003; video;

[firstrebel]

Who: Hera
Broadcast: Fleetwide!
Action: On the station, if you like!
When: Now

[ Hera is seated at a small cafe on the station today, taking a break from the odd jobs she's been doing to earn money. She's got a cup of something hot at her elbow, and she's her usual composed self. ]

So, to those who don't know me, hi. I'm Hera. [ She gives a little wave. ] You might have seen me around, since I've been on the fleet for a couple of months now. For those who haven't, I just thought I should point a couple of things out, since they've been coming up fairly often when I talk to people.

[ She points at her face. ]

I'm green. This might seem self-evident, but I've actually had a surprising number of people point this out to me, as if I hadn't noticed. So I'm telling you now, I've noticed. I'm green. It's genetics, and skin pigment, and I'm aware. I've also noticed that I'm not human - I'm Twi'lek, actually. And - [ Here she points at the top of her head. ] these are called lekku, but you can call them head-tails if you prefer.

Also, in my culture, it's - rude to stare. I know a lot of you aren't familiar with species other than your own, but it can get a little uncomfortable feeling like you're under a microscope.

Comments

[resnipstance]

Ha! Couldn't have said it better myself. Do you know how many times I've been asked if my montrals are a hat?

[firstrebel]

I'm not sure I want to know. I'm fine with educating people who don't know any better, but the staring.

[resnipstance]

To be fair, most of them do seem to come from planets that are pre-spaceflight.

Doesn't make it any less annoying, though.

[firstrebel]

Yeah. I'm not offended. I haven't encountered anyone actually speciesist. Mostly it's just genuine curiosity, which is fine, it just gets old.

I mean, I've attracted worse attention back home, time to time.

[ Because people can be nasty about Twi'leks sometimes. At least that cultural baggage is absent here. ]

[resnipstance]

You should just stare back at them. See how they like it!

[firstrebel]

Sometimes I do. It can be effective, if used sparingly.

[resnipstance]

Good.

Just let me know if anyone gives you any trouble.

[firstrebel]

It's nice of you to offer, though I can handle myself.

[resnipstance]

I don't doubt it.

Sometimes it's just nice to know that there's someone in your corner.

[firstrebel]

You're very right about that. If I ever have trouble, I'll definitely let you know.