MC: AOTE: Rhea

[starmark2k]

Nic decided to leave Beryl and Jana to their private conversation and thought it would be best to Follow Ryshana. The Ship was as safe as it could be in hyperspace and as Jack was still in the cockpit nothing could go wrong until they reached the old Republic warship. Nic Reached the cooler and pulled out a bottle of Sullustian Vodka and then leaned against the door looking at Ryshana.

 

"O.K ry someone like you only drinks strait out of the bottle when there's a big problem, So what is it." He said taking a swig of the sullustian alcohol.

[stingerhs]

After the long swig, Ryshana started to breath a bit heavy. It was all just a bit too much now. She had been on the run for so long...

 

"O.K ry someone like you only drinks strait out of the bottle when there's a big problem, So what is it."

 

Taking a quick swig, Ryshana paused for a moment before answering. "Have I ever told you how long I've been running from the Imperials, Nic?" Ryshana asked without looking over at him. Without waiting for an answer, she simply looked over at him and said, "However long it's been, it's been too long. These times have been too dark, and there was never any true possiblity for me to survive them."

 

Looking down at the bottle of ale, Ryshana paused for a moment and took another long swig. "It won't be long now, Nic. You see, Nic, he knows that I'm here. Once he finds you, that's when he starts to hunt you. I've heard the stories Nic, and its enough for me to know that I don't have much time left. I can feel it."

[starmark2k]

"We all run from somthing." Nic stated looking at Ryshana."Some of us escape it, Sometimes it catches up with you, but others spend there lives runnin'."

 

Nic took another swig of his Drink. "I don't know how long you've been running, i presume it since the purge. But there's one thing differant from then and now, I'm here and as long as i am Vader will have me deal with."

 

"I don't like his odds." Nic joked

[stingerhs]

Ryshana smiled a bit at the joke, but she knew better. "Yah, well, its the whole thing about spending their lives running that gets to me. I want to live, Nic; I don't want to run. I wish that..." Ryshana started to say, but she stopped herself.

 

Looking a bit nervously over at Nic, Ryshana then said, "I'll be in my room if you need me." Moving quickly almost out of embarrassment, Ryshana entered her room and shut the door quickly behind her. Leaning against a wall, Ryshana looked upwards. With a crash, the bottle of ale hit the floor as Ryshana dropped it from her grasp. Closing her eyes, Ryshana finally finished her statement, "I wish that Jeez was here."

[starmark2k]

Nic watched Ryshana walk away and took another sip of his drink before he walked to his own room. Nic walked over to his desk and sat down on the chair infront of it before looking over at the image to the right of it.

 

He began to think about what he was doing, He was risking his life and that of his crew to help a single jedi. But it wasn't only Ryshana he also had to deal with the fact he was suppose to be looking after Jana because someone who killed him asked him too. The fact two more of his crew were force adepts didn't help the situation he was in either.

 

For a split second he asked why he was doing all this but then he remembered, he needed retribution. His life is now sacrifice to help those who need it and at the moment they were all on his ship.

[JasraLantill]

With Nic, Jana, and Ryshana having all retired to their respective rooms, Beryl was left alone in the corridor leading to the cockpit.

 

Her vision returning to normal, and since Jack seemed to have things well under control, and Cloud was probably tinkering or adjusting something in engineering, and Oliver was probably sleeping in the med bay, she walked into the common room and began to make something to eat—not because she was hungry, and not because it was her turn on Jana’s roster, but because she needed to think and cooking was relaxing.

 

She knew that she had been designated as ‘Force Sensitive’ as a child, and that her father had refused the Jedi’s request to train her, but until now, she hadn’t really believed in nor held much credence in ‘the Force.’ But having seen Ryshana use her Jedi tricks, and teach Cloud a few things, Beryl was beginning to think there might be something to it after all. And if Vader could sense Ryshana, there was a good chance that he could also sense Cloud and her. She didn’t know if Cloud had been taught by Ryshana on how to cloak himself, but she certainly hadn’t been taught. And that meant she was putting Nic and the rest of the crew in danger.

 

As Beryl saw it, she had only two choices—leave the Echo when they reached their next port, or ask Ryshana to teach her. And neither choice appealed to her. She liked being on the Echo, and even if Nic did have some ‘questionable’ taste in jobs, being a part of his crew was exciting and fun and she didn’t want to leave. But to ask Ryshana for help meant admitting to herself that she was Force Sensitive and the Force was real. And that scared her.

