It was a long night

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Smallcorners
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It was a long night

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The night started out so normal, she had a contract to play a couple sets in Coronet, she had even worked that cantina before. The pay, and the tips, were good enough that she might just have enough for a faster speeder. Then he walked up.

She had not quite caught his name in the din from the next group after her, but she had seen him there before. He asked if she wanted more work, nice place, usually busy, good pay. She remembered opening the case for her horn, setting her tips and pay neatly in the space allotted for such things. Her horn was on the bar, she reached for it to put in the case next and the raucous band screeched to silence. "Inspection! Have your ID's out, remain in place, all will be fine."

She turned to look over her shoulder at the Stormtroopers as the man slammed shut the horn's case and grabbed her hand. "Time to go!" Eti was barely able to grab her horn as she was yanked out the back door. "Not that way! Hurry!" The next few minutes were a literal blur as they raced the night streets ahead of a couple of the Imperials to duck into a back alley near the star port.

"What was that all about? Why did we run? I have ID!" He hushed her with a hand over her mouth as steps marched past, voices crackling that they lost sight of the target. He waited another moment, then dragged her into the port, and before she could protest, she was hustled up the ramp of a ship and shoved into a very small sleeping room. Then she noticed that while she still had her horn, it's case, and the credits, were not with her. Eti rattled the door, locked, she banged on it, was ignored. Soon she heard the engines fire up, and his voice came over a speaker in the ceiling. "Hang on, and don't get sick!"

What seemed like hours later they docked in a hollow bubble of a station, who knew where. He opened the door, handed her the horn, and practically shoved her down the ramp. "Sorry, I'm only allowed on the deck for 15 minutes! Go wait in that room." He pointed at a grey door shape as the ramp closed with a snap just as she remembered he still had her case with her pay, and ID.

Eti took a deep breath, then another. "I'm not alone. I'm not alone. I'm not alone? Am I?" She worked her way past the busy droid on the deck, and through a different grey door, away from the looming darkness. An opening led to a large room with a bar in the center, two people tending it, she did not notice the couple off to the side. She laid the horn on the bar, her head on her arms, and willed herself to not panic. The bartender brought her a drink, told her the manager was away, then watched as she wandered to a booth to sit.

Eti inspected the horn for damage, looking up when a man slid into the booth with her, his companion, a Twi'Lek, sitting on the floor at his feet. He asked if she sang, played music, asked why she was there. Then he told her that as there was no one in the station of consequence, he would drag her off, to play, and sing, for him! Eti knew his name, Borris, only because he referred to himself that way. She was annoyed at his presumptions, and that he kept calling her an it. After threatening to hit him with the horn, and calling him rude, he left, telling her to have fun playing to the empty space.

Empty, the station was empty, and she had no idea where she was. She was tired, discouraged, and worried. Then the bar started to fill up with people that all talked about some mission. She retreated to the stage, afraid to interrupt, unsure what to do, then even more arrived. They milled about the doorway, then slowly shifted to the bar, except for one Wookiee that peeled off to approach her. Politely he explained that these people were tired, sore, could she play for them? Finally, with something to do, she started to play, and almost all of them walked out. Hiding her disappointment, or hoping she was, she played for the few remaining, until they too wandered off.

Alone on a planet was one thing, alone on a space station was quite another. Eti searched the halls and floors, determined to talk to someone until she came to a curious field at the top. Looking up she could see the stars, but at her feet was grass, not carpet, and there were durni, everywhere. Even better, she heard voices, faint, but voices, they had to be close! She called out a few times, then finally found the right door as it swooshed open to let the voice pour out much clearer.

No one seemed to notice her standing at the door, or even really to care, which puzzled her a bit, until she paid more attention to the topic. Dead Jedi? Eti backed out the door quickly. They were talking about killing Jedi! The Nautolan took a few deep breaths, then fled back to the elevator, and then to the bar. She was trapped on some unknown station, way to far from any real ground for her tastes, with Jedi killers? But there were Wookiee with them, Wookie would not harm Jedi, would they? Eti sat on the stage, head on her knees, maybe it was because she was so tired? She must not have heard what she did.

The Musician dozed until more voices woke her, people had come in, and it would not help her reputation, rumpled as it was by now, to be caught sleeping on the stage. Smoothing her skirt, she took the place near the microphone and started to play. She was not going to trust her voice to sing, but playing was soothing, she could get lost in the music from a good instrument. So she played, noticing the smaller Wookiee from earlier, and startling, Ansasor. It looked like him, his robe anyway, and he waved to her as he walked out. Could these people be all that terrible? She stopped to rest, and someone commented it had gotten too quiet, she tried to play more, but her body was at it's limit.

Eti feared she might have babbled at the very tall, then the very short woman. Nira, Megan, There was a man, she struggled to remember if she heard his name, then a very large Wookiee, that spoke kindly to her. She was on Jato, they told her, and that whe would need to speak to a Cotan, but she was not a prisoner, she could have a job, and a trip back home, after the sleep cycle. She caught a feeling of amusement from the woman as she was reassured, then gently shooed off to get some rest.

She found the quarters, fell into an empty bunk, and passed out.
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Smallcorners
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

Nights on Jato were long. It was, after all, a space station, so technically it was always "night". Yet Jato also followed a wake-sleep cycle to imitate days on planets. While this was never fully explained to her, terms like morning, night, and mid-day, were in use by those that worked, or she suspected for some, lived there.

As promised the next wake cycle had her brought back to Corellia, the pilot promising to bring her back up later in the afternoon, but she had to be back to Coronet on time. Relieved to have a safe means of transport, Eti agreed, then went to see about replacing her ID. Hours later, frustrated that in order to get an ID, one must have an ID, she cajoled a shuttle pilot to bringing her home to Broken Bridge. The Nautolan wanted a long shower, or better yet a swim, fresh clothes, and a simple meal.

Her restorative plans were waylaid by peeking into the cantina. Talon was her de facto boss, she owed it to him to let him see her alive at least once a day. Mid-wave to the group on the stage, her attention was diverted by a youth that seemed worse for wear. Her conscious would not let her leave him in that state, so the next hour or so was used in attending his wounds. She implored him to be careful, but she doubted he heard, or cared for her sentiments as he scrambled away. Shaking her head, she noticed a familiar form tucked into a chair at a side table.

She still wanted a shower and a change of clothes, but this did not stop Eti from taking a seat at the same table. He listened intently to her tale, pausing her to ask more direct questions about the smuggler, about Borris, about the Wookiees, especially the larger of the two. The only thing she did not tell him was what she overheard about the Jedi deaths. She also told him that she was expected back up there, tonight, for an interview with Cotan, and something about a "Fight Night".

He determined that he would also go, but separately from her. If there was someone, and he suspected that Borris character, looking to snatch Entertainers, or Eti in particular, he would at least be there to protect her. Relieved to not be all alone, she agreed. They spoke for a bit longer, then realizing the time, they parted.

