MC: AOTE: Fraught With Disappointment

[Rogue Nine]

Conn smiled as he reached for his datapad. He held it out in front of him as he turned around and walked towards the table. "Actually Miss," he said, "I'm just here to scan you for any nasty surprises and patch you up." He strode the last few feet to the side of the table and got his first good look at his patient. Then his eyes went wide.

 

He looked at his datapad, then back at the woman strapped to the table. "Beryl? Beryl Quitaan?!" he asked in complete disbelief.

 

Beryl stared back at him in wide-eye shock. “What the…?” She blinked, hoping that her eyes were deceiving her. They weren’t. “Conway Harlowe? What in the Nine Hells are you doing here?” Her eyes flicked over his Imperial uniform. She lowered her voice. “More importantly, why are you dressed like an Imp?”

 

"Probably because I'm a doctor in the Imperial Medical Corps?" he replied half-sarcastically. Eyeing her split lip and overall roughed up appearance, he asked, "What in the Nine Hells are you doing here?"

 

“Oh, I was bored so I thought I’d just sign up for one of those pleasure cruises that takes you to visit all these really posh Imperial prisons. You know, one of those adventure cruise lines?” Beryl rolled her eyes. “What do you think I’m doing here! I’m a prisoner.” She eyed his uniform once more. “But better to be that than an Imp,” she added with disdain.

 

Conn could feel the anger radiate from Beryl, but he also sensed she was just as surprised as he was, which came as no surprise as they had not seen or heard from each other in years. Reaching for a gauze pad, he moved to dab her split lip. "Not necessarily, Beryl," he told her. "I didn't have much of a choice, it was either be a prisoner or join them." He looked at her apologetically.

 

She turned her head just as he was about to blot her bleeding lip, intentionally making it difficult for him to treat her. “Oh, yeah, right. Like I believe that,” she said bitterly. “Especially from someone who stayed on at Incom after everyone else was either quitting or getting fired, and after they gained those Imperial contracts.”

 

Conn sighed as he gently took her chin in his hands and turned her face back towards him. "Beryl, it's not like I had anywhere else to go." His voice became quieter. "You of all people should have known that."

 

Beryl winced as the antiseptic on the gauze pad stung her lip. “You… could… have…gone back to… Alderaan,” she said in between his ministrations. “I got another… job. You… could’ve, too.”

 

"I wasn't ready," Conn replied as he hit the switch to raise the table in half. "I wasn't ready to go back and face facts. Figures that when I finally do get ready, I get detained by the Imps on my way back home." His hands moved to the straps on her arms. "I'm going to take these off," he told her guardedly. "Please don't do anything rash."

 

“Rash? Me?” The corner of Beryl’s mouth twisted up slightly. “Oh, no. Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said somewhat mockingly.

 

Conn gave her a small smirk. "There's the old Psycho I remember," he said, undoing the straps holding her forearms. "Here, raise your arms over your head, I need to run a full scan to check you for more injuries. The stormtroopers here aren't exactly the most hospitable of hosts."

 

“More hospitable than the bounty hunters that brought me in,” Beryl quipped as she complied.

 

Conn smiled more geniunely as he moved behind a terminal. "I'll bet," he agreed, flipping a series of switches. Machinery whirred and a mechanical arm came out of the ceiling, a strobing red light at the end of it. Conn guided the arm via remote, sweeping the red beam over and around Beryl's body. He looked at the readouts on the screen next to the controls and swore lightly. "Geez Beryl, what did you do? Fall out of your Z-95? You're in awful shape."

 

“No worse than any other time you’ve seen me,” she said, recalling the numerous times she had visited the Incom medical facilities. “Test pilots are tough, remember?” she added.

 

"And needlessly foolhardy," Conn replied, letting the doctor in him express itself. "You've got 3 cracked ribs, a hairline fracture of the mandible and brusing to several choice internal organs." He peered closer at the screen. "As well as that durasteel plate I put in your shoulder, some old skull fractures I set and some scarring on your hipbone from when I had to surgically separate you from your Z-95."

 

"Hey, that wasn't my fault," she said defensively. "It was proved to be a defective part."

 

Conn snorted as he retracted the arm back into the ceiling and made his way back to the table. "Always blaming the tools, Psycho," he said, taking out a medikit. "Keep your arms up, I need to have a closer look at those ribs." He tugged at the bottom of the side her shirt to lift it up, then glanced up at Beryl. "Don't give me that look, I'm just doing my duty," he said, hoping to disarm her some more with the old line he'd always use when patching her injuries up.

 

Beryl cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, well, I suppose I don’t have anything you haven’t seen before,” she said tentatively. “Ow!” she frowned as his fingers located a particularly sore spot under her ribcage. “Careful where you prod, or I might just have to hurt you back,” she snapped.

 

"Sorry," Conn chuckled as he gently ran his finger along her rib. "You're so bruised and beat up, yet you've always managed to avoid life threatening injuries. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a Jedi," he joked absentmindedly as he pulled a vial of bacta solution out of his medkit.

 

Beryl snorted at his remark, but inside she was cringing and fighting back a feeling of fear. If she was discovered to be a Force Sensitive, there would be no escape for either her or Ryshana. “Conn, can you even seriously imagine me as a Jedi? I mean, their lightsabers are awesome enough, but… no gambling, no drinking, no swearing, no late night carousing…and having to wear those totally fashionless robes? Bo-ring…”

 

Conn stopped, bacta swab in hand hovering above Beryl's bruised rib. He'd just felt a feeling of uncertainty wash off of her. He looked up at her face, trying to gauge her feelings, then resumed treating her injury, unsure of what to say next.

