Private Lighting the Way

[Niysha]

Jetsam Point, Wild Space​

With a mighty, sparking crash, Niysha fell right through the hologlass front window of Rusty's Bar. Fortunately there were a couple of tables in her trajectory to arrest her momentum, but rather unfortunately, they weren't exactly the softest place to land. It took her more than a couple of seconds to get her feet beneath her, but in a shocking display of narrative favoritism, she'd managed to land impressively gracefully; neither head-to-the-floor nor feet-in-the-air, Niysha had managed to stagger her way into an actual chair, giving her a very comfy place to brace herself and regain her bearings.

Not that the first two of the five men currently stepping through the shattered remans of street-facing hologlass were going to give her a lot of time to do that. Fortunately, this was only a shakedown, and Niysha had absolutely no interest in escalating when there were this many witnesses. Unfortunately, that meant that most of them had her at something of a disadvantage; she wasn't going to be drawing her lightsaber or shooting lightning in front of dozens of people here, and hundreds more within a half-mile of stationworks. She had two remaining options, and one of them was very, very loud.

The first thug through - a Shistavanen hefting a stun baton in both hands - stopped just inside to gloat and let the rest of his men properly surround her. Whatever conversation had been going on in Rusty's was arrested, even if Niysha wasn't yet. "This is over right quick when you tell us what bay the shuttle's parked in," he growled in impressive Basic. Two of his buddies, one Gammorean and something so big it couldn't possibly have been a Weequay, moved to Niysha's flanks as their lead took a moment to assess his target. "Act now and we'll give you a special discount on kneecaps. Half off. Better buy fast, because this account's closing and everything must go."

After a couple of seconds of catching her bearings Niysha cracked her neck, then checked her mouth. It was definitely warm and wet, but she still had all of her teeth in place. That was nice to see. Her free hand hovered near her blaster, but that was basically Plan... she was probably up to Plan G at this point. The blaster was Plan H, and she very much hoped that she didn't wind up at Plan M.

Her voice was far, far too stable for someone who had just been hurled through a bar window and surrounded by at least six times her weight in thug meat. "Thank you kindly for accidentally missing my jaw, Miv. Not only is your deal very exciting, but the service has been excellent so far. I'd tip the waiter, if I wasn't half-sure he'd eat my hand."

Zee Caromed

 

[Zee Caromed]

There were only a couple of universal laws as powerful as 'a fight will always break out in some cruddy spacer bar, especially if it's named after someone'. Another, known far and wide by the initiated, was true from the furthest unknown reaches to the senate chambers at the core. That rule was:

Throwing a chair will always escalate a situation. ​

Zee had just been passing by Rusty's Bar on his way to a convenience store when a some goons had thrown an apparent blind woman through the front window. While the woman didn't seem too bothered by this, the simple indignity of it was enough to light a fire in Zee. Five men, half of them visibly armed, surrounding one surprisingly non-plussed woman in a blindfold. Of course, Zee's better judgement told him, she was likely fine. Even odds between her putting on a brave face so she didn't look like easy pray or being some kind of hidden badass these fellows would rue trying to mess with. Most likely the latter.

But walking away not only carried the risk that she might NOT be and actually needed his help, it also meant he'd be bothered by it the rest of the day. And that would seriously hinder his ability to get anything else done, not that he had a lot on his plate.

Shoulders hunched, keeping a low profile, Zee walked past the brawl and into the bar. Avoiding eye contact, looking away - just like everyone else.

Once inside, he ran up to the bar, hefted a barstool, and ran for the shattered window at full speed. He gave an elated warning of "SU'CUY, IDIOT!" a heartbeat before striking - enough that the wolfman looked away from Niysha and over his shoulders to identify his next victim. Lifting the cruddy old seat over his head, Zee lobbed the heavy metal stool with enough force that when it hit the Shistavanen directly in the face it knocked him off of his feet.