A couple hours later, refreshed, and with a new identification in hand courtesy of the much less beleaguered city hall in Broken Bridge, Eti was on a Jato owned ship back to the station. She carried a pack containing medical supplies, with her horn in a special sleeve attached to it. While Eti owned a datapad, she had quickly learned that some people insisted on seeing actual documents for things like, hiring, or replacing ID's, so those that dealt with her schooling, citizenship, and current employment licenses, were also in the bag. Thus a much more poised Nautolan stepped off the ramp back onto the deck of the station.

Eti was also reassured by the thought of her friend being on board, and the friendliness of the few employees she had already met on Jato. Still fresh from Academy, she had some of the awkwardness of youth, and coming from a planet where just about anyone could be a diva, she had not gotten any of that arrogance. Eti was simply a nice young woman who let her dreams propel her towards a life she had little clue about. So it must have seemed to Cotan, anyway, as he too had a feeling of amusement about him as they talked before the matches started.

He would take her on, part-time, temporarily, to see if she would fit, but, he warned her, she would also need to talk to Sahir. She wondered at the ominous feeling behind his speaking of the name, even as she accepted the terms of the agreement. He handed her back her papers, and bade her to sit, watch, and wait until she was needed.

The Nautolans on Glee Anselm were, generally, a peaceful society, never in her life had Eti ever watched such gratuitous violence done in the name of fun. On some level she understood that the spars were also meant as training exercises, so watching gave her a better appreciation of her friend's injuries whenever he sought her out in Broken Bridge. The woman sitting next to her, Cari, was hoping for a chance or two in the ring as well, and she was a dancer! Eti was afraid she spent as much time smoothing her tendrils as she did hands to face, peeking through fingers or covering her mouth, during the bouts.

Cari did indeed get into the ring, and survived the experience, for the most part. There were rules to the bouts, she learned, while people may be injured, there were to be no deaths, and the bouts were timed. No one was kept into the ring once the referee deemed them incapable of continuing, and the bouts were scored. So in theory, someone light and lithe like Cari could win against someone like the much more brutal Ithorian that she saw enter the ring more than once.

And while she had not picked him out from the crowds in the stands, she did see her friend enter the ring more than once. The second time she almost missed as Cari's last bout had her tossed into the barbed wire that lined the ring. Vicious stuff, it had dug into the dancer's flesh on her arms, catching her tight. Cari had some cuts on her face, but these were minor at worst. The woman's legs, and body were also spared more damage by virtue of the cloth she wore, even as the wire had caught it too. Is was the dancer's bare arms that had born the brunt of the lacerations, and Eti took careful time to extricate the limbs without causing more tearing.

Finally freed, and sitting on the sidelines, Cari requested to have no scars if possible. Eti explained that some warriors seemed to prefer them, but she agreed with the dancer and thus took careful time to cleanse and treat each individual wound. The smaller wounds, reacting to the bacta Eti was using to clean and treat them, were already fading, the deeper ones, she cautioned Cari, might take a couple days to finish healing. They watched the end of the current fight, and some of the next when Eti was approached again.

He explained that he had received a head wound, and could she look at it as he was feeling a bit dizzy? If Eti showed extra concern for this patient, Cari did not comment, nor did she when he pulled Eti closer to whisper to her. Eti nodded at his words, ran a last swipe of a bacta pad over the small laceration on his scalp, and told him he should rest due to the slight concussion, but doubted he would. Shortly after that the three parted ways.

Eti disposed of the soiled healing materials, and put her pack in the employees commons, then made her way to the Mistell horn in hand. There was a female Ithorian there playing the nalargon, after listening for a few moments, she joined in. Lost in the music she did not realize the bar was emptying out until the set came to an end. Looking around she stepped off the stage, making room for a redressed Cari.

Cotan was behind the bar talking to Megan, who to Eti, almost glowed with pleasure and satisfaction from an earlier outing. She saw also, of those she recognized, the smaller of the two Wookiees from the night before. He was the one she decided to stand next to at the bar. They talked about their home planets, their languages, what brought them to Jato, and what were their talents. She continued to feel from him a quiet kindness and a deep wisdom. They promised to talk again, her and Jowtobuk, as each seemed to be pleased at making a new friend.


((I am sorry for misspelled names if I dared to test my memory of their spelling at all, and as for others, either she does not know them IC'ly, or they are withheld to be RP'ly discovered.))
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Smallcorners
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

Eti arrived at the station a bit early, and not one to just stand about, she started to play for the few other early patrons. Half listening to the chatter, when one mentioned a meeting that night. From her vantage point on the stage, she picked through the voices, for a feminine, flat, intonation. For a moment her mind threatened to wander with the puzzle of why so many people she encountered, living people, spoke with such dead, emotionless, voices? Were they so damaged that...

There! She heard it again, responding to someone else calling her Allison.

A meeting tonight, for everyone? She was staff here, was she included in the everyone? As people started to file out, she ended her set and sought out Cotan. He explained that the meeting was to determine a course of action going forward, but that he, himself, usually did not attend. Eti also asked if he had seen Doctor Sahir yet? Cotan had, but also thought he would be heading for the meeting. The Twi'Lek bartender then gave her permission to see if she could find Sahir before the meeting, as there was a few minutes still, or to attend if she wished.

If anyone asked, not that many would have thought to, but if someone had, she would have admitted to being curious about what had happened those few days ago. Why were there dead Jedi? Eti stepped into the large conference room to find the room only about a quarter filled, and they were all at the other end. That the room was not brightly lit did little to hamper her vision, she was able to pick out Nira at the head of the table, standing as tall and imposing as only a Mandolorian could in her armor. The Allison woman was seated in the curve to Nira's right, as was one other familiar person.

Eti walked up to Jowtobuk and smiled, leaning over a bit to ask if he knew who Sahir was, and if the Doctor was at the table? The Wookiee demurred knowing Sahir, but did ask if she could please translate for him as there was a distinct lack of comprehension of his points at the last meeting. She was honored that he trusted her with his words, so she took a place next to him, setting her manodviola on the conference table before them. About then Megan ran into the room.

After a bit of shuffling and preliminary comments they were called to order, Megan asking to know what had happened to the two teams? The first team, Allison explained, entered a station, or compound, Eti was not exactly sure as that particular point was glossed over in favor of what happened once they were inside.

The team discovered that the place was not as abandoned as first glance would have had it, and the seemingly only person inside claimed that it belonged to the Black Suns now. Even Eti had heard of them, if only from the Holonet, this person had claimed to be a vigo, and he wanted another vigo dead, as well as a couple other things. Wasn't there always a couple other things? Megan asked for more details and clarifications until the diminutive woman was satisfied that she had the facts correct.