[stingerhs]

As the Captain looked in, he turned to Oliver since he was in the room. "You're the one who sedated her?" the Captain demanded.

 

A bit nervous, Oliver answered, "Well, erm.. yes. Yes, I did. 50cc's of Tridextrous Yourifal."

 

Nodding to the two troopers with the device, they entered the medbay and strapped the device around Ryshana's neck and typed in a series of codes on a small pad. With a quick nod from one of the troopers, the Captain then said, "Revive her."

 

Turning around, Oliver fumbled a bit as he rummaged through his med cabinet. Grabbing what he needed, he filled a syringe with a fluid and injected Ryshana with it. In the meantime, the Captain pressed Ryshana's hand against the datapad to scan her prints. A match was found, and it confirmed that Ryshana was indeed a Jedi.

 

"Well, so we finally have her," the Captain commented. "I hope you realize that this particular Jedi is especially valuable since it is known that she is responsible for turning an entire squad of Imperial Soldiers against the Emperor so that she could selfishly make an escape. She was captured again later, but she escaped from custody while abandoning a very close friend of hers behind."

 

Pausing, the Captain looked at Ryshana as she started to awaken and then said, "This one cares nothing of those around her as long as they serve her benefit."

 

As Ryshana began to awaken, she was at first somewhat surprised that she was still in the medbay. When she noticed the Imperial Captain, she realized that they must've wanted her to be escorted into the prison. Probably a security protocol, Ryshana thought to herself. Feeling outwards, Ryshana suddenly noticed that she couldn't feel anything outside of her own mind.

 

Looking down, she suddenly realized that she couldn't even move a muscle. The Force seemed strangely silent, and it wouldn't respond to her calls no matter how much she tried to focus. Her heart rate quickened as she started to feel panic set in.

 

"Ahh, good. The neural disconnect is working quite well. Enable voluntary muscle control," the Captain ordered. With a couple of keypad strokes, Ryshana suddenly realized that she could move around. What little relief that she had was short lived as she was suddenly pulled to her feet by the two Stormtroopers who had already undone the restraints on the bed. With a quick snap, her wrists were clasped together.

 

"Take her away for processing," the Captain ordered. With that, they took Ryshana down off the Echo. Turning to Nic, the Captain then stated, "Very well. If you will follow me to my office, we'll get started with the paperwork that you'll need to file."

_____________

 

As Ryshana was escorted to the entrance of the Prison, she wondered a bit how this "neural disconnect" worked. Apparently, it had quite a degree of control over her connection to the Force as well as over her muscles. As she was led through a series of hallways and checkpoints, they finally arrived at a door labeled "Interrogation Room 1b25".

 

Very quickly, she was practically shoved inside and forced to sit in the lone chair. The room was well lit, and across the room from her stood a man in an Imperial uniform with a Colonel's Rank. Checking a datapad in his hand, he looked Ryshana over. After placing his autoprint on the datapad, he turned around and left the room.

 

After a brief moment, another man stepped into the room and faced Ryshana directly. "Let's see if I pronounce the correctly: Ryshana'Oliaya. That's how you would pronounce it in the original Twi'leki, isn't it?" he asked.

 

In return, all the man recieved from Ryshana was a deafening silence and an icy stare. "Ahh, I see. The strong, silent type that has recieved the military training. Well, I can work with that as well. I'm sure that you're aware of the neural disconnect that's attached to your neck. Well, there's more to that than you might realize. You see, I can also block any kind of pain receptors that are transmitting, or I can let them come alive in full force. Are you sure you want to take that route, because I am more than willing to play ball on this," the man stated in an even tone.

 

However, Ryshana didn't back down from just glaring at the man while maintaining her silence. "Very well. You can have it your way," the man stated as he nodded to the guards behind her. Then, in a split second, Ryshana couldn't feel anything as the butt of a rifle connected with the back of her head.

[starmark2k]

"Whatever it takes to get Paid." Nic replied to the imperial officer. "Lead the Way."

[stingerhs]

With that, the Captain led Nic outside of the Echo and into the prison. After passing through two checkpoints, they finally arrived at the Administration Sector. As they passed through an open area, there were a number of computers that were manned by Imperial Officers. Finally, they reached a door simply labeled "Commanding Officer's Main Office".

 

Heading inside, the Captain directed Nic to sit down. On either side of Nic stood two Stormtroopers. "Well, this shouldn't take long, Captain," the man stated as he made a couple of checks on his monitor. "The official bounty records have Beryl listed for 7000, and the Jedi Ryshana for 80000. If you agree to that, then please note your autoprint on... this datapad," he stated as he passed Nic a datapad.

[starmark2k]

Nic took the Datapad from the Officers Hand and looked at for a few moments. "funny hing here, I was sure i'd be getting at least 100'000 creds for the jedi... Pehaps you should change it or maybe i could take the Jedi elsewhere!"

