Lei Wufang's Story

Lei Wufang strolled down the path, her satchel of books swinging in a sari slung across her shoulder. She was on to the study hall, eager to finish her research, but it sure was a beautiful day for a breath of fresh air — the cloisters of the academy were stuffier since they'd boarded up the old clock's broken machinery.

Geniti Biritege stepped swiftly into Yungseong Yard and took in the decorations. The floating glowing hearts were a nice touch by The Sixth College. As promised the Pho Real food truck was here. The scent of Pho and flowers mixed into a nice perfume. She touched a hand to her subtle tiara and plopped into a big red cushion, fanning out the pleats of her skirt around her. The sun would be setting soon.

Criston Diamonyx posted up near a bush a little ways from the Princess, keeping an eye on everything at once.

Interested by the soiree and a growing need for a dreamer Rhia walked into the yard with a roving and curious eye. Gardeners did wear clothing so she hadn't any casual wear to speak of. Gardeners were careful and doting creatures to their Matriarchs and tended to her clothing for humans with great care. A careful application of hydroponics left her with a dress of silver frog buttons in a ladder at her back to support the heavy dress of carefully tended moss. Abdomen and wings obscured by the heavy dress a set of lime silk gloves covered her arms to insulate against the cold night.

Rhia's walk made little more than a noise of soft heels carrying her things in a bag with two hands the others at her side. She hadn't eaten since waking up and the ship only had hard tack and bread stones. The pointed tongue licked her black lips at the thought of food then sighed and moved on for now.

A flourish of one of her free hands asked the woman on a cushion, "Here for the party? I hope there are some males coming. Though, I've never had Pho. Is it vegan?"

Lei Wufang basked in the sunlight, appreciating the warm rays of energy as they cascaded onto her face. Looking to her left, the banners for the Valentine's Day event caught the corner of her eye as she strolled to a stop. Was it really Valentine's Day already?

Adjusting her books on her hip, she set off the paved path and into the grass of the yard for the open area, lingering only for a moment to remove her shoes to feel the grass beneath her feet. These things were always the best place to meet interesting people, and she could afford an afternoon this year.

Geniti Biritege giggled at the mention of boys; she hoped for a good turn out in that regard as well. The princess moved a white lock behind her shoulder and flashed a grin at the woman.

"Yes, it should be a beautiful evening! You've never had pho?" Geniti sounded earnestly surprised at this. Pho Real was one of the best restaurants in all of Freeport. She continued, "Of course there is vegan pho. At it's simplest you may consider pho to be a soup, I suppose."

Criston Diamonyx raised a brow at the girl taking off her shoes, but said nothing. Nobody was going to enforce a thing like a dress code. To do such a thing would be against the very code of the Free Knights, as well as the way of things in Freeport. Still, bare feet at a soiree? Well, the Free would do as the free would do. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and turned attention back to the Princess.

Rhia shrugged with her two rear hands, "I spend a lot of time on my ship and it's all sugar and hard tack waffles."

The front hands mocked a hammer with her small bag the two antennae raising, "Maybe I should hire a cook! Gardeners eat mostly raw food so none of my tithes know how to make food."

A longing gaze at the food truck betrayed her loudly pinging appetite, "I'll have to try some of the Pho."

Geniti Biritege nodded and drew herself to a stand. She wasn't nearly as tall as the woman, and hadn't realized the drastic height difference before she stood. Everyone and everything looked tall from the cushion! The many light pink pleats of her dress petaled out from her waist, falling in a series of layers down just past her knees. Two golden embroidered panels fell behind her shoulders, a big pink bow in her hair overshadowing the tiara.

"A private chef is very useful. We have a kitchen fully staffed at the...at home, of course. I don't believe we've exchanged acquaintance," Geniti extended a white gloved hand to the woman, higher than she normally would, wrist up and fingers down.

"Geniti," She intentionally left out her credentials. It was nice to not be treated like a princess whenever she had the opportunity. Just then her own stomach let out a long growl.

Criston Diamonyx peered over the tops of the trees surrounding Yungseong Yard. The sun would be setting soon. His white ensemble took on a purple hue as the blue of sunset crept in around the edges of the evening light.

Rhia extended her own gloved hand and shook Geniti's though the Gardener clearly took a ginger touch. It wouldn't do to crush a hand which is one of the first things Nemesis taught her seekers. Though Rhia's glove had heated the wires of thin heated coils thus was quite warm. After letting go she crossed her free hands downward in front of her, a supplicating gesture, common to Matriarchs to communicate status to their own. Though those familiar with them might ken that doing so she suspected her sailors were somewhere watching even though she told them to stay in the ship. There were indeed a few badged binocular bearing building barnacles being background bystanders.

Rhia flourished the two rear hands shifting her heavy moss dress, "I'm Rhia! I run trading for my mother and her children."