Then it was Nira's turn to tell about the second group that definitely did go to a station. The tall woman grew more somber, intense, as she described what they had found there. Weapons, terrible droids, corrupted data, maisma... and two of what she called dark Jedi. Jowtobuk objected to calling them Jedi, as did some others, thus clearing up for Eti what she had heard that first night. It was not Jedi, actual Jedi that had died, but these fallen force users. They may have been Jedi once, but the musician was not sure if something on the station corrupted them, or they did it to the station.

She returned her thoughts to the meeting to translate more for Jowtobuk, as now there was a heated discussion as to what to do with this place and it's contents. Eti herself asked a few questions, or offered comments during the discourse, then Megan called them back to order to recount both stories, then to ask for suggestions on how to handle the issues presented. Once more the reports were taken apart, discussed, teams assigned with objectives in mind, and then they were dismissed.

It was during this part of the meeting that Eti got her first glimpse of Sahir, a tall, orange, male across the room that spoke Huttese. She and Jowtobuk parted after the meeting and she made her way to Sahir. His manner was odd, but she set that thought to the side as he explained he was not used to working with a living assistant. Hutts, he explained, liked their secrets, and regular mind wipes of droids were common. As they walked to his docked ship, which was where the proper med bay was, as opposed to the poorly stocked room near the arena, he talked about fees, and compensation.

She was impressed by his ship, he was impressed that she was fresh from the Academy, this only had one bad habit. She did not understand, or know, how to charge for services. Medics, Eti explained, are usually attached to a company, thus financed by them in some way. The Doctor promised to remedy her education on that matter in short order. They also talked about refurbishing the original med bay for her use when his ship was elsewhere. Eti got the impression that he had important clients that regularly demanded his attention, clients that could, and did, pay handsomely enough to outfit a ship just for his sole use.

Sahir shooed her out of his space, thus sending her wandering back to the Misstell where Jowtobuk waved her over. He was sitting with an elderly Ithorian that the Wookiee called Orphiee. Eti was suddenly glad for eclectic language learning. She had learned Shyriiwook at Academy, her friend, Ivunuvi was Ithorian, and the girls helped each other with their classes, Ivu, it happened, had taken Huttese.

She joined the two males at their table, exchanging pleasantries, and small talk. Orphiee was charmed that she had gone to Academy for Musicianship, and she obliged his simple request to hear her play. Eti also offered to join Jowtobuk on his part of the coming tasks set out by Megan. The Wookiee accepted her offer, musing her skills might come in handy.

The elder Ithorian took his leave, hoping to see them both again. Jowtobuk headed to the bar to talk to Megan, leaving Eti to muse on her thoughts a bit, before she joined him, Megan, and Cotan. Her stay was not much longer than to say goodnight, and to confirm that she had finally talked to Sahir.

((Details... Details are for those that attended, or talked to people that had. I do believe that this coming Sunday's Jato activities will reveal more, but you need to be there!))
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Smallcorners
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

The night was full of surprises.

Eti arrived early enough to play for a bit as the Mistell started to fill up, Cotan was behind the bar as usual, Jowtobuk at a middle table to the left of where she was playing. She thought she heard Allison's flat voice, and 'Nosolee's warmer one, Sahir's chuckle. Despite any possible dangers of the coming night, the mood felt relaxed, businessy, and slowly the patrons jelled into three areas. The largest was around Allison, the smallest was nearly around the bar out of her sight, in front of her was the set of people she was to go with. When she caught the trail of Megan's voice at the bar, Eti stopped playing and stepped off the stage.

Still without a case for her horn to replace the one stolen, she was using a clever holster for the instrument, to her amusement no one, in the crowd of rifle and blaster wielding mercs, no one seemed to notice. She was also the least dressed like a mercenary in the bar, long red dress of good quality, not terribly expensive but nice jewelry, it would be hard to mistake her for anything other than what she was, an Entertainer. Considering Eti had volunteered for a diplomatic mission, she thought that she was perfectly dressed, who would bring a blaster to a diplomatic meeting? She greeted Sahir, and Jowtobuk who had moved to the bar, met yet another very tall man, Nast, who also had medical credentials.

A few other people moved closer to their group, 'Nosolee, a woman whose name she remembered as Jenn, two or three others that she did not know, and whose faces were well above hers. A droid, also tall, and then the only other person in the group she did not have to tip her head to see, Cela, who was still taller, but only by a head and not nearly a meter. What Cela lacked in height, she made up for in intensity. They all turned when Megan took to the stage and started explaining the parameters for each of their missions.

Allison's group, made up of mostly her own people as Eti understood it, was doing a fetch. Go to the tainted station, salvage everything they could, including data, and come back. The largest danger that the musician could see was in the taint that had everyone spooked at the last meeting. The group Eti was in, led by Sahir, was informational. Go to Coruscant, find this Vigo Harrs person, and trade information, for information. The last group was to seek the whereabouts of the droid Custos, and bring him back if they could. None of the three missions sounded particularly dangerous to Eti, but she kept Xandarian's words in mind, just because it does not look dangerous, does not mean it isn't.

The trip to Coruscant was smooth, as was their foray into the Commerce section of the planet. Sahir noted that the last time he was there, Vigo's people tended to hang out in diners. Eti nodded, looked around, straightened her back, and strode towards the nearest eating establishment. Once inside she looked around, but the only vaguely unsavory character she saw was a Trandoshan at the end of the counter. Smiling, she approached him and blithely asked for directions, explaining that she had been hired to play at some event the Vigo was holding.

He looked at her as if she was insane. Nast, then Jowtobuk filed in behind her. She could see her status change from clueless student, to clueless person with some small influence. He went from insulting her, to insulting her and asking for credits, his initial request for the Wookiee being met with a very firm no. He asked which Black Sun Vigo she was looking for, on impulse she said the new one. He denied there being a new one, explaining that there were fewer Vigo now than before, nine instead of twelve, but she insisted, even as the name Harrs was tossed over her head. That brought a reaction.

Harrs was no longer in control, the Trandoshan explained, that territory now belonged to Hamnef, so her instinct about there being a new Vigo was correct. Eti wondered if haggling was supposed to come with insults and not quite veiled threats, and though she had been moved out of the way by the two taller males with her, in the end Eti stepped between the snarling Wookie and Trandoshan to make a final offer for the location of Vigo Hamnef. In the end he relented, giving her the location, and she paid him off, with some extra advice that he should try being a stage manager. She walked out, leaving Jowtobuk and Nast alone with the thug as she reported what she had learned to Sahir.

Arriving at Monument station had them all paused at the sight of a troop of Stormtroopers in the middle of the square. 'Nosolee suggested maybe trying the cantina first? She nodded, and keeping with the story of hired Entertainer, she started the parade across the square to the nearest cantina she remembered. Once there she let the 'guard' enter first, then sailed in with Sahir, and Nast. She spied a figure in a shadowy corner wearing very fancy armor, following her instincts she approached then mid-greeting he told her to sit. This got the attention of the others.

