Knights of the Old Republic: Darkness Falls II - Alliances

[steven]

"One hundred million people? Good grief! How big is that thing? That must be a quater of the population of Coruscant." Tylor exclaimed.

 

(No really wants to read 10 paragraph post at this time of the day, do they?)

[Writer]

((I demand a ten-paragraph post out of both of you this very instant ))

 

 

"Coruscant's bigger than that," the Eagle's Wing objected. "Surely its population is..."

 

"Sorry to interrupt," Crystal said, frowning. "But the population of Coruscant seems slightly trivial at the moment. Eagle, open your drop bay. Karda, get in. Doctor and Tylor, get everyone on the Dreadless aboard the TARDIS as quickly as you can. We're getting out of here..." She paused, but soon continued. "I'm sorry, Karda. You're in charge here, aren't you. Should we do as I've suggested?"

[steven]

((NEVER!))

 

"Sir, the Star Destroyer has responded to our distress call and is diverting its course to assist us. The ship's ID inform us that the Star Destroyer is the Prometheus. The fourth largest ship in the republic fleet." Report the coms officer.

 

"Good god. This is going to be interesting. How many pirate vessels are there?" Tylor asked

 

"Three pirate corvette class ships, the cruiser class ships we'd just debridged and 6 flight squads." Informed the radar officer.

 

"Okay people, the star destroyer should be here in three or four minutes. Get the Dreadless to engage the fighter squads... I want every turret armed if they havent allready. All fighters must divert any attacks from the corvettes and cruiser and focus it on the fighter squadrons," Order Tylor before muttering to himself "Damn it, Ford. You had to leave didn't you..."

[JasraLantill]

We have come to ask the Zedai if they will assist us in the matter,” Jasra said to the Zedai Council.

 

“By ‘us,’ do you mean just you and your ‘compatriot’,” Sisshiv asked, “or are there ‘other’ parties involved?”

 

“Well, the Republic and the Jedi,” Atton blurted. “If you consider them ‘parties’.”

 

There was a long pause. An exceedingly long pause. Jasra looked at Atton askance. It was obviously his fault that the Zedai were not responding to her request, but Atton merely shrugged his shoulders in rebuttal to her silent accusation.

 

Is something wrong? Jasra asked Brax through their connection. They’re not answering.

 

They are… considering, came Brax’s cryptic reply.

 

Finally, Sasshiv spoke. “You and your… ‘compatriot,’” she said in a slow, clear voice. “You represent the Republic and the Jedi in an official capacity?”

 

Jasra wasn’t sure how to answer. If she answered yes, would the Zedai see that as favourable, or would they refuse to help because they viewed the Jedi and the Republic as a threat to them? And if she answered no, would the Zedai view her and their mission as not important enough to consider assisting them?

 

Either way, Jasra didn’t really consider herself a representative of the Republic, officially or unofficially. And as for being a Jedi, well… she still wasn’t certain about that classification either. Again, she glanced at Atton. Atton certainly wasn’t an ‘official’ anything, except a crass scoundrel, but Jasra didn’t think disclosing that to Sisshiv would be particularly helpful. For a moment, she wished Karda was here. If anyone was ‘official’ in their mission, it was him. He’d know exactly how to answer.

 

Brax? she asked through their link, as glanced over at him. What should I say?

 

But Brax didn’t answer her.

 

Oh. Jasra bit her lower lip. This is a test, isn’t it?

 

The corner of Brax’s mouth upturned in a barely perceptible grin.

 

Well, Jasra thought, she certainly didn’t see any advantage in lying to the Zedai Council. “N-o,” she answered Sisshiv slowly. “Not us exclusively. But we, along with a team of others, have been assigned the task of finding out what happened to Master Shan by the Jedi Council, in conjunction with Republic assistance. Part of our team is following a lead to Nar Shaddaa to investigate a Hutt called Juppa. The other part of the team is proceeding to the planet Myrkr to find someone called Valclav Amek, whom we believe to be the pirate in charge of ambushing Master Shan’s ship.”

