A Chance Encounter

[A®heim]

Rn'cherii ducked low to avoid hitting his head on the door frame of the transport he was stepping off of. Completely oblivious to the bewildered stares of the starport denizens, he took in a deep breath through an open beak and began to get his bearings. Several passengers getting off behind him gave him a short, wary glance before going their own direction; they had been on the same craft as him for nearly a week, he was VERY well known for one reason or another.

So as the various arrivals strode away muttering about constant babbling and that poor kid's face, the cheery Tarong hopped down from the loading ramp. So this Falleen? Wonderful!

Even some of the "seasoned passengers" jumped slightly when Ren stretched his wings. A group of female passerbys even shrieked while diving to the ground to avoid being buffeted. Some people might wonder what could be so terrifying about this, but if you've ever been standing near an 8 foot parrot when it decides to stretch out its 35 foot wingspan, you would understand. However, those who knew Ren (inadvertently the entire occupancy of the transport) understood that the only harm he will bring to you is purely accidental (poor, poor kid) and that he has a peaceful and pleasant personality.

Unfortunately, the starport security were not such people. A burly Falleen strode up to him with a clawed hand resting on a blaster pistol. "I ask that you remove yourself from the facility if you're going to cause problems with our passengers and staff. Also, please do so without taking wing or I will be forced to take more direct action." The pistol was slid partially from it's holster.

Ren cocked his head and stared calmy into the face of the security officer. This wasn't the first time he'd had a gun pointed at him, it was a constantly occuring issue with his appearance. I wish cause no trouble, just stretch wings. They very stiff from long time in cramped shift. You tell me where I pick up luggage, hm?

The officer narrowed his eyes at Ren then shook his head in bewildered defeat. "Well general baggage is placed on the belt over there," the guard pointed towards a group of workers fervently unloading the storage area of suitcases. "though if you brought any larger equipment, you would need to head around back to the cargo hold to retrieve it."

The Tarong thanked the officer quickly who joined the multitude of bird-related mutterers, then set off towards the cargo hold. Upon arrival he found himself among even more workers busily unloading large crates and boxes while several others stood scratching their heads around a small clipper ship amongst the piles. It had never occurred to Ren (it never does) how odd it must be to find a primitive watercraft with a rickety gas-powered single prop engine attached to the back.

After a bit of incoherent explanation of Ren's behalf, his floatboat was removed from the cargo hold as carefully as the workers could (not very carefully). The workers were thanked graciously and Ren tossed them a few credit sticks from a bandoleer on his shoulder. With a hop and a thundering beat of his leathery wings, Rn'cherii alighted on the deck of the floatboat. It was an odd vessel resembling an old sailing vessel only with no masts on the deck replaced with smaller ones along the sides. A large hatch lay in the center of the deck which sported several small rail-mounted tranquilizer rifles. Ren looked proudly over the vessel that would be his home for the next few weeks.

About an hour later, compressed hydrium tanks had been connected to deflated balloon in the main deck hatch. Within minutes, the inflated canvas tube burst from the deck and began to float freely towards the heavens. It made it about 30 feet into the air before it was jerked to a stop by several strong ropes securing it to the deck. The entire vessel shifted slightly but did not lift from the ground. Rn'cherii took his place behind the exposed helm of the craft and pulled the knot releasing the contents of several sandbags.

The entire wooden vessel lifted slowly from the surface of Falleen. After rising to an altitude of 900 feet, Ren thrust forward a rusty metal lever. The small prop engine on the back sputtered to life, the blade spinning faster and faster until it was only a blur against the morning sky. Ren reached under the wheel into a small compartment and withdrew a small cap. Blowing the dust off, he placed it securely upon his feathered head with a look of dignity. The faded bold print words "Iri Atrium Manager" spelled out clearly across it.

This was going to be quite the adventure, he could smell it in the air...or was it the hat?

[Vipervertical]

Toshiko sighed as she exited Czerka's branch on Falleen. She had made another delivery of blaster rifles and protocal droids (these ones really were protocol models) to be sold off to the inhabitants of the planet. Most off the products would probably be used to fend off the more aggressive of Falleen's native wildlife.