Eti took the seat closest to the Vigo, Sahir opposite, Nast across from her. 'Nosolee and Jowtobuk stationed themselves at the entrance to the alcove. Clearly she was not going to need to keep her cover any more, so Eti spent more time studying the individual, letting Sahir do most of the talking. Starting with a brand new, quality, timepiece. The Vigo, radiating disdain and contempt, added a bit of WTF curiosity, as they, Eti could not tell if the figure was male, or female, much less race, picked up the watch. Ten minutes, they would have ten minutes to state their case.

Hamnef knew they were sent by Xys, but thought they were terrible assassins, even as Sahir explained they were not there to kill the Vigo. Distrust was added to the contempt, and Eti became concerned that the thin Vigo kept snorting, perhaps is was a good thing their face was hidden by a visor. That Xys lied about the quality of life Serpo was enjoying layered anger to the emotions she was picking up. Eventually Sahir sweet talked the Vigo into agreeing to give them the information they were looking for, but they would need to wait a bit for it. Sahir agreed, and they were dismissed. Eti thought that they were given an extra minute to conclude and walk out, Sahir was extra ordinarily pleased that no one got shot.

The return to Jato also went smoothly, but no one fully relaxed until they were docked and had feet on the station. Cotan shooed them upstairs to the conference room, where they found that they were the last team to arrive.

While Sahir had been pleasantly surprised that there was no shooting involved, at all, with their mission. Allison's group had been surprised by another group more than willing to shoot. By the time they had gotten to the station, another band had laid claim to it, they were larger and ready to defend that claim. Another surprise was Custos on the floor behind the head table. Megan was not happy to be surprised that there may be a spy on her station, one that the droid was unable to reveal the name of.

Dismissed for the next few days, some with fresh tasks, the combined groups headed out of the conference room, then split up again. Some went down to the Mistell, many headed back to their shuttles, a few scattered to other parts of the station. Eti and Cela headed to the Mistell, her friend from academy wanted dinner, and Eti thought that she and Jowtobuk would get along. The Nautolan relaxed in the company of the two hunters as Cela told the Wookie about her home world. Eti let her mind drift to the conversation she had earlier in the day with Xandarian, his concern for her well being was apparent, and though he was not happy about her volunteering for the mission to Coruscant, he had relaxed a bit about her going to Port Jato.

He had chided her about not carrying at the least a pistol, to which she promised to carry her heaviest horn. He laughed at that, then sobered and said he was going to give her something, but she was not to use it unless the need was very great. Into her hand he put a small, round device with a button. He explained that she would just need to push the button twice, rapidly, throw it within five seconds, and either duck, or run in the other direction. She was amazed at how heavy it was until he got her attention, repeated the directions, then told her what it was. Her tendrils stiffened in shock as she stared at him. He then told her she could give it to someone else if she wanted, but for now, to carry it with her.

That was when she remembered the heavy object she had slipped into her pocket. Granted the talk about some animal with massive teeth that Cera and Jowtobuk were comparing hunting methods for helped. They had mentioned the same type of grenade she now pulled out and set on the table before the Wookiee. Both of them stared at her in astonishment, and both agreed that perhaps she should go give it to someone in security instead. Eti agreed, then scooped up the grenade and set off in search for Alifisno.

He was, as expected, in Megan's office, talking to the petite woman, and Allison, when Eti walked in holding the thermal detonator in her hand. Their reaction was a much more physical one than Eti's when it was handed to her. Allison shot up out of her chair, Megan nearly collapsed onto the table she was standing by, Alifisno swung around sticking his hand out, they all boggled at her. Gratefully she handed the grenade to the man, explaining how she got it. They nodded at her, perhaps a bit warily, then Megan sent her off to get a drink, any drink.

Dismissed, she apologized then headed back to the Mistell, but her thoughts were not on something for her, as the feeling from Megan was that she needed the drink. Eti explained to Cotan that Megan seemed a bit pale and probably needed something stiff. The Twi'Lek male laughed, poured a large goblet of blue wine, and sent Eti back upstairs, reassuring her that if Megan turned her away with that in hand, he would bring it himself. The Nautolan nodded a bit dubiously, but did take the wine to Megan who seemed to accept it gratefully. Eti once more took her leave, promising to not bother them again.
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Smallcorners
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

The being was rather rude to Megan, whatever it was, and very not happy about playing courier. She thought she also felt a quiet contempt from it for the gathering in general. However, considering they seemed to be at a dead end until Vigo Hefnam saw fit to send the information he promised, the data unit the being tossed onto the desk, courtesy of General Calrissian, was welcomed.

Eti, along with the others watched the series of static holo shots the unit contained, Megan explaining that it also provided coordinates, if not much else. To her surprise, Eti found herself volunteering for the mission to go to the old mining station that seemed precariously balanced on an asteroid, exploring the space within sounded interesting. Megan, however, seemed unconcerned when she spoke up so it was not until later that she realized that this could be something dangerous.

Allison's concern about pirate squatters, or other unwelcome distractions, reminded the musician that they were also looking for Serpo. What little Eti knew of him indicated that he was an extremely unpleasant individual who had little qualms about bloodshed. While it did not occur to her to reconsider her offer, she did become concerned about other logistical items.

The only thing she owned that was plated was an oversized necklace with semi precious stones. Wearing armor was a foreign concept, and when she brought the question up to Cela, so were pants. Cela also recommend wearing something that would camouflage her. Entertainers always tried to stand out, so Eti's closet had very little of anything that she, or anyone else, would consider bland.

This was still on her mind after playing a few sets up on the Misstell's stage, so when she saw Allison finally sitting alone, Eti got up the courage to go ask the hard woman about armor. Allison's first suggestion was something very light in keeping with her skills as a medic that would not generally be in the thick of a fight. Cardboard, or something like that. When Eti confessed to not having any skill with offense, the woman advised durasteel, and if a blaster would be hazardous to the team in her hands, then a knife and a blunt instrument to provide minimal protective capabilities.

The Nautolan was beginning to suspect that the warrior thought she was going to be more trouble than she was worth. They were also attracting a crowd. Another woman slid into the booth next to Allison, the feeling around her was deadpan amusement, she suggested duraplast as a nice in between alternative. Another man chimed in, with a stronger feel of amusement, which seemed to raise Allison's exasperation levels. Eti recognized him as someone she heard Megan call Elijiah. With a final admonishment to try on the armor before paying for it, she fled the table, her head spinning, it was a bit much.

Yet going back on her word was not something that occurred to her. The next morning she dutifully went through her med kit and made sure it was properly stocked, and that the small blade she owned was sharpened and safely stashed. Her best blunt instrument was probably the horn she preferred to carry with her when traveling, it was mostly metal, durable, and she already had a holster for it.

