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Nerit
Apr 9, 2013 10:49:39 GMT -8
Post by Whill Shaman Erevis on Apr 9, 2013 10:49:39 GMT -8
Nerit was one of the two moons of Ossus. It was temperate, with a varied ecosystem and gravity 125 percent of the standard.
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Nem Yin
The First Order
The dark expanse of the intergalactic void is not as empty as they would have you believe...
Posts: 423
Affiliation: The First Order
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Nerit
Feb 2, 2023 11:24:20 GMT -8
Post by Nem Yin on Feb 2, 2023 11:24:20 GMT -8
Dovin basals fought against the pull of Nerit's gravity as the ro'ik chuun m'arh 'Price of Pain' descended on the forested lunar surface, gliding over the lush green foliage as its commander Alith Yin looked for a good spot to set the organic frigate analog down. A number of yorik-trema from the surface of Ossus could be seen making the journey across orbits, emerging from one atmosphere only to plunge into another as they followed the damaged flag ship of the Praetorite Fleet. Actually, it was the only ship left in the fleet, discounting the smaller support craft. Once a large enough clearing was found, the dovin basal array began to lower the warship to the grass covered ground. A plethora of arrest tentacles emerged from the underside of the frigate, penetrated the soil to leach sustenance while accepting the weight of the ro'ik chuun m'arh in their capacity as organic landing gear. Steam poured from crags in the hull when the yorik-coral had been fractured or where terrible rents across its surface had been torn by enemy fire, leaving open magma veins that leaked superheated rock onto the ground. A number of yorik-trema, appearing as molted balls of flesh with long tails that whipped back and forth behind them, surrounded the frigate before setting down. As soon as the outer hatch sphincters unsealed and molleung worms unravelled to the floor, flocks of shapers emerged and began to attend to the warships needs.Everyone had a job to do, despite their status as refugees at the moment. Yuuzhan Vong could be seen setting up robe-skin tents and penning up beasts as they raised a temporary camp around the grounded Price of Pain. Inside his personal quarters attached to the rear command section, Nem stared at the reflective surface of a mirror as he flexed his new hands, eliciting a symphony of sinuous pops as the calcified knuckles of his fists cracked audibly. He knelt down next to a fleshy sac on the floor and extended a naked hand, stroking the folded cloaker biot as he triggered its activation reflex, causing the living creature to expand and cover his body from foot to neck. A symbiotic connection was formed between the Executor and the living attire as it extended tiny cilia into the pores of his corpse pallor skin, sending a delightfully painful sensation rippling through his nervous system. A fleshy hood hung loosely from the back of the neck, which Nem reached up to and pulled over his bald scalp. His shimmering mqaaq'it ocular implants cast an emerald green glow over a starfish shaped gnullith breathing device, which he picked up next and placed over his mouth. He felt the breathing biots long proboscis slither down his throat, providing him with pristinely filtered air. His gnullith was actually a villip-hybrid, serving him as a communicator as well as a breathing apparatus. He didn't really need it, not for practical reasons anyways. Nerit had a breathable atmosphere. It was more about concealing away the face he now wore from others. The face of Uzas.Nem slipped his coufee blade into a fleshy scabbard on his hip as the finishing touch, then headed for the door of his apartment. The hatch-sphincter dilated as he approached and the intendant followed the corridor outside until he reached one of the oqa membranes the crew were using to move in and out of the ship. As he emerged into the light of day, he raised a hand to shield his brow as he looked up at the clear sky, warmed by a singular sun in the sky. The second he cleared the ship and was outside the range of the gravity field of the dovin basal array, he immediately felt the pull of the moon's increased gravity attempting to weigh him down. It might have been more noticeable in his last body, which had been nearing the end of its life-cycle. His new mortal shell was younger, stronger, and more able to handle the increased pressure. He quickly adjusted to the change before seeking out one Yuuzhan Vong in particular among those gathered outside. He stopped along the way to offer words of encouragement and hope to his people, who responded with great enthusiasm at what they perceived as words of prophecy from the Yu'shaa.The truth was that he no longer knew what the future held for them. Once the Price of Pain had been repaired they'd be making their way back to Shili, though he had no idea what to expect. Hopefully by that point the Echo of Damnation would have already moved on, otherwise Nem and his fellow Yuuzhan Vong would be forced to flee again, at least until they rebuilt the fleet. Chances were the command post setup as part of their arrangement with the First Order had been wiped out. After finding out the aggressors were operating under Loraine Zun-qin's command, it was easy to figure out what they had been after. The outpost on Shili contained the Praetorite's voxyn vaults, terrifying chimeric monsters kept in cold storage. Beneath the gnullith he ground his teeth together bitterly. He knew he should have destroyed them when he had the chance, but something in his gut had told him there might come a day when they would be needed again. Frankly Nem had been hoping to unleash them on the Sith, seeing the terror in their eyes as those villainous bastards were the ones hunted for a change. Perhaps this happenstance was a result of harboring such notions of revenge in his heart. If he had been able to let go of his hate, maybe none of this would have happened.Eventually his ocular implants came to settle on the familiar form of Mira Yim. The Master Shaper was in the midst of supervising a team of shapers working on overhauling the Price of Pain. She turned as Nem approached, watching him with glowing pink eyes that leered over puffy light blue eye sacs. Her butterfly wing shaped ears fluttered welcomingly as he came near. The intendant stopped two feet from his dearest friend and confidant, waiting as offered him a public display of obedience, bowing her head ridges as her raven-hued locks seemed to hover weightlessly. Small animate biots could be seen floating among those desirous follicles. Mira had a body that most Yuuzhan Vong males would have gone wild over, though so far as the Executor was concerned, he was far more enamored with her personality. Outside of his domain, she was the only one that really understood him. Hidden beneath his gnullith, the corners of his lips twisted upwards in approximation of an infidel smirk."How bad is