 

“And you are here investigating a lead as well? Here? On Omwat?” Jasra could detect a definite suspicion in Shissiv’s question.

 

“Well, not so much as a lead as a quest for information,” Jasra said. “And also for…” Her eyes met Brax’s, and quite suddenly, Jasra felt herself begin to flush. It had been a few hours since she and Brax had had an intimate moment, and she was beginning to feel… amorous again. And it was making her quite uncomfortable in the presence of the Zedai Council. “…personal reasons.” She stifled Atton’s snigger by stamping on his foot under the table. “And we have uncovered information that indicates an Omwati ship was also ravaged in the same area of space, by, we suspect, the same individuals responsible for Master Shan’s disappearance. We were hoping we could help each other before we rejoin our team near Myrkr in three days time.”

 

She looked at Brax. Was my answer alright?

 

Perfect.

 

Sisshiv eyed Jasra over for a moment, then grinned softly. “I have no objection to sharing information with the albino Jasra Lantill and her compatriot, Atton Rand. Provided they stay for the Shssassrix.”

 

Jasra immediately agreed, but Atton raised an eyebrow and said, “The sha shasha what?”

 

Sisshiv smiled. “Shssassrix,” she repeated. “It’s a mate-bonding ceremony.”

 

Atton gave a panicked look to Jasra, but Jasra merely glared at him. “Not me and you, laserbrain,” she hissed softly. “Me and Brax.”

 

Atton immediately relaxed. “Oh. Yeah. Right.” Then he frowned. “Hey… wait a minute. Does that mean, you two are getting married?”

 

“No,” Brax said. “Not married. Mate-bonding among my people is… not as permanent.”

 

“Ah,” said Atton. “So, more like an engagement.”

 

“No, it is not anything like an engagement,” said Brax. “But that explanation is close enough for your limited understanding.”

 

“R-ight,” Atton said, shaking his head without comprehension. “So, about this information…."

[The Doctor]

A power realy behind the Doctor exploded, sending shrapnel across the room. The force of the blast knocked the occupant of a nearby console to the ground, a large plasma burn across his face.

 

The Doctor knelt beside him, while Rose manned the damaged console. "There's a hull breach on D Deck!" she shouted. "We're venting atmosphere!"

 

The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket, activated it, and ran it across the injured soldier's face. "You've got third degree plasma burns on your face and neck. I'm taking you with me to the TARDIS." He turned to Rose. "Rose, help me get him to the TARDIS. Commander, we'll bring the TARDIS up to the bridge in a moment."

[JasraLantill]

The Zedai Council explained to Brax, Jasra, and Atton that they had indeed been aware of the disappearance of one of their ships. But they had not sent it in search of Brax, as he had first thought. They had sent it to investigate why one of their ‘listening’ posts on the outskirts of Republic space had quite suddenly gone silent. When the ship had not returned, they sent another. And this one had discovered that the listening post was abandoned.

 

There had not been any signs of struggle, and at first, the Zedai thought that their operatives had abandoned the station for some unknown emergency, as all of their ships had gone as well. But on further investigation, they discovered the true reason behind their comrades’ sudden disappearance.

 

“We found this,” one of the Zedai on the Council said. He pushed a button and a holographic image appeared in the space between the two tables in the Council chambers. The hologram was a playback of the last recorded event at the Zedai listening post. Again, Jasra saw the men in black with the Ysalamiri on their shoulders, the same ones from the Almanac’s med bay recording, abducting the Zedai. Of course, they were having a harder time of it than they had had on the Almanac. The Zedai on the post were not trainees, and some even had gauntlets like the ones Brax wore. But eventually, they were overwhelmed from what looked like to be a special kind of gas, that didn’t seem to affect the mysterious men in black.

 

“Ysalamiri again,” said Jasra. “That’s exactly how the crew of the Almanac were taken. Wonder what that gas they used was?”

