MC: AotE: Old Friends and New Jobs

[starmark2k]

"Jana, This Reibe, Has obviously been keeping somthing from you. Hell, she's changed her name various times and ain't aged in over a decade." Nic said leaning against the wall next to her door. "Look it's over now, We'll proberly never see again."

[JasraLantill]

When Nic left the common room, Beryl took the opportunity to pour herself and Cloud another drink. "To forgiving captains, and a clean conscience," she said, raising her glass. She downed the shot, then smiled with relief. "Ah! Nothing beats Corellian ale."

 

She rose from the table. "I'll be right back. Got to go and look up the freq to contact my brother."

 

In the corridor, Nic was standing directly across from her door, talking to Jana's. "C'mon Jana, this ain't the first time someone stabbed us in the back."

 

Beryl raised her eyebrows, but slipped into her own room without comment.

 

Ooh....not getting involved, not getting involved, NOT getting involved.... Could end up in a lover's spat. Not getting involved! I can talk to Jana later. Much later. Rayne's freq. Datapad with Rayne's freq. Ah! There it is.

 

Beryl came out of her room, a datapad in hand. Nic was now leaning up against the wall.

 

Uh, oh. Bad sign. Looks like he's preparing to set up camp. This could be a long one. Unless, of course, Jana opens her door and throws something at him. But I'm not hanging around for that.

 

"Jana, this Reibe has obviously been keeping something from you," Nic was saying. "Hell, she's changed her name various times and ain't aged in over a decade. Look it's over now. We'll probably never see her again."

 

Beryl bit her lip to keep from commenting on that one, although she did give Nic a 'just-who-exactly-do-you-think-you're-kidding' look before she headed off to the bridge.

 

It didn't take her long to contact her brother Rayne. He ran a transport company. He had comm repeaters stationed all over the main corridors.

 

As soon as she and Rayne had exchanged greetings, she wasted no time in explaining her situation. "I was having a discussion with some of my friends, and wondered if you could resolve a slight problem to settle a bet between us. I said they could use Preevay's Formula to optimise engine output. They thought that Vimer's Formula was the only right one to use, but their figures seem a bit high to me. What do you think?"

 

There was a pause.

 

"I agree with you," Rayne's staticky voice answered. "Vimer's would work, but Preevay's would work better. But only if you substitute the first constant in tandum with the the calculated variable for the type of fuel you are using. What fuel are you using?"

 

"A medium grade plasmotic."

 

Another pause. "Then you should get away with using 2.4 as your constant, and 8.65 for your variable."

 

"2.4 and 8.65?"

 

"That's right."

 

"Thanks, Rayne. You've earned yourself a commission!"

 

She disconnected the comm and turned to Jack. "My brother gave us a safe place to land on Corellia without being detected by any Imps or Corellian security. When you come out of hyperspace, approach on vector 24 and set a course heading of 86. Land in Hanger 5. I'll let Nic know." She turned to leave. "Oh, and I've opened my last bottle of Corellian ale," she added. "Feel free to join us."

 

On her way off the bridge, she thought she heard Jack utter a grunt. She sighed. One of these days, I'm going to have to ask him if that's a good grunt or a bad grunt. Still can't tell.

 

She rejoined Cloud in the common room. "Now, where were we?"

[ExtreamJedi12]

"We were going to do another toast." Cloud said. "And you're right. Nothing beats Corallian ale." He took a deep drink from his glass like before. He puts his glass down. Once again, he gets the feeling Sephiroth is near. "Something is wrong." Cloud says in an under-his-breath-so-that-only-Beryl-can-hear-voice. "I can feel it."

[Writer]

"Sure," Jana muttered, finally opening the door. She looked more angry than anything. "Fine. It's done. She's gone. We'll move on."

 

She forced a smile and said, "I think I'd just like a few minutes alone. I'll be out later. Don't let the others go crazy while I'm in here."

 

Without waiting for an answer, she shut the door again.

[JasraLantill]

Beryl frowned slightly. She had been feeling that something was 'wrong' ever since they picked up Ryshana, but she wasn't about to say anything about it. People might think she was...well, spooky. She had premonitions now and again, part of why she was such a good pilot, but she didn't dare mention it to anyone.

