3444/Noodles and a Tip

Noodles and a Tip
Date of Scene:	24 November 2015
Location:	Urbania
Synopsis:	Juno gives Toph some information on HK-47 over lunch, and offers her help in light of HK-47's assaults on Union personnel.
Cast of Characters:	20, 428

---

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
Welcome to Urbania, whcih is basically like every city that's anything all rolled into one. It is the penultimate concrete jungle; a glittering metropolis boasting such a dramatic urban sprawl that trying to compute the sheer distance and area makes one's head hurt.

You can find some pretty good restaurants here, though.

It's at a vaguely Asian-style noodle house that the pilot of the Rogue Shadow has found herself, and transmitted coordinates to Toph Beifong to meet her there. She's parked herself at a corner table, and instead of her usual noticeable Rebel clothing, Juno Eclipse has instead opted for a red tee-shirt tucked into regular-looking blue jeans. Her hair's been left down, and she has a pair of reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, skimming over a menu.

She could pass for any twentysomething businessperson hanging out on their day off, really... which is exactly the point. Hopefully she won't be too hard to spot.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    After the incident with a certain homicidal droid Toph has been taking it easy with not many missions. Not that her bending has been needed, but still... a teenager gets antsy and restless when stuck at home. So today she has headed off to Urbania, a somewhat safe place to go with lots of people around. And yes, she promised to be home for dinner.

    She's clad for the weather, with a coat on as well as a scarf, her feet partially covered up with the exception of her toes and heel so she can still see. But at least she won't freeze so much now as she is windows shopping. Christmas isn't too far away after all, so why not see if she can find stuff to make gifts with? And buy some gifts too for those who don't want bended gifts.

    But she might as well grab some lunch too, especially when it's with a certain space pilot.

    The blind girl slips into the noodle house, and she makes her way over towards the corner. Sure, Juno can dress up as much as she wants, but the blind girl will recognize her no matter what she is wearing. Without asking first Toph flops down into a chair, keeping her voice low and not drawing attention to them, which Juno might appreciate. "Heya Fly girl, what's up? The noodles any good here?" she inquires. "Got a menu for me?" Might as well ask for that first in case people are watching.

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"They're alright. I've had better, but I doubt your parents want you wandering off to Malastare where the best are." Juno grins, reaching up and whisking off the reading glasses. "Have a seat. I made sure they provided a menu in Braille, so you shouldn't have any trouble going through it. They've got a few multiversal dishes, but I notice a disappointing lack of pashi noodles."

Leaning back in her chair, she still keeps her chin pointed down, and her eyes sweeping the room. Even in a big crowd like this, she's not willing to relax, not fully.

She gestures toward the front door, although after a half-second she realises it's a pointless gesture; Toph can't see it. "I brought you another load of alloys to experiment with. They're in the alley behind the restaurant."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Which ones?" Toph prods with a grin. Heck, her birth parents are still somewhat reluctant to have her serve in the Union, and well... Tony and Pepper might prefer her not running off alone all over the multiverse after what happened. "And I can read non-Braille too as long as the typing is clear and my glove can pick it up," she adds to Juno.

    It's easy to pick up that Juno is nervous, which isn't too weird. Still, Toph keeps her senses open as well. Heck, the pilot might notice that the usually calm girl does seem a bit tense as she picks up the braille menu and begins tracing her left hand over the text there. "Ah, new alloys? Sweet. I needed new material to work with." As she reads the menu she sighs a bit. "I probably need some more training with bending and sensing metal from your world... might give me an edge."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"The ones you live with," Juno clarifies, expression and voice both deadpan. "Mister... Stark, wasn't it? And Miss Potts. She glances over to eye the menu, and then eye Toph; shrugging when the girl clarifies she can read the type as well as the Braille. The few blind people she's known have had other abilities to make up for it -- the eyeless Miraluka are a strange people, but very much in tune with the Force.