 

“We were unable to obtain any samples for chemical analysis,” said Sisshiv. “But from the holovid, we can assume that it is very potent and very fast acting. And as it left no chemical traces, we can also assume it degrades quite rapidly and probably only has short term effects on the body.”

 

At the mention of the word ‘body’, Jasra’s eyes once again flicked to Brax’s. She swallowed, and tried to push the thought of being with him out of her mind and concentrate on the issue. “We suspect that these ‘pirates’ are abducting people because they are Force Sensitive.”

 

There were looks exchanged between the Zedai. “We suspect the same thing.”

 

“Oh?” said Brax.

 

“We have recovered one of the Zedai from the listening post,” said Sisshiv. She paused. “Physically, Berasmus is unharmed, but we can find no explanation for his present… state.”

 

“State?” Brax frowned at the word. “What ‘state?’”

 

Again, there was hesitation. Finally, Sisshiv spoke. “He is no longer Force Sensitive.”

 

“What?” said Jasra. “Has he been psychologically damaged in some way?”

 

“His mental health is fine,” Sisshiv explained. “He is just no longer Force Sensitive.”

 

“But… how can that be?” Jasra asked, frowning. “What could have caused that?”

 

“Berasmus claims there is some sort of machine that extracted the very essence of his Force from his body,” said Sisshiv. “A machine made by a man. A former Jedi that calls himself Lord Vros.”

 

“Lord, huh?” said Atton. “Sith Lord, more like.”

 

Jasra exchanged looks with Brax. “And where can we find this ‘Lord Vros?’”

 

“That is unknown,” said Sisshiv. “Berasmus never knew what planet he was held captive on. When our search team was investigating the research post, they intercepted a transmission from a ship complaining to someone on Nar Shaddaa about an Omwati slave they had just purchased from an auction there. The ship was intercepted, and Berasmus was rescued. He did not remember how he came to be at the auction, only that he had been previously detained by this Lord Vros.”

 

Jasra looked at Atton, then Brax. “We must inform the others.”

 

“Yeah,” said Atton. “Only, we can’t transmit ship to ship from this far out. And you’ve got your shusha-whatever ceremony first.”

 

“We will move the Shssassrix up to tomorrow,” said Brax. This statement elicited some frowns from some of the more traditional Council members. “As the leader of the Council, I have the right to decree it so.” He paused. “Besides, it’s my Shssassrix.”

 

“Ours,” Jasra added quietly. She gave him a wanton look. Her desire for him was getting harder for her to resist.

 

Brax gave her a wicked grin. “I declare this session of the Zedai Council closed,” he said abruptly. He rose, and the other Zedai followed suit and bowed their heads. Brax walked around the arched table and sought out Jasra. “Come,” he said. “Let me show you the view from the top level of our city.”

 

“Oh, here we go again….” Atton rolled his eyes. “I’ll just go make myself scarce, shall I?”

 

“You do that, Atton,” said Jasra as she took Brax’s arm in hers.

 

“Worse than Gizka,” Atton muttered as he watched them stroll off.

[The Doctor]

"Not anymore..."

 

"Then we'll have to make do with this one," said Revan, entering the console room with a slight limp.

 

"Revan!" said Kira, her temper rising slightly. "You shouldn't be up!"

 

"I'm fine!" he said, pushing her away gently as she made to lead him back to the infirmery.

 

"Got it!" said the Valeyard, ignoring the exchange between the two Jedi. The engines began to grind normally again, and the centre of the console began to bob up and down as usual. "Right, I've found the Ebon Hawk. We should materialise in the cargo bay. Hold on."

 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 

The TARDIS materilased in the starboard dormitory of the Ebon Hawk.

 

"Close enough," said the Valeyard, stepping out of the TARDIS.

[ForceFightWMe12]

"You're going to get yourself hurt, you know that." Kira told Revan over her shoulder as she proceeded to follow the Valeyard out.

 

"How can I get hurt, with you protecting me?" he said jokingly, smiling slightly.