Finally she went shopping for armor. However her first foray into the shops near her home lead to scant results. Either there were not full sets, or she could not try them on, and nothing was marked duraplast, though there was a couple chest pieces made of bone. Discouraged, Eti determined that perhaps she should just ask Xandarian for advice about it later. Realizing the time was growing late and that she had to travel in order to meet up with him, she collected her pack and headed to the starport.
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Smallcorners
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

Xandarian did not show, nor did he answer the holocron he had given her. She knew his job was dangerous, even if she was not exactly clear on what he hunted, and he did warn her that sometimes he might end up out of touch. So she simply left a message, paid for her meal, and headed back out into the dry, gritty atmosphere that was Tatooine. No sunsets for her today, she had been called in to work a special shift up on Jato.

The arena was located in the bowels of the station, but not quite the ass end for all that it held a particular aroma of it's own that no amount of scrubbing would ever clear, as long as it's current purpose crouched in the center of the space. Raw metal, bodily fluids from many races, the harsh chemical scent of cleansers, and the particular scent that always seemed to cling anywhere that was under a hanger. There were places in Coruscant that smelled similar, but few of them harbored a ring like that on Jato.

She stopped at the door a moment to eye the ring. Wickedly sharp edges from millions of tiny blades gleamed in the habitual gloom of this part of the station. The exposed metal soaked up all extra light except for those bare hints. There was no glitter about that beast in the center of the floor, for it did not move in the half light, and even the droid standing at it's center seemed caught in the hundred strands of pointed reminders. Eti shook her head clear of the fanciful thought and turned to scan the stands.

The voices of the spectators had become as muted as the colors they wore, blending into a weave of gray in sight and sound. Another oddity of the arena was that sound seemed to fade further from the center, but every harsh breath, each twisted step, all the whispers of the blades allowed, could be clearly heard from anywhere in the rounded room. A deeper rumble caught her attention so she directed her steps that way.

Jowtobuk greeted her as she took the seat next to him, unslinging her medpack, and affirming that she was indeed there to assist any that might become wounded. They chatted for a few more moments as the seats filled up, then the droid in the center of the ring moved and people hushed. It explained the rules for the tournament, that blades were allowed, but not lethal force, then it paused dramatically before calling in the first two combatants, Zeppy and Nash.

The two males danced around each other for a long time, Eti even joined in with the side of ring heckling about them doing a mating dance, then things got snarly. Zeppy must have gotten tired of Nash's always being just out of reach as he started to stab at the other male's feet. Nash in turn tried to fend him off with a deep swipe across the abdomen. Both of them endured cuts to the arms. She treated Nash first as he had staggered closer to her. The advice she gave him was the same she repeated often that night, rest, stay off that foot/fee/leg until the bacta gel she used had a chance to work, and go see Doctor Sahir if it got worse for any reason.

Eti worked on Zeppy's belly wound while he was passed out, unconsciousness being an implied form of consent after all when it came to medics trying to save lives, or treat critical injuries. He woke up a bit disoriented when she applied a stim, so she bade him to also rest as by then she had a third patient to attend to. Jenn also received a leg wound, courtesy of Ghaal who was perhaps the most brutal Ithorian she had ever heard about. He claimed to not need her services, so she went back to check on Zeppy.

That being's mind was still fuzzy, and she was beginning to wonder if he might be one of the few allergic to either bacta, or the stim. Considering he had not gotten a head injury to account for the dizzyness, headache, or scrambled speech, he did though have a fair amount of blood loss, and she recommended that he check in at Doctor Sahir's clinic. He declined, indicating that he would rather take hims chances at waiting for it to clear up on it's own. Eti sighed, admonishing him to visit his own usual clinic when he got home, if needed.

She finished with him and returned to her seat to find Jowtobuk not in his, then there was a roar from the ring. The Wookiee was in a bout with the Ithorian. Eti was not sure what prompted him to enter the tournament, and she could only watch as the two of them punished each other in a way that did not seem to read 'friendly sparring' on any level. Instead the Ithorian seemed to be driven by fear, madness, and the Wookie hovered near rage. Eti barely remembered shouting "Don't kill him!", much less to which male she was addressing as the last whirling grapple ended with Jowtobuk lifting the Ithorian and throwing him across the ring and into those vicious strands of barbed wire. Jowtobuk limped out of the ring, Ghaal lay still within it.

Eti treated what she could, but the Ithorian remained unconscious. Fearing damage to his trunk she called in the clinic's droids to bring him upstairs for treatment. Hours later he was still not responsive when she called in to check on his status, the clinical droid assured her that Doctor Sahir was notified of all cases that required his attention. Thus, vaguely reassured, she cut the link and returned to restocking her kit.
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

What do you do with an empath on a disabled spaceship?
Send her looking for a droid.
What does she find?
A 'ghost'.

The night started with news that Port Jato's C90 class ship, the Untold Bounty, was having issues. Eti was not an engineer, so all she understood was that while the ship had power, it was not able to use that power to fly. There was some concern that it might have been sabotaged as it had been operational up until that night. So instead of going to explore theoretically abandoned mining stations, the Jato group fanned out through the corvette with two objectives; find the issue, get to know the ship.

The one was proving to be easier than the other, and that one was incredibly difficult as the halls and rooms seemed to have been designed by a toddler with a bowl of pasta and meatballs. Thankfully there were no smears of red along the painfully white walls, sauce or otherwise. There was also very little done in the way of a refit to the ship, making it easier to see if panels or what not had been moved, but hard to distinguish one room from the next.

Rando, which she suspected was short for a much longer name, but had never heard it, ordered them off the bridge to go look around, but to not touch anything unless they understood what it was. She was separated in short order from Cela and Doreen, though she could feel not only the two women, but the whole dozen of the crew wandering the ship. Satisfied that there were no intruders, Eti set out to explore. Soon enough she found what looked like a redundant bridge, and reported that there were no furiously blinking lights or, after crawling on the floor to actually check each panel, nothing loose.

While waiting further orders, one of the groups said they had managed to locate the engine room control center, another had found the section's maintenance room. She was also joined by Ghaal, who clearly must have known what he was doing, as he proceeded to poke, prod, and push things about the small cabin. She clearly felt that she was in his way, and took the opportunity to continue looking.

Eventually she was passed by a harried looking Rando, curious, she followed him to engineering, and maintenance room. They still had no idea what the actual issue was, and no one had yet to find anything out of the ordinary, but outside influence was still a possibility. When Eti asked him what she could do to help, he told her to look for Custos. In retrospect, while he might have been a tad frustrated, though not specifically with her, the request was reasonable enough.

Eti tried to search methodically through the twisting halls but all she found was Cela, and a room that looked like it could have been the medical center, but with very non medical screens pulled up. One was a schematic of the ship, and she could see a single bright red dot flashing on the screen. Eti scrolled the view larger, then called over the coms that she might have found something. Th flashing location was marked PR, power relay perhaps? In any case the PR thing was in the engine room somewhere.

She heard Rando giving Fou directions, she heard Fou answer with uncertainty, then came the decision to cut the power inside the ship itself. Reroute power for critical systems from the Jato station, one of the team volunteered to slice the droids doing the conversion to prevent any malicious spread, if there even was one. By now Eti, Cela, Megan, and armored male with a mask she was not certain she had met before, and surprisingly Fou, had gathered in the hallway just a few steps from the room where Eti had found the schematics.