it?" Nem's voice was augmented, filtered to the point of being almost unrecognizable as he spoke through the breathing apparatus over the lower half of his face. "Is she salvageable?"Mira practically snorted as she stood beside the Executor, the two of them watching as the shaper caste busied themselves across the length of the frigate's hull, guiding members of the worker caste as they performed all manner of manual labour. The Master Shaper leaned in towards Nem's ear and spoke quietly as she chided Nem."Who do you think you're talking to? Of course I can save her." She beamed confidently. "If anyone can make her void-worthy again, that would be me. Besides, I've been meaning to get my shaping digits on the Price of Pain for a while now. By the time my caste is done with her she'll be running smoother than ever before." Mira then pursed her lips and looked up at the Executor. "Walk with me?" To which he replied. "Of course."Taking the Executor by the arm, Mira led Nem away from the temporary encampment. They walked a short distance into the forest, with the Master Shaper leading the way and the intendant by extension allowing her to guide him until they were away from the rest of their kind. Outside the reach of prying eyes and ears, the two friends were able to forgo the rigid formality of caste and rank, free to be themselves. The first thing Nem did was let out a tired breath that caused steam to vent through the starfish shaped biot over his mouth, expelled through the gnulliths pores in a barely registered groan of fatigue. Always the comforter, Mira patted Nem on the arm before releasing him and having a seat on a rotting log. Taking a moment to rifle through her satchel, the shaper produced a long stemmed coral pipe and a small pouch of Ossus Kush. Mira packed the pipe-biots bowl shaped end full of the dried herb, then put the long fluted tip in her mouth before drawing in a lungful of pleasurable smoke. Holding in the medicinal breath for a few seconds, she eventually exhaled a purple cloud that wafted through the woods around them. When Mira removed the pipe from her mouth, she looked up at Nem with obvious concern in her eyes."Where do we go from here?" "We?" Came Nem's reply so quick it was almost instant. He took a seat beside her on the rotting log which sank slightly under his weight, before reaching up and removing the gnullith from his mouth with a wet squelch. "We're not going anywhere. You're staying here with the rest of your people. Ossus is the safest place for the shaper caste right now. When the Price of Pain has recuperated, I'm going to take whatever warriors I can gather and return to Shili. If Loraine's got her greedy hands on what I think she's after, I doubt she'll stick around there long. My guess is following the attack she'll have returned to Lehon. That's why Alith guided us here instead of making a break back towards the Unknown Regions." He mulled the thought with a shake of his head. "Well, that and he was fairly sure we wouldn't have made it with the damage our ship had sustained. Besides, there is no way of knowing if they are still safe ports for us. The leaders of the colonies were at the meeting when we were attacked. Kar Yin might be dead, or worse. For all we know the colonies have joined Loraine and now we're completely on our own."She took another puff from her pipe before handing it to Nem, who certainly looked like he could use it. Graciously the Executor accepted the smoking biot and proceeded to puff away, giving Mira a chance to speak."Loraine was always good at manipulating other Yuuzhan Vong to get her way, though I struggle to accept that those on Zonama Sekot or Ahch-To would willingly follow her. The Praetorite citizens that went to settle those worlds did so in pursuit of your vision, of peaceful coexistence. More so, all the latest reports indicated that they had achieved that, at least in some small capacity thus far. You don't actually believe one of your domain mates has turned traitor, do you?"In the shadow cast over the top portion of his face by the hood of his cloaker, Nem's mqaaq'it changed hue from their typical green to a more concerning orange. He took a deep long draw from the pipe, relying on the spiritual herb to numb the uncertainty plaguing his besieged soul."I don't know what to believe anymore." He shook his head. "Beyond that, I don't how I'm going to stop her before she brings ruin down on all our heads. If we don't return to Shili soon, the First Order will notice that something is wrong. I can't even begin to imagine how I'd explain this fiasco to the Emperor, who is sure to call into question our value as partners when we can't even quell civil war amongst our own people. Frankly I'm surprised they haven't noticed yet." He lifted his head thoughtfully, mentally magnifying the view of his eyes as he watched a number of small insects climbing up the bark of a nearby tree. "I think we might have gotten lucky and something else has their leadership distracted, though for the life of me I can't imagine what it is." He banged his empty fist against his thigh punitively. "I should have spent more time culturing operatives among the Imperial hierarchy, but the time to do so never seemed to materialize. Between managing the colonies, relocating the chazrachs, the project here on Ossus, and..." Revenge. His last act before convening the Praetorite Council on Shil-Secondus where everything fell apart, was one of vengeance. With the other members of his domain, Nem had performed a midnight raid on the historical homeworld of his most hated enemy. He had struck a blow against Korriban, desecrating sacred Sith burial sites, slaughtering its guardians.The violence had been cathartic, need even, as a release for all the anger and bitterness that encircled his heart like an enraged amphistaff. Only that was an excuse, wasn't it? The Sith Empire that had been responsible for Uzas' death was gone. That much had been apparent from the moment he had first returned to the galaxy after ten years adrift in the intergalactic void. True revenge was forever beyond his grasp. No, if he was completely honest with himself, his actions on Korriban had been about something else entirely. He wondered what Yammka would have thought about his actions. Not the Yuuzhan Vong deity, mind you, but the living being that Nem had called friend so many lifetimes ago. That yammosk had always been overly aggressive and was not shy to resort to violence, when necessary of course, for he was also not bereft of conscience. He'd probably call Nem's honour into question. Fortunately that had never been much of a concern of his. The so-called Yu'shaa's honour had been discarded the moment he had first spouted false religious doctrine to his people so many millennia ago."What happened to Xarl?" The moment the words had left Mira's melodic mouth, which had taken no small measure of courage given the emotions it would certainly dredge up, hit Nem like a hoof kick from a quednak. He