 

Peering at him over her shoulder, she tried to force back a smile.

 

"Haha," she said, reaching back and prodding him quickly in the chest, "Revan made a funny."

 

Exiting the TARDIS, the Jedi Exile peered around, her eyes flashing. The footlockers beneath the bunks had been bashed open, the items inside scattered every which way across the dormitory. Her eyes had drifted across to what was Atton's bunk, where they alighted on a little red peice of cloth, framed with gold hanging from the edge of the bunk. Her face blushed scarlette.

 

The bastard did keep it.

 

Quickly crossing to the bunk, she snatched the outfit and hid it out of sight beneath her cloak.

 

"Looks like someone was looking for something..." she said, acting as if nothing had happened.

[The Doctor]

"Probably just money and valuables," said Revan, looking around the room. "Unless you're keeping something here that you aren't telling me about?" He smiled slightly - he had seen her hide the outfit in her tunic.

"Let's get on with it, please," said the Valeyard. "Let us re-take the ship, and return to Nar Shaddaa."

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Right," Kira said, pulling her lightsaber from her belt, "I agree with the Valeyard. The others are counting on us, after all."

C'mon...don't ask questions...let's go... she thought to herself, stepping towards the door.

"So, two choices. Negotiate to see if we can get the ship back, or a sneak attack." Kira said, peering into the corridor outside.

"Attack." the Valeyard said, without pause, "It's far faster, and need I remind you that we're dealing with criminals and mercenaries? They won't release the ship without a fight."

"Still..."

A moment later, the decision was made for them when a blaster bolt interrupted Kira.

"We gots stow-aways!!!" the mercenary bellowed.

Kira cursed under her breath, "Mical!" she called, igniting her saberstaff. The other Jedi stepped from the TARDIS, his blade ready.

[The Doctor]

Three more mercenaries appeared at the first's call. Revan's blade was up in a flash. He brought it around in a wide arch, blocking three blaster bolts. Not having time to angle the blade to return them to the guns they came from, they bit into the durasteel plating of the corridor. He threw out a hand, pulling one of them men's guns from his hand and beating him across the face with it, breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious.

 

The Valeyard pulled a small, blaster-like weapon from his belt and opened fire, catching one of the mercenaries in the chest - promptly vapourising him completely. He ducked behind the bulkhead as a blast bolt sheared past Revan's blade, nearly hitting him in the face. "You missed one, Jedi!" he bellowed.

 

"My bad," he called back, sending another volley of shots back towards the mercenaries, catching two of them with their own fire.

[JasraLantill]

Seeing Brax and Jasra walking off arm and arm reminded Atton of what he and Kira had shared… before Revan had come on the scene.

 

Atton’s jaw tightened. It was hard to admit it to himself, but he was jealous of Revan. Here he was on Omwat with its Yslat beer and blackjack, but where he really wanted to be was with Kira. But Revan was with Kira now. Probably holding her in his arms, drinking in her intoxicating scent, hearing the music in one of her small laughs, all the while gazing into her glittering blue eyes and….

 

He clenched his fist and pushed the thought out of his head.

 

“Everything all right?”

 

Atton turned to see the pregnant female Zedai Sisshiv standing behind him. “Erm… fine. Just feeling a bit….”

 

“Jealous?” she said perceptively. “It is not common among Omwatis, but the Zedai are very well versed in detecting emotions. But don’t worry,” she said soothingly. “I’m sure after the Nessense has passed, Jasra will become more interested in you again.”

 

“Me?” Atton choked. “Me and Jasra?” He shook his head. “Erm… think you’ve got the wrong end of the saber, lady. I’m not interested in Jasra.”

 

Sisshiv frowned.

 

“Well, not in the way you’re implying. We’re just… friends.”

 

Sisshiv tilted her head in silent query.

 

“Okay, maybe I’m just a little interested.”

 

Sisshiv began to grin.

 

Atton sighed. “Alright, alright! I’m interested in her! Okay? Happy now?” He shook his head. “You Zedai are just as frustrating as Jedi, you know that?”

