Private The Wilds

[Aiden Porte]

Malastare
Pixeltio
Racing Grounds
Cali Ziiva

Oh, pod racing, what an entertaining and delightful event....

And potentially deadly as well.

The thought of such a thing didn't entirely scare Aiden, more so on the side of caution. He wasn't the best pilot in the world. While his sister Addison definetly took that roll, he could only imagine how things would go while traveling on ground level and incredibly high speeds. He was sure his force nature would guide him, he wasn't about to test that theory today.

The Naboo Republic had received word that a piracy issues revolving around the fuel reserves from Malastare were being stolen and production and such disrupted because of it. Aiden was simply sent in to monitor the issue and ascertain the truth about what was going on exactly. If anything was a more discerning nature they would send in more aid in a rather secret manner. They didn't want to spook the pirates and have them flee. The endgame goal was indeed to arrest and process them if what was being reported was indeed true.

A few day of surveilance and he noted a few of them would be here on the racing grounds today, Aiden of course blending in dressed more as a smuggler than anything else. He would have to thank Kalantha for helping him choose a decent looking smuggler outfit. Granted nothing new, but something to say he had been doing this for a while.

It would be a few minutes before the race would start, and he took a seat among the many other species that were there today.

 

[Cali Ziiva]

​

The full vibrancy of the Zeltron hadn't been on display when Aiden chose his seat. Tufts of pink over a light blue top and bottom might have been noticeable, but her rump had been presented as she'd been fiddling with something down low. A moment later she straightened up with a big smile and settled back into her seat. She giggled and said something in pass to the person on her right before a tray of snacks drifted back into position in front of her.

Why, of course she used her technical acumen to build things to make her life all kinds of comfortable! Why not? She also held killer parties because those were a lot more fun than people trying to shoot each other. If they wouldn't come to Zeltros, then Cali was on a mission to bring a little of Zeltros to them! So, floating snack tray.

After she popped a kernel of corn into her mouth, Cali turned her bright eyes to the left to stare at Aiden Porte as she slowly chewed the kernel. This was his chance. The opportunity to get a word in edge-wise with the pink Zeltron seated nearby. Not that he had any reason to, but it was his chance. Because when it passed...

"Heya." Cali seemed to beam all the brighter with her smile directly squarely at the man nearby. "My name's Cali. Do you come to the pod races often? I don't always get the chance, running around as much as I do, but it's an exciting sport. I especially love all the different designs and work that goes into making the faster, most stable swoop - pod - thing."

Did he not want to talk? Who didn't want to talk? It was a public event. People should talk. Especially before the race began -- that was, like, the only time to talk. You only talked during the race if the race was boring, and swoop was rarely boring. Ultra-rarely.

Oh, she kind of felt the Force-resonance stuff or something. Cali didn't much pay attention to that. She also felt the man was focused. Couldn't tell on what, but his emotions were just sharp -- not turbulent or jovial, just really really... there. Or not there? Emotions were hard to describe for a Zeltron. Like someone describing what it felt like to breathe. It just happened, ya know?

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

The fact was, that he did notice her. His eyes glanced her way as she took her seat but then immediately went back to what she was doing. She seemed to be.....

Outgoing? Vibrant? Pink?

Nevertheless, the Padawan did have a job to do, but what was wrong with a little chatting with the locals or even just travelers that were coming for the races. For all intents and purposes, that what everyone would assume he was doing here today. But she seemed to want to engage in conversation which Aiden wasn't opposed to. It would help him blend in more if there were any watchful eyes on him, not that there should be. But in today's galaxy, one could never know for sure.

"Hi!" Aiden looked over to her and flashing a nice neat smile. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Charles." Was it necessary to lie? Probably not....

And could he have used a better name than Charles? Probably, but that's where roll of the dice landed.

And he couldn't take any chances, at least not right now. "I've been here a few times. Passing through and need to refuel my ship so I decided to stay for a race or two and make a wager." He looked back towards the race as it would be kicking off any moment.

"Have you ever been down to the pits? Or operated one of these pods before?" The Jedi asked curiously, continuing the small talk, perhaps if he could deduce that she was a friendly. She might even be able to assist him.

Cali Ziiva

 

[Cali Ziiva]

​

"Charles. Nice to meet you." Cali grinned. Aiden didn't look like a Charles. Not that there was any point saying that to his face though -- that'd be super awkward.

Oh? Stopping in out of convenience was it? Well that was a perfectly normal thing to do. That's what Cali was doing. Sort of. Mostly? "They got quite a line-up today," she bobbed her pink head in agreement. "Should be exciting! Have a favorite to win?" A hand rummaged about in a pocket before she produced a slip to show she'd already put a wager down.

"The Pits? Of course. Crews like to talk, you know? You start in about some new, top of the line engine or spoilers, and they'll just go for hours." Okay, maybe it was Cali that went for hours, but most of the time she didn't have trouble holding their attention and getting lots of replies that fueled her chatter. "Even worked on one here or there."

