Space

[Delta73]

She stumbled to a chair, looking as haggard and tired as she had after the duel with ares. He moved to pour her some of the sherry but halted upon glancing across her swollen belly. A hundred million medical journals cried out in agony at his desire to give her a stiff drink. An unborn child's health was not to be trod upon, even for the mothers' nerves sake. Or for any sake, especially not for the conveyance of the mother, for the removal of the life she had within her belly would be an evil deed.

 

But his morals were for another time entirely. Yet even still, he did not give her a drink, only the comfort of a loving stare while she explained her past. When her talk of the final blessing was over, his jaw hardened. ”œI do so hope that this love is not just to receive a reprieve of your curses. I do hope that you do not trifle with my heart with a false or faked love. For I will not abide such a thing. I love you truly, and I hope you love me the same. Please, do not throw you life away for a prophecy from a haggard bitch of a mother, who does not love you any more than the ghost of Ares. If you do truly believe in this prophecy or if you don't, either way....I shall stand by your side through the thickest and hellish flames the old gods can send. ”

[Qaela]

Qaela half expected Ca'Aran to be upset at her after she finished her explanation. She had kept many secrets, she knew, and not all of them were exactly things he might like. Instead, he said something that chilled her to her very core.

 

"I do so hope that this love is not just to receive a reprieve of your curses. . ."

 

With great effort, she kept her outer emotions and features in check. He might not know everything, but he was no fool. The dread of her damned curse was gone, but it had been replaced with another dread. Secrets within secrets, that was the way of the Nightsisters. That was her way.

 

It didn't matter what she wanted, what she hoped for: what was, was. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Qaela felt guilt. At that point, she knew that her mother was wrong when she said there was a way out: no matter what she did, she was indeed cursed.

 

"Ca'Aran," she heard herself replying, "I have betrayed many trusts, but I will not betray you in this. For as long as you remain loyal to me, I shall not betray you. I am what I am and that won't change, but know that whatever happens, whatever I do, and whomever I do it to or with, I will only ever love you."

 

She smiled up at Ca'Aran as he brushed his brow. If only she didn't know the truth, that dark and most terrible truth. She only wished that she didn't believe the damned prophecy. That unbelief had nearly cost her not just her own life, but the lives of her unborn. She wouldn't make that mistake again. The prophecy was true and that could only mean one thing.

 

Nobody must ever know what the final curse was. Nobody. That meant she Mother must die, as did anyone who she may have confided in. That woman had made her life a misery and though it made her stronger, it still stripped her humanity from her. Now, Mother and all who supported her must pay for those wrongs, if only to keep that final curse hidden from the rest of the galaxy forever. Secrets within secrets, that was the way of the Nightsisters.

 

So was vengeance, and Qaela had suffered many wrongs that desperately called out for revenge.

 

She knew that Ca'Aran offered to help her, but there were some things that had to be done personally. She had many things to do and he would not like all of them. It was best that he continue about whatever his business was on Coruscant while she did what had to be done. She had many things that needed attending to that it was best Ca'Aran didn't know about if for no other reason than that he would disapprove of her taking risks with her life.

 

Right now, she needed sleep and was more than happy to fall asleep under Ca'Aran's watchful gaze.

[Gonzo Lockjaw]

Gonzo Lockjaw was relieved to be back on board The Cake is a Lie, and rocketing through the vastness of space once again. He sat in one of the many luxurious lounges on board the ship and meditated on his most recent experience with the Sith. From what he had gathered so far, the Sith seem to hate each other just as much as they hate everything else. Thus far every time that he had seen multiple Sith interact they were trying to kill each other, not to mention most of them seem to be psychotic murderers or sociopaths. But perhaps there is a deeper meaning to all of this inter-Sith hatred, something that Lockjaw had not thought of yet, or maybe he was just thinking way too much into this matter.

 

Because right now all that mattered to Lockjaw was completing his training and become a Dark Lord of the Sith. So emptying his mind of all thought and troubles Lockjaw immersed himself in the Dark Side of the Force filling himself hatred, malice and wrath. As he sat there feeling the power of the force flowing throughout his body, he directed it outward and upon himself. Feeling throughout the room for any and all objects, lifting them up into the air forcing them to orbit his body, all meanwhile manipulating the light surrounding his body allowing him to fade from visibility. If anyone were to enter the room right now all they see would be a parade of dishes, bottles, silverware, books, cushions, and chairs dancing around the room in an almost perfect choreographed routine.

 

Here Lockjaw would remain, locked in his immersion in the force until his master should have need of him or provide him with further instruction in the ways of the force.

[Sandy Sarna]

Ohhhhhh well that joke didn't go over very well.

 

And it really didn't, but the woman seemed to follow her directions none-the-less. Sandy also tried to listen to the woman as she spoke her uncouth language, but eventually the woman tried to do what she had told her. She was good too! It was amazing what a little instruction and the work ethic of old people did.

 

The red coloured lines receded above her chest. Finally stopping at her shoulder. The woman was focused, but Sandy could feel a sharp entity beneath her calm appearance. Anger burned deep, only relieved by the feelings of calm that the woman was getting off her memories. The woman looked exhausted, And Sandy felt a little better. Her fever still raged, and the cough was still there, but she seemed out of death's door for the moment.