One of her front hands tapped her chin, "I suppose the cooks need a gravity aligned kitchen. I guess crew would appreciate it if I stop eating hard tack rations. They worry so."

As she heard the growl Rhia's eyebrows raise as she grabs her chin, "I see I'm not the only one hungry! I've done far too much warping lately some of these planets move entirely too much."

Geniti Biritege giggled again, gently resting a hand on her abdomen. This woman spoke of things she had no clue about and had only read about in books. Gravity was something humans like she needed to function, to an extent. Geniti had never been in an environment devoid of gravity but imagined the trouble one would have cooking in such conditions. The smile remained on her face. Her white teeth sparkled against her dark skin. Warping. That was something the Shipwrights' Society had mentioned many a time. From what she understood of it, it was moving through vast distances in no more than a snap. Fascinating!

"A pleasure to meet you, Rhia! It seems the pho is calling for us," Geniti waggled a brow up at Rhia.

The Kyber made it's path towards the unknown planet. It's Jedi pilot Relina Celisi scanned the planet below looking for and signs of life. She saw a gathering of some kind and made a fly over.

"Maybe they can give me some info..." she said to herself. "Now where to land?"

"It does!" Said Rhia with a bob of her antennae, "I do hope they are well stocked."

"It's good to meet new friends in my travels! I don't get enough practice speaking when there are only Gardeners," Rhia tapped her throat, "Most of the Matriarchs do not have vocal flaps."

Rhia waggled her antennae in the direction of the Pho, "Another of us, little Sprinkles still hasn't gotten the hang of Eigengrau, the poor Seeker, just rough noises of emotion."

Rear hands together Rhia mimes thumbing at a device, "Talks with a device if it is too loud."

Criston Diamonyx received comm that an unknown vessel had entered the atmosphere on his modified babel. He touched a hand to his ear and murmured something. In an instant he was right beside Geniti Biritege. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Geniti Biritege looked to Criston. He wore one of his more serious faces, which made her roll her eyes. He wasn't the type to adopt serious faces all to often. What could be so serious on Valentine's Day?

"We're going to get Pho," Geniti said to Criston, then turned back to look up at Rhia with a smile. With a little roll she moved her shoulder out from beneath Criston's hand.

"Pho Real is the best pho in all the lands! Interesting, Gardeners do not speak. I had not known of such a thing. To be honest, I am personally unfamiliar with much of what you speak on."

Relina brought the Kyber near a large clearing and began the landing. The lower fin folding under the ship as it came to a rest a blast of air as the ship came to a not so gentle rest.

Relina left the ship on low power and started towards the exit ramp.

Geniti Biritege screamed as a ship descended quiclky from orbit down upon them. Her life flashed before her eyes. She grabbed for Rhia and Criston at once.

Criston Diamonyx grabbed the princess and hit his comm channel in one swift move. He shouted into it for backup, unable to hear the response over the roar of the ship. The gush of air out from the impact of the ships descent was near catastrophic, destroying the vegetation and crushing what cushions weren't sent flying. Some fell over as the impact shook the ground. Earthquakes here weren't known.

Criston withdrew from his side a blade and shoved Geniti behind him. Backup was on the way, said his ear. He held the blade abreast. It had a subtle glow to it. Whatever had just landed couldn't be any good. Most ships landed in the spaceport. This one landed right here. Right where the Princess was.

Rhia looked at the man as he appeared so suddenly her antennae crossing in defensive reflex. Then uncrossed them and relaxed. It was some High solder belonging to Geniti.

A similar event nearby came from a large red blade arm pushing a manhole upward from an alleyway. Then back down as Rhia relaxed. Rhia did not use forklifts; she used high soldiers. Other smaller workers report in their noisy blasts of Quietus that the man wasn't a danger so that the high solder knew to stand down. A fanged creature looked at some terrified man throwing trash away then retreated back down the manhole that ought to be one size too small. The high soldier said nothing that he continued to wait as the manhole twists then to clatter back into place.

While aware that something that riled high soldiers was worth knowing Rhia was really rather hungry. A finger to her lips looked him up and down curious more of what behind the armor than any military value.

"Such a diligent one! Don't worry, if someone gets in the way of Pho I will hit them with these stone benches."

Then the ship descended scattering everything. Rhia took a step back her cling feet keeping her upright. Though she heard the Quietus erupt from the area as her sailors emerged from their holes to alert her. A quick return of Quietus told them to put whatever weapons they'd smuggled out of the spaceport away. Though over a nearby hedge two sets of crimson spider bodies lurked. Blade arms clack their talons unhappily. High soldiers were sharp things the size of small cars that did not shoot, they cut and tore. Rhia's ship identifier on the tabards wrapped around their midsection and cephalothorax.