hopes of getting it running, but much to his dismay it was in terrible shape, so he left it in a corner of the shop to gather dust. Tashra, however, was captivated with the design, so she pestered Darrin until he ‘gave’ it to her. After that, he was her droid, and she was his person. She named him Perry, though no one could say why.
She resolved to fix him.
It was a long path that took Tashra down the road of meeting her goal, and Darrin insisted she start small, which was something a child had trouble understanding. Luckily Tashra was precocious, and she managed to catch on to the idea that she had to learn on something small first.
It started with datapads, disassembling them and learning the components, then reassembling them. Tashra felt like she must have wrecked a hundred of them before she was fully successful, but by the time she was eight she had that part understood and moved on to more complicated pieces of hardware.
By this time, she was reading technical manuals from every source she could find, studying the way things worked and fit together, constantly expressing interest in the mechanics of anything that had moving parts. It was a perpetual lecture by Sinya to not read at the meal table, one that she didn’t always win.
It was one of many small skirmishes between Sinya and Tashra, though they never lasted long. They merely had different priorities and outlooks on life. It was natural their personalities would clash from time to time, but it was just the stubbornness of children, and that faded with time.
Tashra was shaping up to be a fine child by ten, but she craved more experience, so she asked for and received Darrin’s permission to make herself scarce during the mornings and continue her studies under him in the evenings. So it was that she would spirit herself away from breakfast to lunch, and lunch to dinner.
Ambitions
Tashra’s fixation on mechanics had inspired her to head to the natural place, a garage. There were two big ones in Mos Espa, but her heart lay with one of the smaller ones in Anchorhead. It was run by a cranky Rodian man, but on his staff were two mechanics in particular who became Tashra’s first role models.
One was a human man who reminded her of Darrin, his name was Tye Bardulla, and he was a tough man. Everything about him screamed awesomeness, from his messy shoulder-length black hair to his tattooed biceps and his bandanas. And next to him was Yasinda. She was a Mirialan, and equally awesome. Like Tye, she was covered in tattoos, each one with a story. They cascaded over her bare, muscular forearms, and up her cheeks. She always wore a grin, and she had a tool belt Tashra always admired, made of some kind of worn leather. She too had awesome hair.
Even more fortunately, these two unlikely role models were perfectly content to have a skinny ten year old Togruta haunt their work and movements. They considered her to be a lively shadow, some kind of little orange sprite who played a part in seemingly every interaction, and they even took the time to explain everything they were doing. Much to their surprise, Tashra understood more often than not, though sometimes it took a little coaching.
They saw quite the bright future mechanic in her. They also enjoyed her lively energy, and it was Yasinda who christened the child ‘Sparky.’ It stuck, and Tashra wore the nickname like a badge of pride.
While at home, ‘Sparky’ delved just as deeply into her ‘studies, ’ building up to the topic of droids, which she dearly loved. She learned from Darrin about different types of droids, all the different power sources, some of the makers, and everything within her grasp. She disassembled some models, and with guidance reassembled them. She learned to troubleshoot, to diagnose problems with them, and even learned about cosmetic repairs.
Tashra gleefully started the daunting repairs to Perry.
The young Togruta’s body started to change, and she didn’t even notice. Work was too important, but those around her noticed. Sinya started asking in her musical voice “who is this lovely young lady?” Yasinda cheekily advised her to “watch out for all the boys” and Tye just grinned.
Boys her own age did notice, but she didn’t notice them. There was an occasional glance or two, and the feelings that they were handsome. But by and large what she grew addicted to was the romantic ideal, which happened when she started recreational reading.
She picked up her first romance novel at 13, and read it every night in her room by candlelight. It was a tale of romance on Coruscant between a gallant young Senator from a rich family whose unrelenting father was scornful of love, and a hard-working Twi’lek maid from a poor family. Despite his father’s disapproval, Senator Alistair Stareyes wooed the poor maid and married her, finally winning over his father in the end.
This simple story had a profound impact for Tashra, setting her preconceptions for the ways stories had to end. There were good endings, and there was someone perfect for someone else out there, without exception. She became convinced she had a Senator Stareyes waiting for her somewhere.
But, for the time being she was content to work on Perry.
She had discovered her droid was an Aratech XT-2000, renowned for quirky personalities, even factory fresh. The Togruta girl eagerly looked forward to seeing what personality Perry would have. The very idea of wiping his memory, as Darrin suggested, made her frown. She wanted hers to have a strong personality, and to bond with her. Even inanimate he was still the best friend of her childhood, and she wanted to expand on that.
He came alive on her sixteenth birthday, after eleven years of study, scrounging, and toil.
Perry woke up, and upon being told his name, he readily agreed. And made one more revelation. He was an attorney. And a very good one. Surprisingly, at some point in his checkered past he had a legal service module installed, one that had survived in his databanks. He was very adamant that strangers call him Counselor, and he insisted on referring to Tashra as ‘your honor.’ He did, upon learning the facts of his rebirth, insist on the Togruta girl holding that position of honor, as the judge in his little courtroom.