 

She repeated the word, ”œAdika?”

[Emily]

When Emily woke again, the first thing she noticed was the cold and the hum of engines. Her mind was fuzzy, and she struggled to remember what had happened. She blinked several times, noticing that it was quite dark, but that the room she was in was lit by several dim widely-interspersed lights.

 

There was movement next to her, and she glanced around. There were several other people in here, and from what she could tell in the dim light, they were all women. Memory struggled back into her mind, and she remembered the slavers attacking the ship.

 

She sat bolt upright, and immediately wished she hadn't. The world spun around her and she was almost sick. Clenching her head in her hands for a few minutes caused the world to at least slow down some, but she still felt ill--dizzy and foggy.

 

She reached out to the Force to clear her mind, then frowned. She couldn't access the Force. It was like something was blocking her. She wondered vaguely if the stories she had heard about those lizard things from Myrkyr were true. But how would they know they would pick up a Force-user?

 

Things didn't make sense, and Emily didn't have the strength to try and figure them out. She slipped back into sleep, dead to the world once more.

 

The next time she awoke, things were much clearer. She sat up slowly and glanced around the room again. As she did so, she realized that she had been right that all the captives were women. More than that, they were all quite scantily clad. She glanced down to see that she herself was in a silver-and-black bikini that had to be two sizes too small.

 

I've got a bad feeling about this.

 

A slot opened in the door about four meters away, and a pail of water was shoved through. The woman closest to the door--a blue-skinned Twi'lek--grabbed it, took a deep drink, and then passed it around. Emily drank deeply; she was parched.

 

"What's your name?" The cracked voice of the woman next to her issued out of the darkness.

 

"Emily," she responded.

 

"I'm Rina."

 

Emily nodded. The world was beginning to get fuzzy again, and she was having a hard time thinking. "Rina. We need to get out of here."

 

The older woman gave her a hopeless look. "I've been here longer than you. I've tried to escape. There's no way."

 

"If I can just...concentrate," Emily replied, struggling, "I can use...Force to get us out."

 

Rina's head was dipping as she tried to stay awake. "No...chance." Her head met her shoulder and she was asleep.

 

Something about the situation set off alarm bells in Emily's head. She had just woken up? Why was she...so...sleepy...

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala was glad now that the lines of infection had now been pulled back to the shoulder, once they'd had some rest she could try again so that the healing process on the wound could actually take hold.

 

The girl was still pale and it was obvious that in her weakened state something else had taken hold of her, but what it was Mirdala couldn't be sure. She hoped that whatever healing she'd been able to perform on the girl, it had kept her from blood poisoning. She risked reaching out to her through the Force to see how she was fairing, because now she really couldn't hide her Force-sensitivity from her cellmate any longer. Luckily, the girl seemed stronger, or at least that's what she thought she felt. Mirdala was still fairly new to using the Force and was still learning to trust the impressions that it gave her beyond her battle instincts.

 

"Adika?" the girl laughed hoarsely before lapsing into another coughing fit. "My name is...Sandy...Sandy Senya. At your service ma'am." She scooted closer to Mirdala again, shivering and resting her head on the Mando'ad's shoulder, falling asleep almost as soon as she'd rested her head against the woman.

 

Maternal instinct took over in Mirdala and she pulled the girl closer to her, trying to make her more comfortable as she fell into a feverish sleep. Mirdala couldn't help but wonder how the jetiise managed to function if they didn't help those in their care be able to stand up to and survive better in situations like this. Dissolving into tears at hardship wasn't something that Mirdala had seen a jetii do before, though the only ones that she'd encountered were the ones that she'd worked with in the Augury - Aryian, Kirlocca, Kitt, and Brad. All of them were either Knights of the Order or Masters, and that might have had something to do with it.

 

Either way Mirdala somehow now felt responsible for the girl that the Jedi Order had abandoned. She wondered how the slavers had managed to elude the jetiise; with all of their mystical Force-knowledge surely they could track down a padawan in pain because she hadn't felt the tell-tale absence of the Force that told her that there were no ysalamiri on board.

 

Sandy's instructor knew she was missing, and as her teacher was probably in the best position to be able to use that connection to find her lost student. The Mando'ad had never really felt one way or the other about the jetiise, and had even  began to gain a little respect for the Order through those that she'd known as part of the Augury. That respect for the Order as a whole was slipping further and Mirdala wondered if anyone cared about the missing Padawan at all. It was hard to have faith in trust in someone if you knew that you couldn't count on them to come after you.

 

Seeing what was happening to Sandy was solidifying her reasoning for not allying herself as an official member of the Jetiise Order when they'd approached her when she was very young.

 

Kand'ika, I know that you're coming for me, she thought resolutely as she began to drift off to sleep from exhaustion.

