TEST DRIVE #16 - Turbolifts and Ten Forward

[ten_fwd_mods]

Option 001. Trapped in a Turbolift: This space travel thing is new to you, and you're starting to think the ship is purposely out to get you. A turbolift is just a grandiose name for an elevator, which should be the safest way to travel after all! But someone out there is out to get you, you're sure of it. Because the next thing you know, the lights flicker and the lift grinds to a stop. You're trapped, with whomever was unlucky enough to be in the lift with you.

It could be hours before you're rescued. These turbolifts span the entire massive ship, and don't just travel straight up and down. No, they can travel horizontally, vertically, sometimes even diagonally. You could be stuck between any deck now. There is a small access panel on one of the smooth walls, but how good are you with getting these things to work? Let's not forget that sudden stop tossed everyone around a little, and people could be hurt. Time to put your emergency thinking cap on, and make friends with the people beside you fast. You could be the only way back to freedom.

Conversely, you could slide that pack of cards out of your pocket and start a rousing game of gin rummy. Really it's up to you.







Option 002. Ten Forward: You have no idea what just happened. One minute you were home, minding your own business, and now you're on a spaceship in the middle of a crowded room! It looks like a bar. There are people eating and drinking, some in uniform, others not. Some are clearly aliens, and some of the food is looking rather strange too.

You've managed to land in Ten Forward. A long bar with barstools and a bartender span one side of the room, with a bank of strange computers on that same wall. It looks like people are ordering food and drinks from them. Tables are sprinkled throughout, and the far wall is nothing but floor to ceiling windows with a view out to space. It looks like a nice lounge, low conversation making the room hum.

Better ask some questions and find out where you are, or just tap the closest person on the shoulder and try to make friends. The bar is open.

Comments

[diplomaticsolutions]

She had known it was coming, and despite everything on Mustafar, she found a soft smile shifting to her lips. She knew first hand that the darkness was there, but she also knew there was good in him.

Her fingers squeezed lightly back on his own. "I wouldn't say no rules or responsibilities, Anakin... But there isn't anyone here who will tell us that."

That much was true.

[nosmallfry]

"Then, with no more hiding, with you at my side, and me at yours, is there anything on any world that we cannot face?" he wove his fingers in between hers.

"Let us get married then, again. Publicly. We'll invite everyone you know here, everyone you care about." He would protect her, they would be able to be happy, be together. No more hiding, no more subterfuge, no more lies.

[diplomaticsolutions]

He hadn't answered her question about the last thing that he remembered before coming here. That he hadn't reacted to Obi-Wan's name gave her some indication, and the fact that he spoke seemingly fondly of Palpatine was another. She could narrow it down somewhat given his appearance, but how far, she wondered?

In a way it was almost too much though. It had taken time to come to terms with everything. That she still loved him was a given, and she always would. Just as she had said, truly and deeply. That had never changed. Yet she knew now, a truth that hadn't been spoken, and she didn't know how he would handle it if or when he found out. It should come from her, shouldn't it?

But she smiled, a light shake of her head. "I loved our first wedding, Anakin. It was perfect."

[nosmallfry]

He smiled softly, that expression he showed only to her, and nodded. "It was," he said softly, "Wasn't it?" He didn't care about what he remembered before she walked in, because he rarely recalled what he had been doing or saying before she walked into a room.

He really had two goals in life. Tp prove himself to the Jedi council, and to make her happy, keep her safe. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else ever would.

He reached up and pushed back a lock of her hair. "Somehow, though, you've only managed to get more beautiful."

[diplomaticsolutions]

She knew that there were times when she found it surprising that people hadn't figured out their marriage. During the Clone Wars, it was all that she had been able to do to keep still when she heard bad news about him in the Senate. Of course he had always returned, sometimes bearing new scars, but always coming back from his battles.

There was a part of her that did want to be wrapped in his arms, to feel that strength and support, to go back to how things had been all those years ago. Yet it was easy to counter back playfully, bringing up those words that he had spoken to her when Obi-Wan and he had come to offer her protection. "For a Senator, you mean?"

[nosmallfry]

"For a senator, for a Queen, for an anything," he said with a small teasing smile. He let go of her hand and touched her cheek lightly. "How do you manage to do it, I wonder?" he asked her.

"How is it that every time I think you to be perfect, you find some way to become only more amazing? It's not just how you look either. Your courage, your commitment, your dedication, your intelligence. Is there anything about you that does not get any more wonderful with every passing day?"

[diplomaticsolutions]

She pressed her cheek against his palm, a smile lingering there. The man before her was the man she had fallen in love with, the man she loved with her whole being. In a way, it did almost seem too good to be true. All she had ever wanted was him, and here he was, himself, not looking on her with such negative emotions, but with love.

For now... For now she did want to linger in that, to be selfish. Didn't she deserve at least that? "It's because my love for you grows daily in turn."

[nosmallfry]

"Then love must truly be the greatest power in the Force, if it can continually improve upon and redefine perfection."

His stomach reminded him quietly that they had come there to eat, or rather, that he was meant to meet her somewhere so they could eat. He would rather just drink in the sight of her, but he should obey his stomach before it became any more insistent.

