But Wait, There's More!

[Makai Dashiell]

Bare feet padded on sleek,exotic hardwood flooring at the sound of a knock. Makai had still been in bed, clad in his Captain Atlantis pajamas. The hotel suite was still quiet, save for the snoring of his Dad. That was really loud. Making his way over, Makai opened the door even though he wasn't supposed to.


A tray holding a cereal box, several bowls and milk sat on a cart. So did a large basket of fruit, covered with a bow.


His little brows furrowed with confusion. Carefully, he pulled the cart inside and shut the door once more. The boy seemed to stand back, staring. Was he supposed to eat this? People brought food to your room without asking? Trying not to knock anything down, Makai pulled a piece of his favorite fruit out of the basket. A note came fluttering down and he stooped to pick it up.


There was only so much he could read yet. He picked out the words SUPER, fun, and Miss. He didn't know the rest, perhaps one seemed like Miss Ar-cen-now, but he couldn't be too sure.


Fruit in hand, Makai went running into the other room, practically leaping on the bed. The boy quickly settled in and started to munch on part of the fruit basket, juice running down his chin and onto the orange pajama shirt. His free hand held a card near his father's face, a little too close for comfort.


"Daddy, whats this say?"

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]



Lately it seemed Judah couldn't get a solid night's sleep. Between rescheduling meetings, late night sales pitches, and early morning wake ups from a curly haired little boy, there was no rest for the weary. Today didn't seem to be any different.


Deep blue eyes opened to see a card being held almost to his skin. His hand came up to gently take it, rolling onto his back as he did so. He blinked slowly, eyes trying to adjust. Brain trying to adjust to being awake, being forced to make sense of the note. It was written in pretty, feminine handwriting. Hearts dotted the i's , along with unnecessary flourishes.


Misters Dashiell,


Please enjoy this cart of breakfast items. You will need your strength when meeting with Miss Arceneau today. Isn't it just SUPER that she could fit you in on such short notice? Its no waterpark, of course. A second super fun breakfast will arrive on waterpark day as a reminder. Don't hesitate to contact me!!

Have a super day!

-P. Caas



Judah groaned as Makai gave a questioning look.


"Its this crazy Arceneau Trade lady....she thinks everything is super. Even calls me in the middle of the night asking the most annoying questions. Don't ask me how she ended up working for Miss Arceneau."


"Oh. They gave us cereal at least."


Chuckling, he ruffled the boys curls.


"Lets go watch some Dr.Why then before we have to go to this meeting. I don't think anyone will be disturbing us til then."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]


Ten minutes prior to eleven, the comm would ring. Incessantly.

Miss Pepper Caas was humming a happy little ditty about Jack and Diane. There she was, sitting in her little cubicle, playing the hits of her academy years while she cheerily waited for the CEO of Salacia Consolidated to pick up the comm. There was so much to do today! She had to make sure Mister Dashiell was going to be on time to the appointment.

One could not be late! Not at all! Nope, nope, nope!

Carefully adjusting the holopicture of her cat, Pepper gave a wide grin. Oh it must be super to be going to a water park! Oh she would love to go to one too! OH! Maybe she should pencil one in for her next vacation!

Grabbing a small sheet of filmsi, she set to work on making a note on such an idea.

Go to water park!

She then circled it and put a little heart right next to it.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]



Trying to get ready for a meeting with his son was like trying to wrangle in feral cats. Judah stood in front of the mirror in the expansive bathroom, clad in only a towel. He was trying to trim his unruly facial hair before the meeting. Miss Arceneau had probably seen enough of the 'cave man' look back on their yacht excursion to begin with.


Looking in the mirror, movement caught his eye. Makai was running around with his underwear on his head, clad in nothing else. It wasn't exactly the scale-speckled bottom he wanted to see. Where his son got this oddity, he wasn't sure. Probably from his Ma's side, too much seafood, not enough nerf meat.


"Go get dressed buddy, no one wants to see that."


All the while, his comm was constantly making noise. A call was causing it to ring, and ring, and ring. Most folks by now were smart enough to leave a message. Without looking, he picked up the comm. Big mistake.


"Dashiell here. Is it important?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

"Goooooood morning Mister Dashiell!!!"

The voice practically sang to the CEO of Salacia Consolidated with the energy of an eight year old after having drank a CrimsonNerf. The amount of rainbow beam of friendliness could not be mistaken. It was the one, the only, P. Caas.