buried his face in his hands, unable to relive those moments without feeling like his heart was being ripped apart. Mira had known what sort of distress this would cause him, but still had asked. Partly because she too wanted to know what had happened to Xarl, whom she had always considered a trustworthy and loyal friend, but also because she needed to know. Knowing was the only way she could begin to solve the equation of Nem's broken heart. Yun-Ne'shel forgive her, she just wanted to know how to properly comfort her friend.His voice was coarse, cracked, and expressed his grief openly. "He saved me, and I couldn't save him." He shook his head. "It was my fault. I'm the one who chose to punish Loraine for her actions, which inevitably led to this reaction. I should have broken that slender neck of hers when I held it in my hand after confronting her on Lehon. Instead I chose mercy, and it cost me nearly everything."There were many points to this that Mira wanted to contend, but she remained silently throughout it all. She didn't want to risk interrupting Nem when he was finally revealing what happened. There would be time after to console him. For now, she needed to hear this."I was trying to make it back to my ship. The surface of the moon around me was breaking apart and the only hope of survival was escape. As I neared the Bleeding Orifice's position, I was ambushed from behind. I managed to break free and found myself confronted by Jarulek Anor. I always liked that snake in the coral, never trusted him of course, but he had a certain creeping charm that I could appreciate as an intendant. Loraine had worked her biomancy on him, transforming him into a slayer or something as equally foul. I fought as best I could, but even with my augmentations and experience...well, you saw the damage my body sustained. Before the killing blow fell, Xarl appeared, an angel of death conjured from Shili-Secondus' erupting depths." Very briefly, he dark purple eye sacs puffed, then just as quickly deflated as guilt once again overcame him. "I don't need to tell you the fight was short. He mangled Jarulek's guts with those fighting claws you shaped for him. Then he carried my useless self across the dying surface of the moon and hurled my broken body all the way to my ship. Scab only managed to drag me inside before the ground gave way beneath the Orifice and Ur piloted us out of there. I didn't see Xarl die, but..." A single wet bead of brine appeared in the corner of his left mqaaq'it. "...no one could have survived that. Not even Xarl, Yammka bless him, could have managed it."What passed for surprise crossed the Master Shaper's face. When Nem appeared to have finished his explanation, she finally broke her silence. She wasn't surprised that Xarl sacrificed himself to save Nem. That was pretty much a given and exactly the sort of Yuuzhan Vong he had been. What surprised her was Nem's espoused use of religious sentiment. Yammka-bless him? That was new. As much as she was curious, she chose not to press him on this. What Nem needed now was comfort. She would be the rock he could lean on for support. After all, she was fricking Master Shaper Mira Yim, the most brilliant Yuuzhan Vong shaper and bio-engineering savant that ever lived. When she put her mind to it, she could do anything."Oh Nem." She cooed softly, taking his face in her hands and guiding it to her lap. She stroked his head, her words soft and bleeding with empathy. I'm sorry about Xarl, though mostly I'm sorry you had to go through all that. But..." She shook her head. "...Xarl wouldn't want you to give into despair. He would want you to keep fighting, no matter the odds, no matter what you must continue to endure." Once more she took his head in her hands, only this time she lifted it until they were looking into each others ocular implants. A brilliant fire burned in the pink hued eyes of the Master Shaper, full of hope and endless determination. "It will take a few weeks, but I will get the Price of Pain space-worthy again. You must be ready for when that happens, and for what comes after. I think you need to go on a vision quest."He grit his teeth and shook his head free of her hands. "There is not time! And even if there was..." Interrupted. "Then make time, Nem. Otherwise, why am I even bothering to fix your ship, hmmm?" She poked one of the long segmented digits of her shaping hand into the Executor's chest. "You need to get your head right. It's the only way you'll find the clarity needed to overcome Loraine."Standing up from the log, Nem turned away from Mira, resting a hand on the coarse bark of a tree whose oaken skin seemed to pulsate ever so slightly beneath his touch. After a moment of silence which felt like an eternity to Mira, the intendant turned his head and said one word with a scowl fixed deeply in his features."Fine."
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Nem Yin
The First Order
The dark expanse of the intergalactic void is not as empty as they would have you believe...
Posts: 423
Affiliation: The First Order
Traffic Light: Blue
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Nerit
Feb 11, 2023 6:21:57 GMT -8
Post by Nem Yin on Feb 11, 2023 6:21:57 GMT -8
A week after the Executor's spiritual epiphany at the Jedi Lords castle, Nem returned to the moon of Nerit, currently finding himself walking through its lush forest foliage. He emerged into a clearing at least thirty meters across and open to the bright sunny sky. His left hand came up to shield his ocular implants while his mqaaq'it adjusted to the change in UV penetration. Just ahead and already waiting for him was the Master Shaper, Mira Yim. The female Yuuzhan Vong's light blue eye sacs increased their rhythmic pulse as he drew closer, a physical display of barely contained excitement. She was the reason he was here after all. Mira had been working on something for the Executor which apparently she had finally completed, and now planned to show off her finished product. The intendant pulled back the hood of his cloaker, exposing his naked features to both the shaper and the sky. He studied Mira curiously for any hints, though for now she remained aloof."Well, I'm here." He said, resting his veiny hands on his hips. "What is it that you wanted to show me?"Mira stepped closer to Nem, allowing her pink hued implants to look the intendant over from head to toe. