Lost In A Shoe Closet

Yes, lost in a shoe closet, yup, that's where I've been, Padme's never ending shoe closet. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. But while trying to head towards a light not created by sequined shoe, I noticed a note, asking 7 random things about myself. Random? Me? Pfffttt.

1. I hate the sound of emery filing boards on nails
2. I hate the sound of sandpaper in use, I really don't like touching it either
3. I can still hear that annoying sound they use to disperse teenagers. And yes, it is damn annoying
4. I really don't care for the color orange
5. I take a perverse amount of pleasure cruising along behind unmarked police speeders and watching people freak out as they pass said police speeder and try to slow down. Makes my commute.
6. I'm starting to dislike Padme's shoes
7. I think people who talk a lot about not having sex are just as bad as people who talk having sex. Really, no one cares, and it's creepy *ahemKomaandMileyCirus*

I think there might have been instructions for tagging people, but I'd moved away from the boots with the pimped out under-sole lighting, so I had no idea what they might have said. I'm going to go enjoy my lowly four pairs of shoes and marvel at how little space they take up.

Back

Wow, feels like I've been gone forevah....

But anyhow, I'm home, I need to feed my critters, check my messages and make sure all of my electronics work.

Yesh, I'm tired, I think I need a vacation from my off time.

Oh, looky here, a meme from Captain Koma

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Hmm, I think I'll go with my alter ego's middle name, it's only got 3 letters

I: Integrity. I try so hard to maintain it, because in the end, your integrity and honor are what's most important

L: I'm intensely loyal, though I do *try* not to be blinded by it

A: Action, I do what I say, even if it's hard. It's easy to say something, but will a person actually do it?


I'll tag Fluke
AOC
E775

More Amidala look alikes

Apparently now one can get Amidala clones in micro size now. Except for the one on the end, she's not quite micro, slightly more macro. But as long as the bad guys aren't shooting at me anymore, who am I to complain?

time to head home

time to head home
Originally uploaded by indirafrhm.

"Dante, it's time to get up. The first shuttle leaves in about an hour."

He looked at me blankly before her words finally registered. "Oh. Right," he said, scratched his head and yawned. Then he headed off to the shower. There was about 30 minutes to spare when he was done. "Sorry about that," he mumbled as we headed to the shuttle.

I took his hand, "No worries, I figured you needed as much sleep as you could get. And you can sleep on the shuttle ride." As we took our seats, I looked over at him. "What kept you up so late? Are you worried about staying?"

He scratched his head absently. "I thought it was more about being unable to relax because of wondering if our Trandoshan friend has any other friends, but... maybe what you said is true."

I hadn't given much thought to there being another bounty hunter, Bibble had said 'friend' in the singular, and if they were going to hit us, where better than a remote cabin? "So have you decided to stay on Naboo? Will you stay in your house or go to Theed?" I took his hand in mine, "You know, they do have excellent doctors on Coruscant." A flight attendant walked down the aisles, letting us know we'd be departing momentarily. I lay my head on his shoulder. Might as well enjoy the time we have together while we have it, who knows where we'll be in the future. "So I've heard," he said, pausing a bit. "I think I know what I'm going to do.”

The trip was pleasant and uneventful. I ate a small sandwich I'd gotten before we'd boarded, looking over all the other passengers within my range of vision. Everyone looked just how they should, happy unconcerned Naboo citizens traveling from one city to another. Children were just children, not an alien species in disguise. Bags were filled with gifts for friends and relatives, nothing more than that. I wondered what Dante would do when we got to Moenia, but I figured he'd most likely stay planet side to get his knee fixed up. That left a lonely flight back to Coruscant for me, though I would have my new little Voorpak to keep me company. But I should buy a bunch of magazines to keep me occupied. Maybe I should leave most of the gear with Dante, less hassle for me to deal with; it's one thing getting caught bringing contra-ban into Naboo from Coruscant, it's another thing entirely to get caught with it going into Coruscant. I could also think about how to spend my time when I got back improving search techniques and devices in buildings.

"Give me whatever you don't want to take back with you," Dante offered.

The shuttle touched down several hours later. We got off the shuttle and headed for the lockers where we'd left the gear. I needed to pick up the voorpak from the kennel she was in and then catch the flight back to Coruscant.