 

It was not a good time to be a Force Sensitive. She had heard plenty of stories about what the Empire did to them. Those that willingly submitted were trained as assassins or spies or used for some other ill purposes by the Emperor. Those that didn’t were tortured by Imperial Inquisitors until they either submitted or died.

 

As Beryl cooked, she wrestled with her choices, weighing out the pros and cons in her head. By the time the nerf and vegetable stew was ready, she had made her decision. Her only problem now was finding the right moment and the right words to tell Nic, but she was sure that the opportunity would present itself.

 

Feeling better, she pushed the button for the ship’s intercom. “Dinner’s on, if anyone wants some stew. If not, feel free to help yourselves to tasteless nutri-tabs.”

 

She sat down by herself at the table with a bowl of stew and began to eat. She wasn’t really that hungry, but there was no telling what would be waiting for them on board a strange ship, and she wanted to be energised and ready. In fact, right after dinner, she planned on priming her weapons, prepping the body armour she had stashed under her bed, and, if there was time, she might even have a round of ‘Headhunter Sim’ just to sharpen her skills.

[ExtreamJedi12]

Before Cloud heard the message, he was sitting in the engine room. It was probably the only place he spent more time in then his room. He loved the sounds in there. When he heard there was dinner waiting, he heard his stomach growl.

 

"Guess it's time to eat." he told himself. He got up, went to the kitchen, and grabbed a bowl of soup. When he took the first slurp, he reconized the flavor immidately.

 

"Nerf and veggie stew." he thought. "Just like Aerith used to make." Cloud could not help but think of her after that slurp. He didn't take another for awhile. Ever since he last saw Sephiroth, he had been harboring a feeling. He feels that he could have gotten the crew killed in his quest for revenge. He feels that he doesn't trust himself for his actions.

[JasraLantill]

Beryl was glad that she wasn’t eating alone, but when Cloud took his first mouthful of stew, then paused, she frowned slightly. The stew tasted all right to her, but maybe she had put something in it that he didn’t like.

 

She was about to ask him about it when he started eating again. She raised an eyebrow. Perhaps it wasn’t the stew after all.

 

“Something bothering you, Cloud?” she asked him. “You seem… preoccupied.”

[Writer]

Jana slipped into the room, filled a bowl, and smelled it. "Nerf and veggie," she murmured. Her eyes went to Cloud. Then, she sighed. "Oh, memories..."

 

With that, she took her bowl and returned to her quarters.

[ExtreamJedi12]

"It's nothing, Beryl." Cloud said. "I was just thinking."

[JasraLantill]

Beryl didn't buy Cloud's explanation. From what Jana had said and the look she had given Cloud, Beryl guessed what, or rather who, he might thinking about. Aerith--her mysterious predecessor. Beryl knew that Aerith used to be the Echo’s pilot, that Cloud had been in love with her, and that Cloud’s enemy Sephiroth had somehow killed her, but that was about all she knew about her.

 

But to Beryl, Cloud appeared more worried than pensive right now. She wondered if it had something to do with his newly discovered Force powers and his quest for revenge against Sephiroth for Aerith’s death. Ryshana had taught Cloud a few things, but from what little Beryl knew about Jedi, revenge wasn’t included in their philosophy. Perhaps Cloud was feeling conflicted inside.

 

“You’re worried about Sephiroth, aren’t you?” Beryl said, as more of a statement than a question. “Don’t be. By your hand or not, he'll get what's coming to him, sooner or later. And it’s not your fault we ran into him. Or Vader.” She paused for a moment. “Cloud, I don’t really mean to pry,” she said tentatively, “and don’t take this the wrong way, but, just out of curiosity, has Ryshana taught you how to mask your Force Sensitivity?”

[ExtreamJedi12]

"Why do you ask?" said Cloud. He wondered for awhile and came up with why she asked. "Yeah," he said. "Ry taught me a little. Vader couldn't sense us if he tried. That's little I can say for Sephiroth." Cloud got up and poured a glass of blue milk from the fridge. Then he sat back down and drank a big gulp.

[JasraLantill]

Beryl’s brow crinkled as she thought for a moment. She quickly finished the rest of her stew. “I’m going to go and get my gear ready,” she said to Cloud. “Don’t know how long it’ll be before we get to the Rhea, but I don’t want to be caught short.”

 

She excused herself from the table and then headed down the corridor. But at her door, she paused, then looked to the left at Ryshana’s door.