She looked up in the sky, putting off her return to Coruscant for a few more minutes. It was then that she noticed a strange object in the air. It resembled an old ship made for water, but was flying in the sky through the use of what appeared to be a large balloon.

She watched the strange ship sail through the air for a few minutes then decided that Czerka would be fine if she stayed a while longer (she had a trusted secretary in charge during her absence). Besides, she really wanted to know more about that ship, her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

As such, Tosh wandered back over to Czerka's branch. [purple]I'm going to take a small airspeeder out, I want to have a look around this planet.[/purple] The local employees assented eagerly -maybe if she likes Falleen a lot, she might raise our budget- and so in less than 5 minutes standard time, she had already left the ground.

The speeder seemed just as eager to please as the employees from where she got it, it was very sensitive to any move that she made. After she had gotten the hang of the controls, Tosh leveled the speeder at an altitude of around 900 feet, pointed the nose in the direction of the now diminishing ship and gunned the accelerator, catching up to the now very boat-like ship in only a few minutes.

She pulled up alongside the vessel, matched speeds (it wasn't very fast) with it, and opened the hatch. The first thing she noticed was the large amount of turrets mounted along the sails. This worried her for a second, then she noticed how they seemed to be made for darts, what with their large barrels. The next thing she noticed was the captain: a large winged creature whom reminded her of Kratos (her pet) with a hat that had something written on it, but impossible to tell what it was from this distance. He seemed eerily familiar to her, as if she had met him at some point in the past.

[purple]Hey! Mind if I join you?![/purple] She had to shout rather loud to be heard above the wind.

[A®heim]

Rn'cherii glanced up quickly and peered around for the source of the voice he had just heard. His first thought was that he may have mistakenly taken off with somebody on board or even have forgotten to remove some species of animal from his holding pens. This last thought troubled him most. He felt terrible that the creature would have been stuck in that dark galley during the entire space voyage.

Ren was just about to begin a full search of his ship for this poor creature when he remembered that nothing he captured talked. It was against the ways of his people after all. So then this left the first possibility: a stowaway. Most Captains of a vessel would see this as a dangerous prospect and would likely scour their ship carefully with a blaster at the ready. Naturally Rn'cherii did nothing of this sort and set out merrily to try to locate somebody to talk to.

Thankfully for Toshiko, his vessel was fairly small and he was fairly quick. Ren had come to the conclusion that there was not indeed someone aboard the floatboat and returned rather confused to the helm. Returning his grip to the wheel the Tarong closed his eyes and listened intently for another trace of that voice. He heard nothing but the wind in his sails, the purr of his engine, and the whir of the small speeder cruising next to him....wait....

Sure enough Ren turned his head to meet the sight of the befuddled woman's face peering from the window in her airspeeder. Whatever fear and/or surprise a normal being would have felt in this situation was in turn turned into friendly curiosity and multiplied by 7. Rn'cherii quickly pulled back the rusty throttle cutting out the engine and half jumped half flew to the rail.

Hello human! Something need? Maybe? Land ship on deck if can. Just room on deck, I keep floatboat steady! Ren busied himself running back to the wheel and placing a wooden pin in between the slats to keep it from moving. He then stretched his wings and dove off the ship perching precariously on the lateral masts to begin dropping canvas. Once the sails were furled the floatboat slowed significantly moving only about half the speed of the wind which was naught but a brisk spring breeze.

He alighted back onto the deck of his ship and immediately set about clearing a large area on it to make room for the airspeeder and its pilot. Gathering some mooring lines he normally used to tie down the ship, he took to the skies once again towards the airspeeder to guide her in. It was a treacherous maneuver trying to fit the speeder between the balloon and the deck without cleaving any of the lines but the task was completed quickly and without incident (excluding the rear aft lateral sail that the speeder's engines touched, but those are replaceable). The woman showed a surprising aptitude in piloting that tickled the back of Ren's mind.