Of course, in true odd fashion for an XT 2000, he insisted on every scenario being carried out like a trial, including objections, which he expected Tashra to rule on. As such, the teenager wound up learning a lot about the legal system.
Perry also proved quite handy at mechanical work as well, and Tashra decided to do a little freelance work with him when she wasn’t haunting the garage or home. Of course it wasn’t glamorous work, mostly simple grunt labor for a credit or two, sometimes merely deliveries, but every extra credit was great, and after a little saving she had enough money for a new pair of boots or a shirt.
Mixed Blessings
Mixed blessings came at the age of 15, when Yasinda and Tye made an announcement. Yasinda had a sapphire ring on her finger, and looked pleased. The two were getting married. Tashra, the romantic at heart, was thrilled over it. She was less thrilled to hear the newlywed couple would be moving away and leaving her alone. But she was not forgotten.
Yasinda took off her tool belt and gave it to Sparky, and Tye gave her a new set of tools. They patted her on the head, told her to be good, and boarded a ship headed off of Tatooine. Tashra wished them well, but missed them.
In their absence, she stopped hanging around the garage, which finally made the Rodian owner happy. Instead, Tashra took Perry and her new tools and did more and more mechanical work freelance, even branching into spacecraft mechanics. She picked up a few manuals on the subject and submerged herself in them. From time to time she found a few more romance novels to read, which she kept secret.
She did gather more and more money to herself, hiding it away in a drawer rather than spending it. It did stack up, since her hobby was also her work. She didn’t keep company with others her age, instead preferring the company of things. And Perry. Always Perry.
With her faithful friend around, she didn’t feel as alone as she used to, and working jobs kept her busy. Time flew by, and her seventeenth birthday arrived. It seemed to Tashra like mere days had passed by. Already she was a skilled mechanic, and useful both at home and on her own. But she had no social life and was rarely at home.
Sinya in particular felt poorly over the absence, and remembered when Tashra was little, sleeping under blankets at night. It had been in memory of that experience that prompted Sinya to make a special gift. It was a brown bantha-wool serape/pancho to be worn in the cold of night, so no matter what Tashra would stay warm.
Surprisingly, the Togruta teenager understood the significance and gave a heartfelt thank you that mad her adoptive mother extremely pleased. Their relationship was on good footing, and the stage was set for the next part of Tashra’s life.
RP Sample:
This was great, Tashra had decided approximately two hours ago, and had reaffirmed just now. It was her very first time watching holonet programming, and while she’d sampled the offerings earlier like a tray of appetizers at a fancy party, nibbling at each one, only now had she found the true glory to revel in. It wasn’t the twenty four hour news coverage or the shopping networks, and it wasn’t even the children’s programming. It was the magnificent thing called ‘soap operas.’
“No Alan, I can’t. You see, I’m pregnant with Jal’s child.”
“How could you Astia? I trusted you with my secret!”
“But Jal knows. He’s always known.”
“How does he knooow?” Tashra whispered intently.
“Objection your honor, calls for a conclusion by the witness,” a mechanical voice interrupted. It was Perry, Tashra’s droid. He was an XT-2000, by Aratech. Fine machinery, would run for ages. But they were known for being slightly eccentric.
“Overruled Counselor,” Tashra said as she swatted the droid affectionately. You just had to know how to deal with Perry. Luckily she was always the judge in his eyes. That was the nice thing about droids, you knew exactly where they stood. No duplicity,
Unlike that snake Astia.
”But Astia, you know I’ve always loved you, since we were children in school together. How did Jal know? Did you… tell him?”
“Yes Alan, but it was for your own good. Jal had to know about your brother.
“Oh no!” Tashra stared with troubled expression. “Oh you so did not do that Astia.”
“Hold her in contempt,” Perry suggested.
Tashra ignored him, enthralled by the drama unfolding on the screen as a ruggedly handsome man stood across from a statuesque woman. It was like one of those novels she read had come to life, only slightly different. This was darker, edgier. There was some serious funny business going on with Astia. Such a snake in the grass. Not that there was grass on Tatooine.
Or snakes for that matter…
Tashra dismissed those trifling concerns and directed her full attention back to the events unfolding. This was serious business, Astia was cheating on Alan! And he was such a nice guy too! Plus, he had amazing eyes. And for Jal? Pffft. Jal.
Wait. Who was Jal again?
Another man walked in on the screen.
”Jal!”
Oh. So that was Jal. Also ruggedly handsome, but he wasn’t as nice.
“Pick Alan!” Tashra said urgently to the screen. But Astia seemed completely ambivalent.
”You see Alan, Astia told me about your twin brother. And now I think I’ll tell the police. Unless you give up here and now, and let me have her.”
The screen changed to a commercial and Tashra sighed loudly.
“I hold you in contempt!” She said pointedly to the viewing screen.