 

"What's wrong? What do you feel?" she asked him.

[ExtreamJedi12]

"Sephiroth." Cloud said to Beryl. "He's near."

[JasraLantill]

"Who's Sephiroth?" Beryl asked. She never figured Cloud for having enemies. He was too nice of a guy.

[starmark2k]

As Jana's door slammed in Nic's face he turned around and headed down the ladder, as he went down he heard a strange Buzzing noise coming from the cargo hold. Nic stepped on to the catwalk and looked down over the Cargo Holds floor.

 

Ryshanna was doing what Could only be described as an odd Dance with a lightsabre. "Careful there Jedi, you could poke someones eye out with that thing."

[steven]

I dont beleive i've ever been to Corellian before Jack thought to himself as he brought the ship out of hyperspace. Jack hit the inter-com and said into the microphone "We're here. Proceeding to the cordinants Beryl gave me!"

[ExtreamJedi12]

"It's a long tale, Beryl." Cloud said. "I'm not sure you'd be interested."

[stingerhs]

There were thousands of them in Ryshana's mind. They were all coming for her and trying to kill her. Thousands of stormtroopers. Time after time, she was blocking bolts, performing acrobatics, stabbing and slicing, and on occasion, parrying other sword attacks.

 

"Careful there Jedi, you could poke someones eye out with that thing."

 

As Ryshana heard Nic speak, she suddenly stopped. Bringing the lightsaber to bear by her head, she deactivated it. "I perfectly aware of what's going on in this cargo bay, Captain. Besides, it doesn't hurt to get a bit of exercise."

[JasraLantill]

"It's a long tale, Beryl," Cloud said. "I'm not sure you'd be interested."

 

Beryl gave him a reassuring nod. It was obvious to her that Cloud was uncomfortable discussing the matter at the moment. "Well, perhaps this isn't the right moment to discuss it," she said diplomatically. "But despite being a 'gregarious Corellian,'" she said, grinning, "I am a good listener when I need to be. And I can keep a secret. And, if this Sephiroth is on Corellia, let me know if there's anything I can do to help. This is my homeworld. I've got connections."

 

"We're here!" Jack's voice came over the comm. "Proceeding to the cordinants Beryl gave me!"

 

"Wow, that was quick!" Beryl rose, but not before checking the bottle of ale. It was almost gone. "Might as well finish this up," she said to Cloud. "I'll pick up some more while we're here." She split the last of the ale between their two glasses, then downed hers quickly. "Now, I've got something to 'discuss' with our first mate before we land." She started to leave, then paused. "Oh, say," she said over her shoulder. "Why don't you make up a list of parts that we need--you know, the ones that Nic won't fork out for? I'll 'convince' my brother get them for us. He's rich. He can afford them."

 

She headed down the corridor towards Jana's room. Nic was no longer there, apparently had given up his seige, broken camp, and moved on. Unless he was inside....

 

Beryl frowned a bit, then leaned her ear closer to the door. She didn't hear anything. She let out a sigh of relief. If Nic was in there, there would have been some sort of noise.

 

She rapped briskly on the door. "Open up, Short Stuff," she said. "There's something we need to talk about before we land."

 

And the topic? Well, Riebe/Tarla/Whatever, of course. Beryl disagreed with Jana on her judgement of the mysterious SithHunter's actions. And Beryl wanted to know the real reason behind why Jana thought Tarla had betrayed them.

[Writer]

"Nope," Jana answered shortly. "I need time alone..." Then, she sighed and her door opened, allowing Beryl to slip in. The room was a mess, looking as if a tornado had touched down. The tornado's name was Jana.

 

"Bit of a mess in here," she mumbled and went back to sitting on the bed and looking up at Beryl. There was a short period of silence before Jana snapped, "You wanted to talk... so talk."

[ExtreamJedi12]

Cloud got started looking for parts that needed to be replaced. "Hmmm..." Cloud thought. He looked at he engine and started to inspect it. "Cooling tubes, ion inciderator, grav generator," and the list went on and on. When he got done, he went back to his room. He picked up a picture of Sephiroth. He was going to show Beryl what he looked like so she could watch for him on Corellia.

