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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 22, 2015 15:43:13 GMT -8
For a brief moment, the table was quiet. Na'an's chilly, level gaze had broken at the mention of 'sexual tension', her eyes widening at Kent's outright brashness. Watching, Leigh wondered if perhaps the child had hit, however inadvertently, upon a nerve. Na'an wasn't the type to lash out in violence, especially not at someone so young, but then, Leigh had never seen her with one of the Family before...her second glance to Cao was almost anxious. He'd know better than she would...wouldn't he?
Then, the moment broke. Na'an snorted, and broke out...into a burst of laughter. She tried to stifle it in her hand, but a fresh look at Cao's look of surprise and consternation set her off on a fresh bout. For a good half a minute she shook in her seat, wheezing out words like 'menage' and 'minx' and 'trust'.
"Oh, you are interesting," she said, finally suppressing the last of her giggles. "I'd love to see your attempt at me if that's what you come up with, my gods." She snorted again into a third shot of tihaar, downing it in a gulp. When she surfaced, her face was flushed and bright--either from the laughter or the drink, or both--and the good humor she had entered the bar with had returned. Her eye had returned to Kent, and while it pinned her to her seat with similar intensity, the mockery had softened somewhat.
"You don't have to try so hard to impress me, little rabbit," she finally continued, resting her face in her hands and grinning broadly. "I'm not assuming I know what you followed me here for, aside from answers, but I'm willing to provide what I can before we head offworld." She gestured at the untouched plate in front of Kent; the sausages were beginning to cool, the grease shiny in the candlelight. "Although if you'll take a recommendation, you should get offworld too. Maybe head to Felucia, get yourself some training in the Force at the Praxeum there. Sensitivity alone doesn't make you safe, especially here."
She said the last with the sure tones of experience; at her side, Leigh's hologram gave her a sidelong glance, her eyebrow raised.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 19, 2015 10:10:17 GMT -8
Banned for Grammar Naziizm.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 18, 2015 10:21:03 GMT -8
Banned for not banning the previous poster.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 17, 2015 14:09:02 GMT -8
"Years of practice."
The second shot went down faster than the first; Na'an set the empty glass on the table, her eye flicking to Leigh with an eyebrow raised. As if reading her thoughts, the droid sighed, then nodded in assent.
"I"m sorry, let me rewind here. You outthink people." She balanced the glass on its edge with a finger, focusing on a last glint of moisture on its edge. Her voice was level, measured, but someone listening closely would hear a mocking edge as she repeated Kent's words back at her. "You remember everything you see, and you notice every change, huh?"
Leigh sighed again; Na'an paid her no mind, but finished the thought. "So why didn't you notice the man you were so scared of before sitting less than fifteen feet away?"
Na'an released the shotglass; as it tipped to clink against the wood, she flicked her hand upward to point at Gavin, at his table near the door.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 16, 2015 17:56:51 GMT -8
"By the way, I never introduced myself. Name's Caoimhin Shan. You can call me Cao."
Light-side abomination. Na'an threw back a shot to match him, shuddering slightly at the oily, sweet taste of the liquor. Without pausing, she sent a sharp stab of telepathy in Cao's direction--the psychic equivalent of a slap upside the head directed not at Cao himself, but at Vilus growling and twisting inside him. If I have to tell you again, so help me I will come in there and gag you."I gotta say, kid, you got really lucky," she said aloud. Leaning in close, she took a hunk of bread from the plate, gesturing with it at the girl. "You say you act logically," she continued, "But I don't think you know what kind of situation you actually threw yourself in back there. You didn't even know you were Force sensitive, did you?"She took a rough bite, chewing it through a slowly deepening scowl. "That Sith knew. Just as he knew about Valerie...and if he'd had half a mind to pursue you, you don't want to know the kinds of things he would have done once he caught you." Swallowing, she took a deep breath as if to steady herself. "Granted, now he'll just do them to her.""Valerie made her choice, Na'an." Leigh reached for the bottle quickly, unscrewing the cap and pouring the organic beings another round before her friend could. Above the bottle, she shot Cao a significant look, her holographic eyes flickering from him to the bottle in her hands. If this train of thought was allowed to continue much further, it'd be on Na'an's mind all night. "Don't go through this tangent just yet. Miss Austin is safe, and we should ensure she remains so.""I know, I know. But she should know where she stands." Na'an took the shotglass in her free hand, tilting it to inspect the contents. "It's a dangerous galaxy for the unprepared."
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 13, 2015 19:25:15 GMT -8
Leigh's holographic face suddenly blinked to life, looking almost startled. Then it smiled, the dark blue eyes crinkling over a thick spattering of freckles. "I see. I'm...sorry, to hear that your friends are so rare nowadays."