 

Sisshiv smiled. “I will take that as a compliment,” she said. “As I said, once the Nessense has passed, she will be more receptive to you.”

 

Atton frowned. “Nessence? What’s that? Another ceremony?”

 

“No,” said Sisshiv. “It’s the period of time over which a male Omwati releases his bonding pheromones.”

 

“Bonding pheromones? Is that why Jasra’s been acting all… weird and clingy with Brax?”

 

Sisshiv nodded. “Historically, Omwati women are not very faithful to their partners. So, over time, the males of our species developed the ability to emit very intoxicating pheromones, in order to keep their chosen partner interested in only them, until….” She looked down at her swollen belly.

 

Atton frowned. “So you’re saying that….” He shook his head. “But…Jasra’s not an Omwati. She’s a Jedi. And Jedi don’t have….” He eyed her protruding belly. “Those.”

 

Sisshiv smiled. “The pheromones may affect non-Omwati differently, but….” She shrugged.

 

“Is there an antidote?” Atton asked. “You know, something to stop Brax from emitting the pheromones in the first place?”

 

Sisshiv looked over her shoulder. “There is something experimental we’ve been working on,” she said conspiratorially. “But it is not a project that is approved of by the Council.”

 

“Oh. Right,” whispered Atton, nodding. “The declining birth rate thing. Gotcha.”

 

“I could let you have a sample of the prototype serum we've developed, but there is no guarantee that it would work on a non-Omwati.”

 

“I’m willing to give it a try,” said Atton. “It would be nice to have the old Jasra back.”

 

Sisshiv raised an eyebrow.

 

“Erm… not back for my benefit,” he explained. “Strictly for Jasra’s, of course.”

 

Sisshiv grinned wryly. “Of course.” She looked over her shoulder, to make sure that the other Zedai had left the room. “I’ll give you the sample before the Shssassrix ceremony tomorrow.”

 

Atton grinned. “Great.” He started towards the door. “See you tomorrow then.”

 

As he left the room, he felt better. Fine, he thought, if he couldn’t have Kira, he’d have Jasra instead. She was younger, granted, but just as pretty and just as non-Jedi. And, after he cured her of this pheromone thing, she should be grateful to him, too. Very grateful.

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Let's focus here, shall we?" Kira called to both of them, her saber biting through the chest of a mercenary. As the body clunked to the ground, she pushed a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. They had survived the first wave...

 

"Are you sure you're able to fight, Revan?" Disciple asked, kicking one of the limp mercinaries off to the side so they could pass.

[The Doctor]

"Just like new," he answered, extinguishing his lightsaber and disarming the mercenaries, pulling out the power packs of each weapon. "Never felt better."

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kira watched him, trying to hide the worry in her eyes. He had fractured his ribs in several places, a few actually breaking. In all normal circumstances, he houldn't have been able to stand, no matter how much he wanted to...but then again...he wasn't exactly a normal man.

"C'mon, she said, turning to Mical, "There's bound to be more rats in this ship, if you know what I mean."

 

For fifteen minutes the Jedi searched out the remaining theives, killing any who attacked. Her cloak splotched with blood that was not her own, Kira returned to the main hold,where she met the others.

"That's all of them." she said, pulling the cloak off in disgust. Sure, she was used to the gore of battle, but she wasn't about to wear it if she didn't have to.

[The Doctor]

"Let's get to the cockpit, and bring her back down to Nar Shaddaa. Shouldn't take us too long to get back..." He turned to the Valeyard. "Val - can I call you Val? - take the TARDIS back to the moon, and secure us a safe docking ring - I don't want to land only to have the Hawk taken again."

 

The Valeyard looked ready to spit plasma at being addressed as 'Val', but remained silent. He merely nodded, his teeth gritted, and entered the TARDIS. closing the door behind him. A moment later, the ship was filled with the grinding sound of the TARDIS engine, and the blue box faded into nothingness.

