The fight for the control of the Network nodes had been less fierce than expected, and Teeseven had easily invaded the Guild's computers and disrupted their activity; by now, important systems around Coruscant had been patched and secured, so that avenue of attack was closed.
Afterwards, losing Guild pursuers and finding their club-casino had been simple, and Idilan asked to see Ria, which led to meeting the woman.
"Nik sent you? I hoped he would give up and move on. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing, but I'm not going back."
Humans are likely the most numerous sentient race in the Galaxy, and as such, gripped by varied levels of prejudice against other species; many saw near-humans and non-humans as inferior simply because they were different.
Idilan was not one of those.
"I'm sorry, I should've told Nik the truth; I was just hoping to spare his feelings. Nik and I left the homeworld together. His devotion was flattering… but I grew to realize the difference between love and obsession."
To him, the near-humans still caused a slightly disconcerting feeling, exactly because they were so close to humans in appearance; Chiss, Zeltrons, Mirialans, Zabrak, Rattataki, Dathomirian, Miraluka, all seemed enough 'human' that when the differences became evident, they seemed more significant.
"His jealousy was driving me crazy, he didn't want me talking to anyone or going out; all the time talking about how it would look like if he could not take care of me, getting offended if I insisted I could help."
Now, a humanoid species like the Nautolan did not cause that kind of situation: being clearly not humans, they did not trigger expectations of human cultural norms, and at least for him, it made interactions easier.
"Nik really needs to forget about me and move on with his life."
In short... the Jedi was really not prepared for the way and degree Ria Deleru seemed attractive, or the way she quickly caught on to that, seemed flattered, and did not try to use it to her advantage.
It took him at least a few seconds to parse all her words and organize his thoughts. "How..." a pause to clear his throat "...I'm not sure how I could help."
"You could tell him I was shipped off-world; Hanera's troupe will be leaving Coruscant soon, so it's not really a lie."
"I... guess I can do that, if you are sure" the Jedi bowed, deciding it would be wise to take his leave. "May the Force be with you, Ria."
"Thank you, Master Jedi, I hope to have the chance to perform for you someday" Ria bowed back but could not resist teasing Idilan, smiling when he shivered before making as hasty an exit as politeness would allow.
Jedi = malfuctioning?
"What? No, why do you ask that, Teeseven?"
Sensor reading = high core temperature / signs of distress // Jedi = do right thing + noble thing / organics + incompatible = separate
"Yes... right, they should each go their own way" he took a deep breath. "And we should find that smuggler we were looking for."
no subject
The fight for the control of the Network nodes had been less fierce than expected, and Teeseven had easily invaded the Guild's computers and disrupted their activity; by now, important systems around Coruscant had been patched and secured, so that avenue of attack was closed.
Afterwards, losing Guild pursuers and finding their club-casino had been simple, and Idilan asked to see Ria, which led to meeting the woman.
"Nik sent you? I hoped he would give up and move on. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing, but I'm not going back."
Humans are likely the most numerous sentient race in the Galaxy, and as such, gripped by varied levels of prejudice against other species; many saw near-humans and non-humans as inferior simply because they were different.
Idilan was not one of those.
"I'm sorry, I should've told Nik the truth; I was just hoping to spare his feelings. Nik and I left the homeworld together. His devotion was flattering… but I grew to realize the difference between love and obsession."
To him, the near-humans still caused a slightly disconcerting feeling, exactly because they were so close to humans in appearance; Chiss, Zeltrons, Mirialans, Zabrak, Rattataki, Dathomirian, Miraluka, all seemed enough 'human' that when the differences became evident, they seemed more significant.
"His jealousy was driving me crazy, he didn't want me talking to anyone or going out; all the time talking about how it would look like if he could not take care of me, getting offended if I insisted I could help."
Now, a humanoid species like the Nautolan did not cause that kind of situation: being clearly not humans, they did not trigger expectations of human cultural norms, and at least for him, it made interactions easier.
"Nik really needs to forget about me and move on with his life."
In short... the Jedi was really not prepared for the way and degree Ria Deleru seemed attractive, or the way she quickly caught on to that, seemed flattered, and did not try to use it to her advantage.
It took him at least a few seconds to parse all her words and organize his thoughts. "How..." a pause to clear his throat "...I'm not sure how I could help."
"You could tell him I was shipped off-world; Hanera's troupe will be leaving Coruscant soon, so it's not really a lie."
"I... guess I can do that, if you are sure" the Jedi bowed, deciding it would be wise to take his leave. "May the Force be with you, Ria."
"Thank you, Master Jedi, I hope to have the chance to perform for you someday" Ria bowed back but could not resist teasing Idilan, smiling when he shivered before making as hasty an exit as politeness would allow.
Jedi = malfuctioning?
"What? No, why do you ask that, Teeseven?"
Sensor reading = high core temperature / signs of distress // Jedi = do right thing + noble thing / organics + incompatible = separate
"Yes... right, they should each go their own way" he took a deep breath. "And we should find that smuggler we were looking for."