Brina Thalin

Unbidden, lust flared up inside her. She tried to hold on to some semblance of normalcy. "Ah, but therein lies the problem. Empty, save you, for now, but at any moment it could be occupied by others. I don't think a little Zabrak child would appreciate your...methods...of flirting." A smirk crossed her face. "Besides, boss," she said, reminding him of their social positions. "You could bring shame to your entire company." She remained in his arms, craning her neck to look up at him and watch his reaction.

Brina sputtered, soaking wet from Kat's mischieviousness. She tried to glare at him, but the laughter in her eyes prevented her from succeeding. She mock-moaned, ignoring his comment about the hot tub. "Kat...now I'm all wet. These are your sister's clothes too--mine are back at my ship. What am I supposed to do now?" The challenge in her eyes was unmistakeable.

Part of her laughed inwardly at Kat's blantant flirting and his apparent lack of modesty. Another part of her winced a bit at his invitation. She rolled up her pant legs and sat down at the edge of the pool, kicking her legs lightly through the water. She would have liked to join him, but she was not about to admit to anyone--especially him of all people--that she didn't know how to swim. Instead, she sat and enjoyed the view.

She stood with a smile. "That sounds like a good idea. A pool, eh? Well, let's just hope it's clean." They walked together, finding the hotel to be sparse, but clean. There were a few spots that seemed a bit run down with age, but for the most part, the building was sturdy and the all-Twi'lek staff, friendly. They found a gym, steamroom, and the pool, which was large, heated, and smelled so much like chemicals that there was no doubt that it was clean. There was also a hot tub nearby.

She shook her head. "Thank you, but I'm fine. My relationship with Christya was nothing near the level of closeness that you adn Zara share. She was rebellious and hot-headed, and we got into many fights growing up. As you can imagine, she left home as soon as she could. I actually haven't heard from her--or any news about her--for about, oh, 7 years now." She offered him a smile. "Really, I'm alright. And it's sweet of you to care." The mirth in her eyes replaced any traces of grief that had been there before.

The short trip to the hotel was all Brina needed to compose herself. "I'm sorry Kat...I just received news that my sister was killed in an accident. I think with all the emotional turmoil we've gone through in the past few weeks with the destruction of Coruscant and all, that just pushed me over the edge." She apologized again, "I'm sorry." She glanced around her at the lobby. "This looks like a fairly decent hotel...not full of Coreillian scum, yet not too full of the wealthy constantly looking down on you over their noses."

Brina felt a strong arm slip around her waist. She knew who it was--she recognized his touch and the smell of cigars that lingered in the air whenever he was near. She was chagrined to have him find her in this state. "Kat, I--" She broke off. Her voice was not working properly. It was all shaky and quiet. She paused, not knowing what to do. Should she pull away? But as she had been doing alot recently, she gave in and trusted her feelings. She turned and buried her face in his shirt.

Brina's comm suddenly beeped. Glad to get out of the tense setting, she excused herself and walked off to answer it. "Brina, this is your brother Kyle. I just wanted to let you know that Christya has...died in a terrible accident. I hope this news doesn't find you at a bad time, but there is no real good time for news like this. There is no need to come out for the funeral--I know you must be busy. But think of us back home. I know you two didn't always get along, but she was our sister. We got the news yesterday that she died when a drunk pilot crashed into her speeder on Nar Shaddaa. "I'm sorry to pass this news on to you, sis. Wherever you are, may the Force be with you." Brina was stunned. Christya had always been the renegade rebel in the family, bringing shame to the family name with her wild living. But that didn't mean that her death didn't affect Brina. She bit her lip and slipped her comlink back into it's holding place. She thought about going back over to Kat and Zara, but she couldn't bring herself to face them like this. I'm not going to cry, she told herself. Christya had been the antithesis of what Brina had wanted to be, but they had gone through some good times together.

Brina offered a smile. "Oh, yes," she replied. "Indeed, it is funny sometimes how something so seemingly insignificant can affect your life so greatly. I'm glad this was true in your case." She fell silent at this. She appreciated Kat's attempts to include her, but it did nothing to make her feel less uncomfortable with the surroundings. She felt like she had to be very careful to say exactly the correct words, or...Well, she didn't know what might happen, only that it would be bad. She tried to be nice to the others in spite of this, and forced a smile to remain on her face.

Brina had sat quietly throughout the presentation, noticing and appreciating the fine surroundings. She felt awkward in this sort of environment, however. She would be much more comfortable fixing a ship in a dirty hanger. The proposal by Kheldar proved Kat's words true--the man was a genius. She thought the idea was a good one as well--a novel plaything for the rich and aristocratic, and a hangout for the lower scum of the galaxy. The idea of it being a traveling casino was even novel enough to spark her interest if she hadn't known anything else about it. It looked like Zara had made the decision, Brina noticed. She didn't smile, still feeling uncomfortable and out-of-place--she was only an employee of the Link, not someone in any position of authority. In fact, she almost felt like a burden to the others. She hated the feeling. That was the last thing she wanted to be. She would simply get up and excuse herself, but she realized that she didn't know how to do that without being rude to anyone present. So instead, she tried to make herself appear small and stay out of the way throughout the meeting.