[steven]

Jack entered his quaters, which a bunch of holo-disks and the portable holodisk player he had pinched from Beryle's room. He needed something to distract the gaurds and stop them from finding the hidden explosives, fortantally he had a plan. Bounty does Hunter? Nah storm troopers don't like humor, I need something sexy. Once abon a Tail? Nah, a porno about Selonians , not something the Imperial would like. Business Women in Coruscant? Why does Beryle have a lesbo holo-disc?? I guess it's going to have to do. Jack thought to himself before placing the disk into the holodisc player, pressed the one botten and left the room as the stormies entered his quaters "Enjoy yourself boys. While your in there you may wanna do a bit of cleaning."

[stingerhs]

Looking over at Nic, the Captain answered, "Actually, those are my prisoners as soon as they get clamped with my binders according to Prisoner Transport Act Article 9 Section 4. And since that has already taken place, you have no room to negotiate a deal. Your payment will be 87 grand for both prisoners. No more or less than that amount.

 

Besides, you are getting a much better deal than you think: most of the Jedi that I've taken in here have gone for about 65 to 70. 80 is a good deal whether you think it is or not. Your only other option is to simply leave without the money. Your call, Captain."

_____________

 

Suddenly, Ryshana woke up with an intense pain in her head. The pain throbbed across her lekku which further increased the level of pain. Ryshana couldn't help but to cry out in agony.

 

"You see, my dear Jedi, this devise can work a great deal of wonders. I'm sure that you'll come to appreciate what I can offer you," the man stated casually.

 

Hardly able to focus on anything except the pain, Ryshana writhed on the floor. Then, just as quickly as it started, the pain went away completely. Inside, her heart was still beating furiously, and she could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Looking over, she saw a chair and slowly stumbled as she got up. Sitting down in the chair, Ryshana couldn't stop her rapid breathing for some reason. "Now, all I have for you are a couple of simple questions. Let me start with the first one, okay?" the man asked calmly.

 

Looking over at the man, Ryshana wondered for just a moment what this man could possibly want. "What's the point? There's nothing that you can ask me that will allow me to give you a suitable answer," she responded.

 

"Actually, there's quite a bit of information locked up inside your head that can prove most valuable to several colleagues of mine. You see, we've been looking for someone for quite some time now, and we're not exactly sure of where he is," the man started to say.

 

"I won't betray him, if that's what you want. If there is one thing you can't break is my honor," Ryshana interupted quickly.

 

"Oh really? Well, we'll see about that, now won't we?" the man stated as he reached into a pocket. In an instant, the numbing pain that Ryshana had experienced earlier was back in full force. Falling out of the chair, what would normally be a fairly soft landing reverberated across her body in a racking wave of pain. Then, the worst feeling she thought imaginable suddenly intensified as a set of hands pulled her to her feet by her sensitive lekku.

 

If the pain of being held by her lekku wasn't enough, Ryshana rocked in pain as a series of blows landed across her chest and stomach. As the man watched the two stormtroopers rough Ryshana up, he smiled a bit to himself somewhat sadistically. "Enough!" the man stated after a while. With that order, the Stormtroopers just dropped Ryshana to the floor. "That devise definitely works wonders in this situation. You see, I can keep you fully awake while you experience unmatched pain. You can't pass out to escape the agony, and you can't use the Force to do anything.

 

Believe me, my dear Ryshana: this is one session that you really might want to answer the questions."

[starmark2k]

"O.K I'll take it then." Nic replied. "So can you answer a question i have about the Jedi we brought in?"

[stingerhs]

"Certainly," the Captain stated as he grabbed another couple of datapads. Organizing them together, he placed them in front of Nic to signify that he needed his autoprint on them. "I'll be the first to admit that my knowledge on this particular Jedi is limited to what is in the Imperial Database, but I'll do my best."

[starmark2k]

"Why is she worth so much more than the others?" Nic asked leaning forward. "Cos' i can tell ya she's good but she just comes across as your run of the mill Jedi."

[stingerhs]

"I thought that I already explained that one: she's worth extra because she has several other charges levied against her. Most Jedi have few charges against them except for treason, but as I've stated, this one is different," the man stated as he waited for Nic to finish with the autoprints.

[starmark2k]

Nic pressed his thumb against the pads and smiled. "So can i get my credits and leave this place now."

[JasraLantill]

As the bacta swab made contact with her skin, Beryl felt a sudden and unusual surge of pain. Her eyes widened with shock. She’d had bacta applied many times before, but never had she experienced any pain from it. Then it dawned on her. The pain wasn’t coming from the bacta swab. It was coming through the Force.

 

“Oh, damn!” she cried out, both from the intense pain she was feeling, but also from the realisation that she was picking up the sensation from Ryshana.

 

Conn's eyes widened as he pulled the swab away from Beryl's rib. He could feel her radiate pain, but it was not from her own injuries. "Okay, now that is not supposed to happen," he told her. "What the hell is going on, Beryl?"

 

“I must be injured more seriously than I realised,” she said, panting for breath as she tried her damnedest to cut herself off from the Force. ”All this time I’ve spent trying to connect to it, and now I can’t cut it off!” she thought to herself.

 

"Don't give me that," Conn snapped, a little harsher than he would have liked. "I'm a doctor and part Zeltron, so I'm a pretty damn good judge of my patients and their pain. A bacta swab to a cracked rib would not have elicited that reaction." He looked at her, concern flashing in his green eyes. "Now, tell me what happened."