 

~~~~~~

 

A harsh and unforgiving wind blew hot across the desert bringing with it

a raging storm of grit and sand towards the outskirts of one of the few sprawling hubs of trade that could barely be called cities on the desert world's surface. Ominously, the cloud of dust encroached upon the town, so thick that it blotted out the late afternoon suns as it engulfed the spot of civilization on the uncharitable world's surface.

 

As it approached, the old and infirm felt it in their bones, young eyes saw it in the distance, and all, regardless of species and sentience sought shelter from it's scrubbing gale-force winds. Soon the town resembled a ghost town, not even animals prowled the streets as the beast of a storm descended on the unknown bastion of what passed for civilization on the planet.

 

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that she knew this place.

 

The scene in her vision shifted again. The storm had passed now and she was in some sort of back alley where scavengers, both sentient and not picked through the storm's leavings, working to unearth their treasures.

 

A wisp of dark hair was fluttered lightly in the fading breeze from beneath one of the smaller piles of duned sand.

 

Curious, one of the starving waifs that was currently picking their way though the alley approached the dark strand of the unfortunate soul to have been left without shelter, most likely the victim of silicosis that had lead to asphyxiation. Gently, almost reverently, the sand was brushed away to reveal a deep blue scrap of uniform that still lay tattered at the person's shoulder. Working quicker, eager to see what treasures the person might have on them, the scavenger brushed the sand away and came away screaming when his hand came in contact with something sticky and a deepening brownish red. As he scuttled away in horror, the wind picked up, a bit more gently this time, and revealed the rest of the remains of a young woman in a tattered CoreSec uniform, far from her jurisdiction and decidedly not the victim of a sandstorm.

 

Further down the alley, came a cry of ghastly horror as a similar discovery was made, and, once more, the scene shifted to the location and Mirdala saw what the Force willed her to see. Hair, the same sandy color as the silicate surrounding another body, framed a face so brutalized that it was unrecognizable, and had Mirdala not seen it with life, she wouldn't have been able to place it. Still clad in the blood-stained and tattered clothes reminiscent of the tunics worn by the Jedi Order, Sandy lay dead.

 

~~~~~~

 

The two of them were only able to catch about an hour's rest before the slavers got bored once again and decided to have another try at breaking them.

 

Mirdala, her Force-senses heightened due to the spice and drug mixture being continuously pumped into her system, woke first with a start, sensing them coming before their footsteps began echoing down the corridor. She shook the disturbing vision and moved quickly, gently moving the young girl against the wall and grabbing the stun-cuffs that she'd been restrained with previously. Settling herself in the far corner, she deftly fastened the cuffs once again behind her back and waited for them to come.

 

Just because there was no where to run for now didn't mean that she wasn't going to make things difficult for them. She crouched in the shadows and tried not to loose her balance as they opened the door and flooded the room with light, causing a most unwelcome sense of disorientation in the defiant woman.

 

Lura, and about 12 others all clad in matte black armor and face-obscuring helmets flooded the room. Mirdala tensed when she saw him, he was the only one bold enough not to hide behind his helmet. A violent rage threatened to overwhelm her, but she bit it back lest she let loose with the Force and give away the only element of surprise that she had prematurely.

 

She still managed to evade his grasp as he reached for her by rolling to the side and springing up to knock him off balance. Her mind warned that embarrassing him like this was very dangerous and would make things worse for her later, but she wasn't going to go without resisting in some manner. It just wasn't her nature.

 

What she didn't like was that she noticed that her reaction times were slowing as he managed to land a punch that she should have been able to dodge. She collapsed to the floor with the blow, only to be hauled back to her feet by the larger man and pinned against the bulkhead with a single out-stretched and overly-muscled arm. His hand closed around her neck and left her suspended a half-foot from the floor so she couldn't get leverage against him, especially with her hands bound behind her.

 

He might have been smart enough to come armored this time, but once again he underestimated the agility and stubbornness of his opponent. He was more than a little shocked when she curled up and kicked out, using the momentum from the movement to flip over and in mid-air bring her cuffed hands under her legs and in front of her, though she misjudged the distance and landed off-balance, rolling awkwardly to the floor. Lura quickly recovered though and reached out, grabbing Mirdala by her raven hair and jerking her back to him as the other group dragged the young Jedi roughly from the room.

 

Mirdala still struggled under Lura's strong grasp as those that were left closed in to help subdue her so that they could change out the cartridge on the medical pump. He noted, with some satisfaction that she was slowing in her movements, though she was still stubbornly fighting against both him and the drugs. The good doctor had made this batch stronger since she seemed to be able to hang on to her rational mind.

 

”œYou really shouldn't struggle you know,”

[Delta73]

The Justice was a spartan ship, no luxuries and absolutely no fun. But there was something to be said for sparse living conditions, and travelling with a fellow mando. Who was no doubt hating every minute of it. Delta was glad he wasn't speaking in Mando'a. Delta had at one point been fluent in the language, when he had been in the Grand Army. But afterwords, he had come to realize that speaking in a strange language in the middle of basic, only irritated people. And made the speaker appear as a major douche. So Delta had let his knowledge slip, but in the heat of battle, it at time came raging back up, like bile.

 

Delta took a look in his HUD, and walked to the cockpit, "Well, we might wanna be heading to tatooine. You know, if you want."

