From the Portalocity Station to Somewhere Not Very Nice, GFFA, Monday

[suitably_heroic]

Atton had gotten his blaster from the weapons' locker, filled up his backpack with some provisions in case he had to sleep on the floor and/or got hungry, and he had... well, he hadn't showered. But he'd at least washed his hands, which counted. Somewhere.

Anyway.

Nothing else to do now but wait for the kid to show up. Or leave without him if he didn't show up on time. Atton could be nice, but not that nice - he needed this break. Especially after the weekend.

[ for the kid. ]

Comments

[myownface]

Sparkle... smelled like dish soap. And was very, very clean, today. He also had a bit of a crick in his neck, courtesy of waking up face-first on the counter at Demon Marcus this morning.

He didn't want to talk about it.

At least he'd grabbed his backpack from his room before rushing to meet Atton at the Portalocity Station. There were some clothes in there, and all his usual toys. He had no idea what use his lockpicks would have in a galaxy far, far away, but he felt naked without them, so...

"Can't wait to get off of this fucking island," he announced, by way of greeting.

Hi, Atton.

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, trust me, I'm counting down the seconds," Atton said. "Could've been out of here already."

Hi, Sparkle. He was clearly making epic sacrifices for you.

"C'mon. Portal's on the other side of that door." He jerked a thumb vaguely in its general direction. "Squeaky-clean people first."

[myownface]

Sparks wasn't about to grovel or anything, but he did appreciate those epic sacrifices. Really he did.

"Asshole," he mumbled, even as he squeaked his way toward the door. "Don't suppose I get a heads-up about what's on the other side of the portal, huh?"

If it was a guy with a baseball bat, Atton, Sparkle was never going through the door first again.

[suitably_heroic]

"Hopefully, some place nice and backward in my home universe," Atton said, walking after him with only a little idle swagger. "If we're unlucky, Portalocity layovers."

Which were horrifying.

[myownface]

"You know, I've only ever heard the horror stories," Sparkle noted, stepping through the door and eyeing the portal thoughtfully. "Where the hell do the layovers go? Like, we're not going to get stranded out in the middle of space or something, will we?"

It would be the shittiest ten seconds ever, and then they'd be dead. Portalocity probably wouldn't kill them so blatantly.

[suitably_heroic]

"Nah, it'll be somewhere we can breathe," Atton promised, stepping inside the room as well. "Just full of fish, or gold, or weird purple beings with big eyes."

Atton hadn't actually used Portalocity much, but the times he did...

[myownface]

"Sounds like there's never a dull moment, traveling with these guys," Sparkle decided. "I mean... Gold. I can live with gold."

The trip would pay itself off, right?

"Can't be any stranger than Fandom, anyhow."

See, you'd think that...

[suitably_heroic]

"Right."

That didn't sound terribly convincing. "Anyway, we have to move, before the island turns us into-- what d'you call them-- bunnies or something."

[myownface]

"Fuck that. Even if I would make an awesome rabbit." Don't give the island ideas, Sparks. "I'm taking the damn portal before anything else can go all screwy."

And, true to his word, there was Sparkle, holding his breath and stepping through.

What did he have to lose besides a little more of his sanity, right?

[suitably_heroic]

Where they were going? Quite a bit more, actually...

Atton counted to three, and when there were no sudden screams of noooo incoming - not that there had been the last time he traveled with Portalocity either - he followed Sparkle's example and stepped straight through the portal.

Just with a little less drama.

The first impression that hit was damp, dark and neon. The second was--

"Eugh! Hutt smell!"

[myownface]

"Ooooh," Sparkle noted, where he was standing with his face buried in his shirt, which he'd hiked up far enough to show off his bellybutton. "That's what one of those smells like? Man, and here I'd thought this was one of those fucked-up stopovers you were telling me about."

He was pouting, not that you could tell, what with his lower face buried in a t-shirt that smelled like dish soap. Mmm, dish soap.

[suitably_heroic]

"No, that's definitely a Hutt," Atton said, holding his arm in front of his nose. It had been too long. "I'm pretty sure I specified no Hutts!"