 

Fear washed over Beryl like a tidal wave. She wasn’t about to tip her hand, not even to someone she once knew as a friend. “I don’t know,” she gasped, knowing that Conn would see through her lie. Another wave of intense pain hit her and she tried her best not to cry out, but couldn’t help but grimace.

 

“Damn, you!” she uttered through gritted teeth. She was damning whoever was inflicting the pain on her Jedi friend, but also damning herself, Ryshana, and even the Force. Then abruptly as it had started, the pain ended. Beryl began to regain her composure, giving Conn a steely glare. “Some doctor you are,” she hissed at him.

 

Conn felt Beryl relax from her tense and pained state. Whatever had happened, it seemed to be over, and she obviously didn't want to tell him anything about it. He sighed and went back to tending her injury. "Yeah, I get that a lot," he said resignedly. "Beryl, believe it or not, I'm not a bad guy. Sure I'm wearing an Imperial uniform, but like I said, it isn't by my choice. I'm just serving my time here until I can get out. Then I'm going home, to Alderaan." He paused. "So please, don't make it hard for me to help you. Because I don't want to be your enemy. Just trust me, for old time's sake."

 

“Just do what you have to do and get it over with,” Beryl snapped, turning her head to the side to avoid Conn’s gaze. The pain had made her cranky, and she was getting a sinking feeling that this mission wasn’t going to be as easy as she had first thought. And even though she knew Conn, once quite well, she hadn’t seen him in years. People changed. And Imps lied.

 

Conn sighed. Then a flash of inspiration hit him. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, allowing his Zeltron genes to work a little of their magic. He didn't want to overwhelm her with them, just influence her enough to get her to open up to him. It had been a while since he'd had to use his Zeltron abilities, so he hoped it would do the trick. Opening one eye, he peered up at her.

 

Beryl began to reconsider her abrupt comment, unaware that she was being calmed by Zeltron pheromones. “I’m sorry,” she apologised. “I’m just a little ‘testy’ at the present moment. Suppose you can imagine why.” She sighed and turned back to face him. “So, you going to finish treating me, or what?”

 

Conn smiled as he put the finishing touches on her ribs, then took a bacta bandage and plastered it over them. "Almost," he said, pressing gently on her spine to make her lean forward, then applying a wide bacta bandage to her lower back. He pulled down her shirt, then did the same with her arms. Taking a new swab, he clasped Beryl's chin in his hand again and dabbled it on her bruised jawline. Leaning in close for a better look, he remarked softly to her, "You know, it's a good thing these bandages are waterproof. Wouldn't want them to come off during decontam, then have to reapply them later."

 

Beryl’s right eyebrow raised. “Decontam?” Then her left eyebrow raised as well. “And that involves… what, exactly?”

 

"Fairly standard procedure," Conn replied distractedly. "Just gotta run you through the decontamination room, hose you down, sterilize any germs you may be willingly or unwillingly harbouring, stuff like that." He blew lightly on her jaw, spreading the bacta out evenly.

 

Beryl gently closed her eyes as his breath tickled her skin, feeling suddenly rather calm, but still not suspicious of any Zeltron influences. She blinked a few times. “Hose me down?” she asked. “Are you serious?”

 

Conn flushed a little as he realized what he'd said. "Well yes, like I said, it's fairly standard procedure. Just some pesticides and sterilization agents." He disposed of the swab and carefully stuck a thin bacta strip along the curve of her jaw. "Whole thing doesn't take more than a few minutes." He concentrated a little more, hoping his Zeltron pheromones would keep her at ease.

 

“So, do you treat all your ‘patients’ like this?” she asked while he applied the bacta strip. His touch was gentle, soothing, and Beryl began to feel so comfortable she was almost drowsy. “Or just the one’s you’ve dated in the past?”

[stingerhs]

"I believe so, but I'll need to check on the status of the inspection that I had to give you before you can leave," the Captain stated as he checked the datapads to make sure the autoprints had come out correctly.

 

Getting up, the Captain then said, "This will only take a minute. I'll be right back." As the Captain left the room, the two stormtroopers remained at Nic's side for security reasons.

 

Walking down the hallway to the Admin Control Room, the Captain stopped in. The two men that were manning the controls in the room quickly stood at attention. Giving them an "at ease", the Captain checked on the inspection results. Nothing noteable was found, and the weapons on the freighter were in good order. Taking note of the results on a datapad, the Captain applied his own autoprint on the file in the computer. Heading over to the wired comlink, the Captain flipped a couple of switches and connected to the interrogation center.

 

"Do we have results yet?" the Captain asked.

 

"Not yet, sir. She's resisting the techniques fairly well. I was going to ask you for clearance on using the FSIM to perhaps give us an edge with this one," the Colonel said. It was the same Colonel who had put his autoprint on a datapad before Ryshana had undergone the torture.

 

The Captain had to wince somewhat as he heard the request as he could plainly make out Ryshana's screams in the backround. Well, nobody ever said that this was a fun job, he thought to himself. "Very well, Colonel, but don't push it. We don't need Doc Conn to rush up here to bring her back to life. Captain Yrotov out," he replied.

 

Heading back to his office, he looked at Nic and said, "Everything checks out, Captain. These two troopers will escort you back to your ship, and you'll be free to go."

______________

 

Inside the Interrogation Room, a beap behind a small console interupted the man who was performing the torture. Heading over, Ryshana could barely make out that something had just been approved for use, but it was difficult to understand with the pain throbbing across her entire body.