"You're taking that voopak back to Coruscant?" he asked, when I mentioned it. "You're starting to collect them now. You're not going to eventually become one of those old spinster ladies in Theed that they occasionally show on the news, living in a house with a thousand voorpaks, are you? This is how it starts," he joked.

"Hmm," I muttered, trying to sound overly concerned. "Well, then I suppose I should make you come back to Coruscant with me to make sure that doesn't happen. Either that or we can run off and secretly elope. I hear that's the thing to do these days." I said the last part with a knowing smile. it still boggled my mind that Padmé did that. I unloaded all the stuff that he could keep here. I wanted him to come back to Coruscant, but I wasn't going to push it. See, I had a plan, not necessarily a good plan, but a plan none the less. My hope is that he would recuperate on Naboo and decide he liked it here. That he didn't want to be a full time body guard on Coruscant. So when I got out of the Navy, then we'd both be on Naboo.

Yeah, I don't think it'll work either, but it's the only plan I have.

"Oh, I'll be back on Coruscant with you. It'll be weeks, though. As for running off and eloping, well, seeing as how I can't run, that's out. But the fact that the thought has crossed your mind has been duly noted," he said with a wink. "You don't actually have to run, we could just take a cab to the city clerks building, " I teased him back.

He gave my hand a squeeze, "Well, goodbye for now. Have a safe flight," he said. "You too. And stay out of trouble." We kissed, then he turned to go. I had a feeling I wouldn't see him again for awhile. I might just have to come home to Naboo for a few visits. I watched him go until he disappeared into the crowd. Damn, that was probably the closest I’ll ever get to married. I turned and made my way towards the city. I'd pick up my new pet and head home. It was going to be a long lonely flight.

Back To Town

"We have lots of surveillance on that data deck," I said, gesturing to the deck on the back seat, "Now might be a good time to review it, just so we know what we have and what we don't before we leave the planet." Hopefully that would keep him busy and let me cool down a bit.
"Sure thing," he said, reaching into the back, retrieved the surviving deck and got to work. I think he was happy to have something to do other than sit next to a grumpy girl.

Some time later, he took his headset off. "Great news – the invites were tagged with a chip," he said. "It never occurred to me that they were tracking the invites. That's almost funny, considering I've been tracking Dormé through her use of marked credits. They might not know why we were at the party, or where we are now, but they know we're around and that we were operating incognito."

"Hmm, not good, I'm surprised we both missed that. But would it be possible that he thinks that Padmé sneaked in and he didn't notice her? And even if we'd known the chip was there, I doubt we could have removed it and still gotten in to the party. We should probably keep a very low profile when we go to pick up our stuff from there," I said, thinking about how to do that. “Good point,” he commented.

He unplugged the headphones so that I could hear the audio. Bibble was sure that Padmé had been at the masquerade party. "I understand that it's bad manners to record guests at events like this, but we should have, we should have made up some story about the need for security in times like these, it was the Chancellor's house," said Bibble. There was a gap in the recording, then he asked Dormé, "You were mingling, you were supposed to keep an eye out for her, didn't you see her? Or at least whomever she came with? If she starts getting suspicious, we'll be in grave danger." The conversation continued in the same vein, then there was some distortion and unidentifiable sounds. The last salvageable scrap of audio was Bibble saying, "Ah, my new friend is here.""If the 'new friend' is the Trandoshan bounty hunter, does that mean Bibble really does know about us," Dante asked, "Or could the Trandoshan have discovered us independently?"

"My guess? The Trandoshan was probably hired to kill Padmé and he was the one who figured out we were here, he could have seen our speeder, or surveillance cameras, tracks, or even smelled us. But I don't know if we were a side trip or he told Bibble. I don't think Bibble knew about us, I think we would have caught some strange veiled terms and there would have been less talking if he'd known."

I paused and thought about it. "I really hope he doesn't know. If he did know that it was us specifically, there will most likely be repercussions, and probably fairly quickly. If he just knows that he was being watched, but not by who, then we should be ok. In fact, my alibi could be me working on my apartment to get it fixed and yours could be that you've been on Naboo, but resting and recovering from a knee injury you got during the blackout. I doubt your mom would blow your alibi," I said with a smile.

"No, but she's going to point out that, should anyone else inquire, a blackout isn't a very plausible explanation for how I got shot, had my ear drums ruptured AND blew out my knee," he said, smiling in response, "Unless I live in a very rough neighborhood on Coruscant."