"I hope you are having a super start to your day!! Did you enjoy the fruit basket?!"

That little ditty about Jack and Diane was lightly, if not mockingly playing in the background. She didn't even wait for his reply.

"I just wanted to give you a wake up call and ensure everything is ready for your meeting with Miz Arceneau." did the woman ever breathe? "Your escort will be there at eleven o'clock sharp!"

The time was 10:58.

"I am super happy to say that everything is wonderfully set up for you and your son at the waterpark later on today, and if you require anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask!"

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]


"Uh...yeah, who doesn't love fruit?"


By now, Judah had abandoned his face and was trying to stick his legs into a pair of pants. Miss Pepper Caas seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he was most likely trying to get ready. Or might have been busy wrangling the younger Dashiell. Judah swore the woman didnt even breathe as she continued on in her merry, chipper tone.


"Escort?"


Why did he need an escort? Also...water park? When was he supposed to work in his...er...Makai's nap during all this chaos? Would one Miss Pepper Caas even know he used the water park tickets? Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps they would be worth cashing in for another day, a day where he could sleep past seven.


"Trust me, I won't be hesitating Miss Caas."


Judah set down the comm as the knock on the door came. At least one fire had been put out. Perhaps the woman would stop calling once he was with Miss Arceneau. After all, she wouldn't want to ruin an important meeting that her boss was hosting. Right? If not, Judah was apt to toss his comm into the vacuum of space without a second thought.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]


On the other side of the door was Judah's and Makai's escort.

The small peep hole would reveal a rather burly chest; and that's all really. If one were to open the door, the chest would come with the usual torso and legs, but also that the escort was a bright green Trandoshan.

He was a Trandoshan named Sue.

Oh there were a few scars here and there, and even a cut lip that had healed over rather oddly, giving him a odd sneer smile. His shoulders were drooped, and he had the expression of being entirely utterly bored.

Sue, would have preferred to be out hunting rather than playing escort. He had a Scorekeeper to pay tribute to. However, this was a task set personally by Miz Arceneau, and he would do her bidding as she paid his bills and gave him Vera, his most favorite heavy blaster rifle.

It was a good gun. There were many like it but this one was his.

He was told by the rather high strung and shrilled voice pink lady that he had to be here by eleven. So he was here by eleven. He made sure of that.

The pink lady had a tendency of making his ears hurt.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]


Makai opened the door to find a huge scary-looking guy standing on the other side. Scary guy looked incredibly bored to Makai. Like his Mama told him to go clean his room or eat some smelly green vegetables. Shaggy head tilted back to take in their visitor, as if the little boy was looking up a mountain.


"Whoa...shiny scar Mister."


Small head tilted to the side slightly before returning to normal.


"Did someone beat you up? Or did you beat them up?"

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]



There were times when childhood trust wasn't exactly a good thing. This was one of those times. Judah rounded the corner as he tried to button up a shirt. To his surprise, a rather large Trandoshan stood in the door way. While the hulking figured gave off an air of boredom and defeat, it didn't mean there wasn't a more sinister intention behind the appearance.


Eyebrows shot up as Makai questioned the figure without fear, wondering about who beat up who.


"Uh...Lets not ask who won what, alright son?"


Judah finally got the buttons on his sleeves situated, eye on their new guest their entire time.


"Can I help you out Mister....? You lookin' for someone?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Makai Dashiell"] [member="Judah Dashiell"]

The Trandoshan named Sue would blink his black beady lashless eyes down at the Galen hybrid. His shoulders sank. They latched a youngling to the job. What did he do to insult the Scorekeeper so?

"Julamba," he said no in Dosh, the official language of the Trandoshans. It was mainly composed of harsh grunts, hisses, and growls. So when he spoke, the s's would flick with his forked tongue.

"Hatcherd," came his greeting, only to turn to the youngling's parent. Although he realized then, that the likelyhood of them understanding what he was saying was fairly low. So he switched to Huttesse.

"Mah peekasa Chalata. Dobra wata bai lohba uba bai Arceneau Pacahla bai manpanh cay bu lorda bengahena." «My name is Sue. I am here to escort you to Arceneau Trade to meet with the boss lady.»

Like Miss. P. Caas said, promptly at 11 a.m. !