Ren landed carefully on top of the speeder and spoke as loudly into the cockpit so he could be heard over the engines (which were awfully loud to his sensitive ears). Keep ship right here. Move only with wind, yes? I use rope, hold down ship, k? Ren hadn't really had a close look the woman in the cockpit yet as his gaze was currently occupied with making sure the balloon wasn't in danger of being ruptured. Finally once the speeder was low enough to lax that danger, he glanced down at Toshiko. Only few feet from deck now. Keep steady and-

Ren's eyes sparkled with delight. Little Ms. Mokona! It been long, FAR long time since I see you last! How Kratos? He be good bird, no bite little Tosh?

[Vipervertical]

Toshiko watched the strange avian move about the ship, confused at how he hadn't seen her. Eventually he looked over and saw the speeder matching speeds with his ship.

She almost regretted her decision when he started talking, because it seemed he would never stop. She followed his instructions, landing the ship with precision on his... "floatboat"? Was that what it was called? Tosh would've laughed if she wasn't so concentrated on landing the air speeder on such a small craft. A large crash came from behind. [purple] I hope that wasn't important..[/purple] Finally, she had landed the ship on the deck and cut the power.

Just as she was about to climb out and introduce herself, the avian startled her by calling out her name, causing her to jump back in suprise. [purple]Kratos?[/purple] She racked her brain, but all she could think of was her pet. Unless... of course! She glanced at his hat to make sure. Yup, "Iri Atrium Manager", it was the same hat that she had asked him about when she was little. That was why he looked so familiar! [purple]Rn'cherri? Is-is that you? What are the chances of running into a childhood accaintance -no, friend- all the way out here?[/purple] Rn'cherri was nice to her when she was little. While most people were nice to her only because her father was the president of Czerka, Rn'cherri just seemed to be a nice person inside. It was his style of sales that appealed to her: making people feel as comfortable as possible. But, wasn't it just a sales gimmick? How did he remember her so clearly? Their last meeting was over ten years ago.

No matter, she had come out here on a whim, so she would follow this one until it became more boring than going back to Czerka Headquarters. With Rn'cherri with her, that could take quite a while.

She tried to put on her buisness face, but she just couldn't mask her joy at running into Rn'cherri. [purple]Please, we're friends here! Call me Tosh. Kratos has been great![/purple] She thought for a second, no he wasn't great just now. [purple]Actually, he has some kind of sickness...I think. He's lost his appetite, and some greenish-brown bumps on his wings.[/purple]

(OOC: I'm just trying to make it longer ^,.,^)

[A®heim]

Rn'cherii half hopped, half flew about the small deck of his craft deftly maneuvering safety lines over the airspeeder and securing them tightly to various belaying pins on the rails. Leaping from the deck, he dove quickly to perch on atop the smoldering lateral mast. The small, triangular sail had almost completely disintegrated from the blast of the speeder's engine and the faint flicker of flame had just started to catch onto the mast itself. A quick swish of his finned tail sent a blast of wind straight at the offending flame instantly reducing it to naught but a bit of smoke, the charred remains of the sail ripped from the mast floated tenderly towards ground.

Swooping back up to the deck, Ren took Tosh's hand helping her out of the speeder practically lifting her off her feet in the process. A cheery smile parted his beak, like a silent laugh, as he watched the recognition dawn on the young woman. It had indeed been many years, but conversations past stuck in the memory of a Tarong. I is Rn'cherii yes! It very good chance I see you here too!

It truly overjoyed Ren to run into her here of all places. Despite the time gone past, his mind's eye was still vivid with the images of the little girl fawning over the fledgling Reptilian Flyer perched upon the end of Ren's tail extended towards her. She had been a good customer; one of the few who didn't take much alarm to his appearance. She had treated him like he was another human being, which is all he really wanted. And now here was his little Tosh, all grown up! She had that air of a business woman, and a serious one at that. However, he could tell she was having trouble keeping on that facade, she was just as overjoyed as he was.

As wish you Tosh. Good for me to hear Kratos satisfactory for you, he good Flyer! Ren always took a certain kind of pride in knowing that his services brought joy to others. His pets were a testament to himself in a way, like all businessmen. Only his wares were not rated on firepower or efficiency, but rather on compassion and comfort. Even Rn'cherii may not have known this completely, but deep down, this pleased him more than any other occupation can for anybody. And it hurts when you find out there's a bug in your merchandise.