Zee posed triumphant in the window for a moment, the focus of a group of stunned thugs. His elation quickly drained, though, realizing how completely he was probably about to get beat. Thinking quickly, he slapped the closest one across the face and took off running back into the bar. Three of the goons lunged after him, thoroughly distracted from their actual quarry. The only reason the fourth wasn't, was that he was helping the Shistavanen to his feet.

Exit stage left, pursued by goons.

 

[Niysha]

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife for about ten whole seconds, but the galaxy looked very different to Miv and his boys compared to how it looked to Niysha. Miv and his four goons saw one wounded, winded woman who hadn't put up much of a fight so far and was proving frustratingly resistant to their attempts at persuasion, recovering from a nasty blow in a bar full of people trying very hard not to get involved. Niysha, meanwhile, saw a bright spark moving with intent towards the bar itself. Plan J began to form.

Sure enough, the slip of wiry muscle and gorgeous, encouraging fire started some nonsense, got everyone's attention, and bolted for it. It would be tremendously rude of Niysha not to capitalize on such a generous opening, so she immediately pulled her blaster, flicked on the stun setting, and fired two very loud shots into that-which-could-not-possibly-have-been-Weequay the second the men outside started chasing the wonderful, kind, fantastic, heroic human who had intervened.

The sound of a PbBP-01-SI going off was throaty enough to put an end to the conversation. Even in stun, the wave sounded like a subwoofer going off, and the vibration caused the broken hologlass on the bar floor to shake. With the muscle threatening her taken care of and the reinforcements divided, Niysha leveled her blaster at the Shistavenan. "I appreciate your professionalism, Miv. As thanks, your men are still very much alive."

Her stance cleverly hid her free hand beneath the table, which gave her plenty of room to wave it very subtly towards Miv's face as she spoke with very quiet authority. "You've taken too many losses. You should pick up your boys and pack it in for the day."

The large, furry man stood stock-still when he was held up at blasterpoint, but his expression changed slightly after Niysha gave her helpful advice. He stared for several seconds, looking a bit confused, then growled at the two goons trailing the very helpful human. "We've taken too many losses. Pick up the boys. We'll pack it in for the day."

The two Nikto chasing the surprise interloper stopped with a confused murmur between them, but shortly followed orders. All five had cleared out within seconds, and Niysha holstered her weapon.

When the coast was finally clear, the Miraluka took a moment to sigh with visible relief and relax a bit, then turned to face her rescuer. "Thanks. Your timing couldn't have been better."

Zee Caromed

 

[Zee Caromed]

It was a little uncanny, honestly. Zee had run out the back of the bar and around the shop, back to the front - only to find that the big goon had called an end to his hunt and the rest were packing it in for the day. With perfect timing, the blindfolded woman addressed him directly the moment he jogged up, suggesting that she DID have some manner of sight. Especially considering she'd shot that man dead-on.

"Sure yeah no problem." Zee chuckled, catching his breath. One of the goons, the Gamorrean, snorted derisively at him as he brushed past. Zee stuck his tongue out in response. For a moment, he was PRETTY sure he was about to get his lights knocked out, but the hogman thought better of it. Or maybe it was a case of 'if you're good at something, never do it for free'. Did goons even have such an ethos?

The slim human recaptured his wind and straightened up, laughing a little. "Thought that was gonna get REAL ugly there for a minute. Lucky you had that blaster. Guess you didn't really need my help after all." He snickered, not sounding at all put off by the idea that he'd lent a hand where it probably hadn't been needed.

Giving Niysha a considering, thoughtful look, he offered a handshake. "I'm Zee. You seem like you're doin' alright. But I wouldn't mind walking with you if you had somewhere to go." He explained. "I don't think I've ever met a whatever-you-are before, and I'm a little intrigued. If that's cool."

 

[Niysha]

"Your help was much appreciated," Niysha corrected with a grin, cocking her head to one side and resting a hand on her hip. "I could have handled that without your intervention, but it would've been much messier." The lot of them getting the taste knocked out of their mouth before beating a prudent retreat was far, far more believable a mind trick than just deciding to give up right when they had their quarry surrounded. Cover intact.