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]



Hand went up to slowly scratch the back of his neck as the hulking Trandoshan spoke, first in one language than in another. Confusion was plastered on his face. It was times like these he really should bring along the salvaged Footman turned Nanny droid named Ferox. Judah was sure that his little workshop find would decipher the words without thinking twice.


The only words he was able to pick out of the entire conversation was Arceneau and boss. Either the Trandoshan was here to kidnap him due to his works with Arceneau and take him to a crime lord or this was an escort of some sort. Technically, if it was a kidnapping, the large creature could have already grabbed Makai, shot him, and been out the door.


Escort then?


Judah couldn't speak Huttese. Wroonian he was extremely fluent in, due to his upbringing in the Saleucami deserts. He could only hope he wasn't making himself look like a complete and total idiot.


"Umm...Lead the way Sir."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Escort they would get!

Sue, weary, but obedient, would lead the small congregation of Dashiells. His large broad form would walk ahead, prompting anyone heading the other direction to step to the side just to avoid his brawn. He made a very nice wall to say the least!

Over all, Sue was pretty quiet. On the turbolift he crossed his meaty arms over his chest, the leather scaly flesh rippling over sinew and muscle. We won't get into the specifics of the rather large vibrostaff he carried on his back.

Jeopardy music while the three of them whizzed down the turbo lift was absolutely thrilling.

Makai certainly found some fascination with Sue. While he held his father's hand, he found himself awfully tempted to poke at the Trandoshan. Just how did he get that scar? He also had another one on his arm...


Meanwhile, Danger was getting ready to meet up with the Dashiells. Far more laid back than the infamous P. Caas, the redhead simply was going to enjoy the afternoon with Judah and Makai. She cleared her schedule for the rest of the day, and was looking forward to spending time with them.

Figuring that they would both be hungry, she decided to indulge a bit and make food herself. Not that she was gonna tell she did it. While she was no chef, she knew a bit about getting around in the kitchen.

Like how to grill a nerf steak.

And Rodian spaghetti and meatballs.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

In contrast to the quiet, lively turbolift music played over head. Little hand loosely gripped the large, rough one. Since the turbolift was part glass, Makai could look out at the scenery whizzing by. It wasn't nearly as exciting as the large lizard man standing in front of them. Lizard-man was guarding the turbolift door, like he was waiting for a bad guy to bust through.



Free hand went out to touch the vibroblade, poking at the leather wrapped handle. The Lizard-Man's scales were messed up due to the scars obtained by Sue the Trandoshan. Makai looked at his own vibroblade pokin' arm, judging his own scales against the big, meaty ones in front of him.


"'Cuse me, Mister? If you cut my scales would they be messed up too? Like yours?"


Makai offered his scale speckled arm for comparison. Meanwhile, the elder Dashiell looked embarrassed to be having a conversation about scales with someone they just met. His son didn't seem to be worried they couldn't exactly communicate with their bodyguard of sorts.


[member="Danger Arceneau"]

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Makai Dashiell"] [member="Judah Dashiell"]

Sue would slowly swivel his large head down at the Half Galen youngling. Black beady eyes would peer down at his gestured scales, draw back to his own, then back again to the iridescent blue ones on his speckled arm. The brawny arms would uncross, and the male lizardman would bend close.

Real close. Real close and slow.

"Mee bihhocs doth bacaka wa wechpomh, koushonbake bo. Skinned bacaka bo, hee in ting." «Your scales are like a fish, tiny one. Skinned like one, then perhaps. »

Probably not the best thing to tell a youngling, but he did ask. And well, Sue had no tact.

Rodian spaghetti and meatballs wasn't too hard to make. It just took some time. Aeri would observe with mild humor, along with an arch of a brow. She held between two fingers her Viper, and the Zeltron would watch Danger's domestic charm with only a single utterance for commentary.

"Quaint."

Danger would threaten to fire her, to which the two women would surrender into mild chatter. Updates, reports, memos. Every moment was used to catch Danger up on what was going on. Things were changing, not just with companies but with governments as well.

It would be another few minutes or so before Danger expected Judah an Makai to wander round, so Danger wanted to make the most of it.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]



Lizard-man's tongue had gotten close to his arm then there was more words he didn't understand. Unlike most, the rows of razor sharp teeth and serpent tongue didn't seem to phase Makai. There was more a sense of wonder and curiosity rather than fear. If his father wasn't standing so close, there might have been more pause, more recoil.