 

Revan then turned to Kira. "Kira, lay in a course for Nar Shaddaa," he said. "I'll be there shortly." He then turned to Disciple. "Disciple, come with me to the medical bay - Kira was right: I shouldn't have fought in my condition."

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Aye, aye, el Reva-tain!" Kira murmured as she headed of towards the cockpit. She almost stopped as she realized what had slipped out of her mouth. It had been a long time since she had called him that...then again, it had been a long time since she had recieved orders from him as well.

 

Taking a seat in the familiar pilot's chair, she quickly punched in the coordinates that would guide them into orbit around the smuggler's moon until the Valeyard could transmit to them the location of a safe dock. Once she had done that, she sat back and pulled the dancer's outfit from its hiding place, trying to decide what would be the best way to dispose of it...

 

Trash compactor would work...that way I could eject it straight out into space...though maybe I should burn it first...

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The Disciple chuckled softly at Revan's confession. "You know, she does know what she's talking about sometimes."

 

Watching the Prodigal Knight carefully, Mical followed his to the medlab, and allowed him to sit down on the examination table. Searaching through the drawers and other storage containers, the Disciple found that the medical supplies had been more or less left untouched.

 

"Doesn't look like they were too interested in health care." he muttered to Revan, "Everything seems to be in order."

[The Doctor]

About an hour later, Revan entered the cockpit, wavering slightly from the effects of the painkiller Disciple had given him.

"Right then," he said, sitting in the copilot seat. "Where... right, Nare Shad... Nar Shaddaa. How long until we get there?"

 

"About ten minutes." Kira answered, sitting on the dancer's outfit. She had gotten lost in her thoughts and forgotten to dispose of said item during the past hour. "Though there's no real telling when we can actually land -- we're still waiting on the Valeyard for a safe dock."

 

"Right," he said. "So... He kept it, huh?"

 

She flushed momentarily before recovering control of her expressions. "Erm...kept what, exactly?" she asked, her blue eyes looking at him innocently.

 

"You know what I mean," he said, nodding slightly to the outfit she was hiding. "You think I can't read you like a book by now?"

 

"Ah, that." she said, pushing the outfit a bit further out of sight, "Yes, he kept it. Unfortunately."

 

"Don't tell me you've developed a modest streak, Kira," he said sadly.

 

The light blush returned to her cheeks and she peered at him, her lips forming a small smile. "And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, noting his disappointment.

 

He smiled deviously. "Absolutely nothing," he said quickly. "I'm taking us out of hyperspace."

 

The mottled blue tunnel of hyperspace dissolved as he powered down the engines, and took them into a high orbit around the Smuggler's Moon. "Keep the comlines open. They Valeyard should be hailing us right about..."

 

"It's about time you arrived," came the voice of the Valeyard, muffled slightly by mild atmospheric interference.

 

"Now," finished Revan, smiling. To the Valeyard, he said, "Sorry we're late, Val. Took us a while to get the engines prepped."

 

The Valeyard growled almost inaudibly before responding. "I've found a landing pad that should be safe enough to take down the Hawk," he said. "I'm sending you the coordinate now."

 

"Understood," said Kira, punching the coordinates into the computer. "Bring the TARDIS there to meet us. We'll land shortly. Ebon Hawk out."

[JasraLantill]

The Shssassrix Ceremony was just about to start. For the past few hours, Atton had been drinking Yslat beer, and finally getting the upper hand on playing Omwati Blackjack. He’d even managed to answer a couple of riddles, a pastime that was popular among the Omwatis, and thus managed to earn some respect among the locals. As he wandered closer to the stone circle where the bonding ceremony was to take place, he spotted Sasshiv standing alone off to the side. She motioned him over.

 

“Hi,” Atton said, then frowned a bit thinking that ‘hi’ sounded a bit too casual to address a member of the Zedai Council. “Erm… I mean, greetings.”

 

Sasshiv grin showed her amusement at his awkwardness. “Greetings.”