"True," I said with a shrug, "Wishful thinking."

The drive took several hours before we reached a small town. We took the chance to refuel, stretch, and get something to eat. Then we pushed on towards Deeja Peak. We'd get there just as the sun went down. I pointed this out to Dante. "We could try to get a transport to Moenia tonight then go where we need to go early in the morning. Or we can stay the night here, then head to Moenia in the morning. Which would you prefer?"

"If we're lucky enough to make it into town in time to catch a shuttle, we should definitely take it," he said. "If nothing's available, we'll stay overnight in Dee'ja Peak. I can take over with the driving if you'd like to relax a bit."
"I'm good, but thanks for the offer," I replied.

We got to Deeja' Peak in the evening, and after the last shuttle out to Moenia had already left. We stopped and got tickets for the first shuttle out the next morning. We then found a sweet out of the way hotel to stay at for the night. As I dropped my stuff on the bed, I looked at Dante. "So, I'm feeling like getting some take out, something warm, ymmy and fresh. Maybe hot chocolate for afterwards. What do you think? I'll go pick it up and bring it back," I offered with a smile.

"Sounds great," he said while inspecting his wounds. "While you're out, could you bring back some more bacta, bandages and a cane?" he added, trying to make it sound humorous. "I'll see what I can find," I replied.

TBC

Read Cpt. Typho's POV here

Let's Head Out

Let's Head Out
Originally uploaded by indirafrhm.

He smiled, thinking. "I suppose I'll have to be the one who does his bachelor party. That oughta be interesting."

"It could be a lot of fun, you just better request time off now so as not to have to worry about work." I stretched and looked around. Everything was so private and peacefully, I almost asked if we could stay another day. But it wouldn't be fair to Dante, he needed to get to a doctor sooner than later.
"I'll probably still be rehabbing, so time off might not be a problem," he replied. "But the logistics of arranging this will be a problem on crutches."
I stood up, "Well, we better get started so we can make it before it gets dark. We can catch a shuttle from Deeja Peak back to Moenia and pick up our stuff. We should be able to make it out of here by tomorrow morning hopefully. Unless you want to stay. I could stay with you for a day or two, but I have to get back to my post soon." I picked up the few remaining bags and headed for the car. We needed to get moving on our several hour drive as soon as possible.
"Stay with me where?" he said curiously. "Here? But you just finished cleaning the place up."

"I meant when we got back to civilization, back to where ever you were planning to have your leg care for. But like you said, your mom will take care of you and I wouldn't want to intrude on family time." I picked up and bag and put it in the speeder, then came back inside, "Anyways, you made enough of a splash on Good Morning Naboo that you being home might get some attention. No need to add to the drama or romantic intrigue." I really am not kidding when I say I prefer my life private, not public. I took two more bags out to the speeder then returned. "Ready to go?" I asked.

We got into the speeder and headed off. After about twenty minutes, Dante looked over at me, What did you mean by 'No need to add to the drama or romantic intrigue'?" he asked.

"I meant if I stayed with you at your parents, there would probably be a pretty good chance of people finding out. Your mom does work for the government, they are a gossipy group. If our peculiar luck continues, we'd wake up one day to see BB:N fans peering in the window. And with that small but persistent rumor about you and Dormé," I trailed off, giving him a teasing smile.

"Hey!" he warned with a mock frown. "I see your point. I would love to take you home with me, but that will have to wait for another day," he said.

"It's just that if I go back to Coruscant, it'll be very inconvenient. My girlfriend, unfortunately, is a very busy young lady. I might have to hire someone to help me out while I convalesce. That's the downside of being a bachelor. I might have to get a droid, or a maid, or call up a pretty Twi'lek dancer, or…" His voice trailed off and he had a grin on his face.

"Ha ha," I said humorlessly. "Have fun hanging out with your Twi'lek stalker.” Dante tried to get a word in, "I do not have a Twi'lek 'stalker,'" I interrupted. "If anyone has a stalker it's—"

“It's kind of unfair to be punished for working,” "Punished? How am I—" he tried to get in, but I was on a roll, “but if you're offering to let me quit work so that I can sit around all day doing nothing other than be at your beck and call while you work, I'd give that some thought." Yes, not a nice, kind thoughtful response, but why should he get one? The twi'lek statement wasn't very nice on his part, why even joke about having to constantly compete for his attention? If he wanted girls who would have a catfight over him, he could keep his twi'lek and maybe get some other girl from the Springer level of Coruscant. Needless to say, I was tired, my nerves a bit gone, and not in the mood to deal with any of that, even in joke form.