"I still don't understand you."



Makai could only speak basic. Judah hadn't taught him Wroonian but the boy could pick up a handful of words if it was being spoken. He couldn't speak lizard. Probably never could since he had a regular tongue. Frustrated with the lack of communication, the boy turned his attention outside, watching the landscape.


The turbolift was slowing down.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]



Silently, he was hoping there would be no more sightings of Sue the Trandoshan. Judah was fairly certain they had offended the man in some way,shape, or form. Why they had a hulking escort was also beyond him. Most of the time it was merely an aide of some sort. Rarely did he ever get escorted like this to Arceneau Trade. Not now. Not after the relationship Salacia had worked hard to build with the company.


Getting off the turbolift, Judah found himself on an empty floor of another building. Nothing. Just support beams as far as the eye could see. Windows gave a view of more buildings in the area that surrounded them. No conference table. No display of his recently bought platforms. In fact, Judah was surprised they didn't just meet on one of said platforms.


Were they in that terrible of shape?


"Great, this is a kidnapping."


"What?!"


"This isn't your first, think you'd be a little more relaxed by now."


"Isn't my first?" Confusion colored Makai's tone.


"Before you were born, I say it still counts."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]


The Trandoshan would swivel his large lizard head over to the two Dashiell's. He gave a glower. A kidnapping?

"There isss no reassson to abduct two fleshlingsss." he told them, his forked tongue flicking as he spoke in Huttese. The turbolift door slid open, and the Trandoshan named Sue sulkily lead the way out. Why would he need to abduct fleshlings?! He had better things to do! Things for the Scorekeeper!

If a Trandoshan could pout, Sue did it.

The reason for the escort became clear when security checks would allow the trio to pass on by. Down to the next tower they went, where Arceneau Trade employees would make themselves busy. He brought them to another turbolift, and with a swing of his security card, opened the door.

"Enter, the lift openssss to Missss Arceneau's suite." At last, he was done!

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Makai watched Sue the Trandoshan carefully. The creature seemed angry or upset about something. Apparently they weren't worth kidnapping or stealing. Fleshlings the creature called them. Didn't the creature have flesh too? Iced azure gaze flicked back between his father and Sue the Trandoshan. Temptation rose inside him to ask what exactly the creature had besides flesh.


Brows furrowed. His last question didn't seem to go over so well.


Before he could muster up the courage to speak, the turbolift doors opened. The smell of Rodian spaghetti and meatballs wafted towards him. Makai immediately walked towards the smell. It didn't take long for him to spot [member="Danger Arceneau"] , his face lighting up with a huge grin.


"Miss Ar-cen-now!"


Soon enough, little arms were squeezing her tight in a hug, not caring she could be busy or he could be under foot.


"I missed you."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

There was awkward silence after the entire 'kidnap-not-kidnap the fleshlings' issue. Judah wasn't about to speak up and say another word. The Trandoshan had large, long claws. The type that could spill a man's bowels on the turbolift decking before one could blink.


He liked his bowels where they were.


Before he could even get a word in edgewise, Makai was already bounding out of the turbolift. Not that Judah could blame him, the smell wafting from the kitchen was mouth watering. A small nod went to Sue the Trandoshan as the lift doors closed, leaving Judah waiting in the entry.


Slowly, he ambled towards Makai's last known location. The Galan-hybrid had his arms tightly around the Trade Queen, hopefully not squeezing the life force from the woman. A small smile graced his features. Judah stopped in the doorway to watch, leaning against the frame.



[member="Danger Arceneau"]

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"] [member="Makai Dashiell"]

"Well my word!" Danger would chuckle out, wrapping her arms around Makai with a chuckle. Enveloping him into her embrace, she came down to his level an gave him a tight squeeze. He smelled of shampoo and soap, his little arms clinging to her tight and is body wiggling with excitement.

"My look at you!" the woman would beam out at the youngling with a wide grin. Drawing her arms up, her hands would fall over to his face, pushing his hair back. "Oh let me get a good look at you!"

The corner of her mouth quirked, "Well now, did you get taller?! I swear you grew a whole ten centimeters!" she'd say with amazed flair, the young boy preening at the attention.

Green eyes would smile as they rose from the boy to his father.

"Well how's it going there Mistah Dashiell?" she sang in welcome. "I hope your journey went well?"