By unspoken consensus they stayed together in that spot as the power was cycled down, cut, then partially restored via Jato. Eti could feel Megan's nervousness, she understood it, space was just to foreign an environment, and even docked to the station, there were huge risks involved for all those that had remained on board. One of those risks turned a corner and walked down the hall. Eti scooted away in the half gravity as Megan looked up at the Stormtrooper, from the other direction Alifisno strode up with a Twi'Lek woman Eti did not know. Megan convinced the trooper to leave with her boyfriend while Eti tamped down the feeling that no one would see that particular individual again.

Megan told Eti that the Untold Bounty had been acquired from it's previous owner, Serpo, during a skirmish with one of Megan's clients.The petite woman said the full story was worth several drinks. During this time Fou was sent back to Engineering, and Cela thought she felt someone nearby. Eti only could say that it was very calm, so the presence was attributed to some other member of the remaining team. Rando called out over the comm that he needed someone in the main engineering booth to check something there, but that Fou was needed to stay where he was.

Eti volunteered to go, surely she was capable of pushing a button as long as she was told the proper one? It took a few minutes of wandering, and Rando demanding to know if she was there yet, to find the right corridor. The feeling of calm increased as she reached the room, then searched for button that was needed. Just as she she reached for it, the pool of calm walked through the door startling her.

The man was taller than Eti, with black hair, and in the oddness of the crippled ship's lights, very pale. He did not answer her demands for his name, right away, instead he muttered that no one seemed to be able to hear him, and that there was something wrong with the vents. He did not seem to care that Eti brazenly reported the fact that she was no longer alone. When he did speak to her, he told her he was the ship, that there was something wrong with it, and that he needed it fixed to finish his business. During this he reached out to the controls, while she could figure out which panel he touched, she did not see what was altered.

Rando, sounding more manic each time he spoke, told her to stay put, that he was on the way. Eti moved around the center console, towards the man, asking for his name again. He bypassed the question, and when she glanced towards the panel he had touched, the feeling of calm vanished. The Nautolan, startled looked up to see no one standing there, nor was there anyone in the hall, or any feeling of anyone other than the rapidly approaching Rando, who was telling people to shoot the intruder first, then ask questions.

When he got there she described the man she saw, pointed to where he had done something to the panel, and getting the distinct feeling that the male in front of her know was considering her to be not only troublesome, but also a bit more than looped. He barked at her to follow him, not to wander off, then strode away leaving her to scramble to keep up as they headed to the maintenance room below. He had worked himself up to a full grumble by the time they got there, his conversation with Fou not going well it seemed. She scrambled to stay out of his way as he paced around. His frustration with the situation came to a roar when someone over the comm told him that the 'ship' promoted him.

Eti decided that perhaps now it would be prudent to return to Jato, relax with a cup of tea, or a meditate within a song. However once there she saw the 'ghost' again, this time he was laughing, and in the semi more reliable light of the station, he looked, and felt, much more solid. Perhaps she was still reacting to Rando's ire, but Eti confronted the man, who still would not give her a name, and he tried to deny the whole event ever happened.

He teased her a bit and while Cela did threaten to shoot him per Rando's orders, Eti just drew her horn from it's holster. Her intention was to play, but he teased her about that too. Now Eti was becoming angry for herself, he was making a fool out of her! She asked Alfisno if she would be arrested or fired if she did clobber him? The answer was no, but if he hit back she was on her own. So when the 'ghost of the Untold Bounty' turned his back to order a drink, she whalloped him in the seat of the pants with her horn then strode off.

It was not until she was safe on Corellia that the shock of being driven enough to strike another descended on the empath, and she plopped down onto one of the seats at the starport to cry.
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

She had avoided going to the station for a whole week out of embarrassment and shame, but the schedule was clear, while she could get out of singing a few sets, missing the fights as a medic was unacceptable. Eti took stock of her inventory as she repacked her medkit, the invasion of Broken Bridge earlier in the week seriously left her depleted on some items. It had also given her a bit of a boost of confidence.

Clearly she still had much to learn about handling her own innate talent, the empathy, in places where people with those talents are not taken into consideration. Coruscant, for all the beings that lived there, had. Buildings were shielded, some citizens had personal ones, and then there was just the general din of the place. It was overwhelming, but not just one emotion held sway over the others. Eti learned to quiet that din through her music, and few seemed to notice that she spent a lot of time humming to herself.

Broken Bridge was friendly and industrious. The true center of the town was the cantina, which she felt fully at home in, there was always music there, and Talon did not mind her practicing her medical craft on the hunters that came to rest. Eti had begun to wonder if anyone ever visited the looming medical center? She shook her head and recounted the gel packs, frowning lightly, no time to make more today. She was low on the sprays too. The Nautolan closed the cabinet door, then sealed her medkit.

Eti had chosen a home on the bank of the river that expressed Broken Bridge's western side. It was not the most isolated part of town, that designation belonged to the east end, rather it was close to the business section. As she walked towards the shuttle port she bent to pick up a bit of debris from the battle of a few days ago. Mayor Destroy had been pleased with her actions that day. Even though she could not, would not, fight herself, she had waded into danger to treat the defenders, and their pets. The overwhelming emotion then was determination. The defenders to drive the invaders out, the invaders to finish the job and get paid. Eti used that emotion to her advantage, almost like an armor.

Port Jato's pilot greeted her, made sure she was settled properly, another bit of cargo to be taken up to the station during his runs. She took no offense from this, he thought the same of all the passengers and he was friendly enough. She looked out the window as they approached the station, a fragile bubble in an improbable location that had little sparkle in the spangled blackness. She chewed a bit on her lower lip as they sailed past so the pilot could properly line up to enter the hanger. Planets were so much more solid! Eti quelled her anxiety with a soft hum, at least inside she could pretend it was just another building.

There was a quiet, simmering anger in the station today, not large, but more of an itch that was disquieting and insistent. She pushed it aside as she stepped into the room that held the arena. The crowd was thinner today, but restless, and she did not see some people that were expected. The Natoulan made her way to a bench that held Jenn, Megan, and at the far end, Fou. Still wondering where Jowtobuk was she sat down near Fou, though her attention had brushed over an anxious feeling Megan as she passed.

The bout had been delayed, Fou was more lost in his thoughts, and Eti's focus kept coming to Megan who was projecting fear, anxiety, and a bit of anger. Right now Megan was very unhappy that Jenn wanted to go into the ring, and that she was looking forward to it. The petite woman was also fretting about her new found sense of empathy, and that she had no training in it. Eti scooted over just as Empee called the contestants to the ring, the Wookiee being the last to arrive.

