Dusk Station might have been a premiere defensive orbital platform in wartime, it was the prime customs station in the Dajorra System during periods of peace. With Arcona’s recent pacification efforts of internal and external threats, movement of trade and people was in something of a little boom. Nothing incredible or grandiose, but certainly doing better than in recent years. The crowds and traffic reminded Qyreia of the good old days when she was living the spacer life.
She was there on a routine inspection, taking the opportunity to get out of the Citadel to join the normal survey crew. In her old khakis and leather jacket, she blended in well with the other merchants and traders milling about; hardly what one would expect from the leader of the system’s shadow government. Of course, she stood out somewhat from the predominant races and species. The Selenians — effectively humans with pigmented stripes arrayed across their skin — and humans made up the predominant goers, the latter being the dominant demographic of the galaxy. A couple of Keadeans from nearby Eldar likewise occupied a corner or two. It was such that the near-humans and other aliens stood out just a little. Even the Zeltron, courtesy of her dark cobalt hair and cinnabar skin, was hard to miss entirely.
The familiarity meant it was easy to spot outsiders. Fortunately, there were plenty of outsiders too, so it was unsurprising when her comm went off.
“Kushiban at the security office asking a lot of questions. What should we do?”
“They asking anything classified?” she muttered back, trying to be unassuming as she sipped her drink at the cantina.
“Not yet. But it’s throwing up some red flags.”
“Alright. I’ll swing by and see what all the fuss is about.”
Never a dull moment.
She finished her beer, paid the tab, and sauntered off toward security to see what this rabbitkin might be up to for her to get a call over it.
The closer Qyreia got to the office, the more her attention went from the usual hubbub of the fairly crowded station to the sound of someone asking some crew members questions in a similar way one would a tour guide.
“Oh! Just one more thing, is it true this system stayed hidden until only recently? Though I’m guessing it’s because of the effects of the Maw, correct?” She heard them ask.
When she arrived at the office, the clearly uncomfortable crew member being bombarded with questions felt relief and pointed at the kushiban with his eyes as if saying “ Him. ”
Qyreia was then able to see the cause of her being called. A young kushiban wearing glasses, a blue vest and a red scarf which made him stand out somewhat. Hovering next to him was a small blue-striped L0-LA droid that noticed Qyreia approaching and began beeping at the kushiban.
“Huh? What is it, Lola?” He said as he turned around and saw Qyreia standing behind him. “Oh! Hello! Maybe you could help me.”
“I certainly hope so,” the Zeltron intoned with a smirk. The overheard conversation snippet told her plainly enough he wasn’t much of a security threat. “Depends on what you need.”
“Oh nothing much, I assure you!” He said while adjusting his glasses. “You do look like someone who’s busy so I’ll try not to keep you.”
The young kushiban then politely extended his hand towards the Zeltron and smiled. “My name is Meero. It’s an absolute pleasure meeting you, miss…?”
A certain awkward mausement went through the back of her mind as she ever-so-gently leaned down to reach his outstretched hand. It had been a while since she last met someone with such a height disparity, much less with her being on the taller end of the spectrum.
“Qyreia. Qyreia Arronen.” She glanced up briefly at the staff manning the desk in a way that said ‘I got this’ before returning her attention to the Kushiban. “Not often we see someone of your species out here. What brings you?”
“Well you could say intense curiosity. You see I recently finished my studies back home and I wanted to travel for a while. Go out and see the galaxy.” His nearly white fur suddenly turned light blue. He couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed about the fact that, for most of his life, his home was all he knew and he had never been off-planet until now.
“So when I heard about this system and how it was unnamed until fairly recently, I needed to see it for myself and know more about it.” He took out his datapad and began scrolling through what appeared to be information and notes he added himself about Dajorra. “It’s all so incredibly interesting! I just wanted to ask a few questions if you don’t mind.”
“Ask away,” Qyreia said as amiably as she could. How recently ‘fairly recently’ was, she didn’t quite know. But being a former spacer herself, the mystery of a new place was something she could sympathize with.
“Fantastic!” Meero’s fur then became white again as he began to ask Qyreia anything she knew about Dajorra. About the different planets, what life was like there, the culture and the people. Any answer she gave him, even if she didn’t know much about it, was absolutely fascinating to him and he would excitedly add it to his datapad.
“This is all great info, thank you so much! I do apologize for keeping you here. I’m sure you’re a busy person.”
“I was here for work stuff anyway.” She looked the little fuzzy leporine over curiously. “If you’re into learning so much, how’d you get out here? Are you an… oh, words… encyclopedist or something?”
Meero chuckled a bit while putting away his datapad. “I quite understand why you’d think that, but actually I’m a technician by trade. Droids, ships, speeders. You name it, I can fix it.”
He shifted his eyes towards his little companion droid for a moment and smiled at her before his eyes went back to Qyreia. “But believe me, getting here wasn’t easy. Since I don’t have a ship of my own, it took both paying for transport and offering my services to cargo ships to be able to reach this station.”
And so probably just a wee bit stranded, she quietly mused. Her gaze hovered on Meero, then around at the station that was a little less inclined toward odd-job drifters. “Well,” she offered hesitantly, “if it’s work you need, I might be able to help with that. Comes with healthcare and education benefits. What other skills ya got?”
“Oh, well…” Meero paused and thought for a moment. “Besides being an overall mechanic, I’m also a pretty skilled pilot, navigator and… oh! I can do this!” He took out his arc welder from his utility belt and held it in his hand. The arc welder began floating upwards in front of him, then floated back down to his hand.
Qyreia’s eyes widened, if only just, less amazed at the feat than she was at the noncalant way that he brandished it. As if it were no more consequential than being able to walk and chew gum at the same time. To his credit though, the showcase cemented the idea she had in mind for him.
“Well… This might seem a bit out of the blue then, but would you consider a job here on Selen? I’m part of an… we’ll call it an ‘organization’ that specializes in folks with your particular talents.”
Meero looked surprised and somewhat sheepish. “Oh! Well… if you wouldn’t mind. I mean I wouldn’t want to be a bother.” His L0-LA droid went behind him and nudged him forward while beeping which he knew meant “ɢᴏ ꜰᴏʀ ɪᴛ, ᴅᴜᴍᴍʏ!”
“Very well!” He said more confidently and with a smile. “I’d be more than happy to take you up on your offer! I am at your service.”