Without even a moment of hesitation, Niysha returned the handshake Zee had offered. Her grip wasn't exactly beefy, though whether that was due to a lack of muscle mass or a gentle nature wasn't immediately self-evident. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Zee. I'm Niysha." With her introduction out of the way, Niysha crossed her arms and noted - silently, without turning her head - that the bartender was just about ready to get very aggressive. Walking away was starting to sound like a very good idea.

"At this point I'm on my way back to my ship, but I'd be happy to make a detour," she agreed, her voice barely ever raising above "intimate coffee talk at a private table." With one hand extended to indicate which way the two of them should've been headed, Niysha stepped through the shattered front window and back out into the main thoroughfare of Jetsam Point. Within about eight steps, her hands were back in her jacket pockets.

Never heard of her. That was... actually, it wasn't that uncommon. Most people were only familiar with her species after direct contact. Many didn't even seem to know that she wasn't human on the outset. Niysha's smile remained as gentle and genial as possible as she led the two of them off towards a different, less-wrecked establishment several blocks down.

"A whatever-I-am, indeed," she replied with a smirk. "We're called 'Miraluka.' I'm given to understand it means something profound in our language, but I never learned it." She had other, more important things to learn, like Binary and enough Huttese to know when someone was threatening her or trying to rip her off.

Zee Caromed

 

[Zee Caromed]

The term 'Miraluka' fired a dusty neuron off, some lonesome little corner of the back of Zee's brain lit up. Miraluka - sightless with a big ol' asterisk. Sightless, but they could perceive through the Force. It wasn't terribly well understood, which meant that Miraluka sight wasn't terribly well understood - or at least that was Zee's not-very-good understanding of them.

It WAS terribly interesting, though. She'd seen his hand without an issue, she'd easily been able to line up a shot on that man. Clearly, Niysha had no issue moving about the galaxy. But how?

He ambled after the blindfolded woman, shoving his hands into his pockets. Zee's steps were light, verging on delicate at times, though this seemed to be more a tendency towards gracefulness than any deliberate attempt at stealth. Perhaps he was matching her vocal energy. "Feel free to tell me to get lost before I see where your shuttle." He invited cheerfully. "Whatever secrets you wanna keep from me, I'm okay with." He could hardly blame even a capable not-really-blind woman from not wanting some strange guy following her home.

"This'll sound wildly inappropriate, but is it alright if we meet sometime so I can ask you some questions about how you perceive things?" Zee asked curiously. "Strictly clinical, I've got credentials or whatever if you care about that junk. I promise this isn't some convoluted attempt to get into your pants or anything." He laughed. "But you seem cool, and I'm mad curious. Obviously you can perceive people just fine, but how do you do with objects - that kind of thing."

 

[Niysha]

It was impossible to keep herself away from the looming menace of a quiet giggle, so Niysha just gave in. Zee's energy was infectious. She steered the two of them towards a little caff shop she'd passed on her way through earlier, but took her time about it. There was no reason to rush, no matter how positively genki this precious keet was.

"Earnest curiousity isn't inappropriate," she assured him, navigating painlessly through a slightly staggered crowd of eight or so people waiting around outside some kind of... junk shop? Auction house? The two were so difficult to tell apart this far out in wild space. "Though if you're worried about me being comfortable, I'd like to know why you're so curious about it. I don't often meet outgoing, friendly, peacable people this far afield."

Naturally, it was the Force. Niysha didn't need to drop into the infinite void or search the endless threads of the future to find that answer. This interesting young man was more sensitive than most, which meant that he'd wound up coming to assist her less because she needed it and more because he needed to meet her.

When they reached her planned destination, Niysha took a seat at one of the rusty little tables outside, leaning forward with her elbows on the surface, and her bag by her feet. Conversation open... and position fantastic. If Miv and his gang came back (which they shouldn't have, but she couldn't be too cautious) the seats and kiosks would make for very good cover, and the generally central position of this caff shop gave her fantastic coverage with her standard range.