 

“You, erm, have that… stuff you were talking about earlier?”

 

Sasshiv nodded. “Come away behind the stone,” she said to him, as she led him around one of the large stone pillars. When she was sure no one was watching, she pulled a very small vial from her cloak. “A tiny amount should eliminate the effects of the Nessense on your friend.”

 

“So, what do I do with it? Mix it in her drink or something?”

 

Sasshiv nodded. “That’s one way,” she said. “It could be absorbed through her skin as well.”

 

Atton nodded. “I’ll think of something.” He reached out to take it, then hesitated. “And you’re sure this won’t do anything else to her, right? I mean, it doesn’t have any weird side-effects, does it?”

 

Sasshiv shrugged. “It shouldn’t.”

 

Atton took the vial.

 

“But it’s never been tested on one of your species before,” she added.

 

Atton frowned at it. “Great,” he said dejectedly.

 

“Your friend is being prepared in that tent, over there.” Sasshiv pointed the way.

 

“Prepared?”

 

“Prepared.” Sasshiv grinned slyly. “However, it is not forbidden for you to see her.”

 

Atton felt his ‘danger’ sense tingle. He suddenly wasn’t sure if this was a good thing to do or not.

 

“I’m sure she would be quite pleased to see you,” Sasshiv said, although Atton didn’t notice that her lips hadn’t moved. “Take the vial. Go and see her.”

 

Atton moved off, vial in hand, towards the tent that Sasshiv had pointed out. As he pulled back the flap, his eyes grew wide…

 

“Whoa! Sorry!” he said, suddenly averting his eyes to the ground.

 

Two Omwati women were helping Jasra get dressed. Well, if ‘dressed’ is what you could call it.

 

“Atton….” Jasra said, annoyed. “Either come in or get out. Don’t just stand there with the tent flap open.”

 

Atton sidled in and shut the flap, but kept his eyes focused on the ground.

 

“So?” Jasra asked him. “What do you think?”

 

Atton took a moment before he felt it was safe to look. When he did, his mouth hung open in awe.

 

She wore a ‘V’-shaped backless top made of hundreds of small, multicoloured glass beads strung together in a loose pattern that modestly covered her chest, yet still exposed small patches of flawless, creamy white skin through the lacy gaps. The beaded top ended well above her navel, and set low around her hips was a kind of skirt made out of multiple strips of softened leather through which he could just see her bare legs and the bikini style loincloth she wore underneath. “Wow.”

 

Jasra smiled. “Isn’t it great? At first I didn’t want to wear it, but apparently it’s tradition, and surprisingly, it’s quite comfortable. Each of the strands of beads is supposed to represent….” She frowned slightly. “Something wrong?” she said in response to his stare. “You don’t like it?”

 

“Erm… n-no, I mean, yes, I mean…,” Atton stammered. He took a deep breath, then exhaled. “It’s… nice.”

 

“Nice?” Jasra raised a disparaging eyebrow. “That’s it? Just… nice?”

 

“Very, very, nice,” Atton said, nearly choking. “Incredibly nice. Very, very, incredibly nice.”

 

Jasra stared at him for a moment. “This isn’t any more exposing than that dancer’s outfit I used to wear.”

 

“The what?” Atton said, shaking off his entrancement.

 

“Nevermind,” said Jasra. “As long as Brax likes it, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

 

At the mention of Brax, Atton fingered the vial in his pocket. “Oh, he’ll like it.” Atton cleared his throat. “Which reminds me….” He shooed the two Omwati women out of the tent, and went over to where there was a pitcher of Yslat beer and some empty cups sitting on a small table. “It’s also tradition to, erm, make a toast before the ceremony.” His back to her, he secretly dumped the contents of the vial Sasshiv had given him into one of the mugs, then poured the beer into them.

[RobQel-Droma]

"Um..." Karda watched as the enemy pirate bridge exploded, causing more explosions throughout the ship. "Yes, we should." He answered decisively. "We should let the other Republic ships handled this."