[Moon Knight]

ShadowFett did not speak. He immediately started laying in the coordinates for Tatooine to the navicomputer. Tatooine was one of the planets he tended to visit often due to its significance to Moon Knight as well as the Black Sun, even though the world had absolutely no strategic or commercial value. That never bothered the Mando'ad too much, as Manda'yaim itself wasn't the most hospitable or strategically-located world in the oyu'baat either. The world had the value that was placed upon it by others.

 

As he ran the calculations, he reflected briefly on the circular nature of events. Immediately following the Death Star battle, Fett had found himself on Tatooine, locked in mortal combat against his old enemy and even older ally Piccolo. It was there that the beroya had met up with Mirdala and the pair had formed a traat'aliit, a catalyst beyond their shared heritage being the mutual dislike for Black Sun.

 

Their partnership had continued unabated from there. They had invested in each other. And now, here Fett was. Returning to Tatooine, this time in the company of no one other than a Black Sun agent, trying to find Mirdala again, his mind consumed by determination to gut the shabuire who had taken her away. ShadowFett had never claimed to follow the will of the Force, but through all the experiences of Isolder he knew that this circle was not formed by fate, but by the ebb and flow of that energy field.

 

And even though he knew it had no consciousness, sometimes he swore it had a sense of humor.

 

The calculations complete and optimized, ShadowFett executed the hyperspace jump, trusting the Justice's hyperdrive to make up all the time he had already lost.

[Emily]

When Emily next awoke, her head was much clearer. She lay where she was, not moving, as she tried to think things through.

 

She was captured by slavers, and no one knew. That was the most striking blow. The fact that no one would be coming to rescue her. Furion had kidnapped her in the middle of the night from the Sith temple; no one there would know she had even left. Besides, few Sith would take the time to rescue an apprentice. It wasn't their way. If she was able to be captured, then she was weak, and not deserving of being a Sith.

 

No, she had to figure out a way to get out of this on her own. She took a deep breath and reached out to the Force. Once again, something was blocking her. But it was weaker this time. She could feel the Force deep in her mind, behind a cloudy barrier that was normally transparent. She pushed, and managed to get the tiniest trickle of power. That was enough for her to enhance her senses just the littlest bit.

 

When she did, her eyes fell on the bucket of water that had been provided for them to drink out of. She reached out for it, but then stopped herself. Realization hit her. The water is drugged! That's what is keeping me from accessing the Force and keeping me sedated!

 

She resolved not to drink another drop, nor touch a bite of food. It would make her weak, but as long as they didn't notice and inject her with the drugs, she should hopefully be able to touch the Force again soon.

 

Rina stirred next to her, so Emily turned. "Rina? You awake?"

 

"Mmhmm."

 

"Can you tell me anything about these slavers? Where are they taking us?"

 

The older woman hesitated. "I heard them mention the Hutts. I assume we're headed to Nal Hutta, Nar Shaddaa, or Tatooine."

 

Emily grimaced. That made sense. Not only were the Hutts the most notorious for supporting the slave trade, but they were always more interested in pretty, scantily clad women, which explained the outfits her and the others had been put into.

 

She did some calculations in her head. "Do you know how many days we've been flying?"

 

Rina shook her head.

 

"So we could be arriving at Nal Hutta as soon as tomorrow." Her heart sank a little. She didn't know if she would have time to purge the drugs from her system in that short of a time. She shook herself. If that was the case, she'd just have to wait to escape until after she had been sold.

[Emily]

((Legal double post))

 

Just then the door slid open, spilling light from the hallway into the room. Framed in the doorway stood several of the slavers that Emily recognized from the ship. Her heart sank, but she rose to her feet defiantly.

 

"Well, well, well..." one of them drawled, looking at her. "You clean up pretty well for a Jedi scum."

 

She gritted her teeth. "I am no Jedi," she said. "I am Sith, and you will regret capturing me."

 

The man laughed, but she could tell some of the others were rattled. The reputation of the Sith was much more intimidating than that of the Jedi--as it should be. She jumped on the chance and continued talking. "My master is the Dark Lord of the Sith. When he finds out that you have captured me, you will beg for death."

 

She wondered, for a brief fleeting minute, if the words were true. She wished they were. The thought that her master cared about her was, however, too much to hope for. He had proven that to her. She grimaced in anger.

 

The leader laughed again. "Well then, I suppose we're lucky he don't know. No one knows what happened to you. You disappear off 'da grid. No one cares. And we be getting good credits fer you. A Sith slave? Lots o' credits." There was a greedy gleam in his eyes.

 

Emily wished nothing more than to wring this scum's neck. The Force was slowly returning to her, but she didn't think she had enough control back yet to Force-choke him. Not when there were all those other men with blasters right behind him.

 

The leader motioned to some of his goons. "Take her." Pretending she was weaker than she was, Emily offered little resistance as they dragged her through the ship, finally depositing her in a room that looked a med bay turned torture chamber. Her heart sank even lower, and her anger grew.

 

"Now missie...let's have some...fun. We've got plenty o' bacta patches to get you back lookin' yer best when the Hutts see ya, so in the meantime we can do whatever we likes with ya."

 

She was quickly restrained, and they injected her with more drugs. As her tentative grasp on the Force slipped away again under that influence, the torture began...