"Okay, OKAY, I'm sorry! Wow, you really can't take a joke today, can you? Disposing of Trandoshan bodies and incinerating speeders while freezing our butts off makes you cranky, I guess?" I said, trying to smooth over her ruffled feathers. "But what you just finished up with – you know, retiring from a dangerous profession and spending more time with me – is a great idea. I'm amazed – and happy – that you'd even consider it. I'm sure you're not serious, but do keep it in mind. It is an option."

I arched an eyebrow, some how I think he'd tire of me sitting around all day while he worked. Actually, I want to work, I just want to teach dance, which isn't very profitable, but still fun.

"We have lots of surveillance on that data deck," I said, gesturing to the deck on the back seat, "Now might be a good time to review it, just so we know what we have and what we don't before we leave the planet." Hopefully that would keep him busy and let me cool down a bit.
"Sure thing," he said, reaching into the back, retrieved the surviving deck and got to work. I think he was happy to have something to do other than sit next to a grumpy girl.

TBC

Get Ready To Go

The speeder dipped over the side. I stepped to the edge to watch it descend. several meters before it hit bottom, the repulsors kicked in and did their job, causing the speeder to bounce harshly, but kept it mostly intact. I watched, waiting for it to stop moving. it came to a rest next to a large boulder. I triggered the det. A muffled boom echoed up through the gorge. If anyone was near by they'd hear it, but the sound wouldn't travel far. Some snow that had been on small outcroppings of the gorge walls floated down slowly settling near the burning speeder.

I looked over at Dante, "Do you want to watch it burn completely, or would you like to head back? There is virtually no chance of the fire spreading, it's all rock and snow down there." I personally wanted to head back, the cabin's speeder didn't have much in the way of a heater, so I'd been a bit chilly for several hours.

"How long will it take to burn?" Dante asked. I looked at the burning speeder, "I would guess anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes. I'll be in the speeder, I want to get out of the wind." I made my way back to the old speeder and climbed inside. I understood his desire to stay it outside, it made a lot of sense. Never wise to walk away and assume that something has happened. Assumptions are a poor replacement for knowledge.

About 45 minutes later, Dante climbed into the speeder, "Let's get out of here," he said. "No need to ask twice," I said and eased the speeder back towards the cabin.

Dante was quiet most of the ride back. He seemed lost in thought and I thought it best to let him be. This had been a long couple of days and I understood his need for silent thought. The drive back to the cabin took less time than the trip out, which was really good since the heater in the car wasn't do much of anything on the ride back.

When we got back to the cabin, I looked over at Dante. "If we're taking off today, I just need to clean up some before we go. I can call Patrin and let him know that we were here and that the speeder will be in town." I backed the speeder into the garage, which put Dante's side close to the door into the house. When we got in I told him, "Just sit and hang out, I need to wash some stuff, put things back in place and back our gear, I should be done in less than an hour." Then I went about doing just that.

"So, how's your brother doing?" Dante asked as I was finishing up. "He's doing well, he likes being his job and his wife just started teaching again. And the kids are doing great, they keep my mom content on the grandbaby front, though she does give Brishen and his wife a hard time about not having had several kids by now." I smiled and rolled my eyes, I've never understood the obsession with wanting grandbabies. "Speaking of being maternal and such, how is your cousin Kory doing? Isn't he in a matrimonial way?" I teased. I finished up the cleaning and sat down. I needed about 5 minutes of rest before heading off to the speeder.

"I guess by the time mothers reach 'grandmother' age they've forgotten the challenging parts of being around small children," he commented. "I suppose all mothers do that to their adult children, although I must say, my mother seems to have given up on the grandmother idea. She's very disappointed with me in that respect."

"I doubt that your mother has ever been disappointed in her baby boy," I said teasingly.

"It's called 'unconditional love,'" Dante said with an easy smile. "I have to get it from someone," he teased back.

He smiled, "I suppose I'll have to be the one who does his bachelor party. That oughta be interesting."

TBC

read Cpt Typho's POV here