 

A whole string of thoughts were going through her mind at the moment. She didn’t want to be Force Sensitive, but she knew she was. The Jedi didn’t come knocking on your father’s door just to say ‘hi’ or because they were in need of directions. She had only found out about what their visit meant years later when one of her brothers had been teasing her about it, and when she had pointedly asked her father, he had told her the story of how he had refused to give the Jedi his only daughter and youngest child. She had accepted his explanation and paid the matter no more thought. Until just recently.

 

She had spent most of her years not thinking about the Force or Jedi or anything to do with being Force Sensitive, but now it was hard not to think of anything else. In the past few weeks, she’d met Ryshana, renegade Jedi; Tarla (or Riebe, as she had called herself) a Jedi-like, ageless whatever she was; Sephiroth, definitely another Force user, albeit a demented, evil one; and Darth Vader, who was definitely evil and whom she didn’t ever want to meet again.

 

What should she do? She didn’t know if she was strong in the Force or not. If she was strong, she needed to learn how to mask herself otherwise she was putting the entire crew in danger, even at this very moment. But she didn’t want to learn to use the Force, because, well, she was afraid of what it would do to her. She’d heard plenty of stories about Jedi turning to the Dark Side, and they had years of formal training. What chance did she have in resisting it?

 

She turned and faced Jana’s door. She needed someone to talk to. Things in her head were becoming muddled and confused.

 

She tapped on Jana’s door.

[Writer]

Through Jana's door, Beryl heard a muffled grunt, but it was unclear if it was meant to be a 'come in' or a 'go away'. Then, the door slid open with Jana on the other side. After seeing it was Beryl, she left the door open and moved back to her bed.

 

"Come in," she said. "And close the door once you're through it."

[JasraLantill]

Beryl did as Jana asked, then stood there for a moment in silence. Her problems faded to the backburner as she stared at Jana with a look of deep concern on her face.

 

"You alright?" she asked. "If you're feeling sick, I can get Oliver for you." She suddenly blanched with alarm. "It wasn't the stew, was it?"

[Writer]

Jana chuckled softly and sat on the bed, her back in the far corner. "No, I'm fine physically. The stew was very good." She sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

[JasraLantill]

"Me, too," said Beryl. She sat down on the edge of Jana's bed. "So, what's on your mind?" she asked, thinking that it might be better to hear what was bothering Jana, than to further burden her with her own problem. "Anything I can help with?"

[Writer]

"Oh, not really," Jana answered. "Just lots of memories start to resurface given recent events."

 

She closed her eyes for a moment. "I miss Riebe," she finally said. "She used to be my caretaker... though she used a different name at the time. Back then, she wasn't even Tarla. You know, it's a little interesting really. She almost seems to be following me. Sure, there are long periods in my life when she's not around, but she never seems to be too far away."

 

Again, she fell into silence. Then, she shook her head. "But there's just a few things that confuse me. Once, me and Nic took a job that landed us in a sticky situation. Well, we've done that more than once, but this was... different. Short woman comes in, masked, with long braided brown hair and a remarkably familiar voice. Draws two lightsabers. Me and Nic run off, but she chases us. Nic pushes me through a door and seals it shut. Something like an hour later, Nic finally comes out. Tells me it was just a drunk with a lightsaber... or two."

 

She shrugged. "I was satisfied with that 'till just recently when Riebe helped us escape Vader. She carried two lightsabers. Now, I have a pretty good memory and pay good attention to detail. In the earlier job, I'm convinced it was Riebe chasing us around." Frowning, she said, "It just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense."

 

Grinning slightly, she finished, "I guess that stew put me in a real historical mood... Aerith used to make it... so did Arabelle..."

[JasraLantill]

Beryl knew who Aerith was but...

 

"Arabelle?" she asked. Then she backtracked, realising who she was. "Oh. That was Tarla's other name, wasn't it." She sighed. "Well, if she is following you, or looking after you, or whatever she's doing with you, at least she's not trying to run your life. She lets you make your own choices." She grinned slightly. "I'll trade you Rayne and his job offers for her anyday."

[Writer]

Jana couldn't help but laugh. "Overprotective brother versus somewhat psycho Force-using non-Jedi with more names than you could count on both hands... despite the fact that my protector sounds worse, I think I'll stick with her, thanks."

 

The smile faded slowly. Then, she said, "So now that I've got my mind cleared, is there something bothering you?"

[JasraLantill]

Beryl's grin faded, and she hestitated in answering. "There is something bothering me. But I'm not sure how to tell you. Or if I should tell you." Her brow wrinkled worriedly. "Remember when I asked you about Cloud on the bridge?" she started tentatively. "About whether or not Vader could sense other Force Sensitives? And you said that if the person was strong in the Force that they needed to know how to mask themselves?"