 

Turning back to face Ryshana, he pressed a couple of buttons on his remote, and the pain subsided a bit. With the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, Ryshana was a shaky and exhausted wreck. "Now, my dear Ryshana, I sincerely doubt that you'll want what is going to happen to you next if you don't answer my simple questions. I just want to know about your relationship with a certain Jedi," the man stated in his eerily calm voice.

 

With her nerves wrecked so badly, Ryshana stuggled to respond and finally managed to stumble out, "Wh-what Jedi, ...were you wanting to know about?"

 

Smiling at Ryshana, he knew that he had just made a very significant step in the process. "This one is someone that you served with. He was someone that you were close to; hmm, someone that people would say that you were very, very close to," the man stated quizzically.

 

Almost instantly, Ryshana thought of Jeez, but no, there wasn't any possible way for them to already know about her past relationship with Jeez. Or was there something that she hadn't quite figured out? Then again, Ryshana remembered that... "You know, I remember him. He started out strong-willed, very much like you tried to do, but I remember specifically getting him to sing loud and clear. It was the whole confession; yes, I remember," the man said as he interupted Ryshana's thoughts.

 

"You know what I remember most about that man; that Jedi that tried so desperately to hide his relationship with you. He had already been torn over what had happened on that Star Destroyer, but wait, who am I kidding? You already know that part, don't you? Yes, I seem to remember that the great Yajisif Quiinzara broke down and told me everything about your relationship," the man stated in almost tauntingly.

 

Looking at the man, Ryshana could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Tears welled up in her eyes, and for the first time in a long time, she started to feel a bit frightened. It wasn't that she was fearful of her interrogator; rather, it was much like a child that is afraid to be in such a lonely state while they're exposed to the world. She couldn't help but to start weeping as she laid on the floor as she felt so alone.

 

"No!! You're lying!! It can't be true!!" she yelled out between the sobs. Everything inside of her was just aching so badly, and she was as close to the breaking point than she had ever been before.

 

"I'm the liar!?! Look who's talking! You can't even convince yourself of your own lie!" the man suddenly yelled back at her. Walking over to her quickly, the man reached down and picked her up by her upper arms and slammed her against a wall. "Listen to me!" he yelled out just inches from her face. Trying to shrink away from him, the man just tightened his grip as he stared at her with such intensity.

 

"The only thing I need you to do is to tell me that you were the one that Yajisif was referring to. Now just tell me!!" the man yelled out. Turning her head away from him, she tried to just move away from him, but instead, he let go of her right arm and slapped her face to make her face him. "Hmm?!? Come on and answer me!!"

 

The only thing Ryshana could do was to shake her head at him. The agony of knowing that she might give him up was just too great a price. Grabbing her face in his hand, he then stated menacingly, "Then have it your way."

 

Pushing her head backwards, he quickly let go of her and punched her in the belly. As she hunched forward, he moved backwards a bit and then kneed her in the face. Flying backwards, Ryshana tripped on her feet and fell on the floor with a smack. "If you won't answer to me, then maybe you'll answer to your fears," the man stated ominously. Then, he reached into his pocket once more and pressed a series of buttons.

[starmark2k]

"It's good to know." Nic replied standing up. "I'll be sure to bring my next bounties here, You'v been most hospitable."

 

Nic then turned and walked out the office followed by his Imperial escorts.It didn't take long to get back to the ship adn nic ran in leaving the guards outside.

 

"Jack get us the hell out of here." Nic said pushing the intercom button.

 

((Steven- Can you make sure we don't enter hyperspace))

[JasraLantill]

“Well, that was an odd inspection,” Cloud commented to Oliver as they waited in the common room for Nic to return. “I mean, they didn’t even check the nav history.”

 

“Why would you think they would do that?” Oliver asked.

 

“Well, I would have thought they would have been interested in knowing where we picked up our two ‘fugitives,’” Cloud said, being careful to not refer to Beryl or Ryshana as crew just yet. They were, after all, still on an Imperial facility. No telling who could be trying to listen to them. Vibrations from their voices could still be picked up with listening devices through the hull of a ship, if it was powered down and without shielding. “Just to see if we stumbled across a new smuggling route or something that they might want to check out for later.”

 

“Well, I’m just glad they didn’t find my stash of….” Oliver blushed slightly. “Stuff.”

 

Cloud raised a brow. “Been brewing Illegal Jawa beer again?” he joked.

 

Oliver shook his head. “No. But I traded what I had left of my beer for some holovids a while back. Figured that it gets boring around here sometimes, and we could all do with a little light entertainment other than “Win or Die” reruns. But… there was kind of a small problem with them….” He grinned weakly.

 

Cloud snorted with amusement. “Illegal pirated vids, eh?”

 

“Erm….” Oliver began to flush bright red. “No.” He paused, biting his lip. “Well, the vids weren’t exactly what I thought they would be. They were just sort of… well… erm… strictly ‘men-type’ vids, if you know what I mean. But,” he added rather quickly, “I didn’t have any place to hide them in my room, so that's why I asked Be….”

 

Cloud shushed him, and frowned.

 

Oliver nodded, forgetting that they weren’t to mention the two girls’ names. “Oh, sorry," he whispered. "Erm, that's why I stored them in ‘another’ room. In the same box that I had stored the extra Jawa beer before,” he added.