"If this is not the resteraunt I expected, how is the food here?" he asked her, his gaze still on her eyes, still loving, as though the words of food had little to do with the moment they were in.

[diplomaticsolutions]

His question did redirect her train of thought and her focus shifted off to the side. It was a little motion that she made towards a part of the establishment. "They have what is called replicators here. It can reproduce various foods, both those I know and those that are foreign."

Her gaze moved back to Anakin then, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "For the most part, it is good? There are some foods that I certainly won't try again, but it is much better than rations."

[nosmallfry]

"I would shudder to think of a food that wasn't," he said with a small smile. "How do they work? And what would you recommend? They do take galactic credits, I presume." He wanted to be sure of that, that he could pay for their meal. He wasn't certain he could convince a droid that their meal should be free, if it came to that.

[diplomaticsolutions]

"It's fairly simple, really. You just walk up to them and state what you want, although it's better to be clear. If you say tea, you should say what kind, and whether warm or cold." Padmé did give a shake of her head though. "No. They don't even know what those are here. There is no cost, at least I haven't come across anything that has had a price tag attached to it."

[nosmallfry]

"No cost?" the former slave asked, a bit startled. "They ask for service in exchange, then?" He rose and offered his arm to her, to help her rise so they could go and see this machine. It sounded interesting. He wanted to investigate it. But more, he wanted to spend time learning something new from her.

[diplomaticsolutions]

"Here," Padmé responded, linking her arm in to his and pulling him along. There was one other before them, although soon enough both were standing before the technology. "One peppermint tea, hot, please."

Although manners weren't needed, it was still something that Padmé did. Within a few seconds, there was a cup of tea before her. Reaching out, she took it, before looking over to Anakin. "Some things are prohibited. Not that I have tried, but it would make sense not to allow the production of weapons."

[nosmallfry]

He went with her. He had spent most of his life being pulled along by one person or another, not that he was always aware of it. But if all the people he'd ever give control to, giving it to her would be the easiest, and would please him the most.

"Of course not," he agreed. Imagine if anyone could get as many blasters as they wished. Still, she had answered his question about serves expected. "If not payment, what do they expect of us in return?" he asked again, wanting to be sure before he ordered anything.

[diplomaticsolutions]

"Nothing, Ani." As hard as that might be to believe, it was the truth. "Food and drinks are free. There is nothing that they require in return for using them."

[nosmallfry]

"That is very generous of them," he said with a small nod. "We must find some way to repay them, even if it is not required. But we can do that after we share a meal." He gave her a warm smile and tried to fight the urge to kiss her. It was one thing to say they no longer hand to hide it, and another to be so open so soon. And he wasn't sure she was willing to be kissed in public, even if he were willing to do the kissing.

[diplomaticsolutions]

"They are understanding. It isn't our choice to be here." But it was generous. Others could have simply sent them away, or deposited them on a planet, or sold them in to slavery... Instead, they gave them a room and access to food, and even allowed them to attend classes to learn more.

"Decide what it is you want, Ani. I'm fine with the tea." Hunger and thirst didn't bother her any more.

[nosmallfry]

"Sweet pairs?" he asked, a small teasing smile on his lips. "A fruit bowl? You should eat, you need to eat," he said smiling warmly, thinking of why she needed to be sure to eat.

Why he thought she needed to eat, still.

[diplomaticsolutions]

Padmé knew well enough what it was that he was getting at. It had been a nice memory, one she could cherish. But she gave a shake of her head. "I have been aboard for some time, Anakin. Go. Decide what it is you would like, and we'll sit down together."

[nosmallfry]

He stopped and took a step back so he could see her fully, looking at more than her face for the first time since she walked in. "How long?" he asked in a voice braced for an answer he knew he wouldn't like, that would make him angry. What had happened to her? If she had been aboard for sometime, she should look different, or should have had news for him that would have come far sooner.... if someone had hurt her... hurt them....

He wasn't even aware of reaching for his lightsaber, but it was a comforting to feel it in his hand. Still off, but ready.

[diplomaticsolutions]

"It's been over two months." In some ways, it seemed like forever, longer than that. Yet, it was two more months than what she otherwise would have gotten. Her own hand reached out, seeking to touch the arm that had started to move, to halt it. She hadn't been mistreated in anyway since arriving here.

[nosmallfry]

His arm did stop moving at her touch. He loved her, and he would stay his hand for her, for now. But he needed answers. "Two months," he repeated. "You don't look..." how to say it... he stepped closer, put his other hand on her stomach lightly. "How could it have been two months?"

[diplomaticsolutions]

"Time, Anakin, doesn't work as it should here. The last thing you might recall might not be the last thing I remember." Padmé already knew that that was true, as Anakin was not the man who had used the Force on her. "Master Yoda is from my future, and Master Kenobi is from my past, for for either of them, the others are from the past or from the future."

[nosmallfry]

"Then you're not, aren't yet...?" He really didn't know how to ask. He could chop up droids like they were firewood, he could cut down foes like they were so many banners. This mattered so much more, and was so much harder.

[diplomaticsolutions]

"Pregnant?" It was offered lightly, softly, although if that was what he was trying to get to, it seemed fairly clear that Padmé at least knew that she had been pregnant. "... it was twins, Anakin. A boy and a girl."