Oh dear, oh my! Greenish-brown bumps says you? Sound much like an avian gout. Be very serious not if checked, though if it tended to it get much better much fast. You wait Tosh, Ren get you antidote from stores! Ren hopped into the main cabin of the floatboat and proceeded down into the storerooms in the lower levels. After a few minutes of clinking glass, muffled thuds, and the occasional crash, the Tarong emerged from the doorway carrying a small, but deep tray with several opaque bottles and a few syringes.

Take to him. Give 1 dose purple bottle 28 hours pass between. White bottle good very vaccination. It keep Kratos healthy Flyer, safe from baddy diseases like this. You with these take you, charge of free! Ren smiled at Tosh and tipped his cap.

There would be plenty of time to get the medication back to Kratos. The Avian Gout only became really serious if left untreated for years at a time, but once the antidote is applied, the symptoms die away mere weeks afterwards. In the meantime, there was so much Ren's curiosity begged him to ask. All the questions piping up in his head would take eons to answer so he decided to start off simple and one at a time. So little Tosh, what been you doing since I see last you? It been long time!

[Vipervertical]

Tosh cringed as the mast collapsed. [purple]Sorry about that. I'm sure I can cover the repairs though.[/purple] She added with a sheepish grin.

Instantly Ren was gone, when she mentioned Kratos' ailment. She shuffled nervously on deck while she heard Ren digging through his supplies belowdeck, mentally cringing at every loud crash. When he returned with a tray of syringes and bottles she was rather relieved. She nodded at his instructions and accepted the tray. [purple]Just to be clear: One dose of the purple stuff every 28 hours.[/purple] She pointed at the bottle to be sure there was no confusion.[purple] Then give the white bottle when it clears up?[/purple] She pointed at the white bottle.

She put down the tray on what appeared to be a table, or something similar.

She smiled at his question. She didn't have any friends from her past still around, so Ren's question wasn't posed to her often. [purple]Well, I'm president of Czerka now. I'm trying to make sure we stay more...ethical than Czerka has been in the past. But with an organization so large, well...[/purple] She realized she was rambling about buisness matters with somebody who most likely cared nothing for the buisness world. She shook her head to clear away her rambling thoughts. [purple]Sorry about that. I'm sure you aren't too interested in things like that. But that's become my life.[/purple] She paused, considering just how true that last statement was.

After a moment she realized what she was lost in her thoughts again. [purple]I'm sorry, my mind likes to wander these days. So, tell me how things have been going with you? I see you're still in the pet buisness.[/purple] She added with a glance at the tranquilizers and cages strewn across the deck of the "floatboat". She suppressed another laugh at the name. A smile barely graced her lips as she thought of how homorous the name was.

[A®heim]

Yes, yes, exact correct that! Ren confirmed about the medication. They were relatively simple instructions (galactic remedies were remarkably straight forward these days) but he could understand Tosh's need to make sure.

I know my Basic still not good much, but it much much good than last meet we! Think maybe young mind help understand? Still, think I like that Basic not bad for me never studied it. Tarong has much talent in language that I make seem.

When Tosh told Ren about her occupation, he looked almost perplexed. Being a business man (bird?) he understood the importance of presidency of course, but being only familiar with business run by an individual or family the gravity of being so high on Czerka's stepladder (or rather skyscraper) was lost on him.

Nooononononono! It great interest! All has you done is! I big business bird! Ren put on a strangely serious and rarely seen expression. Run very strict, I do. big mess in Atrium week last, fire general manager for....

His characteristic smile crept back to his beak. Then remember I general manager! Rrrr'iit'tiu, very foolish me. But I fall from point! Zairka? That not family business daddy own? I not heard much from, sad say. Krii'cheriept, matter it not much though very pleased am me hear. Always knew make you good leader. Always good you to your animals. Still are sure I am!

Almost before Tosh's question was out her mouth, Ren burst forward in blissful explanation. I do splendid! Business slow, yes, but have whole little world is Atrium. No credit need for Tkviirrrr! I build myself, no tax also! After clean big mess though, see world lacking. Miss important pieces, yes? Sold many too much insectivorious stuffs! Tree become munch for Gaoonii'rti! So take vacation time early. Go nice planet Falleen. Catch good Gaoonii'rti muncher! Planet has lots good place. Search plain first, forest good number but hard see floatboat from, and down forest. Find one will I! Even... Ren gave an involuntary shudder and his voice became slightly less Jovial. if have search mountains....