 

*** (edit 10/2) ***

 

((another legal double post...))

 

There came a point when Emily almost didn't feel the pain anymore. They had tortured her so thoroughly, and for no reason but their own twisted amusement, that she had almost become desensitized. The pain had become a part of her...and it had taken her to a far darker place than she had ever been.

 

Nevertheless, it was a relief when they finally approached their destination. Emily knew that she'd stand the best chance at escaping once on planet. She may have lost hope, but she would never lose determination.

 

There was just enough time for her to heal up with the assistance of bacta patches, and to be crammed into a newer, cleaner, metal bikini, before they landed on the planet of Nal Hutta.

[Tobias Vos]

The YT spacecrafts zoomed through hyperspace, much like a holomercial that played every once in awhile.

 

Tobias walked aft to rejoin his to lady companions. He began to prep some food for them. Then a question arose, why was he cooking? No matter, he needed some food, he was going to cook it. He waited to hear some conversation from the ladies, but the Miraluka was content petting Sooba.

[Adenna Alluyen]

While Vos took care of flying the ship, Adenna saw to their guest. The meal that Vos prepared was decent enough, but Ariana needed more than just food. Her clothes were a mess and she was quite frankly filthy.

 

When they had finished, Adenna guided the girl to the refresher. "Here, get yourself cleaned up while I go look for something for you to wear. I would say to take your time, but this is a ship and the water will get cold if you are in there for more than a few minutes. It is better than nothing, though and you should feel a lot better after."

 

She honestly didn't know if there was anything for the girl to wear. While Vos had gotten a few supplies, he hadn't acquired any additional sets of clothes, especially not some that would fit such a tiny frame. If worse came to worse, Adenna would give the girl her own outer cloak to wear until they got somewhere where they could buy some regular clothes.

 

While she was looking for clothes, she took inventory of what all was on the ship. A few things were left behind that could be useful. No weapons, sadly, but a set of older non-Holonet capable direct line comms was a good find. Their range was limited, but they would be very useful on a planet like Tatooine where they couldn't rely on the Holonet to relay their signals. She also found a staple gun and some other tools. Adenna was no mechanic and never claimed to be, but they could possibly be viable as trade items should they encounter a situation where credits were not accepted.

[Ariana La'vohn]

Ariana was enthralled with the amount of food she was shown. She even wondered to herself if it was all for her, because she hadn't seen so much food in at least three years and even then, there wasn't that much. The recollection managed to sour her anticipation, but the memory wasn't enough to make her cry; she had many years to grieve and had done so, even amidst complaints.

 

Still... This was a lot of food. The smells, the sounds, the mystical signatures each golden orb of sustenance set upon her wanting skeleton was almost too much. The teenage Miraluka was frozen, with her mouth still hung in mid-air gaping at the food and was contenting herself with the portions provided, but, unless it was upon the objections of her two new friends, she opted instead to indulge herself a little. After all, if anyone deserved it she did, right?

 

Anyway, it wasn't long before Ariana was full on what she could only assume was something made out of some form of meat, but she wasn't really in the mood to ask questions. Her once emaciated stomach was now healthily distended as she plopped back onto a chair, rubbing her abdomen intently.

 

This was of course when she noticed something wrong. Adenna was hard at work to get her anything and everything she needed, which Ariana thought was great, but a little extreme; something was wrong. The miraluka admitted the consideration and care she was putting into each act, but it seemed more a of a worrisome haste than anything else, which led Ariana to the depths of her friend's presence.

 

Something was troubling her, whether Adenna cared to admit it or not.

 

She didn't really get to ask or say anything about it though, because the minute Ariana spotted a shower she was quick to catch on. She waited for Adenna to leave and took care of what she could. It had been a while since she had, had the advantage of a refresher, but it was... Well, refreshing.

 

She put in all the required settings, made sure everything she needed was close by and removed her blind fold before stepping into the cleaning chamber and turned the water on.

 

KShhhhh...

 

The water was warm as it slid in a cascade from the relatively used, but still clean outlet. Ariana stood with her arms out and her feet fully rooted to the ground, embracing the water's absolution as it cleansed her of the fresh surface dirt that covered her body. She was half expecting her implants to fully short-circuit, but they were silent and sat idly in their places, which led her to believe that they were shielded from the elements somehow.

 

She resigned to simpler thoughts though; the water was amazing. She sighed wanly and after the flaky remains of surface dirt were finished, she grabbed a scrubbing implement and began to scrub herself down in an abrasive, but still productive fashion. She didn't really remember how dirty she was aesthetically, because the last time she actually looked at herself clearly through her implants was at least a few months ago, but she guessed that since she had been out on the streets for a few years, it was okay to go a little overboard, especially when she could feel the dirt all over her body. Even so, it was her first time really cleaning in the last 2 years and she was going to make it count.

 

In fact, she wasn't really surprised when the water began to shift from hot to cold, because she was really dirty. She only stopped scrubbing when she could no longer feel the dirt on her skin and by that time the water had manifested as small pieces of ice, picking at her skin, just like the rain had done for so many years. It was a consort for her and a connection to the planet. This however, was merely the bickering of freezing time as it pushed against her skin, as if it had some ulterior motive. Ariana wasn't finished yet though and started reaching for her stringy white hair.