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips."First, tell me how you plan on fighting the slayers when you inevitably face Loraine and those loyal to her. I know you are painfully aware of what happened last time you tried to face just one of her augmented warriors, but by now she'll surely have dozens, if not more. How will you contend with those? Even with the upgrades I've made to Uzas body, you won't be strong enough to take on a slayer one on one."Ah, he understood now. She was here to talk him out of this suicide plan. Well, she was too late. His mind was already made up.He shook his head. "I accept that. I don't plan on relying on strength alone. I'll use my speed and agi..." Interrupted.The Master Shaper put up her shaping hand to elicit silence from the Executor."I'll stop you right there, Nem. It won't work. Believe me when I tell you, I know my work. Even with your experience, your enhancements won't be enough to overcome Loraine's creations." She looked him in his glowing eyes. "You think you are faster, but I assure you Nem, you are not."More bad news, fantastic. The Executor turned away with a grunt, waving a hand to casual dismiss the handmaiden's words as trivial. "Then we'll rely on stealth. If we wear cloaks of Nuun they'll never see us coming.""It won't work. From everything I've gleaned from your reports, Loraine's mastered the forbidden cortex. Not to mention, with the Praetorite's voxyn stores in her possession, you'll be detected for certain."Growling like a snarling bissop, Nem threw his arms up in the air and walked away from Mira, stopping at the edge of the clearing to stare off into the woods. He tucked his hands into his arm pits and looked at the ground, gritting his teeth irritably. There was silence between them for a minute, until the intendant let out an audible sigh."Fine. I admit it." He hacked a wad of phlegm onto the forest floor. "I have no idea how we're going to win."This was the moment she had been waiting for. Mira grinned. "Maybe this can help." She stated, before quickly disappearing into the woods. Nem looked over his shoulder towards the Master Shaper, then turned around as he watched her rummaging around in the bushes. Finally she appeared, her shapely posterior emerging first as she seemed to be dragging something across the ground. With a strained groan Mira pulled into the clearing what upon first glance looked like a suit of vonduun skerr kyrric, but under closer inspection was in fact a specially modified variant that seemed an upgrade on her brother's work. The intendant walked towards the empty suit stretched across the grassy floor and looked at the Master Shaper who appeared to be catching her breath."Crab plate?" He stroked the bone ridges of his chin. "I was hoping for something a bit more original. Besides, you know how I feel about armour." In an instant his coufee blade was in hand, twirling in his palm before he gripped the hilt tightly and aimed the curved tip at the armour on the ground. "This will hamper my style.""You wound me." She mocked, playfully looking away with a admonishing hand over her mouth. Then she giggled and continued to explain. "This is no mere set of crab plate, Nem. I've worked my Mira magic on it, as well as on the suits of those Yuuzhan Vong that agreed to join you. They're waiting aboard the Price of Pain."One thing the Executor had learned over the coarse of his years was to never underestimate the Master Shaper when she put her mind to something. Among some circles of the Praetorite Mira was known as the Miracle Maker, and there was even talk of her replacing Nem as the defacto ruler of the Praetorite Vong. Truth be told, if he thought she really wanted it he would have given her the job without hesitation, but he knew her too well for that. The point being, if she said the suit of armour was special, that meant it was."Alright. I'll just put it on then, shall I?" He asked with a raise of one hairless brow, to which he received a nod of approval from Mira. Sitting down in the opened suit, he allowed the vonduun skerr kyrrics mandibles to encase his cloaker clad body, feeling several rivulets of pain throughout his nervous system as the armour symbiotically connected with its new host. Once sealed over his flesh, the Executor stood up to inspect the suit painfully adhered to his body. From his neck down to his toes he was encased in layers of rigid black carapace, glossy to the point of reflecting the gleam of the noon-day sun overhead. From his spiked shoulder pauldrons hung a glistaweb cape that extended down to mid-shin behind his back. Several new Yuuzhan Vong runes appeared in the corner of Nem's vision as the organic armour integrated with his cloaker and augmented body, allowing him to activate several of its features with a mental command. Flexing the suits gauntlets, Nem was rewarded with a strained groan from the joints as he tested its strength. He walked towards a rock protruding from the forest floor and grabbed it by both sides. With barely an effort he pulled it from the dirt and held it overhead. Then he tossed the Aldari sized rock up into the air and spun, pulling his leg inwards before lashing out at the last minute in a spinning roundhouse kick, connecting his heel with falling stone. The rock shattered on impact, spraying stony bits of debris across the clearing. Nem relaxed and looked at Mira. "Not bad.""Not bad?" She scoffed. "You wanted an equalizer. This is it. With this suit you and the strike team should be at least evenly matched with Loraine's slayers. Of course, they'll still have the numbers advantage.""I've got a plan for that, assuming of course you've made the alterations to the Price of Pain that I asked for." He stared at her coyly and was rewarded by a nod from the Master Shaper. "Come and see."Still wearing his new armour, Nem walked with Mira through the woods back towards the Praetorite encampment. As they stepped out of the forest, the intendant let out a whistle as he looked at his new and improved ro'ik chuun m'arh. Mira hadn't been lying when she said she was going to be making a few...improvements. The entire outer hull was covered in gloss, black armoured plates that could withstand blaster fire and collisions. Several of the forwards facing yaret-kor had been transplanted to the rear of the ship, though the purpose of which was yet clear, at least to anyone other then Nem. The prow appeared to be reinforced with extra armour and the boney spine extending from the front was angled straight ahead."You did a great job, Mira." He nodded in approval. "I think this should work."Mira nodded, agreeing. "She's faster for certain, and she should be able to close the distance thanks to the experimental enhancement at the rear. But even with the reinforced hull and extra speed, you still won't be able to match the Echo in terms of pure firepower.""I just need to get close enough to board her. It doesn't matter what happens after that." He turned around and faced Mira, looking down into the Master Shaper's pink hued mqaaq'it. "Thank you, Mira. None of this would have been possible without your help.""I know." She replied with a sad smile. "Do me a favour and don't get yourself killed, Nem. If you die, I might take it as an indication of flaws in my work.""Perish the thought." He snickered sarcastically, pulling the Master Shaper into a rare but very welcome hug. He held her for a moment more than was appropriate, before releasing her and striding through an oqa membrane leading into the ship. Shortly thereafter, the ro'ik chuun m'arh 'Price of Pain' lifted from the surface of Ossus' moon and broke orbit, disappearing from the star system in a brilliant flash of light.Its destination took it towards the Unknown Regions.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Dec 16, 2023 4:35:57 GMT -8
