Under the Sun (NJO: Sullust)

[Joy]

Sunlight filtered through the glasteel dome that covered the whole of the floating temple. Outside, Abel knew the air was fairly toxic. Sullust was a volcano planet and the ash fall was near constant. The particles wouldn't hurt him immediately, but eventually that inhaled ash would get wet inside his lungs and turn to a sludge, sort of like cement, and he'd basically dry drown.

"It's called pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis," Abel explained excitedly to [member="Ipsy"]. The vulpine padawan stood next to his shoulder, watching him work.

They were in the nursery of the hydroponics section of the temple. Some of the plants pretty exotic, but others were used for food. There was also a special chamber for Jedi who wanted to practice using the Force to help enhance crop growth.

Abel was on both knees, examining a sprout in its pot as he talked with his friend.

Just another day at the temple.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

"Looky like thesa plants need waterin!" Ugohr told the plants while tending to the orange trees.

Orange trees, oh orange trees, how juicy their fruit were, and some varieties were suitable to be grown inside a greenhouse on soil of volcanic origin. Ugohr loved nothing better than orange trees, and he couldn't quite forget about muja bush fruit either, and he was able to get his dose of fruit while stationed in the temple on Sullust that he couldn't anywhere else. But Ugohr concentrated his usage of the Force on the lemon trees, which, alongside the orange trees, were brought in from Yavin IV. Even though few Gungans had a chance at drinking orange juice, or lemon juice, regardless of whether the resulting lemonade was yellow or pink, Ugohr would never pass up a chance to drink some, even if it meant juicing a half-dozen or more of either citrus. After he was done with his practice session, he picked some lemons and oranges for him to juice.

"Yousa want lemon juice? Or orange juice?"

[member="Abel"] [member=Ipsy"]

 

[Ipsy]

[member="Ugohr Poof"] | [member="Abel"]

Ipsy's nose wrinkled at the long word, curiosity filling her tiny frame. Its presence was a welcome friend.

"How did anyone manage to build this place before getting glooped? I bet it was ever so difficult. Do you think anything still lives out there? I wonder what exploratories we could do outside. I've always wanted to see a volcano, and now there are bunches just waiting to be sifted through."

The vulpine's trembled, her hind paws dancing in punctuation of each word. Her ears perked upward in interest. At that moment, a small pang of hunger rumbled through her stomach. Still quivering, she glanced longingly at the soil. It had been a long time since she enjoyed a nice earthworm, and she knew some particularly delicious ones dwelled in this nursery. Nevertheless, she tried to contain herself. Without the tasty wigglies, it would be difficult to grow the fruits and vegetables she was so fond of--juicy cherries especially.

The vulpine's thoughts were cut short, however, as she returned her attention to Abel. On the ground by his knee lay the very creature she had just been salivating over. Its small body was partially covered, but it was still mostly visible. Her tail twitched excitedly as she bent forward positioning her body as if to pounce on the squirming line.

Dimly she heard a nearby Gungan offer up some fruit juice, but Ipsy's focus was on her target. "No thank you," she replied between quiet yips at the worm. "I've found a different deliciousness."

 

[Ugohr Poof]

"Mesa will stow da lemon juice in da kitchen then" Ugohr told the vulpine Padawan before preparing some cocktail using vodka.

Ugohr is contemplatively meditating about how the volcanic soil interacts with the many, many species of plants the Sullust Temple is holding. Of course, not all of them are edible to everyone actually based there, but after the loss of his former master, Ugohr began to drink more alcohol, and more potent varieties at that. What began with beer, vodka would take over soon. He pried the Nar Shaddaa-standard bottle of vodka (1.75L) using the Force, making sure that he wasn't spilling the contents on the floor or hitting another object with it. Because watering plants with vodka would almost certainly mean that the plants will die off. But he had a recollection in the distance while he served the vodka inside his glass of orange juice.

"Mesa hear about pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis; issa that an ailment?"

[member="Abel"]

 

[Joy]

"Dunno how they built it," eyes as blue as the wide yonder glanced sidelong at his friend, "expect it took a lot of engineers puttin' their heads together. You ever been to Cloud City on Bespin? The entire place is floating, just like this. Repulsorlifts, I think."

He noticed her staring at something in the dirt? A grub maybe? Oh, it was a worm. Hadn't he told her not to eat those, the plants needed them. The way her tail swish-swished spoke loads more than her words, though he'd probably never ever interpret 'deliciousness' as a worm. Gross. Picking up the worm, he hurriedly put it into the pot before she could snatch it up.

"Whatcha gonna do, eat it all raw and wrigglin' like that?"

The gungan broke in again and started mixing a drink. Come to think of it, Abel was pretty parched.

"Hi there," Abel dusted off a hand grimy with dirt on his pant leg before extending it in the Gungan's direction. Always nice to meet someone new at the temple. "I'm Abel Groves, nice to meet you. That sure is an ailment. Best not to go outside the temple dome unless you've got a mask on, or you might catch it. Can I have one of those lemonades, by the way?"