She watches Toph read through the menu and shrugs. "Not really new, per se. I gave you durasteel last time, and this time I've got some of its component ores. Zersium and carvanium. I wasn't able to get hold of any neutronium, meleenium, or lommite, and I figured carvanium and zersium would be a lot more interesting than carbon."

"Carvanium's used to add some plasticity to certain alloys," Juno explains, "and zersium is used of dura-armour as well as durasteel. It's also added to Imperial stormtroopers' uniforms, as a powerful thermal insulation agent. Provided it's not lethal, it'll help reduce the shock of a blaster bolt's temperature."

"There's not much of either one, but I thought you might enjoy tinkering with those." The pilot offers a weary half-smile. "Hopefully, your parents won't ask where you keep getting these strange, off-world alloys... I'm pretty sure those alloys, and some of those ores, don't occur in the world Mister Stark lives in."

She shrugs. "An edge? Maybe. I can find other common alloys, if that's what you want. Most of these aren't too difficult for me to get ahold of, so long as it doesn't take me too close to any Imperial presence."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Yeah, I know. I was just joking. My... biological parents aren't too comfortable with me being in the Union. Then again they were worried about me getting hurt back in Gaoling because I'm blind and that I shouldn't be fighting." Which might be laughable, considering how much Toph loves to fight and how eager she is to help out people.

    Ugh. Plasticity. Toph shudders slightly where she sits, her eyes widening just slightly for some reason.

    "If they do ask I will answer. Goldie and Pepper doesn't hide stuff from me, and... it wouldn't be fair to lie to them," Toph sighs, raising her hand to gesture for a waiter. "I do head out and gather new types of metal and ore all the time. The Union knows I have talked with you, and I would know if you lied to me." Juno is trustworthy in Toph's opinion, sincere and the type of person who wants to make things right. For now the waiter walks over, and Toph orders one of the simpler noodle dishes as well as some tea. It's only when he leaves again that Toph leans her elbows on the table and lets out a heavy sigh. "I... was almost killed the other week," she admits. "By an assassin droid from your world. It was there when you got captured and when we broke you out. This time it lured me into a trap, and I..." The blind girl swallows, tense where she sits in her chair. "If it wasn't for Goldie it would have sliced me up."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"Oh." Juno shrugs at that. Parents are like that, from other experiences she's had, although her own were hardly typical. She's had to rely on other people to understand normalcy. "Well, you knew what I meant, anyway."

She quirks a brow at Toph's shudder, but she doesn't comment.

"It might not be such a good idea to tell them that your materials are coming from an ex-Confederate fugitive. I'm not exactly the safest person to be spending your time around," she adds, with a forced smile. "And if Mister Stark decides I'm a threat to his daughter, he'll have to get in line somewhere behind the Confederacy, the Galactic Empire, and the bounty hunters."

When the waiter shows up, she offers her own order; traditional noodles with a hot and spicy twist to them, and tea like Toph. Once he leaves, she swivels her attention back to Toph.

"Welcome to the multiv--wait, from my world? Assassin droid?" Juno blinks a few times and then sits upright in her chair, hands slashing in a gesture of refusal. "Oh, no. No, no, no. That's /not/ one of mine. He's not even from my world. He's from a world /like/ mine, circa four thousand years in the /past/, give or take a century or two." She groans, letting her head drop into her hands. "I was hoping Vader had kept him too busy, but it sounds like he's come out to play in the multiverse after all."

With a beleaguered sigh, she lets her head drop further below her hands, raking fingers through her hair. "Fine. And pass this on to your Union friends, too," she adds, straightening. "That psychotic /thing/ is HK-47, named for the type of droid: Hunter-killers. He was originally built by the Sith Lord, Darth Revan, but not the Lowri Revan-Shan that the Union is allied to. A different Revan, I think."

"Lowri would have more information on HK-47's specific capabilities, but I can tell you that the thing is sadistic, enjoys watching organics in pain or dying, and finds the idea of collateral damage a handy bonus. I had to babysit him several times while I was in the Confederacy," she adds, "and only my Imperial rank kept him from flat-out disobeying me. The Union's got its work cut out for it if he's after Union Elites."