The mention of her sisters explained why he was so calm. Most organics took some convincing, to see the truth of her sentience and treat her as anything more than an R2 unit. It was...refreshing, actually, not to have to make the effort. Caoimhin Shan looked like a man distracted, but his perception was good. Not to mention, he'd picked up and used her name immediately, without any sort of prompting....
In those few seconds, the pair had reached the bar's last empty table. The child, having snuck in before them, had sat in the seat closest to the wall; Leigh sat to her right, facing Cao. She steepled her fingertips together against the thick wooden grain of the table. "But no wonder Na'an likes you so much," she continued. "The memories I was given don't really do you much justice...but maybe that's not fair. I could have always asked more than the once for Na'an to upload her contribution--"
"And I'll keep saying what I said the last time--I don't need any more of your wiring in my head, thanks."
And suddenly Na'an was there, sidling past the table behind Leigh with a full tray in her hands. "Cao, tell Vilus to pipe down, we have some hashing to do and he's being obnoxious," she said briskly, shifting the tray to weigh against her hip. As she adjusted, she seemed to finally notice Kent, tiny and silent between the two hulking figures of her friends. Somehow, the kid had found the boldness to just walk right up and take a seat--even if she seemed to be dumb with nerves at the thought of her own audacity.
"Well, hello, little rabbit. Hope you don't mind sausages, they're Pavin's best." With a practiced move, she slid the first of two plates in front of the teenager, piled high with bread and fat, glistening links. The second plate went between Cao and Na'an, with a shotglass for each of the organics, and with the tray empty Na'an poured herself into the one remaining seat.
"So," she said, reaching for the bottle and pouring a measure of clear spirits. She looked up at her company, rubbing at the corner of her eyepatch; her good eye was clear and expectant in the dim candlelight. "That was a dramatic hour...so who wants to go first?"
Both the woman and the droid then waited, to see which of their guests would speak first.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 8, 2015 19:49:05 GMT -8
"...but she was already working on it!" Cao laughed, shaking his head at the memory. "And she was totally oblivious to what she had done!"
Leigh smirked as Na'an simply stared at him, processing what she had just heard.
"Yeah. I know. Hey, is this the place?"
Na'an nodded, not stopping until she was at the bar's faded door. She turned to Caoimhin, and through the Force felt a flash of Kent Austin lurking not far behind. "Find us a table near the back and I'll start the tab running. You still like tihaar?"
Cao's response brought another flash of a grin to her face, and she pushed at the door to let them into Palecki's. Inside, the bar looked smaller than it was--the dim lighting and candles had a way of isolating tables that all the walls in the world couldn't imitate. Several tables were full, the human and non-human features of multiple faces illuminated in flickering light. In one far corner, someone was playing music, a softly jazzy tune that buzzed in the back of her brain and hushed the voices around down to near-silence. She sidled past the nearest tables, feeling her way through the familiar space towards the bar. "I've got a big order, Pavin," she said to the bartender, who'd left her station to tend to some hunched figure at the closest table. "And someone coming in for my table later, but you can't let me go over four hundred credits this time." The bartender nodded, indicating that she was busy. Pavin Gol was like that, courteous to a fault to the customer at hand. It might be a couple of minutes. In the meantime, Na'an bent over the bar, eyeing the bottles behind it and waiting for the plump woman at the table to be done. Mentally, she calculated the number of credits she would need to get a good solid buzz going for three--and some food besides. *** Leigh sidled into the bar, watching Na'an move fluidly through the dark space. They'd been to this establishment often enough to have a friendly relationship with its proprietor, whom they had met through association with the Wookiee trader with an obviously fake name. She was back in familiar space--both of them were--and if Leigh had had muscles that held tension, she would have felt it all release at once.
Well, almost all. As Na'an leaned over the bar, the droid turned her attention to their newest companion. "You seem more...cheerful than my data logs indicate, Caoimhin Shan," she said, following him as he wove his way between the tables. "Is this a typical reaction upon meeting an old friend?"As they made their way back to an empty table, she wondered if the man in front of her would be able to sense her fascination with him, After all, Caoimhin was a Shan, the first Shan she had met aside from a younger version of her mother. Was he like his sister at all? Was the fact that her friend was so happy to see him a sign that he wasn't?
Did he know anything about his family--organic or otherwise?
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 6, 2015 19:58:58 GMT -8
three days gone
Na’an stared at the wall dully, half-ignoring the other woman in the room and trying to fully ignore the pounding in her head. The dull thump, like the beating of a sluggish heart, made it hard to hear what the woman was saying. Sometimes she could hear the voice buried under the thumping, growling obscenities... “Na’an, are you listening?” The woman’s voice cut through the sound, causing Na’an to jolt a little. “Hmmm?”