[member="Ugohr Poof"] | [member="Ipsy"]

 

[Ugohr Poof]

"Mesa Ugohr Poof, and yousa have a lemonade, right here" Ugohr tells Abel before giving him his lemon juice serving. "Just maken sure to keep enough in da pitcher for cookin grilled fish later today; mesa use lemonade for cookin grilled fish"

The pair of Padawans will realize soon enough that Gungans are one of those species that like to eat fish, although with no particular cooking mode. Ugohr seemed to prefer grilled fish, and the volcanic areas around Sullust gave the Temple a steady supply of charcoal briquettes for BBQ usage, even though BBQ is a rather primitive way of cooking stuff. Sure, Ugohr preferred to use Sarapin or Mustafar charcoal briquettes when cooking BBQ, but there wasn't any of that stuff available in the temple. He prepared the BBQ kit while away from the Temple's arboretum after serving [member="Abel"] his lemomade. The main problem is whether cooking using charcoal would also give the one person cooking using charcoal pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

"Thersa may be enough fish to feed dee or foosa Padawans, dependen on their-sa levels of hunger"

[member="Ipsy"]

 

[Ipsy]

[member="Abel"] | [member="Ugohr Poof"]

Ipsy sighed, sullenly sitting back on her haunches as her friend swiped the earthworm away from her. Her tail continued its rhythmic 'swish swish' motion.

"Wiggly is the best way to eat them," she told Abel. "That way they're all juicy and delectable."

The worm had been the perfect length, too, she thought to herself. Resolving to order a box of mixed worms as soon as she got the chance, Ipsy turned toward the Gungan.

"Did you say fish?" she asked, her little body vibrating in anticipation. "I love squirmies. What kind would you be making? Did you catch them yourself? It's been so long since I've tasted such a delicacy. Would you want to trade recipes?"

With each sentence, the small Amaran grew more visibly excited, her squirms barely contained. The thought of fish took her back to the first time she'd eaten it. She'd been on one of many adventures with her friend Kelban. They'd been sneaking through the market near her burrow when a new scent, one she'd never smelled before, wafted past her snout. She'd stopped walking, nearly tripping Kelban in the process, and began to sniff the air. The other fox had followed her as she made her way toward the source of her distraction.

Toward the end of the marketplace, tucked behind a stall filled with weapons, was the stall of a fish merchant. A bowl of live goldfish sat toward the counter's front. The merchant stood in front of the countertop with a plate of freshly caught fish. Seeing Ipsy, he grinned, his bushy eyebrows and thin red beard quirking over burnished skin. The man was humanoid. He bent toward the fox and offered her a piece. Delicately, trying not to muss her fur, Ipsy took a bite. Overcome by the taste, she began to gulp down the scrumptious dish. The state of her fur was forgotten, and it was only belatedly that Ipsy recalled the friend who stood laughing beside her. Briefly, she felt ashamed for not sharing, but the merchant offered Kelban a piece as well.

In the present, Ipsy waited for the Gungan's response. It had been a long time since she'd tasted fish. She and Kelban had returned often to the merchant's stall, but one day he had disappeared. She'd joined the Jedi soon after and hadn't seen him since. Sharing a fish would remind her of the hours she and Kelban had spent with their friend. She wished she knew what had happened to him, but figured he was safe on another planet somewhere in the galaxy. She could only hope they would meet again.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

"Ipsy, disa gooberfish from Aquilaris. Dat variety of fish issa not eaten raw; grillen gooberfish before eatin issa. Then mesa trade recipes with yousa, but dat recipe for grillen gooberfish issa not originally Gungan, because there-sa no lemon trees on Naboo. Only a few species can cook seafood and fish like wesa Gungans can"

Most of these species are species that live underwater, like Nautolans, Quarrens, Mon Cala. The few restaurants on Sullust that served seafood were operated by these species and, since there is no native seafood on Sullust, they had to ship these things from planets that could actually breed seafood, like Aquilaris. Ugohr prepared three plates, putting in one-half a gooberfish on the plates destined to the vulpine Padawans, and an entire gooberfish on his own plate. He put the two fish on one rotating grill to cook them and them seem well-done. He assumed that the vulpine Padawans would rather eat gooberfish cooked, grilled even, and ever since he was stationed in the Sullust temple was he the seafood cook. That's why he was one of the Jedi that had permission to use the brand-new Math 25000 refrigerator truck. Not many Jedi wanted to eat seafood regularly; that's why he didn't cook that much seafood lately. Many Jedi would rather eat nerf meat under regular circumstances, and he was the only Gungan Jedi stationed on Sullust.

"Mesa cook all da seafood in da Temple... disa better than eating at McYoda's"

[member="Ipsy"] [member="Abel"]