 

Cloud stared at Oliver, then laughed. He could just imagine the look Beryl would have had on her face had she reached down for a bottle of Jawa beer and discovered a box of holovids suitable for a Dantooine stag night instead.

 

Just then Nic boarded, barking at Jack to "get us the hell out of here."

 

Oliver's brow raised. "Well," he said to Oliver, "I suppose now's the time we found out how much we got for our fugitives. And if it was worth it."

 

((OOC: Sorry, Steven, but the more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed to me that the ‘holovids’ Jack found in Beryl’s room (that he used to distract the Imp inspection team) would actually be hers. ))

[steven]

((OOC:Your no fun ))

 

"Rightioe," Jack replied. The Echo lifted off from the prison's landingpad and zoomed off into space "Hey Cloud, I'm getting a yellowish/orangish light about the hyperdrive, you may wanna look at that because it would be pretty embrassing if we just dropped out of hyperspace to find ourselfs in the middle of nowhere. That's not going to happen again."

[starmark2k]

Nic began to walk up the ladder and decided to check on jack in the Cockpit. He stepped in and sat in the Co-pilots seat. "Well thats an experiance i don't want to re live." Nic stated. "I try to stay as far away from imperial prisons as possible."

 

All of a sudden the comm console began to beep. "Maybe the imps havves decided they underpaid us." Nic half jocked pressing the Receive button.

 

"Echo this is the imperial Dreadnaught Reaper." A male voice said over he comm. "You are to Slow down and prepare to be brought aboard."

 

"Dreadnaught Reaper, We have clearence to be here." Nic replied.

 

"We know, Never-the-less you are to be brought aboard." The voice ordered.

 

"Roger that Reaper." Nic said turning off the comm unit. "I don't like this, but do what they say, It asin't like we gotta hide a Jedi anymore."

[steven]

"You know the middle of nowhere doesn't sound so bad after all," Jack joked "I hope it is about Rysy, I'll love to see the guys face when he's learnt we've just handed in the jedi we've been keeping for a month now into the prison. Well I've slowed down and they've got us in the tractor beam. I surpose we should get ready."

[JasraLantill]

((OOC:Your no fun ))

 

"Rightioe," Jack replied. The Echo lifted off from the prison's landingpad and zoomed off into space "Hey Cloud, I'm getting a yellowish/orangish light about the hyperdrive, you may wanna look at that because it would be pretty embrassing if we just dropped out of hyperspace to find ourselfs in the middle of nowhere. That's not going to happen again."

Cloud frowned and exchanged a look with Oliver. "Did he say a yellowish-orangish light?" he asked.

 

"That's what it sounded like to me," Oliver shrugged. "Why? Is that bad?"

 

"A yellow light, no. An orange light? Maybe. But a 'yellowish-orangish light?" He sighed and shook his head. "I'd better go and check that out."

 

As he passed by the common room's comm panel, he slammed it with the hell of his hand. "Right, Jack," he said flatly. "I'm on it." Then he headed for engineering.

 

Oliver looked around. He was the only one in the common room. His mouth twisted with uncertainty, and then he began to count on his fingers the seven crewmen of the Echo.

 

"Beryl, Ryshana... in the prison. Cloud... in engineering. Jack and Nic...in the cockpit. Me, here." He had one finger left. He frowned, then got up and walked down the corridor to Jana's room. "Oh, I really hope she didn't sneak off and we left her behind...," he murmured to himself. He thought it was more likely that she was in her room, upset about having to leave the other two women on the prison planet.

 

Reaching Jana's door, he knocked several times on it. "Jana? Are you in there?" He paused, listening for any sounds of life. "We can talk, over a beer, if you like?" Still nothing. "Jana, you alright? Jana?"

 

((OOC: Grace...where are you??? And where is Jana?))

[Grace]

((Sorry... been bored out of my mind and very un-creative.))

 

 

There was a faint thump on the other side of the door and it slid open. A small contraption of some unknown purpose clattered to the floor, apparently used by Jana as something to hurl at the door's release so she wouldn't have to get up.

 

"I'm not going anywhere," she called to Oliver from where she sat on her bed, pillow tucked behind her as back support. "You could bring beer in here I guess..."

 

She shrugged, leaving it up to him and he eagerly hurried away to grab the beer. When he returned, he sat across from her on the bed and passed her a beer.

 

"So what's up?" he asked. Jana took a sip of her beer and relaxed a little.

 

"It's wierd," she said slowly. "Not having Beryl and Shana around... feels like a part of the crew... no, a part of me is missing."

 

"I'm not a psychiatrist... but keep talking," Impe encouraged. Jana hesitated.

 

"I..." she said slowly, "I don't know... I think it has something to do with... well, with the Force."

 

Oliver's eyes widened. "The Force?" he echoed.

 

Jana nodded, but then, she settled back against the wall behind her and took a gulp of the beer. Then, she shook her head. "I dunno, Impe. I just won't feel right 'till we get our crew whole again."

[Rogue Nine]

Conn gave her another smirk as he finished sticking the strip onto her jaw. "Well, no." He winked at her. "But it's not everyday I get to treat an old flame in my med bay, so think of this as making up for lost time."

 

“Old flame?” Beryl blinked at him, then snorted with amusement. “I wouldn’t have thought that you even cared anymore."

 

Conn's face was unreadable as he squatted to undo the locks around her ankles. When he spoke, his voice was more subdued. "I cared a lot, Beryl. I even told you as much." He looked up at her, his finger on the release trigger. "You broke it off, remember?"