Adelle Bastiel was sitting in the seat opposite hers, holding a datapad and looking concerned. “I said, Leigh’s been asking about your condition again. She wants to see if she can help with treating you.”The voice growled louder. Na’an sat upright, her arms crossing in front of her as if to hold it in. “I don’t want that thing in here. I already told you.”“Na’an, Leigh cares about you. She brought you here because you said you wanted help.”“I don’t want it in here. It’s his.” She watched Adelle’s face twist in confusion. She really was quite a striking woman, with dark, kind eyes that spoke of years of practiced gentleness. Since she’d arrived on Felucia, she’d taken Na’an’s case on personally, for some reason. Maybe it had something to do with the scars on her own face, puckering across the line of her jaw...maybe it was sympathy, or pity. “I don’t understand,” she was saying, reaching for Na’an again. She did this often during their sessions, touching her arms or her shoulders as if slowly working her way towards a motherly embrace. “It’s been three days, you need to tell us more than--”Na’an jerked away from Adelle’s hands. “Ask it about the video.” She could feel herself trembling and held herself tighter, but the voice’s words were spilling out of her mouth now, mingling with her own to force the truth out of her. “You’ll see. Watch the video and you’ll see, It’s Aherk’s, it’ll, it’ll just come in here and finish the job the other couldn’t, I’ll lose what’s left...” Adelle sat very still, unblinking. “You mean the eye.”Na’an barked a bitter laugh, and turned her face back toward the wall. **** Master Chalco, watching Adelle and Na’an through the window of the medbay, rubbed at his chin in bemusement. “It’s a little odd to think about, honestly,” the assistant at his side was dithering. He was a thin, nervous man, but detail oriented and precise. “We had to do some research on the subject. No one in the facility knew what a schizophrenic WAS. But when you go back to the old records and look at the symptoms, they’re pretty spot-on for schizophrenia, like the...whatever-that-was….said.” The young man checked the chart, ticking off items as he spoke. “Auditory hallucinations, inappropriate emotional response, disconnected behavior, an overall ‘flat effect’…” His voice faded under the Master’s gaze, avoiding the next phrase on the chart. Both Chalco and his assistant didn’t need to mention the paranoia; both of them had seen Na’an’s overt hostility towards droids in general, and especially Leigh, in just the last two days. The Master stroked his beard a minute longer, puzzling. “But you can feel her,“ He finally said. “You know she’s only two steps away from being consumed entirely by the Dark Side.” He lapsed into silence again, thinking over the problem. It was in his nature not to speak unless his thoughts were clear, a habit grown after years of necessary clarity in his line of work. His assistant was used to that, but his lapses were not helping to finish the diagnosis.. “You don’t think...” he prompted. “That maybe all Sith are just mentally ill?” Chalco shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think all of them are, it’s too neat of an explanation. But what if some…” He sighed, a low rumbling growl of a sound issuing from under his hand. “I just don’t know. Maybe the fact that we didn’t even know this condition existed is indicative of a larger problem.”“So how do we proceed?” “We wait. She’s contained, and Adelle’s onto something with this line of questioning. Let’s see what she does with the other one, then we’ll consult her.”**** The droid was being housed in a room near the training grounds. Adelle Bastiel knew the room well--she’d passed by it several times, even visiting the quarters’ new occupants once a day to check on their status. However, she’d never really talked to the being inside that room; not about what she was, not about her companion, not about the fact that everything about this case seemed drenched in hidden violence. The idea was unsettling, uncanny and new, like stepping out of what was known and into the realm of blasphemy. But there was nothing for it now. She was a Healer by trade, and her patient wasn’t Healing. She needed to know more, and this...Leigh, had the answers she needed to move forward. She took another deep breath, and palmed the doorpad, entering the room in one swift motion. “Hello, Leigh,” she said to the droid inside. Leigh had been sitting at the far end of the quarters; she perked up now, her posture snapping into attention as the door closed behind Adelle. “ Ms. Bastiel,” she said politely, inclining her helmet in a salute. “Good afternoon. I judge by your expression that my request was not granted.”Adelle regarded the mechanical, slightly whirring bulk with hesitation. She’d never seen a model of droid quite like this. When the pair had first arrived on Felicia, Adelle had almost mistaken it for a humanoid in armor, albeit too big to be a typical human. Whatever comprised her insides was light and flexible enough to allow her to move