Zee Caromed

 

[Zee Caromed]

Zee fell into his seat after spinning it around, fishing through his pockets for... something. After some digging, he came up with an extra-long receipt in a loose knot and an old pencil. Zee took a moment to straighten out the writing material, making a note at the top.

Centaxday - Niysha,Miraluka
​

"Alright." Zee began thoughtfully. He tapped his pencil against his chin. "Background. I'm not-a-doctor, but I'm close to one. I make stuff for people." He explained. "Sometimes it helps. That's the goal. Big red-letter days, those." Zee explained. When a slightly miffed waitress came by to see why they weren't coming up to the counter to buy coffee, Zee stuffed a crumpled wad of paper credits into her hand with a wide smile. "Something frosty and sweet for me - whatever you think is the best thing here. Whatever she wants out of this, and keep the rest. Please."

"Okayso. Facts as I've observed them." Zee began.

"One. You are a Miraluka. If I remember correctly, you don't even have vestigal eyes? Empty sockets." He explained, scrawling on the receipt. "Two, you perceive through The Force - generally. That's what I read, waaaay back when. This also allows you to perceive, I'm guessing, living things. If you'd JUST shot the guy before, I might've been able to put that down as having heard him. But you caught my hand for a handshake, and you slipped through those people like a leaf on the wind." Zee observed, scribbling furiously.

"Now, THREE. You ALSO found your chair without an issue. And you don't have a cane or proximity device that I can tell. So you must have some ability to perceive non-living things as well." Zee added, glancing up from his notes. "That, I'm curious about. I know only a thing or two about The Force, I know 'sensing' is early teachin'. But is your sense as a Miraluka similar to how a Jedi or Sith 'Senses', or is it a separate function with different rules?" He inquired. "That's what I want to know."

"I apologize if I slip up and refer to your perception as 'seeing' or 'vision', by the way." Zee added. "I'm trying to be mindful of it as a different sense entirely, but... contexualizing, smooth brain, bleah. We do what we can, right?"

 

[Niysha]

When a... very tired, confused-looking worker came by to figure out why the two of them were lurking without buying, Niysha was opening her mouth to take the bill when Zee did it for her. The Force worked in very obvious ways at times; this was a person with an agenda and enough motivation to see it done. She'd been put in his path for a very simple reason, and today at least, she had no reason to try to fight destiny. That was something she saved for special occasions.

"Okay, so," she repeated back, grinning a little as she waited for her mocha. Zee was a very animated creature, and his aura was just as lively. Just a little training, she put together as he mentioned that he knew a bit about the Force. That would explain the slightly more defined outline he had compared to In.

First, physical eyes. "Correct. I have no physical eyes at all. Our ancestors from a very, very long time ago definitely had them, but that's close to ten thousand years ago, probably more." She indicated her blindfold with a single finger. Soft, simple black cloth, extremely well worn. "While some Miraluka have an eye for fashion and like big, fancy headdresses, most of why I wear this is out of common decency. People tend to be uncomfortable when they have to look at empty eye sockets."

Chances were some of that boiled down to shame, too, but Niysha didn't have much of it. She did have compassion enough for her fellow sentients that she tried to make them as comfortable as possible. Comfortable people were less aggressive and easier to deal with; it was just good sense.

Second, living things. "This is a bit harder to explain. In fact, it's one of the biggest failings of Basic, and I don't know enough of my people's own language to even provide you with some interesting-sounding gibberish to associate with it." Niysha took a moment and accepted her caff when the server brought it over. That gave her some time to put her thoughts in order, which she'd definitely need if she was going to explain auras to someone who completely lacked the sense.