 

She couldn't really see what was around her due to all of the distractions going on in her head, but remembering where the hair cleaning substance was - based on the size, shape smell and texture of the bottle - so she reached in that general direction and once she successfully seized her bounty, she poured some onto her hands and lathered it up nicely. The bottle fell through her hands and on to the ground though, so Ariana reached down trying to recover it, but almost fell to the floor as well. She had to struggle to keep her balance against the freezing tide but, even with the lather in her hands, she managed to put the bottle right side up on the floor near her feet before standing herself up again and digging her soapy hands into the depths of her extraordinarily dirty hair.

 

She had forgotten what it was like to run water through her hair and completely ignored that it was icy cold. It felt so good to pick the dirt and grease through the strands of her hair and lather it up with soap. Eventually she couldn't even tell it was her hair anymore. It was an abstract entity that lingered in times past, back when she was truly happy. Once again, Ariana had to bite back tears, but she continued to rub and filter the soap she had in her hands through her hair until all she could feel was a sopping wet blob.

 

Deciding she was done, Ariana turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, clumsily reaching for a towel. She could vaguely see one through the force, considering her people's affinity for such a technique, but her focus was a little compromised, considering the amount of water on her body, the freezing sensation she had when she got out and the white hair that was now consuming her head.

 

She managed to slip and finagle her way over to a towel though and began drying off however ceremoniously or unceremoniously she could. She had to be careful with her hair though. It wasn't that strong, partly due to the nutrients missing and partly due to lack of care over the years. Still... Ariana didn't exactly remember what if anything special she had to do to dry it, considering it had been a long time since she had cleaned her hair and the particular nature of her hair's condition, so she rubbed softly and batted gently at her hair with the towel and then let the rest of it air dry. It wasn't graceful by any means, but it was really her only solution for now.

 

After she was all done, her body seemed to glow with a feeling of cleanliness that seemed alien to Ariana, but strangely comfortable. However, there was still one problem. She had no clothing to change into and she was not about to walk around the ship naked.

 

Thinking relatively quickly, she wrapped whatever of her body she could with the towel and if she needed another she quickly grabbed it to compensate. She could only hope that Adenna had something for her, because a naked ship ride didn't seem very appealing.

[Tobias Vos]

A little red light came on around the ship. Not a warning, just a heads up that they were almost there. Tobias started to clean up, and get his clothes situated. Not to mention a little sash for his new Ax, and a medkit.

 

Mentally he was going through his checklist. He would be either an automatic target for the Slavers, or they would bow down and accept him. He doubted they would bow down, they would just target him. That's why he took out his saber. Adenna wouldn't be happy, but he had a plan. Clipping it on his belt above his right buttock.

 

Wrapping a bandana around his head, he walked out and knelt down next to Sooba, silently for a few minutes, the two store into each other's eyes. Tobias was reforming the Mind Weld with the Anooba. Preparation for the coming battle.

 

"We're coming Sandy, please....Just hold on...." He said silently. And scratched behind Sooba's ears. "And we're going to get her right, boy?"

 

Sooba yipped. "That's right boy." Tobias laughed a little. Patted his head.

[Adenna Alluyen]

Adenna had been searching the various nooks and crannies on the ship and had not even thought of looking somewhere obvious. When she did finally check the cargo hold which had been previously empty, she noticed a few new bags and a crate or two. She investigated and found a small amount of supplies including food, ammunition, and even some clothes. Clearly Vos did some shopping while she was gone, that was a good thing.

 

She took out the clothes and noticed that while none were particularly feminine, they would suffice. All purpose utilities and a few loose traveling robes weren't going to hurt anyone much. As much as she liked her Jedi robes, she felt that it might be best to wear something different after being in them more or less for a week and a half. Even washing them one piece at a time didn't help too much and she didn't think that Tatooine would be exactly open to someone wearing Jedi robes and a lightsaber.

 

She pulled out something that she thought just might fit her, then tried to find the smallest set for Ariana. When finished, she went to her room to change. They still had that new clothes smell, but it was better than nothing. She emerged feeling better and decided to wait in the lobby for Ariana to finish in the refresher. The poor girl had been in there for quite a long time, surely the water was cold by now.

 

To occupy herself, Adenna plugged into the ship's computer and downloaded all the information it had on Tatooine onto her datapad. It wasn't much, but what was there she poured over as much as she could.

[Tobias Vos]

It was like watching a pot trying to boil- it was taking forever. He turned the lights off, but just the heads-up lights. Leaving the cock-pit once again, he ventured silently into the common room and down the hallway, where he spied Adenna engrossed in a datapad.

 

Approaching her he leaned up against her door frame, knocked and spoke, "So, are you angry with me? About her?" He asked and rested his head against the frame.

[Adenna Alluyen]

"No," she replied with a sigh. "After all the other strays I have picked up, I have pretty much given up trying to be angry. She is a young woman who needs help and you offered it to her, for whatever reasons. I only wish that we weren't going to another possible combat situation. Losing one Padawan in battle is bad enough, but to lose this girl as well is not something I want to consider. She will be staying on this ship and well out of the action when we land, assuming that the Black Sun agent was telling the truth. This could all be one pointless chase into nowhere."