surprisingly smoothly, mimicking perfectly the posture and mannerisms of a strong, athletic woman. Her voice, under the slightly tinny quality, was warm and undeniably feminine...and one of her arms had a hand and the most dexterous fingers she’d ever seen on a droid. The other arm, though. Adelle took the opposite seat, making a point not to look too pointedly at Leigh’s arm cannon. “No, she didn’t want to see you still,” she said. “We’re working on calming her symptoms long enough to get a clearer explanation of what’s going on in her head, but bringing you up isn’t helping any.” “I could assist in her treatment--”“Leigh, she doesn’t want to see you. She gets violent at the very idea, starts going off about this Aherk person. She says you’re his, that you’re going to hurt her...” Adelle took a deep breath before continuing. However this was received, she had a feeling that the result would not be pleasant. But, as she had known, there was nothing for it now. “Leigh, she’s been saying something about a video.”The droid froze. So they were at the heart of it, then. Adelle sat patiently, willing to outwait the machine if she had to. Fortunately, she didn’t have to. Leigh moved abruptly, the joints creaking as she bent her arm to rest between it and Adelle. A light flickered lowly on the piece of machinery, the beginnings of a hologram projection that Adelle watched with a sick sense of apprehension. The droid’s voice was quieter now, the artificial tones so masked that the humanity of it was all she could hear. She sounded regretful, hesitant, and...sad, almost. “Please. Try not to judge too harshly.”The space above Leigh’s arm flickered, and brought to life the short film she’d hoped to never show again. Adelle watched the hologram in silence, her face growing whiter at each death. Her hand flew up to her mouth at the sight of Lecter’s face coming apart, her eyes bright with tears when the camera switched to show the ship in flames from the distance...the Rodian family dying, the kids screaming for their parents as the flames began to burn… She visibly jerked when the final shot dropped an old smuggler out of view in a spray of red. “Oh, god. Oh.” Her voice was shaking when she looked up, the binary coding the transmission’s end blinking out of view. Her stomach was roiling violently, making her feel more ill by the second. “Oh, gods.”Leigh’s face flickered back to life. The blue eyes she’d generated were puffy, the brown hair unkempt and hanging loose. “You do not understand.” “No wonder she won’t let you in her room.” “I was not in control of any of that.”“I…I..” “I wasn’t.” “I just…” Adelle choked back a sob, tried to gather her thoughts. Behind her eyes, the last of the Rodian children was still crying for its mother. “You showed her that? I mean, why did you…Who were those people?”Leigh’s projected eyes were hard. “Everyone left who knew her,” she said simply, and Adelle’s stomach lurched again. Everyone left who knew her. “Oh, gods,” she whispered again. All the people who’d ever known Na’an, murdered brutally and filmed for her to watch. Adelle couldn’t even imagine how that sort of thing was even possible in the Galaxy anymore...would anyone go mad under that kind of strain? “Why?” she choked out. Leigh was still sitting there, seemingly as calm as ever. She hadn’t even moved after the hologram’s conclusion. It was horrible...just looking at her, so still and unmoved, made it easy to see how Na’an would hate her. Adelle was not the hating type, and even she was getting dangerously close the more she spoke. “How could you? I mean...I thought you were her….You showed up at our door guarding her, you keep trying to protect this woman, so why would you kill all those people--” “I didn’t want to!”
Leigh stood with a thunderous noise, knocking over the chair she had been seated in; Adelle started with a cry, the Force propelling her towards the door and towards a weapon. “You have to understand,” the droid continued, her voice modulating wildly with emotion. “I may look human, sound human, feel and think like a human, but I am not human. I am a computer. Just bits of electronics and code, like any other computer. If someone gets inside me, puts a program in me, I am unable to deny it.” She slammed her hand against her metallic chest in a defensive, defiant gesture. “I had an order. Get to Vidalu Na’an. I did not know her, but that was my directive I had to do everything possible to fulfill my directive, even change my own programming...”The fist dropped. The arm dangled, limp and useless. “I did not know her,” she finished harshly. “I had no choice.”
Adelle’s heart was hammering, a hard lump of instinct, a coal nestled between her lungs. She swallowed, then tried to speak. “Who...who gave you the order?” “Aherk.” There was a pause; abruptly, the pretty brunette face the droid was projecting vanished. It would be the last time Adelle would ever see that particular face. The voice issuing from the droid was thick, warped, and so quiet that the words seemed to hover against her dome. “And my mother.”