Location: Ossus (Adega System) | Nerit (Moon) | Springwood Forest A groaning creak of twisting wood intruded on the otherwise peaceful serenity of the edge of the Springswoods, as a large oaken form emerged from the forest and lowered one tree trunk limb to the ground, allowing the slender feminine form enjoying a ride upon the ancient Neti's branchy palm to disembark. The sheer almost translucent sparkling shawl covering the Master Shaper's head flowed in the light summer breeze coming off the forest canopy as she set a nimble naked foot on the lush green grass of a glen open to the sky, the only landmark of note a running stream of sparkling clear water that cut a diagonal slash across the land, attracting small woodland creatures from the woods beside it. This was the place, without question. Mira slowly spun to face her gentleman escort, a towering Child of the Forest, though child felt a wholly inappropriate term for a being that outlived her by several centuries at least. In her silken gown, a shimmering white sleeveless oozhith of glistaweb that was symbiotically adhered to her pores like a layer of second skin, she crossed a lightly tattooed arm across her chest and bowed her head before the gentle giant."Thank you, Mossbeard. This looks like the place Lord Lucien mentioned." She smiled at him, her mqaaq'it ocular implants practically beaming bright pink with barely contained excitement for what lay ahead in the days planned activity. Upon receiving the rank of Jedi Knight, Mira became woefully aware that she was somewhat unqualified for the role, given her years spent as a pacifist Handmaiden of Yun-Ne'Shel. Combat wasn't something that came naturally to one who had a passion for peace and a love of all living things. But if she was going to do this, she needed at least the learn the basics of using a lightsaber. The yorik coral hilt of the lambent heart lightsaber she had shaped remained hanging from her hip, unused since her impromptu knighting ceremony.Mossbeard's knotted wooden face returned the Master Shaper's smile, though his eyes lingered wearily on the organic lightsaber hilt swinging from her hip. He worried the affect the trials of the life Mira had chosen would have on one with such a gentle heart. The Jedi Lords were brave and noble, but it wasn't an easy life to lead, at times full of heartbreak and sorrow. But he also didn't want to discourage her, after all she had done for his people. Mira might not have the Force, but in some ways she was more connected to nature than even the Jedi she had sworn herself to. The neti pursed its moss covered lips and offered the Custodian of Ossus a parting word of advice."Remember Mira, true courage is about knowing not when to take a life..." Wooden cracks rattled as he began to turn, his twig like toes snapping with each giant step. "...but when to spare one. Farewell, Maiden of Ossus."♪♪ "Farewell, Mossbeard!" ♪♪ She called after him, waving the eight fingers of her right shapers hand after the departing neti. As her escort disappeared back into the Springwoods, Mira looked down at the lightsaber on her hip, and spoke softly. "I could never take a life. Could I?" She shook her head to dispel such dark thoughts, freeing the raven locks that swept over her shoulders to hang almost down to her chest. Her hair was threaded with animate biots, little winged insects that sparkled and glowed, occasionally hovering to make her flowing locks appear weightless at times.Using a pearlescent toothless amphistaff as a walking stick, Mira left the forest's edge and headed over to the stream, kneeling at its edge. She reached an empty hand into the cool water and cupped a handful, bringing it to her lips, as clean and crisp as an autumn morning.Now all she had to do was wait. Lucien had arranged this training session for her with another Jedi of the Lords, though he'd seemed intentionally vague on the details. She had no idea who she would be meeting, what their rank or position was, even what species they were supposed to be. That was alright though. Variety was the spice of life, and Mira cherished new experiences. |
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 17, 2023 20:47:24 GMT -8
==Jedi Fly SL== +Mary Cerulea+
<<113 PP (123 ABY); R6 Sector, Ossus, Nerit>>
The ship descending from orbit was a dark shade of blue. It was larger than most light freighters, and shaped much like a horseshoe with thick arms. HT-2200 was called the Tempest, and now it was living up to its name as it flew low over the forest below. As the pilot turned her scanners to the clearing she had been directed to, she quickly judged it was far too small for her ship to land. A few silent commands engaged the autopilot features of the ship as she headed to the main boarding ramp.
The wind swirled and raged inside the open ramp as she stepped up onto one of the many disc shaped droids that made up part of the ship's crew. Her boots clicked with a magnetic lock as the droid hurtled forward under her command and away from the ship. There was someone already in the clearing below, and Mary zoomed in on the figure with her optics. She didn't recognize the species, but it was obviously female. As the Tempest went into a wide circling holding pattern around the clearing, Mary swept in closer. Eventually, coming to a hovering stop about a dozen meters away, and about three meters above the ground.
Her own form was shrouded in the heavy leather cloak she wore. Head mostly hidden in the shadows of a broad conical hat of metal, which bore the clear damage on one side of having been struck with a lightsaber. Below the hat, the smooth, nearly featureless mask peered out. A column of three glowing lenses set into the left side. For a long moment, she merely watched the target. Not entirely sure about her mission. Then she reached under her cloak and pulled out what looked very much like a bone from some humanoid species. A second later and a a red blade appeared with the distinctive snap-hiss of a lightsaber.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Dec 20, 2023 10:04:20 GMT -8
It was impossible not to notice the ship swooping in over the forest, coming to hover above the ground nearby, with a masked figure in a leather cloak. Mira stood up from where she was kneeling next to the stream, her glowing pink mqaaq'it ocular implants settling on the unknown person hovering before her. Was this the person she was supposed to meet? It seemed likely given there wasn't much else around and as far as she knew, the only other person aware of this planned training was Lucien. Always an optimist, the Master Shaper smiled and waved her left hand in greeting. All that came to a quick end as she saw a lightsaber in the strange figure's hand, which ignited into a brilliant red blade.