Iyosha joined Megan and Eti, the blind woman bringing a sense of calm that at least helped her to relax. Eti described what was happening in the ring, her own ire rising again with the activities in the ring. Unlike the battle of a few days ago, this was more chaotic. While the four participants were set in teams, they were not thinking together, much less working together in the beginning. Jenn seemed to be escaping the worst of it, granted she was paired with the Ithorian, Ghaal, and that more than anything saved her in Eti's eyes.

Ghaal was a vicious competitor that did not seem to pull his attacks. After downing Nash, the Ithorian focused on the Wookiee, causing Jowtobuk's fury to rise. That washed over the small know of empaths, as Eti rushed to one of the openings to the ring, yelling at the annoying protocal droid. Jowtobuk roared as Ghaal stabbed him in the chest, then finally Empee called an end to the bout.

She rushed in, directing Jowtobuk to put pressure on his wound until she could get to him. Ghaal simply huffed and walked out, just as the Wookiee told her to let Nash die. This disappointed her as she knelt next to the man to stop the bleeding first. He started to rouse as she called for Sahir's droids to carry him to the med bay, they had orders to do cranial scans and he was still in no condition to resist. Jenn was fine, and she sensed that Ghaal wanted nothing to do with her.

Eti followed Jowtobuk upstairs to the Misstell. He was still growly, still holding pressure on the wound, and drinking his favored liquor. Ghaal had earned his deep antipathy, and Nash his disdain. She sighed, feeling weighed by the emotions the musician retreated to the stage. Her song choices started with softer, soothing, tones, gradually rising to lighter, brighter tunes. After a couple hours playing she had grown weary, so made her way to the crews quarters to sleep a bit.

The station shuddered just a bit, the lights flickered, the background hum vanished, and the feeling of angry desperation sharpened. Eti woke up after a restless nap, there was a welling of restless panic with a thread of Megan flavored sharp worry. Shaking her head, focusing her large eyes so see in the gloom.

The door to the crew quarters slid to the side with a bit of persuasion, but the closest entrance to the Misstell was not opened all the way and she had to crawl under. Finding Jowtobuk was easy enough, and she was relieved that he felt much more like her friend. Megan though was melting down despite the help and assurances of her friends around her, and an older Sullustan that was a pool of serenity.

The explosion startled every one and while Eti did not have an overall idea of what happened, something about how Nika extricated Megan from the group grated on her nerves. That and a need to get away from the milling of bodies in the bar drove her to follow after Nika even though a few minutes had passed already.

Seconds after escaping the Misstell she came across Jenn, Cari, and two others she did not know in the hall, then one of them was sucked through the door into Hanger 2. Eti got a two second glimpse of terror through that door, ships drifting, the hanger looked open to space and she hoped that no one live was working in there when the incident happened. The door slammed shut and the women just stood there stunned.

"Will he...be all right?" She could not say die, nor could Jenn it seemed as she replied he was wearing a helmet that was expected to protect him. That is when they heard the series of crashes from the hanger, they jumped in surprise, and a moment later the door opened to the man that had been sucked out. Eti sighed with that small relief, then remembered why she was not in the relative safety of the bar.

She looked through a few of the rooms, finding a crewman that managed to sleep through all the ruckus, apparently through the use of the pills she found next to him. Eti confiscated the pills, determined to report him to Sahir. Faced with the sight of a rope dangling in the lift, she just backed up shaking her head. There was no way Nika would have been able go get Megan up a rope, was there?

Eti made her way into the security room, she had no idea who had ended up where, or why, then she noticed the monitors were on. Curious she moved closer. Her friend, Cela, was somewhere with a man that was in the shadows, they were discussing something intently, but did not seem to be in any danger, then they walked out of range of the camera. Ghaal was standing, armed, in a part of the hall she had not gotten to yet, would Nika have taken the Ithorian with her?

The next screen caught her attention, this one had some sound coming from it and Jenn was recognizable in the dimmed light. It was not the sight of the woman that made her pale, it was the frenzied words from an unknown voice. "I will blow the station!" Eti tried to up the volume, get the picture on the larger screen, and contact Doctor Sahir on the only comm unit she had for Port Jato, the medical one.

It took several long agonizing minutes for Sahir to show up with Cela, minutes that had Jenn trying to reason with the madman in what turned out to be the reactor room. Minutes that did have him move from deep shadow into mere gloom, and a bit better feed for sound. If Eti was a bundle of nerves form what she was witnessing, the Doctor was a picture of mellow concern. She winced when Megan's voice shrieked over the general com the , Sahir merely showed mild surprise at the fuss. Cela for her part was pondering shooting angles as she watched the screen.

The man, a former employee, had either hidden explosives all over the station, or intended to, going by the several out of place boxes in the reactor room. What had set him off? She did not know that anymore than she understood Talon's previous employee's reason for sending a couple squads of mercenaries at Broken Bridge. Or why Empee insisted on those terrible ring fights as part of an ongoing interview.

She startled when the man on the screen was entangled suddenly on some sort of net, the detonator he held flying into the air to dance on Jenn's fingertips before consenting to be cradled in careful hands. Sahir expressed satisfaction that the moving component of the danger was secured and proclaimed he was going back to the bar. Eti decided that maybe she should have had a sip from the Devaronian's flask and followed, if only to not see what was planned for the prisoner.

Jowtobuk bought her a glass of the blue wine to sip as she tried to relax standing near him. The power was turned on, people filtered out to either leave on their ships, should they have remained intact, or to sleep the rest of the night cycle. A man that neither Cela, Jowtobuk, nor Eti, knew wandered over to discuss Kashyyyk with them.

Later, Eti was cleared to head back to Corellia, and with that she bade the others an exhausted good bye.
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Smallcorners
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

Doctor, heal thyself.

Only Eti was not a doctor, she was a medic, mediocre at best. Granted that was due to inexperience on her part, and she was learning, or trying to, but that was not the same as healing herself, or even being a doctor. Matters were not helped in that she was starting to feel that she was losing control of her empathy. Okay, that was not exactly it either. The Nautolan sighed, skipping a rock across the river behind her house before sliding into the water for a swim.

The river here was shallower than the one through the center of Broken Bridge, it also was quieter, less traffic, and more fish. The fish reminded her again of Ren, and his words. Not to heal, but to work on herself. Was she broken, or incomplete? She rolled over to float on her back, letting the current carry her. She had been tired when she talked to him, even more so than when she had spoken to his friend Dino. The night had been longer than she thought.

Of the two men, who looked very similar to her, Ren, with his relaxed mien and very shielded undercurrent, was the less remarkable, she also thought him the younger of the pair. Dino, who radiated bravado, but felt like he was barely held together, raked across her senses more. He looked older, more haggard, and she wondered just how many flasks he had secreted in that long duster? She very much doubted any of them held water. Like many of the Port Jato crowd, he had floated into her view from some obscure depth to join the crew on this mission. Maybe she noted him more as he had a greater dislike of space than she did.