That was the last word Adelle had expected to hear from this being. And it was...in retrospect...the one word that made this all make sense. Leigh wasn’t some monster. She was, metal or not, a person. And she was grieving. This was shame, and grief, and an agony as intense as anything the human woman in the medical bay was going through. She’d warped herself beyond recognition, committed atrocities she couldn’t stop, because of some compulsion placed inside her by someone she called her mother. It was not in Leigh’s nature to show it, but...all those offers to assist in Na’an’s treatment..they weren’t just some kind of altruistic act. They were penance. An attempt to lighten burderns no sentient being should bear. Vidalu Na'an's...and her own. Adelle’s bones had locked in horror, keeping her pinned and standing against the closed door; now, consciously, she forced them to loosen, to allow her to sit. Slowly, so slowly, she reached out, and placed a palm on the flat surface of Leigh’s arm. “Okay.” She let out a long breath, her eyes closed against her own rising tears. “Okay. So. Tell me about this treatment plan you keep talking about.”
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 2, 2015 19:16:02 GMT -8
So it's exactly what it looks like. This is the space where you take one of your characters, put them on this stage...
*puts a neat little stage in the middle of the thread*
And have them make the most badass boast they can! Make it sound hardcore, make it sound dangerous and sexy and SUPER AWESOME!
Only a couple simple rules:
1. You can't boast about events that have not happened yet according to your own post history. If you have it planned, but not written, it hasn't been done and can't be boasted about! 2. If you have a character who hasn't done many badass things, you can still participate. Simply take a page from Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit: simply take the things you HAVE done, and find the one way to mention it that makes you sound awesome! 3. Provide a short explanation as to why your character is boasting. If you can write the boast as part of a scene (like in a battle, or trying to intimidate an enemy) more's the better!
Once every page, I'll post the Best Boast of the page. Bragging rights for the winner (and perhaps a reward if it's THAT good? Maybe!). So...Show me what you've got. Make me afraid. Fill me with awe. Prove to me that the galaxy has figures that can make the bravest man tremble.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 2, 2015 18:17:52 GMT -8
Make me.
Her laugh mixed with his in a way that made the alley, filled with groaning, injured pirates, seem almost cheerful. He had a good laugh, a deep throaty sound that neither Na'an nor Leigh had ever heard come naturally from a Shan. It made the moment pass too quickly, and left the good healthy sensation of a sore stomach.
Well, less sore than some. When the moment ended, Na'an appraised the alley, her mouth momentarily setting in a grim line. They had been standing in a clear spot, but both behind Cao and to the left there were men clutching their stomachs in pain. The man near Na'an's left foot had passed out, his breath feverish against her boot. "Yeah, I think we're done here." She looked to Leigh, who was watching their reunion with clearly-drawn affection. "There are an awful lot of guys in this alley, I'm not sure we want to be around when someone comes to get them."
The droid nodded. "Which will be in approximately fourteen and one-quarter minutes. I took the liberty of calling the authorities into the area, and since I have no fingerprints and you didn't fight this bunch, I doubt they'll be looking for us." She arched one blonde eyebrow at her friend, loaded with meaning.
"That's my girl. C'mon, let's get going." Without waiting, Na'an linked her arm to Cao's, and began leading him out of the alley. Three blocks away, past a tall black-haired woman and her friends, she could see a turn that would lead them into the Corellian sector. She pulled him gently, walking as smoothly as if the last half hour had been little more than a pleasant walk through the park. "In the meantime, I don't think I've properly introduced you to Leigh?"
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Apr 1, 2015 21:24:32 GMT -8
Leigh and Na'an had been walking in near-silence back to the alley, both of them aware of the moment Kent's indecision turned into resolve. Leigh's visual array kept darting about, catching flashes of her on rooftops and various holes, always close but just out of sight. Between glimpses, she'd check on her friend. Now that the fight was over, the bright, sharp cheerfulness had ebbed somewhat, replaced with that familiar vague solemnity of someone whose mind had turned toward the Force, rather than quantifiable thought.
It was all very well, the droid supposed. They'd lost the child that they had originally barged in on this incident to help, and this one seemed...delicate. It would be hard for Na'an to relax until they'd gotten entirely clear of this escapade, and if she let herself think too hard she'd brood over it.
Of course, there were other cures for an ill mood...and it was one of her friend's odder traits, that her entire emotional atmosphere could shift at something as small as the sound of a voice.
"Everything alright over there?" he asked as the pair of them rounded the corner. At the sound of Cao's voice, Na'an's expression brightened fully. She broke into a trot, turning the last corner to see her friend waiting for them. "Yeah, we got this. No big deal." She bounced on her heels, bounding to close the gap between the two and grinning as widely as a child. If she took another step, she could embrace her friend without having to reach too far. Without a break, she reached for Cao through the Force for a private message.
Don't be alarmed. We've got a little rabbit following us. Her eye flicked upward, to where she could feel Kent's eyes watching the scene. We're going to meet her in the next sector. Drinks are on me, if you want to catch up and run with an old friend a while.