"Effectively, everything has an aura. In living things, it's either the soul or something similar enough as to be an academic difference." She indicated to Zee, in front of her. "Yours has specific qualities, as does the lady who brought us our drinks. Every person passing by has a slightly different aura, which means that it's possible to tell the difference between them if they're close enough, or if I concentrate hard enough." She paused a moment to take a sip of caff, then set her cup back down. "Sometimes, the qualities of an aura can give an indication of the person's demeanor, or mood. Other people are more contained. I can still distinguish between them, but that's all. No additional information."

Third, objects. Niysha cocked her head to one side to indicate to the caff bar. "Everything has an aura, living or dead. Spiritually speaking, it's because nothing is truly dead." She stopped long enough to smile and nod at Zee. "And yes, it is a Force thing. Some Jedi have learned how to see like us, but at the best of times, it takes them years of training." Idly, Niysha tapped her fingernails on the side of her cup. "Since nothing is ever really dead, things that you might think of as 'not alive' still have a trace aura. It's transparent, but you get used to seeing the shapes of walls, benches, that sort of thing."

Zee Caromed

 

[Zee Caromed]

THAT was a surprise. And worth scrawling down IMMEDIATELY. "Okay. Alright. Fact the fourth - Miraluka can perceive auras, intangible representations of persons through the force. These are, I'm gathering, distinct enough that you have no issue telling individuals apart from one another the way I might recognize somebody's facial features or body language." He pondered for a moment, furrowing his brow. "...if somebody could work with that, everyone would know that. Okay. Still worth noting."

"Fact five, you can still tell where inanimate objects are. Everything leaves an impression." He added. "I'm going to guess that the longer something has been in a place or the more 'important' it is to that place, the easier it is to perceive." Zee speculated. "A piece of trash has less impression than a statue that's stood in the same place for decades? Question mark?"

Zee tapped his pencil impatiently against his chin, brow furrowed. Most of his understanding of the force was very 'internal'. He understood how energy moved through is own body, and how it was a part of the universe around him. He knew that he could pull in that energy to fortify himself or add weight to his body. To him, it felt very much like making himself smaller, quicker, more dense - though he knew for a fact that his weight did not meaningfully change while doing so, nor had his mother's when she'd humored him by standing on a scale while he prompted her through various exercises. What might that have 'looked' like to Niysha?

"Is there anything else you're able to perceive very well?" Zee asked curiously. "Distant stars, lightsabers, hyperdrives in motion?" He inquired eagerly. "Do you perceive parasites in a person as easily as the person themselves? What about gut flora, skin mites, and the sort? Or does your mind filter that sort of minutiae out?"

 

[Niysha]

Talking to legitimately intelligent people was always fun. At some level, Niysha realized this might've been what it was like when In had the misfortune of being around when she was going on and on about Kunite inscription manifests. She made sure to sneak a drink or two of caff between each long, rambling tirade of Mad Genius Babble.

Fact four. "You're not wrong. I can still make out the vague shape of your face, but it's difficult to get perfect. It's the qualities of your aura that let me know you're you, and not that guy behind you." She lifted her cup with one hand, her finger pointing to a large Cathar sitting at the table behind Zee, minding his own business. "I can pick out the shape of clothes, too, though any more than that is generally lost, and physically obscuring your aura doesn't do anything. You're still you, even if you're wearing a mask or a helmet."

Fact five was more of a question, and it was honestly something she hadn't considered. Niysha looked genuinely contemplative for a few seconds as she sorted her own speculations. "...You know, that might have something to do with it. Buildings are easy, but... for other things, I generally need to focus. Sometimes I do trip over debris." She remembered her last camping trip with In, right before their ship had been stolen by pirates. "Though I think that might have more to do with there being more interesting things to look at? Humans trip over things they should be able to see, too."

Mm. This was one she definitely had input on.

"I recently met one of my own kind. It's not a terribly frequent occurrence, given how reclusive and isolationist our major populations tend to be," Niysha explained, before pausing to take another sip. "We had different experiences when it came to what we could easily perceive. He seemed to have a very easy time with trajectory, or possibly with air pressure. Bragged about his marksmanship, even."