[JasraLantill]

Beryl raised her brow in surprise at the state of Jana’s room.

 

Bit of a mess? Bit of an understatement, if you ask me!

 

Beryl herself couldn’t stand clutter, and it took a lot of effort for her to not start straightening things up right there and then. But it was blatantly obvious that Jana was angry about something. Or at someone.

 

Carefully avoiding the holovids, clothing, and personal grooming items strewn across Jana’s floor, Beryl picked her way towards an upturned chair in the corner. She lifted an item of clothing off of it before righting it and sitting down, but then did a double take at what she was holding. She let the blouse drape from her fingers. It was one of hers, an expensive one, too, as Beryl recalled, that she had let Jana borrow a few months ago. For a night out with Nic on…on…

 

Ichtor VIII, wasn’t it? Yeah. The ‘Infinity’ nightclub. That was it. Very plush, very pricey, and very picky about their dress code.

 

“I take it that you’re done with this now?” she said to Jana, as she neatly folded up the blouse and laid it on the edge of the bed.

 

Jana merely glared at her.

 

O-kay, so that’s how it’s going to be, is it? Fine. Then I’ll just jump in with both feet and make a splash.

 

“Tarla Vel would not betray us,” she said bluntly. “Especially not to the likes of the Empire. I wasn’t up on the bridge, so I don’t know what you saw, but I know she would not betray us. Yes, she probably collided with the stabiliser when she detached, but you saw her ship. It was damaged. I can’t for one second believe that she would do something like that on purpose.” She paused for a breath. “Besides, if she wanted to turn us in, she wouldn’t have helped us against that Dreadnaught. Nevermind the fact that she could have rammed us anytime she wanted to, just like she did that Dreadnaught, if she wanted to leave us helpless and adrift for the Imps to pick us up.

 

“You may have doubts about the Rebellion and the Alliance, but I don’t. And I’ve got three brothers somewhere out there, fighting along side the rebels, that feel the very same way. The more pressure the Empire puts on planets like Corellia and Alderaan, the more resolved and the more unified the rebels become. And I believe that Tarla, Riebe, or whatever she wants to call herself, knows that, too.” She paused for a second. “I know you’re angry with her right now. But whatever she did, she didn’t do it to betray us. You’re wrong about her, Jana.”

[Writer]

"You didn't know her that well, Beryl," Jana snapped. "Sure, she was a TCTA instructor. But you saw the same things I saw... how many names she's used since then, all of them presumed dead. She betrayed the Jedi and served the Empire before going missing again."

 

She swore angrily. "And we now have a Jedi aboard. Don't forget that, Beryl. Remember there was that week early in your graduation year that she didn't teach and didn't leave a reason she wasn't there? One of my best friends vanished that week as well... and was found dead later and all evidence points to one of the false names she used."

 

"Don't tell me she's not capable," she finished icily. Then, she lashed out, unsure of if she actually meant to or if it simply came out. "At any rate, you and I come from very different backgrounds. If you told me you'd seen your own family arrested by Imperials, I'd not believe you... they certainly have enough money to offer bribes!"

 

She regretted her words, but she couldn't stop. Flinging Beryl's blouse at her, she snapped, "And yes, you can have your blouse back, you spoilt little brat! Go ahead! Live in your riches and leave poor little me alone!"

 

Huffing for breath, she dreaded Beryl's response...

[JasraLantill]

Beryl's eyes narrowed at Jana, and her grip tightened on the blouse she had thrown at her. "Spoiled brat?" Something snapped. Maybe it was something that Beryl had stepped on as she rose out of her chair, but it really didn't matter. Beryl's didn't tolerate anyone making insults to her family.

 

"You're the one acting like a spoiled brat! Look at you! Sulking and pouting and throwing things around just because you suspect someone of doing something that you can't even prove! Lots of people use false names. So what? And maybe Tarla just took a vacation that week because she was sick of teaching passive-aggressive nerfherding nitpickers like you! It doesn't mean she had anything to do with your friend's death. And it doesn't mean she betrayed anyone.