Her head tilted to the side after a second. "Never driven one though. Not in a race. Used a speed bike; that was pretty fun. How about you? Have you ever flown one before?" Why would she ask? Because that was the only way to find out if he had, of course, and then they could keep talking about piloting and stuff. If he hadn't, well there were plenty of other things to talk about -- like the upcoming race.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Aiden looked back to her and shook his head with a chuckle. "Nah, nothing that my eyes would have seen." If he was to spend money, he had to make sure it was absolutely worth it. And majority of the time, at least to him it wasn't. But there were those hidden gems that would surprise you from time to time. The Jedi looked over to her card that she flashed and gave a slight nod and flashed a smile again.

"I wish you good luck." Aiden smirked as the conversation shifted once more to the pits and the pods themselves. "I've been down once, my father took me a long time ago. I asked if I could have one and he said no and bopped me on the head for asking." He spoke in a teasing manner, well at least the bop on the head part.

"I've never raced a pod before but a speeder bike yes, several times in fact on Naboo." Aiden sat back in his chair as the countdown began and in a few seconds the race was fixing to start. And soon the roaring of the crowd would begin, that would force Aiden to speak in a slightly louder tone.

"Do you know a lot about Malastare?" He inquired looking back to her.

Cali Ziiva

 

[Cali Ziiva]

​

The Zeltron at Aiden's side giggled. "They can be pretty expensive," she agreed. Especially if you were Pro and trying to get big on the scene. Not to mention the whole slamming into a rock face so fast you literally won't know what hit you. Wasn't a sport for the timid. Or those seeking long life expectancy. Could earn fistfuls of creds though if you were good. Really good.

She regarded 'Charles' with wide eyes. Speeder bike racer on Naboo? They have biker races on Naboo? Well Cali had been in the city so much that probably wasn't where the good stuff was. Something to look for later!

Where there were racers there were people in need of a good mechanic. Especially one that could minimize that whole... slamming into a rock thing.

"Malastare?" Cali smile went from unabashedly warm to neutral as her head flopped to one side. "I know some about it. It's important for someone like me to know where customers, friends, and party members are from, you know? Helps make conversation." She blinked and then suddenly hopped in her seat. "Oh, you said you were here for fuel! Is that why you mentioned Malastare?" After all, it did seem kind of out of no where. Unless he was about to say that had a rockin' race scene.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

"They can be pretty expensive,"

"Incredibly expensive." He chuckled as he thought about such things. He couldn't even imagine asking his parents for something like that during his youth. They'd probably look at him like he was crazy, especially his mother. And his father would be just as surprised. He spent much of his youth in the archives, studying, reading.....a bookworm he was.

And now look at him, on his own during an undercover mission.

There was a part of him that seemed very nervous upon arrival, but that quickly went away faster than he thought it would.

Perhaps he was growing as a person, in fact he knew that he was.

"Oh, you said you were here for fuel! Is that why you mentioned Malastare?"

"Yes of course, there any trouble going on that I should be aware about." The Padawan sat up in his chair as the race began, he was about half engaged in the race. The screen came up that would show what actually couldn't be seen completely.

"How much did you wager?"

Cali Ziiva

 

[Cali Ziiva]

​

"Hmmmmm," Cali hummed far longer than was necessary as she swayed side-to-side. Her bright eyes stared out over the track below before she threw her hands up into the air with the start of the race. She gave an encouraging cry for the drivers to 'Go!' before the Zeltron settled back into her seat with a giggle. Most of the race would be seen on projected holoimages, of course, since the racers were moving way too fast to be anywhere near crowds.

Aiden-Charles' question drew the bright eyed, Pink One's attention again. "Huh? Oh," her head tilted up and to one side for a second, "I dunno, thousand?" The Zeltron shrugged, not worried whether she'd win or lose.

"Malastare. Malastare. Right, right. I don't think I heard anything big. Well, nothing that'd break the flow of fuel. Might cause some delays. Long as you aren't, like, investing in futures or whatever though you probably won't even notice it. Lots of places have reserves to smooth out that kind of thing." Did Charles know stock market stuff? Did he care? Well, she'd throw it out there and see if he did or not. Maybe he'd have questions. Cali might have answers. Sometimes. She'd at least have consoling hugs if the man was leveraged for some reason.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

"I dunno, thousand?"

"That's not too bad." The Jedi Padawan spoke as he looked over to her and he winked.

"Malastare. Malastare. Right, right. I don't think I heard anything big. Well, nothing that'd break the flow of fuel. Might cause some delays. Long as you aren't, like, investing in futures or whatever though you probably won't even notice it. Lots of places have reserves to smooth out that kind of thing."

"I see." Aiden voiced as his hand raised to his chin. And he glanced at the screen and he cringed slightly as a pod already had a malfunction and broke apart. Luckily the racer wasn't to badly hurt.

"There you go, dangerous." Aiden chuckled lightly as he glanced from her and to the screen.

Try his best to be subtle, throwing in some stuff in his conversation as often as he could. Aiden could only keep up pretenses for so long, cloak and dagger was not his game. With further training with the Intelligence Bureau perhaps. Just as he had heard Lorn say many times over, that he was a soldier.

Aiden was beginning to think that he was indeed just a soldier too. His heart told him he was more than that though. And there was Cali Ziiva , someone whom he had just met. And he was enjoying this new and brief conversation with her. While it was just an exchange for information, it still felt like this was going in the right direction.

"What about you? What do you do? If you don't mind me asking?" The man who was Aiden, disguised as Charles spoke to Cali.