Red, an uncommon colour of lightsaber for a Jedi. The figure's face was also covered, another uncommon style choice for most Jedi. Could this be...no, on Ossus? A Sith, here of all places? It seemed impossible, but what other explanation was there?
Light blue eye sacs beneath Mira's mqaaq'it puffed in concern, her pulse quickening as something quite unusual crept into the forefront of her incredible mind. Fear. She was afraid. Sensing her agitation, the pearlescent serpent held in the eight digits of her right hand hissed, dripping a few droplets of hand sanitizer from its fangless mouth.
"Yuuzhan be merciful." Muttered Mira, before looking over her shoulder towards the woods. "Mossbeard!" She called out to her friend, but the neti was already long gone, returned to the depths of the Springwoods. She looked back towards the figure, a grimace writ across her alien features, her other hand coming up in mock surrender. "Hey, we can talk about this, right? Please tell me that lightsabers not intended for little ol'me?" Gulp.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 21, 2023 22:35:30 GMT -8
==Jedi Fly SL== +Mary Cerulea+
<<113 PP (123 ABY); R6 Sector, Ossus, Nerit>>
Mary failed to answer, or at least, she failed to answer with words. Instead she disabled the magnetic locks in her boots and stepped forward. Out into empty air. She dropped the few meters to the ground of the clearing. At the last possible moment however, there was a flair of power as she used the Force to stop her fall. As she landed surprisingly softly, the ground for a meter in every direction was suddenly churned as if attacked by a dozen spice addicts with shovels. Backlash from her slowing herself. Through all of this, only her head and a single arm protruded from the nearly all concealing cloak.
Mary wasn't sure what the alien woman was holding, but it looked dangerous. Mary wasn't even sure if it was a pet, or a weapon of some kind. Either way it didn't matter. She had a mission to do. She advanced toward the other woman, lightsaber still extended and held low as she left the patch of torn ground. The blade hummed softly as it clipped through some of the longer strands of grass. She was still several meters away, but it wouldn't take her long to cross the distance.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Dec 24, 2023 8:05:46 GMT -8
Mira's glowing pink mqaaq'it went wide as she watched the figure drop from the open ramp to the grass, tearing up the ground around her in the process with some unseen force. Sweet Yuuzhan! The Master Shaper took a cautious step back, her eyes darting from the figure to the torn patch of earth, muttering a prayer to Yun-Ne'Shel under her breath at the ripped up turf.
Life and death were a part of the cycle of nature, but any unnecessary loss troubled the Handmaiden, even it were only a few blades of grass and the small insects that called it home. This figure, be she Sith or something else, did not seem to hold to the same set of beliefs.
Raising the pearlescent amphistaff in her right hand, the newly promoted Jedi Knight held it across her lanky body defensively, taking another couple of steps back towards the woods. Her ocular implants darted from left to right. She hadn't come prepared for a fight, at least not one she was convinced she could win with her limited combat skills. She was still an amateur at best with the lightsaber she had shaped, and her only other biot was Toothless, which she was hardly an expert in wielding. In the past she had always relied on her warrior caste protectors of the beasts she had shaped to get her out of tight situations. Now she had only herself. Well, she had told Lucien she wanted to be Jedi, suppose it was about time she started acting like one. She twirled the amphistaff in her hands like she knew how to use it, swallowing another nervous gulp before mustering the courage to speak up against the frightening female stalking towards her.
"Hey, your problem seems to be with me. Let's leave the grass out of it." Several steps back she finally held her ground, bending her knees in anticipation of violence to come.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 24, 2023 9:09:13 GMT -8
==Making Friends== +Mary Cerulea+
<<113 PP (123 ABY); R6 Sector, Ossus, Nerit>>
Mary paused for a moment, just outside of striking range. This odd person was getting upset about ... the turf? Regardless she had a job to do. On the other hand, she did shift her grip to a slightly higher posture.
Then she stepped forward and attacked. The first strike was more of a test than a real attack. She was holding the blade in her right hand, so she tried a simple slash from her target's left to right at roughly navel height. It wasn't a slow strike, but she was holding back enough to check the blow if it seemed likely to actually hit. She did have orders after all. She was also prepared for a counterattack, just in case the figure was a lot more skilled than she seemed to project.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Dec 29, 2023 10:16:01 GMT -8
For a woman who had never engaged in honest violence a day in her life, it came as quite a surprise to Mira when her body responded on what seemed like instinct alone, as she spun Toothless in her hands and caught the glowing edge of the baleful red blade on the pearlescent length of her rigid amphistaff, her right hand up near the serpent's throat while her left held the haft a foot below the point of contact between the biot and saber. Had she just...blocked a lightsaber? Fascinating. It was as though she had summoned the spirit of Nem, though that seemed ridiculous. First off the Executor would never find himself in a position he was unprepared for, and secondly he would have most certainly been the aggressor in said situation. The Master Shaper had never spent more than a second of her scientifically inclined life on combat, assuming it to be nothing more than a barbaric pursuit of the warrior caste, yet... ...in that moment, as she held a dangerous foes blade at arms length, with her life seemingly on the line, she had never felt more curiously alive.