Finishing her cup, Niysha set it down and picked up her own bag to produce her datapad. Two taps, and she brought up her latest non-Sith searches. Old ruins, sightseeing, and lots and lots about shuttle repair and potential upgrades. "For me, it's power. I have no problems seeing droids, or electrical lines. I have an app that sends powerful but very concentrated currents to my datapad's screen to make it easier to read." She indicated it with a tilt of her head and a little smile. "My girlfriend says it gives it a 'neon' affect."

Zee Caromed

 

[Zee Caromed]

There were so many threads to tug on that Zee couldn't pick just one! He struggled for a moment, then made some furious notes.

"Okayokayokay." Zee rambled intently. "So when humans and persons with similar vision-based perceptions lose their sight, it isn't uncommon for them to report that their senses step up to fill the gap." He explained. "I've heard all kinds of stories, some of them sound almost Force-dependent. For example, perfectly ordinary baseline humans learning how to navigate their environments through rudimentary echolocation-" Zee clicked his tongue to demonstrate, then tried again by sucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth to make a sharp little 'klack' noise. "Ooor... air pressure. Changes in wind. Temperature. Much less common. Not unheard of. Sharper senses of scent, as well!"

Zee drummed his pencil against the table impatiently, leaning far enough back in his chair that he threatened to tip over. "If we take it as granted that all Miralukans experience variations of the same essential ability to perceive the Force - and I'm only using that assumption until I have more data points to work from - than we could, maybe, speculate that each Miralukan supplements their ability to perceive The Force with another sense the way a human might?" He explained, gesturing with his chewed pencil. "Explaining the difference between yours and your associate's methods."

"Now, bear with me. This is just wild spitballing." He explained hurriedly, sounding like he needed to have a cork-and-yarn board. "Ten thousand years is a long time, but evolutionary speaking? For a species with a lifespan of seventy to a hundred cycles, I'm guessing? Almost nothing." Zee elaborated. "If the Miraluka of ten to fifteen thousand years ago had vision, even rudimentary vision, it stands to reason that the species might be culturally developing the sort of tools that vision-based Humanoids might when individually blinded? If that makes sense? And if Miraluka tend to be secluded and insular by nature, they might not even really realize they're doing it."

Zee gestured vaguely. "It's like how some humanoids go through their entire life not knowing that they can only see specific colors, or are blind to other wavelengths of light." He explained. "Most of them never question why two colors look identical, because that's just how they see things. It isn't until somebody points it out that it might strike them as odd."

Zee paused, scribbling down some notes. "I'd be very interested to talk to your friend about how he navigates. And about four dozen other Miraluka." He mumbled.

When Niysha mentioned her datapad, Zee lit up - literally. Energy flooded into him, and he nearly sprang out of his chair. "You do?! That's so cool! That's exactly the sort of thing I do!" He gushed eagerly. "May I see? I'd love to study it! And it'd save me asking you a million questions about your preferences on visible voltages and amperage! I want to know everything!"

 

[Niysha]

"I want to know everything" seemed the theme of the day. Niysha was in absolutely no position to judge, of course, so rather than just letting a king cook, she aspired to being sous-chef. Setting her datapad down on the tabletop, she spun it towards Zee with one finger, then pushed it across. "Be my guest. The triangle button in the top right turns it back to its normal settings."

While there were a few things that were obviously different, what with the bizarre colors and neon lines, according to the app's records, the main downside was the increased power draw. While it was active, Niysha's little "I can see the screen more clearly" button seemed to reduce battery life to almost a third of what it had been... and judging by usage time, she used it most of the time. There didn't seem to be a lot of modular settings, either; it was largely limited to "on/off" and one slider, which Niysha seemed to keep at about half.

The Miraluka took a few moments to enjoy watching a professional play around with the most simple solution she'd found. Zee was just about the purest combination of eager energy and genuine compassion she'd seen in a few weeks. The wild, frantic passion of In with the gentle empathy of Aliris. By complete coincidence, he also fell between the two of them when it came to definition, though with that much raw creative energy any confusion would've been completely impossible.