[myownface]

"Hutts smell like the asscrack of the devil himself, marinated in space slime," Sparkle mumbled, trying to breathe shallowly. It wasn't working. "Good to friggin' know."

Thanks, Portalocity. Thanks bunches.

"Can we, like, avoid that? Because the hell. Nothing should ever smell like that. You smell better than that."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton ignored him - and the stupid insults - weaving around Sparkle and the big stack of crates (what?) they had landed behind, and was immediately treated to the sight of more neon, crappy metal platforms... and crates.

He spat out some interesting things in Twi'lek.

"Nar Shaddaa? Really?"

[myownface]

"Welcome to Nar Shaddaa. We got crates," Sparkle mused, stepping out from behind the stack of crates and looking around. "Cozy. So. What do they have besides crates and Hutts, anyhow?"

It had to be something, to get Atton running off at the mouth like that.

[suitably_heroic]

"On the one hand, Nar Shaddaa is neutral in the war, so all the refugees are coming in here," Atton said, running back to check if the portal was still there-- nope. "...On the other," he continued, "It's a Hutt-controlled trading moon. It's got as many bounty hunters, assassins and smugglers as you wouldn't possibly want."

[myownface]

"... Man, when you said you wanted a week away from the Fandom norm, you sure as fuck weren't kidding."

Thank you for that observation, Sparks.

"Piss anyone off around here that we're gonna have to keep an eye open for?"

[suitably_heroic]

"I mostly flew under the radar while I was here," Atton said casually. There'd been good reason for that, but file that under the 'things he'd lie about if asked'. "But be careful. It doesn't take much to get someone's engines spinning in the wrong direction out here."

[myownface]

"Yeah, we don't exactly get many assassins in Toronto," Sparkle grumbled. "What does it take to get a friggin' bounty on your head here, anyhow?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Fight for the wrong side, steal the wrong being's things, bump into a Hutt on the street..."

Atton shrugged.

[myownface]

"So, watch my step, is what you're telling me?"

Sparkle didn't seem too worried about that, then. After all, he was pretty good at keeping his head down when it actually mattered.

[suitably_heroic]

"Don't steal anything, that'll make someone angry," Atton said. "Oh, and try not to kill anyone. You should be okay... relatively speaking."

Comforting.

[myownface]

"Right, okay. Since I don't really make it a habit of killing people, that shouldn't be too hard." So, there had been that one time. But he had been a vampire.

He was resolutely not thinking about that.

"... Is there shit that can be stolen that won't make people angry?"

[suitably_heroic]

"If they don't catch you, sure."

But Atton's attention was being drawn to something else-- something very noisy. A Hutt on a transport with an entourage all around it, making its way past just a couple of hundred feet away.

"Huh," he said. "They don't usually come all the way down to the refugee camps..."

[myownface]

"They don- thefuckisthat."

Judging by the smell, Sparkle could probably figure that one out all on his own.

[suitably_heroic]

"That would explain why it stinks worse out here than usual," Atton said. "Must have some dealings with the local gangs squeezing the refu-- hey!"

The redhead with the green shirt and the leather jacket shot him a foul look. "Hey, you want to watch where you're going?" she snapped. "Space, Nar Shaddaa these days--"

"You're the one who bumped into me!" Atton hollered after her, but she was already moving away.

[myownface]

Sparkle had already taken a few good steps backwards, so that he was well out of the way of the people passing by. Half behind the crates again? Worked for him.

"Real pleasant people hanging around here," he noted, raising an eyebrow at Atton. "Might wanna take a couple more steps off the road so you don't get trampled, at this rate."

Plus, farther back meant maybe less smell? Worth a shot.

[suitably_heroic]

"Schutta," Atton muttered, but he obligingly took a few steps back. "As soon as this circus has passed, we're getting a drink. I'm not dealing with Nar Shaddaa sober."

[myownface]

"Please tell me the booze here is good, at least?"

Sparkle could deal with giant, rank slug-dudes if the booze was good. Probably.

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, don't worry about that," Atton said, glancing towards Sparkle. "I haven't had a good juma juice since... well, since I left. It'll knock you off your feet."