 

Jana nodded.

 

"Well..." Beryl hesitated, and looked down at her hands she was wringing, then shifted uncomfortably. "I'm... Force Senstitive," she said quietly. "And I don't know how to 'mask' myself, or do anything else remotely 'Forcey'."

 

She looked up at Jana. "I think I'm putting you all in danger just by being here." She looked back down again. "And I think I should leave when we get to the next port."

[Writer]

"If you think I'm gonna let you walk out of here just like that, you must've had some spice before you came to see me," Jana snapped. She sighed and shook her head. "Beryl, there's nothing wrong with being Force sensitive and there are ways to mask it... let's see if I can..."

 

She moved over to a small bag in the opposite corner of the room, her voice trailing away thoughtfully. After fishing through the bag for a moment, Jana found what she was looking for.

 

"As Arabelle, Riebe used to talk a lot about the Force," she said finally, carrying what looked like a datapad back to the bed. "I wrote as much of it down as I could... even though I'm not exactly Force sensitive. Maybe I can find something to help you out, but you are not leaving us."

[JasraLantill]

Berly smiled softly. "So, what's that then?" Beryl asked. "Words of wisdom from Tarla Vel?" She paused for a moment. "I think I had to write a thesis on that in her class...."

[Writer]

"In a way," Jana admitted. "But I'm not just handing it over to you... after all, the majority of this is something more worthy of the title, 'Random bits o' nonsense out of Jana Vincent's head'. A diary, but back when I had Arabelle, she would ramble for hours on Force sensitivity. Though I'm not Force sensitive, it was all so very fascinating to me."

 

She looked down at the datapad for a moment. "So I recorded as much of it as I could manage."

 

After a few more moments of looking, Jana beamed. "There we go!"

 

She placed the datapad on the bed and gestured for Beryl to sit next to her. Then, she keyed the playback.

 

"Good heavens, Jana!" Riebe laughed. "You certainly have a deep-seated interest in all things Force related, don't you?"

 

"And why not?" insisted a seven-year-old Jana Vincent. "It's got to be one of the most interesting things in the galaxy."

 

Jana grimaced slightly. "What a crazy kid," she murmured, moving the playback forward a little.

 

"Well, since you're not Force sensitive, you'll not understand what I'm talking about," Arabelle finally said. "But you want it so bad, I can scarce deny you what you want."

 

Jana cheered... for a good thirty seconds.

 

And again Jana grimaced. Forward went the playback once more. By that point, Riebe had finally managed to get Jana calmed down enough to be able to speak. She told her enthusiastic pupil about acknowledging the power of the Force within you, about knowing it was there and accepting it.

 

"Some people don't want to accept the truth," she said. "So they never get anywhere with it. But feeling it there... accepting its place in your life is the first step to being able to do as you please with it. Now, keep in mind, the Force is not merely a tool to be used. It's a friend willing to help when you need."

 

Beryl rolled her eyes and apparrently, so had young Jana.

 

Riebe's eyes flashed. "Don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady!"

 

Young Jana giggled and apologized. Then, Riebe continued her talk. About five minutes and two more eye rolls from Beryl and young Jana, Riebe spoke of the technique of masking Force sensitivity.

 

"I do it, actually," she admitted. "But keep one thing in mind, Jana. That piece of information is for you and me alone. Your parents don't know and if they find out, I'm going to vanish and never come back."

 

Jana promised to keep her mouth shut and Riebe explained how it was done. Then she sighed. "Enough teaching for today. Oh, looks like your parents are home anyway. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

 

The camera followed her as she sprang lightly up from her chair and traipsed out the door. A "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Vincent," was heard and then, the camera focused on Jana.

 

"This Force stuff is really cool," she said cheerfully.

 

And Jana stopped the playback. "Hope that helped," she said. "She was right though... none of it makes a lick of sense to me. I just don't feel any of it."

[starmark2k]

"SIMON NO!"

"YOU KILLED HER!"

"murderer"

 

Nic jumped out of his bed in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. His nightmares had returned, it had been nearly seven years since these dreams haunted his sleep. He ran his hands through his hair wiping some of the sweat from his brow. He jumped up and walked over to the small sink and splashed his face with cold water.

 

"The murdered always haunt the murderers." Nic said to himself looking into his mirror.

 

He pressed the intercom button nearby. "Jack how long until we arrive at the Rhea."