 

Beryl bit her lip. “Yeah. I remember.” She frowned slightly. “I just… it wasn’t you. It was me.” She sighed, rolling her eyes at how idiotic she must be sounding. “I would have told you the real reason behind what I did what I did, but… “ She paused. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”

 

Conn chuckled. "You were a Zeke test jockey. I thought a lot of things you did were stupid." He snapped the locks, freeing her feet. "But it's in the past now, so I don't think it matters too much at this point," he said, moving up to the locks around her thighs.

 

She could feel the heat from his hands through the fabric of her trousers as he unlocked her restraints and tender memories of better times came to mind. “I thought you would die,” she blurted. “Everyone I fall ‘in love with’ dies in these weird, bizarre, freak accidents.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to kill you, so I dumped you.” She grinned slightly. “Although, I guess you becoming an Imp is almost as bad as dying."

 

"You think so?" he asked as he undid the torso locks, then helped her down off the table, steadying her as she swayed a little. "And that's one of the craziest reasons I've ever heard for breaking up with someone."

 

“Told you you’d think it was stupid.” She took a deep breath, then looked at him curiously. She was remembering their breakup conversation.

 

***

 

” Because I like you too much,” she had said to Conn. “And I don’t want to. And… I’m not sure if it’s me or if it’s your Zeltron hormones that is causing me to….”

 

“Pheromones,” he had corrected. “Pheromones, not hormones.”

 

“Whatever. The point is, I’m not sure if it’s ‘them’ causing me to feel this way, or just ‘you’ causing me to feel the way I do….”

 

***

 

Beryl’s eyes narrowed. “Are you using those…pheromones on me?” she asked Conn, suspiciously but not threateningly. "Right now?"

 

Conn swallowed nervously as he helped her into the other half of the med bay. "Only to help ease your pain," he said, and it was true, to an extent. The more relaxed she was, the less pain she felt. He guided her over to a small chamber set into the walls, then reached for her binders. "And I always tried to hold them back our dates," he told her. "I wanted you to like me on your own, not because I made you like me."

 

Beryl merely nodded in acknowledgement, but was too relaxed at the moment to try and fight off the effects of the pheromones. “Thanks. Whatever you’re doing, it does help.” Her eyes flicked over to what she reckoned was the decon chamber. She’d been treated, she wasn’t shackled…. “So, what happens after this decon stuff?”

 

"One thing at a time," Conn cautioned. "Decontam isn't the most pleasant of things."

[starmark2k]

Nic hit the intercom button in the cockpit. "Guys we are being given a surprise inspectionby the Imperial Dreadnaught, If we all stick to the story and keep acting our parts we should be in and out of this quickly... Meet by the airlock in two minuets."

[JasraLantill]

“So, what happens after this decon stuff?” Beryl asked.

 

"One thing at a time," Conn cautioned. "Decontam isn't the most pleasant of things."

 

Beryl looked slightly confused. “I thought you said earlier that it was ‘routine?’ Now it’s unpleasant?”

 

"When are routine things ever pleasant?" he asked rhetorically. "Besides, I never said it was unpleasant. It'll take no more than a few minutes anyway." He pressed a switch on the wall, causing the chamber door to hiss and slide to the side. "Just hop in there and hand me your clothes as you take them off."

 

Beryl started forward, then paused. Slowly, she looked up at him quizzically. “What, while you watch?” She let out a small, nervous snort. “I don’t think so.”

 

Conn reddened slightly. "Standard procedure would have been to tranquilize you out to your gills, then strip you myself and shove you in there. But I didn't, did I?" He motioned to a pair of straps hanging from the ceiling of the chamber. "I would have latched your binders onto those, so just grab those when you're inside." He stepped to the side. "Just toss your clothes over there," he said, motioning to the floor right outside the chamber door. "I'll pick them up when you're going through decontam."

 

Beryl knew at this point that it was pointless for her to not comply with his request. There were still stormtroopers just outside the med bay doors, and Conn could call them in at any time. Yet, he hadn’t. In fact, outside of the Zeltron pheromones, he hadn’t even sedated her. He even said he was going against protocol for her. Perhaps Conn was being genuine when he had even said he was on her side. Then again, that could just be a pheromone-induced perception of hers. She still had to be careful who she trusted in this place.

 

Nevertheless, she knelt down and began unlacing her boots. “I suppose I should be thankful that I’m not undressing in front of a complete stranger,” she said, while she slowly undressed and piled her clothing on the floor. “And that you’re breaking the rules by not sedating me. Properly,” she added, a verbal jab at him for using his Zeltron tricks without her prior knowledge. She looked at him then, her arms crossed over her chest as she prepared to remove her shirt. “And I suppose you have some sort of fashionable Imperial attire for me to wear once I’m finished in here?”

 

Conn smirked and pulled a drab gray prison shirt from underneath a desk in response.

 

She flashed him a dry grin in reply. “Oh. Lovely.” She threw the last bit of her clothing into the pile, then stepped inside the decontamination chamber, reaching up to grasp the straps as Conn had instructed. “So, should I ‘act’ sedated when I leave here?” she asked him pointedly. “Will you get in trouble if they find out you went against protocol for me?”