[myownface]

"So far, the impressive selection of crates hasn't managed to do that. If the drinks manage it, this trip'll all be worthwhile already."

Sparkle was easy to please, that way. Funny, that.

[suitably_heroic]

"I think the procession or whatever that was is almost past," Atton said, nodding at the last few straggling humans and assorted species running after the Hutt looking Very Very Important.

"C'mon, the Entertainment Promenade shouldn't be too far from here." He was already taking off, in fact.

[myownface]

And Sparkle, not wanting to be left behind on a planet he knew nothing about, was all but scrabbling to keep up behind him.

And, to his credit, he was doing his damnedest to keep from staring. Aliens were distracting when you were surrounded by them. Who knew?

[suitably_heroic]

It really wasn't all that far - just into the complex, through a bunch of corridors, and there they were.

"Home sweet home," Atton drawled. "Well, maybe not, but it'll do for the next couple of days."

[myownface]

"Okay, this is totally a step up in the world," Sparkle decided, peering around. "I mean, it beats the crates."

He totally could have claimed a crate for himself. Cozy.

"Has that 'good place to get hammered' feel to it."

[suitably_heroic]

"It is a good place to get hammered," Atton said, stalking up to the bar and leaning on it. "Two juma juice."

Because they were getting hammered.

[myownface]

"So, I don't suppose I'll even understand the ingredient list if I ask what goes into these things you like so much, will I?"

That was a fair assumption, Sparks.

[suitably_heroic]

"Not in the slightest," Atton said cheerfully, paying the being behind the bar with some credits. "Enjoy it. By the way, you now owe me a few dollars."

[myownface]

"I'll buy you some drinks when we get back to the island," Sparkle replied, waiting for a moment and then reaching for the one that the bartender was pushing his way. "Looks drinkable enough, anyhow. Remarkably like a drink. Imagine that?"

And then, with a shrug of his shoulders, he took a mouthful.

...

"Whoof."

It definitely had a kick to it, didn't it? Which was not, it should be noted, stopping Sparkle from having a second mouthful, just to be sure.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton slammed back a not insignificant amount of his own drink. "Space! I missed that," he said. "Drinks back on your planet are fine, but it's not really the same."

[myownface]

"No kidding," Sparkle agreed, with one eye half-squinted and a bit of a wheeze in his voice. He'd done some hard drinking in his life, sure, but this was something new and exciting, definitely. "How many of these things does it take to kill a guy, do you think?"

Because he could see it happening. Yep.

[suitably_heroic]

"You pound back five and you're going to be out on the floor," Atton said. "I'm not sure if you can drink them fast enough to hit the death part before you pass out."

[myownface]

"... Atton, I think you've just introduced me to my new favourite drink."

Sparkle was going to be drinking a lot of these while on Nar Shaddaa.

[suitably_heroic]

So was Atton! So that worked out perfectly well.

"I say we drink a couple of these and then see if we can't rustle up a game of pazaak," Atton said. "If I have to be on Nar Shaddaa, I'm going to try to forget that I'm on Nar Shaddaa."

[myownface]

"I like that one," Sparkle noted, grinning. "That was the one I mostly didn't suck at."

A beat.

"You just got lucky, is all."

Well! It was true!

"I'm thinking even if there are giant fucking slug-guys, this still beats the island. Good break, man. Good break."

[suitably_heroic]

"It's a couple of days - week, whatever-- without waking up in the morning to find you're somewhere else. Or somebody else."

Atton held up his glass. "I'll drink to that," he said. "And to not being anywhere near the Skywalkers... or Sia... or anyone else. Oh, and to Cade missing this trip, the stoopa."

... Look, juma juice kicked hard.

[myownface]

"Heh. Stoopa."

Indeed it did.

"Drinking to all of that," Sparkle decided, lifting his own glass, "and to more drinking. To a whole crapload of drinking. Friggin' cheers."

[suitably_heroic]

"And remember," Atton said, slamming back another mouthful, "It's not a good trip to Nar Shaddaa without waking up surrounded by dancers on a transport to Ord Mantell with no idea how you got there."