In the length of time it took to blink, Mira glossed over every thing she had ever read and learned during her lengthy career about the use of biots she herself had helped shaped, having committed every single instruction manual to eidetic memory. Her left brow ridge rose as she looked at the aggressor across from her, and said something that surprised even herself. "I...I think I know how to fight." But did she want to? Mira was a devoted follower of Yun-Ne'Shel, a Handmaiden of She-Who-Shapes priestly order for Yuuzhan's sake. Despite all that, when she looked deep inside herself, she found the answer to that question. Yes, she wanted to fight. More so, she wanted to win. Replaying the seven different forms of amphistaff combat in her mind, she willed her body through an unfamiliar and shockingly aggressive routine. She pushed off her opponents blade, taking a step back as she did so, then hacked the head of her amphistaff forwards towards the scary female's left shoulder. Toothless was shaped specifically without a sharp edge, making it unable to cut or stab like most amphistaffs. But there was nothing stopping her from using it like a blunt stick.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 30, 2023 16:37:31 GMT -8
==Jedi Fly SL== +Mary Cerulea+
<<113 PP (123 ABY); R6 Sector, Ossus, Nerit>>
For someone that skittish at first, the alien woman moved much better than expected. However, she moved mechanically, like someone that had memorized a book or drilled on a practice field. Not gracefully like someone with with real experience. Mary allowed her blade to be pushed back, and stepped forward with her opponent. Using the momentum of the push to her blade, she spun the weapon in a tight arch that would have decapitated herself, had she not leaned back in the same motion she stepped forward with. The red blade intercepted the strike at her shoulder with the tip, while the handle and lower blade continued on toward the other woman's face in what would have been a palm strike, had her hand been empty.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Dec 31, 2023 8:20:22 GMT -8
THUNK! A resounding 'thunk' echoed through the clearing as the hilt of Mary's lightsaber smacked Mira hard in the forehead, sending shooting stars shooting across her vision like yaret-kor fire in the void, while simultaneously dazing her as her senses tried to catch up with what had just happened. She stumbled back, amphistaff lowering in her hands as a bead of oily black blood dripped down her forehead and into her agape mouth, passing her lips and ending up on her tongue. She blinked her mqaaq'it, eye-sacs puffing as her nervous system responded to the pain, sending a small rivulet of shivering pleasure down into her lower extremities.Alright, that was far less fascinating, even if she was a bit aroused now. Maybe it was time to try something else. Lowering Toothless in her grip so that its fangless mouth was angled towards her opponents face, she stroked her left thumb across the biot's trigger reflex, causing the serpent to spray a jet of hand-sanitizer from the pitted nubs where its teeth should have been. Two streams of anti-septic fluid launched towards Mary. |
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 31, 2023 8:49:05 GMT -8
==Jedi Fly SL== +Mary Cerulea+
<<113 PP (123 ABY); R6 Sector, Ossus, Nerit>>
As expected, the woman was more well informed, but not very well trained. Not as expected however, her .... pet .... thing could spray some kind of fluid. It splattered across her mask, including one of her lenses. fortunately, the autoclean function was working just fine and the fluid, whatever it was, quickly wicked away from the lens. It didn't seem to have caused any damage from the brief contact, but she still had most of the fluid on her mask, the cleaning function only worked on the lenses, not the entire mask. She would have to be ready if the damage sensors started going off.
She would need to end the fight quickly, before the other woman displayed any more surprises. With that thought, Mary stepped up her offensive. With her blade already in a cross body position from the pommel strike, Mary whips the blade back in a left to right strike on her target.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Dec 31, 2023 10:00:00 GMT -8
Head still delightfully stinging, Mira grit her immaculate white teeth as she swept Toothless across her body, catching Mary's swinging lightsaber blade on the serpents scaly haft. It took all her strength just to hang on and not have the amphistaff knocked out of her grip. Holding on with all her might, she planted her feet and did all she could, which was to say nothing for fear of getting slashed in two by the humming and hissing coherent red blade of plasma popping against her living quarter-staff."I don't suppose..." She said in a strained voice. "...you'd consider surrendering?" Unlikely, but hey, worth a shot.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 31, 2023 10:34:37 GMT -8
==Jedi Fly SL== +Mary Cerulea+
<<113 PP (123 ABY); R6 Sector, Ossus, Nerit>>
At last, Mary saw the perfect opening. This entire time, her left hand had been hidden in her cloak, at last it poked out from between the folds, lead by the brutal snub nose of her carbine, which rapidly spun up with an ominous hum as the barrel pressed firmly against the belly of the other woman.
-Mary
I think not. You are under arrest by order of the Jedi Lords.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Dec 31, 2023 11:13:43 GMT -8
Mira's mouth went agape as she felt the barrel of the blaster against her belly, looking down at the nasty looking carbine sticking out of Mary's robe. Her hold on Toothless slackened, releasing the amphistaff completely as she put her hands up in the air in surrender, causing the white scaly stick to fall to the ground between them.
"I surrender!" She stammered, closing her eyes and turning her head to the side as she was fearful of what came next. Then a moment of clarity set in as she considered the other's words, causing her butterfly winged shaped ears to flutter. Slowly, she opened her mqaaq'it and turned her head back towards Mary. "Wait, did you say under arrest by order of the Jedi Lords? Are you serious? Oh, I see. Sure, it all makes sense now. Get the Master Shaper to fix the ecosphere of the planet, promise to make her a Jedi, then once she's got her hopes up and is feeling great about herself, slap her in cuffs and lock her in a cage. Nem warned me about something like this but I didn't want to listen. Unbelievable." Mira glared at her captor angrily. "Well you can tell Lord Lucien he can forget about that garden I promised him for Harcey Keep. Hmph!"
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 31, 2023 11:24:51 GMT -8
==Jedi Fly SL== +Mary Cerulea+
<<113 PP (123 ABY); R6 Sector, Ossus, Nerit>>
Mary blinked, though the other woman couldn't see it. She had no clue what the other woman was talking about, but since she was technically apprehended, Mary keyed open the next section of her orders and quickly read it. For a few long moments, she paused. Then she started to laugh. It started out as a little giggle, then quickly grew into a deeper belly laugh than she had had in a long time. She quickly stepped back and returned her weapons to their holsters.
-Mary
I apologize for laughing, it seems the joke was aimed at both of us.
Mary reached up and her mask unhooked with a soft hiss of pressure. The face below it was younger than might be expected, but much more care worn and scarred. Much of left side had been badly burned, and then infected with something that left huge craters in it. Her one remaining eye, the right one, was the color of fresh poured molten gold.