 

Slowly he fell back to the Eagle's Wing, manuevering the starfighter underneath Crystal's ship. Contacting the Dreadless, he said, "Doctor, you should start getting everyone into the TARDIS before we take any more damage."

 

(((Er, I think I broke the 15-paragraphs-long post succession with this one. I'm not sure what to do right now...)))

[Writer]

((Yay! You're back!))

 

"Don't freak out, Karda," Crystal said. "You're about to be grabbed, but it's by Eagle, so it's nothing to worry about."

 

"Never crushed anyone... yet," Eagle snickered. Karda's fighter was quite literally grabbed out of space and pulled into the Eagle's Wing. The drop bay doors closed behind it.

 

"Karda, I want you on the bridge as soon as possible," Crystal informed him over the intercom.

 

"The way's lit up for you, Jedi," Eagle said. Glowing stripes lit up on the walls, leading into a corridor toward the front of the ship. "Follow the stripes and you'll be there quick. Just like Crys wants."

[RobQel-Droma]

(((Yeah. Sorry, I know I'm a bit inconsistent.)))

 

Karda started, but did not panic as Crystal's ship grabbed him out of space. He jumped out of the cockpit quickly after the drop bay doors closed. Running up to the bridge, he found Crystal sitting unconcerned in the bridge. "Come on, we need to get out of here fast." He said, grabbing his comlink again.

 

"Doctor, did you get my message?"

[Writer]

"Hooray!" Eagle exclaimed. "It's been a good long while since I've had anyone dare to venture inside me aside from Crys. So you're Karda... I'd have figured you to be taller, methinks."

 

"Sorry, Karda," Crystal said, smiling slightly. "He can be a little rambling at times."

 

"Rambling?" Eagle gasped. "Moi? Dear Crys, tell the pretty ship you're joking!"

 

"You're a boy ship," Crystal said. "The proper term is 'handsome'. So now will the handsome ship please get us out of here?"

 

"Out of..." Eagle began. "Oh, that's right. This little... fight... thingy. Away we go!"

 

"Wait for..." Crystal began. But Eagle had already accelerated into hyperspace. Crystal sighed. "I guess we'll just have to trust Doc and Tylor to do the right thing."

 

"Oh, was I supposed to wait for their confirmation that they'd done what you suggested?" Eagle asked. "Sorry, Crys. You know how excited I get about high speeds."

[RobQel-Droma]

Karda looked up and down the ship, then shook his head. "I'm not even going to ask about this thing," he said to Crystal, "Or anything else that you could pull out of your sleeve."

[Writer]

Crystal laughed. "Eagle? Found him floating in an asteroid field on the Outer Rim. He didn't like me at first."

 

"I have an unfortunate habit of not trusting anyone until they can prove they're worthy of it," Eagle explained.

 

"I proved it by fixing him up and flying him out of the asteroid field without so much as an extra scratch," Crystal went on.

 

"Well, there was the one scratch," Eagle grumbled. "But never mind that..."

 

"Barely scraped his paint and he complains," Crystal laughed. "Anyway, he doesn't like to talk about his past, so I've given up asking."

 

"You humans can be damn annoying sometimes," Eagle said. "Crys was for a bit... then I told her she was and she stopped. Such a thoughtful girl... lots o' humans'll keep pushing 'till they get what they want or they die. Crys is a smart one, for sure."

 

"Aww," Crystal grinned. "Eagle's got a soft spot."

 

"Yah, sure," Eagle answered in what sounded like boredom. "Now cut out the gloating before someone else finds out."

 

Crystal grinned at Karda. "We love bantering back and forth like this... especially to newcomers."

 

"We've got a theory going," Eagle said. "We theorize that it's our banter that eventually drives everyone away. And I'm suspecting it'll even get to you, mister Jedi... Karda, your name was, huh? Crys told me about you once... then again, there's little she hasn't told me."

 

"Time on the hands," Crystal explained. "Long space flights, talking ship that loves to listen... what's a girl to do?"