She looked all the way up at Cao, noting with a pleasant jolt that she'd forgotten the color of her friend's eyes. It had been a while since she'd seen them so clear, the blue so distinct from the brown..."It's good to see you whole, Cao. I've missed you."
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 30, 2015 18:14:52 GMT -8
"I see."
Na'an stepped back, and looked at the girl fully for the first time.
She had all the signs of a scrapper who didn't win many scraps. She'd said she was fifteen, but didn't look much older than twelve, and didn't have much meat on her bones. She moved nervously, speaking in starts and stops and always hesitating, even in her anger... she hadn't looked Na'an in the eyes once, even when Na'an tried to talk directly to her. Her hair was by some miracle clean, and pretty enough, but scraggy and needed trimming. She'd been strong enough in the Force just now to pull her own home to pieces in a fit, but that was all that it had been--a fit, the same way a cornered rabbit would bite and kick for release. She was a kid, alone, scared of everyone, and trying to force herself to be an adult who could deal with a nasty hand by herself. It was...sad.
And familiar.
"I see."
Na'an backed away a couple of steps, brushing dust off her jacket. "I'll tell you what, I'm not going to force you to come along with us. I'm not looking to get shot, and I'm sure you're not looking for some magic solution. I've been there--there's never some easy way out that you can trust." She bent down slightly, making a point to talk in any direction but directly at Kent. "But the offer's open if you decide it's worth the gamble. Corellian Sector. Place called Palecki's. Ask for Na'an.
She turned her back to the girl, continuing to stretch her arms as she paced by Leigh and towards the alley that had spit her out. Leigh fell into step behind her, keeping her visual array trained on the kid behind them. "This seems harsh," she said, modulating her voice down to murmur. "You did help carve a hole through her house...she can't stay here. She's got to go somewhere or she won't last the week, and from the look of her she doesn't have many choices."
"Which is why I can't make the call for her. If she wants our help, she'll follow us." Na'an's voice was light, but the look in her eyes was set, serious. "If she doesn't...then it's not our choice to make."
Leigh whirred, the electronic equivalent of a sigh. She knew that this discussion wasn't over--hell, she had more than a little verbal drubbing to subject Na'an to later. This had been nothing but a stupid mistake, and they'd be lucky to get offworld with Noba's credits intact. But it could wait, at least, until they got to Palecki's. Leigh had learned enough to tell that this was one of those strange, intangible moments that organics seemed to value so much. Interrupting those moments only seemed to annoy them.
They paced together, the understanding unspoken between them, back around the corner and towards where they'd left Cao waiting.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 30, 2015 17:25:24 GMT -8
"Oh? And why's that?" Na'an met Kent's eye with her own, looking quizzical. "You got somebody back home who'd get mad?"
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 30, 2015 17:06:28 GMT -8
Na'an held her securely, making sure she didn't fight loose. As the other man passed, she caught a chill. The Sith she understood. Sith were all alike in their ambitions, once they'd gotten in deep enough to admit it to themselves. This guy, however...he was still just far enough out to almost seem reasonable. He still thought he was a good guy.
"Yep," she said absently, watching him go from the corner of her eye. "You'll get used to that after long enough."
And that was that. As far as Na'an could tell, there wasn't really anything more to fight over. She let go of the girl's arms, flexing her fingers and her arms and looking back towards her friend. Leigh was pacing through the rubble, dodging large chunks of duracrete and gauging what sections of the fallen wall were stable enough to hold her bulk.
"Your timing was later than expected," she said, kicking at a pipe sticking out of the mess. "I assume this means you opted not to use Babylon after all?"
Na'an shook her head. "No need. Val's gone, we've managed to either fight or spook off everyone else...It's over, either way." She took in the mess with a look of vague dissatisfaction, rubbing lightly at the black patch over her eye. "Either way. Sith and secret bounties...I could use a drink." She turned her attention back to the girl. She'd come to enough to hold her own weight, and was looking around with the dizzy, startled look of a concussed Kushiban under all that blonde hair. Somehow, kids always seemed to have that look after a fight--like they'd just woken up from a bad dream. "What about you? I'm sure you've had a hell of a day. My treat," she said brightly.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 29, 2015 20:27:21 GMT -8
"Oh, no you don't."
Na'an slid her hands down to the girl's forearms, wrenching them away from the blaster and behind her back. In the same swift motion, she released one hand, using her freed grip to cuff her sharply on the back of the head. The kid in her arms shuddered once, her presence in the Force trembling violently, then her body went limp. Leigh started as if to object, but opted to stay close to Andor, just in case. After all, her biometrics were still strong, and it wasn't in Na'an to do lasting damage to a child. At least this way, she wouldn't go starting a fight until anyone left to fight was long gone.
