Worth: A Star Wars Story (ON TEMP HIATUS)

5. On the Hunt

The elevator stopped and opened its creaking doors to let us out. The barracks wouldn't be far, but it was slowly starting to get late. "Do you have a curfew or something? Don't want you getting in trouble."

Talen shook his head, "Nope. Master Kolar gave me permission to stay outside of the Temple while he's gone. Plus, I'm a padawan now. I don't have the same restrictions I did when I was a youngling."

Tor sighed and looked around, "Do we want to go back to the Mess or...?"

"Kriff that," Red snorted. "Let's just hit that sleazy cantina down the street. I'd prefer to eat questionable bantha steak over whatever mystery meat they're feeding us in the Mess."

Talen looked between us like he was planning something before he cleared his throat, "Or... I could take us to an actual food place that has food that is less suspicious?"

Grek paused and narrowed his eyes, "Will they let us eat at an actual restaurant?"

Red's eyes lit up, "Like... a diner-diner?"

Even I was a little suspicious. "Yeah, last time we tried that, they kicked us out."

Talen looked at us and smirked, "But last time, you didn't have a Jedi."

---

"We don't serve Clones here," the Rodian at the counter didn't even look up when we walked in. "How many more times do I have to..." He trailed off when he looked up and saw Talen. "Oh... uh... Master Jedi..."

"Just padawan," Talen shrugged. "There's five of us. A corner booth would be alright, thanks." He acted like he didn't just walk in with four genetically modified soldiers.

"Uh... we... we don't..." The Rodian was getting nervous.

Talen looked up and raised one of his pale eyebrows, "Don't what? Serve the brave soldiers of the Republic? These troopers single-handedly stopped an assassin today, and I am treating them to dinner."

The Rodian nervously tapped his fingers together, "But they usually can't..."

Talen let out a groan and rolled his eyes, "Oh, for- I'm paying!" The Rodian seemed surprised, but he gestured to the corner booth and let us sit down without any more protests. Talen looked exasperated. "I cannot... Do you guys never pay?" Talen looked at us in confusion. "Hipshot always gets the tab at the bar..."

"Bar?" I paused and looked down at him, "Wait, have you been in 79's?"

Talen stared at me with a blank expression before he slowly looked down at the menu, "Anyway,  get whatever you want."

"Don't change the subject."

"The nerf steak here is actual nerf."

"Commander..."

"Ever had meiloorun? It's tasty."

"Talen."

"The bantha milk ice cream is nice, too."

Tor casually looked down at the menu, "Technically, he can go into the bar so long as he doesn't drink."

"What Clone takes a kid to a bar?" I asked, turning my attention to the menu. "Though those Cuckoo Bites are sounding really nice right about now."

"Hipshot takes me a lot. The food is tasty, but whatever that fizzy drink he gets me is, I can't get enough. Oh, be sure to get the house sauce with the bites. It's wizard."

"Hipshot... Who is that?" I asked, the name sound vaguely familiar from the many arrests we made on the 82nd.

"My pilot."