 

Conn snorted. "I go against protocol all the time. Consider it my little 'rebellion' against them for forcing me into this damn gig. I do my job and I do it well, so they leave me be." He picked up her clothes in a bundle. "As for acting sedated, yeah it's probably best just to go limp and let them drag you along. That way, they won't hurt you anymore than they already have."

 

He glanced into the chamber one last time. "Oh, one more thing." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pair of old goggles and tossed them to Beryl. "To keep stuff out of those pretty eyes of yourn," he said, winking at her as he pressed a few buttons on his control console.

 

Beryl grinned slightly at Conn’s use of ‘yourn’. During their time at Incom, the differences in rural dialects between Corellia and Alderaan had been a sort of standing joke between them, being that they both hailed from well-to-do families. “Nerfherder,” she called him softly. She put the goggles on, then braced herself in the chamber for what was to come. She just knew this wasn’t going to be fun.

 

Conn hit a button and the door to the chamber slid shut. He could barely make out Beryl's face in the little window slot. Flipping a few switches, he activated the decontamination process, which he didn't think she was going to enjoy at all. As he had said, it wasn't particularly pleasant, consisting of a showering of near-scalding sterilization fluids followed by a cold water rinse. He just hoped Beryl was still as tough as he remembered.

 

As the first spray of chemicals hit her, Beryl bit back the urge to scream. No wonder sedation was protocol, she thought. But as the Stormtroopers were still stationed outside, she figured hearing yelping and howling coming from behind the doors of the med bay wasn’t going to help her any. She gritted her teeth and hoped the process wouldn't take any longer than she could bear. And, she thought, she had better tell Conn that he had been an Imperial for far too long. His qualification of 'unpleasant' was severely skewed.

[Rogue Nine]

Conn checked Beryl's clothing thoroughly per procedure, tossing his findings into a bin. They mostly consisted of the random assortment of small tools along with a hydrospanner, some credit chips, a pazaak deck and a comlink. He then folded her clothes and placed them in a plastic, keeping his eye on the control monitor. Beryl would just be finishing the chemicals shower and starting the water rinse. If there's one thing he couldn't fault the Imperials for, it would be their efficiency.

 

Having a sudden flash of inspiration, he pulled out a spare bacta bandage, found a stylus and scribbled something onto it. When he finished, he stuck another bandage on top of it, then put them both into the pocket of the prison uniform he was going to give to Beryl. She was resourceful and probably had some sort of escape plan, knowing her. Whatever that was, he decided he wanted in on it. Seeing her again had made him realize that he wanted out, as well as a few other things...

 

A loud beeping noise snapped him out of his reverie. The process had finished. Grabbing a towel, he jogged back over to the chamber as the door slid open. Beryl emerged, wet and bedraggled and stumbling unsteadily. Conn opened the towel and caught her gently. She was shivering and her skin felt cold and clammy to the touch when she grabbed his arm for support.

 

As he guided her back to the table, she looked up at him, her eyes still partially obscured by the goggles. "Un...p..p..pleasant? Y-you've... b...b...b...been... Imp... too... l-long," she managed to mutter through chattering teeth.

 

Conn chuckled as he helped her take a seat. "Heh, if I'd really done it by the book, you wouldn't even be conscious at this point," he reminded her as he took the goggles off carefully. She clutched the towel closer around her, too cold to mutter a reply. He handed her the gray prison clothes. "Here, get dressed. It's not the most fashionable stuff around, like you said, but at least you'll be warm." He turned around and walked to his desk, taking a seat at his terminal and facing away from the table.

 

Beryl watched him as he moved off. Ever the gentleman, she thought. She rubbed herself dry, then inspected the uniform he'd given her. It really was an ugly affair, consisting of a gray shirt and pair of pants which both looked a few sizes too big for her. Sighing, she shrugged the shirt on, then hopped to the floor to put the bottoms on. She turned to Conn and called out, "Do I get shoes along with this fabulous outfit?"

 

"Nope, fresh out of those," he replied, approaching her with a plastic bag with her clothes in one hand and her boots in the other. "Just use yours, the Imps won't notice." He picked a stray piece of lint out of her hair. "You clean up nice, Quitaan."

 

She gave him a mock glare, raking her eyes over his Imperial uniform again. "Can't say the same for you, Harlowe," she retorted. Then her expression softened. "Thanks, Conn. I thought this whole thing was going to be pretty rough. You made it a lot easier."

 

Conn reddened again. "Just doing my job. I wear this uniform, but I'm a doctor first and foremost." He took the wet towel and tossed it into a bin to the side. "And as your doctor, I recommend you go limp now before I call the stormies in to take you away. They're probably wondering what's taking so long." He pulled the binders from his back pocket. "Gonna need to put these back on as well."

 

"Yes, yes," she replied as she held out her hands. Conn snapped them back on, his face still apologetic. "Where'll they take me?" she asked.

 

"Probably just to central booking, process you into the system, then off to a cell somewhere."

 

"Sounds accommodating," she said dryly.

 

He smiled ruefully at her. "Not really." He motioned to the table. "Lie down."

 

"Yes, doctor." She sprawled herself out on the table as best she could and closed her eyes.

 

"Watch your six out there, Beryl," Conn said, his hand hovering over the comm.

 

"I will, and thanks for watching mine in here," she replied, opening an eye and winking at him.

 

Conn blushed as he hit the comm button. "See you later," he whispered.

 

"Not if I see you first," she whispered back as the doors to the med bay slid open.