"You should probably walk away, sir," Na'an was saying. The smile still in her voice was not present in her eyes, a cool grey gaze that showed only the smallest bit of distrust. Now that she had a good chance to look at him, she recognized the shock of pale hair; if she was right, and Kent wasn't just babbling, this man had been working with the Sith who had taken the other. "We'll drop her off somewhere safe and then bail, but if you're around then she may go and shoot you right in the treasures."
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 29, 2015 17:08:57 GMT -8
Kent pushes Gavin way, more using him to push herself back toward Na'an. She fumbles trying to pull her baster looking at Gavin, expecting him to come after her.Get away! Get back! She screams, still fumbling unable to draw as she gets closer to Na'an Na'an blinked. "Wait, what?" Her eye flitted from Leigh to the girl, who had broken loose of the man's grip and had started backing towards her, fumbling and screaming. "Does she mean me," she asked Leigh, "or him?"Leigh shrugged, tensing her arms once again. "Hard to say. She's being chased, but then, she's the only one who's been taking any shots.""Oh, really." Na'an's cool grey gaze fixed more strongly on the kid, who at a second look was trying to pull a blaster or something from her belt.
"It might be best if she were restrained before she can cause any more damage." Leigh indicated the man still at her feet, his burnt arm bright red against the fading light."Right." Na'an nodded, then deactivated the lightsaber. Returning the hilt to her back pocket, she reached out with both hands just as Kent approached her, gripping her upper arms strongly and supporting her weight. Gods, the kid was tiny--she couldn't be older than twelve. "Hey, hey, breathe a second," she said, keeping her voice light. "You're the one causing a ruckus. Slow down and tell us what's got you so scared."
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 29, 2015 14:17:05 GMT -8
Na'an had been jogging for a couple minutes when she felt the Force flare out from her left. Not in a good way, either--this was painful, tinged with darkness. She turned without stopping, aiming towards the sharp tang of fear bubbling up from a nearby streetfront.
"Leigh?" she yelled, slamming through another corner. "Leigh, what's--"
She skidded to a stop after bolting through another narrow alley, taking in the scene she'd stumbled across. A little girl and a man, curled up at Leigh's feet, one of the two throbbing with dark energy. Leigh frozen, unable to respond without fear of triggering an attack of some sort. She had to be waiting to a good solution to present itself...but there wouldn't be time for that. The events Na'an had missed had caused serious damage to the opposite storefront, blasting a hole through the bottom of the wall. The false front was wobbling dangerously. As Na'an started forward, about to call out to her friend, it began to fall on the trio below.
"Hey, hey hey hey hey hey--"
There was no time to wait before taking action. She pulled a silvery tube from her pocket, thumbing the activation stud even as it spun in her hands. A short crimson blade shot out, the heat flaring against Na'an's hand as she gripped the saber hilt and hurtled forward. The wall was falling slowly at first, but accelerating, and Na'an poured on the Force Speed, powering forward...
She flexed through the Force, and Vidalu Na'an flew high over Leigh in a flash of scarlet light.
Flipping once, she pulled the blade in front of her to flash once, twice, five times through the solid circle of the opposite wall. The chunks of wall exploded outwards with a Push from her other hand, leaving a widening hole over where the wall would have fallen on Leigh and the humans. She spiraled through the hole as they both fell, landing and dancing across the decline of the wall's opposite side. She skipped a bit to keep her balance as the wall crashed down, crunching loudly against the storefronts on the opposite side--and not crunching against her friend's dome.
When the sound died down, she looked around, training her Force sense momentarily inward to check for damage. Without a scratch, she then turned back to scowl at Leigh.
"Am I," she said thunderously, "the only person in the known galaxy that ever looks up!?"
Leigh stared, then snorted Her hologram flickered, a smirk playing across the freckled, projected face. "Maybe. But why would we have to, with someone like you around?"
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 28, 2015 16:18:25 GMT -8
"Do let me know if you manage not to die, eh?" Na'an smirked. "Sure, why not. Try not to shoot me when I do."The alley was below and behind her, with the broken scaffolding of before hanging halfway down. With a node to the bounty hunter, she leaped lightly downwards off the roof, aiming for the scaffolding. She landed, rolled on the scaffolding, using her hands to flip her body and reduce the shock of the drop as it dumped her towards the ground. Out of some odd coincidence, she landed with one foot right on top of her discarded eyepatch. She knelt to pick it up, dusting the patch of black cloth with a tiny surge of pleasure. She'd taken the patch off prepared to use what was underneath, but...well. It was always good to get a reminder that you were competent enough to not need to cheat. The rest of this, though, was one hell of a cluster. The alley was littered with dead and injured pirates, and if she knew Leigh she'd get a numerical value of all the damage they'd personally caused as soon as they were back on the freighter. And the Sith...Na'an's good mood faded. The Sith had taken the girl. The Sith would do gods-knew-what to the girl. And except for make sure she hadn't died, no one had really gotten saved here, had they? Even the other kid was still being pursued... She shook her head. The brooding would have to wait. "Sorry to leave you hanging," she said to Cao, "but I think it's just about over here. I'm just gonna go back up Leigh, then we'll come back and get you. After this, I think I could seriously use a drink with a friend." She clapped him on the shoulder, then jogged off down the twisting path Leigh had followed, listening for her. As she hit her stride, she realized absently that Cao might be in just a little bit of shock. After all, the last time they had met, Na'an and Cao had fought...and Leigh was, after all, part of a legacy that still seemed to haunt him...