[Tobias Vos]

"No, she's there. I can feel it." Tobias looked down and ran his boot into the ground a couple times. "I'm not going to lose Ariana. I'm not going to lose you. And by Sithspit, We will get Sandy back." He looked up at Adenna.

 

"Ariana and I have a lot in common, we both lost our parents at a young age. She was lucky enough she wasn't a slave. I on the other hand...well...you saw my wounds..." He looked back at the ground.

[Adenna Alluyen]

"She also doesn't have to face the evil you wrapped yourself in," said Adenna. "She gets to start in the light and hopefully will never experience the dark side firsthand except as she works to oppose its influence in the Galaxy."

 

She waited for Ariana to finish. Right now, with plenty of time left in their journey, she didn't want to rush the girl. She probably didn't get much time to take care of herself from wherever she came from.

[Tobias Vos]

"As for that, I have an idea. Both for her, and myself. Being a Jedi, you would know where a Light-Side Force-Nexus, or whatever their called, would be. I have something I want to try that will remove the Taint of the Dark Side permanently."

 

The beast came up behind him and shoved into him, but not enough to throw him flat on his face.

[Ariana La'vohn]

Ariana had been ready for a few minutes, waiting with her body and hair wrapped in the few towels they had and in whatever random pattern she thought effective, wondering if the people outside knew she didn't have any clothing at all.

 

She wasn't really all that comfortable walking around with little on, even if she had several towels wrapped around her several times, because it didn't really mean much if something came by and tore the towel off of her body. Then again, neither did clothing if the force was powerful enough to pull cloth off of her body. Still, she wasn't going to do much waiting around and nothing much was going to happen if she didn't do something.

 

Following her thoughts, Ariana's hands reached out and activated the door, in time to catch the last few words of Tobias and Adenna's conversation.

... Taint of the dark side permanently

What did that mean? She thought to herself as she slowly made her way out with several towels around her somewhat moist naked body.

 

Ariana paused for a moment among the two she had met earlier and wondered what their conversation had been about when she noticed something about Tobias that was different than Adenna. It was subtle, not something she picked up before with her 'sight,' but it was there. Deciding against adding that to their already intense discussion though, she turned her head to Adenna, waited for a moment and simply stated, "Clothes?"

 

Arianna didn't want to seem too demanding. After all, you didn't make it far on the streets being selfish, but Ariana was freezing cold and didn't want to wait too long before getting dressed.

[Tobias Vos]

Tobias heard Ariana step out of the refresher seconds after he asked his last question. Then, her question of clothes came about. He looked back and noticed she was in a few towels, and nothing else.

 

"I'll be in the common room, should you want to continue our discussion." Turning he addressed Ariana; "You clean up good. Dry off and do what you need to do, then come find me in the common room."

 

He stepped into the hallway, and without looking back he started to hum and whistle.

[Adenna Alluyen]

Adenna got up quickly saying, "I am sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you in the refresher." She grabbed the clothes that she had found and gave them to the girl. "They might be a bit big, but they are at least clean. You can go back into the refresher to change if you would like. I will be here if you need me."

[Ariana La'vohn]

"Thank you," Ariana said, feeling the cleanliness of them with her fingers and feeling the fluff of their presence wearing her down.

 

"I will be back soon. In the meantime though, I am curious. Is something bothering you?" Ariana asked, inquisitively. She wasn't trying to give Adenna the indication she was prying, but she was still curious. Ariana blushed a little, which was kind of hard to tell, due to the fact that she dried her face a little roughly with the towels. "Oh, I'm sorry that is none of my business. I'll be back."

 

Ariana shuffled off toward the refresher again with the clothes in her arms. It didn't take too much effort, because she could see well enough through the force to guide her there, but she did kind of stumble a little before closing the refresher door and getting dressed.

[Tobias Vos]

Tobias manned the kitchen once again. An started to make some food, they were getting close enough they might drop out soon. They needed to be fueled for the fight.

[Kyrie Eleison]

Kyrie watched the swirls of hyperspace as they moved about the ship, her mind occupied by reflections on the song, and its power. Her emerald eyes reflected the shimmering azure ripples, lighting them with a blue fire. She carefully removed her black-bound gloves and placed them upon the ship's consul, glancing down at the patterns of scars tracing across the pale flesh, ending in her nail-bitten fingertips. Each of the scars had a memory of Sith torture, or combat in the arenas of the planet of rust, under the watchful eye of her Hutt masters. Each scar she had collected on her journey, each leading to the next, and finally ending with the Jedi.

 

She stood, stretching her weary limbs, stepping out of the cockpit, and into the cramped hallway behind it. Kyrie stood there for a moment and adjusted her dark-green cloak, making sure it did not constrict her movement. Finally deciding it wasn't necessary onboard her ship, Kyrie removed it and placed it beside the pilot's seat, folded carefully. Walking carefully down the hallway, Kyrie enjoyed the feeling of cool metal plating against her bare feet, as she made her way to Xae-Lin's bedside. Her master was still unconscious, and barely seemed to be breathing.