She started to pull away, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Part of her was berating herself for her actions. She had been hurt too many times by too many men. However, another part of her enjoyed the feeling. The hardness in her heart softened a bit--something Brina knew was dangerous, but couldn't stop. "Really?" She forced herself to maintain appearances and keep up her end of the conversation. "I've heard about him from the Holonet of course, but you can't trust much on the Holonet--especially these days." She changed the subject. "So, tell me about yourself. How did you get started with the Link? It's a brilliant idea. How did you come up with it?"

After landing, Brina had chosen to remain silent. She didn't know Kheldar personally, so she didn't want to interrupt. Besides, she would listen and gain the same information that she could be talking. She ate the donut offered--it was warm and gooey--then walked with the others, staying next to Kat. She still didn't know why she felt a pull towards him, but she felt better near him, so she stayed there.

Brina headed back to the 'fresher and took a long shower. She could feel the tension in her muscles easing away under the pressure of the soothing water. When she got out, she noticed the towel and clothes laid out for her. Smiling at Kat's thoughtfulness, she tried the outfit on, and discovered it fit fairly well. A little snug, but she'd make do. She braided her wet hair tight against her skull and headed up to the cockpit. She went in, then noticed Kat sound asleep in his chair. Trying not to disturb him, she sat down in the other chair and stared out in space, thinking and enjoying the soothing blue vortex of hyperspace.

Brina accepted the credits and nodded to Kosk as he headed off to destinations unknown. She turned back to the ships and unhooked the ship from the YT-2400. Seeing that her mission was complete, she jumped back in the ship and blasted off once again to Coruscant.

With a raised eyebrow at the SEED uniform, Brina greeted the man, whom she recognized as Mr. Kosk. "The price for the service is fifteen thousand credits, Mr. Kosk," she said politely. "The Link thanks you for your business and hopes that you will choose to fly with our company again."

Entering the system one last time, the YT-2400 and attached ship enters the atmosphere of Bakura. "This is Brina Thalin of the Link requesting permission to land with Mr. Kosk's last delivery," Brina commed. "Plese inform Mr. Kosk that there still is the matter of compensation as well." She waited for the station's reply.

Receiving the message and coordinates, Brina piloted the ship smoothly down onto the planet. She stood and turned to Zara. "After you, chief," she said.

OOC: Sorry for the delay, guys. Real life is so crazy right now! IC: The YT-2400 carrying the Open Sky leadership popped out of hyperspace over Bakura and settled down for a perfectly graceful landing. Brina stood up and moved back to the main hold. "We've arrived on Bakura," she announced.

A YT-2400 flies through hyperspace en route to Bakura. In the cockpit, Brina turned to Zara. "Since we have a little time before we arrive, I'm going to look into the navicomp. It kept rejected the coordinates I set." She crouched down under the ledge and popped open a panel. After a few minutes of tinkering, she came across the problem. "Exactly what I thought," she said quietly. She grabbed a hydrospanner and switched two wires. A short beep came from the computer. She stood up and brushed her hands on her pants. She hit a buton on the computer and recieved another affirming beep. "Yeah, that fixed it. Just some mixed up wires. It's a common error on this model. The factory droids screwed up somewhere." She popped the panel back on and retook her seat. 8 more hours to Bakura.

The Crazy Mynock flew through space in sublight speed near the galactic core. Brina stood up and headed over to the datascreen over to her right. She accessed the Holonet, skimming through the ads and news clips. Suddenly, one caught her eye. It was an add for a new organization known as the Link. It seemed to be a good fit for Brina. They said they were looking for pilots, and she could easily fill a job as mechanic as well. She groaned when she saw that the organization was based on Courascant, however, she sent off a comm to the leaders, hoping that they still had room for her in the Link.

Name: Brina Thalin Real Name: Breanna Hymalin Thorpe Age: 27 Species: Human Gender: Female Height: 5' 7" Weight: 130 lbs. Eye color: green Hair color: dark red and wavy; worn slightly past shoulder-length Homeworld: Talus Alignment: Chaotic Good; partner of the Link Organization Clothing: standard black jumpsuit Weapon: Merr-Sonn Power 5 blaster Non Force-User Possessions: Coreillian YT-2400 Crazy Mynock Other Info: Brina was raised on Talus in a middle-class home. She had loving parents, and a brother, Kyle Thalin, and a sister Christya Thalin, who was killed a few years ago on Nar Shaddaa. She got along well with Kyle, but her relationship with Christya was strained. She left home to move to Coruscant to seek her fortune. She ended up working for a Dug in a restaurant as a serving girl. She hated her job, and always wanted to quit and become a pilot for hire. Knowing that was an unrealistic goal, she stuck to her job for several years. One day, she decided to quit, and joined up with the Link Organization. She is now a partner in the organization, and a good friend of both Zara and Kat Nargal. Recently, Brina learned of her true past. She is the daughter of Yogarev and Breannis Thorpe. The family was vacationing in the Typheris sector, when their transport came under attack by pirates. Yogarev was killed, and Breannis and Breanna were taken captive and put in a slave labor camp. The other child--a son by the name of Lycus--escaped. Breannis died in the camp, and Breanna was adopted by the Thalin family when they found her in an escape pod that had crashed near their home on Talus. There was a flimsy in the pod that stated the child's name, but the words were so smudged that only three letters were legible--b, r, and a. So the family named her Brina, and adopted her officially under Talusian law.