She drums her fingers on the table, frowning. "I'm willing to help the Union however I can. I'm not sure how much I can do, but I can't sit by while that insane droid rampages around."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "They know I have talked with you, relax. If Goldie has a problem with you, he has to get through me first," Toph assures Juno. No, there's no way she would let Tony harm a person she likes and who hasn't harmed her.

    Oh. Toph looks a bit confused at first. "Wait... he /does/ work for Vader?" she asks, surprise in her tone. To call what HK-47 is doing as 'play' doesn't sit too well with the blind earthbender, who shudders again. Even if she does know some things about the droid she lets Juno finish. Hunter-killers...

    "I... know a different Revan built him," she admits. "We have talked about him, and we want to stop him. If you want to help, that... would be good. I'm the third Union member he's tried to kill. And he was really close when he tried to kill me. We gotta stop him before he tries to kill more of us... and especially if he succeeds the next time." Her voice cracks just slightly, though she clearly tries to keep it all together.

    "I think he has something against me for being a metalbender or something..." Toph adds sourly, then sits up a little straighter when the waiter returns with their food and drinks.

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"He does, and he doesn't. Vader holds rank within the Confederacy, so that screwloose bucket of bolts has some obligation to listen to him. He's one of the few I know of who could actually command restraint from HK-47," Juno explains. "I think he'll listen to anybody of higher rank than him, but you never know."

She steeples her fingers on the table in front of her, frowning thoughtfully and cocking an eye toward Toph as the other explains the situation.

"I hope you gave that rustbucket hell," she finally adds, with a sour sort of grin. "Metalbending, indeed."

She straightens, settling in her chair and leaning back a little as the waiter brings both dishes of noodles and the tea ordered; once he's left, she digs into her own dish as though she hadn't eaten all week. There's no response out of her until she's almost polished off her share.

Once finished, she cradles her teacup in her hands, considering. "Keep in touch," she finally decides. "If you think he's going to start something else, I want to know, right away. In the meantime, I'll be in touch if you or your Union friends need anything." Half a glance is cast at the doorway again. "I should probably be going, soon. You'll find your scrap in the alley behind the restaurant."

She's nice enough to wait, though, in case Toph wants to talk about anything else. Also, to finish her tea, which is too good to just leave on the table.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    So HK-47 only takes orders from a select few, is that it? It does make sense, it seems like he doesn't like following orders from most people, considering he calls them 'meat bags'. As for giving HK-47 hell...

    Somehow it doesn't look like Toph has reason to grin. "I destroyed some of his underlings, but... I haven't been able to stop him. If I could just get close, without being poisoned, I could stop him. But he knows how my bending works, so he has tricked me into somewhere I couldn't bend, and..." Another heavy sigh, and Toph slurps her noodles. Oh, she would love to give him hell. If she just got the chance.

    "I will keep you posted, maybe you can give us info that can help us get him. Just stay safe, we don't need him to target you as well." Juno has been through enough.

    If Juno needs to go, Toph won't keep her. "Thanks for bringing the metal. I'll find it when I leave too. I can grab the bill as payment."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"We'll just have to give him hell for you when we get the chance." Juno reaches out and pats Toph's arm, finishing off her tea and setting both the empty cup and payment on the table. "Lunch is on me. So's the scrap. Don't worry about it; it's always cheap when it's in that state. There's not much use for it but to smelt it down and start again."

Rising from her chair, she cocks an eye toward Toph, thoughtful. "Yeah. I doubt he's going to ignore me, though. Like I said, I had to babysit him once or twice. He didn't enjoy having to suffer my restraint whenever I'd told him 'no.' And he knows I'm a fugitive of the Empire, but I think his main motivation would be to destroy me just for the sake of causing pain."

"Good. And stay safe, too." She tosses Toph a smile the blind girl can't see before pushing her chair in, checking her surroundings, and slipping out of the restaurant.