 

Opening her lips, Kyrie began to sing softly, placing her hands upon Xae's forehead and chest, letting the song's power awaken within her. The words were simple, learned long ago upon the arena's blood-soaked sands, a chant of mercy, sung before the finishing blow. About her, the song took form within The Force, flowing as though a river, through Kyrie's body, following her words and through her hands, into Xae's motionless body. It was basic healing, to keep the cells alive and nourished, to keep the electrical field of the heart from fading, to keep the unconscious brain alive.

 

The gentle rhythm of the song continued as hours dragged on, a steady beat, in time with the heart beneath Kyrie's hand. As the fourth hour dawned, another tempo added itself to the rhythm, that of a warning sensor. The addition of the blaring alert awoke Kyrie from her Force trance, and sent her sprinting for the cockpit. The sensor showed an anomaly in hyperspace, fast approaching. Concentrating on her actions, she forced herself to be not afflicted by fear's icy grip. With a pull of a lever, Kyrie ripped the Sanctis Cogitatione out of hyperspace.

 

A small stream of curses in broken basic passed from Kyrie's pale lips as she observed the source of the anomaly. There were two ships sitting before her, two heavily armed shuttles, floating in the void of space, right behind a hyperspace mine. Pirates. Kyrie's stomach went cold, as if someone had shot a bullet of freezing liquid into her gut. The Sanctis Cogiatione had no armaments, and was now a sitting duck, open for boarding and destruction. She had dealt with such beings before, having been raised in Hutt controlled Nar Shadda. They would not treat her kindly, and such beings were well known for their depravity. She would have little choice but to fight them when they boarded. By now, they had scanned her craft and found just her life-signature, and a feeble one coming from her master. At least they would be fooled into thinking her easy prey. A voice, harsh and menacing came forth from the comlink before her.

 

”œUnidentified shuttlecraft... You are about to host the Bloodfang pirates. Power down to be boarded, and perhaps prepare yourself for your guests.”

[Adenna Alluyen]

((For the sake of OOC time, I am going to allow for some IC time to pass to make our journey make sense and explain the situation to Ariana.))

 

Adenna had no problems in answering Ariana's question, but the girl scampered off before she could. Adenna shrugged and figured she could always explain after she was dried off. She waited for the girl to do so and called for her in a gentle voice.

 

She proceeded to explain the recent battle on Thalassia and how her Padawan had been captured. She also covered the tip to Tatooine and why they were going there. She assured the girl that she would not be fighting and would stay safely on the ship. Plus, if something were to happen to the two of them, the ship was hers to sell or otherwise trade to get someplace better.

 

After explaining things, she let Ariana know where her sleeping quarters were. Since space was not exactly abundant, Ariana would be bunking with Adenna in one of the crew cabins. There was a bunk bed of which Adenna took the top.

 

Days passed as they flew through hyperspace. Adenna was always sure to be open to the newcomer, but didn't push.

[Tobias Vos]

They had finally reached Tatooine. His place of wretched memories. There was a noticeable change in Tobias's behavior. It was more drearily and sad. Memories filled his head, nightmares haunted his sleep. Finishing up cooking for the third day in a row, he clamped it down to the stove as it cooled off. If they had to do some crazy maneuvers, he didn't want the stew to go every where. Tobias looked at the clock, they were almost there, just a few more minutes. He called over the speaker for Adenna to come to the cockpit. As soon as she got there, that is if she came right away, he would have to pull out of hyperspace. He kept his hands on the controls- one on the yoke to steer, the other to pull them out of hyperspace. Tobias's eyes gazed dead on out the viewing window. Some would even say he had the Thousand-Yard-Stare.

 

He felt the beast sitting patiently in his quarters. Patiently, but eager.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

((A longer, longer time ago, in the same galaxy far away...))

 

”œWhere the hell are you taking me, I've got to find Kyrie! She's my responsibility!”

[Qaela]

As much as she wanted to get into bed and simply curl up into a ball (or rather, as close to it as she could with her protruding stomach), Qaela knew she had to use the time it took to travel to Dubrillion well. That meant beginning Qyrisa's lightsaber training. Her sister would need to know how to fight with a lightsaber if she was going to survive in this Galaxy. As much as she personally preferred a spear, the glowing weapon was critical for the deflection of blaster bolts as well as being small, portable, and easily concealed. It was a lot easier to walk around with a lightsaber on one's belt than to have a spear strapped to their back.

 

As soon as they were in hyperspace, Qaela went into her quarters and through the various practice weapons she kept there. Most were made of lighter woods that when they hit someone, hurt enough to remember but not enough to cause permanent damage. She had a few staffs, a spear, and even a half staff. Among her collection were three wooden swords. They weren't balanced like lightsabers, but they would do for now. The last thing Qaela wanted was to give Qyrisa a live lightsaber on board a moderately cramped ship or to risk harming her children.

 

She emerged from her quarters and found her sister in her own room. She sounded the door's chimes and began pushing aside the sparse furniture in the lobby. That would serve as their practice arena.