 

"And as for my family? Yeah, they're rich. But that doesn't mean they don't have principles. Something yours was obviously lacking in!"

[Writer]

Jana glared and stood slowly. This was way beyond her 'look'. "The fact that my family wasn't ass rich doesn't mean we had no principles!" she spat. Her glare deepened. "It just means we had a better understanding of the lower end of the scale... something I seriously doubt you could even spell!"

 

"And if you care to remember..." she went on. "But why would you? You'd gone off and graduated by then. What do you care for your old school? But perhaps you'd care to remember that, whenever Tarla went on vacation, she announced it and scheduled a substitute."

 

"Passive aggressive?" she snapped. "It's better than full out aggressive, miss "I nearly killed my instructor at Graduation!" She let out a harsh laugh. "And you want to talk to me about principles? Here's a good one you don't seem to have learned: when people help you, you don't hurt them!"

[JasraLantill]

Beryl’s eyes widened with fury. She'd had enough of Jana's looks and inuendos. “Oh is that so? Well, you’re certainly not being very helpful to me at the moment, so I'll assume that's an invitation!”

 

Beryl dropped the blouse on the floor and decked Jana in the jaw.

 

The fight was on!

[Writer]

Jana staggered backward slightly, but her reaction was nothing more than instinct. "Lost your pretty, brat!" she snapped, purposefully stomping on the blouse before taking a swing at Beryl's chin. She missed that, but her momentum carried her into Beryl and they toppled, squirming to the floor.

[steven]

"I hate to interupt.."Came Jacks voice from the intercom "But Beryl we'll be landing at your brother landing pad in several minutes. You can either get ready to meet him or continue trying to that your friend is innocent..." Witch is incredipally pointless

[JasraLantill]

"Shut up, Goren!" Beryl shouted as she wrestled Jana for control. Beryl had been ready for a reprisal, but she hadn't expected Jana to outright lunge for her.

 

"Ow!" she shouted, as she felt her hair pulled. She tried to kick Jana off her, but Jana being smaller than she was and being on the top of the heap, Jana was latched to her like an Ichtorian Attack Stohl! "Stop fighting like girl, you shutta!" she said by way of insult.

 

She punched Jana in the gut, hoping to knock the wind out of her, but being on the floor her punch didn't have half the power it would have had she had more leverage.

[Writer]

Though the punch was not strong, Jana did lurch suddenly away, eyes wide, staring at Beryl.

 

"We..." she panted. A look of astonishment and horror. "Oh..." She hurried out of the room, her half-messed hair sticking out at wild angles as she fled to the only 'safe' place she knew. It was a small opening in the hull, typically used for storing less legal cargo. It was very small. In fact, only Jana of the entire crew could actually fit inside. It was also deep and exactly what Jana needed.

[JasraLantill]

Panting, Beryl lay there on the floor for a moment, then swore as Jana ran out of the room. "Great. Just great. First I lie to the captain, then I beat up the first officer." She closed her eyes for a second, then got up from the floor.

 

"Ugh," she said, catching her reflection in the mirror. She ran her fingers over the red marks on her neck. She snorted. Hard to believe that hands that small and delicate-looking could leave marks like that. Still, nothing that time wouldn't heal. She ruffled her fingers through her hair, and tucked in her tank top.

 

"Damn," she said, sighing. She shouldn't have let Jana get to her like that. Nic was going to flip. Good thing they were almost on Corellia. At least she should be able to find another job there.

 

"Damn!" She went to go and find Jana. She had a pretty good idea where she was.

 

She picked up the blouse from the floor and headed down the corridor. Halfway between engineering and the ladder she paused. The hatch to the small storage compartment was partially open.

 

"Jana?" Beryl knelt down. "Jana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. Really." She paused, listening for any response. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

 

Beryl sat down next to the hatch, back against the wall. She sighed. She hated conceding just to patch things up. "Maybe... maybe you're right about Riebe. I'm not convinced, but maybe you're right."

[Writer]

"Can't believe I did that," Jana muttered, her voice barely audible to Beryl.