-Mary
My name is Mary Cerulea, and it would seem that I have been send to be your padawan. My orders were to arrest you, and then open the rest of the sealed orders, which I just did. Seems the introduction was set up to test both of us. Though I'm not sure who is judging the test or how we did.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Dec 31, 2023 12:20:14 GMT -8
"A test?" Scoffed the Yuuzhan Vong, lips pursing as her brow ridges narrowed in irritation, but only for a moment. Soon those same features softened, easing as the fear and tension she had felt only moments ago was replaced by genuine surprise. Ah, so Lucien had a bit of the Trickster God in him. She had no idea the Jedi Lords were such practical jokers, but seeing as she still was relatively unscathed, minus a nasty bump on her noggin, she supposed there was no harm in it. Ears aflutter and light blue eye-sacs puffing in rhythm with her pulse, the Master Shaper took a moment to observe her newly revealed Jedi Lord comrade.
She was familiar with a wide variety of this galaxy's sentient species. From her initial assessment she guessed Mary to be human, though there was something remarkably odd about her appearance. She appeared scarred in much the same way her former acquaintance Xeonon Solomon had been, though unlike the Imperial Knight she seemed far too young to had received them in battle. Then again, the galaxy was a dangerous place. Who knew what she had endured in her limited lifetime.
"I see. Well, Lucien's going to get an earful from me the next time I see that jester of a Jedi, but seeing as we were both the subject of his attempt at humour..." She winked her right mqaaq'it. "...no harm done, I suppose. My name is Mira, Mira Yim. Perhaps you may have heard of me? I recently was leading the Ossus Project that restored the planet we're currently orbiting. This moon as well, actually." She shrugged, lips spreading into a warm smile. "I like to be thorough. Truth be told, I'm not sure why the High Lord thought it a good idea to send me a padawan. I'm barely a Jedi Knight as it is, but maybe this is one of those classic Jedi lessons I've heard so much about."
Mira extended her right hand, offering Mary all eight and varied digits of her shaping appendage, in the same way she had seen other infidels do.
"It's nice to meet you, even under the circumstance. I told our mustachioed leader I was eager to get out into the galaxy and do what I can to help the common people, pursuing the role of...what did he call it? Ah, yes, a Jedi Ronan. I admit though, I'm a bit out of my element. Having someone around who is more familiar with the customs of this galaxy would be a substantial boon I think, plus I'm always happy to make a new friend." On the ground, Mira's white amphistaff reverted from its rigid form and slithered across Mary's boots, coiling around one of her legs and nuzzling its serpentine snout into her shin. "Toothless seems to like you, and he's an excellent judge of character. I can already tell, Mary, we're going to get along smashingly."
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 31, 2023 12:46:54 GMT -8
==Jedi Fly SL==+Mary Cerulea+
<<113 PP (123 ABY); R6 Sector, Ossus, Nerit>>
Mary shook the offered hand, not at all bothered by the odd number of digits. Then smirked at Mira's choice of words.
-Mary
Smashing might be a bit too accurate. Sorry about the knock on the head. I was actually expecting you to block it, given how well you had done against my probing attack. As for common people, yeah I could help with that I suppose. I've spent most of my own time in the Jedi Lords as a glorified attack dog. I suppose it makes sense to pair me off with someone that is more, stable?
With introductions made, Mary returns the mask to its more comfortable place on her face. As she does so, she notices Mira's pet curling around one of her armored boots. That did disturb her, a little bit.
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Mira Yim
The Jedi Order - Ossus Jedi Conclave
"I can fix this."
Posts: 105
Affiliation: Handmaidens of Yun-Ne'Shel
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Mira Yim on Jan 3, 2024 9:48:30 GMT -8
Reaching up to probe the bump on her noggin, the Master Shaper giggled as the doing so sent a pleasurable rivulet of pain throughout her nervous system, causing her to bite the corner of her lip as her mqaaq'it briefly glossed over. While far from a member of the warrior caste, the Handmaiden of Yun-Ne'Shel was still a Yuuzhan Vong, whose biology had evolved with a conductivity towards feeling pain. Where a human might derive enjoyment from the gentle caress of naked fingers across their skin, Mira's was more receptive to the dragging of sharp fingernails across her flesh. A bit kinky by most common galactic standards, but that was how Yun-Yuuzhan had made them, so there it was. The small blue eye-sacks beneath her mqaaq'it contracted as a smile graced her lightly tattooed features.
"No apologies necessary. Truth be told I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did. Combat is not something that comes natural to me and I've had little in the way of personal experience with it." Lowering her shaping appendage, she snapped to unique jointless digits together, summoning her amphistaff who appeared content in nestling against Mary's leg. It slithered across the ground, up her own leg and into her hand, before growing rigid again as she triggered its reflex with a stroke of a finger. "I do hope there won't be a need for violence, but I for one feel more comfortable having someone join me who is more than capable of it when absolutely necessary. Yun-Harla be kind, we won't have need of it at all." The more realistic part of her doubted that, however.
With a single thought, Mira activated the villip implanted in her brain, sending a telepathic signal to her personal sekotan starship on the far side of the Springwoods. A mere thirty kilometers away, it rapidly encroached on their position, flying just above the top of the forest canopy. She raised Toothless and indicated Mary's transport still hovering a short ways away.
"Is that your ship?" She touched a finger to her chin. "You know, it occurs to me I have never flown in an infi..." Mira stopped herself mid-speech, aware of the verbal faux-pas she had just made. Infidel was the term Yuuzhan Vong used to refer to non-Yuuzhan Vong by, but in galactic basic, it took on a somewhat derogatory meaning. The last thing she intended was to offender her new friend, and Padawan, it seemed. "...I mean, a non-organic starship. I would be most delighted if we could use your vessel for our journey. I'll need to move a few small items aboard for my own personal comfort, nothing too large, I promise."
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