[Vipervertical]

[purple]No, no no! That's not it at all![/purple] Tosh was afraid she had offended Ren. She hadn't meant that he was hard to understand, just that she wanted to make perfectly sure she understood. [purple]I can understand your basic just fine. I'm sorry if I made it sound differently[/purple]

A small giggle escaped Tosh's lips when Ren mentioned that he fired himself. She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. [purple]Sorry about that, I don't know what came over me.[/purple] In only a few minutes, Ren had crushed her carefully built up emotional barriers, he had even made her laugh.

[purple]Yes, Czerka was indeed my father's buisness[/purple] Her voice took on a more somber tone. [purple]But that's in the past now. I'm in charge now.[/purple] She put a weak smile to her words, showing how she tryed to make it true, but hadn't quite gotten that far.

[purple]A vacation, huh? I really could use one. You wouldn't mind if I tagged along would you? I've been so stuck up in that office I'm beginning to feel as if a simple breeze is a treat. Oh, I'll help you out. Anything to keep myself outside those climate-controlled walls.[/purple] Tosh was more of an inside person, but that didn't mean she didn't like the outside. And now she felt cut off from it by the mountains of paperwork, that were sure to get larger before her return. But why not, she needed a break anyways.

[A®heim]

He listened carefully, drinking in her every word with a quiet pensiveness--broken only by a carefree dismissal of her apology--that those who knew would say was uncharacteristic, but those who knew him well would say is just another facet of his otherwise explosive personality. Explosive being somewhat of an understatement at time, but perhaps they knew him so well they had long since acclimated to it. Or at least tried to. Toshiko may or may not have considered herself as one of these people, but Ren certainly regarded her thus. He had an impressive memory, for a parrot...thing, and his mental conception of Tosh had changed little over the many years--the wide-eyed, grinning girl still fresh in his mind's eye.

Reality was a different story. The amiable young lady he knew all those years back had been replaced by callous--the life seemingly leeched from her by the facade that had slowly become her true face. Being the president of Czerka wasn't like being the president of a Starcredits™ chain. There was very real danger involved beyond that of an iced latte crisis. Yet there she stood, giggling of all things, years of resolve impressed upon her shattered by cherished childhood memories. Sometimes that's all it really takes--a small kink in the stone wall to which to send the underminers--to bring out the best and true form of a person (except for Clawdites, those you have to make run a marathon). That alone made Ren happy. -er.

Know you more welcome than to join me! Always am looking more for company! His beak opened wide and eyes closed in a pleased expression as he secured the last mooring line across Tosh's speeder--the knot deftly tied as his tail pressed it down. His wings had since folded behind him neatly, a good thing for his guest as there was sparse enough room as it was WITHOUT the 10 foot appendages. Never could stand I such life as become as you. Need the room. Need the air. Need not ice wind rooms with... He paused, his expression puzzled--staring vacantly at the stained balloon overhead. Incereeshh...what Basic word for fake is? Ah, matter it not it, know what you I mean, yes? Good! I think. Maybe? Yes? Yes!

He continued to riddle out the overly complex language seemingly based upon objects and ideals that don't even exist while he hopped about the 'ship' prepping the last of everything for everything for everything to do with flight, though it was already in flight to begin with but it never hurts to be sure--better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry they say--so all sails had to be maintained (sans the burnt off one still to be replaced later), pneumatic projector dart tips checked, bilge rats to save for later snacks, and all that other necessary preparation and now this narrator is starting to become as illegible as Rn'Cherii himself.

Anyway.

He concluded his tirade about the small craft with a snap of elastic over his beak fixed a pair of weathered, purple flight goggles (it should be noted that it was the frames and not the lens that was purple as that would somewhat obstruct their purpose) over his eyes. Now at the helm, he shouted one last affirmation to the business woman and brought the floatboat's sails into the crisp afternoon wind.