Zee Caromed

 

[Zee Caromed]

Zee turned the tablet over, being more careful with it than he had with anything else he'd touched so far today. After all, for all he knew? This device represented Niysha's connection to her loved ones, or her ability to engage with an increasingly net-and-screen based Galaxy. It wouldn't do to drop it. It wouldn't do to disrespect it. Even if it turned out to be a piece of junk, it deserved to be honored simply because it had loyally served a need for long enough that Niysha's touch was on every centimeter of the thing. How many nights had she watched or read things because of this tablet? How many messages, deals, or photos exchanged because of this chonky tablet? It had earned Zee's utmost care.

He went to the settings, checking various things as they occurred to him. Estimated battery life, estimated battery life if he turned that slider all the way up or down, or off. Looking at the screen when the switch was all the way up made his eyes itch horribly, but that was fine. It wasn't for him, after all. He slid it back to the normal setting and continued to fuss. "Not a lot of options. And it looks like this switch is a basic resistor setup? As opposed to a digital control mechanism. Means that the power draw is consistently what we might think of as 'full power' when the - uh. What do we call it? Niysha Mode?" He proposed. "Niysha Mode is always running at %100, essentially, the slider just affects how much is shown. Gets the job done, but bad for battery life. Room for improvement."

Zee engaged the Niysha Mode button a couple of times, noting that it felt a bit gummy. Without really thinking about it, he pulled a small glasses repair kit from his pocket, popped the button off with a pair of tweezers, and gave it a quick clean before replacing the spring. The button clicked back into place with a satisfying noise, much more responsive.

He turned the chunky tablet over in his hands, tapping on the back of the case. "Lot of space in there." Zee added thoughtfully. "Might've been made that way as drop protection. Or it was intended for expansion. Can't really be sure without opening it up, and here probably isn't the place for that? Question mark?" He trailed off, glancing briefly up at the Miraluka.

"It's a great device! Overall, I mean." Zee added cheerfully, wiping the screen clean. "I can tell it's pretty well-loved. People who use devices like this but don't appreciate them? There's always scuffs and junk around the charging port. Not seeing that here." He explained. "You probably have issues with battery life, I'm guessing. It also looks like there hasn't been a security or software update in a long time, but there's not one on offer, so I'm guessing the manufacturer isn't supporting it any longer. Yeah?" He speculated, passing it back to Niysha.

 

[Niysha]

Exactly like seeing In talk about plants, or watching Tilon go on about weird exoplanets. Or, Niysha assumed, listening to her fall into a ramble about the Brotherhood of Darkness' impact on historical Sith recordings. Zee clearly hadn't needed the coffee, considering how much energy he was bringing to the table. She didn't dare interrupt the process.

Fortunately, the process seemed to include a lot of babbling at her. "I've only really tinkered with the software," Niysha admitted without much in the way of shame. "And even then, not much. I feel like it's not uncommon for people to simply make sure their tools aren't actively broken, then use them until that's impossible." She offered a warm smile as she finished her caff, giving an indulgent nod to Zee. "But thank you for the compliment. It would be difficult to replace."

Aaaand he managed to hit that nail on the head pretty much immediately. With a nod, the Miraluka took only a moment to throw her empty caff cup into the nearest bin, then returned to her seat at the table they'd completely commandeered. "It's very old. Not ancient, but I've only had luck in secondhand stores and junk shops when I needed replacement parts."

Or she just made due with normal datapad parts. Any machine more than twenty or thirty years old was mostly jury-rigs by volume.

"I back up my data on two different archives every week, or whenever I make a big addition. So far it hasn't failed me, and even if it did, I can use normal datapads. They're just... I think the term you'd use is 'blurry.'" Niysha indicated vaguely in the air. "The sort of thing that gives me a headache after an hour or two."

Zee Caromed