A subtle splash along the shoreline turned her lazy float to more powerful arm stroke, it would not do for the holonet to have headlines such as "Local Entertainer Becomes Breakfast". She could imagine the interviews..."Eti? Yeah, nice kid, quiet, always had a new outfit." or "That medic that could not bacta her way past a papercut? Well now we can get a real doctor!" Eti shook her head to loosen her tendrils and dove as the river had deepened, she knew she was being hard on herself, but she felt it. She knew she had to get better at what she could do.

Some of the crew last night had hid their injuries, or denied being wounded, rather than let her treat them, a few went to Sahir right after she had been turned away, or perhaps worse, right after she treated them. She could feel the pain, the distress. Eti dove deeper when she got to the lake, this thread of thought needed to stop. Megan's exhaustion had worked on her own worry, the near feral distress of the two females that they had rescued, their wild accusations, and then Dino's terror. Rando's ire was also a thread, but his was probably very justified, and she was getting used to it, or better able to decipher it.

Deciphering. What happened last night? They were supposed to go visit a mining station, some of them had the impression that it was abandoned, a few thought there was supposed to be a crew there to talk to. What they found was an unsettling mix. The crew was mostly vanished with little indication of a fight. The dead had seemingly just dropped in place, the injured is where it became odd. The one, male, did not talk at all where she could hear him, instead, just staring into nothing. The older of the two females had been paralyzed oddly, but in a way that tainted gas could. Tainted nerve gas.

The younger woman, Eti got the impression that she either was younger all together that herself, or simply mentally so, but that too could have been from the gas used on them. Both women exhibited extreme paranoia, and memory issues, though the older seemed more whole, perhaps because she simply knew more. Diferi, the younger one, swung back and forth wildly from when they met her all the way up to the time she was deposited into the medbay and given over to a droid. Eti did not know the name of the other, but was under the impressions that whoever she was she was going to get a much larger bill for use of the bacta tanks at the end of the bay.

The team had also found a droid, someone called it Ro, and Rando questioned it on the way back to Port Jato. He noted that whomever had taken the miners had bothered to put a control bolt on the droid, but did not take the droid. He also noted that the pirates, Norlucs (?), showed up when that same bolt was removed. The station was a trap. Eti broke the surface of the water and looked around. But was the station a trap before, or after, they were sent there?

She tread water for a few minutes, getting her bearings as her thoughts continued to swirl. Eti annoyed Elijiah, that tidbit came unbidden, it was not just how he had felt to her, but that she also overheard him on the other side of the screen. What had she done to him? Disobeyed an order? What order? A speeder roared across the far end of the lake and she watched it's progress. He had not spoken to her at all, had not in weeks, the impression she got was for invading Sahir's ship, the med bay. But the door was open when she got there, people had already entered, and they were there to be treated.

How was she to have known that the assassin had tried to strike again? Eti had contained her concern that Megan did not seem to have gotten the rest, or the meal, that had been requested of her. She was not even sure if the petite woman had even nibbled any of the chocolates she was given. The Nautolan made a mental note to tell Talon that his source had gotten the news about Alifisno's death wrong. The man was alive, if barely, and badly damaged.

If she went that way she could speed swim at depth back to Broken Bridge, but it would mean crossing the town in her swim gear. She would have to find some time today to play, she should probably compose, though that took longer, and she was still very mindful that her abilities as medic needed some work. Work on herself indeed, but where to start?
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Re: It was a long night

Post by Smallcorners »

((I missed last night in both my games as I spent yesterday roving an RV show. It was fun, exhausting, and we got home near midnight my time. Yet I still wanted to do a story, and seeing camping is on my mind, and I do have a character that needs an IC reason to be where everyone else is.))

Eti knew that she was a lousy shot, putting a pistol in her hands was as dangerous for those that should not be shot, as much as for the actual targets. She was such a trope, and in some dark way this amused her, but she also thought that maybe there was another way to protect herself.

She had seen several people with pets, animals that were trained to guard, and to hunt. Surely she can make friends with something? With this in mind Eti traveled to Naboo to keep her entertainment appointments. There would be time after to try and find a pet before she was expected up at Port Jato.

------

The Wookiee had never seen a person that looked like the small female wandering the forest following various animals. She did give her points for courage, even as she wondered if the being's people were known for insanity. Right now the female's tendrils were curling about themselves, their light green twists resembling vines more than snakes, especially with their decorative wraps.

Right now Saltarkkata watched as the Nautolan approached a gualama calf. Usually the beasts were passive and she had managed to lure the baby away from the adults, but this calf was proving feisty. It kept resisting her advances, and just when Saltarkkata thought that maybe the unknown female had finally convinced the calf, a pack of tusk cats raced up. The cats were probably concerned for the calf's welbeing as they ignored it and went straight for the strange woman.

Again the Wookiee was impressed by the the woman's courage, who not understanding the cat's target, moved to protect the calf with nothing more than a small knife. Saltarkkata was not close enough to drive them away before they had brought the other woman down, but she was able to keep the cats from killing her.

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Eti opened her eyes to blackness, for a moment she started to panic, but them a calm, slightly amused, presence washed over her. "Strange furless, be still, covered eyes are." The voice was in Shyriiwook, she felt fur brush across her face, then a wet, cool cloth on her skin. "Cats protect gualama, still you brave." She felt the same hints of admiration from the unseen Wookiee, that she heard in the soft voice.

She listened to the other sounds around her, wind over canvas, the crackle of a small fire, the smell of things roasting. Eti hummed softly until she started to feel better, she remembered there was medicine in her pack, but speaking just seemed as beyond her as seeing. Once more she struggled with panic. "Rest, safe." The Wookiee was back, helping her to sit up and sip some broth. She could taste the roasted meats and vegetables, but the Wookiee did not give her any lumps that she could chew.

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Saltarkkata marveled at how calm the foreign female seemed considering the damage she had received to her face and throat. Force willing the delicate looking woman would heal. thankfully those large, luminous, eyes had not been pierced, even though there was damage around them. The woman's innate musicality shown through in her near constant humming, Saltarkkata suspected that this was how the Force worked through this being.

She herself had no medical training, but just about everyone learned how to smear, or spray, bacta onto simple wounds, even slaves. The small woman did not try to talk, which suited the Wookiee female as she had not been allowed to before. Her subterfuge as a simpleton still showed in her speech patterns, but the flavored soup she made belied the pretended lack of mind. Some of the flavorful herbs she blended in had the intended effect of putting her charge to sleep, so Saltarkkata made her comfortable, then went back outside of the tent.

The small campfire seemed enough to hold back not only the darkness of the evening, but whatever creatures showed enough curiosity to prowl near. She had not thought herself lonely since her master had been arrested and the household scattered, but caring for the injured musician brought back memories of her family. The Wookiee stepped to the edge of the firelight and looked up at the sky. Kashyyyk was out there somewhere, but her clan had been scattered like the stars, this alone was suddenly much more lonely.
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