Well, then. It was good that the Corellian sector was nearby. That drink was sounding better by the second.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 24, 2015 17:25:05 GMT -8
He chuckled, just once, then flicked his wrist so that the tech panel snapped open. He nodded down at one of the flashing lights, indicating that the broadcaster was in there.
"You want it? Take it. Push the button when you're ready."
He stared at the Jedi atop him, idly wondering if she knew just what she was getting into, but realizing just as idly that he really didn't care. If she wanted to be a fool and rush in, that was on her.
Her life didn't matter to him. He had said so in his earlier broadcast. None of their lives did.
"It's gonna be a warehouse in the Corellian Sector. Armed escort inside. It'll look plain on the outside, but I suppose a woman of your talents will be able to find it easily."
Another being might have wished her luck. Offered her advice, some sort of empty phrase aimed at lifting her spirits slightly or some such emotional bull. But Ambuscade said nothing more, just staring up at her.. And Na'an grinned all the wider in response. "You're quite the gentleman, you know." she said, leaning forward. With her free hand, she deftly dislodged the broadcaster and slipped it into her jacket's front pocket, where the indicator glowed dully through the thin leather. "I didn't even ask you about the rendezvous. That was far kinder than you had to be, thank you."The broadcaster safely procured, Na'an then stood in a fluid motion, finally letting the legs of the man she was pinning loose. She flipped the stock of the bounty hunter's repeater towards herself, running a finger along the bottom edge. A few quick taps opened an emergency control panel on the side, and a few more resulted in a dull hum as the battery discharged. Na'an pocketed the battery, then flipped the stock back towards the bounty hunter, offering him the now-powerless rifle. "Please understand," she said ruefully. "We really don't want you getting hurt over something like this. Nice guy like you."*** Oh, for Pete's sake. Her hologram finally activated, Leigh finally let her eyes roll. Only one of the three organics in this tiny space was listening--the man behind her was smart enough to see sense. Of course, it didn't hurt that his half-vacant expression probably meant he could Sense the child's panic as well as she could. The girl was even threatening to shoot if the other continued to move at all, which was indicative that her panic was well past dominating sense. "Thank you," she said pleasantly to Anven, gracing him with a smile. "We'll be returning to the alley presently. Now, if you don't mind, you might want to cover your ears." Her hologram closed its eyes, and she manually accessed her vocal processor's volume controls. "I said," she boomed, "This little chase you're going through is only hurting your cause. You've only succeeded in scaring her enough to threaten you. Relax and back out of the crevice."
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Mar 23, 2015 18:14:39 GMT -8
"You're both only scaring her."
Leigh had come into the new space somewhere between Gavin and Anven. The first man, some 'acrobat' who had been siding with the Sith in the previous scuffle, seemed hard-bent on reaching the girl, who had somehow and for some strange reason wedged herself behind a building's false front. The other was behind her, only just strolling into the space in front of the house with the same half-vacant expression of before.
Neither man seemed to have heard the comm transmission; Leigh stood back away from the building's facade, aware that forcing herself closer would risk her bulk getting stuck in the crevice the girl was huddled in, and the man was creeping into. She loosened the servers in her arms, letting them dangle, and let the hologram in her dome flicker to life. She knew that the face--an attractive blonde, her nose lightly dusted with freckles and sporting a dimple even when solemn--was much better at putting the average human at ease with her autonomy.
"I may not be able to sense the Force," she said, addressing the man who hadn't yet wedged himself into a space far too small for him, "but her biometrics indicate that our presence is inducing an elevated heart rate and increased adrenaline levels, which indicate rising panic."
Leigh tilted her dome, indicating the girl she could not see. "She is not the one who asked for help. If she is running from you, she does not want it. So you both should back off, and let her have her say." The pretty blonde face smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "I'll even go with you. There's quite a lot of cleanup to be done back there after all those dead pirates, and I cannot let Na'an do it all herself."
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